51 Ye Cheng Fu

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Ye Cheng Fu

 Chapter 51: 

 

“Yes… you’re right,” I said slowly, “No matter what you’ve done, I still love you, still want to protect you, and can’t bear to harm you. So, Shen Ye, aren’t you moved by this?

“You’ve been punished by the Empress for defending me, you fought against the Empress to get me out of the dungeon, you proposed to me in the beggar tribe. You’ve been good to me—aren’t these things true?”

“You like me.”

I looked straight at him, and for a moment, there was a flicker of confusion in his eyes. But soon, he regained his previous smile and said slowly, “So, I will avenge you. If you die,” he said with a smile, “I will make sure that all the Shu family members accompany you, so you won’t be alone. I will also make sure that everyone who hurt you accompanies you. Whatever they did to you, I will do to them, and even more so. I will always remember you and cherish you. Shu Cheng,” he said with a bend of his brow, “Am I not very good to you?”

Very good…

His words almost made me spit blood from anger. Yet, I had to pretend to be deeply hurt and look at him with a bitter smile, as if I were deeply wounded.

Inside, however, I was filled with a strong impulse to tear him apart.

I knew he was ruthless, I knew he was blinded by his own desires, so I was prepared for him to say these things.

I thought, this is good.

He, who had discarded my true feelings like a piece of trash, would be better off dead.

I continued to feign deep affection as I looked at him. After a moment, he turned away and said, “Starting tomorrow, I’ll have A'Cong come to serve you.”

“And you?” I grabbed his sleeve and pleaded, “What will you do?”

“I have my own matters,” he said indifferently, turning to look out the window. “Shu Cheng, summer is coming, and it's the rainy season.”

© translations belonging to  flamingobeestranslations.blogspot.com. If you read this somewhere else instead of flamingobeestranslations.blogspot.com then the translations has been posted WITHOUT permission of translator.

With that, he shrugged off my hand and walked out quickly. After he left, I held the “missing you” in my hand and slowly closed my eyes.

The next afternoon, Shen Cong indeed came to the flower hall to wait on me.

His hostility towards me was almost impossible to conceal. Even though he stood there respectfully, I could still sense his eagerness to kill me. I watched him quietly, trying to find any trace of his former self on his face.

I had seen him before. Back then, the Shen family was as noble as the Shu family. He was the youngest legitimate son of the Shen family. Although the Shen family had lost its former glory by the time he was born, his birthday banquet was grand enough to invite all the influential figures of the court. I had represented the Shu family at the banquet, and his father had once placed him, just three years old, into my arms.

I didn’t know how to hold a child, and when I reached out to take him, my hands trembled a bit, fearing he might fall from my grasp. However, he was exceptionally well-behaved, with a beautiful face showing no expression—neither fearful nor joyful.

I tried to amuse him with a rattle, but he ignored me. His father, smiling beside us, said, “Our A'Cong has never liked to play with such things.”

Saying that, his father gave him a delicate lock to play with.

At that time, he was dressed beautifully, with delicate features. When his father held him, his eyes would suddenly light up, like a real child.

At that time, he was only three years old but was already able to recite scriptures and write beautiful essays, hailed as the Son of the Qilin.

Such a child, who seemed to live in a myth, was buried along with the Shen family. But no one would have expected that, at this moment, he was here, very much alive and vibrant.

I observed him for a moment, hesitating to try to get closer, and said, “Well, when you were little…”

He cut me off, “I remember the birthday banquet when I was three. You came, held me, and tried to amuse me with a rattle. You also wrote a poem, though it wasn’t as good as mine,” he replied immediately, even mentioning my embarrassing moments that I had tried to hide. My expression froze, and he turned away with disdain. “I don’t forget things from when I was a child, unlike you foolish people.”

It was clear that trying to get closer wasn’t going to work with Shen Cong.

After making me speechless and seeming somewhat pleased, he discarded his previously pretentious demeanor and sat down in a chair. The palace servants immediately brought him tea. He brushed off his sleeves and raised an eyebrow, saying, “My elder brother is very busy lately and won’t be coming to see you.”

“Oh.”

“He’s going to abandon you,” his eyes sparkled with amusement. My body stiffened for a moment, then I slowly relaxed into a smile. “If anyone is going to be abandoned, it would be me abandoning him. I can write him a letter of divorce; can he do that?”

As soon as I said this, Shen Cong’s expression changed drastically. It seemed I had touched on some weakness of his, and his face turned dark.

He took a sip of tea and said slowly, “Shu Cheng, what I hate most is that this world gives women like you so many privileges.”

I didn’t want to provoke him further, so I stayed silent. After a couple more sips of tea, he seemed to calm down and continued, “My elder brother left me here to pass on messages to you. Today, the Empress went to the mountains to worship Buddha, but her carriage was blocked. A group of old, weak, sick, and disabled people knelt and handed over a blood letter.”

“They are soldiers from Huizhou from the Yuan De period, using this blood letter to demand severe punishment for you. They say you have committed heinous crimes—how can you still enjoy comforts in the palace? Are you above the law just because you are the heir of the Shu family, free to act as you please?”

“A group of people, old and young, cried out about how they defended their homes and country, yet now they have no food and suffer such dire consequences. Many of their relatives have died. It looks… tsk…” He showed a look of regret. “Even someone like me is nearly moved. What about those scholars? Watch, within three days, you’ll become a rat scurrying in the streets of Chu Capital, despised by everyone.”

I stayed silent, sipping my tea.

The Huizhou soldiers traveled a great distance to Chu Capital. I don’t believe they did it without assistance.

Back then, the casualties in Huizhou were minimal, far less severe than in Jingzhou. Where did these people get the face to present a blood letter? If there were to be a blood letter, it should have come from the poor soldiers of Jingzhou.

This is clearly the Empress’s scheme.

“Take a guess at what will happen tomorrow?”

© translations belonging to  flamingobeestranslations.blogspot.com. If you read this somewhere else instead of flamingobeestranslations.blogspot.com then the translations has been posted WITHOUT permission of translator.

“Tomorrow?” I chuckled, “There will likely be a group of people kneeling outside the Imperial Study, demanding severe punishment for me. It’s inappropriate for someone like me to remain in the palace. But the Empress will definitely refuse, and she’ll refuse with great difficulty, showing a pained expression to indicate that she’s only granting me these privileges under duress from my family. This will only fuel the public’s outrage further.”

“I guess so,” Shen Cong smiled, “You’re not entirely foolish.”

Heh…

I remained silent. He lowered his gaze, thought for a moment, then said, “Shu Cheng, I find it quite strange,” he looked up at me with a scrutinizing gaze, “What do you really think of my elder brother? I don’t quite understand your kind of affection. I’ve never liked anyone. From childhood to now, I’ve only cared about two people: my father and my elder brother. I don’t know what it feels like to like someone. I only know that if you care about someone, you would never betray or harm them. But you’re different… you keep harming my elder brother, yet you’re always so good to him.” His eyes were very beautiful, shimmering like obsidian, deep and chilling.

I traced the rim of my tea cup, taking a long time to finally speak, “Actually, you’re right. To like and to care about someone means wanting to be good to them, not to harm or betray them. But Shen Cong,” I spoke these words with a bitter taste, “not everyone is like you, with only one person around them. I have family and friends, each of whom I care about deeply. You ask me if I like Shen Ye… or whether I love him…” I smelled a unique orchid fragrance in the air and knew someone was standing outside the door. My hand trembled, and my voice quivered, “In my life, I’ve never loved anyone as much as I love him.”

After I said this, Shen Cong fell silent. I felt a bit of moisture and heat on my face, and I quickly wiped it, saying, “I’ve lost my composure.”

Shen Cong said nothing. He quietly looked at me, and then, to my surprise, he flicked his sleeve and rushed out. After he left, I finally relaxed and stared blankly ahead.

I knew someone was outside the door, but I didn’t have the courage to take a few steps forward.

I always hoped he would come in, just like in the past. However, this time, he really just stood there and didn’t come in.

I realized that, as he said, I was to him like that cat.

He had gone through countless difficulties to climb up from the lowest ranks. He wouldn’t ruin his success for mere affection.

The leader wanted that cat, so he helped the leader kill the cat; now, the Empress wants me, and he would help her kill me.

That night, as I went to sleep, I felt uneasy, and in my hazy state, it seemed like someone was sitting beside me, quietly watching me.

I desperately tried to move, to open my eyes, but they remained closed.

When I woke up the next morning, it was already well into the day, and I struggled out of bed, only to see Shen Ye standing in the sunlight.

He had his back to me, the sunlight spilling over him. I was a bit surprised, not understanding why he would be here at this moment. Hearing my voice, he calmly turned around and said, “Shu Cheng, something has happened.”

My head buzzed, knowing that at this moment, anything could become a major issue.

“Today, the Shangguan family and several hundred ministers knelt in front of the Imperial Study, petitioning the Empress to severely punish this case. The Ministry of Justice has submitted your confession and evidence from that time.”

This was not unexpected. I frowned, listening quietly as he continued, “The Empress remained hidden in the Imperial Study and refused to appear. As a result, a sixth-rank censor committed suicide by crashing into the door of the Imperial Study.”

At this, I abruptly looked up. The deaths of soldiers in battle and censors through appeals have always been among the most tragic acts.

A censor dying in front of the Imperial Study for my sake meant that public opinion was likely irreversibly turned against us.

Shen Ye smiled, observing my expression, and continued, “The Empress, frightened, emerged from the Imperial Study and, crying, knelt before the ministers, saying she was ashamed to be a ruler. She declared that, even if she had to risk her life, she would uphold justice.”

A ruler crying and kneeling…

I closed my eyes, realizing that the Empress was setting the Shu family on fire. Even though we had done nothing, she wanted the world to believe that her favoritism was forced by the Shu family.

To have an Empress so embarrassed, only upholding justice for the soldiers after a minister’s suicide…

© translations belonging to  flamingobeestranslations.blogspot.com. If you read this somewhere else instead of flamingobeestranslations.blogspot.com then the translations has been posted WITHOUT permission of translator.

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