Chapter 326: Chapter 324: She Might Not Be Able to Be Lu Ying’s Crown Princess Consort Anymore
Shen Yinning opened the brocade box.
Inside was a palm-sized bronze saw-tooth key. She picked it up and toyed with it carefully. The key looked somewhat old, suggesting that her elder brother had entrusted it to Yan Zhehai many years ago.
She glanced at Yan Zheming. "Why are you giving this to me only now?"
Yan Zheming swirled the cup in his hand. "Miss Shen, you can’t possibly think that I harbor no resentment toward you, after your brother murdered Ahai, can you? Originally, I had no intention of handing this over to you."
Shen Yinning recalled that stab Yan Zheming had given her in the palace.
At the time, they had discussed using a feigned blood feud to conceal their alliance. She figured a casual stab would suffice, but Yan Zheming went all out, stabbing so deeply that Doctor Xiao Chen later said if it had gone just an inch farther, she would have died on the spot. It was hard to dismiss the notion that he had taken that opportunity to vent his rage.
Shen Yinning asked, "Then why did you ultimately choose to give this to me?"
A trace of wistfulness and sentiment flashed across Yan Zheming’s face. "Before heading to the battlefield, Ahai told me that if he died in battle, I must, at some point in the future, find an opportunity to return this to you. When I departed from the Dayan Royal Capital, I was full of hatred and swore to hang this key on your gravestone. But later, as I passed the battlefield where Ahai and Shen Xingye faced off, I seemed to see a younger him, riding a horse to chase after Shen Xingye, shouting for him to come to the plains for curd and roasted lamb ribs. I thought, if Ahai were still alive, he would surely see you as a younger sister and would never want you to die by my hand."
Shen Yinning had never met Yan Zhehai before.
Now, as she listened to Yan Zheming recount these past events, she couldn’t help but remember how her elder brother, every time he departed from the Capital for the border, would always bring along small trinkets from the Capital. She assumed those had been intended for Yan Zhehai.
She imagined the years of peace between the two nations—the scenes of her elder brother and Yan Zhehai herding sheep, galloping horses, and drinking together on the snowy fields of the borderlands, as though her brother had gained a younger sibling.
But starting one particular year, her elder brother stopped bringing those little trinkets.
Yan Zhehai had been even younger than her elder brother. When he died under her brother’s spear, he must still have been a passionate and wholehearted youth.
Yet this boy, unrelated by blood, resembled a real younger brother to her elder brother far more than the beast, Shen Xinglei, ever did.
Her lashes lowered as she tightly gripped the bronze key. "Thank you."
Yan Zheming waved his hand and left the Shen Garden.
Gan Tangwei followed a step behind.
She looked at Shen Yinning seriously. "After the contest in the Golden Hall that day, my master praised your calligraphy as exceptionally exquisite. I wonder, might I, a humble girl, have the honor of asking the Commandery Princess for a piece of your calligraphy? I wish to practice and learn from it each day."
This was no difficult task.
Shen Yinning’s study contained many completed works, so she selected a few to give to her.
Gan Tangwei treated them as treasures, holding them carefully in her arms. "At eight years old, I was chosen by my master from among hundreds of girls my age and was taught Central Plains culture by renowned tutors. In the Royal Capital, I dared to claim both exceptional talent and beauty. I thought myself gifted, but now I realize there are always those more skilled. The Commandery Princess’ talents are far more dazzling than mine. My master holds you in high regard."
Shen Yinning noticed that when Gan Tangwei mentioned Yan Zheming, her beautiful and profound eyes seemed to shine brightly.
Curious, Shen Yinning asked, "Do you like Yan Zheming? You and he make quite the fitting match."
Gan Tangwei lowered her head with a faint smile. "A match? I wouldn’t dare dream of it. I come from a humble background. My talent and beauty are merely values my master measures, but ultimately, I am just a chess piece groomed by him. As a chess piece, how could I dare to covet a position beside him? It’s enough for me to be able to alleviate his troubles; that alone makes me content and happy."
With a Central Plains-style curtsey, she retreated.
Seated in a round-back chair, Shen Yinning held a cup of tea in her fair fingertips.
For some reason, she suddenly thought of herself and Lu Ying.
In her youth, she had been prideful and naive, with the grand dream of becoming the Crown Princess Consort. She considered herself beautiful, clever, and unmatched by any girl fit for that position.
But step by step, she had come to this present point. She and Lu Ying faced not just issues of status but also the immense chasm and disconnect created between them by the Shen Family and Yan Country.
The tea’s steam curled faintly.
Shen Yinning gazed at the lotus flowers in the ornamental vase on the flower table.
Lu Ying had picked them for her a few days ago. They had bloomed just yesterday, and Haitang said they had been open for an entire day and night.
Unfortunately, she had missed their prime. Now the flowers were withering, their petals’ edges tinged with yellow and shriveled, no longer fresh and tender.
She suddenly thought, perhaps she could never become Lu Ying’s Crown Princess Consort after all.
"Zhaozhao!"
Soon after Yan Zheming and Gan Tangwei left, Xue Mianmian came rushing in.
Seeing Shen Yinning unharmed, she finally sighed in relief. "When I woke up yesterday morning and found you gone, I was so scared I nearly fainted! Thank goodness you’re alright!"
"My elder brother left me something." Shen Yinning showed Xue Mianmian the bronze key. "But with just the key and no lock, I have no idea what it’s for."
Xue Mianmian thought for a moment and said, "Maybe Brother Shen left you a treasure trove filled with ingots, silver notes, jade, and antiques! Zhaozhao, you’re going to strike it rich!"
Shen Yinning tapped her on the head. "My elder brother barely had enough salary to play cockfighting games with other noble sons. How could he possibly have the money to make a treasure trove?"
Xue Mianmian clutched her head. "Then maybe it’s a key to some hidden room in the Shen Guogong Mansion? Zhaozhao, does your family mansion have secret chambers or dungeons? Xue Ling loves digging dungeons; he secretly dug several at home and said he’d lock me in one if I misbehaved."
Shen Yinning’s former residence, seized during the raid on the Shen Family, had been bestowed by the Emperor to Shen Yan’s family and continued to serve as the Shen Guogong Mansion.
But as far as she could recall, there seemed to be no such secret chambers.
"Why don’t I go with you to have a look?" Xue Mianmian suggested. "After all, now that you’re a noble Commandery Princess, it’s only right to show off in front of them so they’ll stop looking down on you."
Shen Yinning, recalling how her uncle had been stripped of his military authority by the Emperor, couldn’t help but smile. "Let’s go and take a look."
The two sisters climbed into a carriage headed toward the Shen Guogong Mansion. As Shen Yinning felt the bronze key tucked inside her pouch, she murmured, "Actually, there’s something I still can’t understand. Why did my elder brother entrust the key to Yan Zhehai? Why didn’t he just give it to me directly?"
Xue Mianmian, holding her cheeks seriously, said, "Zhaozhao, if you can’t figure it out, how could I possibly make sense of it?"
Shen Yinning lowered her gaze, pondering deeply.
Unless her elder brother had foreseen that one day, the Shen Family might face the danger of a raid. Fearing that the officials would discover and confiscate the key, he had entrusted it to a trustworthy outsider for safekeeping. Only in this way could it ultimately and safely reach her hands.
This line of thinking led her to conclude that her elder brother wanted her to use the key to unlock a certain door or box at some undefined point far in the future.
And the timing of that unlocking had to come after the Shen Family’s raid.
But why?