Chapter 418
The razor scraped against stubble, bringing a faint tingling sensation. Shen Wei's fingers were warm as they gently brushed over the skin, and Li Yuanjing couldn't help but tilt his head slightly, yearning to nuzzle against her touch.
"Don't move," Shen Wei reminded him.
Li Yuanjing obediently stilled.
His heart swelled with emotion—he believed Shen Wei still held some affection for him, however slight.
Outside the window, the night was deep, and the faint sound of wind drifted from the distant Luoyue Lake. After finishing shaving Li Yuanjing, Shen Wei washed her hands and placed the razor back in its case.
Weariness settled over her, and she returned to her bedchamber to rest.
No sooner had she lain down than Li Yuanjing, with practiced ease, entered the room and wrapped an arm around her waist.
After an entire winter apart, Li Yuanjing could finally hold Shen Wei again. He lowered his head, inhaling the scent at her neck, and couldn’t resist asking tentatively, "Weiwei, have you missed me these past months?"
Shen Wei pondered.
During her time away, she had thought of many people.
Naturally, she had also thought of Li Yuanjing.
But that kind of longing was merely a fleeting thought—nothing profound or heart-wrenching. Still, seeing Li Yuanjing’s pitiable state, with a strand of white now streaking his temples, Shen Wei replied, "I have."
Li Yuanjing smiled.
In the first half of her life, Shen Wei had won his favor through pretense.
In the latter half, she had captured his heart with her true self.
Li Yuanjing knew he was utterly and irrevocably bound to Shen Wei.
It didn’t matter whether she truly loved him. As long as she remained by his side, it was the greatest blessing he could ask for.
...
Li Yuanjing devotedly accompanied Shen Wei for over half a month, never leaving her side. That was, until a messenger from the palace arrived—his son, Li Chengtai, sought his counsel on urgent matters of state.
Li Chengtai had not been on the throne for long, and with the new emperor in Southern Chu causing political complexities, he turned to his father for guidance.
Reluctantly, Li Yuanjing had no choice but to return to the palace to assist his son. Privately, he resolved that once Shen Wei’s health improved, he would take her to Jiangnan, far from the machinations of court.
Shen Wei, content with the peace, returned to her study after her exercises to review the Southern Chu territory plans sent by merchants. Caiping entered to announce that Moxun, the imperial physician, had come to see her.
With the new emperor’s ascension in Southern Chu, Moxun had finally freed herself. She had originally intended to return to Qing State with Li Yuanjing, but her frail health made her reluctant to endure the journey. Instead, she chose to travel back leisurely on her own.
Somehow, Shen Xiuming had learned of her whereabouts and prepared a comfortable carriage, personally waiting at the border between the two states to escort her back.
"Shen Wei, I’m back," Moxun’s voice rang out before she appeared.
Shen Wei stepped out of the study to greet her.
The two embraced.
After a month apart, Shen Wei noticed Moxun looked even more haggard—her complexion pale as frost, her spirit listless.
Shen Wei led her inside, where attendants served fresh fruit and tea. Moxun bit into a green jujube while taking Shen Wei’s pulse.
After a moment, she withdrew her hand and continued chewing. "Your complexion is rosy, your pulse steady. Take care of yourself, and you’ll live to eighty."
Most people, after enduring the torment of soul transference, would be left weak and sleepless.
But Moxun found Shen Wei had already regained her health. She couldn’t help but admire her—Shen Wei always knew how to take care of herself.
Moxun grabbed another jujube and began rambling about Southern Chu gossip. "When they found you and Li Yuanli’s bodies in that cave, Li Yuanjing thought you were truly dead. He vomited blood on the spot—tch, the sight was pitiful. The moment he learned you’d returned to Qing State, he raced back on horseback."
"I stayed in Southern Chu for a while. The ninth prince took Li Yuanli’s body back for burial. The funeral was grand, with many commoners paying respects. When they sealed the tomb, a fat fox slipped inside and refused to leave. It curled up beside Li Yuanli’s coffin to sleep and never came out."
At the mention of Li Yuanli, Moxun sighed inwardly.
Truly, he carried Zhang He'an’s genes—madness and obsession ran in his bones. Like a moth drawn to flame, he would throw himself into the fire without hesitation, content to burn to ashes.
Shen Wei recalled the plump fox she’d encountered in the Southern Chu palace and murmured, "That fox was really fat."
Li Yuanli had taken good care of it.
Thinking of Li Yuanli, Shen Wei felt little turmoil, but she knew she would never forget this man and his madness.
The study was quiet, the tea infused with the fragrance of lotus blossoms. Moxun seemed to love Shen Wei’s floral tea, gulping down two large cups.
Noticing Moxun’s melancholy, Shen Wei asked, "Now that you’ve escaped Southern Chu, why not return to Yue Kingdom? You might find the National Preceptor."
Yue Kingdom was Moxun’s homeland.
The National Preceptor was a man of great power—perhaps he hadn’t died, and Moxun could reunite with him.
But Moxun only shook her head, staring into her cup. "There’s no point searching. Life is unpredictable—no use forcing things."
She and Zhang He'an had been entangled for two lifetimes. Perhaps their fate had long since worn thin.
A century ago, she had died young, leaving Zhang He'an alone in Southern Chu.
Now, a century later, he had left before her.
Moxun had thought she wouldn’t grieve, but as days passed, the emotions buried deep within her could no longer be suppressed.
With a bitter smile, she murmured, "Shen Wei, this feeling is so strange. When I was with Zhang He'an, I thought him cunning, cold, manipulative, and stubborn—I couldn’t wait to be rid of him. But after he died, I suddenly remembered his kindness..."
The seeds planted a century ago had only now borne bitter fruit.
The delayed realization was too painful.
Unsure how to comfort her, Shen Wei ordered a pleasure boat prepared. The early summer scenery of Luoyue Lake was breathtaking—perhaps the outing would distract Moxun from her sorrow.
The attendants worked swiftly.
The vast lake shimmered as an ornate painted boat glided into the heart of the lotus leaves. The first buds of summer lotuses peeked above the water, their beauty lifting Moxun’s spirits slightly.
Clutching a wine jug, she leaned over the railing, tipsily trying to catch dragonflies perched on the flowers. "Zhang He'an once built me a lotus pond," she slurred. "It was hideous."
Worried she’d drink too much, Shen Wei took the jug from her. "Have some fruit first."
Moxun hiccuped. "Don’t want fruit. I’m jumping in to catch fish."
With that, she vaulted over the railing.
Splash—
She hit the water and began dog-paddling.
Shen Wei rubbed her temples, regretting the outing instantly. "Quick, save her!"
Guards dove in one after another but found nothing.
In the end, a kind-hearted passerby fished Moxun out.
Dripping wet, the man in soaked brocade robes wiped water from his face and stood on the boat’s deck. With a respectful bow toward the beaded curtain where Shen Wei sat, he said,
"My lady, I am the Prince of Wu from Donglin. Having fortuitously rescued your friend today, I seek no reward—only the honor of your acquaintance."