Chapter 174

Chapter 174

Bonus Story Two: After Getting a Rebirth Script (Ningheng) 1

The rain had been pouring.

Endless curtains of rain fell from the sky, pelting the long, deserted palace road and dripping from the edge of a blade.

Hooves thundered chaotically behind her. She fled with Wei Heng, running and running, yet no matter how far they went, they could never reach the end.

A deathly chill clung to the icy blade. Sheng Zhaoning could see nothing. All she remembered was the blood covering the ground, blurring her vision until everything turned crimson…

Sheng Zhaoning awoke with a violent shudder.

The night was utterly silent.

Cold sweat slid from her temple into her hair. She gulped down breath after breath, hearing nothing but the frantic pounding of her heart. The terror from the dream remained lodged in her chest, impossible to dispel.

Cold moonlight spilled across the floor. In the darkness, a warm hand gently patted her back.

“What is it? Another nightmare?” A familiar, soothing voice murmured beside her ear.

The hand on her back continued its slow, steady rhythm as he drew her deeper into his embrace. Their bodies pressed close together, and the faint scent of pine enveloped her, bringing an inexplicable sense of security.

Her heartbeat gradually steadied, and her breathing slowly eased.

Sheng Zhaoning rubbed her head against his shoulder and burrowed completely into his arms.

“Ah Heng.” Her voice was muffled.

Wei Heng stroked her head and kissed the crown of her hair, his palm pressed firmly against her back. “Mm. Don’t be afraid. I’m here.”

Sheng Zhaoning had been suffering frequent nightmares lately. Sometimes, she dreamed that he died. Sometimes, she dreamed that she died. Other times, they died together.

Every time she woke, her head was drenched in sweat.

Wei Heng hated seeing her tormented by nightmares and had summoned many Imperial Physicians to examine her. They all said that she had been worrying too much of late, leaving her restless and prone to dreams.

They had already lit calming incense in the bedchamber, yet the nightmare had still woken her.

Sheng Zhaoning wrapped her arms tightly around his waist and pressed her head against his chest. Only after hearing his clear, steady heartbeat did her taut nerves slowly begin to relax.

“What did you dream about?” His voice was soft and tender, as though he were coaxing a child.

With her forehead against his shoulder, Sheng Zhaoning murmured, “I dreamed about…”

A blood-soaked massacre.

The Imperial City had fallen, the emperor had been killed, and Wei Heng had died beneath her blade.

And there had been that old acquaintance she had not seen in many years.

But all of that belonged to her previous life.

It would never happen again.

After Sheng Zhaoning died, her soul did not immediately dissipate. Instead, she returned to a time before any of it had happened.

She had only just arrived in the capital then. As the Zhuangyuan who had achieved Lianzhong Liuyuan, she was at the height of her fame.

She had gone to see Wei Heng almost immediately.

On the day of the Enrong Banquet, outside Guanjing Tower, rain had fallen just as it did before. Once again, the umbrella above them tilted toward her.

Her eyes red, Sheng Zhaoning forcibly suppressed the tremor in her voice. Just as she had when they first met, she spoke with him, met his gaze, and bid him farewell.

Wei Heng looked exactly as he did in her memories, a faint smile in his eyes and warmth in his gaze.

She stared after him for a long time.

This time, she finally saw the broad expanse of his shoulder and back, soaked beneath the umbrella he had tilted toward her.

Her tears poured silently down her face.

Once she had secured her footing at court, Sheng Zhaoning began making plans ahead of time, searching for a way out of the deadly predicament that had been inescapable in her previous life. At the same time, she made constant trips to Wenhua Hall, doing everything she could to deepen her relationship with Wei Heng.

Under Sheng Zhaoning’s deliberate “seduction,” Wei Heng was left blushing with his heart racing time and again.

Her favorite trick was pretending to fall. She would carefully choose her moment and, without fail, tumble straight into the Crown Prince’s arms every time.

The instant their eyes met was always when Wei Heng became the most flustered and helpless.

Besides that, she would deliberately arrange “chance encounters.”

Sometimes, she would lie in wait outside the Eastern Palace until he appeared. Other times, she would wait until Wei Heng was free, then use official business as a pretext to cling to his side for the entire day.

The Crown Prince had never faced such an aggressive courtship before. Worse still, the person who made his heart flutter again and again was another man.

On the day Wei Heng began to suspect he was attracted to men, he spent the entire night tossing and turning alone.

After finally confirming his feelings, he summoned his courage and went to find Sheng Zhaoning. But before he could confess, she beat him to it.

Sheng Zhaoning herself had no idea what had come over her. Taking advantage of a moment when Wenhua Hall was empty, she pressed Wei Heng back into a chair and stared into his eyes, her gaze burning as she declared, “Your Highness, this subject is in love with you.”

The Crown Prince, who had only just prepared himself to confess, froze in shock.

She was so close that their breaths mingled, warm and damp. A ray of the setting sun draped over them, suffusing the very air with a thick, lingering intimacy.

Sheng Zhaoning’s gaze was open and ardent as it swept over his features. No matter how many times she looked at him or from what angle, her heart overflowed with affection.

How could anyone be this wonderful?

She could never love him enough.

She made no attempt to conceal the intensity of her feelings.

Lowering her head, she slowly leaned closer.

Wei Heng was pressed into the chair and kissed.

Her thick lashes brushed the bridge of his nose, sending a violent tremor through him. The soft warmth against his lips deepened little by little, licking over them again and again before pressing into his mouth…

Wei Heng held himself back so fiercely that even his fingers trembled.

Was this not progressing a little too quickly…?

Besides, was he not supposed to be the one taking the initiative today?

When those slender, delicate hands slipped inside his collar, Wei Heng caught the misbehaving hand. Face flushed, he drew back, his red lips slightly swollen. His throat bobbed before he said hoarsely, “Minister Sheng, we have all the time in the world.”

Sheng Zhaoning adored his innocent, bashful reaction. Unable to tear her eyes away, she cupped his face and kissed him several more times before reluctantly letting go.

That was right. They had all the time in the world.

They still had many, many years ahead of them.

From that day onward, Wei Heng accepted the fact that he truly liked men.

He began considering how he should explain this to the Emperor of Wei.

He could no longer remain the Heir Apparent.

He might incur Imperial Father’s wrath and implicate Sheng Zhaoning.

He would also face the condemnation and scorn of the entire world.

What could he do to keep Sheng Zhaoning entirely out of it?

He gave the matter serious thought for a long time.

Sheng Zhaoning had originally intended to tease him a little longer, but when she saw that he was genuinely preparing to give up everything to be with her, she felt both touched and helpless.

Did she truly seem nothing like a woman?

He had not even thought to question it.

A letter was delivered to the Eastern Palace, inviting him to meet her at Sheng Mansion.

When Wei Heng arrived in a hurried carriage, he was led directly to the rear garden of Sheng Mansion.

It was the height of summer, and flowers filled the garden.

Brilliant golden sunlight spilled across the pond and its waterside pavilion, while colorful butterflies fluttered among the flowering branches. A woman in a gauzy aqua gown slowly turned amid the blooming lotuses, her exquisite features gradually coming into view.

Never in his life had Wei Heng been so stunned.

His first thought was that Minister Sheng looked breathtaking dressed as a woman for him.

Only when she approached with graceful steps and her distinctly feminine fragrance enveloped him once more did realization strike him.

His incredulous gaze dropped to her chest.

Full, rounded curves rose prominently beneath her gown.

Wei Heng felt as though he had been struck by lightning.

He had never dared entertain such extravagant hopes.

How rarely did heaven show a person enough favor to let the one they loved happen to love them in return? Meeting Sheng Zhaoning and finding that their feelings were mutual had already been an extraordinary blessing.

The shackles of convention mattered little, and all the wealth and glory in the world could not compare to her.

How could Wei Heng have dared ask for anything more?

Yet she stood before him now, cheeks faintly flushed and eyes brimming with desire. No matter how unreal it felt, the truth drifted gently to the ground and became solid reality.

She was actually a woman.

Sheng Zhaoning told him everything.

In their previous life, she had deceived him for far too long. He had only learned the truth shortly before his death.

This time, she revealed her origins and true identity in full, without the slightest deception or concealment.

After listening, Wei Heng remained silent for a long time.

Under Sheng Zhaoning’s anxious gaze, he lifted his reddened eyes and asked, “It must have been so hard, wasn’t it?”

She had become a Shadow Guard, survived the blood-soaked One in a Hundred, endured endless torment, and repeatedly escaped death before making her way to the capital alone. How much hardship and suffering must she have endured before she could finally stand before him?

Wei Heng showed neither suspicion nor wariness.

He seemed to possess an instinctive, inexplicable trust in the person before him, as though they had been destined to meet and fall in love.

All that remained was the boundless ache and tenderness surging from the depths of his heart.

The sight of him nearly demolished all of Sheng Zhaoning’s defenses.

How could someone shatter her heart without deploying a single soldier or wielding a single blade? She wished she could tear it out, crush it into pieces, and entrust every last fragment to him.

She wanted him.

All of him.

Like a bandit chief abducting a respectable man to have her wicked way with him, Sheng Zhaoning dragged him into the room.

Layer after layer of gauze curtains fell, gradually veiling the clear daylight until it faded to a dim glow.

Relentless kisses rained down.

As their robes came half-undone, Wei Heng caught her hand and forced out the words with difficulty.

“Don’t… It isn’t time yet.”