AUBTN -Chapter 5 Within the Time of One Incense Stick, I Will Expose His True Identity

“Time is running out.”

Shen Jue’s thin lips parted, his tone cold and devoid of any warmth.

“Have you decided which arm you’ll sever first?”

Su Hewan took a deep breath and lifted her head.

Her delicate face had shed the panic it had shown before. “Overseer,” she said.

“I… don’t want to sever an arm. I want to be the one… to hand the knife to you.”

Shen Jue let out a scoffing laugh.

“Hand me a knife? The line of people who wish to hand a knife to me stretches from the Eastern Depot all the way to the Meridian Gate,” he said, casually adjusting his sleeve.

“On what basis?” she asked.

“On the basis that I know—you’re not really cruel at heart, and you were not… born a eunuch.”

The moment she spoke, the smile on Shen Jue’s face vanished entirely.

His eyes blazed with lethal intent.

He leaned forward, staring intently at Su Hewan.

“Do you know what you’re saying?”

Su Hewan’s heart pounded wildly, her palms drenched in cold sweat.

【Got it right! This is what matters to him! Shen Jue’s real name is Shen Qingchuan, the only son of General Shen Zhong! Back then, the Shen family was falsely accused of treason, and all 130 members were executed—only he survived because he was young and switched with a loyal servant! He bribed the eunuchs of the castration chamber, faked his own castration, and entered the palace, bearing humiliation for over a decade—all to uncover the truth of that long-ago incident!】

Shen Jue’s hand tightened suddenly on his knee, veins bulging across the back of his hand.

Shen Qingchuan.

It had been fifteen years since anyone had called him that name.

Even he, on countless sleepless nights haunted by nightmares, was on the verge of forgetting who he once was.

Who… exactly is this woman?

How could the voice in her heart speak of secrets so hidden that even the Jinyiwei couldn’t uncover them?

Su Hewan had no idea that her inner thoughts had already been completely heard by him.

She only saw Shen Jue’s face darken to a terrifying degree and assumed she had struck his nerve.

Quickly, she tried to patch up her words with historical reasoning, hoping to steer the conversation back.

“Overseer, I dare to guess,” Su Hewan forced herself to meet Shen Jue’s gaze.

“Rumor has it that you hold power over the court to amass influence. Yet, while serving in the palace, I observed your actions closely. Though your methods are thunderous, they have never truly shaken the foundations of the dynasty. If you were truly a schemer, you could have used this situation to seize the throne long ago. Why expend effort to maintain balance in the court?”

“So I conclude that in your heart, Overseer, there are grudges, injustices, and certain aims—but none concern usurping the throne.”

Shen Jue’s eyes narrowed. The murderous intent in them slightly receded, replaced by a sharp curiosity.

“You do have a clever tongue,” he said coldly.

“But that alone won’t buy your life.”

Su Hewan bit her lip.

“I also know that recently, Overseer has been investigating a batch of weapons. A batch… that vanished mysteriously from the border fifteen years ago, ultimately leading to the defeat of General Shen… the former dynasty’s Shen General.”

Shen Jue’s pupils contracted sharply.

For a moment, he almost couldn’t restrain the urge to draw his blade.

This matter was the top secret he was currently investigating; even his trusted aides only knew he was searching for something, not what it was.

This woman… she was nothing short of a prodigy!

Su Hewan watched Shen Jue’s stormy face and felt her heart race with fear.

【Steady! Su Hewan! Don’t chicken out!】

“That batch of weapons was not made of ordinary iron, but specially forged Xuan iron for the Shen family army. To prevent theft, General Shen had a tiny, special mark carved inside the handle of each weapon—beneath the anti-slip wrapping—called the ‘Cloud Pattern Shen Character’!”

Cloud Pattern… Shen Character.

Shen Jue muttered the four characters silently in his mind. What followed was a boiling surge of blood coursing through him.

Fifteen years…

He had been stumbling blindly in the dark for fifteen years, like a headless fly.

And yet, today—through the inner thoughts of a little palace maid about to be buried alive—he had finally heard a clue of utmost importance!

He stared at Su Hewan, as if he wanted to see through her very soul.

This woman appeared fragile, like a little white rabbit, trembling on her knees—but inside her mind, there was a thunderstorm capable of overturning the entire court.

Shen Jue drew a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the turbulent storm in his heart.

He had to verify whether the voice in this woman’s mind was real or not.

“Nonsense!”

Shen Jue slammed his hand on the table. Su Hewan shivered violently, almost collapsing to the ground.

“Master… Overseer…”

“There has never been any such thing as Shen family weapons in this world, let alone any marks!” Shen Jue stood up, towering over her, his gaze sharp as a blade.

“You actually fabricated such an absurd story to toy with me, just to save your life?”

Su Hewan struggled to breathe under his overwhelming aura; her eyes instantly reddened.

【It’s over… He doesn’t believe me? Could the history books be wrong? Impossible… Could it be that I triggered some butterfly effect?】

【No! Judging by his reaction, he’s clearly either embarrassed and angry… or he’s testing me?】

【This old fox… his composure is unreal! His fingers are trembling, yet he’s pretending!】

Indeed, Shen Jue’s fingers at his side were slightly trembling.

Infuriatingly amusing.

Old fox?

Good.

“Guards!” Shen Jue suddenly barked.

Two eunuchs immediately pushed open the door, pressing their hands on the hilt of their blades like feral beasts.

Su Hewan’s face went pale, and she closed her eyes in despair.

【Was I wrong to trust him? Am I really going to die here? I wonder how Yu Qing over at Lu Yan’s side is doing… probably being stabbed too… Wuwu… I just want to go home…】

Shen Jue looked at her—a mixture of resigned bravery and utter cowardice—and the corner of his eye twitched violently.

He had never seen someone so… divided.

So terrified for her life, yet her mind ran wild, able to pierce through all his disguises with precision.

Shen Jue suddenly felt a twinge of irritation.

He didn’t want to kill her anymore.

At least until he confirmed whether that batch of weapons bore the cloud-patterned Shen mark, this woman could not die.

Killing her would be easy—but finding another prodigy who knows both past and future? That would be harder than reaching the heavens.

“Take her…”

Shen Jue started to speak, then suddenly changed direction mid-sentence.

He looked deeply at Su Hewan, his gaze so complex it was unreadable.

Then, without a word, he swept his sleeve and turned, walking toward the exit.

That silhouette… carried a hint of hasty retreat.

“Overseer?” the eunuchs froze.

“This person… kill her or strip her?”

Shen Jue didn’t look back. His figure vanished into the dark corridor, leaving only a cold echo behind:

“Watch her closely. If a single hair is out of place, I’ll test my blade on you.”

The prison door shut once more.

Su Hewan felt all the strength drain from her body, collapsing weakly to the ground.

“Alive… I survived?”

She stared at her own hands in disbelief, her heart hammering wildly in her chest.

Just moments ago, she had truly thought she would be dragged out to feed the dogs.

【What did that last look from Shen Jue mean? He didn’t kill me, didn’t release me… and just left like that?】