When Shang Yunlan woke up, she felt refreshed all over. It felt like all the stagnant energy that had accumulated in her body had been expelled at once, and she no longer felt the heaviness she had felt before. She felt much more relaxed.
He had just gotten out of bed when Lin Jing pushed open the door and entered, carrying a bowl of medicine in her hand.
He glanced at Shang Yunlan, then said in a slightly cool tone, "I guessed it was time for you to wake up. Get up and drink your medicine quickly."
Shang Yunlan glanced at the bowl of dark medicine and felt a chill run down his spine. He asked with some hesitation, "Is there any candied fruit?"
Lin Jing: "..."
Back in Shuzhou, he had heard people say that Shang Shaoyan was afraid of bitter medicine and didn't like to drink it. These two siblings were just like each other.
He lifted his eyelids and glanced at Shang Yunlan: "No candied fruit, hurry up and come over."
Shang Yunlan sighed resignedly, then pinched her nose and forced the medicine down her throat all at once.
After he finished drinking his medicine, Lin Jing slowly said, "Your cousin and the Marquis of Yongle went out to play together for a long time yesterday and were bullied. Can you guess who it was?"
Shang Yunlan put down the bowl, somewhat surprised to find that the medicine was not bitter at all, but he didn't think much of it. Upon hearing this, he only frowned and asked, "Is it the Prince of Nan'an? Or perhaps the Crown Prince?"
Lin Jing was somewhat surprised to see his nonchalant expression: "It's the Crown Prince and the Third Princess who is about to be sent on a marriage alliance."
Shang Yunlan gave a cold laugh, her lips curving slightly upwards, looking rather sarcastic: "If Marquis Yongle can't even protect his own fiancée, then I don't think there's any need for this marriage."
Seeing that Shang Yunlan seemed to know about the matter, Lin Jing understood why he had such an attitude. He looked at Shang Yunlan with amusement and asked, "How do you know he didn't protect your cousin properly?"
Shang Yunlan swirled her teacup and said casually, "What's so hard to guess? He's been pretending to be blind and a gentleman for so many years, you could even say he's ingrained hypocrisy into his bones—the kind of person who cares most about himself. Now that Emperor Chen no longer favors his concubines, and the Crown Prince is the undisputed next emperor, how could he possibly offend him for Yan Xuening's sake?"
Lin Jing seemed to remember something and burst into laughter. After laughing for a while, he finally spoke up amidst Shang Yunlan's displeased expression: "You guessed wrong this time. Li Langxuan immediately got into a fight with the Crown Prince and the Third Princess, cursing them thoroughly. Then, before they could react, he rushed to the palace to plead guilty. Consort Zhao interceded for him, and the matter was over."
After saying that, he looked at Shang Yunlan's puzzled expression with great interest: "Do you think Li Langxuan did something wrong?"
Shang Yunlan frowned deeply: "He can't keep up the act anymore."
Lin Jing raised an eyebrow: "You seem to think that making an exception for someone you deeply love is a very puzzling and not worthwhile thing?"
Shang Yunlan nodded: "Of course it's not worth it. Not only do I think so, but An'an also thinks so—she's not the kind of person who would rather love a beautiful woman than the country. If one day, Qiao Xiuyu and the world were placed in front of her and she had to choose one, she would definitely choose the world."
...
Shuzhou.
Cheng Chu, Qiao Xiuyu, and Shang Shaoyan set off in two separate groups. Cheng Chu led three hundred elite soldiers, along with Qiao Xiuyu, from the north of the Yangtze River, detouring around the border of Northern Zhou to the northwest. Shang Shaoyan and the people from the escort agency set off from the south of the Yangtze River.
That way, it won't be so conspicuous.
Before leaving, Cheng Chu asked Shang Shaoyan, "Seventh Young Master is, after all, a prince of Northern Zhou. What if our area attracts the attention of Northern Zhou...?"
Shang Shaoyan smiled and said, "Why do you think I asked him to come with you? It's precisely because he is the Seventh Prince that Northern Zhou dared not act rashly. Otherwise, your Southern Chen army might have been annihilated as soon as you entered the border."
Cheng Chu naturally understood this principle, but he was still somewhat uneasy: "What if Seventh Young Master takes the initiative..."
He ultimately dared not utter the word "betrayal".
Shang Shaoyan paused in wiping his sword, then said casually, "I believe he wouldn't. If he really did send a message to Northern Zhou, then leave him alone and let him fend for himself. Then you should cross the river quickly and return to Shuzhou as fast as possible."
When she said this, she was more distressed than when Cheng Chu asked her about Qiao Xiuyu last time. This distress was not easy to hear, but it was very intense and painful.
The atmosphere became somewhat oppressive for a moment. Cheng Chu twitched the corner of his mouth and joked, "The county princess really does value power over beauty."
Shang Shaoyan lowered her eyes, making it impossible to discern her gaze or her emotions: "I have no empire yet, only a beautiful woman; this is the best choice."
If it really is a multiple-choice question—then, is it worth it to exchange Qiao Xiuyu for the whole world?
Shang Shaoyan didn't know.
She was somewhat upset.
Shang Shaoyan is an ambitious person. In her previous life, she only cared about Shang Yunlan. In this life, she suddenly has many more people she cares about, and she doesn't know what to do.
She could trust her brother wholeheartedly, but she could never fully trust Qiao Xiuyu; otherwise, she wouldn't have made the assumption that "he really sent a message to Northern Zhou."
However, she quickly perked up: "General Cheng, Qiao Zhuo may be an unknown, but I will not let such a thing happen, do you understand? Only the weak would choose between two options, because that's all they have; but I am confident that I can have both the country and the beauty in my hands. This is my confidence in my own abilities, and also my trust in you. Without you, I certainly wouldn't have gone far."
After saying that, she bowed to Cheng Chu and said solemnly, "I ask General Cheng to take good care of Qilang along the way. He is very important... In my heart, he is very important."
After Cheng Chu left, Shang Shaoyan looked at the bright spring sunshine outside the window and suddenly remembered that day when Qiao Xiuyu carefully selected a flower ornament for him, as well as his exquisite, otherworldly face.
And then he smiled at me—"When spring comes, let's go see the peach blossoms together, okay?"
Shang Shaoyan thought somewhat listlessly that only the strong are not indecisive and only the strong are not afraid of gains and losses.
What kind of choice is it to have either the throne or the beauty?
Children make choices; adults want both.
She hummed a tune in a good mood, then changed into Hu clothing that was easy to ride and shoot, put on wrist guards, and went out to fetch her horse.
At this moment, Qiao Xiuyu was staring at a peach tree in the courtyard. He looked tenderly at the peach blossoms that were already half open, lost in thought. Suddenly, he heard footsteps behind him. He turned around and saw Shang Shaoyan.
Qiao Xiuyu couldn't hide his joy. He smiled and opened his arms wide: "An'an, do you want to hug me?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
