Zhang Bao had no choice but to leave the palace and secretly return to the prince’s residence to find Zhuang Shi, who was waiting for him. He recounted everything that had just transpired.

Zhuang Shi frowned slightly, pondering for a moment. She glanced at the sky and said, “Since His Highness is busy, let it be. Go invite the Princess Consort for dinner.”

This meal was personally prepared by Zhuang Shi. There were only a few dishes, but they were exquisitely made. Jiang Hanyuan had spent the entire day at the small training ground, breaking several wooden staffs. Not only had her pent-up frustration greatly diminished, but she was indeed hungry. She sat alone, eating with focus, consuming quite a bit.

Zhuang Shi attended to her from the side, watching with delight. “Dowager Consort Zhuang has been longing to meet the Princess Consort. We’re about to visit her, and when she sees the Princess Consort, she won’t know how to contain her joy!”

Regarding the upcoming meeting with Shu Shenhui’s mother consort, Jiang Hanyuan felt somewhat apprehensive, though she had no choice but to face it. She didn’t know how she should interact with her once they met.

She smiled at Zhuang Shi, set down her chopsticks, and rose. “I’m full. Thank you, Nanny, for your thoughtful care. It was delicious.”

Zhuang Shi followed her out to escort her back to her room. Upon arrival, instead of stopping outside as usual, she entered and personally served her tea.

Even as slow as Jiang Hanyuan could be, she could see that Zhuang Shi had something to discuss.

“Nanny, do you have something to say?”

Zhuang Shi dismissed all the maidservants, approached her, and smiled gently. “Please don’t blame me for being meddlesome, Princess Consort. His Highness has been saying he’s too busy to return home these past few days. Tonight, I took it upon myself to send Zhang Bao to invite him back for dinner, but he didn’t come. I thought that no matter how busy he is, it shouldn’t be to this extent—” She looked at Jiang Hanyuan. “On the night of the spring competition, when the Princess Consort attended the banquet at the princess’s residence, His Highness personally went to escort you back. Do you know, Princess Consort, why His Highness has suddenly stayed away for several consecutive days?”

Jiang Hanyuan shook her head. “I don’t know.”

Zhuang Shi fell silent for a moment, then said in a low voice, “When the Princess Consort returned that night from the spring competition, you fell asleep drunk, and I went to sleep as well. His Highness suddenly summoned me, asking about those items the Princess Consort had sent to the storeroom a few days prior, and went to look at them. I waited outside at the time. His Highness stayed inside alone for some time, and when he came out, he said he had business and left immediately…”

She gazed intently at Jiang Hanyuan. “His Highness has always had a gentle temperament since childhood. This is the first time I’ve seen him so unpredictable. If he has somehow displeased the Princess Consort, please, for Dowager Consort Zhuang’s sake, bear with him for now. Whatever grievances the Princess Consort has suffered, remember them all. When you meet the Dowager Consort, feel free to tell her everything. The Dowager Consort will certainly discipline His Highness properly and vindicate the Princess Consort.”

This speech made Jiang Hanyuan feel somewhat embarrassed. She quickly said, “Nanny Zhuang, you’ve misunderstood. There are no grievances—”

Zhuang Shi smiled. “If the Princess Consort says so, then I’m relieved. The Princess Consort spent the entire day at the training ground today and must be tired. I won’t disturb you further. Please rest well, Princess Consort.”

Zhuang Shi curtsied and took her leave.

The day’s exertion had indeed made Jiang Hanyuan feel somewhat fatigued, and she had originally planned to sleep early.

She watched Zhuang Shi’s departing figure, and just as she was about to exit, Jiang Hanyuan said, “Nanny Zhuang, open the storeroom door.”

She took a candle and entered alone, walking to where the trunks were placed. Skipping the ones in front, she directly opened the lid of the last trunk.

The items in the trunk remained as before, but she immediately noticed that the sword case had been moved.

She stared at the sword case, gradually understanding.

So this was how it was. Her confused thoughts from the past few days had been overthinking.

His sudden change in attitude, staying away for several consecutive days, was simply because he had discovered she had left behind this sword?

Jiang Hanyuan contemplated deeply for a moment, and a gentle, soothing warmth slowly filled her chest, like being smoothed by an iron.

She closed the trunk lid and walked out.

Zhuang Shi was still waiting outside. Seeing her emerge, she came forward to meet her.

“Nanny, have someone go to the palace again and ask when His Highness might be free to return. Tell him I’m looking for him,” she instructed.

Zhuang Shi’s face lit up with joy, and she immediately nodded. “I’ll have Zhang Bao make another trip right away.”

Her message was quickly delivered once again to that chamber in the imperial palace. At this time, Shu Shenhui still hadn’t completely freed himself from the anger that had been initially provoked. His only means of suppressing his emotions was to continue reviewing the documents on his desk. When he heard his young attendant emphasize that this time it was the Princess Consort who had requested his return, the pent-up frustration that had swelled beyond resolution finally found an outlet and slowly dissipated.

He wanted to confront her face-to-face with his questions. He had thought this immediately after emerging from the storeroom that night. He could tolerate her heart belonging to another and dreaming of someone else, but he could not tolerate her treating the engagement sword this way.

But he still didn’t return immediately. This invitation from her was too sudden. Having spent several days brooding in anger, he hadn’t yet decided what manner he should present when meeting her face to face. He dismissed Zhang Bao, and by the time he finally decided to return, half the night had passed—it was deep into the night again.

She hadn’t slept yet. She was sitting alone in the study, brush in hand, copying from his calligraphy collection, concentrating on writing. He stood silently at the doorway for a moment, then slowly entered, seeing the desk covered with practice sheets—a dozen or twenty sheets, all bearing her handwriting.

She finished writing the last character, gently set down her brush, and while waiting for the ink to dry, looked up at him with a slight smile. “Tonight, while waiting for Your Highness, I came here to practice calligraphy. I ended up writing so much that I filled the entire desk—quite a first for me. Your Highness, please take a look. Has my calligraphy made some progress?”

Her hair was casually pinned in a simple chignon, and she wore a casual lotus-root brown jacket. Being at home in the evening, her sash was loose, with sleeves flowing gracefully. Under the bright candlelight, her face appeared clear and spirited.

Looking at this face, Shu Shenhui found that the remnants of anger he had carried on his way here suddenly vanished. The truth was, he had spent a long time alone in Wenlin Pavilion, unable to determine what manner he should adopt when seeing her again after days of staying away in anger. Suddenly realizing the night had grown deep, he hurriedly left the palace and returned to this place he had also left in the deep of night several days before.

Unconsciously, he began examining the handwriting on the desk. “Your brushwork naturally has a sharp and severe quality. You needn’t suppress it entirely or deliberately imitate—” Mid-sentence, he suddenly realized why his tone was so earnest, as if he were responding to her normally. This was rather absurd.

He paused, his expression turning rigid as he looked at her, closing his mouth and saying nothing more.

Jiang Hanyuan smiled gently. “Thank you for Your Highness’s praise and guidance. I’ll contemplate it when I have time.”

She stood up and began collecting the scattered practice sheets from the desk. He watched her slightly lowered head, her gaze focused on the papers, and the anger in his heart seemed to rise again. Slowly, he reached out and pressed down on the hand she was using to collect the papers, pinning it firmly to the desk surface.

She paused and looked up at him again. He met her eyes and said coolly, “You summoned me back. What for?”

Jiang Hanyuan gazed at him for a moment.

“Your Highness has stayed away for consecutive days. Are you angry with me? Because of the sword I left in the storeroom?”

So she knew. No wonder she had taken the initiative to invite him back.

Shu Shenhui didn’t respond, only stared into her eyes.

She lowered her gaze slightly, her eyes falling on his hand pressing down on hers.

“What’s this? You summoned me back, yet you have nothing to say?” He couldn’t help himself, his tone already carrying a hint of cold mockery.

She heard it and looked up again, gazing into his dark, somber eyes. After a moment, she suddenly parted her lips and asked, “Your Highness, do you have some feelings for me?”

“When I was pursued by Chi Shu, when Your Highness risked danger to personally climb mountains and cross waters—was it out of Your Highness’s sense of responsibility, that you must retrieve your Princess Consort, Jiang Zuowang’s daughter, or were you concerned about me, Jiang Hanyuan, as a person?”

After her words fell, the study plunged into silence.

Shu Shenhui hadn’t expected her to ask such a question. He was stunned. After the initial surprise passed and he realized she was quietly watching him with those eyes, still waiting for his direct answer, his heart suddenly filled with embarrassment and confusion, leaving him momentarily speechless.

Jiang Hanyuan observed him for a moment, smiled slightly, and gently withdrew her hand from beneath his palm.

“Your Highness needn’t feel troubled. I mean nothing else by it. I understand. Your Highness is so angry this time because you believe I don’t sufficiently respect Your Highness and this marriage.”

Shu Shenhui was still in his confusion when he suddenly snapped to attention, hearing her continue, “I had thought it would be some future day when I would need to give Your Highness an explanation. I didn’t expect Your Highness to discover it so soon—”

She smiled. “It makes no difference.”

“So what exactly do you mean?”

He suppressed the frustration and dejection that filled his chest from that question she had asked that he couldn’t answer, maintaining his cold, hard expression as he demanded word by word.

Jiang Hanyuan met the threatening gaze directed at her and spoke again: “Your Highness, after the coming campaign beyond the passes, I don’t know if I’ll be able to return. If I’m fortunate enough to return, the court will surely grant rewards. On that day, I wish to request one reward from Your Highness—release from my position as Princess Consort. With Your Highness’s magnanimity, you surely wouldn’t refuse.”

Her voice was calm. When she spoke these words, she was neither hurried nor slow, clearly having thoroughly considered them long ago.

His gaze shifted slightly, and his brow furrowed accordingly.

She continued, “I’m grateful that Your Highness said on our wedding night that you would respect me for life. By implication, Your Highness intended to regard this marriage as permanent. But Your Highness, you need not make such a sacrifice for me, because this is not what I desire either—”

She paused, looking into the eyes of the man opposite her.

“If needed, I can sacrifice everything for Your Highness, including my life. But in the future, if I’m still alive and Your Highness has achieved your original purpose in making me your consort, then why must we continue this forced marriage? I have no intention of returning to Chang’an!”

“This has nothing to do with anything else—it’s what my heart desires. I grew up in a border city and was once nursed by wolves in my childhood. When that day comes, I only want to forever guard the frontier or go to Yunluo City. Your Highness, you were born to belong to this imperial city—you and it share the same blood. Your Highness and I should properly be nothing more than strangers passing by. That precious sword, in Your Highness’s view, is a marriage token, but in my view, it is not—it’s a touchstone Your Highness used to test my family’s loyalty. Now that the great matter is settled and Your Highness and I trust each other, the Wise Prince once mentioned that this sword is Your Highness’s beloved possession, a gift from Emperor Shengwu, having accompanied Your Highness for many years. So precious, and holding special meaning for Your Highness—therefore, on this journey from the capital, I cannot take it away, nor need I take it away.”

“This is why I left the sword behind.”

She finished what was perhaps the longest speech of her entire life and fell silent.

The man opposite her also fell into silence, staring at her fixedly. Suddenly, a night breeze silently seeped in, causing the candle flame on the desk to flicker several times. He seemed to suddenly come to his senses, his shoulders moving slightly. He nodded and spoke again, his voice turning cold: “Since your mind has long been made up, then what were you doing that night in Wenlin Pavilion? You clearly…”

He stopped abruptly, but his trailing words couldn’t hide the grinding, strained quality in his voice.

Jiang Hanyuan gazed at this man’s face illuminated by the candlelight and said softly, “Your Highness is truly handsome. That night, when I woke, I was indeed attracted to you and wanted to touch your face, but I didn’t expect to startle you awake. I’m merely an ordinary person. Since we are husband and wife, if you desire it, why should I spoil the mood and make things unpleasant for everyone?”

He seemed choked by her words, his expression becoming rigid and cold for a long while. Finally, slowly, as if struggling to compose himself, he nodded forcefully. “I see! Lady Jiang, I truly underestimated you!”

After reverting to calling her Lady Jiang instead of her name, his mood seemed to completely settle. He looked her up and down with a somewhat disdainful gaze, his tone becoming casual.

“This is indeed for the best. Let me also inform you that all my considerations toward you were merely out of necessary maintenance after marrying you. Since you’ve long intended to return the engagement sword, on our wedding night, you should have brought it out and explained everything clearly to me—”

His expression remained undisturbed, pausing slightly. “Great undertakings don’t concern themselves with small courtesies. Though I forced you into marriage, essentially confining you from Yanmen to the confines of this prince’s residence, I believe I still possess this much magnanimity.”

Jiang Hanyuan lowered her eyes. “It was my mistake. Your Highness, please forgive me.”

He said nothing more, standing still for another moment before suddenly adding, “I came back tonight also to inform you of another matter.”

Jiang Hanyuan raised her eyes. He said flatly, “Since the Great He King has returned early, my affairs here have been mostly settled these past few days. I came back to tell you that we can depart in three days—”

He fixed his gaze on her. “If not for my mother’s sake, there would originally be no need to keep you here by force. Fortunately, it’s only a few days. Having endured everything so far, just bear with it a little longer. Consider it a hardship.”

His tone sounded level, but there seemed to be an undertone of cold sarcasm.

Jiang Hanyuan said, “I wouldn’t dare.”

He seemed to snort softly, no longer lingering, turning and walking out.

Two days later, as night fell.

Tomorrow, Regent Prince Shu Shenhui would head south. For this southern inspection tour, his entourage included twenty to thirty civil officials from the Ministries of Rites, Equipages, Agriculture, Justice, and Water Works, with military officials led by Imperial Guard Liu Xiang. Chen Lun and Lan Rong remained in the capital to attend the Emperor.

During the Regent Prince’s absence, the young Emperor would be assisted by the Wise Prince and Chancellor Fang Qing.

All affairs had been completely arranged. It was already deep night when Shu Shenhui was still in the Western Pavilion of Xuanzheng Hall, which he used for small conferences, meeting with the young Emperor.

After listening to all his final instructions, Shu Jian nodded to each point and said solemnly, “Third Imperial Uncle, go with peace of mind. I’ll remember your words. If there’s anything I cannot decide myself, I’ll consult the Wise Prince and the Chancellor. It’s getting late, and Third Imperial Uncle must depart early tomorrow morning. Please return quickly to rest. Third Imperial Aunt should still be waiting for you.”

Shu Shenhui smiled. “I’m fine.”

He paused slightly, turned, and after signaling for all attendants in the Western Pavilion to withdraw, said, “Your Majesty, last time during the spring competition when Your Majesty yielded the arrow to General Changning, did the Empress Dowager say anything afterward?”

Shu Jian replied, “That day she summoned me, but surprisingly didn’t scold me. Instead, she praised me, which truly surprised me. I felt something was wrong. Two days later, during a casual conversation with my uncle after court, I learned it was thanks to my uncle’s efforts. He was also afraid the Empress Dowager wouldn’t distinguish right from wrong, so he persuaded her, finally making her change her mind and not trouble me! It was fortunate my uncle was reasonable.”

After hearing this, Shu Shenhui nodded with a smile, pondered briefly, then said, “Your Majesty, before my departure, I have one more thing to say—my heartfelt words. I humbly request Your Majesty to listen.”

He walked before the young Emperor, lifted his robes, and knelt on both knees.

Shu Jian was startled, rose from his seat, took several steps to him, reached out to pull him up, saying, “Third Imperial Uncle, what are you doing? Get up quickly! Just say what you have to say!”

“Please, Your Majesty, take your seat and receive my obeisance, then I can speak.”

Seeing his solemn expression, Shu Jian had no choice but to reluctantly sit back down, perched on half the seat.

Shu Shenhui performed an extremely formal kowtow, straightened up, and said, “Your Majesty, the state depends on a wise ruler. King Wu prospered through accepting criticism; King Zhou of Shang perished through rejecting counsel. Your Majesty surely understands this principle. I won’t elaborate today.”

“The only thing I want to say again is that everyone in the court, including myself, is all Your Majesty’s subjects. Your Majesty may trust them and entrust them with important responsibilities, but even those closest and most trusted in Your Majesty’s eyes, including myself, must not be given complete authority after Your Majesty assumes personal rule.”

“As a sovereign, you must never be manipulated by your subjects.”

The young Emperor was bewildered, hesitated, then asked back, “Third Imperial Uncle, do you mean I should be a lonely monarch?”

Shu Shenhui replied, “Your Majesty, the position you occupy is inherently that of a lonely monarch. Being a lonely monarch and listening to various counsels are not contradictory. Even if Your Majesty cannot fully understand my words today, it doesn’t matter. Your Majesty needs only remember them. In the future, with more experience, you’ll naturally come to understand.”

Shu Jian seemed to half-understand, was silent for a moment, then nodded. “I’ll remember. Third Imperial Uncle, please rise. Go back quickly. Tomorrow morning I’ll see you and Third Imperial Aunt off from the capital.”

Only then did Shu Shenhui rise, nodding with a smile, telling him to return to the palace to rest as well. He himself turned and finally ended another long day of labor, entering the deep, pitch-black night, returning to the Regent Prince’s residence.

At this hour, it was already the zi period (11 PM-1 AM). Jiang Hanyuan had long since bid farewell to Princess Yongtai and others. After returning, knowing he would certainly come back tonight, she hadn’t fallen asleep. She heard the sounds of him quietly entering, pretending not to know. Finally, after waiting for him to finish his preparations and knowing he had also gotten into bed, he still didn’t lie down for a long time.

She closed her eyes, pretending to sleep for quite some time, not knowing what he was doing. Unable to hold back any longer, she slightly opened her eyes, only to see him sitting cross-legged beside her, two eyes coolly staring at her like two ghostly lights in the darkness, looking rather eerie.

Jiang Hanyuan was startled and suddenly opened her eyes, but saw him nonchalantly withdraw his gaze, lie down without a word, pull the covers over himself, and close his eyes.

That night they each slept separately. He seemed very tired, falling into a deep sleep once he lay down. The next morning when they got up, they remained wordless with each other as they set out on their journey.