Chapter 11: The Saintess of the Southern Frontier
The wheels rolled over the bluestone streets.
The imperial capital was lively at night, music of strings and flutes drifting softly.
Painted boats and cloud vessels floated along the canal, shrouded in rising white mist.
Inside, faint silhouettes of graceful dancing girls could be seen through the window lattice, their enchanting figures half-revealed.
Halfway along, Shen Yanzhou ordered Elder Mo to stop the carriage.
Then, taking Chunchao with him, he walked toward the bustling lantern festival where the streets were packed with people.
Chunchao still remembered how Shen Yanzhou had told that plain-clothed woman to wait for him at the back alley behind Yuxian Pavilion.
So she did not think that Shen Yanzhou was bringing her to enjoy the lantern festival.
“The time should be about right. We can’t keep others waiting too long.”
After having Chunchao scan the surroundings to ensure no one was following them, Shen Yanzhou left the crowd and headed toward the alley entrance.
Deep in the alley stood an ordinary carriage.
Familiar with the way, Shen Yanzhou swiftly climbed inside.
“You know how to drive a carriage, right?” he asked casually.
“A little,” Chunchao nodded, placing down the longsword she had been holding.
She picked up the reins and drove the carriage toward the other side of the alley.
Shen Yanzhou sat inside quietly, tapping the window frame lightly as his thoughts churned.
In the original storyline, Fu Yuying, the Saintess of Luofu Cloud Cavern, had entanglements with the original Shen Yanzhou.
He had nearly been captured and taken to the Southern Frontier, serving as a scapegoat in place of the real heir.
Later, Luofu Cloud Cavern discovered that they had made a huge mistake—after paying a great price to kidnap the so-called heir, it turned out that he was a fake.
Before long, the carriage reached the agreed-upon back alley.
The plain-clothed woman was already waiting there.
“Follow me.”
She glanced behind cautiously.
Once she confirmed that no one else had followed, she exhaled in relief.
Hidden in her sleeve, a jade-white gu insect trembled faintly, transmitting subtle messages to her.
This was a Spirit-communing Gu.
Though only of seventh grade, it was a special type capable of releasing unique spiritual mediums to capture hidden auras, making it very effective for scouting.
After all, she still harbored suspicions toward Shen Yanzhou.
No one knew how much time had passed before the plain-clothed woman led the two of them through several alleys and into the outer city.
Eventually, they arrived before a modest, secluded courtyard of brick and tile.
“This is the place. If you dare harbor any schemes, even if you are the Demon Suppression King’s heir, you won’t be leaving tonight.”
Her tone carried a faintly vicious threat.
“Don’t worry. This heir would never gamble with his own life.” Shen Yanzhou smiled as he stepped down from the carriage, showing no sign of taking the matter to heart.
The plain-clothed woman said no more.
Pushing open the gate, she led them inside.
Passing through an arched corridor, they entered the courtyard.
Shen Yanzhou cast his gaze around.
Within the courtyard was a small pond reflecting stars and moonlight, rippling faintly.
On the summer night, cicadas and frogs occasionally called out.
From the house spilled a gentle warmth of light.
Through a half-open window, one could glimpse steam rising from a stone-carved bath, hazy and indistinct.
“Am I intruding at the wrong time?” Shen Yanzhou retracted his gaze and smiled calmly.
“The heir has come at just the right time.”
“Please enter.”
Before the plain-clothed woman could reply, a voice—clear and cool, yet tinged with elegance—sounded from within.
Shen Yanzhou nodded, lightly flicked his robe, pushed open the door, and walked in.
Behind a screen, on a reclining couch, a graceful figure lounged lazily, holding a small white tiger patterned with cloud markings.
She wore a white robe embroidered with mist and peach blossoms.
Her brows were willow-like, her hair in a misty cloud bun.
Her revealed skin was as luminous as jade, her features exquisitely refined.
Even beneath the wide robe, her curvaceous figure was impossible to conceal.
Shen Yanzhou showed no trace of awkwardness, openly and uprightly examining her.
Opposite him, she also regarded him with faint interest.
Their gazes met in midair.
Shen Yanzhou was the first to speak.
With a slight smile, he said: “The Saintess is indeed bold and skillful. Back then, when the First Emperor swept through the Southern Frontier, suppressing unholy rites, subduing evil gods, and annihilating petty kingdoms, even the founder of Luofu Cloud Cavern dared not step foot into the capital. Yet you dared to come here alone.”
“The times have long changed. The Great Qian today is no longer the flourishing era of the First Emperor. The current Emperor of Virtuous Enlightenment neglects governance, obsessed only with the pursuit of immortality. Power rests in the hands of officials. In the Southern Frontier, the Demon Suppression King holds great armies, while the once-submissive sects all harbor ulterior motives.”
“This imperial capital, where dragons and tigers converge, conceals countless ambitious figures. Why should I not dare to come?”
Fu Yuying spoke, her voice cold yet carrying a faint resonance, textured like jade.
“Good, very good. What boldness—no wonder you are recognized as the foremost figure among the hidden sects of the Southern Frontier.” Shen Yanzhou praised.
Fu Yuying neither cared nor acknowledged the empty title.
Her large, dark eyes fixed on Shen Yanzhou, reflecting his refined features.
“You are not like the rumors say,” she remarked.
Shen Yanzhou smiled.
“And how am I different?”
Fu Yuying said, “Ignorant, arrogant, indulgent, bullying the weak—that is the Shen Yanzhou of rumor.”
“And then?” Shen Yanzhou asked with a smile.
“But the you I see—composed, harboring great depth, as if everything lies within your grasp. There’s a transcendence in your bearing, as though few in the world are worth your notice.” Fu Yuying arched her brows slightly as she spoke.
Shen Yanzhou had not expected her evaluation of him to be so high upon their very first meeting.
Truly worthy of her reputation in the original storyline as someone who calculated three steps ahead, with cunning bordering on the demonic.
“Indeed, a tiger does not sire a dog. How could the son of the Demon Suppression King, such a hero, be nothing more than a useless wastrel? All these years, you’ve feigned debauchery, hidden your strength, and deceived everyone.” Fu Yuying nodded lightly, as though in recognition.
“The Saintess flatters me.”
“But there is one point where you are wrong.” Shen Yanzhou chuckled softly and shook his head.
“Oh? Which point?” Fu Yuying’s brows lifted slightly in surprise.
“I am not the son of the Demon Suppression King,” Shen Yanzhou said calmly.
“Hm?”
Fu Yuying was stunned.
For the first time, astonishment and disbelief appeared on her exquisite face.
“How is that possible?”
Her brows knit slightly, like a disturbed pool of spring water.
“That is why your Luofu Cloud Cavern’s plan was flawed from the very beginning. Even if you had captured me, it would not have forced the Demon Suppression King to retreat from the Southern Frontier.”
“I am nothing more than an abandoned pawn he pushed into the open, someone he could discard at any time.” Shen Yanzhou said indifferently.
Fu Yuying was silent for several breaths before her eyes, cold and sharp, locked onto Shen Yanzhou.
She asked, “And how am I to believe you? Who is to say this isn’t just a smokescreen you’ve released?”
She could not bring herself to believe it.
For in her eyes, the Demon Suppression King would never dare such audacity as to deceive the Son of Heaven by placing a false heir in the imperial capital.
If Shen Yanzhou’s arrogance and debauchery these years had merely been a facade, a means of hiding his true self, she could still believe that.
But for the Demon Suppression King to raise a false heir in the imperial capital—that was treason.
If the Emperor of Virtuous Enlightenment ever found out, no matter how favored the king was, he would not escape punishment.