HMHSE - 97

Chang’an was bright with clear skies.

Lately, various rumors have been circulating in the markets, all of them joyful—

It is said that the battle in Youzhou was a victory with fewer troops against a larger force, and the Youzhou Provincial Commander who led the army is a genius, none other than the once-famous great young master of the Shan family.

It is also said that Sun Xin, the young master of the Sun family, was rewarded for his achievements in mining outside the capital. He recently had an audience with the Emperor and received a generous reward and title. He is sure to rise quickly through the ranks, and might even take charge of the Ministry of Works. Now, everyone who mentions him shows a hint of envy.

While the markets are lively, the palace is a flurry of tense activity.

Pei Shaoyong entered the palace early this morning to attend to the Emperor.

He still knelt quite far away. Looking into the inner chamber, the curtains were still drawn, and only the Marquis of Heluo was allowed to stand by the young Emperor’s side.

Inside the curtains, the young Emperor sat upright, reading through the military records brought back from Youzhou. “I heard he was seriously injured and unconscious. Did the Supreme Commander of the Guards and Duke Zhao both go to Youzhou?”

Pei Shaoyong was startled by this question.

The Marquis of Heluo’s trip to Youzhou was swift and unexpected. No one knew about it beforehand except the Emperor. He only found out after the Marquis returned.

The Marquis of Heluo said from the side, “The Youzhou Prefect has already reported that both the Shan and Sun families should have returned.”

“Were they involved in the incident from back then?”

“Reporting to Your Majesty, it is said that the Supreme Commander of the Guards went to testify on the spot. His written testimony has been submitted, and he was fully aware of the situation. As for the Sun family, Duke Zhao went for the mining operations this time. There is no trace of the Sun family’s involvement in these matters from beginning to end, so they should be unaware.”

The young Emperor’s voice was very calm when he spoke softly. “The Sun family has done well in their mining. Assistant Minister Sun was just personally rewarded not long ago. It makes sense that they would be so dedicated to the mines.”

Pei Shaoyong listened with his ears perked up for a moment, and then secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

This was why he did not want Shenrong to be involved with Shan Zong again. He was glad that the Marquis of Heluo had reported the truth.

The sound of paper rustled within the curtains as the young Emperor closed the military records in his hands. “Just looking at his actions over these years, he has indeed been defending Youzhou and has not neglected his duties in the slightest.”

The Marquis of Heluo’s tone was gentle. “That is correct.”

“What were the results of the cross-reference with the old Lulong Army roster?”

“Everyone on the roster matches. They all suddenly went missing around the same period that year.”

There was no sound from within the curtains.

After a moment, the Marquis of Heluo’s order came through. “The Imperial Secretary can withdraw for now.”

Pei Shaoyong assented. He knew they had secret matters to discuss, so he left the hall.

Before leaving, he looked at the hall door again. He had already realized that the investigation into Shan Zong had uncovered many hidden past events, but he didn’t know what the new Emperor intended to do.

What did Shan Zong mean by this? Was he so confident that he could overturn his case?

He frowned, his heart worried about Shenrong. He remembered that the Marquis of Heluo had just said they had returned and hurried out of the palace.

Inside the hall, the young Emperor and the Marquis of Heluo were still speaking in low tones—

“I remember that around that period, the late Emperor was at his most suspicious, focused on consolidating his imperial power.”

“Your Majesty remembers correctly. At that time, the late Emperor alienated the great aristocratic families and his favored ministers, using extraordinary methods. He seemed to feel that some conspiracy was threatening the imperial power in the court and was anxious about it. After that, the succession crisis occurred, and Your Majesty emerged in response to the circumstances.”

The young Emperor unfolded the yellow silk with the late Emperor’s secret decree. Beside it was the record of the crimes of Shan Zong and the Lulong Army. His voice suddenly turned cold. “So this is what the late Emperor would do.”

The Marquis of Heluo was silent.

After a long time, the Emperor spoke again. “Have him come to the capital as soon as he has recovered from his injury.”

“Yes.”

________________________________________

A convoy of carriages, escorted by guards, drove through the main streets of Chang’an and stopped in front of the Duke’s manor.

Servants immediately ran out from within the gates to welcome them, holding the horses and helping them dismount.

Shenrong sat upright in the carriage, reminded by her father’s voice. “We’ve arrived.”

Zirui had already lifted the curtain.

She stepped out of the carriage, watching her father dismount from his horse. She glanced at the gate and asked softly, “Does Father intend to tell Mother about this now?”

Duke Zhao paused in front of her. He frowned and lowered his voice. “Let’s wait until he gets here to talk about it.”

Shenrong nodded.

“You should think less about him for now,” Duke Zhao advised before entering the gate. “He’s probably recovered quite a bit on the road back. Don’t let your mother see anything, especially not what happened in Youzhou.”

After saying that, he went inside.

When he told her to think less about Shan Zong, she found herself thinking about him even more, and her ears felt slightly hot.

That last night before they left, she had spent it in the main house, with Shan Zong holding her hand and pulling her onto him, where she slept all night.

She had woken up very early. The official residence was quiet, with only the sound of carriages and horses audible.

She had looked at Shan Zong’s face. In the dim morning light, his face was handsome and profound, exceptionally calm.

She thought he was fast asleep and planned to quietly get up and leave.

Just as she sat on the edge of the bed, about to get down, her arm was suddenly tightened, and she was pulled back without warning.

Shan Zong had kissed her for a long time afterward, holding her on the bed, kissing her from her lips to her neck and chest...

It wasn’t until the faint voices of Donglai and Zirui outside, seemingly urging her to set off, that he finally let her go.

“Go on. Wait for me in Chang’an,” he had said at the time, his breathing still hoarse from the passionate kiss, his eyes full of a deep intensity.

Shenrong’s mind wandered for a moment, her gaze wavering. She thought that he had probably recovered quite well after all, since he was already so skilled at misbehaving.

“Young Mistress,” Donglai called out to her softly.

Shenrong thought he was reminding her to enter the manor. Just as she was about to step forward, she saw Donglai look into the distance and then say, “It seems someone is waiting for the young mistress.”

Shenrong looked over and indeed saw a figure behind the courtyard wall. The person didn’t shy away and even waved to her.

“Keep a look out,” Shenrong said. “I’ll go and see.”

Donglai and Zirui stood on either side, blocking her.

Shenrong walked over, having already recognized who it was.

The person slipped out from behind the courtyard wall, took a few steps to grab her hand, and pulled her back behind the wall.

“Shenrong, you’re back!” It was Shan Ying, wearing a round-collared robe and with her hair tied up in a man’s topknot.

Shenrong looked her up and down, a little surprised. “Did you escort my brother back? Why are you still in Chang’an after all this time?”

Shan Ying nodded. “I did escort Xingli back. I was about to leave, but I received a letter from my uncle. I heard my elder cousin was under investigation. The investigation went all the way to the Shan family, and it even alarmed my uncle. Uncle heard from Shan Zhao that I was in Chang’an, so he told me to stay here for a while to listen for news. But there’s been no word from the palace. I’ve been walking around, but there’s no reliable news. I didn’t expect to come to the Duke’s manor today to try my luck and find you back. How is my elder cousin?”

After she finished speaking in one breath, Shenrong understood. No wonder she hadn’t seen her among the Shan family members in Youzhou. Shan Hang’s arrangements were indeed thorough.

“Your elder cousin...” She didn’t want to elaborate. “Something happened to him. He was on the brink of death and is still recovering from his injuries. He will come to Chang’an as soon as he is well.”

Shan Ying became anxious. “What? That serious!”

Shenrong shook her head at her, indicating that she shouldn’t say more. “The Supreme Commander of the Guards and Lady Yang have already returned to Luoyang from Youzhou. This matter can only be resolved by your elder cousin himself. You don’t know the inside story, so no one can help him.”

As she spoke, she unconsciously fiddled with the tie on her belt, perhaps without even realizing it herself.

In reality, whether the matter could be successfully resolved and justice could be restored to the Lulong Army was still unknown.

She could only trust the man’s arrangements.

Shan Ying saw how serious she was and knew that something extraordinary had happened. She turned to leave. “In that case, I’ll go and write a letter back to Luoyang.”

Shenrong remembered that she had just called her brother “Xingli” and suddenly understood. “Did you originally intend to come looking for my brother?”

Shan Ying stopped and frowned heroically. “I wanted to come and ask him for news. After all, the news of his audience with the Emperor and his reward has spread throughout Chang’an. He’s a prominent figure in the Emperor’s eyes. But it’s not easy for me to find him now. He hasn’t shown his face for a while, so there’s no chance.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, it’s been like this ever since he had his audience with the Emperor and received his reward,” Shan Ying said. “He was perfectly fine when I escorted him back to Chang’an, but now he’s not showing his face. Anyway, I have to go now.”

Shenrong watched her walk to the other end of the courtyard wall, where she fetched a horse, mounted it, and rode away.

She walked out from behind the wall, looked at Zirui and Donglai, and, making sure no one had seen her, she returned and entered the manor gate.

Lady Pei had already come out to the main hall to greet her, with Duke Zhao beside her.

“You’re finally back. I heard there was a battle there, and I was so worried,” she said, pressing a hand to her chest and frowning as Shenrong approached.

Shenrong came closer and saluted as usual. “Don’t worry, Mother. It was well defended.” As she spoke, she glanced at her father.

Duke Zhao’s expression was normal, showing that he had indeed not mentioned a word.

Lady Pei’s brow furrowed again. “You sound more at ease than I am.”

She had heard about the young man from the Shan family winning with a smaller force; the news had spread throughout Chang’an. She couldn’t believe Shenrong was saying the same thing. Was she praising his ability?

Seeing her expression, Shenrong knew her father was right and that she couldn’t bring it up casually. She smiled and changed the subject. “I heard Brother has been rewarded by the Emperor. I’ll go and see him first.”

Lady Pei’s smile returned. “That’s right. You came back at the perfect time. Now the Sun family is finally being taken seriously by the Emperor.”

Shenrong turned and walked down the corridor, thinking that with the new Emperor, the Sun family could now probably breathe a sigh of relief, while it was the opposite for Shan Zong.

This was probably the unpredictability of life.

When she arrived at Sun Xin’s courtyard, she untied her cloak and handed it to Zirui before walking in.

The courtyard was empty, with no servants in sight.

Shenrong walked to the door and finally saw someone. Sun Xin was sitting in the room, saying nothing, wearing a moon-white round-collared robe. He was tapping one hand on his knee, his refined and handsome face lost in a daze.

She walked in, and he finally noticed her, looking surprised. “Ah Rong? When did you get back?”

“Just now,” Shenrong said as she walked over. “Father and I came back together.”

Sun Xin understood. “It must be because of Shan Zong. I heard some rumors. The news hasn’t spread yet. If it does, Mother will only detest him even more.”

Shenrong frowned. “Why do you bring that up the moment you open your mouth?”

Sun Xin saw that she didn’t like hearing it and shut his mouth, but his face looked even more displeased.

Shenrong found his expression strange. “Shan Ying said you haven’t shown your face since you received your reward. What are you doing sitting here in a daze?”

Sun Xin paused. “Shan Ying came?”

“She’s already gone.”

He gave a dry cough. “I was busy, so I couldn’t see her.” He pushed the things on the table toward her. “See for yourself.”

Shenrong looked down. There were several pieces of paper on the table, seemingly portraits. She immediately knew what they were. “Are you considering marriage?”

“After I received the Emperor’s reward, all sorts of matchmakers came. Mother told me to consider them carefully,” Sun Xin said with a stiff face.

“From the way you’re acting, it doesn’t look like you’re considering them,” Shenrong said.

Sun Xin remained silent.

Shenrong thought for a moment and suddenly understood. “Could it be that you have someone you like, Brother?”

Sun Xin still said nothing.

Shenrong suddenly remembered Shan Ying and, seeing his expression from earlier, understood even more. “Could you be interested in Shan Ying...”

Sun Xin’s face turned red and then pale. He impatiently flicked his sleeve and said in a low voice, “What about it? The man from the Shan family can be interested in my sister, but I can’t be interested in his sister?”

She had never heard him say something like this before. Even his usual dignified demeanor was gone.

Shenrong’s gaze shifted slightly, affected by the word “interested.”

“It’s all because of that man from the Shan family!” Sun Xin said in a low voice. “It was already difficult, and he had to go and get a divorce first, making things so complicated for both families!”

Shenrong finally understood. No wonder he had brought it up the moment she walked in. He was truly unhappy.