AUBTN -Chapter 76 Returning to the Capital

“This is the map of Jiang Huai’s private arsenal, along with the deed to the iron mine. This is what Ruyi promised Your Excellency earlier.”

Jiang Ruyi lifted her head, her eyes clear and bright.

“With this, Your Excellency can completely prove Jiang Huai’s treason—and also… claim this batch of iron.”

Shen Jue finally turned around.

He lowered his gaze to the scroll, letting his eyes linger on Jiang Ruyi’s face for a moment.

“No need.”

He didn’t reach out to take it, instead stepping back half a pace.

Jiang Ruyi froze. “Your Excellency?”

“When I said I wanted weapons back then, it was only a test,” Shen Jue said casually.

“I wanted to see if you, Miss Jiang, had the resolve—whether you would turn against your own family for their benefit.”

“The fact proves it: you are indeed a woman who doesn’t yield to men!”

A faint curve appeared at the corner of Shen Jue’s mouth.

“As for these things, leave them to Lu Yan. Rewarding merit is his specialty. What would a eunuch like me do with scraps of copper and iron? Use them to make cooking utensils?”

Hiding behind a corridor pillar, Yu Qing almost burst out laughing.

【Pfft… cooking utensils?!】

【This proud little ghost clearly doesn’t want to claim this hot potato for himself, yet he has to make it sound so ridiculous.】

Lu Yan stood in the shadows on the other side, arms folded over his blade, a faint twitch at the corner of his mouth.

Jiang Ruyi froze, the scroll held midair, her eyes beginning to redden.

“Your Excellency… this is more than just a transaction…”

“Right, there’s one more thing.”

Shen Jue interrupted her, drawing a silk letter from his sleeve.

It was the marriage contract she had given him earlier!

The engagement set between the Shen and Jiang families years ago—between Shen Qingchuan and Jiang Wan…

Fsshhh—

The firelighter flared, and Shen Jue, expressionless, ignited the ten-year-old marriage contract.

Flames licked the paper, quickly devouring the inked names.

“Your Excellency! This is—” Jiang Ruyi cried out in shock.

“With Jiang Huai’s death, all ties between the Jiang and Shen families are severed.”

Shen Jue let go, allowing the burning ashes to drift with the wind, falling onto the wet bluestone floor and instantly disappearing.

“From now on, there is no Shen Qingchuan in this world, only Dongchang’s Shen Jue.”

“This marriage contract should have been burned long ago.”

The firelight reflected off his striking, ruthless face, as if it were burning away the last trace of warmth he had in this world.

Jiang Ruyi looked at the ashes on the ground, tears finally spilling over.

“If it were my sister…”

She choked on her words, her voice trembling in the night wind.

“If my sister were still alive, seeing Your Excellency, though in darkness, still holding righteousness in your heart… if she could marry you, she would surely be happy!”

Shen Jue’s footsteps halted sharply.

After a long moment, he didn’t turn back. His voice was low and resolute:

“There is no ‘if.’”

“Jiang Wan is dead, Shen Qingchuan is dead.”

“Even if she were alive, Shen Jue would never marry her.”

With that, he decisively disappeared into the night, never pausing again.

Su Hewan stood beneath the corridor, watching that lone figure, seemingly abandoned by the entire world.

Her heart felt as though an invisible hand had gripped it tightly.

【Shen Jue…】

【From now on, you will never walk alone in the darkness again! We will pull you out!】

She took a deep breath, lifted her skirts, and quickened her pace to catch up.

“Commander! Wait for me!”

The next morning.

The crisp morning silence of Su City’s courier station was shattered by the urgent clatter of hooves.

“Eight hundred li express! Clear the way, everyone!”

A courier, covered in dust, swung down from his horse and staggered into the temporary barracks of the Jinyiwei.

“By imperial order! Commander of the Jinyiwei Lu Yan and Eastern Depot Superintendent Shen Jue, receive the decree!”

In the main hall, Lu Yan and Shen Jue had just met and hadn’t even spoken when the sudden decree interrupted them.

They exchanged a glance, each seeing gravity mirrored in the other’s eyes.

“I receive the decree.”

The courier panted, his voice hoarse and anxious:

“By the Mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Last night, the Empress Dowager suddenly fell gravely ill. The imperial physicians are at a loss… and it is feared… her end may be near!”

At this, the entire hall was stunned.

Yu Qing nearly choked on the bun in her mouth.

【What the—The Empress Dowager is critically ill? Isn’t this the classic opening of a palace intrigue drama?】

【The late emperor just passed a few years ago; if the Empress Dowager dies too, won’t the young emperor be left as a helpless little cabbage?】

The courier swallowed and continued reading:

“Public sentiment in the capital is unstable. Prince Ning’s faction claims illness to avoid court and is secretly mobilizing troops. I am greatly concerned. Lu Yan, Shen Jue, you are to immediately escort the criminal Jiang Huai and all witnesses and evidence back to the capital without error! By imperial command!”

Lu Yan shot to his feet, his face ashen.

The Empress Dowager was the young emperor’s last safeguard; if she died, Prince Ning’s faction would have no restraint and could strike at any moment.

“The Longevity Account… the Empress Dowager is gravely ill… Prince Ning’s faction ready to act… everything just happens to coincide perfectly.”

He turned to the seriously-faced Su Hewan, then glanced at Yu Qing, still clutching her chest.

“Ladies, it seems we must hurry with all haste.”

A faint, cold smile tugged at Shen Jue’s lips.

The sky over the capital was about to change.

The group agreed to set out for the capital the next day.

But Su Hewan suddenly interrupted Lu Yan’s plan.

“No, we cannot take the river route.”

Su Hewan pressed a hand against Lu Yan’s embroidered spring knife, her tone resolute.

“Why not?” Lu Yan frowned.

“The Empress Dowager is gravely ill. The river route is smooth; it would take only two days to reach the capital. By land, over mountains and ridges, it would take at least one extra day.”

“Commander Lu, speed in military matters is vital, yes, but the river, wide and seemingly easy, also hides dangers.”

Su Hewan’s gaze was steady. “On a boat, we are trapped like caged beasts. If ambushed with fire or if the boat is sabotaged, we would have no foothold. Jiang Huai is a serious criminal—and our only living witness. If he dies, there will be no one to verify the truth.”

Lu Yan’s eyes sharpened. “You mean there could be assassins?”

Shen Jue responded casually:

“If Commander Lu wishes to provide extra rations to the fish and shrimp, he is welcome to bring Jiang Huai aboard. As for us, we value our lives very highly.”

Lu Yan snorted, withdrawing his hand.

“Even with assassins, traveling by land is unavoidable!”

Yu Qing couldn’t hold back. Hands on her hips, she complained: “Commander Lu, are you dumb? They mean that if we take the river and there are assassins, we cannot protect ourselves, but by land, we at least have a chance! Do you get it?”

For the first time, someone questioned his intelligence. Lu Yan gave Yu Qing a sinister glare. “What are you saying? Do you think I don’t know?”

Yu Qing nodded vigorously. “Right, right, you know everything!”

Then she made a face and ran off.

Lu Yan froze, then dashed after her in a fluster, leaving Su Hewan shaking her head with a wry smile.

The carriage wheels rattled over gravel, jolting violently enough to make one question reality.

Yu Qing slumped onto the soft cushions, feeling as if her insides were being shaken loose.

“Help! This isn’t a carriage, it’s a rolling washing machine!”

“Stop shouting,” Su Hewan said, clutching two homemade porcelain bottles tightly, her face tense.

“This road is far too quiet.”