Broken Jade - Chapter 147
Chapter 147
Sheng Zhaoning remained silent.
After Gao Qi was killed, rumors began surfacing one after another.
Many court officials had been present that night, and the hellish scene still lingered in their minds.
Calls to punish Sheng Zhaoning severely rang out for several days, with the Ministry of Justice making the loudest demands.
Wei Yi knew that the Ministry of Justice had a longstanding grudge against her. When Sheng Zhaoning killed Xu Fu, he had flown into a rage, stripped her of her position, and imprisoned her in the Ministry of Justice. He had specifically ordered that she not be tortured.
But Liu Zhao had paid lip service to his orders while secretly defying them, using vicious methods that nearly killed Sheng Zhaoning in prison.
Wei Yi only learned about these matters later.
He had never managed to find the time to deal with Liu Zhao. And now Liu Zhao had popped up again, loudly demanding that Sheng Zhaoning be sentenced to death.
Wei Yi made no statement in court. But that very night, Liu Zhao, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, was secretly assassinated at his residence.
One slash to the throat. At least his death had been swift.
Once Liu Zhao was dead, how could those shrewd civil officials fail to understand the message hidden behind it?
The temperament of the New Emperor had always been impossible to fathom. Whether someone lived or died depended on a single word from him.
Sheng Zhaoning’s life was not something they had the power to decide.
That was the unspoken understanding among the court officials now.
No one dared mention the matter again.
News from the court could no longer reach Sheng Zhaoning’s ears.
Spring gradually grew warmer, and flowers bloomed in succession.
She knew little about what was happening outside. She only remembered that the new imperial examinations would be held in March this year.
Although Wei Yi had usurped the throne, he had not abolished the new policy allowing women to sit for the imperial examinations. In fact, he had made it even more comprehensive.
His claim to the throne might have been illegitimate, but he was undeniably a capable emperor.
Diligent in governing and decisive in action.
The people praised him widely.
Sheng Zhaoning had fully recovered by the end of March.
The Spring Imperial Examination had just concluded, and apricot blossoms filled the garden.
A maid had placed a freshly picked branch of apricot blossoms on the table. As Sheng Zhaoning gazed at the pale pink spring blooms in the vase, her thoughts flew uncontrollably back to the Apricot List from that year.
It had also been a March filled with apricot blossoms. During the Metropolitan Examination, he had personally named her the top candidate, written her a notice announcing her success, and stamped it with the Plum Blossom Vermilion Seal.
Now, both that notice and the Plum Blossom Vermilion Seal had been buried deep underground. She did not dare let either of them see the light of day.
In the blink of an eye, years had passed. The old friend was gone.
Sheng Zhaoning’s mood remained low throughout the day.
Languidly leaning against the window, she let the now-warm breeze brush across her face. Before she knew it, she had drifted into sleep.
The sun sank little by little in the west, and the air slowly turned cool.
In her hazy state of consciousness, someone draped a thin blanket over her from behind.
The sun had already set, and the clouds in the western sky glowed a rich golden red.
Lost in a dream, she no longer knew what year it was.
Sensing movement behind her, Sheng Zhaoning’s lashes trembled. In her daze, it was as though she had returned to the days she had spent in the Eastern Palace.
Out of habit, she rubbed her cheek against that hand and murmured unconsciously, “Ah Heng.”
The hands suspended in midair suddenly froze.
A moment later, the atmosphere around them turned as cold as ice.
Sheng Zhaoning slowly opened her eyes, her consciousness not yet fully restored.
A veil of moisture clouded her eyes. As her vision gradually cleared, she saw the hand frozen behind her shoulder. Seething rage accompanied it, and the hand clutching the thin blanket had tightened until the knuckles turned white.
“Ah Heng?” Wei Yi asked with a cold laugh, the corners of his eyes tinged red.
When Sheng Zhaoning heard his voice, a chill ran down her spine, and she woke fully in an instant.
He draped the thin blanket around her, then turned her by the shoulder. The madness in his eyes was suppressed to the point of distortion, yet his tone was sickeningly gentle. “What did you dream about? Do you miss it that much?”
He gently brushed the disheveled strands of hair from the side of her face and tucked them behind her ear.
Sheng Zhaoning met his deep, dark, blazing eyes and shuddered violently. Cold sweat suddenly broke out across her back.
His frightening gaze fixed on her, heavy with pressure.
When Sheng Zhaoning remained silent, Wei Yi tightened his grip on her shoulder a little more.
“Go on,” he said, still smiling.
Yet paired with those sinister, blood-red eyes, that smile only made him seem all the more eerie and terrifying.
Sheng Zhaoning’s face was pale. Not wanting to anger him, she merely lowered her voice and said, “It’s nothing. Just some old memories. They’re long behind me now.”
Wei Yi let out a derisive laugh. “If they’re behind you, are they really worth clinging to so desperately?”
He closed his eyes, trying to suppress the vicious darkness rising in his heart.
But once a rift had formed, the fragile illusion of peace they had struggled to maintain was brutally shattered.
Wei Yi’s expression was taut, as though he were doing everything he could to hold something back.
His voice was hoarse as he asked in a low tone, “Tell me. What will it take for you to forget him?”
What would it take to erase that person from her life completely, to drive him out of both their lives?
Sheng Zhaoning said quietly, “I can’t forget him.”
A lie like that would have been too false, so false that it would be meaningless. No one would believe it.
She could not even be bothered to say it.
“So all those things you told me were lies. You were deceiving me.” Wei Yi’s fingers tightened, and his eyes took on a scarlet hue.
As expected, she was well practiced at lying.
She had been the one to say that she would let go of everything and live a good life with him.
She had promised him that herself.
How had he allowed himself to be deceived by her again and again, believing those empty words?
Everything had clearly been getting better.
Her health had been improving, and so had their lives.
How had it all turned into another falsehood?
Seeing his mind teetering on the verge of collapse, Sheng Zhaoning’s fingers curled inward. Then, with each word, she forcefully denied it: “No.”
Wei Yi tilted his head and stared into her eyes. “How am I supposed to trust you now?”
She would never forget that person.
He would always exist in her memories, spotless and radiant, forever exalted above them, looking down and laughing at all Wei Yi’s futile efforts, watching as he exhausted every possible means and still failed to find his way back into her heart.
Wei Yi could not accept such an outcome.
A trace of madness gradually stained his eyes. To Sheng Zhaoning, it was terrifying to behold.
She did not know what Wei Yi might do. She was also afraid that all the painstaking effort she had put in over these days would be ruined in an instant.
When she saw him retreat step by step and turn to leave, Sheng Zhaoning hurried after him in a near panic.
The cold of the golden-brick floor rose through her toes. She had no time to put on her shoes or socks. She ran over, seized him, and forced him to turn around. Then she lifted her chin and kissed him hard.
Her soft, warm lips pressed against his. Wei Yi’s entire body went rigid.
His astonished gaze slowly lowered, coming to rest on her trembling eyelashes.
Heat steadily passed from her lips to his.
She did not know how to kiss. She could only kiss him clumsily and haphazardly.
Out of concern for her health, Wei Yi had not touched her for a long time.
Sheng Zhaoning’s unprecedented initiative threw his reason into disarray almost instantly. The blood surging wildly through his veins stilled for a moment, then transformed into another kind of scorching boil.
He was stunned for only a moment before gripping the back of her head and kissing her fiercely in return.
He pried open her lips and tangled his tongue with hers. Holding her down, he stopped her from retreating and gave her no chance to escape.
He swept her up into his arms, and Sheng Zhaoning fell onto the soft bed. His wet, searing breath spilled across her skin, making her tremble uncontrollably.
The only memories she had of such things were suffocating and painful. Sheng Zhaoning suddenly regretted using this method to win back his trust. She pushed at him, desperate to get away.
Wei Yi seized her by the ankle and dragged her back beneath him.
His voice, laced with desire and cold mockery, sounded against her ear. “Trying to run now? Too late.”
Trapped within that narrow space, Sheng Zhaoning could no longer escape.
Layer after layer, the blue-green bed curtains fell. Outside the window, the golden light faded completely into darkness.
The night air was faintly cool.
