The party rested at the relay station for a night and set off the next day.
Inside the carriage, A Mei comfortably lay with her head pillowed on An Sheng's thigh, beneath her a thick, soft woolen blanket. She was holding a storybook and slowly flipping through it.
An Sheng kept his eyes lowered, his fingers nimble as he skillfully shelled melon seeds on the small table, then fed them bit by bit into A Mei's mouth.
The carriage traveling along the official road was very steady, making the interior even more tranquil.
After an unknown amount of time, Xiao Zhengzi's voice came from outside the carriage.
"My lord, the documents from the Inner Factory for the past few days have been delivered. Please review them."
Slender fingers lifted the carriage curtain, revealing An Sheng's gloomy expression.
At this moment, An Sheng's thin lips were tightly pressed, as if he had to purse them this way to restrain his violent emotions. His dark eyes stared at Xiao Zhengzi coldly and sinisterly for a long while.
This gaze made Xiao Zhengzi’s heart skip a beat, and he couldn't help trembling all over.
Just then, A Mei, who was still pillowed on An Sheng’s thigh, stirred her head and looked up curiously, shifting her gaze from the storybook to An Sheng's face, then following his eyes to outside the curtain.
From her angle, A Mei naturally couldn't see Xiao Zhengzi's face. She found it dull and didn’t want to get up and move.
Then she saw An Sheng curl the corners of his mouth into a fake smile. "Present it to me."
Xiao Zhengzi quickly handed the items to An Sheng and immediately made a swift exit.
An Sheng let out a cold laugh and lowered the carriage curtain. When he looked down again and met A Mei's curious gaze, his entire expression instantly softened and became gentle. He explained, "The important cases of the Inner Factory still need my personal review and approval. I need to handle this for a moment."
A Mei quickly sat up, deftly preparing ink and brush for An Sheng while pouting and muttering, "His Majesty is really something. He arranged for my husband to go out as an imperial envoy, yet the work at the Inner Factory still can't be let go. Isn’t my husband just doing two jobs at once?"
An Sheng picked up the brush and couldn't help tapping A Mei lightly on the head with its handle, murmuring softly, "Little fool, can't you see that I'm more than willing? Who would mind having too much power?"
A Mei blinked, then blinked again, and finally obediently said, "Oh."
An Sheng began annotating the documents.
A Mei never disturbed her husband while he was working. She first tilted her head to stare at An Sheng for a while, then looked at the storybook for a bit, ate some snacks, and finally, feeling sleepy, she curled up on the thick, soft blanket and dozed off for a moment.
An Sheng slowly flipped through and annotated the documents. After once again writing a verdict of execution for an entire clan in one of the official papers, his pitch-black pupils gradually filled with a terrifying malice.
As if thinking of something, he curled his lips at the corners, but his eyes held the bone-deep cold of a persistent disease. Those dark eyes were as icy as a man-eating monster. He seemed to be smiling, but it carried a twisted, morbid strangeness.
An Sheng couldn't help grinding his teeth. Only killing could suppress his bloodthirsty and manic violence beneath his pale, cold skin.
Greed and killing—how ugly and negative such emotions were.
But he had always been like this—ruthless, cruel, and unjust. He had always enjoyed it and taken pleasure in it.
Suddenly.
A faint, soft snoring sound came.
An Sheng looked down, his eyes falling on A Mei's peaceful, innocent sleeping face. His originally fierce expression gradually loosened, the chill in his eyes slowly receding, and his heart tightened in an instant, softening.
Tenderness, satisfaction, joy—more than anything, a scorching warmth.
Truly exhilarating!
This fierce emotional collision made An Sheng take several deep breaths before he could suppress the surging tide of excitement and delight surging within him.
Then, he gently opened his cloak and draped it over A Mei, every movement filled with care and affection.
When A Mei woke up, An Sheng was no longer inside the carriage.
The carriage had also stopped at some point.
She sat up, stretched, tidied her appearance, and climbed down from the carriage.
Wu Da approached with two maidservants: "Madam, my lord has gone to the tent over there for a meeting. Before leaving, he instructed that if you woke up before his return, I am to escort you to his location."
A Mei nodded. "Then let us head over."
A Mei followed Wu Da to the tent. As she lifted the tent curtain, she heard a familiar yet piercing and malicious sneering voice:
"Hmph, it's often said that every new emperor brings his own courtiers. His Majesty’s intent is clear to all. And yet your grandfather still brings up the late emperor. If he truly reveres the late emperor so much, why didn’t Grand Secretary Tan follow the late emperor into death when he passed away!"
These words instantly struck Tan Yanzhi with shock and fury. He flushed red and said, "Lord An, you! Saying such things—this is truly unreasonable and unbecoming!"
An Sheng smiled with a smirk. "I’m just stating the facts, Lord Tan. If you don’t like it, feel free to leave, and by the way, inform your grandfather not to try to fool me with that bureaucratic fence-sitting routine. Tell him I offer this advice: if he wants to offend neither side, he’d best prepare to offend both!"
Tan Yanzhi immediately stood up. Though still young, he had lost all trace of his usual composed demeanor, his chest heaving violently as if deeply angered. "You!"
In An Sheng’s eyes flowed a malice ready to burst forth. He narrowed his eyes, emitting a dangerous signal.
It was at this moment that A Mei stepped into the tent. She raised an eyebrow, her lips parting and closing.
Then everyone heard a clear, crisp voice with a strangely calming effect:
"If we’re here to discuss business, why are you both throwing such a tantrum?"
With that, A Mei looked up to meet An Sheng’s gaze. She blinked. "I’m hungry, husband. When are we eating?"
