Chapter 16, "Relief," seems to be breaking free from the constraints of these palaces, about to...
Shen Mi responded, bowing and clasping her hands in greeting to Su Xingjian: "Young Master Su."
When Su Xingjian heard Gu Zhan call her and saw her, he was stunned for a moment before he hurriedly stood up and bowed deeply: "Your subject greets Consort Shen. Consort Shen need not be so polite with me. After the New Year, I will enter the Eastern Palace to serve as His Highness's Chamberlain. Consort Shen, just like His Highness, call me 'Xingjian'."
Shen Mi subconsciously glanced at Gu Zhan's expression, but Gu Zhan didn't look at her again. She had never heard of Su Xingjian having any wives or concubines. Even if he would become the Crown Prince's tutor and a minister of the Eastern Palace, and even if he became a key minister after Gu Zhan ascended the throne, he would still be considered an outsider. If she were the Crown Princess, she might consider calling him "Xingjian," but she was only a concubine. Gu Zhan had reminded her of her status more than once. After weighing the options, she decided to address Su Xingjian as "Su Zhanshi" from now on.
She didn't say much, but sat quietly next to Gu Zhan, listening to Gu Zhan talk with Su Xingjian.
It seems they truly grew up together. She both respected and feared Gu Zhan. Since marrying into the Eastern Palace, she had been consciously restraining her former nature, never daring to be willful in front of Gu Zhan. In front of the Empress and Gu Chiying, she also tried to remain silent. Seeing that Su Yuzhao and Gu Chiying had no ill feelings towards each other, and that Su Xingjian and Gu Zhan were even closer than Gu Zhan and the Prince of Wei, she couldn't help but think of the times when she herself had been so carefree.
As she thought this, a heavy feeling of bitterness welled up in her heart, and it felt as if a wad of cotton was stuffed into her throat. All she could hear were soft, fragmented voices and the sounds of string and wind instruments. She was all alone and wondered if her father, mother, and brother were doing well in Yanzhou.
Her vision gradually blurred with tears. She had heard people say that wine could drown her sorrows, so she couldn't help but pick up the wine glass beside her. Without tasting the wine's layers, she drank it all in one gulp. The spiciness immediately burned her throat, and the tears that had been welling up in her eyes were brought out by a few coughs.
Cuiwei hurriedly took out a handkerchief from her sleeve and gave it to Chen Mi, "Lady, please slow down, are you alright?"
After catching her breath, Shen Mi gently wiped away the tears on her face with a handkerchief. "It's alright, I just drank too fast."
After she put the handkerchief away, she saw a cup of tea in front of her on her left. She couldn't help but look at Gu Zhan, and was about to thank him when she heard that clear and melodious voice. It wasn't Gu Zhan's voice.
“Shen Liangdi, be careful. The wine at this banquet is made to cater to the tastes of the Tangut people. It is a bit astringent than the fruit wine that is popular in Daqi. If you don’t like it, you can have your servants quietly replace it.”
Shen Mi looked in the direction of the sound and saw Su Xingjian smiling gently at her.
Although Su Xingjian had a good relationship with Gu Zhan, he was different from Gu Zhan. His eyebrows and eyes had gentle curves but were not blunt. He wore a jade pendant at his waist, and his dark green official robes accentuated his refined and elegant temperament. When they first met, he always had a warm smile on his face. He was worthy of the description "a gentleman, gentle and refined like jade".
"Thank you, Master Su." Shen Mi replied politely, lowering her eyes to hide the disappointment between her brows.
She said that Gu Zhan had changed his ways and could even consider such detailed things. Although she didn't have any illusions, she was still somewhat disappointed.
Gu Zhan glanced at her and said calmly, "Be careful next time." After saying that, he instructed the palace maid who was responsible for adding wine to the table to remove the wine in front of Fu Zhen and replace it with the sweet fruit wine that was always prepared in the palace for the women to drink.
However, even if it's just fruit wine, drinking too much can make one feel dizzy. In addition, there were many guests in the hall, and the charcoal brazier made it difficult to breathe. Shen Mi felt slightly unwell and could only tug at Gu Zhan's sleeve, saying, "Your Highness, I am a little unable to hold my liquor. I'd like to go change my clothes."
Gu Zhan nodded: "Go early and come back early, don't linger in other parts of the palace."
Once outside, the cold air rushed into her mouth and nose, and Shen Mi felt a little more conscious.
After changing her clothes, Shen Mi couldn't quite make out the way she came. The palace roads were crisscrossed and quite complicated. She stood at the intersection of the paths, trying hard to recall the way she came, when she unexpectedly bumped into Su Xingjian.
Su Xingjian only sat next to Gu Zhan and said a few words before the banquet officially started. After the banquet officially started, no matter how good his personal relationship with Gu Zhan was, according to etiquette, he could only go to the lower seat of the officials first. Therefore, Shen Mi did not pay attention to his movements anymore.
Su Xingjian bowed to her calmly: "What a coincidence, is Consort Shen also out to enjoy the snow?"
"Enjoying the snow?" Shen Mi was surprised that he left his seat at such an important occasion just to enjoy the snow.
Su Xingjian stood with his hands behind his back, snow clinging to his hair. He gazed at the end of the path and pointed with his free hand. "See that place? There's a Plum Blossom Garden in the palace. At this time of year, the snow reflecting off the red plum blossoms is most enchanting." He then looked at Shen Mi: "I was born in Huaiyang and rarely see snow, yet I've always longed to see it. However, I've heard that Consort Shen lived in Yanzhou for many years. Perhaps you've seen the 'snow-covered bows and swords' described by poets of the previous dynasty?"
His words stirred up Shen Mi's past memories, and she smiled and said, "The snow in Yanzhou is accompanied by a magnificent yet desolate west wind. Once it falls, the mountains and passes turn white. It falls in abundance and continues for days. The people on that land are also chivalrous and heroic, unlike the people of Bianjing who have such tender feelings in their writing."
Thinking back to her life in Yanzhou, she felt as if she wanted to break free from the constraints of the palace and escape its rules.
She didn't look at Su Xingjian, nor did she know that Su Xingjian's gaze lingered on her face for a long time.
He had mentioned Shen Mi when he was chatting with Gu Zhan. Gu Zhan's assessment of Shen Mi was that she was always meek and submissive, and extremely boring. He just listened without commenting. Now it seems that this Consort Shen is not entirely as Gu Zhan described.
After saying this, Shen Mi quickly realized that Su Xingjian and Gu Zhan were on very good terms. To avoid any misunderstanding, she hurriedly said, "Master Su, please don't overthink it. I didn't mean to say that the rules of Bianjing were bad, nor did I mean to speak ill of His Highness."
Upon hearing this, Su Xingjian was surprised. So she was acting this way because of Gu Zhan. He then smiled reassuringly at Shen Mi: "My lady, there is no need to worry. I just thought I met a like-minded friend today. In fact, Your Highness has many concerns and difficulties."
Shen Mi looked at him, her face full of doubt.
Everyone knows that Gu Zhan is the current emperor's eldest son, born to the current empress, but this is not the case; few people know the inside story. The empress had no children in her early years and was initially a concubine of the emperor. Because the emperor loved her, he wanted to make her empress, but this was opposed by the court officials who believed that she had no heir. The emperor then slept with a palace maid named Yang, who was by her side, and lied that she was pregnant. After Yang was ten months pregnant, the child in her womb was born, and this child was Gu Zhan. He was immediately recognized as her child, and it was through this child that she was able to become empress.
Initially, Lady Yang was granted the title of Beauty for her meritorious service in giving birth to children. However, since they were related by blood, Gu Zhan was always closer to Lady Yang during his childhood. To avoid any unforeseen complications and fear that Lady Yang might reveal the truth to Gu Zhan, the Empress found an opportunity to demote Lady Yang to guard the imperial mausoleum.
When Gu Zhan was eleven, he learned the truth. He wanted to question the Empress, but knowing he was powerless, he swallowed all his resentment and endured humiliation. He pretended to be a filial son in front of the Empress to avoid making mistakes. Although he hated the rules, he had to treat them as gospel and accept everything that was arranged for him. His so-called indifference and aloofness were just to avoid giving anyone a handle to use against him. For many years, he secretly asked Su Xingjian to take care of his mother, Yang, hoping that the Emperor would pass away, he would inherit the throne, and bring Yang back to the palace so that he could take care of her.
Su Xingjian recalled the truth behind it, but thought that Gu Zhan probably didn't want Shen Mi to know, so he kept quiet about it.
Shen Mi understood Su Xingjian's predicament and did not press him, saying only, "It's alright, if Your Highness wishes to tell me, you will."
When Su Xingjian saw that Shen Mi's beauty faded like a fleeting flower whenever Gu Zhan was mentioned, he couldn't help but sigh softly: "There is something I want to tell Consort Shen. Not long ago, Your Highness came to Fanlou for a banquet. Consort Shen came to greet Your Highness. Perhaps you saw Your Highness with Yuzhao together. It turns out that I was forced to drink alcohol that day and was already drunk. Yuzhao escorted Your Highness to the banquet on my behalf."
Shen Mi's lips moved, her mind a jumble of thoughts. It turned out she had misunderstood Gu Zhan. After a long while, she could only say, "Thank you for informing me, Master Su."
"Is Consort Shen here also going to admire the plum blossoms?"
Shen Mi shook her head, politely declining Su Xingjian's offer: "No, I came out to get some fresh air and change my clothes, but I got lost in the palace and met Su Zhanshi here."
"I see. If you turn right at the end of this path, you can return to the main banquet hall." Su Xingjian explained the situation and gave her directions.
After Shen Mi left following the path pointed out by Su Xingjian, she encountered several elegantly dressed women. She realized that she had already wasted a lot of time coming out and had no intention of chatting with them, but she was stopped by them.
"Isn't this Consort Shen?"
Shen Mi didn't recognize the speaker. "Who are you?"
The young woman with her sleeves tucked in said, "Oh, you don't recognize me? My surname is Li, and Li Xiang is my father."
Shen Mi's heart skipped a beat. Could it be that Miss Li, who was engaged to Chen Jun?
Before she could speak, Madam Li continued, "I just heard Lady Rongguo say that you and Chen Lang were childhood sweethearts?" She took two steps toward Shen Mi, "So that's why he suddenly wanted to go to Kaibao Temple. It turns out you're still restless even after marrying the Crown Prince. I was wondering why he was transferred from the Hanlin Academy to Huazhou after returning from Kaibao Temple. You're really shameless!"
Shen Mi frowned and said coldly, "Now that I and Young Master Chen have each married our own people, I will no longer dwell on the past. I urge Miss Li to be careful with her words."
"That sounds nice," Li persisted.
She had barely finished speaking when a haughty voice broke through the crowd: "Who's making a scene here?"
Shen Mi recognized Gu Zhan's voice, and everyone quickly greeted him.
Gu Zhan stood beside her, gently putting his arm around her shoulder: "I said I was just changing clothes, why did it take you so long? So you got entangled here?"
The previously aggressive Li Shi immediately fell silent. Gu Zhan ignored her and only said to Shen Mi, "Let's go back first."
Once out of sight of outsiders, Gu Zhan released her, his expression indifferent and aloof.
“Your Highness…” Shen Mi tried to explain.
Gu Zhan said calmly, "No need for further words."
A note from the author:
----------------------
Gu Gou is blinding you to the bigger picture; happiness is something you have to grasp for yourself!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
