Chapter 53

Chapter 53

Qiuyue took away the empty food box.

Sheng Zhaoning looked at the table full of dishes, her brows drawn low the entire time. No one knew what she was thinking.

Lady Lu saw her expression and did not ask.

Now that things had come this far, how could she not understand?

Old Madam Sheng had come to apologize.

But she was an elder, after all. No matter what, she could not possibly lower herself and come in person to apologize to Sheng Zhaoning face-to-face. All she could do was make a plate of pastries with her own hands and send someone to deliver it.

The last glow of dusk faded, and a crescent moon hung high in the sky.

Many leftovers were cleared out of the Guanlan Waterside Pavilion. Every dish had been touched a little, each receiving its share of attention.

Only the plate of osmanthus pastries was carried away exactly as it had come, untouched from beginning to end.

No one knew which plate had been the one left behind.

…

In the blink of an eye, another winter arrived.

Winter in Xuzhou was not particularly pronounced. It did not have Liangzhou’s bone-piercing cold, the kind that seemed capable of freezing a person through. Instead, it carried an extremely fine, damp chill that seeped into every opening, burrowing into the cracks of one’s bones and grinding all the way into the marrow.

Just as Shadow Seven had said, news of a great victory came from the border.

The court opened a Grace Examination and added an extra Metropolitan Examination for next March. When the scholars heard of it, they were naturally overjoyed. When the Sheng Family heard the news, they placed even greater hopes on Sheng Zhaoning.

The wound on her back had long since healed. Perhaps it was because Zhou Lingsheng had once treated it with medicine, but after such a bloody injury recovered, the skin of her back was still smooth and luminous, without even the slightest trace left behind.

She could not help thinking that his reputation as a Divine Doctor was indeed well deserved.

Then, out of nowhere, the image of that bowl of pitch-black medicated food surfaced in her mind. At the thought, the corners of Sheng Zhaoning’s lips lifted unconsciously.

It was just that his cooking had been a little terrible.

It had been a long time since she had received any news from Liangzhou. Prince Zhenbei had forbidden her from contacting Liangzhou, as if the former Shadow Ten had truly vanished.

As if she had died in that icy, bone-chilling lake.

Sheng Zhaoning rarely thought of Wei Yi.

At first, perhaps, there had been disappointment, resentment, and unwillingness. But after two peaceful years in Xuzhou, far removed from worldly disputes, the emotions that had once churned so violently within her had gradually softened, until they settled into a calm that could no longer stir even the faintest ripple.

She was trying to force him out of her heart, bit by bit.

Even if it was like carving into her own heart, even if she had to pull out, layer by layer, roots buried deep in her flesh and blood, she continued with firm, unyielding resolve.

Until now, only a few scattered fragments remained, still exuding the last of their power.

A black bird landed on the window ledge.

The tip of her brush paused. A drop of ink fell onto the xuan paper and slowly spread.

Sheng Zhaoning stared at that jet-black bird, a cold severity climbing into the corners of her eyes.

The knuckles gripping the brush shaft turned bluish white.

–

Biyun brought back two more baskets of bamboo charcoal from the storeroom.

The Guanlan Waterside Pavilion did not use much charcoal. Sheng Zhaoning did not seem particularly afraid of the cold. Sometimes, when she felt the fire was burning too strong, she would even have the servants reduce the charcoal.

So according to her monthly allotment, there was still plenty left over.

The sky was gloomy, gray clouds pressing down in the distance in a hazy sheet.

Biyun sighed. It was going to rain again.

She quickened her pace toward the Guanlan Waterside Pavilion, afraid the icy rain would come pouring down on her head.

Just as she rounded the bamboo grove and rockery, with the Guanlan Waterside Pavilion already close at hand, a pair of large hands suddenly shot out from the shadows and dragged her back. Before Biyun could even scream, her mouth was covered and she was shoved against the stone wall of the rockery.

The bamboo baskets fell to the ground with a thud, charcoal scattering everywhere.

“Biyun, what took you so long? I’ve been waiting forever.”

A wet, greasy breath brushed against her face by her ear.

Every hair on Biyun’s body stood on end. She struggled with all her might, wrenching one arm free to punch and strike, terrified cries forcing their way from her throat again and again.

“Mmph-” Biyun’s mouth was clamped tightly shut, and she could not make a sound.

The person behind her pinned her arms and trapped her in his embrace, greedily sniffing the fragrance on her body. One large hand roamed restlessly up and down her.

“Biyun, just be with me. From now on, I’ll let you live like a mistress, with a lifetime of wealth and glory!”

As soon as the man behind her finished speaking, he reached to undo her clothes.

Tears of terror spilled down Biyun’s face. Pinned beneath his superior strength, both her hands were held fast, leaving her no room to struggle free.

That voice-she no longer needed to guess.

Biyun had already recognized him. He was the legitimate son of the second branch of the Sheng Family.

Sheng Zhaoyan!

Despair closed over her heart.

Sheng Zhaoyan was notorious for his lust and debauchery. He had coveted her for a long time, and more than once had suggested taking her as a bedchamber maid. Each time, she had refused him outright.

There was no telling how many maids in the household he had taken liberties with. Biyun was blessed with fine looks, and though she had ambitions of her own and was unwilling to remain a lowly servant forever, she still looked down on a wastrel like Sheng Zhaoyan.

The one in her heart was that figure in Guanlan Waterside Pavilion, refined as jade and upright as a green pine. How could she possibly allow a scoundrel like Sheng Zhaoyan to defile her?

But she had never imagined that Sheng Zhaoyan would be so brazen, so blinded by lust, as to commit such a beastly act in broad daylight inside the Sheng Family residence!

Her garments were torn away piece by piece. Hands as cold as venomous snakes slithered over her skin. Biyun’s face was streaked with tears, and she was nearly breaking down.

Outside the rockery, a pair of black boots embroidered with cloud patterns slowly came to a stop.

“Sheng Zhaoyan.” The cool, mellow voice held no emotion, yet carried the icy chill of snow beneath pines in the twelfth month. “What are you doing?”

The man behind her practically sprang away, releasing his grip.

Biyun’s breath loosened at once, and air rushed into her lungs. Through tear-blurred eyes, she looked over and saw, before the green bamboo and shifting tree shadows, a tall figure in blue-gray robes standing with elegant, noble poise.

Eyes like cold jade swept down, without the slightest trace of warmth.

Sheng Zhaoyan’s breath hitched under the piercing chill in her gaze. His limbs went rigid, and for a moment his heart pounded like a drum.

Biyun immediately wrenched herself free and threw herself, sobbing, into Sheng Zhaoning’s arms.

“Young Master,” she cried.

Sheng Zhaoning’s body stiffened.

She lowered her head and glanced at Biyun’s jet-black hair. Scalding tears soaked into her shoulder. The person in her arms was disheveled, trembling all over from crying, clinging tightly to her like a drowning woman clutching a piece of driftwood.

Uncomfortable, Sheng Zhaoning pressed her brows down. Using the motion of undoing her clasp as cover, she took half a step back, removed her cloak, and draped it over Biyun.

Biyun only felt a weight settle over her shoulders, wrapping her firmly in lingering warmth and the faint, clean scent of pine.

Without a sound, Sheng Zhaoning put some distance between them.

“You-this young master was merely taking a walk here. What business is it of yours?” Sheng Zhaoyan forced himself to argue.

The moment the words left his mouth, even he knew they made no sense. His gaze darted about, not daring to meet Sheng Zhaoning’s eyes.

“Taking a walk?” Sheng Zhaoning gave a cold laugh.

She stepped toward Sheng Zhaoyan. Each footfall struck his heart like a rolling boulder. His face turned ashen as he watched Sheng Zhaoning approach step by step, and he retreated uncontrollably until he was forced into a corner with nowhere left to go.

“Cousin, what a peculiar way you have of taking a walk. Why don’t I try it as well?”

Trapped in the dark depths of her eyes, Sheng Zhaoyan’s legs trembled and his voice shook. “W-what are you going to do?”

Sheng Zhaoning stopped before him, the corner of her mouth pulling into a strange, eerie smile.

A tingling pain like ants gnawing at him crawled over his entire body.

Sheng Zhaoyan keenly sensed danger. His instincts screamed at him to run. But the instant he turned, an irresistible force dragged him back. The next moment, a chill hit him below the waist.

The cold wind sliced across him like knives, and goose bumps rose all over his body. Sheng Zhaoyan looked down and saw a stretch of smooth, bare skin.

Sheng Zhaoning had stripped him clean from head to toe, without leaving him so much as a pair of underpants!

Terrified, humiliated, and furious, he tried to circle around her and flee. Suddenly, a fierce force struck his rear. Sheng Zhaoyan let out a scream, the terror on his face not yet faded.

With a splash, water erupted from the pond.