Chapter 533 - 515 Feng Shu
These words to Feng Shu were the ultimate form of cruelty, a dagger aimed straight at her heart!
She couldn’t help but recall the woman years ago, dressed in wedding robes, hung from the city wall. Her brother mistook the woman for her, and in his desperate attempt to save her, Yuwen Jing’s men riddled him with arrows until he drew his last breath.
That scene has haunted Feng Shu’s dreams countless times, a recurring nightmare in the dead of night.
Because of these frequent dreams, she almost lost Ruyi.
She should have died three years ago!
She has clung to life all these years for Ruyi, for her parents, her sister, and her grandmother. Now that they are all safe, free from Yuwen Jing’s control, she feels utterly exhausted.
If not for her family holding her up, she wouldn’t have made it this far.
Standing atop the city wall, Feng Shu raised her head to gaze at the moon in the sky. Her eyes then shifted to the distant horizon. The palace was divided into the Inner Palace and the Outer Palace. This was the Inner Palace, while beyond the North Palace Gate lay the Outer Palace, still within the Imperial City. Yuwen Jing had already sent men to search the Outer Palace, yet they hadn’t found Ayu and Zhixu. That meant the two were well-hidden and safe for now, somewhere in the vicinity.
Ayu, I’m sorry!
Your sister didn’t mean for this to happen, I hope you can understand her!
Tears streamed relentlessly down Feng Shu’s face, filled with both relief and sorrow. Relief that she could finally reunite with her brother, and sorrow that she had never seen Ruyi, let alone known what he looked like as a toddler learning to walk. Ayu once said that he resembled his father greatly, and that one day he would grow up to be a hero like his father, standing tall and proud. Ting Feng, too, would make a gentle father.
Ayu had told her that Ting Feng was such a tender father. But in reality, Ting Feng wasn’t a naturally gentle man. His temperament was even colder than that of Zhixu or her brother. His tenderness was a learned trait, emulating her brother’s demeanor. He sought to be the father Ruyi needed, for if her brother had lived, he would have been a soft-hearted, doting father.
In this lifetime, Feng Shu had had the fortune of growing up with two living parents, healthy siblings, finding a soulmate, and birthing a clever, adorable son. Her life could be described as complete. There was nothing more she could ask for. She would not, she could not, become a pawn in someone’s scheme to harm her family once again.
Once was enough!
Feng Shu wiped her tears away and turned to Yuwen Jing. "Yuwen Jing, do you know how deeply I loved Xie Zhang? I’ve never been someone who dwells on the past, but my love for my family runs just as deep. For them, I was willing to allow myself to be imprisoned in the Imperial Palace by you. Back then, when I watched him being pierced by countless arrows, I woke from my stupor only wanting to join him in life and death. But why did I survive, Yuwen Jing? Take a guess."
"You were afraid I’d kill your family!" Yuwen Jing replied without hesitation. He knew that her family was Feng Shu’s Achilles heel. That’s why, as soon as she lost consciousness back then, he had sent his men to abduct Fengyu.
Feng Shu was excessively devoted to Fengyu, especially after Fengyu had once been captured. For Fengyu, she would do anything.
But alas, Fengyu managed to escape.
"No, it’s because I was pregnant!" Feng Shu suddenly broke into a laugh. In that instant, she saw Yuwen Jing’s face crumble into despair, jealousy, and rage. His delicate yet sinister features seemed as if they had been slapped hard.
"Impossible! You were a daughter of a respected family, and Xie Zhang was the eldest son of Marquis Zhenbei Mansion. Both raised to follow traditions to the letter. There’s no way you two would have engaged in premarital relations. You’re lying to me!" Yuwen Jing had never considered the possibility that Feng Shu and Xie Zhang had consummated their relationship.
One was the eldest daughter of a noble family, and the other the eldest son of another. Such inappropriate conduct would bring shame upon both their families—something they would never dare to risk.
"Yuwen Jing, someone like you still cares about decorum and propriety? I never cared for them, which only proves how little you truly know me." Feng Shu spoke with a glimmer of satisfaction as she recalled the events. She couldn’t fathom why, upon nearing death, she felt an urge to tell Yuwen Jing the truth. Perhaps it was because she wanted to see him suffer. The more he suffered, the better. Ideally, she wanted him to lose his mind entirely. "Because I was pregnant, I had to continue living. I thought I was carrying the last shred of my family’s bloodline—the last remaining trace of Marquis Zhenbei Mansion. That’s why I endured the humiliation and stayed alive. When I spoke of observing mourning for my husband, I never expected you to agree, yet you did. Joy overwhelmed me. A year was all I needed to give birth to the child. Ting Feng came to Xiangguo Temple—you’ve always wondered why he didn’t rescue me when he had the chance, haven’t you? It’s because he came to take the child. That day, under your very nose, I gave birth to my son, Xie Zhang’s and my child. His name is Ruyi, his formal name is Xie Wen, and he is now being raised by Ting Feng. Yuwen Jing, you say you love me, but your love is smothering. You killed my husband, imprisoned my family, nearly caused my sister’s death, and separated me from my son, Ruyi, for three long years. Not a day has passed that I didn’t hate you. These three years, I’ve used all my strength to hate you. My plan was to kill you. The medicinal meal—I asked the Empress for the recipe on purpose. I deliberately turned it into poison and fed it to you. Now that you’ve figured it out, there’s nothing left for me to say. Want to use me to capture Zhixu and Ayu? Impossible!"
In a flash, Feng Shu pulled out a dagger and pressed it against her throat. Caught in his rage, Yuwen Jing froze for a moment. When he realized what she was doing, he panicked and rushed forward. "Shu’er, stop! Come here, I’ll give you anything you want!"
Feng Shu’s eyes were bloodshot as she glared at him with utter disgust. Yuwen Jing roared in anger, "If you die, I will bury your grandmother, your parents, and Fengyu alongside you. Fengyu is still in the Capital City—there is no way she’ll escape me. I will carve her apart piece by piece. You know the consequences of your death, don’t you? Be good. Put down the dagger, and I’ll agree to anything you ask!"
"Stay back!" Feng Shu shouted in a voice laced with doom. Dagger pressed tightly against her neck, the blade already drawing blood. Ying Si and the other Shadow Guards saw what was happening in the distance, but they were helplessly too far away to intervene. The city wall was littered with archers; there was no way for the Shadow Guards to get to her in time.
What could they do?
Yuwen Jing could see the dagger pressing deeper into Feng Shu’s throat, fresh blood now trickling down her skin. Terrified that she would genuinely take her own life, he hastily backed away. "Shu’er, I’m not joking. If you die, I will ensure your family pays the price for it, including the child you had with Xie Zhang."
Feng Shu sneered coldly, her voice suddenly raising. "Ayu, don’t come closer! Your sister has no regrets in this life—it’s already complete. Take good care of Ruyi. Your sister is tired and just wants to rest now. Zhixu, take care of Ayu for me. My brother has waited too long on the Huangquan Road. I can’t let him down. I must go find him now."
Tears streamed uncontrollably down her face. She turned to Yuwen Jing, her smile laced with ice. "Yuwen Jing, live well and wait for your judgment. Don’t you dare soil my Huangquan Road."
In the underground passage beneath the North Palace Gate, Xie Xun was tightly covering Fengyu’s mouth as her large tears spilled onto his hand, drenching his palm. From where they crouched, they had a clear view of Feng Shu and Yuwen Jing on the city wall. The Shadow Guards had already signaled for her to return to Yingchun Palace. Though this mission had failed, as long as she lived, there would always be another opportunity.
Sister... sister, don’t!
"Shu’er, I forbid you to die!" Yuwen Jing, now utterly unhinged, tried to reach her in time, but Chen Mo seized the moment to act. A dart flew through the air, striking Feng Shu’s wrist. The dagger fell from her hand, yet she had anticipated this. Without hesitation, she leapt from the city wall at the North Palace Gate.
"Shu’er!" Yuwen Jing lunged forward, but couldn’t even grasp the edge of her sleeve, forced to watch helplessly as Feng Shu plunged down from the wall.
Feng Shu smiled serenely, her gaze fixed on the luminous moon above.
Midnight had passed. Today was the sixth day of the sixth month—the third anniversary since it all began.
Brother, I’m coming to find you!
"Sister!" Fengyu’s eyes widened to their limit. Overwhelmed by grief, a mouthful of blood erupted from her lips before she collapsed unconscious into Xie Xun’s arms.