After leaving Changle Palace, Shen Shiheng slowed his pace.
"Elder Sister, please don't blame her. Mother spoke without thinking, so please don't be angry with her!"
Su Jinhuan had already recovered her composure and knew that Noble Consort Yu harbored no malicious intent.
Her aunt had cherished her since childhood, and in speaking those words today, she must have felt deeply conflicted as well.
"It's fine. How could I ever blame Aunt?"
"Heng'er, you should head back first. I came out in such a hurry that I haven't said goodbye to Aunt yet!"
"Go tell Aunt that I haven't taken her words to heart, and I will consider them carefully!"
Shen Shiheng agreed accordingly and instructed a nearby eunuch to escort her out of the palace, but she waved her hand in refusal.
"There's no need. Having someone follow me around just makes me uncomfortable!"
With no other choice, Shen Shiheng let her leave the palace alone.
Changle Palace faced south, and leaving the palace required passing through the Imperial Garden. As Su Jinhuan walked past, she happened to run into Shen Shiming in the garden.
"Fifth Prince!"
Su Jinhuan bowed in greeting.
Shen Shiming turned around, a hint of puzzlement crossing his gentle face: "Princess Changning?"
Though not well-acquainted with Shen Shiming, Su Jinhuan found him to be thoroughly modest and courteous, so she was quite happy to exchange a few polite remarks.
"After the floral banquet, I went to Changle Palace to chat with Aunt for a while, which is why I'm leaving the palace so late."
"What a coincidence to run into the Fifth Prince here!"
Instead of looking at her, however, Shen Shiming turned his head to gaze elsewhere.
Following his gaze, Su Jinhuan saw a butterfly trapped within a spider's web amongst the tree branches.
Its wings resembled fragile leaves, trembling faintly, dark hues rippling across them—a sight both hauntingly beautiful and resilient enough to make one's heart ache!
It was likely the first butterfly born in early spring, destined to soar among the flowers and take in all the splendor of the season. Yet, it was ensnared in a web, its movements entirely beyond its control. Every single thread seemed to pierce right through its body. Even a struggle would bring it agony!
Shen Shiming spoke abruptly, the smile that usually hung on his lips completely faded.
"Tell me, trapped within a web of silk and utterly helpless, can it still hope to live?"
As he spoke, he did not look at Su Jinhuan. It was impossible to tell whether he was asking her or merely talking to himself.
Shen Shiming thought that no matter how beautiful this butterfly might be, it would probably be devoured by the spider before long. It was only a matter of time. The moment it was caught in the web, its fate was sealed—there was no point in fighting it!
Suddenly, however, a slender, jade-white hand holding a twig appeared before his eyes.
That hand, and the outstretched twig, tore through the spider's web. He watched as the butterfly broke free from its restraints and, somewhat unsteadily, alighted upon the shoulder of the girl in pink.
Then, he heard the girl's resolute voice ring out:
"Do not ask of destiny, but fight for the path ahead!"
"I believe that fate has always rested solely in one's own hands."
"The spider's web traps only the butterfly's body; its soul remains free!"
Su Jinhuan gently cupped the butterfly in her fingertips.
"Just as it never stopped struggling!"
"Now, it has finally regained its freedom."
The butterfly spread its wings and flew away from her fingertips. Perhaps, within its limited memory, it would always remember the human girl who had helped it break free from its bonds.
"Well, it's getting late. Fifth Prince, Jinhuan takes her leave!"
Realizing what was happening, Shen Shiming wore a gentle smile once more. He looked at the guard beside him and said, "Liuhuo, escort Princess Changning out of the palace!"
Not expecting the Fifth Prince to suddenly insist on having her escorted out, Su Jinhuan hurriedly tried to decline. Fortunately, seeing her refusal, Shen Shiming did not force the matter.
He simply watched Su Jinhuan's retreating figure, silently repeating the words she had just spoken: "Do not ask of destiny, but fight for the path ahead!"
What a wonderful sentiment: Do not ask of destiny, but fight for the path ahead!
Once they had walked some distance away, Xiyin leaned in close and asked, "My lady, why do I feel like the Fifth Prince is a bit strange?"
Su Jinhuan didn't think so at all.
"It's probably just that he differs from the arrogance of the other princes and princesses, which is why he seems a bit unusual to you!"
"My lady, your sword dance today was so breathtaking—I was completely mesmerized."
"Though, my lady, when did you learn sword dancing? I had no idea at all."
Xiyin had been by her side for a long time and knew her inside and out.
"I never learned it. I just happened to see it in a book once, and today it came in handy."
"Then you are simply too amazing, my lady—you can just glance at something and master it!" Xiyin praised her from the bottom of her heart.
Su Jinhuan felt a baffling pang of guilt; after all, she had spent years studying those sword stances.
Chatting and laughing, the mistress and servant soon reached the palace gates. From afar, Su Jinhuan spotted a man standing by the carriage and immediately broke into a run.
"Older Brother!"
The man standing by the carriage was none of other than Su Jincheng.
Su Jincheng was tall, while Su Jinhuan barely reached his shoulder. Seeing her come running, his eyes curved into a smile: "Huan'er!"
Su Jinhuan was overjoyed. Having been reborn just a few days ago, Su Jincheng had been constantly occupied. Today was the very first time she had seen him since her rebirth.
"Why is Older Brother here?"
"Didn't Mother say that Older Brother has important official business at the Censorate lately?" Su Jinhuan asked curiously.
"No matter how important the business is, it can't compare to my little Huan'er!"
"I heard from Wenqin that you fell from a tree the other day, and when I asked Mother, she finally told me!"
Whenever Su Jincheng mentioned this matter, he felt quite indignant that their mother hadn't even informed him of something so crucial.
"So Older Brother took a leave of absence just to come see me?" Su Jinhuan asked with a sly smile.
"That's right!"
Actually, given Su Huaize's current position, no one would dare question Su Jincheng even if he idled away his time at the Censorate. However, Su Jincheng was inherently ambitious, striving for perfection in everything he did and taking his work extremely seriously. As a result, he was frequently so busy at the Censorate that he didn't return home for the night.
Su Jincheng helped her up into the carriage and produced a paper parcel of pastries that still retained their warmth.
"I bought you some peach blossom pastries on the way. Eat them while they're warm!"
The Censorate was located in the southern part of the city, whereas the peach blossom pastries Su Jincheng bought were exclusively supplied by the Imperial Pastry Shop in the northern part of the city. She used to be extremely picky about food, refusing to eat anything not from the Imperial Pastry Shop.
Clearly, he had made a special trip just to buy them, yet he insisted on claiming he had picked them up on the way.
Su Jinhuan saw right through the lie without exposing it, simply acting spoiled as she said, "Thank you, Older Brother! You're the best!"
Su Jincheng's smile grew even wider.
"You're the only precious gem in this entire family. If your brother doesn't treat you well, who should he treat well?"
"That means Older Brother is the best!"
"What about Father and Mother? When I get back, I'll tell them and see how they punish you," Su Jincheng teased with a mischievous grin.
Playing along, Su Jinhuan feigned grievance and said, "You wouldn't!"
Having teased her enough, Su Jincheng said, "All right, all right, I was just joking!"
When the carriage arrived at the Chancellor's Estate, the two of them alighted. Su Jinhuan originally wanted to chat with her brother a bit longer, but Su Jincheng said he had matters to discuss with their father and left.
She had expected to see Su Jincheng at dinner, but Jiang Shuying told her that after escorting her back, Su Jincheng had stayed for less than half an hour before returning to the Censorate.
Presumably, he had simply accompanied her home to see Su Huaize before rushing back, without even returning to his own courtyard.
This reminded Su Jinhuan of a major event from her past life.
In the winter of the previous year, Yizhou had suffered an unprecedented cold disaster. Blizzards raged continuously, freezing water into ice and plunging the common people into utter misery. Emperor Yongan had indeed opened the national treasury for disaster relief, but the funds allocated for this purpose had been siphoned off layer by layer. By the time they finally reached Yizhou, less than ten percent remained.
Consequently, a massive number of people died in Yizhou. Yet, the Prefect of Yizhou had managed to suppress the news until the cold wave ended the following spring, when hordes of refugees flooded into the Capital City, bringing the scandal to light.
Emperor Yongan flew into a towering rage and ordered the execution of the entire family of the Prefect of Yizhou. All officials involved in embezzling the relief funds were beheaded, their female family members sold into slavery, and their male relatives exiled to the borderlands to fend for themselves.
Curiously enough, Minister of Revenue Wang Zhengping—the official responsible for overseeing the operation—managed to emerge completely unscathed.
Coincidentally, this Wang Zhengping happened to be Ji Wantang's maternal uncle. In her past life, it was he who carried out the imperial decree to search the Chancellor's Estate, planting nearly a million taels of fabricated silver to frame the family and plunge them into injustice.
Judging by the timing, the outbreak of the Yizhou crisis was fast approaching. In her past life, the Censorate had been the first to bring up the Yizhou incident.
If her guess was correct, the case Su Jincheng was investigating was precisely this one. Though she had no idea how Su Jincheng had found out about it, this matter presented a golden opportunity.