Shen Wei caught several plump fish and handed them to the imperial chef that evening to prepare a few authentic delicacies.
At the dinner table, Li Yuanjing and Shen Wei dined together.
Li Yuanjing had been "away from home" for ten days, but Shen Wei acted as if nothing had happened, continuing to eat and drink as usual. During the meal, she even chatted with him one-sidedly.
Pointing at the boiled fish on the table, Shen Wei sighed with a mix of amusement and exasperation: "This fish today was quite cunning—it only nibbled at the bait and refused to take the hook. If I hadn’t persisted, we wouldn’t have this dish tonight."
Li Yuanjing snorted.
No response.
Shen Wei asked, "How is Chengtai doing in the palace? Have the court officials given him any trouble?"
Li Yuanjing set down his chopsticks and said gloomily, "You care about the fish, you care about the child, but have you ever cared about me?"
Shen Wei took a bite of the tender fish meat. "I’ve cared for you for twenty years. That’s enough."
It wasn’t a lie.
Ever since she entered Prince Yan's Mansion as a concubine, Shen Wei had diligently served Li Yuanjing, attended to his feelings, and bore his children. Even if her motives weren’t pure, at least she played her role impeccably.
Li Yuanjing felt deeply unsettled.
...
Night fell, and it was time to rest.
Shen Wei had already moved to a spacious courtyard next door. After retiring, her sleep quality had improved greatly—she could fall asleep almost as soon as her head touched the pillow.
The new bed was large and soft, with bed curtains and silk bedding arranged exactly to her liking. The room was adorned with lotus flowers she had picked herself. Amid the faint fragrance of lotus, Shen Wei quickly drifted into slumber.
Half-asleep, she faintly sensed rustling movements beside her pillow.
She was enveloped in a familiar scent.
In the entire Moonfall Lake Imperial Villa, only Li Yuanjing would dare to climb into Shen Wei’s bed in the middle of the night.
Too drowsy to open her eyes, Shen Wei murmured in a hoarse, sleepy voice, "What are you doing here...?"
Li Yuanjing’s voice was low and cold. "I can indulge you in everything else, but not this separation."
He pulled Shen Wei into his arms, listening as she mumbled a few indistinct words before sinking back into deep sleep.
The night was quiet, the room filled with the faint scent of lotus. Li Yuanjing lowered his head, inhaling the subtle fragrance of Shen Wei’s hair.
It brought him peace.
With a contented sigh, Li Yuanjing acknowledged that no matter how cunning Shen Wei was, or how false her feelings might be, he simply couldn’t live without her.
...
The next morning, Shen Wei rose early and went hunting in the back mountains with her guards.
Li Yuanjing secretly worried.
Shen Wei was slender and delicate, seemingly incapable of even wringing a chicken’s neck. Hunting was an extremely dangerous activity—if anything happened, the consequences would be unthinkable.
Unable to stop her, Li Yuanjing could only follow on horseback, keeping his distance. As expected, Shen Wei’s hunting skills were abysmal—she couldn’t even draw a bow properly. Instead, she personally set a trap and, by dusk, successfully captured a lone wild boar.
A fruitful haul.
The young boar was brought back to the Moonfall Lake Imperial Villa, where Shen Wei planned to prepare roasted meat that evening.
Caged, the boar was robust, its coarse fur a cold, dark brown, with sharp tusks and a fierce glare. It relentlessly rammed against the iron bars.
Clearly, it was untamable.
The imperial chef, holding a butcher’s knife, was at a loss.
"Master, perhaps we should let the guards handle the slaughter?" Cai Lian suggested.
Shen Wei frowned but remained silent.
Li Yuanjing strolled over leisurely, watching Shen Wei’s dilemma with a faint smirk.
Clearing his throat, he offered, "I can take care of it—"
Before he could finish, Shen Wei took a knife from a guard and calmly approached the cage.
With one swift motion, she struck.
The boar let out a piercing shriek.
It died instantly.
Li Yuanjing stared, dumbfounded, his heart pounding uncontrollably.
He couldn’t believe his eyes. The delicate, seemingly helpless Shen Wei he knew had just slaughtered a wild boar right before him—with terrifying efficiency!
The imperial chef quickly dragged out the carcass and began butchering it, preparing the meat for roasting.
Unfazed, Shen Wei wiped the blood from her hands and asked the chef to bring the marinade. Her palate was refined, and since the chef couldn’t quite match her preferred seasoning, she decided to do it herself.
"You... you can butcher a boar?" Li Yuanjing approached, his dark eyes fixed on Shen Wei’s face as if trying to see through her soul.
He saw a different Shen Wei—clever, capable, bold, ruthless, and free.
No matter which version of her it was, she captivated him just as she always had.
Shen Wei handed him a plate of marinade, smiling. "Someone raised in the countryside knows how to do everything. Care to help me season the meat?"
The plate held Sichuan well salt and half a sour citron.
Though an emperor, Li Yuanjing had once served in the military, hunting and roasting meat with soldiers in the wild. Gazing at Shen Wei’s smile, he suppressed the excitement in his chest and silently took the plate, sitting beside her.
Together, they seasoned the fresh boar meat with practiced ease.
Servants stood by quietly in the courtyard, heads bowed.
Li Yuanjing watched Shen Wei as she focused on rubbing salt into the meat. She wore an apron, her black hair tied up in a plain cloth, her profile serene.
For a moment, he was lost in thought.
Years ago, Li Yuanjing had dreamed of growing old with Shen Wei, living a simple life of farming and cooking.
Now, away from the court, that dream seemed realized—yet not quite as he’d imagined.
"You don’t like sourness, so go easy on the citron juice," Shen Wei reminded him.
Li Yuanjing’s heart stirred.
Shen Wei was still Shen Wei. No matter how much she had schemed over the years, she still remembered his preferences.
Secretly, he thought: Even if she denied it, she must have feelings for him.
As night fell, a grill was set up by Moonfall Lake.
The charcoal burned bright red, and the marinated boar meat, glazed with honey, released a rich aroma as it sizzled over the flames. Li Yuanjing sat in a wicker chair, enjoying the cool breeze from the lake.
With delicious roasted meat in his belly, Shen Wei’s homemade wine sweet on his tongue, no paperwork to burden him, no court intrigues, and Shen Wei by his side—Li Yuanjing thought, this was the life he had always wanted.
After eating her fill, Shen Wei distributed the remaining meat to the servants and took a leisurely stroll along the lakeshore.
Li Yuanjing walked beside her, his imperial guards hidden nearby for protection.
Moonfall Lake was a scenic spot, frequented by scholars, artists, and common folk of Yanjing City alike.
As darkness deepened, the lake glittered with lantern-lit pleasure boats, the sounds of pipa and singing drifting on the wind. Along the shore, food vendors set up stalls, adding to the lively atmosphere.
Shen Wei and Li Yuanjing were dressed plainly, resembling an ordinary middle-aged merchant couple. Walking among the crowd, Li Yuanjing felt a rare sense of shared joy with the people.
He held Shen Wei’s hand.
She glanced at him but didn’t pull away, allowing it as if she were merely taking a large pet for a walk.
The two strolled through the bustling night market. It seemed to be some lively festival tonight—the eastern shore of Luoyue Lake was packed with visitors, and an enormous, luxurious pleasure boat adorned with radiant lanterns and dazzling lights floated by the lake. Onboard, music and dance performances filled the air, drawing crowds of curious onlookers from all around.
"Look, male dancers! Oh my, how rare!"
