Phoenix Reborn: The Prime Minister's Scheming Daughter

The heavy rain kept pouring down, making a layer of veil on the entire imperial city. Shen Ninghua knelt on the ground and raised her head to look at the woman sitting on the throne of Fengyi Palace. And her eyes were cold as ice. "Shen Linghan, I really didn't expect you to be so impatient. I had handed over my power to Baili Jinze no sooner than he asked you to deal with me."

Someone had long advised her that emperors were ruthless, that she shouldn't trust Baili Jinze, and that she must keep the last trump card in her hand. Unfortunately, she wanted to offer her trust in exchange for his true love. She didn't expect that she was simply offering her heart for him to trample.

The woman smiled lightly, the hairpin on her head glowing. "Deal with you? Sister, you're kidding. You deserve everything that you get. His Majesty has instructed me that your crimes are enough for you to be sliced into pieces. However, you and I are sisters and considering that I had paid respects to you as Empress for so many years, I should beg his Majesty to spare your life."

Rain ran down from the top of her head, and her dark long hair scattered all over the ground. Shen Ninghua felt a bone-piercing chill. "My position as Empress is due to the contribution to the Great An Dynasty! I risked my life several times for the Emperor and accompanied him all the way. It's reasonable for his Majesty to grant me the title of Empress. After all these years, have I done anything that disappointed Baili Jinze? Have I done anything that betrayed the Great An Dynasty? What am I guilty of?"

"You think you are innocent? The entire Great An Dynasty knows that you've poisoned the Emperor's brothers, murdered the Emperor's sons, and framed cases against the imperial concubines. You've also ordered crafty officials to dominate the court! Haha, shame on you to think you are innocent. " With an elegant smile on her face, Shen Linghan looked down at Shen Ninghua, her eyes filled with joy.

Shen Ninghua gritted her teeth. "If I hadn't helped Baili Jinze get rid of his brothers, how could he have taken the throne? Those officials sent their daughters to the imperial Harem. If I hadn't gotten rid of them, how could peace have been maintained in the Harem?"

Baili Jinze had actually made her the culprit of everything... Back then, he had vowed to become her patron and protect her for the rest of her life. Just because of these promises, she didn't hesitate to dye her hands with blood, only to fulfill his ambition. The oath was still echoing in her ears, but his attitude had completely changed. Now she became the scapegoat of so many crimes, which were enough to make her forever doomed. If she really wanted to control the court, how could she hand over all the power to Baili Jinze?

"His Majesty is a man of great talent. It's the people's desire for him to sit on the throne. What does it have to do with a vicious woman like you? Sister, you take yourself too seriously. But speaking of that, there really is a fool who has been trying his best to refute these charges, and even went to find evidence to prove your innocence. Unfortunately... Tsk-tsk..." Shen Linghan's eyes curved, and her red lips were full of smiles.

"Yun Chuan... What did you do to Yun Chuan?" Shen Ninghua suddenly raised her head. She saved Yun Chuan in a disaster relief mission. Just because she gave him a good meal, he followed her back to the capital and remained loyal to her, risking his life to protect her many times.

"No big fuss. I had meant to do him a favor and let him die without pain, but it was a pity that he was so disobedient. He said that even if he had no hands, feet, and teeth, as long as he had a breath, he would definitely seek justice for his sister. I was so touched by his words that I cut off his hands and feet and pulled out his eyes, ears, nose, tongue and teeth. I would like to see if he could help you this time with that breath I gave him."

Shen Ninghua's body trembled, and her eyes expressed her wish for nothing other than to slice Shen Linghan to pieces. She shrilled, "Yun Chuan has always been pure-hearted. He is only a sixteen-year-old boy. He not only saved my life in the war, but also saved Baili Jinze's life. When Baili encountered an assassination in Shang Prefecture, Yun Chuan got thirteen knife cuts but he still carried Baili on his back and managed to escape. If it hadn't for him, how could Baili Jinze be still alive? How could you hurt him like this?"

"My sister, being able to die to protect the Emperor is naturally an honor for that silly kid. He should be happy even if he died. Why wouldn't I hurt him? I am the kindest person. For fear that he will die alone, I let your good maids, Si Qin and Si Qi accompany him. They all followed you all the way. I would never leave the two of them behind. These two girls are really tough. I have tried all sorts of ways but failed to make them say anything against you."

Shen Ninghua suddenly stood up and threw herself at Shen Linghan without the slightest hesitation. However, the guard kicked her in the chest and she spat out a mouthful of blood instantly. She growled,

"Shen Linghan, Si Qin is married. She's pregnant. She's going to have a baby in two months. How dare you torture her? You're a venomous woman. Aren't you afraid of retribution?"

"Retribution? Funny! There is no such thing. Even if there is, sister, you can't see it. I'm telling you, that girl Si Qin watched as the baby was aborted out of her belly and still refused to sign the confession. So, after I asked someone to get rid of her baby, I cut off her hand and pressed it on the confession."

Shen Ninghua's face was pale as she bit her lips tightly. Her heart was already scarred. She raised her head and stared at Shen Linghan. She wanted to engrave her in her heart. Even if she had turned into a vengeful spirit, she would come to take her life!

However, Shen Linghan was enraged by her gaze. She suddenly stood up, ignored the rain, walked up to Shen Ninghua, and slapped her on the face with her heart filled with hatred. "Why are you looking at me like that, bitch? I tell you, from today, I will be the master of the Fengyi Palace and the Empress of the Great An Dynasty. You will never win!"

She hated the look in Shen Ninghua's eyes the most because they seemed calm and indifferent at any time. Even if she was trampled into the mud like this now, that calm look in her eyes did not change a bit.

"Shen Linghan, if there is no retribution from Heaven, I'll personally give you a taste of retribution."

Shen Linghan slammed the bright yellow imperial edict on Shen Ninghua's face and said coldly, "Then we'll have to wait to see if you can survive. Here is the Imperial decree. Shen Ninghua plotted against the Emperor's offspring and gossiped about affairs of the imperial state. She is immediately deprived of the title of Empress and put into the Cold Palace. By the way, in order to allow her to think about her sins, let her lie on the bed tamely. Don't kill her."

Heavy rain filled the sky over the palace. Shen Ninghua listened to the noise outside the window, and her hollow eyes gleamed with a trace of light. She had lived in the Cold Palace for almost ten years, and because of one sentence of Shen Linghan, all her bones were shattered. Her body was weak and limp like mud and she was thrown into bed. Every day, she was treated like a beast and fed with rancid food.

Nevertheless, she still wanted to live and see if Heaven could see her misery and make Shen Linghan and Baili Jinze suffer! Unfortunately, Heaven hasn't opened his eyes.

In the sound of the rain, she heard footsteps gradually coming.

"Shen, today the new Emperor has ascended to the throne. The Empress dowager is so kind that she gave you some good stuff. If it wasn't for the Empress's mercy of not seeing blood on the big day, your life wouldn't be worth the money of this medicine at all. Don't forget to kowtow and thank Her Majesty when you get to the Underworld."

Her tongue had been cut off, and she couldn't say anything. She stared at the smiling imperial maid with her eyes wide open. The imperial maid took a small bottle and poured the liquid on her body.

Heart-wrenching pain spread out from her legs, causing Shen Ninghua's entire body to twitch, and the veins on her neck popped out prominently.

"Haha, this is corpse-melting water. The Empress dowager said that your body would contaminate the place if you were to be thrown into a mass grave. She didn't want you to spoil the stomach of livestock in the wild. So she let you die in a clean way. The Ex-Emperor had also given an oral decree that it was a great misfortune for the Great An Dynasty to have you, a base-born person, as its Empress. You can't be buried in the royal mausoleum. After you turn into ashes, you will be thrown into the livestock shed. Even in your next life you won't have a good fate. That's what you deserve!"

Shen Ninghua's eyes bulged as she recalled the scene of Baili Jinze dressed in an imperial robe in front of the Fengyi Palace, gently hugging Shen Linghan. Blood dripped from her heart.

She hated them! She hated them so much! Baili Jinze, Shen Linghan, if there is a future life, I, Shen Ninghua, will surely have you destroyed and smashed to pieces. You must repay blood with blood!

In the valley, a girl about twelve or thirteen years old slowly opened her eyes. Her skin was coarse and black, her hair messy, her cheeks with some scratches, making her not so good-looking a girl at the first glimpse. Nevertheless, her eyes were especially dark and transparent with a refreshing light, which was rather attractive and unforgettable.

She had been woken up by the clear bird singing accompanied by the scent of grass and wood.

Shen Ninghua suddenly came to herself. She subconsciously looked around and her sight was greeted with lush green vegetation.

Not far away a capsized carriage lay on the ground, and the horses were dead. Even the carriage was broken and scattered all over.

How was that possible? Wasn't she dead? Why was she here all of a sudden? There were stings in her head, and Shen Ninghua groaned. After a while, she laughed quietly, "Oh, it seemed that heaven had blessed me by giving me the chance of going back to nineteen years ago."

Her mother died when giving birth to her. When she was a hundred days old, her father Shen Dong married Zhao Yunxiang, daughter of the Zhao's family. Only six months later, Zhao Yunxiang gave birth to a twin boy and a twin girl, respectively named Shen Linghan and Shen Xuanye.

She, however, was born with dark complexion. At the first glance of her, her father almost dropped her on the ground, bluntly saying that she was not the child of the Shen's family. Her stepmother never treated her well either, leaving her, the first daughter of the Shen's family, to live a life even inferior to a servant.

That was quite natural: on one side there were auspicious twins and on the other side an ugly daugher without her birth mother. It was not surprising that Shen Dong was particularly in favor of Shen Linghan and Shen Xuanye.

At the age of thirteen, she happened to see a servant girl adding something to her meals. She felt that she was in urgent danger, so she requested to retreat in a country villa, never expecting that horses got startled on the road and the carriage fell down the cliff.

She was so fortunate that she only sprained her ankles after falling from such a high cliff. The two servant girls who accompanied her to the villa, however, were not so lucky and died in the accident.

After quickly examining herself, Shen Ninghua decided not to stay long. She picked up the baggage containing her clothes and boken silver and walked to the north with a stick to support herself.

After walking for about half an hour, she felt that her ankle was too painful to walk any more, so she went to have a rest by a stream.

In her previous life, it took her one day and one night to walk out of the valley, leaving her ankle diasabled. An ugly girl with disability was a stain to the Shen's family, so the whole Shen's family disliked her even more after she returned. No matter how intelligent she was, she was nothing but a joke.

Shen Ninghua crouched down to wash her face with some clean water. She smiled slightly, feeling so good to be alive again.

A loud crash!

A bloodstained hand reached out of the grass across the stream and landed in the water. Blood immediately diffused in the water and was washed downstream.

Shen Ninghua tremored in surprise and shouted in a low voice:

"Who's there?"

The stream was not wide, but on both sides of the shore there was lush vegetation about half a person tall, so when Shen Ninghua came over, she was completely unaware of the person hiding in the grass on the opposite side of the stream.

After a while, a restrained cough came out, the grass rustled, and a man struggled out of the grass and fell straight into the stream.

Shen Ninghua clenched the stick in her hand and stepped back two steps, her brows frowned: "Who are you?"

"Um... a man in trouble..."

The man looked up and sized up Shen Ninghua with his eyes discreetly for a while before his tensioned body relaxed. "You are a strange-looking girl, but it is surprising that you should suddenly appear alone in the wilderness. You are not a genie from the mountain, are you?"

Stream water had washed away the blood on the man's face, and Shen Ninghua found he was extremely handsome and his complexion was clear as jade. Even the blood all over his body could not conceal his grace. The man must be from a rich or noble family, and whoever had wounded him severely was not a person she could afford to offend now. She might as well run away from him as fast as she could.

"I was just passing by."

Shen Ninghua said. She took two steps back and left quickly.

"You... are going to leave a dying man in peril?"

Seeing that Shen Ninghua had already walked four or five steps without the slightest intention of saving him, Chu Junyi hurriedly said. "Have you ever heard of the Xiao's family in the capital city?"

Shen Ninghua looked back, surprised but showing no sign on her face: "You are from the Xiao's family?"

"Xiao Jingran is my foster father."

Hesitating for a while, Shen looked up and asked, "Do you have any proof?"

Chu Junyi raised his eyebrows, surprised. The girl in front of him knew the Xiao's family, but she was in no hurry to please him. It would be normal for a person from a noble family, but unusual for an ordinary girl like her to be so composed. "This jade pendant is token of the Xiao's family. If you save my life, I will certainly repay you."

Looking at the shape of the jade pendant, Shen Ninghua felt a bit tempted. This jade pendant was indeed the token of the Xiao's family and symbol of the direct line of descent. The man in front of her claimed to be the foster son of the Xiao's family, so he must be Chu Junyi, one of the famous "Peerless Duo Masters."

"How much silver would Master Chu be worth?"

She knew his identity!

"Now that you know who I am, and you only think about money?"

Chu Junyi was surprised. A lifesaving deed of gratitude could be exchanged for more, but she wanted only money.

Sarcasm flashed in Shen Ninghua's eyes: "Does Master Chu expect me to ask for something else? That's OK. Now tell me what you could give me?"

Chu Junyi choked and looked at Shen Ninghua carefully. "Why are you angry?" He laughed. "I was just saying that. It is good that you want money. I can give you as much money as you want, so long as you help me get out of the valley."

He was so badly wounded that it was impossible for him to go out without help.

"I will save your life. In exchange for that, I want 5,000 taels. The jade pendant works as a pledge. You give me the money, I give the jade pendant back to you. Then we do not owe each other anything. How about that?"

Shen Ninghua looked up and asked.

Shen Linghan and Baili Jinze smeared her reputation, leaving her to rot in the cold palace after killing the people she cared most. Blood must be repaid with blood! And this was only the first step. She needed financial support after going back to the Shen's family and money was indispensable. Now that someone was here to offer the chance, there was no reason to decline.

"Five thousand taels of silver in exchange for saving me?"

Chu Junyi was speechless. Not to mention his secret identity. His known identity was the foster son of the Xiao's family, and he was hailed as one of the Peerless Duo Masters in the capital city, and even had a position in the imperial court. Now she told him that he was only worth five thousand taels of silver?

"Gold!"

Shen Ninghua coldly said, showing a little impatience in her eyes. If it was not for knowing that this man would be very successful in the future, she would not venture to ask for trouble by making a deal with him.

"Deal!"

Chu Junyi half leaned against the wall of the cave, his eyes shone along with the flames. He looked at Shen Ninghua, who was gathering firewood. "May I know your name?"

Ever since she helped him into the cave, she had not uttered a word, and had neglected him thoroughly.

Shen Ninghua moved closer to the fire. She rubbed her twisted ankle with her fingers and frowned. This cave was secluded and she had also tried her best to remove the traces of the two of them along the way, so hopefully they wouldn't be found.

"We are now sort of in the same boat. I have told you who I am, but you haven't introduced yourself to me. Are you afraid that I will bother you in the future?"

Chu Junyi didn't care about Shen Ninghua's indifference at all and continued.

"I saved you for five thousand taels of gold. Once you give me the money, we won't have any business to do with each other. What good is there for you to know my name?"

"Oh, you don't want to tell me. It doesn't matter. You can recognize the token of the Xiao family so you must also come from the capital. It's easy for me to find out a person's identity when I get out. What's more, your features are so obvious."

Looking at her hands, Shen Ninghua acknowledged that her dark skin was indeed a distinctive feature. However, everyone knew about Shen Linghan, the beautiful and kind-hearted daughter of Shen family. Who would know her, the shame of Shen family?

"Huh? Looks like you don't think I can find you?" Chu Junyi raised his eyebrows and smiled, "Although your clothes are a little old, this material is not affordable for the ordinary people. You are at least the daughter of an official in the capital. Although I have lived in the capital for so many years, I haven't heard of any young lady whose face is so...particular. Well then, you must be extremely unpopular and neglected in your family. In this way, it is not difficult to find out who you are."

Chu Junyi slightly curved his lips and his face was full of smile.

"Well, then take your time to investigate."

Shen Ninghua finished saying and no longer paid attention to him. She took the clothes out of the baggage, carefully spread them on the hay and lay down.

After a long time, Chu Junyi heard her breathing was stable. He opened his eyes and glanced at Shen Ninghua's back. The girl's temperament would be quite to his taste if it were in normal times; but now, he was the one who was overlooked and the coldness with which she treated him made him feel uncomfortable.

He looked down at the wound on his body and frowned. Today, he was going to pick up Xiao Huanxi, his younger sister who had finished her prayers in the temple. However, he encountered assassination halfway. The assassins were large in number and fought to their death to accomplish their goal. The ordinary guards he brought were no match to them. To make things worse, there was a traitor in his guards. If it weren't for that guy's stabbing at him in the back, he would not be wounded so seriously and ended up in a cave worried about his safety. When he got out... Hum...

Just as he was lost in his thought, he saw Shen Ninghua sat up and gasped heavily. Her eyes were filled with hatred as deep as an ancient well, which made her whole body vaguely covered with a grayish atmosphere.

Chu Junyi's heart quivered: "What's the matter with you?"

Hearing his voice, Shen Ninghua turned around, but her expression already calmed down: "Nothing."

If Chu Junyi were skeptical of his eyes, he would have thought that the emotion of Shen Ninghua he had just felt was merely his illusion. Even if she was not favored in the family, she was just a teenage girl. However, she radiated with hatred like one who had just escaped from a sea of blood and mountain of corpses. So who on earth was she?

Shen Ninghua lay down again but she was no longer sleepy at all. She had dreamed that she was still lying on the cold bed in the cold palace, covered with dust, living like an animal every day... Shen Linghan, Baili Jinze, I must let both of you taste the pain you had inflicted on me!

At dawn the next day, Shen Ninghua looked at Chu Junyi and was very satisfied that he talked much less.

In fact, Chu Junyi was almost too weak to speak. He was so badly wounded that he suffered a fever and remained uncomfortable all night.

Shen Ninghua pulled him out and moved towards the north of the valley.

Her sprained ankle made it more difficult for her to drag a man along. Soon, she sweated a lot and began to pant.

Chu Junyi lay there, listening to her voice. Somehow, his heart was filled with strange feelings.

They had been moving for almost an hour. Since he had practiced martial arts, he was able to tell her physical state from her breath. Right now, she was short of breath and every breath seemed to be squeezed out of her chest. She must have become exhausted, but she was still moving on, most likely supported by her strong will. He had seen many firm-minded women, but there were few like her.

"You... can have a rest."

Shen Ninghua stopped at a stream and squatted down to take a sip of water. Her ankle was already swollen like a steamed bun. "Once we are out of the valley, is there anyone to pick you up?"

Half jokingly and half seriously, Chu Junyi answered, "I will be able to contact my people when we are out of the valley. But aren't you afraid that I will kill you and take back the token?"

"You can try."

Shen Ninghua's face was cold. "Did you think that I had not anticipated you doing that? I've hidden the jade pendant. You give me the gold and I'll tell you the location. We had better get along peacefully.

If you wanted to break your promise, be prepared to never find the jade pendant."

"That jade pendant is just a token. It's not a big problem if I can't find it."

Shen Ninghua looked up at him with a sneer. "Is it really just a token?"

Chu Junyi paused for a while and laughed in a low voice: "Haha, you are really not a simple girl. Rest assured. I like your character. For the sake of it, I won't kill you."

Shen Ninghua got up and stopped in front of Chu Junyi. She pressed her hand on his chest and used her fingers to squeeze his wound. Blood immediately flowed down. "It's easy for me to get nervous when someone threatens me. And when I am nervous, I don't know what kind of crazy things I will do."

Chu Junyi snorted sullenly, "My life is worth five thousand taels of gold."

"Hum!"

Shen Ninghua stood up with a cold hum. Suddenly, she felt a sting in her leg:

"Snake!"

She took two steps backward abruptly and sat on the ground. Her face turned pale, and memories billowed in her mind. When she was locked in the cold palace, those eunuchs loved tormenting her. As she couldn't move, they put her in a cloth bag and then put snakes in it. Thinking back, that feeling still filled her with extreme panic.

Chu Junyi frowned and struggled to get up: "It's a snake. Don't move. On the way we just passed, I've seen snake flowers and plants that can detoxify snake venom. It's not far from here. I'll be back soon!"

Snake's venom was very special. If the poisoned people did not move, they would be fine after taking antidotes within an hour. If they made any movements, the venom would spread through their body quickly, and they would get suffocated and die.

Shen Ninghua watched Chu Junyi get up. His hands were clenched on his breast while he staggered towards the direction where they had come from. But after she had waited for about an hour, nobody came.

"Men are truely unreliable."

Shen Ninghua sneered coldly. At this time, her legs and arms became numb and she could not stand up at all. She could only open her eyes and crawled forwards.

She still had a huge feud to avenge, so she couldn't die like this. She must live. As long as she could breathe, she would not give up!

In a fit of coma, she seemed to hear someone talking to her. The voice was hoarse, like the dry barks rubbing against each other:

"You want revenge?"

"Yes... Shen Linghan... Baili Jinze, I... want them to die a tragic death."

"Shen Linghan is supported by the Zhao family, and Baili Jinze the royal family. Do you think you can succeed?"

"Supported by the Zhao family... Then I'll bring down the Zhao family! The royal family, then... I'll stir up the court! I want them to pay the debt of blood with their own blood! "

The numbness of her body gradually disappeared. When Shen Ninghua opened her eyes again, a scarred face suddenly came into her view and she cried out "Ah!"