TSFLIP Chapter 554

He paused slightly. “I’m an assassin.”

“But you’re a musician too,” Feng Guang said as she walked down the street. The deserted, desolate surroundings didn’t seem to dampen her cheerful mood in the slightest. “Your music is beautiful. That day at the palace, my imperial brother, my younger brother, and all the ministers couldn’t stop praising you.”

“It’s just the skill of an entertainer, nothing more.”

She tilted her head. “You’re still upset, aren’t you? Because of what my father said?”

“I’m not upset.” In truth, he didn’t even have the capacity for such emotion. Because what the emperor said wasn’t wrong—in the eyes of men of high rank and power, his status was no different from that of any other court musician.

Feng Guang let out a casual “Oh,” then fixed her gaze on his profile and said, “Honestly, I think in this world, people are divided into higher and lower ranks. That’s just how society has been for thousands of years, and even as a princess, I can’t change that. Look at me—I still have palace maids waiting on me, don’t I?”

“From the moment someone is born, their status—high or low—is already set. That’s a truth no one can change.”

“Exactly.” She nodded in agreement. “But you know what? Even within something as unchangeable as that, sometimes things can shift.”

Si Jia finally turned his cool gaze toward her.

She smiled, pulling the red ribbon from her hair. Her long, black hair tumbled down, soft and smooth, reaching to her waist. In that moment, he thought of a line from an old play: When my hair reaches my waist, will you marry me, my love? When your hair is tied high, will you lay out ten miles of red silk for me? But the next lines came to him too: Yet I fear, when my hair reaches my waist, my love will have given his heart to another.

“This ribbon—originally, it was just a decoration on my sachet. It didn’t matter much. But now, I need it to tie my hair, so it’s become a little more important to me.” She furrowed her brow in mock distress. “After all, if I didn’t even have this, I’d have no choice but to go out every day with my hair all loose. Si Jia, do you get what I’m trying to say?”

Si Jia stayed silent.

She twirled the ribbon between her fingers as she spoke slowly. “The idea of high and low status is something no one can escape. But even a simple woodcutter, in the eyes of his wife and children, is someone of unmatched worth. Even if nobles and princes stood before them, his family wouldn’t think those nobles were any more important. So… somehow, the woodcutter’s worth is greater than theirs. Don’t you think that’s interesting, Si Jia?”

“I don’t have a family,” Si Jia said quietly. “So I wouldn’t know if that makes sense or not.”

“Then… isn’t there anyone important to you? Like… Princess Wuyou?”

“What counts as important?”

“Well… it means if she’s in trouble, you’d help her no matter the cost. If her life’s in danger, you’d risk your own to save her. If someone wrongs her, you’d want to kill them. Feelings like that—do you have them?”

Si Jia fell into a strange silence for a second. “She once said I’m her friend. I still don’t fully understand what a friend is… but if she were in danger, I would help.”

Feng Guang felt a faint ache in her heart, though it didn’t surprise her. “I see. So she is important to you…”

“But I wouldn’t risk my life for her.”

Her smile froze in place at those words.