A Noble Guest from the Imperial Capital
1254 Words
In the slums, she disguised herself as a man, covering her face with dirt to avoid drawing attention.
Even so, her life was unbearably cruel and harsh.
No words could truly capture the despair she endured—
A kind of bleakness and brutality that only existed in the apocalypse.
Bread. Tents. Water.
Disease. Wastelands. Acid rain.
Zombies. Monsters. Bloodthirsty Awakened. Ruthless fellow survivors.
Everything crushed her.
In just two years, she fell ill and died in an abandoned ruin.
Unnoticed. Unmourned. Forgotten.
Snapping back to the present, Su Mengning pushed aside her past nightmares and stood up.
Every breath of air in this world still felt so peaceful, so beautiful—
It almost brought tears to her eyes.
"Miss! Miss!"
A delicate voice called from outside the door, accompanied by a knock.
"Master asks you to hurry to the conference hall!"
"I'm coming."
She replied softly, steadying her turbulent emotions before stepping outside.
In this life, she still possessed that ethereal, angelic beauty that others envied.
But—
She was no longer the naïve fool she had once been.
This time—
She would seize Shen Chen.
The man who would one day stand at the very peak of humanity.
Jiang City Governor's Mansion
Conference Hall
Even at midnight, the hall was brightly lit. Guards stood vigil in every corner of the residence.
When Su Mengning arrived, the captain of the patrol team, Li Mi, bowed respectfully.
"Second Miss, the Master and Eldest Miss are already waiting inside."
Su Mengning nodded slightly and stepped through the doors.
"Mengning, come, sit."
At the head of the long table sat a square-faced middle-aged man, radiating authority and power.
But at this moment, his gaze was filled with fatherly warmth.
Seeing him again, Su Mengning's nose tingled.
In her past life—no matter how cruel the apocalypse became, no matter how chaotic the world outside was—
As long as her father lived, she was safe.
Before and after the apocalypse—
He had never allowed her to suffer.
Don't worry, Father.
This time...
This time, I won't let history repeat itself.
"Mhm!"
She put on her most innocent, sweet smile and sat down to his right.
"Little sister, can you guess why Father called us here?"
A languid, teasing voice drifted in from the side.
"Rumor has it... a great figure has arrived in Jiang City."
Su Mengning turned, her gaze falling on a tall, striking woman.
Her delicate features were accentuated by light makeup, and her long chestnut hair curled slightly at the ends.
Her eyes shimmered with a hint of deep crimson—like a blood-red jasmine in bloom.
Her elder sister—Su Qingying.
Both Su Mengning and Su Qingying were known as unparalleled beauties in the southeastern region.
Yet their styles were completely different.
Su Mengning’s beauty was pure and angelic—her face youthful, her aura soft.
She exuded an irresistible innocence, stirring a deep protective instinct in every man who laid eyes on her.
As a result, countless suitors had flocked to her.
Meanwhile, Su Qingying was dangerously alluring—her presence sharp, her personality ruthless.
Even those who secretly admired her dared not act on their desires.
Su Qingying…
Not this time.
Not in this lifetime.
"I don’t know!"
Su Mengning put on her best clueless expression, tilting her head in feigned innocence.
She looked every bit the naïve little girl she once was.
"Alright, now that everyone is here, let's get to business."
At the head of the table, Su Mingshuo straightened up, his expression serious.
Seated around the long table were all the Su Family's core members—
Including her uncle, Su Changsha, the Head of Jiang City's Tax Bureau.
He was a powerful official, respected and feared by every merchant and noble in the city.
Also present was her cousin, Su Xiao—
A notorious playboy in Jiang City, infamous for his extravagant lifestyle.
Many despised him as a corrupt, second-generation heir—
But in the previous life, when the apocalypse arrived—
He became one of her father’s most loyal and trusted warriors.
"I'm sure you've all heard by now,"
Su Mingshuo spoke solemnly, his tone laced with importance.
"A noble figure from the Imperial Capital has arrived in Jiang City."
"Which big shot is it this time?"
Su Changsha frowned slightly, rubbing his chin in thought.
The rest of the room turned their gazes toward the Governor, their curiosity piqued.
Jiang City was one of the empire’s top-tier metropolises.
It wasn’t unusual for Imperial officials to visit on inspection tours.
Even two years ago, a high-ranking military general had visited, shaking the entire city.
The wealthiest and most powerful of Jiang City had flocked to curry favor, terrified of offending the wrong person.
But even then—
Su Mingshuo hadn’t been this cautious before.
He had never summoned an emergency meeting in the dead of night.
"Who could it be this time?"
"Exactly! Could it be... someone from the Cardinal Bureau?"
At the mention of the Cardinal Bureau, everyone’s expressions shifted.
Among the empire's elite, no one was unfamiliar with that name.
The Cardinal Bureau was the nerve center of the empire’s political power.
A single decree from within could reshape industries, topple dynasties, or elevate nobodies into legends.
It was every politician’s ultimate dream.
And every noble's greatest fear.
But Su Mingshuo shook his head.
Instead—
He uttered a single, chilling word:
"Shen."
Silence.
The room went dead still.
Su Changsha’s pupils shrank violently, his entire body trembling.
Everyone else stared blankly, their jaws slightly agape.
Shen.
That name was known to every noble, every politician, every person of power in the empire.
The Shen Family.
An ancient aristocratic clan that had existed even before the empire was founded.
For centuries, they had stood at the pinnacle of power.
An untouchable dynasty that had never fallen.
Even the empire itself was said to shake when the Shen Family stirred.
There was even a popular joke on the dark web:
"If the Shen Family collapses, the empire will crumble with it."
Had the empire not abolished the monarchy,
The Shen Family would have been sitting on the throne.
And now—
One of them was coming to Jiang City.
To visit the Su Family.
"In particular," Su Mingshuo continued, his voice steady but heavy—
"The one arriving is none other than the Shen Family's direct heir…"
"Shen Chen?!"
Before he could even finish, a voice suddenly rang out.
It was Su Qingying.
All eyes turned to her.
She quickly lowered her head, but her hands trembled slightly.
Yet deep within her gaze—
A dangerous, feverish obsession burned.
Shen Chen…
Shen Chen!
At the same time—
Everyone else at the table felt a storm of emotions surge through them.
The crown prince of the Shen Family.
The man idolized by every noblewoman in the empire.
A perfectly sculpted prince—with the bloodline, power, and intellect unmatched by any of his peers.
An unparalleled genius among noble sons.
And now—
He had come to Jiang City.
And more importantly—
He was visiting them.
- Writer
