Chapter 7: Coming Out

Shen Sheng’s eyes lit up.

Princess Anle glared at Shen Sheng. “General Shen and the State Preceptor must have known each other for a long time. Otherwise, why would the State Preceptor, who never takes sides, repeatedly speak up for you?”

Her husband, Zhou Yi, looked up at Shen Sheng, his gaze melancholic and lingering.

“The General and I knew each other in a past life, even earlier than when she knew Prince Consort Zhou. Is Your Highness displeased?” Anu intercepted the question. She stared at Zhou Yi and frowned. “Prince Consort Zhou, you are already married; she is still unmarried. Staring like that… it’s not appropriate.”

In the Emperor’s presence, words should be tactful, leaving three parts unsaid, using veiled and indirect speech. The engagement between Shen Sheng and Zhou Yi was once praised as a beautiful tale. Ever since it was broken off, smart people subtly avoided the topic. Yet Anu brought it up again and again.

Her final words silenced the entire hall. Even the Emperor felt awkward, giving a low cough. “Minister Shen has had a long journey. I hear you encountered assassins on the road.”

Finally, the topic shifted. Shen Sheng immediately stood up to report, presenting the letter proving the Song Family’s treason.

The Emperor was furious. After reading the letter, he ordered the Ministry of Justice to take over the case.

Shen Sheng seized the chance to slip away. She had barely gone two steps when Zhou Yi chased after her. Seeing him approach, she immediately ran back inside the hall, once again sitting down next to Anu.

The Minister of Justice received the letter and hurriedly left. Only then did the Emperor find the time to offer words of comfort, announcing a banquet that evening to wash away the dust of Shen Sheng’s journey.

Princess Anle spoke again: “General Shen is already eighteen. Ordinary women come of age at fifteen and marry at sixteen. The General should also be settling down.”

She was completely oblivious. Shen Sheng, her hair already turning white from worry, nudged Anu with her hand. “I’ll marry you, okay?”

“Not marrying,” Anu withdrew the arm Shen Sheng had touched. A simple tingling numbness made her instinctively look elsewhere.

Shen Sheng felt like she was turning to stone. She quickly said, “But we’ve already been intimate.”

“You haven’t suffered any loss. Why are you clinging to me?” Anu refused again.

Shen Sheng felt like crying. Across from her, Princess Anle seized the opportunity to interject: “Does the Young General have someone she cares for?”

“Is the Princess so concerned about General Shen’s private affairs because she fears the General and the Prince Consort might rekindle old feelings?” Anu looked up, casually lifting the teacup from the table to take a sip. Completely at ease, she said: “The General and the Prince Consort shared feelings for many years, far longer than the Princess’s two years of marital bond. If I were the Princess, I’d pretend not to care, rather than bringing it up repeatedly and making myself miserable. What if the Prince Consort truly does still have feelings for this General and wants to take her as a second wife? Wouldn’t you be slapping your own face?”

“He wouldn’t dare!” Princess Anle flew into a rage, turning to glare at the Zhou Yi beside her. “If you harbor such thoughts, I will surely kill you.”

“Anle,” the Emperor, silent for a long moment, finally spoke, lecturing: “A daughter of our house threatening to kill her husband? If word of this spreads, how will the world view our royal family?”

Shen Sheng’s lips pursed, then pursed again, her eyes growing clearer, rivaling the light of a bright moon.

Princess Anle was so angry she stormed out, completely ignoring Zhou Yi’s dignity. Prince Consort Zhou Yi apologized to the Emperor on her behalf, paid his respects to the State Preceptor, and finally, cast a glance at Shen Sheng, before lowering his head and leaving.

That final glance held despair mixed with a lingering tenderness.

Shen Sheng felt secretly delighted inside. Her eyes curved as she looked at Anu. But Anu just gave her a cold look and said: “When you have time, remember to visit our child.”

Shen Sheng, secretly delighted, touched her own ear. Her eyes went wide, a mix of incredulity and cute bewilderment. “What did you say?”

After speaking, Anu rose and left, leaving Shen Sheng completely baffled there.

“But we’ve only known each other for a month…”

“We’ve really only known each other for a month…”

There was a banquet in the evening. Shen Sheng needed to return home to change clothes. In a daze, she left the palace gate. Her guard, Qing Yi, approached her. “Fifth Miss, why is there blood on your clothes?”

Shen Sheng climbed onto her horse with unsteady, floating steps. She turned back to Qing Yi. “Qing Yi, hypothetically, if you slept with someone a month ago, and that person was a woman… could you have a child after one month?”

Qing Yi burst out laughing. “Someone’s tricked you, haven’t they? Not to mention it takes ten months to bear a child, women can’t even have children with each other.”

“Well said. She was definitely lying to me.” Shen Sheng suddenly felt a wave of relief. Lifting her small, palm-sized face, she smiled and sang out loud and clear: “It’s all lies… it’s all lies…”

Heh… a liar…

She raced all the way home. At the gate, the red lanterns showed the household’s festive joy.

Master and servant entered the mansion together. Shen Sheng first went to change, then headed to the main room to pay her respects to her mother.

With her daughter alive, Madam Shen had also changed into a light crimson skirt. The hem was sprinkled with gold, cascading down gracefully, highlighting her alluring figure.

“Mother, I’m back.” Shen Sheng stepped over the threshold with large strides.

The woman on the sitting couch smiled brightly, her gaze gentle and lingering. “Your sisters-in-law will be back in a few days. Then we’ll hold a banquet to celebrate you properly.”

“Mother, I met Anu.” Shen Sheng lifted her smiling face. Her usually tied-up hair hung loose over her thin, delicate shoulders, adding a touch of allure to her features.

“Mhm.” Madam Shen didn’t seem surprised, showing no astonishment. She pulled her daughter down to sit.

Over the past three years, Shen Sheng’s features had matured. Her skin was a bit darker, not as fair as before, but her demeanor was considerably steadier.

Madam Shen blinked softly. Shen Sheng leaned in to study her mother. “Mother, your temperament has improved a great deal.”

Madam Shen gently pushed away her daughter’s close-inspecting eyes, her vision clearing immediately. “You met Anu. What do you want to say?”

“I want to marry her, but she won’t agree. You tell me, why won’t she agree?” Shen Sheng straightened up, her hand brushing over her mother’s half-exposed, snow-white wrist, then sat properly.

Seeing the innocent bewilderment on her daughter’s face, Madam Shen sighed inwardly, realizing her daughter still didn’t understand what love truly was. She said: “If she won’t agree, then don’t marry. Why stubbornly hang yourself on one tree when other trees are also good?”

“She’s very strange.” Shen Sheng voiced her confusion. Since meeting Anu, her life had been completely turned upside down.

She longed for Anu, but she couldn’t even figure out her true identity. Now she knew she was the State Preceptor…

“Mother, where does the State Preceptor come from?”

Madam Shen looked into the young girl’s pure, clear eyes and said helplessly: “The State Preceptor comes from South River, south of the edge of the sky.”

South River was a legend.

Legend said there were only women there, no men. The waters of South River allowed women to conceive and bear children. And the water of South River could heal the wounded, restore flesh and bone, and even resurrect the dead.

South River overturned the world’s natural order, standing above all things, making men seem no longer so vital—procreating heirs no longer required a man.

Such a place defied the laws of nature, subject to condemnation from the heavens.

But these were just legends. No one could say for sure what the truth was.

“South River? Where is that? I’ve never heard of it.” The more Shen Sheng heard, the more confused she became. “Be clearer. Is it a kingdom?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t been able to find out clearly. Ask her yourself.” A look of pity appeared in Madam Shen’s eyes. She pinched her daughter’s cheek. “You came back alive, that’s what matters. I had a medicinal bath prepared for you. Take a soak when you return tonight.”

Shen Sheng asked for a while but got nothing. She said solemnly: “Mother, if I were to marry the State Preceptor, would you object?”

Madam Shen, with her graceful and alluring figure and excellent temperament, smiled upon hearing this: “Do you have the ability?”

“No,” Shen Sheng admitted frankly. “Mother, you don’t object?”

“When have I ever objected to your choices? But I need to tell you, the State Preceptor is ruthless and cruel. She’s done some vicious things before that have drawn much disapproval. Her manor has the Twelve Gates, which perform some underhanded deeds for her. Would you still accept that?” Madam Shen’s smile was faint, without a trace of harshness or disdain, merely wanting the love-struck girl to weigh things carefully for herself.

She added: “The State Preceptor is ruthless and cruel, but if she’s good to you, these things don’t matter. Is she good to you?”

“Very good,” Shen Sheng smiled again, feeling as if bathed in a spring breeze. Especially the way she’d confronted Princess Anle today—truly a wonderful person.

Madam Shen furrowed her brow slightly. Was this her coming out?

Madam Shen coughed lightly and poked Shen Sheng’s forehead. “If you truly like her, I’ll go to the State Preceptor Manor tomorrow to test the waters. How about that?”

“Mother, you’re wonderful.”

“First, investigate the State Preceptor’s reputation for yourself, and look into the matter of South River. Know what you’re getting into. Don’t let love cloud your judgment.” Madam Shen stared into her daughter’s bright, limpid eyes.

Shen Sheng smiled. “His Majesty is hosting a welcome banquet for me tonight. I’ll be back late. Mother, you rest first.”

“I know. You’ve come to nag me now.” Madam Shen sighed.

The mother-daughter heart-to-heart ended. Having received her mother’s support, Shen Sheng returned to her room and changed again, dressing carefully.

The maids serving her all thought it was strange. “Is the Fifth Miss going to meet her beloved?”

Shen Sheng asked the maids while facing the mirror: “Have I gotten darker?”

“You were out fighting a war, of course, you’ll be darker, but it’s not too dark.”

Shen Sheng recalled Anu’s snow-white skin and graceful figure, and her heart raced.

At dusk, Shen Sheng, for the first time ever, ordered the gatehouse to prepare a carriage. Even Qing Yi found it strange.

“Fifth Miss, when have you ever sat in a carriage?”

“What if I get drunk tonight?” Shen Sheng found herself a perfectly good excuse.

Qing Yi was convinced, but she didn’t ride in the carriage, choosing instead to ride a horse alongside it.

The carriage stopped at the palace gate. Shen Sheng dismounted. Since it was a banquet, she was permitted to bring a maidservant. Qing Yi thus entered the palace as her attendant.

Passing through the corridor, Shen Sheng still smelled the faint scent of blood. She sneered to herself. Princess Anle, her mind clouded by love, was actually using blades within the palace for a man.

At the end of the corridor were two figures, one tall, one small. Under the twilight, their shadows stretched out long.

Shen Sheng walked quickly, catching up with large strides. From their backs, she recognized Anu. But who was the small one? She racked her brain. The Emperor had several young princesses, just a few years old. It was probably one of them.

Shen Sheng jogged a few steps, calling out from behind them: “Anu.”

The two figures, one tall and one small, stopped walking. The smaller one turned around and looked at Shen Sheng.