"Hey, don't be angry." He looked at her and pulled the cloak tighter around her. "Do you remember this cloak? The one you wore when we went to Huairou to see the dike."
In the darkness of the night, his eyes shone brightly, the moonlight illuminating half of his handsome face. His tall frame was turned away from the wind, shielding her from its force.
Shen Qingchen remained silent for a moment, then stopped refusing and accepted the cloak draped over his back. "Xu Silin, did you tell Grand Secretary Xu about my identity?"
He was slightly taken aback. "No. Why do you ask?"
"Really not?"
If not, what was the purpose of Xu Yan's invitation to meet her?
Xu Silin smiled slightly, "Of course not. I promised to keep it a secret, and I will keep my word."
“…Hmm.” She looked into his eyes and replied softly.
Judging from his expression, he seemed genuinely unaware that Xu Yan had arranged to meet her. Because she wasn't sure what it was about, Qingchen didn't want to tell him, lest she cause further trouble.
"This seems to be the first time we've had such an open and honest conversation?" He tilted his head to look at her.
It's strange, but before he knew her identity, whenever they talked, it always seemed to end badly. Whether it was when he bullied her at the Hanlin Academy, when he had already developed feelings for her at the restaurant, or even when they went to Huairou to attend Gu Shaoheng's coming-of-age ceremony, there were always conflicts between them.
Therefore, they never discussed a topic in depth, let alone opened up to each other.
Qingchen hesitated for a moment, then said, "Yes."
"We've been classmates for over two years, and every time I see you, I have this strange feeling, but I never knew you were a woman. The other day, you almost made me think I'd fallen for a man." He paused, a slight smile playing on his lips. "You were such a good actor."
"..." Qingchen opened his mouth, but couldn't think of how to express himself, so he closed his mouth again.
"By the way," he suddenly asked, "besides me, does anyone else know about your identity?"
After he finished speaking, he turned to look at her, seemingly observing her reaction.
Qingchen was completely unprepared for this question. After hesitating for a moment, he shook his head and said, "No."
Song Yue knew about her identity, but she didn't want to tell him, fearing she wouldn't be able to explain herself clearly and would cause trouble for Song Yue.
"Is that so..." He kept looking at her, then suddenly smiled, revealing his neat and white teeth. "So, I'm the only one in the entire court who knows your secret?"
“…Hmm.” Qingchen lowered her head slightly, feeling a little guilty.
He smiled slightly, "I didn't expect to be so lucky. Don't worry, I'll keep your secret."
Qingchen let out a soft sigh and changed the subject, saying, "Shaoheng is gone. You two had a conflict before; did you make up before he left?"
"It's nothing. I didn't have any major conflicts with him to begin with. In the end, it was all because of you that day. I envy him for being able to get so close to you."
Qingchen deliberately ignored his confession and focused on testing him, "Now that his family has fallen on such a state, do you feel sorry for him?"
She thought to herself: Do you know that all of this was caused by your own father, making your classmate a victim of his political struggle?
“It’s sad,” he said, then paused. “Shaoheng is a very good, very simple person.”
Gu Shaoheng was much simpler than him. At the time, Xu Yan lied to him, saying he wasn't responsible for the Gu family's downfall, and he believed him. But later, after thinking it over carefully, he understood everything. He knew his father's character all too well; in order for him to marry into the Duke of Ying's family, the Gu family, this obstacle, had to be eliminated.
But even though he understood, he was unwilling to admit the truth, as this would make him feel better.
On the day Gu Shaoheng was punished to be sent to the frontier, he also went to see him off, but he was not as early as Song Yue and Qing Chen. Before he even arrived at the Gu residence, he had already seen the person being escorted on the way.
He wanted to go up and talk to Gu Shaoheng, but after thinking it over, he realized that nothing he said would be right. He also didn't know how to face Gu Shaoheng's resentful gaze, so in the end, he didn't get off the carriage or appear in front of Gu Shaoheng. Instead, he gave some silver to the people in charge of escorting him.
"Xu Silin, do you believe the Gu family harbors rebellious intentions?" Qingchen asked again.
"The Emperor's decree is thus; it should be something like that." His expression remained calm and composed.
"Don't you suspect there's something else going on?"
He pulled the cloak that had been blown behind her shoulders by the wind. "What's the secret?"
"I was framed." As she spoke, her eyes remained fixed on his, trying to discern the changes in his emotions. "Some people, for their own selfish gain, are willing to sacrifice the lives of others. They are shameless and ruthless!"
As she spoke, she became somewhat agitated, and her breathing became rapid.
Xu Silin's expression remained unchanged, with a hint of coldness and unruliness between his brows, consistent with his usual demeanor. He said softly, "The Gu family has always been a peace-loving family and has never been known to have any enemies. It's unlikely that they would be framed."
She looked into his eyes and hesitated for a moment without saying anything, then looked away and continued walking.
Xu Silin was also deep in thought. He understood perfectly well what Shen Qingchen was trying to do.
She seemed to have already guessed that her father was behind all of this. She already harbored some resentment towards their family, and now, with Gu Shaoheng's matter added to the mix, her resentment towards her father must have deepened even further. Moreover, this resentment was not easy to erase and would affect her relationship with him.
The moisture in the air gathered and dispersed, creating a hazy atmosphere. Upturned eaves, street signs, broken carts—everything was shrouded in darkness.
Qingchen said, "It's getting late, let's stop here for today. I'm going home."
"Take my carriage, I'll take you there." A hint of reluctance flickered in his eyes. "It's cold."
"No need." Qingchen shook her head and took off the cloak behind her, returning it to him.
He frowned and smiled helplessly, "So you still won't forgive me?"
"No. It's not far from my home, I just want to take a walk."
"Okay." He nodded. "Then be careful."
"I'm fine."
Xu Silin stood there, watching Qingchen disappear into the night. Once her figure was completely out of sight, the smile on his lips vanished. In its place, his brows furrowed slightly, his expression hardened, and his gaze turned cold.
“Come out,” he said.
Two men emerged from the darkness, one of them asking, "Young master, will you be following Lord Shen tonight?"
"Go escort her home, then you can leave."
The two men agreed and disappeared into the night to carry out their mission.
Starting a few days ago, many people in the capital have starved or frozen to death, and some refugees have gathered together to cause trouble. Xu Silin was afraid that Qingchen might encounter some accident, so he sent people to protect her, which was also... to monitor her.
Therefore, he was already fully aware that she and Song Yue had gone to stay in the suburbs of Beijing the day before yesterday.
She was testing him, and he was testing her.
He asked her if anyone else knew her identity, and she said no.
If there really wasn't anything wrong, why would she and Song Yue stay alone in that small house?
Xu Silin had always been hesitant about his feelings for her, unsure of what to do. It seemed that no matter how he expressed himself or did anything, he couldn't get any closer to her.
Now that he suddenly knew about Qingchen and Song Yue, his mind seemed to clear instantly.
He was acutely aware that he didn't want to lose in this relationship.
He had been so confused by himself for so long that he almost forgot how arrogant and impulsive he used to be.
Now that the goal is clear, all that remains is to choose the method to achieve it.
The next day, Shen Qingchen returned to the court and went to the Imperial Household Department first.
Zhu Yuluo's lectures at the Wenhua Hall have been resumed after the Grand Master of the Palace consulted the Grand Secretariat, which in turn consulted Zhu Rui. Today, one of the lessons will be taught by Qingchen.
The registrar of the Imperial Household Department presented the lecture materials she had been instructed to prepare the day before. Qingchen quickly skimmed through them before the lecture began. Today, she would be lecturing on "Essentials of Governance in the Zhenguan Era," which involved other related knowledge. Because she held several positions, there were some things she no longer had time to do personally, so she ordered her subordinates to help prepare the relevant materials.
After looking through what the man had prepared, she felt it wasn't very good, so she told him her thoughts.
The clerk was a young official who knew that Lord Shen was a rising star in the court. Seeing that she was not satisfied with what he had presented, he said somewhat nervously, "It was my oversight. Please forgive me, Lord Shen. I will be more careful next time and will never dare to make the same mistake again. Please forgive me, please forgive me."
Seeing his nervous look, Qingchen shook his head. "I'm not criticizing you. I just want to tell you that you might do better if you change your approach in the future. You don't need to feel guilty."
This was the first time she had given work advice to a subordinate since becoming a full-fledged official, but she never expected it to frighten that person so much.
During the lecture, Crown Prince Zhu Yulu sat upright behind the desk, his back ramrod straight, his expression extremely serious. At this time, he was unaware that Consort Zheng had already offered her hand to Song Yue, intending to seize the throne that rightfully belonged to him.
Since his family fell on hard times, he has smiled less than before, and most of the time he is focused on his studies, as if he can't wait to grow up. This class is taught by Master Shen, whom he cares about most, so he listens even more attentively.
After class, a palace attendant brought Zhu Yuluo tea and pastries. Qingchen was tidying up her books. Zhu Yuluo kept watching her, and when she finished, she called out to her, "Master Chen, you've worked hard. Come and have a pastry."
Qingchen shook his head. "Thank you, Your Highness, but I am not hungry. I have some matters to attend to at the Ministry of Rites."
The young crown prince pursed his lips, his thick, straight eyelashes blinking twice. He wanted to say a few words to her, but because there were too many people serving in the Wenhua Hall, it was inconvenient to speak. In the end, he could only watch as she bid him farewell and walked out of the hall.
Qingchen had other things to do, and he also had another class to teach.
...
After returning to the Ministry of Rites, Qingchen took a sip of tea and quickly immersed himself in the ministry's official duties.
She was a secretary in the Ministry of Rites, in charge of receiving guests from ethnic minorities and foreign countries. Her duties were numerous and complicated.
After working for a while, Qingchen encountered a matter that required a decision from her superiors. She thought for a moment, then took the relevant proposal to Song Yue. She also wanted to ask why the Emperor had summoned him back overnight; she was vaguely worried.
When they arrived at his official residence, they found no one there. The clerk told Qingchen that Song Yue had claimed illness, "Lord Song came early this morning, but he was feeling unwell. He seemed to have caught a cold and had a fever. He was busy for a while, then claimed illness and went home."
Qingchen frowned upon hearing this. He had taken her out to relax, while he himself had been busy all day for her, only to be summoned back to the capital overnight before he could even rest.
He has indeed fallen ill, and I don't know how serious it is.
As Qingchen pondered this, he returned to his official residence.
After a while, a person in charge came to report some work progress to her. She glanced at it, and her brows suddenly furrowed.
This report was so poorly written that it was riddled with errors and even the handwriting was rather messy. Clearly, the person hadn't taken it seriously and was just going through the motions with official business.
She patiently asked the man why he was doing this. The man, who seemed to have some connections, showed no shame whatsoever. He simply said that he had gone drinking with the nephew of the eunuch Huang Heng and had no time to deal with these matters.
Upon hearing this, Qingchen became somewhat angry and reprimanded, "This matter concerns the vital interests of the local people. How could you be so perfunctory and careless in handling it?"
"If you are not satisfied, sir, just deduct my salary," the man said nonchalantly. "Besides, the salary isn't much anyway, and part of it is spent on pepper. My house is full of pepper now, sir. If you like, I'll send you some more."
With the national treasury currently empty, officials' salaries cannot be paid in full in silver, so the court has to compensate for the shortfall with goods. Many officials are very dissatisfied with this, but given the state of the nation, there's nothing anyone can do. The official before us, for example, doesn't care at all because his salary is so low.
With meager salaries, some officials become complacent and neglect their duties, focusing instead on currying favor with the powerful and wealthy for protection and personal gain. Newly appointed officials, influenced by this trend, while eager to perform their duties, appear overly cautious and hesitant.
These were the issues of bureaucratic chaos that she had discussed with Song Yue.
Thinking of this, Qingchen grew increasingly displeased. He said to the man who was stubbornly refusing to be punished, "Whether it's Eunuch Huang or Eunuch Bai, I won't fine you. I'll just order you to redo it until I'm satisfied! If what you present next time still doesn't satisfy me, then be prepared to be flogged. If you're dissatisfied with me, you can tell Eunuch Huang, and I'll discuss it with him."
Under normal circumstances, she probably wouldn't be this angry, nor would she bother arguing with him; she would simply take over the tasks herself. But she found that this wouldn't work, because there was just too much to handle alone. Even someone as resilient as Song Yue fell ill from exhaustion.
"you……"
The man was somewhat resentful, but he could only grab the booklet and leave sheepishly.
Qingchen rubbed his temples, looked out the window, and sighed.
After her shift ended, unlike before when she stayed to handle official business, she quickly went to the pharmacy to buy some medicine and then went to the Song residence.
Meanwhile, in Song Yue's study, Zhao Qiran was helping Song Yue get out of bed.
Song Yue wore a plain moon-colored nightgown, with a light blue crane cloak draped over her back, and her face looked somewhat pale.
"I ran into Grand Secretary Zhang when I was leaving work. He knew I was coming to see you, so he asked me to bring the draft documents with me. They need your personal signature. Sigh, you're so sick, and you still can't get some rest." Zhao Qiran sighed, then touched Song Yue's forehead from behind. "It's so hot."
Song Yue didn't speak, but reluctantly picked up his pen and signed a stack of documents.
"By the way, my men say that the magistrate of Da'an County has opened the granaries to distribute grain to the people without authorization. Should I report this to the imperial court?" Zhao Qiran asked.
"Let him go." Song Yue didn't even look up. "Just pretend you don't know anything."
There aren't many officials like this who disregard their own future and dedicate themselves wholeheartedly to serving the people.
"Okay, I'll do as you say."
Just then, the steward came to report: "My lord, Lord Shen Qingchen has come to see you."
Song Yue coughed, pondered for a moment, and replied, "Tell her I've already gone to bed and to let her go back."
The steward then asked, "It seems Lord Shen has bought medicine. Shall we accept it?"
"Let her take it back."
"yes."
After the housekeeper left, Zhao Qiran asked, puzzled, "What's wrong? Did you and Qingchen have a fight? You're not usually like this. He came to see you, why did you turn him away?"
"Since I'm already sick, there's nothing to see here." He said, then coughed a few more times. His handsome face and lips were pale.
“I see he usually stays in the capital to handle official business, so he must have come so early today to see you. But you just dismissed him with a simple ‘no need.’ It’s rare for you to have a student who cares about you so much; you’re really heartless.”
"Let's not talk about that anymore," Song Yue said. "Is there anything else you want to ask?"
"have……"
...
The steward quickly arrived at the gate and replied to Qingchen, "Lord Shen, Lord Song has already gone to bed and it is not convenient for him to see you at this time."
She had arrived in a hurry, and although winter wasn't over yet, Qingchen's forehead was already covered in a fine layer of sweat. She had just wiped the sweat away, intending to appear refreshed when she saw Song Yue, when she heard the butler's words, and felt a pang of disappointment. "How is his condition? Is his fever high? Have they called a doctor?"
"Don't worry, Lord Shen, a doctor has been consulted. The people in the manor will also take good care of Lord Song."
"Oh..." Qingchen lowered his head slightly, "Then I'll keep this medicine. There are also some candied fruits in here... I know there's everything here, I'm just in case."
She remembered that the last time she accompanied Song Yue to the clinic for treatment, he didn't like drinking bitter medicine.
The steward hesitated for a moment before saying, "Lord Shen, you are very kind. However, the doctor has already prescribed the medicine, and the kitchen is already decocting it. If we add another dose, the medicinal properties might clash. Lord Shen, you should take it back."
Qingchen's hand, which was already halfway out to hold the medicine, froze in mid-air upon hearing this.
Ever since the Emperor summoned Song Yue back to the capital overnight, she had had a bad feeling, and today's scene seemed to confirm it.
"Oh. Well... goodbye." She slowly turned around and stepped down the stairs.
The gates closed behind her.
Before leaving, she turned and looked at the gate one last time; two lanterns hanging high swayed gently in the wind.
For a moment, she felt as if she had returned to the time when she first met him, when she came to see him for Ming Xiang, but couldn't get in because she didn't have her visiting card. Now she and Song Yue were naturally much more familiar than before, but why couldn't she get through this door?
After a long while, Qingchen finally took a step and embarked on the journey home as darkness fell.
At that moment, a tall figure emerged from behind the wall on the street behind her.
Xu Silin looked at Qingchen's retreating figure, then glanced at Song Yue's gate, his expression indifferent.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
