The second year of Yong’an.
This year’s winter had arrived earlier than usual.
From within the great hall, the sounds of carnal pleasure between a man and a woman drifted out, mingling with the piercingly cold wind.
“Your Ladyship, let us return. His Majesty said he would not see anyone today.”
The palace maid looked at the woman who had been kneeling outside the hall for over an hour. Thinking of her young and delicate frame, she could not help but whisper a plea out of pity.
Wen Jinxin’s strikingly beautiful face was deathly pale, yet she did not move an inch. Her back remained ramrod straight as her eyes stayed fixed upon the palace doors.
“This servant begs for an audience with His Majesty.”
As she spoke, she kowtowed forcefully, the crisp thuds echoing repeatedly along the corridors of the high building.
After a long while, the doors were finally swung open from within. A tall, thin emperor clad in a loose robe stepped out toward her. Only then did she stop her movements.
Shen Henglin held his currently favored Consort Wu in his arms as he crouched down and slowly gripped her chin.
“What is it, my dear? Is it so urgent that you must see me this instant?”
Consort Wu looked triumphantly at the kneeling Wen Jinxin. At this moment, Wen Jinxin bore none of the grace she once held when she was the most favored woman in the harem.
Consort Wu feigned concern, speaking on Wen Jinxin’s behalf, “Your Majesty, it is freezing cold. How can Sister’s body endure this? It would be better to invite her inside to rest.”
Wen Jinxin acted as if she did not see the disheveled Consort Wu beside him, her gaze burning as she stared at Shen Henglin.
“Your Majesty, everyone in this world may betray you, but the Zhennan Wangfu never would. I beg Your Majesty to rescind the imperial order.”
Her exquisite face was what Shen Henglin had once loved most, but unfortunately, the words she spoke only filled him with annoyance.
The grip on her chin tightened, as if he meant to crush her. “You are someone who came from the Zhennan Wangfu, so naturally, you are biased. How can I trust you?”
Then, leaning down, he mocked her in a whisper, “Is my dear trying to save the Zhennan Wangfu, or are you trying to save that ‘good’ cousin of yours?”
With a flick of his hand, he stood up coldly. “The Noble Consort is muddled by her illness and speaking nonsense. Escort her back to her palace to rest immediately.”
Looking at the man before her, Wen Jinxin felt that for the first time in three years, she truly saw him for who he was.
She still remembered the sincere look on his face when he asked for her hand in marriage. Looking back, it was all a joke. No wonder he had never touched her after they wed.
In the past, she had believed his claims of “cherishing” her because she was young. Now she realized it was all lies. He had always been suspicious of her and her cousin. If that were the case, why marry her at all?
“Shen Henglin, you have actually doubted me all this time?”
Shen Henglin frowned and gave her a cold, impatient look. “Have you had enough of this scene?”
When the palace maids came forward to support her, Wen Jinxin slowly pushed them away and struggled to stand up from the ground.
“Shen Henglin, since the day I married you, I have never been of two minds. The gods and buddhas can bear witness. But do you dare to swear that you were never of two minds toward me?” Wen Jinxin’s face was like frost, her voice like a cold spring.
Shen Henglin was used to Wen Jinxin’s delicate beauty, but this resolute and decisive side of her possessed a different kind of valiant beauty—one he had never seen before.
Wen Jinxin was undoubtedly beautiful—so breathtakingly so that with just one glance years ago, he had resolved to have her by any means necessary.
At this moment, Shen Henglin ignored her disrespect in addressing him by his name and waved his hand in agitation. “What are you waiting for? Take the Noble Consort down at once!”
Before the palace maids could approach, Wen Jinxin retreated several steps to the edge of the corridor, leaning against the railing.
“I, Shen Henglin, wish to take you as my wife. In this life and the next, there shall only be you. We shall stay together forever.” The vows of the past still echoed in her ears.
Looking at him with his arms full of concubines, realizing he had not only framed the Zhennan Wangfu but also slandered her relationship with her cousin, she realized just how blind she had been.
If she had any regrets in this life, it was only that she had failed the Zhennan Wangfu.
Seeing her skirt fluttering in the wind, Shen Henglin felt a surge of unease, but subconsciously felt it was impossible.
Wen Jinxin had been pampered since childhood. After marrying him, she became a canary kept in a cage; she had no opinions of her own and listened to him in everything. A bird with broken wings could not fly.
Thus, when Wen Jinxin turned back to give him a tragic smile, Shen Henglin had not yet processed what was happening.
“Shen Henglin, didn’t you ask me how I would prove it?”
Dressed in a snow-white robe, Wen Jinxin threw herself over the railing before anyone could react.
By the time Shen Henglin snapped back to his senses and rushed over, the silk ribbon of her robe had just slipped through his fingers.
“Wen Jinxin!”
The white figure merged with the moonlight, finally descending into a slow fall.
After a flash of searing pain, only screams and cries remained in Wen Jinxin’s ears.
She found it strange that she suddenly felt no more pain.
She simply drifted in mid-air, watching everyone cry…
Wait, her?
Wen Jinxin only then realized that she was currently in a soul state, drifting apart from everyone else.
She watched as Shen Henglin merely looked at her corpse twice before ordering people to clean it up. He did not place her in a coffin, but kept her in her own palace.
The Changchun Palace.
Shen Henglin had once said that this was the palace closest to his own great hall, bestowed upon her so that he could see her at any time.
Now, her corpse lay inside that very hall.
He forbade her from being placed in a coffin or being buried; Shen Henglin wanted her to be unable to rest in peace even in death.
Perhaps because her resentment before death was too deep, Wen Jinxin wandered through the inner palace in this soul form for several days.
She did not know if she was a person or a ghost. No one could see her, yet she did not fear the sun or any sacred objects. She could change nothing, so she could only wander aimlessly.
It was not until half a month later that an urgent report was delivered to the Jinluan Hall.
“Shen Jue, the Heir of Zhennan Wang, has rebelled! He has led an army of eight hundred thousand toward the capital! Their forces are currently camped in the Hantan Forest not far from here. Capturing the capital is only a matter of time!”
The Jinluan Hall instantly fell into an uproar as the officials began shouting all sorts of things.
Shen Henglin rose in a fit of rage and questioned, “What use is it for me to keep you all? Why is it only reported now that the rebels are at our gates?”
“Reporting to Your Majesty, the Prince Heir was originally ordered to suppress the water pirates. Our men monitored him the entire way. But ten days ago, he suddenly claimed illness and did not emerge. We reported this strange movement to Your Majesty, but…”
Shen Henglin froze. He remembered. That was the seventh day after Wen Jinxin’s death. He had been drowning his sorrows in Consort Wu’s palace and had not granted audience to any officials.
He never imagined that Shen Jue would use such a ruse to escape and silently lead a massive army straight to the capital.
Wen Jinxin was stunned. That cousin who had bullied and looked down on her since they were young; that Heir of Zhennan Wang whose innocence she had died to prove.
Shen Jue.
He had actually risen in rebellion and was now at the city gates.
Shen Henglin had always suspected the Zhennan Wangfu of treacherous intent and had even plotted several times to ambush and eliminate Shen Jue to end the threat. Sending him to suppress the pirates was merely a trap to kill him.
Wen Jinxin had found out by accident, which was why she used her death to prove her own and the Zhennan Wangfu’s innocence.
Unexpectedly, everything had now come true.
Though she did not know why Shen Jue had suddenly rebelled, seeing Shen Henglin’s defeated and furious face gave her a sense of immense satisfaction.
In the court, the civil and military officials were all advising Shen Henglin to withdraw from the capital first.
With eight hundred thousand elite troops in Shen Jue’s hands, even a temporary mobilization would be futile. They could only abandon the capital to save their lives.
Shen Henglin’s face was dark as he walked from the dragon throne to the official who had spoken.
“You want me to flee?”
The official heard the displeasure in his tone and quickly explained, “It is not fleeing, but preserving our strength. As long as you are here, the empire remains…”
Before he could finish, Shen Henglin drew a long sword from a guard and hacked off the official’s head. The head rolled onto the floor with a dull thud.
Shen Henglin said viciously, “Does anyone else want to flee?”
Instantly, the Jinluan Hall was stained crimson. It was silent; no one dared to speak another word.
“I am the Son of Heaven, the True Dragon. I will never flee, let alone bow my head and admit defeat to Shen Jue. Pass down my order: defend the city gates to the death. Anyone who attempts to flee the imperial city shall be executed on the spot.”
Only two days later.
Wen Jinxin watched with her own eyes as blood flooded the golden bricks. The flames of war spread from the city gates all the way to the palace entrance.
Shen Jue was indeed a natural at leading troops. Furthermore, Shen Henglin’s execution of his officials had incited public outrage. Capturing the gates and forcing a surrender took only a single day.
By the time he led his elite troops to the palace gates, everyone knew that the end had come.
Only Shen Henglin, wearing his dragon robes, sat on his throne and went nowhere.
By now, he could no longer kill all those who were fleeing; the entire palace was filled with servants escaping for their lives.
Finally, amidst the wails and cries, the palace gates were smashed open from the outside. Wen Jinxin saw a tall man on horseback, clad in armor and drenched in blood.
They had not seen each other for over two years. In Wen Jinxin’s memory, he was still the brightly-clad Chaos Demon King. Now, he was the God of Slaughter, holding a bloody blade.
Shen Jue rode his horse straight to the front of the hall, his blood-stained sword dragging along the ground as he approached the dragon throne.
The previously somber Shen Henglin suddenly threw his head back and laughed loudly. “You’ve finally come. The world mocked me for being overly suspicious, but they did not know that from the moment I saw you, I knew you had the heart of a wolf!”
Shen Jue said nothing. He took step after step toward Shen Henglin until his long sword cut through the air and pressed directly against the emperor’s neck.
“Where is she?”
His voice was hoarse and low, devoid of any emotion.
Wen Jinxin, floating behind them, was suddenly taken aback. Who was Shen Jue asking for?
Shen Henglin’s breathing became heavy as his face contorted. “Her? She is my legally wedded consort. Shen Jue, you will never have her in this lifetime. You still lost to me.”
Wen Jinxin had a bad premonition and instinctively wanted to flee.
Then she heard Shen Jue’s raspy voice again. “I asked you: where is she?”
This time, Shen Jue directly throttled his neck. Shen Henglin’s thin face turned bright red and then purple, but he continued to laugh.
“She… she is already dead. Cough… Even in death, she is my woman. You… will never have her…”
With every word Shen Henglin spoke, Shen Jue tightened his grip. By the time the last word fell, the emperor’s limbs had completely stopped struggling.
Wen Jinxin didn’t even have time to feel satisfied by his death before she saw that Shen Jue’s eyes were bloodshot. At this moment, he looked like a Rakshasa from a blood-soaked hell.
One of Shen Jue’s subordinates whispered something in his ear, and he immediately sprinted out of the hall.
Wen Jinxin instinctively knew it was related to her and followed him without a second thought.
No one paid any more attention to the young emperor who had been on the throne for barely a year, now lying there with his eyes wide open, unable to rest in peace.
Shen Jue left the Jinluan Hall and strode to the Changchun Palace. But at the entrance, he stopped. His bloodshot eyes stared at the palace doors, his tall figure motionless.
Wen Jinxin felt as if she could sense the emotions pouring out of him. This tyrannical God of Slaughter was actually afraid.
At some point, snow began to fall. The frantic cries of palace servants echoed in the air. The entire palace was brightly lit throughout the night, and Shen Jue stood there in the wind and snow for a full day and night.
Snow covered his iron armor and the blood on his sword had long since dried and hardened. Shen Jue still did not move until dawn, when a subordinate finally stepped forward to advise, “Your Highness, it is time for the coronation.”
After a long while, Shen Jue finally moved his feet and walked slowly into the Changchun Palace. He immediately saw the ice coffin inside the hall.
A few days ago, Shen Henglin had been possessed by some strange impulse and commissioned an ice coffin to seal Wen Jinxin’s body.
Because of this, her body had not decayed. However, having fallen from a great height, she was still a tragic sight even after her body had been prepared.
Wen Jinxin herself could not bear to look at her own corpse, but Shen Jue stood before it, his eyes fixed.
Just as Wen Jinxin thought he would stand there forever, Shen Jue slowly knelt down and gently caressed her face.
He murmured in a hoarse voice, his eyes filled with an inescapable, obsessive love.
“You loved beauty most in life. Shall I have someone dress you up?”
His Ajin was only nineteen this year; she was the most beautiful woman in the world.
After staring infatuatedly for a long time, Shen Jue snapped at the nearby palace maids, ordering them to redo Wen Jinxin’s makeup and change her into the most magnificent of gowns.
During this time, his subordinates anxiously urged him for fear of missing the auspicious hour. Shen Jue, however, merely pulled a nearly withered red plum blossom from his chest and carefully tucked it into Wen Jinxin’s hair.
Only after Wen Jinxin was fully dressed did he suddenly heave the ice coffin onto his shoulder and stride toward the Jinluan Hall.
The Jinluan Hall had been cleaned. The officials and subordinates supporting him were waiting anxiously.
They never expected that what they were waiting for was Shen Jue and an ice coffin.
The civil and military officials looked at his blood-red armor and then at each other. Not a single person dared to speak a word of advice; they still vividly remembered his bloodthirsty slaughter of the past few days.
Shen Jue sat upon the dragon throne while carrying the ice coffin. Immediately, an official stepped forward to read the coronation edict.
“By the Grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Shen Henglin acted against the way of heaven. Today, the Heir of Zhennan Wang has campaigned on behalf of heaven and ascends the throne as Emperor.”
As the voice fell, the officials knelt in submission, shouting “Long live the Emperor!”
Shen Jue accepted the worship expressionlessly. He pulled another edict from his robes and handed it to the official. “Read it.”
The official took it and his face changed instantly as he fell to his knees. “Your Majesty, this cannot be!”
With one hand supporting the ice coffin, Shen Jue swung his sword with the other, pressing it against the official’s neck. With a face full of tyrannical violence, he rasped, “I told you to read it.”
The official’s voice trembled as he read the edict word for word: “The lady of the Wen clan, Jinxin, is hereby conferred the title of Empress.”
The few strokes were bold and powerful, written by Shen Jue’s own hand. Before breaching the palace, he had kept this edict and the red plum blossom close to his chest, all for this moment.
He wanted to proclaim to the world that the day he, Shen Jue, became King would be the moment she became his Empress.
Watching everything unfold was like waking from a dream for Wen Jinxin. The red plum, the gown—one by one, scenes she hadn’t understood before flashed before her eyes, suddenly clear.
Her heart felt a piercing pain. Not only had she entrusted her life to the wrong man, but she had also missed the one who truly loved her.
Tears fell like rain. She wanted to get closer to Shen Jue, to embrace his blood-stained armor, to tell him she was right there.
But just as Wen Jinxin tried to move, her vision went black, and she fell into an endless darkness.
Before her eyes closed, she saw Shen Che look in her direction as if he had sensed something, his gaze deep and filled with obsession.
His cracked lips moved, and Wen Jinxin understood what he said.
He said, “Ajin.”
Wen Jinxin did not know how long she slept. She only felt pain all over her body, as if she were being burned by fire.
She felt thirsty, and she felt someone gently shaking her body.
After several attempts, Wen Jinxin finally forced her heavy eyelids open. A blurred figure was calling out to her anxiously by the bedside.
Where… was she?