Broken Jade - Chapter 141
Chapter 141
A heavy bow slowly rose. An arrow was nocked, the string drawn taut…
Wei Yi held the bow at full draw, his expression cold and his dark eyes fathomless.
At his side, Chi Yu noticed what he was doing and followed the arrowhead’s aim with a puzzled gaze.
Without warning, he saw the face that had haunted his every waking thought.
Chi Yu’s breath caught.
It was… Sheng Zhaoning!
The whistle of an arrow split the air.
Its cold point flashed as it left the string-
“No!” Chi Yu’s eyes widened as he shouted in panic.
The arrow shot straight toward the top of the city wall.
Its icy glint reflected in Sheng Zhaoning’s pupils as it hurtled toward her.
Seeing the lethal intent in Wei Yi’s eyes, Sheng Zhaoning clenched her fists.
If Wei Yi wanted her dead, she had no power to resist.
She squeezed her eyes shut and waited for the searing pain of an arrow piercing her heart.
The arrow whistled past, grazing her ear.
A lock of black hair drifted away on the wind.
Blood welled from her ear.
Chi Yu’s face went deathly pale. The arrow had buried itself in the wall behind Sheng Zhaoning. An inch closer, and it would have taken her life.
He had never imagined that Sheng Zhaoning was truly still alive.
Back then, she had vanished without a trace.
Everyone said she had been secretly executed. Chi Yu had stubbornly refused to believe them, searching every inch of Liangzhou for some sign of her like a man possessed.
He had found nothing.
He had even gone to beg Wei Chengjun for answers, only to be told that she had fallen into Luochuan and died, her body never recovered.
The despair had nearly crushed Chi Yu.
Why? He had already been preparing to marry her.
He had been so close to making her his wife!
Yet in the end, he still could not escape fate’s cruel games.
An overwhelming darkness had crashed down upon him, threatening to swallow him whole.
Chi Yu did not know how he had survived these past few years. He had stumbled through them in a daze, as though the entire world had faded to gray.
Never had he imagined that he would see her again here, now, under these circumstances.
But the two of them had long since found themselves on opposing sides.
Only after what felt like an eternity did Sheng Zhaoning register the sharp sting in her ear.
Blood trickled silently down its curve.
She staggered back a step, the color slowly draining from her lips.
Wei Yi lowered his bow, his dark eyes as deep as ink.
That arrow had been both an expression of his rage and a warning.
For two years, he had awakened countless times from nightmares of that blade.
Every time he woke, his heart was brimming with hatred.
He had lain low for two years and endured every humiliation for the sake of this day.
Now that the Capital City was all but his, Sheng Zhaoning would submit quietly if she had any sense and cease her futile resistance.
Otherwise, he could not promise that the blades in his hands would not harm her.
“Attack!” Wei Yi ordered.
Battle flags swept through the air, and the army charged the city gates with thunderous cries.
The Twelve Guards of the Imperial Guards gritted their teeth and held the line. From atop the walls, volleys of arrows rained down, but after only a few rounds, their supply was nearly exhausted.
“We’re running out of arrows!”
“Someone get over here! The gates won’t hold much longer!”
“Where are the reinforcements? Where are they?!”
The sounds of slaughter and shouting rose endlessly from the city gates.
Sheng Zhaoning stared at the gates on the verge of collapse. Bracing a hand against the cold stone wall, she forced herself to remain calm.
The gates were about to fall.
When they did, the Imperial Palace would become their last line of defense.
Wei Heng was still inside.
Summoning every last shred of strength, she stumbled down from the city wall.
The swift horse she had ridden there was still waiting below. She hauled herself back into the saddle, turned, and raced toward the palace.
By now, the Capital City had descended into complete chaos.
Carriages and horses careened through the streets. Terrified civilians cried out as they fled in every direction.
Children stood helplessly by the roadside, sobbing, while merchants’ wares lay scattered across the ground.
Sheng Zhaoning gritted her teeth and tightened her grip on the reins, weaving around the fleeing crowds as she rode straight back to the Imperial Palace.
The palace was in utter turmoil as well.
Palace maids and eunuchs streamed toward the palace gates with bundles of jewels in their arms. A deafening peal of thunder split the sky just as Sheng Zhaoning arrived. In the distance, flames surged high around the city gates.
The city had fallen.
Darkness swam before Sheng Zhaoning’s eyes. Her eyes bloodshot, she used every ounce of strength she had left to roar, “Close the gates!”
The last of the imperial guards stationed in the Imperial Palace barred the palace gates.
But everyone knew that even the city gates could not withstand Wei Chengjun’s tens of thousands of elite troops.
This flimsy palace gate stood even less of a chance. They were merely making one last futile stand.
Rain poured from the heavens.
A fine steed galloped down the long, narrow palace road.
“Where is the Crown Prince?”
Sheng Zhaoning stopped a young eunuch who was fleeing in panic and demanded an answer.
The young eunuch raised his head with a frightened shudder. Upon recognizing Sheng Zhaoning, he hurriedly replied, “The Crown Prince is in His Majesty’s bedchamber!”
Without wasting another moment, she headed straight for the emperor’s bedchamber.
Not a soul could be seen outside the hall. Sheng Zhaoning swung down from her horse and rushed inside.
The moment she pushed open the wooden doors, the scene within came into view.
Several loyal senior ministers had refused to leave and now stood watch beside the emperor.
Seated at the table, the emperor clung to his last shred of consciousness as he placed the Succession Edict and the Imperial Jade Seal in Wei Heng’s hands.
At the sound of her entrance, the Emperor of Wei looked up. His gaze flickered when he saw Sheng Zhaoning.
“Deputy Minister Sheng,” he called, coughing heavily twice.
Sheng Zhaoning walked over. She glanced at Wei Heng, and the instant their eyes met, a bitter ache spread through her heart.
She stopped before the Emperor of Wei and bowed deeply. “Your Majesty.”
The emperor had been bedridden for so long that his body was utterly spent. His eyes were clouded and his lips deathly pale. He was plainly at death’s door.
Breathing heavily, he forced himself to raise his head and said to Sheng Zhaoning, “Take the Crown Prince and go. There is a secret passage on the eastern side of the Imperial Palace. Escape through it, head south to Yuzhou, and return with reinforcements. Only then will the Imperial City have a chance of surviving.”
Wei Heng’s eyes were already bloodshot.
He looked at Sheng Zhaoning and said, “Zhaoning, leave through the secret passage with the Grand Secretary. Take the Imperial Jade Seal and go. Hurry!”
Wei Heng handed both the Imperial Jade Seal and the Succession Edict to Sheng Zhaoning.
His voice was urgent, yet he held her gaze for a long moment, just as he had when they first met. His expression was solemn and earnest.
This might be the last time they ever saw each other.
He could not leave with Sheng Zhaoning. If the Imperial City fell and his whereabouts remained unknown, the enemy would send wave after wave of soldiers after him. Sheng Zhaoning would inevitably be caught in the pursuit.
Besides, Imperial Father was still in the palace. How could he abandon him?
Sheng Zhaoning had clearly guessed what he was thinking.
Her eyes reddened, and the hand holding the Imperial Jade Seal trembled slightly. “Your Highness, the city gates are about to fall. Prince Zhenbei’s forces are attacking from the north. The only way to save His Majesty is to head south to Yuzhou and return with troops.”
The reinforcements had yet to arrive, and Sheng Zhaoning already had a theory as to why.
At last, all the clues fell into place.
The Ministry of War had fallen under Prince Zhenbei’s control.
Wei Chengjun had marched south without causing the slightest alarm in the Capital City. That could only mean every report sent by the provinces to the Ministry of War had been intercepted.
At the same time, false orders had been issued from the Ministry of War, authorizing Prince Zhenbei to enter the capital.
That was how he had managed to march his army south without anyone noticing.
Even if someone detected something amiss, as long as the Ministry of War remained in Prince Zhenbei’s hands, he could easily obtain maps showing each province’s troop deployments and defensive weaknesses. Taking their cities would require almost no effort at all.
The military dispatches had been intercepted at every level. Even if they reached the Capital City and landed in the Ministry of War’s hands, they would still never be presented to the emperor.
It was entirely possible that word of Prince Zhenbei’s army reaching the city gates had not even made it out of the Capital City.
The supposed reinforcements would never come.
Only if Wei Heng took the Imperial Jade Seal and personally traveled south could he unite the forces of the southern provinces and lead them back to reclaim the Capital City.
The Emperor of Wei looked at Wei Heng, his eyes misting over.
“Heng, my son, you must put the greater cause first. I will remain here. Wei Chengjun will not harm me before he obtains the Imperial Jade Seal. If you and Zhaoning head south at once, the Capital City will still have hope.”
At that moment, Wei Chengshi was not speaking to him as an emperor.
He was speaking only as a father.
He had lied to Wei Heng.
Given the hatred between Wei Chengjun and himself, even if Wei Chengjun had to bear the infamy of an illegitimate usurper, he would never spare him.
Fortunately, Wei Heng knew none of this.
As long as he escaped the Capital City, he would still have a chance to live.
Even if his chances of ever returning to the Capital City were slim, it would be enough as long as Wei Heng survived.
