Silent Lover (The Silent Concubine) - Chap 161

Chapter 161 – Karma
When the horse groom from the villa rushed into the palace in a panic, Jun Xuanxiao was at the Imperial Medical Institute, gathering medicinal herbs and considering recipes to restore Shen Yu’s health.

The groom dropped to his knees with a loud thud in front of Jun Xuanxiao.

“Your Majesty… Your Majesty… The Empress… the Empress is missing!”

Jun Xuanxiao’s heart skipped a beat. His sharp brows knitted tightly as he demanded, “What do you mean the Empress is missing?”

Still kneeling, the groom bowed lower to the ground and reported, “Not long after Your Majesty left for court, the Empress left his chambers. We thought he was just going for a stroll nearby, feeling restless. But when he didn’t return after half an hour, we started searching for him… By then, there was no sign of him anywhere near the villa.”

Jun Xuanxiao moved like a lightning bolt, grabbing the groom and roaring, “I commanded you to protect him with your life. How dare you lose him?! What do you mean there’s no trace of him? The villa isn’t that big—how could a person just disappear?”

The groom wasn’t just a mere horse handler but a third-rank guard sent by Jun Xuanxiao to ensure Shen Yu’s safety.

“The Empress… didn’t like being followed closely. This servant failed in his duty. Please, Your Majesty, punish me!”

Jun Xuanxiao’s anger surged to the point of bursting, but his temperament had been tempered by Shen Yu’s quiet persistence, preventing him from killing the guard on the spot.

“Punishment? If anything happens to Yu’er, punishing your entire family won’t be enough! Get out and summon the Imperial Guards to start the search! Tell me, was there anything unusual when he left?”

The groom, drenched in sweat, stammered, “There… there didn’t seem to be anything out of the ordinary…”

Jun Xuanxiao had already strode over to his black steed. Before mounting, he lashed the whip, sending the horse into a gallop.

The villa showed no signs of struggle. The books were neatly arranged—Shen Yu was a meticulous person, and his desk was never messy nor stained with ink.

Only one book had fallen to the ground. When Jun Xuanxiao picked it up, he noticed a folded secret memorial at his feet.

It was written in his own hand.

This memorial dated back more than a decade, to when Jun Xuanxiao, as the leader of the Black Feather Battalion, submitted reports to then-Prince Xiao Xiye.

At the time, Xiao Xiye had already begun investigating the descendants of the Chu family. The Black Feather Battalion, founded by Jun Xuanxiao, carried out covert operations to aid Xiao Xiye in his quest for the throne.

One of their tasks was to search for Chu family members in the Yunmeng region of the Southern Kingdom.

Though they found traces of them, the Chu family was cunning. The Black Feather Battalion’s attempts to capture them were unsuccessful, and in the end, the Chu family members committed suicide on the spot. The whereabouts of a mother and child remained unknown.

Jun Xuanxiao had faithfully recorded these events in the memorial, but before it could be delivered, the Emperor had passed away, chaos erupted in the capital, and Jun Xuanxiao was urgently summoned back to assist Xiao Xiye. The matter was left unresolved.

“Yu… Yu’er…”

As Jun Xuanxiao uttered this name, it was as if he were tearing his own heart apart. The memorial in his hand felt like a thousand pounds, a weight of guilt he couldn’t face.

His steps faltered, and he steadied himself with trembling hands. His mouth opened, but he could neither cry nor scream.

Because this was his own sin.

Jun Xuanxiao had risen to power early. He joined the army at 14 and earned the favor of Prince Xiao Xiye within two years. He helped establish the fearsome Black Feather Battalion and aided Xiao Xiye in ascending to the throne. In return, he was made Grand General of the Northern Territories, entrusted with defending the empire against the Xiongnu.

In those days, Jun Xuanxiao had no regard for a small family of three. How could he have foreseen that someone like Shen Yu would appear in his life, capture his heart, and demand atonement for those very sins?

Twelve years later, this long-forgotten memorial, tucked away among old books, had resurfaced to reveal his crimes.

Jun Xuanxiao, a man who believed only in himself and not in fate, felt the weight of karma for the first time. Retribution was inescapable.

The pain in his heart was unbearable, as if pierced by a thousand arrows. A metallic taste rose in his throat, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

Under the dim twilight sky, Shen Yu arrived alone at a relay station outside the city.

Chu Ling hadn’t expected him to come alone.

“Yu’er! Why are you by yourself? Where’s Emperor Jun Xuan?” Chu Ling quickly ushered him inside. “You don’t travel often, and the relay station is more than ten miles from the capital. It’s dangerous for you to come alone…”

Shen Yu waved a hand dismissively. Though his body was no longer as strong as it had been in the Shen family, the poison in his body had been removed, and he had recuperated for quite some time.

“Come inside.”

Chu Ling ordered a few dishes to be brought out. Shen Yu, evidently famished, began sipping meat porridge.

“Yu’er, you still haven’t told me why you came here alone. If you wanted to talk to me, you could have sent someone ahead. You’re the Empress now, after all—”

Chu Ling paused, realizing the implications of Shen Yu’s solitary journey. His expression darkened.

“Did that man, Jun Xuanxiao, mistreat you again? He swore to treat you well—how long did that last?”

“No.” Shen Yu’s voice was muffled as he ate. “Brother, we… we’re going back to the clan.”

“Huh?” Chu Ling was surprised by the sudden decision. “Why? Yu’er, if he’s done something, just tell me. Once we return to the clan, no one will be able to find us.”

Shen Yu hesitated for a moment, unable to put his feelings into words. Though he had uncovered some truths, he didn’t feel consumed by hatred. Instead, an instinctive desire to distance himself from Jun Xuanxiao grew within him. A dark void seemed to engulf his heart, threatening to swallow him whole.

“Aren’t you going to inform Jun Xuanxiao?” Chu Ling asked.

Shen Yu’s reply was firm: “No. We’re leaving now.”