Chapter 77 If he could see you, he would never let you...
Chapter 77
The rice porridge was already warmed up, and the vendor deftly poured it into a bowl, bowing and offering it to Shen Suining with both hands.
He lowered his voice: "He Bufan has been imprisoned in the Dali Temple prison. His advisor, Cui Rong, has a lot of evidence of He Bufan's crimes, but his whereabouts are now unknown."
Shen Suining understood immediately, "You want me to find Cui Rong?"
“It’s not just about finding him,” the peddler looked up, pausing for a moment, “but about killing him and bringing his head to the Emperor.”
Shen Suining sneered. This dog emperor could take someone's life so easily with just a few words.
She neither responded nor asked any further questions, ignoring the warm rice porridge the vendor offered her, and turned to enter the Marquis's residence.
Jiang Yuchu was not there either, and even Shen Fengyu was nowhere to be found. After thinking for a moment, Shen Suining called Jing Hao and Jing Yue over and asked, "Where is your Marquis?"
Jing Hao and Jing Yue exchanged a glance, then looked at Shen Suining with a hint of confusion: "Didn't Madam come back with the Marquis?"
Shen Suining's expression stiffened, but she quickly composed herself so that the two of them wouldn't notice anything amiss. "Besides you few, does anyone else know that I went to Yunzhou with your lord?"
Jing Hao shook his head. "The Marquis instructed that even the other people in the household should only say that he took his wife to the outskirts of the capital for a relaxing trip."
Shen Suining was relieved. The Marquis's residence was not completely airtight. Li Bo had spies in the residence. If he knew that He Hansheng had gone to Yunzhou, he would inevitably become aware of their investigation into He Changxin's death.
Why did Li Bo instruct the mysterious person holding the Imperial Decree to ambush and kill He Changxin? Why did He Changxin kneel down with his sword, leaving behind the word "hatred"? And within Yunzhou, who sent the people who prevented the Thousand Machine Pavilion from investigating the clues?
After a moment's thought, Shen Suining went to see the eldest princess.
The princess's health deteriorated year by year. Since the beginning of autumn this year, she has been confined to her room, with jars of medicine being sent into the house. As soon as Shen Suining stepped into her courtyard, she smelled the medicine.
At her bedside, Ming Le and Ming Xi were attending to her closely. Su Xiyao was also in the room, and when she saw her return, she nodded slightly.
"Ningning is back." Upon seeing Shen Suining, the Princess tried to sit up, but Ming Le helped her up. She smiled weakly and pulled Shen Suining to sit beside her on the couch. "Good child, how come you've lost so much weight after being away for a month?"
The princess looked much worse than before. Shen Suining guessed the reason and opened her mouth, "It's Mother-in-law who is the problem. It's only been a month since I last saw you, and you've become so haggard. It's because the people in the manor haven't taken good care of you. I'll punish them later."
Shen Suining always liked to make jokes, so others naturally wouldn't take them seriously.
The princess twitched her lips, about to speak, when she suddenly coughed violently. Mingxi quickly handed her a handkerchief, which she used to cover her mouth as she coughed up a mouthful of bloody phlegm.
Shen Suining saw it clearly and asked Su Xiyao, "What's wrong with Grandma?"
Su Xiyao truthfully replied, "The Princess is troubled by her inner conflict and is feeling depressed. I have tried my best to administer medicine, but this kind of mental illness cannot be cured by medicine."
Shen Suining sighed, gripped the princess's hand tightly, and wondered how to start a conversation to ease the tension. Suddenly, the princess gripped her hand in return and asked, "I heard from Yanzhi that you saw Master Zhang Xuanqing."
The eldest princess paused for a moment, then asked, "How is Master Zhang now?"
“Like my mother-in-law, he had a knot in his heart and was drunk every day,” Shen Suining admitted. “However, when I left, he entrusted one of his students to me and asked me to take him to the capital. In the end, he probably still had some hope in his heart.”
Upon hearing this, the eldest princess closed her eyes, her expression bitter. "Master Zhang has also suffered greatly. He lost his wife and children in his youth, and in middle age he was frustrated and unsuccessful. So many years have passed, and of those people from back then, only Yanzhi can be considered to be doing well now. But he... he has still taken up an official position and returned to the court without hesitation."
Shen Suining's eyes widened in shock, as if she couldn't believe what she had just heard. "What...did you say?"
...
Shen Suining hurriedly rode his horse to Pu She and saw that the plaque that originally had the words "Pu She" on the gate had been replaced with the four-character plaque "Ping Huai Hou Fu" in imperial gold. Back then, Shen Yan was ennobled without merit and was already criticized in Huadu. At that time, he was just holding a sinecure. Now that the plaque has been changed, it seems to be a ritual to announce his return to the court.
There was a constant stream of carriages and horses coming and going in front of the gate. Although she could not recognize many of the people coming and going, judging from the surnames and official titles on the carriages, they were all important figures in Huadu.
Shen Suining stood at the door, looking at the strange yet familiar gate, her eyes showing a hint of bewilderment. People came and went around her, and it was quite lively, but she felt as if she was isolated from this world. The image that kept flashing through her mind was He Changxin kneeling in a pile of corpses with a long sword in his hand in the Seven Palaces Formation.
A loyal and virtuous man died with resentment, his remains hidden in a dark mountain cave for three years without seeing the light of day. Meanwhile, the murderer who ordered his killing sat high in the hall as if nothing had happened. Inside the palace walls, wine was still poured and people indulged in debauchery. No one remembered the generals and ministers who had fought to the death for the country.
It's one thing for others, but how could Shen Yan? How dare he?
Those were his closest friends, brothers who fought alongside him on the battlefield. In terms of merit, his support for the emperor back then was far less than that of He Changxin, who served in the court for twenty years. How dare he return to the court after twenty years of seclusion?
Shen Suining stood in front of the door for a long time. When the servants called her, she did not answer. Just then, Shen Yan came out to see off a guest. The father and daughter looked at each other from a distance. One was slightly surprised, and the other was full of disappointment.
“Ningning is here,” Shen Yan quickly composed himself and introduced her to Lin Qingrong beside him with a calm expression: “This is my daughter, Suining. Ningning, come and greet Prime Minister Lin.”
Lin Qingrong was the father of Lin Ling, the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. In his youth, he was known for his fiery temper, aloof personality, and incompatible with everyone. He was also outspoken in front of Li Bo and was demoted from the capital several times for his harsh words. After Xie Chang stepped down, he succeeded him as the Left Chancellor.
Despite her many grievances about Shen Yan's return to court, Shen Suining still gave him face in front of others, bowing to Lin Qingrong and saying, "Greetings, Prime Minister Lin."
Lin Qingrong was serious and didn't say a few words of praise or flattery like others. He just nodded expressionlessly and then said to Shen Yan, "That's enough, Marquis, there's no need to see us off any further."
Shen Yan nodded and bowed on the spot, "Prime Minister Lin, please take care."
After seeing Lin Qingrong off, Zhang Ran, the steward of the Marquis's residence, delivered several visiting cards. Shen Yan glanced at them briefly, his patience almost worn thin. However, Zhang Ran was arranged by Li Bo, so he couldn't show his displeasure in person. He could only say, "I'm a little tired today. Tell these officials that I will visit them another day."
Zhang Ran hesitated for a moment, glanced at Shen Suining, and replied, "Yes."
Shen Yan nodded, turned around and gave Xun Zong a wink. Xun Zong immediately understood and led his men to close the gate of the Marquis's mansion, shutting it to guests.
Afterwards, Shen Yan returned to his study, which was the only quiet place in the entire Pinghuai Marquis's mansion. It was guarded by his own people, so he was not afraid of being spied on by other spies in the mansion.
Shen Suining followed him into the study. After a long silence, she asked, "Where is He Hansheng?"
Shen Yan paused for a moment, then let out a soft breath. He picked up a futon and sat down cross-legged. "I thought you would ask your father why he suddenly returned to work for the court."
“I don’t understand these things, and I won’t get any answers even if I ask,” Shen Suining said, controlling her emotions, and asked again, “Where is He Hansheng? I need to see him.”
Shen Suining prided herself on knowing everything about the martial arts world, but in the past six months in Huadu, she felt like an idiot, knowing nothing at all.
Therefore, she couldn't understand why Shen Yan, when he was still in Yangzhou, could have ignored the emperor's secret edict, but instead went to the capital without hesitation, and now that he could have withdrawn unscathed, he returned to the court.
Shen Suining didn't want to ask Shen Yan the reason; she couldn't stand those convoluted and ridiculous excuses. But at this moment, for the first time in so many years, she felt this emotion—an urgent need for someone.
She needed He Hansheng by her side. He knew more about politics than she did, and he had the patience to explain things to her. If he was there, Shen Suining wouldn't feel helpless like a fool, and she would feel much more at ease in the face of these sudden changes.
“Ningning…”
No one knows a daughter better than her father, and Shen Yan could naturally see through Shen Suining's restraint and forbearance. He remained silent for a long time before answering a question that seemed unrelated: "Since the founding of our dynasty, the civil and military officials have always been clearly separated in the court. The mistakes of the previous dynasty are like a clear mirror. His Majesty has centralized military power. Although military commanders have the responsibility of leading troops, they do not have the power to deploy them. Even though Marquis He was once ranked first among the military generals, he only had the power to allocate the city's defense troops within the capital, and could not take them even a step outside the city gates. Local generals were replaced every three years. When it came time to send troops to fight, the soldiers did not know their generals, and the generals did not know their soldiers."
"In the first year of Yongshun, although the Central Plains had been pacified, the lords in Huainan and Jingchu were reluctant to submit to the court. My father and Lord He led troops south several times before they were finally pacified. In the third year of Yongshun, my father resigned his post and went south to live in seclusion in Yangzhou. The heavy military burden fell almost entirely on Lord He. He raised the issue of the current military system several times, requesting that the old system of the previous dynasty be adopted. However, he was opposed by many people, and His Majesty rejected his memorial written all night and also gave him twenty strokes of the cane."
"In the ninth year of Yongshun, Lord He went north to fight against the Great Dan. After two years of fierce fighting, he defended the northern border and recovered the twelve cities ceded by the previous dynasty. In the following years, he also quelled rebellions in Lingnan, Xiaoxiang and other places, and made countless military achievements. His iron cavalry swept across the north and south of the Yangtze River and became famous. Even if the soldiers in the army did not know He Changxin, they must have heard of the name of the Marquis of Yong'an. There was even a time when local bandits rebelled. When they heard that the person who came to quell the rebellion was the Marquis of Yong'an, they immediately disarmed and surrendered and became his subordinates. From then on, the world was finally at peace."
After saying this, Shen Yan sighed deeply, his expression revealing neither joy nor sorrow. "You see, even though I haven't seen him for many years, as long as I ask about him, countless people will tell me about his deeds back then. Every time I hear people tell his stories in detail, I think of his face, as if we have never been apart all these years."
Shen Suining understood the meaning behind Shen Yan's words, and she calmly said, "No matter how high the reputation of the Yong'an Marquis's Mansion is, it was earned by Marquis He with his own spear and sword on the battlefield. This is not a reason for others to be suspicious or even to plot against loyal officials."
"What if it is His Majesty who is wary of him?" Shen Yan suddenly asked.
Shen Suining looked up in surprise, "You know?"
Shen Yan chuckled softly, neither admitting nor denying it. He raised his hand and smoothed out the wrinkles on his wide sleeves. "The imperial court is more treacherous than the martial world. In the end, it all comes down to the word 'human nature'."
Shen Suining remained speechless for a long time.
Shen Yanzhi was not only a loving father to Shen Suining, but also a role model in his conduct. Compared to his mother's decisiveness, he was always calm and composed even in the face of adversity, and though he had profound thoughts and ideas, he never spoke them aloud.
But today, he hangs the plaque in front of his door high, loudly announcing his return to the court. He clearly sees better than anyone else that the person is gone, the court is now turbulent and unpredictable, and the emperor is now cold and ruthless. He left more than 20 years ago. What is he going to do now? And what can he do?
After a moment of silence, Shen Suining asked him again, "So, where is He Hansheng? Your return to the court is such a big matter, you can't do it without someone to discuss it with."
Shen Yan: "Yun Chu has a keen eye and is a shrewd child. As his father, I will naturally discuss it with him."
"Where is he?"
Shen Yan did not answer directly. After a moment of silence, he called her "Ningning" and whispered to her, "Yun Chu has deep feelings for you. If he can see you, he will not let you search for him in vain."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com