“A husband guides his wife, just as a ruler guides his subjects. I’m sure Lady Jiang will understand my actions when she wakes,” Shen Zaiye said without a smile. After bowing to Noble Consort Lan, he turned to address the Emperor: “Your Majesty and Noble Consort should retire to rest now. The scenery here is quite beautiful at night – perhaps you can enjoy the moonlight later.”
Noble Consort Lan pursed her lips, giving Shen Zaiye a long look before returning to the Emperor’s side.
The Emperor embraced her and nodded, “Very well, We shall return to rest with them.”
Shen Zaiye bowed his head as the Emperor departed, with the others following behind. Prince Nan kept looking back worriedly at the bed, but with Prince Jing walking behind him, he dared not linger and had to follow the Emperor directly.
Mu Wuyin remained silently in Shen Zaiye’s room, quietly asking, “Is the Chancellor ready to make his move?”
“Yes,” Shen Zaiye replied calmly. “Your Highness need only bring Qin Sheng – he’ll be useful tonight.”
Qin Sheng? The name sounded familiar to Taohua on the bed as if she had heard it somewhere before.
“Understood,” Prince Jing agreed, swiftly departing.
The room finally fell quiet. Zhanlu closed the door and stood guard outside. Shen Zaiye returned to sit by the bed, glancing at Taohua and saying, “Open your eyes if you’re awake.”
“…” Taohua opened her eyes to look at him, sighing heavily. “This concubine thought the situation was truly dire, and that by saving your life, you would surely be grateful. Who knew I was being rash and disrupting your plans.”
Hearing his arrangements, she realized today’s assassination attempt was likely staged by him. How pitiful that she knew nothing and foolishly took an arrow for him.
A strange light flickered in Shen Zaiye’s eyes. After a moment, he surprisingly smiled and said, “The fact that you wanted to save me, rather than using me as a shield, is already something I’m grateful for.”
Taohua’s mouth twitched as she sat up, clutching her shoulder. With a regretful expression, she said, “This concubine really should have done that! The arrow wasn’t powerful enough to kill you anyway. Why add another scar to my delicate skin?”
“Jiang Taohua,” Shen Zaiye pressed his lips together. “Can’t you say something nice to make me happy for a little longer?”
“You’re happy that I’m injured?” Taohua pouted, muttering in a wounded tone, “Truly heartless and cruel!”
Shen Zaiye: “…”
What was wrong with this woman’s mind? He was talking about her kind words, but somehow she twisted his meaning completely.
Shaking his head helplessly, he graciously removed his outer robe and lay down on the bed. Glancing at her, he said, “Come here and rest. The doctor said you need plenty of rest.”
Even if it wasn’t a serious injury, it would still take quite some time to fully heal.
Taohua looked at him warily for a moment, then tentatively reached out to poke his chest, as if checking for hidden weapons. Seeing this, Shen Zaiye was tempted to grab her and throw her out the window!
She was only getting away with this because of her injured shoulder. Otherwise, he really would have taken action!
Taohua hugged him, sighing contentedly before quickly falling asleep. Shen Zaiye took out a booklet hidden under his pillow and continued reading it carefully.
The stables were vast, and while the imperial residence appeared unadorned, the entrance was quite elegant with its small bridge over flowing water. As night fell, the Emperor led Noble Consort Lan and the officials to a banquet in the courtyard to enjoy the moon.
“This residence isn’t built very well, only the scenery is somewhat pleasant,” Noble Consort Lan wrinkled her nose, leaning against the Emperor. “It’s a shame to have Your Majesty stay in such a place.”
Looking around, Emperor Mingde was quite displeased as well. “The court allocated quite a sum for these stables, but who knows whose pockets that money ended up in.”
Prince Jing smiled and cupped his hands, saying, “The construction of the stables was Minister Meng’s responsibility, with Prince Yu overseeing the work. Father Emperor should be at ease.”
Prince Yu started slightly, glancing at Prince Jing before hurriedly saying, “Although I was overseeing the project, Father Emperor assigned me other tasks during that time, so I wasn’t able to come to check often.”
“So Brother Yu means he was supervising in name only, without fulfilling his duties?” Prince Jing laughed, turning to look at him. “Saying such things in front of Father Emperor, aren’t you betraying the trust he placed in you?”
Prince Yu lowered his head and knelt before the Emperor, saying seriously, “I have failed in my duties and am willing to accept punishment!”
Rather admit fault now than be implicated with Minister Meng later – Prince Yu was a clever man. Sensing Shen Zaiye’s intention to pin everything on Minister Meng, he quickly distanced himself from the matter.
Emperor Mingde frowned, his gaze sharp as he looked at Prince Yu. “All of you are so eager to take on tasks, but when it comes time to do the work, you have all sorts of excuses! I didn’t understand at first why Minister Meng tried to assassinate the Chancellor today, but now I’m starting to see. Could it be that the Chancellor discovered he was embezzling funds and wanted to silence him?”
“Father Emperor,” Prince Yu frowned, “How could Minister Meng have such audacity? Moreover, Minister Meng’s daughter was previously the Chancellor’s wife – the two families were connected by marriage and had frequent interactions. I believe today’s incident looks more like a deliberate frame-up…”
“Speaking of marriage ties,” Prince Jing stepped forward with a smile, “Father Emperor, I’ve heard that Minister Meng’s daughter poisoned the Chancellor’s eldest son while still in his concubine’s womb, which is why she was divorced and sent home.”
“There was such an incident?” The Emperor was shocked. “So the culprit was Minister Meng’s daughter? Why didn’t the Chancellor mention this to me?”
“The Chancellor values harmony and, out of respect for Minister Meng, didn’t pursue the matter further. He simply divorced Lady Meng,” Prince Jing explained, glancing at Prince Yu. “It’s despicable that Minister Meng was so ungrateful and still held a grudge.”
Put this way, today’s assassination attempt made even more sense. With old grievances and new concerns, it wasn’t impossible that Minister Meng would risk everything to silence Shen Zaiye.
Emperor Mingde’s expression darkened instantly. He looked at Prince Yu with deep eyes and said, “As I recall, Minister Meng was recommended for his position by you, Wugui.”
“I…” Prince Yu was caught in a dilemma. Minister Meng’s guilt hadn’t been confirmed yet, so distancing himself too quickly would mean abandoning the man outright. But if he didn’t distance himself, it would imply he had a connection to Minister Meng, and if there were any shared punishments…
Prince Yu was torn, unsure of how to proceed.
Just as the atmosphere grew tense, Noble Consort Lan smiled and popped a grape into the Emperor’s mouth, saying softly, “We came out to enjoy ourselves, why are we discussing matters of state?”
The Emperor’s brow relaxed slightly as he bit into the grape. He turned to look at her, his eyes filled with guilt. “I forgot myself. Please don’t be angry.”
“I won’t be angry. Your Majesty has important matters on your mind, while this humble woman only understands eating, drinking, and having fun,” Noble Consort Lan said. “I hope Your Majesty doesn’t find me useless for being unable to help much.”
“How could I?” The Emperor gazed at her tenderly, holding her in his arms as he looked up at the stars. “You are the finest woman in the world.”
Prince Jing was taken aback, frowning as he looked at Noble Consort Lan with obvious displeasure. Prince Yu, however, breathed a sigh of relief and quietly retreated to the side.
If one were to say who had the most influence over the Emperor in court, it would undoubtedly be Shen Zaiye. But considering both the inner and outer court, Noble Consort Lan still held the upper hand. With a few soft laughs and whispers, she had already made the Emperor set aside the matter and return to stargazing and moon-watching with her.
Prince Jing felt somewhat anxious. He had nearly cornered Prince Yu, only to be forced to retreat by Noble Consort Lan – it was a terrible feeling.
“Your Highness,” Qin Sheng suddenly spoke up from behind him, saying quietly, “Please be careful later.”
Hm? Prince Jing turned back to look at him in confusion, about to ask what he should be careful of when he saw a group of guards running over in a panic from the distance.
The leader shouted from afar: “Protect the Emperor! Protect the Emperor! Wolves have broken into the palace!”
What? Emperor Mingde was startled and quickly stood up. The civil and military officials were also stunned, hurriedly retreating.
The head guard came over and knelt, urgently reporting, “Your Majesty, a wolf pack has invaded the palace. The walls have collapsed in dozens of places, and people have already lost their lives. Please return to the palace hall immediately – we will protect you with our lives!”
“Absurd!” The Emperor sheltered Noble Consort Lan with one hand while waving the other in anger. “How could a few wolves easily bring down the walls of the imperial residence? Were they made of paper?”
Prince Yu felt a chill run down his spine, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead. Surely they couldn’t be this unlucky? Why would a wolf pack suddenly attack the palace for no reason?
The head guard lowered his head and said, “I’m also surprised, but it’s the truth. There are too many wolves – we can’t hold them back at the entrance anymore. Soon we’ll only be able to use the palace doors to hold them off while waiting for reinforcements.”
Everyone panicked and rushed towards the palace. Emperor Mingde had never been in such a sorry state before, being carried back to the main hall by eunuchs. One can imagine the fury in his heart.
As she crossed the threshold into the palace, Noble Consort Lan asked a nearby palace maid, “Where is Chancellor Shen?”
“In response to Your Ladyship, he’s still in his room looking after Lady Jiang.”
Let him be eaten then! Noble Consort Lan snorted coldly and waved her sleeve, ordering the doors to be closed.
“Two—”
Wolf howls rang out from all directions, drawing ever closer. The civil and military officials were in complete disarray, with many of the women crying in fear, further aggravating the Emperor’s irritation.
“This residence is worse than if it were made of paper. Don’t Minister Meng and Wuyin owe me an explanation?”
“Your son is guilty,” Prince Yu gritted his teeth and bowed, frowning as he looked outside.
This was a situation the imperial family had never encountered before. Wolves as large as tigers repeatedly rammed against the palace gates, causing the guards bracing the doors to tremble.
It was going to be a disaster!
The situation was dire, hanging by a thread!
Meanwhile, Taohua was comfortably sprawled across Shen Zaiye’s lap, calmly listening to the commotion outside.
“I remember now!” A flash of inspiration struck her, and Taohua looked up at Shen Zaiye. “Doesn’t my lord have a retainer who can tame wolves? The one called Qin Sheng!”
Slightly taken aback, Shen Zaiye glanced at her. “How do you know that?”
“Prince Nan mentioned it before. I have a good memory,” Taohua smiled, cupping her chin with her hands in a flower-like pose as she looked at him. “On the day of my wedding to Prince Nan, it was Qin Sheng who controlled the wolves to block the road, wasn’t it?”
Shen Zaiye’s brow furrowed slightly. Without looking at her, he said in a low voice, “Some things are better left unsaid, even if you know them in your heart.”
(End of Chapter)