Chapter 39: Peace and longevity lock, long life

Zhou Shan didn't like the "Emperor".

If you think about it carefully, all the tragedies in his life stem from this one person. His mother, his brothers and sisters, his concubines... even this impending war, everyone's tragedy stems from that one person.

In other words, the supreme position.

Would it be better if we replaced him with a wise emperor?

Zhou Xian was skeptical, feeling something was amiss. He read numerous literati novels about social life, and the scathing criticism in these novels seemed to eagerly warn the world that something was collapsing.

Zhou Xian had no idea what it was, and the literati were also confused. They were too sensitive and smelled the corruption of a certain system too early, which should have been a good thing, but the era they lived in could not answer their doubts, so they could only suffer and be confused.

As for this moment, Zhou Xian just hated the "emperor" out of instinct.

"Why do you think I want to sit in that seat?" Zhou Xian showed surprise. He pushed Zhang Jinwei away. His eyes were wet under the candlelight due to his illness, and he looked quite pitiful.

Zhang Jinwei held his face and gently brushed his eyelids with her fingertips, only to find they weren't wet. With a sigh of relief, she said, "I know you don't want to, but someone seems to want you to be one."

Zhou Xian was unconcerned: "Is it Wang Xiang?"

"Um."

Zhou Xian lay back on the pillow, throwing the notebook aside. "Why would you care about him? He's the emperor's dog. What's he talking to you about the throne? He's just trying to lead us into the fire pit. What did he say to you?"

"..." Zhang Jinwei was silent for a moment, and he also lay down with Zhou Shan, and turned his head to look at the person beside the pillow. He saw that Zhou Shan's profile was small and exquisite, with a soft forehead, a slightly upturned nose, and rosy cheeks. Her black hair fell on the dark red quilt, and a few strands fell on Zhang Jinwei's face, with a light scent of jasmine.

"Wang Xiang said that you are the future crown prince." Zhang Jinwei turned over and held Zhou Shan in his arms.

Zhou Xian almost bit her tongue when she heard this.

Zhang Jinwei continued, "He also said that he wanted us, the Qingliu sect, to train you so that you can inherit the throne in the future..."

"You believe him?!" Zhou Xian's eyes widened as she turned and lay down beside Zhang Jinwei's face, her eyes filled with shock. "Zhou Cong is dead, and one of the princes who could have competed for the throne is dead. That person thought it wasn't chaotic enough and wanted to drag you and me into the game! Do you believe what they say?"

"How could I possibly believe it?" Zhang Jinwei sighed inwardly. He knew in his heart that it was all a trap, but he still couldn't stop worrying, "I just..." I was just afraid that I couldn't protect you.

Tomorrow he will have to rush to Yulinwei as fast as he can. The war on the front line is tense. Daning and Tatar have had conflicts of varying sizes in the past month. Now that winter is approaching and the grasslands are withering, the Tatars have made full preparations and are heading south immediately... This is a good opportunity for him to make achievements, but he has to leave his beloved wife temporarily and head for an unknown distance.

Without achievements, one cannot stand at a higher position. As the saying goes, a person of little influence has little weight. He does not want to lose Zhou Xian because of his incompetence.

As they embraced, Zhang Jinwei kissed the top of Zhou Shan's head, and suddenly thought of the anklet on her ankle. It was slender and delicate, adorned with a tiny golden bell, and it rang crisply when shaken. Zhou Shan's figure had already settled, and the anklet was too small, fitting perfectly around her slender ankle. It was obvious she had worn it as a child, and it was difficult for her to remove it as she grew older.

Generally speaking, these accessories come as a complete set, often paired with items such as safety locks and necklaces to pray for the safety and health of the child.

Zhang Jin's parents passed away early, and his uncle and aunt would not make these exquisite and expensive things for him. He suddenly wondered what Zhou Shan's safety lock would look like?

"Xianxian, where is your safety lock?" Zhang Jinwei asked.

Zhou Xian frowned at first, then suddenly realized, "You mean the longevity lock? If I remember correctly, go to the dressing table and see there's a small copper-based cloisonné enamel box. My aunt must have put it in there."

Zhang Jinwei stood up and walked to the bronze mirror. She saw a black lacquer and gold-painted ivory dressing box in her left hand and a black dressing box inlaid with mother-of-pearl in her right hand. On the table were also a white jade incense box with lychee pattern, several popular hairpins, and rouge with the lid still open... but the small box Zhou Xian mentioned was nowhere to be found.

"Can't you find it?" Zhou Xian poked his head out from the couch. Feeling weak and too lazy to get out of bed, he said, "It's right there on the ground. Look for it. It's a longevity lock inlaid with gold and jade. Hmm...it's probably designed with two fish playing in the water, with several bells underneath."

Zhang Jinwei opened the dressing box and was greeted by a dazzling display of head ornaments and jewelry. Although Zhou Xian was a man dressed as a woman, he was also particularly fond of beauty. He disliked overt headwear, preferring instead to wear ingenious hairpins and hairpins. As for the head ornaments worn on grand occasions, they were usually stored in the dressing box, worn only when necessary. Zhang Jinwei searched around and, from the bottom shelf of the right-hand dressing box, pulled out a copper-based cloisonné enamel box. It was heavy, and he had no idea what it contained.

It contains an exquisite longevity lock.

The longevity lock was not big, and it was tiny in Zhang Jinwei's palm. It was made of gold, with a piece of jade inlaid in the middle. On the jade were two fish playing in the water, and the four words "Long Life and a Hundred Years" were engraved. There were indeed three golden bells below, which were the same style as Zhou Xian's foot bells.

"What do you want my longevity lock for?" Zhou Xian was very curious. He looked at Zhang Jinwei holding the longevity lock in his hand, sitting back next to him, and shaking it in front of his eyes, and the longevity lock jingled.

Zhang Jinwei gestured to put it on Zhou Shan, but unfortunately she had grown up and her snow-white and slender neck could no longer hold a child's ornament. The vision of "living a hundred years" fell on Zhou Shan's frail body, like a heavy yet beautiful dream.

"I can't wear it anymore." Zhou Xian felt a little itchy because of his hand. She smiled and tried to avoid Zhang Jinwei.

Zhang Jinwei didn't force it. He lay down next to Hui Zhouxian again, tightly holding the small longevity lock, and asked, "Xianxian, can you give it to me for safekeeping?"

Zhou Xian: "I don't mind, but what are you going to do?"

Zhang Jinwei: "I'm leaving for Yulinwei early tomorrow morning. I don't think I'll be able to see Xianxian for at least a month... I'm carrying it with me, maybe to remind me of her."

Zhou Xian: "You..."

Zhang Jinwei kissed his lips: "As long as I can't see you, I will miss you. If I can't see you for an hour, I will miss you for an hour. If I can't see you for a month... I don't know what I will become."

"Then you can take it!" Zhou Shan's face turned red after being told this by this person. She quickly pushed Zhang Jinwei away and buried her face in the quilt, wondering what was wrong with this person again.

Zhang Jinwei smiled, stood up, and tucked the longevity lock into his arms, placing it in the hidden pocket close to his heart. The hard, cold lock felt a bit harsh, but it was a fine piece of jade, and once he warmed it, it became incredibly soft, like someone's soft skin. He finished everything and said, "I'll have them bring in dinner. I'll eat with you on the couch so you don't have to be unable to move again later."

Because Zhou Xian was ill, dinner was light. The chef in the kitchen was a master of Jiangnan cuisine, specially commissioned by Prefect Zeng. Since many officials and scholars in Beijing were born in Jiangnan, the cuisines of Huaiyang and Jiangnan regions were very popular, and even the palace was dominated by Jiangnan flavors. The kitchen prepared shredded chicken congee with almond milk, and braised lion's head soup for Zhou Xian. They also added dried radish and pickled vegetables to complement the porridge. This simple meal was quite flavorful.

"The lion's head made by this chef is not cooked enough." Zhou Xian used chopsticks to separate the lion's head, picked up a small piece and put it in his mouth, then felt that the meat was too loose and the seasoning was too salty.

Zhang Jinwei said, "If you can't eat it, give it to me." He had already figured out the hidden meaning behind Zhou Xian's words. For example, at this moment, Zhou Xian was full and craving for some lion's head, but he could only eat a little bit...

Zhou Xian readily followed suit and pushed the uneaten lion's head in the bowl in front of Zhang Jinwei. After rinsing her mouth, she lay back down.

At dawn the next day, Zhang Jinwei got up and set off for Yulinwei without disturbing Zhou Shan who was sleeping soundly.

The prefect, Mr. Zeng, found several well-known doctors for Zhou Shan. After examining her, they all said that she was weak and had a cold body. They wrote various prescriptions and asked Zhou Shan to take them after meals three times a day, which was very annoying.

When Zhou Xian felt better, he became restless and ran all over Yan'an Prefecture. Whenever he had nothing to do, he would go to the pagoda to chat with monks. But after chatting for a while, he found that most of the monks were very boring. They stammered when facing him and were not as fun as teasing Monk Yu.

During this period, Zhang Jinwei sent him several letters, using all kinds of tricks to coax him in the letters, which made Zhou Shan suspect that this man did not handle his official duties properly at all and was only concerned with writing letters!

At first, Zhou Xian was too lazy to reply to the letters. He put them at the bottom of his dressing table and tried to imitate those vernacular novels. He also made up stories and wrote down what he had seen and heard in his short twenty years of life, just to find something to do.

Half a month later, the person delivering the letter to Zhou Shan was replaced by Mu Guang. With a serious expression, he handed the letter to Zhou Shan and said earnestly, "Princess, please be sure to write back to Lord Zhang."

Zhou Xian sighed, "Okay, I'll write it today. Remember to pick it up tonight. But then again, why are you the one delivering the letter? Where are those Jinyiwei in silver and white clothes?"

Mu Guang's eyes flickered as he said, "His Royal Highness Prince Rui will arrive in Yan'an Prefecture in the next two days. I'll come to take him to the front line."

Zhou Xian was surprised: "Sixth brother?"

Mu Guang nodded. "Your Highness is an imperial envoy, here to negotiate with the Tatars and strive for an early end to the war."

strangeness.

Zhou Xian clutched the letter tightly in her hand, wondering if Emperor Yongchang hadn't intended to subdue the Tatars. Why was he already negotiating peace after only a few months?