“Are you mad! You clearly know that’s just the old fox’s scheme to deceive you. The identity on that examination certificate was prepared for you by him, and he had already instructed that this matter must be kept from you. After you learned the truth, you and I were to immediately leave prosperous areas and go into hiding. He said that with your intelligence, as long as you had sufficient time to escape, you would surely be able to protect yourself in the future.”
Leng Xue gripped her shoulders fiercely, his eyes becoming cold and sharp. She smiled and slowly said: “Leng Xue, let me ask you—who issued this death warrant? Do you know whether it was the late emperor or the new emperor?”
Leng Xue’s expression froze. He frowned for a long time before shaking his head.
She continued: “If it was the late emperor, then we still have a sliver of hope. But if it was the new emperor… Consider that the coronation ceremony is imminent—what an important matter this is, yet he still devoted energy to ordering the extermination of my Feng family. If he values this so highly, can two substitute corpses from the Feng family truly deceive him? Once word leaks out, since all lands under heaven belong to the king, must we spend our entire lives hiding like mice? You know my temperament—if I lose my freedom, I’d rather die!”
Leng Xue’s mouth tightened as he lowered his eyes slightly.
“Moreover, I cannot leave this blood debt unavenged. I must discover the reason for the Feng family’s extermination. If we were wronged, I will certainly seek justice for the Feng family!”
“If it truly was the new emperor’s doing, what can you do? Can you kill the emperor?”
Leng Xue suddenly raised his head and asked sternly.
“Become his most trusted minister, then kill him. Do you believe it, or… don’t you?”
Hearing her low laughter, Leng Xue’s expression changed dramatically as he snatched away the long sword she held reversed in her palm.
Suzhen’s palm was already cut bloody and mangled, but only this way could slightly ease the severe pain in her heart.
Everyone was dead. She only had Leng Xue left. She had to protect him, and she still had to take revenge. She couldn’t just collapse like this.
Only intense pain could keep one clear-headed.
Leng Xue’s pupils flickered rapidly with changing light, his breathing suddenly becoming heavy. Gritting his teeth as he stared at her, he finally nodded heavily: “I agree to let you go to the capital. Even if I die, I will protect you. But you must also promise me—don’t harm yourself, don’t change. I… the old fox would never want to see you like this…”
Change?
Father… Mother… Elder Brother… and Hong Xiao were all gone. What did it matter whether she changed or not?
Suzhen thought in a daze before fainting in Leng Xue’s arms.
Heaven and earth experienced the first snow since winter began. The entire world was wrapped in silver, pristine and elegant. Suzhen also fell seriously ill for the first time since birth, nearly unable to survive this first snow, frightening Leng Xue into secretly summoning many doctors to examine her.
The doctors said her illness was too severe—a heart ailment that couldn’t be cured.
As soon as she took the medicine, she would vomit it up. Every night she had the same dream, dreaming that she broke free from that blue-robed man’s grip and, by a single step’s difference, successfully avoided Leng Xue and returned to Huai County to die together with her parents and brother.
If only she could have been more heartless then and gotten into the carriage—how could Leng Xue, drugged as he was, have caught up with her?
She hated herself extremely, and also hated that man. According to Leng Xue, that man hadn’t left any additional words before departing with his people. Upon hearing this, she just laughed. She had never expected him to repay anything anyway.
Her mind was clear, but her body was sinking. Later, she woke up one midnight to see Leng Xue standing by the bed with sword in hand, guarding her. His clear, bright eyes faintly showed moisture. Her heart ached greatly, and struggling to rise, she desperately took medicine and saved her own life.
After half a month, her condition finally improved, though she was left with lasting effects. Being half a doctor herself, she understood in her heart but kept it from Leng Xue. The two set out for the capital.
On the road, when questioned, Leng Xue revealed that regarding the case of the Feng family’s execution, he also knew nothing of the suspicious circumstances within. Her father had never mentioned a single word to him. When he inquired, her father’s expression was complex and he wouldn’t answer.
What exactly had her father been before retiring to Huai County? Was he truly part of Prince Jin’s old faction?
Did the emperor execute the Feng family for this reason?
Who exactly issued the death warrant—could it be the new emperor?
By what means had her father negotiated two lives from the executioners?
And who was this executioner?
Had Young Master Li’s family been implicated?
Suzhen decided to stick to the original plan. After reaching the capital, she would still seek out Fu Jingshu. Perhaps she could discover fragments of secrets about the Feng family’s extermination from him.
Qiongrong Commandery was extremely large—it would take several days to leave the commandery. That evening, the two lodged at an inn in the commandery. Suzhen deliberately chose a large inn called “Success.”
The imperial examinations were held every three years. Throughout the realm, countless inns and post stations existed. Over hundreds of years, many romantic tales and enduring stories of scholars going to take examinations had emerged from among them. As the name suggested, this Success Inn must be where scholar candidates gathered to lodge.
Since she intended to take the imperial examination, she had to get close to these people. While slightly probing their abilities, she could also explore the various factional situations in the capital and ally with those beneficial to her. Without backing, even with outstanding talent, one couldn’t truly “stand out.” Fu Jingshu’s official position wasn’t high and couldn’t be relied upon too much. She especially feared implicating him in the future—she absolutely couldn’t harm this friend of her father’s. Finally, she hoped to discover news of Young Master Li.
For safety, Leng Xue still shared a room with her, ignoring impropriety between men and women.
As Leng Xue was laying out floor bedding, Suzhen heard voices in the courtyard. Her heart stirred, and she opened the door to go out. She saw over ten scholars gathered around the stone table in the courtyard, some standing, some sitting. Everyone casually discussed examination topics from previous years’ metropolitan and palace examinations, then gradually began talking about various important figures at court.
Brothers close to the new emperor Lian Yu—Seventh Prince Lian Jie, Ninth Prince Lian Qin, Grand Tutor Wei Chenghui, Left Chancellor Yan Da, Right Chancellor Quan Feitong, General-in-Chief Chao Gai, Marquis Xiao Yao (the Empress Dowager’s nephew Huo Chang’an), Protector General Marquis Murong Jing, the Six Ministry Ministers…
Below one person, above ten thousand—which of these didn’t form their own faction, which didn’t wield power?
When she heard Marquis Murong Jing’s name, she shuddered. The blue-robed man had mentioned he was General Murong’s nephew… Then she suddenly heard one of them say in surprise: “Eh, Brother Zhaoting, why have you come over too?”
Another person asked: “Could this be Young Master Li from Huai County?”