Dianxia Qingcheng

accept the edict.”

Pei Zheng remained silent.

“Prime Minister Pei? Prime Minister Pei?”

That eunuch’s arms were about to go sore from holding the edict up.
Pei Zheng was clearly standing here in the courtyard, but he was acting as though he couldn’t see him at all.

That eunuch didn’t know why there were so many people standing in the courtyard.
He saw Shen Huan looking at him, and he stared right back at her.
He kept shooting her looks, signaling for her to remind Pei Zheng of his existence.

Shen Huan was being stared at by a bunch of eunuchs, and she finally couldn’t take it anymore.

“Lord Pei, your imperial edict is here, aren’t you going to receive it?”

Pei Zheng lifted his eyes and swept a glance over the outside of the gate, “Please.”

It was as though that eunuch had finally been freed from his uncomfortable position.
He hurriedly handed the edict to Li Yu, who had walked over, before he fled the gloomy, terrifying Prime Minister’s Manor.

Pei Zheng had already received the edict in the palace.
That eunuch had only come to deliver it.

The edict merely contained the news of Pei Zheng’s reinstatement.
He was already expecting this, so there was nothing to be surprised about.

After the eunuchs left, Shen Huan also stopped resisting.

“Since Lord Pei won’t let us leave, we’ll just stay here.”

Shen Huan paused, and lifted her head, “However.
Lord Pei, I want to speak to you alone.”

Pei Zheng agreed.
He knew that Shen Huan would definitely seek him out.

Shen Huan turned and left, headed toward the pharmaceutical room.

“Disciple, go back to the little pavilion.”

Pei Zheng was about to follow Shen Huan, but someone tugged on his cuff.

Shen Shijiu was holding his tears back with all his might, but a droplet still slipped out of the corner of his eye.
He mouthed, “Pei-gege,”

Pei Zheng really couldn’t stand the way he looked when he was crying.
He gently pulled the small man toward his chest and lifted his fingers to wipe his tears away.

“Don’t cry, you’re making my heart hurt.”

Shen Shijiu nodded obediently and lifted his own sleeve to wipe his tears,

Pei Zheng stroked his head, before he walked off to the pharmaceutical room.

Li Yu took Shen Shijiu back to the little pavilion in the back garden and prepared a bucket of hot water for him to wipe his face.

“H-Housekeeper Li, what do you think shifu and His Lordship are going to talk about?”

Shen Shijiu had cried too hard earlier.
Even now, he was still choking on his sobs.

Li Yu handed him a warm, soaked washcloth, “Uh, I don’t know either.
But Young Master Shen, don’t worry.
Nothing bad will happen.”

After Pei Zheng entered the pharmaceutical room, Shen Huan slammed the door shut behind him.
Her expression was quite ugly.

Pei Zheng was actually in the mood to look around at all the medicinal materials in the pharmaceutical room.

Now that her little disciple wasn’t here, Shen Huan didn’t need to consider his feelings.
So, she wasn’t about to beat around the bush with Pei Zheng.

“Lord Pei, while I’m still calling you ‘Lord’, let’s just act like we never met and we never knew each other, and we’ll part amicably, all right?”

“No.”

Pei Zheng’s thin lips spat that word out.

Shen Huan said, “I don’t have to pursue the things that happened in the past.
But if my Lord continues to insist on imprisoning us in the Prime Minister’s Manor, I can’t guarantee that I won’t let something slip.”

“Master Shen, what are you saying?” Pei Zheng glanced at Shen Huan, and his tone was cold, “Just say what’s on your mind.”

“Then I will.” Shen Huan’s emotions began to rage.

“I know everything! I know everything that happened in the past! Prince Qi Changyi didn’t fall off a cliff, he was forced to commit suicide because of you!”

Pei Zheng’s gaze suddenly turned even gloomier.
It seemed as though he could freeze Shen Huan with his eyes.

“Who told you that?”

Shen Huan hesitated for a moment, but she still answered, ‘The Second Princess, Qi Bingzhi.”

In truth, Shen Huan also knew that she couldn’t trust everything Qi Bingzhi said.
But there were some facts that were already set in stone, that Qi Bingzhi couldn’t have made up, such as Qi Changyi’s hardships, injuries, and how he had been pushed to the point of suicide.

“Lord Pei, do you have any explanation for this?”

Pei Zheng was silent for a long while.

“No.”

Shen Huan suddenly rushed at Pei Zheng.
She raised her hand high, and was about to slap Pei Zheng.

How cold-blooded was the man in front of her? Whether it was when he was the prince of the past, or while he was her little disciple of the present, he was so pure and kind, such a bright, warm person; and what’s more, he was an unparalleled beauty.
How could Pei Zheng bear to do so many things to hurt him?

“I’ve said my piece, so my Lord can let us leave now, right? There’s no point in keeping us here.
Once my little disciple regains his memory, he’ll definitely want to leave.”

“Then, Master Shen, have you already developed a drug that can recover memory?”

Shen Huan sighed, “Not yet.
But it’ll happen sooner or later.”

Pei Zheng said, “Then it won’t be too late to discuss this after you’ve finished developing it.”

“How is that not too late? If I say it’s too late, then it is!”

Pei Zheng tapped his fingers against the table, “I’m afraid Master Shen must have forgotten about the thirty thousand taels that were used to purchase this milkwort.”

These words seemed to have touched a nerve with Shen Huan, “I didn’t, I didn’t, I didn’t! I just knew you were waiting for this, I don’t have the money to repay you! But you want money; you don’t want two lives!”

“I don’t need two, one is enough.” Pei Zheng thought of a certain little figure, and the corners of his lips curved.

How could Shen Huan not know which of their lives Pei Zheng wanted? She looked at Pei Zheng and said in a serious tone, “But Lord Pei, you already took his life once.
Do you really want to take it again?”

Pei Zheng’s cheerfulness instantly dissipated.

Shen Huan walked up to the cabinet.
After rummaging through it for a long while, she took out a few packets of powder and mixed them all together.
Then, she walked to the table and poured a cup of wine.
She sprinkled the powder inside, and stirred until it was well-incorporated.

“Lord Pei, how about this? If you’re still fine after you drink this cup of wine, the two of us will stay here.”

Shen Huan thought that Pei Zheng would at least hesitate a little.
But unexpectedly, Pei Zheng took that cup of wine.
Without even looking at it, he lifted it to his mouth and was about to gulp it down.

Shen Huan hurriedly stopped him.
She stared at him, “My Lord, you’re not going to ask what I put into the wine just now?”

“Poison.”

Shen Huan froze.
Pei Zheng knew, yet he still intended to drink it?

“That’s right.
Poison.
Once you drink it, your internal organs will be destroyed, and you will die as a result.
It’ll be a painful, miserable death.”

Mm.” Pei Zheng’s expression didn’t change, and he waved Shen Huan’s hand away.

But Shen Huan became a bit nervous, and clutched Pei Zheng’s arm again.

“Y-you’re certain? You really want to drink it? This toxin is very powerful, no one can drink this poison and live through it.
If my Lord dies, what does it matter if the two of us stay or not?”

Pei Zheng listened to all of this, but his emotions didn’t seem to stir at all.

Shen Huan really didn’t know if he was hiding his feelings well or if he really didn’t have the emotional range of a normal person.

Pei Zheng raised his brows at Shen Huan; are you done?

Then, Pei Zheng lifted the wine cup with his other hand, and his lips touched the rim of the cup.
He was about to drink it.

Shen Huan suddenly jumped up and knocked the cup out of his hand.
Her movements were extremely quick, so quick that she didn’t even realize what she had done.

She really didn’t expect that Pei Zheng would actually try to drink it, and on top of that, this poison had no antidote.

“We… won’t leave.”

Shen Huan sighed and sat down on a nearby stool.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to leave, she just had no way to.
Pei Zheng didn’t even care about his own life.
If she actually poisoned Pei Zheng, not only would they be unable to leave, but she would probably be locked up in that prison.

As long as she didn’t give up, there would always be an opportunity.
Shen Huan could only comfort herself with these words.

After leaving the pharmaceutical room, Shen Huan went to the little pavilion in the back garden to look for Shen Shijiu, while Pei Zheng returned to his quarters to take care of court affairs.

Shen Huan and Shen Shijiu did not leave the Prime Minister’s Manor, but Shen Huan’s temper grew with each passing day.
She always put on a cold expression when she faced Pei Zheng, and kept an extremely watchful eye on Shen Shijiu.
Not only did she not allow Shen Shijiu to meet with Pei Zheng in private, but now, she even made sure to remind her little disciple if he stared at Pei Zheng for too long.

And because Pei Zheng had just been reinstated, he had a mountain of matters that he had to deal with.
But he had been restraining certain urges this entire time.
Now, that small man was something that he could only see but not have.
At this point, Pei Zheng was hardly allowed to even look at him, so he was feeling a bit depressed.

Today, after Pei Zheng went to the palace, Zhao Litang, who they hadn’t seen in a while, arrived at the gate of the Prime Minister’s Manor.

Once Li Yu saw who the visitor was, he froze; wasn’t this his master’s old enemy? Why had he come to the manor?

Zhao Litang hadn’t come alone; he was holding an unconscious person in his arms.

Li Yu said “General Zhao, His Lordship isn’t at the manor today.”

Zhao Litang said, “I didn’t come here for him.
I’m looking for Master Shen and Young Master Shen.”

After Shen Shijiu saw the unconscious Yue Nu, he was quite shocked.
He hurriedly had Zhao Litang place Yue Nu on the bed, and was about to take the boy’s pulse.

But Zhao Litang stopped him.

“No need.
I was the one who beat him.”

“Ah?” Shen Huan was confused, “General Zhao, are you all right? How could you just randomly beat him?”

Zhao Litang said, “I’m going back to the borderlands.
The barbarians have declared war and are invading the Celestial Dynasty’s territory, so I must return to the battlefield to fight.
However, the borderlands have become extremely dangerous recently, so I can’t take him along.”

Shen Huan nodded, “Then why did you beat him unconscious?”

Zhao Litang said helplessly, “He secretly followed me several times.
Every time I noticed him, I forced him to go home, but he’s too disobedient.
I could only beat him unconscious and bring him here.
I’d trouble the two of you to take care of him for a bit.”

Shen Shijiu tucked the quilt over Yue Nu’s body, “Don’t worry, General Zhao.
I’ll take good care of A-Yue.”

Shen Huan couldn’t help herself and tapped her little disciple on the head, “What do you know? Believe me, once he wakes up, you definitely won’t be able to keep your eyes on him.
This kid seems like a scaredy-cat, but he’s completely different from a silly goose like you.
He’s very smart.”

Zhao Litang said, “That’s exactly the reason I brought him here.
The Prime Minister’s Manor is heavily guarded, so it should be easy to keep watch over him.
It won’t take too long, around ten days or half a month, and the army will have traveled far away from the Imperial City.
At that time, he wouldn’t be able to catch up even if he wanted to.”

Shen Huan suddenly thought of something.
She rolled her eyes, before she smiled at Zhao Litang, “Leave it to us, General Zhao.
Isn’t the army waiting for you? You should hurry up and head out.”

Zhao Litang thanked the two of them, before he turned and left.
When he reached the door, he looked back at Yue Nu, who was lying peacefully on the bed.
Then, he pushed the door open and left, leaving the Prime Minister’s Manor, and stepped onto the path back to the borderlands.

Notes

I can’t believe that’s all the Chengbai we got.