February 3rd is an auspicious day for travel and marriage.
Shang Shaoyan got up around 6 a.m., and Shang Yunlan looked at her with some surprise: "Why aren't you asleep yet?"
Shang Shaoyan: "...?"
She blinked, a little confused. "Should I go back to sleep? But I have to leave in an hour and a half."
Seeing this, Shang Yunlan realized that she had misunderstood this champion of staying up late. She had indeed managed to go to bed early and get up early today: "Once you leave, you won't be back for at least a year or two. Do you have a plan in mind?"
Shang Shaoyan drank a cup of tea to refresh himself, and then smiled and said, "It's basically what I told you before. As for the rest, let's take it one step at a time."
She paused, then sighed softly, "You must take good care of yourself and let me know you're alright regularly, okay?"
Shang Yunlan nodded, feeling that the topic was a bit too heavy, and smiled lightly, "Aren't you going to Shuzhou first to say goodbye to your precious one?"
Shang Shaoyan raised an eyebrow: "Emperor Chen may not be willing to ask me to take a detour to Shuzhou, but since I'm already there, how I go is naturally up to me."
Shang Yunlan tapped Shang Shaoyan's forehead helplessly: "You'd better take it easy."
As they were talking, Lin Jing and Granny Li came over. Shang Shaoyan looked at their sad and reluctant expressions and smiled: "Don't look so gloomy. Your county princess isn't going to her death. She's going to make you rich and powerful."
Lin Jing was amused: "Princess, please be careful in everything you do. Your health is the most important thing. I have prepared some prescriptions that you may need and asked Granny Li to put them in your luggage."
With tears welling up in her eyes, Granny Li looked at Shang Shaoyan with emotion and said, "This old servant doesn't ask for great wealth or status, I only wish that the county magistrate will be safe and well."
Outside the hall, a light spring rain began to fall again, dripping onto the eaves and gently pattering on the stone steps. Everyone was silent in the sound of the rain, creating a rare moment of tranquility.
After a long while, Shang Shaoyan smiled and sighed amidst the sound of rain, "May this year bring favorable weather and abundant harvests."
Shang Yunlan patted Shang Shaoyan's hair: "May An'an have a safe journey."
Shang Shaoyan smiled and winked, drank a bowl of porridge, ate a few pastries, and looked at Granny Li with feigned nonchalance: "I'm going to the Northwest, what should I do if I want to eat the pastries Granny Li makes?"
Granny Li was amused by Shang Shaoyan: "I knew long ago that the county princess would miss my cooking skills, so I specially wrote down some pastry recipes and put them in your luggage. The food in the northwest is very different from that in Shengjing, so the county princess shouldn't be too picky. You need to eat well to have the energy to... make that, right?"
Granny Li still wasn't used to saying the word "rebellion".
Shang Shaoyan smiled and nodded, then proceeded to arrange things one by one: "I will go to Shuzhou first. The prefect of Shuzhou has already included the glassmaking formula in his memorial to the emperor. Cheng Chu is doing well there, so I am at ease entrusting Shuzhou to him for the time being. As for Boss Qian, brother, please remember not to let him get too greedy. Pick a few good merchants to work with. I think Boss Zhou is also quite good; we can teach him the papermaking technique..."
She rambled on and on to Shang Yunlan, then turned to Granny Li: "From now on, Yingge will report all the news from the palace to you. Please organize it and give it to my brother. Also, please take this medicine to Yanyu and put it in Consort Shu's food..."
Finally, she looked at Lin Jing and said solemnly, "I will have to trouble you, Doctor Lin, to take care of my brother. My brother and I have no way to repay your great kindness. My brother has some good medical books. He will give them to you in a few days after he has sorted them out."
Lin Jing chuckled and shook his head: "Although I have doubts about what the county magistrate is going to do, I know that the world will eventually unite after a long period of division and eventually divide again. Since there will always be someone who can unify the world and make it last for thousands of generations, I think the county magistrate is the most suitable person."
After he finished speaking, the room fell silent again.
Shang Shaoyan glanced at the water clock and realized it was already Chen Shi (around 8 a.m.). She would be leaving in half an hour. She stood up, straightened her clothes, and smiled lightly: "Well then, I'm off."
Shang Yunlan tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and nodded with a smile: "Emperor Chen would certainly not want us to see you off. You... have a safe journey."
Shang Shaoyan smiled and winked: "Okay."
She will have a smooth journey ahead and rise to the highest position.
...
The Southern Chen Dynasty, the imperial palace.
Emperor Chen originally intended to have Qin Ye deliver the tiger tally to Shang Shaoyan, but after thinking about it, he felt it was inappropriate, so he asked Consort Zhao to deliver it instead.
Consort Zhao, having received the tiger tally: "...?"
As she walked out of the palace, she asked Liu'er with some confusion, "Isn't it a rule from our past generations that concubines are not allowed to leave the palace at will?"
Liu'er was also bewildered: "Yes, that can't be."
Consort Zhao was in a daze: "Isn't it that the empress and concubines cannot interfere in politics, and that I cannot touch these things?"
Liu'er was even more dazed: "Yes, that can't be."
Consort Zhao came to her senses and was somewhat puzzled: "Besides, if I were him, I would definitely send a reliable and trustworthy confidant with half of the tiger tally to the Northwest with He Yang, and then take it out when He Yang needs it. How can he trust He Yang so much?"
Liu'er was puzzled: "Yes, why?"
Consort Zhao: "..."
She rubbed her temples, looking a bit of a headache, and said, "Alright, stop being the straight man."
Consort Zhao was not as foolish and ignorant of common sense as Emperor Chen. She had fought on the battlefield for many years and knew the power of the Tiger Tally; she had commanded thousands of troops as a woman and knew that the army did not care about your gender, they only recognized the one with the strongest fist as their master; she could also see that Shang Shaoyan had a foundation in martial arts and that his skills were by no means inferior to hers...
She could also tell from the messages her younger brother frequently sent that He Yang harbored rebellious intentions.
But Consort Zhao did not tell anyone her thoughts. Why would she tell those who held positions without doing their jobs and who were like meat porridge?
The world was bound to descend into chaos sooner or later, and she was eager to see how far a young woman like He Yang could go.
Thinking of this, she laughed somewhat nervously, which made Liu'er tremble with fear. She wanted to help her, but Liu'er gently avoided her: "I'm fine, I just thought of something fun."
As they were talking, the carriage arrived at the gate of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion. Consort Zhao got off the carriage with a smile and saw Shang Shaoyan and Shang Yunlan, who were already waiting at the gate.
Seeing Consort Zhao looking at him with a scrutinizing gaze, Shang Shaoyan smiled and bowed, saying meaningfully, "In the past, when Your Highness fought in Yunnan, after you were discharged from the army, you handed over the military tally to the Li family. Last year, on your birthday, His Majesty returned it to you as a congratulatory gift. After my father passed away, the clan elders divided the Shang family's tiger tally in two, handing over one half to Emperor Chen. Today, Your Highness is handing it over to me... After all these twists and turns, these military tallies that command the world are now in your hands, young lady."
Consort Zhao looked at Shang Shaoyan with a gentle smile and said with some appreciation, "I hope you can fulfill the wish that I failed to fulfill back then."
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