Chapter 27: The Princess Escapes, and the Prince Consort Is Calm... Or Is He? ...
"Can the princess still walk?"
Monk Yu stopped in front, his back to Zhou Xian. The moonlight lingered on his gray monk robe, looking very lonely.
"I can still walk." Zhou Xian took a deep breath. The soles of his feet ached slightly, and his legs felt like they were filled with lead. He had to stop and rest after walking a few steps.
Upon hearing this, Monk Yu turned around, his eyes full of compassion. He pointed his toes and blew towards Zhou Xian like a gentle breeze. He stopped a step away and half-knelt. "I will carry you on my back."
Zhou Xian was startled and quickly waved her hands, refusing, "No, no, I can walk. I..."
"It's almost dawn. They've probably noticed you're missing and are searching the city. They'll be here in less than an hour." Monk Yu sighed. "Princess, come up quickly."
Zhou Xian had no choice but to let him carry her on his back, with her hands on the monk's shoulders, her upper body hanging in the air, in an awkward posture.
"Help the princess," Monk Yu said calmly. After a pause, he added, "But there's a different price: five taels of silver."
Zhou Xian: ...
This bald donkey is sick.
The bald monk was mentally ill, and his obsession with money was terrifying. Zhou Xian trembled as he protected the bag in his arms, fearing that the bald monk would suddenly attack him, snatch away the gold he had worked so hard to save, and run away. He was so desperate that he wanted to cry but had no tears. The bald monk seemed to sense his concern and comforted him, "Don't worry, Princess. Although I love money, I am a monk after all. I know how to make money, and I would never steal."
"Is killing people for money considered a legitimate way of making money?" Zhou Xian was numb.
Monk Yu smiled and said, "Of course I will."
OK.
The surrounding scenery vanished into shadows. Monk Yu, with his exceptional lightness skills, traversed the rugged mountain path with ease. Zhou Xian clutched his bundle in one hand and grasped his shoulder with the other, his hair fluttering in the wind. Zhou Xian suddenly asked, "That day at Daxinglong Temple, you also accepted money and played that game, didn't you?"
Monk Yu replied, "Yes, but I cannot reveal more. This kind of business requires confidentiality. Princess, please forgive me."
Zhou Xian asked curiously, "You're such a strange monk! Why do you do such daring things? Could it be that your claims of being from the Huayan school and having debated with Master Huiming are all lies?"
"No." Monk Yu lowered his eyes, leaped, and jumped off the cliff with Zhou Xian on his back, landing safely. "I am indeed from the Huayan School, and I have indeed known Master Huiming for many years. Kong Yuan's Dharma name is real, and he is real. Everything about me is real. Monks do not tell lies, and I always remember the precepts."
"Is the name Fang Yuan... also real?"
"yes."
The two stopped talking.
Monk Yu carried Zhou Shan on his back and continued southward for another hour until they reached a small village where a horse was tied at the entrance. Monk Yu put Zhou Shan down, untied the horse's rope, and led the horse to Zhou Shan.
Daybreak had already begun, the distant mountains shimmered a faint green. Roosters crowed in the village, smoke curled from cooking fires, and the farmers gradually woke up. Zhou Shan, curiously glancing toward the village, happened to meet the eyes of a ferocious-looking dog. The dog barked furiously and threatened to pounce on her.
Zhou Xian quickly retreated, clutching his bundle, and hid behind the monk, revealing his head to warily stare at the mad dog. The dog, fearful of the Jade Monk, paced back and forth, whimpering.
Monk Yu pulled two thin objects from a bag at the side of his horse and handed one to Zhou Xian, explaining, "This is a mask for disguise. Princess, wear it. I have also forged a corresponding identity so that the city guards won't detect you."
"Is it a human skin mask?!" Zhou Xian held the mask in his hands, his eyes sparkling. He gently pinched the edge of the mask and found it very soft. He couldn't wait to cover his face with it.
Monk Yu laughed, "That's all made up in the stories. Even if there were human skin masks in the world, they wouldn't look like this. This mask is made from the latex of southern rubber trees. It can barely cover up for a while. Once we leave Shaanxi, I will make another disguise for the princess."
"Oh." Zhou Xian was quite disappointed. He subconsciously asked, "Do you want me to pay more?"
"Yes." Monk Yu answered quickly.
Zhou Xian: ...
He exhaled, walked to the riverbank at the edge of the village, and peered into the water. A plain face loomed above the murky surface. The young man was frail, dressed in black shorts, his long, dark hair the only thing that stood out. He gritted his teeth, turned around, and asked, "Do you have a pair of scissors?"
Monk Yu handed Zhou Shan a pair of scissors. They were made of silver, with a slightly mottled surface, but the blade was very bright and sharp.
Zhou Xian grabbed his calf-length hair, which he couldn't even hold in one hand, and the scissors were a struggle. He had no choice but to cut it in small handfuls, leaving uneven patches, and strands of black hair fell into the river and floated downstream.
Monk Yu couldn't bear to watch, so he took the scissors from him and carefully trimmed his hair to waist level. Zhou Shan's hair was long and thick, but now it was not long enough to be hidden under his turban, so people wouldn't stare at it. In the past, many people, seeing Zhou Shan with his hair down, would compliment him on his beautiful hair, and he would take good care of it, applying jasmine oil daily and combing it carefully with a comb.
After cutting his hair, putting on a turban and a cloak, Zhou Shan became an ordinary young traveler, sitting on horseback, holding tightly onto Monk Yu's robe.
Zhou Xian asked, "Where should we go first?"
Monk Yu replied, "Pingyang Prefecture."
Zhou Xian nodded: "Okay."
The horse neighed a few times, kicked up its hooves and galloped towards Pingyang. Zhou Xian wrapped himself in his cloak and suddenly turned his head to look to the north. He saw that the sky was bright and wild geese were flying across the sky.
…
"cough."
It was cold in the border area. Zhang Jinwei stood under the border wall, put his right fist to his lips and coughed. He seemed to have sensed something and looked towards the south for a few seconds. He couldn't help but wonder if the princess slept well and if she had put on more clothes.
"Master Zhang, is there anything unusual going on over there?" asked Ma Zheng, a captain of the Yulin Guard. Ma Zheng was a typical Shaanxi man, big and strong, and at first glance he looked like a soldier with a scoundrel air, but after a few words, he found that he was quite generous and loyal.
"Nothing." Zhang Jinwei smiled. "Captain Ma, following up on what we were saying before, how many dan of grain did Yulinwei produce last year?"
Ma Zheng sighed, "Alas, a guard of over 5,000 soldiers. In a good year, with favorable weather and good harvests, we can only get 200,000 dan of grain, barely enough to support ourselves, but we can't even store any surplus. Last year, we suffered a severe drought, and our food supply was completely cut in half. This year is better, with 170,000 dan, enough to get us through the winter. But if the Tatars attack, I'm afraid we'll have to borrow military rations."
Zhang Jinwei pondered for a moment after hearing this and said, "I understand."
After Emperor Taizu rebuilt China, he upheld the old Han and Tang systems, emulating the Tang dynasty's "fubing system" and implementing the "combination of soldiers and farmers." He established the weisuo system, establishing weisuo along the border. These weisuo were deployed to fight during enemy attacks and cultivate the land during their free time, ensuring self-sufficiency for the military households. While this policy was effective during Emperor Taizu's reign, by the Yongchang period, the weisuo were struggling to make ends meet, and frequent land occupations led to desertions and constant border defense problems.
Zhang Jinwei was well aware that the Wei Suo system had many drawbacks, but if he wanted to make drastic reforms at this time, he was afraid that the time was not right. Moreover, he had just taken office and his authority had not yet been established, so he should not act rashly.
He said, "Please, Sir, take me to the military farm to have a look."
Ma Zheng cooperated very well. In the next two days, he took Zhang Jinwei and Mu Guang to visit Yulinwei. They first checked the conditions of the military land, watched the soldiers perform, and then looked at the border situation. Finally, they summarized the specific actions of the Tatars in the past month. Everyone was very busy.
Perhaps because Zhang Jin's ability was rare, he remained unfazed even in the remotest of places. He ate meat-filled steamed buns with the soldiers, never asking for fine wine or fine food. Mu Guang, another fifth-rank Jinyiwei officer from the Northern Pacification Division, was even more decisive. When he arrived at that station, he was a staunch figure, and the other officers and soldiers dared not even breathe, as they diligently toiled away.
At noon that day, Zhang Jinwei was squatting outside the martial arts field eating a cake. The autumn sun was high in the sky. He squinted his eyes to look at the sky, unscrewed the kettle, drank a few sips, and was about to get up and leave when he suddenly saw several people riding horses in the distance, in a hurry, as if they had something urgent to do.
As they got closer, Zhang Jinwei's eyes widened slightly, and he asked curiously, "Why are you here in Yulinwei if you're not here to protect the princess?"
It turned out that the two Jinyiwei who were ordered by Mu Guang to stay with the princess came. They were both exhausted and looked anxious. When they saw Zhang Jinwei, they almost rolled off their horses and knelt on the ground with a thud.
Mu Guang, who was not far away, finished his last bite of bread, stood up, walked over coldly, and scolded: "If you have something to say, just say it. If you have to fart, just fart! What a shame for you to keep hesitating!"
One of the Jinyiwei quickly said, "Forgive my incompetence... The princess..."
Zhang Jinwei's heart trembled. He took a few steps forward, grabbed the Jinyiwei's shoulders, and asked anxiously, "What happened to the princess?"
The Jinyiwei closed his eyes, dropped his head to the ground, and said, "Master Zhang, the princess is missing!"
Zhou Xian is missing!
Zhang Jinwei was stunned at first, a myriad of emotions racing through his heart. He took a deep breath and was about to ask for more information when Mu Guang stepped forward, kicked his subordinate to the ground, and angrily shouted, "Useless! The princess is missing, and now what?! Speak in one breath! How did you end up in the imperial prison back then? Can't you even explain such a simple thing?"
The Jinyiwei hurriedly said, "The princess... the princess must have left on her own. Late at night two days ago, the princess's maid suddenly found the house empty and searched the courtyard but couldn't find the princess. Not long after, the prefect received a handwritten letter from the princess, saying that she left of her own accord... Your subordinate..."
Mu Guang said coldly: "Didn't you keep watch that day?"
The Jinyiwei broke out in a cold sweat. "We are on guard! How dare we neglect our duties? The four of us took turns keeping watch at night, but the princess simply vanished into thin air. We, incompetent servants, were completely unaware."
Mu Guang asked again, "Have you searched Yan'an Prefecture?"
The Jinyiwei nodded, then shook his head: "We searched everywhere we could, even outside the city, but there was no trace... By the way, Lord Zhang, the princess... left a letter for you." He took out an envelope from his arms and handed it to Zhang Jinwei, but Zhang Jinwei was shocked.
"Okay, thank you for your help." Zhang Jinwei took the letter with a faint smile. He seemed calm, but his eyes were very deep, like a deep pool, and one could not see any emotion.
Mu Guang frowned, patted his shoulder, and said worriedly, "Are you okay?"
Zhang Jinwei shook his head slightly, carefully opened the envelope, and unfolded the letter, revealing lines of beautiful handwriting—Zhou Shan's handwriting, he couldn't mistake it. Even the tone of voice was Zhou Shan's style. He seemed to see Zhou Shan sitting at a table, hesitantly and distressedly writing this letter. She said she was leaving and domineeringly told Zhang Jinwei not to be sad.
"...Zhang Jinwei! Zhang Huaiyu!"
Mu Guang pushed him a few more times, and he finally woke up as if from his dream. He slowly folded the letter, put it in his arms, turned around and walked towards the stable.
He is very calm.
Mu Guang rushed over and asked anxiously, "What are you doing?"
Zhang Jinwei said calmly, "I'll go and bring the princess back."
He is very calm.
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