Chapter 49: You’ll Listen to Your Sister Pei, Won’t You? Part 1

Shen Yuezhuang was led back to the Longevity Palace by a palace maid.

The clothes were set out on the rosewood coat rack in the inner chamber. Not only did Shen Yuezhuang not change, she stood bolt upright at the door, waiting until Liu Yun entered the hall before charging up to her.

“That princess is crazy. She must not want the peace talks, so she deliberately set me up! I was standing perfectly still, and someone hit me right in the back of the knee! That’s why I fell!”

Liu Yun had just returned to the palace. Seeing the smell of alcohol still on her official robe, a glint of displeasure flickered in her eyes. But when she raised them to look at Shen Yuezhuang, her gaze carried half a hint of reproach and complaint.

“I heard.”

Liu Yun’s tone was flat, as if she didn’t care much about Shen Yuezhuang’s explanation. She dismissed the servants with a blank expression, then led Shen Yuezhuang back into the inner chamber.

She walked straight to the rosewood coat rack and took down a skirt. Then, she came back to Shen Yuezhuang.

The summer robes were light. The spilled wine had soaked through, making the fabric stick unpleasantly to her skin. Though uncomfortable, the wine had only spilled on her waist and the hem of her robe.

The wet stain had spread over a large area. By the time she got there, most of it had dried, leaving only a darker patch of red on the crimson official robe. It traced an outline of something secretive, enough to stir the imagination.

If you see a Buddha in your heart, you see a Buddha everywhere. Liu Yun was not a Buddha. So she could only turn her head away slightly, her tone laced with a barely concealed, flustered disgust and impatience. “Just get changed. You reek of alcohol.”

But Shen Yuezhuang just looked at her and didn’t speak.

To Shen Yuezhuang, Liu Yun’s reaction after returning to the palace confirmed what Sister Pei had said: “This matter is of utmost importance to her and must not be messed up.” Since she had almost messed it up, Liu Yun must be blaming her.

The grievance in her heart grew stronger. But then, it turned into anger that Liu Yun didn’t believe her.

Anger replaced panic. It was just like the night Liu Yun first entered the palace, when her words had pierced Shen Yuezhuang’s heart: “What, do you want to enter the palace too? Or are you blaming me for taking your chance to be Empress?”

“‘Friendship?’ Miss Shen, what is your friendship worth? Can it help me take revenge, or can it secure me a life of comfort and security?”

“What’s done is done. If you also want to enter the palace, consider it a debt I owe you. After I’ve taken my revenge, you can do whatever you want. But if you’re only here for this so-called ‘friendship,’ then wish me well on my rise to the top.”

Since ancient times, those closest to you know best how to wound you with words. And Shen Yuezhuang had always believed her. The words Liu Yun had used back then to drive her away, she still believed them wholeheartedly.

If she hadn’t, she wouldn’t have said to A Sang that day: “For those of us who don’t live by our wits, the most important thing is to be obedient. Being obedient means making fewer mistakes. Making fewer mistakes is a help.”

If she hadn’t, she wouldn’t have stared blankly at the princess on the dais, feeling that her own thoughts were naturally irrelevant.

She was afraid, after all.

Afraid of being abandoned for the same reasons again. Afraid of being accused of something she couldn’t defend herself against, something that would make her want to tear open her own heart to prove her innocence.

People who don’t learn from their mistakes are doomed to repeat them.

But apparently, what Shen Yuezhuang had learned from Liu Yun was not how to stay away from such a “cold and heartless” person. She had stumbled and fallen, then picked herself up, only to think about how to get along with her in the future.

Fortunately, today’s matter didn’t require Shen Yuezhuang to bare her heart to prove her innocence. She fumed as she tried to untie the large belt at her waist, her tone full of grievance and resentment.

“I swear it wasn’t on purpose! Look! See for yourself!”

The back of her knee still hurt. If someone had hit her with something, there should be a mark. Impatient to prove her innocence, Shen Yuezhuang only fumbled more with the jade buckle on her belt.

She soon lost her patience and tried to just tear it off with her bare hands.

She pulled so hard that her knuckles turned white. Liu Yun reached over and took over.

With a soft “click,” Liu Yun draped the belt over her arm. Seeing her roughly fumbling with her collar, she couldn’t help but take over the task of helping the eldest Miss Shen change her clothes.

It must be the circle of karma: the tasks she never did when she was a maidservant in the Shen residence were now being slowly made up for, now that she was the Empress Dowager.

Looking at her puffed-up face, Liu Yun’s heart itched. After unbuttoning the first button, she couldn’t resist flicking her chin with her index finger.

“If it wasn’t on purpose, then it wasn’t. What does she have to do with you? She schemed against you, so you’re angry, that’s fine. But why be so aggrieved?”

The more she talked, the funnier she found it. She tossed the discarded outer robe aside and turned back to look at Shen Yuezhuang’s almost weepy expression. Her voice was filled with exasperation. “Over a person you’ve only met once? How have you gotten worse as you’ve gotten older?”

The grievance wasn’t directed at someone she had just met. Being scolded by Liu Yun only made Shen Yuezhuang feel worse. She pushed away the skirt Liu Yun was about to help her put on.

“Don’t you believe me?” She hitched up her trouser leg, revealing her pale calf, and tried to raise the back of her knee to Liu Yun’s eye level. “I’ll show you!”

This was a difficult maneuver, lifting her leg and twisting the back of her knee forward. Shen Yuezhuang twisted herself up like an acrobat in the Golden Tower, wobbling on one leg. She was about to topple over when Liu Yun, with a helpless expression, caught her by the waist.

“Who said I don’t believe you?” She paused, seeing Shen Yuezhuang’s accusatory look, and added indulgently, “Alright, alright. Let me see. Lean over the chair, I’ll take a closer look.”

Liu Yun hadn’t even bothered to mention the princess’s name, which showed how little she thought of the Nanchu princess.

But as she held Shen Yuezhuang’s knee and looked at the smooth, jade-like skin, she was silent for a moment.

Liu Yun’s silence made Shen Yuezhuang, who was hugging the back of the chair and kneeling on the seat, turn her head to press. “See? Is it all red! I told you someone hit me with something on purpose!”

“…Yes.” Liu Yun pursed her lips, looking at that patch of skin that was unusually pale from lack of sun. She deliberately placed her index finger on the back of her knee and said, without changing her expression, “It’s right here, a big red mark.”

Shen Yuezhuang let out a “hmph” and turned her head away.

Even though she had proven her innocence, she didn’t look happy. She just muttered to herself, “Making me prove you wrong!”

“Who would I believe if not you? That foreign princess?” Liu Yun found it absurd. She waved her hand for Shen Yuezhuang to move over, then squeezed herself onto the chair. “I just wanted you to change your clothes, and you make such a fuss. At the banquet today, you were having such a good time talking with your Lord Jiang. What, are you mad at me for interrupting?”

“Don’t you try that!” Shen Yuezhuang had one leg hooked over Liu Yun’s, her knee resting on it, while the other leg was kneeling upright on the chair. She looked down at Liu Yun. “Sister Pei said that the peace talks with Nanchu are very important, so I shouldn’t cause any trouble. Lord Jiang came to thank me!”

As she spoke, Liu Yun’s gaze was almost fixed on the skirt not far away. Only after Shen Yuezhuang finished did she slant a smileless, phoenix-eyed glare at her. “Oh, so you listen to your Sister Pei.”

She had told her not to meddle in things that didn’t concern her, and she had thrown a tantrum. But when someone else tells her not to cause trouble, she’s obedient as can be!

“Since your clothes are wet, shouldn’t you ask your Sister Pei if you can change them now? What a pity, she’s accompanying that foreign princess to the courier station. I suppose you’ll have to wait until you see her tomorrow to ask?”

No sooner had the words left her mouth than Liu Yun felt the sting of their acidity. She bit her tongue in annoyance, but Shen Yuezhuang thought for a moment and let out a cold laugh.

She could understand the sharpness hidden in those words. She pulled her leg out of Liu Yun’s grip. “Fine, I’ll wait until tomorrow and ask her. My Sister Pei believes in me. She won’t tell me to wish her a rise to the top. Why wouldn’t I listen to her?”

“Unlike you. You never believed in me from the start. You told me not to meddle in your affairs. So, why should I listen to you?”

The closeness Shen Yuezhuang showed towards Pei Shangyu made Liu Yun burn with jealousy. But the anger in her chest was blocked by the words “rise to the top,” stuck right in the middle of her heart, choking her with a mix of fury and regret. She could barely breathe.

Seeing that this hard-won reunion was about to end in another bitter argument, Liu Yun took a deep breath and finally held back.

Her throat moved. She turned her head to look aside.

After a long moment, she let out a self-deprecating laugh. “You’re right. You don’t have to listen to me.”

Shen Yuezhuang was surprised to have won an argument against Liu Yun for once. But before she could feel any pride, she saw Liu Yun stand up, slowly walking over to hand her the set of robes.

“But the sun is going down, and there might be a wind…”

Before she could finish, she saw the refusal in Shen Yuezhuang’s eyes.

Shen Yuezhuang was still fuming. It wasn’t going to be easy to coax her with just a few words. Seeing Liu Yun acting humble only made her feel more justified in her anger. She lifted her chin proudly, refusing the offer clearly.

Seeing this, Liu Yun’s shoulders slumped. Her expression was downcast. “If you don’t want to wear it, that’s fine. I’ll have someone take you to the courier station. Pei Shangyu should still be there.”

Even though she was angry, Shen Yuezhuang didn’t want to go to the courier station. That princess had made her malicious intentions so obvious. Would she still go running to her? Was she stupid?