Chapter 30 — Sacrificed by the Heir: Reborn as Yue Zhaoyue to Avenge Sixteen Years of Injustice

She merely lifted her head, watching in silence as my shadow retreated, step by step, from the Shen estate. I did not look back, for I knew that from this day forth, that woman had lost both her children. One was in chains, being dragged toward the dark abyss of a prison cell, and the other had walked out of her life of her own volition, a departure from which there would be no return.

Following the banishment of Shen Hang, Lady Shen crumbled into ruin, leaving only one person remaining in the web of the Shen family scandal who had yet to face judgment: Shen Yuntang. She had been held in solitary confinement within the walls of the Grand Court of Justice for three days. There were no maids to attend to her, no ginseng broth to fortify her, and no one to offer gentle whispers of comfort whenever she dissolved into tears. For the first time in her life, she had to huddle on the cold stone floor, hugging her knees in the dark, waiting in hollow silence for prison rations to be slid through the narrow slit of her door.

On the fourth day, the Grand Court of Justice convened the hearing. Beyond the presiding judge, the Grand Princess, the Minister of Justice, and I were all in attendance. As she was escorted into the courtroom, Shen Yuntang still clung to a fraying thread of hope. She cast her eyes toward the entrance repeatedly, as if waiting for someone—the man who had once stormed the estate for her sake, the man who had stood against the world to defend her, the man who had once sworn to protect her for as long as he lived.

Tragically, that man had not come. The judge opened the dossier.

"Shen Yuntang. You conspired with Imperial Consort To, repeatedly slandered Yue Zhaoyue, incited others to take lives, and concealed evidence. Do you plead guilty?"

She shook her head violently. "No. I do not. I did not act alone."

The judge asked calmly, "Then who else was involved?"

Shen Yuntang's eyes flared with sudden brilliance, as if she had finally found her path to survival. She lifted her head sharply. "Xie Linchu."

The moment those three words echoed through the room, the entire court fell into a deathly hush. Even I paused, my breath catching. The judge narrowed his eyes. "Explain yourself."

Tears spilled instantly from Shen Yuntang's eyes, yet this time, no one was moved to pity. She choked out her words, "I loved him. Everything I did, I did for his sake. I knew he cared for me too, but he was bound by a betrothal and could not speak his heart. I only ever wanted to be by his side. What was so wrong with that?"

The judge looked at her coldly. "And so, you harmed the innocent?"

She bit her lip until it turned pale. "He was the one who made me believe. He made me believe that no matter what I did, he would protect me."

The judge tapped his gavel against the table. "Do you have proof?"

"I do," she insisted, looking up. "I have plenty. The day Yue Zhaoyue discovered that the maid knew the truth, it was Xie Linchu who spirited the woman away first. The day the witness was meant to arrive at the Grand Court, he was the one who switched the carriage. The day Yue Zhaoyue was forced to drink the poison that took her voice, he knew. He did not stop it. And when I fell under suspicion, he personally erased the trails."

With every accusation she leveled, the expressions of the officials grew heavier. Just then, footsteps echoed from outside. "The Heir to the Duke of Defending the Nation has arrived!"

Xie Linchu stepped into the hall. He was gaunt, his frame withered, and the arrogance that once defined his gaze had vanished. Yet, upon hearing the final words of Shen Yuntang's testimony, he stood frozen at the threshold. He stared at her as if she were a stranger he had never truly known. After a long, hollow silence, he asked in a voice raspy with pain, "Yuntang, what did you just say?"

Upon seeing him, Shen Yuntang burst into hysterical sobs. "Brother Xie, save me. Tell them—you helped me, did you not? You helped me that day, did you not? You told me not to be afraid. You told me that as long as you were here, no one would dare lay a finger on me. Tell them! Please, tell them!"

She lunged toward him, weeping, but was held back by the guards. Xie Linchu remained motionless, his hands clenched so tightly at his sides that the knuckles turned bloodless. It was true. He had helped her, because he had believed she was a fragile, terrified girl merely trying to protect herself. He had never imagined that his own moments of weakness would become the talismans she used to justify her descent into endless depravity.

The judge looked at him. "Heir, is her testimony true?"

Xie Linchu closed his eyes slowly. A moment later, he nodded faintly. "It is. Part of it is true. I did hide the witness. I did switch the carriage. I once thought that if I let the events pass, we could all live in peace."

A murmur rippled through the court. Shen Yuntang rejoiced, believing he was finally coming to her rescue. "Brother Xie, I knew it. I knew you would never abandon me."

But Xie Linchu's next words turned her body to ice. "But... I never commanded you to harm anyone. I never told you to slander Yue Zhaoyue. I never told you to conspire with the Consort. And I certainly never told you to push your crimes onto the shoulders of others."

He opened his eyes. Where once there had been warmth, there was only the hollow ache of disappointment. "Yuntang, at what point... did you become like this?"

Shen Yuntang stood stunned. Then, she began to laugh, a sound fractured by tears. "At what point? If you had not always stood behind me to shield me, if you had not solved every disaster I caused, if you had not always insisted that everything would be fine as long as you were there—would I have ever thought I was wrong? It was you. You were the one who made me believe that every sin I committed would eventually be forgiven."