Shen Sheng was engaged at eight, and it wasn’t until she reached fifteen, the year of her coming-of-age, with her dowry already prepared, that the engagement was called off.
That already counted as choosing a partner once.
Her one chance in life to choose a partner had already been used up.
Shen Sheng pursed her lips and explained, “That wasn’t my choice. It was decided by my parents. I didn’t even like him. I like you.”
Anu glanced at her reddening face. Relenting for a rare moment out of pity, she kindly explained, “I entered the mortuary. Song Ling’s body hadn’t even been properly examined. They know there was something wrong with the incense ash, yet they didn’t check if Song Ling was drugged and then killed.”
“Why not check? They’re unbelievably stupid,” Shen Sheng scoffed. “Anu, if they were as smart as you, I wouldn’t be in this predicament today.”
Perhaps the flattery was pleasing to her ear, as Anu just sneered coldly: “Stop investigating. Take the evidence and hurry back to the capital.”
With that, she made to leave. Shen Sheng followed her like a hopeful shadow.
Anu was wearing all white, the gray silk ribbon in her hair particularly conspicuous, accentuating her cold, aloof features and snow-like complexion.
“Anu, Anu, Anu…” Shen Sheng called out urgently.
Hearing the increasingly anxious calls, Anu abruptly stopped. The familiar sound made her heart tremble. The north wind howled, whipping up the snow, nearly blinding them.
“Anu, Anu, Anu…”
Anu brushed away the snowflakes before her eyes. Her gaze was unfocused. She looked intently at the girl before her—a vibrant red robe, full of heroic spirit, her youthful features hard to resist.
When their eyes met, Shen Sheng grinned. “What are you daydreaming about?”
Anu looked at Shen Sheng’s pure, clear features. A bitter taste filled her mouth. “Return to the capital. Otherwise, if you die, I’ll collect your corpse.”
The two stood staring at each other in the middle of the street. Quite a few passersby stopped, curious.
Suddenly, someone shouted: “General Shen! It’s General Shen, the one the yamen is hunting!”
Shen Sheng immediately seized Anu’s hand and ran. The gentleness in Anu’s eyes scattered, leaving only her usual cold, merciless detachment.
Shen Sheng’s flight only made her look more suspicious. Someone quickly went to report them, the shouts loud enough to attract the nearby yamen runners.
The runners immediately gave chase. Shen Sheng was so panicked she didn’t know where to run.
Anu pulled her hand, stopping her. She pushed Shen Sheng away and said, “Get out of the city. Meet ten li outside. If we’re too late…”
Standing there in the snow, her white robe, straight back, and merciless expression made her appear righteous and proper, the complete opposite of the passionate woman from the night before.
Shen Sheng didn’t know what to say. Anxiously, she asked, “We’ll run together.”
“They’re after you, not me.” Anu lowered her head, dusting off her palm as if she’d been touched and found it dirty.
This small action made Shen Sheng’s brain burn with anger. She turned and bolted.
Fine, she’s disgusted by daylight now. Who was the one clinging to her last night?
Anu withdrew her gaze, her eyes landing on a patch of snow beside her. She scooped up a handful and flung it at the yamen runners.
Instantly, the sky filled with swirling snow. Anu laughed lightly at the sight, her beautiful lips curving upward.
In the next moment, she flung open her white cloak, a long sword now in her hand.
Her sword danced through the snow, its aura chillingly fierce. Before it even touched anyone, the runners turned tail and fled.
Anu awkwardly caught her falling cloak as it drifted down. She frowned at the fleeing runners, pausing for a moment. “Not fighting anymore?”
She put her cloak back on. Now, there wasn’t a single soul left on the street.
Probably, her intimidation was just too strong.
Outside the city, ten li along the road, there was no one. Not a single person, not even a bird to be seen.
Anu searched for a clean stone to sit on. After staring at it for a quarter of an hour, she removed her cloak and spread it on the stone.
Only then did she sit down, satisfied.
A gust of wind blew, bringing the scent of blood as dusk fell. The frigid wind howled mercilessly.
Anu stood up and walked against the wind. She entered a forest. The snow weighed down the branches, piling deep everywhere.
It was precisely because of the thick snow that she could see the footprints of a group of people. Following the tracks, patches of blood came into view.
Going further, the blood trail vanished. She stopped, looking at the empty clearing before her. Lifting her foot, she kicked it. Sure enough, she hit something solid.
The forest was pitch-black and lightless. The reflection off the snow illuminated everything. Using the snow’s glow, Anu gradually dug out the object buried beneath.
Shen Sheng, who had disappeared for half a day, was unearthed by her.
The red clothes on her body were tattered and slashed by blades. The knife wound on her chest was the most fatal.
Anu checked for breath. There was none. She gazed at the corpse before her, her eyes turning chillingly cold. “So stupid you got yourself killed. Return my clothes.”
Before she finished speaking, she cut her own wrist. Blood trickled down. Without hesitation, she let the blood drip onto the lips of the ‘deceased’.
One drop, two drops, three drops…
After an unknown amount of time, as the moon rose above the treetops, the ‘deceased’ slowly began to breathe again. Anu then released her hand, tilting her head slightly as she said, “Open your eyes if you’re awake.”
The person on the ground slowly opened her eyes, which were bloodshot. As time passed, the blood-red hue faded. She slowly climbed up, touching her tattered clothes. “How did you get here?”
“How did you die?” Anu sat cross-legged on the snow, her posture languid. She glanced at Shen Sheng askance, then slowly lowered her sleeve, concealing the bloody wound on her wrist.
Shen Sheng was dizzy. She was clearly alive. She clutched her wrist and said, “My wrist hurts.”
“Does it? My wrist hurts too. You bit it too hard last night.” Anu, through her sleeve, rubbed her wrist, her gaze fixed on her own pale hand, not even sparing Shen Sheng a glance.
Shen Sheng was still feeling her tattered clothes. Why didn’t these wounds hurt?
Then, she dismissed the thought. No pain was good. She also rubbed her wrist and exclaimed, “Anu, dozens of men in black came to kill me. I escaped by playing dead.”
Anu couldn’t help but look up, visible disgust in her eyes. “Shen Sheng, next time you go out, bring more people.”
“They’d just be burdens, needing my protection. Three years ago, I came alone. Besides, once I go back, I won’t be able to return. Why drag them into this?” Shen Sheng spoke with righteous fervor, pulling out a fire starter from the pouch at her waist.
The fire starter illuminated Anu’s somber face. Shen Sheng leaned closer. The other’s complexion was crystalline, surpassing frost and snow. But for some reason, her lips were drained of color.
“Anu, do you know how delicate and fragile you look right now? So fragile I feel like bullying you.”
Anu retracted her gaze and stood up, ignoring the lecherous comments from behind.
Shen Sheng chased after her, then looked back at the spot where she’d been lying. The snow around it had piled thickly. Had she been sleeping in a snow pit?
Anu had gone far. Shen Sheng had no time to think, chasing with all her might. “Anu, Anu, wait for me…”
From last night until now, in twelve double-hours, her most frequently spoken words were: Anu, Anu, Anu.
They exited the forest and returned to the area with the large stone. Anu stood in front of the stone, deep in thought, as if facing some huge dilemma.
Her white cloak was laid across the stone. She was mulling over a difficult problem: Could this dirtied cloak still be worn?
Shen Sheng caught up. Anu finally found a solution. Generously, she picked up the cloak, shaking the snow off it.
Then, enthusiastically, she draped it over Shen Sheng’s shoulders. A rare smile graced her lips as she said, “Perfect. You wear it.”
No waste!
Shen Sheng’s cotton-padded clothes were ruined from the knife cuts. She was worried about having no clothes, so Anu’s gesture made her very happy. “Thank you.”
Anu didn’t acknowledge the thanks. She just kept walking forward.
“I can’t go back. Someone wants to kill me. I have to go back and resolve this.” Shen Sheng tried to grab Anu’s arm.
The moment she touched it, Shen Sheng winced in pain herself. She lifted her sleeve to check: her wrist was smooth and flawless. The pain seemed to come from deep within her bones.
It hurt too much.
“Anu, where are we going?”
“Anu, Anu…”
“Jiang Wan…”
Anu finally stopped. Shen Sheng quickly caught up. “You’re going back to the capital. I need to go home.”
“Where is your home? Should I go too? To see the place first? Once we’re back in the capital, I’ll have my mother propose marriage. How about that?” Shen Sheng caught up to her and sighed. “I won’t investigate anymore. I’ll head back to the capital first. But they took the letter.”
When she fell, they had found the Song Family’s letter on her and taken it away.
The last piece of evidence proving her innocence was gone.
Anu turned her face aside slightly, her lips curving into a beautiful arc. A sense of relief loosened the tightness in her heart.
They walked towards the city gate, one in front of the other, arriving at dawn.
The city gate was lax. There were no inspections at all. Shen Sheng swaggered into the city.
As before, they scaled the wall into the Song residence. They retraced their steps to the secret chamber. The letter was still there.
Taking the letter, they quickly left the city.
Outside the city, Shen Sheng rubbed her wrist in disbelief. “How could he have so many skilled fighters?”
“I don’t know. Goodbye. Don’t come to my home. My mother won’t welcome you.” Anu gave a simple instruction and then whistled. A swift horse came galloping from the distance.
The whole display made Shen Sheng envious. She stepped forward to stroke the fine horse, but the horse refused to let her touch it either.
“This horse is just like its master,” Shen Sheng sighed.
Anu mounted the horse in one smooth motion and looked down at her from above: “In their eyes, you’re already dead. Remember, when you return to the capital, don’t use the name Shen Sheng.”
“Anu, won’t you reconsider our marriage?” Shen Sheng tried to grab the hem of Anu’s skirt.
With a crack of the horsewhip, Anu galloped away, leaving Shen Sheng calling out alone.
“My family is really wealthy… I’m this good…”
“My family is really wealthy…”
After a long while of shouting, the horse and rider had vanished, not even a shadow left. Shen Sheng had no choice but to quickly leave this dangerous place.
The Imperial Capital in the twelfth lunar month was draped in silver. One person, one horse, sped through the city gate towards the Shen residence.
Shen Sheng arrived home only to find it festooned with white mourning lanterns. Her heart lurched. Something had happened to Mother…
She dismounted and charged inside. Unexpectedly, she ran headlong into someone. The person cried out, “Ouch!”, and, upon seeing Shen Sheng, scrambled up from the floor in fright.
“The Fifth Miss’s corpse has returned…”
Shen Sheng instantly understood. The murderer had sent news of her ‘death’ back to the capital. She brushed the dust off herself and said with a smile, “So what if I’m a ghost? Where is my mother? I need to find my mother.”
The Shen Manor was a sea of white silk; it was impossible to tell snow from Soul Summoning Banners.
The Shen family members rushed over upon hearing the news. Seeing Shen Sheng alive and kicking, they all froze in place. Shen Sheng dashed towards the woman in white mourning clothes. “Mother, please help me propose marriage, alright?”
Madam Shen stared at her youngest daughter before her, her brows knitting tightly. “Who do you want to marry?”
As her words faded, a man in plain, unadorned clothes walked out from the inner room, accompanied by a woman dressed in a striking red robe.
Seeing these two, Shen Sheng’s gaze stopped. “What are you doing here?”
The engagement had been broken for three years, yet they still came to cause trouble. She unconsciously clenched her fists. The woman in red was the Chancellor’s wife, and also the mother of Zhou Yi, her former fiancé.
Outside the gate, a horse carriage had also stopped. A slender hand pushed aside the carriage curtain, and its owner looked towards the General Manor.
