Paying respects to the deceased allows one to see the deceased again.

Wan Zhen'er looked up, tears streaming down her face, but her eyes revealed a ruthless edge born of being driven to the brink: "Five days from now will be the anniversary of Sun Wei's death. All these years you have been going to the riverbank on the outskirts of the capital to offer sacrifices, to commemorate Sun Wei, and also to commemorate that palace maid named Shao Zhao, haven't you?"

“I know this is important to you!” Wan Zhen’er said again, “Over the years, you have been outside the palace, and I have been inside the palace doing the same things as you.”

“I won’t let you risk making the rendezvous,” Wan Zhen’er said in a low voice, speaking very quickly. “I will send a message to my brother and have him place an informant near the riverbank, disguised as a woodcutter. You just need to ‘accidentally’ drop the letter nearby, and someone will pick it up.”

Zhiwei frowned, not delving into the fact that Wan Zhen'er knew her whereabouts, but seizing the loophole in her words: "Since Your Highness has a way to spread the news of the meeting, why not just pass on the contents of the letter directly? Why go through all this trouble and have it go through me?"

She's not someone to be easily fooled!

Upon hearing this, Wan Zhen'er's expression stiffened for a moment. She avoided Zhiwei's probing gaze and remained silent for a while.

"In short, the letter must be delivered to my brother intact. As for the reason... you don't need to know."

"All you need to answer is, help or not?"

"You're threatening me like this, aren't you afraid I'll tell His Majesty about this?" Zhiwei said calmly.

“I know you’re not that kind of person. Besides, your situation in front of His Majesty might not be better than mine,” Wan Zhen’er paused, her expression hesitant, but still threatened, “If you refuse, then you can stay in the palace in peace after five days. You should know that even though I’ve lost power now, I can still stop a palace maid like you.”

Zhiwei's fingertips nestled into her palm.

Since breaking with Jiang Qin, the two have acted like strangers whenever they meet in the palace, treating each other as if they were invisible. Now she is all alone and helpless. If Wan Zhen'er is determined to stop her, she cannot ask Jiang Qin to go to the grave to offer sacrifices. However, if Zhiwei is asked to postpone the sacrifices for Shao Zhao and Sun, she would absolutely not agree to it unless absolutely necessary.

Wan Zhen'er was still using both hard and soft tactics. Zhiwei looked at Wan Zhen'er's red eyes and thought of Sun Wei. In the end, she closed her eyes and only said that she needed to see the contents of the letter in advance.

——

Five days later, it was time to go out of the palace to make purchases.

Zhiwei dismissed the others, picked up the basket containing paper money and incense, and walked slowly along the riverbank, her eyes scanning the surroundings warily. Following Wan Zhen'er's description, she was trying to find the informant "disguised as a woodcutter".

With the task at hand, she was restless, both eager to complete it as soon as possible to perform the sacrifice and feeling uneasy.

Suddenly, she stopped in her tracks and saw someone she absolutely did not want to see at this moment—Jiang Qin.

He was standing under a willow tree not far away, also carrying a simple offering basket, throwing paper money into a burning brazier.

The two looked at each other, both momentarily stunned.

Why would he come here? Zhiwei stood frozen in place, caught in a dilemma.

Perhaps... it was out of lingering remorse after that argument, wanting to accompany her in the memorial service? Or perhaps it was simply a habit formed over so many years. Whatever the reason, in the current situation, Jiang Qin's presence was like a thorn, causing Zhiwei distress.

Jiang Qin was still looking at her. Zhiwei didn't dare to delay. She gritted her teeth and walked to a place a little further away, where she also lit incense and candles.

The paper money turned into ash and smoke, swirling and rising in the wind.

Zhiwei closed her eyes, and as in previous years, she talked to herself in her heart.

She didn't really know what to say. As for complaining, she was already used to it. Enduring this life in the city, she sometimes felt that life was like the water in this river, seemingly calm on the surface, but full of silt underneath.

But after being caught up in it for a long time and becoming exhausted, she also finds it annoying to cry, make a fuss, or let her emotions out in a carefree way.

I thought of Sun Wei again. Sigh, that guy Sun Wei, he lived a life so recklessly, even if it was short, it was still worth it.

She muttered to herself, her voice tinged with bitterness and a touch of wry humor, as if Shao Zhao and Sun Weizhen were right beside her, listening.

Zhiwei didn't open her eyes until she felt heat in her eye sockets.

She looked up and met Jiang Qin's gaze. He had finished his memorial service sometime earlier and was standing a few steps away, quietly watching her.

Zhiwei's heart skipped a beat. She quickly lowered her eyes, stood up, dusted off the hem of her skirt, and prepared to leave.

In the instant they brushed past each other, Jiang Qin grabbed her wrist.

His palms were warm, with a slight, almost imperceptible tremor. Zhiwei froze, staring at him in astonishment.

Jiang Qin's lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he only uttered two words.

"Feel sorry."

What is there to apologize for? Is it that he was sorry she asked for help but couldn't help her? Or is it that he took advantage of her?

It's hard to say, but nobody likes guessing riddles.

What was said is not important; what was chosen is what matters.

——

After the memorial service, Zhiwei walked downstream along the riverbank.

As Wan Zhen'er had said, the informant would be dressed in blue cloth, looking like a woodcutter, waiting for her. She walked for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn before finally seeing that blue figure.

The woodcutter was leaning against a tree trunk, holding a wood-chopping knife, as if he were taking a rest.

It must be him.

Zhiwei made up his mind, looked around, and saw no one.

She took the warm letter from her sleeve, held it in her hand, and walked over there casually.

When he was about ten steps away from the man, the woodcutter suddenly swayed and fell to the ground with a thud.

Zhiwei reached out to check his breath, but there was none. She turned the "woodcutter" over and saw an arrow stuck in his back, blood flowing down the shaft and staining the grass on the ground red.

Zhiwei exclaimed in surprise, and suddenly heard a whooshing sound behind her.

She turned around abruptly and saw seven or eight men in black leap out from behind a tree, each holding a knife and staring at her fiercely.

run!

Only this one word remained in Zhiwei's mind.

She threw down the basket and turned to run wildly towards the crowded area above the riverbank.

The sound of arrows whistling through the air brushed past her ears. She stumbled, nearly falling, but managed to regain her balance and continued running for her life.

Her lungs burned with pain, and a metallic taste filled her throat. She dared not look back; all she knew was to run, to run for her life!

She was about to be caught, the cold blade almost touching the back of her neck—

"Clang!"

A crisp metallic clang rang out behind us!

As Zhiwei ran, she looked back and saw a familiar black figure appear out of nowhere, holding a long sword and parrying the blade that was about to pierce her!

It's a shadow!

Shadow! Shadow!

The shadow still wore the expressionless mask on his face, but his movements were as swift as lightning. He was entangled in a fierce battle with several men in black, his sword flashing as he temporarily blocked their attacks.

"Mount up!" Shadow roared, shoving the reins of a magnificent horse that appeared out of nowhere into Zhiwei's hands and giving her a hard push.

Zhiwei frantically grabbed the reins, trying to mount the horse, but her movements were clumsy and awkward. She really... wasn't good at riding.

Seeing this, Shadow paused, and almost blurted out, "I forgot you can't ride a horse."

Zhiwei did not reply.

Shadow said no more, and whistled sharply. The well-trained horse immediately turned around, raised its front hooves, and was about to rush out with Zhiwei.

While he was distracted by talking, several assassins surrounded him again, their blades flashing as they attacked the shadow.

Shadow fought against many, his swordsmanship fierce and ruthless, but he was clearly outnumbered. Several bloody wounds soon appeared on his body, and his movements gradually became sluggish. Zhiwei, riding on her horse, saw that Shadow's arm had been slashed by the blade of a man in black, and blood instantly soaked through his dark sleeve.

The scene was all too familiar, as if many years ago, someone had stood in front of the enemy to protect her and told her that he was there for her.

But that person...

A nameless panic gripped Zhiwei! As if waking from a dream, she abruptly tightened the reins, ignoring the horse's anxious neighing, and forced it to stop.

She called out to the figures locked in combat, "I'll wait for you, let's go together!"

She doesn't want to, and can't, repeat the same mistake.

Two more men in black attacked, their moves ruthless, making it increasingly difficult for Shadow to cope, and he was in grave danger.

Just as Shadow was about to be overwhelmed, another group of people rushed in from the other side of the riverbank.

The man at the head, his hat pulled low, was tall and familiar—it was Li Tai, who was supposed to have left the capital. His agile bodyguards immediately joined the fray, and the situation instantly reversed.

The men in black were all wiped out.

Zhiwei almost stumbled off the horse and tumbled to the shadow.

The shadow leaned on the ground with his sword, blood still seeping from the wound on his arm.

That inexplicable impulse surged up again. Taking advantage of the gap, Zhiwei suddenly pounced with strength she didn't know she had, and in the shadow's astonished gaze, she grabbed the mask on his face and ripped it off!

The mask fell off immediately.

"As expected... it's you." Zhiwei stared blankly at the face before her, a face that was both familiar and unfamiliar.

Their eyes met, and everything was understood without a word.

The next moment, Zhiwei rushed forward and hugged him, as if to confirm that he was real and not just another fragile illusion. She held him tightly.

Zhu Mingyu's body stiffened at first, then relaxed, letting her hold him and feeling her slight trembling.

"You're still alive...you're really still alive." Zhiwei's voice was muffled by his blood-stained clothes, choked with sobs, "Where have you been all these years?"

What exactly happened in that fire in Siam? Why did he survive but not come to find her? And why did he adopt the alias Shadow and become Li Tai's bodyguard?

Zhiwei had so many questions, so Zhu Liji only answered a few. He slowly wrapped his arm around her and began to recall the situation at the time.

Only when Zhiwei asked why he had to hide his identity did Zhu Mingyu's lips curl into a bitter smile: "Return? In what capacity? A prince who should have died?" He paused.

"The sieges and pursuits I encountered in Siam and Ying were all orchestrated by Wang Miaoxiao. But why would someone with no one to rely on dare to persecute a prince so brazenly?"