Chapter 27 The blatant and unreserved behavior...

Cui Lizhu injured her ankle and was forced to stay put for a while. Once she recovered, she couldn't stay idle at the Prince's residence. After a trip to the palace, she heard many idle stories, and as soon as she returned to the residence, she couldn't wait to come to Yunxi Courtyard to share them with Shen Yunzhi.

One reason was that Cui Xu angered Emperor Jiaping and was banished from the capital.

Cui Lizhu was unaware of the true situation, only knowing that Cui Xu had committed a wrong, and that the rumors circulating outside were that His Majesty the Emperor intended to train the Fifth Prince.

Cui Xuan was greatly affected by Cui Xu's departure from Beijing.

She went to Emperor Jiaping to plead for Cui Xu but was scolded instead. The emperor was furious and said he would find a husband for her.

Cui Xuan's heart was set on Liang Zhengting. Liang Zhengting was unwilling to become her consort, and Emperor Jiaping could not possibly coerce the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion; the consort would only be another young man. Not yet having given up on Liang Zhengting, how could Cui Xuan accept marrying someone else? Yet Liang Zhengting remained unmoved.

Heartbroken, Cui Xuan spent her days drinking heavily at the villa where she kept her male lovers.

When Emperor Jiaping learned of this, he ordered her to be forcibly brought back to the palace and arranged for the strictest and most experienced governess in the palace to teach her manners again.

“The palace maids are always making things difficult for people. Cui Xuan is going to have a hard time.” Cui Lizhu gloated that Cui Xuan, whom she had never gotten along with, was suddenly in big trouble. “Now, let alone the palace gates, she can hardly even leave the gates of her own palace.”

Cui Xuan was willful and domineering; countless men and women in the capital had been bullied by her in the past.

There were more than just one or two people like Choi Yeo-joo who were gloating over someone's misfortune.

Shen Yunzhi had suffered at the hands of both Cui Xu and Cui Xuan, and seeing the siblings in such a predicament only brought her joy.

She even put a lot of effort into preparing a thank-you gift for Cui Huai.

The dealings with Cui Xu and Huo Ming went smoothly, and Cui Huai's attitude towards her remained as gentle yet indifferent as ever... For Shen Yunzhi, this was the best possible situation. Nothing bad had happened, and life after her rebirth finally seemed to be going well.

Shen Yunzhi's arm injury is gradually improving.

After the wound scabs over, movement will be easier than before, but you still can't make any big movements.

Huo Ming and Shen Yunzhi agreed to take her horseback riding and hunting once she recovered from her injuries.

She smiled and agreed, saying she wanted to ride the little pony they had bought together before.

Later, Huo Ming gave her a small bow.

Huo Yuan said that Huo Ming made it for her by hand.

When Huo Ming handed her the small bow, Cui Lizhu was also present. She turned and sneered, her tone sarcastic as Shen Yunzhi prioritized romance over friendship. Previously, when Shen Yunzhi was learning archery, Cui Lizhu had taken great care of her, even gifting her her favorite small bow; Shen Yunzhi hadn't forgotten these things. When Cui Lizhu complained, Shen Yunzhi recounted all the good things Cui Lizhu had done for her, thus cheering Cui Lizhu up again.

Princess Chu also had a good impression of Huo Ming.

Although he had no intention of interfering, he couldn't help but ask Shen Yunzhi about her plans.

Shen Yunzhi hadn't actually made up her mind yet.

She would certainly support Huo Ming's ambition to achieve great things, but she would then have several different options in front of her.

One option is for the two of them to arrange their marriage before Huo Ming joins the army, thus solidifying their relationship so they can get married when Huo Ming returns. The other option is for them to marry first, with her marrying into the Marquis of Dingyuan's household to help him take care of his mother and sister, while waiting for his return to the capital. Otherwise, they can maintain the status quo.

The different choices will have different impacts on her future life.

We must proceed with extreme caution.

"In your opinion, Aunt, it would be better to arrange the marriage first," Princess Chu said softly to Shen Yunzhi. "It would be more reassuring to arrange the marriage first. You can also stay by Aunt's side for the time being and don't have to start serving your mother-in-law and sister-in-law so early."

The Princess Consort of Chu and the Lady of Dingyuan Marquis had dealings with each other.

Among all the ladies in the capital, the Lady of Dingyuan was not an unapproachable person; it was just that when people interacted, their stance would change depending on their social status.

What will happen after she actually marries into the Huo family is uncertain until she gets married.

No matter how much Huo Ming protected and loved her, it was all just wishful thinking once they were thousands of miles apart.

What if I followed his sister-in-law's example?

Shen Yunzhi thought for a moment and then asked her aunt.

"Do you think life on the border is so easy?" Princess Chu tapped Shen Yunzhi's forehead with her finger and sighed. "It is an option, but it inevitably involves suffering and hardship. Your aunt knows you are not afraid of hardship, but she still hopes that you can live a more comfortable life."

Shen Yunzhi was just thinking about it.

I heard that Huo Ming's sister-in-law is the daughter of a general. She and his brother grew up together as childhood sweethearts. Their close relationship and shared joys and sorrows is a beautiful story.

As for her and Huo Ming...

As long as Huo Ming treats her well, she will not treat Huo Ming badly.

...

The news that Cui Huai had previously refused to be engaged to Liang Zhi had somehow spread throughout the capital, attracting much gossip about Liang Zhi. One rumor was that Liang Zhi had deliberately spread those praises of her and Cui Huai as a perfect match, intending to force Cui Huai to accept her. Unfortunately, Cui Huai was not coerced and continued to refuse her without hesitation.

Even though the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion didn't show it on the surface, it wasn't that they hadn't considered having Liang Zhi marry into the Prince of Chu's mansion.

But since no matchmaker was ever sent to their door, no matter how much effort they put in, it all counts.

Liang Zhi's reputation has been damaged for no reason, and the Liang family naturally cannot accept this.

Therefore, Madam Liang hosted a flower-viewing banquet at the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, inviting guests from all over. She and the Duke of Zhenguo also personally went to the Prince of Chu's mansion to deliver the invitations.

“You must come to this flower viewing banquet.” Liang Zhengting sat opposite Cui Huai, tapping his fingers lightly on the table, his attitude unusually firm. “My sister is just a shy young lady, how can she withstand so many rumors? As long as you show up, this storm can be quelled.”

Cui Huai said, "I did refuse to be engaged to your sister."

Liang Zhengting was speechless, but the person who said it spoke in a normal tone, without any hint of mockery.

He raised his hand to pat his chest to catch his breath, then suppressed his temper and said, "Isn't that a private matter between you and the Prince? The Liang family has never sent anyone to propose marriage, so why should my sister bear this bitter consequence?"

Seeing that Cui Huai had raised his eyes, Liang Zhengting spoke kindly again: "My sister will still need to arrange a marriage in the future."

"Just help me this once because of our years of friendship."

Under Liang Zhengting's persuasion, Cui Huai finally agreed to attend the flower-viewing banquet at the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion.

The flower-viewing banquet took place two days later.

August 12th.

Shen Yunzhi accompanied Princess Chu and Cui Lizhu to a banquet at the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion.

Liang Zhi stayed by Madam Liang's side, helping to entertain the ladies. After exchanging pleasantries, Madam Liang led Princess Chu to sit with the ladies for tea and a chat, while Liang Zhi led Cui Lizhu and Shen Yunzhi to the flower hall where the young ladies were.

Choi Yeo-joo didn't think there was anything wrong with the rumors circulating outside.

I am only here today because of Madam Liang's sake.

Seeing Liang Zhi's dignified and composed demeanor, and with no elders present, she said coolly, "I thought you had suffered a great blow and were devastated."

"If you don't care, why bother with all this fuss?"

Liang Zhi said, "Thank you very much, Princess Danyang, for coming today. I am deeply grateful."

Choi Yeo-joo never bought into that: "Pretending."

Shen Yunzhi glanced at Liang Zhi a few times.

Although she wore light makeup, Liang Zhi's face still looked haggard, as if she was indeed troubled by the rumors.

However, she hadn't forgotten the spring outing Liang Zhi had given to all the young men and women in the capital. Cui Lizhu's analysis of Liang Zhi at that time was reasonable, and besides, Liang Zhi was renowned for her talent, undoubtedly a sign that the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion was intentionally cultivating her. Therefore, Liang Zhi couldn't be someone without brains.

But even if they have ulterior motives today, they wouldn't be targeting her.

What happens to the Liang family is none of her business.

Upon arriving at the flower hall with Liang Zhi, Shen Yunzhi saw Huo Yuan, who had also come to the Liang family for a banquet that day.

After the group exchanged greetings, Huo Yuan pulled Shen Yunzhi aside and whispered in her ear, "My second brother is in the garden."

In the blink of an eye, Cui Lizhu was surrounded by young ladies as always.

Shen Yunzhi stepped forward and spoke to her, then she and Huo Yuan left the flower hall temporarily.

Huo Ming was not so infatuated with her that he would have a secret rendezvous with her at the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion. He sent Huo Yuan to tell her that he needed to see her. A few days later, it would be the Mid-Autumn Festival. Huo Ming handed her a jade hairpin, which he had personally polished and carved. He had painstakingly engraved lingzhi cloud patterns on the hairpin.

Shen Yunzhi stroked the patterns on the jade hairpin and said softly, "I like it very much."

Huo Ming smiled: "If Zhi Niang likes it, then it's worth it."

“In a few days, it will be the Mid-Autumn Festival. Let’s go release sky lanterns together,” Shen Yunzhi said with a smile, raising her head. “I will wear this jade hairpin then.”

Huo Ming smiled and agreed. After exchanging a few words, the two parted ways without lingering any longer.

Shen Yunzhi and Huo Yuan returned to the flower hall.

On the way, Huo Yuan kept winking at her, clearly aware of the gift Huo Ming had given her. Huo Yuan, wanting to speak well of her second brother, sighed, "I always thought my second brother was careless, but I never expected him to be like this. It seems he's not really careless, but rather he needs to meet someone willing to put in the effort."

Shen Yunzhi smiled slightly.

"Young Master Huo is a very good person."

...

The Duke of Zhenguo's mansion hosted a very lively flower-viewing banquet. Shen Yunzhi had only caught a few quick glances at Huo Ming when she went to the garden earlier, but after going to admire the flowers with a group of young ladies, she finally had the leisure to appreciate the precious flowers and plants.

No matter how precious the flowers and plants were, they were not particularly rare to the noble ladies of the capital.

It's rare to see such a vibrant display of flowers in autumn, and it's quite delightful.

But when they saw a group of young men, everyone's attention shifted again.

Cui Huai was among them.

The young women began to whisper among themselves.

The young men merely passed through the garden, exchanged greetings from afar, and then quickly departed.

Huo Ming exchanged a glance with Shen Yunzhi in the crowd, then smiled happily and strode away with the others.

Cui Huai was walking near Huo Ming.

Even without paying special attention, one would know about Huo Ming's actions.

When he followed Huo Ming's gaze toward the young women, he spotted Shen Yunzhi in the crowd. Shen Yunzhi, with a sweet smile, looked only at Huo Ming; they smiled at each other, oblivious to everyone else.

This blatant and unreserved behavior made Cui Huai frown.

He suddenly remembered that since Cui Xu left the capital, Shen Yunzhi had never contacted him again, nor had she appeared at Qiyun Residence.