Shang Yunlan felt that Emperor Chen was not very bright when he should have been, for example, he could even confuse the Left Prime Minister and the Right Prime Minister; but he was particularly clever when he shouldn't have been, for example, when he sent people to find the Iron-Eating Beast.
Emperor Chen was still immersed in the excitement of soon having the same mount as Chi You, completely unaware of the mocking glint in Qin Ye's eyes beside him.
Shang Yunlan inadvertently caught a glimpse of Qin Ye's cold smile, but he pretended not to notice and continued chatting with Emperor Chen.
Not long after, one of Emperor Chen’s most favored concubines requested an audience, and Emperor Chen hurriedly ordered Qin Ye to escort Shang Yunlan away.
Shang Yunlan's heart stirred, but she didn't show it on her face. She simply smiled and followed Qin Ye all the way out of the palace.
The two walked in silence, neither speaking. After a long while, Qin Ye sighed and said, "Does the Duke know that you have been frequently seeking an audience with His Majesty lately? There are already rumors circulating that you are a treacherous minister who has ruined the century-old reputation of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion."
Shang Yunlan was not surprised by Qin Ye's words. After all, Qin Ye was Consort Zhao's man, and Consort Zhao had long been dissatisfied with Emperor Chen. Naturally, she was unwilling to see the Duke of Zhenguo's family, with whom she was about to form a marriage alliance, stand on Emperor Chen's side.
Shang Yunlan shook her head and smiled: "My frequent requests to see His Majesty are not to ask for any favors, but simply to make things easier for my family."
He paused, then said meaningfully, "To be honest, Lord Qin, my parents died in battle in the Northwest. Perhaps it wasn't an accident. If His Majesty grants my request, I might be able to find the real culprit."
A hint of surprise flashed in Qin Ye's eyes—he was no fool, and naturally he could tell that Shang Yunlan's words had a hidden meaning.
When will it be possible to find the true culprit who persecuted the loyal and brave, without needing His Majesty's approval?
Unless... this so-called "real culprit" is a member of the royal family.
Qin Ye quickly went through the list of royal family members who had grudges against the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, and finally settled on the Prince of Nan'an.
The Prince of Nan'an was the only son of Princess Anle and the nephew of Emperor Chen. The lady he married before was the cousin of Princess Heyang, Lady Shang, the woman who died young after marrying into the Prince's mansion and whose death was shrouded in mystery.
Seeing that Qin Ye seemed to have thought of something, Shang Yunlan's heart skipped a beat, but she pretended to be aggrieved: "Who would have thought that there was more to this than meets the eye? And that it involved such a powerful and influential person..."
Qin Ye still wore that impeccable smile: "This matter is probably just the Duke's own speculation, and shouldn't be taken seriously."
Shang Yunlan put on an air of a naive and carefree young man, and said with some resentment, "But... but I have some evidence here."
Seeing Shang Yunlan's rashness, Qin Ye's apprehension lessened somewhat, and he smiled, "Your Excellency, you'd better keep this evidence safe. That person is not easy to deal with. After all, he is His Majesty's junior. Your Excellency, there's no need to rush."
Shang Yunlan quickly went through Emperor Chen's "juniors" in her mind and locked onto the Prince of Nan'an.
He was too focused on appearances and only saw the news from Consort Shu's side, not realizing that there was such a troublemaker as the Prince of Nan'an.
Thinking this, he muttered a few more words, perfectly portraying a disgruntled young man. After listening to Qin Ye's advice, he pretended to reluctantly give up his thoughts.
Anyway, he had achieved his goal. Shang Shaoyan could go to Shuzhou legitimately, and he could just casually appease Emperor Chen afterwards.
Shang Yunlan returned to her residence with a delighted expression.
...
Inside the mansion, Shang Shaoyan was packing his luggage, preparing to go to Shu Prefecture.
Besides seeking medical treatment and recruiting the two prime ministers, Shang Shaoyan also planned to make a fortune in Shuzhou. Shuzhou is a land of plenty, where since the Han Dynasty, droughts and floods have been controlled by human hands, and famine has never been a problem. Even a small gadget that Shang Yunlan could come up with could sell very well.
Qiao Xiuyu watched her from the side, pursing her lips, looking rather unhappy.
Shang Shaoyan looked at him with amusement: "Why are you so unhappy? Are you reluctant to part with me?"
Qiao Xiuyu stared at Shang Shaoyan longingly, without saying a word.
Shang Shaoyan felt helpless.
She actually wanted to take Qiao Xiuyu with her. The journey to Shuzhou was long and would surely be quite boring. If Qiao Xiuyu were with her, she would be much happier. However, the things she needed to do were extremely secretive, so she was destined not to take Qiao Xiuyu with her.
Shang Shaoyan was able to distinguish between what was more important and what was less important.
Seeing that Shang Shaoyan was completely unmoved, Qiao Xiuyu was somewhat discouraged, but finally spoke up: "An'an, I can't bear to part with you."
Shang Shaoyan paused in packing his things, a sudden feeling of displeasure creeping into his heart.
Is Qiao Xiuyu sick? He puts on such a pitiful and affectionate act, making it seem like he's a heartless man; but the problem is, he still hasn't told me his real name or identity.
Whether she knows or not is one thing, whether Qiao Xiuyu will tell her on his own initiative is another.
Thinking this, the smile on her face immediately vanished.
She also glared at Qiao Xiuyu.
Qiao Xiuyu, who witnessed Shang Shaoyan's entire change of expression: "..."
He was somewhat bewildered, unsure of what he had done wrong.
In fact, Qiao Xiuyu liked Shang Shaoyan, although not enough to reveal her true identity, but in reality, it was far more than Shang Shaoyan liked her.
He could sense that An'an was hiding something from him, something very important, but he was unwilling to test her.
Doesn't he also have something very important he's keeping from An'an?
Qiao Xiuyu had long forgotten his original intention in agreeing to come to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion with Shang Shaoyan—to find out about the powerful and influential people in Nan Chen. Now, all he could think about was, "What should I do? What should I do? An'an is angry with me."
Shang Shaoyan was still lost in thought.
Qiao Xiuyu is such a silly and clueless person, but he has a high EQ. Didn't he realize that he was angry?
She glanced at Qiao Xiuyu, who was clearly distracted, and became even angrier—damn it, she had made it so obvious that he was still daydreaming!
Does he think he's easy to fool?
No, no... He's usually quite eloquent and seems like a warm and caring guy. According to him, I'm the first woman he's ever met. Although that remains to be verified, it's enough to show that he likes me.
Even if it's not much, I still like it.
This behavior clearly shows that he's impatient with her and doesn't want to comfort her anymore!
These thoughts only lasted for a moment. As soon as Shang Shaoyan thought about it, she became furious and yelled at Qiao Xiuyu, "You scumbag!"
Qiao Xiuyu, who only said "I can't bear to part with you" the whole time: "...?"
Heaven help him, he only said this one sentence and was still thinking about how to coax Shang Shaoyan, how did he suddenly get called a scumbag?
He panicked, desperately denying it: "An'an, it wasn't me, I didn't..."
In Shang Shaoyan's eyes, this was Qiao Xiuyu making excuses and covering up her mistakes, which made him even angrier: "I won't listen! If you don't like me, then I don't want to like you either!"
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