“That person…” Shen Qingyao was worried that there might be something wrong, so she whispered a reminder after the person entered.
But Lu Zhao made a stopping gesture towards her, covering the back of her hand with his and gently shaking his head. Shen Qingyao was momentarily stunned, then looked at Shen Yushu, who also wore a face that seemed to have already seen through everything.
She suddenly realized that the two people standing beside her now were: one whose intelligence was off the charts according to the book, and another who, while not reaching such heights, wasn’t far behind. If she could detect abnormalities, how could they not?
Not stopping the person was simply because there was no need.
“Alright, I should go in and keep an eye out too, to make sure nothing really happens.” Shen Yushu smiled and glanced at the interlocked hands of the two, suppressing the subtle sourness in his heart from his little sister being stolen away by that wretched man, and said to Shen Qingyao, “Once Eldest Brother’s matters are settled in these few days, I’ll come see you again.”
Saying this, Shen Qingyao felt a bit reluctant again. She hadn’t seen her Eldest Brother for nearly two months, and now they were about to part again after only exchanging a few words. She obediently nodded, her expression somewhat crestfallen.
Shen Yushu smiled again, feeling comforted in his heart, and said, “I’ve brought many gifts for you this time, as well as letters from Father, Mother, and Ah Li. Remember to take them back later.”
Gifts? Shen Qingyao was taken aback. The bitter taste in her mouth seemed to return, and her body involuntarily remembered the strange smell of those medicinal herbs. She was no longer disappointed; her face even turned somewhat green. She quickly shook her head, “I’ll take the letters, but the gifts… there’s no need.”
Lu Zhao could tell from her expression what she was thinking. Thinking of the day the little girl looked wronged, he turned his head and giggled. Then his arm was pinched by Shen Qingyao.
What are you laughing at! Stop laughing! Help me send back those carts of medicinal herbs! Shen Qingyao tugged at his sleeve, pleading with her eyes.
*Cough.* Lu Zhao smiled, the pinch from the little girl wasn’t hurting much, but rather tickling. “Yaoyao, why not first see what they are before deciding whether to keep them?”
Facing a bewildered Shen Yushu, Lu Zhao gave him a teasing look.
The straight man Shen Yushu didn’t understand the riddle the couple were playing. He looked at his sister with a puzzled expression, then asked with great concern, “Yaoyao, are you not feeling well? Great! This time, I brought spiritual medicine from the Western Regions. It will definitely work this time!”
“…… Alright, thank you, Eldest Brother.”
Having an elder brother is really nice. Especially when that brother likes to feed you medicine. Heh.
Shen Qingyao showed a touched yet bitter smile. She waved her hand towards Shen Yushu. Felling reluctant? All gone!
On the other side, the guard steadily carried a tray, avoiding the crowd, navigating left and right, and finally arrived in front of a chamber.
This was the chamber where the Princess resided, and ordinary servants like them were not allowed to enter.
However, this guard showed no hesitation at all, a glint of determination in his eyes. He lightly pushed open the door.
Princess Yonghe sat calmly in front of her dressing table. Hearing the door push open, she thought it was her maid coming in and furrowed her brows in displeasure, “Why is fetching water taking so long?”
The person behind her didn’t speak. Sensing something was wrong, she glanced into the bronze mirror. The figure standing behind her was definitely not a maid. Princess Yonghe was startled, quickly turned around and stood up, her tone severe, “Who are you! How dare you intrude into this Princess’s chamber!”
The guard’s hawk-like eyes scrutinized her face for a long while, then curled his lips, revealing a smile that held ambiguous meaning.
Princess Yonghe stepped back, a sense of foreboding creeping in.
But that foreboding did not come true.
The guard seemed to realize the magnitude of his mistake, quickly lowered his head, the sharp aura around him subsiding, and humbly said, “Please forgive me, Princess! I was only here to deliver gifts from the King of Nanzhao, momentarily lost my way and inadvertently disturbed Your Highness.”
He bowed and retreated, looking submissive, as if the aggressive gaze from earlier had been nothing more than a figment of Princess Yonghe’s imagination.
Princess Yonghe’s eyes were cold as ice, staring at him. After listening to his words, she looked at the things in his hands. Those somewhat worn-out jewelry pieces seemed particularly garish.
She threw the rouge in her hand to the ground in anger, saying bitterly, “Get out! Get out right now!”
“I’m leaving! I’m leaving!”
The guard obediently exited. Princess Yonghe slumped back into her seat, her chest heaving with anger. She had anticipated difficulties on this journey, but never expected that even before entering Nanzhao, on the soil of her own Great Liang, these Nanzhao people would dare to insult her like this…
She was so angry that her eyes turned red. Outside the door, Prince Baili Yi of Nanzhao finally saw the guard coming out. As soon as he spotted the guard, he eagerly approached and asked, “How is it?”
The guard’s previous timid expression vanished entirely, replaced by a wild and unruly grin. He licked his lips, showing no fear or respect toward the Prince of Nanzhao, and quietly said, “She looks very much alike.”
Especially when she was angry, the resemblance was striking. The guard was excited.
Baili Yi breathed a heavy sigh of relief, patting his chest. “That’s good! That’s very good!”
At night, Shen Qingyao lay in bed, unable to fall asleep. Next to her, Lu Zhao’s breathing had already become steady, indicating he was asleep. Shen Qingyao turned her head to look at him. He was attractive, but that didn’t help her sleep. Still restless, she feared waking him up, so she carefully turned over. Finding the position uncomfortable, she cautiously turned back.
After repeating this several times, she became increasingly alert. She sighed. Since transmigrating to this world, this was the first time she experienced insomnia. She moved again, but sometimes, the more cautious one is, the more noise they make.
Lu Zhao, lying beside her, sighed too. Finally unable to endure it, he pulled the restless person into his arms. Seemingly just woken up, his eyes remained closed, and his voice was heavy with drowsiness. “Can’t sleep?”
Shen Qingyao lay on his chest, her head buried, silent for a long while. Just when Lu Zhao thought she had finally fallen asleep, the girl in his arms shifted and murmured, “Mm…can’t sleep.”
Lu Zhao opened his eyes, now fully awake. He looked down, seeing only the top of her head, looking like she was genuinely troubled.
He chuckled softly, put his hand around her waist, and gently patted her like soothing a child.
“What are you thinking about?”
Under his comforting pats, Shen Qingyao yawned slightly, but her mind remained awake. She placed her hand on his chest, unconsciously playing with the tie of his robe. Hearing his question, she bit her lip and hesitated before saying, “Thinking about Xiao Jing.”
“Mm?” Lu Zhao frowned, and Shen Qingyao felt his grip tighten around her waist. Realizing she had said something misleading, she quickly explained, “Ah, no, I mean, I’m thinking about Princess Yonghe.”
The pressure on her waist eased to a comfortable level again. Shen Qingyao sighed in relief, narrowly avoiding trouble.
“Why think about that?”
“I was just wondering, does Princess Yonghe know she is a substitute for the late Queen?”
If she knew, she would live every day without her own identity; if she didn’t, it would be heartbreaking to realize it later. Either way, it was difficult. Shen Qingyao silently cursed Xiao Jing for being truly despicable.
After cursing, she suddenly thought of something. The dark night seemed to amplify her negative emotions, making her feel more depressed.
Speaking of substitutes, she was somewhat similar too…
Shen Qingyao slightly raised her head, seeing Lu Zhao’s smooth chin and tightly pressed lips.
The difference was that Lu Zhao didn’t know she wasn’t the person who grew up with him, and she didn’t come here voluntarily to replace the original Shen Qingyao.
Shen Qingyao had become a substitute for Shen Qingyao…
Her expression turned subtle and uncomfortable.
“Knowing or not, it’s her own choice…” Lu Zhao patted her, not fully understanding her sudden empathy with Princess Yonghe, but still patiently comforting her.
Bending down, he planted a light kiss on her hair. His voice was lazy with sleep. “Go to sleep, or you’ll have a headache tomorrow.”
“Mm…” Shen Qingyao hummed, quieting down. She thought she would still be unable to sleep, but unexpectedly, with Lu Zhao’s scent and warmth, she soon fell asleep.
Perhaps because she was too preoccupied, she dreamt again after falling asleep.
This time, it seemed to be in a place like the study hall of the Shen family. Shen Qingyao’s small figure was hiding behind layers of bookshelves, sitting properly with a pen in hand, but sobbing quietly.
When little Lu Zhao found her, he saw a little girl with a tear-streaked face. He quickly walked over, not even making his usual jokes, and sat beside her, discovering she was copying books as punishment.
Feeling sorry for her, he immediately took the pen from her hand, gently massaging her hand to ease the tension.
“What happened? Who punished you?”
“Elder Brother Lu Zhao…” His question made her feel even more wronged, and she threw herself into his arms, starting to complain.
“Teacher said my homework wasn’t as good as my older sister’s and that I wasn’t putting in effort! But I’ve been trying really hard to complete it! And, and…” Little Qingyao sniffled and pouted, “And it’s clearly the teacher’s method that’s wrong…”
Little Lu Zhao furrowed his brows. The young boy already had a bit of a mature air about him, and his frowning face was quite intimidating.
He recognized the female tutor hired by the Shen family for the three sisters. She was quite knowledgeable, but for some reason, she treated her students with extra harshness, especially those whose academic performance was slightly lacking.
Lu Zhao comforted the girl in his arms, thinking about Shen Qingli in the Shen family. Compared to her, everyone else seemed like poor students, and with Yaoyao’s unpredictable temperament, it was no surprise she was punished.
However… looking at the books the little girl had already copied and those yet to be copied, the punishment seemed too severe.
“Elder Brother Lu Zhao, don’t you believe me? The teacher was really wrong!” Little Qingyao looked up and saw Lu Zhao silent for a long time. She thought he didn’t believe her either, so she stubbornly said, “It’s just a problem about chickens and rabbits in the same cage. You can solve it with a system of linear equations! I didn’t make a mistake! I just contradicted her, and she punished me by making me copy so many books! Wuwu… I’m so pitiful!”
Huh? Little Lu Zhao was stunned for a moment, not understanding what the little girl was talking about, but he believed her.
“Hey, hey, hey, don’t cry! Elder Brother believes you! The teacher did go too far!” Lu Zhao hurriedly wiped her tears, “You’re not pitiful! You’re not pitiful! Brother will help you copy, okay?”
“Wuwu…” Hearing this, little Qingyao’s crying finally subsided, and a faint smile appeared on her face.
The two children huddled together, and Lu Zhao indeed helped her copy the rest of the books. Little Qingyao propped her chin up with both hands and watched him. The sunset cast a beautiful glow on the two of them.
However, Shen Qingyao was startled awake.
She suddenly sat up, drenched in cold sweat.
What was little Qingyao talking about in the dream? Chickens and rabbits in the same cage? Systems of linear equations? These were things the original owner shouldn’t know.
Shen Qingyao clutched her wildly beating heart and glanced to her side. It was already bright outside, and Lu Zhao had gone to handle official business. She felt a moment of confusion.
She had always thought these fragmented dreams were the original owner’s memories, but were they not? A terrifying thought rose in Shen Qingyao’s mind, only to be swiftly dismissed by her.
Impossible. Her twenty-odd years of modern memories were complete, without any gaps. Little Qingyao couldn’t possibly be her.
So, what was going on?
She curled her fingers, feeling a slight numbness in her hands…
Thanks for the chapter!!!!!