Chapter 67: Never Let Go

Regarding this hidden past, Meng Yuanheng only learned some general outline on that night when he was urgently summoned to the palace, pieced together from the fragmentary account of Emperor Mingde.

The former Princess Xuan, whose given name was Su Mei, had been, more than twenty years ago, the most renowned courtesan in the capital’s most illustrious brothel—Sunken Fish Pavilion. Her beauty and talent drew the admiration of countless men throughout the land. By a twist of fate, Su Mei and Emperor Mingde, who was then still a prince, fell in love at first sight and pledged themselves to each other in secret. Yet in the end, for the sake of the crown prince’s position, Emperor Mingde married the daughter of the sitting Prime Minister as his princess. That princess violently opposed Su Mei ever entering the household, not even as a concubine. Su Mei, proud and spirited, broke with Emperor Mingde in a fit of anger and attempted to end her life, but was rescued by Meng Langqing, the previous Prince Xuan, who had harbored a silent devotion for her. Meng Langqing cherished Su Mei deeply, and cared for her with unwavering attention. Grateful for his kindness, Su Mei eventually agreed to marry him.

But even Emperor Mingde could not have foreseen that the son Su Mei bore after her marriage to Meng Langqing was in fact his own flesh and blood! Had Su Mei not confessed this secret to him seven years ago before her sorrowful death, he might have remained in the dark his entire life.

Thus, there was such a story between Emperor Mingde, the former Prince Xuan, and the former Princess Xuan. Shen Qianmo could not help but sigh at the capriciousness of fate and the unpredictability of life.

To captivate both Emperor Mingde and the former Prince Xuan—two men of such distinction—this Princess Xuan must have been an extraordinary woman indeed.

Yet in all of this, the most blameless was Meng Yuanheng. As Lou Xinyue had said, for the Xuan Prince’s household, Meng Yuanheng’s origins were always a stain; and for the imperial family of Dasheng, he was equally a source of shame.

For seven years, Emperor Mingde had concealed this matter flawlessly, evidence that he had no intention of acknowledging Meng Yuanheng. If not for the mistaken belief that he was gravely ill and dying, the emperor likely would not have revealed this secret.

But this so-called imperial identity brought Meng Yuanheng nothing but humiliation and even danger.

Seeing his furrowed brow and pale, wan face, Shen Qianmo was filled with heartache. Sighing quietly, she let Meng Yuanheng rest his head on her lap. Using the acupressure technique that Situ Gong had once taught her, she began to gently knead his legs, hoping to alleviate some of his physical pain.

But as for the wounds buried deep within his heart, how could she ever hope to soothe them?

“Ah Heng, I noticed that Prince Luo seems to target you at every turn. Could it be that he too knows you’re an imperial prince?” Shen Qianmo speculated.

Meng Yuanheng narrowed his eyes, his head pillowed on Shen Qianmo’s lap, enjoying her perfectly measured massage. At her words, he nodded indifferently, replying without much concern, “It’s quite possible. The assassins we encountered on the way back to the capital last time were sent by him.”

He felt more comfortable lying there than ever before, and regretted that he hadn’t thought of such a position sooner.

He had never cared for the judgment of the world, but Shen Qianmo’s opinion alone mattered to him. Earlier, when Lou Xinyue exposed his background, his loss of composure was because he feared Shen Qianmo would despise him after learning the truth.

But if Shen Qianmo treated him as before, then no matter how ignoble his birth, no matter how great a disgrace his existence was to the Xuan Prince’s household, what did it matter?

So, this Meng Tianluo truly was a dangerous figure, Shen Qianmo thought with a slight frown. Yet for someone so eager to have assassins strike on the road back to the capital, he lacked patience.

Under Shen Qianmo’s ministrations, Meng Yuanheng felt much of the pain in his legs dissipate. Gazing tenderly at her delicate, lovely face, he wore a look of deep contentment.

Mo’er had not blamed him for concealing so much, nor despised him for his shameful origins, nor misunderstood his relationship with Lou Xinyue. She was so kind and gentle, intelligent and gracious, considerate in every way. How incredibly fortunate he was to have met her in this life.

Turning around, Meng Yuanheng embraced Shen Qianmo’s slender waist tightly, making a silent vow: from this moment on, he could give up everything in his life—but Mo’er, never. No matter what, he would not let her go.

Even if dangers lurked all around him, even if his leg ailment could never be cured, he would never let Mo’er leave.

Because without her, he did not know what he would become.

Perhaps it was time to consider marrying her as soon as possible.

Shen Qianmo, caught in his embrace, found it a little amusing. This man always appeared so gentle and harmless before her, but his attitude toward Lou Xinyue had been so cold that even she, as an onlooker, found it harsh.

She reached out to smooth a few stray locks of his dark hair, noticing with surprise that his hair was even silkier than her own. Could it be that the Xuan Prince’s household used particularly fine shampoos?

“By the way, why isn’t Changdong with you?” Shen Qianmo asked. Changdong, his personal bodyguard, was usually never far from Meng Yuanheng’s side.

“Lou Xinyue’s letter said I had to come alone.” Meng Yuanheng buried his face into Shen Qianmo, muffling his words.

In truth, the moment he read Lou Xinyue’s letter and saw those words—“Shen Qianmo is in my hands”—he had immediately rushed out of the Xuan Prince’s residence, riding hard and fast. Changdong and Situ Gong were probably still in the dark.

“Did Lou Xinyue’s brother, Lou Chen, really once save you?” Shen Qianmo asked, recalling what Lou Xinyue had said earlier.

“Yes. Back then, at the Ghost Fury River, he and several other fellow disciples risked their lives to save me, but he did not survive. Lou Chen and his sister depended on each other from childhood, with no other relatives. Before he died, he entrusted Lou Xinyue to me, and I promised I would look after her for life.”

“Then why did you later expel her from the prince’s household?” Shen Qianmo pressed, puzzled.

Meng Yuanheng was silent for a long time—so long that Shen Qianmo wondered if he had fallen asleep—before she finally heard his cool, awkward voice: “One night, when my cold poison flared up and my mind was clouded, she took advantage of caring for me and climbed into my bed…”

Uh! Shen Qianmo instantly regretted asking. Clearly, Lou Xinyue was bold and forward. Yet faced with such a charming young woman throwing herself at him, Meng Yuanheng had shown no mercy, throwing her out and expelling her from the household. It seemed the rumors of the Xuan Prince’s cold and heartless nature were not unfounded.

Suddenly she remembered that night at the Ruyi Inn in Yunzhou, when his cold poison acted up and she had taken care of him all night, apparently ending up in his bed as well.

Perhaps she ought to thank him for not tossing her out of bed back then.

Whether Meng Yuanheng was also recalling that night at the Ruyi Inn, Shen Qianmo soon heard his teasing voice: “But I very much look forward to Mo’er climbing into my bed again.”

Unable to resist, Shen Qianmo rolled her eyes and gave his leg a solid punch. “Meng Yuanheng, could you be any more shameless?”

A deep laugh rumbled from his chest, tickling her waist and making her squirm with heat and discomfort. She nudged him. “Hey, get up now. Shouldn’t we be heading back?”

After such a major incident at the palace, was it really proper for the two of them to linger here in this intimate fashion?

Meng Yuanheng had no desire to bother with the palace’s chaos; as long as his Mo’er was safe, that was all that mattered. Seldom had he lain so comfortably—he truly did not wish to move.

But no matter how much he wanted to stay, he had no choice. Changdong and the prince’s shadow guards had already found their way here, followed by Lu Ziqing and a group of officials from the Ministry of Justice.

A crowd of people knelt in front of them. Even with Shen Qianmo’s thick skin, she could not remain seated. She pushed at Meng Yuanheng, who still clung to her waist, and called out in annoyance, “Meng Yuanheng, get up.”

Sensing her displeasure, Meng Yuanheng dared not be obstinate any longer. Reluctantly, he got up and helped Shen Qianmo to her feet as well, then coldly ordered those kneeling, “All of you, rise.”

Anyone could hear the irritation in his voice.

Shen Qianmo was exasperated by his shamelessness. Seeing his displeasure, she knew she couldn’t rely on him, so she explained to Lu Ziqing about Lou Xinyue’s impersonation of Consort An and the truth behind the headless female corpse case in the palace—omitting, of course, the entanglements between Lou Xinyue and Meng Yuanheng. She didn’t want him involved in this mess.

In fact, the constables Lu Ziqing had sent to Heyang County had just returned. The magistrate, An Yuandao, confirmed that the woman depicted in the portrait of Consort Li was not his daughter, Consort An, as his daughter had a red mole at the tip of her right eyebrow, which the painted consort did not.

Thus, it was now confirmed—the so-called Consort Li was an imposter.

Lu Ziqing immediately dispatched men to search the base of the cliff for Lou Xinyue’s body. Shen Qianmo also sent Yan Mo and several shadow guards to assist, hoping that besides the corpse, they might also recover the Exquisite Blood Jade.

Meng Yuanheng scolded Lu Ziqing at length. This Lu Ziqing, despite his warnings, repeatedly summoned Shen Qianmo to the Ministry of Justice for autopsies and failed to protect her, resulting in her being captured by Lou Xinyue. If he did not hold Lu Ziqing accountable for this, he would not be Meng Yuanheng.

Shen Qianmo threw him a sidelong glance. If you hadn’t provoked Lou Xinyue, would I have been taken by her? So, if we’re tracing the root cause, it’s you, Meng Yuanheng.

As for Xue Hao, Meng Yuanheng had intended to expel him from the shadow guard ranks. As a shadow guard, to be unaware when the person he was supposed to protect was in danger—such incompetence could not be tolerated. Only after Shen Qianmo pleaded for him did Meng Yuanheng relent, demoting Xue Hao to the lowest rank and sending him back to retrain with the Feiyun Cavalry.

Shen Qianmo cast an apologetic glance at Xue Hao, who departed with a miserable expression, thinking: Sorry, young man, but it’s good to reinforce your basics. There will be opportunities for you in the future.

The Ministry of Justice and the shadow guards searched the cliff base for a day and a night but found no trace of Lou Xinyue’s body. Thus did Lou Xinyue vanish from the world—neither alive nor dead, her fate a mystery.

Upon hearing Lu Ziqing’s report about the headless corpse case in the palace, Emperor Mingde was so furious he nearly coughed up blood. To think that his beloved consort of so many years was a fraud, wearing a human-skin mask every day—just the thought made his skin crawl. In his rage, he ordered a thorough search of Consort Li’s palace—Cuiwei Palace—from top to bottom.

When the results came in, Emperor Mingde was beside himself with wrath, his anger reaching new heights.

In Cuiwei Palace, they had discovered Five-Stone Powder!