The carriage traveled along the official road in Jinzhou.
Zhong Li knelt by the window, watching the scenery pass. The carriage was stable, and even when it encountered small stones, she felt no bumps.
This was a new carriage. Ever since the incident at Baolin Temple, when the carriage had overturned due to hitting a stone, causing her injury, Lu Wuxie had spent a fortune. He’d found the lightest wood and consulted many carriage makers to build this one.
“Jinzhou is warmer than Jincheng, but it is winter now. Be careful not to catch a cold; your body hasn’t fully recovered.”
Lu Wuxie sat beside her. Seeing her small face flushed from the wind, he took a garment from a small cabinet beside him and draped it over her.
Zhong Li felt the warmth of the garment around her neck. She pulled it closer and realized it was a white sable fur cloak.
“When was this made?”
Lu Wuxie replied, “I had it made these past couple of days. It was a bit rushed. Once this case is over, if we have time, I’ll find better sable fur in Linzhou for Li’er.”
“That’s enough!” Zhong Li quickly stopped him. In her heart, she didn’t need many clothes, as long as she had something to wear.
Lu Wuxie smiled and pulled her into his embrace. “Do you know?”
“Mmm?” Zhong Li hummed, naturally snuggling into his arms, breathing in the scent unique to Lu Wuxie.
“Do you remember the first garment I gave you, the sheer gauze shirt with peony flowers?” Lu Wuxie asked.
Zhong Li nodded. Of course, she remembered; it was the most expensive women’s shirt she had worn in this country.
“Ever since I saw you wearing it, I secretly vowed to find all the best clothes in this world for you.
So, Li’er…” Lu Wuxie turned Zhong Li towards him, his forehead touching hers. “I want to treat you well, do my best with what I have. You just need to accept it, okay?”
Zhong Li cupped Lu Wuxie’s face. His dark eyes were like a vortex, deeply capturing all her thoughts and making her heart flutter like a startled deer.
“Mo Cang!” she softly murmured, “I have something I want to tell you.”
“Mmm…” Lu Wuxie’s voice was incredibly soft.
“I actually don’t like the court’s disputes. I only came to Jincheng with you because I wanted to find the cause of my adoptive father’s death and avenge him. Now, things are becoming clearer.
When all this is over… I…”
“Li’er, when all this is over, wherever you want to go, we will go,” Lu Wuxie said before Zhong Li could finish.
Zhong Li was very surprised. Although she was a modern person, both her background and her environment were worlds apart from Lu Wuxie’s.
Lu Wuxie was born into immense wealth. She loved him but knew he might not be able to adapt to her ideas. Some people were naturally destined to live in the imperial court.
“Li’er…” Lu Wuxie sighed softly, his fingertips tracing her ruby-red lips. “When a person is tired of struggles, being with the one they love is where their heart truly lies.”
As he spoke, he didn’t give Zhong Li any more time to think about other matters. He gently held her waist, his thin lips brushing past her nose, moving slowly towards her mouth, moistly and subtly caressing her sensitive lips.
At the same time, within the imperial palace.
Shen Nong glared angrily at the woman before her, who bore a resemblance to her. She reprimanded, “Shen Ying, do you know what foolish things you’ve been doing lately? To actually…”
Shen Ying was wearing a snow-white satin qing gown today, adorned with a golden hairpin. She was naturally beautiful, and this attire made her look even more stunning.
“Your Majesty the Empress!” Shen Ying sneered. “Foolish things I’ve done? I merely wanted to kill someone, how did that become a foolish act?”
“Still not foolish?” Shen Nong slammed the table in anger. “The Bei Tian Nunnery was just raided by Dali Temple, and you sent this Empress’s hidden guards to assassinate Zhong Li. Are you an idiot? At this juncture, everyone wishes they could remain inactive, fearing suspicion.
And you brazenly do such a thing? Do you know the consequences? The Emperor is already suspicious. Now the Ministry of Justice and Dali Temple are jointly investigating, and Official Fu has been suspended. You’ve ruined my entire plan!”
“I’m foolish? Yes, I’m foolish!” Shen Ying became agitated. “The marriage between me and the heir was bestowed by you, and now look at it!
The Prince of Xian’s manor used the heir’s previous imprisonment as a reason to call it off!
Called off! Do you understand what that means? It means there is absolutely no possibility between me and the heir. It’s all Zhong Li’s fault; if it weren’t for her, would the heir have gone to prison to trade for her? Perhaps I would be the heir’s consort now! Therefore, Zhong Li must die!”
“Slap!”
As soon as Shen Ying finished speaking, Shen Nong, furious, stood up and slapped her.
Shen Ying froze, staring at the regal woman opposite her.
Shen Nong said, “Shen Ying! I have spoiled you too much. Lu Wuxie was merely a pawn in my game. Now that we are at a critical juncture, his fate, whether he marries you or not, is irrelevant to me.
In fact, I didn’t want him to be so dissolute and ruin you!”
“But I just like him!” Shen Ying’s temper was also stubborn. She tilted her head and shouted at Shen Nong, “I’ve liked him since the first time I saw him. Since he’s Empress’s pawn, then what am I?
You can arrange marriages for me as you please, and now you can call them off as you please. What do you take me for? Am I even your daughter?”
Hearing this, Shen Nong’s expression stiffened. Her rosy lips trembled for a long time, “You… Ying’er, when did you find out? I…”
“What? Your Majesty the Empress is surprised?” Shen Ying looked at her with a mocking smile. “Back then, you were carrying twins, a dragon and a phoenix. After giving birth, the male became the Crown Prince, and as for the female…
Actually, it was you and the musician from your maternal grandfather’s family…”
“Slap!” Another slap.
“Shut up!” Shen Nong slapped her again, this time harder than the previous one. Blood slowly trickled from the corner of Shen Ying’s mouth.
Seeing this, Shen Nong, feeling distressed, wanted to say something but didn’t know what to say.
“Ying’er… you…”
“Enough!” Shen Ying pushed away Shen Nong’s concerned hand and glared at her. “I was sent away to be raised by others since I was little. You gave the guardian a lot of money, but did you ever truly care about me?
You even found a slut who looked similar to me to impersonate me!
I thought you married me to the heir hoping for my well-being, but who knew I was just a tool to help your brother ascend?
You call others pawns, but aren’t you treating even your own daughter as a pawn?”
“Ying’er, Mother… is truly…”
Seeing Shen Ying so agitated, Shen Nong tried to pull her into an embrace.
Shen Ying broke free and cried hysterically, “Don’t talk about what happened back then. I don’t understand, and I don’t want to understand. Now you have wealth and glory, the mother of the nation. All I know is that from the moment you brought me back, you started using me!
You are not worthy of being my mother!”
With that, Shen Ying didn’t bother with Shen Nong’s increasingly strained expression and quickly ran out of the Feng Luan Palace.
Shen Nong looked at the empty hall and slumped back into her chair.
Zi Pei quietly entered from outside, holding a bowl of snow pear soup. She placed it on the table. “Your Majesty, drink some soup to calm yourself.”
Shen Nong rubbed her throbbing temples and sighed. “Zi Pei, go to the East Palace and summon Eunuch Yun. Tell him…
I have something to discuss with him.”
“Yes!”