BERW - Chapter 23
Chapter 23
In Great Zhuang, where birth mattered, even Shi Bingsheng, who had risen to become the head of a ministry despite a Commoner Scholar background rather than true commoner stock, was looked down upon, to say nothing of the Shadow Guards.
The Shadow Guards were, in truth, a group of orphans without parents, without clan backing.
No one cared whether they lived or died. In training them, the Emperor did so only offhandedly, hoping that at the final juncture they might leave him one last means of preserving his life.
Their status was about the same as servants. Palace attendants in Shen Yuyao's presence called themselves "this slave," the Imperial Guard called themselves "your humble subordinate," while Yu San had always referred to herself in Shen Yuyao's presence as "this lowly one."
It was like how a waiter addressed an innkeeper: nominally a commoner with a status somewhat higher than a servant, but still counted as a grade below.
So when Shen Yuyao had earlier shown concern for Yu San, Yu San had been deeply moved. For the first time in her life, she had not followed a Shadow Guard's duty by leaving immediately once the task was done; instead, she had chosen to stay.
She chose to obey Shen Yuyao's words and, disguised as a palace attendant at Shen Yuyao's side, to walk openly under the sunlight.
"Then after I return to the palace, will you still stay by my side as a guard? If you are willing, I will give you a monthly stipend. Whatever Father gives you, I will double it. No, triple it!"
Shen Yuyao naturally knew that Yu San obeyed the Emperor's commands not merely because of the monthly stipend; the Emperor surely had other means of controlling the Shadow Guards.
But she still brought up the monthly stipend, just like someone ordinarily poaching talent.
This stirred Yu San deeply. Who was Shen Yuyao? She was the most favored princess. Whatever she asked the Emperor for, would he not give it to her? Even if she asked for rare treasures, the Emperor would give them to her.
This was originally a question with no choice at all, yet Shen Yuyao acted as if she greatly valued what Yu San thought, letting Yu San feel the warmth of being respected and causing a beam of light to suddenly shine in a life long since without hope.
It made her suddenly feel a measure of anticipation at the prospect of serving under Shen Yuyao.
What a cunning little fox, Yu San thought. This Princess Yuyang was completely different from the rumors; she was not some spoiled, willful person. Her temperament was excellent, and she was thoroughly versed in the ways of the world.
With a little guesswork, Yu San could understand why Shen Yuyao wanted to keep her: she certainly wanted to conceal this matter of the Criminal Inn.
After finishing her questions, Shen Yuyao said nothing more. She quietly waited for Yu San's answer, as if not the least bit anxious.
But in truth, the palm holding her teacup had already produced a layer of sweat.
Suddenly, Shen Yuyao saw Yu San kneel before her. With a very quick motion, she bowed once and said, "Your subordinate is willing to serve the Princess. From now on, I will honor the Princess as my master, with unwavering loyalty, inseparable in life and death!"
Shen Yuyao hurriedly rose and pulled at Yu San.
Yu San had intended to kneel firmly for a while to demonstrate her loyalty, but as soon as the delicate little princess's hand touched her arm, she was forcibly lifted up.
Yes, while still maintaining her kneeling posture, Yu San was lifted up by Shen Yuyao!
The instant their eyes met, Shen Yuyao was so embarrassed she wanted to flee this planet overnight.
"Uh, Yu, Yu San, your physique is really good; you are quite solidly trained." An ordinary person's arm might have been dislocated by Shen Yuyao's pull, but instead Yu San was lifted up by her, showing that Yu San's core strength was indeed strong.
Yu San quickly recovered her expression. Without any outward sign, she lowered her legs and stood straight; her level line of sight immediately became one looking down from above.
Shen Yuyao sighed over her own height. When on earth would she finally grow up!
"Your subordinate was rude. Please forgive me, Princess."
"It was not you who was rude; I was too hasty. I was born with a tiny bit of extra strength, and recently I seem to have grown a bit, so my strength has grown even greater." Shen Yuyao first gave Yu San a heads-up, to save Yu San from fainting with fright later when she saw her able to lift a cauldron.
Whether Yu San would faint, even Yu San herself did not know; but if the Emperor and the Noble Consort in the palace learned that their cherished little darling could lift a cauldron, they would certainly faint.
Yu San made no comment. To her, whether Shen Yuyao's personal martial strength was high or low would not affect her future devotion to duty and protection of Shen Yuyao.
"Since you say you will obey me from now on, then these two Written Confessions should not be sent to the palace yet. Interrogate them again very carefully; what has surfaced so far is still too shallow. Du Gaojun had a Minister of Revenue as a friend and had himself served as an official for decades. How could he have been brought down by the accusation of two commoners? There is definitely something fishy here."
When Shen Yuyao first learned of this matter, she had already felt it was not simple.
Du Gaojun had been arrested so quickly, and later died in prison. Everything had happened too fast, too naturally, like a Vernacular Story plotted out long in advance; the coincidences were astonishing.
If one looked at this from another angle, what if Du Gaojun had not merely made one oversight despite careful planning, but had been schemed against?
Or perhaps even this quarrel between Yang Chengye and Shi Bingsheng was part of someone's calculations behind the scenes?
Court relationships were intricate and complex. At present Great Zhuang was entirely harmonious, but no one knew how many undercurrents lay hidden beneath the surface prosperity.
As the Emperor's most favored princess and currently an outwardly a member of the Crown Prince's Faction, Shen Yuyao was one of the figures at the center of politics. As she grew older, her status would only rise, and the possibility of her being drawn into the vortex of power would rise as well.
Shen Yuyao had no intention of waiting for disaster. If they wanted her to enter the game, fine, but she would enter as a chess player, not become a chess piece in someone else's hand.
Outside Yudu Town, someone sat in a carriage stopped beside a narrow road.
He was brewing tea, movements unhurried; every gesture revealed the steadiness of one who held the entire situation in his grasp.
Outside the carriage came the sound of galloping hooves; soon a man dressed as a traveling merchant ran up to the carriage, dismounted, and saluted.
"Your subordinate greets Your Highness!"
The fair-skinned youth sitting beside the coachman asked, "What is the situation inside Yudu Town?"
"Everyone was arrested by the Shadow Guards at the Princess's side."
"The Princess?"
The man in the carriage spoke, his voice like tinkling jade, rather crisp. If Shen Yuyao were here, perhaps she would have recognized whose voice it was.
None other than her full brother, the Third Prince Shen Qingjin.
"Was it Yuyang who had the people arrested?" Shen Qingjin and Shen Yuyao bore a slight resemblance to each other, but where Shen Yuyao was cute, Shen Qingjin was handsome; that slight resemblance did not show much because of the difference between male and female.
If one really spoke of a high degree of resemblance, it would have to be Shen Yuyao and the Crown Prince, and add the Emperor as well; the noses and mouths of the three were what truly resembled one another.
Standing together, they could be recognized at a glance as one family.
Shen Qingjin greatly disliked that Shen Yuyao resembled the Crown Prince. He loathed the Crown Prince and loathed the Empress.
"Replying to Your Highness, the people were indeed arrested by the Princess. Those who acted were palace Shadow Guards. Yudu Town is now surrounded inside and out; your subordinates cannot approach."
"Mm." Shen Qingjin had originally worried that the people had been caught by someone else; since the one who caught them was Shen Yuyao, there was no problem. "Let us return to the residence."
Shen Qingjin's princely residence outside the palace had already been completed. The Emperor granted him the enfeoffed title Shen, and he became Prince Shen.
This character was quite interesting. It was the ninth position in the Earthly Branches, and nine had always been regarded as a noble number; at the same time, the character also carried the sense of the divine. It meant lightning: thunder in sound, lightning in light, able to dazzle the eye only briefly.
Many within and outside the court speculated about the Emperor's true intent, trying to read the Third Prince's future from this title.
The Third Prince himself did not care about the title; in any case, princes of this dynasty had no fiefs, so what he was called did not matter.
"Your Highness, your subordinate requests permission to kill them and silence them, lest the news leak."
"No need." Shen Qingjin knew that if Yuyang found out, she absolutely would not reveal the slightest bit. Because they were full siblings, they were naturally tied to the same rope.
Shen Qingjin's thinking was fine, but Shen Yuyao was someone who never played by the usual rules.
She was not tied to anyone's rope. She was just a spectator; why should she be dragged onto a pirate ship?
If anyone tried to pull her in, she could snap their arm with a backhand.
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