Chapter 53

The clanging of longswords and chains echoed as sparks continued to flash.

Wen Biesang stopped in his place and said, "The Crown Prince has gone out."

"You should leave quickly, too—!"

"I am not leaving."

Chang Hezhu and Shen Yuerong drew back simultaneously, casting distracted glances toward him.

The former wore a look of astonishment, while the latter showed pleasant surprise.

Pang Qi called out from outside, "Oh, my young master, now is not the time for an excess of sympathy..."

"I am not pitying her," Wen Biesang said in a calm tone. "I care about her."

Just as she cared about Mother.

However, he did not voice this last sentence aloud.

Chang Hezhu stepped out of the dungeon, her gaze deep, yet she offered no further persuasion and walked straight away.

The prison door descended once more. Unexpectedly, Shen Yuerong ceased her fussing and began to spin around him happily, asking, "Are you not leaving? Truly not leaving? Never leaving?"

"I will not be here forever."

Shen Yuerong paused for a moment, then immediately beamed again. "You will come to see me even after you leave, right?"

Wen Biesang nodded.

Xie Ninghong stood outside, her expression complex. "Asang..."

"They actually came to take you away." Wen Biesang pointed toward the brother and sister outside, saying, "If you can get better, they will take you to see Xiaolu."

Shen Yuerong looked outward, her expression turning icy in an instant. "They are not good people."

"They were simply frightened by you."

"Do not provoke her..." Xie Lingshu said with a worried expression. Shen Yuerong looked back at them, a trace of confusion tinting her features. Wen Biesang spoke in a soft, gentle voice, "Do you wish to know how Xiaolu is doing?"

Shen Yuerong rolled her eyes, feeling somewhat apprehensive for a moment. "May I?"

Wen Biesang looked at Xie Lingshu, who furrowed his brow and said, "My mother's affairs involve too much; I cannot guarantee..."

Shen Yuerong gazed at him in bewilderment.

Xie Ninghong chimed in, "This matter involves a great deal. Who knows if it will trigger her? What if she suddenly goes mad and harms you?!"

Shen Yuerong immediately glared, rushed over, and said loudly, "I would never harm Xiaowan's child!"

As if fearing others might not believe her, she went on to emphasize, speaking as much to reassure others as to convince herself, "Xiaowan is my junior sister! She is my master's only daughter! Even if I were to die, I would never harm her child!"

Wen Biesang lifted his gaze. "Who is your master?"

Shen Yuerong immediately clamped a hand over her mouth, turning away with a panicked expression. Wen Biesang pursued her, asking, "Who is your master?"

"Cannot say..." Shen Yuerong darted a quick glance at him before immediately looking away, lowering her voice. "Cannot say. If I say it, Xiaowan will also be hunted down. She is my maidservant, she is my maidservant, not my junior sister..."

Cheng Yun had been laid upon the bed. His hazy vision swept across the imperial physician at his side, Lou Zhaozi, Pang Qi, and the Empress, who stood nearby with furrowed brows.

It was as if a translucent veil had been cast over his eyes. He closed them briefly, opened them again, and once more let his gaze drift across the faces of those beside him, searching for the figure of another person behind them.

Abruptly, the Empress sat down at the foot of the bed, reached out to press his arm, and said, "He will come to see you shortly."

In the evening, Pang Qi personally delivered the meal. Wen Biesang accepted the dishes one by one and arranged them on the stone table.

Shen Yuerong had already washed her hands and face with the warm water Wen Biesang requested. She sat smiling at the stone table and said, "I have not eaten anything this good in a long time."

Wen Biesang handed over the bowl and chopsticks. "When you leave in the future, you can eat whatever you wish."

Shen Yuerong shoveled a mouthful of rice and muttered gloomily, "Chang Hezhu will never let me out."

"She said that if you get better, she will let you out."

"She only says that because she knows I will never get better." After saying this, Shen Yuerong smiled brightly again and asked, "Right, what is your mother doing now? I see you have a good relationship with the Crown Prince; when can she come over to see me?"

Wen Biesang held his bowl as tears spilled and fell among the grains of rice. He kept his head quietly bowed until Shen Yuerong gradually grew still.

Only then did he say faintly, "When you get better, I will take you to see them."

Shen Yuerong continued eating, her peripheral vision suddenly catching sight of his wrist.

The posture in which he held the bowl caused his sleeve to slip downward, and the sandalwood beads on his wrist also rolled down, exposing a pale red annular scar.

Shen Yuerong stared for a moment, then lowered her gaze to look at her own wrist.

A heavy iron ring fitted snugly against her skin, and beneath it, a scar nearly identical to Wen Biesang's was faintly visible.

Shen Yuerong reached out and grabbed his wrist. Wen Biesang instinctively tried to pull away, but she held him fast.

Their eyes met. The woman's face was as cold as ice and snow, her voice hoarse and low. "You are not even twenty years old. Why do you have a scar like this?"

Wen Biesang tried to withdraw his hand, but Shen Yuerong held on tightly, speaking word by word. "Did someone capture both you and your mother?"

Wen Biesang looked at her without uttering a word.

Shen Yuerong's voice trembled. "What happened to her?"

Wen Biesang merely observed her, still offering no reply.

"I am not angry," Shen Yuerong said. "And I am not going mad."

With restrained, contracting pupils, she slowly continued, "I simply wish to know why everyone says Xiaolu wants to see me, yet no one says Xiaowan wants to see me? Her temperament may be somewhat cold, but her heart is warmer than anyone's. If she were well, she would not want to avoid me."

Wen Biesang pressed his lips together.

Shen Yuerong said, "You are a mere child. Why would you bear such a scar? If your mother were still here, she would never tolerate anyone harming you."

Outside the cell, Chang Hezhu slowly approached.

"Speak," Shen Yuerong said, suppressing her emotions. "Hurry and speak..."

Dark traces spread through the depths of her eyes, as though phantom shadows were slowly crawling forth.

"Little baby," she coaxed Wen Biesang in a strange tone, "quickly tell Auntie. Tell Auntie, who touched your mother..."

"Let me tell you," a voice came from outside, and Shen Yuerong fell abruptly silent.

"Regarding Bai Wan, Chilu, the Star-Moon Tower, and..." The prison door rose, and Chang Hezhu stepped across the threshold, her voice gentle, "...Shen Rufeng."

Wen Biesang was still looking at Shen Yuerong.

He could clearly feel that the woman before him presented a danger entirely different from Crown Prince Cheng Yun. Cheng Yun merely inspired caution and defense, leaving one with the belief that they still possessed the strength to resist; whereas Shen Yuerong made one's hair stand on end, stripping away even the courage to raise a shield.

Wen Biesang had no doubt that beneath her calm and even frail appearance lay a deep reservoir of cruelty and tyranny.

"Very well," Shen Yuerong smiled. Exhibited on her pale face, this smile looked more like a semi-circle drawn on a blank sheet of paper with an upturned hook, involuntarily evoking the image of the smiling paper effigies found in a coffin shop.

"Baby, go outside," Shen Yuerong said softly. "Auntie has something to discuss with Empress Chang."

Wen Biesang sat for several more breaths before slowly bracing his body, standing up, and silently walking away.

As he reached the exit, he looked back once more. Shen Yuerong was smiling and waving at him.

Wen Biesang stepped out, turned left, walked a few paces, and slowly squatted down against the wall.

A dull ringing filled his ears. He repeatedly raised his hand to strike the side of his head with force, yet the buzzing refused to dissipate.

Inside the dungeon, Chang Hezhu quietly seated herself opposite Shen Yuerong, who put away her smile and asked, "Is your son well?"

"Are you certain you wish to hear this?"

Shen Yuerong said, "Who killed her?"

"To be honest, I thought you had already gone completely mad and reckless. I never imagined there would still be someone in this world whom you cared about to this extent."

"Who killed her?"

"Between her and Shen Rufeng, which one matters more?"

Shen Yuerong curved her lips. "Between your younger sister and your man, which one matters?"

Chang Hezhu immediately laughed aloud. "Naturally, my sister."

"Was it Shen Rufeng who killed her?"

"No," Chang Hezhu said. "But it is close enough."

Tears rolled from Shen Yuerong's eyes. "How long have I been imprisoned?"

"Twenty-three years."

"Did he send anyone to rescue me?"

"You are the leader of the Spiders. If he wanted to rescue you, he could have done it openly through a prisoner exchange."

"Did you reject it, or did he never mention it at all?"

"You must already have the answer in your heart."

"How did she die?"

Chang Hezhu reached out, twirling the wine cup on the table. Her tone was light, yet it struck like a crashing thunderbolt.

"Beaten to death with heavy staves."

Wen Biesang walked quietly outward, ascending the steps and seeing the familiar narrow corridor once more, where dark shadows gradually drew close within the cells on either side.

Perhaps because Wen Biesang was alone at this moment, the prisoners in the cells successively pressed their faces against the iron bars, their eyes flashing with a bizarre light.

One person even grew bold enough to stretch a hand out from the cell—

Wen Biesang heard only the ringing in his ears. Silently, he lowered his small crossbow. At that exact instant, the entire dungeon suddenly shook violently.

The prisoner who had been reaching out toward him scrambled back inside in a panic. Wen Biesang lifted his gaze and caught sight of one person whose lip movements seemed to form the words...

"Madwoman..."

Wen Biesang patted his ear again. He had heard nothing at all.

Yet beneath his feet, the ground swayed once more, and gravel drifted down in a rustle from above. Steadying himself, Wen Biesang walked step by step out of the narrow corridor and climbed the stairs to the outside.

Outside, it was the deep of night.

A curved crescent moon hung against the pitch-black sky. From this angle, the pavilion by the rockery was vaguely visible, and the slightly chilling air seeped into his lungs. Apart from the absolute silence, everything was no different from any other day.

Clutching his left ear, he slowly walked back along the familiar path.

As he stepped onto the long corridor, he suddenly saw a staggering figure appear beneath the transverse gallery ahead.

The Crown Prince's hair was disheveled; he wore only a thin inner garment with a cloak draped haphazardly over his shoulders. One of his arms hung limply at his side while his other hand pressed against his chest. With a pale complexion and unstable footing, he was striding rapidly forward.

The cloak slipped from his shoulder, and Pang Qi, chasing closely behind, hurriedly picked it up, rushing to help him put it back on. He missed several times, and the garment fell to the ground once more.

Wen Biesang watched and began to laugh.

Cheng Yun finally rounded the corner, continuing forward as his gaze abruptly locked onto him.

"Wen Biesang." Wen Biesang read his lips and nodded. Cheng Yun came toward him once more, moving even faster than before, though every step made it look as though he might pitch forward onto the ground.

His flowing dark hair whipped and danced in the rapid movement, contrasting with his pale face and the ink-black night, making him look like a sickly ghost returning to demand a debt.

Wen Biesang was amused once again.

He drew closer and larger in Wen Biesang's sight, until the world suddenly darkened and he was caught and pulled into an embrace by a single arm.

The person pressing against his shoulder seemed to cough, and Wen Biesang felt the vibration of his chest.