Chapter 196
**Chapter 194: Leaving Yanjing**
After finalizing the "Bai Yueguang" plan, Shen Wei quickly "fell ill."
The news soon reached the ears of the Prince of Yan. Throughout history, the transition between new and old rulers has always been fraught with countless matters to attend to. At that moment, the Prince was still in the palace of the Qing Kingdom, discussing the ascension with his trusted ministers.
"Ill?" The Prince's heart tightened.
With a mountain of affairs piled up on his desk, he hesitated for a moment but ultimately decided to return to the royal residence to check on her. Just as he stood up, a palace servant came in to announce that the Empress had arrived.
The Prince temporarily dismissed his confidants.
The winter days were growing colder, and the Empress wore simple clothing. As she entered the hall, she raised her hand, and the attending maidens and eunuchs bowed their heads and exited.
"Mother," the Prince stepped forward to support the Empress's arm, helping her to sit down. "It's cold in winter, and your health has not been good. You should rest in the palace."
The Empress replied, "Yanjing is cold in winter, and the spring winds are fierce. I plan to go to the Donghua Mountain villa for two or three years to recuperate."
The Prince was taken aback.
The Empress smiled gently and took a sip of hot tea to soothe her throat. "Mother knows that after your ascension, you will implement new policies, which will surely meet with opposition from many old ministers. If I temporarily leave the palace, those old ministers will have nowhere to complain and will have to swallow their grievances."
The Empress's departure from the palace was not only for her own peace but also for the Prince's consideration.
With the transition of power, the new ministers under the Prince would inevitably squeeze the living space of the old ministers. The Empress came from the prominent Xie family, a representative of the old ministerial faction, and they would surely seek her help.
What could be more important than her own son? The Empress chose to leave the palace and not interfere in state affairs.
"Mother, you have suffered," the Prince expressed his gratitude for her understanding.
The Empress set down her teacup. "I will be lonely going to Donghua Mountain alone, so I plan to take Shen and the three little grandsons with me."
The Prince never expected the Empress to say such a thing and instinctively refused, "Mother, that’s not possible!"
In the Prince's plans, he intended to bring his wives and concubines into the palace after his ascension. He wanted to make Shen Wei a consort, keeping her by his side at all times, just as it had been in the royal residence.
He could not bear to be apart from Shen Wei.
The Empress sighed and advised, "Today, the imperial physician reported that Shen has been experiencing palpitations, night sweats, and abdominal pain, making it hard for her to sleep. A woman risks her life to bear children; she has given you three children at the cost of her own health. After giving birth to twins, she nearly lost her life to an assassin's arrow. She has endured so much and her body has suffered. Donghua Mountain has a spring-like climate, perfect for recuperation."
The Prince fell silent.
He did not want to be separated from Shen Wei. "Mother, rest assured, I will take good care of Shen."
The Empress shook her head. "You are busy with state affairs; how can you take good care of her? Eighty years ago, Emperor Ming favored Consort Zhen above all. Consort Zhen had seven pregnancies in ten years and passed away before she turned thirty. Do you want Shen to follow the same tragic path?"
The Prince hesitated. He thought of Shen Wei's back pain. Once vibrant and healthy, she had developed this ailment after giving birth to the twins, tossing and turning at night, unable to sleep.
The damage left by the twins was hard to erase.
The Empress spoke earnestly, "After your ascension, to ensure stability in the court, you will have to take new consorts into the palace. If you favor Shen too much, won't that make her a thorn in the side of others? How can the new and old ministers sit idly by? What will the common people think?"
"If you wish to favor Shen, you must wait until the court is stable. If you can cover the sky with one hand, who would dare to oppose you?"
The Prince lowered his cold gaze; the Empress's words made sense.
He had not yet firmly established himself as emperor, yet he wanted to favor Shen Wei, which would only push her into the fire. But the thought of being separated from her felt like a small knife cutting into his heart.
He was reluctant to let go, yet he ultimately nodded in silence, agreeing to the Empress's proposal.
...
...
That night, Yanjing was blanketed in snow. When dawn broke, the entire royal residence was shrouded in a sea of white. Several carriages stopped at the back gate of the residence, and the maidservants began loading the prepared luggage onto the carts.
Shen Wei, afraid of the cold, wrapped herself in a thick fox fur cloak. The cloak, a gift from the Prince, was made of pure white fox fur with a border of dyed red silk, keeping her warm.
"Can’t you not go?" Li Yao clutched Shen Wei's cloak, her small face streaked with tears. "Yao'er will ask Father not to let you leave."
Li Yao was the most reluctant to see Shen Wei go.
Shen Wei gently stroked Li Yao's small face and smiled softly, "Don't cry. I will come back once I recover. When you enter the palace and become a princess, no one will bully you."
Li Yao lowered her head, her nose tinged with sadness. "Yao'er doesn't want to be a princess... Yao'er wants to go with Auntie."
The palace walls were so high, far from the bustling market of Yanjing, where she could not hear the vendors calling out or see the spring scenery outside the city. Li Yao disliked that place; it was big and cold.
"I need to go out to recuperate because my health is poor," Shen Wei reassured her. "I will write to you every month."
Li Yao sniffled and nodded reluctantly. Shen Wei's health had been declining; she was afraid of the cold in winter and had lost a lot of weight, needing to take many medicines daily. Li Yao had seen it all.
Shen Wei half-squatted down and hugged Li Yao, gently patting her back. "Remember to take care of yourself. Wear more clothes when it's cold, and don't use too much ice when it's hot. If anyone bullies you, don't endure it; tell your father and Aunt Zhao Yang directly."
After repeating her instructions several times, Shen Wei finally left with her maidservants.
Li Yao stood in the snow, watching Shen Wei's departing figure. The cold air and falling snow made her unable to hold back her tears, and she cried out loud.
...
The royal carriage made its way to the royal road at the East City Gate, where it joined the Empress's procession. The morning was cold, and the wind and snow were heavy, leaving the East City Gate desolate and empty.
As the carriages gathered, preparing to leave, the sudden sound of iron hooves echoed nearby. The Prince of Yan, clad in a dark cloak, galloped over.
Dismounting, his dark robe billowed in the wind.
Shen Wei lifted the carriage curtain, disregarding her maid's attempts to stop her, and rushed out. "Your Highness!"
The snow was deep, but Shen Wei ran towards the Prince with a bright smile. He stood there, momentarily stunned, as if the world had faded away, leaving only the vast expanse of white, with Shen Wei as a unique splash of red against the snowy backdrop.
The Prince opened his arms, and the red and black colors collided.
Shen Wei leaped into his embrace, beaming, "Your Highness."
Snow began to fall again, white flakes drifting down.
Holding Shen Wei, the Prince's voice was hoarse. "Wei Wei, come back soon."
Shen Wei's eyes glistened with tears, her voice choked. "In the days I'm away, Your Highness must take care of yourself. Wear more clothes when it's cold, and don't use too much ice when it's hot."
"I know," the Prince replied.
Tears streamed down Shen Wei's face as she said, "When you ascend the throne, everyone will care about how high you stand... but I only care about whether you are tired. The higher you stand, the colder it gets. You will face more storms from that lofty position... my heart aches for you."
Ripples of emotion stirred in the Prince's heart.
While others cared about how high he could fly, only his Wei Wei cared about whether he was weary.
The Prince gazed deeply into Shen Wei's eyes, his own filled with unmasked affection.
"Father! Father!"
Suddenly, a sweet, childish voice called out from nearby.
It was Xiao Leyou, sitting in the Empress's carriage, who had caught a whiff of the Prince's scent. Excited, she lifted the carriage curtain with her chubby little hands, peeking out with her big, round eyes, and spotted the Prince in the snowy weather.
"Father! Father!" she called sweetly.
The little girl, just over a year old, had a voice that was both soft and sweet.
The Prince's heart ached with reluctance.
But to protect Shen Wei and the young children, he could only let go for now. Once the court stabilized, he would bring Shen Wei back.
"Wei Wei, wait for me to bring you back to the palace," the Prince embraced Shen Wei once more before sending her off to the carriage.
Amidst the swirling snow, the procession gradually disappeared into the white expanse of the royal road.
Inside the carriage, Shen Wei took the gilded copper heater from Cai Lian to warm her hands and quickly sipped some ginger soup to fend off the cold.
It was not easy to stage a heartfelt farewell in such heavy snow. It was freezing outside, and her face felt painfully cold.
Cai Lian whispered, "Mistress, we have already found out. After the Prince ascends, both new and old ministers will send people to the palace. The most notable among them are the Xie family and the Lu family."
"The Xie family is the Empress's maternal family. They have an eighteen-year-old legitimate daughter, Xie Fanglan, who is the Prince's cousin and will surely enter the palace. The granddaughter of Duke Lu, Lu Xuan, is well-known; they say she could recognize characters at three, read poetry at four, and was well-versed in ancient texts by five. She is quite a celebrated talent. These two are the most likely to gain favor."
Shen Wei set down her ginger soup, deep in thought. "The daughters of the Xie family and the Lu family..."
Perhaps they would be formidable opponents, but for now, Shen Wei would not have to confront them.
Thinking of the Xie family reminded her of the Empress, and she asked, "The Empress comes from the Xie family. Why doesn’t she support them?"
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