Chapter 158 You can't escape five "same" people in your life...
Despite the changing political landscape in the court, everyone's life must go on.
Spring is gradually coming to an end, and the air is filled with the faint fragrance of flowers carried by the warm breeze. Summer is just around the corner.
Having some rare free time recently, Shen Lingyue specially chose a day when both brothers were off work, and the four of them went out together to Taiwu Pond to ride a painted boat and taste river delicacies.
They booked the entire three-story pleasure boat for themselves. Shen Lingyue, like a colt unbridled, trotted back and forth on the boat, finally choosing a spot on the top deck at the bow that offered the best view of the lake and mountains. She excitedly waved to Yan Yi, "Here! Here!"
"Madam, please be careful." Pei Jingyi helped Yan Yi up the stairs, staying close by and keeping a close eye on her toes.
When they reached the top floor, he refused to let Yan Yi lean against the railing like Shen Lingyue, but instead had two chairs brought over for Yan Yi to sit down and rest.
Seeing his nervous appearance, Shen Lingyue even carefully inspected the chair that Yan Yi was going to sit on, making sure that every joint was perfectly fitted before she felt at ease.
She whispered to Pei Jinghuai, "I think my brother really does have that fear of pregnancy."
Yan Yan is pregnant, but it's not like she's carrying a weight in her belly. It's not like she'll break the chair by sitting on it.
"If you dare to interfere with me like this after I have a child, I'll go back to my parents' house and ignore you."
Shen Lingyue bounced around a couple of times, then put on a stern face and threatened.
Pei Jinghuai readily agreed, "Sure, I promise I won't bother you—"
Before he could finish speaking, Shen Lingyue stomped on his foot hard.
She glared at him: "I told you not to get involved, and you just abandon the child? Do you have no heart? What kind of father are you? Was this child my sole reason for being born?"
Pei Jinghuai: ...Is there no justice left?
"I'll do whatever you say, okay?"
"But you can't listen to everything you say. You have to have your own opinions..."
Yan Yi and Pei Jingyi sat not far behind, watching the young couple playfully bickering at the bow of the boat, and smiled at each other.
"No wonder Weibo has been causing such a commotion in the whole mansion. It turns out the root of the problem lies here."
Pei Jingyi shook his head, took Yan Yi's hand, and carefully massaged her fingers.
Recently, Yan Yi's appetite has improved a lot, and her cheeks have regained their plumpness. Coupled with the various nourishing soups prepared by the small kitchen three times a day, she looks even more fair and plump, with serene eyes and brows.
Yan Yi turned her head and looked at him, who was focused on massaging her with his eyes down. Her gaze fell on her fingertips, which seemed to look... much more swollen in contrast to his well-defined fingers.
She bit her lip in annoyance. Could it be that she had gained weight recently due to a larger appetite?
Yan Yi shifted uncomfortably, trying to pull her hand back.
Pei Jingyi caught up quickly, grabbed him, and looked up at him. "What, did I hit you too hard?"
Yan Yi shook her head, subconsciously raised her hand to touch her cheek, and asked him, "Do you think I've gained weight?"
“Not at all.” Pei Jingyi answered quickly, his face serious. “It was written in the booklet that Physician Wen gave us that pregnant women are more prone to edema than ordinary people. Just massage them more every day and it will be fine.”
He pulled Yan Yi's hand back, gently kneading her fingers, a hint of apology in his eyes.
"It's not good to keep taking too long of leave from the Ministry of War, so I'll have to trouble you for the next few months. I'll apply for another two months of leave before you give birth so I can take good care of you and the baby."
Yan Yi was both amused and exasperated. "I'm well-fed and pampered at home every day, and I have my mother and Xiao Yue Liang to keep me company. My grandmother brings me nice things every few days. How am I being aggrieved?"
Pei Jingyi's face showed a hint of resentment as he emphasized in a low voice, "I'm different from them."
Yan Yi: ...
Forget it, I won't bother arguing with him about these trivial things.
The four of them enjoyed a sumptuous meal of fresh river seafood on the boat at noon.
The shad, transported from Jiangnan by fast ship and frozen, is rich in fat and oil; the mandarin fish is tender and has few bones; the thumb-sized river shrimp are half boiled and half stir-fried, offering two ways to enjoy the shrimp, each with its own unique flavor; and the local small miscellaneous fish are coated in batter and fried until crispy, then dipped in a little sesame salt, making a crunchy sound when chewed and filling the mouth with fragrance.
Needless to say, the belly part of the fish, with the fewest bones and the most tender meat, was reserved for Yan Yi. Pei Jingyi would also personally check it over, making sure all the bones were removed before placing it on the porcelain plate in front of Yan Yi.
The room has windows on both sides, and a cool breeze blows from the lake. Turning your head, you can see the lake and mountain scenery in the distance through the hazy mist. The outlines of the dark green mountains are indistinct, like a landscape painting created by nature.
Taking a bite of the crispy fried river shrimp, Shen Lingyue squinted her eyes and exclaimed, "Delicious food, beautiful scenery, and beautiful people—it's so enjoyable, so incredibly enjoyable!"
Pei Jinghuai teased her, "We don't have any musicians or singers on our ship like the ones next door, so where would we get any beauties?"
Shen Lingyue flicked her wrist, using the tip of her chopsticks to lift Pei Jinghuai's chin. "Look, isn't there one here?"
Yan Yi lowered her head to suppress her laughter, while Pei Jingyi couldn't bear to watch any longer and focused on struggling with the piece of fish in front of him.
As they ate and chatted, the topic somehow shifted to the Wei family.
"I heard that His Majesty bestowed Madam Chen's peony garden, along with the entire mountain, upon the Wei family. However, General Wei said that he was just a rough and uncultured man who did not know how to cultivate flowers and plants. He sent all the rare and precious peonies in the garden to the palace and opened the entire mountain to the people of the capital for sightseeing. He even allowed them to dig up the peonies and plant them themselves."
Shen Lingyue was initially a little disappointed that she wouldn't be able to see the magnificent sight of peonies covering the mountains and fields next year.
But when I thought about how much manpower and resources Madam Chen had spent tending to those peonies, I felt that what General Wei was doing was quite good, and it could be considered as sharing the joy with the people.
“I met General Wei in the palace a few days ago. He said he was worried about where to deal with the flowers and grasses all over the mountains. The people dug up the flowers and helped him turn the soil, which was perfect for planting some vegetables.”
Pei Jinghuai smiled and said to Shen Lingyue, "From now on, there will be no more peony garden, only vegetable garden."
Shen Lingyue paused for a moment, then said, "Okay, this is very much in line with the Wei family."
"The Wei family was demoted for sixteen years, but now they have returned to the court and are even more prominent than before. Yet they have been able to remain true to themselves, without being arrogant or impetuous. This shows that they are steadfast in their character and capable of undertaking great responsibilities."
Pei Jingyi placed a clean piece of fish on Yan Yi's plate and calmly commented, "With the Wei family's assistance, Princess Tong'an's chances of winning have increased even further."
The court officials had all noticed the change in Emperor Qingxi's attitude. Some officials with keen senses had already sensed the shift in the political climate, but many old-fashioned ministers were unwilling to believe it, thinking that His Majesty must have other plans. How could he entrust such a vast empire to a woman?
"Speaking of which, Princess Tong'an's birth mother came from the Xie family. Why can't the Xie family be an asset to her? Why is it that their presence has to be downplayed?"
Shen Lingyue turned to Pei Jingyi, the most learned man at the table, for help, "Big brother, what kind of family is the Xie family? They seem very powerful."
Pei Jingyi nodded slightly: "Our dynasty has only been established for a little over 140 years. Don't be fooled by the fact that all the noble families and dukes now consider themselves to be high-ranking clans. In fact, when their ancestors followed the founding emperor in conquering the country, they were just ordinary people, monks, nuns, and all sorts of people. As for those powerful families that have survived for hundreds of years since the previous dynasty, apart from the Xie family of Chenliu, not a single one of them was willing to support the founding emperor."
In that chaotic era of warring factions, everyone wanted a piece of the pie on the land of Kyushu. War raged and the flags of kings changed hands all the way. In the end, only the ancestors of the Xiao family had the last laugh, and the Xie clan of Chenliu became the only clan that retained most of its bloodline after "the bones of nobles and officials were trampled on the streets".
Shen Lingyue and Yan Yi secretly exchanged a glance.
No wonder you're from our hometown, how can imperial power and aristocratic families coexist?
Yan Yi thought for a moment and then asked, "Since the Xie family of Chenliu's investment was successful, why are there no Xie family officials in the court now? Is it because the Xie family later fell out with the royal family?"
Pei Jingyi nodded and then shook his head. "It's been so long that I don't know the specifics. I only know that Emperor Taizu and Xie Wuyai, the eldest son of the Xie family, were once like brothers. They joined hands to start a rebellion and fight in the north and south. The Xie family poured all their resources into supporting Emperor Taizu in recruiting soldiers and horses. Even Empress Zhaohui was Xie Wuyai's younger sister. But after Emperor Taizu became emperor and established Daye, Xie Wuyai never set foot in the court again and disappeared without a trace."
There are rumors that Xie Wuyai originally wanted to become emperor himself, but he was outmaneuvered by Emperor Xiao Taizu and died with resentment.
Some say that he disagreed with Emperor Taizu of Han on political principles and, in a fit of anger, retired to the countryside to seek immortality in the Zhongnan Mountains.
Regardless of the truth, the emperors who succeeded Emperor Taizu had an ambiguous attitude towards the Xie family of Chenliu. On the one hand, they bestowed honors upon them and granted them various honorary titles, while on the other hand, they intentionally or unintentionally suppressed the Xie family members from entering officialdom. At least among the high-ranking officials in the central government departments of the capital, it was rare to see officials who were related to the Xie family.
"I heard that the Xie family is now divided into two factions. One faction consists of the descendants of Xie Wuyai, who are fond of nature and unwilling to serve in government, calling themselves 'Nanshan Xie'; the other faction has never given up on cultivating their own children to study for the imperial examinations and to restore their former glory, and is known as 'Baoshu Xie'."
Shen Lingyue rested her chin on her hand and guessed, "Then Princess Tong'an's birth mother must have come from the 'Baoshu Xie' branch? They wanted to send a woman to His Majesty, hoping to gain status through her son, but they ended up losing a girl for nothing."
Pei Jingyi: "Perhaps. The palace kept this news very well under wraps. If you hadn't brought it up, I wouldn't have known that Princess Tong'an's birth mother was actually from the Xie family."
"That Miss Xie must have known her awkward position, which is why she tried every means to entrust her young daughter to Empress Wei for upbringing."
Yan Yi lowered her eyes, her expression somewhat saddened. "Parents who love their children plan far ahead for them."
If we take a more conspiratorial approach, how could Miss Xie, who had a carefree life in the palace and a deep relationship with Empress Wei, have died so young?
Putting aside the appalling medical standards of ancient times, the problem was more psychological.
Only when she is gone can her daughter have a better future.
Seeing Yan Yi's dejected expression, Shen Lingyue wanted to lighten the mood, so she deliberately cleared her throat and started talking nonsense: "Don't you guys think the subtle relationship between Emperor Xiao Taizu and Xie Wuyai is more interesting to watch?"
She held up her hand and said, "Based on my experience, these good brothers who started the country and started their businesses, husband and wife teams, their lifelong relationship can't escape the five 'same's'!"
Pei Jingyi raised an eyebrow and asked in cooperation, "What do you mean by that?"
Shen Lingyue shook her head, "Ahem, that means sharing the same boat, sleeping in the same bed but dreaming different dreams, fighting amongst ourselves, and perishing together—"
Pei Jinghuai pressed further, "Didn't you say there were five of them? Where's the last one?"
"See fanfiction." Shen Lingyue winked slyly.
Pei Jingyi was taken aback for a moment, then asked earnestly, "What is fan fiction?"
He had only heard of parallel prose, rhapsodies, and the eight-legged essay.
Shen Lingyue was about to elaborate with great enthusiasm when Yan Yi quickly covered her mouth, saying, "You should go back and talk about this with your cousin."
Don't let Pei Jingyi learn these weird things!
Her witty remark lightened the somber atmosphere of reminiscing about the past, and everyone switched to lighter topics, enjoying themselves immensely with food and drinks.
It wasn't until Shumo rushed over from the Marquis's residence, her steps hurried as she boarded the painted boat, that she gave Pei Jingyi a meaningful look, "Young Master, may I speak to you in private."
Pei Jingyi was taking a walk with Yan Yi to help her digest her food when he heard this, and said nonchalantly, "You can say whatever you want here."
"You can't say that..." Shu Mo's eyes were twitching from squeezing them together, and his face showed anxiety: "Your Highness, please, I really have something urgent to report to you privately."
Yan Yi nudged Pei Jingyi's arm. "Go ahead, don't make things difficult for him."
Pei Jingyi looked displeased and followed Shumo to the corridor outside the room, saying in a deep voice, "You'd better have a good reason not to be punished."
Shumo glanced quickly at the half-open window, stepped forward, and whispered in Pei Jingyi's ear, "The Marquis wants you to return to the manor immediately—the Xie family has sent someone."
"What does the Xie family's arrival have to do with me?" Pei Jingyi frowned. "Isn't Father enough to entertain them all by himself?"
Shumo stamped her feet anxiously, lowered her voice even further, and said urgently, "The Xie family has a letter written by Princess Qinghe herself, saying... saying that they were betrothed to you as children, but you married someone else, and they want to demand an explanation from our family."
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Author's Note: Ugh, I'm so stuck... Every day of wrapping up this book has been so difficult. I'm about to unleash the biggest bombshell of this book (my own claim).
And just so you know in advance, there won't be any updates tomorrow. I'm going to Pilu Temple to pray for inspiration [crying][crying]
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