Chapter 24 The Misunderstanding Over the Palace Examination is Cleared Up: Why Was Prince Su Chosen Four Years Ago?
Good, good, good! It's like God has opened his eyes! If losing those storybooks could make the mission easier, she would be a thousand times, ten thousand times willing.
Lu Wensheng was overjoyed, but he couldn't show it, since Xiao Yuan still needed comforting.
"Xiao Yuan, don't cry, it's okay. Look at those 'mouth' characters, just fill in a few words and it will become a task."
[But the mission only works if the original female supporting character's sullen and effeminate persona is maintained; I don't know how to fill in these blanks.]
Lu Wensheng scratched his head, had Xiao Yuan repeat the mission, and then pondered for a moment: "Break into the East Palace at night, wake up the Crown Prince, and steal his soap for your own use. How about that? That's sneaky enough, isn't it? No normal person could do that."
Xiao Yuan hiccuped: [Does waking everyone up count as stealing?]
"Never mind that. The important thing is that bar of soap that Shen Hegui used. Just imagine, if one of your kind stole the soap you used on your private parts, wouldn't that be perverted and lewd?"
Xiao Yuan shook her neck from side to side, hesitated, and nodded.
Lu Wensheng casually pulled a corner of the blanket and wiped away the tears in its eyes: "The problem is solved now, there's nothing to cry about, the sky hasn't fallen."
【But……】
"Don't overthink it. Just do it. If it doesn't work, we'll figure out another way. Besides, if it fails and something goes wrong, I'll be the one who suffers, but you'll still be you." Lu Wensheng subtly changed the subject: "Your shell is cracked. Shall I find something to mend it for you?"
Xiao Yuan glanced back at the spiderweb-like cracks, unconcerned: "It's alright, it'll heal itself once the male lead's affection level goes up."
What if you accidentally spill water on it?
[Once the restart was successful, everything will be fine.]
Its eyes lacked their usual sparkle, and the whole turtle looked listless.
Seeing that Xiao Yuan was sullen, Lu Wensheng said a few words to comfort it and promised to take it to catch fish and shrimp, which made it feel better.
After calming down the unlucky system, Lu Wensheng tidied up briefly and planned to go out for breakfast. As a compiler at the Hanlin Academy, she only had holidays on the 1st, 11th, and 21st of each month, so she had to go to work today.
It rained yesterday, and today is still a cloudy day with thick, leaden clouds in the sky and a cold wind blowing on the ground.
The short walk from the door to the courtyard gate inexplicably reminded Lu Wensheng of his first cold winter in Yanjing.
In both her lives, she was a native of the South. Not only are the diets different between the North and the South, but the climates are also completely different, and she didn't adapt well at first.
The dry, cold north wind felt like swords on people's faces, stinging painfully. Every grand court assembly in winter felt like undergoing a tribulation.
To avoid flaunting her wealth, she lived in a more remote area. Often, before the roosters had even risen, she would be ready to go to court. The cold wind made it difficult for her to open her eyes and breathe on her way to court, and tears would stream down her face uncontrollably. Her official hat was almost impossible to keep on, and she had to keep her head down and walk against the wind.
Even without a grand court assembly, she still had to get up before dawn to report to the Hanlin Academy at the beginning of the morning. If it rained, she would arrive at the Hanlin Academy at the crack of dawn.
Enduring this poverty day after day, it was no surprise that she developed chilblains; her fingers and toes became red, swollen, and unbearably itchy. Writing, walking, and standing became torture, and since she was dressed as a man, she had to maintain her composure and not show any weakness.
Fortunately, all of that is in the past. After leveraging her connections for a year, she secured her backing, and the accumulated wealth could be gradually transferred out under the pretext of being rewarded by Prince Su. As a result, her life gradually improved.
She's not short of money; she just doesn't care if Shen Hegui suddenly decides to investigate her background. Bringing him here yesterday was somewhat impulsive.
Lu Wensheng opened the deliberately aged courtyard gate, and his steps faltered when his gaze fell upon the figure outside.
Amidst the white walls and green tiles, Chen Hegui stood on the bluestone steps in front of her house, gazing up at the eaves. At the corner of the eaves, a snow-white cat lay lazily, its white tail swaying back and forth.
Today he was dressed in a plain white robe, so elegant that he almost blended into the white wall behind him, like an immortal descending to earth.
The white cat wasn't shy at all. It blinked its green eyes and stretched out its furry paws to start flirting.
When a cat and a person are seen together, it's impossible to tell who's teasing whom.
It must have been past 7 AM by now. Normally, if someone is caught being late by the big boss, they should try to escape or quickly come up with an excuse. However, Lu Wensheng did not want to do that.
"Good morning, Your Highness." A very ordinary greeting.
Shen Hegui withdrew his hand from the cat, slowly turned around, and replied with a "Good morning."
A fleeting illusion crossed Lu Wensheng's mind, as if she and Shen Hegui were longtime friends, and he was waiting for her to go somewhere together.
Shen Hegui: "I've prepared breakfast for you. Eat it in the car."
"Okay!" At this moment, Shen Hegui was extremely considerate in her eyes. She had only ever had breakfast available when she woke up at Song Zhiyun's house since she was eighteen.
The carriage moved forward smoothly, neither too fast nor too slow.
This was the first time Lu Wensheng had ridden in Shen Hegui's carriage. She was a connoisseur, so she knew that everything in the carriage, though seemingly insignificant, was very expensive. To sum it up in one word, it was 'understated luxury'.
Indeed, throughout history, no matter how short the national treasury is, it never affects the princes and nobles.
Putting aside the fleeting thought, Lu Wensheng sipped his ginger chicken soup, thought for a moment, and decided it would be better to focus on Shen Hegui's injury.
Lu Wensheng: "How is Your Highness's injury?"
Shen Hegui picked up the soft white sugar cake and took a bite: "It's nothing." If so many people hadn't seen him injured yesterday, the wound should have healed last night.
Seeing that Shen Hegui was eating the very ordinary sweet cake like it was a delicacy, Lu Wensheng also picked up a piece and tried to take a small bite.
It was so sweet it was cloying. Lu Wensheng stared at the sugar cake with a missing piece in her hand, torn between swallowing and spitting out the little bit she had in her mouth.
I thought the sweet cakes at the Prince's place would be delicious, but they were still as cloyingly sweet as ever, and terribly unpalatable.
"If you think it tastes bad, just spit it out. Don't make things difficult for yourself." Shen Hegui rubbed the sugar frosting off his hands, then picked up a piece of sugar cake and ate it slowly. He didn't touch the chicken soup, steamed dumplings, buns, or steamed lamb rolls on the table.
As if granted a pardon, Lu Wensheng took out a handkerchief and spat out the piece of sweet cake in his mouth. Then he wrapped up the piece of sweet cake with a chipped corner in his hand, intending to take it home to compost.
Shen Hegui pushed his share of chicken soup to Lu Wensheng. Since he was a cold-blooded animal, he didn't need to warm himself.
Once the cloying sweetness in her mouth was suppressed by the savory chicken soup, Lu Wensheng finally recovered and voiced her doubts: "This sugar cake is too sweet. Does Your Highness like this kind of dessert?"
"I wouldn't say I like it." Shen Hegui said in a light tone, "I didn't get to eat it often when I was a child, and I just craved it occasionally."
Remembering the rumors he had heard before, Lu Wensheng discreetly took a steamed bun and ate it, trying to subtly change the subject.
The tender, soft skin broke open with a bite, releasing a burst of juice that brought out the unique aroma of beef. It was so delicious that Lu Wensheng's eyes lit up.
As an important production tool in agrarian societies, cattle are strictly prohibited from being slaughtered privately. Only old, sick, or disabled cattle that have lost their ability to work due to accidents are legally slaughtered. When she craved beef, she secretly went to the black market to buy some a few times, but each time she was disappointed; the beef was both expensive and tasted terrible.
Seeing that she liked it, Shen Hegui pushed his own beef bun to Lu Wensheng and continued talking to himself.
"You've been in Yanjing for four years, you must have heard the rumors about me..."
"Cough cough cough..."
Seeing that Shen Hegui took the initiative to start the conversation, Lu Wensheng choked on a steamed bun.
Shen Hegui, in a moment of compassion, reached out and helped her catch her breath.
Lu Wensheng grabbed the steamed bun and thanked them repeatedly, insisting that it was nothing, and then took another bite.
Her appearance reminded Shen Hegui of hamsters, whose cheeks are particularly good at hiding food. They are cute, soft, and harmless, while cold and cunning snakes are their natural enemies.
He curled the corners of his lips, withdrew his hand, and suppressed the smile in his eyes.
Shen Hegui squeezed the sugar cake in his hand, then looked up at Lu Wensheng's bulging lips: "These past few days, you've become less daring than before."
Lu Wensheng explained awkwardly, "I've heard those rumors, and they're not good. I don't like these gossips about people behind their backs."
What do you mean "not as big as before"? She used to see Shen Hegui... no, she flirted with him a few times, which was quite bold. His nostalgic tone, could it be... Stop, impossible, not at all. She and he are both men on the surface.
Shen Hegui put the last piece of sugar cake into his mouth, looking relaxed: "It's not the same if you say it to my face. I want to hear if we know the same version."
She really didn't want to talk about it, but Shen Hegui's silence forced her to speak.
Lu Wensheng's gaze fell on the plate of glistening steamed dumplings. "They say the late Empress was a demon, which is why all traces of her were erased; they also say Your Highness is a cold-blooded little demon, not of our kind; they say Your Highness will bring misfortune to the world; they say the position of Crown Prince should belong to Prince Su, and the empire should also belong to Prince Su, after all, his bloodline is pure." Such a delicious breakfast, what a terrible time!
Shen Hegui: "Do you think what he said is true or false?"
Lu Wensheng: "..." Talking about such heavy and dangerous topics so early in the morning? These rumors are ridiculous. They say no, but insist that Shen Hegui is not human. She has lived in this world for eighteen years and has never seen a demon, ghost, god, or immortal. She can't believe any of it. Besides, she has read the book that Xiao Yuan gave her. There are forty free chapters, totaling 380,000 words, and all the characters are human.
Seeing that Lu Wensheng did not answer, Shen Hegui said again, "There are no rulers and subjects here, so it doesn't matter what you say."
It was probably the scene in front of her house that gave her courage: "Whether it is true or false is none of my business. Even if His Highness is not human, His Highness is still His Highness. The throne has always been awarded to the capable. As for blaming one person for disaster, I think it is because of a lack of understanding and inability to explain the cause, so I tend to find a specific person to take the blame."
"For example, if a dam collapses because it exceeds its capacity, causing floods that inundate farmland and result in a complete crop failure, and they can't find any human cause but are desperate for an explanation, then they hear that a woman upstream who is considered unlucky for her husband and children has drowned herself. This poor woman, unable to defend herself, becomes the scapegoat. Of course, the claim that she's unlucky for her husband and children is absurd; ultimately, it's the fault of poverty and ignorance." Having spoken his mind, Lu Wensheng felt a sense of relief.
“If that’s what you think, why did you choose Prince Su four years ago?” Shen Hegui asked.
Lu Wensheng paused for a moment before saying, "The governor of Yingtian is on Prince Su's side. At first, I was under his protection, so I naturally belonged to Prince Su's lineage. By the time I realized this, I had no choice. Besides, once you enter the court, if you want to live a peaceful life without any trouble, you have to choose sides. Your Highness is a prince, and Prince Su is also a prince. In the Yanjing court, they both have more power and influence than I do."
Shen Hegui: "When did you realize you had no choice?"
Lu Wensheng: "Before the palace examination."
Shen Hegui said, “Since that’s the case, I intend to remove you from the top three. Why don’t you want to do that? Leaving the Yanjing court and being sent to serve as an official outside the capital means you will be far away from my struggle with Shen Zhao. With your talent, you will surely return to the capital one day.”
Lu Wensheng pressed down on the curtain that was being blown by the wind. Instead of lying or making excuses, he told the truth, which was unusual for him: "I have my reasons. I have to stay in Yanjing."
It turns out that four years ago, Shen Hegui wasn't deliberately making things difficult for her; it was for her own good. It turns out that he had also tried to recruit her. It turns out that she didn't have to be this court jester.
Unfortunately, a person's background and experience can influence their judgment and decisions. She was short-sighted and judged others by her own petty standards.
Shen Hegui did not ask any further questions.
Through the carriage curtain, the voice of a member of the Imperial Guard came: "Your Highness, Lord Lu, we have arrived."
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