Chapter 397
**Chapter 395: Identity Discovered**
The corners of King Wu's mouth twitched.
Seeing Shen Wei's unwilling expression made him quite angry. "I noticed you’ve been working hard as our guide, so I specially got you a dry outfit. You—"
He had intended to call her "ugly," but the words caught in his throat.
Previously, he had arrogantly insulted the fisher girl, Yuan Xi'er, calling her "ugly and coarse," which led her to despair and jump into the sea. Guilt gnawed at him; he hadn’t realized his words could inflict such harm.
Since then, King Wu had made an effort to change his ways, trying not to insult others based on their looks.
He swallowed his words and glared at Shen Wei. "If you don’t want to wear my clothes, I won’t force you. But the journey is long, and as our guide, you absolutely cannot fall ill, understand?"
Shen Wei nodded silently.
At that moment, Yuan Fu dashed over, grabbing Shen Wei's arm. "I... I’ll take you to change clothes in the back."
Shen Wei followed Yuan Fu away.
King Wu squinted, suspiciously observing the two as they left. When did this little brat become so close to the guide?
The more he thought about it, the more he felt that "Shen Wei" was suspicious. He secretly summoned his guard, Zhang Wulang, and asked in a low voice, "Did you find out anything about Shen Wei's background like I asked?"
Zhang Wulang replied, "No."
King Wu was furious. "What are you all doing? You can’t even handle such a small matter!"
Zhang Wulang spread his hands, looking helpless. "Your Highness, our palace is poor. We can’t even track down a lost cat, let alone investigate Shen Wei’s origins."
Any formidable secret organization needs strong financial backing.
King Wu was as broke as a church mouse. The few guards he had could only ensure his safety; investigating someone’s identity required resources and effort, which was truly difficult.
He buried his face in his hands and sighed deeply.
...
In a small room in the back courtyard, Yuan Fu started a fire, and Shen Wei quickly stripped off her wet clothes to dry them.
Her current body was fragile; even a little exposure to wind and sun could easily make her sick.
Shen Wei could not afford to fall ill.
As night fell, the dilapidated inn was drafty and leaky, with water dripping from the eaves. Everyone crowded into a large room, finishing the delicious fish soup Yuan Fu had made, and began to prepare for sleep.
Shen Wei reminded King Wu, "We should have guards on duty at the entrance tonight."
King Wu replied, "We’re in the wilderness; is that really necessary?"
Shen Wei calmly responded, "Better safe than sorry."
This place was not far from Wenzhou, which was rife with bandits and refugees.
These desperate people would seize any opportunity for profit, regardless of whether you were from the government. If there was a chance to gain something, they would swarm in, committing all sorts of atrocities.
King Wu's convoy had three carts, two of which were filled with tributes, making them easy targets.
King Wu scratched his head. "Alright, Zhang Wulang, arrange for the brothers to take turns on guard duty tonight."
Zhang Wulang took his leave to organize the shifts.
King Wu cast a deep glance at Shen Wei, this seemingly ordinary fisher boy who looked about fifteen or sixteen. Yet, throughout the journey, the unremarkable Shen Wei had shown extraordinary caution.
She hardly seemed like a mere teenager.
Instead, she resembled a seasoned veteran.
King Wu's curiosity about Shen Wei grew stronger. Who exactly was she?
The rain continued to pour, and one by one, the people in the room fell asleep. Shen Wei leaned drowsily against a post, wrapped in a thick fish-skin blanket. Yuan Fu snuggled close to her, sleeping soundly at her feet.
In the middle of the night, Yuan Fu was awakened by the cold wind seeping into the room.
Rubbing his eyes in confusion, he instinctively reached out to touch the fish-skin blanket on Shen Wei, mumbling, "Sister... cover up the blanket properly; it’s so cold tonight."
After calling out a few times without a response, Yuan Fu leaned closer to Shen Wei and quickly noticed her breathing was off. He touched her forehead—
It was burning hot.
Yuan Fu jumped in shock. "Sister!"
...
After enduring the wind and rain, Shen Wei's fragile body couldn't withstand it and developed a high fever that night.
In a daze, she felt as if she were being scorched in volcanic flames, suffering immensely.
When Shen Wei opened her eyes again, she found herself lying on a simple bed in a shabby room, with bright sunlight streaming through the cracks in the window.
A slightly worn quilt covered her.
Surprised, she struggled to sit up. Yuan Fu, who had been dozing at the bedside, woke up, rubbed his eyes, and looked at Shen Wei with delight. "Sister, you’re awake! That’s great!"
Shen Wei opened her mouth to ask a question.
But she found her throat was in excruciating pain, as if it had been sliced by a knife, and she couldn’t utter a word.
"Sister, you had a high fever last night. His Highness gave you his cold medicine. Thank the Sea God, you’re finally awake," Yuan Fu said, tears welling in his eyes.
Shen Wei pointed to her throat, indicating she couldn’t speak.
Yuan Fu looked heartbroken. "Sister, your hoarseness is temporary; you’ll be fine in a couple of days. Just rest, and I’ll go make you some medicine."
Yuan Fu dashed out of the room.
Shen Wei pressed her fingers to her forehead, her head still spinning, and she felt utterly weak. Looking down at her clothes, she was astonished to find she was wearing a loose, slightly worn Shu brocade robe.
Only King Wu had such fine clothing in the convoy.
A sense of foreboding surged in Shen Wei’s heart.
Sure enough, the next moment, the closed door swung open, and King Wu strode in. His eyes were fixed on Shen Wei, his expression one of betrayal. He angrily exclaimed, "Yuan Xi'er!"
Shen Wei: ...
King Wu continued, "No wonder I always felt you looked familiar; it turns out you disguised yourself as a boy to sneak into my entourage as a guide! Don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to! Do you really think you can fool me with your little schemes?"
Shen Wei's heart tightened.
Could it be that King Wu had sensed her true identity and realized she intended to use the tribute convoy to return to the Qing Kingdom?
Yuan Xi'er was a dead person, and Shen Wei had taken over her body to extend her life.
The notion of "coming back from the dead" was indeed strange, and it was only natural for King Wu to suspect her identity.
Just as Shen Wei was pondering how to explain herself, King Wu huffed angrily, "You infiltrated the convoy just to covet my good looks?"
Shen Wei was utterly bewildered.
Covet... good looks?
King Wu wasn’t even as handsome as Li Yuanjing; what was there to covet?
Feeling deceived, King Wu crossed his arms, his long braid swaying as he walked. He coldly scoffed, questioning Shen Wei, "Are you planning to take advantage of me while I’m resting at night, to turn raw rice into cooked rice?"
"No wonder you’ve been staring at me with those greedy eyes all along! Such wolfish ambition is truly unbearable!"
Shen Wei opened her mouth to retort.
But she was sick, utterly drained of strength, and her throat was too hoarse to utter a single word.
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