Baoyin Tu
After what happened with Zhao Chong, Shen Yao had become somewhat tolerant of Lan Yunyi's ruthless style, but when Lan Yunyi crawled into her bed at night covered in blood, she still couldn't help but feel nauseous.
For Lan Yunyi, this is the only way forward; there's no turning back.
Lan Yunyi nudged her from behind and said, "We didn't catch up."
Shen Yao: "What...?"
Lan Yunyi's tone was icy: "The imperial edict to open trade will arrive in a few days. Pei Heng had already discussed this with Emperor Sheng back in the capital, planning to gradually annex the Jin Kingdom through trade."
Knowing the importance of this matter, Lan Yunyi personally took charge tonight. As soon as he arrived at the princess's residence, he found that Pei Heng had been waiting for him for a long time.
Lan Yunyi didn't want to waste words with him. Pei Heng seemed to have expected things to develop this way, so he smiled and told Lan Yunyi everything about his conversation with Emperor Sheng before he came.
Therefore, even if Pei Heng died in Xiliang, the court's agreement to open trade was already a fait accompli. Killing Pei Heng would only make the situation more complicated and might even threaten Lan Yunyi.
Whether this tall building rises or collapses is entirely up to the Emperor's whim.
Emperor Sheng's idea was good, and Pei Heng's idea seemed reasonable, but the problem was that Suheharu was not the kind of person who could be negotiated with.
Lan Yunyi feared that the Jin Kingdom's visiting caravan might contain bandits and soldiers.
Now that things have come to this, there's no point in thinking too much. Shen Yao checked Lan Yunyi's body and was relieved to find that the smell of blood wasn't coming from him.
In the dim light, Shen Yao heard Lan Yunyi say in a faint tone, "...I used to always dream of returning home in glory, but now I only ask for a longer rest period so that I can spend more time with my sister."
After much deliberation, Shen Yao still felt that the people were the most important, and said, "Tomorrow, write another letter explaining the advantages and disadvantages, and affix my princess seal to it before presenting it to Emperor Sheng."
Lan Yunyi shook his head. He knew the emperor too well, or rather, he knew his sister too well: "Princess, you don't need to get involved. If His Majesty doesn't trust me, even ten memorials won't help, and they'll only implicate you."
If something unexpected happens, Shen Yao still has a sliver of hope of returning to the capital, given her current achievements. But Lan Yunyi's life is tied to Xiliang; his rise and fall are both tied to Xiliang. He can only stand with the people of Xiliang City through thick and thin.
Shen Yao was ignorant of court politics and only listened to what others thought was appropriate in this regard.
Neither of them could sleep. After lying down and talking for a while, they suddenly remembered the spirit snake. Shen Yao became more interested and, after getting dressed, went with Lan Yunyi to a rocky hill in the garden. Two snakes were coiled in a cave inside the rocky hill. When they heard the sound, they both raised their heads.
In the original story, the white snake became Zhao Chong's wife. The other black snake was seriously injured, and Zhao Chong was unable to save it, so he killed it and used it as a snack.
Shen Yao didn't know how to get the white snake to recognize her as its master, but it didn't matter whether it did or not. As long as Pei Heng didn't get it, that was a victory.
Shen Yao felt much more at ease after thinking this through, and then reached out her hand to the two snakes. The black snake opened its eyes, revealing a pair of red eyes, and stared at Shen Yao without moving, while the white snake swayed its body and sat up, then crawled up Shen Yao's arm along her hand.
Just as Shen Yao was about to play with her for a while, the white snake suddenly opened its blood-red mouth and bit Shen Yao's arm hard with its fangs.
Shen Yao winced in pain, and then the white snake released her grip the next moment.
Lan Yunyi roughly grabbed the snake by its vital spot and threw it to the ground. Then she grabbed Shen Yao's hand, looked at the two bloody holes, and said, "...It's not poisonous. I'll bandage it for you..."
Before he could finish speaking, the black creature that had been hovering in the small cave suddenly pounced and bit the arm that Lan Yunyi had just used to throw the snake, through his clothes.
Lan Yunyi didn't hold back against the snake either. Just as she was about to reach out and pinch its vital spot, Shen Yao stopped her on the spot: "It can't withstand a fall. Let it bite."
Lan Yunyi then released his strength, letting the snake taunt him as it coiled its tail around his wrist.
Shen Yao also went to the side and retrieved the little white snake from the ground. Fortunately, it had fallen on the grass and was not injured. When it saw Shen Yao, it scurried over and wrapped itself around Shen Yao's right wrist.
And then you just couldn't shake them off.
The bite wounds healed miraculously, returning to their original state almost instantly. By the time they were ready to apply medicine, the wounds were as if they had never existed. This was true for both Shen Yao and Lan Yunyi's wounds.
Lan Yunyi found it strange. He never believed in ghosts and gods, but at this moment he couldn't help but start to doubt the origins of the two snakes... and Shen Yao's origins.
However, he did not reveal his curiosity. The next day, he wrote a letter to Zhou Sui and stayed in Xiliang City for another day. As Pei Heng had predicted, a eunuch, accompanied by several guards, announced the imperial edict in public.
Opening up trade was imminent, and despite Lan Yunyi and others' reluctance, they had no choice but to open the gates of Xiliang City to the Jin people.
...
Two months later, as winter approached in Xiliang, the Jin Kingdom sent Princess Baoyintu as an envoy to meet with Shen Yao.
Baoyintu was Suheharu's youngest daughter, only 16 years old, but already a famous archer in the Jin Dynasty. She wore a wolf-skin coat, was tall, had dark skin, and her eyes were unusually bright.
She had always been interested in the culture of the Sheng Dynasty, so she insisted on going to Xiliang in place of her brother no matter what. Suheharu distrusted his son, but he was not very wary of the innocent and carefree Baoyintu, so he agreed to his daughter's unreasonable request.
Shen Yao took her to play in Xiliang City for a day. In the evening, Bao Yintu walked around the princess's mansion, looking like a carefree and innocent grassland girl.
Shen Yao followed behind her with a cold face and no enthusiasm.
As they walked, they arrived at the study hall within the princess's residence, a place used by students to study for the imperial examinations. Although Shen Yao's interest stemmed from her interest in the health school, she had a longer-term vision. She didn't want her students to only possess technical skills but lack social skills, so she added this course.
Many people didn't understand, and students felt it was useless. Shen Yao followed public opinion and turned the course into an elective.
Very few people actually enjoy this course; there aren't many tables in the room, and the scholars don't seem to enjoy teaching it. Sometimes, this is also where Shen Yao holds meetings.
Bao Yintu, however, showed great interest in the place. She jumped into the room, picked up a book at random, flipped through a few pages, and then asked Shen Yao all sorts of questions.
Shen Yao was quite patient and would answer all of Shen Yao's questions, but she wasn't friendly and seemed very distant.
As they chatted, Bao Yintu stopped asking questions, and Shen Yao fell silent as well.
The two sat side by side, bathed in the setting sun outside the window.
Bao Yintu suddenly smiled, breaking the silence: "You are different from other Han women I know. You are like a daughter of the Jin Kingdom."
Shen Yao glanced at her and said, "I am a woman from the Sheng Dynasty."
Bao Yintu tilted his head and said, "But you're rude to people, you only care about your own happiness... Don't you want me to like you?"
Shen Yao withdrew her gaze and said calmly, "I am a princess of the Sheng Dynasty. Princesses do not need to be polite, nor do they need to be liked by others."
Bao Yintu nodded and asked in return, "Then what does the princess of the Sheng Dynasty need?"
Shen Yao's mind raced, and she suddenly realized that the light in Bao Yintu's eyes was not curiosity, but ambition.
She lowered her eyes slightly and said softly, "Power and position."
Bao Yintu smiled brightly: "You really look like a daughter of the Jin Kingdom."
Shen Yao said, "All daughters in the world are the same."
...
After Bao Yintu arrived in Xiliang, she stayed at the princess's residence, and Shen Yao would take some time to visit her every day. However, Shen Yao wasn't the only one in Xiliang who cared about her; Pei Heng would also occasionally take time to visit her, and would even bring gifts such as rouge.
Bao Yintu is cheerful and lively, and often makes Pei Heng laugh when they talk. Unlike Shen Zan, Bao Yintu is a bit of a drama queen. She will kill the flowers that Pei Heng gives her, accidentally release the birds that he gives her, and she will turn on him on the spot if he doesn't like the gifts he gives her.
But Pei Heng was willing to coax her, and his concern for her clearly went beyond that of ordinary friends. One time, Pei Heng finally couldn't hold back and asked Shen Yao if he wanted to teach at the school. Shen Yao, unable to bear it any longer, exposed his intentions on the spot.
Pei Heng, however, chuckled shamelessly and said, "What does this have to do with the princess? Doesn't the princess think she cares about me too much?"
Shen Yao was already immune to his words, and hearing them in this situation only made her more disgusted. Without saying a word, she got up and left the space where Pei Heng was.
As time went by, the New Year was fast approaching. In previous years, the Jin people would invade most frequently at this time. Lan Yunyi dared not go home and communicated with Shen Yao by letter.
The Jin people also celebrated the New Year, so Baoyintu also boarded a carriage to return to the Jin Kingdom on a day when it was not snowing.
Shen Yao calculated the time. In the two months since Bao Yintu came to Xiliang City, Lan Yunyi had only returned home twice, and each time she came back with important business.
She felt increasingly lost and didn't know why she had become particularly dependent on Lan Yunyi lately.
Shen Yao tried not to think too much. After seeing Bao Yintu off, she got into the carriage. The carriage was warm and cozy, and the little snake on her wrist was crawling around quite lively. But Shen Yao still couldn't help but fall asleep because of the warmth...
Suddenly the carriage shuddered, and Shen Yao was jolted awake. The white snake on her wrist also began to stir, darting from her forearm to her upper arm.
Suddenly, a strange shout rang out from outside the car, followed by the voices of A Yuan and Xia Guo. Xia Guo jumped onto the car and shouted, "Princess, be careful!" Then, cold weapons clashed outside the car, making a "clanging" and a "swish" sound.
With the sound of a blade piercing flesh and bone and a loud wail from Dahan, silence fell outside.
Xia Guo, still shaken, lifted the carriage curtain and looked at Shen Yao: "Princess, are you alright?"
Shen Yao shook her head, pinched her brow, and asked, "What happened?"
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