Chapter 46
Qi Junmu watched Shen Nian leave, then sat back in his chair and pinched the bridge of his brow.
The look in Shen Nian's eyes just now had made him feel a flicker of embarrassment—more than that, it was the awkwardness of being seen through. In truth, earlier in the great hall, while everyone was buzzing with debate, he had also considered dragging Shen Nian into the mess.
Perhaps the very reason he had never told Shen Nian his full plan from the start was that he had been saving this day.
Chang Sheng was someone he would never keep around. If the West Frontier and the North Frontier started tearing at each other, and the civil officials and military officials in court fell into opposing camps, then he would have an opening to exploit.
For an emperor, this was a golden opportunity—one that could save him many detours and mean he would not have to rely on anyone in the future. But if he truly went through with it, in the end, Shen Nian would be the one put in an awkward position.
Back in the great hall, seated high upon the dragon throne, he had watched Shen Nian's expression shift from stunned disbelief to a flat, listless indifference. At that moment, Qi Junmu's heart had stirred faintly—and in the end, he had not gone through with it.
His relationship with Shen Nian was built on mutual use—each served the other's purposes. Still, he had never thought of actually turning against Shen Nian. Even if this time he truly put Shen Nian at a disadvantage, he would surely find other ways to make it up afterward.
Yet while he was weighing interests in his mind, he saw Shen Nian standing there with an air of neither sorrow nor joy. And suddenly he thought: This time is different from before. If I truly use Shen Nian—or even the North Frontier Army under his command—will Shen Nian ever trust me again?
Yes—trust.
Shen Nian trusted him as emperor. At first, there had been layers of wariness, but as time passed, that guarded shell had been broken open by this reckless emperor.
Trust had come to outweigh caution.
Qi Junmu had been emperor for two lifetimes now, yet no one had ever truly trusted him—not even his own uncle, Lin Xiao.
Lin Xiao had the Lin family to protect and his own interests to maintain. Now and then, he would even use his private influence to secure official posts for certain people. As the Left Chancellor, there would always be those who found their way to him through connections, and Lin Xiao could not possibly refuse them all.
Even Lin Xiao's kindness toward him as emperor was not without selfish motives.
Lin Xiao also feared that the emperor's attitude toward the Lin family might change, so on one hand, he kept a tight grip on the Empress Dowager—who was also a Lin by birth.
But Shen Nian was different. He did not care about the Shen family and would never use his authority to do anything for his Shen relatives. He had no wife, and therefore no in-laws to manage relations with.
What Shen Nian valued most was the North Frontier Army. The North Frontier was where he had grown up; those soldiers were his brothers-in-arms. They had fought side by side on the battlefield, been wounded together, bled together, endured partings of life and death together, and protected the common people along the border.
If the West Frontier and the North Frontier came into conflict, both sides would inevitably resort to all sorts of tactics, and bloodshed would be hard to avoid.
Shen Nian must have realized that at the time, which was why he had looked so disappointed. But that disappointment was not directed at the emperor—it was directed at himself. He was disappointed that he had let the emperor's small favors make him forget the emperor's methods of consolidating power.
Qi Junmu had thought of all this while seated on the dragon throne—and then he had suddenly asked Shen Nian for his view on the matter.
Shen Nian's answer had still been somewhat unexpected. He had thought the man would be entirely resentful or indignant, yet Shen Nian had still offered a single, faint line of defense for himself.
At that moment, Qi Junmu had smiled inwardly—and then, as if naturally following through, he had spoken up to clear Shen Nian's name.
Qi Junmu knew that Shen Nian was clever enough to guess the shift in his mood.
Later, in Quanhua Hall, he had wanted to brush the whole matter aside with their usual banter, as they had done before. But for the first time, he and Shen Nian had lost their unspoken understanding.
Shen Nian had laid his thoughts bare in plain words, speaking without mercy.
In that instant, Qi Junmu felt both embarrassed and deeply perplexed.
Shen Nian was usually restrained and composed—he should not have acted this way toward the emperor.
When he had reached out to stop Shen Nian from leaving, the man had stumbled and fallen against his chest. Qi Junmu had caught a glimpse of the emotions in Shen Nian's eyes—all kinds of them—and among them, a trace of unspoken grievance.
It was because of that flicker of grievance that Qi Junmu had only made a half-hearted attempt to keep him. When Shen Nian insisted on leaving, he simply watched him go.
Disappointment, resentment, dissatisfaction, joy, pride, trust—it was normal for a subject to feel such things toward an emperor. But grievance? That seemed far too intimate. Even Qi Junzhuo had never shown such an expression in front of him.
So what was Shen Nian really thinking? Qi Junmu sat on his imperial seat, his face expressionless, turning it over in his mind. Or perhaps Shen Nian had simply been worn down by family troubles, making him unusually vulnerable?
Shen Nian had been emotionally volatile lately. If not for that, Qi Junmu would not have bothered to patiently bathe with him and climb the high pavilion.
Ruan Jiqing had already investigated the affairs of the Shen family thoroughly. Such inner courtyard scandals always found their way out through various channels—especially since there had been so many servants in Wen shi's courtyard that night.
Those servants had been confined but not silenced, and as long as people remained alive, news could always be uncovered.
The Shen household was short of servants, so naturally, new ones had to be brought in.
Some had been easily planted inside, and with a little extra effort, the full story had come to light.
Qi Junmu did not care much about Old Madam Shen's character or methods. When Bai Feng had taken her pulse earlier, he had reported that her stroke was peculiar—her pulse was far too steady.
Qi Junmu knew Shen Nian would handle it himself and did not interfere.
But Wen shi had been far too greedy, daring to try and muddy the Shen family bloodline by passing off a stable hand's son as the Marquis Zhenbei. If it were not for Shen Nian's reputation, Qi Junmu would have ordered her killed on the spot.
He had no interest in the love-hate entanglements between Shen Yi and Wen shi. What he cared about most was Wen shi's attitude toward Shen Nian.
After all, Wen shi was Shen Nian's birth mother, and Shen Nian could hardly do much to her.
Keeping her under house arrest forever was not a solution either. She had a mouth and a tongue, and she was dead set on dragging Shen Nian's name through the mud—something Qi Junmu absolutely did not want to see.
At that thought, Qi Junmu's gaze darkened. Wen shi could no longer be allowed to speak. As for Shen Qing—well, that would depend on how Shen Nian wanted to handle it.
A faint, unnamed unease stirred in Qi Junmu's heart, but he did not dwell on it.
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