It was already deep into the night when Shen Qingfeng returned home. Since he had informed his family in advance about his whereabouts, Shen Shiqiu was at ease. He merely had someone leave a lamp on for him and didn't stay up waiting.
Although Shen Qingfeng had drunk quite a bit, he was a good drinker. When he got off the sedan chair, he could stand upright on the ground steadily and took the warm hand-warmer from A Man.
A Man said, "Young master, the master has ordered to keep hot water for you. Do you want to take a bath first?"
Shen Qingfeng nodded. The wind seemed to pick up around him. It didn't snow that day, but the snow from previous days hadn't fully melted yet. And it was much colder during the melting period than when it was snowing. Shen Qingfeng shivered while holding the hand-warmer and quickly followed A Man into the house.
The charcoal had been burning inside the house, making it warm. However, Shen Qingfeng had a cold constitution. After entering the house, he wrapped himself in a large fur robe and sat by the table warming himself with the hand-warmer for quite a while before he felt a bit of warmth in his body. Then he took off the fur robe and hung it aside.
A Man prepared the warm water for bathing and arranged the clean clothes and towels properly behind the screen. Then she poked her little head out from behind the screen and said, "Young master, the water is ready. Take a bath while it's still hot."
"Okay," Shen Qingfeng replied. He walked behind the screen, took off his outer robe and handed it to A Man. Suddenly, he seemed to remember something and asked, "Did anyone come to see me through the window when I wasn't back today?"
A Man stood there, stunned. "Ah? Through the window?"
"Never mind," Shen Qingfeng coughed lightly. "A Man, you go and rest first. I'll go to bed by myself after the bath."
A Man answered with an "okay", bowed, and then left the room.
After hearing A Man's footsteps fade away, Shen Qingfeng walked out from behind the screen again. He casually put on his outer robe and walked to the window. He bent down and carefully examined the red wooden window lattice.
The window was tightly closed, and there seemed to be no traces of anyone stepping on it.
Shen Qingfeng couldn't tell what he was feeling inside. He slowly straightened up, pursed his lips, and turned around. Just as he was about to go back to continue his bath, he caught a glimpse of something white on the tea table beside him.
He turned his head to look and saw a piece of paper suddenly appear on the tea table which should have only had tea sets on it.
Shen Qingfeng's eyes lit up. He quickly walked forward, picked up the paper, and unfolded it.
What came into view was a passage with a strong calligraphy style, each character seemingly penetrating the paper:
Qingfeng, the king has summoned me to discuss matters regarding the northern region. There are many complex issues, so I'm afraid I won't be able to come to see you tonight. Don't worry. Wait for me tomorrow night.
"... Pfft."
Shen Qingfeng couldn't help covering his mouth and laughing.
This fool. If he wasn't coming, why did he still leave a note? How childish.
He folded the note with a smile and put it back in its original place. After thinking for a while, he carefully flattened the note again, walked to the cabinet beside the bed, found a small sandalwood box, and carefully put the note into it. Then he closed the lid and held it in his palm, looking at it intently.
He stared at the sandalwood box, his fingers slowly caressing it. He felt extremely warm inside, as if he had eaten honey.
"What a fool," Shen Qingfeng chuckled softly and pressed the sandalwood box against his face.
The next day.
Shen Yu went out early in the morning to the Bian Palace to teach Xia Chuli personally. Shen Shiqiu also took this day off to network with officials in the officialdom. Before leaving, Shen Shiqiu repeatedly instructed the servants to prepare good food for Shen Qingfeng and not to let him go hungry. After nagging for a long time, he finally left home.
Shen Qingfeng originally planned to stay in his room all day to continue researching the establishment of the Listening-to-the-Wind Pavilion. However, he didn't expect that a rare guest would come to the Shen Mansion just when it was noon.
Looking at He Jiu, who was smiling at him in front of him, Shen Qingfeng had an inexplicable sense of foreboding.
"Qingfeng... Can I call you Qingfeng?" He Jiu smiled.
Shen Qingfeng said, "Do as you like, Scholar He."
"Hey. Why call me Scholar He? It sounds so strange." He Jiu smiled meaningfully.
I don't seem to be that familiar with He Jiu, do I?
Shen Qingfeng watched He Jiu warily, believing that there must be something fishy about this. He didn't say a word but just showed a standard hospitality smile.
"Qingfeng, I came to see you this time because I want to invite you to a banquet again tonight," He Jiu said straightforwardly.
Shen Qingfeng was taken aback for a moment and asked, "Wasn't there a banquet just yesterday?"
He Jiu smiled and said, "Yesterday was yesterday, and today is today. Yesterday's was a gathering of the scions of noble families. Tonight's banquet is different."
"Oh? How is it different?"
He Jiu pretended to be mysterious and said, "We're going to the Second Prince's mansion tonight. Are you going?"
Shen Qingfeng was instantly stunned on the spot. He stared intently at He Jiu and was silent for a while before saying, "Scholar He, what do you mean by this?"
He Jiu moved his buttocks and sat a bit closer to him. He lowered his voice and said, "To be honest, I'm actually a retainer of the Second Prince."
Sure enough.
On the surface, Shen Qingfeng remained calm, but inside, he sneered.
No wonder He Jiu didn't like him in his previous life. It turned out that he had always supported Xia Chuli, and he was a member of the Crown Prince's faction, while He Jiu was a follower of the Second Prince, Xia Yonglin.
He never thought that although He Jiu looked like a playboy, he actually had such deep hidden motives! Back then, he had suspected the relationship between He Jiu and Xia Yonglin. But since the Listening-to-the-Wind Pavilion had later found out that He Jiu didn't have close connections with the officials in the court and only mixed well with the sons of official families like himself, he had thought He Jiu was not a threat and didn't pay much attention. Now it seemed that He Jiu had been using the channels of the sons of official families to recruit retainers for Xia Yonglin?
Then, since he had hidden his identity so well, why did he reveal himself this time?
"I was really surprised to hear your remarks at the banquet yesterday. Everyone at the table also praised you highly. After the Second Prince heard about it, he wanted to invite you to his mansion for a chat," He Jiu said.
Seeing that He Jiu had made his intentions so clear, Shen Qingfeng knew that he was ready to show his cards. So he provoked him by saying, "Scholar He, do you know that our Shen family is the foundation of the prime minister's mansion? And the prime minister's mansion has always followed the ancestral system and cannot modify the inheritance of the legitimate son without permission."
"So what?" He Jiu seemed to not care at all. "Rules are dead, but people are alive. Qingfeng, I know you still can't forget about Xia Chuli. But look, you've even refused the marriage, moved out of the palace in anger, and caused a rift between the Shen family and the Lu family. But do you know that Qi Mengmeng entered the Eastern Palace the day before yesterday?"
Shen Qingfeng listened calmly, knowing exactly what He Jiu was going to say. He almost burst out laughing inside.
Xia Yonglin, Xia Yonglin. You're really good at using such disgusting methods. No wonder when Xia Chuli captured you back then, the first thing he did was cut out your tongue.
Seize every opportunity to sow discord. That's all you're capable of, Xia Yonglin.
Shen Qingfeng took a deep breath and stared fixedly at He Jiu with a somewhat ferocious expression.
Of course, He Jiu had no idea what was really going on behind Shen Qingfeng's expression. He thought Shen Qingfeng was heartbroken after hearing this news. So he smiled strangely again and said the words that Shen Qingfeng had already anticipated: "Do you know that Xia Chuli has received an imperial edict and is going to marry Qi Mengmeng at the end of this month?"