The Governor’s Manor was brightly lit. Documents were piled high like mountains, and candle wax had pooled into a thick layer at the corners of the desks.
Shen Yu and several others were bent over their desks, writing furiously. They didn't even have time to stand up and take a sip of tea.
The room was filled with flickering candlelight, casting a sallow, haggard glow over everyone's faces.
Pei Du closed the document in his hand expressionlessly, his voice as cold as a winter wind in the twelfth lunar month.
“Shen Fuyan, I’m going back to Heluo!”
In just two short days, he had developed dark circles under his eyes identical to Shen Yu’s.
This Xindu City was no place for humans!
Shen Yu didn't even look up.
He picked up a roasted sweet potato that had long since gone cold with one hand and took two bites, while the brush in his other hand never stopped moving.
“Brother Zirang, hold on for two more days. Once we finish these official documents, we will surely be able to relax for a bit.”
Swallowing the last bite of the sweet potato, he couldn't help but marvel in his heart. As expected of an object from the Heavenly Palace, even when cold, it remained sweet and delicious; he could never grow tired of it.
Most importantly, it was filling.
Pei Du’s face was as dark as still water as he pointed to the pile of documents beside him, which was taller than he was. “You think we can finish these in two days? Are you trying to kill yourself, or are you trying to kill me?”
Shen Yu explained, “What I mean is that Lu Buyan should arrive in Xindu City in two days. When the time comes, with another person to help, we’ll be able to ease up.”
“Furthermore, I’ve had notices posted throughout the city. Perhaps someone will come to the manor tomorrow.”
Pei Du gave a cold snort.
“I’ll stay for two more days at most. If there are still so few hands after two days, I absolutely will not stay!”
After a moment of silence, Shen Yu said, “Currently, His Majesty is obsessed with alchemy all day and ignores state affairs. This has led the provincial governors to act independently, causing chaos across the realm and leaving the common people displaced.”
“Looking at the world, only Xindu City, protected by the Divine Lady, is a rare place of peace.”
At this point, he paused, and his true intentions were revealed. “Zirang, why don't you write a few letters and invite some of your friends to Xindu to discuss matters?”
Heluo was a place of outstanding people and spirits, and the Pei Clan held great prestige there. If Pei Du extended an invitation, those men of ambition would come to see Xindu City even if they knew nothing about it.
As long as they came to Xindu, he was certain they would desperately want to become followers of the Divine Lady.
Wasn't Pei Du the best example? Despite shouting about returning to Heluo, he hadn't actually budged an inch. He was purely trying to threaten Shen Yu into finding more help.
Seeming to think it over seriously, Pei Du said, “That makes sense. I’ll write a few letters now.”
He thought for a moment.
First, he wrote a letter to his elder brother.
Currently, he was so busy his feet barely touched the ground, and he simply couldn't find the time to manage the increasingly rebellious Pei Wanning.
It was better to have his brother come and take her back to the Pei family.
Lest she cause more trouble.
“Teacher, I’ve finished writing everything I can understand. As for the rest, I don’t understand them.”
Cui He placed a stack of documents on Shen Yu’s desk.
Due to the shortage of manpower, she, a nine-year-old girl who had only recently learned a few characters, had also been pulled in as child labor.
“Ar He, go back and rest first,” Shen Yu said gently.
“Yes, Teacher.”
Cui He bowed respectfully to Shen Yu.
Seeing Cui He’s back disappear through the door, Pei Du turned to Shen Yu. “I’ve been meaning to ask you, why did you take a young girl as a student? And you even let her write official documents.”
Shen Yu looked at him with a rare, serious expression.
“Zirang, before the Divine Lady, all living beings are equal. You should not look down on Ar He. Although she is young and a girl, she is humble and eager to learn. Even the Divine Lady praised her for having a pure heart.”
Pei Du was silent for a long time before speaking. “I have no objection to the idea that all are equal before the Divine Lady. But ask yourself, if those ministers and nobles at court saw a nine-year-old girl writing documents in the Governor’s Manor, would they look at her scholarship first, or her age and gender?”
“I am not looking down on Ar He. I am simply telling you that by doing this, you are pushing her into the heart of the storm. A single mistake could cost her her life.”
Shen Yu put down his brush and said slowly, “Ar He is a living person, not a puppet in someone’s hands. Whatever choice she makes is her own business.”
“If she wants to be like an ordinary girl, marrying and having children, I will give her my blessings to find a good husband.”
“But if she wants to walk a path that no one has walked before, as her teacher, I will do my utmost to pave the way for her.”
Pei Du remained speechless for a long time, his eyes lowered as he pondered.
“Preposterous!”
Shen Jue’s furious voice suddenly rang out.
Hearing this, the two of them looked toward him.
They saw Shen Jue on the opposite side stand up abruptly, clutching a letter in his hand, his face full of rage.
He looked as if he wanted to swallow someone alive.
Shen Yu’s brow furrowed slightly. “Brother, I was only chatting with Zirang. Why do you need to be so angry?”
“Don’t misunderstand.”
“Fuyan, I’m not angry at you.”
Shen Jue’s expression softened slightly. “It’s just that while I was reading the official documents, I found a letter on the desk.”
“The person who wrote this letter is truly infuriating. He actually said in the letter that I am all brawn and no brains, nothing but a common soldier, and that I don’t deserve to be the General of the Flying Cavalry. He told me to abdicate and let someone else take the position, and let him sit in it instead.”
He seemed to grow more indignant as he spoke. Clutching the letter, he started walking toward the hall’s exit. “I must find this person today and teach him a harsh lesson!”
“Wait.”
Shen Yu grabbed him. “Brother, I feel like something isn’t right.”
He narrowed his eyes slightly.
“You wouldn’t be making up an excuse just to dump all these documents on Zirang and me, would you?”
Shen Jue: “...”
Sometimes, having a brother who was too smart was quite annoying.
“Brother, we are blood brothers. Is it appropriate for you to use your schemes on your own brother?” Shen Yu immediately expressed his dissatisfaction.
Shen Jue opened his mouth, trying to salvage the situation.
“I...”
He had just spoken and hadn't had time to say anything more when an arrow whistled past his ear.
With a thud, it nailed itself into the pillar behind him.
The fletching of the arrow was still vibrating.
Shen Yu froze in place, cold sweat soaking his back.
Shen Jue reacted instantly.
He pulled Shen Yu behind him while his gaze swept toward the source of the arrow, his eyes sharp.
Someone had appeared on the roof opposite them without anyone noticing.
It was a woman.
She sat with her knees bent on the roof ridge, one hand resting casually on her knee while the other played with a bow and arrow.
The moonlight fell upon her, highlighting her sleek black martial attire and her hair tied up high.
It revealed a face that was heroic and spirited.
“Why did you try to assassinate me?” Shen Jue said in a deep voice.
“So you’re that much-admired General Shen? You don’t look like much to me.”
Yun Shu’s voice carried a hint of nonchalance.
“A pretty boy, and a frail one at that. You look quite a bit older than A’Ning, yet you still want to be an old cow grazing on tender grass. You’re truly a toad wishing for swan meat—ugly and dreaming big.”
Although Shen Jue was actually quite innocent, there was nothing for it.
Tonight, she was here to play the role of the Demon Seed.
Rate on N.U.
