Chapter 49: His Wife Doesn’t Care About Him

Chapter 49: His Wife Was Indifferent to Him

In the eastern wing, Shu Yan trailed after Pei Yun reluctantly, and as soon as the door closed, she couldn’t help but start grumbling.

"My lady, other women would go to great lengths to prevent their husbands from taking concubines. Why are you so quick to send someone to His Highness? And look at that girl—she’s been so arrogant these past few days. If she really gains favor and enters the Eastern Palace in the future, she’ll walk all over you!"

Pei Yun smiled at her. "That’s enough, get some rest."

Shu Yan pouted but obediently stepped forward to tidy Pei Yun’s bed.

However, halfway through, a sudden commotion outside made her freeze. She shot to her feet and pressed her ear to the door like a spy, then whispered gleefully, "My lady, listen! Are they arguing? They must be! That Die Er must have been thrown out by His Highness!"

How could Shu Yan resist watching? These past few days, she had bitten her tongue as her mistress ordered, but it had been unbearable.

She tried to peek through a crack in the door, but before she could, a large hand shoved the door wide open.

"Your Highness!"

At Shu Yan’s startled cry, Pei Yun looked up to see the Crown Prince striding in, his face stormy.

Recognizing the situation, Shu Yan made a tactful retreat, closing the door behind her.

Pei Yun glanced at his left shoulder, soaked with blood, and frowned slightly. "Your Highness, your injury..."

She reached to check the wound, but her wrist was abruptly seized.

Seeing his displeasure, Pei Yun thought for a moment, then smiled gently and asked, "Was Die Er unsatisfactory? She must be new to serving, so she’s bound to be clumsy. Please don’t be angry, Your Highness."

Li Zhangye almost laughed bitterly, swallowing down his frustration as he forced his voice to remain calm. "Didn’t I say that having you alone by my side is enough...?"

Last time, he had made it perfectly clear. Why did she still let someone near him? Even if she hadn’t arranged it herself, she could have sent the woman away.

Pei Yun looked down.

He had indeed said those words.

"But Die Er is different..."

Li Zhangye almost laughed bitterly. "What of it? If I don’t want others, why would I want her?"

Pei Yun slowly lost her smile and met his gaze, done skirting the issue. Staring into his pitch-black eyes, she spoke each word deliberately: "But doesn’t she resemble Second Miss Shen?"

Though she had never met that Second Miss Shen, she had seen the grown-up Shen Ningchao. And judging by Chang Lu’s reaction that day, even if Die Er lacked the dignified grace of a noblewoman raised from childhood, she must bear some resemblance to Shen Ningjia.

Li Zhangye frowned slightly and almost blurted out, "What of it?"

Hearing his indifferent tone, Pei Yun found it ridiculously funny—so much so that she couldn’t help but laugh.

"Does Your Highness truly not understand? Why would Prefectural Governor Zhang send a woman who looks like that? Because he knows that the one Your Highness loves... shares that face."

Li Zhangye froze for a moment. It was true—the woman’s features bore some resemblance to his late cousin. But he had thought it mere coincidence, never imagining that Zhang Chengzhi had done it deliberately.

Leaning forward slightly, his explanation carried a hint of urgency. "It’s true that my cousin was once the Crown Princess I intended to marry, but my feelings for her were more like those between siblings. I never said such things, and besides... she’s already dead."

That careless phrase—"already dead"—sent a roaring rush through Pei Yun’s mind.

How carelessly he said it.

As if questioning why she still cared about someone who was dead.

But he didn’t know that in her past life, for so many years, it was this very dead person who, long after she entered the palace, became an inescapable nightmare, tormenting her relentlessly.

Everyone said Second Miss Shen was kind-hearted and virtuous, possessing jade-like virtues, destined to become a widely praised virtuous empress like her aunt, Empress Xiaoren. It was only a pity that the heavens envied her beauty, and her life was as fleeting as a flower.

Pei Yun's greatest misfortune was becoming Crown Princess after her. From lineage to manners, everyone compared her to the late Second Miss Shen, Shen Ningjia.

But if Shen Ningjia was the moon in the sky, she was merely a rough stone by the river, gazing upward, forever beyond her grasp.

In the first two years after entering the palace, she stumbled under constant scrutiny and mockery, even constantly making mistakes due to her unfamiliarity with the capital’s customs. Perhaps because of this, her outlook and personality gradually changed in her past life.

Though given a second chance at life, Pei Yun had come to understand—she, too, was unique and didn't need to obsess over matching the excellence of a dead woman. But in her past life, wasn’t it precisely because she couldn’t grasp this that she made herself sick with grief?

She met the Crown Prince’s gaze directly. “Yes, Second Miss Shen is dead. But for so many years, people have whispered to me, time and again, that Your Highness still pines deeply for her. When I saw Die Er that day, I thought—since Your Highness suffers such yearning, as your wife, shouldn’t I relieve your sorrow? Was I wrong?”

Li Zhangye watched her speak these words calmly, not as an accusation, but merely a question.

His heart turned colder with each passing moment.

Because she wasn’t upset. She showed not a trace of jealousy over the rumors that his heart belonged to Shen Ningjia. She simply thought that since this woman resembled his “beloved,” he would like her, so she sent her to him.

That was all.

The memories Li Zhangye had forcibly suppressed now surged forth in fragments.

Her words at the Lantern Festival, the green bamboo sachet at his waist, the time she brought portraits to select a concubine for him…

All of it reminded him that this time, he had no excuses left.

His wife didn’t care about him.

He meant nothing to her.

But… had she never cared from the start, or…?

Seeing the Crown Prince remain silent, Pei Yun had no desire to continue this standoff. She rose slowly and said, “I'll have Chang Lu tend to your wound.”

She had only taken a few steps when his quiet voice floated after her.

“You didn’t come to Yuezhou for my sake either, did you…?”

Pei Yun halted.

He guessed correctly—she hadn’t come for him, but for her Chen’er. But she couldn’t tell him the truth, nor could she muster the energy to lie. She merely pressed her lips together.

In the silence, Li Zhangye found his answer.

He gave a bitter laugh. So all this time, he'd been fooling himself all along.

“Rest early.”

He said weakly and strode out of the eastern chamber.

Seeing him emerge, Chang Lu hurried after him and fretted, “I'll fetch the doctor immediately.”

Though his lips had already paled, Li Zhangye felt no pain—or perhaps he needed this pain to keep his mind clear.

With a cold gaze, he looked at Die Er and the maids standing at the entrance of the main chamber and asked, “Did any of them offend the Crown Princess?”

Chang Lu answered truthfully, "That Lord Zhang seems to have mistaken the Crown Princess's identity. On the day that woman arrived, her maidservant did indeed speak disrespectfully to the Crown Princess."

"Cut out the tongue of whoever spoke disrespectfully, then dump them all back on Zhang Chengzhi."

As for Zhang Chengzhi, Li Changye’s eyes darkened further—it was time to settle with him.

Chang Lu bowed in acknowledgment but hesitated before adding, "Your Highness, the Crown Princess may have allowed that woman to serve you precisely because she resembles Second Miss Shen. That’s why..."

Li Changye suddenly turned to him, finding it absurd, and scoffed, "What? Don’t tell me you’ve heard that rumor too?"

Cold sweat trickled down Chang Lu’s back, but he dared not lie. "A few years ago, I accidentally heard two gossiping servants in the Eastern Palace mention it. But I immediately reprimanded them, and since then, such gossip has never been heard again in the palace."

"So you also think that I still hang up on my cousin?"

Chang Lu dared not reply. Whether his master favored someone was not for a servant like him to comment on. Yet, like others, he felt that the master must have held some regard for Second Miss Shen—after all, she had once been the Crown Prince’s betrothed, even his childhood sweetheart. How could there be no affection at all?

But having served the Crown Prince daily, he could also see how deeply His Highness cared for the Crown Princess. Her place in his heart wasn't small.

Li Changye did not press Chang Lu further—what answer could he possibly force from him?

Perhaps due to loss of too much blood, a sudden dizziness overcame him. Chang Lu hurried to support him, but Li Changye raised a hand to stop him.

Dragging his feet slowly up the stairs, he knew all of this was his own doing.

If even Zhang Chengzhi could easily uncover such rumors, they must have spread throughout the city—yet he alone had remained completely oblivious.

All these years, he had been utterly blind. Because Pei Shi always faced him with gentle smiles, never complained, even when asked, she would only reply with pleasantries. He had truly believed she was content, allowing himself to focus solely on his own affairs.

The Rui Er incident should've warned him—that in places beyond his sight, she had suffered many grievances.

It was his fault. He had not cared enough, unaware that behind her smiles lay bitterness she could never voice to him.

Yet he had been fooled by the calm surface, preoccupied with court affairs, buried in politics, and traveling across Great Zhao.

He had, with his own hands, let her slip away bit by bit...

In the eastern chamber, Pei Yun sat quietly on the bed, her heart feeling strangely empty.

She sighed softly. Despite trying to keep peace with the Crown Prince over the past year since her rebirth, it had ultimately shattered.

He had just claimed he never said those things, that his feelings for Shen Ningjia were merely fraternal. But with that portrait in his study, how could she believe him?

Yet, for some reason, she now found herself unsure whether to trust him or not.

Pei Yun pressed her lips together. Even if the Crown Prince spoke the truth, what difference would it make?

Between them stood not just Shen Ningjia, but years of built-up resentment from her past life, the deaths of their two children...

She shook her head, trying to shake off these thoughts.

Enough. Why should the Crown Prince's business concern her? She might as well get some sleep.

Two days later, in the back residence of Yuezhou's prefectural office.

Du Hangzhou had just sent away the physician who treated Niu Da when he spotted the Crown Prince walking up slowly. Startled, he said, "Your Highness, your arrow injury isn't healed yet—why are you..."

The Crown Prince had returned to the Yuezhou prefectural office and should have been resting in his courtyard to recover. Yet these past two days, he hadn’t stopped for a minute.

Hadn’t he just settled with Zhang Chengzhi yesterday?

He had originally thought the Crown Prince intended to turn a blind eye to it regarding Zhang Chengzhi, but unexpectedly, he ensured Zhang met his end knowing exactly why. The Crown Prince had already ordered an investigation to gather evidence of Zhang Chengzhi's various offenses.

Bribery, embezzlement, favoritism, and even oppressing the common people, forcibly seizing women—the list of crimes was too many to count.

Now, Zhang Chengzhi and the subordinate officials in Yuezhou who colluded with him had been dismissed from their posts and imprisoned. They would soon be escorted to the Ministry of Justice for trial.

For the time being, the Vice Prefect of Yuezhou, Magistrate Lu, was serving as acting prefect. Since the Crown Prince had already sent a letter to the Ministry of Personnel, it was likely that a new prefect would soon be appointed to Yuezhou.

Though his face was pale, Li Changye spoke calmly, "It's nothing, just a scratch."

His thoughts were in disarray these past few days. If he didn’t keep himself occupied, he couldn’t calm down.

"How is Niu Da?" he asked.

Du Hangzhou replied, "He’s doing much better. His leg wound had festered over time. After being brought down the mountain, he developed a high fever and fell unconscious. The physician initially feared he might not survive and could only do their best. But fortunately, he came to last night. The physician just examined him and said he’ll be fine, though he’ll need to take it easy for a while."

Li Changye nodded and asked, "What about the assassin who attempted to kill me? Has he been caught?"

"I’ve been incompetent," Du Hangzhou admitted guiltily. "Over the past few days, I ordered searches in the nearby mountains but found no trace of the assassin. However, I have issued Your Highness’s orders to the surrounding prefectures and counties, instructing them to strictly monitor recent arrivals and departures, especially those acting strangely or transporting large items. They must conduct thorough inspections and let no one slip through."

Since there were still people lying in wait near the mine, the assassins likely hadn’t gone far. After all, they had taken every last weapon with them—those items were heavy and not easily transported.

As he listened, Li Changye entered the courtyard where Niu Da was recuperating.

Niu Da was the only one left alive among the missing. As for the other survivor who dared to flee the cave, his body had been found on a mountainside a few days prior. He had likely been killed after throwing the bamboo case holding the designs into the river.

As the sole witness, Niu Da naturally had to be kept in the safest place.

When Niu Da saw Li Changye, he cried out, "My lord!" and immediately tried to get out of bed to kneel.

Li Changye stopped him. "No need for formalities. You’re still weak—stay in bed."

"Thank you, my lord." Though he didn’t leave the bed, Niu Da bowed his head deeply toward Li Changye, his voice choked with emotion. "My lord, you must catch those villains. If they hadn’t captured me, my mother wouldn’t have…"

Niu Da already knew about his mother’s fate. In his dreams, he had seen her. He had been lingering at death’s door when she pushed him back, telling him he still had a long life ahead—he needed to marry, have children, and not rush to join her so soon.

When he woke and saw Sister Zhuang, he asked how his mother was. Seeing her hesitate, he understood. He recounted his dream, and Sister Zhuang could only weep and tell him the truth.

If he hadn’t been captured and could have returned home, even if his mother had fallen, perhaps he could have saved her.

Watching Niu Da sob his heart out, Li Changye remained silent for a long time. Only when Niu Da gradually calmed did he ask, "How were you captured back then?"

Niu Da wiped his face with his sleeve and sniffled. "I was drugged and taken. When I woke up, I was already in the mine. But because a few of us knew how to forge iron, we were treated differently from those forced to mine. We were shackled and kept in another area, forging weapons all day according to the blueprints."

"Did you never try to escape?" Du Hangzhou couldn’t help but ask.

Given that those taken were all strong young men, not weaklings, they should have had a good chance of breaking free.

"We did," Niu Da said helplessly. "But those men were armed and kept watch day and night. There was almost no opportunity. Once, someone tried to escape during a meal and was shot through the heart on the spot. They hung his body up for everyone to see as a warning. After that, no one dared try again. But since I arrived later, I only heard about this from others."

"About a month after I got there, they suddenly started withdrawing with the smelted weapons. Then, the day before they completely pulled out, they drugged our food. While we were weak and helpless, they killed us one by one and dumped our bodies in the mine…" Recalling the horrors of the mine, Niu Da still shuddered.

Because they left in a hurry and didn’t confirm every kill, he had survived by pretending to be dead after being slashed in the leg.

"Did the men who captured you have any distinguishing features? Do you know the name of their leader?" Li Changye asked.

At the moment, they had almost no leads. Niu Da was their only hope.

"Nothing stood out. The man in charge of guarding us was around forty, with a fierce, intimidating face." Niu Da thought for a moment, then suddenly added, "Ah, yes, my lord. One day, a very young nobleman came—about seventeen or eighteen, not yet of age, handsome-looking. The guard leader treated him with extreme respect, calling him 'Young Master.' He seemed to come from a wealthy family."

Li Changye tensed slightly. "Apart from that, did this young master have any other distinguishing features?"

Niu Da frowned, straining to remember. "That day… the guard leader seemed eager to please him, asking if he had enjoyed his time at Yinghong Tower recently. Also… the young master had a tiny red mole at the corner of his eye…"