The Eldest Daughter-in-Law [Reborn] - Chapter 28

Xie Yunchu followed him and saw him off. When they reached the antique display case, she looked at her tall and handsome husband. The palace lantern cast a layer of hazy light around him. She called out softly, “Second Young Master.”

Wang Shuhuai turned his head and looked over.

His wife was standing gracefully in an apricot long dress. The dim yellow light shone on her head, and her graceful figure was clearly visible.

Wang Shuhuai turned around, his heroic figure straight. “What’s wrong?”

Xie Yunchu recalled that in her previous life, she urged him to have xoxo with her, but Wang Shuhuai dismissed her nonchalantly and decided to come to her room for only two days every month. Although he gave her a reasonable explanation at the time, she still felt somewhat disappointed afterwards.

The scene from her previous life overlapped with the man in front of her, and Xie Yunchu had the idea of retaliating.

“Second Young Master, I know you are very busy with official duties and paperwork, and you can’t always spare time to accompany me.”

“No matter how anxious I am, I have to understand you.”

“How about this? From now on, you can sleep in my room on the first and fifteenth day of every month, and you can go about your business the rest of the time. It’s a win-win situation. What do you think?”

Wang Shuhuai’s deep eyes suddenly became as sharp and bright as snow.

The night cicadas in the bamboo forest were awakened in an instant, chirping. The hazy and indifferent aura around Wang Shuhuai seemed to be broken by the chirping sounds, and a sharp light flashed in his deep eyes as he slowly met her gaze.

Her almond-shaped eyes were filled with a faint smile, no different from usual.

Even every word touched his heart.

Just a while ago, he was still thinking that in order to balance official duties and offspring, it would be better to set a rule with her. Xie Yunchu had always been virtuous and would surely agree with him. But now, the same words were said by her in a gentle and considerate tone, and he felt a slight discomfort in his heart.

He didn’t know at this moment whether he should be thankful that he had such an understanding wife.

Wang Shuhuai’s mood was unusually complicated.

When Xie Yunchu saw that he didn’t speak for a while, she blinked and asked softly, “What’s wrong, Second Young Master?”

As if he shouldn’t hesitate.

Wang Shuhuai was speechless. He slowly relaxed his brows and nodded, saying, “Okay.” There was an imperceptible hint of helplessness in his last tone.

Was it because she was too considerate or for some other reason? He had no time to delve into it. As long as it was not out of the ordinary, he would tolerate it and not care.

After he agreed, Wang Shuhuai turned and left Chunjing Hall.

Xie Yunchu leaned against the door, stretched her body, and went into the bathroom to wash up.

She didn’t expect Wang Shuhuai to have any other expression after she spoke. He rarely showed any emotion other than calmness in front of her, as if she was not worth his attention.

Twice a month, a total of six times before he left Beijing. It was during this period in her previous life that she became pregnant with Brother Er. After Brother Er was born, she took the initiative to find a concubine for Wang Shuhuai so that she no longer had to entertain him.

Xie Yunchu was very tired after spending the past few days with the Xie family. She filled her stomach, took a shower, changed her clothes, and fell asleep comfortably.

Wang Shuhuai walked into the study room with his hands behind his back, and the secret guard followed him in and handed him a secret letter. The letter was sealed with a reddish-brown wax seal, indicating that it was top secret.

He approached the table with a serious expression, opened a small box from underneath, took out a thin blade, and gently cut open the wax seal. The letter inside slid out, blank. After Wang Shuhuai poured a bottle of special colorless medicinal oil on it, black words quickly appeared on the white paper. Once Wang Shuhuai finished reading it, his brows sank slightly.

The secret guard saw that he looked unwell and asked worriedly, “Sir, what happened?”

Wang Shuhuai didn’t answer. Instead, he spread out the letter, prompting the secret guard to lean in, glance at it, and sigh.

Since the court proposed to rebuild the fish scale map and re-measure the land, various factions had been surging, and the old and new forces were fighting each other. The old nobles clung to tradition and tried to block the new policy, arguing that it might bring unrest. Meanwhile, the new officials insisted that there could be no construction without destruction and that they must eliminate tax malpractice as soon as possible to fill the treasury.

The Emperor was under attack from both sides and was in great pain. At this juncture, a wealthy family from the south of the Yangtze River came to Beijing and bribed the Eldest Princess with a large sum of money in an attempt to stop the new policy.

“Sir, will His Majesty listen to the Eldest Princess ?”

Wang Shuhuai held the secret letter in his slender fingers and slowly brought it to the silver lamp. A slight sneer appeared at the corner of his lips, and sparks immediately flew up. The sudden blooming fireworks pushed away the gentleness and humility covering his pupils, revealing their original color.

“His Majesty has great faith in the Eldest Princess and has always been cautious. The reason he agreed to revise the atlas this time was because he was put on the spot by Elder Zhang and had no choice but to do so.”

“If the Princess intervenes, the reconstruction of the Fish Scale Atlas will become mere talk. The national treasury is not full, and the foundation of the court is unstable. If this continues, the country will no longer be a country.”

“What should we do then?”

Wang Shuhuai stared at the letter being burned to ashes. The burning pain lingered in his fingertips, but he didn’t notice it at all. He changed his usual indifferent and gentle demeanor and leaned lazily on the back of the armchair, with a layer of cold, careless relaxation covering his body.

“Of course, I don’t dare to stop her. But we can make her be quiet.”

Every word was clear and sharp, like the sound of jade knocking on a stone pot.

The dark guard’s expression lit up. “What are you going to do?”

Wang Shuhuai stared at him coldly and said, “The Princess has a confidant who is now working in the Jiangnan Weaving Bureau. This person secretly colluded with the wealthy families in Jiangnan, enclosed land and occupied the people, and competed with the court for taxes. This person has a nephew named Liu Chang who opened a dyeing factory in Yuhang. Liu Chang relied on his uncle’s support and did a lot of killing, injuring, and looting in the local area. You should think of a way to go to Yuhang in person, find one or two witnesses, and bring them to the capital to file a complaint with the Emperor.”

“Others don’t know Liu Chang’s true identity, but the Princess knows it all. She is very careful about her reputation and won’t want to be defeated over a small matter. With her skills, it would be better for her to support the country’s politics and arrange for her people to go south, killing two birds with one stone, rather than being investigated by others.”

“So, Sir, are you trying to scare the tiger away by making a noise? Then lure the tiger down the mountain?”

Wang Shuhuai did not answer him; his expression returned to normal. “There is no time to lose. You should go south to Yuhang tonight.”

The secret guard received the order and left.