Chapter 56

Chapter 56: Why Did She Do This

Qi Shu Xian had been to war before, so he knew how to track a trail. After he reached the site, he followed the marks left by the cart wheels the whole way, searching as he went, until he finally found the mountain bandits’ lair.

But when he arrived, what he saw was a sky full of firelight and blood. The huge den had burned into nothing but ruins. Countless severed limbs lay scattered across the ground, and the scene was so brutal it made his stomach turn.

Qi Shu Xian’s expression sank to its darkest. Had someone else found this place before him? He immediately ordered his subordinates to lead the troops and search the lair inch by inch.

A subordinate reported, “Reporting to the Heir Apparent, we found 213 fresh corpses and more than eighty old skeletons.”

Qi Shu Xian still held on to a sliver of hope. “Were there any… survivors?”

The subordinates shook their heads.

Qi Shu Xian closed his eyes. “Among the fresh bodies, were there any women?”

A subordinate answered, “None.”

The tightness in Qi Shu Xian’s chest finally eased.

Soon, they confirmed the dead men’s identities. Most were scattered thieves and roaming bandits from the surrounding area. Somehow they had gathered together and grown into a force.

By rights, a gang like that should only have dared to rob passing wealthy merchants. Yet they had even dared to lay hands on nobles of the imperial clan.

Madam Han and Han Ming Rui might not have been connected to them. Their disappearance could have been unrelated. But Sheng Zhi Wan’s case was different. According to the bodyguards, this group had known Sheng Zhi Wan’s identity long before they attacked.

Qi Shu Xian’s fingers clenched hard. “Keep searching! Even if you have to turn the entire mountain upside down, you must find the Princess!”

The soldiers answered, “Yes!” and scattered at once.

Qi Shu Xian did not know who had reached this place before him, wiped out the mountain bandits, and even burned their den down to ash. He did not care about that now. He only wanted to know where Sheng Zhi Wan was, and whether Sheng Zhi Wan was alive or dead.

But until daylight broke, after the whole mountain was searched inch by inch, Qi Shu Xian’s men still found no trace of Sheng Zhi Wan.

Sheng Zhi Wan woke to faint sobbing. As soon as Sheng Zhi Wan opened her eyes, she met a pair of eyes swollen red like walnuts.

Sheng Zhi Wan blinked. “Ting Lan?”

Ting Lan burst into tears. Ting Lan wiped at her face, but the tears would not stop. “Princess woke up! You finally woke up!”

Ting Lan choked, “Princess, did it still hurt? How could you risk yourself like that? It’s all this servant’s fault. If this servant were useful, Princess wouldn’t have sent this servant away…”

The more Ting Lan thought about it, the more Ting Lan hurt.

Back when Ting Lan went to buy osmanthus cakes, Ting Lan and An Zhi had already been knocked out and replaced by Shang Xing Yu’s people. The later An Zhi and Ting Lan had been impostors, disguised through Disguise Art.

An Zhi said, “All right. Let Princess drink some water,” and brought over tea at just the right temperature. Compared to Ting Lan, An Zhi stayed far steadier.

An Zhi knew Sheng Zhi Wan must have had her own plan, and that she had done it to protect An Zhi and Ting Lan. Still, after Sheng Zhi Wan finished the tea, An Zhi suddenly said, “Princess, this servant wants to learn martial arts from Miss Xiu He.”

Miss Xiu He was the woman who had pretended to be An Zhi.

Sheng Zhi Wan froze, but before Sheng Zhi Wan could say anything, another “An Zhi” slipped in on light steps.

Xiu He asked, “Princess was awake?”

An Zhi answered, “Mm.”

Xiu He said, “It’s time to change the medicine. This servant will change it for Princess.”

Xiu He walked closer, and Sheng Zhi Wan finally noticed the porcelain bottle in Xiu He’s hand looked very familiar.

Sheng Zhi Wan’s brows lifted. “Golden Wound Skin-He A Ling Dew?”

Xiu He looked startled. “How did Princess know?”

Sheng Zhi Wan said, “Give it to me. Let me see.”

Sheng Zhi Wan took the bottle and rubbed a finger across the bottom. A shallow crack sat there, just as she expected.

Sheng Zhi Wan asked, “Where did this medicine come from?”

Xiu He hesitated, then said, “Master bought it at auction at the Hall of Rare Treasures not long ago.”

Sheng Zhi Wan fell silent.

Using her medicine, sending it to auction, and turning it into silver… Qi Shu Xian really knew how to calculate.

Sheng Zhi Wan asked, “Where is your Master?”

Sheng Zhi Wan’s wound was on her back. When Ting Lan helped pull her clothes down, Ting Lan’s eyes reddened again, but Ting Lan forced herself to hold it in so she would not disturb the treatment.

Xiu He answered, “Master was next door. After this servant finishes changing Princess’s medicine, Master will come to see Princess.”

Sheng Zhi Wan did not speak again. After the medicine was changed, Sheng Zhi Wan had An Zhi and Ting Lan stand guard outside.

Neither of them knew Shang Xing Yu’s identity. So when Shang Xing Yu appeared, Shang Xing Yu still wore the Ghost Mask.

Shang Xing Yu walked in. Shang Xing Yu’s gaze paused as if by accident on Sheng Zhi Wan’s back, then fell on her pale face. Shang Xing Yu’s long fingers rubbed lightly against each other once.

Shang Xing Yu asked, “How did you get hurt?”

Sheng Zhi Wan said, “It was an accident.” Sheng Zhi Wan cared more about something else. “How long was I asleep?”

Shang Xing Yu answered, “Not long. A little over six hours.”

Sheng Zhi Wan asked, “What was going on outside?”

Shang Xing Yu said, “Early this morning, someone spread the news that you were kidnapped by mountain bandits and missing all night.” Behind the mask, Shang Xing Yu’s eyes seemed to pause, turning deep and dark. “And now there is Lady Meng’s storybook. You couldn’t have missed what that would lead to. Why did you still do this?”

Shang Xing Yu truly did not understand.

No one knew better than Shang Xing Yu how much Sheng Zhi Wan cared about Qi Shu Xian. For Qi Shu Xian, Sheng Zhi Wan had been willing to break her own wings and snap her pride in half.

Yet now Sheng Zhi Wan had acted like this. Was Sheng Zhi Wan not afraid Qi Shu Xian would truly grow distant from her?

Or had Sheng Zhi Wan trusted Qi Shu Xian to that point, believing Qi Shu Xian would always trust Sheng Zhi Wan, no matter when or where?