Chapter 16: A Vulnerable Heart

Late at night, Vermilion Bird Street was eerily silent. The carriage sped along the deserted road, stopping outside the palace gates.

Lu Qingqing was hastily bundled into a small sedan chair and carried inside through a side entrance.

A few young eunuchs, nervous and hesitant, glanced about as if terrified of being discovered.

After a short while, Lu Qingqing stepped down from the sedan chair. Madam Yu, who served Noble Consort Shen, came out to receive her personally, arranged for the palace attendants, and led her forward.

“My lady, my mistress has made all the necessary arrangements. You need not worry,” Madam Yu reassured her.

“Thank you for your trouble,” Lu Qingqing replied with gratitude.

“There’s no need for such courtesy with me. My mistress has heard bits and pieces of what’s happened lately, though she’s never met the young General Shen. Still, she could guess at some of it,” Madam Yu confided as she guided her guest into the main hall.

Shen Ahuai had not appeared in public for some time, so Lu Qingqing had no idea what had transpired in the consort’s palace. Yet as she entered, she detected a faint scent of mugwort in the air, causing her brows to knit slightly.

“Sister-in-law,” Shen Ahuai greeted, bundled in thick robes, her complexion sallow. “I’ve heard what’s happened outside. My brother...perhaps he cannot accept that you would marry another.”

“Ahuai, what’s wrong with you?” Lu Qingqing asked, concerned by her frail appearance.

Shen Ahuai sighed. “There’s nothing I can do. I am carrying the imperial heir, but the pregnancy is unstable. His Majesty wishes to keep it secret for now.”

She was burning mugwort in the hall to steady the child, but Lu Qingqing sensed something amiss.

“When I was pregnant with Manman, the physician said that relying on mugwort so early is not a long-term solution,” Lu Qingqing remarked quietly.

“Don’t worry about me, Sister-in-law. You are what matters now,” Shen Ahuai grasped Lu Qingqing’s hand tightly. “Rest assured, I will help you.”

But Lu Qingqing’s heart ached for her. Seeing Shen Ahuai so weak, she feared that should anything befall the imperial heir, the consequences would be grave indeed.

Besides, Shen Ahuai now had some protection—Shen Jin’s position at court had risen sharply, and the emperor, for his sake, would surely treat the Noble Consort more favorably.

Puzzled, Lu Qingqing voiced her doubts: “Was it His Majesty who ordered you not to announce your pregnancy?”

“Yes. Normally, after the third month, such joyful news would be proclaimed to all. His Majesty has few children, just a single princess by the Worthy Consort,” Shen Ahuai explained, reluctant to speak of herself but offering a little nonetheless.

Lu Qingqing shook her head. “It doesn’t make sense. With Shen—your brother—returning triumphant from war, and you carrying an imperial heir, one joy upon another, any reasonable person would expect him to announce it to the world.”

“…”

Shen Ahuai immediately understood her point. Her body trembled, her lips turning pale.

“Sister-in-law, surely not…”

“One can never be too careful, even with those closest to you. Ahuai, from now on, don’t call me ‘sister-in-law’ anymore,” Lu Qingqing said, her heart aching.

But Shen Ahuai was stubborn. “No. To me, you will always be my sister-in-law. There’s no other.”

“The woman Shen Jin brought back with him is not to be underestimated. What happened at the palace banquet was one thing, but she even poisoned Manman,” Lu Qingqing revealed.

Shen Ahuai’s expression changed at once, fury flashing across her face. “My brother is a clever man. How could he not see through her schemes?”

Their eyes met, and Lu Qingqing felt her heart grow heavier. “Yes, Shen Jin can see clearly. He’s understood such things since childhood. But what if he chooses indulgence?”

“That can’t be. The few of us grew up together; surely he would think of old times. How could he be so cruel?” Shen Ahuai could not accept that Shen Jin would condone Jiang Jiuyue’s actions.

She took Lu Qingqing’s hand and led her to the desk, rummaging for a good while before producing a dossier.

“I had people investigate Jiang Jiuyue. She’s a concubine’s daughter from the Jiang family, once left for dead at the paupers’ graveyard, only to survive. All these years by my brother’s side, she’s as cunning as a strategist.”

Lu Qingqing examined the dossier carefully, images forming in her mind.

She saw the brilliant woman who had served as Shen Jin’s adviser on the battlefield, an endless well of clever ideas—a woman with such foresight, yet unwilling to spare her or Manman.

“I refuse to believe that someone so capable could cover her tracks so completely—there must be traces left behind.”

“Hush,” Lu Qingqing whispered softly, “Ahuai, I know the road ahead will be difficult. If it were only me, I would not be afraid. But I fear I may not be able to protect Manman.”