Chapter 80: Couplets
Xie Jin felt that the amount of information was too large. After being stunned for a long time, she finally reacted, “So… if this is really a scheme set up by the First Imperial Princess, then it’s aimed at me? But I don’t think I’m so important as to have the First Imperial Princess and the State Preceptor team up to play such a big game of chess just to deal with me.”
Jiang Yu shook her head, “You are Little Seven’s aunt-general. If the First Imperial Princess befriends you, it’s possible that the Seventh Imperial Princess’s faction will lean towards her. Besides, the First Imperial Princess has a very heavy sense of humor and loves to stir up trouble, taking pleasure in muddying the waters and watching the show. I guess she’s a little restless seeing Youshu and I on good terms, and my relationship with the Second Sister is even closer. She’s thinking that since she can’t get Youshu, it’s also good to get General Xie.”
Xie Jin scratched her head, with a somewhat helpless air, “I’ve been so careful, but I still got involved.”
“This matter was probably unavoidable from the beginning,” Shen Zhishu said. “What are you going to do next? Pretend you don’t know?”
Xie Jin paused and said, “I really want to see what the First Imperial Princess is up to. Let me put on a show and pretend that I have already believed that Huang San is my wife’s reincarnation. If it’s just a coincidence and there’s no hand of the First Imperial Princess in it, then it’s fine; but if the First Highness really uses my feelings for my wife as a raft…”
“Hmm?”
Xie Jin blinked very lightly, her brow furrowed, and her expression immediately became sharp, “I will never let her have her way.”
**
The weather was good today, and the ten-li-long rosy clouds dyed the long street a bright red, as if thousands of lanterns were hanging high, stretching from the residential houses to the mountains.
Shen Zhishu kept Xie Jin and Jiang Yu for a meal at her manor. Just as Xie Jin was about to say goodbye, she suddenly heard a report from the door, “Cui Qi has personally sent a letter of introduction and wants to thank the General in person.”
Shen Zhishu’s problem of not remembering people came up again. She thought for a long time but couldn’t figure it out. It was Jiang Yu who reminded her, “It’s that top scorer, the one who was assassinated in the small woods a while ago.”
Shen Zhishu suddenly realized and turned to ask Xie Jin, “Do you think I should see her?”
Xie Jin smiled, “You’re asking me. I don’t even know any Cui Qi, how can I make a decision for you?”
So Shen Zhishu turned to Jiang Yu, her eyes a little helpless.
Jiang Yu met her gaze for a few moments, then turned her head and asked Xie Jin in a faint voice, “Is your friend so shy?”
“What shyness?” Shen Zhishu muttered. “I’m just afraid of trouble. If we meet, we’ll have to exchange pleasantries for several rounds and say some compliments. We won’t get any useful information, and we’ll have wasted half a day on this.”
Xie Jin snorted, “You weren’t afraid of trouble at all when you were young. We were complete strangers, but you came up to comfort me when you saw me crying. Now, unless it’s absolutely necessary, you don’t see any strangers. Isn’t this going backwards as you get older?”
Jiang Yu blinked, “The General’s words make me curious. How did the General and Youzhi meet?”
Xie Jin told her the whole story, and Jiang Yu nodded, “The General and Youzhi have a deep affection.”
Xie Jin said hurriedly, “Zhishu and I have known each other for more than ten years, and we have slowly become familiar with each other. It’s not like Your Highness and her, who hit it off at first sight.”
Shen Zhishu was about to say, “I—”
“General,” an attendant reminded her carefully. “The top scorer Cui has been waiting outside for a quarter of an hour. Will the General see her?”
Shen Zhishu slapped her forehead, “Oh my, I forgot about her. Forget it, forget it, I’ll see her once today. But if she brings any thank-you gifts, you must not accept them.”
So, a joss stick’s time later, Cui Qi walked gracefully to the flower hall.
Cui Qi was already sweating with nervousness.
That time in the woods was really too painful, and her nervousness was negligible. Apart from that, it was her first time meeting such a high-ranking official in a formal occasion.
Especially when she heard from the doorman that not only General Shen was here, but also Her Highness Huai’an and General Xie were at the manor, she was even more worried for herself—
Two of the three were her benefactors, and the remaining one was said to be on very good terms with her benefactors, as if they wore the same pair of pants.
If she did not behave well in front of them, not only would she be suspected of being ungrateful, but her future official career would probably also be hindered.
She raised her head and saw three faces with different expressions—General Shen was in high spirits, the Eldest Princess was as expressionless as ever, and as for General Xie…
General Xie had a pained expression on her face.
Cui Qi: …It’s over.
Cui Qi immediately imagined a ten-thousand-word play of “General Xie is not pleased with me today, and will find an excuse to slaughter my whole family tomorrow,” and tears almost came down. She opened her mouth carefully and greeted the three of them politely. But after she had said “Greetings, General Xie,” Xie Jin’s face fell a little more.
Cui Qi: …It’s really over!
Perhaps it was because Cui Qi’s fear was written all over her face. Shen Zhishu raised her hand and punched Xie Jin, smiling, “A guest is here, what’s with that expression?”
Cui Qi said hurriedly, “I’m not a guest. It was this commoner who came uninvited and disturbed you, my lords.”
Xie Jin rubbed her face, tidied up her features, and said, “Sorry,” and said to Cui Qi in a good-natured voice. “Did my expression just now scare you? It wasn’t aimed at you. It’s just that the things the three of us were talking about just now were very unpleasant, and I was still thinking about that, so I didn’t control my expression well.”
Cui Qi waved her hands repeatedly and said, “No, no,” and Xie Jin glanced at her and laughed out loud, “You’re too careful. We’re not robbers, there’s no need to be so reserved like a rabbit. I heard that you came today to personally thank General Shen and Her Highness Huai’an. How is it, have you prepared a gift? By the way, do you know what General Shen and Her Highness Huai’an like?”
Cui Qi was stunned by what she said and shook her head, “This commoner does not know. I hope the General can give me some guidance.”
Xie Jin opened her mouth, “They like gold. If others come to thank them, they will prepare ten thousand taels of gold. Have you prepared it?”
Shen Zhishu: …
Shen Zhishu said faintly, “Xie Zhiyu, I’ve helped you so much before, why didn’t you prepare ten thousand taels of gold for me? Don’t tease the little girl. Can’t you see she’s about to cry?”
Xie Jin said, “Oh,” “Her ability to withstand blows is not very good. How can she be an official in the future?”
Shen Zhishu smiled, “Did you take the wrong medicine today? This is my guest, don’t scare her away.”
Xie Jin shrugged and made a zipping motion on her lips.
Cui Qi watched from the side in a daze and said with emotion, “The relationship between the two generals is really good.”
“Of course,” Xie Jin said. “After all, we’ve known each other for more than ten years.”
“This commoner thinks that a close relationship is not about how long you’ve known each other. The two generals are like this, and in the end, it’s a spiritual connection,” Cui Qi said matter-of-factly. “Just like General Shen and Her Highness Huai’an. They haven’t known each other for long, but their relationship is also close. This is due to fate, and their personalities are compatible.”
Xie Jin’s interest was piqued, “Since you’ve mentioned Her Highness Huai’an, why don’t you tell me, do you think my relationship with General Shen is better, or Her Highness Huai’an’s relationship with General Shen is better?”
Shen Zhishu: …
Shen Zhishu finally couldn’t bear it anymore and reached out to cover her mouth, “You’ve had a couple of drinks at the dinner table, and now you’re flushed?”
Jiang Yu, who had been silent from beginning to end, suddenly spoke, “It’s alright. General Xie was probably just trying to liven up the atmosphere because she saw that the top scorer Cui was reserved, so she was a little outspoken. The top scorer Cui doesn’t have to be afraid, just say what you think.”
She was speaking to Cui Qi, but her gaze gracefully floated to Shen Zhishu’s face, seeming a little casual.
Shen Zhishu met her gaze for a moment, looked away, and nodded at Cui Qi.
So Cui Qi began to think seriously.
When she spoke, her not-so-round eyes were staring straight at Jiang Yu, and her brow was furrowed, which made her look very sincere, “In this commoner’s opinion, General Shen’s feelings for General Xie and Her Highness Huai’an are different, so they cannot be simply compared.”
Xie Jin’s interest was piqued, “How are they different?”
“General Shen and General Xie can joke around freely, but she seems to be more careful with Her Highness Huai’an,” Cui Qi said with a serious air. “This is probably the difference between a bad friend and a good friend.”
“So, I’m a bad friend?” Xie Jin raised an eyebrow. “You’re not speaking properly, child.”
Shen Zhishu smiled and said, “You can tease her, but she can’t tease you?”
When she was joking with Xie Jin, her body would unconsciously lean to the other side, and the ends of her low ponytail would brush against Jiang Yu’s shoulder.
Jiang Yu never dodged.
Cui Qi watched quietly for a while, lowered her eyes, and thought to herself that she was probably not wrong.
General Shen and General Xie were exceptionally familiar close friends, but with Her Highness Huai’an, it seemed to be more… intimate?
It was as if they were the same kind of person, so they hit it off at first sight and became close friends.
Xie Jin muttered, “Isn’t it a rebellion for her to tease me,” and turned to continue asking Cui Qi, “Since you said you came to thank General Shen and Her Highness Huai’an… then how are you going to thank them?”
Cui Qi said with a red face, “I have written two poems for the General and Her Highness Huai’an respectively!”
“Oh?” Shen Zhishu smiled. “It is Shen’s honor to receive a poem from the top scorer. Has the top scorer transcribed it? Or are you going to recite it to us?”
Cui Qi nodded like a garlic pounder, “I have written two couplets and will now present them to the General and Your Highness.”
Shen Zhishu happily had someone take them out. An attendant spread them out with a swish and read them out loud:
“Gold and silver come from all four sides, and children come from thousands of households. Horizontal scroll: Attracting wealth and children.”
Shen Zhishu: …
The one for Jiang Yu was—
“Good, good, good, good, good, good, good, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. Horizontal scroll: Good and wonderful.”
Shen Zhishu, Jiang Yu: …
Shen Zhishu pointed to Jiang Yu’s couplet and said faintly, “Setting aside mine, why does Her Highness Huai’an’s only have two words?”
Cui Qi smiled shyly, “This commoner’s handwriting is best for these two words, and these two words have the best meaning. This commoner is not sure of Her Highness Huai’an’s preferences, and I was thinking that it would be bad if any of the words clashed with Her Highness Huai’an’s taboos.”
Shen Zhishu: …
Jiang Yu looked at the two couplets carefully two or three times and said in a faint voice, “Setting aside the rest, the top scorer Cui’s handwriting is really not bad. I will have someone go back to my manor and put them on the door right away. What about the General? Do you want to put it up?”
As she spoke, she directly handed them to Lantiao, who was peeking over her shoulder. Lantiao took the order and ran away.
Shen Zhishu: …Wait, are you really going to put it up, sister?
Shen Zhishu thought to herself that if “children come from all four sides” were really put up, this news would surely spread outside.
And as it spread, it would probably become “General Shen is so eager to have children that she has gone somewhere to get a couplet and put it up at home”…
