Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Zhao Quan no longer needed to guess. He knew the letter had to be from the Young General of the Chi Family, begging Wei Yi to go save someone.

Ever since Chi Yu had been placed under confinement, he had sent messengers to the Zhenbei Prince’s Mansion every day. Sometimes three or four letters arrived in a single day. Anyone could see his urgency and unease.

The atmosphere in the room felt inexplicably stifling.

Wei Yi crumpled the letter into a ball, his fingers tightening until the knuckles turned white. Faint red veins surfaced in his bloodshot eyes. “Still no word of her?”

At that, Zhao Quan lowered his already rigid body even further. “Commander Han is still investigating…”

Wei Yi flung the crumpled paper away. His breath was uneven, and it was as if a ball of fire were thrashing inside his chest, surging wildly in every direction.

“It has been this many days, and we do not even know if she is alive or dead?”

Zhao Quan’s heart lurched with him, and he hurriedly said, “Everyone who knew the inside story has been secretly executed. Prince Ao Chun’s side has not let slip the slightest bit of information either. As for Shadow Ten Guard, she…”

Zhao Quan could not bring himself to finish.

Even now, he still could not understand what exactly Wei Yi felt toward her.

If it was worry, then why had he personally delivered her into Ao Chun’s hands when he had known full well it was a trap? But if he truly did not care at all, why search for her whereabouts day after day?

In the hands of someone like that, survival would be nothing short of a fluke.

Wei Yi closed his eyes and leaned back against the chair. The expression on his face was complicated and unreadable; only the faint pallor of his complexion showed.

He barely managed to suppress the chaos of his heartbeat, but he could not stop the throbbing pain at his temples.

There was one truth he was unwilling to admit.

He regretted it.

From beginning to end, Wei Yi had known that sending Sheng Zhaoning to kill Liu Qi was nothing but a trap, a deception.

Liu Qi had long since surrendered his allegiance. It was just that Wei Yi’s father would never make use of a man who had once betrayed him.

Liu Qi had to die.

No one would protect him, and no one would investigate or punish the person who killed him.

From the very start, Sheng Zhaoning had stepped into a snare carefully prepared for her.

And he was the one who had lured her into it.

Would she die?

Wei Yi wondered.

Perhaps not. His father would not let her die so easily. After all, aside from Han Xu, Sheng Zhaoning was the Shadow Guard he valued most. Even if she were tortured to the point where living was worse than death, he would likely leave her with one last breath.

Someone as ruthless and cold-hearted as Sheng Zhaoning, someone almost like a monster, deserved to live on and on, spreading harm for a hundred years.

“Keep an eye on movements at the military camp. Also, have Han Xu thoroughly investigate one person’s whereabouts.” Wei Yi opened his eyes, a cold, sinister light flickering in their depths.

Zhao Quan carefully raised his gaze.

Then he heard Wei Yi say, “Zhou Lingsheng.”

Zhao Quan’s eyelid twitched, and he understood at once. “Yes.”

With Wei Yi’s tacit permission, he turned and left the room.

The candle flame on the table flickered, and the room fell into complete silence.

…

Dai Rong was stopped outside the military camp for the third time.

“His Highness has important matters to attend to. No one is allowed to disturb him.”

The camp was stationed at the border, a good hundred li or so from Liangzhou. In the past, this place had been considered fairly peaceful, so the guards had been relatively lax. People from the Zhenbei Prince’s Mansion had always been allowed to come and go with little trouble.

But recently, battles had broken out one after another, and every camp had tightened its defenses.

Around Prince Zhenbei’s tent in particular, heavy troops had been stationed in layer after layer. Even Dai Rong, a familiar face who used to move in and out freely, was now being questioned. This time, she had been blocked for three days in a row without being granted an audience.

This had never happened before.

Dai Rong pressed her lips together, her brows drawn tight. Her gaze kept slipping toward the curtain, but all she could make out was the faint glow of candlelight within.

“I have an urgent matter as well. Please, trouble yourself to report it for me.”

The soldier on guard looked helpless. “We’ve already passed word three times. His Highness said he won’t see you. Please don’t make things difficult for me.”

Dai Rong was frantic and furious. The cold wind had drained the color from her face and left her hands and feet stiff.

Sheng Zhaoning had been missing for more than ten days. Chi Yu had practically turned all of Liangzhou upside down and still found no trace of her. Now he had been confined again, and it was unlikely he would be getting out anytime soon.

As for Wei Yi, he could not have cared less. Dai Rong had never pinned her hopes on him to begin with.

After thinking it over again and again, she had no choice but to come beg Prince Zhenbei. This was her last desperate chance.

At that thought, Dai Rong’s eyes hardened. She drew in a long, silent breath, then shouted, “Your Highness, Dai Rong has an urgent matter and begs an audience!”

The soldiers at the entrance were shocked. None of them had expected her to shout like that, and they hurried forward to drag her away.

Dai Rong struggled with all her might, shoving and stomping, no longer caring about the slightest bit of decorum.

“Your Highness, please let me in!”

“Your Highness, Dai Rong begs an audience!”

The commotion was truly not small. Dozens of eyes from every direction turned toward them at once.

They saw the Senior Steward of Zhenbei Prince’s Mansion, who was always dignified and solemn, now with her hair in disarray as several people pulled at her. She shoved and shouted like a madwoman.

“Your Highness-”

Before long, Dai Rong’s voice had gone hoarse. The cold wind poured down her throat and into her chest, choking her until her lungs and insides ached.

The soldiers could not understand where this thin, frail woman had found such strength. Several of them together still could not subdue her.

Dai Rong’s clothes were seized, leaving her unable to move. Seeing several more people closing in on her, she gritted her teeth. The moment an opening appeared, she slipped out of her outer robe like a cicada shedding its shell and darted into the tent.

The soldiers were left holding a piece of clothing, dumbstruck. By the time they snapped back to their senses and moved to catch her, it was clearly too late. They could only watch helplessly as she ran inside.

It was very quiet inside the tent.

Dai Rong entered carrying the chill of the outside with her. Warmth immediately wrapped around her from all sides, and she shivered. Only then did she belatedly realize just how cold she was.

Her gaze swept back and forth as she anxiously searched for Prince Zhenbei.

When she glimpsed the figure by the table, her heart tightened despite herself.

“Your Highness.”

Dai Rong walked up to Wei Chengjun, knelt properly, and kowtowed once.

The soldiers who had chased after her also rushed in. Seeing this, they quickly dropped to their knees and said, “Your Highness, we failed in our duty and could not stop this person. We ask Your Highness to punish us!”

Only then did Wei Chengjun slowly lift his eyes at the noise.

“Every guard on duty will receive twenty strokes of the military rod.”

The men all trembled inwardly, both frightened and relieved.

For dereliction of duty, twenty strokes was not a heavy punishment. Still, in the end, this was an undeserved disaster. The soldiers could not help feeling a measure of resentment toward Dai Rong, but they could only thank him for his mercy and withdraw.

The tent fell quiet again.

“Dai Rong, you truly understand the rules better and better.”

Dai Rong heard the chill and sarcasm in his voice. She shrank slightly, but did not raise her head. Still maintaining her kowtowing posture, she said, “This servant has overstepped and offended Your Highness. I will accept punishment on my own afterward. But there is one matter for which I had no choice but to request an audience. I beg Your Highness to hear this servant out.”

Wei Chengjun naturally knew why she had come, but he did not interrupt her. He merely listened in silence as she finished speaking.