My Love Rivals Have All Reborn - Chapter 7

It was only when the two carriages met that Shen Rui realized Teacher Xie was seated in the second carriage. Excitedly, she jumped off her horse, pulled back the carriage curtain, and invited the Teacher to join them.

Xie Yu did not agree. Shen Rui scratched the back of her neck awkwardly, then climbed into Ah Ning’s carriage and pulled a small bag of pine nuts from a corner of the carriage. “The journey is boring. I’ll shell some nuts for you to eat.”

Xiao Kuning was amused. The depression from her reincarnation suddenly lessened significantly. She accepted the shelled pine nuts and was also happy.

The carriages of the Xie manor and the Zhennan Prince’s Manor slowly drove out of Chang’an, heading south.

Counting her previous life, this was the first time Xiao Kuning had left Chang’an City since returning. In the past, she had contended with Xiao Wenxue, then with the palace concubines after becoming Empress, and later with Xie Yu during the years Zhao Ji was ill. She was scarcely free for a single day.

Starting over in this life, those things were meaningless. Protecting what she possessed was the best course of action.

It was autumn, and there were many merchants on the official road. Their carriages were full of goods.

Seeing this, Shen Rui lifted the carriage curtain. She recalled that when she first met Xiao Kuning, the latter was still the daughter of Zhao Xiran. She had wanted to take her back to Chang’an, but Zhao Xiran flatly refused.

By the time they met again, she had become the Xiao family’s second daughter.

They ate pine nuts and talked the entire way. Xiao Kuning casually asked about the Zhennan Prince.

The Zhennan Prince was an appointment by the late Emperor. The Shen family had fought battles for generations. By the time of Shen Rui’s father, Shen Xiao, he rarely returned to Chang’an, treating the border as home. Shen Rui herself was sent back four years ago.

Four years ago, Emperor Zhao Mian ascended the throne and wished to summon the Zhennan Prince back. But at that very moment, the border saw unrest. Shen Xiao could not leave, so he sent Shen Rui back alone.

Thinking about it now, Zhao Mian had designs on the Zhennan Prince immediately upon his ascension.

The military power at court was split between two major influential families: one was Zhao Mian’s maternal family, considered his external relatives, and the second was the Zhennan Prince’s Shen family.

Shen Rui’s heroic eyebrows lifted. Her well-defined knuckles constantly shelled pine nuts, dropping them one by one into a pouch. Accumulating a little at a time, the pouch was full in no time.

She knew very little about border matters. Her father had told her not to ask about things she didn’t know, but since Ah Ning asked, she still spoke about it: “The border has quieted down these two years. Father also wants to find an opportunity to step down and return to the capital to live out his retirement in peace.”

Live out his retirement in peace? Did the Zhennan Prince know the Emperor was planning to move against the Shen family?

Xiao Kuning did not ask further. She lifted the carriage curtain and looked back. The prosperous and extravagant Chang’an was no longer visible. The road was difficult and long. She did not know who the winner would be in this life.

No matter who it was, it had little to do with her.

She wanted to warn Shen Rui but did not know where to begin. However, in the previous life, the Zhennan Prince’s case was not handled by the Ministry of Justice. The Emperor directly appointed the Dali Temple (Supreme Court) and the Court of the Imperial Clan to investigate. An edict was issued within a few days, ordering the execution of the Zhennan Prince, who was imprisoned in the Court of the Imperial Clan. Yet, Shen Rui later told her that the Zhennan Prince was assassinated as soon as he entered the palace to meet the Emperor; the one in the prison was not her father at all.

In the end, she never even saw her father’s corpse.

Furthermore, the Ministry of Justice dared not intervene even once, from beginning to end.

At that time, Wen Yu-ke had already entered the Ministry of Justice. If she were there, such an injustice would certainly not have occurred.

After five days of travel by carriage, they boarded a ship. Another half a month later, they would arrive at the Zhao family.

The days on the ship were quite dull. Shen Rui pulled her to sit on the deck, looking at the clear river water and the azure sky. The river breeze blew in gusts, free and unrestrained.

Shen Rui was accustomed to freedom. Thinking that lying down was better than sitting, she took off her outer robe, spread it on the deck, and pulled Xiao Kuning down to lie beside her. Looking up at the sky, her mind was open and relaxed, like a distant mountain.

She pointed to a cloud in the sky: “Ah Ning, sometimes I wonder what it would be like if I were that cloud. I would surely follow you, keeping close to you at all times, watching you.”

Xiao Kuning smiled bitterly: “If you were truly a cloud, you would have no consciousness, no knowledge of love, and no knowledge of hatred.”

The floating clouds are vast, overlooking the mountains and rivers, always present in the long river of time.

But humans are different. In just a few decades, they taste all the bitterness and all the love. Even a man like Zhao Ji, what did it matter that he became Emperor? In the end, he was poisoned to death. In his short twenty-odd years, he was worse off than an ordinary commoner.

Shen Rui said: “That’s true. No thoughts, no mind, unaware of the benefits of love—it would indeed be a pity.”

“No, those who know love are all fools.”

A cold sentence interrupted their thoughts. Xie Yu, dressed in a plain blue gown, stood three steps above their heads. Her gaze fixed on Shen Rui’s hand, which was gently holding Xiao Kuning’s wrist.

Shen Rui quickly scrambled to her feet. Xiao Kuning, who was beside her, slowly followed. Eventually, Shen Rui couldn’t stand her sluggishness. Assuming she had no strength, she reached out and helped her up.

The two stood straight. Teacher Xie looked them up and down. Shen Rui was slender, her black eyes clear and distinct, a fervent smile on her lips, gentle as warm jade. Xiao Kuning, beside her, had skin like snow, delicate features, and a pair of peach blossom eyes that added a naturally enchanting charm to her face.

One was heroic, the other beautiful; one was valiant, the other delicate.

Xie Yu’s eyes deepened. She said: “Do the two of you know love?”

Xiao Kuning was defiant: “Love is born from the heart, personally experienced. How can a heartless person know it?”

She was clearly mocking Xie Yu as being heartless.

Xie Yu’s expression darkened like a sky covered by black clouds, while Shen Rui nodded in deep agreement: “If one has no heart to experience it, it is indeed as Ah Ning says.”

“Unrepentant,” Xie Yu sneered, then turned and left, leaving the two of them to continue gazing at the river.

In the following days, Shen Rui still pulled Xiao Kuning to chat on the deck, discussing life and interesting anecdotes from the past, their words filled with intimacy.

Xiao Kuning was a person who had lived twice, and like Xie Yu, she lived without a heart. She wanted countless times to tell Shen Rui that the Shen family was facing imminent disaster.

But stating something without evidence would be tantamount to sedition.

She was no longer an Empress. She held no power in her hands, merely an ordinary noble young lady. To attempt anything was as difficult as reaching the sky.

After half a month of brooding, the ship arrived at the dock. The Zhao family sent people to receive them.

Having traveled a thousand miles and endured twenty-odd days of jolting, the moment Xiao Kuning stepped off the ship, she looked back at the river. The waves rippled, crashing against the shore.

Reflected in the clear river water, Xie Yu stepped onto the land of Jiangnan. Her figure was tall and slender, her azure skirt swaying with the wind, like the waves of a river or sea.

Shen Rui was at the front, her face beaming with high spirits, her eyes fervent—a world of difference from Xie Yu.

Xiao Kuning was curious: why did Xie Yu like Shen Rui?

A collision of ice and fire?

Perhaps it was so. Only Shen Rui’s fire could warm Xie Yu’s body, which was so icy cold.

She wondered how she could have been so blind in the previous life to have fallen for such a person.

Xie Yu almost had the words “abstinent and desireless” plastered on her forehead.

This place was a small town called Qingcheng. But with the Zhao family residing here, it had become increasingly prosperous over the years. In Xiao Kuning’s memory, this was where she grew up.

After the baby girl was swapped and sent away, Zhao Xiran never returned home. As her business grew larger, the family of Zhao Kaizhi gradually moved here.

Zhao Xiran rarely stayed in Qingcheng, traveling everywhere. Her business spanned the entire country. After Zhao Ji ascended the throne, she even began doing business with the imperial family.

After Xie Yu disembarked, people from the post house came to receive her. Xiao Kuning was in a good mood, finally able to escape Teacher Xie’s supervision.

With the carriages ready, Xiao Kuning proactively bid farewell: “Your student is grateful for Teacher’s care. Today we part, and I wish Teacher safe travels.”

Xie Yu did not look at her but gazed at the bright sky: “Hearing your words, it seems we might not see each other for a long time. Do not forget your homework.”

Homework? Xiao Kuning was startled. How could she remember the things she learned in the previous life? Facing Xie Yu, she could only employ a conciliatory strategy.

She smiled and agreed: “Your student understands.”

Xie Yu said: “Tell me what those contents are.”

Xiao Kuning’s smile froze on her lips. Why did this person talk so much? She remembered that in the previous life, Xie Yu was taciturn. She either didn’t act, or when she did, it was a massive operation. Why was she now focusing on a young girl like her?

The people from the post house waited respectfully. Xie Yu’s guards were two women, each carrying a sword, and like her, their faces were indifferent.

These two were of no ordinary background: Yu Yin and Nong Qin. Both possessed profound martial arts skills, no less than those of men. In those years, these two were the ones who carved a path of survival for Xie Yu. After the Zhennan Prince’s death, the Shen clan was implicated. Although the Yan family had military power, they were merely for show. Yu Yin and Nong Qin became highly skilled practitioners.

The dock was crowded with people. The group, dressed in fine clothes, with impressive demeanor and striking looks, was extremely rare in this small town, causing pedestrians to stop and stare.

Xiao Kuning could not answer. This was expected by Xie Yu. A glimmer of understanding appeared on her pale face. The continuous journey had made her somewhat unaccustomed to travel, but she forced herself to endure.

“It doesn’t matter. Take your time to think. I will pay a visit to the Second Proprietress Zhao in a few days.”

Xie Yu left this light sentence and simply walked away, leaving Xiao Kuning and Shen Rui behind.

Shen Rui did not understand her meaning, but Xiao Kuning did. Xie Yu’s target is already the Zhao family?

She is indeed a devil.

The Zhao family mansion occupied an entire street. It was very conspicuous in the small town. No guidance was needed; it was visible upon entering the city.

Zhao Xiran was extravagant. She spent a great deal of money building the mansion. Not only did she bring in hot spring water from the mountains, but she also wanted to build a “sunroom.” Unfortunately, Xiao Kuning did not understand such things. By the time she left, she had not seen the so-called “sunroom,” but she often saw Zhao Xiran soaking in the spring water every day.

Even more extravagant was the money spent to buy milk for bathing, with her entire body lying in the white liquid, which was reportedly good for the complexion.

For Zhao Xiran, no amount of money was more important than her face. She often said that money could be earned again, but a face was one of a kind.

Her thinking was different from that of ordinary women, and her insights were unique.

In front of the Zhao manor stood two stone lions as tall as a person, fierce-looking. Knocking on the main door, Xiao Kuning immediately spoke up: “Tell Zhao Xiran that Xiao Kuning has returned.”

The gatekeeper, who had been drowsy, pushed open the heavy main door forcefully upon hearing the name Xiao Kuning. He eagerly invited her in and ran off to deliver the message.

Shen Rui, on the other hand, was quite curious upon seeing the unique mansion. The Jiangnan courtyard carried a sense of freshness. What she saw was a harmonious blend of mountains and water, with clusters of rockeries, giving a feeling of vast, distant mountains and blossoming life.

Before long, a woman walked from afar. She was no more than thirty years old, with skin whiter than Xiao Kuning’s. Her eyes were sharp, and she smiled radiantly.

Zhao Xiran first saw the heroic young woman. Her features were delicate, and she possessed an extraordinary aura, like the rising sun or a swiftly ascending cloud. She couldn’t help but laugh and say: “Ah Ning brought her wife home?”

Xiao Kuning: “…”

Shen Rui: “…”