Chapter 8

Chapter 8

As the New Year approached, the palace was abuzz with activity from top to bottom.

The New Emperor had just ascended the throne, so the New Year festivities should have been grand. Yet, during the Palace Coup, Prince Zhenbei perished alongside the Late Emperor. With the nation in mourning, all celebrations were naturally kept simple.

The Twelve Directorates dispatched a few more clever and hardworking palace maids. In addition to the usual cleaning and sweeping, they also selected a few sharp ones to attend to her.

Sheng Zhaoning was utterly disinterested, completely unconcerned whether this meant more people were watching her.

Jin He, however, could not stand seeing her mistress suffer such indignity. Back when the Crown Prince and the Late Emperor were still alive, Sheng Zhaoning had been a trusted high minister of the imperial family-solving major cases, righting wrongs, renowned throughout the Capital City. Her career had been smooth, her standing glorious.

Now, why was she being treated like a prisoner, trapped in this deep palace courtyard, with no title or status, wasting away under cold stares and ridicule?

Jin He reluctantly led the newcomers before her. She bowed, and with a displeased expression, gestured to the two behind her. “My lady, this is Tao Rui, and this is Dan Qing. Eunuch Zhao sent them to serve you.”

Hearing this, Sheng Zhaoning set down the book in her hands, raised her eyes for a brief glance, and gave a faint “Mm.”

Seeing her lack of reaction, Jin He felt even more frustrated on her behalf. After giving a few more instructions, she dismissed them.

“My lady, are we to remain here indefinitely, with no clear reason?” Jin He crouched before her and looked up, asking.

Sheng Zhaoning did not know how to answer.

More than a month had passed since they had been confined in the palace. Everyone knew the emperor was keeping a woman in his private chambers, but no one knew her identity.

Many had tried, openly and covertly, to probe for information these days. But Wei Yi’s people were tight-lipped, revealing not the slightest detail. No matter the effort, it was futile.

“Good Jin He.” Sheng Zhaoning reached out and stroked her hair. “I know you care for me. But he hates me. Until he has humiliated and tormented me enough, how would he ever willingly let me go?”

Sheng Zhaoning glanced out the window. A winter sparrow perched on a bare branch, clumsily pecking at its own feathers, before fluttering away over the wall.

“After some time, I will beg him to release you. Once you leave the palace, return to your hometown. Do not come back to the Capital City.”

Jin He burst into tears at once. “No, I won’t go. My lady, don’t send me away.”

“Don’t cry.” Sheng Zhaoning put down her book, pulled her up to sit, and patted her back. “I am not sending you away. It is just that the palace is too chaotic, and I cannot bear to drag you into it.”

As if suddenly understanding something, Jin He looked up blankly, tears still on her face, staring at her with wide eyes.

Sheng Zhaoning said nothing, merely tugged at the corner of her mouth, and wiped the tears from her face. “Stop crying. It’s terribly ugly.”

Jin He stood rigid, yet her tears flowed even more silently and violently.

“My lady…”

The words she could not finish choked in her throat, and she could not utter a single sound.

When Wei Yi returned, it was nearly dusk.

Sheng Zhaoning had no appetite for dinner; after two bites she could eat no more.

The news reached Wei Yi, and when the emperor arrived, his expression was dark.

“Did you not drink the medicine again?”

Wei Yi’s gaze fell on the bowl of cold medicine on the table, his voice low.

Sheng Zhaoning was sitting by the window in a daze. Hearing this, she did not turn her head. “I forgot.”

With a cold face, he ordered a palace maid to take the medicine and heat it up.

“Sheng Zhaoning, have I been too lenient with you lately?”

Wei Yi hated that attitude of hers the most-the way she ignored him, as if he were something filthy, so much that even a single glance from her would sully her eyes.

He took a few great strides and got behind her, grabbed her and turned her around, his face full of cold anger. “Do you really think I can’t do anything to you?”

Sheng Zhaoning looked at him calmly. “What madness are you throwing now?”

The calmer she was, the angrier Wei Yi became.

It was as if to her, he was a completely unrelated person. No matter how much he fussed or made a scene, she didn’t care at all.

Clearly, there had been a time when her heart and eyes were full of him.

How had it changed?

He gritted his teeth, hoisted her up without a word and carried her to the bed, his stern eyes sweeping over the people in the room. “All of you, get out!”

Trembling, the palace maids and eunuchs hurriedly ran out.

Sheng Zhaoning was thrown onto the soft bedding, retreated frantically a couple of steps, but was dragged back under him by his grip on her ankle.

Many painful, unspeakable memories surged into her mind at once, and she beat against his body madly. “Let me go!”

Wei Yi’s hand pressed down on her waist with deadly force, as if he wanted to crush her. “We’ve done it so many times already, isn’t it a little too late to think of resisting now?”

Sheng Zhaoning froze, as if his words had struck her deeply.

Wei Yi let out a cold laugh. “If you still dare think of that person, then I’ll grant your wish. I’ll dig up his bones and hang them on the city wall, so you can gaze at them to your heart’s content.”

“Wei Yi!” Sheng Zhaoning grabbed his collar, her eyes reddening. “You dare touch him!”

He seemed to hear something funny. “You tell me if I dare.”

He deliberately stressed the word “I”, as if reminding her that now the entire world was in his hands, and there was nothing he couldn’t do.

Sheng Zhaoning trembled with anger, her face so pale it had no trace of color. “What more do you want from me?”

She asked this very seriously.

In fact, she truly did not understand him anymore.

He had already obtained everything he wanted.

The throne, the realm, supreme authority.

Why would he not let her go?

“Stay obediently by my side, and don’t think about leaving.” Wei Yi stared into her eyes, his icy words breathed into her ear. “This is what you owe me. No matter how I treat you, you’ll endure it all!”

She looked at him, laughing until tears welled up.

“Wei Yi, I’ve owed many people in this world, but the one I owe the least is you.”

That night, he tormented her until very late.

Sheng Zhaoning lost consciousness a few times from exhaustion, only to be woken up by his relentless demands. He deliberately tormented and toyed with her, and she could only endure it passively, unable to break free or escape.

Later, at some unknown count, she broke down crying, pea-sized teardrops falling from the corners of her eyes into the pillow, sobbing until she nearly fainted.

Wei Yi finally softened and let her off.

The palace maids prepared hot water, but she couldn’t lift a single finger. Wei Yi carried her, washed her clean, and then contentedly fell asleep holding her.

When she woke up the next day, Sheng Zhaoning’s body was covered in bruises. All her bones felt like they had been run over by cartwheels, and her waist ached so badly she almost couldn’t get out of bed.

Jin He looked at her and secretly wiped away tears several times.

But Sheng Zhaoning was unexpectedly calm.

Without sadness or anger, she just said to Jin He in her usual gentle tone, “Go get the medicine.”