epiphany
It was not surprising that Yu He turned his attention to Jiang Nian, but Xiao Yingzhu's hand holding the black piece still paused for a moment.
"Why do you think so?"
The midday sun shone through the window lattice onto the chessboard, casting a faint sheen on the edges. The moment Yu He placed his piece, he found a counter-point and followed suit.
"The county has been in turmoil recently. Since the Fourth Prince is in Cang County, I, as the commander of Emperor Changde's personal army, am concerned that he might make a mistake. Therefore, I have secretly sent people to monitor His Highness's movements to prevent any unforeseen events."
"Therefore, pay attention to the matters that the Fourth Prince values."
Did the eldest princess remind you of Shou Zan?
Jiang Nian's usual behavior should not be considered high-profile, and there are very few things that require her to speak.
Amidst the rustling sounds, Xiao Yingzhu held a piece and slowly placed it on the chessboard.
In the fragmented light, he looked indifferent, as if he was not concerned about it.
"Commander Yu is quite attentive, even noticing such trivial matters."
"I am relieved."
Yu Heluozi's movements slowed down slightly, and he looked at Xiao Yingzhu indifferently.
"This is just my duty. I dare not overstep the boundaries, nor do I dare to interfere in matters that are not my own."
As the white piece landed and the cloud sleeves moved, the chessboard finally became a peaceful place.
The result of this game was not beyond the expectations of either of them.
Because he was not obsessed with the answer to the chess game, after a brief pause, Yu He calmly reached out and returned the chess pieces on the board to their original positions.
Mottled sunlight shone through the neat chessboard. Xiao Yingzhu placed her fingertips on the chess box, tapping it intermittently.
Since I know almost everything I want to know, there is no need to continue playing chess.
There was silence in the main hall for a moment. Yu He withdrew his hands from the table, lowered his eyes and straightened his sleeves which were slightly wrinkled from playing chess.
In some relaxing moments, he always finds time to care about trivial matters.
Until the next round of disputes begins.
If it weren't for these trivial matters, he would probably have been trapped in endless nightmares.
Are ordinary and simple things the only comfort that can relieve psychological trauma?
It's just self-deception.
Xiao Yingzhu had no interest in exploring other people's private affairs. When she stood up and prepared to look for Jiang Nian, she turned back and glanced at Yu He.
"Is Commander Yu still in a nightmare?"
Yu He paused his hand that was tidying up his sleeves, and raised his eyes coldly. His light-colored pupils reflected Xiao Yingzhu's calm face.
"I think Duke Xiao is the one who can empathize with me the most."
Looking at Xiao Yingzhu's calm face, Yu He said coldly, "—This is just forced by the ideals."
—
The officer brought him to the front of the post house, and after finding out which room the soldier lived in, the officer bowed and took his leave.
Jiang Nian stood in front of the door, hesitated for a moment, raised his hand and knocked gently.
Before she had to wait long, the wooden door opened.
The familiar face of the soldier I had seen before appeared before my eyes again.
Jiang Nian suddenly felt uncomfortable when he thought that the person in this body had a new core.
After following him into the house and closing the door behind him, she sighed.
"Don't you have a body of your own?"
The soldier seemed to be in a good mood today. He took out two packets of instant coffee from the kitchen and showed them to her.
Looking at her with that elegant smile, an inexplicable feeling of fatigue rose straight to the bottom of her heart. The bitter smell mixed with plastic filled the entire room. I don’t know what brand of coffee it was, but it even had a latte art effect after dissolving.
"Miss Jiang has come from afar, so I must treat her well." He put down two cups of coffee on the table with a subtle smile. "Unfortunately, we don't have any tea to serve guests here, so I'll use coffee instead."
"I hope the lady doesn't mind."
“…”
Jiang Nian looked at the thing in front of him that obviously would not appear in Huandu, and then looked at the soldiers who had changed into Western-style clothing, and suddenly felt a subtle sense of being in a distorted and mixed time and space.
The current situation was not a good time to argue about "Which is more polite to serve guests, coffee or tea?" She sighed again and sat down opposite the soldier.
Ignoring what she had just said, and considering that when he had seen her in Pingzhou before, he had used the body of an inner worshiper...
It also shows that his background is similar to hers.
It's just that she entered the body of another person unconsciously, while the soldier in front of her consciously made the other person a body to facilitate his walking.
"Is there any nickname I can call you by?"
In line with the idea of adapting to local customs, Jiang Nian held the instant coffee, lowered his eyes, shook it gently, and took a sip.
The soldier crossed his legs and thought for a moment: "Yes, I didn't think it through."
"If it's okay, please call me Lan."
Seeing Jiang Nian's slightly surprised eyes, Lan Ban straightened his body and said in a flat tone: "It's nothing, it's just a nickname for adapting to local customs, isn't it?"
"Miss Jiang, if you have any questions, please ask me directly."
…Let me take this as a scapegoat.
I don’t understand what the complications are between Lan and this era, but after all, he is not from this era, so Jiang Nian asked him questions without being polite.
"As you said, can I regard you as an encyclopedia of this era?"
Lan shook the wall of the cup. Even the low-quality water and the simple cup still looked extraordinarily elegant in his hands.
"If it means being able to answer all your questions, then I am more than capable of doing so."
Jiang Nian nodded and opened the notebook.
His eyes swept over the question that he had not been able to answer at Xizhen just now.
"Does the goddess know that Xiao Yingzhu is in Cang County? In other words, does she know what Xiao Yingzhu is planning?"
Lan looked at her gravely and took a sip of coffee: "She only cares about others and the task at hand."
Does that mean that only the people she cares about and those who are directly related to her mission are worthy of her attention?
It's somewhat similar to what Xizhen described.
Arrogant and hysterical.
Then it makes sense that at the governor's banquet earlier, the courtesan played some strange tunes that did not fit the music.
That gentle look was completely fake.
Jiang Nian lowered his eyes and wrote a few words on the notebook, then looked up at Lan again.
"So she knows I exist?"
Lan put down the coffee, looked at her meaningfully, and then smiled politely.
But perhaps because the body was not his own, the smile looked very cold, not like it came from the heart, but was done for the sake of doing this action, which had a strange sense of disobedience:
"As long as it doesn't interfere with her plans, she can turn a blind eye."
"In her current mental state, she can still maintain a conversation, but if she is provoked by external factors, she may become very terrifying or extremely vulnerable."
"It is easy to be sentimental, and very easy to be vicious."
Lan spoke thoughtfully, and then returned to his usual self, but compared to talking with others, he always seemed so gentle when talking to Jiang Nian.
Even though he himself is not very gentle.
Jiang Nian nodded and continued to ask, "Inside Zuihua Tower—near the top pavilion, is there a hiding place?"
Because of the strict security, the Wu Mi members guarding the top pavilion remembered the appearance of every maid.
It made it easier for her to move around while also restricting her from escaping.
"Yes." Lan pulled out a piece of paper from a pile under the wooden table. "Shou Zan is the one who designed Zui Hua Lou."
“Here are the design sketches from that year.”
"——" Shou Zan was everywhere. Jiang Nian was too tired to complain. After calmly looking at the drawings, he looked up and asked, "Just to digress, why did Shou Zan design Zuihualou here?"
Lan took out the map and spread it on the table, pointing at the two directions of "Princess's Residence" and "State Guesthouse".
"Miss Jiang, haven't you noticed? There are many factors related to Xiao Yingzhu and his previous generation in Cang County."
Jiang Nian blinked when Lan pointed this out.
That's true.
But in the beginning, these mansions were regarded as places for rest and work, so it was natural to assume that these people of prominent status had houses to live wherever they went.
Following Lan's words, she asked aloud, "Why?"
Lan looked at her for a moment, then began to speak to himself, "Do you know how Xiao Yingzhu's parents became involved with Emperor Changde and his sister?"
"Whether you know or not, I'll tell you everything."
"The reason is the Shouchun Banquet."
“The Shouchun Banquet was not originally held in the capital, but in Cang County.
As the prince who was not favored by the late emperor, Meng Sui and Xiao Yingzhu's father were classmates and also friends.
When Xiao Zhi and Yun Ji met, the three of them met to attend the Shouchun Banquet in Cang County. As a result, Yun Ji also met the eldest princess Meng Zhiye, who also came to the Shouchun Banquet to look for her younger brother Meng Sui.
"The four of them had a great time chatting at the Shouchun Banquet, and they agreed to come here every year to compose poetry and music."
"At the same time, Shouzan came to this era and met Meng Zhiye, thus forming a five-member team."
"Many people in the palace discovered that these noble royals were hanging out with the lowly Shouzan of unknown status, and rumors began to spread."
"It just so happened that the late emperor intended to build a new singing and dancing hall in Cang County, so Shou Zan volunteered to take part in it, hoping to gain a place among the nobles and protect the other four from the rumors."
"Because the late emperor loved Meng Zhiye so much, when Meng Zhiye spoke up for Shouzan and got him a chance, it was only to redeem the face he had lost due to the rumors, not for Shouzan."
"In order to dissuade Shouzan from attempting to climb the nobility ladder, the late emperor gave him this opportunity and secretly had another copy prepared. Once Shouzan lost face in public, he used this as an excuse to drive him away from the princess and then used the secretly obtained design to build a singing and dancing hall."
"The result is as you can see."
Jiang Nian lowered his eyes and looked at the exquisitely designed drawing in front of him, then carefully closed it.
"I understand. But I still have a question for you."
Thoughts still lingering on the past, Lan subconsciously thought Jiang Nian wanted to continue asking about the past, so she spoke directly: "If you have any questions, just ask directly."
Jiang Nian shifted his gaze from the slightly yellowed drawing with a complicated expression, and then stared at Lan closely.
"I want to ask you - who are you to Shouzan? Is it a system like the one in the novel?"
"Shou Zan's university major was landscape design, but the sect he founded and the things he designed...are beyond his knowledge, right?"
"Based on their ages, I think Shouzan would have been in his early twenties by the time he arrived in this era. If he were a gifted man, there wouldn't be so many books in the State Guest House's library that don't belong to this era."
"What kind of agreement did you and Shou Zan reach? Shou Zan was so desperate to integrate into the class of the Princess and the Duke at that time. It wasn't just because of Meng Zhiye, right? It wasn't just to have fun with them."
Under Lan's slightly surprised gaze, Jiang Nian took a deep breath and involuntarily exerted force with his fingertips.
"Thinking of the battles that took place after that, I always have a feeling - the apology you are referring to, isn't it to change the correct historical course of this era?"
"...Did you want Shou Zan to prevent the destruction of Huandu at that time?"
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