Chapter 60: Street Child "Just think of me as dead outside."...

Shen Zhongda knew how to spank and scold his son, but he had no idea how to comfort a son who was secretly crying. Furthermore, Shen Changfeng was usually fearless and indifferent to everything and everyone, so the word "tears" had nothing to do with him. When did Shen Changfeng cry? I don't remember; it was too long ago. I think it was when he was three or four years old, when Li Jieyi came back from a long trip and refused to hold him.

Shen Zhongda stepped back quietly, and after taking two steps he accidentally stepped on a piece of broken porcelain, which made a "crackling" sound.

He stood frozen in place, listening carefully for a few breaths and realizing that Shen Changfeng was so engrossed in crying that he hadn't noticed anyone coming. He fled the room in embarrassment and panic, and only whispered to his attendants after he had walked away, "Don't tell them I was here!"

The next day, Shen Changfeng changed his lifeless demeanor and even took his own medicine and ate. If it weren't for the bandages still wrapped around his body, he would have looked the same as before.

He glanced at the scant food on the table. A dish of stir-fried shredded pork with carrots had only radish and no pork. He asked, "What's going on? Has Qinghuitang become so broke that they can't afford to eat?"

Qinghui Hall had originally been planning to close the kitchen, but for some reason Shen Zhongda suddenly decided not to do so yesterday. Steward Shen blushed, "The kitchen has a new chef. Perhaps he hasn't mastered the art of 'lightness' quite right. I'll give him some advice later."

"Where did the original cook go?"

"Aunt Zhang left with the Crown Prince's Consort...Miss Lin."

Shen Zhongda was strolling around the mansion when he passed by Qinghui Hall and heard this. He said angrily, "It's good enough to have something to eat. You're still being picky!"

All the belongings in Qinghui Hall had been taken away by the officials, leaving only a few makeshift thin tables and chairs. Shen Zhongda paced back and forth with his hands behind his back, glancing at Shen Changfeng who was leisurely eating his meal, and began a long speech: "Now that you have lost your title, it is not appropriate for you to live in Qinghui Hall anymore. However, considering you are injured, you can stay here for ten days or so. When the time is right, you can move to the west room at the back of the mansion..."

Shen Changfeng interrupted him: "No, I'll leave in a few days."

Shen Zhongda thought he had set his sights on some other place and wanted to bargain, "Oh? Where are you going?"

Shen Changfeng put down his bowl and chopsticks and smiled: "I don't know, it's not here anyway."

In the silent eye contact, Shen Zhongda suddenly realized that Shen Changfeng's "leave" had another meaning. He put away the playful smile on his face and asked slowly: "When will you be back?"

Shen Changfeng answered the question irrelevantly: "I promised Shen Rang to teach him how to ride a horse, but it's too late. You can find some time to teach him. Although he is weak, he has a gentle temperament and studies hard. He is a good seedling and can be adopted..." Shen Changfeng paused, not wanting to mention a certain name. The strands of hair on his forehead fell down, casting a light shadow on his face.

What he said was actually correct. After his title was stripped, his name was removed from the imperial genealogy. He became the eternal shame of the Shen family, and his descendants also lost the right to inherit.

After a long silence, Shen Changfeng said, "Just think of me as dead outside."

Shen Zhongda laughed angrily: "You'd better die outside. If you don't die outside, won't I have to clean up your mess? I've cleaned up your mess so many times, how can I not know your character! You say you're leaving now? Do you know how many people are waiting outside for you to get out? I'm afraid that as soon as you leave, I'll have to collect your body!"

"How capable do you have to be to roam the world like others? Can't you just be quiet for a day? Even half a day!"

Shen Changfeng listened quietly, his face expression impassive, clearly listening with one ear and out the other. This undoubtedly added fuel to the fire. Shen Zhongda pointed at his nose and cursed, "If it weren't for the Shen family's century-long achievements and status, if it weren't for me and your mother, do you think you could still stay in the palace and recuperate peacefully? You would have been locked up behind the high walls of Fengyang, waiting to die!"

A sarcastic arc appeared at the corner of Shen Changfeng's mouth, his eyes suddenly became extremely cold, and the expression on his face became extremely disgusted.

Shen Zhongda's heart suddenly jumped, and he was shocked to realize that since the day he submitted the letter of apology, Shen Changfeng no longer regarded Li Jieyi as his mother, and no longer refused to recognize him as his father.

Initially, Shen Zhongda disagreed with Li Jieyi's request to submit the petition, but she had her reasons for insisting on it. He also felt it was a good thing for his son to experience setbacks and hardships in his youth. He wanted to use this as a warning to his son, as Shen Changfeng had been too ostentatious in the past.

As for the title, it is just an empty name. As long as the person is still alive, everything else is easy to talk about.

But he hadn't expected Shen Changfeng to be so seriously injured, even running to Tingyun Pavilion with his body shattered. When he arrived, Shen Changfeng was only breathing his last. The imperial physician told him to prepare for his funeral, but he stubbornly stood guard at the door, knife in hand. He felt that his son had been like him since childhood, and would surely share his tough fate.

He was right, Shen Changfeng did make it through.

But for Shen Changfeng, he had already died once.

Li Jieyi had broken his spine and crushed his pride. He had saved their lives in the snow, and they were even. That memorial was the final straw that broke the camel's back.

Shen Zhongda suddenly overturned the teacup beside him with great force. The sharp and loud cracking sound of porcelain well masked his distorted roar: "Okay! Get out! Get out as far as you can! You'd better not come back for the rest of your life!"

He fled Qinghui Hall in a panic, with only one voice in his mind: How could it turn out like this? How could it turn out like this? How could it turn out like this!

At first, Li Jieyi was the one who felt most vulnerable, constantly chastising him for being too harsh on her son. Whenever he was about to scold her, she would cover his ears. Then, after a long journey to find someone, Li Jieyi returned home and saw her son clinging to Concubine Liu, timidly afraid to approach her. Feeling uneasy, she gave him a lecture and ordered Concubine Liu to stay away from him. As her son grew older and more sensible, Li Jieyi no longer had the heart to be close to him.

Later, when Concubine Liu became pregnant and Li Jieyi wanted to divorce, Shen Changfeng was instigated to publicly denounce Li Jieyi for being unfaithful and unfaithful to her husband... With her proud character, how could she tolerate such foul language? Shen Zhongda tried to repair their relationship, but each time he did, it backfired.

It was not until he reached middle age that he realized how much of a failure he had become.

He knew the border commanders were facing a shortage of young and capable officers, yet he retired to protect his family, becoming a leisurely prince. Shen Changfeng was right to describe him as inactive. He knew Li Jieyi was deeply in love with Song Jiusi, yet he used his military achievements to persuade the Crown Prince to grant them a marriage. He discovered Li Jieyi's severe self-harming behavior and feared she might suffer a setback. He also felt a connection to her, believing she would eventually overcome her feelings and live a happy life with him. However, he was terribly mistaken. Li Jieyi's willingness to marry him stemmed from her suspicion that he had murdered Song Jiusi, and she had married into the Shen family to gather evidence of his guilt.

His worst mistake was taking a concubine on his own initiative. After their marriage, he and Li Jieyi slept together only a handful of times. Although they agreed to sleep together on the first and fifteenth days of the month to deal with the questioning and pressure from their elders, Li Jieyi was always drunk. He felt she was using him to vent her anger. Hate her all he wanted, but as long as she was by his side, he didn't ask for anything else.

He knew that she would never be able to give birth to children for him, but he needed an heir, so a year after Li Jieyi left home, he took the initiative to find her and told her his decision.

At that time, Li Jieyi had just come down from the wrecked boat that had been drifting at sea for nearly half a decade. Perhaps because of her frail body, he felt that she was unusually soft and harmless. She sat on the bed and looked at him quietly. They both said at the same time: "I have something to tell you."

Li Jieyi smiled, and there was a gentle light in her eyes that he could not understand. He thought she had found clues about the child of the Li family.

She whispered, "You speak first."

Just as Shen Zhongda finished speaking, before he could hear Li Jieyi's reply, a maid walked in quickly and handed a soft object to him, saying happily, "Congratulations, Your Highness! Congratulations, Your Highness! This is the young master. Look, he looks so much like you! Your Highness even risked his life to give birth to the young master..."

Shen Zhongda was holding the chubby white baby in his arms, horrified. He was stunned for two moments and then turned around in panic. Li Jieyi had returned to her usual appearance, with a familiar arrogance in her coldness.

She looked at Shen Zhongda with an extremely sarcastic look and said, "Yes, look at your son."

Look at your son, not our son.

He personally ruined the only chance to reconcile with Li Jieyi.

Shen Zhongda drank sip after sip of rice wine, but he could not get drunk. The cold night was terribly long. He waited and waited, but never saw any sign of dawn.

This time, it was Shen Zhongda who was crying under the covers, his shoulders shaking. However, no one noticed that he had been unable to sleep all night after crying secretly, and no one tried to test him in a sarcastic way to see if he was feeling better.

When Shen Changfeng left the palace, he traveled light with only a thin bag and left holding the Zhaoye Jade Lion.

It was still dark when he left. He chose this time to avoid attracting the attention of his enemies and to avoid the awkward situation of having no one to see him off. Two rabbits poked their heads out of the saddlebag, but he rubbed them and pushed them back.

He went to the market to buy food and clothing for his journey, and happened to meet Li Jieyi's traveling carriage.

Shen Changfeng's leg injuries had not yet healed, so he walked slowly and it was too late to find another way. He led his horse and followed the others to the sides of the road.

The sound of crisp horse hooves came from the alley, and then blue-clothed attendants were seen holding a pair of red staffs and two road-clearing flags. Then two tall horses led the way, and a carriage with red wheels and a black roof came slowly.

The surrounding discussions can be clearly heard.

"Whose sedan chair is that at the back?"

"It's from Master Xiao Song. That's Master Li."

The noise immediately grew louder, and the voices of the people were mixed with excitement, sighs, and pity.

"What is she going to do? It's rare to see the princess travel in such a grand manner."

"The Emperor has granted Master Song a mansion, which, together with the former Song Mansion, will be merged into Master Song's Mansion. You are here today by imperial decree to move in!"

The title of Li family had long been inherited by a collateral branch. After recognizing each other, Chuqi did not want to hurt the harmony between brothers, so he took the initiative to give up the inheritance rights of Li family. The emperor praised him for his filial piety, brotherhood, loyalty and trustworthiness, and specially allowed Chuqi to inherit Song Jiusi's title of Duke, that is, the new Duke of Wei, and also gave him the Duke of Wei's Mansion. Chuqi declined many times and refused to accept it.

"I heard that the Princess intends to adopt Master Xiao Song as her adopted son. Is this true?"

"It's most likely true. I heard that the princess was very concerned about Master Xiao Song. Before he was granted a house, he stayed at Tingyun Pavilion..."

"What about Shen Changfeng? Didn't they say he and Master Xiao Song are at odds? Could he bear to call Master Xiao Song 'brother'?"

"Isn't he seriously injured? Isn't he dead?"

"Dead? I don't know."

"Isn't death just right? The old cannot go without the new. God is really good at playing tricks on people. This time, Your Highness finally got his wish of having a good son."

"People like him deserve to be rejected by their wives..."

As the imperial carriage approached, everyone paused to whisper. The Jade Lion of Night recognized Li Jieyi, flicked its tail, and pawed the ground with its hooves, ready to advance.

Shen Changfeng tightened his reins and followed the crowd back, his cloth clothes almost blending into the gray mud wall. He knelt with the crowd and shouted, "This humble servant pays homage to Her Royal Highness Princess Haining!"

Maybe they shouted, maybe they didn't. There were too many people and the noise was too loud. Li Jieyi didn't know and she didn't hear it.

Wuyun Taxue smelled the same scent, looked sideways and walked slowly, and when he saw that the person behind him had no intention of stopping, he raised his foot and walked forward quickly.

After the imperial carriage left, Zhaoye Jade Lion reluctantly withdrew its gaze and rubbed Shen Changfeng's cheek, as if puzzled.

He stroked its neck and whispered in its ear, "You'll have to get used to it."

The sound of gongs and drums grew increasingly cheerful. The crowds gathered around the ceremonial procession, laughing and shouting as they offered rice wine and pastries. Attendants joyfully distributed candied melons to the common people along the way. Shen Changfeng, bucking the flow of people, silently walked out of the flowery scene that didn't belong to him. His solitary, unsteady steps amidst the surging crowd drew many glances, but were quickly forgotten.

After all, who cares about a street kid?