Chapter 361: Shocking Changes (Part 1)
Sima Jun did not tell Sun Wei anything.
After this day, Sun Wei returned to the days where she could only see Sima Jun through letters.
For two months, he traveled extensively, inspecting cities large and small from Jiangzhou and Jingzhou. By the time of the autumn harvest, Jiangzhou and Jingzhou had experienced a bumper harvest, and with the surplus grain from the summer harvest, granaries across the country were overflowing with supplies.
Sun Wei learned all this from Sima Jun's letter.
"Your Highness has been away from the capital for two months, and there have been people coming to the palace every few days. Your Highness is afraid that someone will find out about his whereabouts and implicate the Queen, so he only communicates through letters." Yin Wen said.
Sun Wei nodded and asked, "When will Your Highness return to Xunyang?"
"Perhaps he'll be back in a few days," Yin Wen said. "Your Highness has lived in Jiankang for a long time, and the people under him have been acting rather recklessly. A fire broke out in Linchuan County for no apparent reason, burning down the granary. Your Highness is furious and wants to personally investigate the case."
"Okay." Sun Wei nodded.
——
A west wind blew at night, and it was already slightly chilly.
Sun Wei was still thinking about how to reply to Sima Jun.
She had some recollection of the fire in Linchuan County, a past life she'd had before. The destruction of the granary was merely a cover-up for the thieves' actions. She wondered where the stolen grain had been found.
While she was thinking, she suddenly heard someone talking, and then Aju came in and said, "Your Highness is back and has something urgent to see you about."
Sun Wei was shocked.
"Didn't you say you'd be back in a few days..."
After saying this, Sun Wei felt that there was nothing more to ask.
He came here suddenly, something big must have happened.
She quickly put on a cloak and walked to the front hall.
Sima Jun stood in front of the steps without taking off his cloak, looking as if he had no intention of staying long.
Sun Wei walked over and only realized when he got close that Sima Jun looked unhappy.
"What happened?"
Sima Jun said: "The emperor is critically ill and wants to see me for the last time. I must return to the capital immediately."
Sun Wei's head buzzed.
How could this be?
In the previous life, the emperor died of illness three years later, so he should have been fine at this time.
She couldn't help but ask, "Is this news reliable?"
"The news sent from the Empress Dowager's palace must be true."
"I think we should send someone else to confirm it."
Sima Jun shook his head: "It's too late. Since he is critically ill, there is no time to lose."
As he was speaking, Deng Lian came back and said, "Your Highness, the boat is ready."
Sima Jun responded and said to Sun Wei, "Follow me."
Sun Wei hurried to follow him.
Sima Jun walked out, saying, "I'm returning to the capital not only for His Majesty. There's one more thing I wanted to tell you in a few days. Wang Zhi and Wang Kuan are both missing in Guangzhou."
Sun Wei was surprised: "Missing?"
"Exactly."
Sun Wei couldn't help but frown. These two could have returned to Beijing alive, or died in Guangzhou, but why did they disappear?
"This news came a few days ago. When I got the news, Wang Han had already left for Guangzhou," Sima Jun said. "This matter is of great importance. I went to Beijing to investigate the situation."
"The prince is saying that Wang Han is not in the capital right now. So who is in charge of the court?"
"He is the prince."
It is hard to say who will be in charge between the prince and a group of Wang Kan's followers.
Without waiting for Sun Wei to ask, Sima Jun continued, "Zhuo Jing has gone to Jingzhou. I've ordered him to return to Xunyang immediately. He should be back in three days at most. During this time, your Highness must not leave the palace unless absolutely necessary. When Zhuo Jing returns, consult him on everything. While he may not be as intelligent as you, he's quite practical. He's more experienced than you in understanding what can and cannot be done, and how to achieve it."
Seeing that she was distracted, Sima Jun stopped and asked, "Did you remember?"
Sun Wei came back to her senses and said, "I'll remember it."
The palace gate was just before him. Sima Jun mounted his horse, looked down at Sun Wei, and said, "Don't worry, my lady. I will be back as soon as possible."
Sun Wei looked at him. Although she didn't know whether the situation in the palace was true or not, for some reason, she suddenly had a feeling of farewell.
"Your Highness," she hurried forward and grabbed his reins, "If Your Highness must go, please let me go with you so that there's someone to look after you, okay?"
Her eyes were eager, staring only at him.
Sima Jun's eyes flickered for a moment before he said, "If you go, I'm afraid I won't be able to take care of you."
The voice was somewhat gentle, which made Sun Wei's heart move.
She knew that this was true, so she had to loosen the reins.
"In that case, Your Highness, please be careful," she said.
Sima Jun looked at her for a moment, then said, "Hmm," "Wait for me to come back."
After he said that, he gave an order and led his attendants on horseback and galloped away.
Sun Wei watched them go away, his words still echoing in her ears.
——Wait for me to come back.
This sentence is quite familiar, whether in the previous life or this life.
Sun Wei opened her eyes wide and stared at the direction he left, her heart still beating restlessly.
——
After Sima Jun left, the palace returned to peace.
The next day, Yu Kuan returned to the other palace.
This surprised Sun Wei. She had thought Yu Kuan had a grudge against her and wanted to stay away from her.
Unlike before, Yu Kuan was obviously much kinder to her.
Sun Wei thought that Sima Jun must have said something good about her.
"The west wind blew for the past two days, but it finally died down today. It's a beautiful day." Yu Kuan said to Sun Wei, "There's an open area outside the woods of the other palace, perfect for flying kites, and there's also a pond for fishing. I heard that Young Master Sun enjoys fishing, so why don't you invite him out for a walk?"
Sun Wei looked up at the sky, which was a deep blue, indeed very beautiful.
"The steward is thoughtful. But His Highness has instructed me not to leave this palace."
"Your Highness has always been cautious, and this is as it should be," Yu Kuan said. "However, that open space is right next to the annex palace, and the guards are close at hand, so there are no unauthorized people around. The annex palace is remote and small, after all. If your Highness is bored and wants to get some fresh air, I think you can go there without worry."
"I see," Sun Wei said, "but His Highness also instructed that all matters concerning the garrison here be managed by General Chu. I think it would be best to wait until General Chu arrives in Pencheng and let him make the arrangements."
Yu Kuan seemed unaware that Chu Yue was coming and showed a look of surprise. After a moment, he smiled and said, "That's very good. Your Excellency has been more thoughtful."
After he said that, he took his leave.
A'ru brought over a bowl of pear soup and said, "In the early days at Xunyang Palace, Chief Steward Yu was very kind and always considered you in everything. Now he's so inconsistent, so hot and cold, it's a bit hard to understand."
"There are so many people in this palace, everyone has their own thoughts. Now I am just a guest, so it is difficult for me to say anything." Sun Wei said, "Don't think too much, just take care of ourselves and don't cause trouble."
A'ru sat down beside him, picked up her needlework, and said, "I wonder when His Highness will return. Now that you are no longer a princess, you can no longer control others. Although this palace belongs to His Highness, if anyone causes trouble, it will be difficult to protect them."
Sun Wei took a mouthful of pear soup.
It had only been one day since Sima Jun left, but she had been feeling restless all day.
She was not worried about any danger around her, but was thinking about the situation in Jiankang.
After thinking for a while, she wrote a long letter about her speculation and asked the messenger to deliver it to Sima Jun.
Sun Wei thought that by the time this letter reached Sima Jun, he would probably have arrived in Jiankang.
And I don't have to wait for his reply for a long time.
This day was really hard to endure, and I couldn’t sleep well at night.
It was like a dream, like she was awake. She seemed to hear someone talking in the yard, and then someone came into the house and woke her up.
She opened her eyes drowsily and heard Aju say, "Wake up, there are bad guys!"
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