"If that's the case, then I, Tian Du, will meet the attack head-on." Murong Yi remained extremely patient. This scene of the emperor not being anxious but the eunuch being anxious was played out for the second time in Qi Tian's court in just a few days.
In the following days, He Shi received the emperor's order to integrate the remaining troops of Tiandu and conduct exercises. In the two days that Han Sha Army was approaching, he was so busy that he did not even enter the Nine Phoenix Palace.
"How dare you! This is a military stronghold! What woman dares to trespass here!" The guard on duty, a rough and uncouth man who spent his days surrounded by men, snapped out of his daze at the woman's elegant and beautiful demeanor and immediately returned to his military discipline, showing no mercy whatsoever.
"You're the one who dares to openly rebuke the Princess Consort! Don't you want to die?" The little eunuch beside her couldn't stay silent when he saw his master being bullied.
“Xiao Dingzi, there’s no need to say anything more. This young man was just following orders and has done nothing wrong.” Shen Mo stopped the people around him and turned to the guard, exuding an air of virtuousness. “Your Highness and everyone else have been very busy these past few days. I’ve prepared some dishes for everyone. I wonder if it would be possible to make an exception?”
The guard's dark face looked somewhat unnatural. If it were based on the little eunuch's shout just now, he definitely wouldn't have let him pass. But the woman in front of him now made him believe her without even realizing it.
"Yes." He lowered his head and saw her through the door. He had heard that the Ninth Prince cared most about this princess consort, so he dared not make any rash moves regarding this possibility.
"You've been so busy you forgot to go home." As if someone had already informed him, Shen Mo entered, meeting He Shi's gaze.
"Home?"
Shen Mo looked up from the bowl and plates, "Doesn't that count?"
His tired eyes instantly softened with tenderness as He Shi took her hand. "How could I dare? People are saying I'm not far from becoming a henpecked husband."
Shen Mo replaced his hands with bamboo chopsticks, saying, "Stop joking around, hurry up and eat. You look so haggard." He then walked towards the inside of the screen in a few quick steps.
She knew He Shi was a clean person, and his clothes were always spotless, but she never expected that a man would be so independent that he didn't need a woman. Shen Mo walked around the inner room, looking him up and down for a long time. Just as she was about to scrutinize the almost invisible dust, Shen Mo shrugged and came out.
"Hey, does your military camp...do you also have that...that?"
Ever since he tasted her cooking last time, he hadn't been able to forget it. Now, he had already devoured more than half of the food box, and barely managed to look up at her, "Which one?"
"Don't rush to eat." In a moment of excitement, Shen Mo grabbed his hand from behind as he reached for the bowls and plates. When she came to her senses, she realized that she had actually embraced him as he sat at the table, and she was speechless for a moment.
He Shi slowly leaned into her arms, a slight smile playing on his lips. "No, that's not it."
"I...I haven't said which one it is yet..."
"I made the bed myself, and I folded the clothes myself. They all know I have a thing for my wife, so how could they send that kind of woman here to me? Don't you think so?"
How could he guess such an embarrassing question so easily? Shen Mo felt a little awkward and tried to pry him away but found herself already held captive. In a dizzying moment, she was suddenly pulled into his arms. She forgot all about the chopsticks, bowls, and plates and took a few steps to walk into the room behind the screen.
"Hey, what are you doing? I still need to deliver food to the soldiers, put me down quickly." She wasn't a new bride, and recalling how he used to carry her to bed like this... she panicked a little.
“They’ve already taken their share, you don’t need to go yourself.” He Shi didn’t even bother to undress, he went straight to the bed and covered himself with the blanket.
"Then I..." His lips accidentally brushed against her eyes, and Shen Mo froze, not daring to move.
"Xiao Mo".
"Um."
Do you know how many hours I haven't slept?
"How many?"
...
After waiting for a long time without a response, Shen Mo snuggled closer to him, hugged him, and whispered, "Okay, I know."
I've heard people say that men smell bad if they don't shower, hence the term "stinky man." Shen Mo sniffed hard; He Shi didn't smell bad. Wasn't he a good husband?
I never knew that one day I would lose myself in this unique, pale feeling of the past, and I really wish I could never find that sinful version of myself again.
Author's Note: Sorry for the long delay, I'm back to updating! But judging from the looks of it, this story is nearing its end.
Chapter Fifty-Zero: The Princess's Marriage
"Does Qi Tian have additional troops?"
"Your Highness need not worry about that. Your Highness only needs to organize the existing soldiers to protect the stability of Tiandu. We will take care of the rest."
...
The conversation grew clearer. Shen Mo rubbed his eyes, gradually waking from his sleep. Listening intently, he realized that one of the two people talking outside was He Shi. Touching the still-warm bedding beside him, he realized that He Shi had only just woken up, and he blushed, realizing that he had been sleeping even more soundly than He Shi.
But why does that other person's voice sound so familiar? Shen Mo slowly got off the bed, trying not to make any noise, and moved closer to the outer room.
"Bang!" The moment he peeked out, he was blinded by the silver object on the man's forehead, which even made his heart race. In his haste, he bumped into a sword hanging on the wall, and there was no time to deal with the loud noise.
"Who goes there!"
He heard the sound of a sword being drawn, followed by He Shi's voice trying to stop him, and then...
He Shi looked at the woman in front of him with a smile, apologizing for accidentally bumping into something on the wall. He was a little surprised and patted her head. "Were you scared?"
Shen Mo shook his head. "They are quite terrifying people, are they your subordinates?" His wide eyes looked somewhat innocent.
He Shi took the sword from her hand. "Those kinds of subordinates are not ones I can control."
"Um?"
"Xiao Mo, rest here for a while. After I finish setting things up here, we'll go back to the palace together." He Shi suddenly changed the subject as if nothing had happened.
"He...is the Emperor's man?" Shen Mo blurted out as He Shi turned to leave, his question utterly uncertain.
"Yes," He Shi replied with absolute certainty.
Shen Mo was struck dumb. The man who had given He Shang nightmares, the once-famous bodyguard of the eldest young master of the Rong family, was actually the emperor's confidant and the trump card of the Qi Tian Kingdom hiding behind the scenes.
She hadn't quite come to terms with the fact even after returning to the Nine Phoenix Palace. Under the red candlelight, Shen Mo was helping He Shi change his clothes. Lost in thought, her hands kept moving, and she didn't even know what she was doing, reaching for his last nightgown.
Her hand was pulled by slightly cool fingers, and He Shi's breath drew closer. "You want to strip me naked, don't you?"
Shen Mo no longer cared about blushing. She looked up at him intently and said, "He Shi, have you ever been betrayed? He has never been. His life has been so smooth. He has never been played like this before." She gripped his clothes tightly.
"What do you know?" After a long silence, He Shi's face returned to its usual paleness.
"The person who talked to you in the military camp and repelled the enemy is a bodyguard who has been with Rong Yue for many years. His name is Long Lin." Shen Mo lowered her head and bit her lower lip, not intending to hide it from him.
"Oh, really? So your proud and arrogant young master Rong has been under the control of the current emperor all these years." He Shi turned and took a few steps away from her.
"He Shi! What are you saying?" His jealousy was all too obvious.
"Isn't this exactly what you've been thinking? Just expressed in a different way." He Shi looked up at the cold moonlight outside the window. The days when he was soaked in black water and covered in poison, the ugly look in the eyes of that so-called relative... He Shi's expression instantly returned to the indifference he had when they first met. "True manipulation is the kind of pain you never imagined."
As He Shi was about to leave the room, Chen Mo stopped him. Beads of sweat rolled down He Shi's forehead where Chen Mo couldn't see. "Let me be alone for a while."
"Is it Xiao Yin?" Even though she was clumsy, she could see the loneliness in He Shi's eyes.
"No." The word was resolute.
"Who is that? What happened to you? Why are you and He Shang both immune to all poisons? Why are you used by Xiao Yin? Don't make me search for answers one by one anymore. Maybe there's not enough time, you know?!" Shen Mo held him tightly, her teeth clenched.
A warm breeze suddenly blew in from the window, dispelling the tension and disrupting the false pretenses, leaving only honesty.
"Xiao Mo, did you ever have a father?" He Shi's expression softened.
"I have never seen my parents since I was born."
"Not having seen them is perhaps not such a bad thing." He Shi sneered as if recounting someone else's story. "I once had a father who used his own children as test subjects for poison. Heh heh, from small poisons to deadly poisons, either tricking them into trying them or forcing them to try them. In the end, he actually succeeded in creating two monsters who were immune to all poisons. It was truly insane. Unfortunately, he died. Heh heh, he was killed by Xiao Yin."
He Shi's body gradually grew cold, and Shen Mo tightened her arms around him. "I know, I know, He Shang, she..."
"She is my sister."
"Ah," Shen Mo pulled the silver hairpin from her hair and stabbed it into her own arm, extending her blood-soaked wrist toward He Shi, who had collapsed from exhaustion. At this moment, the poison took effect, and she was willing to take responsibility with her own body.
“The poisoning has been flaring up more and more frequently lately!” Shen Mo’s hand trembled as she gripped his. “Is it him? Is this all your father’s fault?” She was increasingly realizing that the inhibitory effect of her own blood was becoming weaker and weaker.
“No, it’s Xiao Yin, the second person in my life to betray and manipulate me,” He Shi said with his last bit of strength, refusing her blood. “Xiao Mo, my hell is not open to you.”
"What are you talking about, you idiot! There won't be a third one. I swear I won't be the third one. He Shi, don't sleep. Watch me, or I can't guarantee anything."
He Shi frowned slightly as he was shaken, and half-opened his eyes, smiling, "You just said that maybe there won't be enough time." He clutched his heart, which was throbbing with pain, "Don't worry, I'll at least hold on until then."
A flash of lightning seemed to strike before his eyes, and Shen Mo collapsed to the ground. So, he knew everything…
—————————————————————————————————
On August 20th of the 21st year of the Qi Tian Dynasty, Han Sha from the west led his troops to Qi Tian, but suddenly changed his clothes outside the city and instead requested to make peace with Qi Tian under the pretext of a marriage alliance. This was the "marriage alliance incident". Qi Tian, which was about to be attacked and was on the verge of defense, was obviously being played and was greatly insulted. Murong Yi in the Qiankun Palace was almost like a volcano erupting.
However, the traditional monthly collective dinner for the imperial heirs takes place at this time.
"Are you feeling better? Why are your hands still cold in this weather?" On the way to the dining hall, He Shi wrapped his arms around Shen Mo's hands. Recently, in the eyes of the palace servants, this marriage seemed to be a perfect match.
“It’s nothing,” I told him yesterday that I had eaten a mixed bag of things and felt a little nauseous, but he still keeps staring at me today.
Are you sure it's not...pregnancy?
Boom! Shen Mo's face flushed red instantly. He glanced at the petrified servant behind him and said, "No!" He had explained it very clearly to him last night. Why was he asking again in public?
"Xiaomo, I..."
Shen Mo looked up at him and was suddenly startled by his innocent expression. If any servant saw this, they would definitely think he had mistaken her for someone else.
"What are you thinking about!" He took her hand and led her straight ahead. Ever since the last time she mentioned having children, it seemed to have aroused his extreme desire to be a father.
A hand suddenly pulled her back forcefully, abruptly stopping her. Shen Mo hadn't recovered from the embarrassing situation just now, and was about to ask him what was wrong when she realized that Princess Tao Yao was only a person's distance away from her. If it weren't for He Shi's strength, her reckless rush would have surely caused a collision with this princess, whose face was extremely pale.
"Princess, I...I'm sorry." By now, she couldn't even tell why she was apologizing. Seeing that terrifying gaze, as if she were on the edge of a cliff, was unbearable to watch. Yes, the farce in Hansha Kingdom was all aimed at her; no one would be happy now.
“Ninth... Brother.” Tao Yao walked directly past Shen Mo to He Shi’s side. The despair she felt when she first heard about his disappearance from the servant’s mouth turned into a pitiful mist when she saw He Shi, and... a glimmer of hope.
“Tao Yao,” He Shi said, tightly gripping Shen Mo’s hand, which had been trying to break free since he saw Tao Yao, “Father will not let you marry alone, don’t worry.”
"And what about you?" Almost sobbing, Tao Yao stopped He Shi from leaving. She didn't believe that all the kindness he had shown her before was fake, and that the man who had been so gentle to her was real.
"Of course, your brother doesn't want you to suffer as a bridegroom in a foreign land." These seemingly affectionate yet cold words pierced through Tao Yao's heart.
However, Shen Mo felt a slight tremor in his hand as he touched it. He followed Tao Yao to the dining hall, looking at his profile with some reluctance, "Why say such things?"
"If you're going to get hurt sooner or later, you might as well end it sooner."
What about He Shang? She still wanted to ask him, what should be done about He Shang? That younger sister who had the same pitiful experience made no attempt to hide her feelings for him. She was certain that she had seen a woman's feelings for a man more than once.
Unfortunately, there was no longer any room for her to ask questions. As everyone quietly took their seats, they then respectfully welcomed Murong Yi and discussed the marriage alliance with Tao Yao. Murong Yi, as she had wished, revealed her father's loving and resolute side.
"How dare those western barbarians presume to be worthy of Princess Taoyao of my Qitian Dynasty! We can simply refuse them boldly. If they are dissatisfied and attack our country, we will fight back." Although Murong Yi's words were meant to comfort Taoyao, they revealed a strong desire for war to those around him.
Tears welled up in the Empress's eyes; after all, Tao Yao had been her only support throughout her life. However, this favored princess neither understood Murong Yi's protective stance as a father nor his pro-war and aggressive stance as an emperor. An unexpected remark plunged the entire dining hall into a long silence.
She said, "No need, Father. I am willing to accept the marriage alliance." Suddenly, she smiled at Murong Yi. "I heard that the customs of Hansha are quite good." She stood up and walked out. "In addition, Father has spent his whole life expanding Qitian. Could you please give Taoyao a break at this time?"
Murong Yi has few heirs, and Murong Yue has not yet returned. Apart from the unfavored third prince and a few remaining concubines and princes' wives, there is only Murong Shi. However, the empress looked at him several times but did not see him speak or stop her.
Murong Yi's intentions were interpreted by Tao Yao at the cost of her own happiness, which greatly displeased him. Moreover, his true intentions were exposed by the silence of his wife and children, giving him the illusion of being paraded through the streets. Even the most rational person would become irrational after experiencing such an embarrassing situation.