Broken Jade - Chapter 85

Chapter 85

Sheng Zhaoning watched as Wei Heng turned back toward her with extreme slowness, his movements stiff, his face filled with disbelief.

An autumn leaf happened to drift down between them, blocking their intertwined gazes for a brief instant.

Their eyes held for a long, long time. Then Wei Heng suddenly smiled.

It was as if his brows and eyes held a pool of autumn water, rippling outward in layer upon layer of tenderness. So bright, so clear, like snow that had lain unmelted for years atop a high mountain, suddenly breaking apart one day and turning into a warm, gentle wind that swept through half the mortal world.

Sheng Zhaoning froze. Caught in that soft wind and fine rain, she forgot for a moment to break free.

Wei Heng stepped up to her and lowered his head slightly to look into her eyes, almost unable to hold back the storm of emotion surging inside him.

He wanted to embrace her.

But he was afraid of frightening her.

In the end, all he could do was restrain himself and reach out with a trembling hand, brushing the fallen leaf from her shoulder.

“Go back.”

He withdrew his hand, hiding the scattered starlight in his eyes.

“Don’t bring this matter up again.”

The journey was so far, and that place was so violent and desolate. Refugees were everywhere, danger lurked on all sides. How could he possibly let her step into such peril with him?

Wei Heng was deeply grateful that she had said such words.

It proved that she was willing to stand with him.

Sheng Zhaoning had finally been willing to abandon those words that went against her heart, to remove the cold disguise wrapped around her, and speak to him with her truest feelings.

He was very happy.

But she could not go.

All the open blades and hidden arrows, all the hardships and dangers, were things he, as the Heir Apparent, ought to face.

To rescue the people from misery and deliver them from suffering.

That was his responsibility, not Sheng Zhaoning’s.

So she did not need to risk herself for his sake.

“Stay in Capital City and wait for me to return.”

Wei Heng looked into her eyes and said it solemnly.

……

The carriage traveled along Mingxi Street.

Lanterns were just beginning to glow, and hawkers’ cries rang endlessly from both sides of the road.

Sheng Zhaoning sat inside the carriage, staring blankly at the candle flame within.

What she had said today had been a loss of composure.

She was merely an informant Prince Zhenbei had planted in Capital City. She should never have involved herself in these matters to begin with.

Yet for some reason, when she saw Wei Heng’s lonely figure leaving, her heart had suddenly ached, and those words had slipped out before she could think.

Whether they had been her true feelings, or nothing more than a careless mistake, she could not tell.

Sheng Zhaoning closed her eyes, a deathly pallor surfacing on her face.

The carriage continued forward. Only after a long while did it slowly come to a stop.

Her thoughts were in such disarray that she had not even noticed the journey had taken far longer than it should have. It was only after she stepped down from the carriage that she realized she was standing inside an unfamiliar residence.

Her gaze sharpened, and she snapped back to herself at once.

“Only noticing now? Don’t you think it’s a little late?”

A woman’s voice came from behind her.

At the sound of that voice, Sheng Zhaoning’s taut nerves abruptly loosened.

Shadow Seven jumped down from the carriage, her arms crossed over her chest, and swept her gaze over Sheng Zhaoning from head to toe.

“If I were an enemy, you’d already be dead by now.”

She stared into Sheng Zhaoning’s eyes. “Sheng Zhaoning, how is it that not only have your martial skills declined, even your vigilance has dropped?”

Sheng Zhaoning met her gaze and said calmly, “Why did you bring me here?”

Shadow Seven knew Sheng Zhaoning was avoiding her question, but she did not press further.

She sat down on a stone stool in the courtyard, propped her chin in one hand, and looked at Sheng Zhaoning with a smile. “I was ordered to catch you and bring you over.”

Sheng Zhaoning’s heart gave a sudden thud.

A bad premonition rose within her.

“By whom?”

She steadied the tremor in her voice.

Shadow Seven’s eyes were full of malicious amusement. “Guess.”

Sheng Zhaoning’s breath caught. The taut string in her mind was on the verge of snapping. She turned and started to leave.

Suddenly, a pebble shot out from inside the house, flying straight toward her.

Sheng Zhaoning sensed the danger at once and was about to turn aside, but then she seemed to think of something. She froze where she was and let the pebble strike her knee.

A violent pain shot up her leg. Sheng Zhaoning gave a muffled groan and dropped to her knees.

Cold sweat broke out over her in an instant.

“Get in here.”

From inside the room, a dark, hoarse voice, thick with unmistakable anger, reached her ears with perfect clarity.

Sheng Zhaoning gritted her teeth and struggled up from the ground.

The knee that had been left with a hidden injury from the dungeon now hurt so badly she could hardly move it.

Cold sweat slid down her forehead and fell into the dust.

Sheng Zhaoning swayed on her feet. She stood there with her eyes closed for a long while, trying to recover. Only after some time did she lift her leg again, draw in a deep breath, summon every last bit of courage she had, and step toward the room.

Shadow Seven sat in the courtyard, watching Sheng Zhaoning’s wretched state, and could not help frowning.

She thought to herself that Your Highness the Heir was truly ruthless toward Sheng Zhaoning. He struck when he wanted to strike, cursed when he wanted to curse, and once he raised a hand, he showed no mercy at all.

But in the end, that was between the two of them. Wei Yi was also her master, so it was not her place to say much.

Seeing Sheng Zhaoning make her way toward the room, Shadow Seven tactfully left the courtyard.

Sheng Zhaoning limped to the door.

She bit down hard on her lower lip, her lashes trembling.

There was no lamp lit inside. The dim, eerie gloom seemed to wrap around her invisibly and hold her fast.

Sheng Zhaoning felt panic rising in her chest. She lifted a hand, forced down the unease churning inside her, and slowly pushed the door open.

All at once, a hard force seized her the instant the door opened and dragged her inside.

Before Sheng Zhaoning could react, her throat abruptly tightened. A crushing sense of suffocation came over her like a tidal wave.

Sheng Zhaoning was pinned against the wall, unable to move.

In the darkness, Wei Yi’s gaze was sinister. He held her against the wall, one hand clamped tightly around her neck, anger surging in his eyes.

“You really dared to run?” he said through gritted teeth.

If that pebble of his had not cut off her path just now, she would probably have already left by now.

Wei Yi’s grip was heavy, without the slightest mercy. It carried the unmistakable weight of punishment.

Sheng Zhaoning’s face flushed red. She could clearly feel the air in her chest draining away bit by bit.

She did not struggle. She simply let that lethal force close around her throat, shut her eyes, and silently waited for death.

But Wei Yi suddenly let go.

Sheng Zhaoning’s breath came free all at once.

A rush of air poured in. Sheng Zhaoning collapsed to the floor, coughing violently, her lungs aching dryly as if they had been torn apart.

Wei Yi stood to the side, looking coldly at Sheng Zhaoning as she sat slumped on the ground, gasping in disarray. With a powerful pressure radiating from him, he bent down and crouched before her.

“Tell me. Why did you leave Liangzhou?”

His voice was low, carrying a dangerous edge.

Sheng Zhaoning’s neck was mottled blue and purple. The dull pain lingered, mercilessly tormenting every nerve she had.

She looked up at him. Her gaze was colder and calmer than it had ever been.

Wei Yi was stung by that look, as though he had never imagined that one day Sheng Zhaoning would look at him that way.

“Was that not what Your Highness agreed to?”

Her voice was hoarse, and a smile curved at the corner of her lips as she asked him in return.

Sheng Zhaoning had not forgotten what Prince Zhenbei had told her after she was fished out of Luochuan.

It was Wei Yi who had personally tricked her into the military camp and let her fall into Ao Chun’s hands. It was also he who had personally promised Prince Zhenbei that he would send her to the capital.

So now that she had really come, why was Wei Yi questioning her about why she had come?

She was only a dog, following her master’s will.

What wrong was there in that?