Chapter 78

Chapter 78

Sheng Zhaoning felt as if she had been plunged into an ice cellar.

Although Han Xu was the Shadow Guard Leader, most of the time, he took his orders from Wei Yi.

As Han Xu’s master in all but name, there was no way Wei Yi would be kept in the dark about what had happened on the day of the Yu Sacrifice. Han Xu would only report it to him in full and in detail.

Naturally, that included her…

Shadow Seven looked at Sheng Zhaoning’s deathly pale face and felt that the woman before her seemed fragile in a way that was almost unfamiliar.

Since when had Sheng Zhaoning become so timid?

Had too many days of peace made her weak as well?

“Let me offer you a word of advice. Remember who you are, and do not forget who your true master is,” Shadow Seven said, unusually serious.

Sheng Zhaoning lifted her eyes. A bleak, desolate stillness seeped through their depths.

“Thank you for the reminder,” she said.

…

After Li Ji slipped in with his men, Sheng Zhaoning returned to the Sheng Residence.

Now that Shadow Seven was staying in the Capital under the alias Sang Jin, she would not leave easily.

Since the former assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue had ties to Sang Jin, he was likely connected to Prince Zhenbei in secret as well. But now that trouble had befallen him, the charge was not collusion with Prince Zhenbei, but embezzlement. That meant Prince Zhenbei would not be dragged into it.

A discarded pawn was not someone Shadow Seven would bother protecting.

With the new evidence, the case would proceed much more smoothly from here.

At last, news spread through the Capital that the army was returning to court.

The Ministry of Rites had been terribly busy of late. The emperor had issued an order that the returning army was to be welcomed with the highest ceremonial honors. Since there were truly not enough hands, people had been seconded one after another from the various ministries and courts, even from the Hanlin Academy.

“Have you heard? The army will enter the Capital in three days.”

“Yes. They have been on the road for nearly three months. They are finally almost back.”

The war had lasted more than ten years, and now that it had ended in a sweeping victory, the entire nation was celebrating.

Prince Zhenbei’s triumphant return to court had clearly become the hottest topic in the Capital of late.

“From Liangzhou to the Capital, they crossed more than half of the Wei State. Prince Zhenbei’s journey back really hasn’t been peaceful.”

According to rumors, Prince Zhenbei had encountered no fewer than a dozen assassination attempts on his way back to the Capital, large and small, and had narrowly escaped them all.

Some of the assassins claimed to be bandits, some disguised themselves as refugees, and some did not even bother with a disguise at all, simply attacking in black clothes, just like on the day of the Yu Sacrifice.

As for who had sent them, the emperor and Wei Chengjun both knew perfectly well. Yet neither side had evidence, and both still had to maintain the appearance of brotherly affection and deference.

Sheng Zhaoning sat to the side, feeling only that the air was unbearably stifling, pressing down on her until she could barely breathe.

When no one around her was paying attention, she quietly walked out.

It was another long, oppressive palace path. High vermilion walls rose on either side, blocking out half the light of the sky.

She walked aimlessly, her thoughts empty one moment and chaotic the next. Wei Yi’s face gradually came into focus in her mind, only for her to force it apart again.

Before she realized it, the outline of Guanjing Tower had appeared before her.

Only then did Sheng Zhaoning come back to herself.

She had walked so far without noticing.

As an outside official, apart from the places where she performed her daily duties, Sheng Zhaoning rarely came into the inner palace.

The last time she had come to Guanjing Tower had been on the day of the Enrong Banquet.

At the time, spring had only just begun, and the scenery in the gardens had been nothing like the riot of color before her now. She stood at the intersection where she had first met Wei Heng, and suddenly remembered the palace filled with plum trees that she had seen from Guanjing Tower back then. Before she knew it, she was walking toward it.

She passed through the garden and lakeside scenery, circled around a long corridor, and emerged by way of a bamboo-lined path. Once more, she stepped onto a palace road, crossed through a palace gate, and arrived before that palace.

A gilded relief plaque carved with coiling dragons hung high above the palace doors. Sheng Zhaoning looked up, and two grand, imposing characters came into view.

The Eastern Palace.

This was Wei Heng’s bedchamber.

Sheng Zhaoning’s expression tightened. She turned to leave, but in the brief instant it took her to look back, someone emerged from the hall.

Li Ji saw her and said in surprise, “Lord Sheng, what are you doing here?”

Sheng Zhaoning stopped in her tracks and had no choice but to turn around.

She nodded to Li Ji in greeting. “Lord Li.”

Li Ji looked her over and asked, “Are you here to see the Crown Prince?”

Sheng Zhaoning quickly shook her head. “No.”

But after saying that, she did not know how to explain herself.

“I was only passing by. I saw these plum trees and thought them unusual, so I stopped to look a little longer.”

She made up a reason at random, though it was not exactly a lie.

Li Ji followed her gaze and saw that the Eastern Palace was planted front and back with plum trees, with no other flowers or shrubs in sight. He nodded, deeply agreeing.

“Indeed. I heard His Highness’s mother loved red plum blossoms, so the Eastern Palace was planted all over with plum trees.”

Sheng Zhaoning had heard of the Crown Prince’s birth mother.

She had been the Emperor of Wei’s most beloved consort. No one knew her identity or origins. She had been confined in Mingluan Palace all day long, and few had ever seen her. People only said she possessed an exquisite, dazzling beauty, a face unmatched in the world.

Unfortunately, beauty was often short-lived. When Wei Heng was still very young, she passed away. From then on, Mingluan Palace was locked, and no one was permitted to enter.

At this point, Li Ji gave Sheng Zhaoning a puzzled look. “I thought you knew. On the good-news notice for the Metropolitan Examination, the Crown Prince personally wrote your name and stamped a small seal beside it. That seal was carved by His Highness’s mother herself. He never uses it lightly.”

Sheng Zhaoning abruptly looked up, stunned. “My good-news notice was written by the Crown Prince himself?”

She remembered that Plum Blossom Seal. Vermilion plum blossoms had encircled her name, stamped on the notice announcing that she had placed first in the Metropolitan Examination.

That had actually… been stamped by Wei Heng?

“That’s right. I heard it from the Chief Minister of the Court.”

Li Ji’s gaze rested on her face as he continued, “At the time, no one dared judge your paper. It was His Highness who overruled all objections, personally named you Huiyuan, wrote the good-news notice for you, and stamped it with that vermilion seal.”

By this point, Sheng Zhaoning could no longer speak.

During the Metropolitan Examination, she had taken an unconventional path with that ink-stained answer sheet. It had been a dangerous move.

She had not known whether the examiner marking her paper would be fearless and upright enough to stand against the injustice and darkness in this court.

She had never imagined that her title as Huiyuan had been personally granted by Wei Heng.

Seeing that she truly had not known, Li Ji could not help feeling anxious on the Crown Prince’s behalf.

Such a fine chance to win over a court official, and His Highness had really managed to keep his composure, not saying a word. So she had no idea at all, and therefore no way to feel indebted.

Li Ji’s mouth had not grown on him for nothing. He asked again, “Then, Lord Sheng, do you know about the matter of the bestowed residence?”

He watched Sheng Zhaoning lift her eyes again. Seeing the blank confusion in them, he knew she surely knew nothing of this either.

Li Ji sighed and said, “After you received your appointment, His Highness learned that you were from Xuzhou and had no place to live in the capital. He went before His Majesty and requested that he bestow you a residence.”

That residence had been vacated after the Junior Tutor to the Crown Prince retired and returned to his hometown. Its surroundings were quiet and elegant. Though it was near Mingxi Street, it remained peaceful despite the bustle, a prime location coveted by countless people.

Out of gratitude for the bond between teacher and student that he had shared with the Junior Tutor, the Crown Prince had been unwilling to give the residence away lightly. Yet he had voluntarily parted with it and asked the emperor to bestow it upon Sheng Zhaoning.

That alone showed the depth of his regard.