The trouble started
The loss of a large sum of money left Shen Yao feeling extremely depressed. Lan Yunyi smiled, came up to pour Shen Yao some wine, and said, "It's just some material possessions. I'll have A Yuan order another one."
Shen Yao sighed. Although Lan Yunyi said that, she still felt as if a piece of her heart had been ripped out, and her heart ached dully.
Lan Yunyi picked up the wine glass and held it to Shen Yao's lips, then pressed it against her lips and said, "Sister, drink up. Don't worry about trivial matters."
Shen Yao sighed softly and met Lan Yunyi's gaze. Lan Yunyi leaned closer and whispered in her ear, "How about I take you to see those two little snakes now?"
Shen Yao asked, "You found it?"
Lan Yunyi nodded: "...It's quite a coincidence. I found it when I followed Young Master Pei into the forest. Those two snakes were following behind Young Master Pei. I'm afraid there's something on Young Master Pei that attracts snakes."
Shen Yao's eyes darkened, thinking to herself, "Just as I thought."
She never said that this matter was related to Pei Heng, but Lan Yunyi was always very good at guessing her thoughts. As soon as Shen Yao made this request, he immediately thought of Pei Heng and cleverly used Pei Heng to successfully complete Shen Yao's task. If what Lan Yunyi said is true, and the snake seemed to be attracted to Pei Heng and followed him closely, then it is basically a certainty that Pei Heng is Zhao Chong.
Shen Yao had previously asked Cheng Xin whether it was possible to reincarnate. At first, Cheng Xin thought she was talking to him about birth, aging, sickness, and death, so he told Shen Yao that this life's matters should be settled in this life, so why suffer the injustice of the next life? Later, after Shen Yao explained, he realized that Shen Yao was referring to "reincarnation and possession of another's body."
Chengxin answered her seriously, saying that unless one is destined by fate, such a thing as going against the heavens is impossible, and even if it did happen, it would not be without any restrictions.
Shen Yao had originally thought that as long as she took away Zhao Chong's opportunity, she could prevent his rebirth. But now it seemed she had been too optimistic; Zhao Chong's rebirth was completely unaffected. Perhaps Heaven felt that his life was not meant to end, so it gave him another chance.
Given Zhao Chong's... no, Pei Heng's personality, he will definitely seek revenge for Lan Yunyi's murder, and the way he will take revenge will probably be by stealing someone else's wife and paying with his own life.
Pei Heng's strange behavior over the past few days was finally explained, and Shen Yao laughed inwardly in her anger.
As for the two snakes, Lan Yunyi put them into a cage specially made by Shen Yao, which was covered with talismans. After catching the snakes, he immediately sent someone to send them to Lingshan Temple, just in case.
In this matter, Shen Yao was somewhat resigned to fate. If that opportunity couldn't be forced, Shen Yao didn't want to defy destiny.
As the two were whispering to each other, Pei Heng suddenly laughed and said loudly, "When I was in the capital, I often heard people mention General Lan."
Lan Yunyi paused, her smile vanished, and then she turned her cold gaze to Pei Heng behind her.
Pei Heng recalled the question Lan Yunyi had asked him earlier, and seeing that Shen Yao's eyes were fixed on the guy in front of her, he couldn't help but feel resentful. He raised his wine cup and said, "Everyone says that the Lan siblings are unparalleled in beauty, and seeing them today, it's certainly true."
Lan Yunyi raised an eyebrow, his expression softening slightly, but Shen Yao could tell that he still harbored resentment towards Pei Heng.
The other guests gasped at these words, after all, they had all heard that Lan Yunyi hated it when people talked about her appearance.
But now it seems that Lan Yunyi has changed her mind about this issue?
"Consort Lan has won His Majesty's favor with her beauty and has given birth to a prince. This is truly a cause for celebration," Pei Heng said, raising his cup. "If the eldest prince becomes the crown prince in the future, General Lan will be the emperor's brother-in-law."
His words were flattering, yet full of malice. He was clearly using the example of Consort Lan using her beauty to mock Lan Yunyi, implying that she was the same kind of person.
Lan Yunyi didn't care much, but Shen Yao had long disliked Pei Heng and said coldly, "Young Marquis Pei is in Xiliang, so he shouldn't worry about court affairs."
Shen Yao's words were quite impolite, and the implication of protecting him was too obvious, even at the risk of offending Pei Heng. However, as a princess, what did it matter if she offended Pei Heng? Even if the Marquis of Zhennan were to go to the emperor, the emperor would let the matter pass with a laugh for the sake of his interests in Xiliang.
Lan Yunyi smiled generously, then moved closer to Chen Yao.
The atmosphere below the stage became somewhat awkward due to the princess's sudden outburst. Just then, an official from the government office broke the silence, laughing, "By the way, I heard that the general skillfully dealt with the Jin Kingdom's sneak attack a while ago, capturing countless prisoners of war and horses. Truly something to celebrate!"
After he finished speaking, the people below suddenly realized what he meant and raised their glasses to express their respect to Lan Yunyi.
Lan Yunyi smiled and said, "It is also thanks to everyone here working diligently in Xiliang City that the rear of the garrison is stable, which is why we have won battle after battle."
With a single sentence, all the credit was distributed, and everyone's spirits were lifted.
Suddenly, Pei Heng let out a cold snort, making a sound that was quite different from others.
He said, "Since the previous dynasty, Xiliang City has been plagued by constant wars, which have caused great suffering to the people. Wars also consume a great deal of national strength. Only when there is no war can it be considered truly 'good'. Winning battle after battle is merely the general's duty."
Lan Yunyi took a sip of wine, and Shen Yao pressed down on his thigh to stop him from arguing with Pei Heng.
Lan Yunyi understood immediately, placed her hand on the back of Shen Yao's hand, and gently squeezed it.
"Now that the Great Sheng Kingdom is powerful, it has opened up trade to all regions. The Western Liang Kingdom alone refuses to cooperate with the Jin Kingdom, which naturally displeases the Jin Kingdom. In addition, the Jin Kingdom is located in the north, where the weather is cold and dry and it does not produce rice or millet. In order to obtain food, they can only rely on theft and robbery to survive."
After he finished speaking, everyone fell silent, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with Pei Heng's words.
Lan Yunyi smiled, put down his wine cup, and said calmly, "Although the Jin Kingdom does not produce rice or millet, its people are nomadic and they still have beef and mutton. I wonder what the young marquis is thinking about the Jin Kingdom...?"
Pei Heng stood up and said, “I have been tossing and turning these past few nights, preoccupied with this matter. The Jin Kingdom does not produce rice, while our Great Sheng is vast and rich in resources. If we could open trade and cultural exchanges with the Jin Kingdom in Xiliang, exchanging Great Sheng’s rice for Jin’s cattle, sheep, and handicrafts, the fundamental conflict between the two countries would be eliminated on the spot. Moreover, this would not only reduce the national treasury expenditure caused by the war, but also benefit the people and increase additional fiscal revenue…”
"Bullshit!" Before he could finish speaking, Chen Ming, who had been silent all along, slammed his hand on the table and stood up, then pointed at Pei Heng and said, "Do you even know who the current ruler of the Jin Kingdom, Sukhbaatar, is? Yet you dare to talk so glibly and spout such nonsense here!"
Pei Heng turned around and looked coldly at Chen Ming.
Chen Ming continued, "What 'open trade'? If the gates of Xiliang City are opened wide to the Jin Kingdom, all that will be welcomed are rampant bandits!"
Pei Heng: "The general trend of the world is that after a long period of unity, there will be division, and after a long period of division, there will be unity. If our two countries can sit down and have a good talk..."
Chen Ming: "Talk my ass! You greenhorn, if you had ever been to the borderlands and seen how the Jin army's hooves trampled the flesh and blood of our Great Sheng soldiers, even if you had a heart of stone, you wouldn't say such a thing!"
Shen Yao knew a little about this Sukhbaatar. He was extremely energetic and, despite his age, was still a brave and skilled fighter, but his biggest problem was his age.
He was almost seventy years old, with many children, the youngest of whom was already over thirty. Each of his sons had his own power, and Sukhbaatar might "accidentally" pass away one day.
But he didn't want to leave the battlefield and the throne.
He became intolerant of any ministers' opinions, focusing solely on maintaining the status quo. He cared nothing for trade or reciprocal exchanges, as long as the status quo was preserved.
Open trade was unthinkable for him. He was even reluctant to pass his throne to his son, so how could he allow the power of the Great Sheng to infiltrate his Jin Kingdom?
Shen Yao didn't understand the deeper reasons, but she vaguely felt that something was wrong. She secretly glanced at Lan Yunyi and saw that he was silent, and there was already murderous intent in his eyes as he looked at Pei Heng.
No one understands the Jin people better than Lan Yunyi.
On this issue, Shen Yao felt it was unnecessary to presume to teach others, and said to Pei Heng, "General Lan has his own considerations."
She didn't want to say anything too harsh, lest Pei Heng become rebellious and immediately report the matter to the imperial court.
The emperor doesn't really trust Lan Yunyi. If he listens to Pei Heng's words, the people will surely suffer.
Having been rebuked countless times today, Pei Heng was already mentally prepared. He smiled and said, "I was just speaking from the heart. But I still maintain that, how will you know it won't work if you don't try?"
Lan Yunyi remained silent, but when he put down his wine glass, he couldn't help but grab Shen Yao's hand. Shen Yao could feel his hand trembling.
He seemed to be thinking the same thing as Shen Yao: they absolutely, positively couldn't let Pei Heng present this terrible idea to the Emperor. But Pei Heng would eventually have to return to the capital.
Shen Yao had never felt so powerless and disgusted with anyone before.
After the banquet, Shen Yao immediately went to Lingshan Temple with Lan Yunyi, Chen Ming and others. Together with Cheng Xin, they wrote a secret letter explaining the current situation in the Jin Kingdom and the situation of Suhebalu himself. They then sent the letter to the capital overnight.
After finishing this task, Shen Yao was still worried and couldn't help but say, "We need to find a way to make Pei Heng stay in Xiliang for a longer period of time and intercept all correspondence between him and the capital."
After she finished speaking, she waited for Lan Yunyi's reply, but Lan Yunyi simply let out a soft sigh and said indifferently, "Princess, please go back and rest first."
Shen Yao looked at him and saw a trace of emotion in his eyes that she had never seen before.
Her intuition told her that Lan Yunyi was extremely dangerous at this moment, and she subconsciously leaned back.
"You want to kill..." She didn't finish her sentence, the discomfort she felt when she saw Zhao Chong's corpse earlier surged up into her throat once again.
Shen Yao suddenly felt nauseous, and her expression changed instantly. But she also knew that this was Lan Yunyi's style; he would never leave any trouble for her.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
