Broken Jade - Chapter 87

Chapter 87

Sheng Zhaoning got up and left almost without the slightest hesitation.

She did not even have time to straighten her disheveled clothes before fleeing in utter panic.

Wei Yi watched her vanish from sight with such clean decisiveness, his expression twisting into something almost savage.

He had said things like that many times before, but never once had it been like today, when Sheng Zhaoning had practically breathed a sigh of relief and could not wait to “get lost.”

A breath lodged hard in his chest. Wei Yi was so furious his heart suddenly throbbed with pain.

His sharp gaze was like that of a falcon, giving off a cold edge in the dark night.

“Han Xu,” Wei Yi called through gritted teeth.

In the darkness, a figure leaped down from the roof.

“Your Highness the Heir.” Han Xu cupped his fist in salute.

Wei Yi straightened, both hands clenched beneath his sleeves until his knuckles went white.

“Go handle something for me…”

—

By the time she returned to Sheng Mansion, the night was already deep.

The maidservants had prepared hot water. Sheng Zhaoning sat blankly before the window as moonlight reflected in the pond, cold and wavering. Only when the water in the tub had cooled slightly did she finally move.

Sheng Zhaoning sank into the cool water, but her restless heart could not calm down.

A desolate chill spread through her eyes.

Chaotic memories crawled uncontrollably out from every corner, shooting into her mind like arrows.

She remembered Wei Yi’s kindness.

The year she first entered the Northern Garden, she made a mistake and was punished by a matron to kneel and reflect. In the dark, lightless woodshed, when she was at her most terrified, hungry, and helpless, a small figure in brocade climbed in through the window with pastries he had stolen and spent the night huddled beside her in that icy woodshed.

When she was bullied, the proud young man’s riding crop struck the people who had humiliated her without mercy, beating them until they begged again and again for forgiveness and were forced to kneel and apologize to her.

On a birthday no one remembered, he secretly carved a wooden ornament for her, a small, ugly, crude apricot blossom. Awkward and embarrassed, his face flushed red, he shoved it into her hands.

Even though Sheng Zhaoning did not actually have a birthday. That was merely the day Prince Zhenbei had found her and brought her back.

But Wei Yi remembered.

He treated it as another new life for her.

Sheng Zhaoning closed her eyes. A flash of wet brightness slid past the corner of her eye and disappeared into her hair, impossible to find, leaving only a faint tearstain behind.

She did not know. She did not understand. Why did loving someone have to hurt this much?

As if only by grinding her heart to pieces and burying it in the earth could she stop that unbearable pain.

It hurt so much she could barely breathe.

Tears surged out beyond her control.

She had not cried when she heard those heart-piercing words on the pleasure boat. She had not cried when she was pushed into the frozen lake and nearly died. She had not cried when she left Liangzhou all alone.

Yet on a night so peaceful it could not have been more peaceful,

Sheng Zhaoning sobbed until she could not speak.

“Let it stop.”

She said it to herself.

Whether good, bad, infatuated, or painful…

All those memories should have become the past long ago, thrown by her into the bone-chilling waters of Luochuan Lake.

Just like that apricot-blossom wood carving, which Wei Yi had burned with his own hands right in front of her long ago.

Reduced to ash.

…

The imperial court’s disaster-relief convoy set out five days later.

The grain, funds, and personnel had all been put in order. At daybreak, the officials gathered before Taihe Gate to see off the Crown Prince and the disaster-relief convoy.

The east was paling. The north wind snapped in the air.

Wei Heng wore black riding clothes and sat on horseback at the head of the procession. His clear, lake-like eyes swept slowly and carefully over the crowd, searching through the sea of people for that slender, coolly elegant figure.

But perhaps there were too many people around, or perhaps he had missed some corner. From beginning to end, Wei Heng could not find the figure that weighed on his heart.

The disappointment in his eyes flickered past and vanished. Seeing that the hour to depart had arrived, Wei Heng had no choice but to withdraw his gaze, conceal the emotion in his eyes, and say, “Set out.”

Everyone answered in unison, “Yes!”

Their voices rang out in every direction.

The sound of hooves gradually rose. The emperor stood before the steps of Taihe Hall, watching the carriages and horses slowly make their way toward the palace gates, both gratified and worried.

His son had spent so many years in the capital with everything going smoothly. He had never seen the darkness of the world, nor had he experienced the bloody storms beneath the struggle for the throne.

Wei Heng had obtained the position of Heir Apparent too easily. His hands were clean, and everywhere he looked, he saw only a prosperous and peaceful age.

Perhaps it truly was time for him to let go and allow Wei Heng to witness the suffering of the world with his own eyes.

The procession gradually receded into the distance.

Just as the Emperor of Wei was about to turn away, something suddenly caught the corner of his eye, and his expression froze for an instant.

Beneath the first light of dawn, a fierce horse with a red mane galloped out from behind the crowd. Its reins were pulled taut, and the horse raised its front hooves, letting out a long neigh before stopping in front of the palace gate.

The procession stopped. Every gaze fell on her.

As if sensing something, Wei Heng lifted his eyes. The moment he saw who had come, his gaze trembled.

The horse stopped before him.

A cool breeze swept past, stirring ripples of unspoken feeling.

Sheng Zhaoning looked toward him with gentle eyes. Just then, sunlight broke through the clouds and poured over her brow, gilding her in a dazzling radiance.

“Your Highness, I will travel with you.”

In Wei Heng’s ears, his heartbeat thundered.

The emperor stood atop the high platform, a smile in his eyes.

He still remembered the scene from two days ago, when Sheng Zhaoning had come to see him.

She had knelt on the ground and bowed deeply. When she raised her eyes again, her gaze was resolute. She had already made up her mind to go with the Crown Prince.

How could the Emperor of Wei possibly refuse?

He knew better than anyone how much his son valued her.

Now that she was willing to abandon the prosperity and stability of Capital City to accompany him far into the Northern Territory, the Emperor of Wei naturally felt deeply reassured.

Wei Heng gazed at her, the emotion in his eyes nearly overflowing. For a long while, he could not speak.

“You…”

He wanted to order her back, yet he could not bear to say a single harsh word.

Wei Heng’s throat was dry. The world was vast, but in this moment, there was only her in his eyes.

Sheng Zhaoning dismounted and walked to his side, looking up at him.

“If Your Highness does not agree, then I will ride after you out of Capital City and go to the Northern Territory alone.”

Her gaze burned, as if it could sear a hole straight through a person’s heart.

Sheng Zhaoning had finally come to understand one thing clearly: she could not simply stand by and watch Wei Heng fall into unknown danger.

Prince Zhenbei had already returned to the capital. She could not guarantee whether he would make a move against Wei Heng.

The Northern Territory was desolate and chaotic, and it bordered Wei Chengjun’s sphere of influence.

Whether fortune or disaster awaited Wei Heng on this journey was impossible to know.

Even if she had to defy Prince Zhenbei’s orders, even if she could not escape punishment from the Shadow Pavilion, she would protect him with her own life. She absolutely could not allow him to step into danger alone.

Seeing that his gaze had softened, Sheng Zhaoning spoke again. “Please permit me to accompany you, Your Highness.”

In her line of sight, Wei Heng swung down from his horse and stood before her.

His gaze traced over her features inch by inch, trembling with fragile care.

“The road is long,” he reminded her. “And very far.”

Sheng Zhaoning looked straight into his eyes. “I am not afraid.”

“There will be roving bandits and outlaw unrest. We will travel day and night, pressing on without rest, with scorching sun, wind, and rain as constant companions. Most of those going this time are soldiers by trade or men of strong constitution. You are a slender civil official. How could you endure such hardship?”

Wei Heng did not want her to go. He laid out every difficulty, trying to make her retreat in the face of danger.

But Sheng Zhaoning did not even avert her eyes. She looked fixedly at him and said, firm with every word, “I will share every hardship and every comfort with Your Highness.”