Zhou Huaichuan and Qi Yi discussed for a long time before they finally came out of the study as it was getting late.
"Your Highness Prince An..." Qi Yi hesitated, wanting to speak but stopping himself.
Zhou Huaichuan stopped: "Lord Qi, please speak."
Qi Yi looked at him earnestly: "Xin Xin lost her mother at a young age, and Prime Minister Chu spoiled Liu Shi, leaving her to fend for herself. She was constantly bullied in the Xu family. Xin Xin has never seen much of the world, and as long as someone is nice to her, she thinks it means they like her..."
Zhou Zhunchuan seemed to know what Qi Yi was going to say. In the past, in order to win over the ministers in the court, he would make such small requests himself without anyone else having to mention them.
But Zhou Huaichuan didn't say anything at that moment.
Qi Yi considered for a moment before continuing, "Your Highness, Xin Xin is very kind. Even though she suffered a lot in the past, she remains cheerful. In the future, I only hope that she can maintain this kind of personality and live a peaceful and stable life, so..."
Qi Yi changed the subject: "What does Your Highness Prince An think of Liang Feng of the Hanlin Academy?"
Liang Feng, who was the third-ranked scholar last year, has the talent to govern the world. He comes from a clean and simple family and has no connections in the capital. If Chu Xinxin marries him, it would be a marriage of convenience for her.
Zhou Huaichuan's face remained completely expressionless; he stood there like a lifeless iceberg.
Cold and silent.
Just when Qi Yi thought he wouldn't answer, Zhou Huaichuan whispered, "Back then, Old Master Qi also chose a son-in-law from among those who passed the imperial examinations, and he chose Chu Xuan for Miss Qi, right?"
Qi Yi's pupils suddenly contracted; he wanted to refute, but couldn't utter a word.
His father did indeed share the same idea as him at the time.
"It's getting late, so I'll head back to my residence first. Lord Qi, there's no need to see me off."
Before Qi Yi could speak, Zhou Huaichuan strode away.
Outside the Qi residence, in an inconspicuous corner, Yun Zheng led his horse listlessly.
Suddenly, the sound of clothes rustling filled the air; Zhou Huaichuan had arrived.
Yun Zheng approached with a grin, wanting to tell him that he had found out Miss Chu's preferences.
Looking up, I found my master's face was frighteningly gloomy.
Yun Zheng immediately dared not utter a sound and obediently led his horse forward.
Zhou Huaichuan mounted his horse, raised his whip without a word, turned and rode away, disappearing into the alley in the blink of an eye.
Yun Zheng hesitated for a moment before chasing after him: "Master, riding horses is forbidden in the capital after 7 PM!"
But there was no sign of Zhou Huaichuan anywhere in sight.
......
Zhou Huaichuan ran for a long time, but the frustration in his chest did not dissipate at all.
Instead, the accumulation kept increasing, almost suffocating him.
When he came to his senses, he realized that he had arrived at Lingshan Temple.
It was completely dark, and the city gates of the capital had been closed.
Zhou Huaichuan had no choice but to stay at Lingshan Temple.
The young novice monk at the gate recognized him and led Zhou Huaichuan inside.
As Zhou Huaichuan entered the courtyard, he saw Abbot Yuankong of Lingshan Temple standing on the steps, holding Buddhist prayer beads and looking at him.
“Your Highness Prince An.” Yuan Kong bowed to him, “This humble monk has one of the three monthly fortune sticks yet to be interpreted. It would be a pity to discard it after midnight. Why don’t you help this humble monk with this favor, Your Highness Prince An?”
Zhou Huaichuan did not believe in gods or Buddhas, but since he was staying at Lingshan Temple that night, he entered the main hall with Yuan Kong.
"Your Highness, please." Yuan Kong handed the divination tube to Zhou Huaichuan.
Zhou Huaichuan picked up the divination stick container and shook it casually; a very unlucky stick fell out.
Trying to see flowers through the fog, trying to catch the moon's reflection in the water, trying to draw water with a bamboo basket—all these efforts come to naught.
There's absolutely no need to interpret this divination slip.
Zhou Huaichuan put the fortune slip back into the container, stood up, and said goodbye to Yuan Kong.
"Your Highness," Yuan Kong called out to him.
Yuan Kong took out a bamboo stick and slowly stepped forward: "If you can't see the flowers clearly through the fog, then change your perspective. If you can't scoop the moon out of the water, it's because you're going in the wrong direction. If you can't reach the water with a bamboo basket, then use a wooden bucket. Heaven has the virtue of cherishing life, and Your Highness still has a glimmer of hope in your extremely unlucky fate."
Zhou Huaichuan did not take the bamboo stick: "Master should know that I do not believe in fate."
I don't believe it, and I don't want to believe it.
If he believed in fate, he was destined to die as a wild beast at the age of seven.
He was given an ominous name from the moment he was born.
Whether it was his mother or the palace maids and wet nurses who took care of him, he would get asthma whenever they came into contact with him, and his body would even break out in red rashes.
If one is born into an ordinary family, the most one can do is not to marry or take concubines in the future.
However, he was born into royalty, and his mother was from the Western Regions.
His existence brought shame upon the entire royal family.
His mother also lost favor because of him.
In the depths of the palace, falling out of favor meant being bullied by everyone.
Zhou Huaichuan struggled in the swamp, but those people still refused to let him go.
At the age of seven, he was used as a pawn in the fierce power struggle between the Empress and Consort Shu, and was given a poison that would cause him to lose his mind.
He went mad at Emperor Zhou's birthday banquet, injuring many people.
The investigation eventually revealed that a palace maid in his mother's palace had poisoned him because she couldn't bear the daily beatings and scoldings he endured.
He went from being a victim to a perpetrator in an instant.
The imperial physician predicted that within a month, the poison would penetrate deep into his brain, at which point he would lose all reason.
Emperor Zhou wanted to execute him immediately.
His mother knelt in the snow for a whole day and night for him before the Emperor Zhou agreed that if he did not regain his senses within a month, he would be given a cup of poison to kill him.
At that time, he was worse than the lowest beast, locked in a cage every day, only knowing how to roar and attack.
Those people found it extremely amusing and often pressured his mother to visit him.
In order to prolong the stimulation on his mother's mind, he ordered the imperial physicians not to let him die.
Only in this way could he gain a sliver of clarity after taking the medicine.
Then he learned to disguise himself and passed the test in front of Emperor Zhou a month later.
However, his mother fell seriously ill and never recovered.
He didn't even make it past the New Year before passing away.
Emperor Zhou, wanting to avoid seeing or hearing the truth, banished him to the northwest.
Zhou Huaichuan was better off there.
However, the scars all over his body and the military achievements he gained by surviving several near-death experiences did not change Emperor Zhou's opinion of him.
Instead, they grew to dislike it even more.
If it weren't for his immense prestige within the army, the Zhou emperor would have reluctantly bestowed upon him the title of "King An".
Otherwise, even if he conquered the Northwest, the Zhou Emperor wouldn't even glance at him.
Prince An?
It's not the "An" in An Yi's "peace and health," but the "An" in "being law-abiding and keeping to oneself."
His brothers told him that this was his fate.
Mixed with the inferior blood of the Western Regions, even if they are made kings, they are still dogs at their feet.
Zhou Huaichuan refused to believe it. So what if he had blood from the Western Regions? So what if he had no children?
His life is his own, so he's determined to fight for that position.
It doesn't matter if the Zhou emperor doesn't give it to him.
He has hands and feet; if they won't give it to him, he'll just steal it.
Zhou Huaichuan looked at Yuan Kong and said, "Buddha does not save people; only people can save themselves. Fate is an illusion. Master, you have come to the wrong person tonight."
"Your Highness has lofty ambitions; this humble monk has spoken too much today."
Yuan Kong took out a string of Buddhist prayer beads from his bosom: "This string of prayer beads was sent back from Xuzhou by my junior brother Yuan Jing a few days ago."
Zhou Huaichuan immediately recognized it as the string of pearls he had given to Chu Xinxin to help her out of a predicament when he was in Xuzhou.
"Before Yuanjing handed this string of prayer beads to His Highness's mother, he soaked one of the beads in a special fragrant oil. When this bead is heated, the character 'Ling' will appear."
Yuan Kong handed the prayer beads to Zhou Huaichuan: "But the string I have in my hand... doesn't have this particular prayer bead."
Zhou Huaichuan took it and rubbed his fingers together: "Master Yuanjing only made one string of them back then?"
“Your Highness, even if the prayer beads come from the same tree, the patterns are different.”
Does "Yuan Kong" mean that Yuan Jing only made one string of characters at the beginning?
Zhou Huaichuan stared at the Buddhist beads, lost in thought.
Yuan Kong did not disturb them, bowed again, and then disappeared into the main hall.
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