Chapter 51

Chapter 51

Lady Lu sank into despair at those words.

That was right. After everything had come to this, how could she possibly turn back?

Leaving aside what the clan would think, the mere fact that she, a woman, had taken part in the imperial examinations was already a monstrous crime.

So long as she lived under the identity of Sheng Zhaoning, she could only be the Sheng Family’s eldest legitimate grandson. The honor and decline of the entire clan rested on her alone.

The Sheng Family needed a newly minted Jinshi.

Someone who would stand high in the court and bring prosperity back to the clan.

And she could only be Sheng Zhaoning.

The Sheng Zhaoning who had taken first place again and again, who was admired by all, and on whom everyone had pinned their hopes of seizing the top rank in the palace examination.

…

Outside, rain began to fall again.

Stone suanni beasts sat at the four corners of the temple’s upturned eaves. Rain struck the carved windows with a sharp patter, and the smell of damp earth mingled with the moisture trapped in the wood as it seeped into the ancestral hall. Candle flames flickered.

Lady Lu had laid bedding out for her on the floor, then left with reluctance written all over her face.

It was already the end of September. The floor tiles were icy cold, and no matter how thick the quilts were, they could not keep out the chill rising from beneath the ground.

Sheng Zhaoning lay face down on the floor, the torn flesh across her back burning with pain.

Perhaps peaceful days had gone on for too long-so long that those years of blades flashing, swords crossing, and clawing her way back from death had grown hazy. Even this body of hers had become sluggish with comfort.

It had only been a few dozen strikes of the spine cane, yet her consciousness was already turning muddled.

Half asleep and half awake, Sheng Zhaoning once again sank into that lake.

The lake water was bitingly cold. Sheng Zhaoning’s hands were bound, leaving her unable to break free. The air in her lungs was stripped away little by little. Her body kept sinking, the darkness before her eyes growing thicker and thicker, until she was completely submerged.

Just as her consciousness was about to scatter, a forceful arm suddenly wrapped around her waist and dragged her out.

Through her blurred vision, Sheng Zhaoning struggled to open her eyes. A familiar face slowly came into view.

It was actually her.

Yunyan.

The pipa girl Wei Yi had always summoned to his side.

So she, too, was one of Prince Zhenbei’s people.

Sheng Zhaoning was rescued and brought back to Zhenbei Prince’s Mansion.

Wei Chengjun was forever the picture of someone with everything under control. Sheng Zhaoning no longer wanted to think about why Yunyan had appeared at precisely the right moment to save her. The two days were up, and to the choice he had thrown at her then, Sheng Zhaoning gave him her answer.

And so, she was sent to Xuzhou ahead of time.

Zhenbei Prince’s Mansion had arranged everything for her.

The process of acknowledging her relatives went unbelievably smoothly. She became the Sheng Family’s eldest legitimate grandson, who had been lost for many years, taken in by a schoolteacher, treated like the teacher’s own daughter, taught to read and write, and after the teacher passed away, had once again disguised herself as a man in order to survive.

Zhou Lingsheng somehow marked her lower back with the same Moon-shaped Birthmark as “Sheng Zhaoning,” which made the Sheng Family completely certain of her identity.

For two years, she numbed herself day and night with obscure texts. The love, hatred, and unwillingness accumulated from years past faded with the passing of two springs and autumns, scattered away like wind sweeping through the clear sky after rain.

At last, she rarely thought of Wei Yi anymore.

The rain outside the window sounded through the entire night.

Early the next morning, Lady Lu had prepared the meal before dawn. Taking advantage of a moment when no one was paying attention, she slipped past everyone with quick, tiny steps and hurried to the ancestral hall.

“Ning’er, are you awake?” She pushed the door open. A slant of light was falling directly across Sheng Zhaoning.

The person beneath the quilts did not move at all.

Lady Lu thought she had not yet woken. She set the food box down quietly, then walked over with gentle eyes. Crouching down, she leaned in to look at her-only to freeze the very next instant.

“Ning’er!” Lady Lu cried out in alarm.

Wrapped in the bedding, Sheng Zhaoning’s lips were pale, her body drenched in cold sweat. Her cheeks were burning hot, and a high fever raged through her entire body. There was no sign that she would wake at all.

Lady Lu was frantic. She could no longer care about anything else and, sobbing and shouting, called for a physician.

Sheng Zhaoning was carried back to Guanlan Waterside Pavilion.

After the physician arrived, he hurriedly took her pulse and examined her.

Lady Lu stared at the fingers resting on Sheng Zhaoning’s wrist, biting her lower lip, her expression tense.

Sheng Yuanzhong asked anxiously, “How is she?”

But the physician only furrowed his brow tightly and remained silent.

Lady Lu’s heart leaped into her throat. “How is it? Is something wrong…?”

The physician’s fingers were still resting on Sheng Zhaoning’s wrist, probing again and again. “This pulse… is extraordinarily unusual.”

Lady Lu’s heart seemed to stop for an instant. She forced down the tremor in her voice. “Unusual how?”

The physician did not answer at once. Only after a long while did he withdraw his hand. He lowered his head and pondered for a moment before saying, “The young master’s pulse is chaotic and disordered. It is truly too strange. For the moment, this old man cannot make sense of it.”

The pulse sank and rose by turns. It was as if the extraordinary meridians, the eight channels, and all the internal organs had shifted from their proper places, leaving him with nowhere to begin.

“However, judging from the present condition, the young master is likely suffering inflammation caused by external injuries, compounded by an invasion of cold evil, leaving him gripped by fever. The illness is not too severe. Once this old man prescribes a few decoctions to reduce the fever and stabilize his qi, he should improve.”

At that, Lady Lu let out a long, hard breath of relief.

She was relieved that Sheng Zhaoning’s body was not in any serious danger, and also grateful that Sheng Zhaoning’s true identity had not been exposed.

“Thank you, sir.”

Sheng Yuanzhong personally saw the physician out.

News of the commotion at the ancestral hall was soon reported to Old Madam Sheng.

“Ill?” Her hand paused as she was picking up food, and she set down her chopsticks.

The servant reported everything he had found out truthfully.

“They say he developed a high fever. First Madam discovered it this morning and hurriedly sent for a physician.”

“How is he now?” Old Madam Sheng immediately pressed.

Ever since returning the previous night, Old Madam Sheng had regretted how extreme her actions had been that day.

Though she could not truly claim to be close to this grandson, he was still the legitimate eldest grandson of the Sheng Family’s Eldest Branch. He had the greatest hope of being chosen in the final palace selection, leading the Sheng Family back into the Capital, and restoring glory to their household.

After dozens of strokes from the rod, never mind a scholar-even a burly man who had spent years slaughtering pigs and hunting might not have endured it.

If she truly had been too heavy-handed this time and beaten him badly, what face would she have left to meet the ancestors of the Sheng Family?

“The First Young Master still has not awakened. The physician prescribed medicine, but no one knows how things will turn out later.”

Old Madam Sheng grew restless. Looking at the table full of dishes, she instantly lost all appetite.

“Keep watching that side. Report to me at once if there is any news.”

In the end, she could not bring herself to lower her pride and go see him in person, so she could only send someone to keep watch. If anything unexpected happened, at least she would be able to respond in time.

“Yes.”

The servant turned to leave, but Old Madam Sheng suddenly called him back and added, “Go to the storeroom and take a few aged ginseng roots over. Tell First Madam that if she needs anything, she may send someone to fetch it.”

The man paused, answered yes again, and only after confirming that Old Madam Sheng had no further instructions did he step away.

Qiuyue stood at the side. Glancing at the dishes on the table, barely touched after only a few bites, she comforted her. “Old Madam, please set your mind at ease. The First Young Master is a literary star descended to earth. He will surely turn misfortune into blessing.”

Old Madam Sheng looked sideways at her. A strange feeling stirred in her heart, as though some thought were breaking through the clouds and pushing up from the soil. “A literary star descended to earth? Is that what everyone outside says about him?”

Qiuyue nodded earnestly. “Yes! If he weren’t a literary star reincarnated, how could anyone win the Little Three Laurels within a single year, then become Jieyuan as well? In the future, he may even become Huiyuan and Zhuangyuan!”

Old Madam Sheng looked at Qiuyue’s bright, animated expression as she spoke. She sat dazed in her chair, the light in her eyes dimming inch by inch, as if she had aged in an instant.

Yes.

Even Qiuyue could see it. This was a lucky star Heaven had bestowed upon the Sheng Family because it could not bear to watch their house decline.

Why had she failed to see it sooner? Instead, because of the Second Branch’s instigation and her own distance from the Eldest Branch, she had let herself be blinded and had muddled along, making one mistake after another.

A wave of melancholy rose in Old Madam Sheng’s heart.

For the first time, sincerely and carefully, she began to look at Sheng Zhaoning anew.