Memories: Seizing the throne
Cheng Yu Duzhan watched his daughter finish the porridge in the bowl, put the bowl down,
"Don't be angry anymore, you haven't paid any attention to me these past few days."
"But I won't change my mind," she insisted.
"Dad, why can't I tell you that?"
His daughter was very opinionated. "Dad, I've decided on him. Even if I was wrong, I will still accept him."
"Okay, I'll let you off the island."
"Really?" she said excitedly.
"However, you should know when to do things you shouldn't do. Don't be so foolish as to throw your heart into him. Protect yourself. I'll send a message to your senior brother. When he finishes his work and doesn't need to come back, he will come find you."
"Thanks, old man." She gave him a big hug.
On the shore of Yihua Island, a father and daughter were waiting for the boat to arrive.
The boat stopped steadily at the shore. "Old man, I'm leaving. Take care of yourself and eat and sleep on time."
"Go ahead, and tell me if you have anything."
Cheng Yujialian boarded the boat and left. He was reluctant to leave and felt a little regretful and worried as he watched his daughter walk away.
"I didn't expect that separation would be forever. It was the last time that Jialin and I saw each other." He was in tears.
Jialin left the island and came to the world outside. She came out of the path and looked around curiously.
She came to a bustling and crowded place, unaware of her own prominence.
Her clothing was very different from the people there; the quality of the fabric, the quantity of the colors, and her exceptional appearance made her look extraordinary. She approached the herb stall and began selecting herbs. The vendor's eyes shone with shrewdness. "My lady, is there anything you like?"
Cheng Yujia Lian picked up a medicinal herb and said, "My lady has a good eye. This Chaotianzhu only needs a little water."
If someone familiar with the market, he would definitely curse the vendor and say she was crazy for asking for an exorbitant price, just because he saw that she didn't seem to be a regular and wanted to make a quick buck.
"A splash of water." Cheng Yujialian looked up at him.
"Hey." The vendor nodded nervously.
"Here you go." She took out the water ticket.
He reached out to take it, but she moved the water ticket away.
"In the future, do business with integrity. I give you more because you have a wife and children to support at home. If you change to someone who is not easy to talk to and cares about, you will be in big trouble. Why lose the big picture for the small one?" The peddler's family is also in financial difficulty. The whole family is waiting for him and he wants to contribute more to the family expenses.
Cheng Yujialian stuffed the ticket into his hand and said, "Thank you, young master." The vendor hurriedly thanked him.
She gathered the herbs and left, continuing along the path.
The palace of the Wubu royal family is far away from Yihua Island. To get there, one has to pass through several regions under the control of the royal family.
Going west, this area is not as prosperous as the previous one. There are many refugees and most houses are closed during the day.
As some people came out with their luggage, Cheng Yujialian stopped one of them and asked, "Brother, what happened here?"
"We all go to other districts to find ticket counters. The ticket collection is too heavy. We can no longer afford it here. We can only leave the elderly and children behind."
Cheng Yujialian learned from passers-by that the collection of cloth coupons was heavy, regional resources were unevenly distributed, and many people with cheap clothes were displaced from various districts and moved to other places.
"Why do you charge so many tickets that I can't afford?" She continued on her way with doubts.
A large number of poor people, all of them pale and thin, passed by this deserted and sparsely populated place. She saw all the poor people's behavior. It was her first time on the island and she had never imagined that the people outside the island would be living in such a miserable state. She began to doubt whether Wu Bu's leadership was really correct.
She blended in with the other women in cheap clothes and headed towards Wubu. An old woman fell to the ground, her young grandson crying and unable to help her. Passersby walked by numbly without offering a helping hand.
The woman comforted her grandson and struggled to stand up. Cheng Yujialian helped her up. The woman hurriedly thanked her and she supported her as they walked forward.
A few days later, they were finally nearing the palace area. The security situation here had improved considerably. A group of Wubu soldiers emerged from the dense grass to drive them away. The influx of so many low-class people into the area would cause a large crowd and disrupt trade. Many took the opportunity to cause a disturbance in front of the palace. The excessive fines were excessive, but Wubu didn't care whether they lived or died.
Jianyi wanted to rush in, but the officers and soldiers stopped him. "Everyone, go back! You can't go in! Back off!"
The soldier drew his sword and threatened. A man sat on a horse not far away. "Master Ke, there are too many cheap clothes to drive away."
"Then kill him and don't disturb Wu Bu's peace." The blue eyes sparkled as he said this.
The soldiers, receiving the order, attacked the barbaric people. Their blades sliced through their flesh, and the bright red blood stained the dirt even darker. The barbarians retreated in fear, "One more step forward, and you'll die."
Jianyi's rage erupted. "Our survival is difficult, and Wubu is raising the ticket collection. We can't even survive, so how can we afford to pay for the tickets? We have no choice but to come out and earn some tickets. Not being allowed to enter the district is forcing me to death. I'm going to die anyway, so I might as well die in front of Wubu's palace and leave these indifferent rulers in turmoil."
Some of the lowly men still advanced and perished under the sword, while others retreated and dared not advance. These words were not even the barking of a dog in his ears. "Kill them all, leave no one alive, and throw them into the abandoned pit."
After saying this, he turned his horse around and was about to ride away, but a voice rang out and he turned back suddenly.
"Stop! As Wubu's soldiers, your swords are meant to protect the inferiors, not point them at them. Can't Wubu hear the grievances of the inferiors? If you continue to ignore them like this, Wubu will be destroyed sooner or later!"
"How bold! I think you are courting death." The soldier approached her with his weapon raised.
Before he could get close, he was kicked away. Wu Bu Ke appeared from behind Cheng Yu Jia Lian and said angrily, "Who told you to attack Jian Yi?"
The officers and soldiers saluted respectfully, "Commander Ke."
He looked at her, "Are you okay?"
"Ako!" She hugged him.
"Why are you here?"
"I came to find you, but these soldiers violently drove away the girl and even killed innocent people without permission."
"How could this happen?" he asked the soldier.
"Commander, we didn't follow the rules. The new officer didn't understand. It was Wu Bing's fault. Please forgive me, Commander Ke."
"Each person will receive a 50-pound fine, apologize to Jianyi, and be taken to the district for proper resettlement."
"Yes." The soldier took the order and comforted and helped Jianyi enter the area one by one.
An officer led his horse over. He looked at her tenderly, not knowing what he was thinking, and asked, "You must have suffered a lot on this journey. Why did your uncle let you out?"
"If you don't want me to come, then I'll leave?" She made a gesture to leave.
"How could that be? I'm so happy!" He held her back.
"But Wubu's officers and soldiers really need to be properly managed. This is definitely not the first time this has happened."
"Okay, I'll tell my father the truth."
Wubu Ke took her on horseback, and the two of them headed for Wubu Palace. As soon as she entered this area, Cheng Yujialian felt a different kind of splendor and extravagance, a world of difference from the areas she had walked through.
Entering Wubu Palace, Wubu Ke found a place to put her. "Jialian, I will tell my father about this first, and then I will take you back with me."
"good."
"Wait for me." He strode away.
Wu Bu Ke went to see the current ruler of the mainland, "Father, regarding the matter of cheap clothes refusing to pay the bill, I have a way..."
The entire Wubu Palace was so extravagant that she had never even imagined it. She had never seen anything like it on Yihua Island. The largest of the palaces took up two-thirds of a district. Cheng Yujialian waited in a hall, but he was nowhere to be found.
She couldn't wait for Wu Bu Ke, so she walked out. The more she walked, the more she felt that every piece of ground she stepped on was something that those lowly people could never get even if they worked hard all their lives.
Hearing the sounds of laughter and crying from the front, Cheng Yujialian leaned out to investigate. She saw a scene beyond her 20-plus years of experience: a man and woman in elegant attire engaging in a cruel game.
Tie up the cheap guy and throw weapons at him to stab him, "Oh, I got hit again."
Using Jianyi's fresh blood as paint for painting, "The color is not red enough, don't pierce the green gallbladder."
Blind their eyes with water, "Hey, don't get it all over me." The woman painting nearby said with disgust.
Cheng Yujialian covered his mouth tightly. They treated human lives as a toy and didn't feel cruel or horrible at all.
The water on the ground was enough to feed a family of poor people for several months. If a poor person saw the water on the ground, he would immediately lie on the ground and drink it.
She heard their conversation and said, "It's really frustrating. Father has been trusting that beast lately." She said this in anger and stabbed Jianyi hard, even though he was dying and his body was covered in blood.
"Yes, but a few days ago I got the stone of the Quiet Night Beast from East Lake and presented it to my father. Then my father listened to me in everything."
"He's just trying to be opportunistic. I wonder how long he can keep his complacency. He should have been crippled back then, so I wouldn't be so upset seeing him now."
"He should have been killed long ago."
It turns out that their ruler, the children of King Wubu, actually raised such cruel and cold-blooded sons and daughters! Donghu Lake is close to Yihua Island. Could they be talking about A Ke?
"Gallen." She vaguely heard Wu Bu Ke's call.
She ran back quickly, and Wu Bu Ke came looking for her with a somewhat anxious look. She pretended to be strolling not far away, "Ake."
"Gallen, you came out like this?"
"You haven't been back for a long time. I'm taking a walk around here."
He glanced towards his children's playground and said, "Are you lost? It's very big here. I was worried you might get lost."
"No, I just came out for a while and you came back."
"That's good. It's getting dark. I'll take you back."
"Yeah." The two left Wubu Palace and returned to his residence.
Wu Buke's courtyard is not that luxurious, but it is much more pleasing to the eye because of its simplicity.
"Gallen, you stay here. My room is around the corner. Call me if you need anything."
"good."
"Go to bed early."
Cheng Yujialian was a little insomniac. She came to the pond alone, lay on the stone railing, and thought about what she saw today.
Just as she was lost in thought, Wu Bu Ke appeared behind her without her noticing.
"What are you thinking about?"
"Ako."
"Can't sleep?"
"Well, I'm not used to it."
Wu Bu Ke held her hand to give her strength. "It's normal for you to feel uncomfortable during your first time out of the island. You'll get better slowly. I'll be guarding outside your room tonight."
"Ako, if I ask you to go back to the island with me, would you be willing to go back with me?" There are too many impure factors outside the island, which makes her feel uncomfortable.
Wu Bu Ke concealed the hesitation in his eyes and said, "Of course I will, but there are too many refugees now, and the political situation on the mainland is unstable. I told my father now that he might not agree. Let's wait until the situation is better. I'll tell my father and we'll leave together, okay?"
Cheng Yujialian looked at his sincere eyes and dispelled his doubts, "Okay."
She has been staying in Wu Buke's yard these days. She doesn't know what he is busy with these days, and he has never taken Cheng Yujialian out for a walk.
In the evening, Wu Bu Ke came back and knocked on her door. She opened it and he went in.
"Are you busy so late again today?"
"Father has a lot of things to deal with, and he's been neglecting you lately." Normally, he would stay overnight at the palace, but now he would come back no matter how late it was. Besides the time he spent at the palace, he spent it all accompanying Cheng Yujialian, running back and forth between Wubu Palace and here.
He cared about whether she had eaten, brought her some delicious food, and personally arranged the best food, clothing and other expenses for her here.
"I want to go for a walk around the district tomorrow."
"The continent is in chaos recently, with refugees and people in disarray. It's better not to go out. Aren't you good at medicine? I'll have someone build a pharmacy for you. I'll have someone find whatever you need, and you can study it to your heart's content." He held her in his arms.
"Okay." Cheng Yujialian agreed but felt something was not right.
Wu Bu Ke watched her fall asleep, closed the door and left.
He was the least favored ruler, a figure whom anyone could step on. He had been dormant for many years, and recently, knowing that King Wubu was worried about Lu Yun, he went searching for the Quiet Night Stone, a symbol of good fortune. While fighting the Quiet Night Beast, he was injured and fell into the water. He drifted to a small reef near Yihua Island and was rescued by Cheng Yujialian.
The reason he didn't leave after being rescued was that he wanted to see who dared to save such an unknown man, and the first time he saw her, he knew that such a pure and innocent person was destined to be his!!!
It's his! It's his!
After being driven out of Yihua Island, he returned to Wubu Palace and presented treasures to King Wubu, earning him favor and temporary employment. He had originally planned to seek her out after he gained the throne, but if the old man still disagreed, he wouldn't mind conquering Yihua Island and obtaining Cheng Yujialian.
He hadn't expected this naive girl to come to him on her own, but it was a good thing he could have kept her by his side earlier. He had to act quickly to avoid any more trouble.
He stood in front of the door, his eyes determined to win, and then left.
As the sky brightened, she opened her eyes and slept uneasily. A feeling of uneasiness and emptiness accompanied her all the time.
When she opened her eyes, Wu Bu Ke was gone. She walked out of the room and saw that the workers were already building a pharmacy. They had watched the pharmacy being completed in the past few days.
She finally had something to do, which distracted her from thinking about other things.
The soil in this area is of good quality, and there are some medicinal herbs that Cheng Yujialian has never seen before. She wrote a medical book, recording the properties and uses of these medicines.
Even Wu Bu Ke said that she had ignored him seriously because she was doing what she loved and asked her to coax him.
Cheng Yujialian had just discovered a kind of miraculous herb that he had never seen before and was ready to tell him.
She went to the meeting hall, and wherever he told her to go she moved freely, and the sound of conversation came over.
She stopped at the corner and said, "All the cheap clothes that were headed to the Wubu District have been dealt with."
"Is everything ready over there?"
"I'm ready."
“…”
"Okay, three days later, proceed as planned."
She couldn't believe what she heard. Wu Bu Ke planned to take the position of heir in the selection three days later. She knew nothing about such an important day. It seemed that everything about her here was under his control. He had clearly told her that he had no other intentions. He had been lying to her all along.
Cheng Yujialian returned to his room, took out something hidden in a secret place, and activated the butterfly to send a message to his senior brother.
"I hope it's not too late." She looked at the horizon.
Two days passed and there was still no news.
"Brother, have you received the letter?" She was staring at the sky with such a look that she almost made a hole in it.
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