At that moment, the lean middle-aged man shook his head with deep regret. “You all know, don’t you? In recent years, those barbarian tribes at the borders keep trying to invade our land. It was General Zhenbei who led the Yu army to repel them, again and again. Every commoner knows their name!”
His tone became indignant. “Maybe that’s why they were targeted—too much merit draws suspicion. The Emperor probably feared them and sent the Crown Prince to take care of them. But the Crown Prince… he’s worse than a beast. Can’t even tell right from wrong! That little boy was only seven—what harm could he have done?”
By now, Quan Heng’s whole body had gone cold. She couldn’t help trembling.
But the plump man offered a different view.
“You’re being unfair! It’s true that the Crown Prince was reckless in his youth, but after living among the common folk, he must’ve seen hardship. When he returned to the palace, he started doing good deeds. He’d help poor children on the streets and even adopted several orphans. Does that sound like a cruel person to you?”
The older woman nodded in agreement. “I think it’s because the Crown Prince refused to act, so the Emperor turned against him! But I also heard he might’ve had his heart broken. The whole Marquis of Yongning’s household disappeared—but even when everyone else left traces, the legitimate eldest daughter never appeared again. Maybe she had something to do with it?”
After listening to them talk for a while, the thin man sneered, “Ridiculous. Just because the Crown Prince has done a few good deeds recently, you all think he’s a good person now? If you ask me, the Yongning Marquis Manor was dragged down by him.”
The man swallowed a wonton and spoke unclearly, “After all, he lived there for several months! Maybe that household had some evidence against him, and to prevent it from being exposed, the Crown Prince killed the entire family.”
Upon hearing this, the matron slammed the table hard. “Don’t speak nonsense! Right now, the people of Yongning Marquis Manor are just missing. Not a single corpse has been found!”
At this point, Quan Heng was already in tears, though she hadn’t even noticed when they began to fall.
In that moment, she understood everything.
Back then, the reason Ah Zheng had imprisoned her must have been because the Emperor had ordered him to kill General Zhenbei. But he refused, and so the Emperor used the entire Yongning Marquis Manor to threaten him.
And Ziyun’s words had already confirmed it all.
Wen Zheng had secretly sent her parents away long ago and faced the Emperor’s wrath alone.
He had known, based on her temperament, that if she found out, she would’ve stopped at nothing to find her father and mother.
And if the Emperor caught wind of that and followed the trail, everything would’ve been for nothing.
In this moment, her heart was full of guilt and anger.
Guilt for not understanding his plan and hurting him over and over again.
Anger because—did Wen Zheng think she was that stupid?
If he had just told her the truth, if the two of them had discussed the matter together calmly, she wouldn’t have acted recklessly. But he didn’t trust her—he locked her up and said nothing.
In the end, it all ended in such an ugly mess.
But then she remembered—before everything happened, she had been constantly arguing with him.
At that time, his identity had just been exposed. She’d felt completely betrayed and wouldn’t have believed anything he said, no matter what.
Suddenly, Quan Heng felt completely powerless.
This matter had been a dead end from the start.
Just then, footsteps sounded at the door, and Quan Heng looked up.
Shen Zhengyu had returned.
“Heng’er, I’m back. Did you choose what you wanted?”
Quan Heng suppressed her grief and tried to keep her voice from trembling.
“Not yet. There are too many patterns—I’m overwhelmed. Can I walk around a little more?”
Hearing this, Shen Zhengyu’s face immediately darkened.
“No.”
On the way back, he had already heard the city was abuzz with gossip about the capital. He wasn’t sure how much Heng’er had heard.
He quickly stepped forward and picked up a piece of yellow floral-patterned fabric from the shop. “I think this color and pattern suit you.”
Then he turned to the shopkeeper. “Wrap this up for me.”
Quan Heng stood to the side, wanting to say something but ultimately staying silent.
She hadn’t liked yellow in a long time.
Ever since her Yiniang had passed away, she hadn’t worn floral prints again either.
Besides, he hadn’t even asked her opinion before deciding for her—it made her uncomfortable.
But under someone else’s roof, one must lower their head. She had to play along for now. If she defied him this time, it might be hard to get him to bring her out again.
Once the item was wrapped, Shen Zhengyu took her to the carriage to head home.
After boarding, he removed her veil hat. “You’ve worn this for so long—it must be stifling.”
Quan Heng turned away and leaned against the carriage wall, saying nothing.
Seeing this, Shen Zhengyu took her hand gently and asked, “What’s wrong? Did you not like what we bought today?”
Quan Heng nodded. “This place is too small. There are lots of things in the shop, and they seemed novel at first, but after a few glances you can tell—they’re all styles that went out of fashion in the capital half a year ago. Nothing new.”
Hearing that, Shen Zhengyu finally relaxed.
He had thought Heng’er had overheard something troubling, and that was why she was in a bad mood.
If her upset was due to this, then it wasn’t serious.
Heng’er had always liked dressing up—ever since she was little. Even at school, she wanted to be the prettiest. Getting upset over not finding suitable clothes was nothing new. She’d always been that way.
Patting her hand, he comforted her, “Don’t be upset. Things outside are unstable now, so I could only take you shopping here. Once we return to the capital, whatever treasure you want, I’ll get it for you.”
Quan Heng forced down her sorrow and managed a small smile, pretending to pout, “You said it. If you don’t buy me something good in the future, I’ll be mad.”
Shen Zhengyu gave a helpless smile and wrapped his arm around her waist, whispering, “Alright.”
The moment he touched her, Quan Heng felt a wave of nausea and her body went stiff.
To avoid suspicion, she quickly spoke to change the subject. “Actually, I’ve always been curious—why do you and Wen Zheng look so much alike?”
At her words, Shen Zhengyu fell silent.
Quan Heng’s heart skipped a beat, cursing herself for speaking without thinking.
She could tell Shen Zhengyu hated Wen Zheng. To bring him up like this—how could he not be angry?
But after a pause, he said, “I thought you didn’t bring it up because you already knew the truth.”
Quan Heng sighed inwardly.
After Wen Zheng’s identity had been exposed, she barely had a chance to speak with him. How could she possibly know?
“Actually, he and I are twins—he’s my full-blooded older brother. We share the same blood.”
Quan Heng was stunned. “Then—then why…”
Before she could finish, Shen Zhengyu spoke for her. “Why is he the noble Crown Prince, while I’m just the son of a merchant, right?”
“Because the royal family considers twins inauspicious. Back when we were born, the Emperor had not yet taken the throne. To protect his legitimacy, he kept Wen Zheng and cruelly abandoned me.”
At this point, Shen Zhengyu let out a bitter laugh. “They had intended to kill me, but a young eunuch who served my mother risked his life to protect me. He fled the palace with me, enduring all kinds of hardships to raise me. To me, he is my true father.”
Quan Heng’s heart tightened. “That eunuch… was Uncle Shen?”
Shen Zhengyu nodded. “Yes.”
“Later, when I was a teenager, the current Empress learned of my existence and sent people to kill me. Her plan was cunning. The Third Prince was always favored—if both Wen Zheng and I were dead, her son would be next in line for the throne.”
Quan Heng fell silent.
She had already sensed from a few words spoken during her last meeting with the Consort that the power struggles within the palace were intense.
But she hadn’t imagined the truth was even more brutal than she’d suspected.
Just because twins were considered unlucky, they could so heartlessly abandon a newborn child.
From then on, one lived in the palace with luxury and power, while the other struggled to survive among commoners, fighting just to stay alive—heaven and earth, so cruelly divided.
“All these years, you’ve suffered.”
At her words, Shen Zhengyu smiled and held her tighter, resting his head on her neck and murmuring, “It wasn’t suffering. I’ve endured it all. As long as you’re by my side, I feel like the happiest man in the world.”
“In this world, the only people I care about are you and my foster father. A few years ago, he died protecting me. Now, you’re all I have left.”
Shen Zhengyu looked into Quan Heng’s eyes. “This time, please don’t leave me again, alright? If you do, I truly won’t be able to go on.”
Quan Heng let out a long sigh and gently patted his back. “It’s alright now. It’s all in the past. Don’t be afraid.”
She truly did feel for him and sympathized with his suffering.
But still, that didn’t justify him deceiving her.
She could see that there was deep enmity between Shen Zhengyu and Wen Zheng.
Yet the true culprit behind this tragedy was the Emperor. As brothers bound by blood, they shouldn’t be tearing each other apart.
Soon, the carriage returned to Shen Zhengyu’s private residence. He helped her down, and they had dinner together.
Quan Heng had too much on her mind and found no taste in the food. But to avoid arousing suspicion, she forced herself to eat a fair amount.
After dinner, she sat for a while in the courtyard, watching the blood-red sunset fade from the sky. Waves of sadness swelled in her chest.
When it was fully dark, she finally returned to her room. After washing up, she lay down and quickly fell asleep from exhaustion.
Not long after, the door creaked open.
Shen Zhengyu entered quietly and sat at her bedside, staring at her without blinking.
After a while, he couldn’t help but reach out and touch her face.
If only he could keep her by his side forever, he thought.
To achieve that, he wouldn’t hesitate to stain his hands with blood.
Once the chaos settled and he stood at the top of the world, he would give Heng’er whatever she desired.
Just then, the figure on the bed stirred. Quan Heng seemed to be having a nightmare and tossed restlessly.
Shen Zhengyu’s heart tightened. He quickly touched her face. “Heng’er, what’s wrong? Are you having a nightmare?”
But the next moment, she finally spoke—and the name she called was someone else’s.
“Wen Zheng… don’t go!”
In an instant, something snapped in Shen Zhengyu.
The tenderness in his eyes vanished, replaced by burning rage.
Why? After everything he’d done—after he had stolen her away from Wen Zheng—why?
What exactly did he do wrong?
That Wen Zheng deceived and hurt her, yet in her heart, it was still always him?
Even though Wen Zheng was the real thief.
Why?!
