The Mad Villain Driven to Death - Chapter 23

A cool breeze swept past the window, rustling the plantain leaves outside. A moment later, a butterfly fluttered its wings, resting briefly on a leaf before flying into the distance. Inside, the bed curtains swayed, and a string of bells hanging from the eaves chimed softly.

Ding—

Wan Shenghan reached out to cover Shen Zhaoxue’s ears. The person beneath him had a flushed face and a blurred, dazed expression. Wan Shenghan’s hands slid down to cup his cheeks, and he leaned down to kiss his lips, tasting a bitter dampness.

Shen Zhaoxue raised his arm to shield his eyes. The small portion of his face left exposed revealed an expression that was anything but happy.

“The pillow is wet,” Wan Shenghan noted.

“Shen Zhaoxue,” he called out again, “stop crying.”

He seized Shen Zhaoxue’s wrists and pulled them to the sides, revealing eyes swollen from weeping. This was likely the first time he had seen Shen Zhaoxue cry like this—silently, as if a lifetime of suppressed pain had suddenly found an outlet. Wan Shenghan glimpsed a trace of fear and panic in the tear tracks, realizing the tears weren’t for the intimacy they shared.

Then what is it?

He stared silently at Shen Zhaoxue’s face, watching the tears flow ceaselessly from those sightless eyes. Then, he leaned down and kissed them away.

Shen Zhaoxue gripped the hair at the back of Wan Shenghan’s head and returned the kiss. Across two lifetimes, this was the first time they had shared the bed as husband and wife. Shen Zhaoxue felt a mixture of agony and ecstasy, suddenly remembering that in the future, this man would abandon him and marry another.

His chest felt tight and sour. The tears he had just managed to stop began to flow again; he seemed intent on crying the entire night away.

Wan Shenghan kissed his eyes again and asked, “What are you crying for? Does it hurt?”

Shen Zhaoxue only covered his eyes, refusing to speak.

Wan Shenghan tried a different question. “Why did you suddenly want to withdraw the case today? Haven’t you wanted to take revenge on Wan Jingyao for a long time?”

“All of you…” Shen Zhaoxue’s voice was incredibly raspy. He coughed lightly before continuing, “All of you care so much about your careers…”

“I don’t care,” Wan Shenghan said flatly. “Do whatever you want. But you cannot go to Chen Luo’s estate. Do not leave my sight.”

“Ha,” Shen Zhaoxue chuckled. “In what capacity, and from what standpoint, do you tell me not to leave your sight? By this union of ours that defies all ethics?”

The room fell silent for a moment.

The Autumn Equinox was tomorrow; the rainy summer had passed, and the world outside was quiet. This courtyard was well-maintained, free from the noise of insects or birds that might disturb Shen Zhaoxue’s peace. Wan Shenghan had always felt this was the perfect place for Shen Zhaoxue to live and recover. He had provided so much care and protection even the things he had neglected in the past, he provided now, along with promises for the future.

But Shen Zhaoxue didn’t seem to want a future.

After a moment of silence, Wan Shenghan said, “The Great Yan Empire does not favor the ‘passion of the cut sleeve.’ If you do not wish to live in hiding, we can go elsewhere—”

“Why should I leave the capital with you?” Shen Zhaoxue asked. “My eyes are already like this. If I stay in the capital, there might still be hope for a cure. Or do you truly want me to be a blind man for the rest of my life?”

“That isn’t what I meant,” Wan Shenghan said. “I don’t care about my career, and I have no desire to take the imperial exams. Shen Zhaoxue, stop forcing your own assumptions onto others. Stop trying to shoulder everything yourself. If staying in the capital means destroying yourself just to hurt your enemies, you’d be better off leaving with me. You—”

Thud!

Wan Shenghan’s voice cut off abruptly. He stared blankly at Shen Zhaoxue, who had sat up. It took a few seconds for the dull ache at the back of his head to register.

Shen Zhaoxue expressionlessly dropped the wooden pillow to the floor and climbed out from under him. As the world began to spin for Wan Shenghan, he managed to reach out and grab Shen Zhaoxue’s fingers.

Before losing consciousness, he heard Shen Zhaoxue say coldly, “No one is truly indifferent to their career and interests. If you want to save your future, stay away from me. Don’t speak of love or hate. Just act as if you never knew me.”

If Shen Zhaoxue had been reborn just to live a quiet, ordinary life, he would have left the Wan estate and the capital the moment he opened his eyes to hide in the countryside. But he was on a path of no return. He intended to interfere with the imperial court, to pull the man off the throne, and to cause rivers of blood to flow.

If he failed one day, Wan Shenghan would be untainted and could continue his path toward becoming a respected Chancellor. In this life, he would not destroy Wan Shenghan’s future.

Shen Zhaoxue’s fingers twitched, a sharp pain radiating from his fingertips to his heart. Before his death in his previous life, he had desperately wanted to see Wan Shenghan one last time to know if he was well, to know just how much he was hated. But during those months in the judicial prison, he had felt Wan Shenghan’s repulsion. Perhaps the heavens didn’t want him to hear any more insults, for he eventually lost his hearing.

He had died in the winter snow and been reborn amidst the summer rains. That downpour had washed away the blood and filth of his past life, reminding him it was time to let go. His heart couldn’t hold everything; between hatred and love, only one could remain. He would keep whichever was deeper, whichever gave him the will to survive.

That night, he had weighed his past and decided to let go of Wan Shenghan. He would treat it as a form of revenge retribution for Wan Shenghan abandoning him in the capital in their previous life. He didn’t reject the intimacy they shared tonight; he treated it as a final indulgence, for there would be no more chances.

Shen Zhaoxue stood by the bed for a while, fumbled to put on his clothes, and left the room. Guided by memory, he reached the estate gate. Because of the chaos surrounding Wan Jingyao’s legal troubles, the servants were lax. Hearing no one at the gate, he lifted the latch and slipped out of the Wan estate.

A curfew was in effect. Shen Zhaoxue carefully felt his way along the walls, stopping every few steps to listen for movement. Much of the capital was a blur in his memory. He worried about taking a wrong turn, but he had no other choice. To be safe, he hadn’t even told his maid, Chunya, leaving her behind at the estate.

After half an hour, he reached a certain manor. He felt the carvings on the door to confirm it was the right place, then knocked gently.

The door opened a crack. “Who comes here at midnight?”

“Please inform Her Highness the Princess that Shen Zhaoxue seeks an audience for an urgent matter.”

The guard surveyed the frail, sickly-looking youth through the crack. Seeing no threat, he said, “Wait here.”

The door closed. The autumn night was chilly, and Shen Zhaoxue’s thin clothes offered little warmth. His hands grew stiff from the cold. He blew on them to warm them until the door opened again. Princess Chen E appeared, looking surprised. “Young Master Shen? Truly you? Come inside before the patrol arrives.”

“Thank you.”

As he stepped forward, Chen E noticed his hesitancy and grabbed his arm. “What happened to your eyes?”

“Wan Jingyao poisoned my food a few days ago,” he replied. “It blinded me.” Once the door was shut, he hurried to speak. “There is no time. Your Highness, the Chancellor is gravely ill. The news hasn’t broken yet, but he will pass in a few days.”

Chen E was confused. “The Chancellor?”

“The foreign-blooded King beyond the Pass has long had his power suppressed by the Emperor. While the Chancellor lives, that King is kept in check. Once the Chancellor is gone, there will be an uprising beyond the Pass.”

If that happened, the rebel armies would frame Chen Shi. Then would come the refugee riots, a purge of the imperial court, and eventually, Shen Zhaoxue would be summoned to the palace after the spring examinations. He couldn’t tell Chen E the whole truth without sounding suspicious, so he only gave her enough to deduce the rest.

“The Emperor is naturally suspicious,” Shen Zhaoxue continued. “Your Highness has a vast amount of military power. Once the rebellion fails and that power is recalled, his gaze will fall on you. If a false charge is leveled against you, no amount of loyalty will save you.”

He added one more thing: “The Liu family is corrupt. If Liu Wuyou denounces his father, he might save his own life. But if something happens to you, Liu Wuyou’s fate…”

He trailed off. Chen E looked grim. “What do you plan to do?” She then remembered something. “The Emperor is not currently in the capital. Liu Wuyou has already denounced his father, and while the court is investigating privately, the Emperor left for the south two days ago to conduct a personal tour.”

Shen Zhaoxue was stunned. “The south?”

The south was a month’s journey away. How could Emperor Yuanshun return in time for the palace exams? This hadn’t happened in his previous life. He quickly pivotted. “I must see the Emperor. I ask Your Highness to introduce me.” He paused. “Since Your Highness will likely follow Liu Wuyou to the south in a few days anyway, it would be a simple favor.”

Chen E narrowed her eyes. “Are you threatening me?”

“No, a request,” Shen Zhaoxue said with a slight, enchanting smile that made him look like a moonlit spirit. “Our interests align. To put it nicely, we are collaborators. To put it bluntly, we are using each other. We are both players in the game of power; why care about being used?”

Autumn moonlight hung in the trees. Shen Zhaoxue brushed a stray hair from his face. When Chen E didn’t respond, he grew anxious.

Suddenly, Chen E gasped. “Your neck… you and Wan Shenghan…”

Shen Zhaoxue panicked, quickly covering the marks Wan Shenghan had left.

“Don’t be nervous,” Chen E said. “I’ve seen plenty of this at the border. I just didn’t expect it from you.” She looked at his pale face and realized he must have just come from the bed; no wonder his gait was awkward. Seeing he had sneaked out at night, she assumed he didn’t want Wan Shenghan to find him.

“If it’s urgent and you don’t want the Eldest Young Master to stop you, you should leave the city tonight,” she suggested. “At sunrise, I will find Liu Wuyou and catch up with you on the way south.”

But leaving the city during a curfew was hard. Shen Zhaoxue didn’t know how long Wan Shenghan would be unconscious.

Chen E decided: “Master Zhang of the Zhang manor often sneaks out at night to visit his mistress outside the city. He’s already bribed the guards. You shall wear my clothes, dress as a woman, and we will ask him to give you a ride.”

Shen Zhaoxue was bewildered. “What?”

“It’s settled. Come to my room and pick out some clothes.”

Since Chen E was a soldier, her feminine robes were mostly unworn. She found a set that fit Shen Zhaoxue, who was only slightly taller. “Since you are blind, I can help you dress,” she offered.

“No need,” Shen Zhaoxue said awkwardly. “I can manage.”

Late that night, Chen E took a disguised Shen Zhaoxue to the Zhang manor. After some coercion, Master Zhang agreed to take him. Chen E gave Shen Zhaoxue a silk ribbon to tie over his eyes. “Don’t let them know you can’t see,” she whispered. “If anyone asks, say it’s Master Zhang’s… unique preference.”

At the city gate, a guard stopped the carriage. “Who is that?”

Master Zhang gave a fawning smile. “A new concubine. She insisted on coming along tonight, so I had to bring her.”

The guard noted the “woman” in the corner with bound hands and a blindfold. Her skin was as pale as porcelain, and even the half-face visible was breathtaking. He clicked his tongue, wondering how the portly Master Zhang always found such beauties. Since Master Zhang was a regular who paid well, the guard let them pass.

Once clear, Shen Zhaoxue moved his hands to his front and sat quietly.

“My lady,” Master Zhang asked cautiously, “where would you like to be dropped off?”

Shen Zhaoxue said nothing, merely placing a finger to his lips to signal silence. To Master Zhang, this woman in black with a matching blindfold looked like a beautiful, ghostly spirit. He was too intimidated to ask more.

Master Zhang had a manor near the countryside where his mistress stayed. He was nervous that Chen E would tell his wife his secret, so he spent the trip glancing at Shen Zhaoxue and offering snacks. Shen Zhaoxue ignored him.

As they reached the outskirts, Shen Zhaoxue planned to wait for Chen E and Liu Wuyou at a relay station. He felt a deep sense of internal turmoil. He had gambled when he struck Wan Shenghan with the pillow; he hadn’t expected the man to have no guard up against him. He felt a twinge of regret. I should have hit him more gently.

Sunlight began to warm his face. He touched his cheek, thinking of how Wan Shenghan had always wanted to send him to the country to recover. But he had work to do. Hatred was the only thing keeping him alive.

Suddenly, the driver called out, “Master, why is there such heavy fog ahead?”

Master Zhang looked out. “Fog? It wasn’t like this a few days ago.”

Shen Zhaoxue thought it was just autumn morning mist. But the carriage slowed down. “The mountain road is ahead,” the driver said. “If we can’t see, we might fall off the cliff. Should we go on?”

Master Zhang hesitated. Shen Zhaoxue frowned, realizing they were getting cold feet. He decided to ask for directions and go on alone. But before he could speak, the carriage jolted violently.

He crawled up, accidentally touching Master Zhang’s shoulder—and felt something wet. An arrow had pierced the man’s chest; he was dead.

Shen Zhaoxue froze, then let out a belated gasp. The driver was likely dead too. The horse, spooked, was bolting through the forest. The carriage bucked and slammed against trees.

He knew he couldn’t just sit there. He pulled the arrow from Master Zhang’s body and tried to cut the traces to free the horse. But as he leaned out, an arrow whistled past his ear and thudded into the wood.

“There’s someone alive in there!” a voice shouted.

“It’s a woman! Capture her alive!”

Mountain bandits. Shen Zhaoxue broke into a cold sweat. He had forgotten how dangerous the city outskirts could be.

“Kill the horse!” a bandit yelled. “There’s a steep slope ahead; it’s no fun if she falls and dies.”

Shen Zhaoxue made a split-second decision. He gathered his strength and jumped from the moving carriage.

“Hey! The girl’s looking for death!”

“Let her be. If she wants to die, let her. Just grab the loot.”

Shen Zhaoxue hit the ground hard. His internal organs felt displaced, and he coughed up blood. Pain radiated through him. He lost consciousness briefly, only to be woken by the sensation of rolling down a steep slope. Branches and rocks tore at his skin. He fell into a small river at the bottom with a splash and went completely under.

The sound of camel bells echoed through the valley. Ding-dong, ding-dong.

Shen Zhaoxue felt restless. His body hurt everywhere, but he couldn’t pinpoint the source. In his dream, he was back in the palace, having just been punished by Emperor Yuanshun. He had knelt all night and been struck with a rod until his back was nearly broken.

“Is it too noisy?” he heard the Emperor ask.

In his daze, Shen Zhaoxue spoke the truth. “Yes… noisy…”

“Since the Right Envoy finds it noisy,” the Emperor said coldly, “pull out all their tongues.”

Shen Zhaoxue snapped his eyes open, but he was still in darkness. He wanted to explain he didn’t mean it, but he couldn’t speak. Countless bloody hands reached up from the ground, grabbing his ankles and dragging him into the abyss.

He struggled, and the dream shattered.

“Oh, she’s awake.”

“Don’t let the fever turn her into an idiot. How will she bring luck to Li the Third then?”

“What do you know? An idiot is easier to manage…”

The voices faded as the people moved outside. “Looking at her clothes, she’s from a rich family in the city. If she’s smart, she’ll run away in a few days.”

“Li the Third is sickly. It wasn’t easy to find a bride to ‘wash away his illness’ (chongxi). We can’t let her escape.”

Shen Zhaoxue’s sharp hearing caught every word. A ‘chongxi’ bride? How did I end up in this situation?

He tried to sit up, but every movement brought a wave of pain. He couldn’t even tell where he was injured, so he just lay there. A moment later, an old woman entered with a bowl of bitter-smelling medicine. Shen Zhaoxue tried to resist, but she pinched his chin and forced it down his throat.

He nearly choked. He gripped her wrist but lacked the strength to push her away. Once she let go, he collapsed onto the bed, coughing violently.

“Pampered and difficult to keep alive,” the woman grumbled.

Shen Zhaoxue didn’t speak, worried his voice would reveal his gender. The woman pinched his chin again, forcing his face up. “Does she look like she’s blind?” She called someone else in. “Look at her eyes; are they blind?”

Shen Zhaoxue tilted his face away, lowering his gaze.

“She doesn’t speak either. Is she a mute?”

“Blind and mute… and she’s supposed to be Li the Third’s wife?”

“Who cares? As long as she can bear a child. Li the Third will take care of her once he’s better.”

They decided the wedding would proceed on an auspicious day. Once they left, Shen Zhaoxue sat up and leaned against the headboard. He had survived the fall from the carriage, but now he was in a new mess injured, blind, and being forced to marry a man while dressed as a woman.

He touched his forehead; it was still burning hot. He fell into a deep, exhausted sleep.

Chen E and Liu Wuyou found the bodies of Master Zhang and the driver. Panic set in when they couldn’t find Shen Zhaoxue.

“He was disguised as a woman,” Liu Wuyou said calmly. “The bandits likely took him.”

“But he isn’t a woman!” Chen E said. “If they find out, they’ll kill him.” She realized she had to tell Wan Shenghan.

But when they returned to the Wan estate, they found Wan Shenghan had already left. The guards said he had left with a bleeding head, looking frantic.

“I know where he went,” Chen E realized. “He likely went to Chen Luo’s estate to find him.”

They found Wan Shenghan outside the Fifth Prince’s manor, blocked by guards. When he turned around, the proud Eldest Young Master looked haggard, his eyes bloodshot and his hair matted with dried blood.

“Princess…” he rasped. “Have you seen Ah-Xue? He is blind and weak. He can’t have gone far… why can’t I find him?” He bowed his head, hiding his face in his hands. “Why didn’t I come sooner?”

“I know where he went,” Chen E said, “but there has been an accident.”

Autumn had truly arrived. The woodshed where Shen Zhaoxue was kept was drafty and cold. He curled up, shivering. He knew if he didn’t escape soon, the fever would kill him before the wedding did.

The next day, several people dragged him from the shed to another room. It smelled of dampness and the rot of a long illness. He was pushed onto a bed. After a moment, he heard another person’s weak breathing.

Li the Third. Shen Zhaoxue shrank into the corner.

“So you’re the bride they found for me?” a raspy voice asked. Shen Zhaoxue said nothing. “The old woman said you’re blind and mute.”

Shen Zhaoxue’s fingers found a long, sharp needle on the floor. They forgot to mention one thing, he thought. I am also a madman.

He rose slowly, hiding the needle in his sleeve, and moved toward the voice with cold intent. But then Li the Third spoke again. “Marrying you is pointless. I’m a dying man anyway; why waste your youth?”

Shen Zhaoxue paused, tilting his head.

“This village…” Li the Third laughed, a sound like rubbing dry wood. “It should have vanished long ago. Those rotten rules and ignorant people should have died in the riots.”

He turned to Shen Zhaoxue. “Which family’s young master are you?”

Shen Zhaoxue froze, gripping the needle.

“You’re the little Young Master of the Shen family,” Li the Third whispered. “The one… destined to be a traitor.”