Broken Jade - Chapter 97

Chapter 97

Several swift horses raced out of the Zhenbei Prince’s Mansion and headed straight for Jizhou.

The rows of words in the secret letter flashed through Wei Yi’s mind, and fury nearly burst from his chest.

Heedless of everything else, he spurred his horse through the city gates, personally setting out for Jizhou to seize her.

Sheng Zhaoning, you had better stay alive.

If she dared die for another man, he would spare no effort to hunt that man down and tear him limb from limb!

At the same time, news of the Crown Prince’s plight reached the Capital.

The emperor was both horrified and enraged. The entire Jinwu Guard was mobilized and dispatched to Jizhou for the rescue.

In an instant, a storm of unrest descended over the entire Capital City.

When Wei Chengjun received the news, he was so furious that he smashed the table with a single blow.

“Who told him to make a move?!”

His subordinates cowered below, not daring to answer.

His face dark with rage, Wei Chengjun clasped his hands behind his back and paced across the room.

“Go! Send a contingent of troops after them and bring the Crown Prince back. If he’s alive, I want to see him. If he’s dead, I want to see his body!”

The man froze for a moment before accepting the order. “Yes!”

Yet another force departed from the Capital City.

Wei Chengjun gazed out the window at a plum tree in the courtyard, his eyes as deep and cold as a winter lake.

…

The local authorities in Jizhou had already been searching for two days straight.

When the Prefect learned that the Crown Prince had been attacked and was now missing, his vision went black, and he nearly fainted on the spot.

He had assumed the Crown Prince was recuperating at the official posthouse. How could he possibly have known that His Highness had slipped away to Pinghe County without a word?

The road to Pinghe County consisted mostly of mountain trails and forest paths, with countless sheer cliffs along the way. It had always been treacherous and difficult to travel, and now that assassins had suddenly appeared, they did not even know where to begin searching.

Song Han could only recall the general direction in which Wei Heng had disappeared. The Jizhou Prefecture Office appealed for aid, and when the authorities in the neighboring prefectures heard that the Crown Prince had been attacked and gone missing, they mobilized every available man and began searching the surrounding area day and night.

No one could bear the consequences of harm befalling the Heir Apparent. Everyone prayed that Wei Heng would be found soon and that he would return safe and unharmed.

By late autumn, the Northern Territory was already bitterly cold.

The river water was colder still, piercing to the bone.

The turbulent underground current connected to the cave surged ceaselessly over a riverbed strewn with reefs. After passing through the cavern, it plunged straight down in a waterfall.

From the moment they leaped into the rapids, the two of them had clung tightly to each other.

Even as they were swept over the waterfall, Sheng Zhaoning kept both arms locked around Wei Heng, never loosening her hold for even an instant.

Holding Wei Heng in the water, she was tossed up and down, fighting desperately for every breath as the raging current dragged them under and hurled them back to the surface.

After surging out of the mountain, the torrent rushed straight into a dense forest.

Caught in its grip, Sheng Zhaoning could only let it sweep her along. She had no strength to resist.

The rocks sliced mercilessly through her skin. Blood blossomed around her in crimson clouds, only to be washed away before it could even take shape, vanishing without a trace.

Still holding Wei Heng, she was carried through forests and mountains as the current continued to rage.

She did not know how long they drifted. Eventually, her limbs began to stiffen.

In the bone-chilling river, her consciousness finally gave out as they plunged over yet another waterfall.

Falling unconscious in such violent waters left almost no chance of survival.

Fortunately, the first glimmer of dawn had appeared. As the sun rose, massive boulders throughout the mountain ravine broke the current into countless tributaries. The raging torrent became several gently flowing streams that scattered in every direction, stripped of all their former force.

The two drifted a short distance down one of those streams before finally washing ashore deep in the forest.

Orange sunlight peeked through the clouds and spilled across the dark valley, illuminating the woods.

Sheng Zhaoning lay there with her eyes tightly closed, half her body still submerged in the water. Blood continued to seep from the cuts the rocks had torn across her skin.

Wei Heng had been swept onto the riverbank, where the dazzling sunlight poured down with searing warmth.

He was the first to regain consciousness.

The icy stiffness in his limbs slowly began to ease as warmth returned to them little by little.

Wei Heng opened his eyes, but his vision was a blur.

Every inch of his body throbbed with pain, and his left leg hurt so badly he could barely move it.

Panic seized his heart. Sheng Zhaoning was the only thing on his mind.

Wei Heng struggled to his feet. His vision had yet to fully recover, and the world swayed around him. Fighting through the dizziness, he searched the dense forest whose canopy blotted out the sky.

Fortunately, the heavens did not forsake him. His gaze soon fixed on a broken log by the riverbank.

Wei Heng’s breath caught. He practically stumbled and crawled his way over, then used the last of his strength to pull Sheng Zhaoning out from where the log had trapped her.

She had completely lost consciousness.

“Zhaoning… Zhaoning…”

Wei Heng gathered her into his arms. Blood continued to stream from the hem of her clothes.

After they had fallen into the river, she had used her own body to shield him from the rocks the entire way. Despite being covered in wounds, she had never let go.

By comparison, he had suffered only a few minor injuries.

Even his already broken left leg had not fractured again.

Looking at her deathly pale, lifeless face, Wei Heng felt as though a massive boulder were crushing his chest, leaving him unable to breathe.

He had no idea how to wake her. In his panic, a passage from Jinbian Yaolue, Volume 23 suddenly flashed through his mind.

-Press down upon the chest with the hands, moving repeatedly. Continue for the time it takes to cook a meal, and breath shall leave the mouth; breathing shall resume, and the eyes shall open.

The Grand Tutor had explained this volume during one of his lessons and had even given Wei Heng a rough demonstration.

Wei Heng swiftly recalled the procedure. Before he even had time to hesitate, his hands were already undoing her clothes.

He tore away her sash and opened her outer robe, then her inner garment layer by layer. A patch of smooth, snow-white skin came into view at her shoulder.

Then he saw the thick layers of white cloth bound around her chest.

Wei Heng was initially baffled and was about to tear those away as well. But the instant his fingertips touched the edge of the cloth, a strange and absurd possibility flashed through his mind.

His pupils contracted sharply, and his hand froze in midair.

She… She…

Wei Heng could scarcely believe his own daring, terrifying suspicion.

It was far too absurd.

Yet his gaze moved uncontrollably toward her neck. The area she always kept so carefully concealed was perfectly smooth, slender, and delicate, without the slightest protrusion.

The skin exposed at her shoulder was a beautiful, luminous ivory, almost translucent. How could a man possess skin like that?

All the little details he had never noticed before now connected in his mind. He had no choice but to acknowledge the truth behind his suspicion.

Sheng Zhaoning…

She… was a woman?!

The shock was so overwhelming that he wanted to confirm the answer, yet feared doing so would be an unforgivable intrusion.

Wei Heng’s fingertips trembled faintly, and his breathing grew ragged.

After a fierce struggle with himself, he finally closed his eyes and withdrew his hand, leaving the secret beneath the white cloth untouched.

He could not violate her privacy while she was unconscious.

But when he placed his hands over her chest and repeatedly pressed down, the soft fullness beneath his palms betrayed the truth completely.

At last, Wei Heng had his answer.

Indescribable emotions churned through his mind, but he had no time to dwell on them.

Whether Sheng Zhaoning was a man or a woman did not matter.

He only wanted her to live.

To wake up alive.