Chapter 101
Chen Zhenyan said that was all he had to say, and then took his leave.
Wei Luo asked Liu Heng to see the people off.
At the entrance of Cining Palace, Chen Zhen stopped and said to Liu Heng, "In this palace, we are the most alike. I serve the Great King, and you serve the Lesser King. The father and son are the masters of this palace. Only when the masters are at peace can we, the servants, be at peace."
Liu Heng bowed, "Thank you for your guidance, Grand Eunuch."
Chen Zhen sighed and walked away.
When Liu Heng returned to the house, he saw that Wei Luo had changed into casual clothes, wearing a light-colored robe and a blue hat, and holding a real gold Sichuan fan. He looked less noble and more scholarly.
He asked, "Does Your Highness wish to leave the palace?"
"Hmm." With a hint of pleasure in his voice, Wei Luo said, "Now that we've dealt with the Directorate of Ceremonial and the Eastern Depot, we no longer need to live in fear, whether inside or outside the palace."
Liu Heng frowned and asked, "Is it His Majesty's night?"
"My third brother is here."
Liu Heng was speechless for a moment, then asked, "When will Your Highness return?"
"Tomorrow morning."
After saying this, he instructed Liu Heng to guard the Eastern Palace well, and then hurriedly left.
A palace attendant asked, "Is Your Highness in such a hurry to see Miss Chen?"
"Yes. These past few days, His Highness has been keeping vigil day and night for His Majesty. He hasn't seen Miss Shen for several days, and he must be missing her terribly..."
*
The Shen family mansion in the southern city.
As the saying goes, timing is everything; when Wei Luo arrived, the table was just about to be filled with food.
Not seeing Master Shen, Wei Luo asked Shen Yao, "Where is Commander Shen?"
Shen Yao said, "I went out for a social engagement."
They asked someone to bring more bowls and chopsticks, and to pour wine and add more dishes.
He asked, "Why didn't Your Highness bring Liu Heng with you?"
"Let him guard the house, so that if anything happens in the palace, there will be someone to help."
Shen Yao picked up a shrimp for him and asked, "What could possibly happen in the palace?"
"His Majesty is not in good health."
Shen Yao immediately understood; he was worried that His Majesty might—
Shen Yao gently shook her head.
Your Majesty will not ascend to the Heavenly Palace alone until next year; it is too early to speak of such matters now.
Then he picked up a large piece of fish, removed the bones, and put it in Wei Luo's bowl, saying with a smile, "Your Highness has been working hard lately; your face looks thinner."
Wei Luo looked up at her and said, "I haven't spoiled you for nothing."
He picked up a piece of fish and ate it.
Shen Yao poured another half cup of wine. Seeing that the wine pot was empty, she was about to ask someone to pour some more when Wei Luo stopped her, saying, "No need. One should drink in moderation."
Shen Yao smiled, her eyes narrowing, "Rare indeed."
After the two finished their meal, Wei Luo led Shen Yao back to the house and said, "I have something to tell you."
Shen Yao looked at him.
Wei Luo then recounted the events of the past few days in detail, and said with emotion, "Thanks to you for sending Zhao Xian to the palace, otherwise this matter would not have gone so smoothly."
Shen Yao: "Zhao Xian is a kind and grateful man. But if you bribe Hu Mazi and cooperate with him, won't Zhao Xian be unable to avenge himself?"
Wei Luo looked at her and sighed, "Hu Mazi is utterly wicked, but he and Chen Zhen are His Majesty's right-hand men. To challenge him is to provoke His Majesty. Do you think His Majesty can tolerate it?"
Shen Yao pursed her lips, hesitated, and asked, "Did His Majesty know about what Hu Mazi did?"
Wei Luo shook his head. "Perhaps they know, perhaps they don't... but whether they know or not, Hu Mazi isn't difficult to deal with; the difficult one is Chen Zhen."
Wei Luo pulled Shen Yao to sit down and said to her, "Chen Zhen has been operating in the palace for many years. He is also the head of the Imperial Seal and the director of the Eastern Depot. His Majesty relies on this person for everything, from the smallest things like food, clothing, and daily necessities to the biggest things like government affairs and taxation."
"Moreover, Chen Zhen is a humble and cautious man, and he is always kind and gentle in his dealings with others. No one inside or outside the palace speaks ill of him. Only Hu Mazi is his only stain, yet he insisted on abandoning his good reputation to protect Hu Mazi. Why do you think that was?"
Shen Yao said, "I think anyone who can reach a position has done some dirty deeds. Hu Mazi is his evil side. His Majesty or Chen Zhen, they entrusted the things that they couldn't do to Hu Mazi, right?"
Wei Luo laughed and said, "You really understand immediately. Actually, your father is the same way in this respect."
Shen Yao asked, puzzled, "What does this have to do with my father?"
"It's no secret that your father amassed wealth for His Majesty."
Shen Yao blinked. "Since Your Highness knows, aren't you bothered?"
"If the water is too clear, there will be no fish. Politics is not black and white, but rather a coexistence of multiple perspectives."
Shen Yao nodded as if she understood, and then asked, "Will Your Highness do the same in the future?"
Wei Luo asked, "What?"
"Multi-faceted coexistence?"
Wei Luo held Shen Yao's hand and thought for a moment, "Perhaps, diversity can coexist, but we must hold fast to our original intentions."
"The true heart is the heart of the people."
Finally, he added one more sentence.
Shen Yao smiled and praised, "Your Highness will be a wise ruler."
She leaned forward and gently kissed his cheek.
Consider it a reward.
Wei Luo smiled and touched his cheek, asking, "Are you that sure?"
"Um."
Shen Yao took his hand, lowered her head and solemnly kissed his palm, then looked up at him with her bright eyes.
The warmth from his palms spread throughout his body, and Wei Luo couldn't help but scratch himself, laughing, "It tickles~"
*
The investigation into the Eastern Depot was successfully resolved, and the two were in high spirits, sleeping soundly until dawn.
Wei Luo had to fulfill his filial duties to the emperor, so he dared not stay long. After getting up early to wash and eat, he rushed to the palace.
Shen Yao saw him off outside the door.
Just as I was about to get on the carriage, I suddenly saw a horse galloping towards me.
Wei Luo looked closely and was immediately shocked. This person was none other than Wu Wei, the head guard who was escorting Xu Xuan back to Hangzhou.
When Wuwei arrived, he hurriedly reined in his horse with a shout, knelt on the ground, and cried out, "Your Highness, something has happened! Xu Xuan has escaped!!"
One sentence was enough to terrify everyone.
Wei Luo stood there stunned for a long time before he asked in disbelief, "They escaped... What happened?"
Wu Wei wiped the sweat from his brow, swallowed hard, and replied, "We traveled south from the dock. Xu Xuan was very cooperative the whole way, chatting and laughing with us. Gradually, everyone relaxed their guard, and since we were on a ship, we... we took off his shackles..."
"Who knew that when we woke up, he had disappeared. We were all panicked and rushed back to Beijing to send messages."
After saying this, he touched his head to the ground, kowtowing loudly, "All the mistakes are mine, please punish me, Your Highness."
I didn't dare to get up, so I just lay there.
Wei Luo was furious. He felt a chill run from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, and even his fingertips became instantly cold.
He was about to kick Wu Wei when Shen Yao stopped him.
"Punishment now will not help; let's think of a solution first."
Shen Yao said to Wu Wei, "Get up first. I want to ask you when Xu Xuan ran away?"
Wuwei raised his face, his forehead covered in sweat, which streamed down his face.
He wiped his lips with his sleeve, licked his chapped lips, and then said, "The night before last."
"The day before yesterday?"
Shen Yao quickly calculated the time and asked, "Given his speed, is it possible for him to reach the capital now?"
Wu Wei said, "Probably not."
Wei Luo frowned, and couldn't help but want to kick him again. Wu Wei saw this and hurriedly said, "After discovering that Xu Xuan was missing, I rode here for days without rest. I don't think Xu Xuan could have arrived so quickly."
Wei Luo sneered, "If he enters the capital right now, you can expect to lose your head."
Wu Wei was so frightened that he fell silent. Seeing Wei Luo's face full of anger and sweat dripping into his eyes, he dared not move and just kept apologizing.
Wei Luo was furious and unmoved, so Wu Wei pleaded with Shen Yao again. Shen Yao couldn't bear to see this and said, "Don't be so pessimistic. Perhaps Xu Xuan won't come to the capital and will return to Hangzhou on his own."
After she finished speaking, everyone looked at her.
Wei Luo couldn't help but laugh. "Why didn't he just take the boat back to Hangzhou? Why did he run away instead?"
Shen Yao said, "Perhaps they're afraid of something."
Wei Luo said coldly, "Are you afraid I'll kill him halfway? Shen Yao, don't you think of me as a petty person?"
"No, that's not what I meant, but he's a human being, and it's inevitable for humans to overthink things."
After Shen Yao finished speaking, Wu Wei, perhaps being a straight man, quickly chimed in, "Miss Shen is absolutely right. When we first headed south, Xu Xuan even asked if we might fall into the water and drown along the way—"
“Wuwei,” Wei Luo interrupted him loudly, “you deserve to die.”
Wuwei quickly shrank back and remained silent.
Wei Luo took a deep breath and said softly, "So you all think that Xu Xuan ran away to save his life and went back to Hangzhou?"
Wu Wei glanced at Shen Yao, who coughed a few times and said, "That's possible."
Wei Luo snorted coldly and said decisively, "Absolutely impossible. You should give up this wishful thinking as soon as possible. Xu Xuan will not return to Hangzhou. He will definitely come to the capital to seek revenge and find me."
Shen Yao shook her head repeatedly, "No, he's let it go."
Wei Luo sighed and said to Shen Yao, "Do you know what Xu Xuan said on the last night I saw him... 'I will repay your great kindness with all my heart, even unto death.'"
“I knew Xu Xuan hadn’t let go, but I owed him first, so even though I knew he would retaliate, I still let him go as promised. Actually, I just wanted to take a gamble, to see if the gentle rain and soft flowers of Jiangnan could dissolve the hatred in his heart. Now it seems I still lost.”
Shen Yao's eyes suddenly reddened. She stepped forward, grabbed his hand, and called out, "Your Highness."
Wei Luo wrapped his hand around hers tightly, making her feel incredibly safe, as if the sky was high and the clouds were wide, and a gentle breeze was blowing, as if saying, "What a warm spring day!"
At this point in the conversation, arguing about whether Xu Xuan will come to the capital is pointless; they need to prepare for the worst.
Wei Luo asked Shen Yao to pack her clothes, saying that they would go back to the East Palace together.
Shen Yao asked, "Wouldn't living in the East Palace be too risky?"
Wei Luo laughed and said, "It's risky for you not to go to the palace. I'm afraid he'll just kidnap you, and then where am I supposed to find you?"
After some hesitation, Shen Yao finally gave in to Wei Luo's persistent pleading.
Even worse, before she could even pack her clothes, Wei Luo swept her up and carried her into the car.
Shen Yao asked dejectedly, "What should I wear when I get there?"
"The Crown Prince's palace isn't so poor that they don't even have a single piece of clothing—"
"Oh well."
Shen Yao believed Wei Luo's lies, and when she arrived at the destination, she happily received a eunuch's robe!
Wei Luo said, "This is all the Crown Prince's palace has. Just wear it for now, and it won't easily expose your identity."
He personally helped her change her clothes, gave her a token to hang on her waist, and said with a smile, "From today onwards, you are my personal eunuch. Remember to serve your master well!"
So, Shen Yao kicked him with a sinister smile.
The two fell onto the bed and kissed passionately.
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