Goodbye Chengxin
At this moment, Shen Yao suddenly missed Lan Yunyi very much. This person never spoke in riddles to her, always said what was on his mind, and always comforted her without needing to be comforted in return.
He's a very easy man to manage.
Shen Yao frowned, glanced at Pei Yuan with considerable annoyance, and then waved her hand, saying, "Pei Qing, it's getting late, you should go back."
Pei Yuan looked at him, his face ashen. He bit his lip and stammered, "Your Majesty wasn't like this before..."
Shen Yao did not reply, but at this moment the eunuch came up and whispered to Pei Yuan, "My lord, it's time to go back..."
Pei Yuan then came to his senses, gave Shen Yao another deep look, and followed the eunuch out of the palace.
Because of this inexplicable longing, Shen Yao suddenly felt a little obsessed and decided to go back to bed later that night, waiting for the rumored and fearsome Prince Zhao to come and pay his respects to her.
However, the result seemed to mock her wishful thinking; she waited until midnight but did not see anyone.
The old eunuch said, "Your Majesty, Prince Zhao clearly doesn't respect you. This old servant also heard during the day that Prince Zhao spoke rudely in court, saying... saying..."
The old eunuch opened his mouth twice, but failed to utter the rest of his words.
Shen Yao asked, "What did you say?"
The old eunuch immediately knelt down and said, "This old servant dares not speak recklessly."
Shen Yao said, "I forgive you for your innocence. Speak."
The old eunuch then said softly, "...He said that His Majesty under Ganshan Mountain is...an old witch."
After King Zhao finished speaking, no one dared to refute him. Moreover, among the ministers who came to pay their respects today, apart from Pei Heng, that brainless fool who only wanted to climb the throne, no one complained.
Shen Yao chuckled and said, "I can see that the Prince of Zhao truly wields immense power."
The old eunuch lay prostrate on the ground, his whole body trembling at Shen Yao's laughter.
Shen Yao had no intention of intimidating the eunuch; it was just that Lan Yunyi made her feel an excessive sense of crisis.
She understood Lan Yunyi's personality; once someone felt threatened, they would eliminate that threat as quickly as possible. If Lan Yunyi insisted on placing the young emperor on the throne, then Shen Yao's situation would be dangerous.
Moreover, judging from the current situation, those who hold real power in the court are all Lan Yunyi's people.
She gradually stopped smiling and said calmly, "Let's go back to my bedchamber first. I'm tired."
The old eunuch hurriedly got up and obsequiously ran downstairs to have the sedan chair brought over.
Shen Yao quickly adapted to the role of the emperor, and the next morning he held an early court session to listen to the ministers complain or argue.
It was all the same old stuff anyway. Shen Yao felt like yawning as she listened. She finally made it to the end of the morning court session when one of the Pei faction members suddenly stood up and told Shen Yao to expand her harem and have children in order to consolidate the foundation of the country.
Pei Heng then stepped forward, cupped his hands towards Shen Yao, and said, "I second that proposal."
Shen Yao sneered, looked at Pei Yuan who was at the head, and asked, "Pei Qing, what do you think?"
Pei Yuan kept his head down and cupped his hands, saying, "Marriage is Your Majesty's family matter, and I will not interfere."
Shen Yao couldn't help but sneer repeatedly. Although there was no evidence, if Pei Yuan hadn't taken the lead, how would his subordinates have dared to overstep him and interfere in her harem affairs?
Interfering with her harem is actually a minor matter; the real problem is that the people Pei Yuan sends into the palace might not be good people, which would cause trouble.
Shen Yao smiled and said, "Let's discuss this matter later."
For several days in a row, the Pei faction was very concerned about Shen Yao expanding her harem during the morning court sessions. However, Shen Yao was busy with state affairs and could not spare the energy to take care of the men's feelings, so she kept putting it off.
Besides handling state affairs, she also showed extra concern for Pei Heng, so she met with Pei Yuan more often.
After several conversations, Shen Yao discovered that Pei Yuan and Pei Heng were actually quite distant. Pei Heng was originally a little beggar whom the original owner, Shen Yao, had unintentionally helped when she went to Jiangnan. Because Shen Yao said, "This child looks a lot like you," Pei Yuan adopted him.
This shows that Pei Yuan's loyalty to the Sheng Dynasty's royal family was unparalleled, and that he was somewhat inflexible in his thinking.
Worried that he might be deceived by a villain, Shen Yao tentatively asked Pei Heng about other things, such as whether he knew that Pei Heng had married, and who Pei Heng was on good terms with in private, etc.
Pei Yuan, after all, was a seasoned veteran of the imperial court for over thirty years. He suddenly understood Shen Yao's meaning and fell into a kind of anxious silence.
Shen Yao did not want to provoke this veteran minister of three generations, so he smiled and said, "It is I who have interfered too much. Please do not take offense, Marquis of Zhennan."
“That’s not what I meant,” Pei Yuan said. “Your Majesty just wants to know if I was aware of Heng’er’s secret formation of cliques. I know that.”
Shen Yao was surprised by his honesty, and after Pei Yuan finished speaking, a chilling killing intent flashed in his eyes.
This was something Shen Yao had never seen before, and at the same time, she couldn't help but feel a little doubtful—since Pei Yuan was loyal to Da Sheng, he shouldn't be fighting with Lan Yunyi's faction...
Or perhaps, he was simply loyal to Shen Yao.
Pei Yuan continued, "...I just wonder why His Majesty has become like this towards me. Didn't we used to talk about everything? Why is His Majesty suddenly so careful when speaking to me?"
As he spoke, he suddenly stood up, walked to Shen Yao's table, placed his hands on the table, leaned slightly forward, and looked down at him, saying, "Does His Majesty find me too old and unattractive to see me?"
Shen Yao thought to herself, Pei Yuan's age is unknown, but his beauty is definitely not fading.
After exchanging a glance with Pei Yuan for a moment, she pretended to be indifferent and looked away.
Pei Yuan's eyes flickered, and he let out a self-deprecating laugh: "Or is it that I'm also involved in His Majesty's worries about Heng'er?"
Shen Yao flatly denied it: "I have no doubts about you."
Shen Yao had been "asleep" for more than 30 years, and during those 30 years, Pei Yuan went to Ganshan almost every day to keep vigil for Shen Yao.
They grew up together as childhood sweethearts, studying and practicing martial arts together. Pei Yuan placed all his hopes on Shen Yao, and that's why Shen Yao has now successfully ascended the throne.
Whether out of friendship or for his own benefit, Shen Yao could not remain indifferent to all of this.
Pei Yuan looked at her, took a few steps back, and then slowly knelt down.
He said, "Pei Yuan is loyal to Your Majesty, and only to Your Majesty. These are the words I uttered years ago, and I have always acted accordingly."
Shen Yao said with a hint of helplessness, "...I know."
Pei Qing is a bit difficult to deal with. Giving him money would probably feel like an insult, but Shen Yao really didn't know what else she could offer.
Shen Yao was inwardly scratching her head in frustration. After offering Pei Yuan a seat again, she changed the subject: "How is the Prince of Zhao?"
“What else can we do? He’s claiming to be sick and refusing to meet the Emperor.” Pei Yuan chuckled and said, “If His Majesty finds it troublesome, we can just make him a real sickly man in a couple of days.”
"No." Shen Yao thought to herself, at worst she could just acknowledge Lan Yunyi as her husband. But times had changed, and she had no connection with Lan Yunyi anymore. Besides, they had only been husband and wife for a few months in their previous life, and they were not together most of the time. Perhaps they didn't have much affection for each other.
Thinking this way, Shen Yao felt much better.
"King Zhao holds considerable military power, so it's understandable that he's somewhat arrogant. Besides, he's not the kind of person who's obsessed with power. We'll discuss things further after the enthronement ceremony, when I speak with King Zhao."
Pei Yuan neither agreed nor disagreed, but nodded in approval of Shen Yao's opinion.
After that, the two did not speak again. After the Marquis of Zhennan finished dealing with the memorials with Shen Yao, the old eunuch appeared and reminded Shen Yao that it was time to take his medicine.
"Give it to me." Pei Yuan stood up and took the medicine bowl from the old eunuch.
Perhaps because of the original owner's memories, Shen Yao didn't feel much wariness towards Pei Yuan. When Pei Yuan held the spoonful of medicine to her lips, Shen Yao hesitated for a moment, then opened her mouth and drank the medicine. Pei Yuan's expression brightened. He withdrew his hand, then lowered his head, gently scooped up a second spoonful, and blew on it lightly. When he fed it to Shen Yao again, she drank it.
After Shen Yao finished drinking all the medicine, Pei Yuan showed a satisfied expression. Since the imperial physician had said that it was not advisable to rest immediately after taking the medicine, Pei Yuan suggested taking Shen Yao to visit Dajue Temple. Shen Yao naturally agreed, and after resting for a while in the palace, the two got up and set off.
Daikaku-ji Temple is located in the city of Imperial Capital, surrounded by the bustling atmosphere of the city, yet it still appears secluded and independent.
But whether it was intentional or not, Shen Yao didn't see anyone along the way. After entering Dajue Temple, she found it so quiet that she could hear even a cat walking by clearly.
Presumably, the temple had been cleared beforehand for her arrival. Pei Yuan's actions were understandable; he was simply worried that malicious people might infiltrate the crowd and pose a threat to Shen Yao's safety. However, Shen Yao still preferred liveliness; this feeling of being "alone in the world" made her genuinely lonely.
With a clang, the temple bell rang to signal the time. A group of monks dressed in grey robes walked out of the hall in an orderly fashion, stood in front of Shen Yao, and bowed. Shen Yao did not reply and walked straight into the hall.
Beneath the large Buddha statue inside the hall sat a plain-faced man dressed in a golden robe. The man, like the Great Awakening Temple itself, appeared detached from the world, untouched by worldly dust.
Shen Yao had long heard that Cheng Xin was in this Dajue Temple, but he never dared to imagine that he would meet him without any introduction. But then he thought that he was now the emperor, and naturally he could see whomever he wanted. As the saying goes, all land under heaven belongs to the king, and all people within the realm are his subjects.
Supported by Pei Yuan, Shen Yao entered the hall. Cheng Xin rose and knelt before Shen Yao, then stood up and called out, "Your Majesty."
Shen Yao stared intently at Cheng Xin, shook off Pei Yuan's hand, and said softly, "Get out."
Pei Yuan: "Your Majesty..."
Shen Yao didn't listen to him continue and waved at him. Pei Yuan lowered his eyes, glanced at Cheng Xin, and then turned and left the main hall.
Shen Yao smiled and said, "I heard that Dajue Temple has a new abbot, so I couldn't help but come to visit. I didn't expect it to be the famous Master Chengxin."
Chengxin lowered her eyes, and a smile suddenly appeared on her usually calm and composed face.
Shen Yao, not knowing what he found so enjoyable, tilted her head and looked at him with a puzzled expression.
Chengxin raised her eyes and said, "Your Majesty still hasn't told me what the second half of the poem is."
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