Xie Huayin sat on the edge of the bed, drinking tea as she talked incessantly to Shang Shaoyan about her experiences over the past three years since she transmigrated.
"...As you know, there's a small town called Green Water Town on the border of Northern Zhou and Southern Chen. It's a beautiful place with clear waters and lush mountains. I lived there for a year. I'll take you there sometime." Xie Huayin rested her chin on her hand. "By the way, where are you planning to go? Why aren't you staying in Shengjing?"
Shang Shaoyan leaned against the headboard and said with a smile, "His Majesty sent me to Shu Prefecture to find the Iron-Eating Beast—you know, it's the giant panda."
Xie Huayin stared in disbelief: "Emperor Chen asked you to go to Sichuan to find giant pandas? What does he want to do?"
Shang Shaoyan keenly caught the words "Emperor Chen" and his heart skipped a beat, but he still wore an impeccable smile: "Your Majesty wants to raise an iron-eating beast. Iron-eating beasts are adorable and everyone likes them, so it's normal to want to raise one."
After chatting for a few more minutes, Xie Huayin noticed that Shang Shaoyan seemed a bit tired, so she tactfully left.
As soon as she left the room, Shang Shaoyan opened his eyes, his beautiful phoenix eyes showing no sign of sleepiness.
She thought for a moment, then tiptoed downstairs.
Cheng Chu had just returned from Chen Shu and Li Xuan's place and was about to report the situation to Shang Shaoyan, so the two of them went to the prefect's mansion one after the other and sat down in the deserted garden.
“Your Majesty is meticulous, I admire you,” Cheng Chu praised. “The two prime ministers’ reactions were just as Your Majesty expected. Lord Chen is a straightforward person and easy to talk to; but Lord Li is a cunning old fox and not easy to deal with.”
Shang Shaoyan laughed: "It's no secret—you can tell just by looking at their behavior in court. Lord Chen was exiled for remonstrating with the emperor, while Lord Li was simply unjustly punished, yet he said nothing in court and only made arrangements in secret after returning home."
She paused for a moment, then said, "However... they are both good officials."
Cheng Chu nodded in agreement, then asked, "Does the county magistrate have any task for me to complete?"
Shang Shaoyan curled his lips in the darkness and said casually, "There is something... I used to have some acquaintance with a young lady. I met her at the inn today, but I felt that something was off about her. I would appreciate it if General Cheng would keep an eye on her."
The title "General Cheng" was not wrong. Cheng Chu was now the leader of the Imperial Guards and deserved to be called a "general".
Cheng Chu nodded in agreement: "Is there a problem with that young lady's identity?"
Shang Shaoyan recalled Xie Huayin's words and actions and couldn't help but smile: "I'm afraid the problem is quite serious."
...
No sooner had Shang Shaoyan set off than Shang Yunlan went to the palace to see Emperor Chen and requested that five hundred elite soldiers be assigned to Shang Shaoyan.
When Shang Yunlan left the palace, she ran into the distraught Qiao Xiuyu at the palace gate. Qiao Xiuyu had disheveled hair and was in a undignified state. She almost tripped and fell when she dismounted.
Shang Yunlan turned her head, trying to pretend she didn't see Qiao Xiuyu, but Qiao Xiuyu inadvertently saw Shang Yunlan's face, which bore a resemblance to Shang Shaoyan's, and her eyes immediately lit up: "Brother!"
Shang Yunlan: "..."
A vein throbbed on his forehead, and he immediately wanted to feign illness and stage an accident again, but he held back—faking illness and fainting was not something he should do too often, otherwise he would lose his deterrent effect. He had to "faint" in front of everyone to defeat Qiao Zhuo!
Shang Yunlan had already planned it all out: if Qiao Zhuo ever came to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion to propose marriage, he would faint—faint for three days and three nights! Let's see if he still has the face to propose!
Shang Yunlan was still happily imagining this wonderful scene when Qiao Xiuyu saw that he was not speaking. She thought he was worried about Shang Shaoyan, so she immediately went over and comforted him gently: "Brother, if you are really worried about the county princess, I will go with you now and protect her all the way!"
Shang Yunlan came to her senses, inwardly cursing, but seeing Qiao Xiuyu's expectant face, she immediately said with a forced smile, "I am not worthy of Your Highness's favor. My sister does not need anyone's protection."
Qiao Xiuyu was taken aback for a moment, then said with some puzzlement, "But I am not just anyone. Brother, please don't stand on ceremony with me, and there's no need to call me Your Highness. My courtesy name is Xiuyu, you can just call me Xiuyu."
Shang Yunlan: "..."
He said that the seventh prince of Northern Zhou looked respectable, but why did he do such sycophantic things?
He didn't understand.
Shang Yunlan immediately wanted to leave this place of trouble. He forced a smile and finally understood that Shang Shaoyan was tired at the beginning.
He recalled that he had secretly decided in his heart to "keep an eye on this Northern Zhou prince who was pretending to be weak but actually being strong" for his sister...
LOL, there's absolutely no need for that.
This guy is so impulsive and silly. I don't know why Shang Shaoyan likes this kind of person. He's not even as good as the male and female celebrities she used to call "husband" online every day in her past life.
As he thought this, he walked forward without making a sound, pretending to be immersed in his own world and pretending not to hear what Qiao Xiuyu said.
Although Qiao Xiuyu didn't understand the intricacies of power struggles, he could still discern a person's basic emotions and immediately realized that Shang Yunlan disliked him.
He wanted to say something more, but suddenly remembered what Li Langxuan had told him: everything in excess is as bad as deficiency, and one should learn to retreat in order to advance.
So, Qiao Xiuyu lowered her eyes and sighed somewhat forlornly, "I see you seem to have some urgent business. Why don't you go back first... I, I can manage on my own."
Upon hearing this, Shang Yunlan looked over and saw that the Northern Zhou prince, who should have been just a college student in his previous life, was looking at him with a sad expression and some trepidation. She immediately felt a little sorry for him.
He's still just a child—Shang Yunlan, then twenty-two, looked at the twenty-year-old Qiao Xiuyu with deep emotion.
Moreover, he was alone in an unfamiliar environment, with his parents not around, and the feeling of being a dependent was not pleasant—Shang Yunlan, who had no parents for two lifetimes, felt pity for Qiao Xiuyu, who had both parents.
Although he coveted his beloved younger sister, he was also a pitiful person!
And so, he couldn't take another step to leave.
If Shang Shaoyan were here, he would definitely shout, "What a strong pot of Biluochun tea!" and secretly sigh, "So Shang Yunlan actually falls for this."
But Shang Shaoyan wasn't there, so Shang Yunlan sighed, somewhat helplessly: "Since you're worried about her, then come back to the manor with me. I'm just about to send a letter to An'an, and you can write a few words too."
Upon hearing this news, Qiao Xiuyu initially intended to continue feigning pitifulness, but upon thinking of being able to write a love letter to Shang Shaoyan (?), she immediately said, "Thank you, brother!"
Seeing Shang Yunlan staring at him in shock, he quickly suppressed his smile, forced a self-deprecating smile, and said, "Please forgive me, Your Excellency. I was being rude."
Shang Yunlan initially thought he might have been deceived, but upon hearing this, he immediately retracted the thought and secretly despised himself—how could he use the same methods he used to speculate about Shang Shaoyan to speculate about this poor child, Qiao Zhuo!
That was absolutely wrong!
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