Chapter 117 My beloved gazes at the clouds, where the clouds rise and the rosy clouds gather.
In the third month of spring, when orioles fly and grass grows, Shen Yujiao woke up in the warm spring sunshine. The sunlight was so warm that she couldn't help but stretch. This feeling of being unrestrained was as if she had returned to the lawn in the courtyard of her childhood.
"You're awake?"
A gentle female voice sounded in her ear. The voice was too familiar, but the tone felt somewhat unfamiliar. Shen Yujiao unconsciously touched her vocal cords and found them completely calm and undisturbed. She opened her eyes, still somewhat dazed.
"You slept for a long time."
In the warm spring sunshine, Shen Yujiao saw where the voice came from. She opened her eyes wide in disbelief, and after a moment of recognition, asked with self-doubt, "Miss Shen?"
The person in front of her had the same appearance as her, but the aura between her brows and eyes was completely different. Looking at Shen Yujiao, Shen Yujiao could only think of her as having a face like the bright moon, a radiance like the rising sun, a complexion like a lotus flower, and skin like solidified honey.
These are truly aristocratic ladies who have stepped out of ancient paintings.
"Where is this? How did we get here...?"
Shen Yujiao subconsciously looked around. She didn't know if this was a prince's mansion or a courtyard in the palace. The gilded green tiles and carved beams and painted rafters made the courtyard exquisite in every detail. However, it was different from the solemn and orderly palace. In the center of the courtyard stood a huge peach tree. In the bright afternoon of spring, peach petals were falling softly, like a peach-colored rain falling in the courtyard, vivid and lively, as if she had stepped into an ancient mythological world.
"Want a hand?"
Shen Yujiao slowly walked towards Shen Yujiao, stopped in front of her, and extended her slender hand. Shen Yujiao looked up at her. Standing in the sunlight, the colorful halo made her a little dazed. She slowly reached out and placed her hand in Shen Yujiao's palm.
The moment their hands met was a moment of immense shock to both of them. The impossible had actually happened before their eyes. Their hands trembled for a moment as they touched, then clasped tightly together.
With Shen Yujiao's help, Shen Yujiao stood up from the grass. She patted the grass off her body and sat down at the stone table with Shen Yujiao.
Noticing Shen Yujiao's probing gaze, Shen Yujiao smiled and poured her a cup of tea: "This is Xiawei Pavilion in Zhanyun Prefecture."
"Zhanyun Mansion?" Shen Yujiao asked again. If his memory served him right, there did not seem to be such a magnificent but nameless mansion in the capital.
“Ah…” Shen Yujiao’s face showed a look of realization. She lowered her eyes and smiled slightly, with a bitter smile on her lips: “Zhanyun Mansion was later the Huan Prince’s Mansion.”
Shen Yujiao was somewhat surprised, but subconsciously felt that she shouldn't show such an expression. She quickly nodded and sipped the tea to cover her thoughts. The aroma was as rich as orchids, and the tea soup was clear and bright. Before even taking a sip, the bean fragrance had already permeated her heart and soul. This was Shen Yujiao's favorite pre-rain Longjing tea.
"I thought my understanding of the tea ceremony was decent, but it seems I'm still far behind Miss Shen."
"It's just that I'm good at what I like. Miss Shen's painting skills are far beyond what I can compare to," Shen Yujiao smiled, her previous dejection gone. "Try it."
Shen Yujiao took a small sip, nodded in praise, and said, "The fragrance lingers on the palate, and the aftertaste is endless. Fine tea, fine art."
The moment she nodded, a line of small characters on the table came into view: "Looking up at the clouds, the clouds rise and fall in splendor."
The image of the mutton-fat jade bracelet suddenly appeared in Shen Yujiao's mind. In an instant, she realized that all the questions that she had never been able to answer before vanished at this moment. No wonder she felt that the bracelet looked familiar every time she saw it. The jade pendant that Prince Huan always wore during their meetings was made of the same type of jade. It must have come from the same piece of jade.
The two sipped their tea in silence. After a while, Shen Yujiao spoke first: "How did I end up here?"
Before Zhanyun Mansion was Huanwang Mansion, that was a long time ago. She had entered Huanwang Mansion several times, but she didn't remember this courtyard. Had she returned to the past? Or was she in the same virtual illusion as last time?
“Miss Shen,” Shen Yujiao sighed softly, “I first met you on the day I died.”
So it wasn't an illusion. Shen Yujiao avoided her gaze. As an observer, she couldn't bear to look at such pain, let alone Shen Yujiao herself.
“I am very grateful to you, Miss Shen,” Shen Yujiao said, looking back at her with a serene and elegant expression. “If I’m not mistaken, you came to Daxia because of my last wish, and because we share the same fate, it has bound you. Therefore, I am both grateful and apologetic.”
“No,” Shen Yujiao shook her head slightly. In the reflected tea, she saw Jiang Chen’s smiling eyes as he looked at her. “Miss Shen, there’s no need to apologize. This trip has been a blessing in disguise.”
Although they had arrived in a strange world, everything was given a different meaning because of Jiang Chen's presence. In fact, the time the two spent together in Daxia even helped to thaw their strained relationship. In this light, it might just be a blessing in disguise.
Upon hearing her words, Shen Yujiao was initially taken aback, but then seemed to understand and was relieved. She smiled and said, "It seems you and Achen get along well."
She spoke of Prince Chen with familiarity, as if an elder sister were mentioning a younger member of the family. After a long silence, Shen Yujiao said, "Miss Shen, I think it is necessary to make this clear to you: the current prince is not the person you know. The current Jiang Chen is my childhood sweetheart who grew up with me. We came to Daxia together."
"What?" Shen Yujiao's pupils dilated upon hearing this. "You mean, Fifth Brother, he?"
Shen Yujiao avoided her sorrow and slowly nodded: "Yes, if our situations were the same, then Crown Prince Chen would have been gone long ago."
The sadness came unexpectedly. Before Shen Yujiao could even react and grab her handkerchief, tears streamed down her face, one or two drops splashing onto the table.
"At first, Jiang Chen and I suspected that Crown Prince Chen might have been harmed by someone from the Eastern Palace, but after a long investigation, we found that the Empress had protected the Crown Prince very well, and even the chief steward was extremely dedicated. Therefore, we ruled out the possibility of homicide."
Every word Shen Yujiao uttered felt like a knife to Shen Yujiao's heart. Upon hearing this, Shen Yujiao could no longer contain her immense grief. She covered her mouth with her handkerchief and could only let out soft sobs.
Listening to her soft sobs, Shen Yujiao remained silent for a moment before continuing, "Before this, I wasn't sure, but the moment I saw you, I understood. You all committed suicide, and Jiang Chen and I came here because of your last wishes or obsessions."
Shen Yujiao looked straight at Shen Yujiao and said, word by word, "Ajiao, what is your last wish?"
Shen Yujiao was in a bad mood at the moment, and Shen Yujiao didn't urge her, but quietly waited for her to calm down. After a while, Shen Yujiao tidied herself up, turned around again, and gave her an apologetic smile: "I—"
But as soon as she opened her mouth, she choked up instantly. This time, she didn't flinch, letting her tears slide down her cheeks. The brokenness in her eyes was all seen by Shen Yujiao. Shen Yujiao's voice trembled, but it was solemn as she spoke, word by word:
"I hope, Ayu, that he can be happy."
As if she knew that Shen Yujiao could understand her predicament, Shen Yujiao still frankly told Shen Yujiao her feelings, even though these words were extremely bold according to the laws of the Great Xia Dynasty.
With a hoarse voice, she spoke again, as if every word was extremely difficult to utter, but she insisted on saying, "I was born into the Shen family, and from a young age I knew the burden on my shoulders and accepted the fate of marrying into the royal family, but... things didn't go as planned, and all the changes came too quickly."
Contrary to what others might think, Ayu and Ayu are extremely close...
Through Shen Yujiao's narration, Shen Yujiao was able to glimpse Xia Jing ten years ago and see the two brothers who were like the twin pillars of the empire. It was not a tragedy of "why did Heaven create both Zhou Yu and Zhuge Liang?", but rather a close brotherhood that supported each other and never betrayed each other. With the addition of Shen Yujiao's red, they became the most solid iron triangle of the Great Xia.
Shen Yujiao's candor was filled with sincere and passionate emotions, which was completely inconsistent with her gentle and elegant appearance, but Shen Yujiao understood the affection contained in her words—
They were childhood sweethearts, weren't they?
Shen Yujiao felt a tightness in her chest. No one understood this feeling better than her. She slowly reached out her hand to Shen Yujiao, and their hands clasped together again, sharing warmth.
She understood all too well the complex feelings Shen Yujiao had for Jiang Yu—they were lovers, best friends, and, on a deeper level, family.
Shen Yujiao watched helplessly as Jiang Yu lost his mother at a young age, lost Jiang Yu in his youth, and was separated from her again as an adult. Jiang Yu was truly too lonely in this world.
She couldn't let go of him, and she couldn't let go until her death.
"I have dedicated my life to the Shen family, and this is my last wish."
After hearing the last sentence, both of them breathed a long sigh of relief. Shen Yujiao thought of the Duke of Cheng's unspeakable difficulties, hesitated for a moment, and then told her about the Shen family's affairs in detail: "...Now, the He family has been exonerated, and the Duke is very sorry to you."
"So that's how it is... Brother..."
Unlike the forced smile that was mixed with endless sorrow just now, this time, a genuine sense of relief appeared on Shen Yujiao's face. She slightly raised her head to meet the setting sun, her eyes narrowing to reflect two bright points.
"Thank you, Miss Chen, really, thank you."
The two girls looked at each other, their eyes filled with sincerity. The time spent talking intimately passed quickly. The sun had already set, and dusk draped the two girls under the tree in a golden twilight. In this halo, Shen Yujiao felt the scenery around her begin to blur.
It's time to leave.
At the same time, Shen Yujiao also noticed something was wrong. She stood up and bowed respectfully to Shen Yujiao: "Miss Shen, since you have come here today, I guess something must have happened to Ayu. If you can see him, please convey the following: The clouds are rising and the sky is shrouded in mist. The past remains, but the road ahead is long. I hope he can let go of his regrets, forget the separation, stop being the Prince Huan, and live Jiang Yu again. I wish him a happy life and that he will not make things difficult for himself."
Meeting those pleading eyes, Chen Yujiao nodded and curtsied in return: "As you wish."
The surrounding scenery became increasingly blurry, and the figures in front of her merged into one, eventually turning into starlight-like points of light in Shen Yujiao's eyes until they disappeared.
After a long silence, Shen Yujiao's senses gradually returned. She could vaguely hear the noise around her. She struggled to wake up from her slumber and moved her fingers.
"Your Highness—"
The moment she woke up, her hand was instantly grabbed by the person next to her. "Don't open your eyes, keep pretending to be asleep."
It is Chu Rou.
Shen Yujiao dismissed the idea of opening her eyes. She ran her fingers twice across Chu Rou's palm to indicate that she understood, and then ran them twice again after hearing the noise outside.
Chu Rou understood and pretended to tuck the blanket under her ear, whispering, "His Majesty suddenly fell seriously ill, and the palace was in complete chaos. The Empress stepped in to take charge, but was hampered at every turn by Consort Yao. Since only Princesses Yongjia and Yong'an were by His Majesty's side when the incident occurred, it is these two princesses who are attending to him at the imperial bedside now, and no one else is allowed to approach."
"Who's not letting me in?"
A low voice sounded, startling Chu Rou. She hadn't expected the Crown Princess to be able to speak ventriloquism. She glanced around discreetly and sat back down under the watchful eyes of the supervising nannies. She took the Crown Princess's hand again and tapped it four times in her palm.
King Zhao.
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