“Elder Brother Lu Zhao, have you investigated the matter regarding Princess Yonghe thoroughly?”
The two were chatting leisurely late at night when Shen Qingyao suddenly remembered that it had been a long time since she had heard any news from Princess Yonghe. After all, it concerned the plans of the major antagonist.
Shen Qingyao had initially mentioned it out of boredom, but now she was genuinely concerned and couldn’t sleep. She tossed and turned, sitting up abruptly, which also prevented Lu Zhao from sleeping. He could only resign himself to staying awake with her.
Seeing the girl’s eyes bright and alert, with no trace of sleepiness on her face, Lu Zhao sighed. He knew that if he didn’t speak, she would probably keep him up all night.
“After Princess Yonghe was brought into the royal court, she intruded into the King of Nanzhao’s bedchamber without permission. Nanzhao accused her of malicious intent, claiming she was a spy sent by Great Liang, aiming to delay the scheduled enthronement ceremony.” Lu Zhao spoke calmly and casually, but Shen Qingyao widened her eyes in surprise. She hadn’t expected the situation to be so serious, with accusations of espionage involved.
In her impression, Princess Yonghe wasn’t someone who would act so recklessly. Why would she intrude into the bedchamber without cause? Shen Qingyao furrowed her brow and couldn’t help but ask, “Is the King taking this stance as well? After all the effort to find someone so similar, they shouldn’t be so quick to abandon it, right?”
Lu Zhao chuckled, his smile tinged with mockery. Shen Qingyao rarely saw him like this and couldn’t help but glance at him. Lu Zhao took advantage of the moment to embrace her, gently resting his chin on her head and softly saying, “Of course not. The King spared her. Princess Yonghe is safe and sound in the royal court now, but without any official status.”
“How could this be?” Shen Qingyao was even more puzzled. Welcoming Princess Yonghe into the royal court was King of Nanzhao’s decree, and without the King’s consent, she couldn’t believe Princess Yonghe could have done it. Nanzhao did meticulous efforts to defame and slander Princess Yonghe, only to spare her at the last moment? What exactly did they intend to do?
“Somebody wants to use the King to create discord between Great Liang and Nanzhao. The King of Nanzhao may have noticed and decided to play along, but he didn’t want things to escalate too much, hence leaving himself some room.” Lu Zhao’s voice was low, cutting through the superficial appearances to reveal the underlying threads of the situation.
“Who?” Shen Qingyao blurted out instinctively, then quickly realized, “Is it Xiao Jing?”
Lu Zhao looked at her somewhat surprised, then after a moment, gave her an approving glance. Softly, he said, “Yaoyao is very clever.”
Shen Qingyao blushed. She had only mentioned him because he was the only major antagonist she knew, so she was casually speculating, not expecting it to be true.
“Xiao Jing is favored by His Majesty, but ultimately he won’t be the one to succeed to the throne. Despite His Majesty’s favor, he lacks real power. Naturally, he’s planning for his own future.” Lu Zhao didn’t think these were matters the little girl shouldn’t hear. Since she wanted to know, he explained the intricacies of the court situation in detail: “If Nanzhao and Great Liang fall out, it will affect both rulers, and if he can use this opportunity to cooperate with the King of Nanzhao, he can use Nanzhao’s military strength to help him ascend while also gaining credit for reclaiming Nanzhao. It’s a win-win deal for him.”
Shen Qingyao stared with her mouth agape, unable to speak for a while. Upon careful consideration, she realized it made sense. Even the least favored in the Great Liang court, like Xiao Mu, still controlled a military force in the northern borders. As for Xiao Jing, besides favor, he seemed to have nothing else. “Then… Princess Yonghe…”
Knowing what she wanted to ask, Lu Zhao nodded gently and answered directly, “Yes, whether agreeing to enter the royal court or intruding into the bedchamber, it was all arranged by Princess Yonghe herself, or rather, it was planned long ago.”
In other words, Princess Yonghe didn’t care about her position at all. Knowing the risks, that she might even die in Nanzhao without any reason, she was willing to sacrifice herself to help Xiao Jing.
“…,” Shen Qingyao felt stifled, and increasingly disliked Xiao Jing. This person was truly selfish to the extreme. “How should we proceed now?”
If Xiao Jing’s plan succeeds, the King of Nanzhao and the Emperor of Great Liang will be estranged and might turn to him instead. Wouldn’t that accelerate his process of rebellion?
Shen Qingyao lowered her eyes, beginning to recall in detail. In the original plot, which side did Nanzhao ultimately stand on? No matter how she thought about it, there was no clear answer. Because in the original story, the protagonist and the antagonist’s struggle was in the north, with Xiao Mu leading the Northern Frontier Army a thousand miles away to defend against rebellion, while Xiao Jing controlled the capital and held the Forbidden Army. Nanzhao had never been involved in this conflict.
Just as Lu Zhao, who should have gone north, had now headed south, Nanzhao, which should have stayed out of the matter, was now being drawn into it. Shen Qingyao’s heart skipped a beat, involuntarily thinking, could the plot still develop as she knew it? Could Xiao Jing really wait three years before rebelling?
Noticing the little girl’s distracted thought, Lu Zhao patted her. The night is deep and the dew is heavy. After sitting there for a while, her exposed arm was already getting cold. Lu Zhao gently held her hand and rubbed her arm, then said, “Alright, stop overthinking. Even if the sky falls, your brother will support you.”
Only then did Shen Qingyao remember that Shen Yushu was the head of this delegation, while Lu Zhao seemed to be idly fishing. Feeling both annoyed and amused, she couldn’t help but pat him lightly. “Elder Brother Lu Zhao!”
Lu Zhao pulled her close and lay down, not minding her little temper at all. Seeing her annoyed, he smiled and coaxed, “Alright, alright, I’ll support you too. Anyway, Yaoyao just need to be happy, and leave the rest to us to worry about, okay?”
His voice was low and slightly weary, yet charming, which warmed Shen Qingyao’s heart and dissipated her restlessness. Feeling tired, she nodded and found a comfortable position, using Lu Zhao’s arm as a pillow, and fell into a deep sleep.
Two days later, on the day they were to enter the Nanzhao’s royal court, Shen Qingyao’s swollen ankle had subsided. As long as she avoided strenuous activity and excessive walking, standing for a while posed no major issue. As promised, Lu Zhao escorted her onto the carriage heading for the palace.
Getting off the carriage, Shen Qingyao finally saw Shen Yushu. However, she was taken aback by the sight of her Eldest Brother.
Shen Yushu was dressed in a purple official robe similar to Lu Zhao’s, looking tall and handsome. But his delicately handsome face was overshadowed by heavy dark circles under his eyes, visibly exhausted, as if he hadn’t rested properly for a long time.
Shen Qingyao covered her mouth, hesitating to acknowledge him, and cautiously called out, “Eldest Brother…”
She asked, “What… what’s wrong with you, Eldest Brother?”
Seeing him like this, anyone who didn’t know might think that Nanzhao had already clashed fiercely with Great Liang.
Shen Yushu glared at Lu Zhao beside her with resentment in his eyes, feeling disgruntled. It was all this man’s fault, who ate the emperor’s food without doing his job, but brought up many issues in every discussion, causing the envoys to panic with unanswered questions, leading to increasing anxiety and problems. He wished he could take the princess and return to Great Liang directly. He thought it would be better to be reprimanded by the emperor than to deal with the people of Nanzhao here!
They were busy day and night, but this man could come and go on time, occasionally leaving early, and his rest was better than anyone else’s. What annoyed Shen Yushu the most was that Lu Zhao often left early for his own sister, and he couldn’t say anything about it!
They said that the Top Scholar of Great Liang was clever but close to demons. He seemed to have used all his intelligence in how to muddle through.
Shen Qingyao didn’t understand what had happened. Her eyes kept shifting between the two men, and after a long while, she finally realized that something was amiss.
Seeing Lu Zhao calm as ever, she dared not ask Shen Yushu any more questions. Her Eldest Brother seemed to be in a bad state now; it would be better not to upset him.
After a few more concerned words with Shen Yushu, his complexion improved slightly. But before they could discuss anything further, a group of people slowly walked out from the palace, saying they were ready, and the King of Nanzhao invited them in.
The three of them exchanged glances. Shen Qingyao leaned over and grabbed Lu Zhao’s hand, which he comforted with a gentle squeeze. Then, Shen Yushu turned back and ordered, prompting the entourage of envoys to cautiously follow the others into the royal court.
The royal court of Nanzhao was quite different from the imperial palace in Great Liang. Though similarly magnificent with its splendor, it also bore distinctive exotic features. Shen Qingyao followed behind Lu Zhao, initially curious and looking around, but after a while, the novelty wore off and she found it less entertaining.
As they passed one of the palaces, a group of maidservants with bowed heads streamed out, neither group prepared, nearly colliding.
Lu Zhao protected Shen Qingyao as they stepped back. During the process, she felt someone press something into her hand. Shen Qingyao froze immediately and looked up. It was a stranger’s face, yet somehow familiar in the eyes.
It wasn’t until the person winked at her and smiled that she became even more certain. Shen Qingyao asked uncertainly, “Is that… my Second Sister?” but something didn’t quite seem right.
At such a close distance, Lu Zhao clearly saw it too. He furrowed his brows slightly, and after a moment, he hummed softly. His face darkened, but he didn’t say anything else, lost in thought.
Several female officials hurried over, sternly reprimanding the group of palace maids, then sheepishly approaching to apologize.
Shen Yushu was convinced that this was another deliberate act by Nanzhao, his face turning grim. He didn’t spare the female official any face and was quite blunt in his words.
However, Shen Qingyao had no time to pay attention to the turmoil over there, her focus entirely on what was in her palm.
Even Lu Zhao hadn’t noticed that just now, Shen Qinglin had slipped a note into her hand.
The note was folded very small. Nervously, Shen Qingyao squeezed it tightly. A small corner of the paper was poking uncomfortably into the flesh of her palm, but she endured it. Silently, she tucked that hand into her sleeve, planning to find an opportunity to read it later.
Meanwhile, Princess Yonghe was being attended to, having her hair done in front of a mirror. Someone hurried in from outside and stopped behind her, respectfully saying, “Your Majesty, it’s time. Please move.”
Princess Yonghe gave a sarcastic smile. She casually asked, “Your Majesty?”
Confined here for several days, whether she could still be called Queen was up for debate. Now they were calling her that?
The person behind her didn’t reply. Feeling uninterested herself, Princess Yonghe sneered and stood up. All around her were people from Nanzhao; her own people had been sent to the outer courtyard, treated as if they were guarding against thieves.
She didn’t care, carrying herself with the air of a princess of the imperial family as she leisurely walked out. Just as she stepped out of the palace gates, a faint sound of a bamboo whistle came from a corner. No one else noticed, and Princess Yonghe’s movements paused imperceptibly. Her gaze didn’t stray, but a slight smile curled her lips.
She seemed quite pleased.
What’s up now?
Thanks for the chapter!!!!