Wind And Snow On The Jade Steps - Chapter 3

The girl’s body shook violently as she reached out, unsteadily leaning against the wall for support.

The sky had turned completely dark, and the faint light from the street lamps flickered over her, tracing her figure in a soft golden glow. Half a foot of snow had accumulated on the eaves, yet the girl wore no cloak. She was dressed only in a sky-blue feather-satin jacket. Her head hung low, making it impossible to discern her expression.

Shen Zhishu frowned imperceptibly.

The white jade hairpin in the girl’s hair was of excellent quality, and that sky-blue jacket was woven with gold thread and exquisite embroidery. Clearly, its owner was not facing any financial trouble.

Shen Zhishu was still preoccupied with the thought of a bowl of hot soup, so she asked bluntly, “What is your intention, your Excellency?”

The girl remained silent.

At this moment, two people and a horse stood facing each other. The surroundings were deathly silent. The night wind flowed from the south of the street to the north, yet the air felt stagnant.

Perhaps it was the cold, or perhaps it was because, despite being total strangers, they were locked in a wordless stalemate.

One could even hear the other’s breathing.

Shen Zhishu stood in this groundless and utterly bizarre silence for a good while until her patience finally wore thin. She pulled the reins, preparing to steer around the girl, but her wrist suddenly froze.

Wait. The wind was clearly whistling, so why could she hear the other woman’s breathing so clearly?

She took a long breath, lowered her head, and carefully studied the girl’s face.

The girl’s breathing grew increasingly rapid, and the fur on her sky-blue jacket rose and fell in sync with her chest.

Her eyes reflected the lamplight in a very pale hue, while the corners of her eyes and brows were flushed with crimson. However, because her expression was so unclear, resembling the unmelted snow on the eaves, there was no obvious sign of desire.

Thus, when she finally spoke, Shen Zhishu was genuinely startled.

The girl took a sudden step forward, nearly lunging toward the horse. She said, “General Shen, help me.”

What surprised Shen Zhishu was not that her identity had been easily recognized, but rather the girl’s voice.

The tone was flat, yet the end of her words wavered. It was steady and low, sounding devoid of emotion at first, but upon reflection, it easily pierced through the surface to reveal the hidden things beneath.

Shen Zhishu’s first reaction was: This is a “honey trap.”

A stranger, a girl appearing out of nowhere, had recognized her identity instantly, even though the darkness made it almost impossible to see outlines and she was still wearing her face mask.

Furthermore, she was asking for help in a raspy voice.

As for what kind of “help” she needed, Shen Zhishu could figure that out with her eyes closed.

On any other day, she might have been willing to play along for a few rounds to see who was behind it, but today her dinner was still unaccounted for, and she was truly famished.

So, she straightened her collar and suddenly leaned forward from the saddle.

The distance between them closed abruptly, and the warm candlelight enveloped them both.

Shen Zhishu’s eyes narrowed beneath the brim of her hat for a second, and a moment later, she let out a soft, mocking hum.

She said coldly, “I’m not interested.”

She stared unblinkingly at the girl’s face, not missing a single unnatural expression. Then, she saw the girl’s pressed lips part slightly, as if she were about to say something.

Shen Zhishu waited for a moment, but when no further words came, her remaining patience finally ran out. She abruptly straightened her back, shifted her gaze toward the distance, and her hand on the reins moved to pull back, but then that indifferent, raspy voice reached her ears again.

“This situation was never my intention, I simply met with a mishap. Once the matter is settled, you may name any price, and I will grant it.”

“General Shen, help me.”

A mishap?

Had she been drugged with an aphrodisiac?

Shen Zhishu was no longer in a hurry to leave. She shifted her gaze back to the girl’s face.

That face was becoming increasingly flushed, and the corners of her eyes were so saturated with color they looked as if they might drip blood.

If this was a honey trap, this girl’s acting was remarkably convincing. But if it wasn’t a trap, and she truly was in trouble…

Shen Zhishu pursed her lips, locked eyes with the girl for a few seconds, then suddenly released the reins and reached out her hand.

Her palm was covered in thin calluses, and a faint layer of veins stood out on her wrist from the slight exertion.

She asked, “Can you take my hand and mount the horse yourself?”

At the first quarter of the hour of the Dog (around 7:15 PM), inside a guest room on the second floor of a small inn.

Light snow began to fall again outside the window. The fireplace burned silently, and there was no sound of human voices nearby.

The girl on the bed was clearly in extreme distress. Accumulating tears trembled and slid from the crimson corners of her eyes onto the brocade pillow, yet she still bit her lip, not making a sound.

It wasn’t until a long time passed without relief and she truly couldn’t endure it any longer that she suddenly grabbed Shen Zhishu’s wrist and said hoarsely:

“Lighter.”

Her black hair was scattered wildly across the bed. Shen Zhishu tucked a strand away for her, wiped the mist from the corners of her eyes, and coaxed her softly, “Endure it a little longer, it’s almost over.”

The girl took a deep breath and turned her head away. She closed her eyes, and her slender, white fingers trembled as they moved away from Shen Zhishu’s wrist.

Shen Zhishu touched the girl’s forehead soothingly and then increased her pace. She saw the girl’s brow furrow as a wave of desire easily spread across her face, yet her expression remained cold and indifferent.

It reminded her of the chilling morning dew on the Yaotai of the Northern Mountains in late autumn.

A sparrow, unafraid of the cold, chirped twice on the windowsill. The rustling sound of the quilts followed, startling half a patch of snow off the eaves.

Accompanied by a muffled groan from the back of her throat, the girl snapped her eyes open, her face blooming with a striking flush.

Shen Zhishu remained silent for a moment, then rose from the bed and went out to wash her hands.

She no longer expected to get her hot soup, so she simply ordered a few steamed buns from the inn to satisfy her hunger.

When she returned to the room, the girl had just finished dressing. She was leaning against the bedpost to stand up, looking hesitant to speak.

Shen Zhishu was brief, “Speak.”

The girl took a breath and asked quietly, “Can you take me back to my residence?”

Shen Zhishu shook her head, “I’ll call a carriage for you.”

The girl remained persistent, “Can you take me back to my residence?”

“I wanted to ask this earlier,” Shen Zhishu did not agree immediately, but instead sat down gracefully on a wooden stool by the square table in the center of the room, looking up at the girl.

She said, “Who exactly are you, and why could you recognize me at a glance even with a mask on? And why were you drugged?”

The girl bit her lip and didn’t answer for a long time. She paused, seemingly having made a decision, and reached for her jacket on the rack to put it on. Likely because she lacked strength, her hands trembled slightly as she tried to fasten the buttons.

Shen Zhishu sat on the stool, resting her head on her hand as she watched for a while. She sighed, stood up, and paced over to the clothing rack.

“If you don’t want to say it, then don’t. It’s only natural to have secrets when something like this happens,” she lowered her head slightly, her fingers moving nimbly and methodically as she helped the girl fasten the last two buttons.

The girl whispered a faint thank you.

The desire had completely faded from the girl’s face, and the indifference in her eyes and brows made her seem somewhat cold and detached. Although her body clearly had no strength left, she forced herself to stand straight, looking down at the young woman who was tidying her clothes.

“General Shen…” she paused, then still insisted, “Can you take me back to my residence?”

“Since you mentioned a residence…” Shen Zhishu moved her gaze to the girl’s face, looking at her with great interest, “If you have a residence, you certainly aren’t from an ordinary family. Which family’s young lady are you?”

“I…” The girl started to speak but then lost her voice.

Shen Zhishu smiled, “If you won’t say anything, it’s hard for me to help you. Besides, once I take you home, I’ll know your identity just by seeing where you live. There’s really no need for you to hide it now.”

“It’s not… I didn’t intend to hide it from you,” the girl’s voice was devoid of emotion, “But you know that everyone has their difficulties. I cannot say too much right now, I can only tell you that someone tried to harm me. Once you take me to my residence, everything will be clear to you.”

“Why must it be me who takes you? Is calling a carriage not enough?”

“There are people on this street who recognize me, so it is not convenient for me to take a carriage.”

Shen Zhishu’s gaze flickered toward the door and then back, meeting the girl’s eyes.

The candlelight flickered, reflecting a dancing brightness in the girl’s eyes. Her expressionless face seemed strangely vivid for a moment.

There was a very faint mole at the corner of her eye, so faint that a bit of powder could cover it.

Shen Zhishu suddenly wondered what this emotionless face would look like if it smiled.

Would that mole shift its position?

So she said, “Then, give me a smile.”

The girl: ?

Shen Zhishu grabbed her cloak, threw it over her shoulders, and turned around, “Just teasing. Let’s go, I’ll take you home.”

The two left the inn, and Shen Zhishu led out the horse. She first helped the girl onto the horse’s back, then swung herself up to sit behind her.

She didn’t pull the reins immediately. Instead, she opened her cloak and asked the person in front of her, “Want to come inside? It’s cold on the horse.”

The white fox fur lining of the cloak swayed in the wind.

The girl hesitated for a moment, then shook her head.

“Really not?” Shen Zhishu laughed, “This cloak is spacious, there’s more than enough room for one more.”

The girl shook her head again.

“I’m not lying, the wind really is strong on the horse,” Shen Zhishu simply untied the cloak and draped it over the girl’s back without further discussion, “Then you wear it. Your sweat probably hasn’t dried completely, I’m afraid you’ll catch a cold.”

The girl’s eyes widened, and she wanted to struggle or be polite, but Shen Zhishu patted the back of her head.

“Don’t move,” Shen Zhishu whispered behind the girl, “We’re leaving. Be careful not to fall off the horse.”

The girl in her arms went still.

Shen Zhishu stepped over the shadows on the ground and followed the path the girl pointed out, leisurely heading toward the southeast.

The road was truly quiet. Most of the paths were deserted, creating an atmosphere of leisure and freedom.

After riding for a while, Shen Zhishu suddenly asked, “Is that hairpin in your hair made of mutton-fat jade?”

The girl answered from the front, “I didn’t expect the General to recognize such things.”

Shen Zhishu laughed, “That’s a stereotype. There are coarse men among scholars, and there are meticulous ones among generals. I wouldn’t say I’m meticulous, but my mother gave me plenty of jade since I was young. Some were made into hairpins, some into peace buckles, and all sorts of jade pendants. I’m still wearing a peace amulet right now.”

“Was it a gift from Minister Shen?”

“She doesn’t give them, my other mother does. Speaking of which, you seem to know quite a bit about the court, knowing that Minister Shen is my mother.”

“I know a thing or two.”

Shen Zhishu added, “I’ve only just returned to the capital, I’m not familiar with the people or the roads. To be honest, I even thought you meant me harm at first.”

“Then why were you willing to help me?”

“Your eyes are very clear, there’s truly no murderous intent in them,” Shen Zhishu said softly, “People like us who are used to the battlefield can tell at a glance if the other party has ill intent. Besides, unless you were at the end of your rope, you wouldn’t have asked for my help. It was just a small favor, so I did it.”

“Aren’t you afraid of being mistaken?”

“Even if I am mistaken, I can take the opponent down the moment they launch an attack.”

“The General is indeed remarkably brave.”

“You flatter me. Which way now?”

“Turn right at the next intersection.”

“Are we almost there?”

“Yes.”

They were indeed almost there.

After turning right and traveling dozens of steps, the girl in her arms turned her head, nodded slightly, and said:

“This is my residence. Would General Shen like to come in for a cup of tea?”

Shen Zhishu was indeed thirsty and was about to agree, but as she looked up, she saw the shimmering golden plaque hanging above the main gate.

The plaque was perfectly square, inlaid with various agates and corals, and bore several large characters, Princess.

Wait, the Princess’s Residence?

Thanks to the assassination attempt by that “attendant” a few hours ago, the current Shen Zhishu had no desire to have any dealings with the court or the inner palace.

There were two Princesses in the current dynasty. One was said to have gone to the south of the Yangtze River. Then the one before her was.

The Emperor’s own sister, the Princess of Hua’an.

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