Chapter 23: Ganhua was deceived by you, and she was willing to do so.
Zhou Xian was extremely worried.
These days he tried to avoid Zhang Jinwei whenever possible. When they were sitting at the table to eat, he didn't want to sit next to Zhang Jinwei. He would eat a few bites and then run away, saying that it was hot and he had no appetite.
This year is going to be hotter than previous years.
…
After Zhang Jin was transferred to Yulin Guard, Zhou Shan wrote a petition overnight. His words were sincere, saying that he was worried about state affairs and cared about the border. He also had a deep affection for his husband. If they had to be separated for three years, he was afraid of the long nights and how much he would miss him... The day he wrote the petition was especially hot, and he was so nervous that he didn't know if he could get what he wanted.
The memorial was rejected three times. The first time, Zhang Jinwei personally brought it back to the palace and placed it before Zhou Shan. Zhou Shan looked up at him with an innocent expression.
"Princess, do you really have to go?" Zhang Jinwei asked helplessly. He walked over to Zhou Shan, turned the chair around, and rested his hands on the armrests, so that Zhou Shan was facing him.
Zhou Xian propped her round fan against the man's shoulder and answered irrelevantly, "You're so close, it's hot."
"I'll ask Saoyan and the others to get some ice." Zhang Jinwei sighed.
He was about to stand up to leave when Zhou Xian grabbed his sleeve again and whispered, "No need. The weather is neither hot nor cold. It's hot without ice, and cold with ice. It keeps going back and forth. It's really annoying. You might as well just fan yourself."
Zhang Jinwei lowered his eyes and looked at Zhou Shan. His usually smiling eyes were now full of meaning, as if they contained a thousand words. The two stared at each other for a moment, and Zhang Jinwei suddenly raised his right hand, placed it on the back of the princess' neck, and gently squeezed it.
Zhou Xian trembled when he pinched her.
Zhang Jinwei closed his eyes, feeling Zhou Xian's warm skin with his fingertips. "It's been a tiring journey to Shaanxi, and you're not feeling well. If you stay in the capital, there will be a royal doctor to take care of you, so I won't have to worry about you. But what about when we get to Shaanxi?"
It's not like Shaanxi doesn't have famous doctors... Zhou Xian couldn't help but mutter inwardly. His neck was sensitive, and Zhang Jinwei's palm was hot. After that pinch, a thin layer of sweat broke out on his forehead. He couldn't help but struggle, "If you want to talk, just sit down and talk properly. Why are you pinching me?"
Zhang Jinwei laughed: "The princess is sitting in my seat, where else can I sit?"
Zhou Xiancai didn't move. It was first come, first served. He was the first to arrive in the study and sit on the armchair. Why should he give up his seat to Zhang Jinwei who came later? So he pointed to the small stool in front of the table and said, "Look, isn't that a seat?"
Very domineering.
Zhang Jinwei didn't care and obediently moved a stool and sat down opposite Zhou Shan.
Others sat facing each other in the study room, usually with the teacher on the chair and the student on the stool. This was almost always the case when the teacher was commenting on an essay or examining the Four Books. But when it came to the two of them, Zhou Xian sat firmly in the armchair, twirling a round fan embroidered with mandarin ducks, lazily leaning on the armrest, while Zhang Jinwei became the "student."
Zhang Jinwei sat down and picked up Zhou Xian's memorial from the table. He smiled wryly and said, "The princess said she wanted to go to Shaanxi with me, which surprised both me and Lord Xu. This memorial has been withheld in the cabinet for two days. Lord Xu thought about it and asked me to take it back. Lord Xu asked me to remind the princess that the emperor has been in a bad mood recently and it is not appropriate to offend him. Please think twice before acting."
Zhou Xian asked, "Is it Xu Rongzhi, the elder Xu?"
Zhang Jinwei: "Exactly."
Oh, him.
Zhou Xian rested his chin on his round fan, thinking of that old man who was so good at playing Mahjong that he even wrote a popular book called "The Book of Mahjong." His mind wandered a little as he suddenly remembered that he hadn't played cards with Qianshan and the others in ages, and he felt an itch in his heart.
"Princess...Xianxian." Zhang Jinwei called him.
Zhou Xian came back to her senses and said dissatisfiedly, "Don't call me by my nickname!"
"If I don't call the princess by her nickname, her soul will fly away soon." Zhang Jinwei said with a smile.
Zhou Xian: "Let's talk business!" It was obviously he who was distracted just now.
Zhang Jin, wanting to stop while he could, continued, "Lord Xu had good intentions. He got the princess's memorial first and didn't even let Chen Yi and his son see it... Princess, are you really going to Shaanxi?"
Zhou Xian looked at him and asked, "What if I absolutely must go?"
Zhang Jinwei was silent for a long time. Then he slowly stood up, still holding the memorial in his hand. He paced for a moment, and finally asked in a tone that almost compromised, "Why?"
"I've written it down in the memorial." Zhou Xian lied without changing his expression.
Worried about state affairs, concerned about border defense... Zhang Jinwei stroked the bamboo paper in his hand and couldn't help but think of the contents of the memorial.
The princess said that she and her husband had a deep bond and could not be separated for long.
Zhang Jinwei knew that he was just being sentimental.
Yet he couldn't help but wonder how much sincerity there was in Zhou Xian's words. The memorial in his hand was written in magnificent style, with rich, elegant language, giving it a false and authentic feel. He read it carefully, realizing the brilliant writing skills of the man beside him, and the affection flowing through it almost fooled him.
"The princess said in her memorial that she missed you too much after such a long separation and couldn't bear to leave you..." Zhang Jinwei leaned over, gently lifted Zhou Xian's face, and asked tentatively, "Are you serious?"
Zhou Xian was stunned.
When he was writing... he was completely applying the words of his predecessors, first expressing the great feelings of the country, and then writing about the small feelings of family, giving equal importance to family and country, so as to show the breadth of mind of the children of the royal family and avoid being criticized by people for being unreasonable.
But he forgot that Zhang Jinwei was a strange man.
Zhou Xian's eyes suddenly became evasive, remembering what disgusting words she had written in the memorial. She felt extremely ashamed, her cheeks flushed red, and she quickly covered her face with a fan and slumped in the chair, not moving a muscle, which is commonly known as playing dead.
If he said it was just a formality and not to be taken seriously, the man in front of him would surely be extremely disappointed, and he would not be able to bear it; if he nodded in agreement... he would really become a deceitful and foolish bad guy.
The sun was already setting, and the sky was bathed in a shimmering purple cloud, casting a shadow over the silent and lonely study. The mandarin ducks on the fan, bathed in the rosy glow, seemed to come alive, ready to frolic atop the princess's azure gauze dress. Zhang Jinwei held her in his arms, observing her snowy skin peeking through the azure gauze, the trembling hand holding the fan. When he had seen enough, he leaned over and, through the thin silk of the fan, kissed her lips.
Zhou Xian felt the warmth on his lips and quickly closed his eyes, pretending nothing had happened. He said nothing, but Zhang Jinwei had something to say. After the kiss, he leaned close to his ear and sighed, "I know you're lying to me... I'm willing to be deceived by you, so whatever."
After saying this, Zhang Jinwei stood up, picked up the memorial, and turned to leave. When he reached the door, he looked back and saw that the princess was still sitting in her chair, motionless. He confirmed, "You must be going to Shaanxi, right?"
Zhou Xian's voice trembled, "Yes." He was silent for a moment, then cut off the truth and told Zhang Jinwei the truth: "The people in the capital are very annoying. I want to go out and take a look."
Zhang Jinwei thought to himself, it is indeed so.
He smiled and said, "I understand. Princess, don't worry, this is not difficult to handle." Then he was about to go out.
Before leaving, Zhang Jinwei suddenly turned around to look back. She had put down her fan, her cheeks rosy in the sunset glow, her chin resting on her hand, lost in thought. The warmth of her skin still lingered on his fingertips, and Zhang Jinwei, quite tempted, immediately harbored evil thoughts. He uttered, "Is the princess's face rounder?" before walking away.
Zhou Xian touched his face woodenly and murmured, "I wish I could get fatter, and it would be best if I could become a big fat man. That way you would definitely not like me anymore, and you wouldn't be sad if I ran away..."
He thought, Zhang Jin is so annoying, why does she like him?
He doesn't...
“!”
Zhou Xian sat for too long, his legs were numb, and he didn't pay attention to the stool under his feet, so he almost fell down. Fortunately, there was a bookshelf next to him. He was quick-eyed and quick-handed and steady himself, but he pushed down the decorative bronze mirror on the shelf.
"Is there anything wrong, Princess?" Yu Xi, who was guarding outside, heard the noise and hurried inside, only to see Zhou Shan standing in front of the bookshelf, holding a mirror in one hand and rummaging in the bookshelf with the other hand, taking out a large stack of toilet paper.
Zhou Xian smiled at her and said, "Nothing. My legs were numb just now and I almost fell."
His gaze fell back on the rough paper. It was densely covered with Zhang Jinwei's handwriting, but it was still immature. The sentences had been deleted and modified, and it was obvious that it was a manuscript.
On the first page it reads, "The original 'Soul Snatching Story' has been edited and revised several times to become 'The Treasure Mirror Story'. It still tells the story of a man and a ghost. I hope you won't laugh at it. Just treat it as a fool."
Zhou Xian muttered to herself: Just treat him like a fool.
…
Zhou Xian had read countless vernacular novels and had seen all the love stories in the world. He knew that men and women did not have mouths, and that things that could be solved with just one sentence had to be dragged out and written for hundreds of thousands of words.
When he finally met her, he realized that avoiding her was indeed effective. You're worried when you see her, and you're also worried when you don't see her. Should you see her or not? It's better not to see her.
Zhou Xian was worried. He would only feel guilty if he met Zhang Jinwei, so he might as well avoid meeting him. When he arrived in Shaanxi, he would tell Zhang Jinwei that he had no interest in her and take the opportunity to slip away.
From this perspective, he is really a big liar who plays with people's emotions.
They were about to depart, their carriage and luggage ready. He stood at the door and said goodbye to everyone who stayed behind. Aunt Cui was old, and she and Lao Jiang were guarding the Zhuangyuan Mansion. Seeing that Zhou Shan was also leaving, she hugged him and cried.
Zhou Shan let her hold her, patted her back gently, and comforted her: "I will miss the dishes cooked by Aunt Cui and Uncle Jiang." This was the truth.
Aunt Cui burst into laughter, straightened his collar for him, and said bluntly: "In Shaanxi, it's all steamed buns with big pieces of meat. It's nowhere near as varied as in the south. You'll miss me terribly after you've been gone for a few days!"
Zhou Xian laughed.
He looked at Wang Xiang again.
It was not advisable to make a big announcement on this trip to Shaanxi. He only brought Yuxi, Qianshan, Muxue, and two young eunuchs with him, and would make other plans for the rest once they arrived in Yan'an Prefecture. Given Wang Xiang's close ties to the imperial court, Zhou Shan was reluctant to take him with him. On the one hand, he wanted him to manage the Zhuangyuan Mansion's interpersonal relations in the capital, but on the other... he had a nagging feeling that Wang Xiang would hinder his escape.
Wang Xiang saw him looking at him and smiled, "Don't worry, Princess. I can still run a No. 1 Scholar's Mansion. I promise that everything will be fine when you and I return in three years."
Everything is arranged properly, except for Zhang Jinwei.
Zhou Xian asked, "Where is the Prince Consort?"
Qianshan, who was carrying a bag, replied, "Master just said that he left something in the study and wanted to go get it. He asked us to wait for him for a while."
study……
Zhou Xian lowered her eyes.
…
"Why are you going to the study again?" Saoyan followed Zhang Jinwei with a puzzled look on his face.
Zhang Jinwei said: "Confirm one thing."
He walked quickly into the study and headed straight for the bronze mirror on the shelf. The study was now empty; he took away the books he could carry and put away the rest. Zhang Jinwei unscrewed the bronze mirror, revealing a secret compartment underneath. He saw the manuscripts neatly arranged, as if no one had ever touched them.
He couldn't help feeling a little disappointed.
He flipped through the papers casually and suddenly felt something was wrong. He pulled out a flower from the pile of papers. It was a sky-blue flower of the diligent lady, already dried up. It was brittle in his hand and almost crumbled to pieces.
It just so happens that there is a character in "The Story of the Precious Mirror" named Lady Qin.
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