novelzi Chapter 134
Chapter 134
Shen Chan did not expect Shen Yanzhi to realize so quickly.
She panicked and denied it, saying, “No one told me anything. Brother, you’ve already been criticized for detaining General An’s family. We were harmed by Li Xin, but what you’re doing now is no different from him!”
In her impulsiveness, Shen Chan realized she had said something wrong.
How could she compare her brother to Li Xin?
She bit her lip. “I’m sorry, Brother, I...”
Shen Yanzhi gave Shen Chan a deep look. For a moment, there was a hint of vulnerability in his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by a coldness.
He interrupted Shen Chan, “If I had been like Li Xin earlier, I wouldn’t have lost everything.”
Then he turned to leave. “Chen Qin, take people to the monastery.”
The four main gates of Bianjing had long been sealed.
If the wandering doctor wanted to leave the city, it could only be through the secret passage in the monastery.
Shen Chan was deeply distressed.@@@@
To stop him, she urgently pulled out the hairpin from her head and held it to her neck. “Brother, if you go after them, we will have to be siblings in the next life.”
Shen Yanzhi’s body stiffened.
A hot tear rolled down Shen Chan’s cheek. “I know you love and hate me, but I really can’t stand by and watch you make another big mistake!”
“Brother, please turn back!”
“Turn back?” Shen Yanzhi said with his back to Shen Chan, so she couldn’t see his expression.
His voice carried a sense of exhaustion and desolation. “Will everything be the same as before if I turn back?”
He chuckled lowly, “It’s useless... I just want to get back everything I’ve lost in my own way.
The royal power that forced A-Zheng to remarry and forced you into this pit of fire has already been trampled under our feet.
Why should we turn back?
To watch A-Zheng be forced into the Eastern Palace?
To watch you be taken to Li Xin’s camp? I’d rather keep going down this path.”
Shen Chan was heartbroken and shook her head repeatedly. “I’m living well now, and Sister A-Zheng is also living well. Brother, please stop. Those innocent people don’t deserve this.”
Shen Yanzhi slowly turned to look at Shen Chan. “Weren’t you and I innocent back then? Did Heaven ever show mercy to us because of our innocence?”
Shen Chan cried, “There is a cycle of cause and effect. Li Xin did evil and has now received his retribution. I don’t want you to end up suffering the consequences of your actions too.”
Shen Yanzhi laughed, but it was more painful than crying. “Wasn’t the former Crown Prince of Chu the one who deserved retribution the most?”
Shen Chan looked at her brother, who was beyond saving in his stubbornness, and finally asked the most heart-wrenching question, “Brother, even if the former Crown Prince of Chu didn’t exist, do you really think you and Sister A-Zheng still have a chance?”
She spoke each word with emphasis: “Duke Qin is dead.”
Shen Yanzhi clenched his teeth tightly, and blood vessels slowly filled his eyes.
Shen Chan, tears streaming down her face, said, “The Qin family hates us. If you really care about Sister A-Zheng, don’t disturb her anymore. Don’t use grand ideals to force her to make a choice.”
Shen Yanzhi turned his back to her.
His thin figure seemed unable to withstand even a gust of cold wind.
His eyes, reflecting the snowy sky, were filled with a dead silence after all hope had burned to ashes. “I just want to see her one more time.”
For his entire life, he had too many regrets about her.
When they were in love, he couldn’t protect her.
By the time he finally gained power, Duke Qin’s death had become an insurmountable barrier between them.
He hated the heavens for being unkind to him.
If letting go were so easy, he wouldn’t have stepped over mountains of corpses and seas of blood just to see her again.
He was already in hell, so being a bit more ruthless, even if covered in blood, he could still embrace her.
But he was afraid that his blood would stain her clothes.
He couldn’t bear to...
Wanting but not getting, unwilling to let go—he suffered endless torment for this his entire life.
Magpie replied, “Ah Xiang, help the old lady into the temple.”
The women’s army member who had spoken harshly added some firewood to the fire, patted her hands, and went to help the old woman.
Once inside the temple, Magpie let the old woman warm herself by the fire and had someone bring her a bowl of porridge. “Granny, we’re on the march and don’t have much food. Please make do with this.”
The old woman held the chipped porcelain bowl but didn’t drink the porridge.
Instead, she looked at Magpie and said, “Young lady, I have a request.”
Magpie was taken aback by her sudden clear voice, “You’re not an old granny?”
The old woman removed the tattered cloth from her head, revealing that she was the Wandering doctor Mu.
She said, “This is a long story. Please, young lady, help me.”
...
Sisui City was the last city before reaching Jianghuai.
Qin Zheng had received the news that the women’s army would pass through Sisui City today.
She had already stationed her twenty thousand soldiers ten miles outside Sisui City.
While the main army couldn’t approach Sisui City, scouts could go and gather information.
The wind was strong and the snow heavy.
As the soldiers’ armor was covered with a thin layer of snow, a scout rushed back with news that it wasn’t the women’s army:
“Reporting to the Princess, the Regent of Chen State has arrived with three thousand cavalry!”
Lin Yao and Dong Cheng, who were standing beside Qin Zheng’s carriage, both turned pale.
When Shen Yanzhi’s three thousand cavalry arrived at the Ten Mile Pavilion, they were met with the imposing sight of the twenty thousand soldiers, ready and waiting.
But Shen Yanzhi seemed not to notice the overwhelming force that could crush his small cavalry.
His gentle, somewhat pained gaze was fixed on Qin Zheng’s carriage.
He smiled, “The wind and snow are strong. Princess, would you do me the honor of a conversation at the nearby Ten Mile Pavilion?”
Lin Yao approached the carriage and, after a moment, relayed the message: “Our Princess says, Chen State’s kindness in allowing us passage will be repaid by Great Chu in the future. Besides that, there is nothing else to discuss between Great Chu and your Chen State.”
The cold wind cut like a knife across their faces, making Shen Yanzhi’s eyes a bit red.
He said, “Is the Princess not interested in the cure for the plague?”
Without waiting for a response, he added, “I just want to ask the Princess a few questions. After that, I will personally hand over the Wandering doctor Mu’s notes on treating the plague.”
Lin Yao dared not make the decision for Qin Zheng and looked to her inside the carriage for her decision.
Qin Zheng knew that what must be faced could not be avoided.
After a moment of silence, she said, “General Lin, gather some troops to accompany me. General Dong, stay here and await orders.”
Lin Yao quickly assembled two hundred elite cavalry to escort Qin Zheng to the Ten Mile Pavilion.
To put them at ease, Shen Yanzhi only brought a dozen guards with him.
The pavilion by the roadside was dilapidated, with bamboo curtains installed by Shen Yanzhi’s men to block the wind.
Inside, there were straw mats, a small table with a clay stove and tea set, and cushions on either side of the table.
Lin Yao whispered to Qin Zheng, “Princess, do not eat or drink anything inside. If he wants to light incense, do not let him.”
Having once been a bandit, Lin Yao was more cautious about such things.
Qin Zheng whispered back, “I understand.”
The two hundred soldiers Qin Zheng brought and Shen Yanzhi’s dozen guards stayed outside the pavilion.
Only Lin Yao accompanied Qin Zheng inside, while Shen Yanzhi was accompanied by Chen Qin.
The two of them sat on the cushions, with Lin Yao and Chen Qin standing tensely behind them.
Shen Yanzhi wanted to lower the bamboo curtain that had been tied up for easy access, but Qin Zheng refused, “Let the wind and snow in; it’s refreshing.”
Shen Yanzhi began making tea, a bitter smile on his face, “A-Zheng, there’s no need to be so wary of me. I’m just worried you’ll catch a cold.”
Qin Zheng frowned and said coldly, “The Regent’s title is inappropriate. You should call me Princess.”
She was unusually calm and indifferent, “Regent, if you have questions, you may ask them now.”