Chapter 3: You’re the One Who’s Wrong

Page (1/3)

His reflection filled her pupils. Sheng Mingyue nearly lost control of her emotions, her eyes instantly reddening.

“Your Highness, do as you please.”

Rong Yan froze. A look of disbelief passed through his eyes.

“You... You truly no longer care about your family? Sheng Mingyue, your heart is far too vicious!”

Sheng Mingyue gave a self-mocking smile and asked softly, “If this servant obeys Your Highness’s command, will Your Highness spare my family?”

Rong Yan pressed his thin lips tightly together. A shadow crossed his eyes.

“What do you mean?”

Sheng Mingyue lowered her lashes and no longer looked at him.

Her fate had been dismissed in a few strokes of those black words. Whether she obeyed or not, there would be no happy ending for her. Since that was the case, why should she trouble herself over anyone else?

It would be better to follow Prince Jing’an. At the very least, that offered her a chance to live.

With that thought, Sheng Mingyue turned slightly, intending to leave. In the next instant, someone seized her slender wrist with crushing force.

Rong Yan’s large hand tightened around it little by little, menace flashing in his eyes.

“Sheng Mingyue, do not test my patience.”

If only she obediently went to her death, he might still spare her parents and brothers.

“If you are willing to leave with me now, I can still beg Father to revoke his decree and arrange a proper place for you. But if you refuse to submit, do not blame me for forgetting our former affection!”

Sheng Mingyue curled her lips. His shamelessness actually drove her to laughter.

“This servant is lowborn and of scant blessings, unworthy of serving at Your Highness’s side. Fortunately, His Highness the Prince has shown me favor. I would not dare hope for anything more.”

Rong Yan’s eyes reddened, his back teeth grinding audibly.

“Even if you chose another master merely to anger me, you should have kept your eyes open and chosen carefully. With so many people available, you had to follow a sickly invalid.”

His brows drew tightly together. Alongside resentment and murderous intent, there was another emotion in his eyes that no one else could understand.

“After enduring five years of bitter cultivation, you finally escaped, only to knead another man’s shoulders and legs and flatter him shamelessly. Sheng Mingyue, you were born with a wretched fate!”

[I really cannot bear to watch this anymore. I feel so sorry for the little sacrificial character! Why is the male lead acting like a drug-addled brute?]

[Speaking objectively, the little sacrificial character endured those five years of suffering for his sake, didn’t she?]

[Throwing away the donkey once the millstone is turned, burning the bridge after crossing the river—I think the male lead’s brain has shriveled!]

[Our male lead bears a great responsibility. Everyone is supposed to be a stepping-stone for him. The road to success is so difficult; how could he let his emotions rule him over some insignificant side character?]

[To the person above: I hope you meet a male lead like him when you fall in love.]

Sheng Mingyue’s expression remained calm. She lifted her eyes and stared at him without blinking.

She could not understand how she had ended up in such a situation.

Every winter, she had washed clothes and chopped firewood. Her hands were often frozen blue and purple, and her chilblains constantly returned. The young man would tuck her hands into his robes, his face full of concern.

During those five years of arduous cultivation, she was often hungry. Nearly all the food she managed to beg for went into Rong Yan’s stomach. The day she fainted from hunger, Rong Yan had been terrified. Weeping, he had begged her not to leave him.

She had taken a blade meant for the young prince merely to beg some nobleman for a decent meal, because Rong Yan was always complaining about the hardships of cultivation and the lack of meat.

Before she fell unconscious from her grave injuries, Rong Yan had pointed to the heavens and sworn that he would rather betray the whole world than betray her.

Page (2/3)

Could it be... that the love they had shared for five years had all been a lie?

Sheng Mingyue blinked her sore eyes and said softly, “If I had known Your Highness possessed such a character, then even with a knife pressed to my throat, I would never have followed you to Mount Buddha.”

The words “Mount Buddha” left her lips, and Rong Yan could no longer suppress the fury in his heart. His gaze turned terrifyingly cold.

“Do you also think... that without you, I would certainly have died on Mount Buddha?”

Sheng Mingyue slowly raised her eyes to meet those that had once regarded her with tenderness.

“I have done nothing wrong. You are the one who is at fault.”

Rong Yan stared at her, his body rigid.

“Benefactor.”

A man’s voice came from behind. Taking advantage of the moment, Sheng Mingyue wrenched herself free and turned toward the carriage.

The wound in her chest throbbed fiercely, and her heart ached along with it. Sheng Mingyue desperately suppressed her emotions, keeping her steps steady as she walked away without looking back.

Rong Zhao lowered his eyes and watched her approach. Once Sheng Mingyue had stopped beside him, he used her hand to climb into the carriage.

As he turned, Rong Zhao cast a sidelong glance in Rong Yan’s direction before entering the carriage.

Sheng Mingyue stepped onto the mounting block and followed her master, bending down to enter the carriage.

The wheels began to turn slowly, leaving Rong Yan standing alone where he was. He watched the departing carriage, his hand clenched tightly into a fist at his side.

“Sheng Mingyue...”

“Do not think you can escape my grasp!”

The carriage passed through the palace gates. Inside, it was utterly silent. Sheng Mingyue did not dare speak and could only lower her head to stare at her knees.

[It’s the heroine! The heroine has finally appeared!]

“Ahhhhh! It’s our angel Shengsheng!”

[Yun Shengsheng is far too beautiful. Even if the heavens collapsed, her face alone could hold them up!]

[Where have all those people who were defending the sacrificial character gone? Look closely—this is the woman worthy of the male lead!]

Sheng Mingyue’s attention was drawn to the strips of black writing floating in the air. She turned her head just as a gust of wind lifted the carriage curtain, bringing her eyes into contact with those of the young woman outside.

The woman wore silver and crimson robes. With raven-black hair, snowy skin, bright eyes, and pearly teeth, she was indeed a beauty rarely found in this world.

That face was all too familiar to Sheng Mingyue.

Yun Shengsheng, the legitimate daughter of the Left Chancellor—the foremost lady of the capital, who often visited Heart of Buddha Temple to pray and offer alms.

Yun Shengsheng had appeared so frequently at the temple that Sheng Mingyue had once assumed the young lady was sincerely devoted to prayer. But looking back now, her heart had probably been filled only with thoughts of a young man. Unable to withstand her longing, she had needed to see him night after night.

The carriage swept past. Sheng Mingyue’s pretty little face flashed before Yun Shengsheng’s eyes. Yun Shengsheng suddenly frowned and turned to look after it.

Page (3/3)

“Miss, what is wrong?”

At the maid’s concerned voice, Yun Shengsheng knitted her brows tightly and said in a low voice, “Nothing. I must have seen incorrectly.”

Yun Shengsheng had always known that a young maid had followed the Crown Prince for five years. They had supported each other, and their bond surpassed that between ordinary people.

She could not tolerate even the slightest blemish in her sight. The Crown Prince had clearly promised to get rid of that girl. The person who had just passed by... must have been a trick of her eyes.

—

“What are you looking at, Benefactor?”

Rong Zhao’s words brought Sheng Mingyue back to herself. She immediately straightened and said in a small voice, “My lord, you may call me by my name. Calling me ‘Benefactor’ every other word is too great an honor. I am but a lowly wretch and truly unworthy of it.”

Rong Zhao leaned half against the soft cushions and regarded her with interest.

“You took a blade meant for me. Naturally, you deserve to be called Benefactor. The wound was close to your heart; you walked through the gates of death and gave me half your life. In such circumstances, who would dare say your life is worthless?”

After saying several sentences in one breath, Rong Zhao could no longer hold back and turned aside to cough.

“My lord...” Sheng Mingyue’s heart tightened. She had just reached out to support him when he waved her away.

“It is nothing. This happens all the time.”

Rong Zhao cleared his throat. The corners of his eyes were slightly red as he said in a deep voice, “Yunlai, stop by Clearwind Clinic and fetch some medicine.”

“Yes.”

The three of them lingered at the clinic for a while before taking the carriage back to the prince’s residence.

The carriage had barely come to a stop when Yunlai lowered the mounting block. Sheng Mingyue climbed down first. She was about to turn and help her master when a woman suddenly rushed forward and slapped her to the ground.

“You miserable wretch! Why don’t you just die?”

Sheng Mingyue cried out in pain. Her wound began bleeding again, staining her collar crimson. Her face burned fiercely, and she lay sprawled on the ground, temporarily too weak to rise.

“Stop!” Yunlai cried out in alarm. “How dare you! Do you know where you are? You cannot make a scene here!”

The woman’s clothing was plain, her patched garments washed nearly white. At his words, she gave a cold laugh, planted her hands on her hips, and cursed, “What’s wrong with me hitting her? I hit exactly whom I please! I am this wretched girl’s mother. I gave birth to her—why can’t I hit her?”

The pain was so severe that Sheng Mingyue could scarcely breathe. Hearing that familiar voice, she raised her head in a daze and saw the vicious face of her own mother.

Seeing that she had reacted, Liu Cuixi grew even more furious. She bent down, seized Sheng Mingyue by the collar, and shook her violently.

“How did you not die on Mount Buddha? If I had known this would happen, I should have strangled you the moment you were born. Then you would never have grown up wasting food and water, only to cause your little brother to be captured, his life and death unknown!”

“Your brother is only ten years old! Why wasn’t it you who was taken instead?”

Sheng Mingyue’s small face had gone deathly pale, but she clenched her teeth hard. Her eyes were webbed with blood vessels as she stared fixedly at Liu Cuixi, refusing to yield even an inch.