It's already December 26th. It hasn't been snowing much these past few days, and there's a warm feeling in the air. I guess spring will be here soon.
There are three days left until Lunar New Year's Eve, and five days left until Shang Shaoyan sets off for Shuzhou.
While Qiao Xiuyu was still in the palace, Shang Shaoyan and Shang Yunlan went to the outskirts of the city and, through the connections of Old Madam Xie, found a caravan to transport the weapons to the northwest.
Emperor Chen indulged in pleasure and embezzled military pay, leaving the soldiers in the Northwest struggling to eat and stay warm. The two men then provided an additional 100,000 taels of silver and hired a security escort agency to transport them.
"More than half of the wealth left by our parents is gone." Shang Shaoyan sighed softly, watching the caravan disappear into the darkness. "Brother, have you thought of any way to make money?"
Shang Yunlan shook the lamp she was carrying: "The nobles of Nanchen love extravagance. Let's start with glass; we're sure to make a fortune."
Shang Shaoyan couldn't help but laugh: "When I read novels before, those who traveled through time all loved to make glass. You've actually followed an old tradition."
Shang Yunlan raised an eyebrow and joked, "Yeah... those people eventually reached the pinnacle of life, and so will we."
The two exchanged a smile, then watched the caravan depart into the distance.
A slightly chilly evening breeze brushed past the lamp, and the flame flickered gently inside the lampshade. Shang Shaoyan and Shang Yunlan walked back to the mansion side by side. They still had a long road ahead of them, but fortunately, they had each other to support them.
...
The next day, unusually, it didn't snow. Shang Yunlan got up early and was sitting in the study by the end of the morning, even though it was still dark.
He flipped through the papers on his desk, staring at one of them for a long time.
The information written on it was about the Prince of Nan'an.
Prince Zhao Ming of Nan'an—actually, he should be the Prince of Nan'an County—lost his father at a young age. Princess Anle was not good at teaching children, so she entrusted him to a nanny for upbringing. The nanny was strict and shrewd, and in theory, she could have taught a child well. However, since he was the offspring of a nobleman, she dared not be too demanding. As a result, Zhao Ming gradually developed a spoiled and arrogant personality.
This arrogance turned into malice and stupidity as he grew up.
He's capable of anything—abducting women, embezzling property, murder, arson—there's nothing he won't do.
The paper clearly states his grievances with the merchant.
When Zhao Ming was sixteen, Princess Anle arranged a marriage for him with Shang Jieyou, the orphan of the Duke of Zhenguo's elder brother.
Shang Jieyou's father also died in battle, and not long after, her mother also passed away. The old Duke naturally took on the responsibility of raising Shang Jieyou, who was only fourteen years old at the time.
When Princess Anle came to propose marriage, Shang Jieyou had just come of age. Although she had never practiced martial arts, she was skilled in music, chess, calligraphy and painting, and her reputation was widespread. Zhao Ming, on the other hand, had a bad reputation, but because of his power, everyone dared not speak out against him.
It's easy to imagine that the old Duke and Duchess were adamant about not marrying Shang Jieyou off to them.
Princess Anle didn't force the issue, but Zhao Ming took a fancy to Shang Jieyou and insisted on marrying her by crying, making a scene, and threatening suicide.
During that time, Zhao Ming put on a show of sincerity and even curbed his unruly nature. But the old Duke and his wife were both very intelligent people. How could they not see that he was just putting on an act?
However, Shang Jieyou didn't realize that Zhao Ming genuinely liked her. In fact, she thought that the Duke and his wife, who were preventing her from marrying him, were the villains who "couldn't stand to see her doing well."
The saying "A daughter should not be kept at home once she grows up; keeping her will only lead to enmity" is perfectly exemplified in the case of Shang Jieyou.
This was the first time the old Duke and Duchess had refused to give in to Shang Jieyou, so Shang Jieyou eloped with Zhao Ming.
The betrothed man ran away to become a concubine, which naturally enraged the old Duke and Duchess. The two, who never used their positions for personal gain, mobilized five hundred elite soldiers that night, caught up with the two before they even left the city gate, and then suppressed the matter with swift and decisive action.
Shang Jieyou eventually married Zhao Ming, but she harbored resentment towards the old Duke and his wife, and didn't even return to the mansion to see them on the three-day homecoming day.
This incident caused quite a stir back then, and as time went by, everyone had almost forgotten about it. But then, news came that Shang Jieyou had died suddenly.
Before the old Duke and his wife could even go to demand an explanation, the barbarians in the northwest started causing trouble, forcing them to temporarily put the matter aside and go to the northwest, where they remained for three years.
Then, a year ago, he died on the battlefield.
Originally, Shang Yunlan and Shang Shaoyan were always reckless and didn't care about the life or death of their cousin, who had no feelings for them and had even broken ties with their parents. But they never thought that someone as stupid and vicious as Zhao Ming would really let the Shang family go.
In order to marry Shang Jieyou, he put on an act. After killing Shang Jieyou, he felt guilty and eliminated the old Duke and his wife. The next step... will probably be the brother and sister who have already alerted the enemy.
Shang Yunlan couldn't help but think of the marriage between Yan Xuening and Li Langxuan. Her sister had once told her that this was because Emperor Chen wanted to take action against the Shang family.
But was he really Emperor Chen?
It wasn't that Shang Yunlan was humiliating anyone, but with Emperor Chen's limited intelligence, he might not have thought of eliminating the threat completely.
Moreover, he was still quite clear-headed. The deaths of the Duke of Zhenguo and his wife were of no benefit to him or to the Southern Chen Dynasty. Furthermore, he showed no remorse when facing Shang Yunlan, which was enough to prove that he was not the mastermind behind the incident.
But it's certain that they were aware of it.
“Zhao Ming… what a Zhao Ming…” Shang Yunlan sneered, “Anan.”
As he called out the name "Anan," a dark figure emerged from the shadows and knelt on one knee: "What are your orders, my lord?"
Shang Yunlan lowered her eyes to look at him: "You are a secret guard left by your parents, an old subordinate of the Shang family. I remember that you were rescued from a pile of corpses by your parents, so they can be considered your second parents."
Anan was somewhat confused as to why Shang Yunlan would repeat the facts, but he still respectfully replied, "Yes."
Shang Yunlan's voice was devoid of emotion: "Now that you've found out about these things, do you want to avenge them?"
Anan lowered his head, his voice filled with sorrow: "I wish I could, but the Prince of Nan'an's mansion is filled with guards, and I am powerless to take revenge."
Upon hearing this, Shang Yunlan chuckled softly: "What if I said there was a way? Anan, you know I suffer from a heart ailment and am physically weak. It would be very difficult for me and Heyang to take revenge on our own."
Anan was not a suicide soldier, but a secret guard left behind out of gratitude for the old Duke. Although he called Shang Yunlan "Master", Shang Yunlan did not directly order him to do many things.
Most of the time, Shang Yunlan asked him to do things in a questioning tone, which made Anan respect Shang Yunlan even more.
It must be said that Shang Yunlan is a master of using both kindness and severity.
Seeing Anan's eyes light up, Shang Yunlan smiled, bent down, and gave Anan a few instructions.
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