A tragic relationship
There's no reason why Lan Yunyi wouldn't be able to see what Chengxin can see.
This Pei Heng was quite different from the one Shen Yao remembered. His attitude was overly obsequious, and his temperament was nothing like the refined and gentle one described in the book, making him really hard to like.
Shen Yao's illusions shattered instantly.
Back in the living room, Lan Yunyi was still enthusiastically inviting him to stay at the Lan residence. Pei Heng repeatedly refused, saying, "The Emperor has ordered me to stay at the Princess's residence for the time being. Such is the imperial decree, and I have no choice but to comply."
Shen Yao thought to herself, how come she had never heard of such a thing?
However, people in ancient times always held Emperor Sheng in the highest esteem, and no one would easily use "imperial decree" as a shield. If Pei Heng said this, it is highly likely that it was true.
Lan Yunyi was filled with worry and sighed, "That's such a pity. Young Marquis, you may not know this, but I have a chef in my household who is extremely skilled at making porridge. I really want Young Marquis Pei to try the medicinal porridge from my household."
Unaware of the situation, Pei Heng was infected by Lan Yunyi's enthusiasm. He patted Lan Yunyi's shoulder and smiled with a "good buddy" look on his face, saying, "I'll definitely do it another day, I'll definitely do it another day."
Shen Yao sighed.
In the end, Pei Heng stayed at the princess's residence.
His visit made many people uneasy. This man had never participated in court struggles before, so no one knew his stance or abilities. Everyone was afraid that another armchair strategist had arrived, so they were all eager to find out what was going on. Even Magistrate Chen Ming, who had always been critical of Shen Yao, made a special trip to the General's Mansion at noon to inquire about this matter. The garrison troops also entrusted Zhou Sui and others to come and gather information.
Shen Yao and Pei Heng had the same intention while having dinner. During the meal, she intentionally or unintentionally probed Pei Heng's attitude towards the current emperor and discovered that he had quite a few complaints about the emperor, and was even very dissatisfied with the emperor's lifestyle, especially his indulgence in women.
Speaking of his father, he only thought him old-fashioned and considered his father's loyalty to the emperor to be foolish.
Shen Yao deduced from this that Pei Heng was probably not someone who would blindly obey the emperor.
However, the emperor still favored him quite a bit, after all, the imperial inspectors of all dynasties were the emperor's confidants.
After returning home in the evening, Shen Yao suddenly couldn't find Lan Yunyi. She searched for a long time before finally finding him in the backyard.
Lan Yunyi was squatting in the corner, seemingly changing the soil for plants, her white figure diligently working. Shen Yao's heart skipped a beat, then she carefully stepped forward and softly asked, "Prince Consort, what are you doing?"
Lan Yunyi turned around, his face still covered in mud. Shen Yao reached out and brushed it off for him, saying as she looked at the work he was doing: "What is it that requires the Prince Consort to do it personally?"
Shen Yao turned her head and saw that Lan Yunyi was holding a handful of bright red pomegranate flowers in one hand and the roots of the pomegranate flowers that he had already torn apart in the other.
Shen Yao: "..."
Pomegranate blossoms are the most common flower in the capital, but they are not found in Xiliang. Therefore, it seems this flower was probably a gift from Pei Heng.
Shen Yao thought Pei Heng had only given her some common items like gold, silver, jewelry, and utensils, but she didn't expect him to give her such tasteful things. However, the flower was now dead in Lan Yunyi's hands.
Shen Yao sighed: "If you have any complaints, please speak them out. Your actions are so extreme and bizarre... I do not like them."
Lan Yunyi's eyelashes trembled. Shen Yao suddenly realized that she might have gone too far with her words, so she quickly added, "This palace cannot understand."
Lan Yunyi's expression softened somewhat.
Shen Yao asked, "Is there something troubling you that you can tell me about?"
Lan Yunyi patted the soil off her hands, stood up, and sighed, saying, "Zhi Shi, Cheng Zhi, is not as good as Master Cheng Xin."
Shen Yao: "?"
Lan Yunyi: "Magistrate Chen is biased towards me, A Yuan is afraid of me, and Young Master Pei needs my help, so they all say that I am even more beautiful than Master Chengxin."
"Now the princess is the most honored person in Xiliang City, and she has the imperial edict as her backing. Chengxin has ill intentions towards the princess, and the officials of Xiliang City, including Prince Jing, are afraid of her. Young Marquis Pei also has ulterior motives towards the princess."
"The princess is surrounded by these wicked people, and I'm afraid she will be even more deceived than when she learns the truth."
Shen Yao: "..."
Shen Yao: "Get lost."
...
Lan Yunyi couldn't stay at home for long, and Shen Yao didn't want to upset him for some inexplicable reason, so she didn't take it to heart. The next day, she still spent time with him as usual, and the two of them washed the horses together. In the evening, Lan Yunyi handed over the household account books to Shen Yao.
When Shen Yao asked about Song Qingqing, Lan Yunyi only said that she had already set off to return to the capital, and that Shen Yao no longer needed to worry.
Summer has passed, and autumn is fast approaching. The closer winter gets, the more restless the Jin army becomes. The intervals between Lan Yunyi's return to the city will only grow longer.
They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, and even though they had different stances, Shen Yao still sensed it during this farewell. Lan Yunyi told her a lot, both openly and subtly saying that Cheng Xin had ulterior motives, and that Pei Heng should be watched closely; they were all scheming and despicable, and the only trustworthy ones were those old and ugly fellows in the government office.
Shen Yao couldn't help but pat his shoulder and comfort him, "What everyone said is actually the truth."
Lan Yunyi seemed not to have reacted, or perhaps she knew what Shen Yao was talking about, but she never expected that Shen Yao would think that way.
Shen Yao said, "While the Pure Land is desirable, I only desire the warmth and fragrance of this mortal world. I have said all this, does the General understand?"
Lan Yunyi's eyelashes fluttered, but she remained silent. At this moment, Zhou Sui and the others, unable to wait any longer, stepped forward and said, "General, let's set off."
Shen Yao glanced at him and withdrew her hand.
"Go then," Shen Yao said. "I wish the general a safe return."
...
After returning from seeing him off for the second time, Shen Yao was depressed for a few days. Suddenly, she understood the feelings of longing and worry in the ancient poems and prose she had learned as a child.
It wasn't simply a matter of missing Lan Yunyi; it was a genuine fear that if he left, he would never return.
Even if they don't have a deep love for each other, their marital relationship will still make many relationships different.
After some time, Shen Yao adjusted her mindset and began operating the school under the name of Emperor Sheng. At that time, the pharmacists and famous doctors at the banquet recruited some talented but poor men and women from various places for her.
The young marquis did not come alone; he brought two imperial physicians with him. Emperor Sheng was getting old and occasionally sought ways to prolong his life, declaring that anyone who had mastered the skills, regardless of their background, could enter the Imperial Medical Academy for further study.
This presented a golden opportunity for advancement, and the entire political climate in Xiliang City shifted dramatically. Furthermore, the soil and water of Xiliang City were highly suitable for the cultivation of medicinal herbs, and within a quarter of a year, related industries sprang up like mushrooms after rain.
The entire city of Xiliang was bustling with life.
This was also a good thing for the garrison, since medical care is a major issue for the army. Moreover, due to Shen Yao's significant cooperation with many pharmaceutical merchants, a large amount of revenue was generated from these exchanges, which made Xiliang City rich as well. Within a few months, even if the imperial court sometimes failed to allocate funds on time, the garrison no longer had to worry about military pay.
As a result, Shen Yao gained considerable prestige, and Emperor Sheng even sent someone to commend her.
...
Autumn has arrived, and it's Shen Yao's birthday.
Lan Yunyi was in the border region at the time. Although she was not by his side, she sent a letter on time. When Shen Yao got up, she found that the General's Mansion was filled with fresh pear blossoms.
Its fragrance wafts for miles, quite conspicuous. It seems as if it's afraid of being forgotten.
Shen Yao couldn't help but find it amusing.
On this day, it seemed that people would flock to deliver gifts, almost breaking down the threshold of the General's Mansion. Princess Jing and Shen Zan also came. In the past few months, Shen Zan had probably forgotten the man who had broken her heart. At this moment, she was running in the garden with a rosy complexion.
Shen Yao withdrew her gaze and looked at Princess Jing. The princess's gaze followed her daughter as she ran: "...This is all thanks to the princess." She suddenly said.
Shen Yao looked at her, puzzled.
Princess Jing explained, “Last month, you deliberately didn’t come to the residence, so I had Zan’er deliver the gifts from the capital to the princess’s residence. But somehow, the distinguished guest from the princess’s residence came to visit me and Prince Jing at Prince Jing’s residence the very next day.”
Shen Yao raised an eyebrow. At this moment, Shen Zan had probably had enough of his crazy antics and returned to the courtyard.
Seeing that Shen Yao's expression was not good, Princess Jing hesitated for a moment, and finally fell silent.
She seemed to have misinterpreted Shen Yao's silence, and her gaze towards Shen Yao became somewhat wary. Sensing the awkward atmosphere between them, Shen Zan immediately tugged at her mother's sleeve and said, "Mother, I'm tired, let's go!"
Princess Jing felt as if she had been granted a pardon and quickly got up.
Shen Yao also got up and saw the person out of the general's mansion.
After the carriage from Prince Jing's residence had driven far away, Xia Guoguo couldn't help but say, "That young Marquis Pei clearly has his own residence, yet he stays at the Princess's residence every day. Everyone knows what his intentions are, but Princess Jing treats him like a treasure. Does she think the Princess won't let the young marquis leave?!"
Shen Yao glanced at her, and Xia Guo immediately fell silent.
This can't be blamed on the Princess Consort; Pei Heng probably said the same thing to Prince Jing and his wife. In this way, he not only found a suitable reason to stay at the Princess's residence, but also raised his own status.
He had also calculated that Princess Jing would not bring this matter up directly.
After all, everyone in Xiliang City knew that the princess was a womanizer.
Judging from the way Prince Jing and his wife were behaving, they clearly favored Pei Heng as their son-in-law. Shen Yao would only be wasting her breath and get no credit for intervening, so she wouldn't interfere.
But the guilt still clung to her uncontrollably, and she couldn't help but wonder if she was responsible for this... but reason pulled her back to reality, and she knew that she wasn't really involved in this matter.
Who Shen Zan likes, and who Pei Heng wants to seduce, are their own business. Shen Yao didn't create any opportunities for them; it's all fate.
Whether it's a tragic or a destined relationship, there's no escaping it.
That's settled then.
Shen Yao sighed and turned to go back into the mansion.
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