Jiapingguan Chronicle

Shen Cha thought for a long time, stared at Shen Haolin for a long time, and then let out a long sigh.

"what happened?"

Seeing her like this, Shen Haolin thought she wasn't feeling well. He reached out and touched her forehead, then held her hand. He didn't feel any coldness; in fact, it felt quite soothing, which put him at ease.

"It's nothing, I just suddenly understood and came to understand Madam Luan."

"You mean she didn't tell Uncle Ning about the fact that the Empress Dowager sent assassins back then?"

“Hmm!” Shen Cha nodded gently, gripped Shen Haolin’s hand, and looked at everyone, saying, “She is a very contradictory person. She has clearly become accomplices with the Luan family. First she served the Empress Dowager, and now she serves Master Falian. Although she did not personally intervene, her hands are not clean either. Just take the Forget-Me-Not Powder as an example, she has ruined quite a few things.”

“That’s true.” Merlin nodded. “We investigated before. Madam Luan also sold a lot of Forget-Worry Powder from the inner quarters, all under the guise of treating illnesses and saving lives. It has indeed ruined many families.”

"So, she knew that once she was caught, she would be doomed. The only pure place in her heart was probably the two years she spent with her uncle when she was young. Breaking off the engagement and remarrying was something she was powerless to change. Not only her, but even her imperial uncle and the two princes couldn't change it. Therefore, she would rather have her uncle hate her than expose this unspoken truth that everyone knew about. Because this was the only bond and connection between her and her uncle. If this truth were exposed, she and her uncle would have no relationship left, truly becoming strangers who hated each other." She sighed, "Madam Luan didn't want even this lingering hope to be gone, so..."

“Xiao Cha is right, that’s the same thing I meant earlier.” Jin Jing looked at Shen Cha and spread her hands helplessly. “You used a very accurate word just now: they both know perfectly well that their so-called unresolved issues have nothing to do with each other. They are powerless to shake the Empress Dowager’s power, so they can vent their resentment on a weaker person. In this way, although it’s unfair to Madam Luan, there is still some connection between them. However…”

"what?"

“After meeting with His Highness Prince Ning a few times, I always feel,” Jin Jing touched her chin, “that he has let go.”

“Hmm!” Shen Cha nodded gently. “I talked to Uncle Ning once. Ever since he met Madam Luan in Wangxin Town, it seems like he suddenly understood something. The knot in his heart that had troubled him for so many years seemed to untie all at once. Uncle Ning said that he loved the girl with the bright smile who understood him back then, not the woman who is full of scheming now. He knows that the annulment of the engagement has nothing to do with Madam Luan. She is just a young girl and has no power to interfere in such a big matter. Moreover, their marriage was originally a scheme. It was only in the process of scheming that they developed feelings for each other and became dependent on each other. Suddenly cutting off this dependence and reliance is not a good thing and makes them feel uncomfortable. The way he gradually got rid of this feeling was to turn love into hate. However, this little bit of hate also vanished when they met again after many years.”

“I feel the same way.” Jin Jing nodded. “Actually, the two of them are quite similar; they both have a bit of self-deception. It’s just that one has already woken up, while the other hasn’t.”

“There are advantages to being awake, and there are advantages to not being awake.” Shen Haolin patted Shen Cha. “It’s their fate, and there’s nothing we can do about it.”

“That’s right, but,” Shen Cha paused, “some things that were unclear have become much clearer, haven’t they? There’s still one question: where did the Empress Dowager get the assassins?”

"It's not difficult for her to find a few assassins?" Shen Haolin sneered. "With so many guards in Ningchang, it's not impossible for her to train a few assassins. Of course, the so-called assassins are just to scare the young couple; they won't actually do anything. If they did, and a prince died, the late emperor would still hold them accountable, and that would be something that Ningchang alone couldn't handle. So, the Empress Dowager is still aware of the situation."

"What you mean, brother," Shen Cha thought for a moment, "is that you deliberately let Madam Luan hear it?" "Most likely."

"In comparison, Madam Luan is shrewd, but not too shrewd. It's not unjust that she ended up like this today."

“Actually, no matter how cunning you are, it’s useless. If you do something so heinous, you’ll end up like this sooner or later.” Jin Jing glanced at Jin Miaomiao, who hadn’t said a word, and lowered her voice, “Asleep?”

"Mmm!" Shen Cha looked at Jin Miaomiao, who was asleep with her head on her shoulder, nodded gently, and said, "You're exhausted."

"I can tell. I heard they kept watch for a whole day and night," Jin Jing said in a low voice. "This couple is no pushover. They really know how to stir things up."

"I hope her efforts will be rewarded accordingly!" Shen Cha thought for a moment, "By the way, Miao Miao just said that Madam Luan's father can directly enter and leave the palace. If I remember correctly, he's only a sixth-rank official, right?"

“If it’s a summons from the palace, then we don’t need to worry about status,” Xue Ruitian thought for a moment. “After all, many of the imperial concubines’ families aren’t official or merchant families; they’re just ordinary people. At most, they might have a few scholars in their families. If their families want to visit, they need the imperial concubines’ summons. As long as the procedure is followed correctly, there’s no problem. Madam Luan was originally betrothed to the Prince of Ning, and this marriage was orchestrated by the Empress Dowager. She can use the marriage as a pretext to summon Madam Luan’s father and brothers to the palace without any issues.” He looked at Jin Miaomiao. “Won’t she get tired sleeping like this? Otherwise, let’s find her a comfortable place to sleep, so she won’t catch a cold. She hasn’t slept for a day and a night. If she gets cold or catches a cold, she’ll easily get sick.”

“I think so too.” Shen Cha thought for a moment, then waved to Jin Jing, “Little Jing, why don’t you take Miao Miao to my tent to sleep?” She looked at Mei Lin, “You lead the way for Little Jing.”

"it is good!"

Jin Jing responded and gently took her younger sister off Shen Cha, picked her up slowly, and nodded to Mei Lin.

"Let's go first."

After saying that, Jin Jing hugged Jin Miaomiao and Mei Lin followed beside her as they left the platform.

After they left, Shen Haolin looked at Shen Cha, patted her, and said, "What are you thinking about?"

"Little Lin just said something that reminded me. Since they can get Madam Luan to sell Forget-Me-Not Powder through the inner quarters, they probably can do something else too, right?" (End of Chapter)