Shen Wei's tears flowed uncontrollably, her eyes filled with heartbreak and resolve.
She was like a rose with thorns.
Li Yuanjing had never seen Shen Wei in such a state of collapse before. He tried to explain, "I am not doubting you—"
Shen Wei took two steps back, wiping the tears that had rolled down her cheeks, then turned her back to him. "Since returning from the Plowing Ceremony, Your Majesty has grown distant and suspicious of me. I am not a fool—I can sense your distrust and wariness. I have nothing more to say. If Your Majesty wishes, you may as well order my execution now!"
Li Yuanjing gripped Shen Wei's shoulders, forcing her to face him again. "Weiwei, stop overthinking. I would never order your death."
Shen Wei met his gaze, her words sharp and deliberate. "Do you even believe your own words? As Prince Heng once said, Your Majesty truly is a cold and indifferent man."
The mention of "Prince Heng" struck a nerve. Li Yuanjing instantly flared up. "You still claim to have no ties to Li Yuanli? Yet you remember his words so clearly!"
This time, Shen Wei didn’t hold back. She raised her voice, arguing fiercely with Li Yuanjing.
The two engaged in a heated quarrel.
Li Yuanjing’s face flushed red with anger as he stormed out of the bedchamber, leaving Yongning Palace in long, furious strides.
Eunuch Deshun trailed behind him, not daring to make a sound. As they passed the vegetable garden in Yongning Palace, Li Yuanjing caught sight of the wilted seedlings, and his temper flared even hotter.
He hadn’t visited Yongning Palace in days, and Shen Wei couldn’t even be bothered to tend to his vegetables!
The imperial procession departed in grandeur, leaving Yongning Palace in silence once more.
The palace maids, who had been kneeling in fear, slowly rose to their feet. Cai Ping and Cai Lian were the most worried, rushing into the bedchamber to attend to Shen Wei.
Having served Shen Wei for years, they were accustomed to seeing her and the Emperor in harmony—this was the first time they had witnessed such a fierce argument!
The quarrel had been so intense it seemed to shake the roof tiles, echoing throughout Yongning Palace.
"My lady, how could you dare argue with His Majesty?" Cai Ping fretted, pacing anxiously. Cai Lian, meanwhile, handed Shen Wei a cup of tea to soothe her throat.
Shen Wei gulped down half the tea, then rubbed her empty stomach. "Bottling it up would have been worse. Better to let it all out."
She returned to the dining table and polished off the plate of stir-fried bamboo shoots.
The couple’s fight had ended with Li Yuanjing storming off in anger.
But Shen Wei wasn’t upset. The performance was over, and she wasn’t about to let it ruin her appetite.
...
...
In the days that followed, whispers spread through the imperial court and the inner palace. The main branch of the Lu family had been imprisoned, the Ministry of Justice working day and night to interrogate them, while the situation in Yunzhou grew increasingly unstable.
That day, Li Yuanjing approved the memorial sentencing the Duke of Lu to execution in autumn and ordered the confiscation of his estate in Yunzhou.
After finishing his official duties, the sky gradually darkened. Li Yuanjing sat drinking tea in a side hall of Chang’an Palace, his gaze drifting to the empty palace path outside the window. He sipped his tea, then stared at the path again.
No one came or went.
With a sharp clink, Li Yuanjing set down his cup. "Deshun!"
Eunuch Deshun hurried in, bowing deeply. "Your Majesty, what are your orders?"
Li Yuanjing remained silent for a moment before asking, "Has Noble Consort Shen still not come to apologize?"
Deshun offered an awkward smile, replying softly, "Your Majesty, Noble Consort Shen visited Empress Dowager in Cining Palace today and later inspected porcelain samples delivered by the imperial merchants. She... may not have time to come to Chang’an Palace."
Crack—
A fine white jade teacup shattered on the floor, the soothing aroma of Biluochun tea filling the air.
Deshun immediately dropped to his knees.
Li Yuanjing clasped his hands behind his back, pacing back and forth in the side hall. Through gritted teeth, he muttered, "In all my life, Shen Wei is the first person who has ever dared to shout at me! She actually yelled at me! I showed mercy by not ordering her execution, and yet she still refuses to apologize!"
Deshun didn’t dare respond.
Since their explosive argument that night, Li Yuanjing had been seething with anger. He had only harbored a slight suspicion of Shen Wei, yet she had exploded as if she’d swallowed gunpowder.
After years of companionship, Shen Wei had always been gentle, bright, and composed. This was the first time Li Yuanjing had seen this fearless, sharp-tongued side of her.
He was both furious and helpless.
On sleepless nights, Li Yuanjing found himself recalling Shen Wei’s biting words... and, strangely, he found her fiery demeanor rather vivid and endearing.
Still pacing, his handsome face cold, Li Yuanjing muttered as if to himself—or perhaps to Deshun, "She remembers Li Yuanli’s words so clearly! If I hadn’t arrived in time that day, would she have boarded a ship with him to Southern Chu?"
Deshun buried his head deeper, wishing he could turn deaf on the spot.
When the Emperor and his Noble Consort quarreled, it was the servants who suffered.
Li Yuanjing was furious.
He was the Son of Heaven, the Emperor of Da Qing! Three days had passed since Shen Wei’s outburst, and she still hadn’t come to apologize!
Grinding his teeth, Li Yuanjing thought, If she won’t come to me, then I, the Emperor, certainly won’t lower myself to seek reconciliation at Yongning Palace.
So they would remain at an impasse.
He could afford to wait!
Composing himself, Li Yuanjing ordered Deshun, "Go to the imperial garden and check if the carp in the pond have grown plump."
Deshun scrambled to his feet, bewildered. "The carp in the garden... Your Majesty, just to look at them? Should this servant catch a couple to make fish soup?"
Li Yuanjing replied cryptically, "On your way to the garden, stop by Yongning Palace and see if the vegetables I planted are still alive."
Deshun understood immediately.
The excuse about the carp was just a pretense! The Emperor still cared about Noble Consort Shen in Yongning Palace—he just couldn’t bring himself to swallow his pride and reconcile.
"This servant will go inspect the carp at once," Deshun said respectfully before leaving.
An hour later, he returned to report.
Bowing low, Deshun said, "Your Majesty, the carp in the lotus pond are indeed growing plump. As for the vegetable garden in Yongning Palace... all the plants you planted have wilted."
Li Yuanjing’s face darkened with fury.
That afternoon, while reviewing memorials, Li Yuanjing came across one submitted by Shen Xiuming, Shen Wei’s younger brother, who had been assigned to oversee the construction of a dam.
In the memorial, Shen Xiuming meticulously reported the progress of the dam’s construction, politely inquired after the Emperor’s well-being, and even sent regards to his elder sister, the Noble Consort.
Still simmering with anger, Li Yuanjing picked up his vermilion brush and scrawled a sharp rebuke:
"The Shen family’s discipline is lacking, raising such a stubborn woman as Shen Wei."
...
...
Night fell, and Yongning Palace was quiet.
Shen Wei, having eaten her fill, retired early.
As palace maids stood guard outside, the faint scent of incense drifted through the chamber. Shen Wei nestled into the soft, fragrant bedding, her mind occupied with plans for the future.
Whoosh—
A dart pierced through the bed curtains, embedding itself into the wooden frame of the canopy bed. Shen Wei bolted upright, about to call for the palace maids—but she swallowed the words at the last moment.
She plucked out the dart.
Unfolding the attached note, she read:
"The Emperor is suspicious by nature, truly cold-hearted. Why not break free? At the hour of the Ox tonight, a carriage awaits at the eastern gate. I will take you far from the palace, where the skies are vast and freedom awaits. —Li Yuanli"
