By now, the Duke of Zhu had regained his senses a bit. He looked at Shen Yuning in surprise and asked, "Miss Yuning, what are you doing?"
Shen Yuning's body was trembling uncontrollably. Her heart was a whirlpool of emotions. Was Xuanzhi still alive? Or had he given this safety amulet to someone else? To Zidu? No, it couldn't be. How could Xuanzhi give away something she had made for him to someone else?
She swallowed hard, trying to make her voice calm. She held up the safety amulet and asked, "Your Grace, whose is this?"
A look of confusion flashed across the Duke of Zhu's eyes. He thought carefully for a moment. "This... this, oh, this belongs to that young man Zidu. I went to his room this morning and saw it under his pillow, so I brought it here."
He rolled his wheelchair closer and looked at the safety amulet again. Suddenly, he laughed. "When your Grandma Zhu was still alive, every time I was about to go on a military expedition, she would make this for me. This morning, I thought it was mine and put it away. But when I took a closer look later, I realized it wasn't. The ones your Grandma Zhu made for me in the past weren't so elaborate. There's even a bamboo embroidered on it. I have to say, it's quite nice."
Shen Yuning couldn't hold back any longer. She squatted down, tears pouring out. She covered her face and wiped desperately, but the tears just wouldn't stop.
The Duke of Zhu quickly bent down to pull her up. "Yuning, be a good girl. Why are you crying? Is it Shan'er? Is Shan'er unhappy? Tell Daddy, and Daddy will fulfill all your wishes, okay?"
The Zhu butler beside him quickly stepped forward to support the Duke of Zhu and comfortingly patted his back. "My lord, my lord, this isn't the eldest miss."
The Duke of Zhu scolded, "Nonsense. Look, isn't this Shan'er? Is Shan'er blaming Daddy? Don't blame Daddy, Shan'er. If you want to marry him, Daddy will agree, okay?"
Seeing that he couldn't persuade the master, the Zhu butler quickly tried to console the crying young girl. "My lady, my lady, please stop crying, my lady..."
Shen Yuning tightly clenched the safety amulet and looked up, showing a smile that was uglier than crying.
The Duke of Zhu was happy then. "If Shan'er is happy, Daddy is happy."
Shen Yuning asked hoarsely, "Where is Zidu?"
A look of confusion appeared in the Duke of Zhu's eyes. "Who is Zidu? Is Shan'er missing Fusu?"
He was old, and his mind was muddled. He thought it was when the Empress Dowager was still young and there was only Crown Prince Fusu in the palace.
Fearing that the Duke of Zhu would be further stimulated, the Zhu butler immediately explained, "My lady, Young Master Zidu went to the Cavalry Battalion today. He should be back soon. His courtyard is to the east..."
Before he could finish, Shen Yuning had already gotten up and run out.
To the east?
Her mind was blank, or rather, there were too many thoughts swirling in it, making her unable to think clearly. At this moment, all she wanted was to see Xuanzhi, to ask him why, even though he was Xuanzhi, he didn't recognize her and why he had so cruelly abandoned her.
Her heart was filled with sadness and grievance, but more than that, it was the joy of finding someone thought to be lost.
Her Xuanzhi was still alive.
From afar, Zhu Bin and Zidu were walking side by side when they saw the young girl in the blue dress running towards them.
Zidu instinctively stopped and turned to avoid her.
However, Shen Yuning stepped forward and grabbed his wrist. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she called out tremulously, "Xuanzhi... Xuanzhi..."
Zidu turned his back and didn't look at her. After being tugged for a long time, he finally turned around and reached out to push her away. But she grabbed his other hand.
He saw that her face was covered in tears.
He endured and said, "My lady has mistaken me for someone else."
Shen Yuning unfolded the safety amulet in her hand. "If you're not Xuanzhi, how did this end up with you?"
Zidu stared at the safety amulet and didn't answer for a moment.
Shen Yuning laughed through her tears. She stepped forward and hugged Zidu, burying her head in his chest. She sobbed, "Xuanzhi, Xuanzhi, you are Xuanzhi. But why don't you recognize me? Why, Xuanzhi?"
Zidu took a deep breath and gently pulled her away. He pretended to look at the safety amulet seriously and said word by word, "My lady has truly mistaken me for someone else."
Shen Yuning's sobs suddenly stopped. She couldn't believe that even after seeing the safety amulet, he still refused to admit it.
She held up the safety amulet and asked, "I've mistaken you? Then what is this?"
Zidu reached out as if to take the safety amulet that was already soaked in tears. Then he paused and just gently pushed her away. He took a step back, keeping a distance from her.
"This is the safety amulet Xuanzhi gave me before he died."
He turned his back and slowly recounted what had happened. "We were in Daye, in great danger. Xuanzhi was seriously injured while covering our retreat. By the time I found him, he was barely breathing. At that time, he was holding this safety amulet and stuffed it into my hand."
Shen Yuning didn't believe a single word he said. If Xuanzhi had really given it to him, why hadn't he given it to her before when he knew how much she missed Xuanzhi? Even if he didn't know that the safety amulet was what she had given Xuanzhi, she was Xuanzhi's family. Didn't Xuanzhi have anything left? Wasn't this last memento worth giving to her?
Moreover, if he really wasn't Xuanzhi, why had he kept the safety amulet under his pillow?
Zidu instinctively took another step to the side. "So, my lady, you've made a mistake. I'm not your younger brother. Since this safety amulet is yours, please take it."
Shen Yuning suddenly rushed in front of him and was about to lift his mask. But he reacted quickly and grabbed her wrist.
"If you want to prove that you're not Xuanzhi, let me see your face."
Zidu held her hand and shook his head to explain. "My lady, the upper half of my face is badly disfigured and cannot be shown. Even if you saw it, you would only be scared."
"I won't be." Shen Yuning looked at him eagerly. "I don't care what Xuanzhi looks like. If you take off the mask, I'll be able to tell at a glance whether you're Xuanzhi or not."
Zidu stared into her eyes for a long time but still shook his head. "Sorry, my appearance is disfigured. I really don't want to show my hideous face in public."
How could Shen Yuning agree? However, her strength was no match for his. He easily immobilized her.
More and more tears welled up in her eyes. She was on the verge of crying uncontrollably. She tried her best just to see if the person under the mask was really her Xuanzhi.
In the midst of the stalemate, Xue Yuxin's voice came. "Yuning."
Zhu Bin was taken aback. He quickly stepped forward to separate the two and said to Shen Yuning, "Lady Shen, we understand your longing for your younger brother, but Zidu is really not your brother. We hope you won't pester him anymore."
Shen Yuning stood there, speechless. She looked at Zidu and then at Zhu Bin. She gave a bitter smile. "Xuanzhi, I'm Yuning, your elder sister. Do you really not recognize me?"
Zidu's gentle lips tightened. He seemed completely unmoved. "My lady, I've said before. You've mistaken me for someone else."
Shen Yuning lowered her head to look at the safety amulet in her hand. After three years, the safety amulet had become worn out. Was it because her Xuanzhi had caressed it every day? But why didn't Xuanzhi recognize her?
For a moment, she even couldn't convince herself that the seemingly gentle but actually cold - hearted man in front of her was really her Xuanzhi.
...
In the study, Zidu tightened his lips. Although he was holding a pen to write, the pen just wouldn't touch the paper.
On the other side, the young master of the Zhu family whispered, "The best solution now is to make a betrothal agreement with the Qiao family first. In recent years, there have been continuous internal and external troubles in the Great Zhou. We have to find a way to prevent the Qiao family from being lured by the Tang family. Zidu, you always say you'll consider it, but can we still delay this matter? The Crown Prince's health has deteriorated. I'm afraid he won't even live long enough for the imperial grandson to grow up."
Zhu Bin clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. "Zidu, you promised to help me before. Why are you being so hesitant now? The Qiao family has sent messages several times. If we don't agree, we'll offend the Qiao family, which means losing half of our support. You know very well how empty the national treasury is now, and the Emperor's health is getting worse every day. The voices in the court advocating for the Second Prince to supervise the country are getting louder. We can't... we can't..."
Zidu threw down the pen, stood up, and interrupted Zhu Bin. "I'll go see my grandfather."
Zhu Bin called out to him a couple of times but couldn't call him back. He could only turn to his second uncle for help.
The young master of the Zhu family sighed helplessly. "Even heroes have trouble resisting the charm of beauty. If he doesn't want to, forget it. This is a shortcut, but it's not the only way. We don't have to rely on marriage alliances to win people over. If necessary, without the Qiao family, there are still the Wan and Shang families. There are always ways."
Zhu Bin nodded and rubbed his face with his hands. "Second uncle, is power really that alluring? Our Zhu family... our Zhu family..."
He couldn't go on. The Zhu family had been guarding the border and being loyal to the country for generations. But when did the Zhu family get involved in such a storm? Probably since his aunt entered the palace.
After Shen Yuning returned, she didn't tell anyone that Zidu was Xuanzhi. But everyone could see that Shen Yuning was absent - minded and couldn't calm down at all.
Zhang Rong was worried and secretly asked Weirui, "What do you think is wrong with your aunt?"
Weirui shook her head. "I don't know. I haven't seen her look so lost since Brother Xuanzhi died. There's nothing wrong with the shop recently. I don't know."
Zhang Rong thought for a moment and instructed, "She likes reading. Tomorrow when you send Huzi to the Chen Mansion, stop by the bookstore on your way back and pick out a few books for your aunt."
Weirui agreed and left home early the next morning.
Except for Shen Yuning, the others in the Lady's Mansion were not very literate. Weirui had studied with Xuanzhi for several years and was very hard - working. She was the one who had read the most books in the family.
She took the newly - acquired little maid into the bookstore. Because she was a new face, a young clerk in the bookstore always followed her slowly.
Weirui didn't mind. She strolled around casually and selected two history books. For a moment, she didn't want to leave. She noticed that this bookstore actually had a collection of the cases judged by Duke Tai.
She had heard from her aunt before that when the Great Zhou was founded, the ancestor of the Xue family had solved a major case and was granted the title of Duke of Qiyang by the founding emperor. Later, the title was only downgraded by one level to Marquis of Qiyang and had never been downgraded again.
This Duke of Qiyang had sharp eyes. There had never been a mistake in the cases he had handled. Although this collection of case - judgments was co - compiled by an old dean of the Imperial Academy, the Court of Judicial Review, and the colleagues of the Duke of Qiyang, and was approved by the Court of Judicial Review for publication, the details of the cases were quite detailed. It was said that there was a copy in the study of the Marquis of Qiyang's Mansion, and her aunt used to read it often when she was a child.
Weirui wasn't very interested in cases, but seeing this rare collection on the market, she was a bit tempted. She stood on tiptoe and reached out to get it.
At the same time, another hand reached out for the collection of case - judgments from the side.