Chapter 59: A Frank Confession. She Was No Longer Alone.

A variety of delicacies were laid out on the table.

But Su Zhenyue had little appetite. After eating a few simple bites, she put down her chopsticks.

A short while later, she had someone clear the dishes.

“Mianmian, what trouble did you really run into today?” Shen Ji asked.

On the way back to the city, he had learned from his personal guards that she had encountered villains with ill intentions at a cloth shop, but he did not know the specific details.

Su Zhenyue steadied herself, her voice extremely low. “Cousin, that day we went to the Yan Prince Manor for the banquet, there was a guest who came to offer birthday congratulations. He was from the Shu Region, and his name is…”

“Yuan Ye.” Shen Ji’s expression shifted slightly. “The trouble you encountered today was him?”

“Yes. In the cloth shop, he had two people try to cover my nose with a handkerchief that had a strange smell. I reacted quickly, so they didn’t succeed. I…”

Shen Ji’s face turned grim. “Do you know who ambushed me outside the city today?”

“Who was it?” Su Zhenyue froze, a sudden ominous premonition rising in her heart.

“I recognized one of them. He’s Yuan Ye’s personal guard. I would never mistake him,” Shen Ji said, word by word. “That man is now locked up in the county yamen’s prison.”

Su Zhenyue’s eyelashes trembled. “It was Yuan Ye again?”

“Yes. It’s strange. We’ve had no dealings with him before. Why would he target us…” Shen Ji’s brows furrowed tightly, completely baffled.

The Crown Prince, at least, had a clear reason.

But with Yuan Ye, there was truly no prior connection.

Su Zhenyue’s heart was in turmoil. She grabbed Shen Ji’s hand and said in a low voice, “Cousin, actually, I… I…”

“Hm? What’s wrong?” Shen Ji squeezed her hand back.

Su Zhenyue’s lips moved, but she said nothing. The events in her dream, the story from the book—it was all too bizarre, and it was her greatest secret. She didn’t want to tell anyone, not even the man who shared her bed.

But the thought of Yuan Ye making a move on Shen Ji filled her with anxiety, afraid that she had implicated him.

After much thought, Su Zhenyue swallowed the words on the tip of her tongue and only asked in a low voice, “Do you know the reason?”

“Not yet.” Shen Ji pondered. “When I asked today, the man only replied that I should have died long ago.”

On the way back to the city, he had tried to recall his few interactions with Yuan Ye bit by bit, but for the moment, he had no leads.

Perhaps there was some detail he had overlooked?

Turning to see his wife’s pale face and fearful eyes, Shen Ji was overcome with pity. He comforted her in a gentle voice, “But you don’t need to be afraid. Yuan Ye is not like the Crown Prince; he’s much easier to deal with. For the time being, don’t go out. I’ll write a letter to Prince Yan to borrow some more men. As for those people in the prison, I’ll keep a close watch on them and see if I can interrogate anything else out of them.”

When he had returned to the city just now, he had already had a simple portrait of Yuan Ye drawn and ordered a city-wide search. It was just that the county had limited manpower, and it was uncertain if they could catch him anytime soon.

Su Zhenyue looked dazed, only repeating in a murmur, “He said you should have died long ago?”

It was a very common curse, but because of her own special experience, coupled with Yuan Ye’s intimate form of address in the cloth shop today, she couldn’t help but suspect that he, like her, had experienced a strange encounter.

Shen Ji noticed her odd behavior. “Mianmian?”

“Cousin, I…” Su Zhenyue steeled herself, gritted her teeth, and asked softly, “Cousin, do you… do you believe in dreams?”

“What?” Shen Ji didn’t react for a moment.

Su Zhenyue looked up. Under the lamplight, her eyes were dark and profound, as if she were looking at him, yet also as if she were looking through him, toward a distant place.

But if one looked closely, one would find that she wasn’t looking at anything at all.

Su Zhenyue said slowly, “Last October, on the very day I met you, I had a dream when I was at the estate outside the capital.”

Shen Ji was slightly surprised, not understanding why she was suddenly talking about this, but he still gave her an encouraging look and a soft “Mm.”

“In the dream, on the second day after the national mourning period ended, the Eldest Princess requested a decree from the Emperor, and I was betrothed to Yuan Ye from the Shu Region.”

Shen Ji was slightly stunned.

After the first sentence was out, the rest came much more easily. “Yuan Ye had a violent temperament and was dissatisfied with the marriage. He vented all his resentment on me, often beating and kicking me, and even using a whip. Once, when he was about to torture me again, Nanxing tried desperately to stop him. He kicked her away, and she died on the spot…”

Although she was just talking about a dream, Su Zhenyue’s eyes still reddened. Perhaps it was because the dream was too real, as if she had personally experienced it.

Shen Ji was even more shocked. He had never seen her like this: pale and frail, as if a gust of wind could blow her away.

He subconsciously wrapped his arms around her trembling shoulders. “Mianmian…”

Was this the real reason she had actively approached him and been so eager to marry him back then?

Because of a strange dream?

“In the dream, I held Nanxing’s body and cried for a long time, thinking I didn’t want to live anymore. Rather than being tortured like this every day, it would be better to go with Nanxing. But I couldn’t let her die in vain; I had to avenge her. But how could I ever defeat Yuan Ye?”

A strange smile touched the corners of Su Zhenyue’s lips. “Fortunately, the heavens favored me. I once overheard by chance that the thing Yuan Ye feared most in his life was bees. An ordinary person would be fine after a few days if stung by a bee. But Yuan Ye, if he was stung and not treated in time, would die in less than a quarter of an hour. So, I secretly poured out the anti-bee venom medicine he carried with him and smeared beeswax on his clothes…”

At first, she thought this move would be very difficult to pull off, but after Nanxing’s death, Yuan Ye let his guard down around her for a period of time and switched to a different method of torturing her, which, to a certain extent, made it easier for her to act.

“And then?” Shen Ji asked in a deep voice.

“Then, I succeeded. He was stung to death by bees. Everyone thought it was an accident. His mother, Princess Ruining, suspected I did it but couldn’t find any evidence, so she wanted me to be buried with her son.”

Shen Ji pictured the scene, and the mere thought of it made his heart ache. He held her tightly in his arms and comforted her softly, “It was just a nightmare. You don’t have to take it seriously.”

“But the heavens were quite good to me. Right at that time, the Heir Apparent of the Jing An Marquis Estate, Gu Yuanchen, was on official business in the Shu Region. When he heard Yuan Ye had died, he went to offer his condolences. You know, I’m Jing’an Hou’s adopted daughter, so he’s my adoptive brother. He couldn’t watch me be buried alive, so he negotiated with the Yuan family as a representative of my maternal family and got me out of there.”

At that time in the dream, Su Zhenyue had no one to turn to and nowhere to go, so she could only follow Gu Yuanchen back to the Jing An Marquis Estate for the time being—her nominal maternal home.

She thought she had escaped the sea of suffering, but she didn’t expect it to be the beginning of another round of torment.

Hearing his wife say all this, Shen Ji’s feelings were complicated, and he couldn’t calm down for a long time. When he was young, he had read miscellaneous books and had seen mentions of people in the world having “prophetic dreams”—dreams that could foretell future events. After waking, everything would be verified, without the slightest deviation.

Could it be that her dream was of this kind?

If she hadn’t taken the initiative to approach him back then, would this have been the fate that awaited her?

At this thought, Shen Ji felt a wave of lingering fear, followed by a wave of relief. Although he found it incredible and didn’t fully believe it, he still subconsciously held the person in his arms even tighter.

He comforted her softly, “Mianmian, don’t overthink it. It was just a dream, different from reality. We are fine now, and that Yuan Ye is nothing to be afraid of.”

She was his wife, completely unrelated to Yuan Ye.

“No, no, no, that dream was exceptionally real. Many things in it correspond to reality.” Su Zhenyue looked up at him and said slowly, “Cousin, I’m telling you this because I’m worried that Yuan Ye, like me, also had such a dream.”

Shen Ji’s brows furrowed tightly as he subconsciously denied it. “How could that be?”

In his view, even if such a strange dream were real, and even if two people could have it at the same time, it should be him and Mianmian. What was that Yuan Ye? Was he even worthy?

“Because he said very strange things at the cloth shop today.” Su Zhenyue’s voice was extremely low. “I’m afraid… Cousin, I don’t want to implicate you because of me.”

Fortunately, nothing happened today, but what about next time?

She had to tell him all the details she knew to help Shen Ji make the right judgment.

If not for today’s events, she had originally planned to keep this dream a secret for a lifetime.

Of course, Su Zhenyue only mentioned what was related to Yuan Ye; she did not bring up the story from the book or the events that followed.

“Don’t be afraid. Nothing will happen. I won’t let anything happen to you.” It wasn’t that Shen Ji didn’t trust his wife, but he still found her words and speculations today to be too incredible.

Su Zhenyue nodded lightly.

She thought, thankfully, Cousin didn’t mind the messy affairs in her dream, nor did he care about this peculiarity of hers. In his eyes, she could only see his heartache for her.

Su Zhenyue quietly breathed a sigh of relief. After revealing her biggest secret, she still felt worried, but she suddenly felt that perhaps it wasn’t such a big deal after all.

At least, she was no longer alone now; she had someone she could consult.

Shen Ji stayed with her and talked for a while longer, asking in detail about the specific situation at the cloth shop. Then he reassured her, “Don’t be afraid. I will handle this matter. I will never let him hurt you.”

“Okay,” Su Zhenyue nodded.

“I’ll go out and take a look first.” Composing himself, Shen Ji added a solemn warning, “Mianmian, don’t ever mention this dream to anyone else.”

—He remembered she had previously mentioned dreaming about the fire at the Postal Station and dreaming that the Crown Prince was not the Emperor’s biological son. Whether true or false, this matter had to be taken to the grave.

“Mm, I know.” Su Zhenyue nodded again. “I won’t tell anyone else. I was just afraid of implicating you, that’s why…”

Shen Ji’s heart shook, deeply moved.

How could he not know her intentions? This was true trust and concern for him, which was why she dared to tell him everything about such a matter.

Reaching out to hug her, Shen Ji left the room.

He first went to the study, wrote a letter, and had it sent to Prince Yan. Then he made his way to the prison.

The men who had failed in the assassination attempt today were all locked up in the cells. They did not admit that the assassination was carried out under Yuan Ye’s orders.

However, during the interrogation, these men inadvertently revealed another matter.

In May of this year, Yuan Ye had fallen ill with a strange disease. After waking up, he had specifically sent someone to inquire about Jing’an Hou’s adopted daughter in the capital.

Shen Ji’s heart sank: May.

The Shu Region and the capital were far apart, yet Yuan Ye knew of Mianmian’s existence? And he had to make a special inquiry?

Shen Ji also remembered that on the tenth day of the tenth month, the day of the Royal Grand Concubine’s birthday, Divine Doctor Xu had been puzzled: when he went to the Shu Region for a consultation, Yuan Ye had already been out of danger. He hadn’t exerted much effort, so why did Yuan Ye travel a thousand li to Youzhou to thank Prince Yan?

At the time, the two of them suspected that Yuan Ye’s move was his father’s attempt to curry favor with Prince Yan.

Thinking about it now, was it possible that Yuan Ye came to Youzhou for Anle County?

And there were Yuan Ye’s few questions at the banquet that day.

Perhaps Shen Ji’s feeling at the time was not a misconception. Perhaps it was just as Mianmian had said: that Yuan Ye had also had a similar dream.

Shen Ji’s expression turned grave, and he ordered another round of interrogation.

Anle County was a remote place, and its interrogation techniques were not as rich or experienced as those of the Grand Court of Revision, but it had some methods that couldn’t see the light of day.

By the latter half of the night, someone finally broke and confessed that they were acting under Yuan Ye’s orders. They also claimed that Yuan Ye had people keeping an eye on Su Zhenyue’s movements for a long time.

At this point, Shen Ji no longer had a shred of doubt: Yuan Ye’s trip to Youzhou was for Mianmian.

The two were previously a thousand li apart with no contact, so the reason must be the strange dream she spoke of.

Whatever the reason, Shen Ji could not tolerate it.

He had to get rid of Yuan Ye.

—— —— —— ——

Yuan Ye felt that the situation was now very bad.

He had thought he would receive good news soon, but instead, it was a terrible report: the assassination attempt on Shen Ji had failed.

And even worse luck was to follow.

Half of the men he had brought from the Shu Region were lost, and all of those lost were his best hands.

Those men had also confessed a great deal about him.

In the current dynasty, assassinating an official was one of the “Ten Abominations,” a crime that carried an extremely heavy penalty.

The next day, wanted posters with his portrait were plastered on every street and alley in Anle County, with an extremely high reward. The yamen runners and village militia were also putting all their effort into capturing him.

For a time, they couldn’t even find a place to stay.

Yuan Ye felt an unprecedented sense of defeat.

To think that he, with his decent background, had always been flattered by everyone in the Shu Region. He never expected that one trip to Youzhou would be so ill-fated, suffering one defeat after another.

Yuan Ye knew that he had been too careless and too arrogant. He had acted rashly without full confidence, forgetting that a strong dragon cannot crush a local snake, and also ignoring that she was no longer the helpless and lonely person from his dream.

And Shen Ji, a mere county magistrate, had actually disregarded his status, treating a feather as a command arrow. He actually dared to hold him accountable and even search and arrest him, this “culprit,” all over the city.

Was he not afraid of offending the Yuan family of the Shu Region?

Was he not afraid of his future retaliation?

But retaliation was a matter for the future. The most urgent thing now was to escape.

Out of desperation, Yuan Ye had to resort to disguising himself as a woman to flee for his life.

“Young Master, what do we do next?” his only remaining confidant asked cautiously. “Do we go back to the Shu Region?”

Anle County had limited manpower, so the search area was likely confined to this one county. Once they returned to the Shu Region, they would be safe.

Even if Anle County reported this to the imperial court, Lord Yuan would surely have a way to resolve the matter.

Yuan Ye’s face was grim. “No, we’re not going back to the Shu Region. We’re going to the capital.”

The confidant was taken aback. “To the capital?”

“Yes, to the capital,” Yuan Ye nodded.

He remembered that when he had sent people to inquire about Su Zhenyue before, he learned that she had married Shen Ji. He had ordered a detailed investigation into Shen Ji and unexpectedly discovered that Shen Ji had once offended the Crown Prince.

Since it was difficult to make a move in Anle County, why not borrow an external force?

Could it be that with the Crown Prince’s power, he couldn’t crush a tiny Shen Ji?

“Then…” the confidant asked hesitantly, “what about our brothers in the Anle County prison…”

Yuan Ye waved his hand. “Why bother with them? A bunch of useless things.”

They were incompetent and even ratted him out.

“Yes…” the confidant replied hesitantly, but a chill ran through his heart.

He’s just abandoning them?

Those men were imprisoned because of the Young Master’s business, and the Young Master was just going to ignore them? He had thought they would go back and ask Lord Yuan for help, and Lord Yuan would step in to negotiate.

—— —— —— ——

When Prince Yan received Shen Ji’s letter, he was very surprised.

He was not close with Yuan Ye and had only vaguely heard that his temperament was perverse, but he hadn’t expected his actions to be so audacious. He immediately dispatched another team of personal guards to Anle County to assist Shen Ji.

When the Royal Grand Concubine learned of this, she hesitated slightly. “Won’t this make it seem like we’re not giving Ruining face?”

—She didn’t like Yuan Ye; her only worry was affecting the relationship between Youzhou and the Shu Region.

Prince Yan smiled, unconcerned. “He committed such a treasonous act in Youzhou. Is that giving us face?”

Committing evil within Youzhou’s borders under the banner of thanking him—did he really think there was no one in Youzhou?

The Royal Grand Concubine pondered for a moment. “That’s true.” Then she chanted a Buddhist phrase.

…

Learning that Prince Yan had sent another team of personal guards, Su Zhenyue felt much more at ease.

She had seen the skills of these personal guards and knew that with them around, she didn’t have to worry about her safety.

She couldn’t help but feel fortunate for encountering Prince Yan and his men at the Dragon King Temple that night.

As the new year approached, Su Zhenyue did not go out again.

However, it didn’t affect her much. It was freezing cold outside anyway, and this was a good time to stay at home.

The sky turned dark before five in the afternoon.

The winter in Anle County seemed particularly cold. The frigid wind scraped against one’s face like a knife, causing a faint, stinging pain.

But inside the room, it was as warm as spring.

Su Zhenyue had lit the lamps early and was looking through the account books with her head down. With the new year coming, there were many expenses, and she needed to examine them carefully.

Suddenly, the door curtain was lifted.

It was Shen Ji, walking in from outside.

He seemed to be in a good mood, a clear smile in his eyes.

Su Zhenyue was at a critical point. She glanced up at him, called out a soft “Cousin” as a greeting, and continued to flip through the pages.

Unexpectedly, Shen Ji deliberately made mischief. He walked around behind her and gently touched her cheek with the back of his hand.

The sudden cold touch on her face made Su Zhenyue jolt. She immediately shot him a glare, her eyes flashing as she chided, “Cousin!”

“Hm?”

Su Zhenyue’s willow-like brows arched, and she pointed to the hand warmer not far away. “You go take that first. I’ll talk to you in a moment. Just a little moment, let me finish reading this part.”

Shen Ji chuckled softly and, true to his word, stopped bothering her. He sat down opposite her and poured himself a cup of hot tea.

Before he could finish the tea, Su Zhenyue closed the account book and looked at him earnestly and curiously. “Are you in a very good mood today?”

“Yes, it’s quite good,” Shen Ji smiled slightly.

Su Zhenyue blinked. “Is there some good news?”

“I suppose so.”

Su Zhenyue thought for a moment. “Yuan Ye has been caught?”

She remembered Shen Ji mentioning that he had already reported Yuan Ye’s assassination of an official and subsequent escape to the Ministry of Justice.

Shen Ji shook his head. “Not yet, but we already know his whereabouts. The good news I’m talking about is something else.”

“What is it?”

Shen Ji said slowly, “A letter came from Prince Yan. The Crown Prince is in trouble.”