Lady Kelpi Translations

Chapter One Hundred and Five:
Set the Stage

Although the Crown Princess prayed day and night for her love rival’s misfortune, she did not expect something like this to happen. As for Shaoshang, it didn’t matter. She had only met Qu Ling Jun once and hesitated on whether or not she should send a letter to the Second Prince’s wife.

The Crown Princess’s face was flushed with excitement, as if she was a widow experiencing a second spring. She completely forgot about her disheveled face that had just been criticized by Shaoshang. She didn’t even bother to settle accounts with her and was eager to discuss this new situation.

Shaoshang noticed it was getting late after she left the Eastern Palace and went to Changqiu Palace to take a stroll home. Before leaving, the Empress began to tease her. “It seems that the Crown Princess didn’t eat you. Hmm, your hands and feet are still there.”

“The Crown Princess should watch what she puts in her mouth,” Shaoshang said proudly. “She’d crack a tooth with me.”

On the way home, Ling Buyi talked and laughed with her but never mentioned the Liang family’s murder case. She didn’t know if he hadn’t heard about it yet, or if he didn’t take it seriously like Shaoshang did.

Even if he didn’t take it seriously, other people did.

The next morning, Ling Buyi saw that it was sunny and cold out, so he advised Shaoshang to take a day off with lectures with the Empress. He wanted the two of them to go out and have some fun but Shaoshang refused, saying that she was feeling sleepy because of the winter weather and wanted to nap in the warm Changqiu Palace.

Ling Buyi looked at the lazy, kitten-like girl. He pursed his lips and stared at her, trying to persuade her again. As soon as he entered the inner palace, he saw the Second Prince and the Crown Princess eagerly informing the Empress of Liang Shang’s death.

The Crown Prince sat off to the side in silence, looking dazed.

The Second Prince was like a child whose parents were occasionally absent, excited and unsure of what to do when something big happened.

“…Mother, please listen. Yesterday, the Liang family was in a huge uproar and I’ve found out all about it. At first, when Liang Shang’s body was discovered, Liang Wuji wanted to cover it up and keep his family’s shame to himself. But Old Madam Liang is a shrew, how can she be quiet and obedient? She secretly asked her attendants to inform all the relatives and friends in the capital, then cried and begged them to do something about it! This immediately alarmed the government. The city administrator pretended to be deaf and dumb and refused to come forward, but Old Man Ji from Tingwei Prison refused to give up. He sent people to arrest Qu Ling Jun but Liang Wuji led his army to stop him at his doorstep, saying that if Marquis Yang Ji Zun insisted on taking people, the Liang family would only be able to splatter blood in Tingwei Prison! The two of them argued endlessly, one claiming it was family matters and the other demanding to uphold national laws. Yesterday, the two of them rushed to the Southern Palace to file a complaint with Father!”

After such a long monologue, the Second Prince spoke fluently and smoothly without even taking a breath. Shaoshang couldn’t help but admire, “Your Highness, you spoke so clearly. It was organized and articulate. You are very talented, Your Highness.”

Ling Buyi glanced at the perky and energized girl who was not at all tired anymore.

The Second Emperor was like an old crow filled with old wine, croaking proudly and unable to conceal his pride. As he was about to continue to speak, Ling Buyi leisurely interrupted him. “Your Highness, of course, is aware that yesterday that when the Governor of Liangzhou and Master Ji argued, you were present.”
[Shaoshang actually calls the Second Prince, Second Emperor here.]

“How do you know this?” Shaoshang asked.

“Because I was also there.”

“But you didn’t say anything last night!”

“You didn’t ask.”

Shaoshang pounded hard on his shoulder.

The Empress nervously straightened her upper body and pointed at the Second Prince. “What have you done wrong again?” she asked. “Your bride has only been gone for a day and you’re causing trouble again?”

The Second Prince was both embarrassed and indignant. “What are you saying, Mother? This time it’s not… it was the Emperor who heard my uncle was sick and asked me specifically, he even gave me medicine… Oh, Mother, I’m telling the truth!”

Shaoshang looked at the fuming Second Prince still glaring at the Empress. The Crown Prince had a face that said he wanted to say something but didn’t dare to. She turned to Ling Buyi and asked, “How did His Majesty make a decision later?”

“By compromise,” Ling Buyi succinctly said. “Madam Qu will stay in the Liang mansion but will be under the supervision of Tingwei Prison.”

“This…” the Empress frowned. “This is a case involving a murder at the feet of the Emperor. Is this appropriate?”

Ling Buyi turned sideways towards the Empress. “The Governor of Liangzhou said that the murder of the Liang family’s son by the Liang family’s wife is a big scandal for the family. Many people outside are waiting to mock the family in Hedong. If Madam Qu really did murder her husband, the Liang family would not have sheltered her. But now, after half a day, the situation is unclear, and his widow will be locked up at Tingwei Prison for a few days or subject to some punishment. In the future, the Liang family will have no face to see anyone. Besides, the Qu family is on their way here, and earnestly requested His Majesty to at least postpone the incident.”

The Empress nodded slowly. “What the Governor of Liangzhou said is also reasonable. This matter isn’t only a national law, but also a family matter.”

In fact, when people encountered this kind of internal infidelity within the family, it was mostly the two in-laws who jointly discussed and decided to handle it on their own. The auxiliary tools that people liked to use were pig cages and hemp ropes and other such things. Only a very small number of people who could not reach an agreement would go and file a complaint to the government. However, in this era, few people liked the government offices. Sometimes, even if there was a fight between two families, they would try to avoid making things well-known.

The Second Prince glared at Ling Buyi with dissatisfaction, feeling that he had worked hard to complete the introduction but Ling Buyi had finished the most exciting part. It was simply greed for credit, it was snatching credit!

“Mother! Mother!” He quickly drew everyone’s attention back to himself. “There are so many tricks involved in this murder case! I know Qu Ling Jun. She’s not a ruthless person and she isn’t muddleheaded. So, why did she murder her husband? It seems that her marriage was an unfortunate one and a single day was like a year. I plan to have someone investigate this carefully…”

“What nonsense are you talking about?” The Empress slapped the table as she scolded him. “What are you talking about? Don’t meddle in this!”

“How can I not meddle with this? This matter is complicated and confusing. When I investigate it thoroughly, it will reveal your son’s abilities!” He began to laugh.

Shaoshang, seeing the Empress’s expression becoming increasingly ugly, suddenly spoke out. “Your Highness, did you become an adulterer with Madam Qu Ling Jun?”

The Crown Prince almost fell over.

The Second Prince’s knee slipped. “You, you, you, how dare you have the nerve to slander me….”

“Just now, I saw Your Highness knew that Shang had just been killed and are extremely happy about it and even began to laugh. I couldn’t help but think that Madam Qu would go to Your Highness in the future.”

The Second Prince nearly choked on his saliva as his eyes bulged. “You’re talking nonsense! I’ll kill you!” As he spoke, he was about to pounce and attack Shaoshang but she hid behind Ling Buyi.

Ling Buyi stood upright and motionless. “I’d advise Your Highness to calm down.”

The Second Prince touched his shoulder blade, which two months ago had been broken, and angrily sat back down.

Shaoshang leaned against Ling Buyi’s shoulder, sticking her head around him. “When the Governor of Liangzhou and Master Ji got into an argument with His Majesty, Your Highness was also present. If His Majesty was interested, he would personally order you to handle this case. Has he asked you to? If there’s no official business, then there must be a personal relationship. But what’s the relationship between Madam Qu of the Liang family and the Second Prince? Whether Qu Ling Jun murdered her husband or the red apricot tree leaned over the garden wall, there are officials who should be in charge. If you’re not in that position, you don’t have to know! Your Highness, you have nothing to do with this but you want to get involved for fear that people will not remember the connection between Qu Ling Jun and the Eastern Palace. I have to ask, Your Highness, what are your intentions?”
[The phrase a red apricot tree leaning over the garden wall is a term for a wife having an affair.]

In terms of eloquence, a string of one hundred and twenty Second Princes was no match for a single Cheng Shaoshang. He immediately stopped talking and anxiously looked at his mother and his full brother.

“Before she left the palace, the Second Prince’s wife said that Your Highness is now older and calm. Even if she isn’t at home, you can act properly. Now it seems…tsk, tsk, tsk.” Shaoshang shook her head with regret. “I will definitely write a letter to her to tell her about your affairs today.”

“Once your letter is written, I will use a fast horse to deliver it to Pingyang County for you,” Ling Buyi said, smiling.

“Don’t tell her!” the Second Prince roared.

“I’m telling her!”

“You dare?!”

“You think I don’t dare? Someone! Bring me a brush and ink. I need a high-quality brush and first-class ink!”

“You…”

The Second Prince rushed forward to pinch that little rascal but was stopped by Ling Buyi’s palm. He fell to the ground like a dog chewing mud. Shaoshang patted Ling Buyi’s shoulder to show her admiration. Ling Buyi glanced at her and smiled.

“Alright!” The Empress slapped the table, ending the farce that children under the age of ten would do.

Pressing her fingers against her temples, she gazed at her second son and spoke slowly, “You will go back and stay in your mansion. You are not allowed to interfere with this case. If you do… just think of your Fifth Sister.”

The one advantage of severely punishing one child was that the other children would no longer turn a deaf ear to your warnings.

The Second Prince felt a chill run down his neck as he saw the Empress’s solemn expression. He didn’t want to wait for his wife to return and find out that all their rations and estates were gone, so he reluctantly had to leave.

As he stepped out of the palace door, he saw Cheng Shaoshang strutting out from behind Ling Buyi. He gritted his teeth. “Mother, don’t you plan to punish this little Cheng…”

“Get out of here!” the Empress shouted loudly. The Second Prince was gone in an instant.

The Crown Princess had a reserved smile as she watched the Second Prince leave. She let out a soft sigh and began to act like a bitch.
[Yes, Shaoshang really said that.]

“Mother, don’t worry. I’m aware of the troubles in your heart. Oh, even though my younger sister from the Qu family was once beautiful, unparalleled in both calligraphy and painting, all the sisters in the capital admired her. I didn’t expect that with the passage of time, she would do such a shocking thing and disappoint us all. It seems that she harbored resentment in her heart for a long time and it’s now led to a tragic event for her family. She could be killed. I pity her two children and, in the future, will continue to do so. How could there be such a person…”

“The Crown Princess has such a great voice,” Shaoshang interrupted coldly. “The Nuo Opera in October cannot compare to your singing.”
[Nuo Opera is a form of opera where performers wear masks and dance to ward off evil spirits.]

The Crown Princess’s emotional display was interrupted. “You’re too ignorant of the seniority and inferiority of children,” she angrily said. “With the favor of Mother, you do not respect me at all. My reasoning is purely compassion for the Qu family’s little sister…”

“A straightforward person doesn’t have to resort to insinuations. No one is stupid. Do you really think everyone believes that you’re sympathizing with Madam Qu? There are only four words that can describe how you sang just now, reveling in other’s misfortune! Another set of four words – adding insult to injury!” Cheng Shaoshang ruled over the Crown Princess with all kinds of objections. The Crown Princess was a nail while she was the hammer.

Although the Crown Princess harbored resentment in her heart, her expression was a pitiful one. She whimpered and rushed towards the Crown Prince, sobbing. “Your Highness, are you just watching this little girl bully me?”

The Crown Prince pushed her away. He stood up straight and said coldly, “Are you so happy that something happened to Ling Jun? I thought you were weak and pure, so I married you. You should have looked at yourself in the mirror. Just now, your face was so ugly!”

The Crown Princess was surprised, tears in her eyes.

“I’d advise the Crown Princess to not get too happy too early. Now that Madam Qu’s husband has died, what if she isn’t the murderer?” Shaoshang turned back and asked, “Master Ling, can a woman of such a noble family like the Liang family remarry?”

“Of course,” Ling Buyi said. “If she wasn’t a concubine, it isn’t difficult to find another good marriage.”

The Crown Princess tightly grasped the front of her dress, filled with fear. If Qu Ling Jun really entered the Eastern Palace, she would never have another good day.

“Why haven’t you gone back to the Eastern Palace yet?” the Crown Prince reprimanded softly. “You’re not allowed to interfere with this matter anymore!”

The Crown Princess knew that her husband was very angry and the Empress didn’t like her very much. She didn’t dare disobey and knelt down before her mother-in-law and husband, then walked out on trembling legs.

“Crown Princess,” Ling Buyi suddenly called out.

The Crown Princess paused, turning around to look at everyone.

“His Majesty is already aware of Qu Ling Jun’s husband’s murder. I would advise you to not act smart and obstruct the investigation,” Ling Buyi said. “You might hope that Qu Ling Jun will never recover, but if you really intervene, I assure you that you will be the one who will never recover. You know my skills.”

The Crown Princess was swept away by Ling Buyi’s icy gaze, full of demons and monsters with nowhere to hide. Thinking of all these years, Ling Buyi almost grasped all of her shortcomings. She left in a hurry.

After she disappeared completely, Shaoshang took a deep breath and turned her head. “Your Highness,” she said. “Why did you marry her in the first place?” Marrying the wrong wife had ruined three generations.

“First,” the Crown Prince slowly sat down and gave a bitter smile, “my father had spoken before me and I couldn’t bear to disappoint him. Second… I had been engaged to her since childhood and it’s well known that if I ended the engagement, it would be difficult for her to marry in the future. Wouldn’t that be harmful to her life? She’s unlike Ling Jun, who is tall and beautiful and can marry a good husband of an equal family. We respect each other as husband and wife and live in harmony, but who knew…”

Shaoshang couldn’t bear to see this old man moan and groan in pain. “Don’t worry, Your Highness,” she exclaimed. “It’s decided. Master Ling and I will go to the Liang mansion and inquire about the situation so you don’t have to worry about it.”

The Crown Prince was about to say something when Ling Buyi interjected, “If you want to go, I won’t be going with you.”

“What are you doing?” Shaoshang asked angrily.

The Crown Prince smiled bitterly and said, “Zisheng’s complaining because I didn’t listen to his advice before I got married.”

“Don’t pay attention to him,” Shaoshang said, comforting the Crown Prince. “How old was he when you got married? If you regret your marriage after listening to a ten-year-old child’s words, that would be a joke!”

“Eleven,” Ling Buyi said. “I was eleven-years-old at the time.”

“Because that’s a huge difference,” Shaoshang snorted coldly.

After speaking, she knelt down respectfully to the Empress and arched her arms out. “Your Majesty, please give me a decree so that I can go to the Liang mansion. I will not interfere with the investigation of Tingwei Prison and will only serve as the eyes and ears of the Empress and Crown Prince. When I return, I will tell you of what I have seen and heard, in order to relieve the worries of you two.”

“Is… is this appropriate?” The Empress was tempted but still had some concerns.

“The Empress is the mother of the world,” Shaoshang said with a smile. “You can inquire about the women of any family if you want to. Besides, Madam Qu once served in front of you when she was young. Two days ago, she also paid a visit to you with her husband and children. Now that something has happened, you have doubts in your heart, which is human nature.”

The Empress felt that those words were very appropriate and her concerns were soothed. Smiling, she playfully glared at her adopted son playing possum off to the side, and summoned a palace maid to prepare a brush and some ink. She wrote the decree on a silk scroll, stamped it with a seal, and handed it to Shaoshang.

Shaoshang took the edict with both hands and then retired from the palace. She deliberately didn’t want palace maids to accompany her while she traveled, and waited quietly outside of the palace gate.

In no time at all, Ling Buyi walked out of Changqiu Palace with one hand behind his back. As he stepped out, he glanced sideways, withdrew his gaze and continued to walk forward.

Shaoshang burst out from the side with a smile and hugged his arm. “Don’t walk so fast,” she said. “Wait for me.”

Ling Buyi ignored her, walking straight forward and casually shaking off her arm.

Shaoshang lowered her head and began to mutter to herself behind him. “Aiyo, I was planning to tell him that I asked for a three-day leave from the Empress yesterday and wanted to go to Mount Tu with him next month for a trip. But he’s so angry that he definitely doesn’t want to talk to me. It’s better not to say anything…”

“What did you say?” Ling Buyi took a step back like a gust of wind and grabbed the girl. He laughed angrily. “What did you say just now?”

“What did I say?” Shaoshang asked, acting naïve. “I don’t remember anything…”

Ling Buyi lifted the girl’s head, left leg, and right side along his shoulder, gritting his teeth as he threatened, “If you don’t say it, I’ll throw you down!”

Ling Buyi had a tall and slender figure. Shaoshang curled up on his shoulder, looking down at the dark slate below. She was shocked but her mouth stiffened and said, “Throw me down! If you throw me, I’ll remarry!”

Ling Buyi laughed heartily, his clear and handsome eyebrows stretching like the warm sun. He turned her in his arms and wrapped her around his chest before standing her on the ground. Leaning in, his warm breath brushed against her ear as he said, “But I can’t bear to part with you.”

Shaoshang’s cheeks were flushed and she smiled brightly. However, she covered Ling Buyi’s mouth and whispered, “Don’t laugh so loudly. The Crown Prince and Her Majesty are in a state of sorrow. It’s not good for us to be so happy!”

Ling Buyi held on to her soft hand and lightly pressed a kiss to her palm. Shaoshang shook him off, pointed a finger at him, playfully calling him a skirt-chaser. She then turned around and ran away.

The two of them chased after each other and went to the Western Gate. Shaoshang was about to bid farewell when she saw the Liang Qiu brothers had prepared a tall carriage wrapped in warm velvet outside the palace gate, with a team of agile guards adorned with swords and crossbows waiting quietly behind.

“Are you leaving the palace today?” Shaoshang asked, feeling confused. “Is everything okay with His Majesty?”

“I’m going to the Liang family,” Ling Buyi said.

“But you said back in Changqiu Palace that you weren’t going to go!” Shaoshang said, scowling at him.

“I said that I wasn’t going with you, because I have to go myself. Yesterday, His Majesty instructed me to keep an eye on it.”

“It didn’t go as planned for you this morning,” Shaoshang said, sighing weakly. “Are you looking for an opportunity to bully me?”

Ling Buyi lifted her onto the carriage by her waist and then followed her in.

When they were alone in the carriage, he whispered, “It’s my fault, I shouldn’t have bullied you again. How about… you hit me twice? I won’t fight back.” He picked up Shaoshang’s two small hands and pounded on his chest twice.

“This sort of game really hurts you!” Shaoshang said, laughing.

Ling Buyi tried his best, but his body softened and he buried his head against the girl’s delicate and warm neck. “It hurts so much,” he chuckled softly. “You can give me a massage.”

He was pretending she was so skilled! Shaoshang smiled through gritted teeth and went to tickle him. She didn’t expect her left hand to go into his collar and directly touch the soft middle garment. Under her fingertips, she could feel the tough and strong muscles of the young man.

“What are you doing?!” Shaoshang was shocked and her ears turned red.

Ling Buyi held down her small hand as she tried to escape. He smiled unsteadily. “You’re touching me and asking what I’m doing. Is there anyone so unreasonable like you in the world?”

Liang Qiu Fei, who was riding outside the carriage, heard the laughter coming from inside and turned his head to sigh. “Brother, Young Master has never been this happy before.”

“I hope the young master can be this happy in the future,” Liang Qiu Qi whispered. “He’s suffered too much.”

…

After pushing and shoving for a while, Shaoshang realized that she couldn’t beat or scold him. She didn’t even have the grace to act like a hooligan, so she had to admit that she’d ‘hurt’ Ling Buyi and gently rubbed the ‘injury’ on his chest.

“Hey, do you think the Crown Princess actually looks a bit like the Empress? Especially when she isn’t talking, her chin and mouth are very similar.”

Ling Buyi closed his eyes and leaned against the girl. “It’s just copies of a shape, inside it’s shallow.”

“I know it’s just a resemblance, but… I seem to have some idea why the Crown Prince abandoned Madam Qu and married the Crown Princess in the first place?” Shaoshang tilted her head to look at the carriage roof.

“Why?” Ling Buyi asked, opening his eyes with interest.

“Among the princes and princesses, the Crown Prince and Second Prince are the oldest and most deeply influenced by the Empress. The Empress has always been very aggrieved, and it’s an indescribable injustice – because in the eyes of the world, she’s already very lucky. When the two princes were young, His Majesty was off fighting, so they must have seen how lonely she was.

“His Highness the Crown Prince agrees with Her Majesty’s conduct in society and has learned the same magnanimity and propriety in acting according to etiquette. Therefore, when he saw the weak and pitiful appearance of the Crown Princess during marriage, he thought of his mother. There was also a marriage protocol in place, so he couldn’t do anything even if he liked Madam Qu. His Second Highness, on the other hand, is exactly the opposite. He doesn’t agree with the Empress just tolerating things in order to consider the overall situation. It’s because of that that he likes shrewd women who have a ‘way.’ Although he has taken in concubines, his official wife is his backbone…”

“What are you saying?” Ling Buyi’s eyebrows furrowed slightly.

“What I’m saying is that, in fact, many men choose their wives under the influence of their mothers,” Shaoshang patiently explained.

“Well, in that case, it’s precisely because I am loyal, brave, stable, honest and reliable as Commander Cheng that you ultimately fell in love with me.” Ling Buyi drew his own conclusion based on the principle.

“First, it’s you who liked me, not me who liked you first,” Shaoshang said helplessly.

Ling Buyi turned his head and pretended not to hear her.

“Second, if you had a father like mine who is easy to serve, I’d burn incense every day! As long as my mother groans, my father will obey. But as for you, don’t just groan at me!”

Ling Buyi stared at the girl’s pink earlobes and whispered, “Hmm, I’ll definitely listen to you.”

“Hey, I haven’t finished speaking yet.”

Shaoshang pushed Ling Buyi aside and continued. “I have seen Madam Huo a few times. Well, actually, I don’t agree with her temperament. She’s too decisive, too extreme, and leaves no room for others or herself… Ling Zisheng, you don’t agree, either.”

Ling Buyi was silent for a moment and then slowly nodded.

In fact, Huo Junhua held a good hand since birth.

Before the age of twenty-six, she was protected by a strong and warm elder brother and no one dared to treat her badly. After the age of twenty-six, an Emperor protecting her above, a Marquis Cui protecting her from below, and a son like Ling Buyi. If she hadn’t become crazy, if she was willing to compromise with life, she would definitely be happy in the second half of her life.

But she had gone insane – she was such a person that if she could not maintain the beautiful garden in her heart, she would rather let it be barren than switch to planting vegetables and grains.

Ling Buyi sighed, leaning wearily against Shaoshang. “I received some news a few years ago that not all of my uncles died in battle back then. Some were buried in a pile of dead bodies when they were unconscious and left on their own after they woke up.”

“Why don’t they come and find you?”

“How would they?” Ling Buyi sneered. “I was only five or six-years-old at the time. The Huo family was completely wiped out, and even my mother was lost. Even if those people escaped, they were still disabled and weak, so they had to rest first. Later on, things changed and people changed…”

He sighed again. “I just hope to find a few come back. Maybe my mother will wake up when she sees them.”

Shaoshang nodded silently.

“By the way, you were talking for a while and even my mother was assigned. What exactly are you trying to say?” Ling Buyi asked.

Shaoshang thought back to earlier and quickly said, “Oh, it’s precisely because Madam Huo is like this that you like me. I am completely opposite to her. I am intelligent, kind, I can see the big picture and consider the overall situation, gentle and amiable… Don’t laugh. What are you laughing at? Don’t laugh…”

Ling Buyi leaned back against the carriage with a smile, his back against the wall. His left arm blocked his tear-filled eyes and his chest trembling uncontrollably.

“I asked what you wanted to say. After a long detour, it turns out that you just wanted to brag about yourself! You understand the big picture and consider the overall situation… You’re not at fault for saying that…” He couldn’t help but laugh, as if he had decided to make up for all the laughter he’d lost in the past decade.

Shaoshang was shamed into anger. “You’re still laughing!” she shouted. “I’m angry! Hmm! I’m groaning. I’m already groaning, do you hear me? You said that if I groaned, you’d listen to me, right?!” She groaned and huffed heavily again.

Ling Buyi suppressed his smile with great difficulty and sat up. “You’re right,” he said. “You’re intelligent, kind, you see the big picture, considerate, gentle and approachable. You are the best woman I have ever met in my life!”

Shaoshang’s face turned red, completely red, inside and outside, without exception.

She had just wanted to brag a bit but ended up blowing it into a super typhoon and nearly caused a major wind disaster.

Her face was still flushed until she got off the carriage. Ling Buyi instructed his entourage to knock on the door and notify Liang Wuji of their arrival, then turned back to tie the knot on Shaoshang’s bag on her belt.

“Do you think Qu Ling Jun was close enough to murder her husband?”

“I don’t think those words are appropriate.”

“Huh?” This line of thinking changed.

“A husband is a husband. it doesn’t matter how close they are or not.”

“This is because… there’s also an adulterer? Oh, please don’t pinch me! Okay, okay, I was wrong. Can’t I be wrong?”

This scene was caught by Liang Wuji and Yuan Shen who had just come out to welcome them.

Liang Wuji, “…”

Yuan Shen: Son of a bitch. Is it okay for you to have such a heartfelt relationship right at the entrance of someone else’s house where a tragic family event just happened?!

Seeing the door open, the Ling Cheng couple immediately straightened up and restrained their expressions. Shaoshang saw Yuan Shen and greeted him with a smile. “Young Master Yuan, why are you here, too? What a coincidence.”

“My mother’s family name is Liang,” Shen Yuan said with a stern face.

“Your mother’s surname is Liang? That’s even more coincidental,” Shaoshang didn’t think clearly as she spoke. “The governor of Liangzhou also has the last name of Liang.”

The cold wind swept withered leaves past Yuan Shen.

Ling Buyi smiled, clasped his hands together and made a very upright and happy bow to Liang and Yuan. Even in front of the Emperor, he had never greeted him so happily before.

Liang Wuji responded with a bow in return and sighed. “Shanjian’s mother is my cousin, who is also Liang Shang’s biological eldest sister.”

…

The Second Prince really is just like a kid who needs to have all the attention on him all the time. His poor wife…

The flirting between Shaoshang and Ling Buyi this chapter was so cute! Thanks again for all the comments, likes, and donations! I’d also like to assure you all that even though Kunning Palace has started, I won’t be slowing down with this series!

Next Chapter: Impossible to Unravel