"Master, you saved the Duchess, how could she..." Tianyuan was puzzled.
"Why would she need my rescue?" Guo Daoyi leisurely rose to his feet, watching Tianyuan pack their belongings. "She traveled alone precisely to use herself as bait. The Fifth Prince, clever as he is, remains completely unaware of this Duchess's temperament..."
After a pause, Guo Daoyi let out a short laugh. "Perhaps he knows but doesn't care. Ah, one must never lose their sanity. Our lord remains oblivious that he has driven his own son mad. Fascinating, truly fascinating. We must return to the capital quickly—how could the grand play commence without me?"
Thus, early the next morning, Shen Xihe—who had risen at the first light of dawn—learned that Guo Daoyi and his servant had departed overnight, too frightened by snakes to remain.
Frightened by snakes?
Was he implying she was a venomous beauty?
Shen Xihe's lips curled. "Well played."
The remainder of the journey proceeded without incident. Shen Xihe, accompanied by the spirit cat, entered Shangzhou after nine days, with the capital just five days' travel away.
The spirit cat's injuries had fully healed, and Shen Xihe had collected its fragrance three times. Passing through rolling mountain forests one day, she released it back into the wild. The little creature lingered reluctantly, turning back every few steps as if unwilling to leave.
"Go. You belong to these vast lands."
Shen Xihe preferred cultivating plants to keeping living creatures, finding the latter too noisy.
Moreover, such beings were never meant to be domesticated. She knew noble ladies in the capital had recently taken to keeping cats, but in her eyes, confinement was an act of suppressing their innate nature.
To her surprise, after leaving Shangzhou, she encountered the little creature again. It had trekked for two days and nights, seemingly having latched onto her.
Its round, moist eyes followed Shen Xihe everywhere. Though she shooed it away repeatedly, it always caught up.
The last time, it appeared injured—one paw deeply gashed, the wound severe enough to reveal bone.
Even Shen Xihe, with her cold heart and detached demeanor, felt a stir of compassion toward such a determined creature. "You brought this upon yourself. If you insist on following me, so be it."
She brought the spirit cat to the capital's outskirts, where she smoothly reunited with Mo Yuan and the others. Only upon seeing Shen Xihe did Mo Yuan's spirit finally settle.
"Your Grace, what kind of cat is this?" Hongyu was enthralled by the little creature that resembled both a fox and a cat, adorned with leopard-like fur.
Yet the creature remained aloof. Aside from Shen Xihe, even Moyu struggled to get close, let alone touch its fur.
Hongyu could only gaze longingly.
"A stray I picked up along the way," Shen Xihe glanced at it. "It stubbornly refused to leave, so I brought it back for your amusement."
"Your Grace, have you given it a name?" Biyu also adored fluffy little animals.
"A name?" Shen Xihe hadn't considered it, but now that it was mentioned, she stroked the creature's neck. "I heard the Crown Prince has returned to the capital?"
"Yes, Her Majesty the Empress Dowager's birthday approaches. His Majesty ordered preparations at Hibiscus Garden months ago, so the Crown Prince returned with Her Majesty. Moreover, the Crown Prince's capping ceremony will follow Her Majesty's birthday celebrations," Biyu replied.
"Hmm." Shen Xihe responded indifferently, her gaze resting on the spirit cat enjoying her scratches. "Call it Duanming."
"Ah?" Hongyu and Biyu exclaimed in unison.
No one had ever given such a name to a living companion.
They tried not to read too much into it, but why had the Duchess inquired about the Crown Prince just before naming the cat?This Duanming...
"Duanming." Ignoring the reactions of her maids, Shen Xihe called out softly, and the clever cat responded cooperatively.
From then on, it was called Duanming.
The deeper meaning behind this was truly not something they, as servants, should ponder too much. Biyu cleverly changed the subject: "Princess, the two shops have been vacated and arranged according to your instructions. What business does the Princess intend to run there?"
Shen Xihe had sent them ahead to the capital with specific tasks - to vacate two shops left to her by her biological mother. One was in Anyi Ward, the other in Huaiyuan Ward.
Anyi Ward was located before the East Market, while Huaiyuan Ward was situated before the West Market - both excellent locations for business.
"Open a fragrance shop." Shen Xihe was pleased with their efficiency. "Have Mo Yuan send some clever and eloquent people to Nanhai Commandery to contact fragrance suppliers. Rinan Commandery has fragrance markets, and Zhuya Commandery has fragrance islands. Give each of them one hundred gold coins to purchase fragrant spices in large quantities, regardless of the type."
"One hundred gold?" Biyu, who managed Shen Xihe's finances, knew that although three hundred gold was a huge amount, it wouldn't strain Shen Xihe's resources. Still, how much fragrant spices could three hundred gold buy!
"One hundred gold." Shen Xihe nodded calmly.
"Acknowledged." Biyu responded and withdrew to make arrangements.
"Princess, what shall we name our fragrance shop?" Hongyu was responsible for the shop renovations.
"Name it?" Shen Xihe disliked naming things, but these were her own possessions, and she didn't like others naming them either.
Her fingertips stroking Duanming's soft fur, she slightly raised her dark eyebrows: "Living-Alone, Living-Alone Pavilion."
"Liv...Living-Alone?" Hongyu was instantly stunned.
Looking at Duanming lying on Shen Xihe's lap, with names like Duanming and Living-Alone, it was really...
"Princess, Living-Alone sounds so inauspicious." Hongyu truly didn't understand why the princess kept choosing such strange names.
"When all flowers wither, only I remain alive." Shen Xihe's obsidian-like deep eyes shifted, her gaze gentle. "How is that inauspicious?"
"Uh..."
Hearing it put that way, Hongyu suddenly found it inexplicably imposing. The princess carried a certain energy about her, reminiscent of the prince's sharpness when he returned from great battles. Hongyu liked it: "It sounds good, Living-Alone Pavilion is nice."
After conveying Shen Xihe's arrangements, Biyu returned just in time to hear this and couldn't help but roll her eyes at the slow-witted Hongyu. She approached and asked quietly: "Princess, the name Living-Alone is quite unique. Many people will surely ask about its meaning in the future."
They couldn't just repeat the princess's original words when asked - that would offend everyone!
"What's wrong with speaking frankly?" Shen Xihe didn't care in the slightest.
Biyu looked like she was about to cry: "Princess..."
"Alright, I'll stop teasing you." Knowing Biyu was considering her interests, Shen Xihe smiled faintly. "Living-Alone can heal people when used in medicine, and blend fragrances when used in incense."
Biyu breathed a sigh of relief: "Princess, when should Linglong be delivered to Prince Kang's residence?"
Linglong had been handed over to Mo Yuan and already tortured according to Shen Xihe's instructions, but she was still alive.
"Tonight."
Previously, to avoid complications, Shen Xihe had ordered them not to deliver the person until she returned, precisely so Prince Kang's residence would know: Shen Xihe has arrived.
"Entering the capital tomorrow, will the Princess stay at the Prince's residence or the Princess Manor?" Biyu asked again.
The capital had both Prince Shen Yueshan's residence and the Princess Manor specially granted to Shen Xihe by the Youning Emperor.However, the prince's residence had a concubine whom the Youning Emperor had forcibly imposed on Shen Yueshan. This concubine was the legitimate daughter of the Kang Prince's household and the Youning Emperor's cousin.
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