Chapter 23 No getting emotional, it was just a favor for me…

Shanhe hesitated before accepting, then heard Liang Ye say, "When we were young, A-Shao and I were sick and refused to take our medicine, and Grandfather often used this to coax us. Later, I heard from the nannies at Rongxi Hall that when Grandfather was sick, Shanhe also used this to coax him." He chuckled softly, "The world is interconnected by cause and effect. I just never imagined that it would be Shanhe who accompanied Grandfather on his final journey. In this matter, we brothers truly owe you a debt."

Liang Ye's eyes, sharp as an eagle's, caught the hesitation hidden on Shan He's face. He was precocious, easily discerning the weaknesses of those before him. Shan He, for example, was burdened by her tragic past and by the debt of gratitude she owed. Liang Ye sometimes thought Shan He was too kind-hearted. This was both her strength and her weakness. A person with a strong conscience rarely goes far, for she fears indebtedness and always strives for perfection, ensuring no one suffers a great loss. This was true of repaying her grandfather's kindness, and it was also true of her divorce from A Shao.

Sure enough, upon hearing Old Master Liang's name, Shanhe's expression softened slightly. She slowly reached out, her fingertips trembling slightly, and took the osmanthus candy from Liang Ye's palm. She didn't eat it immediately, but held it in her hands, raising her eyes and pleading, "Brother, I have two more requests."

Liang Ye became interested and tilted his head slightly with a smile, saying, "Shanhe, please tell me."

"I want to bring Qingyue along."

"Yes, that's only right." To care so much about even a lowly female slave, how could that not be considered having a conscience?

Liang Ye tapped his knuckles on the table. "And there's one more thing?"

Shanhe pursed her lips: "I am deeply grateful for your help, Brother Meng. However, Ah Shao has always trusted you, and I feel terrible that I have conspired with you to deceive him. I don't want to cause any rift between you and Ah Shao because of me, so please give me the sleeping potion. Tomorrow night, I will trick Ah Shao into writing the divorce papers and then leave on my own. I hope you will pretend you know nothing about it. If Ah Shao wants to find me, please gently persuade him to stay away."

Liang Ye paused slightly, remained silent for a few moments, then smiled and said, "Shanhe, you don't seem to understand why I'm willing to help you." His tone had lost its previous warmth, as if it had been quenched with ice.

Shanhe suddenly looked up, staring at him with a puzzled expression.

“Shanhe, not everyone in this world is as kind as you,” Liang Ye chuckled. “And not everyone treats others well by never deceiving or always telling the truth. I want Ah Shao to be well, I want him to have a bright future, so what if I deceive him a little? Even if he knows that this was a joint deception between you and me, as long as his future is easier, what does this little deception matter? Can it buy his future? Is it as heavy as Zhang Tixing's five hundred taels of silver? I'm helping you personally so that you can leave this world cleanly. If possible—”

A sharp glint flashed in Liang Ye's eyes: "Never appear in front of Ah Shao again, Shan He."

Shanhe was stunned, her almond-shaped eyes widening. So, in Liang Ye's heart, she had always been the one hindering Liang Shao's future. So, the kindness Liang Ye had shown her over the past two years was merely due to his upbringing and the unavoidable bond of kinship. Shanhe's hand, resting on the table, slowly clenched. She lowered her face and whispered, "Yes."

Liang Ye abruptly rose, his robes billowing, and stared at Shan He's thick, black hair. Half-heartedly, half-seriously, he said, "Shan He, be careful. Don't give yourself away. A Shao isn't stupid; you must be meticulous when deceiving him. The most skillful lie is eight parts truth and two parts falsehood. Hiding the lie within the truth is the only way to fool a clever person. You seemed genuine just now. But it was all the truth; that's the most foolish thing to do." Liang Ye's phoenix eyes narrowed. "Remember, when deceiving A Shao, be as earnest as you were when you begged me. Hide the falsehood within the truth." He wasn't just reminding Shan He; he was also determined to keep the matter firmly in his grasp. Even if complications arose, he would personally prune them away. He also wanted to warn Shan He that once words were spoken, they couldn't be taken back. He, Liang Ye, had taken over the Liang family's power; even if she regretted it now, he wouldn't allow her to start over.

Liang Ye walked to the moon-shaped window, where several lush green bamboos grew. A breeze rustled through the bamboo leaves, creating a clear, rustling sound in the courtyard. Liang Ye stared at the bamboo, and suddenly thought of Xue Yin. That man he called Uncle Xue, whom he had only met a few times, was as honest and straightforward as Shan He. No wonder his grandfather liked them so much, and no wonder Xue Yin, who had only served the Third Prince for less than two years, became one of the primary culprits in the struggle for the throne during the purge. On the contrary, those old ministers who had secretly colluded with the Third Prince for many years were still firmly seated in their high positions. Liang Ye couldn't help but sneer inwardly.

As Shanhe watched Liang Ye's retreating figure, she suddenly realized he wasn't the same Liang Ye as before, yet he was still Liang Ye—a complete and complex Liang Ye. Before, she had only seen Liang Ye's gentle and upright nature, his self-discipline and adherence to propriety, and thus always thought him to be a good person, good in every way: he would take the initiative to smooth things over when things went wrong, and he wouldn't pursue mistakes too much. In reality, he simply didn't care about things that didn't involve his core interests. He was more worldly and more purposeful than Liang Shao. She couldn't say whether this was good or bad, but she believed Liang Ye would live a better life than Liang Shao, a life of worldly fulfillment and success. But, was such scheming truly happiness?

"Thank you, brother, I understand." With that, Shanhe immediately put a piece of osmanthus candy in her mouth and quickly drank the hangover soup. It was still bitter, almost making her eyebrows fall off. Shanhe took a handkerchief and wiped her mouth dry. Only after the warm liquid flowed into her stomach did her furrowed brows relax slightly.

She raised her eyes, only to see Liang Ye had already turned to look at her. His slender, cool jawline and disdainful eyelashes framed Shanhe; he stood tall and elegant, the moonlit window reflecting the verdant bamboo becoming a backdrop to his presence. But what rose in Shanhe's heart wasn't admiration, but fear. He wore the cloak of a banished immortal, seemingly magnanimous and forgiving, but in reality, he was the most shrewd of men, insightful into the ways of the world and human nature. Before him, she felt as if she had nowhere to hide. She suddenly felt grateful that she had chosen Liang Shao two years ago.

When Shanhe returned to Shuyu Pavilion, Liang Shao had just woken up and was sitting on the edge of the couch, gulping down the hangover soup that Lantai Pavilion had sent over him, his brow already furrowed. When he saw Shanhe approaching, he put down the remaining half of the hangover soup, smiled, and called out to her, "Shanshan."

Shanhe sat down next to him, pursed her lips, and asked, "Is it bitter?"

Liang Shao nodded.

Shanhe smiled gently, handed her hand to Liang Shao, and unfolded it to reveal a plain handkerchief.

"What is this?" Liang Shao asked.

"Open it and take a look."

Liang Shao unfolded the handkerchief as instructed, revealing a glistening osmanthus candy lying quietly in the center, emitting a sweet fragrance. Liang Shao immediately beamed, his eyes and brows radiating boundless joy and carefree delight. He quickly pinched the osmanthus candy and put it in his mouth, then raised his nose at Shan He and laughed, "If this hangover soup weren't so bitter, I wouldn't want to eat this childish stuff."

Shanhe laughed and said, "It seems that our eldest brother treats us both like children."

Liang Shao downed the rest of the hangover soup in one gulp. It was so bitter that he gritted his teeth and pursed his lips. After a while, he said, "He's always been this mature and collected." He hides his true feelings very well, only showing the good side that the world likes to see. Thinking of this, Liang Shao couldn't help but lower his eyes.

Shanhe recalled Liang Ye's words—that even when deceiving him, one should be this sincere and earnest. She reached out and placed her hand on Liang Shao's shoulder, gazing at the gruesome welts on his skin beneath his thin undergarment, and softly asked, "How are your injuries? Did you apply any medicine just now?"

"No," Liang Shao said. "I just rinsed my mouth, and now I have to drink this bitter soup."

Shanhe slowly slid her hand down to his wrist and held it loosely: "Qingyue said you stayed up late last night. Why don't you sleep a little longer now? Lie down, and I'll apply the medicine for you while I'm at it."

Liang Shao's eyes immediately lit up as he looked straight into Shan He's eyes and chuckled in a hoarse voice, "Okay." After saying that, Liang Shao obediently lay down and rested his face on the soft pillow.

Her slender, pale fingertips gently lifted his undergarment from his waist. Between Liang Shao's two dimples was a shallow, indented welt, extending down to the back of his neck. Shan He's fingertips then moved gently upwards along this welt, landing on the cane mark, her fingertip touching the scabbed wound.

Does it hurt?

Liang Shao's muscles trembled slightly from the light, almost imperceptible touch on his back, and he unconsciously let out a soft moan. He looked back at Shan He, propped his chin on his hand, and smiled, "It doesn't hurt, it just tickles."

The scabbed skin was itchy, and Shanhe's touch made it itchy too.

"Hmm." Shanhe picked up the ointment from the side, opened the cap, and scooped a small spoonful into her palm. "It's scabbing over, so it's naturally itchy."

Liang Shao teased, "It seems like it's not just the itch from the scabs."

Shanhe frowned and exclaimed "Ah!" before asking with concern, "Is there anything else that's bothering you?"

“Yes.” Liang Shao answered seriously, “When Shanshan came, even the comfortable ones became uncomfortable, and the uncomfortable ones became comfortable.”

Hearing this, Shanhe pursed her lips but didn't speak, only staring intently at him. Liang Shao was taken aback by her glare, thinking that his words had been disrespectful to Shanhe and upset her, and hurriedly tried to apologize. But Shanhe beat him to it, scolding him softly, "You shameless hussy."

Liang Shao wasn't annoyed, he just laughed loudly, raised his hand to pinch Shanhe's cheek, but accidentally scratched the wound on her back. He took a deep breath, hissed, and lowered his hand again. Now it was Shanhe's turn to laugh, her eyes crinkling. As she laughed, she spread the medicine evenly in her palm: "Serves you right."

Liang Shao rested his head on his forearm, watching Shanhe smile. His own lips curved even deeper, his heart softening, almost overflowing with spring water: "Shanshan, you never used to smile. From now on, you should smile like this more often." He glanced at the wooden table he had made that day, neatly placed in the corner, and raised the tip of his nose at the table: "My back has been feeling uncomfortable these past two days with the scabs. In a couple more days, when I can move around more easily, I'll quickly make that table."

"I forgot to ask you, what are you doing hitting the table?"

This question pleased Liang Shao greatly.

"Here you go," Liang Shao said, tilting his head. "Don't you love painting? But you refuse to go to the study. This eight-immortal table is for dining, and it's inconvenient for you to always paint there. Once that table is built, we'll have Qingyue and Suiming clean up that empty room in the west wing, buy some painting supplies, and make it your studio, filled with all your paintings, okay?"

Shanhe's heart tightened, and the fingers that were applying the medicine to him froze in mid-air.

Seeing that Shanhe didn't speak, Liang Shao turned to look at her and raised his eyebrows at her with a hint of pride: "Touched? You're not allowed to be touched. What's a little table-breaking? It's just something I did casually."

Shanhe bit her lower lip, and the stinging sensation in her nose gradually subsided. She pressed the ointment on her fingertip hard against his wound, causing Liang Shao to hiss in pain. Shanhe laughed triumphantly, "Master, have you forgotten? The room in the west wing houses the treasures of Shuyu Pavilion: a glass screen, an enamel clock, a white jade vase, and a sky-blue Ru ware lotus cup with ice-crack patterns. The crackles are so fine. It was your birthday gift two years ago. Have you forgotten, Master? The room further south in the west wing is empty, just filled with miscellaneous items."

Liang Shao was truly speechless. He didn't manage the household affairs; the gifts from other families were always registered and managed by Shan He, and he never inquired about them. Liang Shao was silent for a few moments, then suddenly lowered his eyes and said softly, "I forgot. Many things at home are thanks to you."

The milky white ointment was carefully applied to the wound. Shanhe didn't respond to his words, but instead bent down and carefully applied the ointment for him. After she finished applying it, Shanhe said, "Ah Shao, I have something I want to ask you."

"What?"

"That day, you hid all the bags I packed. Where did you put them?"

The man on the couch stiffened, and his relaxation came to a standstill.