Chapter 28 Chapter 28 "My Lady, look, the peony flowers are blooming...

If Xu Qing'an's achievement of being a double champion and then reaching the sixth rank within half a year was enviable, then Su Shang must be even more unattainable.

He passed the imperial examination at the age of sixteen and passed the selection in the same year. Now, at the age of twenty-four, he is already a fourth-rank minister in the court. Of course, this is due to his family background, but his virtues and actions are worthy of his position.

On the official road, the horse galloped, the cloak fluttered, and dust was raised all the way. The man riding the horse was as steady as a pine tree, and the wind blew his sleeves, making him look handsome and clear.

The horses galloped without stopping until they stopped in front of the gate of the Lishan Palace.

The young man dismounted, took off his cloak and handed it to his attendant, then took one thing from the horse and followed the eunuch into the palace.

Shangguan Xu was already waiting in the hall, and a smile appeared on his face when he saw someone come in.

The person who entered the hall also strode quickly, and before she could see his face clearly, he was in front of her.

"Minister of Rites Su Shang pays his respects to Your Highness and wishes you the best of health."

Shangguan Xu said gently, "Master Su, there's no need to be so polite. Please stand up."

Hearing her call him Lord Su again, a trace of loneliness flashed in Su Shang's eyes, but when he raised his eyes, there was a smile at the corner of his eyes.

He first opened the box he had brought with him. "During my diplomatic mission to Western Yan, I was able to witness the customs of its people throughout the country. During my time there, I also found a night-shining pearl carved by a craftsman into the shape of a peony. It's an exquisite piece. Knowing Your Highness has always loved peonies, I purchased it, intending to give it to Your Highness."

Qinghe took the box from him and handed it to Shangguan Xu.

Shangguan Xu took a look and smiled, "Please sit down first. I heard that you rode all the way back without stopping. So don't stand."

Su Shang took his seat as advised. However, when he saw the box placed on the table after Shangguan Xu had only glanced at it, his smile faded. He said, "I heard that Your Highness took His Majesty to Kunming Lake to pray for blessings during the Lantern Festival and fell into the water. I wonder if Your Highness caught a cold? Are you still feeling unwell?"

Shangguan Xu smiled provocatively: "No, everything is fine. The matter has been dealt with long ago. It was just a false alarm."

Su Shang nodded thoughtfully, "I was in Western Yan when I heard about this. I wanted to come back to visit Your Highness, but I had many unfinished business on my mission, so I had to give up. Now that I hear Your Highness say everything is fine, I finally feel relieved."

Su Shang was an envoy sent to Western Yan, so he couldn't just talk about these personal matters upon his return. He then mentioned a few more related matters: "The envoy team should be almost at Shannan by now. I made all the necessary arrangements upon entering the country before leaving the team and rushing to the capital."

"Western Yan has shown great sincerity this time. Not only have they shown me many of their places, but they have also doubled the gifts they presented to the Great Jin compared to previous years. Once the troops arrive in the capital, I will sort out all matters and submit a memorial to Your Highness."

Shangguan Xu agreed, and followed his words to ask some questions about Xiyan. Finally, she asked if Su Shang had not returned home yet, and the conversation between the two slowly ended.

After Su Shang left, Qing He came over to clean up. Looking at the peony-shaped night-shining pearl beautifully wrapped in a box, she couldn't help but sigh, "Tomorrow is March. It seems that Lord Su has specially rushed to enter the palace today. However, after not seeing him for a few months, the Empress seems to have become quite estranged from him."

Shangguan Xu lowered his eyes. "It's not that we've become estranged, but since that incident, I really can't treat him the same way as before. Now that we've been apart for several months, it's inevitable that I'll feel awkward when we meet again. I don't know how to get along with him."

Qing He knew the reason very well and said, "Yes, even if that matter has nothing to do with him, they are still father and son after all."

Shangguan Xu was speechless and looked up at the night pearl.

How could she not know what he was thinking? Xiyan was not suitable for the growth of peonies and they were rarely planted, but Xiyan was home to many skilled craftsmen. This night pearl was definitely not something he had found by chance.

——

Su Shang returned to the mansion that the Su family had purchased at the foot of Mount Li.

As soon as he entered the house, a gentle female voice called him, "A Shang."

He went to look for her in a gentle voice, his face showing joy: "Sister!"

The one who called him was Su Wang's daughter Su Ning, who was also his biological sister.

Su Shang walked over quickly: "Today is great. I saw my elder sister as soon as I came back. It seems that we are really in tune with each other."

Su Ning tapped his forehead and couldn't help but laugh, "There's no such thing as telepathy. I just heard you were coming back, and today is the last day of February. I knew you would definitely be in Beijing today, so I came here early."

Su Shang: "Sister still understands me."

"Entering the palace again?" Su Ning asked.

Su Shang didn't say much: "Yeah."

Su Ning was helpless: "I knew you came back before March for her."

Su Shang smiled and changed the subject: "Where's my brother-in-law? Did he come with my sister?"

The brother-in-law Su Shang mentioned was Shangguan Xu's brother Shangguan Li.

Su Ning: "Well, he's talking to Dad in the study. Do you want to talk to him about something?"

Su Shang just asked casually, and he shook his head: "No, I just thought that my sister and brother-in-law have a good relationship. My sister is back today, so my brother-in-law should come with her."

——

In March, the spring hunt was scheduled for the tenth day of March to avoid the death anniversary of Emperor Zhao.

During the spring hunt, participants would be ranked by the number of prey they caught, and the top three would receive rewards from the emperor. Therefore, many people would go to the hunting grounds to race horses the day before the spring hunt began, so that both people and horses could become familiar with the grounds in advance.

As the Queen Mother, it is not convenient for Shangguan Xu to go out and participate in hunting, but she wants to ride on horseback to relieve her depression, so she decides to go to the hunting ground in the evening when there are fewer people to relax.

When riding his horse, Shangguan Xu did not want others to follow too closely, so he set a path in advance, and the Yulin Guards could just follow on horseback.

However, the hunting grounds in Mount Li were very large, and even after running for only an incense stick's time, Shangguan Xu had already left the other person behind.

Now that the spring equinox has passed, many flowers are blooming in the mountains and forests.

After running for about half a circle, Shangguan Xu came to a place where he saw a small path leading into the woods. Suddenly he remembered some past events, so he dismounted and walked in.

In the evening, although the sun has set, there are still some lingering sunset lights shining on the mountains.

Suddenly, Shangguan Xu heard the sound of branches being moved and grass leaves being trampled in the woods ahead. He frowned and stopped. However, this was the royal forest garden, and there was no place where ferocious beasts lurked. Shangguan Xu thought about the flowers and plants in the forest, pondered for a moment, and then continued to move forward.

"It's you!"

After passing through the bushes and seeing a figure among the flowers, Shangguan Xu shouted in surprise.

——

Xu Qing'an was standing in the aisle between several clusters of flowers and leaves. When he saw Shangguan Xu coming in, his brows tightened, then relaxed, and then slightly raised. But in just a moment, as if he remembered something that was weighing on his mind, the light in his eyes dimmed again.

Xu Qing'an glanced around casually before turning around, facing Shangguan Xu with his entire body, and bowed to her, "Your Majesty."

He began by saying, "I didn't expect that the spring hunt wouldn't even begin, and I'd already seen Her Majesty at the hunting grounds."

Shangguan Xu ignored his rhetoric and asked cautiously, "What are you doing here?"

Xu Qing'an said, "Tomorrow is the spring hunt. I haven't ridden a horse in a long time, and I'm afraid I'll get rusty, so I thought I'd come to the hunting grounds early today to have a little run."

Shangguan Xu glanced at the horse tied to a nearby tree, then turned back to look at the path she had taken when she came in. "How did the horse run onto these paths?"

Xu Qing'an laughed, "Of course not. When I rode here, I saw a small forest path beside the main road. I had never been to the Royal Forest before, so I thought it must be a different world, so I led my horse in out of curiosity."

He turned slightly sideways, raised his hand and waved: "Sure enough, there is a garden in it."

"I guess Her Majesty came in because she saw the path in the woods?" Xu Qing'an folded his hands again and said respectfully.

"No." Shangguan Xu responded coldly. She took a few steps forward and said, "I planted these flowers."

To be precise, he and she planted these flowers together.

During the spring hunting that year, her father was seriously ill. She was worried and had no energy all day. She was unwilling to go out except to take care of her father. It was he who brought her here, comforted her, enlightened her, and told her that planting flowers could pray for the elders.

So they planted carnations here, and later orchids and peonies.

It is the flower season now, and orchids and carnations have already bloomed. Only the peony season is later, and only a few flowers have bloomed sporadically.

Xu Qing'an raised his eyebrows after hearing that. "Oh? No wonder it's blooming so well. It turns out it's all thanks to the Empress's skillful cultivation."

"How long have you been here?" Shangguan Xu came here to enjoy the scenery alone, but he didn't expect that he was also here.

Xu Qing'an pondered, "Hmm... I'm not sure, maybe a quarter of an hour."

She said directly: "The sun is about to set, why don't you go back?"

Xu Qing'an chuckled: "Are you trying to get me out, Madam?"

He thought about Su Shan’s recent return.

Xu Qing'an inquired about why Su Shang abandoned the diplomatic corps and rode back to Beijing alone.

It is said that he came back specifically to see her, because he would be with her every March, either going on spring hunting trips or chatting and drinking tea, and would often stay with her for most of the day.

This habit started to develop after the seventh year of Xining.

His heart suddenly sank, and he wanted to curse, but he couldn't curse no matter what he did, not even in his heart.

Xu Qing'an rubbed his thumb against his index finger in his sleeve. "Well, Your Majesty is now accompanied by someone more important to you. You really don't need to waste your energy on me."

"What do you mean?" she asked, grabbing his arm as he walked towards her and about to pass by her.

His face showed no anger or joy, but his eyes looked at her quietly: "What do you think, Madam?"

Shangguan Xu felt uneasy.

Could it be that he knew that she didn't cultivate these flowers alone?

But even if she knew that this was planted by the late emperor and her together, what would it matter? She was the empress dowager, she was the empress of the late emperor, isn't it normal for her to have some memories of the late emperor?

Could it be that he truly admired her and was resentful of it? Or did he feel...that she had deceived him?

baffling.

Shangguan Xu shook his hand away, no longer looking at him. "How would I know if you don't tell me? I've been conspiring with Xu Qing for so long, and I didn't even know that Xu Qing was a riddler who liked to let people guess what he said."

Xu Qing'an simply assumed that his words were correct, leaving her with no explanation. He sneered, "Your Majesty, your words are truly humiliating to me. As a subject, I am the only one who can guess the emperor's mind. How can I let Your Majesty guess my thoughts?"

Then he felt that his words were too sarcastic, and he was afraid that she would find out. He was even more afraid that if he continued talking to her, he would have some conflicts again, so he quickly bowed and took his leave.

Shangguan Xu did not stop him and just let him pass by her.

The sound of untying the horse rope came from behind.

"hiss--"

A subconscious sound of pain suddenly came, and Shangguan Xu turned his head to look.

She saw Xu Qing'an pinching his wrist, blood oozing from his palm, and his brows moved slightly.

Xu Qing'an also looked up at her at this time.

He didn't say anything, just frowned and breathed, looking unhappy because of the injury.

The wound on his palm was probably caused by untying the horse reins, but Shangguan Xu didn't pay any attention to him and turned around calmly.

Xu Qing'an stopped looking at him and walked out, leading the horse.

"Hmm!" Another muffled sound was heard, this time accompanied by the sound of someone being knocked down.

Shangguan Xu looked back again and saw Xu Qing'an half-kneeling on the ground.

He turned around and saw her looking at him, smiled as if giving up, and simply turned around and sat on the ground: "It seems that I should check the almanac before going out today."

He casually straightened his robe to make himself look less disheveled.

Shangguan Xu couldn't bear to see him like this and walked over to him, half squatting in front of him.

She looked at him again and again, watching the blood from his palms stain the grass and trees, watching the muddy hem of his clothes on his knees. "Why do you seem absent-minded today?"

Xu Qing'an smiled bitterly.

Absent-minded...how could he be absent-minded?

He turned his eyes away to look at the wound on his hand, but saw the scenery in the flower garden through his fingers.

A newly opened peony stood there.

The haze in his eyes dissipated, and Xu Qing'an's smile brightened.

Shangguan Xu didn't understand what was going on.

She watched his hand move back from her side and with a snap, he broke something.

Then he placed a peony in front of her bun.

"My Lady, look, the peonies are blooming."