The storehouse door opened, and Zhuang Shi held a candle to lead Shu Shenhui inside, pointing to a pile of trunks and cases arranged in one area, saying: “These are the portable belongings the Princess Consort brought when she came. Though I haven’t looked through them, I imagine most should be clothing and jewelry.”

Shu Shenhui glanced around and ordered her to put down the candle and leave. After he was alone in the storehouse, he stood in place for a moment, then walked to the trunks and opened the lids, examining them one by one.

Indeed, as Zhuang Shi had said, the first several trunks he looked through contained various seasonal clothing of fine materials, along with jewelry and ornaments. Under the candlelight, they gleamed with pearls and precious stones, dazzling to the eye.

She wouldn’t need these in Yanmen, so leaving them behind was understandable.

His gaze swept over each item until it fell on the last trunk he opened. His hand rummaged through and stopped.

A long, rectangular sandalwood box placed at the bottom entered his sight.

He stared at this wooden box, his gaze becoming fixed.

Not only had he seen this box before, but just last year, he had personally handed it to the Virtuous Prince to take to Yanmen as a betrothal gift for marrying the Jiang daughter.

He reached out his hand and slowly opened the box lid. A short sword with a jewel-inlaid scabbard came into view.

Just as he had suspected, she had also left behind the moon blade he had used as a betrothal gift!

Indeed, in this woman Jiang Hanyuan’s eyes, this moon blade meant nothing at all. She hadn’t taken it seriously in the least. Like those clothes and jewelry she had left behind, it was worthless.

It was also obvious that this trip out of the capital was her plan to never return.

Even though he had been mentally prepared before entering the storehouse, at this moment, when he truly saw this precious sword that he had solemnly presented, but she had casually discarded, his mood still felt disappointed. Extremely disappointed. And not only that – it seemed to also contain some anger.

Yet what was he angry about? Hadn’t the purpose of marrying her already been achieved? Hadn’t he already known about her improper relations with others before marrying her?

In the flickering candlelight, he stared at the short sword, his mood so foul it even surpassed how he felt when he heard her drunken words earlier.

He stood for a long time, suddenly remembering their wedding night.

That was the first evening he and she had met. He was still thinking about how to respect and value her when she couldn’t wait to jump out and discuss leaving the capital with him.

Before marrying her, not only had he already anticipated that she probably wouldn’t truly remove her armor and settle down as a noble lady, but actually, he originally hadn’t planned to keep her confined to the inner quarters forever. She was a female general.

But her speaking so quickly about leaving the capital had still surprised him somewhat at the time.

She must have already made preparations to never return at that time. The only reason she remembered to bring this betrothal sword on this trip to the capital was probably to return it.

For the first time in his life, Shu Shenhui realized he had been too foolish. To be completely played by a woman without the slightest awareness!

No wonder when he woke this morning, he felt she had grown cold and distant again. Probably all of last night’s events were also her closing her eyes and taking him for someone else.

How had he fallen to such a lowly state?

Shame and anger burned his heart like boiling oil, finally making him unable to help but laugh coldly.

He slowly exhaled, trying his utmost to suppress the churning emotions in his chest, and slowly closed the box lid.

“I remembered I have other matters. I’m going to the palace.”

After walking out of the storehouse, his expression had already calmed. He spoke to Zhuang Shi as if nothing had happened and strode away.

Jiang Hanyuan slept off her hangover through the night. The next day she didn’t wake until the si hour, opening her eyes to see bright daylight with no one beside her pillow.

Last night was her first time being drunk. Even at this moment, her head still felt heavy. She closed her eyes again for a while. When she felt somewhat clearer, she finally remembered the events of last night one by one.

She had gone to the princess’s residence for a banquet to bid farewell to the royal daughter, drank quite a lot, then Shu Shenhui came to fetch her. On the carriage, she couldn’t sit steadily and seemed to have leaned on his shoulder, then…

She didn’t know what happened after that. Only vaguely, there were some remaining impressions – it seemed she had nightmares again later. Just when she was suffering greatly and struggling, fortunately, that youth appeared once more in her dream. He came riding with a smiling face. The frosty morning sky above his head was so bright, with the sunrise about to burst forth. It was this sky that replaced the blood and finally freed her from the nightmare.

From when she was thirteen until those years when she was fifteen or sixteen, such dreams would often recur. When she finished a day of being beaten and dragging her injured legs back to her sleeping place, even before closing her eyes in exhaustion, she would sometimes develop a secret anticipation, hoping to see that youth again in her dreams. Only if he appeared could she get a peaceful night’s sleep.

This situation continued until she was sixteen. With her day-after-day, year-after-year flawless performance, she finally earned Jiang Zuwang’s trust. She received an officer’s commission and, for the first time, had a squad of soldiers under her command.

She remembered the circumstances of that day clearly. Alone, she rode to Iron Sword Cliff, stood at its peak, and told herself, facing the endless black night above, that she couldn’t always pin her hopes on the dream youth riding toward her.

That was only a phantom – it could comfort her temporarily, but couldn’t save her for life.

Her only true salvation was to drive out the enemies and avenge her mother!

From that day on, the youth gradually faded from her dreams. In all these years, she seemed to no longer remember him, until last night, when, drunk, that youth returned to her dreams.

However, she vaguely felt that last night’s dream was also somewhat different from earlier years. In the dream, that youth spoke with her, and it seemed he even took her hand and guided it to his face, teaching her to touch his face…

This was truly absurd. The youth she could dream of in those years was only a figure sitting high on horseback that she had to look up to, a face that made her heart flutter when he smiled – nothing more. Each time, after he brought her that autumn dawn sky that could briefly drive away her nightmares, he would disappear like morning dew. How could he let her touch his face?

Rather, it was the current Shu Shenhui who would do such things.

It must be that she was too drunk last night, causing confused dreams that mixed the present person with that seventeen-year-old from the past.

The more Jiang Hanyuan thought about it, the more her head ached. She sat up, hugged her covers and stared blankly for a moment, glanced once more at the empty pillow beside her, stopped thinking about it, and got out of bed.

Just drunken, confused dreams. She must remember never to drink like this again, troubling him to specially come fetch her.

At this time, he must have already gone to the palace long ago.

After she got up and washed, she asked a question. But the maidservant said he had left last night.

Jiang Hanyuan felt somewhat surprised, but thinking again, this morning the Great He King’s party was leaving Chang’an to return home urgently, with many matters to attend to. Given his diligence in government affairs, it was normal for him to return to work after fetching her home last night.

During this day, Jiang Hanyuan didn’t think much of his sudden departure last night. Not only that, as dusk fell and another evening descended, she instead felt a trace of uncertain anxiety in her heart again.

He should be quite interested in her body. Although she didn’t understand exactly which part of her body he found appealing, this point was perceived during the night they spent in Wenlin Pavilion. He had touched almost her entire body with his hands and lips.

She couldn’t deceive herself either. Unlike the wariness she felt all over when first married, she was gradually becoming accustomed to him sleeping beside her pillow. She listened to his breathing, and even just the night before last, she had also obtained unprecedented great pleasure from him.

She knew she was invested in it, with some emotions she couldn’t control. She seemed to be beginning to confuse the man before her with that youth who only lived in her memory. Yet they were not the same person at all. This was a frightening thing, completely outside her plans.

Without the court’s complete delegation of authority and support for military funds and provisions, relying on her father alone, it would be impossible to leave the pass for a northern expedition. Her original plan was to fulfill his wishes as he desired, marry him, and gain his complete trust. He was the Great Wei’s Regent Prince, the holder of imperial power, the maintainer of order under heaven, and also a ruthless person who could sacrifice feelings for ideals.

As for that youth, let him live well forever in the deepest part of her memory. Because of that one encounter and later companionship, whenever she occasionally thought of him, her heart would have a faint warmth and gratitude. Wasn’t this very good?

Her plan had originally progressed smoothly. The three-month deadline was approaching, and she would soon be able to go north as she wished. At this time, however, things seemed to show signs of slipping from her control.

To be honest, she was anxious about it.

Regarding his return tonight, she felt resistant. She hoped he wouldn’t return.

Having had such a night before, if he sought pleasure again tonight, how could she refuse? She simply couldn’t maintain the calm and detached attitude toward sleeping with him that she had before.

Yes, her intuition told her she truly couldn’t do it anymore.

After returning from the small training ground and bathing, she went to practice calligraphy to calm her mind. After writing several pieces, she discovered she couldn’t calm down at all – the characters she wrote became increasingly unsightly. Somewhat irritably, she tore up the writing and looked at the increasingly dark sky outside the window before returning to her sleeping chamber. Then a maidservant came to relay a message – Zhang Bao had just brought word that the Regent Prince was busy with affairs and would continue staying in the palace tonight, not returning.

When she first learned he wasn’t returning, Jiang Hanyuan breathed a sigh of relief. But afterward, for several consecutive days, he continued not returning, only saying he was busy.

With the southern tour imminent, his being busy was understandable, but no matter how busy, it was impossible for so many consecutive days without setting foot in the prince’s residence even once. Jiang Hanyuan finally felt something was wrong, and vaguely, her heart also began to feel disappointed.

On the third night of his absence, Jiang Hanyuan unexpectedly suffered from insomnia. Late at night, unable to sleep, lying alone on this broad bed beneath her, she racked her brains thinking about why his attitude had suddenly changed so drastically, treating her so coldly after such an intimate night.

She thought for a long time and finally concluded.

She climbed up from the bed, got down, felt around in the dark, lit the candle stand, and walked to a bronze mirror in the room.

She removed all her clothes, from outer to inner, until finally she stood completely naked before the mirror.

For the first time in her life, she used a harsh gaze to examine the woman’s body reflected in the mirror.

This body had lightly tanned skin, firm and full breasts, a narrow waist, a flat abdomen without any excess flesh, and long, powerful limbs. It could only be called well-proportioned. It was far from other women who had snow-white skin and delicate limbs that men could control with one hand, inspiring pity at first sight. That was what men liked women’s bodies to look like.

The body reflected in the candlelit mirror was a female warrior’s body. The instantaneous power it could burst forth could sever a horse’s head with one blade. Not only that, this body was also covered with many scars. New ones, old ones, on arms, chest, back, and legs – old scars hadn’t completely faded when new ones left their marks. Looking closely, the scars were so hideous.

Jiang Hanyuan gazed for a long time at this body reflected in the bronze mirror.

She liked it. But she also knew that for a woman, it was ugly.

She stopped looking, left the mirror, and lay back on the bed.

When she closed her eyes again, she had also figured it out.

From their wedding night, he had repeatedly met with setbacks with her. And that night, in the palace’s Wenlin Pavilion, he had finally received her wholehearted response.

Once a man had conquered a woman and knew what she looked like accepting pleasure beneath him, then for someone like her, whom he had only married for the Wei Kingdom’s sake, why would he need to spend more effort?

As for going to fetch her that evening, who knew what he was thinking – perhaps it was just for show, or maybe… he was just a capricious person who acted on whims. That was all.

This was also good. Regardless of his reasons, wasn’t this what she wanted?

She wouldn’t be sad either. This was best – after meeting his mother as he arranged, she could soon return to Yanmen. However she came originally, she would leave the same way, cleanly, without carrying any entanglements.

On the fourth evening, he still hadn’t returned and hadn’t said whether he would return. She knew Zhuang Shi had personally cooked today and had quietly sent Zhang Bao to the palace. She pretended not to know.

Whether he returned or not made no difference to her now.

After four days, Shu Shenhui felt he had completely freed himself from the influence of that Jiang family daughter. These past days, his heart was like still water. He worked until late every night, and when extremely tired, he would lie down, close his eyes, and sleep – it felt good. But this evening, Zhang Bao came, like throwing a stone into a lake, breaking his tranquility and immediately making him furious again, almost beyond control.

It was Zhuang Shi asking him to return to the residence for dinner, not her sending word.

Shu Shenhui truly couldn’t control himself anymore and was extremely unwilling to accept this.

He couldn’t understand.

In what way was he inferior to others?

After Zhang Bao finished conveying the message, he stood to one side. Seeing the Regent Prince lower his head without speaking, only continuously flipping through the memorials before him, he waited a while before saying again: “Your Highness? Nanny Zhuang is hoping for Your Highness to return! Your Highness hasn’t returned to the residence for several days.”

“What has the Princess Consort been doing these past days?”

He asked casually.

“The Princess Consort? Every day, she’s at the home training ground, either practicing archery or martial arts. Today during the day, she even sparred with Wang Ren and the others. This servant heard Wang Ren say that the Princess Consort broke several staff weapons! They all admire the Princess Consort greatly!”

Shu Shenhui was so angry his head suddenly ached, the veins at his temples throbbing. He rubbed them and slowly put down what he was holding.

“Your Highness? What’s wrong with Your Highness? Are you too tired? Your Highness hasn’t returned for many days – the Princess Consort should also be very concerned.”

Would she be concerned about him? She probably wished he wouldn’t return.

He wasn’t idle either. With departure imminent, he already couldn’t finish all his work – where would he find the energy to deal with her?

“I have matters today and won’t return.”

He came to his senses and said coldly.