Broken Jade - Chapter 105

Chapter 105

Sheng Zhaoning took the empty cup from Wei Heng. At Wei Yi’s words, she did not so much as lift an eyelid.

“If Your Highness the Heir has nothing better to do, why not go chop some firewood in the back hills?”

At least then he would not be here making snide remarks and snapping at everyone in sight.

Wei Yi: “…”

Jin He overheard their exchange and could not suppress a giggle.

She had finally figured it out. When Young Master Sheng was with the gentle and refined Crown Prince, she was all smiles and never uttered a harsh word. Yet when faced with the violent and overbearing Wei Yi, she became a completely different person and showed him no mercy whatsoever.

Jin He had never liked Wei Yi to begin with, so she certainly was not about to speak up for him.

And so, Wei Yi, who had originally intended to take Wei Heng’s place, somehow found himself banished to the back hills to gather firewood instead.

Forget having Sheng Zhaoning bring him water or wipe away his sweat-he could not even see her now.

Wei Yi’s glare was so sharp it could have cut like a knife.

But the words had already left his mouth. If he tried to back out now, he would only humiliate himself.

There was no way Wei Yi would let Wei Heng look down on him.

Left with no other choice, he mounted his horse in a fury and headed for the back hills.

This subtle atmosphere of silent rivalry lasted only one day.

The Xuanniao could travel a thousand li in a single day, and the letter it carried soon reached the Jizhou prefectural office.

That very night, Jizhou dispatched men at full gallop, accompanied by the Jinwu Guard and Wei Chengjun’s troops.

Tiny Chenjia Village was immediately surrounded so tightly that not even water could have leaked through.

When the villagers who rushed over after hearing the news learned that the two strange men Jin He had brought home were actually the Crown Prince and an imperial official, their jaws nearly hit the ground.

Those who had gossiped behind her back and called her shameless were so frightened that they all fell silent. None of them even dared show their faces.

When the Prefect of Jizhou saw Wei Heng and Sheng Zhaoning alive, with all their limbs still intact, his eyes reddened with emotion and he nearly burst into tears.

“Crown Prince, it was this humble official’s negligence that placed you and Lord Sheng in danger. Please punish me!”

The Prefect knelt before Wei Heng and kowtowed, his upper body pressed low to the ground as he dared not raise his head.

Ever since the Crown Prince had gone missing, the Prefect had spent every day in fear and torment, terrified that news of the Crown Prince’s death might arrive at any moment. The anxiety had kept him awake night after night, to the point that he had wanted to dash his own head against a wall.

Now that the Crown Prince had finally been found, the enormous weight pressing on his heart crashed to the ground. Amid his relief, however, he was also gripped by lingering fear.

Wei Heng reached out and helped him to his feet. “This happened because I acted willfully. Lord Sheng and I secretly traveled to Pinghe County without informing anyone, which gave the assassins their opportunity. You need not blame yourself.”

To avoid alerting their quarry, the two of them had slipped into Pinghe County in secret to investigate the case. None of this had been the Prefect’s fault. If anything, they had caused him considerable fear and distress.

Naturally, Wei Heng would not hold him responsible.

Standing off to one side, Wei Yi watched Sheng Zhaoning beside Wei Heng with a cold gaze, darkness gathering in the depths of his eyes.

The imperial physician brought from the capital by the Jinwu Guard examined Wei Heng’s and Sheng Zhaoning’s injuries again. Upon seeing that both were healing well, he marveled at the exceptional skill of whoever had set their bones and breathed a deep sigh of relief.

The group began making arrangements for the return journey.

This time, a large contingent had arrived, so there was no shortage of manpower. The prefectural office had also sent carriages, more than sufficient to safely transport the two patients-one with a broken arm and the other with a broken leg-back to Jizhou.

Sheng Zhaoning noticed the peasant girl standing behind the crowd, ignored by everyone. She walked over to her and, under Jin He’s tense, breathless gaze, asked, “Jin He, would you be willing to come with me?”

In these troubled times, it truly would not be easy for a delicate young woman like her to survive alone.

Sheng Zhaoning could ask the local authorities to look after her, but that was not a lasting solution.

But Sheng Zhaoning did not know what Jin He wanted.

“Or you can choose to stay here.”

If Jin He decided to remain, Sheng Zhaoning would leave her enough money to settle down and build a life for herself.

Jin He dropped to her knees almost without hesitation, two trails of tears streaming down her gaunt cheeks.

“Young Master, please don’t leave me behind!” she cried, knocking her forehead against the floor before Sheng Zhaoning.

If Sheng Zhaoning had not intervened that day, she would have died at Liu Wu’s hands long ago.

Jin He was terrified that Sheng Zhaoning would abandon her. How could she possibly be unwilling to follow her?

She was simply surprised that, after meeting so many people and going through so much, Sheng Zhaoning still remembered her-still thought to ask whether she wished to come along instead of leaving her behind and forgetting all about her.

Jin He’s eyes reddened. Warmth surged through her heart, and tears poured down her face beyond her control.

Sheng Zhaoning helped her up. Since she was currently posing as a man, she could not act too intimately with Jin He. She offered a few words of comfort and told her to return to her room and pack.

By the time Jin He had nearly finished, everyone else was ready to depart as well.

Sheng Zhaoning took Jin He with her and boarded the carriage alongside Wei Heng.

Wei Yi stared at her for a long moment. Sheng Zhaoning happened to turn her head, and their gazes collided.

A fathomless dark current seemed to lurk within his eyes, deep enough to swallow a person whole.

Sheng Zhaoning’s heart clenched violently.

Faced with this version of Wei Yi, she instinctively felt…afraid.

She did not know whether Wei Yi would still try to harm Wei Heng after everything that had happened.

But she had no choice but to guard against him.

Sheng Zhaoning withdrew her gaze, turned away, and lifted the curtain to enter the carriage.

The heavy curtain fell behind her, blocking Wei Yi’s blade-sharp stare.

Seated on his horse, he tightened his grip on the reins.

There was still plenty of time. Once they returned to the capital, it would be time for him to settle accounts with Sheng Zhaoning properly.

The party officially set out for Jizhou.

It was late autumn, on the cusp of winter. The trees had shed every last leaf, and the landscape along the road was desolate.

Both Wei Heng and Sheng Zhaoning were injured, so to spare them from being jostled, the party traveled much more slowly.

By the time they reached the Jizhou Prefecture Office, five days had passed.

Wei Heng had not forgotten why he had gone to Pinghe County in the first place.

The County Magistrate, a man of unyielding integrity, was still languishing in prison under a false conviction, while the Petition of the Myriad Citizens continued to proclaim his innocence. The moment Wei Heng stepped out of the carriage, without even taking time to rest, he summoned Shen Tongshu once more.

Half a month had passed since their last meeting, yet seeing him again now evoked an entirely different state of mind.

Shen Tongshu remained like a pool of stagnant water. He no longer believed that, beneath the boundless heavens, even a single ray of light would ever fall upon him.

But when the Petition of the Myriad Citizens was presented before him, his emaciated body-so thin that his spine protruded-shuddered violently. A short, convulsive breath escaped him, and even his lips began to tremble.

“Shen Tongshu, the Crown Prince and Lord Sheng personally traveled to Pinghe County to clear your name! They were even attacked by assassins and nearly lost their lives!”

The Prefect grew anxious when Shen Tongshu remained kneeling in silence.

“Whatever you have to say, hurry and explain it clearly to the Crown Prince! Are you truly willing to die with this injustice hanging over your head?”

Shen Tongshu’s throat was parched.

He raised the Petition of the Myriad Citizens in both hands.

Once, there had been another long sheet of paper just like this one, every word upon it sharp as a knife. It had made him willingly sink into a bottomless abyss from which he could never escape.

Now, a similar sheet of paper had become a brilliant ray of hope, reaching into the abyss and pulling him free.

Shen Tongshu had died because of the myriad citizens.

Yet through the myriad citizens, he was reborn.