After returning to the capital, Shen Lingzhen followed through on her promise and raised with her parents the matter of helping Huo Liuxing escape from the imperial tomb. Unexpectedly, she learned the two had already known over a year ago about the secret that the Huo and Meng families’ infants had been switched.

Mother said the reason she concealed this from the Emperor without reporting was to leave herself and the Shen family a way out. Should the Emperor someday move against Duke Yingguo’s mansion, holding this secret meant they would at least have something to rely on.

It was also then that Shen Lingzhen learned that originally, if the imperial grandmother hadn’t timely resolved her predicament, Mother had already been planning to fight with her back to the wall. During this year she’d been away from the capital, Duke Yingguo’s mansion’s situation had become increasingly difficult. Mother was now considering the possibility of cooperating with the Huo and Meng families.

Her attitude of helping Huo Liuxing became the decisive hammer blow for her parents’ determination.

After that, her mother began secretly maneuvering for the Huo and Meng families in the capital, hoping that when Huo and Meng successfully rose up in the future, they could preserve Duke Yingguo’s mansion.

But this maneuvering was not easy. On one side were two ambitious princes at court obstructing them, on the other side Xiqiang’s intermittent invasions. The Huo and Meng families were besieged on both fronts—one side trapped at the imperial tomb, the other far away in the northwest, unable to support each other when trouble arose.

Half a year later, in the first month of the following year, crisis came.

Just as Xiqiang invaded and frontier warfare intensified, Shen Lingzhen happened to hear that the Emperor had issued an edict to the imperial tomb, giving Huo Liuxing a chance to atone for his crimes through merit by leading troops to pacify Hexi.

Historically, those punished to guard the imperial tomb had to endure there until death unless specially pardoned. This seemed like a special favor. But Shen Lingzhen guessed things couldn’t be this simple.

In the half year since returning to Bianjing, she’d inquired with her parents about some past matters and learned that after the Emperor originally came to power, the reason he merely controlled the “prince of the previous dynasty” without taking his life was firstly to restrain former dynasty military generals like the Huo family, making them afraid to act rashly, and secondly out of guilty conscience from rebelling to ascend the throne—to gain a good reputation before the people of the realm and stabilize his rule.

Originally Huo Liuxing did have the opportunity to grow up peacefully in Bianjing. But he was still young then, with an untamed nature in his bones. Under those old foxes’ watchful eyes, there were always times when he carelessly revealed his edge. His martial arts talent gradually provoked the imperial family’s wariness, so during that spring hunt, the Emperor took advantage of the situation to send him to Gong County.

Given this background, the imperial family had no reason to suddenly let him return to the capital, much less actively give him a chance to establish merit.

This was fundamentally a “Hongmen Banquet.” Shen Lingzhen guessed the Emperor valued Huo Liuxing’s talent and planned to use his strength to quell the warfare, then give him a “beautiful ending of being buried in green mountains”—two birds with one stone, killing the donkey after the grinding was done.

In other words, once Hexi was pacified, it would be his death.

When she heard the news, Shen Lingzhen had just recovered from illness and was praying at a suburban temple.

She hurriedly set everything aside and rushed toward Duke Yingguo’s mansion, wanting to ask her parents to strategize for Huo Liuxing. But she unfortunately encountered heavy snowfall and was blocked halfway. For safety’s sake, she had to return to the temple.

It was in that temple that she encountered Huo Liuxing again.

At that time she was sheltering in a small room inside the temple when a monk told her through a screen that a male benefactor, like her, had been blocked by wind and snow while traveling, asking if it would be convenient to take him in.

This wasn’t the Shen family home, and the other party was also seeking help with nowhere to turn—she naturally couldn’t refuse.

The maid helped her put on her veiled hat, then went out and gave the monk some silver, explaining: “My young lady is kind-hearted and willing to let the male benefactor enter the room. However, since men and women are different, please trouble the master not to let the other party cross the screen.”

The monk was about to agree when Huo Liuxing appeared.

The maid returned to the small room in shock and quietly informed her of the visitor’s identity.

She immediately removed her veiled hat, walked around the screen, and at a glance saw him covered in broken snow.

The instant their eyes met, there was an illusion of being separated by lifetimes.

She remembered it was him who spoke first, his tone and words as usual: “How does Miss Shen come to be here?”

After she explained the reason, she asked him in return. He said he’d been ordered from Gong County back to the capital. Before entering the city he encountered heavy snow and his horse couldn’t run, so he came here to rest.

Shen Lingzhen hurriedly welcomed him inside, having the maid brush the snow from his shoulders, but he avoided it.

She was anxious about his future path and couldn’t be bothered with these minor details, so let him be. She had the maid stand guard outside the small room, saying she had important matters to discuss with him.

With no one around, she sat across from him on opposite sides of a long table and said straightforwardly that she’d guessed the Emperor’s sinister intentions and hoped to help him.

He replied with a light smile: “How do you plan to help this humble officer?”

She shook her head, saying she didn’t know yet, but would definitely find a way.

He smiled again: “Why would you help this humble officer like this?”

“I can’t watch you go to your death.” After saying this, she herself realized this answer was the same as no answer, so added: “You saved me. I must repay your kindness.”

The smile on Huo Liuxing’s face faded, and he stopped using honorifics with her: “Shen Lingzhen, stop being foolish. Hasn’t anyone taught you how to judge people? You and I met by chance—why would I risk my life for you? You already know what I’m plotting and what kind of person I am. Why do you believe so firmly that I truly saved you that night?”

She froze: “What do you mean…”

“What kind of audacious, supremely capable mountain bandits could break into the imperial tomb’s forbidden grounds? Your so-called life-saving grace was from start to finish just a play I staged for you. Those mountain bandits—I arranged them.”

His expression was calm as he said this, as if merely describing an ordinary trivial matter.

But she felt as if struck by a heavy blow, dizzy with ringing in her ears, unable to even hear the howling wind outside the window.

Yes, no wonder he’d told her then not to let Bianjing know about this matter. That was because this kind of trick could only deceive a naive young lady like her.

“But your injuries…”

“When staging a play, one must make it realistic. Shedding some blood was necessary—just flesh wounds.”

“Then… those soldiers…”

“After over ten years, isn’t that enough time for me to bring all those people under my control?”

The more he spoke, the more convincing he sounded, but she was confused: “Why did you go to such great lengths for this charade?”

“Hasn’t it been very useful?” He smiled. “After you returned to the capital, you should have said many good things about me to your mother. Thanks to her these past six months, we’ve saved considerable effort.”

She wanted to question further, but he delivered another cruel blow: “A secret the Emperor himself hasn’t discovered—do you think you figured out my identity easily by yourself? You figured it out because I wanted you to figure it out.”

Shen Lingzhen understood completely and thoroughly.

When she’d first arrived at the imperial tomb, once she’d said she was his cousin’s betrothed, and he’d been somewhat surprised after hearing this.

Because at that time, Huo Liuxing already knew Duke Yingguo’s mansion had discovered his identity. He thought she should also know this clearly, but hadn’t expected her parents hadn’t told her this dangerous secret.

To him, since Duke Yingguo’s mansion’s elders hadn’t revealed this matter to the imperial family, this little girl was even more certainly safe.

So after staging that hero-saves-beauty ruse, he deliberately placed himself in a weak position, exposed flaws before her, and used her kindness to make her sympathize even more with his circumstances.

The subsequent events, recalled now, were somewhat hurtful.

She’d truly become different toward him precisely because she learned that he was actually her betrothed.

But at that critical juncture, what had he done?

She asked tremblingly: “Your fainting was an act, your concern for me was an act… all the chance encounters were manufactured by you. You practicing swordplay under the moon, you training troops by the river—you deliberately let me see… You not sleeping for three days and nights to build me pepper walls was also to…”

He interrupted her with a breezy smile, admitting: “Yes.”

“Then why… why aren’t you continuing to deceive me now?”

“Because it’s no longer necessary. Over these past six months, the Grand Princess has already fallen deep into the quagmire. If she doesn’t continue cooperating with us, it’s a dead end.”

She was shocked by his scheming and cunning deceit, looking at him in disbelief.

Yet he still said without remorse: “In this Bianjing city, from civil and military officials to imperial relatives, anyone with a foothold at court—which one doesn’t scheme at every step, using all means? I used you, but it was also unavoidable.”

He smiled and rose, preparing to leave.

But she also stood up, called out to him, holding onto one last shred of hope: “No, something’s still wrong… Why did you choose this particular moment to tell me all this? You should know that after I learn the truth, I might not ask Mother to help you anymore.”

He looked as if he’d heard a joke, turning back: “You think I deliberately told you these things so you wouldn’t take risks for me?”

She tacitly accepted this self-deceiving fantasy. But he said with amusement: “Don’t you know that the Grand Princess killed my elder brother back then and indirectly caused my mother’s death? I may have a conscience, but why should I use it on my enemies?”

Shen Lingzhen stood rooted in place, watching helplessly as he moved aside the small room’s door and step by step walked into the endless heavy snow.

Outside, the maid saw her absent-minded, trembling all over, and rushed in asking what had happened.

She stared straight at his retreating figure riding away, silent for a long time before saying: “Jianjia, this snow is so cold.”

This snow was cold enough to make her fall ill again, lying there for an entire month, constantly drowsy, half-dreaming and half-waking.

Cold enough that only after a very, very long time did she come to her senses—since her connection with him all along had been his deliberate scheme, then their reunion at that temple at such a critical juncture, could that possibly be coincidence?

This liar full of lies and superb acting skills had deceived her once again.

When he wanted to use her, he deceived her.

When he no longer wanted to use her, he still deceived her.

But this time, she would never again have the chance to hear him say: “Shen Lingzhen, stop being foolish. It was all to deceive you.”