Chapter 45

Chapter 45

Chi Wan dragged her out of the cabin.

The spring cold still had a bite to it, and the night wind whipped their robes with a sharp, snapping sound.

Dark currents surged beneath their feet. Sheng Zhaoning was being held down by two people and forced forward, and only then did she realize she was on an exquisitely ornate pleasure barge.

The people around them had clearly already been bribed. The moment they saw Chi Wan come out, they stepped aside and opened a path.

Under the night sky, Chi Wan stood at the bow and looked back at her. “Didn’t you say you didn’t believe me? Then I’ll let you see for yourself what you really amount to in Wei Yi’s heart.”

Sheng Zhaoning’s fingers, which had been secretly working at the ropes, paused, then slowly stilled.

She was shoved to the cabin door at the very front of the pleasure barge.

The music of strings and flutes drifted around her ears.

Chi Wan gave a look to the servant beside her. The servant nodded, steadied the wine pot in his hands, and entered the cabin.

Before long, a few faint voices could be heard from within.

Chi Wan leaned close to her ear and sneered. “Listen carefully.”

Sheng Zhaoning felt her throat go dry. Her fingers curled unconsciously.

Inside the pleasure barge, the servant carried the wine pot over to Li Rui, the second young master from the Prefectural Office.

After receiving the signal, Li Rui’s eyes flickered slightly, and he slowly poured a cup of wine.

“I have long heard that Your Highness the Heir and Second Miss Chi are deeply devoted to each other and perfectly matched. It truly makes the rest of us envious. I wonder when we might have the honor of drinking Your Highness the Heir’s wedding wine?”

Li Rui rose and, smiling broadly, raised his cup to Wei Yi.

When everyone heard this, they could not help growing curious as well. One after another, they stopped what they were doing and waited for his answer.

Wei Yi leisurely picked up his wine cup. His eyes were pitch-black as he gave a faint, mocking smile. “An auspicious hour is hard to find, but there will naturally be a date in due time. Gentlemen, just wait for the good news.”

Li Rui drained the wine in his cup and sat back down with a smile, but the hand hidden beneath his sleeve clenched tight.

After a while, someone beside him said, “Speaking of Second Miss Chi, I wonder how Chi Yu is doing now.”

A man behind them replied, “I heard he was beaten and locked up some time ago. He was injured quite badly. He seems to have been released by now, though.”

The people around them gradually began to discuss it.

“Doesn’t General Chi value this legitimate eldest son of his the most? How could he bear to punish him so harshly this time?”

“Oh, Brother Zhang, you haven’t heard? Hasn’t all of Liangzhou been talking about it for ages?” The man in gray put on a mysterious air, as if he were revealing some earth-shattering secret. “It was all to find a Shadow Guard. He privately brought troops out to search, caused chaos all over Liangzhou, and completely enraged his father.”

Someone beside him immediately asked, “Which one was he looking for?”

The man in gray scratched his head and thought for a moment before saying, “I think she was called… right, Shadow Ten!”

Everyone’s interest was instantly stirred, and the discussion grew heated.

Li Rui casually swept a glance at Wei Yi’s expression. Sure enough, he caught a dark, stormy look there. The corners of Li Rui’s mouth lifted in a hidden smile, but he said nothing.

“It was actually her.”

When they heard that answer, everyone fell into a brief, complicated silence.

Clearly, they found it unbelievable that Chi Yu could have fallen for that notorious Shadow Guard.

“I heard this Shadow Ten is extraordinarily beautiful, a rare beauty hardly found in this world.”

Someone in the corner said it, though no one knew who.

The moment the words left his mouth, they were met with ridicule.

“With that ugly mask on, how could anyone tell if she’s beautiful? To me, she looks exactly like some demoness from hell. Just one look is enough to make your blood run cold!”

Bursts of laughter erupted through the crowd.

Li Rui toyed with the folding fan in his hand, opening and closing it as his eyes flickered.

“Her beauty is real, and so is her unmatched appearance. It’s just that, aside from Your Highness the Heir, the rest of us are probably not fated to see it.”

The person beside him froze for a moment, then asked curiously, “Brother Li, what do you mean by that?”

Li Rui snapped his fan shut and looked straight at Wei Yi. “I heard the Shadow Ten Guard has been by Your Highness the Heir’s side since childhood, and that her feelings for Your Highness the Heir run deep.”

Everyone was stunned. None of them had imagined there was such a secret.

An icy smile hung on Wei Yi’s face. Meeting that dangerous gaze, Li Rui showed no fear. “I wonder, then, whether Your Highness the Heir has ever felt anything for her.”

All eyes turned to Wei Yi at once. Everyone held their breath, waiting for his answer.

Outside the door, Sheng Zhaoning was bound and held down by several people.

Her hands were twisted behind her back. They trembled despite herself, cold sweat seeping into her palms. Her breathing suddenly grew ragged, and the silence in her ears was so absolute that only her own heartbeat remained.

In this moment, she wagered every last expectation she had.

Through that thin wooden door, the familiar voice from within reached her. The instant of waiting stretched as long as several springs and autumns.

She heard Wei Yi say:

“She’s nothing but a dog. How could she be worthy of my affection?”

Inside the room, the roar of laughter was piercing.

The light deep in Sheng Zhaoning’s eyes cooled little by little, until only a dark, bottomless stillness remained.

Chi Wan let out a scoff.

“Did you hear that?” She arched a brow, her face full of mockery.

These words had been beyond anything she expected, yet they far exceeded what she had hoped for.

She had thought Wei Yi would, at most, deny it. She had never imagined he would deny it so thoroughly.

Sheng Zhaoning stared at the tightly shut wooden door. All the strength in her body seemed to loosen at once.

She had heard it.

Clearly. Every word.

Inside the pleasure boat, song, dance, and music went on without pause. Those decadent sounds felt utterly out of place amid the desolate Northern Border.

Chi Wan lifted her head and glanced at the moonlight. The hatred that had been churning endlessly in her heart suddenly grew much calmer.

Here, then. Let everything end here.

From now on, Wei Yi’s heart would belong to her alone.

There would be no Sheng Zhaoning left in this world.

“Throw her in.”

Chi Wan turned back and said softly.

Ripples spread across the lake for an instant, then quickly returned to calm.

Beneath the moon, there were no waves.

…

Two years later, Xuzhou.

By late September, the summer heat had faded completely.

Xuzhou lay south of the Linhuai River. In autumn, the region saw frequent overcast rain, and the gloomy gray sky was often veiled in pale white mist.

Along the long street, bluestone slabs stretched into the distance. Horse hooves clattered over them, splashing droplets in every direction.

“Autumn Examination results are being posted! Idlers, stand aside!”

“Autumn Examination results are being posted! Idlers, stand aside!”

Gongs cleared the way. Yamen runners from the prefectural office formed two lines, sabers at their waists, heads held high as they strode into the long street. The crowds on both sides pressed close, surging forward in a scramble.

The fine rain fell on and on without end.

The Provincial Examination was held once every three years. In this Autumn Examination, many candidates had already sat for it several times without making the list. Now they only hoped to place high and finally be released from more than a decade of bitter study.

The rolls were spread out and posted one after another.

Before the prefectural office, dozens of yamen runners stood in formation to maintain order as people viewed the list. The crowd craned their necks in anticipation. The moment the red curtain fell, the atmosphere turned feverishly heated.

“I passed!”

“I passed too! I passed too!”

“Ah, I failed again!”

A dense clamor of voices tangled together.

Some people laughed wildly. Some wept in anguish.

Two utterly different extremes of grief and joy played out in the same place again and again.

In the crowd, a short servant struggled desperately to squeeze forward, sweating with anxiety. Before he could reach the list, he heard someone nearby ask, “Who is the Jieyuan?”

For a moment, everyone’s gaze shot toward the top of the list.

“It’s Young Master Sheng again!”

Someone shouted, though no one knew who.