Originally, all of Shu Changyu’s personal accessories and clothing were handled at home by Madam Li. In his previous life, after Madam Li passed away, Dan Yao and he each went their own way after they married, so everything was left entirely to the steward to arrange.
Shu Changyu had never had many requirements when it came to such little things, so he never personally bought them either.
But the next day, Jing Mu insisted on dragging him out of the residence to buy him a new jade pendant.
The truth was that Jing Mu had known for some time that there was a rather famous antique shop in Zhili. Inside was a rare piece of Lantian jade, a jade disc said to have been passed down from the Pre-Qin era. Lantian jade was believed to have the effect of warming the body and promoting healthy circulation, making it particularly suitable for Shu Changyu.
More importantly, Jing Mu privately wanted to fasten something around Shu Changyu as a token of their relationship, something like a lovers’ keepsake. Whenever he saw it, it would be as though he were seeing Shu Changyu himself, and Shu Changyu could keep it on his person at all times.
Thus, after half coaxing and half persuading Shu Changyu into it, Jing Mu finished dealing with the several memorials at hand and left the Zhili Governor-General’s residence with him.
“It’s only a jade pendant. If it broke, then it broke. Why go to such trouble?” Shu Changyu had been indulging himself somewhat with Jing Mu these past two days, and during the day he felt a little listless. He only wanted to find somewhere to sit and read.
Jing Mu, however, refused to let the matter go.
“This jade is meant to protect its wearer. At a critical moment, it can protect its owner.”
Although Shu Changyu believed that spirits might exist in Heaven, he was unconvinced by Jing Mu’s solemn-sounding claim.
“Then yesterday, when I saw that previous piece of jade break for no apparent reason, I haven’t suffered any disaster, have I?”
He raised an eyebrow.
“Pure nonsense.”
Hearing that, Jing Mu’s smile became rather sly.
“Who says that? Grand Mentor, think about it. Last night, your waist didn’t hurt afterward, right? That means the broken jade was protecting you.”
Shu Changyu’s old face flushed red. He gave Jing Mu a vicious glare.
The more Jing Mu talked, the more enthusiastic he became. He raised his brows and moved closer to Shu Changyu.
“Since that’s the case, let’s buy Grand Mentor several more pieces today. Then we can break one every night in the future. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?”
He was promptly kicked in the shin by Shu Changyu.
—
Jing Mu led Shu Changyu straight to that antique shop.
“How are you so familiar with Zhili?” Shu Changyu asked suspiciously. “Don’t tell me that after I died in my previous life, all you knew how to do was travel around sightseeing and tasting good food, until you’d explored every interesting place?”
Naturally, that was not the case.
Back then, however, Jing Mu had sent people searching all over the place for a method to bring a dead person back to life, so he had indeed become quite familiar with many of these places.
Jing Mu only blinked at him without saying anything.
Shu Changyu sighed.
“It’s actually quite good that you don’t want to fight them for the throne in this life. If I raise an idle prince, then so be it. But if I raise a foolish emperor, I’d probably have to live with another reputation that would stink for ten thousand years.”
Although he said this, both his expression and tone were relaxed and teasing.
Seeing this, Jing Mu smiled and agreed.
“That’s right. Maybe if I do nothing at all in this life, the people will even be spared the devastation of war.”
Of course, only Jing Mu himself knew how true those words really were.
Since Shu Changyu had no desire for power in this life, Jing Mu was naturally more than willing to follow his wishes and become an idle man alongside him.
Shu Changyu came from such a powerful family that he was always bound to draw everyone’s attention, no matter what. Keeping a low profile like this would instead allow the two of them to safely spend their entire lives together.
In his previous life, Jing Mu had long grown tired of living alone while holding absolute power.
Now, apart from Shu Changyu, everything else in the world was nothing more than passing clouds.
The two of them entered the antique shop.
This antique shop could be considered the largest in all of Zhili. But because everything inside was a priceless treasure, there were few customers coming and going.
After entering, Jing Mu walked straight to the shopkeeper.
Seeing his luxurious clothes and his obvious familiarity with the place, the shopkeeper hurried over to ask what he needed.
“Do you have any jade pendants?” Jing Mu asked. “They must be well preserved and suitable for wearing every day.”
“This…” The shopkeeper hesitated.
Their shop sold antiques, and every item they sold was a collectible.
When ordinary customers bought something, they treasured it as much as possible, placing it somewhere safely stored and only occasionally taking it out to admire.
Who would buy a jade pendant in an antique shop and actually wear it every day?
The moment the shopkeeper hesitated, Jing Mu impatiently frowned.
“Don’t you have any?”
“We do, we do.”
The shopkeeper hurriedly called over some workers, led the two of them to one side, and had them bring out the jade pendants they had in storage one by one for them to examine.
Shu Changyu found Jing Mu’s domineering manner rather novel, so he simply sat to one side and watched.
He had never been particularly knowledgeable about accessories. To him, most of them looked more or less the same and there was not much difference between them.
Yet he watched as several workers brought out box after box containing jade.
Jing Mu would barely glance at each one before signaling for them to take it away and leave, making him look quite like someone who had come specifically to cause trouble for the shop.
After looking through more than ten pieces, even Jing Mu’s expression was becoming somewhat impatient.
Just as Shu Changyu was about to speak, Jing Mu waved his hand and dismissed all the workers.
“Your shop is reputed to be the largest north of the Yellow River.”
His expression turned cold as he spoke slowly.
“And this is all the merchandise you can produce?”
Just that one offhand remark was enough to make everyone in the antique shop feel an extraordinary amount of pressure.
The workers exchanged glances and hurriedly lowered their heads.
The shopkeeper quickly put on an ingratiating smile.
“May I ask what kind of jade this young master has in mind? I can have someone fetch more.”
“It is said that Lantian warm jade, when worn, has the effect of improving circulation and strengthening the body,” Jing Mu said. “Do you happen to have any in your shop?”
His words startled even Shu Changyu.
Lantian jade had always been considered extraordinarily precious. It was said that the legendary Heshi Bi had been made from Lantian jade. In those days, that piece of jade had even caused Qin and Zhao to turn against each other before later being made into the Imperial Jade Seal.
By now, the traces of Lantian jade in the marketplace were almost nonexistent. It was truly something that could not be bought even when one had the money.
Even an outsider like Shu Changyu knew how precious this jade was, let alone the people working in the shop.
The shopkeeper’s face immediately changed.
The only piece of Lantian jade in their shop could be considered the crown jewel of their entire antique business.
That jade disc was said to have been carved from leftover material cut from the Imperial Jade Seal. It had originally been worn by Hu Hai, the Second Emperor of Qin. After the Qin dynasty fell, the jade eventually passed into the hands of the common people.
After being passed around for a thousand years, it had finally been bought at a high price by this shopkeeper.
Even experts in the antique world rarely knew about it.
How, then, did this young master know?
“Shopkeeper, naturally I know whether your shop has it or not.”
Seeing his reaction, Jing Mu smiled.
Yet this smile was strange. It was nothing like the soft and gentle expression he usually showed Shu Changyu.
Instead, it resembled the smiling tiger that Shu Changyu had become so familiar with—a slight curve of the lips and a narrowing of the eyes that made anyone watching feel a chill in their chest.
Shu Changyu silently marveled.
“Three days apart, and one really should look at someone with new eyes.”
The ancients truly had not deceived him.
The shopkeeper, however, became hesitant.
He had never displayed this jade disc to customers.
Although purchasing it had nearly exhausted his finances, it had been worth the price.
As the saying went, an ordinary man was innocent, but possessing a priceless treasure could make him guilty. He had no powerful backing of his own. If this young master turned out to be someone he could not afford to offend and tried to seize it by force, there would be nothing he could do.
Jing Mu glanced at him.
“If you’re worried, we can settle on a price first,” Jing Mu said. “To tell you the truth, I came here today specifically for this jade.”
Shu Changyu was completely inexperienced in this area, so he simply sat there watching the two of them negotiate back and forth.
After hesitating for a while, the shopkeeper finally indicated a price to Jing Mu.
Shu Changyu might not have understood the rest, but there was no way he could fail to understand that number.
His expression immediately changed.
His brows furrowed, and he tugged on Jing Mu’s sleeve.
“You’d better not fool around. It’s only a jade pendant. How could it possibly be worth…”
Jing Mu smiled and patted the back of his hand.
“Grand—Jingchen, don’t worry. It’s enough.”
Normally, everyone addressed Shu Changyu by his courtesy name.
But this was the first time he had ever heard Jing Mu call him by it.
Shu Changyu froze for a moment, his ears warming, and then heard Jing Mu say,
“Mm. That price. Go bring out the jade. I’ll inspect it.”
Seeing how readily he agreed, the shopkeeper hurriedly bowed and asked him to wait while he personally went to retrieve the Lantian jade disc.
Shu Changyu frowned at him.
“It’s only a piece of jade. Why go to such lengths? Jing Mu, where did you get so much money?”
Jing Mu blinked and smiled at him.
“I embezzled all the money allocated for repairing the Zhili river channels.”
One glance at his expression made it obvious that he was joking.
Jing Mu smiled at him.
“Jingchen, don’t worry. I still have enough money to buy a jade disc.”
Shu Changyu’s ears reddened again.
“Why are you calling me Jingchen? Have some respect for your elders.”
Whether in his previous life or this one, Shu Changyu could never have afforded this piece of jade.
He was an interesting man.
Although he held overwhelming political power, he had never cared much about material possessions. Thus, during the more than ten years he held office, many officials cursed him for manipulating politics and disregarding rank and propriety, yet not a single person had ever accused him of corruption.
The pocket of this powerful chancellor was cleaner than those of the officials beneath him.
Even the gifts and bribes that officials from other regions offered him in private, he accepted them all and then used them to replenish the national treasury.
It was not that Shu Changyu was especially upright or incorruptible.
The truth was simply that he had very little concept of money.
Thus, it was only when buying this small piece of jade that he suddenly became aware of his own—
poverty.
Jing Mu, however, was different.
As a prince, he had received no small amount of imperial rewards, not to mention his farmland and properties.
At that moment, the shopkeeper returned carrying a jade box.
A jade box containing jade.
This was something Shu Changyu was seeing for the first time.
The shopkeeper carefully placed the jade box into Jing Mu’s hands with both hands, then respectfully stepped backward to one side.
Jing Mu opened the box.
Inside the white jade box lay a piece of green jade, perfectly still.
The jade was in the style of the Pre-Qin period, simple yet imposing in its design, with smooth, flowing lines.
Faint cloud patterns could be seen upon its surface, carved so vividly that at first glance they seemed almost to be moving.
Jing Mu was quite pleased.
At first sight, he felt that this jade gave him the same impression as his Grand Mentor did.
He looked up at Shu Changyu, just about to have him try it on, when suddenly a woman’s voice sounded beside him.
“Shopkeeper, how much did this man offer for the jade in his hand? I’ll pay ten percent more. Sell it to me.”
Jing Mu looked up.
Standing before him was a woman of astonishing beauty.
Her delicate and exquisite features were so familiar that he would recognize her even if she had been reduced to ashes.
Seeing her once again stabbed painfully at Jing Mu’s eyes.
Shu Changyu also froze.
The woman was none other than Commandery Princess Dan Yao.
Author’s Note:
The whole thing about the Lantian jade, the leftover material from the Imperial Jade Seal, and Hu Hai—I completely made it all up. None of it has any historical basis whatsoever (:з」∠)