Xiao Shushen smiled and shook her head. Qing Ling's identity was enough to kill her, not to mention framing her master. But it was a pity that she was not brought down.
"Just die." She picked up a grape with her fingertips. She would have plenty of opportunities in the future. After all, she was the queen.
In the bamboo forest in the distance, the woman in red stood for a long time, fallen leaves fluttered down around her, and the sadness that permeated her body seemed to be turning into substance.
"Alas." He sighed softly, not knowing whether it was out of regret or remorse. But in the end, he turned around and left along with the dust on the ground.
In a quiet corner by the window on the second floor of Zuichen Tower, a woman was sitting alone. She was wearing a dark red double-breasted long dress and a pair of ink-colored hairpins on her hair, which gave off a faint luster.
"Waiter, bring another pot of wine!" The woman turned her head slightly and shouted in a cold voice to the waiter who was serving food to other tables.
"Girl, you've already drunk quite a bit of wine. Can your body handle it?" The waiter who came over after hearing the voice asked with some concern.
She has been sitting here for a long time. She didn't order any food, but just kept drinking wine, one glass after another, one pot after another. Judging from the current situation, she will keep drinking and she doesn't know when it will stop.
"No need for you to say anything! Just bring the wine." The woman raised her eyes slightly, and the coldness in her eyes made the waiter feel sweat on his back.
"Yes, yes, I'll go get some wine for the guest right away!" The waiter cleared the dishes and hurriedly left for the winery.
The woman picked up the white porcelain wine glass in front of her and drank the little bit of remaining wine down her throat. She had been sitting in the restaurant since dusk. She turned to look out the window. The light coming through the street made her face flicker, but it was still clear that she was Zhu Yan.
Ever since Fu Huaiyu's affair was exposed, she had been like a kite with a broken string, suddenly falling into great confusion and pain. It felt like half of her heart had been taken away, and an indescribable feeling of emptiness constantly invaded her mind.
On the day Fu Huaiyu was beheaded, she simply didn't know what to do. To her, he was both her master and the object of her heart.
All the news these days was about to drive her crazy. She really couldn't bear it anymore, so she had to go out and drink alone.
Zhu Yan suddenly raised her hand and pulled out the hairpin on her head. Her black hair slowly fell down with her movement and landed on her red dress. The wind from the river surface rushed in through the window, blowing up her long hair beside her ears, and some of it fell on the corners of her mouth, but Zhu Yan didn't care at all, just kept pouring the wine from the wine pot into the cup, then brought it to her mouth and drank it slowly.
She had never felt that the wine was so bitter. She looked down at her reflection in the wine glass. Her eyes were no longer as bright as before, but filled with despair and emptiness. She couldn't say how much she wanted to avenge the prince, but she knew very well how much she was capable of. Now that the situation was hopeless, what else could she do except blame herself
Suddenly, a drop of transparent liquid dripped into the wine glass. Zhu Yan was a little surprised and touched her cheek, only to find that she had started to cry without knowing it.
Such a thing that belongs to the weak, she never expected that it would flow from her eyes. Zhu Yan raised her sleeves and wiped away her tears with the corners of her sleeves. The prince couldn't die in vain like this, she was unwilling to accept this!
At this time, a man in black flashed by and before Zhu Yan could react, he quickly put a brocade bag in front of her.
"Who are you? Stop!" Zhu Yan immediately stood up and chased after him, but the man seemed to have become invisible and disappeared without a trace.
"Oh no, the magic bag is still in the restaurant!"
Zhu Yan immediately turned around and went back upstairs. The brocade bag was lying quietly on the table. Zhu Yan picked it up and looked at it carefully. When she read the description on it clearly, her fingers trembled and her heart began to beat violently. She calmed herself down, put the brocade bag in her arms, then paid the bill and left the restaurant.
A few days later, Shen Qingwan found some free time to go to the imperial study. Before that, she was so absorbed in Qing Ling's betrayal and her sadness that she had forgotten to thank him.
I asked the imperial kitchen to prepare some snacks and delivered them to him personally. It had been a long time since I had made pastries for him. Occasionally, I would go to the imperial study only for official business.
Since Fu Yuheng allowed him to enter the imperial study, the guards outside the palace did not try to stop him.
She held the lunch box in her hand very gently, and her voice became a little softer, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you."
Fu Yuheng, who was reviewing the memorials, only raised his eyelids slightly, and his eyes met hers in the air. He then raised his eyebrows and looked away, continuing with what he was doing, "Get up."
He was somewhat biased towards her; he always admired women who were smart and knew their limits.
Seeing that she was handling affairs, she didn't want to disturb him, so she slowly said, "If the emperor has anything to do, I will leave first." As she raised her foot to leave, a hoarse and low voice came from above.
"What is it?"
Shen Qingwan raised the corners of her mouth slightly, revealing a faint smile, with gratitude in her heart. If Fu Yuheng had not reminded her early in the morning to pay more attention to Qing Ling's identity, how could she have escaped the carefully planned conspiracy
Thinking of this in her heart, the smile on the corners of her mouth deepened. She walked forward and placed the lunch box on the table, looking down, "I just came to thank the emperor for his advice." As she spoke, she raised her eyes to glance at the handsome profile, and was startled to see his big hand. Then he put down the memorial in his hand and suddenly looked at her.
"If it weren't for the emperor's reminder, I might have been imprisoned long ago." She knew that even though she was smart, she couldn't see the overall situation like him.
He reminded her of this and then told her that Qing Ling's identity was to trust her. In this place with red walls and green tiles, it was too rare to get someone's trust, not to mention the emperor's trust, so she would cherish it even more.
Hearing this, Fu Yuheng's stern face gradually showed a smile. He smiled without saying anything, took a piece of exquisite dessert from the plate and tasted it, "It tastes good."
Shen Qingwan smiled with satisfaction, "If the emperor likes it, please use more."
He responded softly, and although the two of them didn't say much, Shen Qingwan already understood what he meant.
The next day, Fu Yuheng sat at the top of the Golden Palace in a yellow robe, listening to the advice of his ministers. After all matters were discussed, he spoke, "I have something to discuss with you." His words were kind, but the domineering and imposing manner in his tone was irresistible.
"I am considering re-employing General Shen." His words were like a stone thrown into a river, immediately causing ripples.
Because of his words, the ministers below looked at each other, with dissatisfaction on their faces.