Chapter 85: We are very disappointed in you

Today, the heavens seemed to quite favour Shen Yanyi; the leader of the currently on-duty imperial guards in the Imperial Palace was Chang Jiaye, whose relationship with her had always been good.

Chang Jiaye, seeing Shen Yanyi, who had changed her clothes, hurrying over, covered in the dust of travel, said with a smile, "How is it that such a busy person has found the time to come spend time with me? Don't tell me that you wanted to find her majesty in the Palace and got lost and so dazedly came to me. Go any further and it's the Rear Court; you'd best not rush in like a fool."

After she finished speaking, Chang Jiaye sniffed; she felt that there was a strange scent around Shen Yanyi today. But her thoughts didn't go towards the scent of blood; after all, she'd always felt that the impression Shen Yanyi gave one was that of a scholar; there couldn't be the slightest connection drawn to the scent of blood.

Shen Yanyi raised her head to look at Chang Jiaye, and smiled as well. "Ah, how could I? It was just that I dreamed of you last night; hearing you were on duty today, I came especially to see you. It's been a while since we've seen each other, hasn't it?"

As she spoke, she purposefully raised the wine she was carrying, looking innocent, and that she'd just killed someone couldn't be seen at all. This wine was one she'd bought especially from Honghailou on the way here; it was the kind that they'd always liked before, but never had the money to buy and drink.

Naturally Chang Jiaye could recognise it, and her eyes brightened. But the next moment, she shook her head, and clapped Shen Yanyi as she laughed. "You're wanting to cause me trouble, huh? You didn't come early and you didn't come late, but rather came when I was working. If I were to delay matters because I was drinking with you, even put together our heads wouldn't be enough to be cut off."

Shen Yanyi's gaze swept across the group following behind Chang Jiaye, and she blinked, and said, "You rest, and let them keep patrolling. What, without you, can they not function?"

Chang Jiaye, hearing this, was a bit dazed, and some probing arose in the expression she looked at Shen Yanyi with. However, Shen Yanyi was staring at her as well, and her gaze was full of sincerity and warmth. At this moment, the imperial guards following behind Chang Jiaye spoke as well. "After all you weren't meant to be working tonight; Chang-daren, why don't you go rest; with us here it's enough."

As it turned out, the person on duty today was someone else, but that person had fallen ill, and it was only at this that Chang Jiaye had eagerly taken the duty. She was good-natured towards others, and treated her subordinates well, and the patrolling imperial guards all respected and liked her as well. They'd long since been unable to stand watching her work day after day, and wanted to find an opportunity for her to rest.

With both sides urging her at once, Chang Jiaye softened as well. She no longer insisted on patrolling, but rather followed Shen Yanyi to the duty room to go sit and drink. The two interacted freely, even if they hadn't seen each other much recently, and now they couldn't finish speaking about things. So, they drank and spoke like this, until the sun set in the west, and Chang Jiaye laid on the table.

Shen Yanyi's initially somewhat hazy eyes returned to lucidity in a flash.

Of the wine just now, she hadn't drunk a single drop, having dragged Chang Jiaye into drunkenness, which was in order to give her a good reason for exoneration. As for the other patrolling imperial guards—

Shen Yanyi couldn't pay mind to all that.

The Imperial Palace was very large, and finding a place which didn't have many people and was hidden away wasn't a hard matter either. Seemingly without wasting effort, Shen Yanyi found the place where Yang Zhuofei was under house arrest. It wasn't because of any other reason, merely that this was the only place in the Rear Court which had people on guard.

"Who is it!" The guard guarding the door, at first somewhat dazed and sleepy, on suddenly hearing some sound, hurriedly rushed over.

Perhaps because she'd been walking too hurriedly, she was tripped by something she couldn't see clearly. So, her fellow imperial guards, seeing this, hurried to rush over, and this gave Shen Yanyi the perfect opportunity.

When she slipped into the courtyard, Yang Zhuofei was sitting on the reclining chair, eyes closed, sunbathing.

Shen Yanyi didn't make a sound, only silently walked to Yang Zhuofei, happening to obstruct the remaining sunlight.

With the area before her eyes growing suddenly dark, Yang Zhuofei's lazy gaze focused in an instant as well. Perhaps because she'd been imprisoned by herself for too long, Yang Zhuofei's expression was a bit dazed, and even her reactions weren't as quick as before. Only after staring intently at Shen Yanyi for a long while did she recognise her.

Shen Yanyi didn't wait for her to speak, and said with a lowered voice, "Ah, Wangfei-dianxia, it's been so long since we've seen each other."

Unexpectedly, Yang Zhuofei didn't look much more wretched than she had before. Though she'd been imprisoned in a desolate courtyard, Jiang Changbai hadn't treated her badly, either. The quality of her food and dress aligned with the standards of a princess, and even her daily baths had special maids to carry out. There was just one point—no one was allowed to speak with Yang Zhuofei; not even a single syllable.

Shen Yanyi, seeing this state of Yang Zhuofei's, inexplicably felt bad for Han Yu. Han Yu had been rushing all about outside so wretchedly. In the end, she'd lost her life, but the person she'd single-mindedly wished to save had been eating and drinking just fine here.

"Shen Yanyi," Yang Zhuofei said, her voice somewhat hoarse, "how come you're here?"

Shen Yanyi looked at her, her gaze carrying some chill. "Why do you think?"

"There's some sort of situation outside," Yang Zhuofei said, not replying to Shen Yanyi's question, but rather asking herself, as if at this moment, she was still that previously-respected Princess. "What of Han Yu?"

You even have the audacity to mention Han Yu, Shen Yanyi scoffed to herself coldly, and her disdain for Yang Zhuofei increased a degree. Then, she said, "I asked you first, didn't I? What, having been shut up in here for a few days, does the Princess no longer know how to answer questions?"

"Han Yu asked you to come save this princess and bring me out of the Palace," Yang Zhuofei said, raising her eyes to look at Shen Yanyi, her voice carrying only certainty.

Shen Yanyi's gaze flashed with shock, as if having been startled by these words of Yang Zhuofei's. But the next moment she sneered, "With such incredible prophetic foresight, how has Wangfei-dianxia been locked in here?"

Yang Zhuofei scoffed, and turned her head, not paying her any mind. Shen Yanyi didn't have the intention to let her get away, and added, "Then does Dianxia think that I'm here to save you and take you out of the Palace?"

Yang Zhuofei didn't look at her. "One answer for one question; you ought to be answering this princess' question."

Shen Yanyi shifted a bit closer. "Ah, it seems like Dianxia still can't see the situation; right now, what right do you have to discuss terms with me? Whatever I ask, you answer, and perhaps if I'm feeling generous, I might bright you out."

Yang Zhuofei sneered, "It's you who can't see the situation, isn't it? If I were to call in the imperial bodyguards with a shout right now, do you believe you'd be able to get out alive?"

Shen Yanyi went still at Yang Zhuofei's words, her mind buzzing. Only now did she realise what all she'd done in her haste, but it was already too late. She could only give in to Yang Zhuofei, but when she spoke, it still carried an unwillingness. "Those of Prince Yu's manor who have died have died, and those who have left have left; as for Han Yu, she just left from my residence. What, is this situation the same as what Dianxia guessed at?" Shen Yanyi lied furtively.

Yang Zhuofei's right hand unconsciously tightened on the reclining chair's arm. The current state of Prince Yu's manor was more or less the same as she'd expected, but as long as Han Yu was there, she had hope. But hearing these words of Shen Yanyi's, Yang Zhuofei suddenly felt a bit flustered. But perhaps she would never have the opportunity to understand the origin of this fluster in this lifetime.

But Han Yu would never have something happen to her, she's so clever, Yang Zhuofei silently assured herself.

Right now, the thing which Shen Yanyi was most unwilling to respect was this unperturbed state of Yang Zhuofei's; everything had clearly arisen from her greed, so how was she able to now be so calm and collected?

If it weren't for her, Shen Yanyi nearly snarled in her mind. If it weren't for Yang Zhuofei sewing discord from within, how could she have become what she had now? Haste had long since extinguished Shen Yanyi's rationality entirely, and, not knowing what was controlling her, she reached out to grip Yang Zhuofei's throat, exerting herself to lift her up.

"I don't intend to take you out anymore; why don't you just stay here forever? Stay here, in the Imperial Palace you did all you could to force your way into."

Yang Zhuofei's hands tangled at her throat, wanting to pry Shen Yanyi's hands away. But even if Shen Yanyi weren't skilled in martial arts, Yang Zhuofei wasn't her equal in her fury either. The sense of suffocation enveloped her from all sides, and Yang Zhuofei felt the edges of her gaze grow gradually dark. But in this instant, she suddenly thought of something.

"The jade pendant, I remembered where I left your mother's jade pendant."

Hearing this, Shen Yanyi's hands lost a degree of force. Yang Zhuofei seized this opportunity as well, prying Shen Yanyi's hands away from her neck. Red marks had appeared on her fair neck, but at this moment, no one paid any mind to this.

Yang Zhuofei bent over, panting harshly. "Take me out, and I'll give what your mother left behind to you."

Shen Yanyi was somewhat hesitant. She couldn't tell if Yang Zhuofei was being earnest right now, or if she was, once more, deceiving her. Yang Zhuofei had deceived Shen Yanyi too many times, enough that this time, Shen Yanyi didn't dare to trust Yang Zhuofei once more. But Shen Yanyi also hoped that these words of Yang Zhuofei's were true; she truly wanted to obtain what her mother had left behind.

Yang Zhuofei cleverly caught onto this hesitance of Shen Yanyi's. She knew that, right now, the only one she could rely on was Shen Yanyi. So, as she wracked her mind to try and recall some more things about Shen Yanyi's mother, she used her words to soothe her, and make Shen Yanyi believe her.

"Alright, I'll take you out," Shen Yanyi, in the end, was willing to compromise.

After all, Han Yu had already died, and even if Yang Zhuofei were to get out, she'd have to depend on herself to survive. Once she'd truly gotten her mother's things, it wouldn't be too late to kill her, either. As she thought, Shen Yanyi turned her head, looking towards the doorway.

But at this moment, the great doors which had been closed tightly for who knew how long suddenly slowly opened.

Both their faces were startled.

The figures of a group of people were revealed as the crack of the door grew wider and wider, and at its head was Chang Jiaye.

"You, weren't you—" Shen Yanyi asked, not daring to believe it.

"Apologies," Chang Jiaye said, turning her head and not daring to look at her, "I poured all the wine out."

As it turned out, at the start, Chang Jiaye really hadn't connected the scent on Shen Yanyi to the scent of blood. But as the two had been walking, one in front of the other, she'd seen the traces of blood on Shen Yanyi that she hadn't cleaned off entirely. The two had known each other for so many years, and she didn't dare to make absurd conclusions, and could only accompany Shen Yanyi in acting out a farce.

Until she'd seen Shen Yanyi slip into the Rear Court.

Actually, now, the Rear Court had long since been different from the past, empty as anything. Only the important Empress Dowager's personal quarters was guarded by imperial guards. But that wasn't a place that Shen Yanyi ought to be going; if she really wanted to enter, there would most certainly be an issue.

After some struggling, Chang Jiaye had still reported the matter to Jiang Changbai.

One after another, the imperial guards walked out, and Jiang Changbai's figure gradually grew clear. She gazed firmly at Shen Yanyi. "We are very disappointed in you."

-

< LAST | HOME | NEXT >

-