Chapter 79

Chapter 79

Sheng Zhaoning knew none of this.

All of it was far too unfamiliar to her. No one had ever told her such things before.

Now, listening as Li Ji explained it all in detail, she only felt an invisible weight settle on her shoulders, almost crushing her beneath it.

Sheng Zhaoning had rarely been treated well in her life, and she did not know how such kindness ought to be repaid. Dai Rong was good to her and regarded her as her own daughter, so Sheng Zhaoning could protect her with her life.

Prince Zhenbei had saved her life, so she could work for him and repay that debt of gratitude.

But Wei Heng?

What could she give him?

Sheng Zhaoning did not know.

She looked up at the plaque above her head. The two words “Eastern Palace” were traced in gold powder. Only then did she realize that although they had not met for several months, Wei Heng’s face was still so clear in her mind.

“Has the Crown Prince’s wound healed?”

She remembered the day they parted on the palace road. Blood had still been faintly seeping from Wei Heng’s arm.

Li Ji waved a hand. “It’s been so long. Of course it healed ages ago.”

Sheng Zhaoning stood outside the palace gates and looked inside with complicated eyes.

Yes. It had been a very long time.

In the end, Sheng Zhaoning still did not have the courage to step through the gates of the Eastern Palace.

If she were facing an enemy, she would not fear even a mountain of blades or a sea of fire. Yet it was precisely this kindness that frightened her. She was afraid to touch it, afraid to face it.

She thought that perhaps, in this life, she was only fit to soak in the mire and slowly rot away.

…

For the past few days, the court had been run ragged preparing to welcome the army back to the capital.

The Northern Border Army was already drawing close to the Imperial City.

The emperor had issued an edict: all civil and military officials, regardless of rank, were to go to the city gates and form ranks to welcome them. When the time came, the Emperor of Wei would also attend in person.

The Ministry of Rites, along with the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, Guanglu Temple, and other offices, would receive the returning army into the capital with the highest state honors. The route had been set well in advance. After entering the city, the army would turn from Baique Street onto Mingxi Street, proceeding all the way up to the imperial palace.

After the court audience, a banquet would be held that very night in Guangyang Hall.

It was a feast everyone looked forward to, a celebration shared by court and country alike.

Sheng Zhaoning’s fear at the beginning slowly became a hope that the moment would come sooner. Anything was better than living every day on tenterhooks, tormented day after day like a soft knife slowly cutting into her.

She did not know, when she saw Wei Yi again, what methods he would use to humiliate her and take revenge.

In Wei Yi’s eyes, perhaps she had left Liangzhou without a word.

Perhaps she was the detestable traitor who had broken faith.

—

On the day the army reached the Imperial City, the hundred officials lined up to welcome them.

The blue sky was washed clean, and a warm breeze brushed against their faces. Crowds of commoners packed both sides of the road in a dark mass, while the Imperial Guards opened a broad path through the sea of people.

The emperor’s procession arrived at the city gate. He had come in person to welcome Prince Zhenbei back to court.

“We respectfully welcome the army into the capital!”

From atop the city walls, the sound of drums rang out in every direction.

The city gates opened wide. Brilliant daylight poured down, dazzling to the eye. Under the eager, excited gazes of the entire city’s people, the vast, dark ranks of soldiers marched forward in unison, the thunder of hooves resounding up to the clouds.

Sheng Zhaoning’s figure was hidden within the surging crowd, small to the point of insignificance.

She lowered her head. The blazing sun beat down from above, yet it still could not dispel the chill rising from deep within her body.

“Prince Zhenbei! Prince Zhenbei!”

“The hero has returned!”

In these years of raging war, no one had longed for peace more than the common people.

They did not understand wars waged in court, nor the maneuvering at the peak of power. They only knew the miserable sight of chaos: empty stomachs, ruined lives, and people left with no way to survive.

Whoever gave them peace was the most honored hero under all heaven.

Wei Chengjun rode on a tall horse. The towering Imperial City had cleared a wide road for him, with the multitudes lined up on both sides. This Imperial City, for the moment, allowed only his men and horses to pass.

In his eyes was ambition he made no attempt to hide. His gaze fixed straight on the direction of the imperial palace, carrying the air of a man determined to have what he sought.

“Look! That’s the Prince Heir of Zhenbei!”

Someone shouted from behind her.

Countless gazes instantly turned toward the front of the procession. There, a man rode at the head of the army, clad in armor, a long sword at his waist, mounted on a fiery red warhorse. His eyes were cold and sharp, his features bold and striking.

Sheng Zhaoning kept her head lowered. Her hands and feet felt stiff with cold, her throat dry and tight. Cold sweat began to bead at her temples, and her hands trembled faintly.

He… had returned.

A sinister, chilling gaze swept over the crowd and landed straight on the crown of her head. In the next instant, it vanished again, and even the cold pressure surrounding her seemed to fade by a few degrees.

From beginning to end, Sheng Zhaoning never looked up.

She sensed that Wei Yi might have seen her, yet she still clung to the desperate hope that it had been her imagination.

There were so many people in the Imperial City. He would not be able to find her.

The army advanced until it stopped before the emperor’s imperial carriage.

Wei Chengjun swung down from his horse and strode up to the Emperor of Wei. His gaze burned bright, making no attempt to hide the sharpness in his eyes. Bowing with cupped fists, he said, “This humble general, Wei Chengjun, pays his respects to Your Majesty.”

He did not kneel. Instead, he gave a military salute.

A shadow passed through the Emperor of Wei’s eyes, so quickly it was impossible to catch. In the next moment, he put on a smiling face, stepped down from the imperial carriage, and walked up to Wei Chengjun. He reached out to help him rise, then patted his shoulder, every word and gesture flawless in its disguise.

“My imperial brother has spent years fighting on the frontier. You have worked hard.”

Wei Chengjun straightened and met the Emperor of Wei’s gaze. Dark currents surged in both their eyes, yet to outsiders, they looked every bit like brothers deeply devoted to one another.

The emperor’s gaze shifted away from Wei Chengjun’s face, and he glanced at the person beside him.

“This must be my worthy nephew.” Looking at that face, which bore some resemblance to Wei Heng’s, he fell into a brief daze, as though he had glimpsed traces of an old acquaintance in him.

“You’ve grown so much.”

The Emperor of Wei seemed to murmur the words.

Wei Chengjun also noticed Wei Heng beside him, and for a moment, his expression faltered as well.

Wei Heng and Wei Yi looked at each other. On two similar faces, one was gentle and warm, the other sharp and arrogant.

Wei Heng studied the man before him. It had been more than ten years since they had last met. He only vaguely remembered that when they were children, Wei Yi had once returned to the Capital, and the two of them had spent some time together in the palace. But those memories had long since blurred.

So this was Wei Yi?

With that thought, Wei Heng spoke first. “Cousin, it has been a long time.”

Wei Yi wore black scale armor with a dark sheen. His long brows were like swords, his eyes like ink-dark ice. A stern aura naturally gathered around him, carrying a pressure that could not be ignored.

He looked at Wei Heng, his gaze razor-sharp as he quietly assessed him. In his mind, he could not help recalling what Han Xu had said that day, and an inexplicable hostility churned up from the depths of his heart.

Wei Yi sneered inwardly, though none of it showed on his face.

“Greetings, Crown Prince.”

An eerie atmosphere continued to flow among the four of them.

After a long while, Minister of Rites Gu Chengzhang was the first to break the deadlock.

“Your Majesty, it is time to return to court.”

Only then did the tense atmosphere ease slightly.

According to protocol, after arriving in Capital City, the commanding general and his party were to enter court in lighter dress, remove their armor and swords, and report the state of the war to the emperor in the audience hall.

The Emperor of Wei laughed twice and said to Wei Chengjun, “Come. You and I, brothers, can continue our talk back at the palace.”

Wei Chengjun smiled in return. “Very well.”

The Emperor of Wei turned and boarded the imperial carriage again. The generals and soldiers also remounted, and the grand procession made its way toward the palace.

Caught in the middle of the crowd, Sheng Zhaoning stepped aside to clear the road back to the palace. As the thunder of hooves rushed past her ears, her nails dug hard into her palms, her knuckles turning blue-white.

Mounted on his horse, Wei Yi swept a sidelong glance down at the person hiding at the very end of the civil officials. His eyes were dark and vicious, and the corner of his mouth curved into an icy arc.

Caught you.

Sheng Zhaoning.