Li Yuanli stepped into the hall.
Shen Wei glanced up at him but ignored him, continuing with her evening meal. Unfazed, Li Yuanli sat across from her and began eating as well.
Once Shen Wei had eaten her fill, her stomach uncomfortably full, she habitually walked into the courtyard to stroll and aid digestion. The winters in Southern Chu were mild, and the newly planted flowers and plants in the courtyard exuded a delicate fragrance. The soft moonlight bathed Changle Palace in a bright glow.
For a fleeting moment, Shen Wei felt as though she had returned to the imperial palace of Da Qing.
She sighed quietly. After twenty arduous years, she had finally escaped the confining walls of the palace, only to seemingly fall back into the same repetitive life. It left her deeply frustrated.
"Did you often take moonlit walks with Li Yuanjing before?" Li Yuanli suddenly appeared beside her, walking alongside Shen Wei.
She shot him a glare, wishing she could stab him with a knife.
Shen Wei couldn’t fathom when Li Yuanli had developed feelings for her. Their encounters had been few, and their conversations even fewer.
Yet, for some inexplicable reason, he had fixated on her.
It was baffling.
As Shen Wei turned to leave in irritation, Li Yuanli grabbed her arm. His expression darkened—he disliked her cold indifference. "You spent years acting for Li Yuanjing. Why won’t you put on a performance for me?"
Shen Wei countered, "Do you truly want me to pretend with you?"
The courtyard was bathed in moonlight, making Shen Wei’s eyes gleam with an unusual brightness. Li Yuanli thought that if he hadn’t seen through her calculating, selfish, and hypocritical nature, he might have been charmed by her feigned gentleness.
But he had glimpsed something extraordinary beneath her facade.
If Shen Wei had obediently submitted to him and thrown herself into his arms, he would have been disappointed.
Releasing her wrist, Li Yuanli realized he preferred her true self.
"Shen Wei," he said earnestly, "I am different from my second brother. He adored the gentle and virtuous role you played. But I love your soul. I would willingly give you the finest things in the world—my undivided devotion."
"By my side, you can be yourself. You need not suppress your nature."
His words were heartfelt.
He could dismiss his harem and cherish Shen Wei alone.
Yet Shen Wei didn’t believe a single word. Her heart was cold, and she distrusted everyone.
A night breeze brushed past as she calmly told him, "I don’t want love. I only want freedom and wealth."
Li Yuanli fell silent.
Finishing her walk, Shen Wei returned to her chambers to rest. She had half-expected Li Yuanli to force himself upon her, but after waiting in vain for any disturbance outside, she realized he hadn’t entered.
The night deepened, and Shen Wei, weakened by exhaustion, soon succumbed to sleep.
As the palace lamps dimmed, Li Yuanli quietly pushed open the door. Holding a light, its warm glow illuminated Shen Wei’s peaceful slumber—her breathing steady, her expression untroubled.
Like a predator lurking in the shadows, his dark eyes lingered on his long-awaited prize.
The feeling of possessing Shen Wei was intoxicating.
He watched her for a long time.
Only when noise stirred outside did he reluctantly withdraw his gaze. Glancing once more at her sleeping face, he murmured, "If you desire freedom, I would abandon my throne and wander the world with you."
Shen Wei remained asleep.
Li Yuanli took the lamp and left.
At the gates of Changle Palace, the chief eunuch bowed and reported, "Your Majesty, the new Emperor of Da Qing has sent a diplomatic missive. Additionally, our spies report that Liangzhou is mobilizing troops southward, likely reinforcing the Southern Chu border."
Li Yuanli’s eyebrow arched slightly as he smirked. "Burn the missive."
The eunuch hesitated. "And the border situation...?"
Li Yuanli scoffed. "Southern Chu is no weakling. If Da Qing wants war, then let there be war."
No matter what, he would never surrender Shen Wei.
...
Back in her chambers, Shen Wei slowly opened her eyes once the sound of retreating footsteps faded.
She retrieved the dagger hidden in her sleeve and tucked it beneath her pillow.
"Endless trouble," she muttered.
Lying in bed, Shen Wei coolly assessed her situation.
Objectively speaking, Li Yuanli’s "sincerity" was rare. If she stayed in Southern Chu, she could embrace her true nature, effortlessly gaining wealth, power, and even a measure of freedom.
But she couldn’t abandon the life she had painstakingly built in Da Qing.
With a turn, Shen Wei finally drifted into genuine sleep.
Da Qing, Yanjing City.
Prince Wu, visiting the famed imperial capital for the first time, nervously presented his tribute and cautiously requested a reduction in next year’s tribute quota for his tiny vassal state, Donglin.
For a minor kingdom to make such an audacious demand was akin to dancing on a knife’s edge.
Yet, to his surprise, the new Emperor of Da Qing did not punish him. In fact, the Emperor was too preoccupied with state affairs to even grant Prince Wu an audience, delegating the matter to the Ministry of Rites.
After days of anxious waiting, Prince Wu found his head still intact—an outcome he found bewildering.
Was the new Emperor truly this lenient?
Relieved yet melancholic, Prince Wu realized his fears had been unfounded. The Emperor hadn’t even deemed him worth attention.
Such was the sorrow of small nations.
In no hurry to return, Prince Wu lodged at Donglin’s embassy in Yanjing City. To pass the time, he wandered the streets in search of Da Qing’s most beautiful woman.
Yanjing City, as the capital of a great empire, was prosperous and vibrant. Its citizens were well-off, and the streets bustled with elegantly dressed women of all charms.
Leaning against a railing in a tavern, Prince Wu fanned himself as he observed the passing beauties. Overwhelmed, he sighed, "Truly, Da Qing’s women are peerless—far lovelier than those of Donglin."
Yet, despite the abundance of beauties, none stood out as the most exquisite. His thoughts involuntarily drifted to Yuan Xi'er, the woman who had been abducted. Yuan Xi'er had dark skin and was merely plain in appearance.
But for some inexplicable reason, she lingered in his mind more vividly than any of Yanjing’s dazzling women.
Prince Wu rapped his own head in frustration. "Have I lost my mind after staying too long in Wu County? Enough thinking about Yuan Xi'er!"
To distract himself, he beckoned a waiter and slipped him a copper coin. "Tell me, who is Yanjing’s most beautiful woman? Is she betrothed?"
The waiter eyed the shabby foreigner with disdain—his lecherous grin marking him as a rogue.
With indignation, the waiter pushed the coin back. "Da Qing’s laws are strict, sir. I suggest you behave."
With that, he walked away.
Prince Wu gaped. A prince of Donglin, even if the fortieth in line, being scorned by a mere waiter? Fuming, he brandished his fan, ready to assert his status—when his hand froze mid-motion.
"That silhouette! Such grace!" His eyes lit up. A luxurious carriage passed by, its curtain fluttering in the breeze to reveal the slender profile of a woman inside.
