Chapter 275: Unexplained Irritation

"Sometimes I really can't understand what you're thinking; clearly you have countless opportunities to earn merit, yet you abandon them all."

Sitting in the carriage, Gao Yang's tone was rather helpless, with a sense of resentment that you don't contend: "From the very beginning when you produced the fine salt, do you realize how great a merit you would earn if you kept participating?"

"But you gave it to that simpleton Cheng Yaojin, and he tangled it up with his meddling, offsetting the merits and demerits."

"I'm too lazy to mention the other bits and pieces; just talk about the method you proposed for managing the County Magistrate when you returned to Chang'an. If you help refine it, that would be another great merit. Why do you refuse to do it?"

"What exactly are you afraid of?"

"Is it that high merit might threaten the ruler?"

"Don't forget, you are my Imperial son-in-law, the Crown Prince's brother-in-law, and in the future you will still be Li Lizhi's Imperial son-in-law; you really don't need to worry about that, okay?"

Hearing this, Chen Yan actually wanted to laugh, his eyes fixed on Gao Yang, and he slowly uttered a few words.

"Don't forget how your Father Emperor rose to power."

Gao Yang's heart trembled, her ruby lips slightly parting, yet she didn't utter a single word.

On this point, she could not refute.

"Zhao Tang, some matters aren't as simple as you imagine." Chen Yan decided to properly explain this issue to Gao Yang.

"You consider Cheng Bo Bo a simpleton, think that he barely managed to achieve a great merit, only for the people under him to exploit his name to cause trouble everywhere; he himself continues to meddle in the Court to exonerate them, squandering that merit."

"But in my eyes, and in your Father Emperor's eyes, Cheng Bo Bo is actually very clever."

"The Court has never been just about mistakes and merits; the waters are too deep. Each of us must be extremely cautious, otherwise, the more dazzling you are, the closer you are to the cliff's edge; a single misstep could shatter you to pieces."

"Including your immensely powerful Crown Prince brother, who stands below only the emperor and above ten thousand men, the same applies."

"But you're different!" Gao Yang countered again. "Your ancestors have great merits, and you are deeply trusted by my Father Emperor and Mother Empress; even Sizi and the others are willing to hand you their care. Doesn't that still demonstrate the issue?"

"That's why I must not covet merit any more," Chen Yan said gravely. "Trust has never been established in a single day; you only see that my Father Emperor and Mother Empress trust me, but you don't know that it's because I have always only offered ideas, never coveted merit, never fought, never seized, always followed arrangements, and thus I am deeply trusted."

"Once I go mad trying to earn merit, throwing all my effort into climbing upward, I would, as I climb higher, lose this precious trust."

"Zhao Tang, there's a saying I must tell you: your Father Emperor is first a ruler, and only second a senior."

"Even if I say this you might not be able to accept it right away, I still must tell you that from the day you married me, you are, in the outside world and before His Majesty, a ruler and subject, no longer a father and daughter."

"Therefore, I need to maintain this portion of trust, then gradually deepen it, trying to bind more mutual interests together; only then can I, with you and our unborn child, live well in this era where lives are as insignificant as grass."

Gao Yang frowned and pondered, suddenly thinking of many things.

For example, subduing the Göktürks, allowing Li Shimin's general Li Jing to erase past humiliation.

He should have been basking in glory, but after returning, he shut himself away, even old friends' visits ceased, and now he's rarely heard from.

It's hard to explain clearly what twists and turns lie within.

Actually she also understands that her own husband is right; after all, no matter how much she says she grew up in the palace, she is quite knowledgeable about certain matters.

Gao Yang mainly is just angry.

She doesn't want to waste merit on others, because all this should belong entirely to Chen Yan.

Her own husband should shine brilliantly, becoming the most eye‑catching person in the Tang Dynasty besides Li Shimin.

"......"

After thinking for a long time, Gao Yang suddenly felt something off, looking at him suspiciously: "You're right, but I always feel this isn't your true thought."

"I think you aren't afraid of my Father Emperor at all, because that calm demeanor tells me that even facing any peril, you still have a way to resolve it."

"Just like at first you struck me, were locked in the heavenly prison and released, you not only escaped punishment but earned Father Emperor's favor; even when you hit me again in the Imperial Palace, you remained unharmed, and even thought of the new girl at Pingkang Lane."

That feeling is strange; Gao Yang can't quite explain why.

Obviously every word Chen Yan says is reasonable, yet she feels he is lying.

It comes from a woman, from the intuition of the person beside her pillow.

Chen Yan blushed.

Damn it, is Sherlock coming again?

I just want to lie flat, why is it so hard?

Having a wife who constantly wants me to improve is damn exhausting.

And yet I can't speak the truth, I can only use grand principles to fool.

Can't help it, he can only speak earnestly, continuing: "What do I have to deceive you about?"

"You seem to have forgotten one thing: I'm very young, a few years younger than the Crown Prince; I don't need to rush, my best approach now is to go slowly, steadily, step by step upward, understand?"

"Alright, you have convinced me." Gao Yang nodded.

"Of course!" Chen Yan proudly raised his head, "Do you think I drink plain medicine?"

"The herbs inside are precious, and you still can't be convinced?"

Gao Yang: "......"

Alright, my familiar husband is back again.

Sure enough, this dog man can't stay proper for long.

"Xiao Shunzi, have you left Chang'an yet?" Chen Yan shouted outward.

By now he had already left Xue Li in Chang'an, letting him follow Li Chunfeng, so Xiao Shunzi was the one who sent the carriage for him.

"Arriving soon, Lord Bo, we're about to leave the city."

Xiao Shunzi replied immediately.

"Alright." Chen Yan responded, then intended to rest for a while.

He got up too early this morning, feeling a bit drowsy.

But as soon as Chen Yan leaned down, an inexplicable irritation rose within him.

He sat up straight, lifted the carriage curtain and looked out, discovering they were now exiting the city.

Absentmindedly, he suddenly felt someone watching this side, or rather watching him; turning around, he only saw common folk coming and going, nothing unusual.

"What's wrong?" his odd reaction caught Gao Yang's attention.

"Nothing much, just feel like someone's watching us from behind," Chen Yan said, his face puzzled.

"Someone's watching us?" Gao Yang thought for a moment, "Could it be members of the Jinwu Guard?"

"Probably not. Forget it, never mind. Have Xiao Shunzi speed up; let's hurry back to Weinan County."

"Alright, as you say."

"......"