After Meng Zhao returned to the capital, he told Shen Qinghe about his plan to go to the Western Regions with Xiao Youzhi. Shen Qinghe's eyes suddenly darkened, but he also felt that this was indeed the case.
Over the years, Meng Zhao has been surrounded by many people, but the one he fears the most is the eldest young master of the Xiao family. This is because he saw in Xiao Youzhi's eyes a kind of obsession that is exactly the same as his own, a kind of stubbornness that will never give up and never let go.
Surprisingly, Shen Qinghe remained remarkably calm. He neither got angry nor tried to stop her, as if he didn't care. However, just a month before Meng Zhao began preparing to depart, something happened in the capital.
In the thirty-first year of Yongning, the most favored princess of Danyang had turned nineteen. By all accounts, she should have reached the age of marriage. However, His Majesty doted on this niece and had granted her permission to choose her own husband in the early years. Unfortunately, the princess had very high standards and had not yet found a suitable husband, so the marriage was delayed.
When His Majesty saw that his sister was no longer concerned about him, he began to search for a suitable match for his niece again. He looked through all the powerful and influential families in the capital, as well as the newly appointed top three scholars, but still could not find a satisfactory one. Finally, His Majesty's gaze fell on Shen Qinghe, the previous year's top scholar.
It is said that on that day, His Majesty, in the Imperial Study in front of several important ministers, said that he wanted to arrange a good marriage for them. How could the ministers not know why His Majesty had been troubled these days? Without His Majesty even speaking, someone took the initiative to mention Princess Danyang, and some even raised their hands to congratulate him, saying that the two were a perfect match, a match made in heaven.
As everyone knows, the emperor's words are law, and even without an official decree, they are set in stone. But who would have thought that this Lord Shen would refuse without uttering a single polite word? It is said that the atmosphere in the imperial study suddenly turned cold, and His Majesty was furious. The eunuchs serving tea before the emperor were so frightened that they knelt on the ground, not daring to utter a sound.
However, this marriage ultimately failed to go as planned, for reasons that are difficult to deny. Shen Qinghe, before the Emperor, revealed his own shortcomings, claiming that a fortune teller had predicted his fate in his youth, saying he was destined to be alone and unlucky, bringing misfortune to his wife and children, and that he was destined to have no chance of marriage in this life. To prove his point, he even mentioned the matter of offering an ever-burning lamp at Putuo Temple.
His Majesty was furious and sent people to investigate. Sure enough, they found the ever-burning lamp in the temple. Under the lamp was written the judgment that Shen Qing was destined to be alone and cursed. The date the lamp was lit was more than a year ago, which proved that what he said was true.
Later, some busybodies in the capital dug up Shen Qinghe's family history, saying that his father and brothers died early, which was already a flaw in his destiny. Now, he was also destined to bring misfortune to his wife and children, so it was not surprising.
Later, an official who had always been at odds with Shen Qinghe heard about this and, after drinking, said at the banquet: "Hahaha, Shen Qinghe is a man of exceptional literary talent and has a successful official career, but all of this is due to his fate of bringing misfortune to his wife and children. Otherwise, how could he have all the good things in the world?"
In teahouses and taverns, idlers gossiped, saying things like Shen Qinghe had transferred all the blessings of his descendants to his official career, destined to have no descendants.
When these harsh words reached Meng Zhao's ears, she couldn't control her emotions and swept all the account books on the table onto the floor.
When Shen Qinghe arrived, he saw a mess everywhere. He had never seen her so distraught. His heart tightened, and he rushed forward, asking, "What happened? Why are you so angry?"
Upon seeing him, Meng Zhao became extremely distressed, and tears welled up in her eyes. This startled Shen Qinghe, who had only ever seen Meng Zhao with red eyes before, but never with tears. He hurriedly wiped away her tears with the corner of his sleeve.
Seeing his anxiety, Meng Zhao felt even more heartbroken, and her tears fell even more profusely. Shen Qinghe hurriedly pulled her into his arms, his voice trembling: "What's wrong? Tell me, are you trying to break my heart?"
“I know everything,” Meng Zhao said, clutching his collar and choking back tears. “Your refusal to marry me…and those outrageous things people said in the capital…I just can’t stand it. How dare they treat you like this!”
Upon hearing this, Shen Qinghe gently wiped away the tears on her face and said softly, "I thought it was something serious. When have I ever taken those idle words to heart?" As he spoke, he hugged her even tighter, "But your crying is much more hurtful than those words."
Meng Zhao was furious when he heard those words. One can imagine that Shen Qinghe, as the person involved, must have suffered even more humiliation these days. Those colleagues who showed concern for him on the surface were probably already using this as gossip behind his back, and those who disagreed with him on political issues would probably also ridicule him about this matter openly or secretly.
“I feel sorry for you. These nobodies are not even as good as a single hair on your head, yet they have the opportunity to gossip about you.”
Shen Qinghe chuckled lightly, "Since you know they're not important, why are you still so angry?"
As her emotions gradually calmed down, Meng Zhao stopped crying and, after much hesitation, finally asked the question that had been lingering in her mind: "Qinghe, are you really sure? For me, you won't get married or have children?"
No wonder she couldn't believe it. Not to mention the strict social norms of ancient times, even in modern times, there aren't many men who could make such a decision.
After a moment of contemplation, Shen Qinghe nodded solemnly: "Yes, I had already made up my mind."
"No regrets?"
Shen Qinghe chuckled upon hearing this, raising his hand to gently stroke her hair: "When did you become so cautious?"
"I'm just afraid, afraid that you'll regret your decision today in the future." She wasn't afraid that the two of them would separate in the future, but she was also worried that a beautiful beginning would end in mutual resentment.
Shen Qing gently cupped her face and said, "I won't regret it. Perhaps at first, I didn't understand your thoughts. At that time, I always felt that if two people were in love, they should start a family, have children, and that would be a perfect life."
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