Chapter 350
**Chapter 348: Obsession**
This was an invitation, urging Shen Wei to sneak out of the palace tonight.
Shen Wei glanced at it and immediately tossed the letter and the dart into the gilded bronze furnace, watching them turn to ash.
First, she wasn’t sure if this was truly a letter from Li Yuanli; it could very well be a trap set by Li Yuanjing to test her.
Second, even if it was indeed penned by Li Yuanli himself, Shen Wei could never abandon the life she had painstakingly built over the years to elope with a stranger.
She simply couldn’t fathom how she had caught Li Yuanli’s attention.
This man appeared out of nowhere, bringing her endless trouble.
After burning the letter, Shen Wei summoned Cai Lian, who was on guard, and instructed her to increase the night watch at Yongning Palace. A dart had struck the favored concubine’s bed curtains in the dead of night; security definitely needed to be tightened.
Once everything was arranged, Shen Wei crawled back into bed and quickly fell asleep.
...
The night was cool, and at the eastern gate of Yanjing City, a carriage was parked by the roadside.
The town crier struck the bronze gong, announcing the arrival of the late-night hour.
The coachman lowered his voice and said to Li Yuanli inside the carriage, “My lord, dawn is approaching. The situation in Nanchu is chaotic; you should return soon to restore order.”
Who would have thought that the Emperor of Nanchu, Li Yuanli, was still hiding within Yanjing City?
Inside the carriage, Li Yuanli slowly opened his eyes.
After a long pause, he sighed, “Forget it; it was just wishful thinking.”
He knew deep down that no amount of wealth could sway Shen Wei’s heart, yet he chose to linger in Yanjing for a few more days.
Not for any other reason, but to be closer to Shen Wei.
Under the same sky, separated only by towering palace walls, Li Yuanli felt an unprecedented sense of peace and relaxation. The scars and pains he had endured in Nanchu seemed to miraculously fade away in Shen Wei’s presence.
Li Yuanli thought to himself that he liked Shen Wei.
His feelings for her were more like an obsession.
After his mother’s death and his failed bid for power, he had wandered to Nanchu, driven by the blood of the Nanchu royal family. He had plunged headlong into the struggles of the Nanchu court.
Time and again, he had danced on the edge of life and death.
Time and again, he had hung by a thread, barely clinging to life.
Whenever he felt utterly exhausted, he would think of Shen Wei. A simple farmer’s daughter, a humble maid in the royal mansion, fragile as an ant, yet capable of rising to greatness through sheer will and cunning.
Shen Wei became his motivation, his healing balm, the light in his bloody years; he surged forth from the sea of blood, guided by her faint glow.
“Second Brother, you really are lucky,” Li Yuanli closed his eyes, jealousy gnawing at him.
He and Li Yuanjing were cut from the same cloth.
Li Yuanli believed that if Shen Wei didn’t exist, Li Yuanjing would eventually become just as bloodthirsty and indifferent as he was, standing high above, coldly surveying the absurdities of the world.
Yet, Li Yuanjing always seemed to be so fortunate!
“Has there been any news from Qiuliang Palace?” Li Yuanli suppressed his discontent and asked the coachman outside the curtain.
The coachman replied, “Our people have secretly searched Qiuliang Palace, where the ancestors of Nanchu resided, many times, even prying up the floor tiles, but found no ancestral letters. However, there is often a female physician named Mo Xun staying there.”
Li Yuanli asked, “The renowned healer Mo Xun? Why would she be staying at Qiuliang Palace?”
The coachman replied, “I’m not sure. I will investigate the relationship between Mo Xun and Qiuliang Palace immediately.”
Qiuliang Palace, once the residence of the Empress of Nanchu, was known for her countless ingenious ideas, leaving behind a rich legacy. It was said that within Qiuliang Palace, the Empress had left behind a treasure capable of turning the tide.
Over the years, Li Yuanli had been investigating Qiuliang Palace but had found nothing.
The night wind howled as he resolved to return to Nanchu.
The carriage sped through the darkness toward the distant south.
Life is long, and the future is uncertain. Li Yuanli would not give up on Shen Wei; one day, he would have everything he desired.
By any means necessary, he would obtain it.
...
In the coastal mountains of Qingguo, a long dam was taking shape in the deep mountains. Shen Xiuming, dressed as an ordinary passerby rather than in official robes, walked along the riverbank, personally inspecting the progress of the water conservancy project.
After dark, Shen Xiuming returned to the small town’s official residence at the foot of the mountain with subordinate officials. The residence was a simple courtyard, shabby and modest. Having grown up in hardship, Shen Xiuming showed no sign of disdain; he even helped repair the crumbling walls, earning admiration from his fellow officials.
As spring approached, the nights turned chilly, and the courtyard was filled with the sounds of insects. Shen Xiuming had not yet fallen asleep; he was handling county affairs under the oil lamp. After years of experience outside, he had shed the rough edges of his former gambling days, becoming increasingly mature and composed.
In recent years, he had managed the affairs entrusted to him by the Emperor quite well. Shen Xiuming thought to himself that if he continued to gain experience for another five or six years, he would surely be promoted and return to the capital to reunite with his family and meet Mo Xun again.
Now, with the Xie family, the Dantai family, and the Lu family all falling from grace, the court was gradually becoming clearer of treachery, showing signs of a burgeoning prosperity.
In the harem, his sister had been elevated to the rank of favored concubine, enjoying enduring favor, while the other concubines dared not offend her.
Shen Xiuming smiled, feeling that the good days for the Shen family were finally on the horizon.
“My lord, the Emperor’s response to the memorial has arrived,” the servant A Fu said, respectfully placing the document on the table.
In a good mood, Shen Xiuming picked up the memorial to read.
As he perused the Emperor’s reply, the smile on Shen Xiuming’s face froze, turning to stone.
A Fu brought over tea and, seeing Shen Xiuming’s expression as if struck by lightning, couldn’t help but ask, “My lord, what happened?”
Shen Xiuming took the tea from A Fu and gulped down half a bowl in one go.
The Emperor had actually reprimanded the Shen family for poor upbringing!
It felt like a bucket of cold water had been poured over him, leaving Shen Xiuming shivering. He had thought that with the three great families falling one after another, his sister in the harem would live a carefree life.
But now, the Emperor’s response had completely doused the flicker of joy in Shen Xiuming’s heart.
“My sister is well-behaved and kind-hearted; how could she lose her decorum in the harem? The Emperor must be deliberately picking at faults,” Shen Xiuming thought of his sister trapped in the harem, feeling a pang of heartache.
He had to work even harder to rise through the ranks and return to the capital as soon as possible!
...
Time passed, and a month slipped by in the blink of an eye.
There’s no wall that doesn’t let the wind through; rumors from the harem began to circulate again. Ever since the Lu family was exterminated, the Emperor had suddenly grown distant from Concubine Chen.
In the past month, the Emperor hadn’t set foot in Yongning Palace even once.
Like the other favored concubines before her, Concubine Chen had failed to hold the Emperor’s heart for long.
The palace maids sighed deeply.
It seemed that no woman in the harem could maintain the Emperor’s exclusive favor for long.
The court officials, with their keen instincts, had begun to propose that the Emperor initiate a new selection of beauties. Li Yuanjing suppressed the memorial, not approving it, leaving the officials puzzled about the Emperor’s intentions.
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