Chapter 28
"How about you keep busy for a while?"
Xie Yunchu almost laughed out loud.
Wang Shuhuai's face turned pale. He had returned to Qiankun Palace a long time ago. Later, when he heard about the incident in Lishui Pavilion, he came back to visit his wife, but was rejected.
It seems that the itinerary report needs to be more detailed, so that my wife doesn't entertain guests without knowing it.
Wang Shuhuai's unhappiness flashed away in an instant, and he smiled at Princess Fuyuan in a gentle and elegant manner, "The princess is a distinguished guest, Madam will entertain her, so I will step aside."
Princess Fuyuan's words were half joking and half regretful. She was not familiar with Xie Yunchu, so she naturally could not be ignorant. She put her hands behind her back and said cheerfully, "It's okay. This princess is very free and can accompany Chuchu anytime. But Lord Wang is very busy and has no time to spare. It's rare that he came back early today, so I won't disturb him."
Wang Shuhuai felt uncomfortable after hearing this, as if he was an outsider.
Fu Yuan then smiled at Xie Yunchu, turned around and walked out.
Xie Yunchu personally escorted her to the gate of the courtyard and apologized again and again, "Come back another day when you feel better. I will treat you well."
Princess Fuyuan knew that Xie Yunchu was worried about her injury, so she smiled and waved her hand, "Okay, I'll recuperate for another two days."
Back in the guest hall, Wang Shuhuai was also sitting behind the desk, holding a small bamboo dragonfly in her hand, which was the toy she had made for Sister Ke before. She knew her husband had returned from home, so she quickly sat down and asked him, "How is Sister Ke?"
Wang Shuhuai played with the bamboo strips in his hand and replied softly, "She cried a lot the first night, but then Third Aunt took her to play with the two children like my eldest sister-in-law did, and she became happy."
Xie Yunchu was very worried, but the Duke's matter was still uncertain, so she didn't dare to go back. "Did you accompany her?"
"I coaxed her to sleep these two nights, and she was fine." Wang Shuhuai raised his eyes and looked at her, his dark eyes as quiet as the abyss. He pushed the bamboo dragonfly towards her and asked, "Did you make this?"
One corner was broken, but it was still possible to tell that the craftsmanship was extremely skillful.
Xie Yunchu's heart suddenly skipped a beat, and he thought of the devilish ball, and said inexplicably, "Dong Ning and I made it together." Among the four maids, Dong Ning was the calmest and usually liked to make flowers and plants.
Wang Shuhuai hummed, but his tone was indiscernible.
Soon the maid brought the meal, and the couple ate together. Wang Shuhuai asked about the treatment of Princess Fuyuan's injuries, and his tone became more serious at the end.
"This is too risky. We must be more cautious in the future."
Xie Yunchu understood his concerns. If it were in the past, she would have said "yes" meekly. But now, "I know what I am doing. I won't speak up if I am not sure."
The tone of his voice was calm and composed, even with a hint of courage, exactly the same as Wang Shuhuai's.
Wang Shuhuai stared at his wife in amazement. She had a bright look on her face and looked confident and generous. He seemed to see his own reflection in her. He suddenly felt a sense of pride.
"Just be sensible."
His wife had never given him any worries, no matter how docile she was in the past or how generous and decisive she was now.
Wang Shuhuai returned to Qiankun Palace to serve the emperor. Xie Yunchu went to Wang Yining's yard and accompanied her to look after the child. Wang Yining said with some regret, "We have to wait another two days before we can go up the mountain."
"Why?" Everyone came here for hunting.
"This is the silver needle incident. His Majesty has issued an order to have the Tiger Guards re-check the mountains, forests and grasslands to prevent any accidents."
Xie Yunchu nodded, "No wonder, there may be iron hooks and knives left by hunters in the forest, so we have to be careful."
After digesting the meal, Xie Yunchu went back to the yard to rest. This time, she lay on the bunk bed, but was not in a hurry to fall asleep. She was waiting for Wang Shuhuai to come back.
If you want to help the Duke avoid the assassin, you must ask Wang Shuhuai for help.
I thought I would have to wait till midnight, but he came back at the first quarter of the evening.
Wang Shuhuai showered, changed his clothes and went to bed. He saw Xie Yunchu leaning against the pillow and looking at him. His voice was hoarse, "Are you still asleep?"
"Well, I'm waiting for you." The voice was warm and soft.
Wang Shuhuai's expression became more gentle. The man who had learned his lesson took the initiative to explain his schedule for the next few days tonight.
"I will accompany the emperor during the day tomorrow, and will return to the capital at night. I will probably be back at noon the day after tomorrow..."
Xie Yunchu keenly caught the words "return to Beijing", frowned slightly, and revealed a somewhat panicked look, "Second Master, I just had a nightmare..."
Wang Shuhuai saw that his wife looked frightened, "What nightmare?"
Xie Yunchu stammered, "I dreamed that my grandfather was being chased by a big hunting dog in the woods. The dog was chasing him and biting him like crazy, and finally..." Xie Yunchu didn't dare to say the rest of the words, his face turned pale with fear.
Wang Shuhuai's face changed slightly. His grandfather had been bitten by a dog when he was young. The fortune teller said that if he wanted to grow up safely, he was not allowed to keep a dog at home. Therefore, the Wang family had never kept a dog in the front door or the back yard for so many years. Although this was a ban in the Wang family, only a handful of people knew the reason. At least, Xie Yunchu, the newly married daughter-in-law, could not know such an old secret.
Xie Yunchu in this life didn’t know about this, but Xie Yunchu in the previous life heard about this after the Duke died.
Wang Shuhuai usually never believed in ghosts and gods, but today he became suspicious. Firstly, Xie Yunchu's dream was too strange, and secondly, the poison needle was found lost not long ago. If all this was not a coincidence, he dared not be careless.
Xie Yunchu knew that her husband was not easily moved, so she pretended to be timid, gently pulled his sleeve, and said pitifully,
"Second Master, that dream is too scary. If something really happened to Grandfather, wouldn't we regret it for the rest of our lives? It's better to believe it than not. Can you think of a way to persuade Grandfather to return to Beijing?"
Wang Shuhuai thought of what his grandfather had secretly told him, and frowned slightly. There was no good reason for him to leave the emperor and the princess rashly, which might arouse suspicion. Facing his panicked wife, he said in a gentle voice, "Don't worry, leave this matter to me."
Xie Yunchu felt relieved.
The atmosphere was just right, Wang Shuhuai lay down and asked casually,
"When did you learn to ride a horse?"
Xie Yunchu didn't intend to hide it from him, "I learned it with Sister Youran when I was ten years old."
Xiao Youran and Xiao Huaijin are twins, which means that it was Xiao Huaijin who taught him how to ride.
Wang Shuhuai put the tip of his tongue against his right jaw and was silent for a long time. "When I have time, I will take you to race horses."
Xie Yunchu turned a deaf ear to him, stretched himself, and said, "Well, it's okay, you go ahead with your work..." He fell asleep as soon as he touched the pillow.
Compared to her previous life, she is now happy and plump, eats well, sleeps soundly, and breathes quickly and evenly, sleeping motionlessly like a little lazy pig.
She had her back to him, her figure undulating like the mountains, soft and pretty. The light from outside seeped in, outlining her graceful curves, shrouded in a slightly tipsy halo, which aroused people's reverie.
Wang Shuhuai felt a little dry in the mouth.
For several days in a row, the Tiger Guards and the Imperial Guards took turns to go into the forest to check for hidden dangers. The girls and boys were bored, so they competed in horse riding and archery on the playground. Xie Yunchu accompanied Wang Shuqin and Wang Shuya to fly kites for a day. The wind was strong, and Wang Shuqin's dragonfly kite was accidentally caught on the treetop. It was not necessary to take it down, but her maiden name was embroidered on it.
"Go and get a guard." Wang Shuqin ordered the maid.
At this time, a young man in white shirt walked over hesitantly not far away, stood ten steps away and saluted to Xie Yunchu and others, stumbling and saying,
"Miss Wang... Miss Wang, I am a little bit skilled in martial arts, can I help you pick them?"
Wang Shuya immediately hid behind the maid when she saw the foreign man. Wang Shuqin didn't even look at the young man and said with a stern face, "No need."
Apart from her brothers, she refused to meet any other men, for fear that if she said a word to a young man, her mother would take the initiative to propose marriage.
Xie Yunchu looked at the young man. He had red lips, white teeth, delicate eyebrows and handsome eyes. He looked shy and gentle. When he saw that Wang Shuqin ignored him, he immediately lowered his eyes and dared not look around.
Xie Yunchu had already noticed this young man hesitating nearby. If he guessed correctly, he had taken a fancy to Wang Shuqin.
Xie Yunchu had never tasted the taste of a young man's love in his two lives, and he was envious of Wang Shuqin, "He has good intentions, don't be so mean to him."
Wang Shuqin couldn't stand Xie Yunchu's teasing and simply turned her back.
The young man was so anxious that his face turned red. He scratched his head, confessed his crime to Xie Yunchu, and ran away.
Soon the maid asked the guard to fetch the kite. Xie Yunchu pulled Wang Shuqin aside to talk. She knew where Wang Shuqin's heart was, so she advised,
"You have a strong character and you dare to take responsibility. I really admire and envy you."
"It's just that," Xie Yunchu looked at the misty lake and mountains at the foot of the mountain in the distance, "this world is so colorful, you came alone and left alone, what a pity, Qin'er, I'm afraid you will regret it when you are old, regret your stubbornness today, which has imprisoned your steps and left too many regrets."
"I hope you really don't want to get married, and don't want to get married, instead of getting yourself into trouble because of that angry remark."
Wang Shuqin was stunned for a moment and didn't say anything for a long time.
After a moment of silence, Wang Shuqin suddenly turned her head and looked at Xie Yunchu, "What about second sister-in-law, do you regret marrying second brother?"
Xie Yunchu laughed and looked up at the sky. Did she regret it? Yes, she did. She felt regretful. She regretted that there had never been a passionate and sincere young man in her life who vowed to spend his life with her. But now, after all the worldly affairs and the ups and downs of life, her heart had long been ironed smooth and could no longer be disturbed in the slightest.
Xie Yunchu smiled, "Everyone has regrets. There are thousands of roads in the world, and the roads that have not been taken are regrets."
Wang Shuqin said "oh" as if she understood something.
However, Wang Shuya, who was standing by the water, heard Xie Yunchu's words. Her soft eyes suddenly filled with tears and she murmured absentmindedly, "Will my second sister-in-law also have regrets? She married such an outstanding man, will she also have regrets?"
Wang Shuya lowered her eyes in despair.
After the forest farm was ready, the emperor ordered everyone to enter the mountains.
On the evening of June 8th, the girls of the Wang family were busy preparing their hunting bags.
In the Begonia Garden where Duke Gao stayed, Yang Xiyan's maid neatly arranged all the riding gear on the bed and advised her, "My dear, everyone will go into the forest to play tomorrow. You've been bored for a few days, so why don't you go out and relax?"
Yang Xiyan sat in front of the dressing table, pinning her hairpins in front of the bronze mirror, and said in a lonely and cold tone, "Where is he? Hasn't he come back yet?"
The maid shook her head.
Yang Xiyan dropped her hands and looked at herself in the mirror, dressed exquisitely, and suddenly burst into tears.
Gao Zhan was assigned by the emperor to guard the forest these days. He left early and returned late, and slept in the study at night. Yang Xiyan had no chance to see him at all. Sometimes she didn't know what she was obsessed with, but she had liked such a person since she was a child. That obsession was deep in her bones and could not be kicked away or pulled out.
When Gao Zhan failed in his proposal to Wang Yining, she instigated her father to go to her house to propose marriage, but was rejected by Gao Zhan. In order to avoid her, Gao Zhan stayed at the border for two years, but she was determined to marry him. So she found a way to get Gao Zhan drunk, and then lay beside him, making Gao Zhan mistakenly believe that they had physical contact with her. The elders of both families were happy to see this and forced Gao Zhan to marry her.
She originally thought that after all these years of marriage, she would be able to smooth out the wrinkles in the man's heart, but unexpectedly, Gao Zhan remained indifferent and never touched her body in three years of marriage.
Yang Xiyan looked gloomy.
After a while, slow footsteps were heard outside the door. When Yang Xiyan heard that Gao Zhan had returned, she quickly wiped away her tears and stood up to greet him.
The pearl curtain was lifted, and the couple looked at each other.
Gao Zhan was still sweating. He was not used to being so close to Yang Xiyan. He stepped back a few steps, opened the curtain, and asked her with a smile, "Where is the soft armor I brought from home? I heard from Ping Yu that you brought it to the backyard?"
He will go hunting with the prince tomorrow and needs to wear soft armor.
Yang Xiyan knew that he had to wear the soft armor on weekdays, so she deliberately kept it on to attract Gao Zhan to look for her. With red and swollen eyes, she muttered, "I'm going hunting tomorrow too, can't you let me wear it?"
Gao Zhan was surprised at first that Yang Xiyan was finally willing to go out, and then he smiled, "If you need me to find another one for you, that one is what I usually wear, and it doesn't fit your size." The soft armor had been with Gao Zhan for many years, and he didn't like to give his personal items to others.
Yang Xiyan suddenly asked angrily, "If Wang Yining wants it, will you give it to her?"
Gao Zhan was silent.
Tears welled up in Yang Xiyan's eyes.
Gao Zhan looked at his wife crying and suddenly sighed in frustration. He said earnestly,
"Xiyan, I've told you long ago that I treat you like a sister, and there is no love between men and women. You are outstanding in every way, so why do you have to hang yourself on this crooked tree of mine?"
"You may be a fairy in the eyes of others, but to me, you are nothing. I still say the same thing. Whenever you feel more relaxed, we can get divorced."
His handsome eyes swept towards the Arhat bed and caught a glimpse of his soft armor. Without saying a word, he went into the room, took it in his arms, and left without looking back. He left very resolutely without any hesitation. He wanted to make Yang Xiyan give up.
Yang Xiyan fell to the ground, feeling hopeless that night.
The next morning, the emperor personally held a hunting ceremony in the parade ground. Long cannon salutes were fired, and thousands of people rushed into the woods like a tide.
The emperor, aged but in good health, led the way in a bright yellow hunting suit, followed closely by Duke Wang Guo, Duke Gao and some old cabinet ministers. Behind them followed dozens of officials, most of whom were middle-aged capable officials. Among the young scholars, only Wang Shuhuai was there.
After running for a while, the emperor stopped at a hilltop. The old man leaned on the horse's back and panted, "Prince, where are the King of Han and the King of Xin?"
A guard rode forward and reported, "Your Majesty, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince led a group of people to the eastern mountain, His Royal Highness the Prince of Han went to the west, and as for His Royal Highness the Prince of Xin..." The guard hesitated for a moment, "There is still no signal arrow."
The emperor sneered, "This boy is arrogant. He has been staying at the border for many years. He must not take this hunting seriously."
This was not pleasant to hear. Unfortunately, Prince Xin had no wife, no father-in-law to help him, and no friends in the court. He was isolated and helpless. At this moment, with so many important officials around the emperor, no one dared to speak up for Prince Xin. Instead, the Duke nodded and smiled, and persuaded him,
"Your Highness Prince Xin always strikes back, Your Majesty, please don't be impatient."
The emperor smiled, "Indeed."
Wang Shuhuai on the side silently curled the corners of his lips, what a good move.
After walking for a while, the emperor felt tired and went back home, and let the young people around him go.
The Duke instructed Wang Shuhuai, "Your wife has never been into the forest. Go and take a look."
Wang Shuhuai took the order. Naturally, he was worried about Xie Yunchu, so he had sent Qi Wei to follow him. At this moment, he gave a slight signal, and Qi Wei on the other end replied. He soon found out where Xie Yunchu was and drove towards the northwest corner at lightning speed.
On a hillside covered with short grass, Xie Yunchu, Wang Yining and others stopped their horses to rest. The wind blew the grass low, and a sika deer appeared at the foot of the mountain looking for food. Xie Yunchu saw it and couldn't help but draw his bow to give it a try. Wang Yining held his breath, afraid of disturbing the deer, and whispered, "If it works, we'll roast the deer jerky tonight."
Xie Yunchu pulled the bow to its full length, aiming at the deer. The deer was strolling leisurely, unaware of the danger all around it. Its peaceful look was heartbreaking, and Xie Yunchu felt sorry for it.
In the woods not far away, Prince Xin was sitting tall on his horse. Seeing that Xie Yunchu was a little hesitant, he drew his bow.
The little girl must have wanted to eat venison, but was reluctant to kill it.
He does what she dares not to do.
Whatever she wanted, he would get it for her.
With a "swish" sound, the arrow flew off the string. Prince Xin had not yet put down the bow, but he felt a flash before his eyes. Another faster arrow came from another direction and hit his arrow directly. With a loud bang, his arrow was pushed into the crevice of the stone by the other man's arrow.
Prince Xin put away his bow and cast a faint glance over. Wang Shuhuai put the bow behind him and rode over slowly.
Prince Xin was not surprised by Wang Shuhuai's appearance. After all, he had seen Qi Wei's signal arrow clearly.
"Master Wang is a great archer!"
"I can't compare to His Highness Prince Xin who can shoot an arrow through the target from a hundred paces away." Wang Shuhuai bowed while on horseback.
Prince Xin returned the salute and pointed at the frightened fawn. "Yun Chu's venison banquet tonight is over. She finally managed to leave the capital, but Your Excellency ignored her kindness just to get angry with me."
Wang Shuhuai looked at his wife in the distance. She and Wang Yining were having a lot of fun chasing butterflies around the flowers.
"Who is it that disregards her feelings, me or you, Prince Xin? She doesn't want to kill, so why do you have to do evil for her?"
Prince Xin sneered, threw the bow and arrow to the guard behind him, and glared back, "I have fought on the battlefield and killed countless people, so I don't care about this time. But Lord Wang, under the banner of respecting his wife's feelings, threw all the affairs inside and outside the house to her and acted as a hands-off boss. Are you very at ease?"
Wang Shuhuai's expression remained unchanged, and he disdained to argue with him. He just replied calmly,
"Your Highness's last patrol map, on the surface, is to increase the number of troops in Western Chu, but in fact, he wants to control Longzhou, which is upstream of the Han River. He wants to control the fiefdom of His Highness the Prince of Han by using the upper part to control the lower part, and the high part to control the low part. If Your Majesty knew what His Highness the Prince of Xin was thinking, I wonder what he would think?"
This is already a blatant threat.
Prince Xin looked at him coldly. Wang Shuhuai slowly turned sideways, and his handsome face came from the shadow of the tree. Under the sunlight, his face was like a pearl emerging from water. For a moment, he was stunning.
Prince Xin narrowed his eyes, looked back in the direction of Xie Yunchu, and made no comment.
Wang Shuhuai followed his wife's gaze again, his tone containing a bit of coldness that could not be refuted, "Since the peace talks between Western Chu and Great Jin were successful, and the Mongols increased their troops on the border, will Your Highness Prince Xin continue to stay in the capital?"
When Prince Xin heard this, he felt a little bitter in his mouth, but his expression did not show it.
"It seems that Lord Wang is not unfamiliar with military strategy."
Wang Shuhuai smiled faintly and said nothing.
Prince Xin's eyes slowly passed over Xie Yunchu, and he turned his horse around to leave. When he passed by Wang Shuhuai, he smiled.
"I will follow Shu Huai's advice and return to the border. As for Yun Chu, I will ask Shu Huai to take care of her."
As soon as he finished speaking, he shouted "Go!" and rode past Wang Shuhuai at full speed.
Wang Shuhuai's face suddenly darkened. He had the upper hand just now and was very sure that he could force Prince Xin to leave Beijing. However, all his advantages were ultimately lost in that one sentence.
Xie Yunchu returned home from a very enjoyable day. She handed the game she hunted to the kitchen, waiting to have barbecue tonight. When she returned to the house, she saw her husband sitting in an armchair with a gloomy face, still in his riding clothes, and even holding a whip in his hand.
Xie Yunchu was surprised.
In her past and present lives, she had never seen Wang Shuhuai lose his composure. Even when the fight for the throne was at its most dangerous, he was always so relaxed. But recently, Wang Shuhuai came back more often, and his expression was no longer as calm as before, which really puzzled Xie Yunchu.
The face was still the same face, even with a green tint, it still had a sharp beauty, and the facial features were more three-dimensional and profound. Xie Yunchu was more curious than worried, and even teased,
"Second Master, who offended you?"
The clear and pleasant voice gradually brought Wang Shuhuai back to his senses.
Prince Xin did it on purpose. If he couldn't get what he wanted, he would resort to verbal abuse. Wang Shuhuai didn't mind taking the opportunity of accompanying the emperor to give Prince Xin a few bitter treats. He believed that Prince Xin would make a choice between a woman and the kingdom.
Thinking of this, Wang Shuhuai regained his composure and smiled at Xie Yunchu.
"No, I was just thinking about my grandfather. I already have a way to get him back to Beijing."
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