NOVEL NEXT Chapter 32
When Shen Meng didn’t want to speak, Liang Jue sensibly didn’t press further. He flipped through the pages again, committing the symbols to memory with his remarkable recall.
After some mental calculations, he pointed to a symbol and asked Shen Meng, “Does this refer to Zuo Yun, the Left Attendant of the Ministry of Works?”
Shen Meng was surprised inwardly but remained composed outwardly. Without confirming or denying, she pointed to another symbol and asked Liang Jue, “And what about this one, who do you think it is?”
Liang Jue’s eyes shimmered, his lips moved, as if about to speak but stopped, ultimately shaking his head, “At present, I can’t guess.”
Observing Liang Jue’s demeanor, Shen Meng relaxed inwardly. It seemed like his guess about the name had an element of coincidence; her secret wasn’t fully exposed to him.
Just as she thought so, Liang Jue quietly pushed the book filled with markings towards her until it reached her.
When Shen Meng looked at him with a puzzled expression, he spoke, his tone serious, “If this involves your life or death, you should keep it safe. Don’t casually leave it lying around on the table.”
Although he eagerly stared while reading, he ended up lecturing her after finishing. Shen Meng found it amusing but also understood that he was concerned about her.
She couldn’t help but ask, “If you knew you shouldn’t look, why did you?”
Liang Jue justified, “As your husband, I can’t separate myself if something happens to you. I’m not just anyone; I’m your legally wedded husband. Whatever belongs to you, I have the right to see, but that’s a different matter.”
Shen Meng conceded, “Yes, so I didn’t show it to you.”
Liang Jue continued, “If you have secrets from me, I won’t force you to tell me. Eventually, you’ll tell me when you’re ready. But if it’s something concerning life and death, don’t hide it from me.”
“That’s natural. What can be said and what cannot be said, I weigh it in my heart. As long as you don’t press me, there’s nothing I won’t share.”
After Shen Meng agreed, she asked him, “Indeed, the name earlier was Zuo Yun. I can agree to what you said, but could you please tell me how you guessed it?”
She believed her symbols were unique, and random guessing wouldn’t reveal the truth. Even if guessed, there had to be a reason.
Liang Jue explained, “It’s simple. Your ‘Yun’ character is in Nan Zhu language. In this language, this symbol represents clouds, and the figure wearing a jade ornament is a woman. Since women are respected, ‘left (Zuo)’ is also respected, combined, it naturally becomes ‘Zuo Yun’.”
When Shen Meng recorded these things, she indeed used a similar thought process and unique symbols.
She used Nan Zhu language because it was rarely known, and she mixed in some original characters to ensure absolute uniqueness. But Liang Jue managed to decipher the secret, leaving her conflicted.
She praised Liang Jue, “My husband is really knowledgeable and even know about Nan Zhu language also guessed that it’s the ‘Yun’ character correctly. But there are many people with ‘Yun’ in their names. How did you know it’s Zuo Yun?”
Liang Jue is not like a tapeworm in her belly, so how can he be so sure that this symbol represents the character “Left (Zuo)”? For those familiar with Nan Zhu language, it’s not difficult to guess the character “Yun” after a few more looks.
But Liang Jue’s other reason, although it fit her thoughts at the time, sounded like nonsense to outsiders.
Rather than believing he’s a tapeworm inside her, she’d rather think Liang Jue is just randomly guessing to deceive her.
Liang Jue pointed to another symbol similar to the character “left” and said, “There is indeed an element of guessing, but I am 80% sure that wife wrote is Lady Zuo Yun”
Eighty percent certainty practically seals the deal. Shen Meng asked, “How so?”
“Wife takes great care of this book, so I guess it must be particularly important to you.”
Liang Jue paused and said, “Generally, things that are treasured either have extremely high value or hold special significance. For a book like this, it’s either a gift from an important person or a record of secret accounts or lists.”
He pointed his slender index finger at the writing on the book, “If it were a gift from a deceased acquaintance, Lady Zuo Yun wouldn’t haphazardly alter it. If it were an account book, there would be large sums of money. Even if you used special characters instead, repeated characters and symbols would clearly indicate that the contents don’t match.”
Shen Meng nodded, “You make sense; indeed, this is a register.” Of course, it wasn’t just any register; it documented all significant events in her memory from this dynasty.
The longer she lived in this reincarnated state, the more blurry events from her past life became. Utilizing her memory advantage, she meticulously recorded everything in this book to avoid pitfalls in the future.
“Since these are names listed here, naturally, I associate them with people relevant to wife.”
Shen Meng admired his logical thinking, but she was still puzzled, “Your reasoning makes sense, but how do you know how many people I know have ‘Yun’ in their names?”
Even if she were to quickly list all the people she knew with ‘Yun’ in their names, she might still miss one or two, let alone in this lifetime, as Liang Jue had only been married into the family for less than a year.
Bringing this up, Liang Jue’s face suddenly reddened, and he remained silent for a while, unable to utter a word under Shen Meng’s pressure: “My wife should remember that it was my mother who took the initiative to come to your door to ask for this marriage.”
Under Shen Meng’s gaze, different from his previous assertive demeanor, he now seemed like a weak and easily bullied person, his slender neck shrinking.
Shen Meng naturally hadn’t forgotten, “Of course, I remember. The marriage was arranged by our parents, just like any other family.”
While Shen Meng’s affection for Liang Jue was not as deep as his, she wasn’t old-fashioned either, not thinking that a man taking the initiative was shameless.
To ease Liang Jue’s discomfort, she explained, “Besides, I should thank my husband.”
Liang Jue, who was initially embarrassed, quickly seized on his words, “What are you thanking me for?”
“Of course, I’m thanking you because I married such a good husband.”
This person really isn’t serious at all. Liang Jue glanced at her with annoyance, more teasing than angry.
But with that, he relaxed a lot, “In the past, when I was still at home, my mother and elder sister often discussed court matters. Naturally, I knew some courtiers’ names. After some consideration, I realized there were only three ministers with ‘Yun’ in their names, one with three characters, and the other two, only Lady Zuo Yun fits the condition.”
Liang Jue’s tone was casual, but to be able to determine such a person, he first had to know the names of all the courtiers. Apart from that, he also needed to understand the situations of individuals with these names to confidently provide an answer.
Although the current emperor highly respected the empress, women’s status in this dynasty always surpassed men’s, and the harem did not permit political interference. Generally, there weren’t many families intentionally grooming their sons for political careers.
Shen Meng asked with a complex expression, “How did you come to know all this?”
“As I mentioned earlier, my mother and elder sister occasionally discussed these matters at home, and I naturally remembered them after hearing them repeatedly.” Liang Jue answered without much thought. After finishing, he sensed something amiss and cautiously asked Shen Meng, “Is everything alright? Is there a problem?”
It’s incredible how someone could reach this level just by casually listening. One can’t help but wonder what achievements Liang Jue could make if he’s born as a woman..
Shen Meng shook her head, “I was just thinking, it’s a waste for a talent like you to be married to me.”
Shen Meng always valued talent, but unfortunately, Liang Jue was her husband, and even if she wanted to help him showcase his talents, the conditions weren’t there.
Liang Jue chuckled wryly, “For me, being by my wife’s side is the greatest fortune.”
—
1. “Liang Jue is not like a tapeworm in her belly” – This phrase is a metaphorical way of saying that Liang Jue is not intimately connected to her thoughts or feelings; he doesn’t know her innermost thoughts or intentions as intimately as if he were physically inside her. It implies that he cannot definitively understand her perspective or intentions.