Chapter 3
Beneath the pitch-black night sky, the north wind raged.
Several dried leaves were plastered across Shen Zhao’s face by the wind. She wiped them away with one hand while running faster.
The footsteps behind her remained no more than two meters away. She had indeed underestimated Zhao Yunshang. After such a long pursuit, the woman was still keeping pace. Her earlier frailty had been entirely due to the Plum Blossom Lure.
They had never fought before, so Shen Zhao had no idea how strong Zhao Yunshang was. What if she could not beat her…
Remembering that look in Zhao Yunshang’s eyes, Shen Zhao involuntarily quickened her pace. At the same time, however, the anger inside her surged higher and higher. Had Zhao Yunshang not been the one to initiate everything between them?
The more Shen Zhao thought about it, the angrier she became, until she could no longer tolerate it. Running blindly through the mountains at night like this, a single misstep could send her plunging somewhere and leave her injured. Then her life might truly end here.
She might as well fight Zhao Yunshang!
At that thought, Shen Zhao raised her right hand and hooked it around a dead tree. Her direction shifted with her next step, spinning her around. She snapped off a branch in the same motion, then swiftly lunged from the side as Zhao Yunshang pursued her through the darkness.
Zhao Yunshang tilted her head aside to avoid the many-forked branch and retreated two steps, her white shoes with their subtle lotus patterns sinking into the snow.
She had barely steadied herself when the dark figure attacked her again. Tightening her grip on her own branch, she parried the other woman’s blows.
“Why are you running?” Zhao Yunshang asked while dodging.
“Should I stay and wait for you to harm me?” Shen Zhao retorted.
“When did I ever say I intended to take your life?”
“You didn’t say it, but I could feel it.”
“I had not yet formed any intention of killing you. Clearly, you are the one with something to hide.”
As they fought, the wind swept a flurry of snow into the air, covering them both.
Zhao Yunshang frowned slightly. The longer they fought, the more she felt that Wei Zhao was exceptionally cunning. The branch Zhao Yunshang had chosen had no forks, whereas Wei Zhao’s branch had as many offshoots as pine needles. Every time she attacked, she had to guard against all those protruding twigs.
They could not continue fighting. She could not win, and her strength was steadily failing her…
Zhao Yunshang was considering how to end the fight when, as she dodged to the left, one foot landed on a slope.
Seeing that she was about to fall, Shen Zhao instinctively reached out and caught her wrist. With a slight pull, she hauled her back.
Zhao Yunshang fell into Wei Zhao’s arms, their noses touching for a moment.
Shen Zhao’s heart stuttered. She felt the woman in her arms tremble slightly as well.
“Didn’t you say you wanted to discuss marriage with me? Why did you suddenly want to kill me? The elders say it takes a thousand years of cultivation to earn the fate of sharing a pillow,” Shen Zhao murmured, blushing.
“You are overthinking it. I had not yet decided to kill you.” As Zhao Yunshang spoke, she gently pushed Wei Zhao away. Seeing that her wrist was still being held, she lightly shook off the other woman’s hand.
Zhao Yunshang took a step back and was about to leave, only to step on some wet, slippery dead grass. She toppled backward, instinctively grabbing Wei Zhao’s collar.
“Hey!” Caught off guard, Shen Zhao was dragged down, and the two of them tumbled together down the slope.
Thump, thump.
As they rolled, loose stones went tumbling alongside them. Shen Zhao heard the sound of pebbles falling into water.
There was water below. Shen Zhao’s heart jolted. She immediately stretched out both hands, groping for anything she could reach. Near the rock wall, she managed to wrap her arms around a dead tree.
Just as she breathed a sigh of relief, someone grabbed her trousers. She hurriedly reached down to hold them up, but they had already been dragged down to her buttocks.
Shen Zhao’s heart lurched. Clinging to the trunk with one arm, she seized Zhao Yunshang’s arm with the other and gritted her teeth as she pulled her upward. “Hold on tightly.”
Zhao Yunshang was hauled back up, her panting echoing above the frigid pool.
“That was close.” Shen Zhao raised a hand and pulled up her trousers.
The cold wind swept over them, making her shudder. “Good thing you didn’t pull them all the way off, or I would’ve frozen into an ice sculpture.”
Zhao Yunshang glanced at Wei Zhao, irritated by the way she spoke. “How old are you?”
“Eighteen. What about you?”
Only eighteen. A trace of vexation crossed Zhao Yunshang’s face. She was the same age as her niece. Though Zhao Yunshang felt deeply uncomfortable, it was already too late to dwell on it. She could only hold on to the tree trunk and quietly steady her breathing.
“I told you, so why won’t you tell me?” Shen Zhao asked, still simmering with resentment. “You didn’t answer when I asked where your home was either. You were the one who said you would discuss marriage with me. I only asked because I wanted to take responsibility.”
Zhao Yunshang swept an indifferent gaze over her. Take responsibility? By marrying her while disguised as a man? Would someone who refused to reveal even which commandery or county she came from truly intend to take responsibility? Besides, Zhao Yunshang had governed Great Chu for eight years and possessed all within the realm. Who in this world was qualified to take responsibility for her?
The person who had been qualified was long gone. Thinking of that person, Zhao Yunshang lowered her eyes.
On this very day twelve years ago, Qing had seemed divinely favored. Great Chu suffered defeat after defeat, and seventy thousand soldiers lost their lives at Yanmen Pass. Zhao Yunshang had unfortunately been afflicted with the Plum Blossom Lure, while her “fiancé,” Xiao Yang, had died beneath the hooves of Qing’s cavalry, her face destroyed beyond recognition.
The memories brought an ache to Zhao Yunshang’s heart. She raised her head and gazed into the pitch-black night sky. Today was the anniversary of Xiao Yang’s death.
Xiao Yang would understand her, would she not? They had yet to avenge the hatred they shared for the ruin of their country and families… How could she willingly accept death?
Precisely because she could not accept it, when forced to choose between life and death, she had ultimately chosen life—even going so far as to deceive an eighteen-year-old woman with the promise of marriage. At the thought, Zhao Yunshang looked toward Wei Zhao, and a trace of guilt crossed her face, though it vanished in an instant. After all, she still did not know who Wei Zhao truly was.
Whether tonight’s events constituted a debt of gratitude or a humiliation remained uncertain.
“Why aren’t you saying anything? You… never actually intended to discuss marriage with me, did you? You were lying to me from the beginning?” Shen Zhao finally realized the truth and found herself especially ridiculous. Zhao Yunshang had deceived her, while she alone had been thinking about taking responsibility like a foolish donkey.
The woman had only wanted her to cure the poison and had never once considered their being responsible for each other. What a shame that Shen Zhao’s first intimate encounter had been with this sort of person. Two women should have been tender and affectionate, caring for each other. Tonight had shattered every fantasy she had once held.
“If all you wanted was a fleeting one-night affair, I wouldn’t have cared, but you should have made that clear.” Shen Zhao glared indignantly at Zhao Yunshang, pinching her own thigh beneath the padded robe until it hurt.
In truth, she and Zhao Yunshang were strangers who had met by chance and shared no feelings for each other, yet she still felt unbearably stifled. She could not rid herself of the humiliation of having been deceived.
If the other woman refused to take responsibility, what was she supposed to do in the future? She was no longer pure. At the very least, the place she used to eat was no longer clean.
“I… You and I are not suited for each other, but I will give you a thousand taels of gold.” Zhao Yunshang looked at Wei Zhao. That was, provided she was not a spy.
Ha. Shen Zhao was furious. Not only had Zhao Yunshang gone back on her word, but she was now insulting her with money. Was a thousand taels of gold supposed to buy the devoted service she had rendered beneath the cliff? Because her hands had been dirty, she had used only her… the entire time.
Shen Zhao’s face turned as dark red as congealed blood. She could not help lamenting that she had spent all this time pressing her warm face against someone’s cold backside. What good had eagerly pursuing her done? She had no desire to keep inviting humiliation.
“Who wants your filthy money? I misjudged you, and I’ll accept the consequences.” Shen Zhao coldly threw down those words and used the tree trunk to pull herself upright. “Stop thinking about harming me. I won’t fight you anymore either. It’s dark, and the snow is slippery. If one of us makes a mistake while we’re fighting, we could both lose our lives.”
With that, Shen Zhao slowly made her way up the slope.
Zhao Yunshang watched Wei Zhao’s retreating back, a complicated expression briefly crossing her face. After a moment’s contemplation, she followed.
Shen Zhao retraced their path one step at a time, glancing behind her occasionally as she remained wary of Zhao Yunshang.
Just as they were about to return to the foot of the cliff, Shen Zhao heard a sneeze. Had those two men awakened?
She immediately broke into a run and approached the bound men.
“You’re awake, yet you’re still pretending to be unconscious. I heard you sneeze. If you don’t open your eyes and start talking, I’ll stab you with a knife!”
“Don’t, don’t!” The thinner man was the one who had awakened. Whether from cold or fear, his entire body was trembling.
Shen Zhao crouched, picked up a branch, and pressed it against his throat.
“You’ve got some nerve. Do you know who I am? How dare you try to kill me?” Shen Zhao knew she would have to bluff if she wanted to learn the original owner’s identity.
“This lowly one doesn’t understand what you’re talking about. I would never dare kill anyone.”
“Stop pretending. I’m good at recognizing voices. You were the one who stabbed into the pit a few more times before leaving, weren’t you? The wound on my arm is still here!” Shen Zhao pressed the branch harder against him. “Tell me why you wanted to kill me. If you refuse to speak, I’ll kill you right now.”
As she spoke, she brought her free hand to her mouth and breathed warmth onto it. She was freezing and had little patience left. The sooner she got her answers, the sooner she could go to the temple and warm herself.
Zhao Yunshang stood to the side with her arms folded. At those words, she slowly raised her gaze and searched through the darkness. So Wei Zhao possessed a ruthless streak as well. But what pit? What additional stabbing? One of them had an accent from the capital, while the other had a northern accent. How could they know each other?
The man cried out in pain as Shen Zhao jabbed him. “It hurts, it hurts! This lowly one will tell you, but only if you let me have that woman once. I’ll tell you immediately afterward.”
“What?” Shen Zhao wondered if she had misheard. His life was hanging by a thread, yet he was still thinking about such disgusting things!
While Shen Zhao was still processing this, a sudden gust swept past. Seeing Zhao Yunshang charge toward the man with a branch in hand, she hurriedly seized Zhao Yunshang’s wrist and stopped her.
“Let go.” Zhao Yunshang’s cool, authoritative voice rang out. “Do you intend to save such a disgusting brute?”
Shen Zhao looked at Zhao Yunshang. Although it was pitch-black, she could clearly sense Zhao Yunshang’s fury and killing intent.
“I’m not trying to save him. He deserves to die, but he knows something I need to learn, so I can’t kill him yet.” If she killed him, how was she supposed to discover the original owner’s identity?
Zhao Yunshang stared into Wei Zhao’s eyes. After a long moment, she coldly pulled her wrist free. With Wei Zhao determined to stop her, she likely would not succeed even if she insisted on killing him.
“Yes, yes, this lowly one is still useful. As long as you agree, I’ll tell you everything after I’ve had my fun. That woman wants to kill you, so why be reluctant to hand her over? I know I won’t survive, anyway. All I ask is one final moment of pleasure before I die.”
Shen Zhao scoffed and slapped the thin man across the face. “Disgusting thing! That’s what you get for disrespecting women. Do you think I’ll hesitate to act just because you know something? There’s still another one beside you. If I can’t pry open your mouth, I’ll kill you and interrogate him instead.”
“Your Highness!”
“Your Highness!”
At that moment, repeated shouts suddenly came from ahead.
Zhao Yunshang instantly raised her head. Her people had arrived. Row after row of torches blazed brightly in the distance. After staring for a moment, she recognized Song Ling, the commander of her guards.
Only then did the faintest trace of emotion ripple through her eyes.
Shen Zhao heard the voices as well. She looked ahead, then turned toward Zhao Yunshang, unease inevitably stirring in her heart.
“Someone’s coming. They seem to be searching for somebody. Are they… your people?”
At those words, Zhao Yunshang merely pressed her lips together and looked silently at Wei Zhao, the expression in her eyes almost amused.
Shen Zhao’s heart sank.
Run!
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