Chapter 34. Chapter 34. I want to grow old with you.

Yue Mingzhen chuckled upon hearing this, "Why is my sister asking about his size? Is she going to make clothes for him too?"

Despite her regret, she couldn't shake her ingrained tendency to distort the truth, so she smiled sheepishly and said, "Mother must have told my brother and sister-in-law that it was I who kept flattering my husband to bring about this marriage. Back then, I gazed day and night in the direction of Jiuzhang Prefecture, racking my brains. I wanted to know his height and arm span, as well as the length of his legs and waist. Alas... when a young woman is infatuated, she is so hopelessly infatuated. Later, I finally managed to befriend the wife of the official in charge of finances in Jiuzhang Prefecture, and it took a lot of effort to achieve my goal. Looking back now, it really wasn't easy."

As a fellow woman, I could absolutely understand that feeling. Yue Mingzhen didn't tease her; instead, she felt embarrassed. "Then you must have made him a lot of clothes. I've made a fool of myself again."

Shi Mi hurriedly said no, "I'm not good at tailoring. To my shame, I've never made a single garment for him."

Perhaps it was true that sincerity is the most touching thing. Yue Mingzhen felt no envy or jealousy towards her, and smiled, saying, "Even if a young lady doesn't know needlework, she still has her own endearing qualities. Clothes can be bought, but long-term companionship is the most important thing. The young man's mother passed away very early, and he entered officialdom at a young age. Everyone thinks he is mature beyond his years, but I think he must be very lonely. To be able to marry a lively young lady like you is the most wonderful arrangement from heaven."

Shi Mi smiled sheepishly, "How could I accept such praise from you, sister-in-law? But I also think we're a good match, and this marriage is a wonderful one." She paused, then began to inquire intently, "When did you marry into the old family home? Have you met his birth mother?"

Yue Mingzhen said, “I was engaged to my elder brother. After my parents died when I was eight, I was sent to the Lu family. I have never met my son’s birth mother. She died of illness when my son was four years old. However, there is a portrait of her in the mansion. She was so beautiful that she was said to be a princess of Baiyi. She saved my father-in-law on the battlefield and was later taken back to Yan by my father-in-law.”

Shi Mi found it hard to believe, "A princess of the Baiyi tribe was taken back to the Lu family as a concubine because she saved my father-in-law?"

It all sounds absurd. Is Lu Xuanzhou's way of repaying a life-saving debt really that special?

Yue Mingzhen nodded seriously, "It's true. I was already pregnant with Xiaolang at that time, and I guess I had no choice but to accept my fate."

Shi Mi's understanding of Lu Xuanzhou deepened further. Based solely on descriptions from various sources, he knew Lu Xuanzhou was an absolutely ruthless person. Therefore, Lu Min was indeed like father, like son; the act of invading another country and massacring 200,000 people carried no burden for him.

As for Lu Min's mother's death, she always felt there was something mysterious about it, but she couldn't speculate. She could only sigh, "She died so young, she must have been suffering from some kind of illness."

Yue Mingzhen was not a cunning person, and truthfully said, "I also inquired and heard that he had an acute illness and passed away after half a month of illness."

The astute man asked, "Where was that old man at that time? Was he on a military campaign or at home?"

“He should be at home,” Yue Mingzhen said. “I heard that my father-in-law handled the funeral arrangements. He was very sad and only ate a little rice gruel for five days. Later, he personally taught the young man, and his talent in both literature and martial arts today is all thanks to my father-in-law’s hard work in his early years.”

Shimi nodded slowly, "Does Sister-in-law have a deep impression of my father-in-law? I joined the family too late, and my father-in-law passed away many years ago. I never had the chance to meet him, which is a real pity."

Yue Mingzhen smiled faintly, “Young man and my father-in-law look very alike, with similar appearance and temperament. My mother was just joking the other day, saying that if the young man wore my father-in-law’s clothes from back then, even the relatives probably wouldn’t be able to tell them apart.”

Shimi sighed deeply, "It's a pity my father-in-law is no longer here, otherwise I could have seen what my husband would look like in his old age. I heard that my father-in-law was ennobled in his early years. Such a powerful figure, yet he ended up dying on the battlefield. It's true that swords have no eyes on the battlefield."

Yue Mingzhen nodded. "At that time, my elder brother and I were preparing for our wedding when news came from the palace that my father-in-law had been ambushed and fallen into the river while leading troops to cross the Liao River. His Majesty praised my father-in-law for his loyalty and bravery, but we were unable to find him after several searches, which has always been a regret for our family. My elder brother and I observed three years of mourning before we were able to hold our wedding. If my father-in-law were still alive, both of us children would probably be able to take the provincial examinations."

So this woman lived in the Lu family for many years. Although she was engaged to Lu Yin, she gradually fell in love with Lu Min, which was also due to a series of unfortunate events.

After learning a great deal from Shi Mi, they chatted for a while about the daily life in Shangdu. Yue Mingzhen didn't get up to take her leave until almost noon.

She didn't try to persuade him to stay, saying, "Sister-in-law, please sit a little longer. I'll have someone prepare lunch, and you can go back after you've eaten."

Yue Mingzhen shook her head, "It's getting late, I need to go back and check my child's studies, so I won't bother you any longer."

Shi Mi saw her off, and as she was about to get into the carriage, she said, "Zhongdu is busy, and you will only be staying for a few days before leaving. I'm so reluctant to see you go. I don't know when you will return to the capital next time, so please make arrangements. We must stay in Shangdu for a longer period of time during the New Year, and then we can reunite."

Shi Mi repeatedly said yes, and then saw her off. Back in the hall, he looked at the clothes in the bundle again. The workmanship was exquisite, and every stitch was made with painstaking care.

Lu Min did not return as soon as he had promised. It was nearly dusk when the carriage finally stopped in front of the mansion gate.

Shi Mi was urged by the official to come out and greet her, but she was extremely unwilling. She muttered to herself, "What have I done to deserve this? Why do I have to come out in person?"

Lu Min, who got out of the car, casually handed the document to Bai Heliang, who was standing next to him, and gave her a light smile. "I'm late. My wife must have been waiting for me all day."

Shimi forced a patient tone and said, "That's right, I eat and sleep, sleep and eat, I can't even eat dinner anymore."

He didn't care about her irrelevant answer and came up to take her hand. Shimi was led by him, and after walking for a while until no one was around, she asked him curiously, "Are you planning to pretend to be a virtuous and gentle husband from today onwards?"

He didn't speak, who knows what mischief he was plotting. Once inside, he loosened the jade button on his collar, revealing his bare neck. He slowly glanced at her with his delicate eyes and said, "Although I was busy during the day, I still thought of you from time to time. I wondered if the food suited your taste, and if the bed was comfortable for you. Seeing you looking so radiant, I know you had a good day, but I'm still a little disappointed. You don't seem to care about me, and you don't seem to care what I went through outside."

His inexplicable affection was tinged with hypocrisy. He saw through her and said, "With you all surrounded by servants, why would I care about you? Besides, didn't you go to rescue the horse today? You already mentioned it last night. Did you have some other extraordinary experience? Is His Majesty planning to match you with a princess or something?"

He chuckled, untied the sleeve binding from his wrist and tossed it aside, then turned and sat down in the recliner, closing his eyes leisurely. "No princess is to be paired with me, but a princess was indeed mentioned. The capital has indeed intervened in the case of the Grand Princess. His Majesty has ordered Imperial Censor Li Qiaozhen to go to the capital to investigate and find out the whereabouts of the Grand Princess. I know in my heart that although His Majesty has not reprimanded me verbally, he secretly resents me for not taking this case seriously enough. Sending an Imperial Censor here is ostensibly to relieve my burden, but in reality, it is very much to investigate the many unsolved cases in the capital recently. You must tell Yanshi to be careful and to act cautiously during this period, so as not to give Imperial Censor Li any leverage."

Shi Mi leaned against the display cabinet with his arms crossed, gloating, "Look, even though you've made great contributions to the Yan Dynasty, when His Majesty the Emperor decided to dismiss you, he didn't hesitate at all. Sending an imperial censor to suppress you, the Grand Secretary, is really embarrassing."

But he was quite pleased with himself, saying, "The entire capital is under my control. Any slight disturbance is my fault. What's wrong with having an imperial censor stand up for me? Besides, there are still storms ahead... Do you know what the purpose is of all those grand construction projects in the capital, building those sacred roads that connect the east, west, north, and south?"

Shi Mi shook his head, "I suppose His Majesty of Yan Dynasty has unique tastes and feels that Qian Yu was not done well enough, so he wants to continue to improve it."

Most people guessed this way, but they were wrong. He said casually, "Now we are only building the sacred path. In the future, there will be towering pines and cypresses and stone statues... Chong'an City has excellent feng shui, and the people of the Yu Dynasty built it in a way that is different from the human world. His Majesty took a liking to it at first sight and decided to use it as his eternal auspicious place. That's why he ordered me to personally supervise the project."

Shi Mi was completely stunned by this sudden truth. "Turning Chong'an City into an imperial mausoleum? What will happen to the people in the city? Where are their homes? Would His Majesty really allow the living to roam freely around his own mausoleum?"

Then Lu Min fell silent, giving her a half-smile.

She was furious and grabbed him, saying, "What kind of face is that! Tell me quickly, how do you plan to settle the people of the city? Will you disperse them to the surrounding towns, or build another city to settle them?"

However, Lu Min sighed, "Actually, you already guessed it, so why deceive yourself?"

Shi Mi's eyes widened in disbelief. "I guessed it... Are you powerful and wealthy people really this depraved?"

Yes, Chong'an City is too vast, and the imperial mausoleum too empty. Countless souls must be sacrificed to be worthy of this unparalleled masterpiece. The 200,000 people massacred on the ancient battlefield outside the city are merely the prelude to this long and tragic saga. In the end, none of those innocent civilians will escape, for they were the lowly people of Qianyu!

Her expression shifted rapidly. He gazed at her, his eyes gradually shifting into a deep, dark light. "So Imperial Censor Li has come. Good. Someone has to bear the blame. Or you could have the puppeteers make more puppets to take the place of the common people. I'll be lenient with you."

Shi Mi rolled her eyes in anger, "What kind of terrible idea is this? Even if the Puppeteer ruins his hands, it won't be a fraction of what he did. Even if the Puppeteer dies from exhaustion, you won't benefit from it."

He crossed his long legs, swayed his toes, and said in a melodious voice, "So everyone has their own destiny, and there is no need to interfere in the cause and effect of others. The craftsman will continue to be his craftsman, and you and I will continue to enjoy the wealth and glory of this world. No one is a god, and even a god cannot save everyone in the city."

Shi Mi stared at him with a look of utter despair, her heart nearly breaking. "The blood of the Puppeteer is clearly warm, how could it have created such a cold-blooded person as you! So many lives lost, and you say you shouldn't interfere in other people's karma? Then why did the Puppeteer save you in the first place? He could have just let you rot to death."

His expression changed slightly upon hearing this. "You care so much about those people from Zhongdu?"

"What utter nonsense!" Shi Mi said angrily. "I am a beautiful and kind-hearted woman. I heard you were planning to carry out the human sacrifice ritual. Should I praise you for doing a good job? His Majesty the Emperor is really strange. Killing so many Yu Dynasty people to be buried with him, aren't you afraid that the Yu spirits will overturn his coffin in the future!"

Her indignation seemed a bit excessive. Lu Min calmly observed her anger and said after a while, "From today until it is fully completed, it will take at least a year. This period of time is not short, and everything is still subject to change. Don't make yourself too angry, young lady."

Shi Mi was indeed indignant at first, but after the indignation subsided, he gradually calmed down and began to ponder what his purpose was in suddenly revealing such important inside information.

She looked up at him; he still wore a faint smile, but it didn't reach his eyes; instead, it conveyed a shrewd and calculating certainty. She suddenly realized that he held a sharp weapon. If he saw through her disguise, wouldn't the lives of the entire city be enough to negotiate with the puppeteer?

Therefore, she needed to remain calm and not lose her composure. They were still in a probing and tug-of-war phase, and at least he didn't dare to openly break off relations at this moment.

She let out a long sigh, twisted her waist and sat down in another recliner, smoothing her hair as she said, "That's true. Who knows, His Majesty might change his mind later." Then she turned to him and called out, "Lu Min, what are you thinking? Don't you think this is too cruel? You once said that you wouldn't harm women and children. The lives of the Yu people are lives too. You're guarding Chong'an City. Can you bear to watch them walk into the tomb passage and become stepping stones?"

He seemed to have carefully considered her words, and looking out at the setting sun, he said, "I do not kill unarmed civilians, but as a subject, it is my duty to carry out the emperor's orders. You see, if I had known you would be so indignant, I shouldn't have told you. You were filled with righteous indignation for so long, and all the delicacies you ate today were for nothing."

Once you understand, he won't act until he sees the benefit. There's no point in her trying to persuade him anymore; he's just informing you in advance so you can prepare.

She slumped back in the recliner, dejected, and changed the subject, "Your sister-in-law came this morning and brought you clothes for all four seasons that she had prepared. I had someone bring them over, so you can try them on."

He said it wasn't necessary, "I don't wear clothes of dubious origin."

"What are you saying!" Shi Mi said, "How can its origin be unclear? It clearly has a name and surname, and it came from your sister-in-law."

He turned and glanced at her. "It's always been the wife who sews the clothes and the husband wears them. I have a living, breathing wife. Why should I wear clothes made by someone else?"

This is a warning to her. Shi Mi said in a cowardly tone, "I may be alive, but I'm useless. You're asking such a pointed question, deliberately trying to put me in a difficult position. I wear ready-made clothes that I buy myself. To be frank, I can't even make a purse, let alone any clothes."

He looked away in disappointment. "There's no need to be so frank. What's so difficult about making a purse? It all depends on whether you're willing to put your heart into it. I think you should give it a try. Since you're so determined to spend your life with me, I welcome any gestures of goodwill."

In other words, she has now entered the stage of trying to please him. Because he holds the lives of all the people in Zhongdu in his hands, if she wants to use his influence in the future, she must start accumulating goodwill now.

Sigh, this really adds to her burden without her even realizing it. How can she possibly find the time to do needlework? But thankfully, she has three assistants. When she gets too busy, she can ask them for help, and then everything will fall into place.

Confident in her abilities, she immediately agreed, "I'll get started as soon as we get back to Chong'an City. With my intelligence, it's definitely not a problem. But the clothes my sister-in-law made are already made. She's worked so hard, stitch by stitch, through countless nights. Don't let her kindness go to waste."

"Good intentions?" He chuckled. "A married brother-in-law wearing clothes made by his sister-in-law will only make him a laughingstock, and you actually think it's a good intention."

"Then what should we do?" Shimi blinked twice and said, "We have so many outfits, it would be such a waste not to wear them."

People and things that are not worth his attention are extremely easy to deal with: "There are many people who lack food and clothing, so you can give them away as alms. Or you can send them to a pawnshop and exchange them for some silver to buy some snacks for them."

Shi Mi scoffed, "I'm not so poor that I have to pawn my clothes to get food. Anyway, I've already handed over the things, so it's your business how you deal with them. I can't be bothered to ask."

Lu Min waved his hand, ordering the bundle to be taken away. He then closed his eyes again and slowly instructed, "It's best not to stay in that house in Lirenfang anymore. Li Qiaozhen is here on orders to investigate. If he finds clues in your old house, it will definitely implicate me, and things will become difficult."

Shi Mi gave a vague reply, but she had her own plans in mind. Although it wasn't so easy to take action against the emperor's envoy, that didn't stop her from going all the way.

With some time left before dinner, the two of them lay by the window watching the sunset, an experience they had never had before.

She asked him, "Lu Min, have you ever thought about whether you'll be watching the sunset alone when you're old, or whether you'll have someone by your side?"

He said slowly, "Why think about something so far in the future? I was in poor health before, and I never even dared to hope that I would live to old age."

She thought he lacked romance, saying, "The past is the past. Now you can have some dreams. Maybe you can really live to be a hundred."

“If that were possible… then I hope you'd be by my side, just like now.” He finished speaking and turned to ask her, “Ami, do you have any dreams?”

Shimi said no, "Life without dreams is no different from being carefree. So why should I have dreams? Taking things one step at a time is more suitable for me."

"From now on, have dreams." He smiled gently, "Dream of growing old with me."

If I were to grow old with you, wouldn't I be supporting you until my death? Only a fool would make such a losing proposition!

She hesitated and said, "Let's talk about it later. I need to consider whether you're worth it."

He reached out and held her hand tightly in his palm, as if she were truly his beloved. "I can't live without you anymore. If you're not here, I'm afraid I can't do anything."

Those who were deluded knew that from this day forward, the great battle between the two sides had truly begun.

Everyone has their own ulterior motives and intentions; their current feigned affection is all for the sake of long-term stability.

She turned her hand over and lightly scratched his palm. "How could I bear to leave you? Although my husband is ruthless, he is still good to me. Now that we're married, we should naturally stay together for a long time."

But though she said that, she secretly resolved never to share a bed with him again that night. Ban Yan was a real person; he possessed all the abilities of a real person. What if he seized the opportunity to decisively defeat her in the chaos? Wouldn't she lose both her wife and her army?

So during dinner, she subtly instructed the magistrate to prepare three large locks for her, and to lock the door and window frames with thick chains. Only after confirming that everything was safe did she feel at ease enough to go to sleep.

Sure enough, around midnight, he heard someone trying to open the door but couldn't, so he tried the window. After trying once without success, he returned to the door and knocked, saying softly, "My wife... Xiafang... please open the door, let your husband say a few words to you."

Shimi quickly covered his head with the blanket, inwardly grumbling that if all the puppets he had made were like him, the bed would have to be made wider and bigger, otherwise they would have to be stacked on top of each other.

But he kept tapping, and she got so angry that she poked her head out and yelled, "I'm asleep, I can't hear you!"

She refused to open the door, and he couldn't break in through the window. After waiting for a long time without success, he had no choice but to turn away regretfully.