The next day when Shen Qingyao woke up, Lu Zhao had already left as usual. The matter with the marriage had encountered numerous setbacks, keeping him busy.
Shen Qingyao had grown accustomed to this, but for some unknown reason, when she woke up today and saw the empty space beside her on the bed, a wave of melancholy swept over her, a strong sense of loss enveloping her instantly.
Shen Qingyao shook her head, silently scolding herself for being overly sentimental. When she lowered her head again, she noticed the swelling on her ankle had subsided considerably, with a lingering gloss of ointment that suggested Lu Zhao had applied medicine for her again before leaving. Shen Qingyao smirked slightly, feeling some of her frustration dissipate.
At this moment, Cui Qiao heard movement and entered with a basin of water, followed by Hong Yun carrying a stack of new clothes. Hong Yun yawned slightly, looking like she hadn’t slept well last night.
Normally, Shen Qingyao wouldn’t have paid attention to such things; if she did notice, she would simply smile it off or even suggest Hong Yun go back to rest for a while. However, inexplicably today, Shen Qingyao frowned slightly, displeased at the sight of Hong Yun looking so tired.
“Miss? What’s wrong?” Cui Qiao approached, noticing her not-so-good complexion, thinking she might not be feeling well again, and asked softly.
Shen Qingyao suddenly came back to her senses, closed her eyes briefly, feeling unusually strange today. She sighed and shook her head. “It’s nothing. Help me get up.”
After washing up and applying makeup, everything proceeded as usual, but Shen Qingyao’s brows remained furrowed. She was usually someone who loved to smile, but now, not only Cui Qiao but even the carefree Hongyun and the servants who came and went noticed that something was amiss. They all thought to themselves that today the Young Madam seemed upset, so they refrained from playing or laughing around her to avoid displeasing her.
Cui Qiao found it strange. Everything seemed fine yesterday, and there was no argument between Miss and Young Master. Why was her mood so bad upon waking up today? But she didn’t ask further, silently completing her tasks and then quietly leaving to have someone find Lu Zhao who was handling embassy affairs, reminding the Young Master to return home earlier today.
When she returned later, she brought a visiting card with her.
Shen Qingyao was dozing off, propping her head with her hand. When she saw what Cui Qiao held, she was puzzled. Why would someone deliver a visiting card to the inn? She couldn’t help asking, “Who’s here?”
Cuixiao had already anticipated her question and smiled as she handed her the item. “It’s someone from the Nanzhao Palace.” She blinked mischievously.
Shen Qingyao was still puzzled, but when she took a look, she saw that the visiting card was signed by Nangong Lin. She was stunned, immediately realizing that this wasn’t just anyone from the Nanzhao Palace—it was her Second Sister who had disappeared for days coming to find her.
Shen Qingyao relaxed her expression, revealing her first smile of the day. She waved her hand, instructing Cui Qiao to bring her Second Sister in.
Shen Qinglin was still dressed in Nanhao Palace attire, and the light blue color did not make her look gentle; instead, it revealed a unique grace. Shen Qingyao was surprised. She had thought her Second Sister had merely infiltrated the other party’s delegation, but she hadn’t expected her Second Sister to actually infiltrate the Nanzhao Palace?
“Nangong Lin?” She smiled and teased, “Second Sister, why did you choose such a strange pseudonym?”
Shen Qinglin also smiled. She sat down and said, “Shen Qinglin who infiltrated the Nanzhao Palace is called Nangong1 Lin. What’s the problem?”
*Pfft.* Shen Qingyao nearly choked on her tea, thinking superficially but not expecting her Second Sister to be so superficial. She glanced at her casually elegant second sister and admired her naming talent very much.
“Look at you like this, it seems like I haven’t missed much these few days, right?” Shen Qinglin scrutinized her family’s little treasure again from head to toe—pale complexion, inconvenient legs and feet—indeed quite eventful. Her expression darkened and she asked, “What’s wrong with your foot? Who bullied you?”
Shen Qingyao quickly shook her head, and had to recount everything that had happened these past few days to her second sister. But instead of seeing her relax, she saw her expression become more serious.
“Are you saying you encountered An’ya and An’yu?”
Shen Qinglin furrowed her brows. She had been lurking in the Nanzhao court for several months now, and had even managed to get into the position of a Nanzhao female official.
Naturally, she had heard some rumors about the two princesses. These two princesses were not close to the King of Nanzhao by blood. However, An’yu killed the former Queen, but she was able to escape punishment under the protection of Princess An’ya. Her deep and sinister scheming sent chills down one’s spine—she was by no means naive or kind, fond of making new friends.
They had now set their sights on Shen Qingyao. Shen Qinglin could understand why.
She sighed, couldn’t help but stroke the back of Shen Qingyao’s head, half serious and half jokingly saying, “Why do you like such a troublemaker who attracts bees and butterflies!”
Shen Qingyao was stunned for a moment, then realized the troublemaker referred to Lu Zhao, and couldn’t help giggling.
“Second Sister, did you come to see me today for something important?” After laughing enough, Shen Qingyao asked about the main matter.
Shen Qinglin nodded, “Do you still remember the promise to help me find someone before?”
“Of course!” How could she forget? The system was so angry with her for treating it like a tool, it didn’t chat with her for quite some time.
“I mentioned before that my husband is trapped in the Nanzhao court, and I’ve been wanting to secretly take you in, but that method is a bit risky after all, and your husband Lu Zhao wouldn’t allow it. So I haven’t come to you. But now, the opportunity has come.” Shen Qinglin said, her eyes lighting up.
She took out a piece of paper from her sleeve and handed it to Shen Qingyao, saying, “This is a decree just issued by the King of Nanzhao. In two days, there will be a formal banquet at the court, also a formal acknowledgment for Princess Yonghe. It’s a very important banquet, and as the wife of the heir, you are also invited. Once you enter Nanzhao court, I will find you. Just remember that.”
Shen Qingyao nodded, feeling excited. Just as she was about to say something else, she heard Shen Qinglin say again, “However…”
However what? Shen Qingyao looked at her curiously. Shen Qinglin sighed, “However, since it’s a palace banquet, those two princesses from Nanzhao will definitely be there. At that time, you must be careful. When I’m not there, you must stick with Lu Zhao, understand?”
The way she said it made it seem like the court of Nanzhao was some kind of dangerous place, and those two princesses who made Shen Qingyao uncomfortable were like monsters.
Shen Qingyao amused herself with this thought, but also knew her Second Sister was concerned about her. She nodded to indicate she understood.
But Shen Qinglin still couldn’t rest assured. She scrutinized Shen Qingyao up and down several times, hesitated for a while, and asked again softly, “You’ve met An’yu before, did you feel… uncomfortable in any way?”
Shen Qingyao tilted her head, feeling puzzled, “No, why is Second Sister asking like this?”
After all, her injury was from her own stumble; besides that, she hadn’t suffered any other injuries, right?
“It’s nothing. I was just asking.” Shen Qinglin smiled at her. Since there was nothing wrong, there was no need to scare Shen Qingyao with those rumors for no reason. However, she still needed to find an opportunity to talk to Lu Zhao about these things.
Thinking of this, Shen Qinglin got up to leave, still looking carefree. She gently held down Shen Qingyao, who was struggling to get up, and said softly, “I’ve been out for a long time and might raise suspicion, so I’ll leave first. You don’t need to move, we’re not strangers, no need to see me off.”
She paused for a moment, as if suddenly remembering something, and added, “Oh, by the way, I passed a message to Master Kong a few days ago. He’s no longer at the court, but his letter said he’s still in Nanzhao. Once things settle, I’ll find him and have him check your health properly.”
Shen Qingyao was stunned for a moment before realizing that the Master Kong she mentioned was the miracle doctor Lu Zhao had been looking for.
She recalled the task she was halfway through and remembered asking the system why her tasks weren’t updating anymore.
The explanation given by the system was that the drama system was meant to test the suitability of supporting female roles. Since Lu Zhao’s favorability towards her was already full from the beginning, regardless of how she acted, Lu Zhao would still like her, so there was no point in changing the persona for testing. For her, her favorability towards Lu Zhao had exceeded the average value, so the nature of the task had automatically changed. As long as Lu Zhao didn’t turn evil, her task would be considered successful.
When she reached the big finale, her illness would be cured.
So she wasn’t too worried. But upon hearing this, she didn’t refuse her Second Sister’s kindness and obediently nodded.
After Shen Qinglin left, Shen Qingyao called out to the system.
It was a joke to say that the system was angry, but recently, the system had indeed been quiet. Shen Qingyao lowered her eyes; it was one thing for communication to decrease due to the changed tasks, but the system disappearing started right after she asked whether she could time travel twice.
This was very wrong.
Unexpectedly yet expectedly, the system didn’t respond. Shen Qingyao felt the annoyance she had suppressed welling up again. Suddenly, she felt like things were slipping out of her control.
She still wanted to try waking the system again, but Lu Zhao returned early. As soon as he entered, he headed straight for Shen Qingyao, looking somewhat urgent. Shen Qingyao didn’t understand and looked around in confusion, only to see Cui Qiao sneak out with a guilty look.
“Elder Brother Lu Zhao, what’s wrong?” Unable to catch Cui Qiao, Shen Qingyao could only ask Lu Zhao in puzzlement.
Lu Zhao put his arm around her shoulder, saw that she seemed fine, and breathed a sigh of relief. In a low voice, he said, “It’s nothing.”
“Hmm?” Shen Qingyao thought to herself, You don’t look like it’s nothing.
She thought this, and her eyes couldn’t hide her thoughts, easily seen by Lu Zhao. He smiled softly, encircled her, and didn’t mention how worried he was upon hearing that someone said she wasn’t feeling well today, or if she was upset. He just lightly patted her head and slowly said, “Really, it’s nothing. I just miss our little Yaoyao a bit.”
“…?” Shen Qingyao’s ears turned warm. With just a simple sentence, she unexpectedly couldn’t handle it. Who could endure the cold and aloof beauty speaking in such a tone!
“You… you, speak properly!” Clearly, he had only been out for the morning! She felt a bit embarrassed, pushed against his chest, and was caught by Lu Zhao’s laughter.
Shen Qingyao instinctively felt something was wrong but couldn’t guess what, so she let it go. She nestled in Lu Zhao’s arms and recounted what Shen Qinglin had done when she visited earlier, not mentioning the matter of asking for help, only the King’s banquet. Lu Zhao was aware of this matter, nodded, and said he had gone out early today to arrange it.
Thinking she didn’t want to go, Lu Zhao softly said, “This is a state banquet, naturally, it should be taken seriously, but if Yaoyao doesn’t want to go, it’s okay not to.”
At most, she was just a family member accompanying; if she really didn’t go, Nanzhao wouldn’t say anything.
But Shen Qingyao didn’t mean that. Upon hearing this, she immediately shook her head, “No, no, no, I want to go!” Feeling too eager again, she paused and said again, “After all, since we’re here… I also want to see what it’s like in the royal court…”
The little girl was not good at hiding her thoughts, but Lu Zhao indulged her. Even if she were to overturn the royal court, he could safely bring her out without worry, except for fearing she might get tired. Lu Zhao chuckled and, going along with her wishes, said, “Alright, then let’s go.”
Only then did Shen Qingyao feel satisfied, rubbing against him contentedly, her mood improving a bit.
- Nanzhao Palace in Chinese is 南诏宫 (Nán zhào gōng), the Nangong used in Nangong Lin is 南宫 (Nán gōng) ↩︎