In the eastern courtyard of the Shen mansion, Mu Xinhong returned from the Yong’en Marquis mansion. He walked cheerfully into the study with his sword at his waist, giving a military salute to the person at the desk. Just as he opened his mouth, Shen Yuance stopped him with a raised hand.
Mu Xinhong alertly closed his mouth and looked around. Seeing no one else in the room, he turned his gaze back and looked up intently—
It turned out that the jade pendant was just being repaired to the last piece, the most crucial final touch.
At the edge of the desk, Qing Song held his breath as he assisted Shen Yuance, using tweezers to attach the small dot that they had found with great difficulty last night, fearful that even a breath might shatter the jade.
After silently counting to ten, the glue dried, and the jade pendant took shape.
Mission accomplished.
Mu Xinhong clenched his fist in triumph, his face even more joyful.
Shen Yuance exhaled a long breath at the jade pendant before him, covered in a web of cracks. He closed his eyes, leaned back in his chair, raised his hand to rub the back of his neck, and then lifted his chin: “Speak.”
Mu Xinhong: “Reporting to the Young General, the gift has been delivered. As expected, one doesn’t strike a smiling face, nor scold a gift-giver. The Princess’s people accepted it very politely!”
Last night, Qing Song had suggested sending something special that those young masters from noble families couldn’t offer. Mu Xinhong had a sudden flash of inspiration, remembering that when the Princess came to the military camp to find the Young General, she had been very interested in his sword—
Wasn’t a sword special as a special gift?
Could those young masters from noble families casually produce a sword?
Even if they could produce one, could they produce a chestful?
One person wants it, one person has it—isn’t that a perfect match, a guaranteed success!
Mu Xinhong happily made a pinching gesture with his hand: “Rest assured, Young General, this chest of fine swords is so enviable, it must have captured the Princess’s heart!”
As soon as the words fell, a small soldier who had been sent to wait for news at the entrance of the Yong’en Marquis mansion rushed in: “Report—!”
Shen Yuance opened his eyes.
“What did I say?” Mu Xinhong slapped his thigh. “Is it that the Princess has sent word to see the Young General?”
The small soldier glanced at the self-satisfied Mu Xinhong and lowered his head, stumbling over his words: “Reporting to the Young General, I wasn’t waiting for the Princess’s message, but I saw your chest of swords being thrown out. The entire mansion suddenly went on high alert, surrounded like an iron bucket—I fear not even a fly could get in…”
“…”
In the deep silence of night, in the bedchamber of Yaoguang Pavilion, Jiang Zhiyi wore a plain white nightgown, sitting on the couch with her head lowered and knees hugged to her chest. She had remained motionless from the hour of Xu (7-9 pm) until nearly the hour of Hai (9-11 pm).
Gu Yu, who was on night duty beside her, saw that she was not going to bed yet but didn’t dare urge her.
This morning, after receiving the chest of swords, the Princess was both angry and panicked. Gu Yu had comforted her, saying that the chest of swords was probably just a reminder not to interfere anymore, and that as long as she and Young General Shen went their separate ways, they would certainly be safe.
But upon hearing this, the Princess was no longer panicked or angry, but instead became as she was now, silent for an entire day.
…That mouth of hers!
Gu Yu had been thinking all night about how to make amends, but hadn’t come up with a solution. As the atmosphere grew increasingly gloomy, a “meow” suddenly sounded in the quiet bedchamber.
The Princess’s fox-cat suddenly called out toward the window.
“Shh—” Gu Yu hurried forward to stroke the fox-cat’s fur, “Huhu, be good, don’t disturb the Princess.”
“Meow, meow—” But the cat under her hand struggled, stretching its neck to call out even louder, impossible to quiet down.
“Princess, Huhu might be hungry. This servant will take him out first…”
From the bed, Jiang Zhiyi finally showed some movement, looking over with a faint expression: “You go out too. There’s no need to keep watch tonight.”
“How can I leave the Princess alone tonight…”
“Didn’t you say he won’t come to kill me, just warning me not to bother him anymore?”
Gu Yu lowered her head shamefully, knowing she had said the wrong thing and offended the Princess. With the fox-cat in her arms, fluffing up its fur and meowing incessantly, she had no choice but to hurriedly retreat with it.
Jiang Zhiyi sat alone on the couch, resting her chin back on her knees, staring at the embroidery on the quilt.
As she was lost in thought, the night candle in the room suddenly flickered, and one went out.
Jiang Zhiyi was startled and turned her head toward the direction of the wind, discovering that a window at the back was partially open.
These servants.
She opened her mouth to call someone, but remembering those annoying consolations, she closed it again. She swung her legs off the bed and walked over in her slippers.
Before she reached the window, a gust of wind hit her face as the window was suddenly pushed open forcefully, and a black shadow leaped in silently!
Jiang Zhiyi was so frightened she froze, a scream just reaching her lips when, in a flash, the intruder darted in front of her and covered her mouth with one hand!
Jiang Zhiyi was nearly knocked over by this sudden force, staggering back several steps until her back hit the wall and she steadied herself. In her daze, she realized that the window wasn’t left open, but had been forced open…
Didn’t her uncle say this golden chamber could withstand a battering ram?!
Jiang Zhiyi raised her head in shock and terror, suddenly meeting a familiar face.
Almost instantly, she instinctively breathed a sigh of relief.
But after this relief, she remembered something and, looking at the person before her dressed entirely in night-traveling clothes, she widened her eyes in even greater terror and began to struggle.
Shen Yuance covered her mouth with one hand, while his other hand lightly caught her wrists. His knee pushed forward, restraining her legs.
In the blink of an eye, Jiang Zhiyi’s entire body was restrained, with only her eyes free to struggle, their long lashes desperately fluttering in accusation—
She was just at home alone, heartbroken. How did that interfere with him and his new lover? Did he have to come and eliminate her?
Even setting aside their past feelings, did he truly disregard even her status as a Princess?
The person before her had eyes filled with countless words, her black hair falling loose in her struggle, her cheeks flushed, her temples wet with sweat. The heat of her breath fell into his palm as she breathed, causing Shen Yuance’s breath to slightly tighten. He lowered his eyes to look at the distance between them, when Qing Song’s voice suddenly rang in his ears—
The Princess and the Elder Young Master must have been privately engaged. That would make the Princess the Young Master’s widowed sister-in-law. Wouldn’t this violate proper relations?
Though it was just an ordinary tactic to subdue an enemy, his palm suddenly felt a heart-piercing numbness. Shen Yuance curled his fingers, staring at her as he slowly backed away, lowering his voice: “If you don’t call out, I’ll let go.”
Jiang Zhiyi’s heart pounded, and she nervously swallowed, trying to calm herself as she nodded.
Shen Yuance slowly released one hand.
Jiang Zhiyi took a deep breath, her lips parted, but before she could utter half a syllable—
The just-released hand quickly covered her mouth again.
Jiang Zhiyi: “…”
Shen Yuance: “…”
Their eyes met in wordless confrontation as the howling wind through the window gap seemed to pause for a moment.
His elder brother must have seen it—he wasn’t deliberately being offensive; it was truly unavoidable.
Shen Yuance exhaled and softly clicked his tongue: “Fine, then just listen to me like this.”
Jiang Zhiyi gave him an annoyed look in return.
At this point, what was left to say between them?
Shen Yuance glanced away, staring at the wall beside them as he gathered his thoughts, then began speaking rather unwillingly: “The person I brought back yesterday was my deputy commander from the border.”
Jiang Zhiyi was momentarily stunned, and after this surprise, her eyes began to shake with realization—you became involved with your deputy commander!
Shen Yuance: “A male deputy commander.”
—You don’t even spare men!
Shen Yuance’s face darkened as he squeezed out a sentence through gritted teeth: “Just a deputy commander, not a lover.”
Jiang Zhiyi’s gaze flickered slightly, then she frowned again, emitting a series of angry sounds from her nose—Do you think I’m a three-year-old child to be fooled!
Shen Yuance closed his eyes to recover some patience. A moment later, he reopened them, looking at his occupied hand, and lifted the wrist he was holding, guiding her hands toward his waist.
Jiang Zhiyi opened her eyes wide in panic, her fingers desperately curling back.
What was he doing?
Even with a new lover, he still wanted to be intimate with her!
What kind of person did he take her for?
Her fingertips touched a hard piece of jade in the seam of his waistband, and Jiang Zhiyi’s struggling hand paused as she raised her eyes in confusion.
Shen Yuance: “Take it.”
Jiang Zhiyi tentatively touched it, blinking hesitantly, and felt along the edge of the jade.
“…Stop touching.” Shen Yuance tightened his grip on her wrist, fire in his eyes. “Take it out.”
Why so fierce? Who’s the one without enough hands now?
Jiang Zhiyi glared at him and pulled out the hard object. Looking down, she saw it was indeed the crescent-shaped jade pendant with the character “Yi.”
However, although it had been forcibly repaired back into shape, the jade pendant was now covered in cracks, full of wounds, no longer possessing its original flawless luster.
As she looked at it, Jiang Zhiyi’s gaze dimmed, her eyelashes blinking lightly, letting a tear fall.
“…” Shen Yuance’s restraining hand hesitantly loosened.
The person before him tightly clutched the jade pendant, her red, still-swollen eyes lowered, staring at the crooked character “Yi.” Tears glistened in her eyes, though she stubbornly refused to let them fall, looking somewhat pitiful…
After all, it was he who, in his brother’s name, had smashed the token that his brother treasured—
Shen Yuance turned his head to look at the pitch-black sky outside the window, opened his mouth, then closed it, and lightly coughed: “Alright, it’s fixed, don’t cry.”
Jiang Zhiyi raised her head with tears in her eyes: “What use is fixing it? You can fix this jade pendant, but can you fix my heart?”
“…”
“Since ancient times, a broken mirror is hard to make whole again. Once the crack is there, even if forcibly pieced together, it’s no longer the original mirror… I know, my A-Ce ge is long gone…”
Shen Yuance’s brow twitched, his sharp eyes suddenly sweeping downward.
But Jiang Zhiyi seemed to have completely ignored his change in expression, clutching the jade pendant in her palm and closing her eyes as she turned her head away resolutely: “I’ll just pretend he died on the battlefield, and it’s someone else who has returned now. You should go! If you don’t leave, your new lover will be anxiously waiting…”
“……”
He shouldn’t have bothered to come here and explain properly.
“Fine, I’ll take you to meet my ‘new lover’.” Shen Yuance worked his neck, grabbing the curtain beside him and spinning the person before him around.
Jiang Zhiyi stumbled in circles three times, instantly wrapped like a silkworm cocoon. Then a cloak fell over her head, and everything went dark. In a dizzying moment, she was hoisted over his shoulder with one arm.
“You, you still want to take me to see… Don’t tell me you want me to be your double blossom, sharing your favors with her!” Jiang Zhiyi could hardly believe what she was hearing, so angry that she saw stars, and kicked him hard from under the cloak. “I, Jiang Zhiyi, may be a peony, a rose, or a begonia in this life, but I will never be this double blossom—”