Chapter 17 Moonlit Night, Wind Blowing Snow, Alone and Desolate.
Shen Mi hurriedly tugged at his sleeve, her eyes full of pleading, "Your Highness, about what happened at Kaibao Temple before the New Year..."
Gu Zhan let her hold his hand without letting go, a faint weariness appearing between his brows. "Consort Shen, do I need to remind you again?"
Shen Mi was taken aback, withdrew her hand, lowered her eyes and said in a low voice, "It was I who overstepped my bounds."
The night wind was still, blowing people's clothes fluttering. Snowflakes quickly covered the shoulders of the two of them. Neither of them spoke first, and they walked silently one after the other on the palace road. Only when palace servants passed by would Gu Zhan raise his hand to help her and tell her to watch her step. When they were alone, he would just walk ahead on his own.
Not far from the main banquet hall, Gu Zhan suddenly stopped and said to her, "You go back first, I'll sober up outside."
Shen Mi moved slightly closer to him and smelled the scent of wine emanating from his sleeves. Perhaps he had been drinking with the Tangut envoys at the banquet and had drunk a bit too much in order to maintain national dignity.
She bowed to Gu Zhan and said, "Drinking alcohol and catching a cold will cause a headache. I will go and fetch a cloak for Your Highness."
Gu Zhan raised his hand to stop her: "No need."
After carefully considering her words, Shen Mi advised, "Your Highness may still be busy with state affairs and daily matters after the New Year, and I'm afraid you cannot afford to be unwell."
Gu Zhan glanced back at her. "But I'll be waiting for you at the Moon Pavilion ahead." He had already turned his back, but then turned back again and asked, "Do you know the way?"
Shen Mi's heart skipped a beat. This was the first time in nearly two months since she married into the Eastern Palace that Gu Zhan had shown her any concern in words, and it wasn't just for show in front of others. She looked up and gently curved her lips, saying, "I recognize you."
Gu Zhan nodded, turned around again, leaving her with only his back.
Shen Mi remained in place for a long time before following the route Su Xingjian had just told her towards the banquet hall.
The banquet was held in the main hall of the Taiji Hall, while the two side halls served as places for the officials and their families attending the banquet to place their thick clothes. If anyone was unable to hold their liquor, they could also rest and chat in the side halls. When Shen Mi arrived at the west side hall, she found several women and concubines sitting together chatting. She exchanged pleasantries with a few she knew, while the others simply nodded politely in response.
She had intended to take her clothes and leave, since she wasn't very familiar with these noblewomen. To avoid any trouble, she didn't want to get entangled with them. It would be troublesome if she encountered the Su family mother and daughter again, either at Kunning Palace or on the road.
But things didn't go as planned.
Just as Shen Mi was about to leave, she was stopped by a woman she didn't recognize: "Is this the Crown Prince's new concubine, Consort Shen?"
Out of politeness, she had no choice but to nod in agreement.
"I've always heard that His Highness the Crown Prince dotes on and protects you, and seeing you today, I truly feel pity for you," the woman said with a smile.
Shen Mi responded with a smile, knowing that too much talk could lead to mistakes, and did not respond to the woman's remark.
“That’s right. When His Highness left early, he said that Consort Shen had been changing her clothes for quite a while, and he was very worried. Her Majesty the Empress immediately granted his request.” Another person chimed in.
Shen Mi listened with a puzzled look. Was Gu Zhan really out looking for her?
"I see you're holding His Highness's cloak, isn't that it? So His Highness was so anxious to find someone that he forgot to wear his cloak."
Unable to fathom their thoughts, Shen Mi simply said, "Please don't laugh at me, everyone. I must go find His Highness first."
These words drew laughter from the group, who remarked that the newlyweds were indeed deeply in love and affectionate.
Only after leaving the side hall did Shen Mi suppress her smile and gently shake her head, wishing that things could really be like that between her and Gu Zhan.
The Jianyue Pavilion wasn't too hard to find, and Shen Mi quickly found the way. She could see the plaque of "Jianyue Pavilion" in the distance, but when she looked down, she saw a pair of figures standing inside.
She recognized the man's figure immediately; it was Gu Zhan. And the woman standing opposite her was none other than Su Yuzhao.
Although Su Xingjian had already explained to her that on the day of the banquet at Fanlou, Su Yuzhao had taken Gu Zhan's place at the door while he was drunk, and she had believed him then, what was she seeing now?
Is this also a coincidence?
Su Yuzhao smiled broadly, her hands behind her back, but she leaned forward and tilted her head to look up at Gu Zhan: "If Your Highness has some free time in the future, you must go to Huaiyang. This time, I went with my father, and my brother also took me to Lin'an. It was truly 'auspicious osmanthus in autumn and lotus flowers for miles.' The ten scenic spots of West Lake are even more breathtaking."
Su Yuzhao kept talking, while Gu Zhan remained taciturn, only looking south, towards the Huaiyang and Lin'an directions that Su Yuzhao mentioned, occasionally nodding in response to Su Yuzhao.
Su Yuzhao, however, did not feel tired of Gu Zhan's "perfunctory" attitude, as if she had long been used to it.
But Shen Mi wondered if it was just her imagination. Her gaze fell on Gu Zhan's profile. The moonlight in the distance shone down and enveloped him. Even though his expression was still indifferent, there was a hint of gentleness in that indifference. He was not entirely cold.
She clutched Gu Zhan's dark brocade cloak in her hand. When she saw the figure in the pavilion, she felt the soft down at the edge of the cloak become prickly. She wanted to speak, but she didn't know whether she should or not, or what she should say.
The night wind blows snow, and I am all alone and desolate.
Just then, someone called her from behind, "Consort Shen?"
Shen Mi lowered her eyes to wipe away the tears in them before turning around. The person in front of her was Su Xingjian.
Su Xingjian noticed the cloak in her arms and asked with a smile, "Is Consort Shen here to deliver clothes to His Highness?"
Shen Mi nodded gently.
Su Xingjian noticed her slightly red eyes and understood. He intentionally covered up the fact that she had been standing there for a long time, saying, "It seems that Consort Shen has just arrived, and I have just arrived as well."
Su Yuzhao and Gu Zhan, who were originally standing in the pavilion, turned around and looked over when they heard the sound.
Shen Mi didn't dare to look, but bowed to Gu Zhan and tried her best to imitate Gu Zhan, saying in a businesslike tone, "Your Highness, your cloak."
Su Xingjian glanced at Shen Mi first, noticing her tightly clutching the edge of her cloak. His mind was clear, and he then said to Su Yuzhao, "Yuzhao, I told you to wait for me here. How could you offend His Highness?"
Gu Zhan walked down the steps, and Su Yuzhaoye followed him down, standing next to Su Xingjian and muttering, "I never expected to run into His Highness the Crown Prince."
"Put these on for me." Gu Zhan glanced at the clothes in Shen Mi's arms and stood in front of Shen Mi.
Shen Mi did as she was told, but Gu Zhan was tall and she couldn't reach the ties of his cloak. She could only whisper in his ear, "Please bend down, Your Highness."
Su Xingjian tried to smooth things over, saying, "Since we've run into each other here, why don't we find a side hall and have the palace servants bring over some tea, snacks, and wine?"
Shen Mi knew she couldn't join their conversation. Although her mother was from Runzhou, she had never been there in her eighteen years of life. Before her father went to Yanzhou to take up his post, she lived in Bianjing with her family. Later, she went to Yanzhou. She had always heard her mother talk about the scenery of Jiangnan, but she had never actually been there.
So she politely declined Su Xingjian's invitation, making an excuse: "No need," and then looked at Gu Zhan, "I am still recovering from a cold and do not wish to pass on my duties to you all, so I will take my leave now."
Shen Mi knew that this was the only way for her to maintain her dignity while they were chatting and laughing.
But she hadn't caught a cold, which Gu Zhan knew. After she said that, Gu Zhan frowned slightly and looked at her.
Shen Mi's heart leaped into her throat. Gu Zhan, was he going to keep her here?
She looked up at Gu Zhan, a sense of anticipation rising in her heart, and then saw Gu Zhan raise his hand and place it on her shoulder.
The falling snow, though only a fleeting touch, stirred a dense drumbeat within her heart.
A note from the author:
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