Chapter 66 "Are you going to trap me for the rest of my life?"...
A portrait of a young woman?
Upon hearing this, Gu Zhan's brows, which had just relaxed, furrowed again.
Shen Mi didn't notice Gu Zhan's expression. After greeting him, she continued to look through the scrolls beside her.
On the contrary, Xiao Man, whether she heard Gu Zhan's voice or smelled his scent, began to stir restlessly in Shen Mi's arms.
Shen Mi noticed Xiao Man's movements, stroked its soft fur, and coaxed it gently before calling Dan Ju in. She handed Xiao Man to Dan Ju and instructed, "Xiao Man looks a little hungry. Take it downstairs and feed it some of its favorite bread crumbs. It's been cold lately, so tell it to stay obediently in the side hall and not run around. Be careful not to catch a cold."
Danju agreed to all of them.
After rinsing her hands with a handkerchief and wiping away the cat hair, Shen Mi looked at Gu Zhan and asked, "Would Your Highness like some hot tea to warm yourself up?"
Over time, she had become somewhat accustomed to the heavy chains binding her ankles, so she didn't go to Gu Zhan. Instead, she placed a cup of hot tea on a small table beside the soft couch and stood by the couch, waiting for Gu Zhan to sit down.
Gu Zhan originally wanted to say that Shen Mi was quite fond of the cat, but after seeing the cup of hot tea on the small table, his anger subsided considerably. However, when he saw the woman's features, he felt a strange sense of familiarity mixed with strangeness.
Mingming had become much more "obedient" during this time, and she didn't resist the chain on her ankle much. She would only complain a little when it rubbed against her ankle. She would serve him a cup of hot tea when he came back and would not refuse any of his requests. Whether in daily interactions or in bed, she treated him with the same gentle words and tenderness as she had when they first got married five or six years ago, as if she were really just a wife who had fulfilled her duties.
Everything was exactly as he wanted, but he couldn't see a trace of the old Shen Mi in her; instead, it seemed like she was just going through the motions.
It seemed that Shen Mi was getting further and further away from him.
Seeing that Gu Zhan was standing motionless by the screen, Shen Mi couldn't help but call out, "Your Highness?"
Gu Zhan glanced at Shen Mi, hummed in agreement, and walked towards her. As usual, he casually put his arm around her waist and sat down with her on the soft couch.
Shen Mi did not resist, but let him do as he pleased. She picked up the other scroll that had been arranged and spread it out on the small table in front of the two of them. She said, "I just found a few pretty girls for Your Highness. This one is the second daughter of Minister Xue. Judging from the portrait, she has a dignified appearance. I heard that she is very good at playing chess. If she enters the Eastern Palace, she may be able to play chess with Your Highness."
"This is the youngest daughter of Minister Zhang. Her aunt is Lady Zhang in the palace. I saw her at the New Year's Eve banquet in the palace a while ago. She is quite slender, lively and cheerful, and her smile is very endearing. I think Your Highness will like her."
"And this is Her Majesty the Empress's niece. She is beautiful and elegant, a skilled rider, a good polo player, and has a straightforward personality. Your Highness should have met her before."
Shen Mi's mind was completely focused on the portraits in front of her, and she didn't notice Gu Zhan's gradually darkening expression. She simply laid out the portraits of the three women in front of Gu Zhan one by one for him to choose from.
Gu Zhan forcibly suppressed his anger, tightened his arms around Shen Mi's waist, and asked her, "So, Zhi Niang spent the whole day choosing these?"
Shen Mi nodded gently and said, "After all, it concerns His Highness, so I have to pay attention. But these few are just those I selected after considering their family background, appearance, and personality. If His Highness doesn't like any of them, he can also look at these portraits." As she spoke, she went to get the scroll that she had originally excluded.
Gu Zhan reached out and stopped her from taking other portraits. After a moment, he whispered in her ear, "Should I praise Zhi Niang for being 'virtuous'?"
Although Shen Mi felt that Gu Zhan was different from usual today, his temperament seemed to be unpredictable and capricious. Therefore, Shen Mi only said, "These are just my duties as the Crown Princess. Whether they enter the Eastern Palace now or follow His Highness into the harem in the future, they will spend their lives with His Highness and me. So I dare not be careless in the slightest."
Gu Zhan restrained his emotions and coldly asked, "The Empress sent women to my Eastern Palace, and you accepted them so calmly?"
Shen Mi glanced at the portraits on the small table but did not put them away. She replied to Gu Zhan, "I cannot refuse a gift from an elder. Her Majesty the Empress pitied me for being 'seriously ill' and unable to serve His Highness, so she sent these portraits to the Eastern Palace. If I do not accept them, wouldn't Her Majesty the Empress think I am jealous?"
Gu Zhan tightened his arms around the woman's waist. "According to you, since accepting her was out of necessity, why did you choose her so carefully? Zhi Niang, are you so eager for another woman to enter the Eastern Palace, so eager to push me to someone else?"
As he spoke, he turned Shen Mi's face, which she had been turning away from, so that she had no choice but to look at him directly.
He had been working tirelessly on the Shen family's case, confronting the Wei Prince's faction from the end of last year to the beginning of this year. The matter was finally resolved, and he thought he could finally breathe a sigh of relief. But when he returned to the Eastern Palace, he was met with Shen Mi selecting other concubines for him. How could he not be angry?
Shen Mi's eyelashes trembled slightly. "Your Highness is now the Crown Prince of Daqi. After you sit on that throne, you will inevitably have to deal with the harem. The Emperor and the Empress are so loving, and there is also the favored Consort Li in the palace, as well as other princesses and princes. This is not because I intend to push Your Highness to others or select other concubines for Your Highness. It is simply my duty as the Crown Princess."
Gu Zhan laughed angrily, "So, all you see in me is 'duty'?"
After a moment of silence, Shen Mi pursed her lips and said, "Wasn't Your Highness and I bound together by an imperial decree of marriage from the very beginning? If my father and brothers were still alive, and if there hadn't been that imperial decree of marriage, perhaps I would never have had the chance to speak a single word to Your Highness in this life, and there would have been no such thing as what happened back then. Perhaps Your Highness could have married a Crown Princess he truly cherished, and lived a close and loving relationship with her, and would not have ended up binding and restricting her with these chains." She lowered her eyes, looking at the chain winding on the ground.
Gu Zhan followed her gaze and looked at the chain. He released his grip on Chen Mi's face and said, "Only you, Zhi Niang, it is only because of you that I could do this."
Shen Mi suppressed the urge to cry, turned her head away, and said, "So, you're going to use this chain to bind me for the rest of my life? Are we really going to live this life together, harboring resentment and tormenting each other?"
"In your opinion, being with me is torture?" A deep sense of unease washed over Gu Zhan.
Shen Mi remained silent, which was taken as tacit agreement.
Seeing her so stubborn and obstinate, Gu Zhan sighed, then picked her up and carried her to the bed.
Shen Mi guessed what he was going to do. Knowing she couldn't resist, she didn't struggle as she usually did, letting Gu Zhan do as he pleased. But the moment she lay down on the couch, she saw that Gu Zhan's eyes were filled with red blood vessels.
For some reason, her heart also clenched.
Gu Zhan did not remove her clothes, but simply wiped away the tears that slid down her face as she lay down. He then got up and added the calming incense that made her feel drowsy as soon as she smelled it into the incense burner.
In the last moment before her consciousness slipped from wakefulness into sleep, whether it was her imagination or not, she heard Gu Zhan say, "We won't torture each other. There's still a long road ahead, things will get better."
However, she no longer had the strength to answer Gu Zhan's question and could only close her heavy eyelids.
After taking a bath, Gu Zhan lay down beside Shen Mi and pulled her into his arms from the side. He didn't do what he usually did; he simply held her in his arms, pressing his chest against her back, and told her to lean against him.
It doesn't matter. He and Shen Mi will be married in two months. Once he has dealt with any villains who might try to break them up, there will be no more obstacles between him and Shen Mi.
His mind was preoccupied with the Shen family case. Although he was holding Shen Mi, he didn't sleep well that night and didn't wake up until before dawn.
He didn't let Danju wake Shenmi. Instead, after changing his clothes, he went to see those people who had been brought back to the East Palace the day before and who could be considered witnesses in the case.
These people were originally guarded in the East Palace by Yang Qing and his men. Gu Zhan did not speak, and Yang Qing did not interrogate them. But as soon as these people saw him, they crawled towards him on their knees. He did not ask them anything and confessed everything.
Based on the testimonies obtained from these people, the deaths of Shen Yu and Shen Cong were indeed not accidental, but rather a premeditated murder.
Some were Shen Cong's subordinates, while others were Wang Chengxian's. According to their confessions, Wang Chengxian's collusion with the enemy was not a recent development. As early as that year, Shen Cong discovered that he had stolen the Yanzhou defense map. Fearing exposure, he colluded with the Dangxiang people to trap Shen Yu and his son Shen Cong in a valley when they came out of the city to meet the enemy. Outnumbered, Shen Yu and Shen Cong fought bravely but were no match for the enemy and were killed in battle. The ordinary soldiers who knew the truth were either killed or wounded, and none of them remained in the camp. Everyone thought that Shen Yu and Shen Cong had died in battle, but little did they know that it was Wang Chengxian's act of silencing them.
Wang Chengxian was repeatedly promoted over the years for his "meritorious defense of the city." If it weren't for this mistake being discovered by the Shaanxi military commissioner, he would probably have continued his treacherous act of colluding with the enemy.
Before leaving, Gu Zhan instructed Yang Qing to keep a close watch on the people in the Eastern Palace and not to allow any of them to commit suicide. After obtaining their confessions, he entered the palace.
Shen Mi's father and brother not only died in battle, but were even unjustly killed. Therefore, he has two purposes today: first, to clear Shen Yu and Shen Cong's names; and second, after this matter is resolved, to submit a memorial requesting that the two be posthumously honored and given further official titles and ranks. At the same time, the fact that the people he sent yesterday stopped the Wei King's faction from planting false evidence at Shen's residence is enough to prove that this matter was fabricated by the Wei King to target him, and was purely a baseless accusation.
Yesterday, the Minister of Justice wrote a note to the Imperial Guards to search the Shen residence. It was ostensibly a search, but in reality, it was a setup. His men stopped it, which was a foregone conclusion, so he was not worried.
But Li Xiang stepped forward first, holding his tablet, and said, "Your Majesty, Guo Feng, the Minister of Justice, died last night."
The court was immediately in an uproar.
The emperor was also quite shocked by this: "How could he have died so suddenly out of the blue?"
Li Xiang replied, "Guo Feng went to a brothel last night. He probably drank too much. It also snowed suddenly last night. His horse slipped because of its hooves. Guo Feng was not in his right mind after drinking and could not control the horse. He fell off the horse. When the imperial guards on patrol found him this morning, he was already a stiff and cold body."
After all, they were colleagues. Even if some people didn't get along with Guo Feng in private, they still sighed in front of the emperor and several high-ranking officials.
He died after falling from his horse while drunk on a snowy night. It certainly sounds like an accident, but even if it was intentional, there's no way to find out.
Normally, this might indeed be considered an accident. According to regulations, the Ministry of Rites should be instructed to compile his life story and write a biography, and his close friends should write his epitaph. The epitaph should then be submitted to his family for verification. Once everything was confirmed to be correct, it should be recorded in the national history, and that would be the end of the matter.
But this happened just as Wang Chengxian's case was about to be closed.
Guo Feng had just sent a note to the Imperial Guards yesterday, instructing his men to hide false evidence at Shen's residence to frame him. However, Gu Zhan discovered this first and dispatched another Imperial Guard to intercept the man at Shen's residence, confirming his framing attempt. But by the time the matter was investigated, the palace gates were already closed. Even if Gu Zhan wanted to investigate, he would have to wait until the next day. Unfortunately, the unexpected happened that very night.
Guo Feng, a Minister of Justice, would never have dared to do such a thing. It's no doubt that someone instructed him. But who instructed him? With Guo Feng's death from his fall from his horse, that person was also buried under the heavy snow of last night.
Even if Gu Zhan presented the matter of stopping Guo Feng from sending people to fabricate evidence at the Shen residence last night, there would be no way to verify it. It would then become clear that Guo Feng, as the Minister of Justice, had been bogged down in the Wang Chengxian case for months and was eager to close the case, so he fabricated "evidence".
It does sound absurd, and Guo Feng had no reason to ruin his future. However, Guo Feng is dead, so any further speculation is just that—speculation—and there is no evidence to support it.
Gu Zhan originally wanted to use this incident to retaliate against the King of Wei, but for the time being, he could not find any more evidence to prove that the King of Wei had instructed him to do so. Since the King of Wei had "cut off his own arm," he had already dealt with all the evidence that might involve him.
He had no choice but to suppress the matter and put it aside for the time being.
Although the evidence in his hands could not directly prove that the matter was related to the Prince of Wei, it was enough to prove that the Shen family was innocent. If the Shen family was innocent, then Gu Shen's attacks on Gu Zhan a few days ago were simply unfounded.
Gu Zhan revealed the truth of what happened back then to the Emperor and his ministers. The Emperor, pitying the Shen family's loyalty and bravery, posthumously conferred titles upon Shen Yu, making him the Marquis of Zhongxin. The Crown Princess Shen, formerly the Princess of Jianing Township, was also promoted to the Princess of Jianing County. The Emperor also reassured Gu Zhan.
For Wang Chengxian, the two crimes of treason and framing loyal officials would result in beheading and the extermination of his entire family.
In this battle, Gu Zhan suffered no losses, but King Wei lost a great general like Guo Feng in order to protect himself. So far, it seems that Gu Zhan has indeed won slightly.
Everyone thought the matter was over, but then an imperial censor impeached the crown prince in court for arbitrarily mobilizing troops and obstructing the Ministry of Justice from handling the case.
One wave subsides only for another to rise.
When faced with a challenge, Gu Zhan revealed that his plan from the previous night was merely a temporary measure. At the same time, he instructed Guo Feng to have his men plant false evidence at the Shen residence to bring the matter to light and prove his innocence.
The emperor was furious upon hearing this and withdrew his order to have the Ministry of Rites give Guo Feng a grand funeral.
However, the Wei King's faction did not give up. Instead, they used this incident as bait, claiming that Gu Zhan had been secretly colluding with the Imperial Guards and was suspected of treason.
Gu Zhan had anticipated this incident, and some of his usual supporters argued for him in court. In the end, perhaps to save face for the crown prince, the emperor only told Gu Zhan that this was a one-time exception and that he should not interfere in court affairs for the time being, but should return to the Eastern Palace to reflect on his actions.
He saw it clearly: to put it bluntly, this was house arrest, but it only stripped him of his power to interfere in politics for a period of time; it did not restrict his freedom of movement.
However, as long as he remains the crown prince, he has a chance to turn the tide.
At this point, he and Gu Shen were only evenly matched.
There were many matters to attend to in court today, and it was nearly noon when the court session ended. However, due to the Emperor's physical exhaustion, he had to interrupt a certain official's impassioned speech and ordered the eunuch beside him to announce the end of the court session.
When Gu Zhan returned to the East Palace, he bumped into a female official from the Imperial Wardrobe.
The female official bowed to him and said, "Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Prince."
Gu Zhan glanced at the palace maid carrying a tray behind her and asked, "Is this the wedding attire I will wear with the Crown Princess in two months?"
The lady-in-waiting said, "Yes, the garment has been made according to the previous measurements and the pattern agreed upon by His Highness. It has been sent to the East Palace for His Highness and the Crown Princess to try it on and provide feedback so that we can take it back to make further alterations."
Gu Zhan nodded and asked Sun Cheng to lead the way. He and the female officials from the Imperial Wardrobe Bureau headed towards the Qingluan Palace.
Shen Mi was already used to the days when Gu Zhan was not by her side when she opened her eyes, and she was also used to Dan Ju's silence when she asked questions. So she simply asked Dan Ju to grind ink for her and then stood in front of the table to practice calligraphy.
She hadn't seen the scrolls the Empress had sent when she woke up today. When she asked Danju, she learned that Gu Zhan had ordered all the portraits to be burned.
But she was only surprised for a moment. For her now, it was nothing unusual for Gu Zhan to do such a thing.
She had just paused writing when she inadvertently turned around and saw through the window a group of palace servants following Gu Zhan. Although she didn't know why they had come, she instinctively tried to hide the chains on her ankles. However, the chains extended from the wall beside the bed, and even though she hid the part at her ankles under her dress, she couldn't hide the part lying on the floor. She could only put down her pen and, before Gu Zhan entered the room, dragged the chains back onto the couch, covering them completely with the quilt, as if this would preserve her dignity.
She didn't want to be treated as Gu Zhan's possession, Gu Zhan's possession locked in the bedroom with chains.
As soon as Shen Mi sat back down on the couch, Gu Zhan pushed open the door and entered; only Gu Zhan was there.
Gu Zhan's gaze lingered for a moment on the calligraphy that Shen Mi had only half-finished copying. The ink on it was not yet completely dry, and Shen Mi had already sat back on the couch. It was easy to guess all of Shen Mi's thoughts.
He sat down on the edge of the couch, took Shen Mi's hand in his, and sure enough, there were still ink stains on her fingertips that she hadn't had time to wipe off.
Gu Zhan gently curved his lips and chuckled softly, "Don't worry, how could I allow unrelated people to enter our bedchamber?"
Shen Mi lowered her eyes. "Who's outside?"
Gu Zhan got up, took a handkerchief, and wiped the ink off her hands. He said, "It's someone from the Imperial Wardrobe who came to deliver my wedding dress. Would you like to try it on?"
Shen Mi abruptly pulled her hand away from Gu Zhan's and asked, "Do I have the right to refuse?"
Gu Zhan wasn't angry at her attempts to dodge; no matter how much Shen Mi tried to avoid him, she couldn't escape his control.
He turned and told Danju to lead the people to bring in the wedding clothes one by one and wait outside the door.
Gu Zhan took Shen Mi's hand again, holding her fingertips, and asked, "Zhi Niang, will you try on your wedding dress yourself, or should I help you?"
Shen Mi's back stiffened. There were still female officials from the Imperial Wardrobe waiting outside. She didn't dare to think about how awful it would be if Gu Zhan did something "out of line" while she was trying on her wedding dress.
Although she was reluctant to wear the wedding dress, after much hesitation, she bit her lip and agreed: "I'll do it myself."
The Crown Princess's wedding dress was a layered ceremonial robe, which was extremely troublesome to put on. Gu Zhan had already put on his own and was sitting on the soft couch watching Shen Mi change her clothes.
Ironically, she has worn a wedding dress twice in her life. Once was six years ago when she was to marry Gu Zhan as a concubine, and the other time was when she was about to officially become Gu Zhan's Crown Princess. Although neither time was she willing, six years ago, she still admired and longed for the person she was going to marry, even if he was just a concubine. But now that she is about to become the Crown Princess, she seems to see no hope for the future at all.
As long as these chains bound her ankles, she thought, she would never be able to face her marriage with Gu Zhan.
After Gu Zhan saw her put on the outer robe of the Zhaiyi, he got up and took out a shawl adorned with pearls from the tray, and personally draped it over her shoulders.
When he married Shen Mi, he treated it as just a formality, so he didn't pay much attention to Shen Mi, who was adorned with hairpins and ornaments. He simply used a scale rod to lift the veil on her head, intending to drink the nuptial wine with her before consummating their marriage. However, she was still suffering from a cold, and he, who was still young at the time, immediately lost interest in the matter, leaving Shen Mi alone in the empty room. Now, thinking back, he realized that he had truly wasted this auspicious time and it was a real regret.
Fortunately, he will soon be able to officially make up for his real wedding with Shen Mi. At that time, he will worship at the ancestral temple, all officials will pay homage, and the people will watch the procession pass through every part of Bianjing. All the things that were left unfinished back then can be made up for.
Gu Zhan held her shoulders with both hands and said, "Zhi Niang looks beautiful in her wedding dress."
Shen Mi gave a soft "hmm," glanced at the length and width of the garment, and casually remarked, "So, not all ceremonial robes are ever larger than normal clothing..."
Gu Zhan glanced at her and casually said, "Of course, the size of the auspicious robes is measured in advance and then ordered by the Imperial Wardrobe. How could they be too big?"
Shen Mi's nose and eyes stung with tears, and she suddenly shook her head and laughed self-deprecatingly, "So it was me, so ignorant."
Gu Zhan noticed her unusual expression and frowned, asking, "What makes you say that, Zhi Niang?"
Shen Mi took a deep breath and said, "Before this, I wore the 'Zhaiyi' twice. The first time was when I married Your Highness as a concubine, and the second time was when Your Highness held a birthday banquet for me. Both times, the 'Zhaiyi' was a bit larger than my normal clothes."
In retrospect, the problem wasn't actually with the regulations governing the imperial robes; it was because the palace servants were obsequious to the powerful and disdainful of the weak.
Gu Zhan looked at her slightly reddened eyes, "Why didn't you tell me about this back then?"
Shen Mi looked away, not wanting to bring it up again. "Never mind, it's not important, it's all in the past."
Gu Zhan pulled her into his arms, holding her waist with one hand, and whispered in her ear, "Zhi Niang, I truly consider you my wife, someone I can spend my life with. So, if you suffer any injustice, don't hide it from me."
Shen Mi bit her lip and didn't respond.
Over the years, how many grievances has Gu Zhan made her suffer?
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Author's Note: Sorry for the lateness, bowing deeply.
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