Chapter 262 Abandoning the City

Zhu Huaizhen was ill for seven consecutive days.

She was seen lying on a beauty couch surrounded by black lacquer and gold-painted scrolls of poetry and paintings. The round fan with a mahogany handle and embroidered silk surface with pomegranates, cats and butterflies fell under the couch, like swaying willow catkins, weak and powerless.

Orioles chirp at dawn in the jade trees of Jinling, flowers bloom early in the Qinhuai waterside pavilions. Who knew the ice would melt so easily? I watched him build his red mansion, I watched him entertain guests, and I watched his mansion collapse. Here, amidst the mossy, blue tiles, I once slept in a dreamlike state; I've witnessed fifty years of rise and fall. No one in Wuyi Lane is surnamed Wang, ghosts cry at Mochou Lake, and owls roost on Phoenix Terrace. Dreams of the ruined mountains are the most real, the old land hard to lose. I don't believe this map is changing manuscripts. I'll compose a lament for Jiangnan, and sing it until I grow old.

I couldn't listen to "Peach Blossom Fan" and I couldn't drink the rich and colorful tea with sesame, salt, bamboo shoots, chestnuts, loofah kernels, and walnut kernels, and the spring immortal seagull tea with swan osmanthus, rose and brine, and Lu'an sparrow tongue bud tea.

I am a copper pea that can't be steamed, cooked, pounded, or fried, but only makes a clanging sound. Who would have taught you, my young man, to get into his thousand-layered brocade headband that can't be dug, chopped, untied, or taken off? I enjoy the moon in Liangyuan, drink the wine of Tokyo, admire the flowers of Luoyang, and climb the willows of Zhangtai...

Alas, she, Princess Ronghua Zhu Huaizhen, is a real pea.

"Your Highness, Northern Jin, Northern Zhou, and Southern Yan have joined forces to invade Jiangcheng. Should we leave early?" Tu Mi asked in a low voice with a serious expression.

"Where are you going?" Zhu Huaizhen rubbed his forehead.

Last night, she coughed so much that she couldn't sleep all night.

This morning, sparrows chirped again.

The days when you are sick are very difficult to endure.

Fortunately, Tu Mi took care of her, so she was not left alone.

"Tu Mi, tell me more." Zhu Huaizhen said sullenly.

She could not utter a few words, and her little face was flushed from coughing.

Seeing this, Tu Mi quickly handed over a cup of warm water and continued, "Northern Jin said someone from Jiangcheng, Nanchu, committed serial murders and escaped, so they're going to search Jiangcheng. Northern Zhou said someone from Jiangcheng, Nanchu, stole treasures from the imperial palace, so they're going to search Jiangcheng. Southern Yan said someone from Jiangcheng, Nanchu, spread rumors and misled the people, poisoning the hearts of many women, so they're going to search Jiangcheng."

These reasons, though plausible, cannot cover up the absurd behavior.

They had only one goal, to invade Southern Chu and start a frenzy of dividing Southern Chu.

"How did Emperor Chu Ming respond?" Zhu Huaizhen asked casually.

"Emperor Chu Ming said that the search is of course possible and Nanchu is willing to cooperate. However, anyone who enters Jiangcheng with weapons will be killed without mercy. After hearing this, the people of Jiangcheng all praised Emperor Chu Ming for being neither humble nor arrogant and being a wise ruler." Tu Mi replied.

"He is going to give up Jiangcheng..." Zhu Huaizhen muttered to himself.

"He is the emperor!" Tu Mi found it a little hard to believe.

"Tu Mi, Southern Wu has been destroyed, and I am carrying the treasure of the Great Zhou. I can't leave, and I don't need to leave. I'd better take good care of myself. By the way, find me a doctor and keep him in Haiyue Cottage." Zhu Huaizhen yawned repeatedly.

After he finished speaking, Tu Mi did as he was told.

As a result, Tu Mi brought a girl in ice-blue clothes.

The girl was not wearing shoes or socks. She was holding her jade feet. Her face was pale and bloodless.

Zhu Huaizhen recognized him at a glance. This was the mysterious gravekeeper.

"Are you familiar with medicine?" Zhu Huaizhen held his rosy cheek, looking thoughtful.

After hearing this, the girl in blue nodded slightly.

"Your Highness, this is Huo Qiuniang, you can call her Qiuniang." Tu Mi smiled indifferently.

"Qiu Niang, your surname is Qiu, right?" Zhu Huaizhen joked casually.

The girl in blue was stunned for a moment, then shook her head and laughed.