The two talked for a while and then went back to rest.
Carefully pushing the door open, Fu Yueli tiptoed in, fearing to wake Shi Mingyue. But just as he reached the bed, he heard Shi Mingyue's lazy voice: "Why are you back so late?"
"Did I wake you up after all?" Fu Yueli sat down at the head of the bed and looked helplessly at Shi Mingyue who had already woken up. "I've been very busy with official duties these days. How about this? I'll come back tomorrow and rest in another room."
"Goodbye. I can't see you every day. I can only be with you at this time at night. If you go to another room to rest, then we won't be able to see each other anymore." Shi Mingyue pinched his sleeve and said a little aggrievedly.
Fu Yueli's heart moved. He was indeed too busy these days and had no time to accompany her, and he would have even less time in the future.
"Okay," Fu Yueli touched her face gently and sighed: "In half a month, I will leave for Xinzhou."
"…What are you doing in Xinzhou?"
"In the provincial examination in August, I drew Xinzhou," Fu Yueli explained.
Shi Mingyue understood and said, "If nothing goes wrong, Shengjing should be traveling with you, right?"
"Yes, there is him."
Shi Mingyue recalled the situation of the provincial examination in Xinzhou in her previous life and said, "The champion of Xinzhou this year is Ren Xianyang. He comes from a poor family but is quite talented. You should keep an eye on him."
"Ren Xianyang, okay, I'll keep an eye on him. How did he become?"
Shi Mingyue said with regret, "In November, an incident occurred in Xinzhou. A herder was grazing his sheep on the grassland when his sheep were stolen by Wu Tan's soldiers. The public was furious and demanded an explanation from Wu Tan, but Cen Jian felt that less trouble was better than more and did not want to antagonize Wu Tan. So Ren Xianyang composed a doggerel poem: 'The barbarians are like wolves, wanting to fill the heavens, and their oppression of our people is insatiable. Today, Huo Qubing is no longer around, and his ambition is to destroy the enemy and protect the country.' If he were still a poor scholar, no one would care about him writing this poem, but he was already a top scholar by then, so the poem spread throughout the streets and alleys, and it also reached Cen Jian's ears."
Cen Jian was Fu Baiheng's uncle, the Grand General of Zhenxi, one of the Four Generals of Zhenxi. He was headstrong and narrow-minded. Therefore, Fu Yueli could already guess what would happen to Ren Xianyang.
"Ren Xianyang was going to Beijing to take part in the imperial examination at the beginning of the spring, but he died at the end of the year after accidentally starting a fire while burning charcoal to keep warm. The charcoal he used for heating was given to him by Cen Jian, so the cause behind the fire seems confusing." Shi Mingyue sighed.
Fu Yueli said: "I know, I will keep an eye on him. Well, it's late, you should close your eyes and rest."
"Then you go to sleep too." Shi Mingyue lay quietly on the inside, waiting for him to take off his clothes and go to bed to rest.
When he lay down on the bed, she stretched out her arms, hugged him, and said softly, "Go to sleep."
Fu Yueli immediately felt a heavy sense of fatigue and quickly closed her eyes.
The next morning, he and Lu Lingyan went to the Ministry of Rites to report.
Shi Mingyue asked Lu Lingjing to go shopping. In another two weeks, Fu Yueli and Lu Lingyan would be leaving for Xinzhou. Xinzhou's weather was dry and windy, and the temperature in August fluctuated wildly between morning and evening. It was scorching hot at noon, yet cold enough to wear a cotton jacket at night. Therefore, she had to prepare things for the two of them in advance, such as cooling teas. The daytime temperatures were so high that they could cause heatstroke. Lip balm was also essential. The dry weather made lips prone to chapped lips, even with regular water intake.
When they had almost finished their shopping, they took the carriage back to the palace. On the way, they met the carriage from Prince Xiang's palace and couldn't help but say hello.
At a roadside teahouse, Huo Qiurong wiped the sweat off her face with a handkerchief and asked, "Where did you go, sister-in-law?"
"I went to buy some things. Where's my sister-in-law?" Shi Mingyue said with a smile.
Huo Qiurong said, "I went to Ningguo Temple to worship Buddha." Suddenly, she leaned forward and asked in a low voice, "You and Big Brother have been married for almost a year, right? I haven't heard that you're pregnant. Are you not expecting for the time being?"
Speaking of this, Shi Mingyue looked quite embarrassed. She and Fu Yueli had made love several times without any deliberate measures, but she still hadn't gotten pregnant. She only laughed dryly and said, "It all depends on fate."
Huo Qiurong's expression was somewhat forced. "It's true that fate is the key. I heard that the Guanyin Hall in Ningguo Temple is very effective, so I went there to worship today." She took out the amulet from her collar and said, "Look, the monks at the Guanyin Hall said it's very effective when worn."
Shi Mingyue nodded in agreement, finally finished her tea, and hurriedly got on the carriage with Lu Lingjing to return home.
As the carriage started moving, Lu Lingjing smiled and said, "It seems that Princess Xiang really wants to get pregnant."
Shi Mingyue stopped her with her eyes: "Don't discuss this matter. It's natural for her to want to get pregnant. There's nothing to discuss."
Lu Lingjing noticed her serious attitude and thought that she shouldn't joke about this matter, so she said softly, "I understand. I won't do it again."
Shi Mingyue nodded silently. After what she had experienced in her previous life, she hated gossipmongers the most. After the injury and miscarriage, she could no longer conceive, so she overheard too many things, intentionally or unintentionally. Some kind elders advised her to look beyond the ordinary and consider the Qin family's incense, implying that she should persuade Qin Zheng to take a concubine to continue the family line. Some gossipy women privately said that she was no longer a complete woman. No matter how beautiful she was, if she couldn't have children, she was no different from a hen that couldn't lay eggs. Some kind-hearted people also privately felt sorry for her because she couldn't experience the joy of having children around her in this life, and her life was incomplete.
Each of these words, like a sharp blade, cut open the wound in her heart again and again. No one could understand her pain, no one!
When others express sympathy to her with a compassionate look on their face, they are actually just expressing their momentary emotions, which will pass after a while.
But she can't show strength or vulnerability. If you're strong, they'll say, "Oh, you must be suffering so much. You might cry alone at night. How pitiful." If you're fragile, they'll say, "You have to be strong. You have to live. Be more open-minded." No matter how you act, they'll always have a variety of words to say, all of which they call their concern for you.
Shi Mingyue didn't need such concern at all! She just hoped that those people wouldn't show her sympathy, let alone express regret and sympathy. If they really sympathized with her and cared about her, then they should remain silent. Just silence would be enough.
The carriage had already arrived at the mansion, and Lu Lingjing sat on pins and needles the entire time. She sensed the obvious depression in Shi Mingyue's mood. Could it be because of her words? But there was no reason for her to be angry about it, right? She was truly puzzled.
Seeing Shi Mingyue walking indifferently towards the bedroom, Lu Lingjing was worried about her, but she didn't know how to comfort her. Maybe she should just wait for her cousin to come back?
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