Chapter 43: She Trusted Jiang Xue
The preliminary auditions, as Jiang Xue had predicted, went by very quickly, especially for the senior year performances.
The six judges, three young and three older, scored quickly. For those performances deemed stage-worthy, Teacher Ai, in charge of recording, would offer a few suggestions for improvement.
After hearing Jiang Mei’s advice, Xiao Luohan listened to the changing background music and watched the students go on stage, perform, and leave, one after another.
Lost in thought about Jiang Mei’s words, she didn’t pay close attention to the performances. Fortunately, Jiang Xue had promised to get a copy of the entire audition recording from Teacher Ai, so she could watch it later.
To be honest, she was indeed lost and confused.
Assassinating the Crown Prince of an enemy nation was a task that could only succeed once.
And before carrying it out, she had to send Shizhu far away from Daying. Otherwise, once the Crown Prince died, Shizhu, who was closest to her, would definitely be implicated.
But precisely because Shizhu was close to her, and they had a close relationship, knowing each other’s past, personalities, and habits, even if she coldly and cruelly dismissed Shizhu without any explanation, Shizhu would immediately see through her true intentions.
…Her “courage” had come too late.
Xiao Luohan was lost in thought. After an unknown amount of time, a flash of bright red caught her eye—Jiang Mei, carrying her sword, was walking backstage with the other girls, ready to wait for their turn.
It was almost time for their performance.
She sat up straight, one hand resting lightly on the empty sword case beside her, and waited attentively.
At this moment, a short play was being performed on stage, just beginning.
A group of girls in armor followed a female general on a prop horse, waving flags and shouting. The background music was a rousing suona(traditional double-reeded Chinese musical instrument) melody, and their weapons clashed with the “enemy soldiers” played by boys, the clanging sound effects echoing.
Because of her elder sister, Xiao Luohan had a favorable impression of female generals and watched curiously.
The curtain closed, and when it opened again, the female general was disheveled, her armor gone, her right hand clutching an arrow piercing her heart, stumbling forward step by step.
White paper scraps fell from the ceiling, simulating a heavy snowfall.
“I’ve been dead for half a month, and the underworld hasn’t taken me yet?” The female general looked around, then reached out to catch a “snowflake.” “Since that’s the case… I’ll return to my homeland and take a look.”
She slowly walked backstage. The scene changed, and she was in the palace.
Many people were weeping around her coffin, including the Empress and other concubines, and the girls who had gone to war with her.
As they wept, they were even more concerned about another matter: “The Great General is gone, who will fight against the 100,000 enemy troops?”
A minister even interjected, “Why not… send some princes or princesses as hostages?”
The minister was the only man among the women. His words were met with glares.
“If sending hostages could bring peace, what use are generals?! What use are you officials?!”
A young, clear female voice rang out. A petite girl, holding a sword, strode forward and shouted, “I’m willing to join the army in my elder sister’s place!”
“No! Little Sister! It shouldn’t be you!” The female general’s spirit emerged from behind the curtain, stopping at a distance, shaking her head and sighing. “But… if you’re determined, then go ahead and do it. Elder Sister will always guide your path!”
“From that day on, the little princess dreamed of her deceased elder sister every day,” the narrator’s voice echoed.
“Her elder sister taught her military strategy and simulated battles.”
“They played chess and trained soldiers, seizing every minute in every dream, just to be able to defend against the 100,000 enemy troops.”
The play was short, and the ending was what everyone wanted to see.
The little princess, carefully taught by her elder sister, became the new Great General, shouldering the heavy responsibility. And using the knowledge her elder sister imparted, she outnumbered and outmaneuvered the enemy, forcing the 100,000 troops back to their own capital!
A great victory!
The final scene was the female general bidding farewell to the little princess in a dream.
“My obsession has dissipated, I should move on now.” The female general rubbed the little princess’s head, smiling gently. “You’ve done well. From now on… live for yourself.”
The little princess raised her sleeve to cover her eyes, her voice choked with sobs. “Little Sister has no other wish, only that in the next life, we can be sisters again!”
When the cast took their final bow, Xiao Luohan was still immersed in the story, unable to come back to her senses.
She vaguely heard Teacher Ai, who was in charge of the evaluations, say, “The plot is clichéd, but the emotions are delicate,” and her mind lingered on the word “clichéd.”
So… the things she had hoped for, but could only remain as hopes, were commonplace in this world.
In her world, after losing her elder sister, not only could she not join the army and fight in her place, but she was actually being sent to the enemy country for a marriage alliance.
Besides that, she remembered clearly that in Beiliao, only women were sent for marriage alliances. Even the “prince as hostage” scenario in the play didn’t exist.
It was then that she truly realized that she and Jiang Xue were “from two different worlds.”
Their true differences weren’t in material possessions, but in their spiritual worlds.
Due to the different environments, the worlds they lived in were like two opposite poles of a magnet. One world was extremely harsh towards women, while the other gave women the greatest freedom.
They were bound to have disagreements on many things, and she herself, because of what she had experienced and heard since childhood, had been subtly assimilated by her environment, unconsciously acquiring many habits that would be considered outdated here.
This suddenly made her feel apprehensive, as if her confidante, who was so close, had suddenly become incredibly distant.
She wanted to catch up, but could she really catch up and walk side by side with Jiang Xue?
Would she really not become a burden to Jiang Xue?
When it was finally Jiang Xue’s turn to perform, Xiao Luohan felt uneasy.
Warm beams of light shone down from above, illuminating them.
They… every one of them was so dazzling, so out of reach.
But when the music started, and the group dancers drew their swords, Xiao Luohan’s gaze followed Jiang Xue.
She seemed especially energetic today. The movements that she usually held back were now performed with greater fluidity and agility, as if she had broken free from her shackles.
Although this group dance was a celebratory one, the story’s background was before the agreement of an important event, so their movements needed to convey “joy,” but their expressions had to remain controlled.
Jiang Xue had a serious expression, but it wasn’t stiff. She naturally portrayed solemnity, and also… numbness.
—While the rulers were engaged in their power struggles, all they, the subordinates, had to do was maintain the status quo to live a stable life.
But even if they were thinking about “maintaining the status quo,” they still had their own preferences, which couldn’t be revealed, so they either forced a smile or remained numb.
Maintaining normalcy while also being expressive.
She portrayed this sense of conflicting emotions very well, so well that Xiao Luohan couldn’t help but stand up and applaud.
She wasn’t sure if Jiang Xue heard her, but she felt Jiang Xue glance towards her. But it wasn’t until the group dance ended and they retreated behind the curtain that Jiang Xue smiled at her, a subtle, almost imperceptible smile.
Because of this small interlude, Xiao Luohan felt that she wasn’t so far away from Jiang Xue after all.
When she used to watch plays with her mother, she had heard her mother say, “Someone who can portray a character must have carefully studied that character’s personality and life story, with great patience.”
Now, she couldn’t help but think that even if they had disagreements, Jiang Xue… probably wouldn’t mind.
Jiang Xue knew what kind of world she came from, but still extended a hand without hesitation, offering her the greatest assistance.
As for patience, she thought, Jiang Xue definitely had that.
She had to trust Jiang Xue.
Perhaps because she was preoccupied, Xiao Luohan woke up from the dream before seeing Jiang Mei’s solo dance.
But she wasn’t worried. She flipped through the politics textbook and waited for Jiang Xue to send her phone with the recording during dinner, so she could watch the solo dance later, and then meet Jiang Xue in a dream after nightfall.
This time, they were once again in that white space.
Xiao Luohan had already seen the results of the preliminary audition while watching the video.
Teacher Ai had praised the performance, but expressed regret that it wasn’t entirely performed by students, especially the highlight, the solo dance, which was performed by someone from outside the school.
However, considering that Jiang Mei was also an outstanding graduate of Si Ling, Teacher Ai felt that the performance was even more meaningful, perfectly complementing the theme of the previous play.
“‘Some guides just perform silently, instead of giving direct instructions. Although you can’t interact with them, you can still learn from their actions and plan your future with more caution and aspiration.’”
Jiang Xue sat on the desk again, repeating Teacher Ai’s words. “So, our performance was selected.”
“Congratulations,” Xiao Luohan offered her sincere congratulations. “Now everyone can prepare for the New Year’s Eve gala with peace of mind.”
The end of the month was the grandest event for senior year students, and also the last school-wide event of their high school careers.
“Yes, we can also rest for a few days.” Jiang Xue gently swung her legs. “Yuanyuan said that I coordinated well with everyone, so we can use the extra time to study, and the rehearsal frequency is back to every other day.”
“After all, we just need to maintain our ‘muscle memory’ now. My sister only needs to practice twice more, during the weekend and before the actual performance. She doesn’t need to rehearse with us every time.”
Seeing that Xiao Luohan didn’t have any questions, Jiang Xue took the initiative. “I have sharp ears. I actually heard everything my sister said to you today.”
Observing the subtle changes in Xiao Luohan’s eyes, she continued, “She probably sensed something, worried that you would do something foolish if you kept it bottled up, so she wanted you to talk to me about ‘our future’—this way, you’ll cherish your life more if you have something to look forward to.”
Xiao Luohan stared at her blankly. She hadn’t expected Jiang Xue, who seemed carefree and clueless, to actually be so thoughtful and considerate.
“Although I always feel that the right to choose is always in our own hands, and we should just do what we believe is right, regardless of what others say,” she said, seeing the worry and sadness in Jiang Xue’s lively eyes, “I also know that not everything ‘right’ leads to the desired outcome, and it might even implicate others, resulting in unforeseen tragedies.”
Jiang Xue paused.
“But, I’m not afraid of being implicated by you, Your Highness! So… could you tell me about it?”
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