Chapter 118 Chapter 118...

"You still want to choose the second one?" the customer service girl asked with three exclamation marks. "Why?"

"I was going to choose the second one, but now that I know I can be a time traveler instead of a wandering ghost, it's even better." Jiang Wan said, "I can also be your leader."

The customer service representative was silent for a moment. The dialog box read "The other party is typing" for five minutes, but only a six-second voice message was sent. Jiang Wan clicked on the message and heard the representative mutter in a sullen voice, "Okay, then remember to pay me on time on the first of every month. And don't turn into a monster! Otherwise, I'll slack off!"

"With such a rare job, I shouldn't be forced to work in finance, right? I'm not responsible for your salary," Jiang Wan scolded with a smile. "But since you used to be my customer service representative, I'll try to be more normal and not act like a freak."

Three days later, Jiang Wan redeemed herself for the Resurrection Wine. Since she had less than 3,000 points remaining, she didn't activate the system gift package. After confirming her choice, the system invited her to become a time traveler.

Thus she became time traveler number 003. According to the agreement with the system, she would join the service after her physical body disappeared, and before that the system would continue to protect her from being drawn into the rifts of time and space.

After taking Wen Shen's body out of the portable space, the system left her head.

When Jiang Wan closed her eyes again, there was only darkness, not the glowing words "Chinese Exquisite Crafts System." With the system's protection, although she didn't belong to this time and space, she could live like a native of this world.

She looked at the resurrection wine in her hand. It was a small porcelain bottle, holding only about the size of a cup of tea, but it was magical.

After feeding into Wen Shen's mouth, the wounds on his body began to heal, flesh grew on the broken bones, tendons and veins repaired, and his heart, which had stopped for more than ten days, began to beat again.

Seeing his face turn rosy, the gloom that had been accumulating in Jiang Wan's heart gradually dissipated. She moved him to the bed, tucked him in, and walked briskly out of the room.

When she closed the door, she couldn't help but jump twice. The owner of the Rose Inn saw her downstairs and asked curiously, "Why did you jump up so suddenly? Is it because your shoes don't fit?"

Jiang Wan turned and gave him a brilliant smile, which shone like bright sunlight into the post station, leaving the innkeeper stunned.

"These shoes fit me perfectly." Jiang Wan's cheeks dimpled slightly. "Manager Lu, my sweetheart lives in this room. He's still sleeping. Please don't let anyone disturb him."

After saying that, she skipped downstairs and ordered a few waiters to go to the nearest shop.

It wasn't until she left the inn that the shopkeeper came to his senses and murmured, "Hey, how come the goddess already has a lover... woc?"

He stared at the closed door in disbelief. "Could it be the marshal who died in Chigu City three months ago? Did the goddess really bring him back to life?"

-

In front of the Qingjiangju shop in Chechiguo, customers waiting to buy porcelain and silk lined up in long queues, while the shop assistants were busy running around, never idle for a moment.

Qingjiangju has recently launched a batch of new products. This is the first time they are sold in Chechiguo. Jiang Wan wants to come here to investigate the sales results and make improvements.

She has been staying in Chechiguo for a month. After checking the sales results and arranging the sales tasks, she will set off for Dayuan.

The Western Regions were vast, and a complete tour of the thirty-six countries would take over a year. If she had to stay in each country for a while, a full trip would take four or five years. Fortunately, her five former deputy envoys, including Fang Hong and her three young apprentices, were willing to help her share the burden, making her life much easier.

As for Wen Shen, she didn't plan to wait for him to wake up, not just because of time constraints.

The Great Zhou Dynasty was now ruled by the fifteen-year-old Crown Prince, with Empress Wen ruling from behind the scenes. Jiang Wan knew that when Wen Shen woke up, he would definitely rush back to Lin'an to assist his nephew.

Her Qingjiangju had just established itself in the Western Regions, and Jiang Wan couldn't leave them at this moment. She disliked separation, and was even more afraid that the joy of regaining something she had lost would overwhelm her. She decided to leave before Wen Shen regained consciousness—after stabilizing the situation in the Western Regions, she would go to Lin'an to find him.

After the Xiongnu's defeat, the Qingjiang people's situation in the Western Regions improved significantly. The courts of the Western Regions no longer objected to the import of products from the Central Plains.

Following the tariff reductions, prices also fell. Qingjiangju gradually established factories and transportation routes in various countries, and the number of Rose Inns gradually increased throughout the Western Regions. She also recruited local employees from various countries and spread her skills throughout the Western Regions. Costs fell year by year, and her high-quality and affordable products won the hearts of many customers.

When Chinese utensils and clothing became popular among the court nobles of the Western Regions, many countries had already pledged allegiance to the Great Zhou, paid tribute every year, and sent people to the Great Zhou to learn about the Central Plains culture.

After Emperor Chengde's death, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince ascended the throne, adopting the reign title of Yonghui. The Western Regions sent envoys to offer their condolences and congratulate the late emperor, honoring him as "Heavenly Khan." Wen Shen was first granted the title of Duke of Fuguo and then Prince Regent, assisting the new emperor in rectifying the government. He not only continued the previous dynasty's economic and cultural prosperity but also developed outstanding generals and a powerful army.

In the second year of Yonghui, Aigu became the king of Loulan and married the princesses of Shanshan and Wusun. The wedding was quite grand. Unfortunately, Jiang Wan was still in Tubo at that time and missed the wedding. She could only send nine boxes of gold to Loulan, wishing them a long and happy life.

The river is clear and the sea is peaceful, the time is peaceful and the harvest is plentiful. The wish made by Empress Wen, now the Empress Dowager, was finally realized when the new emperor turned eighteen.

The Empress Dowager heaved a sigh of relief and ceased ruling from behind the curtain. She slept in the Cining Palace until noon each day, then went to the Imperial Garden to feed the fish and play with the birds. In the afternoons, she sent her ladies-in-law secretly out of the palace to buy the latest cakes and then visit the Qingjiangju store in Lin'an to inquire about the time when her future sister-in-law would return from the Western Regions.

In the evening, she took the newly bought cakes to the new emperor's study and urged him to marry a queen as soon as possible to accompany her. It would be even better if he could give birth to a grandson soon.

Emperor Yonghui looked at her helplessly: "Mother, if you have time to nag me, why don't you go and find out where my uncle has gone? He's been missing for more than ten days, aren't you worried at all?"

"Where could he go? He went to find your future aunt. The day I returned from the Western Regions, I knew this guy would run away sooner or later. Now that you can rule the country, he's given up." The Queen Mother picked up a piece of peach blossom cake and put it in her mouth. "If you don't issue an order to summon your future aunt back, your uncle won't come back."

"I've wanted to do this for a long time, but my uncle won't let me." Emperor Yonghui said with a bitter face, "My uncle said that Lady Jiang likes to run a porcelain business, and he wants to go to the Western Regions to accompany her. He also said that he was always tied up in various things in the past and could not be with her. I have let her down, and I will spend the rest of my life working hard to make up for it."

The Queen Mother laughed: "Listen to what you said, how sour it is."

"Did my mother and my father love each other this much back then?" Emperor Yonghui asked curiously.

The Empress Dowager was stunned for a moment. As people age, they tend to reminisce about the past. Emperor Yonghui's question sent the Empress Dowager's thoughts flying back to more than twenty years ago.

More than 20 years ago, she rescued Emperor Chengde by the Duolun Lake. Emperor Chengde once held her hand tightly and said that one day he would marry her in a sedan chair with a wedding gown that was carried by eight people and spanned ten miles.

At that time, she was also tempted. But later he married the young lady of Yongning Mansion as the Crown Princess, and said that he was now the Crown Prince, not an idle prince, and he must marry a woman with a family as the Crown Princess.

That day he knelt before her and begged her for forgiveness, asking her to temporarily enter the Eastern Palace as a concubine.

From that day on, she had given up hope. But looking at her younger brother, thinking of the hatred of killing her father and mother, she gritted her teeth and said softly, "How could I blame Your Highness? As long as Your Highness still remembers me, I will be satisfied."

Later, he took in four concubines and nine concubines, as well as countless talented women. Every year there were new faces in the harem, and her heart no longer stirred.

Fortunately, her younger brother will never follow the same path as her.

"Mother, mother?"

The Queen Mother came back to her senses and said calmly, "Your mother's ability to sit in this position is not due to the late emperor's love."

The south wind swirled into the house, gently lifting a strand of his hair. The layers of past events that had broken her heart were slowly blown away and faded away with the wind.

-

Jiang Wan had to pass through Duolun Lake to return to Xiaofangpan City.

There was a reed patch on the north side of Duolun Lake. Every time she passed by, she would open the car curtain and take a look from afar. Over the past three years, the reeds had grown taller and more lush, and this year they were as tall as she was.

She lifted the curtain of the carriage as usual, but saw a young man standing outside the reeds with a sword on his back.

Most of the young man's black hair was loose, and the setting sun fell on him, coating him with a layer of gold, giving people a thrilling feeling that made Jiang Wan's heart skip a beat.

His profile, revealed, was fair and clean, with sharp features. His eyes, slightly downcast, were clear and cold, as if the hustle and bustle of the street were completely removed from the world. With such a face and such a figure, even though he was dressed in ordinary cloth, he looked like an immortal who had fallen into the wilderness, a white jade covered in dust.

Jiang Wan smiled and ordered the coachman to stop. She stepped out of the carriage and frivolously lifted the young man's chin with her right index finger. "What's your name, handsome boy?"

Wen Shen's eyes were full of affection, like the rippling water of Peach Blossom Pond. He rubbed Jiang Wan's fingers against his and smiled, "My name is Ziyan."

"You weren't like that back then. You should have just laid down in the reeds and left your sword beside you." Jiang Wan pouted coquettishly. "And your eyes were as cold as ice back then. It scared me."

"I was wrong, Wanwan. I won't do it again. Please forgive me. The reeds are full of water. My clothes will get wet if I lie in them. I didn't bring any change of clothes. I can't just lie naked, can I?" Wen Shen came over and begged for mercy.

Jiang Wan chuckled, put her arms around his neck and kissed him: "Then I'll punish you by making you stay with me for the rest of your life, never leaving me."

Wen Shen held her and spun her around, whispering, "That's not a punishment. It's the driver's greatest reward to me."