Chapter 13

Chapter 13

The old case was reopened half a month later.

The Crown Prince was deposed, the Empress was placed under house arrest, and the Shen Family was seized and confiscated.

In the prison of the Court of Judicial Review, Father still wanted to see me. He said that, after all, he was my father.

I did not go.

I had someone send him a copy of the family genealogy.

The three characters for Shen Zhaoning had been crossed out by my own hand.

Bitao had Liu Fuchun’s grave moved.

Her new grave was neither in the Shen Family ancestral burial ground nor in a mass grave. It was on a slope outside the city, where one could see the sunrise.

On the gravestone were carved the three words: Liu Fuchun.

Beside them was a smaller line.

Saved Shen Zhaoning at North Mountain.

Bitao knelt before the grave and cried for a long time.

I burned paper offerings with her.

Pei Yanzhi stood not far away and did not come over.

The wind swept up the paper ash, and one piece landed on his shoulder.

I walked over and brushed it off for him.

He lowered his head to look at me.

“You don’t blame me anymore?”

I thought about it.

“I still do.”

He nodded.

“As you should.”

Seeing him so ready to accept his punishment left me with almost no temper.

“Pei Yanzhi, from now on, can you stop making decisions for other people?”

“I can.”

“And stop using yourself as bait at the drop of a hat.”

“Mm.”

“Also, that spirit tablet in the study…”

He looked at me as if waiting for the final blow.

I deliberately paused.

“Don’t keep it in the study anymore.”

Pei Yanzhi’s eyes dimmed.

I said, “Put it in the ancestral hall. Liu Fuchun saved me, and she saved your case too. She deserves incense offerings.”

He was stunned for a long time.

Then he answered softly, “All right.”

That night, after we returned to the manor, Pei Yanzhi dismantled the incense altar in the study.

I stood in the doorway and watched him work.

The burn on the back of his hand had not healed yet and was still wrapped in gauze, but his movements were steady.

I couldn’t help asking, “Lord Pei, are you especially good at living like a widower?”

His hand paused.

“Shen Zhaoning.”

“Hm?”

He turned to look at me, his expression very serious.

“I am no longer living like a widower.”

I leaned against the doorframe and pretended not to understand.

“Then what are you doing?”

Pei Yanzhi walked toward me.

He did not walk quickly, but for some reason, the study suddenly felt a little small.

The candlelight flickered. He stopped in front of me, lowered his head, and straightened the Silver Bell at my waist.

The bell’s chime was very soft.

All at once, I remembered the sound of rain on North Mountain that night.

This time, there was lamplight in the room, and he did not let go again.

“Watching over you.”

That was what he said.

My heart skipped a beat.

Yet my mouth remained stubborn.

“Lord Pei, that sounds unlucky.”

He lowered his eyes, the faintest hint of a smile in them.

“Then I’ll say it another way.”

“What?”

He reached out and gently took my hand.

This time, it was not to shield anyone, nor was it for show.

His palm was very warm, with a thin layer of calluses on the pads of his fingers. When he touched me, he was restrained to an almost unreasonable degree.

“Shen Zhaoning.”

He said in a low voice, “From now on, I won’t guard your fate for you. I’ll live out our days with you.”

I looked at him and suddenly thought of that frightening spirit tablet on our wedding night.

Back then, I had thought I had married into some absurd ghost wedding.

Now that tablet was going into the ancestral hall. Liu Fuchun had a name, and I could finally walk out of the Shen Family genealogy.

I clasped his hand in return.

“Then it’s settled.”

“Mm.”

“If our days don’t turn out well, I’ll put up a spirit tablet for you too.”

Pei Yanzhi was silent for a moment.

“Can you make the inscription look nice?”

I couldn’t hold back my laughter.

Outside the window, the night wind swept through the hall, and the Silver Bell chimed softly.

That sound no longer resembled an old dream.

I lowered my head and saw my own shadow fall within the threshold. Only then did I realize that the rain had stopped long ago.

The End