10 Rumors
In her dream, she returned to the imperial garden of her childhood. Her eldest brother carried her on his back while her third brother played the piano. Her father looked at her with a smile. Shen Zhiyuan stood not far away, holding a new wooden horse in his hand and smiling at her gently.
That night, she slept exceptionally soundly, with a smile on her face.
The next morning, when Li Zhaoyi woke up, the first thing she did was touch the small wooden horse beside her pillow.
The heat in the martial arts field faded after the arrival of autumn. The wind carried the scent of dry grass and blew past, picking up a few yellow leaves on the ground.
Li Zhaoyi held the reins, sat on the horse, and looked at Shen Zhiyuan not far away. She felt a little scared. Since the last assassination in the imperial garden,
Shen Zhiyuan insisted that she learn riding and archery, saying, "An emperor must not only understand civil governance, but also know how to protect himself. If he encounters danger next time, he can't always rely on his ministers for protection."
But she had been afraid of horses since she was a child. When she followed her elder brother to the martial arts arena as a child, every time she approached the stable, she would be frightened and step back by the snorting of the horses.
Although the horse "Taxue" under her was the most docile horse in the palace, her palms were still sweating and she held the reins tightly.
"Your Majesty, relax, keep your back straight, and look forward instead of staring at the horse's mane."
Shen Zhiyuan was standing not far away, and his voice could be heard clearly. He was dressed in a tight suit, losing his usual civil servant elegance and gaining a bit of heroic spirit. He was holding a horsewhip in his hand, but he didn't mean to rush, just patiently instructing.
Li Zhaoyi took a deep breath and tried to do as he said, but just as she squeezed the horse's belly, "Treading Snow" took a light step forward.
She was so frightened that her body froze and she almost slipped off the horse. "Mr. Shen!" She exclaimed and subconsciously looked at Shen Zhiyuan.
Seeing this, Shen Zhiyuan hurried over, put his hand on the horse's belly, and spoke in a very gentle tone: "Don't be afraid, I am here. 'Taxue' is very docile and will not harm Your Majesty. Try again, take your time."
His palm was placed on the horse's belly, and a steady force came from it. Li Zhaoyi looked at his calm eyes, and the panic in her heart gradually subsided.
She squeezed the horse's belly again, and "Treading Snow" started to run slowly. It was not fast, and the wind blew across her cheeks, bringing a hint of refreshing coolness, which made her feel somewhat comfortable.
"Yes, just like that, keep your balance." Shen Zhiyuan followed beside the horse, his steps steady, his eyes fixed on her, afraid that she would make any mistakes.
“If you want to turn, pull the reins gently, not too hard.”
Li Zhaoyi followed his instructions and tried to pull the reins. As expected, "Taxue" turned obediently and ran to the other side of the martial arts field.
She gradually found the feeling, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but rise, and her speed also quietly increased a little. It turned out that riding a horse was not as scary as she had imagined.
But just when she relaxed her vigilance, "Taxue" was startled by something, suddenly raised its front hooves and neighed.
Li Zhaoyi was caught off guard and her body fell backwards suddenly. She subconsciously tried to grab the reins, but only grabbed a handful of air and fell heavily to the ground.
"Your Majesty!" Shen Zhiyuan's voice suddenly changed. He almost rushed over, knelt on the ground, and carefully helped her up. "How is it? Where does it hurt? Are there any broken bones?"
Li Zhaoyi fell so hard that her vision went black and she felt a piercing pain in her ankle, which made her frown and tears well up in her eyes.
She looked up at Shen Zhiyuan and found that his face was pale, his eyes were full of panic that she had never seen before, and even his lips were trembling slightly.
"My foot...my ankle hurts so much." Her voice was tearful, and she sounded aggrieved and scared.
Shen Zhiyuan immediately lowered his head and carefully rolled up her trouser legs, only to see that her ankles were swollen and her skin was blue and purple.
He reached out to touch her, but was afraid of hurting her, so his fingers hovered in the air, his eyes filled with heartache: "It's all your fault. I didn't pay attention to the surroundings and let Your Majesty get hurt."
As he spoke, he gently picked up Li Zhaoyi, his movements so gentle as if he was afraid of breaking a rare treasure.
Li Zhaoyi leaned in his arms, and could smell the faint scent of ink mixed with the scent of grass on his body, and could feel the warmth of his chest and his strong heartbeat.
The pain in her ankle seemed to ease a little, but her cheeks gradually became hot. She subconsciously wanted to push him away, but he hugged her tighter.
"Don't move. I will take you to the pavilion next to me to rest. I will call the imperial physician immediately."
Shen Zhiyuan's voice trembled slightly as he walked quickly towards the pavilion not far away. He only had her figure in his eyes. Even the guards in the martial arts field who wanted to come forward to help were stopped by him with a wave of his hand.
Arriving at the pavilion, Shen Zhiyuan carefully placed Li Zhaoyi on the stone bench, then squatted down, gently lifted her ankle, and rubbed it gently with his hands. His movements were gentle, but the strength was just right, which relieved a lot of pain.
"Does it still hurt?" He looked up at her, his eyes full of worry.
"Much better." Li Zhaoyi nodded, and looking at him squatting in front of her, she felt a warm feeling in her heart.
She remembered when she was a child, she accidentally fell down, and her elder brother squatted in front of her, gently rubbing her wound and comforting her, "It doesn't hurt, it doesn't hurt, just blow on it, brother."
But Shen Zhiyuan was not her elder brother, he was her subject, her husband. This realization made her heart sour, and she quickly turned her eyes away, not daring to look into his eyes again.
Soon, the imperial physician rushed over and after examining Li Zhaoyi, he said that it was just a soft tissue contusion and no bone injury. He prescribed some blood-activating and blood-stasis-removing ointment and told her to have a good rest and not to ride a horse in the near future.
Shen Zhiyuan took the ointment and applied it to Li Zhaoyi himself, his movements gentle and his eyes focused.
Li Zhaoyi looked at his serious expression, and the throbbing in her heart became stronger and stronger. She said softly: "Mr. Shen, it's not your fault. It was my own carelessness."
"I blame you." Shen Zhiyuan raised his head, his eyes firm, "I should have checked the environment of the martial arts training ground in advance and shouldn't have put Your Majesty in danger.
Don't be so reckless in the future. If you want to learn horseback archery, you must wait until I confirm it is safe before learning slowly."
His tone was a little accusatory, but more concerned.
Li Zhaoyi looked at him and suddenly asked, as if possessed by a strange force: "Mr. Shen, if... if you were my father, would you also protect me like this?"
As soon as she said it, she regretted it. It was too intimate and even crossed the line between the monarch and his subject.
She looked at Shen Zhiyuan nervously, afraid that he would think she was being rude.
Shen Zhiyuan was stunned. He looked at the expectation and anxiety in Li Zhaoyi's eyes, and a complex emotion surged in his heart.
He knew that His Majesty had lost his parents when he was young and must be longing to be cared for.
He was silent for a moment, then said softly, "I am not your Majesty's father, but I will always protect your Majesty, just as I would protect the country and its people, and I will protect your Majesty's safety."
His words did not directly answer her question, but made Li Zhaoyi feel warm in her heart.
She knew that this was the most sincere promise he could make.
As the sun set, the light in the martial arts arena gradually dimmed. Shen Zhiyuan carefully picked up Li Zhaoyi and prepared to return to the Yangxin Palace.
Li Zhaoyi leaned in his arms, looked at the light stubble on his chin, listened to his steady heartbeat, and suddenly felt that if she could always be protected by him like this, even if being an emperor was hard, it would be worth it.
After returning to the Yangxin Palace, Shen Zhiyuan personally placed Li Zhaoyi on the bed and carefully reminded the palace maids of the things they should pay attention to before preparing to leave.
When he reached the door, he suddenly turned around and looked at Li Zhaoyi with gentle eyes: "Your Majesty, have a good rest. I will come to see you again tomorrow."
"Yeah." Li Zhaoyi nodded and watched his figure disappear at the door, her heart full of reluctance.
It was late at night, and Li Zhaoyi was lying on the bed. Her ankle still ached slightly, but she had no desire to sleep.
The scenes of the day replayed in his mind over and over again, Shen Zhiyuan's nervous eyes, gentle movements, and the words "I will always protect Your Majesty."
At this moment, outside the Yangxin Palace, Shen Zhiyuan stood in the moonlight, looking at the figure of Li Zhaoyi reflected in the window, with a complex emotion in his heart.
He knew that his concern for His Majesty had gone beyond the boundaries of a subject's concern for his monarch.
But he couldn't, and didn't dare to think too much. He was a subject and she was the monarch. Between them, there could only be the friendship between monarch and subject, and no other feelings.
He took a deep breath, turned, and left the Hall of Mental Cultivation. The moonlight stretched his figure outward, carrying a hint of indescribable loneliness.
They all knew that this quietly growing emotion would be a long and painful ordeal.
The ankle injury had not yet fully healed, and rumors in the palace were popping up like wild weeds in early spring.
The first thing that reached Li Zhaoyi's ears was the whispers of two palace maids in a corner of the imperial garden.
That day, she went to see the newly blooming wintersweets with an umbrella. She heard the names of "Your Majesty" and "Lord Shen" from afar, and her steps subconsciously stopped.
"Have you heard? The last time His Majesty fell off his horse, it was Lord Shen who personally carried him back. He didn't let anyone touch him the entire way, and his eyes were so gentle..."
"That's right! I even saw Lord Shen coming out of the Yangxin Palace late at night, holding the teacup used by His Majesty! I heard that they..."
The following words were deliberately lowered in voice, but they pierced Li Zhaoyi's ears like needles.
She clenched the umbrella handle tightly, her knuckles turning white. She wanted to rush forward and scold him, but her feet felt like they were filled with lead and she couldn't move.
These days, she did rely on Shen Zhiyuan and was indeed greedy for his tenderness, but she never thought of crossing the boundaries between the monarch and the minister, and she never thought that people would speculate maliciously like this.
After returning to the Yangxin Palace, Li Zhaoyi locked herself in the inner room and looked at the small wooden horse beside her pillow, feeling aggrieved and flustered.
She knew that once these rumors reached the ears of the officials, it would not only ruin Shen Zhiyuan, but also destroy her dignity as the empress.
"Your Majesty, Lord Shen requests an audience." The eunuch's voice sounded from outside.
Li Zhaoyi's heart tightened, and she quickly gathered herself together, pretending to be calm: "Let him in."
Shen Zhiyuan walked in, still wearing a plain official robe, but he looked a little more distant than usual.
He bowed and said calmly, "Your Majesty, I have come here today to report on the progress of the assassination case. The Dali Temple has determined that the assassins were the private soldiers of Minister of War Zhou Lei. Zhou Lei has been taken into custody and awaits Your Majesty's decision."
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