Chapter 400
**Chapter 398: Only for You**
Hu Wei replied, "The cavalry of Nan Chu has returned to their borders, and there are tens of thousands of border guards stationed there. We can’t continue the pursuit."
Shen Xiuming felt a surge of frustration within him. He stood with his hands clasped behind his back, pondering for a moment before instructing Hu Wei, "Have the spies from Nan Chu continue their tracking. Bring the Wang of Dong Lin and his companions here; I need to question them in person."
Hu Wei was highly efficient. By dusk, the Wang of Dong Lin was brought to the inn. Upon meeting Shen Xiuming, the Wang recounted the events in detail.
At the end, with reddened eyes, he implored, "Lord Shen, you must help me! That Xi'er is my unwed concubine, and the Emperor of Nan Chu is shamelessly snatching away what I hold dear!"
Shen Xiuming's expression was complex. "Your unwed concubine?"
The Wang nodded vigorously.
After a moment of silence, Shen Xiuming cautioned, "When you enter the capital to meet the new Emperor of Qing and the Grand Emperor, you must not mention the matter of the 'unwed concubine.'"
The Wang was puzzled but sensed that Shen Xiuming had his best interests at heart, so he nodded in agreement.
Shen Xiuming then summoned Yuan Fu to inquire about Yuan Xi'er. Yuan Fu stepped into the room, his dark eyes glaring at Shen Xiuming, his teeth grinding audibly.
It was as if he were staring at a sworn enemy.
The man before him, with his scholarly demeanor and refined aura, was none other than Shen Xiuming, the one whom the people of Dong Lin despised the most!
When Shen Xiuming asked him a question, Yuan Fu turned his head defiantly, refusing to answer.
The Wang awkwardly touched his nose and poked Yuan Fu's head. "Lord Shen is asking you a question; you should answer. Think of it as doing it for your sister."
At the mention of his sister, Yuan Fu finally relented. He stiffened his dark little face and recounted how his sister had once thrown herself into the sea and miraculously survived. Shen Xiuming analyzed the timing of Yuan Xi'er's revival, which coincided closely with Lu Yun's awakening.
The fisher girl, Yuan Xi'er, must be his sister, Shen Wei.
Shen Xiuming secretly sighed in relief and offered Yuan Fu a gentle smile. "You should go rest and eat something. Leave the rest to me."
Yuan Fu huffed, "I won't eat anything you give me! You’re a villain!"
Shen Xiuming was taken aback. After years of navigating the political arena, he had always worked diligently for the people, earning their praise as an honest official. Yet today, in Wenzhou, he was being called a villain by a twelve-year-old child.
With a good-natured smile, Shen Xiuming asked, "What evil have I done?"
Yuan Fu puffed up his cheeks. "You built a dam upstream, causing Dong Lin to have poor harvests these past few years! Many people have starved because of you!"
Shen Xiuming raised an eyebrow. "I was ordered to supervise the dam's construction, and I haven’t cut off Dong Lin's water supply in all these years."
Once the dam was completed, it controlled the lifeblood of Dong Lin. It also helped with flood control and irrigation, serving many beneficial purposes.
Last year, when heavy rains flooded the upper reaches of the Mingyuan River, if it hadn’t been for the reservoir upstream regulating the water levels, who knows how much land in Dong Lin would have been submerged, or how many lives lost.
Shen Xiuming asked Yuan Fu, "Who told you that I am a villain?"
Yuan Fu replied, "I heard it from the officials!"
The Wang, standing nearby, wished he could find a hole to hide in.
Shen Xiuming chuckled and patted Yuan Fu's head. "You believe everything the officials say?"
Yuan Fu hugged his head and shot Shen Xiuming a glare before running out.
In the inn room, only Shen Xiuming and the Wang of Dong Lin remained. The Wang nervously sipped his tea, cautiously glancing at Shen Xiuming, and awkwardly explained, "Lord Shen, this is just how the Dong Lin royal family operates; please don’t take it to heart!"
The people of Dong Lin were isolated, spending their lives in fishing villages by the sea, unaware of the power struggles between nations. For the Dong Lin royal family, it was better for the people to hate Qing than to hate Dong Lin.
Whenever the royal family wanted to exploit the people but couldn’t find an excuse, they would use Qing as a scapegoat. Poor harvests were blamed on the dam built by Qing; tax increases were justified by the need for vast tributes to Qing.
All the troubles were attributed to Qing.
This was called shifting the blame.
This was politics.
Shen Xiuming shook his head. "The urgent matter is to find Yuan Xi'er. As for everything else, I’m not particularly concerned."
The Wang was filled with doubts. He hadn’t expected that a mere fisher girl, Yuan Xi'er, would be caught in the crossfire between Qing and Nan Chu. Unable to contain his curiosity, he asked, "I’m curious, Lord Shen, what is your relationship with Yuan Xi'er? Could she be your long-lost daughter?"
Shen Xiuming smiled without answering, politely inviting the Wang to have some tea.
...
After being captured, Shen Wei settled comfortably in the carriage.
Li Yuanli had initially worried she might escape, but seeing Shen Wei lounging around all day, eating and sleeping well, he was taken aback by her large appetite.
Curious, he asked, "Not planning to run away?"
Shen Wei had just taken a bitter medicine brewed by the imperial physician, her face flushed from the taste.
Sucking on a piece of candy, she lazily leaned against the carriage wall. "With food, drink, and medicine, I’m not in a hurry to escape."
She had always been good at analyzing the pros and cons of a situation.
In her current frail state, just walking a few steps made her sweat, and running left her weak and powerless—truly unable to lift a finger. Moreover, they had already entered Nan Chu territory, with the Nan Chu cavalry watching closely; not even a fly could get through.
Shen Wei gave up on escaping for now.
First, she needed to regain her strength. Once her body was well, her spirit restored, and her energy replenished, she would have the strength to devise a plan.
Besides, with Li Yuanli making such a fuss at Mingyuan River, the Qing side would surely have received the news, and Li Yuanjing and Li Chengtai would be considering strategies to rescue her.
Shen Wei just needed to wait patiently; an opportunity to escape would surely arise.
Leaning against the carriage window, she made a request to Li Yuanli. "I heard that Nan Chu has a delicacy called lychee and white kidney, which is delicious. I want to eat that tonight."
No matter what, one must never neglect oneself.
Li Yuanli studied Shen Wei's dark, rough face. Behind that unfamiliar exterior, he could still glimpse her intriguing and charming soul.
The world was ever-changing, but Shen Wei remained eternally vibrant. Li Yuanli felt like a moth drawn to the flame of her spirit. No matter the cost, he found it worthwhile.
He smiled, gripping the reins, guiding the horses to walk parallel to Shen Wei's carriage. "You don’t seem to have the self-awareness of a captive."
Shen Wei retorted confidently, "You went to great lengths to capture me, didn’t you want to use me to threaten Qing? If I starve to death, your plans will fall apart, and it will be a loss for you."
Shen Wei believed that Li Yuanli’s elaborate scheme was to use her as a bargaining chip to gain substantial benefits from the Emperor of Qing.
After all, her position was unique, entangled with vast interests; she was a gold mine for Qing, capable of yielding countless benefits.
But Li Yuanli gazed at her for a long time, his eyes deep. "I seek you, not for profit."
Shen Wei frowned.
Li Yuanli slowly continued, "I seek you only for you."
Shen Wei abruptly pulled down the ornate curtain, blocking Li Yuanli's overly intense gaze.
This man must be out of his mind.
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