Chapter 45: Not Afraid

The Imperial Garden was in full bloom in early summer. The lush banyan trees cast a wide shade, and the gentle breeze added a touch of comfort.

Lin Xingxue sat by the stone table under the tree. She gently clasped Shen Hanxing’s hand, chatting with him casually. Occasionally, she would point to an unfamiliar flower, and Shen Hanxing would slowly explain.
When her teacup was empty, he would pour more tea for her. He pushed her favorite small pastries forward and moved the ones she didn’t like closer to himself.

The relaxed atmosphere felt less like attending an important banquet in the palace and more like leisurely being on a trip to rest and enjoy the flowers.

The Imperial Garden was not far from Taiji Hall, going there now would only mean facing others’ calculative gazes and insincere flattery. It was better to enjoy the breeze and flowers here and head into the hall when it was time. Additionally, with the maidservants of Empress Dowager Mo by their side, others dared not speak out of turn.

However, every time guests passed by, their gazes would inevitably linger on the young lady for a few moments. Their attention was always first drawn to her crimson dress-most high-ranking ladies recognized it as the finest cloud silk; a fabric that felt pleasantly cool to the touch and was extremely valuable.

This year, the palace managed to obtain a piece, and Prince Rong had mentioned it in front of the Emperor a few times. In the end, the Emperor finally bestowed the blue cloud silk to Prince Rong’s consort. It was unknown where Jinning Hou’s wife got hers.

“Xiao Yue is clearly doing it on purpose!” Away from others’ sight, a harsh voice sounds, followed by the swish of whips. A cluster of blooming flowers is scattered by the whip, falling apart like weeds.

The person seemed to still be unsatisfied and lashed out a few more times. On the final stroke, they swung too forcefully and lost control of the whip, causing the end of the whip to lash back toward themselves. Fortunately, a palace maid beside them managed to intercept the blow in time.

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The pastry was a bit sweet. Her husband, unlike her, wasn’t fond of sweets and was usually averse to sweet foods.

“Try it, it’s really good and not too sweet.” Lin Xingxue tried her best to promote her favorite delicacy.

She didn’t notice that the princess who had just been ranting angrily had also come out not far behind her. As the princess looked up, she was first momentarily dazzled by the distant light, but then she clearly saw the radiant cloud silk on Lin Xingxue’s body. Although the colors were different, the princess recognized it at a glance. Outrage flared up in her eyes immediately, and without a second thought, she lashed out with the long whip in her hand² bro she’s way too spoiled, wtf

.

The whip cracked through the air, and Lin Xingxue instinctively stepped aside, also reaching out to protect Shen Hanxing.

In the past two months, her martial skills had improved, and her reaction to sudden attacks had also become much quicker.

The whip flew through the air, striking a nearby bush, and narrowly missed Lin Xingxue’s arm.

The pastry fell to the ground, wrecked. Shen Hanxing’s gaze turned sharp, and his previously gentle demeanor vanished.

Lin Xingxue was also astonished by the princess’s fiery temper. She looked at the place where the whip landed, thinking how painful it would have been if it had hit her. Suddenly, she felt a surge of anger—she had done nothing to provoke this, yet the princess indiscriminately attacked her. It was a bit too much.

She turned to the princess, her gaze cold.

On the other side, Fifth Princess Xiao Jia saw her strike miss and intended to retract the whip and continue striking. However, just as she moved, Lin Xingxue anticipated her intention and, with quick reflexes, grabbed the whip.

Xiao Jia was momentarily overpowered by Lin Xingxue’s strength, and the whip was forcibly taken from her. Furious, she glared with fury and threatened, “How dare you have the audacity to snatch this princess’s whip! If you return it with both hands, I might spare your life. Otherwise…”

“Otherwise what?” Shen Hanxing abruptly interrupted Xiao Jia, his expression icy and fire simmering in his eyes. “Does the Fifth Princess intend to leave a scar on my wife’s face just as you did when scolding the young master of the Du family?”

“What are you saying? When did this princess ever scold the young master of the Du family? Nonsense!” Xiao Jia’s eyes showed a trace of guilt, but her tone remained harsh.

The palace maidservants from Empress Dowager Mo’s palace saw Xiao Jia’s persistent attitude and reminded her: “Replying to the princess, these two are Jinning Hou and his wife, who are here to celebrate the Empress Dowager’s birthday.”

Everyone in the palace knew that Empress Dowager Mo was very fond of the two brothers of the Shen family. When the incident happened years ago, Empress Dowager Mo even personally visited the Hou residence to see Shen Hanxing and ordered the imperial physician to save his life no matter what.

No matter how others discussed Shen Hanxing, they would never speak ill of him in his presence, much less create conflict with him at Empress Dowager Mo’s birthday banquet.

Because it was akin to seeking death.

The maidservant’s words were a reminder to Xiao Jia to be more restrained.

Upon realizing Lin Xingxue’s identity, Xiao Jia finally recognized the second young master of the Shen family, who had frequently caused her to be punished in her youth. The anger in her heart surged up, and seeing the cloud silk further fueled her rage, causing her reason to be instantly consumed by fury³ …I’m speechless, how stupid does she have to be?.

“Oh, so this is the notorious General Shen, who is said to be unfit for action,” Xiao Jia said, a hint of sarcastic laughter curling at the corners of her lips.

Lin Xingxue tightened her grip on the whip, frowning slightly, her voice cold: “Fifth Princess should be cautious with your words.”

“Cautious?” Xiao Jia sneered, “What, is your husband not a cripple? Oh right, I heard that Madam Shen is also mute. How come she can speak now? So mute people can speak, truly…”

While Xiao Jia was mocking them, a small stone, dirty and precise, hither lip, causing her to cry out in pain. She grazed the blood at her lip, exclaiming: “You dare to hurt, ah… this princess!”

Blood continued to spill from the corner of Xiao Jia’s mouth, making it difficult for her to speak. In her rage, she attempted to advance to attack but, before she could reach Lin Xingxue, she stumbled for an unknown reason and fell forward, severely twisting her left foot.

Xiao Jia cried out in pain again, unable to continue her reprimands. Seeing people rushing over from afar, she tearfully called out: “Imperial Brother, they are bullying me.” Her voice, no longer loud and arrogant, was now merely a soft plea calling for Xiao Sheng.

Xiao Sheng rushed to her side, hurriedly helping her up. As he pulled her up halfway, Xiao Jia, still in pain, cried out: “Don’t, it hurts, it hurts.”

Seeing her in severe pain, Xiao Sheng turned to scold the maidservants who were following her: “Are you all dead? Go and summon a physician immediately!”

The maidservants quickly run to fetch the physician. Xiao Sheng, seeing Xiao Jia unable to stand, angrily turned to Shen Hanxing: “Jinning Hou, aren’t you being too unreasonable! We are in the palace, and you dare to injure the Fifth Princess!?”

Prince An had broken his leg in the first month of the year and had to recuperate for nearly four months. Xiao Sheng privately believed that it was Shen Hanxing’s doing. Now, seeing Shen Hanxing injure Xiao Jia, he was eager to immediately accuse him of an unreasonable offense.

“Fifth Princess fell on her own. If anyone is to blame, it should be the unobservant path,” Shen Hanxing calmly countered, taking the whip from Lin Xingxue and throwing it in front of Xiao Jia. “Now, Fifth Princess should explain to this General why she assaulted my wife without cause.”

“For a mere illegitimate daughter, why shouldn’t this princess be allowed to hurt her?” Even though Xiao Jia was in great pain, she still spoke with scorn. “The cloud silk is a rare item in the palace; she doesn’t deserve it. This princess will still strike her⁴ I’m actually speechless, there should be an extent of how stupid she is. She’s literally in the garden outside of the Dowager’s palace and she’s still causing trouble..” She picked up the whip, intending to lash out again.

Before she can raise the whip again, the sound of a cane hitting the ground resounds from the corridor. A stern voice declares: “Stop!”

Empress Dowager Mo emerged from the corridor. Seeing her, Xiao Jia’s gaze faltered, and she quickly retracted the whip.

“Take her whip.”

Nanny Yu stepped forward, took the whip from Xiao Jia, and presented it to Empress Dowager Mo.

Empress Dowager Mo glanced at the long whip and then scolded coldly, “Aijia⁵ How the empress dowager addresses herself has been lenient with you because of your youth, but look at you now. Your imperial father bestowed this whip upon you to protect yourself and defend against evil. And what have you done? Relying on your status as a princess to cause trouble everywhere. Now, causing a scene here—do you think Aijia is completely insignificant to you?”

Xiao Jia’s arrogance diminished, and she dared not speak. She tugged at Xiao Sheng’s sleeve, seeking his help.

Xiao Jia was the only daughter of Empress Xu, and Xiao Sheng had been raised under Empress Xu’s care since childhood. He had always indulged in Xiao Jia’s unruly behavior. Seeing the Empress Dowager reprimanding Xiao Jia now, he couldn’t help but say, “Imperial Grandmother, this matter cannot be entirely blamed on Fifth Sister. Today is your birthday, and since the Jinning Hou injured Fifth Sister and drew blood, Fifth Sister acted impulsively. I hope Imperial Grandmother will be understanding.”

“Understanding?” Empress Dowager Mo sneered, “How do you think this wild nature of hers was cultivated? It seems that you and the Empress have pampered her too much, which has made her even more arrogant. Don’t think that just because I reside in Funing Palace, I don’t know about your misdeeds.”

“Why don’t you explain to Aijia why the young master of the Du family was injured? And why are the petitions from Grand Tutor Du always not reaching your imperial father? Who is obstructing it?”

The Empress Dowager’s three questions left Xiao Sheng looking embarrassed, and Xiao Jia didn’t dare utter another word.

“Why aren’t you explaining to Aijia?” Empress Dowager Mo looked at the two of them, who were cowering like quails and no longer daring to argue. She sighed and said, “Aijia didn’t intend to bring this matter to light today, but since you insist on causing a scene, Aijia doesn’t need to spare your dignity. While Aijia cannot reprimand Prince An, since the Fifth Princess is still in the palace, Aijia can certainly give her a good scolding.”

“Come, take the Fifth Princess away, give her thirty strokes with the disciplinary rod, and confine her in the palace to eat vegetarian food and transcribe Buddhist scriptures. The confinement will be lifted only when the scars on the young master Du’s face have faded. Nanny Yu, you go and keep watch.”

Nanny Yu watched over, so naturally, no one dared to let up.

Xiao Jia’s left foot hurt terribly, but she didn’t dare say a word in front of the Empress Dowager and had to endure the pain and shuffle back.

Xiao Sheng stood quietly aside, not daring to speak at this moment.

The petitions from Grand Tutor Du were intercepted by him; when Xiao Jia had a disagreement with Young Master Du and injured his face when scolding him, Grand Tutor Du was furious and sought justice. Xiao Sheng, who usually handled such matters for Xiao Jia, had intercepted the petition. He had forgotten that Grand Tutor Du had some connections with Imperial Grandmother.

Now that Imperial Grandmother was so angry, this matter would inevitably reach Imperial Father’s ears. Xiao Sheng felt a headache coming on, and he feared he would inevitably face a reprimand.

News of what happened in the Imperial Garden soon reached the Emperor’s ears. After the birthday feast began, everyone could see that Prince An had a grim expression. Empress Xu, sitting up high, noticed his expression and had a palace maid nearby remind him. It was then that Xiao Sheng managed to hide his emotions with some difficulty.

Empress Xu sighed and shook her head in her heart. Xiao Sheng was too unstable; even if he were reprimanded by the Emperor, he shouldn’t have displayed such a mood at the birthday banquet.

In contrast, Xiao Yue remained calm and maintained a gentle demeanor with everyone.

During the period when Xiao Sheng’s leg was broken, the court officials leaned more toward Xiao Yue, which gave Empress Xu a headache. Had she known it would come to this, she might as well have adopted Xiao Yue. However, at that time, she was repelled by the fact that Xiao Yue was born to a palace maid. Now, even though she regretted it, she must still support Xiao Sheng’s rise to power.

At the banquet, after all the birthday gifts from various families were displayed, the music and dance began, and the drinks flowed.

Lin Xingxue sat beside Shen Hanxing, her eyes secretly glancing at the cup of wine next to him. The rich aroma of the wine made her curious to taste it. Just as Shen Hanxing was talking to someone next to him, she took the opportunity to pour a little into her teacup and had a small taste.

The spicy taste of the alcohol spread instantly on her tongue. She covered her mouth in disbelief and looked at the bottle of liquor, unable to understand why something that smelled so aromatic could be so spicy.

“Is it good?” Shen Hanxing asked softly in her ear.

Lin Xingxue looked at him with a grievance, complaining, “You did it on purpose.”

He deliberately let her sneak a taste!

“Yes, I did it on purpose,” Shen Hanxing handed her a bowl of sweet soup and took the tea cup from her hand. “If I didn’t let you taste it, you wouldn’t give up, would you?”

After Lin Xingxue finished the sweet soup, she murmured softly, “Rice wine is better.”

Sweet and fragrant.

Seeing she was no longer interested in the wine, Shen Hanxing finally finished the wine in his cup and glanced over at the door of the hall.

At the door of the hall, Gu Yan was serving dishes to Lin Xingran. He had just glanced up briefly, just one glance. He would not allow himself to focus too much on those who were not meant to be the center of his attention. He had to remind himself that Lin Xingran was his wife.

By the middle of the banquet, with the guests slightly tipsy from drinking, some went out to get some fresh air.

Prince An, at some point, had left Taiji Hall, staggered, and sat down in the corridor, still holding a jug of wine. When he reached the rockery in the Imperial Garden, he accidentally bumped into a boy. The impact caused the boy to stagger back a few steps, and his elbow hit the rockery, making him wince in pain.

Prince An squinted to clearly see the boy’s face and said with a condescending tone, “So it’s Eighth Brother. What is Eighth Brother doing out here instead of resting in your palace?”

“I came to congratulate Imperial Grandmother,” the Eighth Prince said quietly, looking down.

“Congratulations, haha…” Prince An tilted his head and took a sip of wine, his steps unsteady as he brushed past. “A sickly child also comes to congratulate, haha…”

The Eighth Prince stood quietly until Prince An walked away before he couldn’t help but cough a few times.

“Your Highness, your hand…” The attendant beside him looked worried.

“It’s nothing, just a bump,” the Eighth Prince shook his head and smiled to reassure the attendant. “Let’s hurry to Taiji Hall, or we’ll miss the chance to congratulate Imperial Grandmother.”

He had survived in the depths of the palace up until now thanks to Imperial Grandmother’s protection, and even though he was uncomfortable, he had to go to the birthday banquet.

The Eighth Prince quickened his pace towards the front. When he walked out of the rockery, he glanced back. Prince An’s figure had long disappeared, and the sound of the wind seemed to carry some voices that quickly faded away.

By the end of the banquet, Xiao Sheng had not returned to Taiji Hall. Instead, he happened to collide with Jinning Hou’s carriage while leaving the palace. He deliberately blocked the carriage in front of him, seemingly trying to turn the situation around for the grievances suffered in the palace.

But the road was wide, and the Jinning Hou’s carriage drove past the Prince’s carriage without giving him a chance to catch up.

Lin Xingxue watched the Prince’s carriage recede in the distance and recalled the assassination attempt in the outskirts of the capital arranged by Prince An. Curiously, she asked, “Is Prince An targeting Husband because he thinks you are on the side of Prince Rong?”

“That is just one of the reasons.”

“Then what are the other reasons?”

Shen Hanxing paused for a moment, then slowly spoke, “Years ago, the Xu family embezzled military funds, leading to delayed reinforcements and a devastating defeat in the western borders, leaving Father severely injured. After I returned to the capital from pacifying the western barbarians, the Emperor wished to reward me. I requested a thorough investigation into the Xu family in front of all the court officials. This matter dealt a heavy blow to the Xu family, so it’s no surprise that Xiao Sheng harbors resentment towards me.”

Lin Xingxue’s heart tightened. She suddenly recalled the battle—the heavy injury to Shen Hanxing’s father in that battle, which worsened his condition after returning to the capital and quickly…

She shouldn’t have asked.

Seeing her eyes filled with self-reproach, Shen Hanxing changed the subject to divert her attention. “Before we married, you might have heard about a certain event where I strangled a maid in front of my fiancée. Do you know why I did that?”

“Because that maid had a problem?” Lin Xingxue had long since stopped believing the rumors. She knew her husband must have had his reasons.

Shen Hanxing, seeing her not doubting him, smiled, “Yes, the maid was deliberately arranged by Xiao Sheng to frame me by poisoning the girl and then using it to solidify the rumor of my cruelty.”

But the method was as foolish as Xiao Sheng himself. At that time, he didn’t want to marry, so he straightforwardly strangled the maid in front of his fiancée, thus conveniently avoiding the marriage.

As for the rumors, he didn’t care.

But now, discussing this matter, he was suddenly curious—did Lin Xingxue feel scared at that time?

“Before you married me, were you very scared? I treated you like that on our wedding night. Were you very afraid?”

Shen Hanxing’s question left Lin Xingxue a little stunned.

Afraid?

She had indeed been afraid.

But…

“I was indeed scared, as the rumors about you were very frightening at that time. However…” Lin Xingxue leaned in a bit closer, her eyes slightly squinting as she looked at Shen Hanxing, “But once I knew you were the boy who saved me back then, I wasn’t afraid anymore. I believe in my divine savior. No matter how he changes, he won’t become a person who kills innocents.”

The girl’s trust was so overtly apparent, and those peach blossom eyes seemed to look straight into his heart.

Shen Hanxing covered her eyes with his hand and was about to say something when he heard the girl’s soft and grievance-filled voice, “But Husband was really fierce at the beginning.”

Shen Hanxing cleared his throat, feeling a bit guilty, “I was wrong at that time.”

The imperial edict for marriage made him cautious.

Seeing him admit his mistake, Lin Xingxue pushed his hand aside and blinked, “Then will you make it up to me?”