Capítulo 485: Chapter 274: Rose

It is well-known that the eldest son and daughter of the Prime Minister Shu’s family are twins who look almost identical.

Although few people have seen Empress Huiyi, since everyone has seen the Prime Minister Shu’s eldest son, they can imagine what Empress Huiyi looks like.

At this moment, the woman in green walking slowly into the room would have been mistaken for Empress Huiyi herself if everyone present hadn’t seen Empress Huiyi at the state funeral.

There have always been rumors in the palace that Qi Yuan harbored a deep affection for Shu Wan. Now with such a look-alike appearing, everyone’s first reaction was to look at Qi Yuan.

To everyone’s surprise, Qi Yuan’s expression seemed unfazed, even faintly cold.

Standing in the hall, Shu Wan subconsciously touched the peach blossom hairpin on her head. Sensing the colder gaze from Qi Yuan, Shu Wan’s eyes flickered subtly, “I respectfully greet Your Majesty as the humble Shu Wan.”

“The landscapes of Jiangnan do indeed nourish people,” the Empress Dowager remarked appreciatively as she looked at Shu Wan. She turned to Qi Yuan, “Emperor, what do you think?”

Qi Yuan leaned casually in his chair, showing no sign of pleasure or anger.

His gaze swept over Shu Wan’s clothes and jewelry, tinged with a trace of coldness.

He could naturally tell that everything Shu Wan wore was tailor-made to his “preferences.”

Usually, he wouldn’t mind letting her enter the palace to see what the people behind her intended to do.

But she shouldn’t have come with such a face.

Qi Yuan withdrew his gaze and said indifferently, “Bestow—”

He had uttered only one word when suddenly a gust of wind blew in from the west.

Standing to the west, the breeze carried the faint scent of Green Bamboo Fragrance from Shu Wan’s body and lingered by Qi Yuan’s side.

This was a preference Qi Yuan rarely revealed to outsiders.

Unfortunately, at that moment, a palace maid was pouring tea for Qi Yuan, and the steam from the Longjing tea before the rain muddled the scent before Qi Yuan could catch it, blending it into the fragrance of the tea.

But it was this very wind that blew a grain of sand into Shu Wan’s eye.

She wanted to rub it but didn’t want to behave improperly in front of the court, so she could only blink her eyes, using the tears to wash the sand away.

It was her reddening eyes that stopped Qi Yuan from saying “Bestow an incense bag and send her away.”

With her eyes cast down, one couldn’t see the expectation and confusion brimming within them; she looked utterly like Shu Wan.

Her eyes reddened, her nose wrinkled slightly, and even though she knew this was a counterfeit, her heart still clenched a little.

Seeing the tears shimmering in the corners of her eyes, Qi Yuan’s gaze narrowed, “Bestow a token, let her stay.”

Hearing Qi Yuan’s words, Shu Wan let out a sigh of relief, it seemed her specially formulated incense had worked.

In her past life, when she corresponded with Qi Yuan, the paper always carried a faint scent of Green Bamboo. Shu Wan guessed that Qi Yuan must have liked that fragrance, which is why the paper was always infused with it.

“Congratulations, young mistress,” said the eunuch as he took Shu Wan’s wooden token, “Please follow this servant.”

“Okay.”

Shu Wan nodded and followed the eunuch out in a proper manner.

From the moment she entered the selection hall to her departure, Shu Wan never looked up at Qi Yuan.

The selected contestants will be temporarily placed in the Chuxiu Palace until the Internal Affairs Office consults the Emperor’s wishes and arranges where each contestant will go, then proceed with the transfer.

Even though they are all contestants, with different family backgrounds, even within the Chuxiu Palace, the treatment they receive will differ.

The daughter of a first-rank official, like Shu Qing, could have her own separate courtyard and several servants, while the daughters of other officials could also get a single room facing the sun.

Ning Yuan and Shu Wan, however, would have to share a room.

Upon seeing Shu Wan enter the room, Ning Yuan happily greeted her, “Ziruo, I knew you would definitely be selected.”

Ning Yuan’s eagerness to snatch Shu Wan’s wooden token was genuine, and her current happiness seeing Shu Wan was also real.

After all, the contestants were ranked in different classes, and the others looked down on her. In the deep palace courtyards, she could at least pair up with Shu Wan.

Ning Yuan, a talkative and chirpy person, could also provide some distraction, and Shu Wan did not resist Ning Yuan’s deliberate attempts at closeness.

It would take a few days for the Internal Affairs Office to draft the titles and assign residences. The daughters of high-ranking officials stayed in the east side of the palace, not bothering to come to the west side, where Shu Wan happened to have several days of leisure.

With few entertainment options in ancient times, Shu Wan started reading as soon as she opened her eyes every day and didn’t put down her book until night fell.

Ning Yuan frowned as she watched, “Is reading really that interesting? I don’t enjoy it.”

“Reading focuses the mind, so one does not dwell on idle thoughts.”

“What are you daydreaming about?” Ning Yuan asked curiously, leaning in, “Are you thinking about His Majesty? Speaking of which, I didn’t dare to see what His Majesty looked like last time. Did you?”

Shu Wan shook her head, “No.”

“I heard His Majesty is very handsome,” Ning Yuan’s eyes filled with yearning, “I wonder when I will get to see His Majesty.”

Ning Yuan had thought that once she passed the selection, everything would be fine, but only afterwards did she realize that standing out among the many contestants was difficult.

Not only did those high-ranking officials’ daughters have strong backgrounds, but they were also talented and beautiful. She didn’t know when it would be her turn.

Ning Yuan talked for a long time and realized that Shu Wan was not paying attention to her; she followed Shu Wan’s gaze to the window, where palace attendants were carrying a pot of bright red flowers into the distance.

“Wow, they’re beautiful. I’ve never seen flowers like these. What are they?”

Out of curiosity, Ning Yuan looked at Shu Wan, feeling that somehow, Shu Wan seemed to know everything.

Gazing out the window, Shu Wan’s eyes were distant, as if reminiscing, “They’re roses.”

“Roses?” Ning Yuan remembered, these flowers were exclusively for the royal family, “No wonder they’re so beautiful. I’ve heard that a single pot is worth a fortune.”

Shu Wan said nothing and watched the pot of roses, unconsciously pursing her lips to hide all her thoughts.

—

In the Imperial City of March, time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it had been two months since Shu Wan had collapsed without apparent reason.

During these two months, all the top doctors in the world had taken turns, but they still hadn’t found any cause.

Fu Yang once felt that Fu Siyu would be completely devastated by Shu Wan’s coma, but contrary to his expectations, Fu Siyu was much calmer than he imagined.

Since that day, after Fu Yang had Fu Siyu go out alone for a meal, when he returned, Fu Siyu was no longer working himself to exhaustion day and night like before.

Fu Siyu had hired the top medical team for round-the-clock care for Shu Wan, while he went back to work in the company. After Fu Yang started school, Fu Siyu even took the time to personally drop Fu Yang off at school.

Fu Siyu appeared too normal, making Fu Yang doubt that time had gradually eased the pain in Fu Siyu’s heart.

Until one night, when he suddenly couldn’t sleep and went to the balcony for some air.

From afar, he saw Fu Siyu planting flowers in the garden.

The roses that Shu Wan loved best.