Chapter 55 Liang Shao's letter.
Liang Ye held Shanhe in the bathtub and made love for her for half an hour before stopping. When it was over, the water was cold, and Shanhe felt cold all over, with a layer of fine goosebumps on her skin. Liang Ye called Caixiang and Caiping and asked them to boil another tub of hot water. He then took his own outer cloak, wrapped Shanhe tightly in it, and carried her back to her bed in the bedroom.
Shanhe was sore all over and too tired to move. Her throat was parched, so she could only let him do as he pleased. He poured her a cup of tea, held the back of her neck and coaxed her to drink it, but his voice was indifferent: "What did you mean by that sentence just now?"
Shanhe looked up from the rim of her teacup and replied vaguely, "Which sentence?"
"You can't bear those empty titles, nor do you dare to."
"Concubines can be included in the family genealogy—"
“Besides this reason,” he interrupted her sharply.
Shanhe was taken aback, then paused and said, "That's all, that's all."
Liang Ye chuckled softly: "Shanshan, you're not planning to run away, are you?"
Shanhe's heart sank, and her fingers tightened slightly around the teacup. She quickly lowered her eyes, her thoughts racing, and when she looked up again, her eyes held a hint of anger. She sneered, "So this is what Master thinks of me." She pushed the teacup towards Liang Ye, spilling a few drops of water onto his dark-patterned undergarment. Shanhe said, "I understand. Master went to great lengths to trick me into coming here, just for a bit of novelty. Now that I'm yours, I'm sure you've had your fill. After these two years, you'll definitely marry a virtuous wife of equal social standing. Someone of my lowly status should be driven away long ago, lest I tarnish your reputation. You're asking me this now, probably to test my judgment and teach me to be sensible so you won't be caught in the middle between me and your future wife. Is that right?"
Liang Ye pursed his lips and stared at her, but remained silent.
Seeing him like this, Shanhe felt uneasy. She had never acted like this in front of Liang Ye before, and she wondered if he would accept these petulant and reproachful words. He probably would, right? After all, they had just been intimate, and their scents still lingered. In such a tender moment, a few coquettish words and complaints wouldn't surely anger him, would they?
After a long silence, Liang Ye remained silent, his lips pressed together. Shan He was so anxious that she broke out in a cold sweat. Just as she was about to turn over and face the wall to continue her act alone, she heard him finally speak, his voice softening: "Shan Shan... the Shi family is not easy to deal with. If you have no status, you will easily suffer losses."
Shanhe tried to understand his meaning and dared not make any further moves. She nodded gently, "Okay, I understand."
Liang Ye leaned down and kissed her again.
He was behaving strangely now, as if he were hiding something from her, refusing to tell her, only showering her with kisses, as if trying to make amends for something. In truth, he was hiding more than one thing from her, and she knew it all too well, but she was too lazy to ask. After all, they weren't husband and wife; they probably didn't even have any affection for each other, only physical intimacy. But Liang Ye's expression now suggested that what he was hiding might be related to her. Shanhe simply closed her eyes. She didn't want to think so much; she just wanted to make him happy, to lower his guard, and then take the slave registration documents and leave quickly. Nothing else mattered to her.
Liang Ye couldn't explain what was wrong with him at that moment. Shanhe's words just now echoed in his ears, and he felt somewhat dazed. The woman in front of him seemed not to be Xue Shanhe, yet she also seemed to be the real her. These days, he had become so accustomed to her indifference, silence, and obedience that he had forgotten that she also had her own personality.
The last time I saw her like this was before she and Ah Shao divorced. Their intimacy, their natural laughter, their unspoken banter that only they could understand—Liang Ye was actually a little flustered at that time. He was afraid that Shan He had really developed feelings for Ah Shao, so he turned to him and said, "I don't want to divorce Ah Shao anymore."
Now, she's using the same tone and expression to complain about him. Has she truly accepted him? Otherwise, why would she be angry with him? She could easily have said something innocuous to gloss over it. Only when she cares will she feel annoyed and resentful. Isn't that right?
Thinking of this, Liang Ye felt somewhat relieved.
He already possessed her body and her heart; what was there to worry about not getting her? Sooner or later, she would be his.
Shanhe had her eyes closed, looking serene and peaceful, her initial resistance completely gone. He couldn't help but stroke her rosy cheeks and whisper in her ear, "Shanshan, I will give you a proper status. You don't need to be included in the family register, and you don't need to see him again in the future. I will give you whatever you want."
Shanhe closed her eyes and slowly responded to him. He ignored her words, letting them pass by unnoticed. She simply felt the kisses moving from her face to her shoulder, from her shoulder to her chest, and down her body. She didn't think about anything else.
Suddenly, she heard a voice from her body: "Even if there is a mistress in the future, you will always be the only you. We were born together, and we will die together. Shanshan, you are my wife."
Her heart skipped a beat, and she suddenly opened her eyes to find the man kneeling between her legs, pulling down her underpants.
In the following days, Liang Ye was busy preparing for the palace examination, spending all his time in his study. Shan He only brought him tea, fruit, and seeds at specific times, spending the rest of her time with Qing Yue and Miao Er.
Miao'er had already told Qingyue their entire plan. Upon hearing this, Qingyue's face lit up with smiles, and she said that her injury seemed to be healing faster, and she couldn't wait to get out of bed and walk again. Shanhe, however, stopped her, saying, "You should take good care of yourself. It takes a hundred days to recover from a broken bone, and you've only been gone a short while. When we leave, we'll inevitably be busy with travel, so you need to make sure your bones are strong. If you fall or bump into something, I won't be responsible for you; you'll just have to come back here by yourself!" After saying this, she and Miao'er both laughed.
Qingyue didn't take Shanhe's words seriously, but she was really afraid that her injury would delay Shanhe's escape, and her anxiety was evident on her face.
Shanhe saw through her thoughts and comforted her gently, "It was just a joke, don't take it seriously. Don't worry, once you're healed, we'll go together. I can speak to him now, and it shouldn't be difficult for me to ask him for some precious medicines to treat you. You're young, so it might not take a hundred days for you to fully recover."
A pang of sadness welled up in Qingyue's heart: "My wife, did he 'bully' you...?"
Shanhe was taken aback, then laughed and said, "How could that be? Look, I don't have any injuries."
Qingyue pouted and shook her head: "I'm talking about that kind of bullying!" She looked at Shanhe with tears in her eyes: "My wife, even your smile looks bitter now."
With just that one sentence, the grievances that Shanhe had been suppressing in her heart surged up like a sweltering summer heat. Her eyes reddened, and her nose stung. She hurriedly lowered her face to hide the bitterness on her face.
Qingyue immediately understood and sighed, "If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have left. At least, Second Master..."
“Qingyue!” Shanhe interrupted her, “You must never say these things in normal times, and you must never mention the Second Master’s name. If people hear it, he will get angry again.”
She sighed deeply, "Even if I were to go back to that time and make the choice again, I'm afraid I would still divorce him. However," her eyes grew even dimmer, "I will never beg Liang Ye again."
What Shanhe regrets most is not the divorce from Liang Shao, but that she asked Liang Ye for help in order to get a divorce, which led to a series of mistakes.
On the day of the final imperial examination, as dawn broke, Liang Ye rose to prepare to enter the palace.
Shanhe was helping him change his clothes. People from the mansion kept coming to inquire. First, Shi Maotong sent a servant to ask if everything was prepared, and then said that if anything was missing, just go and ask him; if there were any problems in the palace, Chengmin could also go and ask his attendants. Next, Madam Zhou sent someone to bring a plate of cakes and two zongzi (sticky rice dumplings). Shanhe was bowing her head to tie his belt when she saw Caixiang and Caiping each carrying a white porcelain plate. She smiled gently and said, "'Cakes' and 'zongzi,' good luck! You're sure to pass the imperial examinations this time, Master. It's all thanks to Madam's thoughtfulness; I hadn't even prepared anything."
Liang Ye raised his eyebrows and smiled, picked up a piece of soft cake with his finger, and first held it to Shan He's lips to let her taste it, before asking with a smile, "How is it?"
Shanhe took only a small bite and chewed it carefully: "Hmm...so dry, it's all crumbs."
Liang Ye chuckled softly, wiping away the crumbs of pastry from the corner of her lips with his fingertip: "You're quite picky." He ate the pastry from where she had taken a bite, then took her hand and said, "After the palace examination, I'll be having a banquet with my classmates, so I probably won't be back early. Don't wait for me."
Shanhe lowered his head and obediently agreed. Just as he was about to peel the bamboo leaves, Chengmin suddenly ran to the corridor, panting, and said, "Master, a letter has arrived."
Liang Ye smiled and said, "I'll take a look when I get back tonight."
Cheng Min glanced at Shan He, then lowered her gaze: "This letter is a bit urgent."
Upon hearing this, Liang Ye stepped forward to take the letter. The moment he saw the words on the envelope, his warm smile vanished. Shanhe, puzzled, peeled a zongzi leaf and asked, "What's wrong?"
Liang Ye didn't answer, tearing open the envelope and unfolding the letter, his face growing increasingly somber. After reading the last word, he remained silent for a long while, then suddenly looked up and saw Shan He looking at him with furrowed brows. Realizing his lapse in composure, he smiled at her and said, "It's nothing, it's alright." Just as he was about to burn the letter, his hand paused, as if remembering something. In the end, he simply folded the letter back up, stuffed it back into the envelope, and casually placed it on the table, then didn't mention the matter again.
Before leaving, she put a purse on his arm and bent down to carefully adjust the ribbon. He suddenly raised his hand and stroked Shanhe's face with one hand, forcing her to raise her head: "I won't be back early today. You must be tired, so get some rest."
Shanhe smiled: "I know, Master is going out to a banquet. I just mentioned it."
"Get up." He held her chin.
Shanhe was completely bewildered by him. She got up as instructed, and he leaned down again to kiss her lips. He released her after a while, said "Take care," and left with a frown.
Shanhe watched his proud back, then wiped the corner of her lips and cheek where he had kissed her with the back of her hand, her smile slowly fading. She went back to her room alone, thinking about visiting Qingyue later. Suddenly, a gust of wind blew through the room, causing the papers on the table to rustle. Shanhe went over, pressed them down with a paperweight, and noticed that the words "To my elder brother Liang Ye" on the envelope he had casually tossed aside earlier sounded very familiar.
Her heart skipped a beat, recalling Liang Ye's increasingly grim expression as he read the letter; her chest pounded. Shanhe suppressed the turmoil within her and glanced out the window. Liang Ye was no longer in the courtyard. Caixiang and He Niang were doing needlework on the veranda, Caiping was brewing medicine, Granny Wei was having breakfast in her room, and Miao'er and Qingyue were also inside. No one was around.
She tremblingly reached out, unfolded the letter, and read it word by word. The letter read:
Dear Brother Yetai: Seeing this letter is like seeing you in person. Brother, you are about to take the imperial examination. I, your foolish brother, gaze towards the capital, wishing you soaring success and the best of luck in the imperial examinations. Since Shanshan left, I have often felt disoriented, my mind clouded, and my soul seemingly detached. However, the other day, I received the soft armor Shanshan gave me, and it was as if the clouds had parted and the sun had shone through. I suddenly realized that this might be divine intervention, or Shanshan's way of showing me not to give up. Since Shanshan has devoted herself to my future, how could I dare to betray this deep kindness and waste my years? When you unfold this letter, I should already be riding my horse north to join the army. My aim is to achieve fame and success, and I will certainly not fail your years of teaching. When I return, I hope you will have achieved your high rank, and I will also be able to find traces of Shanshan. As I write this, my thoughts are with you. I only wish you, my brother, to take care, take care, take care! Your brother, Liang Shao, bows deeply.
Shanhe paused, staring at the familiar handwriting on the letter, and couldn't help but shed tears. She quickly wiped away her tears, pursed her lips, and carefully put the letter back where it was. But the words in the letter were so earnest and heart-wrenching that she couldn't help but take out a handkerchief and wipe away the tears from the corners of her eyes.
Liang Ye stood in the shadows of the corridor corner, witnessing Shan He's eyes, which had been vibrant for a moment, then quickly dimmed. Only after Shan He wiped away her tears and walked into the depths of the bedroom, disappearing from sight, did he harden his expression, let out a cold laugh, and then stride out.
As Liang Ye emerged from the alley, he suddenly reined in his horse and looked back. The gray walls of the mansion stood silently in the daylight, and he couldn't help but think of Shan He standing silently behind those walls. Cheng Min, unaware of the recent legal trouble, cautiously asked, "Did you forget anything, sir?" Liang Ye shook his head and said calmly, "No." He suddenly squeezed his legs tightly against the horse's belly, whipped the horse, and galloped towards the Wenhua Hall of the Great Yan Imperial Palace. The same wind was blowing, causing the hem of his brocade robe embroidered with bamboo to flutter wildly.
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