Chapter 11 "I want to get back before the plum blossoms wither..."
The steam from the charcoal brazier filled the room with the aroma of herbs, and wisps of smoke swirled in the well-arranged interior.
Wen Lingzheng sat behind a screen carved from green bamboo, her injured elbow immobilized by two wooden boards.
Inside the building, people were coming and going.
Li Xun paced back and forth anxiously, which drew laughter from Li Che.
Feng Ruhui, the then acting prefect of Shengjing, stood outside with a frown on his face. Behind him were a neatly arranged line of constables.
The crisp sound of the jade beads bursting open was like a trickle flowing into a vast ocean, mingling with the noisy footsteps.
Li Xun's steps suddenly faltered.
He stood there, his hands clenched tightly together, his fingertips turning pale.
Slightly tired, Shen Que rubbed his temples and said, "The child's life has been saved for now, but he still needs to be taken good care of."
Upon hearing this, Li Xun was overjoyed, and his eyes, which were already narrowed to slits, disappeared completely under the pressure of his cheeks.
Li Che forced a smile, then reached out and patted Li Xun on the shoulder, gesturing for him to look outside.
"Brother Xun, you can rest assured now, right?"
"His Majesty has sent Minister Feng on this trip in person."
His smile faded, and Li Xun glanced at Li Che, slapping his hand away and saying, "Do you really think you can clear yourself of any involvement?"
Li Xun turned and followed Feng Ruhui away.
Li Che had nowhere to vent his anger, so he kicked the stool next to his feet to vent his frustration.
Shen Que glanced at Li Che expressionlessly: "Thirty strings of cash."
Thirty strings of cash? Wen Lingzheng almost couldn't help but laugh.
Even a complete set of tables and chairs would only amount to four pieces.
She peered out through the screen.
The sunlight from the snow under the eaves shone into the inner room through the window lattice. A thin boy, holding a palm-leaf fan, squatted in the courtyard, decocting medicine.
His cool eyebrows were slightly raised, and even when he met Li Che's fiery gaze, he remained calm and composed.
Enraged, Li Che took a deep breath and pressed his jade ornament onto the counter.
"Dr. Shen! This jade pendant is worth at least fifty strings of cash, enough for you to buy a whole yard full of benches!"
Shen Que glanced at him, his anger infuriating: "Fine! You can leave now."
Li Che was furious, but now that Empress Shen was pregnant and the Shen family was at the height of their power, it would be unwise to antagonize Shen Que at this time.
Seeing Li Che storm off indignantly, the young apprentice who had been hiding under the counter for a while finally emerged.
He quickly took the jade pendant and handed it to Chen Que: "Young master, it is indeed a fine piece of jade!"
The child was still young, with her hair still tied in a bun.
He wore a red-trimmed short-sleeved shirt with a front opening, paired with white printed trousers, and the longevity lock hanging on his chest swayed with his cheerful steps.
After pouring the decocted medicine into a bowl, Shen Que stood up unhurriedly.
He took the jade ornament from the young apprentice and then took out a few copper coins for him: "Go and buy some fruit to eat!"
"Thank you, young master!"
The child was overjoyed, his still-light eyebrows twitched upwards, and he disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Through the screen, Wen Lingzheng sized up Chen Que.
The swirling, misty heat blurred his face, making him appear dazed.
The Shen family of Shengjing had been practicing medicine for generations. Shen Que's father, Shen Jingming, was a seventh-rank Hanlin medical officer at the time.
Although Shen Que himself did not enter officialdom, he inherited his father's ambition and his medical skills were known as "unpredictable and miraculous".
He traveled extensively, hiding his identity to help the people.
There was a medicine hut he built in the suburbs of Beijing to help the poor.
Wen Lingzheng vaguely remembered that he had appeared at the spring banquet after the start of spring, which is why she thought of taking the child there to try her luck.
Now it seems that the child was truly destined to survive.
"This screen is worth eighty strings of cash."
Shen Que glanced back.
The beaded curtain swayed gently as Chen Que handed the medicine bowl to Liu the tailor in the inner room.
He turned and walked towards the counter: "Isn't Miss Wen afraid of offending the Prince of Xiang?"
Coming to her senses, Wen Lingzheng stepped out from behind the screen.
"Fifty strings of cash."
"They both stumbled."
The biting north wind seemed to have stopped blowing at this moment, leaving only the white snow lingering under the eaves.
Wen Lingzheng looked up at Shen Que.
The man's clear, snow-white features reflected her figure, as pure as moonlight.
"not to mention……"
"There is a reason for this, and King Xiang is wise enough to understand."
Shen Que calmly withdrew his gaze.
He counted the medicinal herbs on the counter as if no one else was there, and after a long while, he finally replied, "If it is possible, how can we be sure?"
The air was filled with the aroma of herbs.
His gaze swept over Wen Lingzheng, a hint of disdain mixed with his clear eyes.
Not smart enough.
Wen Lingzheng smiled but remained silent.
She instructed Yaoguang to gently place the purse containing the silver coins on the counter and then walked out.
The sparse snow and twilight were somewhat dazzling.
Before Wen Lingzheng could even step onto the carriage, she heard someone kneel down heavily behind her.
She turned her head and looked back; it was Liu the tailor.
Outside Tongxin Hall, although the snow had been cleared, there was still a thin layer of snow.
Liu the tailor knelt so hard that the clothes on his knees were soaked through in an instant.
Facing the setting sun, she said to Wen Lingzheng, "I have no way to repay your great kindness, young lady. If you have any instructions, please do as I say."
The faint twilight faded away amidst the swirling snowflakes.
The wind chimes under the eaves still chirped merrily, but the atmosphere inside Shou Kang Hall was eerily quiet.
Still dressed in his court robes, Wen Tongwen's expression was somber.
He sized up Wen Lingzheng, who was sitting below him, and after a long while, he finally managed to utter, "You've really grown quite capable!"
"Alright!"
Grandma Wen glared at Wen Tongwen with displeasure, her eyes showing signs of fatigue.
The fact that the emperor has no sons is ultimately a great calamity.
"Fourth Sister, you lose nine out of ten bets."
Do you understand this principle?
She looked up and met Old Mrs. Wen's gaze.
Catching a glimpse of clarity in those cloudy eyes, Wen Lingzheng knew that Old Madam Wen had already guessed her intentions.
"Instead of living in fear."
"It's better to burn our bridges."
Old Madam Wen sighed, and seeing that Wen Tongwen still looked like he wanted to say something but hesitated, she asked Granny Ren to bring the letter that had been received from Luzhou that day.
"Fourth Sister is a woman of her own mind; she knows what she's doing."
"Take a look here first! Your sister's letter just arrived this morning."
The stone steps, resembling piles of white jade, stretched forward, surrounded by palace lanterns covered in snow.
The flickering candlelight shone from inside, spreading out at Shen Que's feet.
"Young Master Shen, it's time to leave the palace."
The vermilion and gold-inlaid gates open to both sides.
Shen Que stood outside the door, looking back at the bright, flickering candlelight inside.
He was stunned for a long time before saying, "Wanniang, I'm entrusting my elder sister to you."
The heavy wooden door closed slowly behind Shen Quedi, the muffled sound echoing with his footsteps.
The servant boy, who had been waiting outside the palace gate, diligently placed a footstool down, muttering, "Young master, be careful."
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Wan Niang's blurry face through the crack of the closed wooden door; beneath her calm and numb expression lay a deep sorrow.
As he sat in the carriage, countless images flashed through his mind.
He thought of the little girl from this morning.
Shengjing had a magnificent prosperity, but also a corrupt interior.
If we only consider the pros and cons, he should have turned around and left, but instead he walked forward for no reason.
At that moment, a swirling curtain of snow drifted before his eyes.
His gaze, however, bypassed the wind, snow, and crowd and landed on that slender figure.
Stubborn and fearless, like a flower blooming among thorns, exuding an indomitable spirit.
It reminded him of his older sister.
His memory regressed wildly in the rushing years, back to the first snow night of the second year of Xuanren.
At that time, he had not yet left home, and Shen Lingyi was not yet the empress.
“A kind and gentle gentleman is always of exemplary conduct.”
The wind by the window stirred the curtains, and Chen Que looked at the bustling crowd on the street, yet still felt lonely.
He couldn't judge what his parents had done.
He could only lament that the best years of his elder sister's life had vanished within the desolate palace walls.
"Kyoto Ink".
"We're not going back to the manor; we're going to Tongxin Hall."
Jingmo snapped out of his daze and sighed, "Yes, young master."
The setting sun in the distance shone through the gaps in the snow, casting a long shadow of the swaying carriage.
Jingmo drove his carriage into the crowd ahead.
The faint light illuminated one side of his face, and his sigh was carried away by the bleak north wind.
"Fu Chun has left the palace?"
Inside the Kunning Hall, candlelight cast a dim glow in one corner.
The maidservant lifted the curtain and entered, and the woman by the bed turned to look at her.
The maid nodded slightly and took a cloak from the rack, draping it over the woman: "Your Highness, shall I carry the princess to the side hall to sleep?"
The soft candlelight occasionally brushed across the bed, revealing a fair and lovely little face peeking out from the exquisite, luxurious yet soft quilt.
Her breathing was even, as if she were having a sweet dream, and even the corners of her lips were turned up.
Shen Lingyi shook her head.
She gently patted the little princess's back, her gentle face slightly saddened: "These past two days, I've been dreaming about Hong'er."
The stepmother sighed.
She pulled the cloak draped over Shen Lingyi's shoulders closer: "Your Majesty, people should always look forward."
Yes! We always have to look forward.
A faint smile appeared on Shen Lingyi's lips, seemingly self-deprecating yet also sarcastic.
"Wan Niang, let Zhen'er sleep here with me tonight."
The maid responded, looking somewhat wistful.
She traced Shen Lingyi's silhouette through the dim candlelight, but could no longer see the shadow of the lively and cheerful girl from years past.
She extinguished a few more lamps before quietly making her way outside the hall.
A sound came from outside the hall, and the words "official" could be faintly heard.
Shen Lingyi paused.
She instinctively tried to get up, but then sat back down.
She looked at her sleeping daughter and gently stroked her still-flat belly.
There was an undisguised loneliness in her eyes.
The chaotic footsteps gradually faded away, and Wan Niang entered the house with a lamp.
She gently blew out the candlelight before walking towards Shen Lingyi: "Your Majesty, the Emperor has left."
Shen Lingyi nodded slightly.
Stepmother: "Your Majesty..."
Shen Lingyi looked up at the only lit candle in the hall, her words revealing neither joy nor sorrow.
“My lady, the Emperor is the father of all people, and the Empress is the mother of all people.”
"We have been grieving long enough."
Snowflakes drifted across the sky, transforming into a myriad of radiant lights on the distant shore.
The red plum blossoms that bloom in the cold of the suburbs seem to be embedded in the boundless night, but fortunately, the long wind that howls through the city carries their fragrant aroma to distant places.
The northern border, hidden under a blanket of snow, seemed to be lured out by this fragrance.
"Your Excellency is in high spirits."
In the deep darkness of the night, Pei Lin's striking silver armor caught the eye of one person.
He waved his feather fan and walked to Pei Lin's side: "The next battle will be the final battle."
Princess He Ning's departure to the border bought the Great Zhou nearly two years of breathing room.
Since the end of the fifth year of Xuanren's reign, war has resumed, and the battle in the northern border has been deadlocked for three years.
Not only Da Zhou, but Da Yue also showed signs of exhaustion.
People on both sides at the front lines knew this.
—This war is almost over.
Pei Lin's gaze was slightly cool from the snow.
He glanced at the man briefly: "At this time of year, the plum blossoms in Lingyuan should be in bloom, right?"
Seemingly shocked, the man's upturned lips froze on his face.
He was speechless.
"My General Pei!"
"War is about to break out, why are you thinking about plum blossoms?"
"Do you intend to break off a plum blossom and use it as a sword to perform a refined play in front of the Vietnamese army?"
Pei Lin did not answer him, but simply walked into the military tent on his own.
On the desk in the military tent was a painting, a landscape painting.
That person got even angrier.
Before he could speak, Pei Lin said, "Gu Jianchuan, take a closer look before you speak."
Keeping us in suspense again!
Suppressing his anger, Gu Jianchuan's gaze followed the winding path down the painting.
There are three passes in the north.
Starting from the Biancheng Plain, it extends backward to Jincheng, with mostly plains and hills, until a high mountain rises at the border with Lanzhou.
Only the Fengjiang River flows through the middle of the route.
Oh, right! Fengjiang!
Gu Jianchuan's brows furrowed.
The Fengjiang River basin has valleys.
"You're going to set up an ambush in the valley?"
Pei Lin's fingertips wandered across the painting as he said, "Send a surprise force to bypass the border city from the wasteland and then cross the hills."
"To prevent us from penetrating deep into their territory, the Yue general will surely send a large army to pursue us."
"Then we will lure them into the valley and ambush them."
"Moreover, if we go around to their rear, we can burn their supplies."
"This is killing two birds with one stone."
Gu Jianchuan kicked at Pei Lin, shouting, "Pei Jianwei!"
Do you know how dangerous this plan is?
Gu Jianchuan was extremely annoyed.
The desolate plains outside the border town stretch for thousands of miles, and with heavy snow falling in winter, visibility is extremely low.
If you want to ride all the way from the border town to the rear of the Vietnamese army camp, you'll probably freeze to death before you even get there!
Having narrowly dodged Gu Jianchuan's side kick, Pei Lin smiled and said, "Shouyu, trust me."
"In two more months, the plum blossoms in Lingyuan will have faded."
"I want to get back before it withers."
A note from the author:
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