Outside, Xiang Zhile was running for dear life while Chun Chou chased after her desperately.
“Wangfei, please wait for this subord… this servant…”
When she finally caught up, both were panting heavily.
“Wangfei, why were you running?”
Upon catching up, Chun Chou immediately took the food container from Xiang Zhile’s hands.
Hmm, the container felt heavy. It seemed Wangye hadn’t eaten much, so Chu Shan should be relieved.
After catching her breath, Xiang Zhile placed one hand on her hip and patted her chest with the other. “You don’t understand – I almost got rejected.”
??
Seeing Chun Chou’s confused expression, Xiang Zhile waved her hand. “Never mind, you wouldn’t understand anyway. I recall there’s a big wolfhound kept in the manor. Let’s take these leftovers to feed the dog.”
The hardships of military campaigns in her previous life had taught Xiang Zhile the value of frugality, especially regarding food.
In the first year after Yan Junnuo’s death, Huang Kingdom suffered a severe drought. While it didn’t reach the point of corpses littering the fields, unscrupulous grain merchants inflated prices without restraint, at one point selling a pound of coarse rice for an ounce of gold.
At that time, still grieving over Yan Junnuo’s ashes being scattered by Xiang Tiange, she hadn’t been in the right state of mind to consider other matters. By the time she came to her senses, she had missed the best opportunity to raise an army, which was why it took three years to capture the capital.
Chun Chou looked at her awkwardly. “Wangfei, the dogs in the manor… they all eat raw beef. This…”
Xiang Zhile sighed. “Fine then, reheat it. I’ll eat it myself.”
!!!
Chun Chou really wanted to tell her that the Regent Manor truly didn’t require such thriftiness from her.
But since this was Wangfei’s insistence, she couldn’t say much more.
After all… she didn’t have much favorable impression of this Wangfei to begin with.
…
“How is he, Divine Physician Gongsun?” Chu Shan asked anxiously, looking at the elegant man before him.
Gongsun Ming checked the pulse several times before releasing the wrist and answering truthfully: “Aside from the stomach ailment that requires gradual recuperation, Wangye’s esteemed health is perfectly well.”
Hearing the pulse diagnosis results, a flicker of surprise passed through Yan Junnuo’s eyes.
“No poison?”
Gongsun Ming unhurriedly put away the wrist pillow. “None whatsoever.”
After a pause, he glanced curiously at Chu Shan standing behind Yan Junnuo, whose face was shifting through colorful expressions, before belatedly asking, “What? Has someone openly attempted poisoning?”
Chu Shan initially meant to speak, but under Yan Junnuo’s faint glance, his words transformed into: “No.”
Gongsun Ming nodded and shouldered his medical kit. “If there’s nothing else, this humble physician will take his leave. I won’t be leaving Jingdu in the short term. Should Wangye require anything, simply send someone to inform me.”
“Thank you for your trouble.” Yan Junnuo slightly inclined his head.
After Chu Shan saw the guest out.
Knowing the noon meal hadn’t been poisoned, Yan Junnuo felt the unwelcome pangs of hunger.
He glanced somewhat irritably at the sky.
It was only the end of the Weishi period (1-3 PM), still an hour and a half until the start of Youshi (5-7 PM).
Remembering Xiang Zhile said she would cook for him again tonight, he felt a faint anticipation stirring in his heart.
No poison… did that mean they could have a fresh start?
Meanwhile, Xiang Zhile, who was napping in her room, suddenly felt her nose itch and sneezed inexplicably.
Rubbing her nose, she wondered who might be cursing her.
Today was the second day after the wedding. According to custom, she and Yan Junnuo were supposed to enter the palace to express their gratitude for the imperial grace.
However, due to his special status, neither Yan Beiqi nor Empress Zhong insisted that he must enter the palace, so he was content to stay leisurely at his residence.
Recalling her past life, it seemed that Yan Junnuo had been repeatedly constrained because of her.
Although she had always treated him with cold indifference, he had shown great respect to her maternal family.
All because she had constantly yearned for the approval of her maternal relatives.
But in this life…
She would no longer be so foolish.
For the three-day return visit to her family home, she would go back alone this time.
Those so-called “family members” would no longer be able to take advantage of her to gain even the slightest benefit from Junnuo.
Perhaps she was too exhausted, or perhaps the shock of rebirth was too overwhelming for her, as she soon drifted back into a hazy sleep.
In her dream—
The sky was gray and gloomy.
A war banner fluttered in the wind, with the words “Regent” written in bold, sweeping strokes.
“Kill!!”
A rough yet spirited female voice gave the command.
Morale-boosted soldiers instantly breached the capital city that had been struggling to hold its ground.
Xiang Tiange, dressed in phoenix robes, desperately crawled at her feet, pleading.
“Elder sister, I was wrong. I am despicable. I shouldn’t have competed with you for the emperor, nor should I have taken advantage of your weakness to steal the ashes you always kept by your side. And… I accidentally spilled them. You can hit me, you can scold me, but you cannot kill me.”
The scene shifted.
Yan Beimo, dressed in dragon robes, similarly groveled at her feet, pleading: “Lele, I… I love you. It’s all Xiang Tiange’s fault, that vile woman. She seduced me, and I made the mistake that all men in the world would make…”