0032 Lady's Shadow Grass (Part 3)
On the thirteenth day of the second month of the sixth year of Chongde, the battle report from the southern frontier arrived at the emperor's desk before the morning court session, thanks to the fast-moving messengers.
Several days ago, the Gan Gu clan attempted to incite the mountain bandits and outlaws in the Sichuan and Hunan regions to gather their troops and jointly resist the crushing force of the imperial army.
However, after receiving the intelligence, Shu Rongguang acted first and infiltrated the bandit stronghold alone to negotiate with its leader.
Not only did they resolve the crisis without firing a single shot, but they also recruited over a thousand vicious bandits to the Dali Kingdom.
Emperor Chongde was overjoyed upon hearing the news and bestowed a first-rank imperial banquet upon the Shu family to comfort the meritorious official's family.
Madam Li was fasting and bathing in a temple outside the city to pray for her son's well-being when she heard the good news. In an instant, most of her worries disappeared.
In addition, the food, clothing and other necessities in the nunnery were far inferior to those in the Shu residence, and her old bones could hardly bear it. So, under the persuasion of the servants around her, she finally made up her mind to return to the residence.
Before dawn, Madam Luo summoned her three daughters to her side. She sat in the hall and looked down at them. Seeing that they were all dressed elegantly and appropriately, she secretly nodded in approval.
Madam Li came from a prestigious family in Langzhong. Before she was married, she was a model of proper conduct for young ladies. Now, she is an old lady who has served two dynasties. Not to mention the younger generation fearing her, even Madam Luo is a little intimidated by her. Therefore, she pays special attention to the appearance of her sisters, for fear of being found to have made a mistake.
“Your grandmother sent word a few days ago that the carriages and horses would arrive at the city gate before 9 a.m. today,” Madam Luo said, sitting in the main seat with a teacup in hand, taking a sip with a gentle and refined manner. “So I thought I would take you sisters out of the city to greet her, as a way to show our filial piety as the younger generation.”
All three of them respectfully agreed, and Luo's gaze then fell on Shu Wei, who was seated at the head of the table.
Today, Shu Wei wore a light green jacket and skirt with dark plum blossom patterns, and her hair was styled in a low bun, simply secured with a few jade hairpins. She looked like a new bamboo swaying precariously in the cold wind.
She was preparing to go to her grandmother's place and play the victim, complaining about her misfortunes.
Madam Luo suppressed the sarcasm in her smile and said gently, "Speaking of which, Yaolang is also on holiday today. Last holiday, he used the excuse of having heavy schoolwork to stay away from home. This time, his grandmother is back, and we have also been granted a royal banquet by the Emperor. We can't let him fool around outside again."
“Yuan Niang, please make a trip to Lanshan Academy and bring your younger brother back.”
Upon hearing this, Shu Wei looked up, a look of surprise flashing in her eyes, but she still stood up and agreed.
So the Shu family split into two groups. Shu Wei led a group of servants to Lanshan Academy to pick up Shu Mingde by carriage, while Luo Shi led Shu Fu, Shu Yin and other attendants to Baqiao outside Chang'an City to wait for Madam Li's carriage.
...
The group sat in the pavilion near Ba Bridge for a short while, and as the sky and earth met in the distance, dust began to rise, and a blue-curtained carriage slowly approached.
Luo hurriedly led her people to meet them. The car door was pushed open from the inside, and a simply dressed old woman emerged first. After getting out of the car, the old woman immediately turned around and helped an old woman out of the car.
Madam Li was over fifty years old, dressed in a camel-colored brocade robe. Her gray hair was combed with hair oil until it was shiny and then carefully pinned on top of her head with a comb, giving her a dignified and solemn appearance.
Supported by her personal servant, she slowly stepped down from the carriage. After recognizing that Shu Wei was not among the people welcoming her, she glanced indifferently at Madam Luo.
"Didn't Vera come with you to greet me?"
Madam Luo had anticipated this question, so she lowered her eyes and said respectfully, "I'm afraid my aunt doesn't know, but today is the day when Yaolang Academy lets out for the day."
“My son is still young, and Lanshan Academy is far outside the city. I was worried about him, so I sent Yuanniang to bring him back. Please don’t blame me for taking matters into my own hands, Aunt.”
Upon hearing this answer, Madam Li did not ask any further questions. Instead, she turned to look at the two women behind Madam Luo and said, "Second Madam and Third Madam have both grown taller since the beginning of the year."
She reached out her hand, gesturing for the two sisters to come forward and help her. The two sisters quickly did as she was told, supporting Madam Li's arms on either side.
"The sun is about to rise, so let's rest here for a while and then head home as soon as possible, lest we keep the messengers who are bringing the banquet waiting for us."
...
Shu Wei leisurely made her way to the foot of Mount Arashi. Just then, Mount Arashi Academy let out for the day, and countless spirited young people came down the mountain together. The young people were beaming and talking freely in the rice fields.
These people have not yet entered officialdom, and they all harbor a burning passion and fervor.
The sky was vast and the sun was high in the sky. Soft sunlight streamed down from the heavens, falling brightly on the still vibrant faces of these young students.
Shu Wei lifted the carriage curtain, intending to keep an eye on Shu Mingde's movements, but was caught off guard by the sight of these youthful faces, and was inexplicably stunned.
One of the handsome young men saw a carriage parked at the foot of the mountain and asked in surprise, "Hey, Mingde, is that your carriage?"
Shu Mingde was only ten years old that year. Because of his early intelligence, he entered Lanshan Academy to study at a young age. However, he was too young. His classmates were all teenagers or young men in their twenties, and they addressed each other as "Brother So-and-so". But he was called "Little Mingde".
Shu Mingde was furious about this and swore many times that he would never associate with such a person again. However, after hearing this, he couldn't help but take another look.
The carriage was parked some distance away under a pine tree, and a young woman's face appeared in the window. She saw him and waved to him from afar.
It really is the Shu family's car.
Seeing this, Shu Mingde had no choice but to bow to everyone and say, "Since my family has sent someone to fetch me, I must go home first today and meet with you all another day."
Seeing that Shu Mingde had parted from his classmates and was heading this way, Shu Wei lowered the carriage curtain, took a cup of tea from Xu'er's hand, lowered her eyes and took a sip: "Guess why Madam sent me to pick up Yaolang?"
Before Xu'er could reply, Shu Wei said to herself, "It's just a way to get rid of me so that they can go to Grandmother and complain about me first."
"What should we do then?" Xu'er's expression suddenly changed, and she looked at the woman in front of her with great concern. "What if the old lady is prejudiced and believes their stories?"
Shu Wei put down her teacup, reached out and stroked the dark patterns on her sleeve, her brows and eyes slowly relaxing.
“Grandmother won’t blame me, absolutely not.”
Besides, is there really no benefit to picking up Shu Mingde?
Shu Wei recalled how her younger brother had achieved high honors at a young age in her past life, how he had risen step by step to the highest ranks of officialdom, and how he had ultimately stood up for his older sister's absurd decision. A smile unconsciously appeared in her eyes.
Shu Mingde was only ten years old that year, and his mind was not yet settled. If she had become Shu Mingde's closest older sister first, even if that person was wary of his younger brother's position in the court, he would not have betrayed her so openly.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
