Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Sheng Zhaoning opened her eyes, her lashes quivering slightly. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“When I went to Yanzhou, the Chen household’s servants and maids were all dead, yet Chen Shao’s wife and children were nowhere to be seen. You used two fake corpses, dressed them in their clothes, and slashed their faces, counting on the men handling the bodies not to look too closely.” He fixed his eyes on Sheng Zhaoning. “You never killed them at all.”

“So what do you want to ask?” Sheng Zhaoning raised an eyebrow.

“Since you didn’t kill them, why didn’t you tell His Highness?”

Sheng Zhaoning laughed. “Didn’t you keep quiet too?” she shot back.

Han Xu was taken aback.

Indeed, he had harbored his own selfish motives.

Chen Shao had done a kindness for His Highness, and Prince Zhenbei was naturally aware of it. If Sheng Zhaoning truly had spared Chen Shao’s wife and children and word reached the prince, he would surely guess that the heir had ordered it. His Highness would inevitably be punished.

Since Sheng Zhaoning intended to sacrifice herself to protect His Highness, he had gone along with it, hiding the truth and sending back false news. And that false news would likewise reach the prince.

Only now, a share of the blame Sheng Zhaoning bore fell on Han Xu as well.

She shook off Han Xu’s hand and slowly let out a breath. “His Highness wanted to spare Chen Shao’s wife and children; that was naturally defying the prince’s orders. Liangzhou is full of the prince’s eyes and ears. If His Highness doesn’t know that Chen Shao’s wife and children are alive, then this whole affair is my doing alone, and has nothing to do with him.”

Sheng Zhaoning had recovered a bit of strength. She staggered to her feet and walked slowly toward the door.

“Where are you going?” Han Xu asked, frowning.

“The Punishment Hall.” Sheng Zhaoning did not stop.

Only if she was punished would Prince Zhenbei believe that the entire Chen family was dead.

Sheng Zhaoning limped out into the cold, biting wind. Her slender, frail figure seemed all the more fragile.

Han Xu watched her walk away with a complicated look. This person had always been cold and detached; nothing was important enough to weigh on her mind, except her unwavering loyalty to His Highness the Heir.

As for the feelings behind it, even she herself probably couldn’t put them into words.

……

At the Zhenbei Prince’s Mansion, inside Cangfeng Hall.

Steward Wu bowed and truthfully reported the day’s events.

“Sheng Zhaoning went to the Punishment Hall?” Prince Zhenbei looked at Steward Wu, one hand resting on the arm of his chair, eyes slightly narrowed.

Steward Wu nodded. “She went while still injured, and the Punishment Hall staff were unaware. They charged her with insubordination and sentenced her to two hundred lashes. Halfway through, she passed out and had to be carried back.”

Prince Zhenbei’s expression didn’t change. “So she was beaten. She’s got anger inside her; she needs to vent it somehow.”

Steward Wu hesitated. “Then what about Shadow Ten Guard…”

Prince Zhenbei waved his hand. “Give her extra silver, find the best military doctor from the army to treat her, and let her use any medicine in the mansion freely.”

When it came to treating his subordinates, Prince Zhenbei was never stingy.

Besides, Sheng Zhaoning had only offended Wei Yi because she was carrying out his orders. He wouldn’t reprimand his own son over a Shadow Guard and damage the heir’s dignity. The only option was to soothe her with gold and silver, and in the process earn a reputation for leniency and win people’s hearts.

Steward Wu lowered his head. “Yes, my lord.”

Soon, winter arrived in Liangzhou.

Snowflakes like goose feathers swirled down and piled thickly on the ground. Heaven and earth were wrapped in white, from the flying eaves and blue tiles to the mountains and fields as far as the eye could see, no other color in sight.

Sheng Zhaoning rested and recuperated for over a month before her injuries barely began to improve.

This time she had been severely wounded, her entire left arm almost crippled. Even now it hadn’t fully healed and always felt weak.

Even with her deep martial foundation, she had nearly lost her life.

Dai Rong was carrying a bowl of medicine into the room when she saw Sheng Zhaoning reading by the window.

“I told you to lie down. Why are you up again?” Dai Rong knitted her brows.

Sheng Zhaoning, having been scolded, casually set the book aside.

“It’s no longer a problem.”

Dai Rong was the Senior Steward of the Zhenbei Prince’s Mansion, in charge of all the maids and the mansion’s daily affairs. Sheng Zhaoning had been picked up and brought to the mansion as a baby, and she could be said to have been raised by Dai Rong’s own hands.

“You just have to act tough.” Dai Rong was both angry and helpless.

When Sheng Zhaoning was first brought to the mansion, she was a tiny, thin little thing, soft and white, like a small ball of cotton.

Dai Rong had entered the prince’s residence as a child and had spent over thirty years there. She never married, had no children of her own, so she treated Sheng Zhaoning like her own daughter.

She wished Sheng Zhaoning could live a worry-free, peaceful, and happy life.

But looking at her now, Dai Rong was both angry that she threw away a good life to become that disgraced Shadow Guard, and pained by her scars, always walking the edge of death.

“During those days you were unconscious, Young General Chi came by.”

Sheng Zhaoning raised her head, puzzled.

Dai Rong sighed. “I heard from the Chi Family that he went to Mobei to search for medicine.”

Dai Rong emphasized the words “search for medicine.”

Sheng Zhaoning pondered for a moment, then said, “For me?”

Dai Rong was almost exasperated to the point of laughter. “Who else?”

Sheng Zhaoning’s tone was cold. “I don’t need it.”

This time Dai Rong said nothing, only sighed in silence.

“Forget it. No point saying more.”

Who else could Sheng Zhaoning see besides Wei Yi?

“In a few days it’s the prince’s birthday banquet. That young lady from the Chi Family will be coming too. You must be careful and avoid her,” Dai Rong advised.

This advice was truly for her own good.

That young lady, the legitimate daughter of General Chi, who was fixated on Wei Yi-Chi Wan. The prince’s birthday banquet was in three days, and she was probably already eager to come.

After Sheng Zhaoning finished her medicine, Dai Rong took the bowl and left.

The room fell quiet again, the stove radiating warmth.

Sheng Zhaoning enjoyed reading in her spare time, a trait oddly incongruous with her image as a killer who didn’t blink, but it existed nonetheless.

But right now she had little interest.

The wound on her shoulder still ached faintly.

Sheng Zhaoning walked to the table and sat down. An ugly, terrifying mask lay on the table before the mirror.

She stared at the mask for a long time, then slowly shifted her gaze upward to the plain bronze mirror before her.

In the mirror, the woman had fine, snow-white skin and an indifferent expression. Her cool, exquisite features were naturally elegant, carrying a hint of innate aloofness. Her hair was simply tied up, a few loose strands falling over her shoulders, making her figure appear even thinner. Her jade-like face was stunningly beautiful.

Sheng Zhaoning rarely looked at herself so seriously.

At twelve, she fought her way out of a pile of corpses. One in a Hundred-she was the tenth survivor out of a thousand children.

Prince Zhenbei asked her if she was willing to become the Wei Clan’s blade and serve the Wei Clan for life.

Sheng Zhaoning agreed without hesitation.

Then, a mask was thrown at her feet.

“Your face is too conspicuous.”

“Wear it. From now on, you are the sharpest blade of the Wei Clan.”

In the years that followed, Sheng Zhaoning killed everyone who threatened the Wei Clan, always wearing that mask, never revealing her true face again.

However, even though she hid her face behind an ugly mask, it didn’t mean no one remembered her former brilliance.

That eldest daughter of the Chi Family had loved chasing after Wei Yi since childhood. Sheng Zhaoning had served as his maidservant and grew up in Wei Yi’s courtyard. Her face, which had become beautiful far too early, naturally caught the attention of Miss Chi.

Moreover, women could best perceive even the subtlest emotional fluctuations in each other.

Sheng Zhaoning thought her feelings were sufficiently hidden, but before Chi Wan, even a single look towards Wei Yi was enough for Chi Wan to sense something.

Therefore, though Chi Wan never exposed her, she deliberately made things difficult every time they met, to constantly remind Sheng Zhaoning of her place and not dare overstep.

Sheng Zhaoning lowered her lashes and put the mask back on.

She casually put away the boxes sent by Steward Wu, then stared blankly out the window.

The snow had stopped at some point. The yew podocarpus in the courtyard was laden with white, yet still stood straight, with a somewhat overbearing air.

In truth, Chi Wan was not the only one looking forward to this banquet.

She too had not seen Wei Yi for a long time.

……