“How dare she address His Highness by his name? Does she have a death wish?”
Whispers echoed around her, accompanied by a bone-chilling cold that seeped into her very core.
“What did you say?”
A clear, cold male voice rang out, instantly silencing the surrounding murmurs.
Yet Song Jiuning could hardly believe her ears.
This…
It was unmistakably Shen Wenjing’s voice.
But wasn’t she a ghost? How could Shen Wenjing hear her?
Puzzled, Song Jiuning opened her eyes. Her vision was filled only with intricate black cloud-patterned boots.
Looking up, she saw a figure clad in a sky-blue robe embroidered with a four-clawed golden dragon at the chest. With sharp brows, a high nose, and an imposing presence—who else could it be but Shen Wenjing?
Except… this didn’t seem to be Taiji Hall?
Warm sunlight spilled over her, and Song Jiuning instinctively shivered. Only then did she realize she was drenched and lying in a pitiful heap on the ground.
What… was going on?
Could ghosts still feel cold?
“This prince asks you, what did you just say?”
Seeing that she was awake but only rolling her eyes without answering, Shen Wenjing frowned and raised his voice to repeat the question.
Could this be the underworld?
Had Shen Wenjing ultimately fallen for Shen Yunting’s trap and come down to join her?
At this thought, hatred surged in Song Jiuning’s heart once more.
But upon seeing Shen Wenjing, it turned into heartache.
She reached out, grasping the hem of Shen Wenjing’s robe, her voice trembling slightly. “Shen Wenjing, I’ve wronged you.”
Hearing this, Shen Wenjing was momentarily taken aback.
“Oh?”
Song Jiuning used the momentum to stand up, seizing Shen Wenjing’s wrist in the process. “I know everything you’ve done for me.”
Shen Wenjing looked at her hand, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes. “What do you know?”
Song Jiuning wanted to say she knew it all.
How he withdrew from the world and then reemerged for her, how he cleared her Song Family’s name, how he stormed the palace for her, how he knelt for her—she had witnessed every single act.
Remembering his reddened eyes as he gritted his teeth and insisted she wasn’t dead, Song Jiuning felt a lump form in her throat.
She sniffled softly and said gently, “There are some things I want to tell you. Could you…”
“Song Jiuning! What nonsense are you spouting?”
A rough shout cut off the rest of her words, striking Song Jiuning like a bolt of lightning.
This voice—she would never forget it, even in death.
Shen Yunting, who had been watching the spectacle from the crowd, stepped forward.
This woman was supposed to be madly infatuated with him, so how could she look at another man with such an expression just because she fell into the water?
It was true he didn’t love Song Jiuning, but for the sake of his plans, he absolutely couldn’t let her fall in love with someone else.
Shen Yunting roughly pushed Song Jiuning away. “Kneel and apologize to Imperial Elder Brother!”
Caught off guard, Song Jiuning stumbled backward from the push, losing her balance and falling toward the lotus pond.
“Shen Wenjing, save me!”
Instinctively crying for help, Song Jiuning reached out for Shen Wenjing.
But to her surprise, Shen Wenjing frowned and sidestepped slightly, avoiding her grasp.
Song Jiuning froze.
Fortunately, with eight years of battlefield experience, her body reacted quickly. With a graceful sideways kick, she steadied herself against the railing.
Seeing Shen Wenjing earlier had distracted her from carefully considering her situation, but now she sensed something was amiss.
Song Jiuning lifted her gaze and looked at the crowd standing not far away, suddenly awakening as if from a dream.
This place… seemed to be Gongning Wangfu.
That’s right!
At that time, in order to meet Shen Yunting, she had shamelessly pestered her father and brothers to attend Shen Wenjing’s twentieth birthday celebration.
While waiting for Shen Yunting in the backyard, she drank the fruit wine brought by a servant from Prince Gongning’s residence.
Unexpectedly, the wine had been laced with “Yihuan Powder.” As the daughter of a general, she nearly lost her purity to a lowly servant.
With no other choice, she had to jump into the lotus pond to detoxify.
The incident became widely known, and the servant, of course, committed suicide out of fear of punishment.
Her father initially had doubts about the matter, but Shen Yunting spoke earnestly, claiming that Shen Wenjing, aware of his closeness to Song Jiuning and fearing his growing influence as a threat, had resorted to such despicable tactics against her.
He even tearfully swore that Shen Wenjing had underestimated the depth of his affection for her.
He declared that even if she had truly lost her chastity, he would never look down on her.
Back then, Song Jiuning was deeply moved.
Thus, the General’s Manor was compelled to support Shen Yunting for her sake.
Yet she clearly remembered that Shen Wenjing had not been present when the incident occurred.
“What are you spacing out for? Hurry up—”
Shen Yunting, flustered and angry, reached for her again, but Song Jiuning quickly stepped back two paces.
She glared fiercely at Shen Yunting and snapped, “Don’t touch me!”
Shen Yunting was stunned. Song Jiuning had always been obedient to him and had never shouted at him so harshly.
Perhaps due to excessive agitation, Song Jiuning suddenly felt dizzy.
Soon after, an unusual warmth slowly began to spread from her lower abdomen.
The effects of the Yihuan Powder, temporarily suppressed by the cold pond water, were flaring up again!
The sensation was too real to be a dream—it was…
Rebirth.
Had Heaven taken pity on her, granting her another chance?
The crowd of onlookers grew larger, with even many officials who had come to offer congratulations hearing the commotion and gathering in the backyard.
The poison was spreading, and she couldn’t hold out much longer. If she succumbed in front of everyone…
The news of Song Jiuning behaving indecently in public at Prince Gongning’s residence would spread throughout the court.
Unable to worry about anything else, Song Jiuning decisively grasped Shen Wenjing’s hand once more.
Her gaze burned as she looked at him: “Take me away, I beg you.”
Shen Wenjing raised an eyebrow, his eyes filled with coldness: “Why should I?”
His gaze was so icy that even under the blazing June sun, it sent an inexplicable chill through her.
Recalling how he had ignored her plea for help earlier…
Oh no, had she misunderstood?
Or perhaps, at this point, Shen Wenjing had not yet developed feelings for her?
Had she come too early???
Regardless, he was the only one she could trust now.
Song Jiuning took a step forward, moving closer to him, and lowered her voice: “I’ve been poisoned with Yihuan Powder. Only you can help me.”
To the surrounding onlookers, this scene appeared as if the two were intimately entwined in public.
Who was Shen Wenjing?
The only prince in the Dasheng Dynasty without a princess consort.
Countless noblewomen had tried to approach him, but he wouldn’t even glance their way.
Even when the current emperor tried to select a consort for him, he would rather defy the imperial decree than comply.
It was said that not even a female mosquito dared fly near Shen Wenjing.
Moreover, everyone knew that Song Jiuning’s heart belonged to Shen Yunting.
Given Shen Wenjing’s temperament, he would most likely kick this overreaching woman into the water.
Whispers and sighs filled the air, but Song Jiuning paid them no heed.
She tilted her head slightly to look at Shen Wenjing, her breathing gradually becoming uncontrollably rapid.
After a long moment…
Shen Wenjing bent down and lifted her into his arms.
Song Jiuning wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her ear against his firm chest.
Listening to Shen Wenjing’s strong and steady heartbeat, her heart inexplicably calmed, and her previously tightly clenched lower lip relaxed.
Bedchamber.
Noticing the unease of the person in his arms, Shen Wenjing gently placed Song Jiuning on the bed.
He stood with his hands behind his back at the foot of the bed, his deep gaze fixed on Song Jiuning. “Speak, what exactly are your intentions?”
If she was truly devoted to his tenth brother, Shen Yunting, then no matter what, it should not have been him who saved her from the poison.
Shen Wenjing’s eyes grew even colder and sharper. “And what exactly have you found out?”