Chapter 6

Chapter 6

His Highness refused to grant me the marriage decree.

Of everyone who entered the Golden Luan Hall that day, I was the only one who did not receive a boon from the Crown Prince, becoming the latest laughingstock of the court.

I had provoked His Highness’s ire, and no one was more delighted by this than Consort Wei.

The Wei Family had produced generations of Grand Councilors; their patriarch was a venerable elder who had served three successive reigns. Consort Wei, whose name was Wei Wan, was the only legitimate daughter of the Wei Family. She was so pampered that when the Crown Prince was previously sent into exile, the Wei Family had been able to force me to marry him in her stead.

The Wei Family had certainly played a part in the Crown Prince’s restoration to his position, but morally and logically, their past actions were indefensible.

Consequently, Wei Wan, who should have been the Crown Princess, could now only serve as a Secondary Consort.

That day, after I withdrew from the Golden Luan Hall and was walking along the palace path, I happened to cross paths with Consort Wei’s palanquin.

I knelt by the side of the road with the other servants.

Normally, Consort Wei would have ignored me as she always did, but she ordered her eunuchs to stop. Leaning out from her palanquin, she let out a long, leisurely sigh. “Ah Fu, I never realized you were so deeply devoted to General Shen.”

My back stiffened.

If there was anyone in this world who least wanted to see me with General Shen, it was Wei Wan.

Shen Zhao and the Crown Prince were as close as brothers.

She could never accept the humiliation of having her former maid become her peer through marriage.

Furthermore, back then, Shen Zhao had frequently slighted her for my sake.

Whatever Consort Wei had to say now was bound to be cruel.

But her next sentence made me snap my head up. Smiling brightly, she asked, “Do you know how Shen Zhao died?”

I didn’t. I only knew that when the Emperor was purging the remnants of Prince Dongqing’s rebellion, he had nearly wiped out the Crown Prince’s maternal clan along with numerous Noble Families. They had all perished in the chaos of those few days.

Shen Zhao died on a rainy day.

It had rained for days in the Capital City, yet the scent of blood would not wash away.

Consort Wei looked down at me, her eyes locking onto mine as she spoke each word with deliberate precision. “They cornered Shen Zhao and forced him to watch as his confidants were slaughtered one by one. Then they shot an arrow through his leg so he had no choice but to crawl on the ground. They used a blade to mutilate his face and crushed his bones, forcing him to crawl between their legs.”

My heart felt as if it were being shredded; my very soul began to crumble.

Never before had I felt such a sudden, agonizing surge of pain.

I heard my own voice, sounding utterly hoarse. “Who were they?”

Consort Wei only smiled and refused to answer, her tone heavy with meaning. “Who they were isn’t important. You only need to know that if it weren’t for you, Shen Zhao might not have died. There are some people you were never meant to touch-like Shen Zhao, and like the Crown Prince.”

As our eyes met, a sudden realization struck me. I stood up and lunged at her like a madwoman, only to be pinned down by several eunuchs, unable to move.

Consort Wei ordered her palanquin to be raised and departed haughtily.

I didn’t fully understand her words.

But I knew one thing: Shen Zhao’s death…

It might have had something to do with Wei Wan.