"Then your subordinate heard the Empress tell Her Highness the Crown Princess to go back and think it over carefully."
Without Xie Yu present, the main hall felt unusually vast and quiet. Even the small flowers in the courtyard seemed too lazy to frolic, hiding in their doghouse to escape the heat.
Someone knelt on one knee before Shen Changyin, head lowered as she reported. "The guard units must keep patrolling at all times and can't remain stationary. That's all I heard."
Shen Changyin's complexion was even paler than usual. One hand rested on the table, her index finger lightly tapping the smooth rosewood surface. After a while, she said, "I understand. You may leave."
The person raised her head, bowed to Shen Changyin, and hurried away. The guards at the door paid her no attention.
If Xie Yu had been there, she would have recognized her as one of the guards patrolling outside the Empress's study earlier that day.
Shen Changyin watched her spy leave, then lowered her gaze again.
She frowned briefly, as if in pain, then quickly endured it, her expression relaxing once more.
That Xie Yu was personally carried and given birth to by the Empress was something she truly hadn't known before—but it wasn't entirely unexpected.
It just meant that the plans she had prepared for the succession struggle would have to be revised again.
What surprised her even more was how bluntly the Empress had told Xie Yu to choose Shen Liuzhen.
She had known that Shen Liuzhen's arrival in the capital this time was inseparable from the Empress, but she hadn't expected such directness—laying it bare right in front of Xie Yu.
She rubbed her brow with her index finger and closed her eyes.
With guards patrolling, many things couldn't be overheard—including Xie Yu's reaction to the Empress's demand.
But it could be guessed that Xie Yu hadn't fiercely rejected it on the spot.
She gazed quietly at the pomegranate tree in the courtyard, waiting slowly. It wasn't until evening that Xie Yu walked in from outside.
"Huh?" Xie Yu stood at the courtyard gate and called out to her. "Why are you sitting here? Didn't you go to the study?"
Shen Changyin shifted her posture slowly. "Just came out to get some air."
"Oh. When's dinner? I'm starving." Xie Yu had overworked her brain that afternoon.
"Come take a walk in the garden with me first," Shen Changyin said.
"Okay." Xie Yu didn't quite understand, but agreed readily.
The princess's residence had both front and back gardens. The front garden was exquisite and luxurious, but it lacked the natural feel of the much larger back garden.
The back garden drew water from a nearby river, forming an artificial stream, a lake, and a small pavilion in the center.
It was early summer, a season when mosquitoes should have been rampant, but the steward had long since arranged for mosquito-repelling herbs to be planted throughout the garden.
Walking there in the evening, they didn't fear bites and instead enjoyed the fresh herbal scent.
Ripples drifted across the lake. Fish surfaced now and then for air, and dragonflies filled the sky.
Shen Changyin and Xie Yu walked quietly for a while.
"Oh, right—did you hear? Zhu Ting's cousin is getting married. The other party is from the outskirts of the capital. They're planning the wedding for next month."
Xie Yu suddenly brought it up.
Shen Changyin thought for a moment. "I heard something. If I remember correctly, her cousin came to the capital to deliver piglets for her, right? She wasn't part of the military. I didn't expect her to settle down so quickly."
Xie Yu nodded. "Yeah, I was wondering what she was doing in the capital too. Turns out she's still raising pigs near the city. After all, the Zhu family's craft is inherited—bringing pig farming to the capital outskirts counts as expanding the family business."
They walked along the shaded path. A pomegranate tree by the roadside drooped low branches, dense green leaves and red blossoms colliding vividly in front of them.
Xie Yu lifted the low branch slightly. Shen Changyin lowered her head, passed beneath it, and casually plucked a pomegranate flower, twirling it in her palm as she said:
"How does Little Xie know my subordinate's family affairs so clearly?"
Xie Yu replied, "I was about to ask you the same. You don't exactly look like someone who cares about subordinates' personal lives."
"And Zhu Ting wouldn't bother you with that kind of thing either. Not many people like their leader meddling in their private affairs."
Shen Changyin glanced at her and slowly said a name. "Doctor Zhang."
"Jiang Fang." Xie Yu sold out her own gossip source.
They exchanged a look. Xie Yu suddenly said, "Don't you think those two are a bit off? Like they're a little too in sync?"
Shen Changyin followed her reasoning. "Doctor Zhang knowing makes sense, but how did Jiang Fang know? She's not close to Old Jin or Zhu Ting."
Xie Yu clapped her hands sharply. "Because Doctor Zhang told her!"
"Those two are definitely not right!"
As if struck by sudden inspiration, Xie Yu continued excitedly, "Do you remember the flash flood last time? I only sent someone to call Doctor Zhang, but Jiang Fang came too—because she'd planned to go see Doctor Zhang early that morning."
"Doctor Zhang was in the capital buying medicinal herbs at the time. That had nothing to do with Jiang Fang—no matter how you look at it, it wasn't official business."
Shen Changyin tilted her head slightly toward Xie Yu, her eyes flashing lightly.
Xie Yu winked back at her.
Both nodded in tacit agreement.
Xie Yu wrapped an arm around Shen Changyin's shoulders, shaking her back and forth, lowering her voice in excitement. "They're together—ahhhhhh!"
"And they've been hiding it from us!"
Through meticulous logic and bold gossip-driven speculation, the two confirmed the secret romance around them. Excited but afraid to announce it, they looked like thieves who'd stolen a melon—wearing secret smiles only the two of them understood.
After walking cheerfully for a long while, they went to the lakeside pavilion to watch the fish. Xie Yu had stolen a piece of peanut pastry from the kitchen, just right for feeding the koi with their wide-open mouths.
"Pig, pig—you can barely swim anymore," she said, pointing at the greediest and plumpest golden koi.
Shen Changyin stood beside her quietly, waiting until she finished feeding them. When Xie Yu brushed her hands clean, shaking off the remaining crumbs, Shen Changyin suddenly asked—
"Little Xie, you know that you can tell me anything, right?"
Xie Yu's eyelashes fluttered once, but her hands kept moving smoothly, without pausing, as she brushed the peanut pastry crumbs away. She looked up.
"Of course I know."
"Then… is there something you want to tell me?" Shen Changyin looked at her patiently.
"No." Xie Yu shrugged.
After thinking for a moment, she added, "On second thought… the egg fried rice you made at noon today was a little salty."
Not hearing what she actually wanted to hear, Shen Changyin sighed inwardly, but still said, "Then I'll have Little Xie make it for me next time."
The one who cooked daring to criticize the one who ate.
Xie Yu knew that herself and giggled.
Shen Changyin casually tossed the pomegranate flower onto the surface of the lake. It floated unsteadily for a moment before a red koi opened its mouth and swallowed it whole.
The two returned to the main hall just in time for dinner.
In summer, the dishes on the table became lighter and simpler: preserved egg tofu, mint chicken, mung bean soup, and half a small bowl of rice each. Simple food, but very comforting.
The mung bean soup was mildly sweet with a lingering aftertaste. After finishing their meal, both of them had a second bowl. As they sat facing each other, Old Jin and Zhu Ting came over as usual to report on the day's affairs.
"These past two days, all factions in the capital have been fairly calm. There's just one thing—tomorrow the Jiangnan Fleet will conduct a joint drill with the Imperial Guards. It was apparently a sudden decision by the Empress and General Shen. It's not very formal and won't be open to the public, just an internal exchange."
"The palace attendants went to deliver the message to the authorities and happened to run into us when we came to see you, so we helped pass it along and saved them a trip. Would you and Her Highness the Crown Princess like to go watch tomorrow?"
"Little Xie, what do you think?" Shen Changyin asked for Xie Yu's opinion.
Xie Yu didn't want Shen Changyin to go. She was deliberately preventing the Jiangnan Fleet from becoming one of Shen Changyin's options, so she didn't want her to see the fleet's strength.
But she replied, "I'm fine with anything. It's up to you."
Shen Changyin spread her hands. "I kind of want to go. Little Xie, will you come with me?"
Of course she wanted to go. Even setting aside the matter of Shen Liuzhen and Xie Yu, the Jiangnan Fleet was still a powerful force. For someone like Shen Changyin, simply watching surface-level drills was enough to gain insight into the army's internal structure.
Tomorrow's exercise was very valuable.
Xie Yu understood this and nodded. "Alright, I'll go with you."
The matter was settled just like that.
After seeing off Old Jin and Zhu Ting, the two remained seated in the hall, each holding a bowl of pale red mung bean soup, falling into a slightly awkward silence.
Xie Yu rubbed her neck with her right hand, then touched her shoulder, then stretched as if loosening her muscles, drawing a circle in the air and making a series of odd movements. Only after all that did she hesitantly ask:
"Um… my room is pretty empty tonight."
Shen Changyin fell briefly silent. "Little Xie… is that the meaning I think it is?"
Xie Yu's fingers opened and clenched again. "Mm…"
"Uh… not entirely."
"I mean, I don't want to do anything, but…"
She stammered for a long time, then her gaze suddenly fell on Shen Changyin's lower abdomen.
"I heard that when some people get their monthly flow, it can hurt a lot, and their mood drops too. They need comfort."
Xie Yu herself was very healthy and had never experienced menstrual pain. Even though she knew about it, she couldn't truly empathize.
She could only recall how her classmates looked when they had cramps and try her best to comfort Shen Changyin.
Usually that meant chocolate, cream cake, a soft cotton plush toy to hug tightly, painkillers, and a hardworking girlfriend.
Since she couldn't get painkillers, chocolate, or cake, she decided to take on the roles of both the teddy bear and the hardworking girlfriend herself.
Shen Changyin had started her period suddenly that afternoon. The familiar soreness and pain had arrived on schedule, but she was used to it and hadn't told Xie Yu.
"Little Xie, how did you know I was on my period?" she asked first.
Xie Yu felt a bit embarrassed to look at her. After some mental preparation, she said, "You know how some dogs can smell when their owner is pregnant or bleeding? They have extremely sensitive senses."
"Uh… my sense of smell isn't as good as a dog's, but… we're close, and we've been together a long time, so I could smell it."
She tilted her head, a little worried. "Your complexion also looks paler than usual. Shouldn't you take some medicine?"
"It's nothing, just an old issue," Shen Changyin said gently. "But I'm very happy that you care about me."
Xie Yu pursed her lips.
The two lay down side by side early. Xie Yu extended one arm, placing it over Shen Changyin's lower abdomen through her clothes, barely functioning as a warm compress to promote circulation.
She quickly, instinctively learned how to massage in gentle circles to ease Shen Changyin's discomfort.
Gradually, the two fell asleep.
Early the next morning, Shen Changyin was feeling much better.
They left the Princess's residence together, heading for the Imperial Guards' camp.
But just before getting into the carriage, Old Jin came riding up on horseback and stopped them.
"Madam Shen! Something's happened in the northern outskirts!"
Old Jin dismounted. "Someone stole half a warehouse of our weapons—and even took the warehouse ledgers."
Shen Changyin's expression tightened as she looked at Xie Yu.
Xie Yu waved her hand. "I know. You go handle it. I'll go to the Imperial Guards."
Shen Changyin smiled at her. "Alright."
She left with Old Jin.
The situation was urgent. They didn't even take a carriage—both rode horses.
Xie Yu watched their figures disappear around the street corner, a faint smile appearing on her face.
After a while, Jiang Fang suddenly popped out from who knew where. "She left?"
Xie Yu nodded.
Jiang Fang shook her head with lingering fear. "Really, what kind of rotten idea was that? I almost got caught."
Xie Yu said, "Wasn't it people from the special unit who stole the weapons and ledgers?"
"I went to supervise. Isn't that allowed?" Jiang Fang was embarrassed that she'd nearly been caught and didn't want to dwell on it.
She glanced toward the street corner where Shen Changyin had disappeared and sighed. "You've really learned some bad tricks now."
"And you even specifically used them on Shen Changyin."
Xie Yu looked innocent. "That can't be helped. I learned it all from her—using her own skills against her."
Then she grew serious. "Within three days, use every method possible to avoid Shen Changyin meeting Shen Liuzhen alone, and also prevent her from coming into contact with the Jiangnan Fleet."
"Don't give her the chance to choose anyone else."
Jiang Fang nodded. "Then what are you going to do in these three days?"
Xie Yu jumped into the carriage. "That's none of your business. I have my own target."
"She, Shen Liuzhen, may be able to calculate every human heart—but so can I."
—
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