Seeing Shen Nian's expression, Wang Jun assumed he was truly curious about the gossip. Eager to curry favor with Shen Nian and ride the Marquis Zhenbei's rising tide, he naturally didn't want his superior to stumble over such taboos. So he lowered his voice further and said, "My lord, you grew up in the North Frontier. You may not be familiar with what goes on in the capital. The scar on Young Master Lin En's face—he got it while saving His Majesty's life..."
These were matters known to anyone in the capital with even a bit of standing, and Wang Jun recounted them without any hesitation.
Shen Nian finally understood. No wonder the Empress Dowager's attitude toward Lin En had seemed so peculiar—he hadn't realized there was so much history behind it.
Calculating the year it happened, he should still have been in the capital at the time.
Only then, the Shen family had fallen out of favor with Emperor Jing, and he himself had been cast aside by Wen shi. Much had escaped his notice.
Later, he had nearly drowned and died. Shortly after waking, his father Shen Yi had taken him away, and he'd never heard these stories.
For over a decade since, he had been on the North Frontier, where life and death were uncertain. The capital—a place of heartbreak—was the last thing on his mind. And everyone in Da Qi had been focused on Emperor Jing.
Only now that Qi Junmu had ascended the throne did the Lin family and Lin En attract fresh attention, and these old stories were remembered once more.
After finishing his tale, Wang Jun saw that Shen Nian seemed distracted. He said, "My lord, just take these words and let them pass."
Shen Nian raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Today you have enlightened me. This marquis will remember this kindness." The implication was that he owed a favor—and Wang Jun beamed with delight.
Having sorted all this out, Shen Nian stopped dwelling on the Empress Dowager and Lin En.
As long as no one schemed against him directly, he would pretend he knew nothing of the Empress Dowager's schemes.
For now, his task was simply to serve well and be the Emperor's blade. He would see if he could gain a little more weight in the Emperor's eyes—so that when the Emperor had finished using him, he might still have a decent path to retreat and a peaceful place to land.
Shen Nian swapped shifts with his colleague the next day and went straight home. He hadn't slept all night and was so exhausted that he could barely keep his eyes open.
Every time he returned to the Shen family, Wen shi would inevitably weep and carry on. But today he was too worn out to indulge her. Before she could even open her mouth, he said impatiently: "Mother, we can talk about anything after I've rested. But if you start pleading for Second Brother right now, he'll never set foot outside that study door for the rest of his life."
Wen shi fell silent, not daring to utter another word.
Shen Nian slept soundly in his room and didn't wake until the afternoon. True to her word, Wen shi had not disturbed him.
Most people in this world have their weaknesses, and threatening Wen shi through Shen Qing was the most effective way to control her.
After washing up and grabbing a quick bite, Shen Nian went for the first time to see Shen Qing, who had been confined to the study.
Shen Qing had changed greatly—thin and sallow, clearly having endured considerable hardship. The first time Shen Qing had laid eyes on Shen Nian after his return to the capital, he had been arrogant and brash. Now his first instinct was fear.
But with the stern tutor present, Shen Qing merely shrank his neck and dared not say a word, looking utterly pitiful.
Seeing that Shen Qing had truly been frightened into submission, Shen Nian spoke to the tutor with deliberate, measured politeness. He explained that His Majesty had come to realize Shen Qing was not cut out for scholarly pursuits and had abandoned the notion of giving him an official post, and that he was deeply grateful for the tutor's efforts and guidance over these past months.
The tutor was somewhat disappointed to hear that he would no longer be teaching Shen Qing. After all, Shen Qing had been the most satisfying student he had ever taught—with the Emperor's authority behind him, he had never feared the Shen family, not even with Marquis Zhenbei's name attached. But on second thought, he figured this was the Emperor's decision, and he had essentially just received a direct command from His Majesty. So he left in a fairly good mood.
Before leaving, however, he put on his stern face and lectured Shen Qing one last time, declaring that his reading was utterly abysmal, but that he must nevertheless apply himself diligently in the future.
Shen Qing nodded frantically.
Once the tutor was gone, Shen Qing stood there in a daze, hardly able to believe that he had truly been delivered from his torment.
After several months of study, he felt it was a miracle that he hadn't gone mad from listening day in and day out to nothing but "thees" and "thous" and "wherefores."
Shen Nian gave him a cold look and said: "If you ever again instigate Mother to make trouble for me, you'll spend the rest of your life in this study."
Shen Qing bit his lip and nodded vigorously.
Shen Nian was about to say more when Old Madam Shen and Wen shi, having received word of his arrival, both hurried over.
The moment he saw them, the tears that Shen Qing had been holding back finally burst forth in a torrent.
Shen Qing sobbed brokenheartedly, Wen shi wailed uncontrollably, and even the usually composed Old Madam Shen's eyes reddened.
In that instant, Shen Nian felt utterly superfluous. They were bound by blood, the three of them were family—and he would always be the outsider.
Suddenly overcome with weariness and disinterest, he turned and walked away.
Old Madam Shen was the only one who noticed his departure. She parted her lips as if to call out, but then she looked at Shen Qing, who was crying pitifully after having suffered so much.
In the end, she sighed inwardly and pretended not to have seen Shen Nian leave.
Shen Nian did not return to his own courtyard. Instead, he walked straight out of the marquis's residence.
Strolling through the streets felt no different from being inside the marquis's mansion—to everyone else, he was simply a stranger.
After wandering around for a while, he found himself on Zhuque Street. Spotting the imperial palace not far off, he walked toward it.
The imperial guards all knew that Shen Nian was not on duty that day. When they saw him entering the palace without even a horse, they assumed something urgent had occurred, and the gate guards even asked if they should send word ahead.
Truth be told, Shen Nian's decision to enter the palace had been a sudden whim. But now that he was standing at the palace gates, he couldn't very well just turn around and leave, so he steeled himself and went in.
Since he was officially off duty, he certainly couldn't go to the Imperial Guard Office—that would give the impression that he didn't trust his colleagues. But once inside the palace, he couldn't wander about aimlessly either. That left him with no choice but to seek an audience with the Emperor.
Arriving at Qianhua Hall, he saw Ruan Jiqing standing at the entrance. Beside him was a strikingly pretty palace maid with a gentle, submissive air about her. The two were chatting idly in front of the hall doors.
No other attendants were in sight.
Ruan Jiqing spotted Shen Nian approaching and, startled, hurried forward to greet him. "Marquis, what brings you here?"
Shen Nian certainly couldn't admit that he had come on a whim out of boredom, so he said: "I came to see His Majesty..."
Ruan Jiqing's face showed some hesitation. Shen Nian, ever observant, caught it at once and quickly added: "If His Majesty is occupied, I can come back tomorrow when I'm on duty—it's no trouble."
Before Ruan Jiqing could respond, the pretty palace maid stepped forward and said softly: "Eunuch Ruan, Her Majesty the Empress will likely be getting thirsty soon. This servant will go prepare some tea."
This maid was Yutao, the head palace maid to Empress Wen Wan, and highly favoured in her palace.
At those words, Shen Nian instantly understood what was going on inside.
He turned to Ruan Jiqing and said: "I'll be going back, then." The Emperor and Empress were inside, with the attendants waiting outside—this was hardly the time for him to show up.
No comments:
Post a Comment