Chapter 38

Chapter 38

The scar-removing medicine required several herbs that were difficult to gather. A few of them were especially rare, the sort that could only be found with his master, so Zhou Lingsheng set off for Mobei early the next morning.

The courtyard immediately felt much quieter.

Sheng Zhaoning was used to this kind of peace. Her days had changed from training, killing, and bloodshed to reading, drinking tea, and sleeping. Life was easy and calm.

Aside from the fact that her cooking skills were on par with Zhou Lingsheng’s, forcing her to fill her stomach every day with a frown, everything else was rather pleasant.

Little by little, Sheng Zhaoning actually began to like this life.

It was as if heaven and earth had fallen still, as if she had forgotten hatred and set down her heavy burdens.

She was simply herself.

Only, whenever the night deepened, the hollow place somewhere in her heart would expand without end, swallowing her like an abyss. Within it was endless darkness, a weightless fall layer after layer until, at the very end, only one person’s face surfaced before her eyes.

When awake, she thought of him from time to time. In her dreams, he was everywhere.

Her heart thudded wildly beneath the pressure she forced upon it. Longing climbed to its peak, only for her to grit her teeth and press it back down.

Sheng Zhaoning did not know that all her present suffering had been brought about by his own hand. What she believed to be separation was, in truth, nothing more than one party’s absolute surveillance and control over the other.

In fact, Wei Yi sent people to report her movements almost every day. Sheng Zhaoning alone was immersed in the self-deceiving ache of wanting to see him but being unable to.

Wei Chengjun was already laying the groundwork for Sheng Zhaoning’s entry into the capital.

Two months ago, when Wei Yi personally agreed to send Sheng Zhaoning to the capital, the Shadow Guard had begun investigating.

Back when the Shadow Guard selected its recruits, most of the children they seized were refugees fleeing war or famine.

Some had been heartlessly sold by their parents. Some came of their own accord after hearing there would be food. Some were orphans begging for a way to survive. Only a very small number had been abducted after accidentally getting lost.

As fate would have it, “Sheng Zhaoning” was one of them.

Because of that, uncovering this person’s past and origins took considerable effort.

But no matter how difficult it was, the investigation had to continue.

The court had always kept a close eye on every movement of Zhenbei Prince’s Mansion. If Wei Chengjun took action and fabricated a person’s background out of thin air, it would not withstand scrutiny, and the traces left behind would be far too obvious.

Only someone who truly existed, someone with relatives and neighbors who could prove her birth and acknowledge her existence, could be considered a person completely unrelated to Zhenbei Prince’s Mansion.

Fortunately, despite a few twists and turns, the Shadow Guard did not disappoint him.

The secret letter was unfolded, and “Sheng Zhaoning’s” origins were laid bare across the page.

Wei Chengjun held the letter. At first, he did not read it too carefully, merely skimming through it, but when his gaze passed over a certain line, it abruptly stopped.

He read that sentence word by word. As he continued, an inscrutable smile suddenly appeared at the corner of his mouth.

“Sheng Zhaoning was a life prepared from birth to be exchanged for hers.”

The letter read: “The Sheng Family’s Senior Branch was weak, and its eldest daughter-in-law had produced no heirs. She risked her life to give birth, only to bear a daughter.”

“To consolidate their power, they devised a plan to dress the girl as a boy and pass her off as the Eldest Branch’s legitimate eldest grandson.”

So it turned out that “Sheng Zhaoning” had not been male either. The Sheng Family’s Senior Branch had desperately needed a legitimate eldest grandson to secure its position, and with no better option, had resorted to such a scheme, deceiving everyone by raising the child as a boy.

Later, war broke out everywhere, and Xuzhou was also affected. The entire Sheng Family was forced to flee north. While passing through Liangzhou, they were scattered by refugees. Little “Sheng Zhaoning” was lost and, by a twist of fate, entered the Shadow Guard Camp.

And so, the two of them had exchanged identities.

Wei Chengjun had brought back a nameless child and let her live on in Sheng Zhaoning’s place, turning her into the Wei Clan’s infamous Shadow Guard, “Shadow Ten.”

And the real “Sheng Zhaoning” had died, unnoticed and unmourned, in a world of endless slaughter where no light ever reached.

Wei Chengjun was very pleased with this outcome.

At first, he had still worried that the Sheng Family would not easily believe she was the true “Sheng Zhaoning.” But now that he knew this hidden secret, Shadow Ten’s return to the Sheng Family as a woman would only make her identity all the more credible.

Add to that the unique mark on “Sheng Zhaoning” reported back by the Shadow Guard, and the Sheng Family would be certain to believe her without question.

That was why he had said that the very birth of “Sheng Zhaoning” had been for the sake of exchanging her life for hers.

…

At the same time, in the General’s Mansion.

Ever since Chi Yu had been confined to his quarters, the atmosphere in the General’s Mansion had remained heavy and oppressive.

Chi Yu had been locked up for more than two months. He had wasted away until he was little more than skin and bones. The young general who had once been handsome and vigorous now had a sickly air about him.

Seeing her son in such a state, Madam Xu’s heart ached so badly that she wiped away tears day after day, weeping and making a scene as she begged Chi Zheng to let him out.

Chi Zheng was deeply helpless about it as well.

It was not that he did not feel sorry for his son. It was just that whenever his attitude softened even slightly, Chi Yu would throw all caution aside and continue investigating Sheng Zhaoning’s whereabouts.

The identity of a Shadow Guard was special to begin with. They were the loyal dogs raised single-handedly by the Zhenbei Prince’s Mansion, carrying out the Wei Clan’s most central missions and enjoying Wei Chengjun’s great trust.

The Chi Family’s influence at the border stood on equal footing with the Zhenbei Prince’s Mansion. The two sides relied on each other while remaining wary of one another. If Chi Yu continued to involve himself with a Shadow Guard, it would inevitably invite unnecessary suspicion.

That was why Chi Zheng had been so furious over his investigation into Sheng Zhaoning’s whereabouts.

All these days, he had beaten him and scolded him, yet Chi Yu seemed possessed. No matter what anyone said or how they tried to persuade him, he was determined to find Sheng Zhaoning.

But Chi Zheng knew better than anyone that with the way Chi Yu was searching, he would have turned all of Liangzhou upside down. How could he possibly have failed to find her?

Someone from the Wei Clan must have deliberately sealed off all news of her. That was why not even the slightest trace had leaked out.

“General, something terrible has happened! The Young General has fainted!”

When the page came running over in a panic, everyone in the Chi Family was eating in the front hall.

At those words, Madam Xu dropped her chopsticks at once. Her entire body went weak, and even after bracing herself against the edge of the table several times, she still could not stand.

Chi Wan hurriedly supported her mother, so anxious she nearly burst into tears.

Even Chi Zheng looked as if he had been struck by lightning. He froze for a moment before asking in a trembling voice, “Has a physician been summoned?”

The page’s face crumpled as he said, “Someone has already gone to fetch one, but it will likely take a while before he arrives!”

Chi Zheng steadied himself and asked no more questions. He could no longer care about anything else and immediately strode outside.

Seeing this, Madam Xu quickly followed, but her legs were so weak she could barely use them. She could only lean on Chi Wan as she was helped out.

When the three rushed into the room, they all froze.

Chi Yu was lying on the bed, utterly lifeless.

In just two short months, Chi Yu had wasted away until only a skeleton seemed to remain. His cheeks were deeply sunken, the shadows beneath his eyes were dark, and his eyes were tightly shut. There was not the slightest sign of vitality in him.

Madam Xu broke down crying at once. She threw herself forward and hugged her son, her heart aching so violently it seemed to tremble.

She touched her son’s face, then touched his body, reduced to nothing but a frame of bones. She cried until she nearly fainted.

“Chi Zheng, I only have this one son. Do you insist on driving him to his death?”