HLnovel Chapter 128 Emotion, Righteousness, and Reason
Chapter 128 Emotion, Righteousness, and Reason
What is love in this world? Some people love deeply but not exclusively, some love exclusively but not deeply, some love exclusively and deeply, and some love neither exclusively nor deeply.
Le'an seemed to belong to neither category, which Shen Qing couldn't quite understand, but it didn't matter. The human heart was a mysterious place, and he had only done a small favor.
Shen Qing changed into Le'an's clothes and came out quickly without arousing any suspicion. Afterwards, she chatted with everyone until the banquet ended and everyone went home as usual.
The carriage took a turn halfway through its journey...
In Chunhui Hall of the Shen residence, the servants had already set out the meal for a while.
Shen Yunxi glanced at the darkening sky and frowned, asking, "Why hasn't Qingxi returned yet?"
“Princess Le’an is going to the Northern Desert, and I’m afraid we’ll never see each other again. Perhaps my third sister was reluctant to part with her, so she stayed a little longer.”
"Then we won't wait any longer, Sang Ning. Tell the kitchen to prepare a midnight snack for Third Sister."
Shen Yunxi frowned, feeling that her mother was spoiling her third sister too much. She looked at Shen Shi and saw that he was unmoved. She opened her mouth to say something, but a servant came from outside the door to report.
"Third Sister is back."
Shen Yunxi could only swallow her words back, watching Shen Qing gracefully enter the hall, properly greet her parents, brothers, and sisters-in-law, and then take her seat.
The etiquette was impeccable and flowed smoothly, yet Shen Yunxi felt something was off, as if something was missing.
They ate and slept in silence, and the family finished their meal quietly. Shen Qing answered Li Su's questions obediently, but her fatigue was inadvertently revealed.
"You must be tired too, go back home," Li Su said.
Shen Qing stood up, bowed, and took his leave, unaware of Shen Yunxi's scrutinizing gaze behind him.
Back at Yilan Courtyard, Shen Qing instructed, "I am tired, you may all leave."
"promise."
After closing the door, Shen Qing immediately dropped her pretense, stretched her arms and neck, making a cracking sound, and warmed up.
Shen Qing returned late because he made a detour to meet Jiang Se and exchange a message: "See you at 1-3 AM tonight."
The hour of Chou (1-3 AM) is when people are most tired and easily become careless, making it an opportune time for him to "steal" people at night.
Shen Qing glanced at the water leak in the room, estimated the time, and changed into a well-fitting night outfit. Ever since the last night raid on Dewey, Shen Qing felt the necessity of having her own set of night outfits. She couldn't always expose the black-hearted guys, could she?
Fangyu, who was keeping watch outside, was starting to doze off. Shen Qing moved silently, without disturbing her at all, and then with a "whoosh," she leaped onto the roof and disappeared into the night...
Jiang Se paced back and forth by the lake in the back garden of the Marquis's mansion, which was newly bestowed by Emperor Yongxi. During the day, Shen Qingxi somehow broke through the guards' defenses and appeared in his room without anyone noticing, telling him that Le'an would come to see him tonight.
He had no prior relationship with Shen Qingxi, but now he had no choice but to trust her this once.
He staged a scene, getting himself "completely drunk" to lower the guard of his spies, and secretly instructed his confidants to drink some "spiked" wine with them, so that when they woke up the next day, they would only think they were drunk.
Waiting time is always particularly difficult, and my mind can't help but wander to all sorts of unexpected directions.
Suddenly, he heard a whoosh of wind, turned around and saw a masked man in black carrying a woman who was also wearing a veil as he fell from the sky.
"Le'an!"
Jiang Se recognized the person at a glance based on their figure.
Shen Qing consciously stepped back and leaped onto a distant rooftop, keeping watch from above, listening to all directions, not to eavesdrop on gossip.
Unfortunately, the wind was quite noisy tonight, and Shen Qing could only hear soft whispers.
Seeing Le An approach from afar, she cupped Jiang Se's face in her hands, stood on tiptoe, and placed a kiss on his forehead.
"Oh dear, don't look at what you shouldn't see!"
Shen Qing covered her face with her hands, her large, watery eyes peering intently through her forked fingers.
Le An lowered his hand, took a few steps back, and waved in Shen Qing's direction.
Is that all? Although it was a bit of a pity, Shen Qing still jumped down as agreed and leaped to Le An's side. When she got closer, she could see that Jiang Se's eyes were red and her face was covered in tears. She looked like she was about to break.
Looking at Le An again, although her eyes were misty, she was much calmer than Jiang Se, giving me a strange feeling of role reversal.
"Let's go."
Le'an called out, and Shen Qing understood. He picked up Le'an and leaped onto the roof as he had come, leaving Jiang Se standing there, staring blankly at the departing figure.
The wind whistled past her ears. Le'an leaned against Shen Qing's chest, closed her eyes, and tears streamed down her face.
"We met only to say goodbye?" Shen Qingfei flew over the rooftop and finally asked the question that had been bothering him.
"Deyin is stubborn and obstinate. If I leave without explanation, he will worry about me for the rest of his life. How will I go on from here?"
Shen Qing seemed to understand something. The reason why some feelings are unforgettable is mostly because we didn't say goodbye properly at the time. How can what comes later compare to the moonlight in our memories?
Therefore, Le'an came in person to thwart Jiang Se's hopes, hoping that she would not confine herself to her own desires and miss out on a good man in the future. Her efforts were truly commendable.
"Then at the very end you did... that thing, wouldn't that make it even harder for him to let go?" Shen Qing considered the reserved nature of women in ancient times and carefully chose her words.
Le An felt a little embarrassed. She knew that Shen Qingxi would most likely see it, but she didn't expect her to say it so openly.
“Deyin’s background caused him to suffer contempt and ridicule from childhood. No matter how hard he tried and how outstanding he was, he could not get recognition from others. He was indifferent on the surface, but he was inferior and hated himself in his heart. This time, I gave up on him first. I was afraid that he would fall into the abyss of self-doubt again. I told him that I would always love him, so he should never belittle himself.”
Shen Qing was deeply moved. Le An had truly considered everything he could, including national righteousness, father-daughter affection, political marriage... even the personal feelings of children that had to be abandoned.
This reminded him of Nie Yiren, the moral madwoman from Yuguo. Both of them only sought to avoid betrayal, but Le'an was clearly more flexible. He had done everything he could, and that was enough.
Perhaps it's due to their personalities, but Nie Yiren values loyalty and righteousness, while Le An values loyalty and righteousness. Judging from their daily actions, she probably values "reason" the most.
After secretly sending Le'an back to the Prince's Mansion, Shen Qing immediately returned to the Shen Mansion.
After a whole night of running around, it's almost dawn. If we don't go back soon, it will be daylight.
He leaped into the shimmering water without disturbing anyone, quietly climbing through the window. His tense spirit, which had been working all day, finally relaxed. He yawned and walked to the bedside. As soon as he sat down in the dark, he immediately jumped up.
"who!"
The sound of a flint striking rang out, and then candlelight illuminated the room.
"Second Sister?" Shen Qing remained defensive. "What are you doing here?"
Shen Yunxi's face was as cold as ice. "I'd like to ask you, where did you go dressed like that in the middle of the night!"