Chapter 228 I Like to Steal Others’ Wives (Part 1)
In early July, a sudden storm swept through Shuzhou. A former prefect of Shuzhou, a member of Dazhao's government, was murdered and his body hung on the city walls for public display. Overnight, most of the Shuzhou government offices were emptied, and many officials were arrested, including their wives and children. Following this, the city walls were re-guarded, and a large number of troops suddenly appeared outside Chengqiao Pass in Shuzhou.
Shortly after this riot, on the ninth day of the seventh month, the old forces of Chang State announced the restoration of their country and the establishment of the new Chang State.
Chang State, which had been destroyed for sixteen years, suddenly swept across the land of Shu like a gust of wind, shocking all countries and attracting everyone's attention.
But before everyone had time to digest this news, the emperor of Xinchang announced another piece of good news. He planned to hold his wedding in August and sent invitations to monarchs from all countries to attend the banquet. Even the old customer Dazhao received an invitation.
This action is extremely arrogant and outrageous.
Instantly, everyone became tacitly curious about this Xinchang monarch. Who was he? Not only did he use such drastic measures, but he also had the audacity to challenge Dazhao, a feat unprecedented in history.
Out of curiosity, perhaps to gather information, or perhaps simply to surrender to their own audacity, by the end of July, a number of envoys from various countries had arrived in the capital of Xinchang.
For a time, the newly established Xinchang State was unprecedentedly bustling.
.
The former Shuzhou was replaced by the Xinchang Kingdom, and the former prefecture became the capital of the Xinchang Kingdom. Amidst the bustling scene, Liang Jinxian arranged for Zhuang Wan to live in the Changguo Palace.
Liang Jinxian seemed determined to marry her, and regardless of anything, he sent embroiderers to tailor her clothes. Although the palace she lived in was not luxurious, the furniture inside was so luxurious that she was amazed.
Purple jade and coral screen couches, Yue kiln celadon candlesticks, flowing cloud-patterned jasper and bamboo pillows, carved rosewood and lacquer screens with gilded glaze, and so on were piled up in her room without cost. Perhaps it was Zhuang Wan's illusion, but Liang Jinxian seemed determined to outdo Pei Xingju—"Look, I'm richer than him!"
I knew Liang Jinxian was rich, but I didn't expect him to be so rich. It seems that he has made a lot of money in Hezhou over the years.
Zhuang Wan had been held down by a group of maids and embroiderers to measure her figure for the entire morning. She was very tired and rested shortly after lunch.
In a daze, someone touched her face. Zhuang Wan thought it was Pei Xingju, so she raised her hand to cover the back of the person's hand and said softly and coquettishly, "I'm so sleepy, let me rest for a while."
Instantly, he sensed something was wrong with the hand he was touching. Pei Xingju's hands, while long, weren't thin, with protruding joints that were a bit rough. This man's hands, on the other hand, were slender and long, perhaps from years of using ointments to maintain them, making them exceptionally delicate and smooth.
She opened her eyes and suddenly met Liang Jinxian's affectionate gaze.
I was startled.
"You...why are you here?"
Soon, the emotion in Liang Jinxian's eyes disappeared, and he replaced it with a cynical look: "The entire palace belongs to me. If I'm not here, where else would I be?"
"But this is where I rest." Zhuang Wan was angry. A man broke into her bedroom and touched her face for no reason. Who would feel comfortable in her situation?
She glared at Liang Jinxian: "Do you understand what it means to respect other people's privacy? Don't you think it's rude of you to sneak in while I'm sleeping?"
Liang Jinxian laughed softly, his smile was charming and gloomy.
After a long pause, he said, "Are you disappointed because it's not Pei Xingju?"
His eyes suddenly darkened, and seemed to be mixed with some sadness: "You really have forgotten me. If it were in the past, you would never do this."
"People always change." Zhuang Wan said.
Liang Jinxian curled his lips, but said nothing. Instead, he sat down beside the bed.
As he approached, Zhuang Wan smelled a hint of alcohol and realized that Liang Jinxian had been drinking today.
"You go out," she said. "I'm taking a nap."
But Liang Jinxian seemed not to hear her words and asked, "We're getting married soon, are you looking forward to it?"
Zhuang Wan's eyes were cold and she remained silent.
Liang Jinxian smiled. "I've already announced our marriage to the world. Diplomatic delegations from various countries will be arriving soon. What do you think Pei Xingju will do when he sees you marry me?"
Zhuang Wan sat up suddenly: "What exactly do you want to do?"
"As for me..." Liang Jinxian's eyes were vicious: "I want him to die!"
"You can't kill him! You might even lose to him." Zhuang Wan didn't bother to pay attention to this Shen Jing Bing. She was so sleepy that she yawned and said, "I advise you to give up this idea and stop opposing Pei Xingju all day long."
Liang Jinxian glared at her gloomily: "Be aware of your identity!"
Zhuang Wan raised an eyebrow: "What is my identity?"
"We're getting married soon." Liang Jinxian reminded.
Zhuang Wan tsk- ...
Liang Jinxian suddenly laughed again, and a strand of long hair in front of his forehead fell down, lazily covering his eyebrows and eyes, making him look a bit unruly.
"Do you know why I had to wait until you were engaged before sending someone to bring you here?"
Zhuang Wan stared at him in deathly silence.
Then he said, "I just like to steal other people's wives."
“…You’re such a pervert!”
"Thanks!"
.
Thanks to the arrival of diplomatic missions from various countries, the streets of Changguo were bustling with traffic, and people with exotic faces and distinctive clothing could be seen everywhere. Restaurants, inns, and street vendors were also extremely prosperous.
At this time, a man in cloth clothes and a straw hat stood in the crowd, holding a long sword.
He observed silently for a while, and finally his eyes fell on a pillar on the street. There, engraved with an inconspicuous pattern.
After a moment, he walked towards the stall nearby: "Old man, give me a cup of tea."
"Okay!" The stall owner was an old man. He quickly took a clean bowl, opened the lid of the wooden barrel, scooped a ladle of tea, and added a few pieces of crushed ice. "Sir, please enjoy."
When he saw the face under the hat clearly, the old man was stunned with surprise and thought to himself, what a handsome young man.
The person under the bamboo hat was none other than Pei Xingju, who had come all the way exhausted.
He took the tea bowl, walked to the pillar and drank slowly, then raised his hand and wiped off the pattern without a sound.
Finally, he took out a piece of silver from his waist and handed it to the stall owner: "No need for change."
"Hey, hey, hey!" The old man was delighted: "Thank you very much, sir! Thank you very much, sir!"
After quenching his thirst, Pei Xingju walked straight into the restaurant opposite.
The shopkeeper came up to him warmly and said, "Sir, are you dining alone or with friends?"
"Does your shop have any Bamboo Leaf Green?"
The man's expression froze, and he whispered, "A golden basin of wine filled with the fragrance of bamboo leaves, a fine wine to welcome all guests. How much would you like, sir?"
"Three taels and one qian, not a cent more or less."
Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper immediately said seriously: "Sir, please follow me."
Pei Xingju followed him to the backyard, walked through a corridor, went up to the second floor, and came to the door of a wing room.
The shopkeeper said, "Here he is, please do as you please."
Pei Xingju nodded, and after the shopkeeper left, he slowly knocked on the door.
After a while, an impatient voice came: "Who is it? You disturb my sleep in broad daylight!"
Hearing the voice, Pei Xingju said slowly: "It's me, open the door."
As soon as he finished speaking, the door suddenly opened from the inside.
Xue Gang looked troubled yet surprised: "Why did you come to Shuzhou? When did you arrive?"
"Just arrived."
He took a closer look and found that Pei Xingju looked even more tired than him. He asked suspiciously, "You didn't rush here all night long? You look so awful that I can tell you didn't get enough rest."
"Come, come," he pulled Pei Xingju in, "Let's put aside the big things first and sleep for a while."
Pei Xingju stared at him silently.
Xue Gang laughed: "I was just kidding, I knew you would come. I thought I would have to wait a few more days, but I didn't expect you to come so soon."
"How do you know?"
"How could I not know?" Xue Gang leaned over with a gossipy look on his face. "What's going on with Miss Zhuang? Didn't you propose to her? Why is she in Shuzhou right now? And she's about to marry that so-and-so Xinchang monarch."
He asked with a look of disappointment: "Did she abandon you?"
“…”
"Then why is she here?"
It's no wonder Xue Gang thought this way. He didn't know about the relationship between Liang Jinxian and Zhuang Wan, and he thought that Zhuang Wan abandoned Pei Xingju in order to become the queen. He felt a little contemptuous of his good brother for not being able to tie down a woman.
Pei Xingju put down his sword, expressionless: "She was kidnapped by Liang Jinxian."
Xue Gang paused, a little confused. Abducting Pei Xingju's women and marrying them—there really were people in this world with such a fetish.
"Forget it, let's not talk about this." Xue Gang said: "What are your plans next?"
"What information have you found out?" Pei Xingju asked back.
"There's quite a lot of news, but there's one that's very interesting."
"What?"
"Didn't the State of Lu have a deal with Da Zhao? I remember that Chen Yi married Princess Wu Jing of Lu. But the other day I discovered that the Lu delegation was actually here, and the leader was none other than Princess Wu Jing's brother, Prince Wenle."
Hearing this, Pei Xingju frowned slightly: "Are you sure?"
"Even though they hid it well, I still recognized him. I'm sure I wasn't mistaken. It was Prince Wenle." Xue Gang asked, "What do you think they mean by this? Are they trying to secretly collude with Liang Jinxian?"
"I don't know yet." After a moment's silence, Pei Xingju said, "Next, help me make a human skin mask."
"Whose?"
"The Lu State delegation."
"That's no problem. I can give it to you tonight. By the way..." Xue Gang asked, "Miss Zhuang, what are your plans? She will be marrying Liang Jinxian soon. According to the information I have gathered, Miss Zhuang has already moved into the Changguo Palace and is preparing for her wedding. She was even happily having her clothes made the day before yesterday."
"You really weren't..." he asked doubtfully, "abandoned by Miss Zhuang?"
“…”
Pei Xingju didn't bother to pay attention to him, picked up his sword, stood up and left.
"Hey, where are you going?"
"Yunlai Inn," Pei Xingju stepped out of the door, "If you need anything, come find me there."
.
The midsummer night felt like being wrapped in a quilt, so hot and stuffy that it was hard to breathe. Zhuang Wan tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep well.
Suddenly, a clanging sound came from outside the hall, instantly waking her up. The little sleep she had managed to accumulate was gone, and she sighed, getting up and leaving.
When the maids saw her come out barefoot in her nightgown, they all knelt in fear. The maid who had knocked over something earlier even knelt before her, trembling with fear: "This servant deserves death! I disturbed you, young lady. Please forgive me!"
Zhuang Wan glanced at the fallen copper basin, which still had a puddle of water on it. Then she turned her gaze to the kneeling figure. The girl was frail and thin, perhaps only thirteen or fourteen years old. She thought Liang Jinxian was a scoundrel, for forcing her to be a servant while she was still underage.
"Get up." She bent down and helped the little maid up. "Everyone makes mistakes sometimes. It's okay."
The little maid was flattered and kowtowed quickly before she dared to stand up.
"Pack up and go have some rest," said Zhuang Wan.
She walked alone along the corridor. The weather was hot and humid, but the moonlight was quite bright. She stood in the shade and stretched out her hand, watching the moonlight fall on her palm.
After a while, he suddenly sighed.
I don’t know if Pei Xingju has arrived.
Perhaps they're on their way? Traveling from the capital to Shu would take at least ten days, or at most half a month. Calculating the days, they should be arriving soon.
She leaned her head against the pillar, her thoughts a tangled mess. Then she stood up straight.
No, we can’t just sit there and wait for death!
She is in the palace now. If Pei Xingju comes to Shuzhou, he probably won't be able to contact her. She has to get ready.
After thinking about it, she hurried back, went into the hall to change her clothes, and planned to meet Liang Jinxian.
Here, the lights in Liang Jinxian's palace were dim, and the courtyard was quiet. Zhuang Wan hesitated, wondering if Liang Jinxian had already fallen asleep.
She was planning to go back and come back tomorrow, but suddenly she heard footsteps coming from not far away, and she immediately hid in the shadows.
A few maids walked past the corridor, carrying trays of food. On the trays were two jugs of wine and a few plates of exquisite side dishes. Soon, they entered the inner hall and soon filed out.
Zhuang Wan was suspicious. Liang Jinxian was drinking and having a midnight snack so late at night?
But then he thought something was wrong. The maids clearly brought portions for two people, and Liang Jinxian couldn't have eaten so much by himself.
After thinking for a while, Zhuang Wan tiptoed along the shadows in the dark.
.
The candlelight flickered in the hall, and the dim light reflected on the golden walls and carpets. The long curtains revealed the shadows of two people sitting opposite each other.
Liang Jinxian knelt on the futon and personally picked up the pot to pour wine for the other party: "Prince Wenle, you have worked hard on this journey."
Prince Wenle looked at him for a moment and laughed, "I never thought that I would have such a fate with Prince Liang."
Wen Le had previously met Liang Jinxian at the Dazhao Palace, where he was a small commander of the imperial guards responsible for the palace's security. Unexpectedly, only a year later, Liang Jinxian had become the ruler of Xinchang State.
Noticing Liang Jinxian's slightly cold gaze, he quickly changed his words: "I said the wrong thing. You are no longer the Prince of Liang, but the Emperor of Changguo."
He picked up the wine glass: "I'll drink a glass as punishment."
Liang Jinxian's thin lips curled into a faint smile: "Prince Wenle, what do you think of my previous proposal?"
"This..." Prince Wenle paused, his face hesitant. "You also know that I am in a critical period now. Perhaps I will become the crown prince next year. At this time, I still need Dazhao's support."
Liang Jinxian calmly poured him another glass of wine: "I'm not trying to embarrass you. The pros and cons of this matter are right in front of you."
"I'm afraid you know in your heart why Emperor Dazhao helped you become the crown prince. Li Jinyu is ambitious and would never be the kind of person who would be kind and generous. Even the Liang family's numerous achievements could not escape his abandonment. You don't really think that Li Jinyu helped you just to maintain friendship with your Lu State, right?"
These words made Prince Wenle's expression change.
He wasn't really stupid; how could he not know what Emperor Da Zhao was planning? But at the time, he had no choice but to make the deal with Da Zhao, hoping that once he won the throne, Li Jinyu would leave Lu alone because he was still relatively obedient.
But his lucky mentality was exposed by Liang Jinxian, and his face turned ugly.
"Your conspiracy with Li Jinyu is tantamount to seeking the skin of a tiger." Liang Jinxian said bluntly: "The day you ascend the throne will be the day you destroy the country."
"You're talking nonsense!" Prince Wenle stared straight at Liang Jinxian.
But he was a weak prince after all. He was raised by the imperial concubine and was spoiled by the emperor's grace. Even though he had ambitions, he did not have the ability to support them.
He confronted Liang Jinxian for a while, and finally was defeated in frustration under Liang Jinxian's strong and insightful gaze.
"Actually... you're not entirely unreasonable." He continued, "I knew Dazhao's intentions from the beginning, but I had no choice."
The King of Lu was seriously ill, and the princes were fighting fiercely. Although his mother was favored, she had no strong family support and had to flee to another country to seek survival. To this end, she even let her beloved sister marry a lowly official.
He silently swallowed these humiliations, thinking that everything would be fine when he ascended the throne.
But not long ago, he received a letter from his sister, in which she bluntly stated that she wanted to divorce and return home, saying that she and her husband had no love for each other and had not even consummated their marriage.
He was just a lowly minister, yet he dared to humiliate the princess of Lu and his sister. It can be seen how much Da Zhao disregarded Lu.
His beloved sister felt heartbroken because he suffered such humiliation.
Thinking of this, Prince Wenle's eyes were filled with anger.
As if he had made up his mind, he picked up the wine cup and drank it all in one gulp: "Okay! I agree with your proposal, but this matter should not be made public."
"Of course." Liang Jinxian drank his wine with satisfaction. "Prince Wenle still needs Dazhao's help. I will certainly not let our plan leak out."
"Tell me, what do you want me to do?" asked Prince Wenler.
"That's not difficult..." Liang Jinxian said, "I heard that the horses of Lu are fine and strong. All of Dazhao's war horses come from Lu ranches."
"In that case..." he whispered, "I want you to tamper with the tribute horses this year and provide a batch of sick horses for Dazhao."
Wen Le was shocked when he heard this: "This is unacceptable. Every war horse we send as tribute has been strictly inspected. If we find out..."
"You don't have to worry about that." Liang Jinxian said, "I have a medicine here that is colorless and odorless. War horses won't show any symptoms after taking it. We need to mix it with something else to induce the disease."
"real?"
"Whether it's true or not, Prince Wenle will know once he returns and tries it." Liang Jinxian added, "Changguo and Dazhao will definitely have a war this year. When the time comes, I will induce illness in the horses on the battlefield. Once the sick warhorses go crazy, Dazhao's army will undoubtedly lose."
"But how can you be sure that you can withstand the endless stream of troops from Dazhao?" asked Prince Wenle.
"Prince Wenle, you may not know that the Dan Kingdom to the north has long coveted Dazhao." He laughed. "If Dazhao loses, the Dan cavalry will surely march south. Li Jinyu will be preoccupied with his own affairs. Isn't this a chance for your Lu Kingdom to seize power?"
Upon hearing this, Prince Wenle's eyes lit up with joy and his expression was excited.
"Okay." He said bluntly, "I'll take it. Here, this glass of wine, may we..."
Suddenly, a dull sound was heard in the quiet night, as if something had hit something, and the two men stopped at the same time.
Prince Wenle looked at Liang Jinxian, who squinted his eyes and listened carefully. He raised his hand to signal him to continue speaking, and then he stood up and quietly walked towards the sound.
Soon, Prince Wenle spoke again: "It's great. Meeting the King of Chang today is really worth the trip..."
Outside the hall, Zhuang Wan hid in the shadow of a corner, her chest pounding.
She didn't expect to hear such a confidential matter. The person Liang Jinxian was going to meet tonight was actually Prince Wen Le of Lu.
She had just been about to leave when, turning around, she bumped into a half-open window. She crouched down, afraid to move. The brief silence inside made her think she'd been discovered, her heart racing with anxiety. Hearing Prince Wenler continue talking, she breathed a sigh of relief. Perhaps the two men hadn't noticed her.
But what she didn't know was that while Prince Wenle was speaking, Liang Jinxian had already come to the window.
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