Chapter 15 The Parting of the Mandarin Ducks How long has Pei Aiqing been admiring this place...?
This jade ring with mandarin ducks was the prize for the lantern riddles at last year's Lantern Festival.
The twelve lantern riddles cover a wide range of topics. They were set by several learned scholars from Hanchen Academy, drawing upon classics, history, philosophy, and literature. The difficulty increases with each riddle, and only couples who can solve all twelve riddles in a row can win the prize.
That night, many talented men, hoping to win the smiles of their beauties, confidently participated in the competition. However, after guessing the seventh or eighth riddle, they began to scratch their heads, causing the beauties beside them to stomp their feet and complain.
Chu Yueyuan and Shen Zizhan overcame all obstacles and successfully stood under the twelfth peony lantern.
When the final riddle was revealed, it immediately caused an uproar among the onlookers.
"This is not the same riddle that hung on the lantern shed at Aoshan for ten days during last year's Lantern Festival, yet no one knew the answer!"
"Shen Langjun is learned and talented; solving this little riddle will be a piece of cake for him."
"No, no, this riddle is different from ordinary word riddles. It was created by the hermit of Hanchen Academy and is the most difficult 'root and leaf riddle' among riddles. It uses the painting as the 'root' and the words as the 'leaf'. You need to understand the riddle in the painting and the riddle in the words at the same time in order to solve the riddle."
The onlookers shook their heads, sighing that the riddle alone was already so perplexing that adding a mysterious painting would only make it even more impossible to guess!
Hearing the surrounding whispers, Chu Yueyuan frowned with worry. She gently tugged at the man's bamboo-patterned sleeve and said softly, "Chen Lang, I'm a little hungry. How about... we go to Fanlou for a meal first?"
Shen Zizhan looked at the woman's slender, white fingers curled up, smiled slightly, and asked in a clear, gentle voice, "Do you like that jade ring?"
Chu Yueyuan was slightly taken aback. She looked up at the man's bright smile and smiled back, "I like it."
As a crisp gong sounded, the scholar from the academy smiled and handed the prize money to the two men.
Under the moonlight, the jade rings with mandarin ducks were smooth and lustrous, their translucent texture resembling a man's amber eyes.
Shen Zizhan bent down and tied the jade ring around her waist with his own hands. When he raised his head again, the man's eyes were shining, and his smile was breathtaking, like a dazzling firework blooming in the night sky.
"Yuan'er, wait for me to return from Yangzhou."
The emotions of youth are both innocent and intense, foolish yet reckless.
Chu Yueyuan's heart was pounding. She didn't dare to look directly into the man's sincere eyes, but felt her heart filled with sweet affection. She blushed and softly said "okay".
A tender smile spread across the man's eyes, and his thin lips touched her cool hairpin, restrained and patient.
A gentleman as refined and elegant as jade, always has been.
After that night, Chu Yueyuan wore the jade ring containing their beautiful memories on her waist until the imperial edict of her becoming empress fell into the Chu family.
She removed the jade ring and returned it to the Shen family along with the letter of annulment.
Jin Tong saw Chu Yueyuan bump into a man dressed in a light scarlet official robe, and quickly stepped forward to help him up. But when she saw the man's face clearly, she couldn't help but exclaim in surprise:
"Lord Shen... Lord Shen!"
Jin Tong's voice made Chu Yueyuan quickly gather her thoughts. She took a step back, and the turmoil in her eyes instantly subsided.
Now, she is the ruler, and he is the subject.
Shen Zizhan's hands, frozen in mid-air, slowly clenched into fists. He lowered his head and bowed in a gesture of respect.
"Your humble servant Shen Zizhan pays his respects to the Empress Dowager."
At midday, the sunlight fell like scattered gold dust. As the man, dressed in a scarlet robe, bowed in greeting, the intricate landscape and floral patterns embroidered on his shoulders were bathed in a halo of light.
Chu Yueyuan always felt that if the young master was like jade, then Shen Zizhan was a piece of mutton fat jade.
Gentle and unassuming, refined yet not overbearing, with a restrained brilliance, humble and polite.
Chu Yueyuan calmly looked at the other person's face and said in a low voice, "Lord Shen, you may dispense with the formalities."
Shen Zizhan straightened up, his gaze falling on the woman's face, a shallow frown forming between his brows, his eyelashes trembling slightly.
For a subject to look directly at the emperor is a great disrespect, and not the proper conduct for a censor like Shen, who follows the rules.
Chu Yueyuan wanted to speak up and remind her, but then she thought that she was a puppet empress dowager who had to earn money herself to reward the palace servants. How could she be considered a proper ruler?
After the deliberations concluded, a group of officials strolled out of the main gate of the Hall of Diligent Governance. As they reached the white marble steps, their eyes were involuntarily drawn to the handsome men and beautiful women under the eaves.
Everyone stopped in their tracks, craning their necks in curiosity, but unfortunately they were too far apart to see more than the Empress Dowager and Imperial Censor Shen exchanging pleasantries with calm expressions.
Among a group of officials in crimson robes, Duke Shen's thick eyebrows were furrowed, and his eyes held a complex expression.
The eaves are upturned high, with each layer decreasing in size to create a staggered outline. The glazed tiles are arranged neatly, reflecting brilliant colors in the sunlight.
Chu Yueyuan remained calm and smiled slightly: "It's been a long time. Minister Shen looks to be in good health."
Shen Zizhan's hands, hidden beneath his sleeves, clenched tightly. His amber eyes reflected the light refracted from the glazed tiles as he stared intently at the woman, his voice slightly hoarse:
"Your Majesty the Empress Dowager, are you well?"
Chu Yueyuan smiled and said, "Thank you for your concern, Shen Qing. I am doing well."
The woman's eyebrows and eyes were like a painting, her crimson lips reflected the sun, and her smile was like a flower. Her beauty was even more stunning than before, but her upturned eyes no longer held the tenderness they once had.
Shen Zizhan suddenly felt an indescribable bitterness in his heart, and his bright eyes dimmed.
After learning the truth, he was shocked, indignant, regretful, and lost his composure, but he never explained it to her.
Gazing into the woman's utterly indifferent dark eyes, he felt a lump in his throat, and didn't know where to begin.
Chu Yueyuan noticed the officials standing not far away. She lowered her eyes and said in a low voice, "It's getting late. The Regent is still waiting in the Hall of Diligent Governance. I won't keep up with Shen Qing's reminiscing."
Before Shen Zizhan could perform his farewell bow, she gracefully walked past the forlorn-looking man, and as she brushed past him, she heard his hoarse voice:
"In the letters my mother sent to Yangzhou, she never mentioned to me that you had entered the palace... Yuan'er, I'm so sorry."
Chu Yueyuan abruptly stopped in her tracks. She turned her head, her gaze falling on the pair of jade pendants hanging from the man's waist. She felt a stinging sensation in her eyes and a lump in her throat. She took a deep breath, forcing her voice to remain normal:
“Fate is hard to defy. Shen Qing has never wronged me, and there is no need for him to apologize to me.”
After saying that, she looked away and walked away.
The sea and cloud pattern on the skirt slowly disappeared from sight, and the familiar scent of jasmine dissipated with the wind.
Shen Zizhan's fingertips twitched. He was still staring at the spot where the woman had disappeared, his clear amber eyes swirling with complex emotions.
Outside the Hall of Diligent Governance, Chu Yueyuan gently exhaled to calm her mind, lifted her skirt, and stepped across the threshold.
In the center of the inner hall, a censer with intertwined peony branches and green leaves emitted wisps of blue smoke. Passing around the sandalwood screen, palace servants lifted the bamboo curtain one by one. Chu Yueyuan entered the study in the inner hall and couldn't help but show a look of surprise.
The regent, who was usually a prolific writer, was now taking a break.
The man was unusually not wearing black clothes, but a light gold round-necked long robe with water ripple and feather patterns. His black hair was tied with a gold orchid and jade crown, and the jade belt with interlocking rings around his waist outlined his tall and elegant figure. He held a cup of tea, leaned lazily against the window frame, and leisurely looked out at the scenery.
Startled, Chu Yueyuan quickly checked whether the sun was rising in the west.
With a polite, slight smile on her face, she walked straight to her desk and casually greeted him:
"Minister Pei is in high spirits today."
Pei Muwei raised his eyes to look at the young Empress Dowager, his dark gaze thoughtful: "The scenery outside the window is interesting, so I will stop and admire it for a while longer."
interesting?
Chu Yueyuan stopped in her tracks, a sense of curiosity rising within her about what scenery would make the power-hungry regent forget about state affairs.
As Chu Yueyuan's gaze followed the window beside the man, the polite smile on her face suddenly vanished.
Outside the window, the spring sunshine was bright, the lake shimmered, and the red and green buildings were beautiful. The scenery was not much different from the scenery of other courtyards in the palace. If there was any difference, it was that the window where the Regent was standing faced the corridor, which was exactly where Chu Yueyuan and Shen Zizhan had just met.
Chu Yueyuan's cheeks flushed instantly. She pursed her lips, her dark eyes flickering, and tentatively asked, "How long has Minister Pei been admiring the scenery here?"
Pei Muwei lowered his eyes, gazing at the Empress Dowager's rosy cheeks. His fingertips slowly caressed the edge of the teacup, and he couldn't help but feel that the Ru kiln, known for its delicate and flawless beauty and jade-like face, was slightly inferior.
His phoenix eyes held a smile, his long fingers lightly tapping the cup, his deep voice carrying a profound meaning: "Not long, just the time it takes to sing 'The Parting of the Mandarin Ducks'."
Chu Yueyuan: ....
Chu Yueyuan wondered if her birth chart clashed with the Regent's, otherwise why would the man always be able to see her most disappointed and lonely side?
She coughed lightly and changed the subject: "Now that Minister Pei has finished enjoying the scenery, he should go and review the memorials. I am waiting for the seal to be issued."
Pei Muwei put down his teacup. His tall and imposing figure almost blocked out the sunlight from the window. He took a few steps forward and completely enveloped the woman in his silhouette.
Chu Yueyuan frowned slightly and turned to walk around the screen, but her path was blocked by the falling gold-embroidered python sleeve. With her back against the jade screen, a hint of vigilance flashed in her dark eyes.
"Regent...what does this mean?"
After spending several months together, Pei Muwei had figured out the little empress dowager's temperament. When she was in a good mood, her bright peach blossom eyes would curve into crescent moons, and she would softly call him "Pei Aiqing". When she was dissatisfied, her eyelids would droop slightly, her long eyelashes would cover the emotions in her eyes, and she would call him "Pei Qing" in a lukewarm way.
But if one becomes wary, that's what happens right now.
The young empress dowager raised her eyebrows slightly, her red lips pursed, her delicate shoulders tense, her long collarbones protruding slightly beneath her skin, and her dark eyes held a wary glint as she spoke in a distant tone:
"Regent"
Pei Muwei's eyes were dark and deep, and his calm tone revealed no other emotions:
"On the night the late Emperor's edict was read aloud, the Empress Dowager, facing Prime Minister Shen's questioning in the main hall, preferred to feign fainting, harming her precious daughter's health, rather than respond to Prime Minister Shen. At the time, I thought the Empress Dowager was cowardly, unwilling to offend a trusted minister. Only today, seeing the Empress Dowager and Imperial Censor Shen reminiscing in the corridor, do I understand that Your Highness is not cowardly..."
His voice was slightly cold: "The Empress Dowager wants to protect the Shen family."
A note from the author:
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The next chapter is a bit long, so for the sake of story continuity, there will be no update tomorrow. Those of you who have been following the story, please leave a comment, and I'll send you a reward. [Orange Candy]
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