Chapter 73

Chapter 73

News of the Emperor of Wei being attacked during the Yu Sacrifice spread rapidly through the Capital, pushed along by those with ulterior motives.

The Emperor personally offering sacrifices to pray for rain should have been an excellent chance to win the hearts of the people. But once the assassination attempt occurred, rumors began to circulate among the populace, saying that his sacred virtue lacked benevolence and that Heaven no longer favored him. The voices were faint at first, but they spread far and wide.

The Emperor of Wei naturally knew whose handiwork this was.

The assassins had all taken poison and killed themselves. Not a single one had been left alive.

Wei Chengjun had not returned to the Capital in more than ten years, and the moment he did, he sent the emperor a “grand gift.”

Naturally, the Emperor of Wei would not sit back and do nothing. Along the road back from Liangzhou to the Capital, ambushes had been laid at checkpoint after checkpoint. If one attempt failed, and then a second failed, could Wei Chengjun really be lucky enough to escape every single time?

Even if they could not kill him, this return to the Capital would make him shed a layer of skin.

Undercurrents surged through the Capital, and every faction was beginning to stir.

Sheng Zhaoning took two days of leave and stayed shut inside the Sheng Residence without going out.

The image of Han Xu on the altar still hovered before her eyes.

As the Shadow Guard Leader, Han Xu would never leave Wei Yi’s side lightly.

Yet now that he had appeared in the Capital, did that mean Wei Yi was also…

The thought had only just surfaced in her mind when Sheng Zhaoning ruthlessly scattered it.

No. Impossible.

The road to the Capital was bound to be fraught with danger. Every region was watching Prince Zhenbei and his party’s movements closely. There was no way Wei Yi could have slipped into the Capital so quickly and without anyone noticing.

If Han Xu had been sent here, there was likely another purpose behind it.

What Sheng Zhaoning still could not understand was why Prince Zhenbei had chosen this moment to act.

Was it to give the emperor a show of force before returning to the Capital and throw the situation there into chaos?

But how long could he remain in the Capital?

At present, Prince Zhenbei’s foundation in the imperial court was weak. Returning to the Capital now was not an opportunity that would help him seize the realm.

It would only turn the Capital into an early battlefield between him and the Emperor of Wei.

The future situation in the Capital would be the true key to deciding the outcome between him and the Emperor of Wei.

All these thoughts tangled together. Sheng Zhaoning’s mind was in turmoil, and she felt a stifling tightness in her chest. She opened the window, and only with the cool breeze drifting in did the gloom in her heart disperse a little.

Just then, a maid hurried over from the front courtyard.

“My lord, someone from the Eastern Palace has come to invite you to the palace.”

Sheng Zhaoning’s brows drew together slightly, and her fingertips curled in unconsciously.

She stood there in silence for a moment. Only after quite some time did she lift her head.

“Refuse them. Tell them I am unwell and not fit for an audience.”

The maid froze, then looked up at her, seemingly not expecting her to say that.

After confirming that Sheng Zhaoning would not change her mind, the maid lowered her head and replied, “Yes.”

Then she turned and left.

The door closed once more. Sheng Zhaoning sat by the window, rested her arm on the sill, propped up her chin, and stared quietly into space.

Ever since the assassination attempt at the altar that day, she had been deliberately avoiding meeting Wei Heng.

She did not know why, but the longer she spent with him, the more a strange feeling grew in her heart. She could not describe it or explain it. She only felt that a person like him was too good. So good that she could not bear to hurt him.

But she should not be thinking this way.

She was a spy sent by the Wei Clan to lurk in the Capital.

In the future, she might even become the one who killed him.

For an assassin, nothing was more terrifying than feeling pity and reluctance toward the prey.

So Sheng Zhaoning could no longer allow herself to grow closer to him without realizing it.

All she could do was find every possible way to stay away.

…

The Liangzhou army’s date of return had been set. They would return triumphantly to court in early September.

The Ministry of Rites and Guanglu Temple had already begun preparing the many arrangements for welcoming the army back to court.

Sheng Zhaoning still went to Wenyuan Pavilion every day to teach the Fifteenth Prince. Only now, even someone as young as Wei Yu could clearly sense the invisible distance and barrier surrounding her.

“Master Sheng, are you still not having lunch at Wenyuan Pavilion today?” Wei Yu sat at the table and looked up at her.

Sheng Zhaoning’s fingers paused on the corner of the book. She answered softly, “Mm.”

At that, Wei Yu lowered his head in dejection.

From the main hall, Wei Heng had been quietly watching what was happening over here. Hearing her say that, his mood clearly sank as well.

“Does Lord Sheng find the food here not to her liking?” Wei Heng could only try to search for the reason behind her growing coldness.

Sheng Zhaoning lowered her head, her face showing no unnecessary emotion. “In reply to Your Highness, this subject has merely had a poor appetite of late. There is no other meaning to it.”

Wei Heng looked at her with concern. “Should I summon an Imperial Physician to examine you?”

“There is no need,” Sheng Zhaoning replied.

She glanced at the sun. It was nearly noon.

Sheng Zhaoning quietly put the books in order, rose, and gave a perfectly respectful bow. “Crown Prince, Fifteenth Prince, today’s readings from the classics have been completed. This subject will not return this afternoon.”

At the end, she held the books in her arms and inclined her head once more. “This subject takes her leave.”

Then she turned and walked out of the hall without looking back.

Wei Yu stared after her, his eyes full of confusion.

He turned to glance at Wei Heng straight ahead and found that he, too, was staring in the direction Sheng Zhaoning had left. In his eyes was an emotion Wei Yu, at his age, still could not understand.

“Brother Crown Prince, are you going to chase after Master Sheng?” Wei Yu said aloud the emotion as he understood it.

From Wei Yu’s point of view, the look in Wei Heng’s eyes was clearly sadness and disappointment, just like when his nanny carried away his favorite pastries before bedtime.

Many times, he had chased after his nanny, crying, begging, wheedling, and rolling around until she softened and secretly left him one piece. Only then would the child who had gotten his pastry run back in satisfaction.

Wei Heng’s gaze seemed to stir.

Chase after her…

He stared blankly in the direction Sheng Zhaoning had left. It was already empty, with no trace of her to be seen.

Wei Heng drew in a deep breath. As if he had made some decision, he rose and quickened his steps, chasing out through the hall doors.

He did not know why Sheng Zhaoning had suddenly become so cold and unfamiliar.

Clearly, not long ago, they had still been “close friends” who could disregard their own safety to protect each other. Now they were distant as strangers.

He could not make sense of it, so he simply stopped trying. He was unwilling to let a precious bond be worn away by such an unclear and unresolved barrier.

So Wei Heng could set aside his status and lower his head of his own accord to ask her whether he had done something poorly, something that had made her weary of him.

He chased all the way out of Wenyuan Pavilion and stood at the fork in the palace road, hesitating for a long while, unsure which direction Sheng Zhaoning would have taken. Then, after a moment, as if guided by something unseen, he lifted his feet and walked in one direction.

The wind of late spring already carried a trace of gentle warmth.

On both sides, vermilion walls and green tiles retreated little by little from his sight. He walked along that long palace road, not knowing how far the path ahead would stretch, or where he might find her figure.

Nor did he know whether the choice he had made while standing at the fork had been the right one.

Wei Heng simply walked forward with resolve, treading over blue bricks and sunlit shadows, until he finally reached the end of the road.

When he arrived at the corner, the person standing beneath the wall happened to look back.

Her eyes were filled with astonishment.