Chapter 72: The Princess
Li Xuanhe's words drew everyone's attention to Xun Shu. Xun Shu blinked, a trace of confusion flashed in his eyes. He didn't know why Li Xuanhe would bring up something that happened so long ago at this time.
Pingyang Hou turned his gaze towards Xun Shu, examining her carefully for the first time today. He didn't show any particular emotion. After a pause, he said, "Have you seen Miss Qin since you came back? Ever since your mother said you were ill, she—"
A flicker of anger flashed in the eldest princess's eyes. She slammed the wine cup down on the table, causing it to slosh and spill a few drops. A maid rushed forward to wipe them away. The noise interrupted the Marquis of Pingyang and startled Xun Shu. She gestured to the maid to bring a plate of sweet osmanthus cakes to Xun Shu, saying softly, "He'er said you enjoy all kinds of snacks. As luck would have it, the chef in the mansion is an expert, and I brought him from the palace. Just send him over to make whatever you want."
Xun Shu looked at the Marquis of Pingyang, then at the Princess, and finally nodded gently, revealing a small dimple on his cheek. He looked particularly well-behaved. "Thank you, Princess."
Pingyang Hou knew that his wife disliked the behavior of the Qin sisters. If his eldest son Hou'er had not come to him yesterday and specifically mentioned his wife's sister Qin Lanxin's feelings for He'er, wanting to strengthen the relationship, he would not have been willing to get involved in this matter and bring bad luck to his wife.
However, the girl He'er brought back this time was of a lower status, certainly not as good as the Second Lady of the Qin family. But his wife obviously liked this girl more. I don't know what she was thinking...
Pingyang Hou sighed, and when he spoke again, it was on a different topic: "I heard that the team transporting disaster relief silver will arrive in Beijing tomorrow?"
Li Xuanhe paused.
The route of the relief silver had always been a secret. How could this question be answered before it had successfully entered the national treasury? His father was becoming increasingly unreliable. Li Xuanhe said vaguely, "I don't know. Since entering Gyeonggi Province, the transportation route of the relief silver has been personally ordered by Master. Our two teams went their separate ways, and neither of us knew the other's route." He didn't want to dwell on the matter. He happened to recall something he had heard a few days ago. He glanced at Xun Shu, who was eating an osmanthus cake, and turned to ask, "Father, Mother, I heard that His Majesty has been unwell recently and hasn't attended court for many days?"
Pingyang Hou nodded: "It has indeed been some time. The Crown Prince has been acting as regent during this period."
The eldest princess was also upset when this matter was brought up. She put down her silver chopsticks and said helplessly, "A few days ago, I went to the palace specifically for this matter. I saw my brother hurried out of the palace, and he didn't look sick. I heard that the imperial teacher had obtained a remedy for immortality and stayed indoors, refining elixirs every day. My brother can only visit him every day. Well, my brother is used to it, and I'm afraid the crown prince is used to it too."
Xun Shu shrank his neck and looked unconcerned, but he pricked up his ears when he heard the word "national teacher".
The Imperial Master is the head of the Hall of Eternal Life. He's the one who's been searching for the Sitian Pavilion's treasured mirror and disciples, and he's also the one who abducted Jiang Zheng. Jiang Zheng is now in his hands, but as the Imperial Master, his residence must be heavily guarded, and he has many followers outside. How can she find out where Jiang Zheng is being held, and how can she rescue him...
And what was the method for immortality? Although she and Li Xuanhe had kept the news of the snake fish's death a secret, eating fish didn't require the hassle of refining an elixir in advance. Just find an iron pot and stew it. Xun Shu had a hunch that the demonic Taoist hadn't informed His Majesty of the snake fish's death, and that the elixir he had refined wasn't some kind of elixir of immortality.
The demon is now the imperial teacher, with no shortage of money or power. If he were to obtain the secret of immortality, how could he bear to give it to someone else? Even if that person is the emperor?
Xun Shu was lost in thought when she was suddenly startled by a noise outside the courtyard gate. She paused and listened carefully. It sounded like a woman's voice, saying someone was ill and asking the Marquis of Pingyang to go and see them. She looked up and saw that the Princess and Li Xuanhe hadn't heard anything, as if nothing had happened. However, the Marquis of Pingyang, who was sitting across from her, seemed to be hesitant to speak, fidgeting uncomfortably, and wishing he could get up and open the courtyard gate the next moment.
Pingyang Hou endured it again and again, but finally couldn't hold it back anymore and said, "I——"
"Zhenping." The princess interrupted him, "Today is He'er's welcoming banquet, and it's a rare opportunity for the three of us to be together. Turning a blind eye to the Japanese palace is magnanimity on my part, but that doesn't mean I can tolerate her provocation and bullying at will. Do you understand?"
Pingyang Hou laughed awkwardly and explained, "I thought it might be urgent... But my lady is right. Today is the day He'er returns home. Nothing is more important than this."
The shouting outside the door gradually weakened until it could no longer be heard. Xun Shu guessed that perhaps the person had given up shouting after seeing no one open the door for a long time, or perhaps the princess's guards had driven her away, leaving her unable to make any sound.
Although the Marquis of Pingyang was stunned by the princess's words and dared not move, his soul had already flown out of the courtyard. The princess initially managed to ignore his emotions, but gradually her interest faded. She pressed her forehead and said calmly, "I'm a little tired. Let's go today. He'er, after attending court tomorrow, go to the Dali Temple and ask for a few days' leave. You can't be like your father, so ignorant of etiquette."
After saying this, she stood up and left, leaving the others behind. Pingyang Hou glanced at Li Xuanhe, gave him a few perfunctory instructions, and then hurried away.
The courtyard that was bustling just now became silent in an instant. The moonlight was dim and the shadows of the trees were swaying. The delicious food on the table became bland in an instant and no longer as tempting as before.
Li Xuanhe lowered his eyes. Xun Shu couldn't see his expression, but she felt that he was sad. She walked over to him and poked his hand with her finger. He grabbed it instantly and squeezed it tightly with all his strength.
Xun Shu's hand was pinched so hard that it hurt. He struggled slightly. Li Xuanhe immediately let go and said apologetically, "Sorry..."
Xun Shu didn't pull his hand away, but took the initiative to hold his hand and said softly, "Don't be sad. No matter what, you still have parents. Although their relationship doesn't seem to be good, they are still alive. I don't even know who my parents are, let alone whether they are dead or alive. In comparison, am I even more miserable?"
Li Xuanhe was stunned and looked down at the girl in front of him.
The moonlight reflected on her face, clearly illuminating the peaceful smile on her face, clean and untainted by dust. Li Xuanhe pursed his lips, inexplicably feeling a little inferior: "Sorry, I made you laugh."
Xun Shu comforted him awkwardly, "We are all shop assistants in the coffin shop. There is nothing to be ashamed of."
Hearing this, Li Xuanhe's heavy heart relaxed a little: "Are you full? I'll take you home."
Xun Shu turned around to look at the dishes on the table that had not yet been cleared away. He glanced around and saw that there was really nothing he wanted to eat. Then he nodded and said, "Let's go."
-
The way back was longer than the way in. The two walked side by side, stepping on shadows and walking slowly. Xun Shu was thinking about what had just happened. After thinking about it, he couldn't help but ask, "Who was that person who just shouted outside the courtyard?"
Li Xuanhe took her hand and led her through a bamboo forest, then calmly replied, "She must be the nanny in my father's concubine's room."
Although he guessed this answer, Xun Shu was still a little surprised: "Isn't your mother the eldest princess? I thought that when a princess gets married, the prince consort is not allowed to take concubines."
The two of them happened to walk to a stone table in the bamboo forest. Li Xuanhe led her to sit down and asked the maids and servants who followed them to step back ten steps before he slowly said, "This is a long story. Before my mother got married, the court was in turmoil. Wars broke out simultaneously in the north and west of Daliang. My mother had two choices at the time: one was to marry a foreign prince, and the other was to marry my father, the son of the General Zhenbei.
"Although my father came from a military family, he had no talent for martial arts and remained in the capital with my grandmother. He had a reputation as a playboy since his youth and married once, but she died a few years after the wedding, leaving behind only my eldest brother as a child. My father wasn't a good match, but for my mother at the time, he was the best choice."
Xun Shu was a little confused: "Why is it the best choice?"
A bamboo leaf fluttered down, landing on Xun Shu's bun. Li Xuanhe gently picked it up and played with it in his hands before continuing, "My mother grew up in the palace, so naturally she didn't want to marry away from her homeland. Furthermore, there were three adult princes in the palace at the time, each of them eyeing the throne covetously. If my mother had married my father, with the help of the old Marquis of Pingyang, she could have helped secure the throne for His Majesty, then the Crown Prince. Compared to these strengths, my father's shortcomings were nothing."
"After my mother and father got married, they lived in harmony for a while. Then my grandfather passed away. My grandmother loved my eldest brother and asked my father to make him the crown prince. By then, my sister and I were already born, and my mother was completely focused on us, so they gradually drifted apart. Later, my father secretly kept a concubine, and my mother heard about it from others. Having a concubine wasn't a good idea, so my mother asked my father to take his beloved into the family. She didn't allow them to have any children, but everything else was left to my father."
Li Xuanhe told everything without reservation, leaving Xun Shu stunned. It took him a while to come back to his senses: "Why don't you hide anything from me?"
Li Xuanhe's eyes were filled with sincerity, and he spoke every word seriously: "Ashu is very important to me. If you want to know, I will naturally not hide it from you. What's more, these things are not secrets. Instead of letting you find out from others, it's better for me to tell you."
Xun Shu was stunned, feeling a little ashamed, and didn't know what to do for a moment.
The July evening breeze was already chilly, and the bamboo forest was cold, so the stone bench was also cold. After Li Xuanhe finished recounting the past, he pulled Xun Shu to his feet and said, "We're done with the story, and it's getting late. I'll take you back to rest. Don't get up early tomorrow, and get some rest. I'll leave Yuchang with you. If you want to go out for a walk after you wake up, be sure to take him and Ah Shui with you."
"Wait." Xun Shu pulled him back, his expression tangled. Li Xuanhe stood quietly beside her, not urging her, only watching her gently. After a moment, he heard her say, "You've told me everything, and there are things I shouldn't have kept from you. But some things are really complicated, and I don't know how to explain them right now, or if I can even tell you. It's not that I don't trust you, but you're more than you, and I'm more than me. I trust you, but I can't trust everything behind you. When I figure everything out, I'll tell you everything."
She spoke very quickly, her facial features tightly wrinkled together, as if she had made a great decision and was afraid that she would regret it if she spoke slowly.
Li Xuanhe prided herself on being intelligent, but at this moment, she seemed bewildered, not quite understanding what she was saying. A moment of bewilderment crossed her face. Just as she was about to ask again, she heard her reply, "My explanation was a bit confusing, but you're so smart, you must have understood, right?"
Her eyes sparkled with anticipation. What else could he say? Li Xuanhe gritted his teeth and smiled a sophisticated smile: "Of course."
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