The Regent Keeps Flirting With Me - Chapter 45

The Imperial Edict

Until it was completely dark, Dai Sulan and Yun Zhu served Shen Lingyan dinner and made her drink the bowl of thick herbal medicine, and then urged her to rest.

“Your Majesty should rest now. The imperial physician said your illness is not to be overworked or excited by. You should go to sleep.” Although Dai Sulan hadn’t done much throughout the day, she was physically and mentally exhausted, which made her a little sleepy now. So, she walked into Chaohui Hall, extinguished some of the candles, leaving only the few near Shen Lingyan’s bed, and then stepped out.

It wasn’t actually very late; usually, this was the time when everyone had just finished dinner and was out for a walk. Shen Lingyan couldn’t sleep; she had been lying in bed all day and hadn’t exerted herself. She took a few deep breaths, held a teacup, walked to the area where she reviewed memorials, sat down, and picked up a memorial to read.

Soon after sitting down, Shen Lingyan felt the urge to cough. She quickly drank a few sips of water to suppress the cough, and then began to carefully read the contents of the memorial. Unexpectedly, the more she read, the more worried she became. This memorial was submitted by Wei Kangsheng and discussed border issues. He analyzed the spread of border forces and stated frankly that even if military force was used to suppress them, their ambition could not be eradicated in a short time.

The content of the memorial ended there. The more Shen Lingyan read, the more uneasy she felt. Unfortunately, she couldn’t summon Wei Kangsheng to court to question him directly right now, so the matter became like a fishbone stuck in her throat, neither going down nor coming back up.

Just as Shen Lingyan was very confused, the window of Chaohui Hall was tapped a few times. She immediately looked up, her hand gripping the long whip at her waist, and slowly walked over. First, she cautiously asked, “Who dares to trespass in my Chaohui Hall?”

After a moment, a rather old voice came from outside the window. Shen Lingyan listened and found it very familiar. She gently pushed the window open a crack and was surprised to see Wei Kangsheng standing there. It was truly a case of “speak of the devil, and he shall appear.” She had just been contemplating the contents of Wei Kangsheng’s memorial, and here he was.

“Where are Yun Zhu and the others?” Shen Lingyan subconsciously thought of the security issues within Chaohui Hall. Although Wei Kangsheng was a high-ranking court official, if he wanted to enter Shen Lingyan’s sleeping quarters, it should have gone through layers of announcements. What was going on that she hadn’t heard a sound?

“This old official has his own way. However, Your Majesty, do you still believe your Chaohui Hall is truly safe now?” Wei Kangsheng didn’t rush to enter but politely bowed to Shen Lingyan. These words made Shen Lingyan become fully alert. Chaohui Hall was supposedly staffed by her most trusted people; even when Zhou Jin came, she would know clearly.

If someone were to tell her now that Chaohui Hall was not safe or trustworthy, the matter would become complicated. Why did she suddenly contract this coughing-up-blood illness? Was it really due to an infection from the injuries she sustained in Liangzhou some time ago?

Shen Lingyan thought that Yun Zhu was not much better off than herself, so why was she the only one with this coughing-up-blood illness? Each incident was so perplexing. Shen Lingyan no longer wanted to be kept in the dark; she began to want to investigate.

And was the person they discovered following them in the secret library that day the true instigator of these events? Shen Lingyan decided to look into these matters later, but right now, she needed to know the meaning behind that memorial.

“Minister, please come in.” Shen Lingyan calmly stood up, adjusted the cloak on her shoulders, walked to the main hall door, and opened it for Wei Kangsheng. The two walked in, one after the other, and approached the wooden desk with the memorials.

Shen Lingyan raised an eyebrow and opened the first memorial, on which the five bold characters “Wei Kangsheng Memorial” were written. Wei Kangsheng stroked his beard; he naturally knew what Shen Lingyan wanted to ask, but he played coy. First, he sat across from Shen Lingyan, poured himself a pot of tea, and then placed the teacup on the tea table.

Shen Lingyan continued to observe Wei Kangsheng’s movements and noticed that he arranged the teacups into a regular shape. After mentally combining the shapes, it surprisingly formed the outline of the border.

“Is the Minister arranging a border map?”

As soon as she spoke, Wei Kangsheng praised Shen Lingyan for being exceptionally intelligent and quick to grasp the meaning. His hands didn’t stop, and he continued to take other objects to arrange. After Shen Lingyan waited for a long time, he finally wiped the thin sweat from his brow, stood up respectfully, and invited Shen Lingyan to look.

“I see. This is a border map and a simulation of a two-army battle.” Shen Lingyan was too familiar with these arrangements; even the secret library was probably no different.

Wei Kangsheng nodded and poured Shen Lingyan another cup of tea. His expression was very solemn as he pointed to the border map and analyzed for Shen Lingyan: “Although these small border nations may not be as prosperous as ours, precisely because of this, they place great importance on the training and selection of soldiers. Currently, many surrounding small border nations show signs of forming an alliance. Even if we temporarily suppress one small border nation’s invasion with military force, unless we can come up with a countermeasure, an alliance, or a direct resistance, once those small border nations begin to act, we will only be passive…”

These words were very reasonable. Shen Lingyan had already vaguely guessed the intentions of the small border nations; the idiom “a tall tree catches the wind” explained the situation. Shen Lingyan was about to speak but was struck by a fierce cough. Wei Kangsheng frowned, waiting for Shen Lingyan to finish coughing while pondering something.

When Shen Lingyan weakly raised her head, Wei Kangsheng hesitated slightly: “May Your Majesty not blame this old official for speaking ill-omened words, but some things may truly need to be planned in advance now.”

Before he could speak, Shen Lingyan spoke first: “I know… You want me to start choosing the next monarch.”

When these words came from Shen Lingyan’s mouth, Wei Kangsheng felt a pang of heartache. He now regarded Shen Lingyan with the affectionate concern one would have for a junior. While this thought might be a bit presumptuous, he was very loyal and considerate of Shen Lingyan. However, the country was the most important thing in his life.

If Shen Lingyan could no longer manage state affairs with her current physical condition, then as a subject, no matter how much it pained him, Wei Kangsheng had to suggest that she make plans in advance.

Wei Kangsheng nodded. He was about to mention the candidates he had studied who could successfully manage the country, but Shen Lingyan interrupted him.

“I think… Zhou Jin would be excellent.”

“What!?” Wei Kangsheng nearly jumped up in shock. Shen Lingyan had just spent a great deal of effort to take back political power from Zhou Jin. If she were to hand over the power to the unrelated Zhou Jin now… wouldn’t all their previous efforts be in vain?

“What’s wrong? Does the Minister think the Prince Regent won’t be able to handle state affairs?” Shen Lingyan was clearly very weak, but for some reason, almost every word she had spoken since falling ill sounded more and more like a mature emperor.

Wei Kangsheng was unwilling to argue with Shen Lingyan anymore; he respected her decision greatly. Furthermore, after careful consideration, Zhou Jin was indeed the person who could most quickly succeed the throne at the moment.

“I will write two identical imperial edicts now. One will be sent by express horse to the Prince Regent, and one will remain with me.” Shen Lingyan acted immediately, without any trace of sadness. Wei Kangsheng stood beside her, grinding the ink for her. Shen Lingyan picked up the brush and began to write, but as she wrote, a few mysterious tears rolled onto the paper…

So, Shen Lingyan wasn’t without sorrow after all. Dai Sulan, standing at the door of Chaohui Hall, gently pushed the door open a crack. Everything inside was clearly visible, including Shen Lingyan’s tears illuminated by the candlelight.

Shen Lingyan was more than just sad; she had always been confused about why she had transmigrated into this book and lived such a failed life.

Now, as she wrote the imperial edict word by word from Shen Lingyan, it was also her decision to bring her second life to a close. Finally, the thick ink on the brush faded, and the last character of the imperial edict was finally written.

Shen Lingyan then compared the two imperial edicts; there were no mistakes. She kept one for herself and handed the other to Wei Kangsheng: “Thus, I trouble the Minister to send this imperial edict to the Prince Regent by express horse. I do not trust anyone else to deliver it.”

Wei Kangsheng solemnly accepted the imperial edict and then began to discuss other topics to divert Shen Lingyan’s attention.

“That is to say, if we want to completely eliminate the border threat, we must find a small border nation with significant influence to establish good relations with.” Wei Kangsheng had already planned the future path for Shen Lingyan, but she had no interest in listening. True, she was a person nearing death.

What was the use of hearing all this?

Wei Kangsheng saw that she was in no mood to listen, so he stood up to bid farewell: “Then, your subject will take his leave.”

Shen Lingyan waved her hand, a lifeless gesture in response.

When Wei Kangsheng reached the door of Chaohui Hall, he also saw Dai Sulan standing there, but he wisely did not speak, only nodding symbolically.

After Wei Kangsheng left, Chaohui Hall was silent. Shen Lingyan had even less desire to sleep. She walked to the small table by the window, sat down, opened the window, and looked at the crescent moon outside.

Because Shen Lingyan was coughing, no incense was lit in the room, only the dry, hot smell of summer and a few chirping cicadas.

Dai Sulan did not enter. She stood at the door, watching Shen Lingyan, just watching her from afar, her heart churning with many emotions.

Dai Sulan had originally planned to leave after checking in, but Shen Lingyan started coughing again, making her too worried to go. She stayed, standing until the middle of the night.

“Sulan… It’s been an entire night. If I don’t speak, are you going to stand until dawn?” Suddenly, Shen Lingyan spoke, startling Dai Sulan so much that the hairpin in her hair fell out with a light clatter.