Chapter 11

The icy crown prince's nemesis

Night steeped the sweeping eaves of the Eastern Palace in darkness. Palace lanterns swayed beneath the corridors, casting shifting, mottled shadows.

Shen Zhiwei returned to the side hall. The moment she closed the door, the flutter she had felt while leaning against Xiao Heng's shoulder in the carriage still lingered in her heart. She raised a hand to her burning cheek, her fingertips still recalling the warmth of his grip around her wrist.

A cup of soothing flower tea sat on the desk, delivered by a palace attendant at Xiao Heng's express request. She walked slowly to the window and pushed one wooden shutter halfway open. The evening breeze brushed her face with the chill of an autumn night, easing the restless heat churning inside her.

Once again, she recalled Su Wan's venomous eyes beneath her mask of gentle grace at the palace banquet, along with the chief attendant's report earlier-the maid had stubbornly shouldered all the blame and refused to name the mastermind.

She knew full well that Su Wan would never let the matter rest, but she had never imagined that her rival had already set her sights on the Shen Family's old case, buried beneath years of dust.

Meanwhile, after leaving the Eastern Palace, Su Wan boarded her carriage home and shed every trace of her genteel, well-bred demeanor. Candlelight flickered inside the carriage. She gripped the silk note so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

Her maid lowered her voice, sounding uneasy. "Miss, the late emperor himself passed judgment on the Shen Family's case. Most of the evidence was destroyed long ago. If we rashly drag it back into the open and the crown prince discovers we were behind it..."

"Discovers?" Su Wan sneered, her eyes brimming with malice. "I'll separate everyone involved behind layer upon layer of intermediaries, leaving not a single clue that leads to me. When the court and the public erupt, it will simply be an old case resurfacing. What will that have to do with me?"

She understood Xiao Heng's predicament better than anyone. However deeply the crown prince cared for Shen Zhiwei, he could not defy the rules of the court and openly shelter the daughter of a disgraced official. The imperial family prized status and the foundations of its rule above all. Once Shen Zhiwei's identity became public, she would no longer have any right to remain in the Eastern Palace, much less enjoy the crown prince's favor.

"Send the letter at once. Contact the old clerks who knew bits and pieces of the case back then. Let word slip and stir things up slowly. Don't try to do it all in one stroke. Boil the frog in warm water-let the rumors spread among the capital's powerful families first." Su Wan folded the silk note and handed it to her maid, her voice cold as ice.

The maid dared say nothing more. She bowed in acknowledgment and quietly retrieved a secret letter from a hidden compartment in the carriage. When they stopped at the side gate of the Su Residence, she left the city that very night to find their contact.

A day slipped swiftly by.

Early the next morning, Shen Zhiwei went for her customary stroll through the Eastern Palace's small garden and came face-to-face with a young maid delivering breakfast. At the sight of her, the maid's expression briefly stiffened. Her bow was more restrained than usual, and her eyes held a furtive look.

At first, Shen Zhiwei assumed the servants were being especially respectful because the crown prince had ordered them to protect her the night before, and she thought little of it. But after encountering two attendants who likewise seemed on the verge of speaking, a thread of unease began to rise in her heart.

As she pondered this, steady footsteps sounded behind her.

"Up so early?"

Xiao Heng's voice came from behind. Shen Zhiwei turned and met his deep, gentle gaze. Dressed in everyday robes, he lacked the sharp edge he carried at court, radiating instead an effortless nobility. He walked slowly to her side, his gaze settling on her faintly furrowed brows. "What is it? Something on your mind?"

Shen Zhiwei lowered her eyes slightly. After a moment's consideration, she decided not to trouble him with suspicions that had yet to take shape and gently shook her head. "No. I just came out for some morning air. Don't you need to attend to the memorials early today, Your Highness?"

"I came to see you first." Xiao Heng tilted his head slightly, noticing a loose strand of hair beside her temple. He raised his hand and tucked it behind her ear with exquisite gentleness, his fingertips brushing the rim of her ear in passing.

The warm touch vanished as quickly as it came. Shen Zhiwei trembled, the tips of her ears flushing crimson. Instinctively, she retreated half a step, only to bump into the garden's stone railing, leaving herself nowhere to go.

Xiao Heng leaned down slightly, closing the distance between them until their breaths mingled. He gave a low chuckle, his usually cool voice wrapped in tender warmth. "Why are you hiding?"

"Your Highness..." Shen Zhiwei looked up into eyes as deep as a cold pool, yet brimming with tenderness. Her heart suddenly raced, almost bursting from her chest.

Just as the air between them began to warm, a trusted attendant hurried over, his expression grave. Unable to spare a thought for the interruption, he approached quickly and bowed. "Your Highness! Something has happened!" Rumors have begun spreading quietly through the capital, claiming there was more to the Shen Family's case than was revealed. Someone has been secretly searching through many of the old case files, and people everywhere are discussing Miss Shen's origins!"

As his words fell, the tenderness lingering in the garden vanished in an instant.

Shen Zhiwei went rigid. The color slowly drained from her face as she looked up in disbelief. "The Shen Family's old case?"

That wound she had buried deep in her heart, deliberately refusing to touch, had truly been torn open.

The gentleness left Xiao Heng's face, and a bitter frost instantly settled in his eyes. He raised a hand, unobtrusively shielding Shen Zhiwei, and looked at the attendant. "Tell me everything. Where did the rumors first emerge? Have you traced their source?"

"The source is buried very deep, as though the messages were deliberately passed through layer after layer of intermediaries. We haven't yet caught anyone directly responsible for transmitting them. But we can confirm that someone is deliberately driving this. The rumors began spreading among the great families last night. I fear they will reach the court within a few days." The attendant kept his voice very low.

Xiao Heng glanced down at the pale-faced Shen Zhiwei beside him, his heart tightening. He reached out and firmly clasped her slightly cold hand, conveying steady warmth through his palm. "Don't be afraid. You have me."

He turned to the attendant and gave his orders in a low voice. "Send people to investigate whoever is behind this immediately. Meanwhile, contain the spread of the rumors. Do not let them fester unchecked. Remember, proceed discreetly. Do not rustle the grass and startle the snake."

"Yes!" The attendant accepted his orders and quickly withdrew.

Only the two of them remained in the garden. The breeze swept through the flowering branches, scattering tiny petals across the ground.

Shen Zhiwei's fingertips trembled slightly. She looked up at Xiao Heng, unease lurking in her eyes. "Your Highness, if the old case is brought into the open, I..."

"I understand your concerns." Xiao Heng tightened his hold on her hand, his gaze resolute. "Whatever judgment is ultimately passed on the old case, I will not let others frame you at will. But this matter has far-reaching implications, and whoever is behind it has been plotting for a long time. We cannot rush."

He saw it clearly. This was no chance revival of an old matter, but retaliation aimed squarely at Shen Zhiwei. In all likelihood, Su Wan, who had hidden behind the corridor the previous night, had made her move. But without solid evidence, he could not rashly strike.

Looking at his steadfast expression, Shen Zhiwei felt the taut strings of her heart loosen a little, yet the gloom within her did not lift. She knew that once the court used the old case against her, even if the crown prince wished to protect her, he would have to consider the wider balance of court and country. There were many times when he would not be free to act as he wished.

Inside the Su Residence, Su Wan received the news her maid had sent back. Learning that the rumors had spread successfully, she curled her lips into a cold smile of assured victory.

The first step was to stir up whispers. The second was to find the right moment to produce forged "evidence" and deliver a fatal blow.

She lifted the cup of tea beside her and took a sip, her eyes filled with certainty of victory. Shen Zhiwei, the crown princess's position should always have been mine.

Hidden currents surged, and the storm drew closer, step by step.

Would you like to continue with chapter twelve, where someone openly challenges her at court over the Shen Family's old case, and Su Wan pretends to play peacemaker, setting up an explosive confrontation with her faux-innocent act?