A Figure on Jade Steps in the Wind and Snow 11

Chapter 11: Inquiry

Shen Zhishu subconsciously glanced at Xie Jin, who had already taken her seat. Xie Jin shook her head at her, meaning: I didn’t notice a fourth person present at the time.

…I’ll settle the score with Xie Jin after I return to my seat, Shen Zhishu thought.

She met the Eldest Princess’s calm gaze, cupped her hands, and smiled, “This subordinate doesn’t understand what Your Highness means by that. This subordinate was strolling in the garden and lost my way on the way back, hence my late arrival.”

“Really?”

“Absolutely true.”

“No sweetheart?”

“None.”

Whispers gradually rose in the hall. Some young lady let out a long sigh of relief and joked with her sister beside her, “Just now, when I heard the Eldest Princess say that Little Lord Shen was with her lover, I was quite surprised. I thought to myself, I’ve never heard of it, how could it be? It turns out Her Highness the Eldest Princess was just teasing her. It gave me quite a scare.”

The person beside her teased, “Why the scare? Little Lord Shen is of marriageable age, it’s normal to have a sweetheart. Could it be… you want to be the General’s Consort?”

“Don’t say that, be careful someone might hear you,” that young lady blushed. “You’re only talking about me, don’t you want to be?”

Shen Zhishu, whose hearing was exceptionally good: …

She heard the whispers in the hall in their entirety and felt an even stronger urge to kill Xie Jin.

She raised her eyes and suddenly met the Eldest Princess’s probing gaze.

The Eldest Princess’s eyes were clear and light, her eyebrows slightly raised, which made her features seem a little more vivid.

They were a few feet apart, locked in a silent stalemate.

Shen Zhishu suddenly felt a little annoyed.

Perhaps the current scene reminded her of the stalemate between the two of them and the horse at the alley entrance the night before, or perhaps it was because every time she encountered the Eldest Princess, inexplicable things would follow. She immediately lost her appetite.

However, she immediately thought again, she couldn’t blame the Eldest Princess.

She was also a pitiful victim of persecution.

The next second, she heard the Eldest Princess say, “In that case, General, please return to your seat quickly.”

Shen Zhishu let out a long sigh of relief and, guided by an attendant, sat down next to Xie Jin.

The first thing she did after sitting down was to review the situation.

“Are you sure you didn’t see a fourth person in the garden?” Shen Zhishu frowned and asked in a low voice. “But if the Eldest Princess wasn’t there, why would she say such a thing?”

“I swear I really didn’t see…” Xie Jin thought for a moment. “Could it be that the Third Miss Xiao told the Eldest Princess? But the Third Miss Xiao is a person of her word, she doesn’t seem like the type to leak secrets.”

Actually, if the Eldest Princess had been present at the time and had personally witnessed the scene of Xie Jin “confessing” to her, it would have been fine. After all, the Eldest Princess also had a secret in her hands. Empathizing with her, she probably wouldn’t have revealed the matter.

What she was afraid of was that the Princess Consort’s younger sister had told the Eldest Princess.

—If she could tell the Eldest Princess, she might not necessarily tell others.

…She still had to confirm with the Eldest Princess after the banquet to be at ease.

Because of this small interlude, Shen Zhishu ate this meal without tasting anything.

When one is depressed and has nothing to do, one’s mind wanders, and one’s mouth loses its guard. Shen Zhishu drank a cup by herself, Xie Jin came to toast a cup, and the person beside her came to clink a cup. Before she knew it, four or five cups of wine had gone down her throat.

And her tolerance for alcohol was not very good.

So, halfway through the banquet, Xie Jin was watching the singing and dancing with bright eyes. Just as she saw a young lady leap onto a drum and dance dazzlingly, and excitedly went to pat her friend’s shoulder, she saw that her friend didn’t react for a long time.

Xie Jin turned her head in confusion and took a closer look—

Little Lord Shen was lying motionless on the table, drunk and silent.

**

When Shen Zhishu woke up, the sunlight slanted into her eyes through the spotless latticed glass window.

She frowned and sat up, dazed for a moment, before the scene before she blacked out slowly flooded into her mind.

Judging by the sunlight, it should be close to dusk, but not yet time to light the lamps. The room was half-lit, creating a lingering dimness.

At the other end of the room was a marble shelf with various pearlescent ornaments on it. On the wall hung paintings and poems by famous masters of the previous dynasty, with the words “A Thousand Autumns of Absurdity” written in cursive script.

The attendant outside heard the noise and hurried in. She picked up the teapot on the table, poured a cup of tea, and brought it to the bed, asking in pleasant surprise, “Is Little Lord Shen awake? The sobering soup has been kept warm on the stove, I’ll bring it to you.”

“Thank you.” Shen Zhishu tilted her head back and drank the tea in one gulp, smiling as she said, “There’s no need for the sobering soup, I’m already sober.”

She put on her clothes, got out of bed, and put on the shoes that were neatly arranged by the bed, then asked:

“Do you know where this is? And who carried me here?”

The attendant probably thought the word “carried” was very funny. Her shoulders shook three times, and just as she was about to speak, a familiar voice suddenly floated in from outside.

“I carried you.” Xie Jin bounced into the room and clicked her tongue. “The General is so heavy, my arms are still sore.”

“I haven’t even settled the score with you, and you’re already asking for a scolding?” Shen Zhishu glanced at her. “Serves you right for being sore.”

“Hey, you agreed to it in the first place. It’s not my fault that that situation happened.”

The attendant, listening to the two of them talking in riddles, quietly bowed and discreetly exited the room.

Shen Zhishu was in no mood to argue with her, so she asked, “Where is this, your manor? It’s changed a lot in the eight years I’ve been away.”

“No, no,” Xie Jin shook her head, keeping her in suspense for a while, and said mysteriously, “This is a guest room in the Eldest Princess’s Manor.”

Shen Zhishu: ???

Shen Zhishu hissed and asked in a low voice, “How did we end up at her manor?”

“After you passed out, the whole hall was in a flurry. The Eldest Princess offered to let you go to her manor, and she would have a physician check your pulse. I thought you probably had something to say to her, so I carried you here.”

Shen Zhishu: …

“You know me quite well,” Shen Zhishu said faintly.

Xie Jin became proud and patted her on the shoulder. “You flatter me.”

“In that case, let’s settle the score properly…” Shen Zhishu stretched out her hand to the side, and immediately a trusted subordinate presented a sword.

Shen Zhishu tossed the sword from her left hand to her right, and as she tossed it, she asked, “Spreading rumors that I’m infertile?”

Xie Jin quickly removed her hand from Shen Zhishu’s shoulder. “It was a desperate measure.”

“You didn’t survey the environment properly when you were acting with me, and the Eldest Princess saw you?”

“She definitely didn’t see.”

“Lying?”

“I wouldn’t dare, every word is true.”

Shen Zhishu gave her a deep look, put away the sword in her hand, and threw it back to her subordinate. “In that case, go and invite the Eldest Princess.”

As soon as the subordinate left, the Eldest Princess immediately appeared at the door, so quickly that Shen Zhishu suspected she had been eavesdropping at the corner of the wall all along.

She took off her snow-white cloak, handed it to an attendant waiting by her side, took a white marble hand warmer, and asked, “What does the General want with me?”

As she got closer, the scent of cedar drifted over with the wind that seeped in from outside.

Shen Zhishu first said thank you, then crossed her arms leisurely and gestured with her chin towards Xie Jin. “General Xie has something to ask Your Highness.”

Xie Jin: ??? How did it become my business?

Meeting Shen Zhishu’s threatening gaze, Xie Jin had no choice but to bite the bullet and cup her fists at the Eldest Princess, saying, “This subordinate does indeed have something to ask Your Highness.”

The Eldest Princess turned to her and said calmly, “What is it?”

Xie Jin looked at Shen Zhishu, who was desperately winking at her from not far away, and finally received her friend’s signal. Her mouth opened and closed. “This subordinate would like to ask Your Highness… were you in the garden area at the Prince of Su’s Manor earlier?”

Shen Zhishu let out a long sigh of relief in the shadows.

Finally, she asked.

She quietly waited for the Eldest Princess’s reply and saw the person in front of her tilt her head and think for a moment before saying, “I was.”

Xie Jin continued to ask, “Then… did you hear the conversation between General Shen, the Third Miss Xiao, and me?”

The Eldest Princess fell into deep thought again.

…Is this a difficult thing to recall? Shen Zhishu thought.

However, the person opposite her was of a higher status, and she was the one asking for a favor, so it was not appropriate to rush her.

So Shen Zhishu waited quietly with her arms crossed. After waiting for half an incense stick’s time, she finally saw the Eldest Princess nod. “I did hear it.”

Two words suddenly popped into Shen Zhishu’s mind: Thank goodness.

Thank goodness she saw it with her own eyes, and it wasn’t the Third Miss Xiao who told her.

But she suddenly felt a little unhappy.

This emotion was actually very unreasonable. If she had to say, it was probably because… although they had no interaction on the surface, they had been intimate twice in secret.

However, the Eldest Princess’s “I did hear it” was said as if it were “the weather is fine today.”

There was no emotional fluctuation.

Even strangers should have some reaction when they stumble upon someone’s private affairs. Either surprise or a slight apology.

Were they worse than strangers?

This little bit of unhappiness was just a fleeting thought and then dissipated in the scent of cedar. Shen Zhishu heard Xie Jin continue to ask, “Since Your Highness already knows, could you do this subordinate a favor and not spread this matter? This matter started because of me, and I insisted on confessing to General Shen in the garden. If it reaches my mother’s ears, I’m afraid there will be a big fuss.”

The Eldest Princess’s gaze shifted from Xie Jin’s face to Shen Zhishu’s, and after a moment, she nodded.

Shen Zhishu was relieved and was about to say “Thank you, Your Highness” as well, when she suddenly heard the Eldest Princess speak in a faint voice, “Since General Shen is already with General Xie, you should not flirt with others.”

Shen Zhishu: ?

Shen Zhishu found this very strange and couldn’t help but ask, “How am I flirting with others?”

“Just a reminder,” the Eldest Princess withdrew her gaze from her and then asked Xie Jin, “Is there anything else?”

Xie Jin shook her head.

“I do have one thing,” the Eldest Princess’s expression was faint, showing no emotion. “I was not aware of the history between the two generals, so I may have offended General Shen. Why don’t you have dinner at my manor tonight? I will have someone serve good wine to express my apologies.”

Shen Zhishu’s “No need” and Xie Jin’s resounding “Alright” came out at the same time.

Shen Zhishu: ?

She tugged on Xie Jin’s sleeve and asked in a low, gritted voice, “Why did you agree without consulting me?”

Xie Jin was completely oblivious. “Didn’t you hear? There’s good wine! We’re already at her manor, and there’s no one else around. I don’t think it’ll be a problem to stay a little longer.”

Shen Zhishu: …

Sister, you drink at noon, and you drink again at night.

You might as well drink yourself to death.