Chapter 45 The Journey West After the young empress dowager lost him as her support, she...
As winter fades and spring arrives, willow branches sprout tender buds, and after a few spring rains more precious than oil, the earth is instantly tinged with green.
The spring breeze is gentle, the grass is lush and green, and the air is filled with the fragrance of flowers.
In Yaozhou, a procession traveled slowly along the official road. The red-lacquered flat-headed carriage in the middle, pulled by four black horses, was not particularly magnificent, but it was made of a single piece of redwood, with exquisite carvings and simple decorations, exuding nobility in its understated manner.
The carriage floor was constructed of highly resilient beech wood, with a cushioning system between the floor and the axle. In addition, the four wheels were covered with durable leather, ensuring that the carriage could travel smoothly and steadily even on bumpy dirt roads.
Looking at the bodyguards escorting the vehicles, they were all mounted on horseback, with burly figures, strong muscles, long swords at their waists, and piercing eyes that revealed a chilling murderous aura.
At a teahouse along the way, the Guo family, who were on their way to the capital to take up their new posts as Chengzhilang, were resting and drinking tea. Zhao Shi, watching the approaching caravan, fanned herself and couldn't help but complain to her husband:
"Look how smoothly that carriage is moving. I see there's no official insignia on it, so it's probably a wealthy merchant from the east. In this world, even merchants can afford to keep their own guards, but you, an official, lead a bunch of good-for-nothings. Two of you have already fallen ill from the cold on the road. If we run into robbers, who knows who will be protecting whom!"
Lord Guo leisurely cracked open some melon seeds, accepting all of his wife's complaints with a smile, and chimed in, "Yes, yes, just with my wife's incessant chatter, she could nag a whole bunch of people to death!"
Zhao shoved her husband, downed two bowls of tea, and then turned to nag about her youngest daughter:
"Pan'er, what kind of idle book are you reading again? You're always engrossed in a book, never stopping. Be careful you don't ruin your eyesight and end up never getting married..."
Guo Pan'er had just turned fourteen this year, a time when a young girl was beginning to understand things. She was engrossed in a book and retorted without looking up, "Mother, this isn't just a casual book. It's a new storybook written by the Jade Steps Immortal. It's said that all the noble ladies in the capital are reading it. Mother doesn't want me to be laughed at by the noble ladies of other households for being a country bumpkin after I come to the capital..."
While the Guo family was talking, the convoy that Zhao was discussing passed by the tea stall and stopped to rest under the shade of a tree.
Zhao looked curiously at the group resting under the shade of the tree. She saw that the tall and strong bodyguards were guarding the two carriages with serious expressions, and not one of them went to the tea stall to ask for a drink of water.
A moment later, the heavily covered lotus-colored curtain embroidered with bird patterns on the red-lacquered carriage was lifted slightly, and a pretty woman peeked out:
"Chief镖林, Madam would like to drink the tea from the tea stall."
Lin, the bodyguard whose name was called, ran over. He looked embarrassed and whispered a few words to the maid.
"Madam has been traveling for a month and is feeling tightness in her chest. She can't eat or sleep well, and she vomited up everything she just ate. She just wants a cup of hot tea to wake herself up. Why don't you go and ask the master what he thinks?"
No sooner had the maid finished speaking than the sound of a woman retching came from inside the carriage.
"Lin Mu, go and pour a cup of tea for Madam." The man's voice was as clear and cold as snow-covered pine trees.
Not only Zhao, but even Guo Pan'er was attracted by the man's voice. She couldn't help but look up from her book and see the man in the carriage in front of her lift up the light blue gauze curtain, glance at the tea stall with a faint expression, and then lower the curtain.
This fleeting glimpse startled Guo Pan'er so much that she almost dropped the storybook in her hand.
Good heavens, how can someone look exactly like Prime Minister Pei, the subject of Jade Steps Immortal's writing?
The man had striking features: sword-like eyebrows, bright eyes, a high nose bridge, and an exceptionally handsome appearance. He possessed a noble air, especially his slightly upturned phoenix eyes, whose sharp, hawk-like gaze seemed to see through the secrets of people's hearts.
Guo Pan'er's heart pounded faster, and her cheeks flushed as red as ripe apples. When she looked at the scene in the storybook where Prime Minister Pei forcibly kissed Consort Chu, she couldn't help but imagine the man's appearance. Suddenly, she felt that the top scholar she had always been obsessed with was no longer appealing.
Zhao was also impressed by the man's outstanding demeanor, but she was more curious about the woman in the carriage. She wondered why the lady and master of the house were sitting in separate carriages.
Such a distant manner, could it be that they had a fight?
Lin Mu carried the teapot, filled it with hot tea from the tea stall owner, and then sent it to the carriage.
After drinking the tea, the woman in the carriage instructed her maid to deliver a tip to the tea stall owner.
Zhao looked at the mysterious group of people and became increasingly curious. So she prepared a plate of candied fruit and wanted to go up to the family to sound them out.
No sooner had she stood up than Lord Guo yanked her back down.
"What's gotten into you? I just wanted to talk to that young lady. Her chest tightness and shortness of breath could be due to motion sickness, or... well, judging from her voice, the lady in the car shouldn't be very old. Maybe it's her first pregnancy. I just wanted to kindly remind her!"
Lord Guo's felt hat was soaked with cold sweat. He covered Zhao's mouth tightly and scolded in a low voice, "Foolish woman, shut up now! If you go and provoke that family, I will divorce you!"
After eighteen years of marriage, this was the first time Zhao had ever seen her husband so angry, and she was stunned.
Fortunately, the carriages that had been parked under the shade of the trees started moving again, and the convoy drove away from the tea stall in an orderly manner.
The more Zhao thought about it, the more wronged she felt. When her husband let go, she angrily threw the remaining half-cup of tea at him, crying and cursing as she pointed at his nose and yelled:
"Guo Tiezhu, I married you against my parents' wishes, and after only a few days of being promoted, before I even arrived in the capital, you've already started to get arrogant! You actually want to divorce me! Pan'er, quickly get your fifth-rank official father pen and paper, and tell him to divorce me. I'll take the divorce papers to the academy to sue him for abandoning his wife..."
With his head covered in tea shards, Lord Guo endured his wife's beatings and scoldings. He stared intently at the departing carriage, like a terminally ill patient watching the departing Black and White Impermanence, his ashen face gradually regaining its vitality.
Before heading to the capital to take up his post, he wrote a letter to his colleagues in the capital to carefully inquire about the situation and dynamics in the court, so as not to accidentally step into a dangerous situation upon his arrival.
A month ago, the Regent handed over the power of assisting the government to Minister Shen and Chief Official Lin, and set off to inspect the Beiting camp.
As for the young empress dowager who assisted the regent in governing the country, it is said that she contracted smallpox after the Lantern Festival. In order to avoid infecting the young emperor, the young empress dowager requested to go to the imperial palace in the suburbs of Beijing to recuperate.
Lord Guo had served as the magistrate of Huzhou for ten years, but was always assigned to other places and never had the chance to see the emperor. However, he was a meticulous man, and when he heard the maid in the caravan say that she had "come from the east and traveled for nearly a month," his heart skipped a beat.
After carefully examining the other party's carriage and entourage, Lord Guo was able to roughly guess the other party's identity.
However... if the man in the carriage in front is the Regent, then who is the mysterious woman in the carriage behind?
Lord Guo already had the answer in his heart.
He would swallow this answer, even if it meant taking it to the grave, to avoid inviting disaster.
————
Inside the spacious and bright carriage, Chu Yueyuan was unaware that her Tree Hole Alliance had gained a new member.
From the capital to Yaozhou, from the Awakening of Insects to the Spring Equinox, I watched as the magnificent land of the Great Qi gradually turned green, and all things revived and flourished.
Chu Yueyuan's spirits, however, deteriorated day by day.
The reason for this is that she couldn't be seen by anyone along the way.
Queen Xixia, desiring to establish friendly relations with the Great Qi, sent an envoy to convey her intention to set up a border market between the two countries for trade and to sincerely invite Queen Xixia to come to Xixia to discuss the details of the alliance.
The Xixia envoys also made it clear that their queen only wished to meet the queen of the Great Qi Dynasty—the Grand Empress Dowager—and would not see any other male officials.
When the Xixia envoy made this request, the ministers in the Hall of Diligent Governance were so angry that they glared and cursed the small country of Xixia, saying that it had always revered women and that this was a reversal of the natural order. They questioned why the Great Qi should lower itself to befriend such a small country that had such a distorted social order.
When Chu Yueyuan first heard about this, she was surprised but treated it as an amusing incident and didn't take it to heart. After all, she was just a puppet empress dowager, and these matters concerning the country and the nation were to be decided by the powerful regent, and it was not her place to worry about them.
However, a month later, Lin Sizhou came to the Phoenix Perch Palace to convey the Regent's secret edict, instructing Chu Yueyuan to prepare in advance for a visit to the Western Xia Kingdom with the Regent.
Not long after she secretly set off, news spread in the palace that she had contracted smallpox.
Throughout the journey, Chu Yueyuan either stayed in the stuffy carriage to catch up on sleep or rested at the post stations along the way, which made her feel short of breath and chest tightness as soon as she entered the carriage.
"Commander Lin told me that we will be able to enter Cizhou tonight, at which time Your Highness will not need to stay in the carriage."
Cizhou is adjacent to Beiting, and most of the local officials and generals are people whom the regent has supported over the years. They can keep their eyes and mouths shut and will not let the news leak out.
Jin Tong placed the freshly peeled orange peel into a pale yellow brocade sachet and said, "Your Highness, read less books, or you'll ruin your eyes. After you finish this bowl of nourishing soup, take a nap, and when you wake up, you'll be at the post station."
Chu Yueyuan leaned against the low rosewood couch, took the sachet and held it under her nose, shaking her head listlessly: "Sleeping for seven or eight hours every day, my bones are almost soft from all the sleep. I'll watch for a while longer, you go and rest first."
Jin Tong, unable to resist, had no choice but to open the lotus-colored embroidered bird-patterned carriage curtain a crack.
Bright sunlight streamed through the gaps and fell on the book, illuminating the map of the Western Xia Kingdom drawn on the paper.
Chu Yueyuan's gaze fell on a mountain range in the north of Xixia Kingdom, a place called Gaotan Mountain.
She often heard Lord Lin mention the name Gaotanshan when she was stamping the phoenix seal in the Qin Zheng Hall.
Whenever the topic comes up, his words become intense, and a faint blush rises to his fair face: "To remove the fuel from under the pot, to eradicate the weeds at the root, Gaotanshan is precisely the iron clamp that removes the fuel and the sickle that eradicates the weeds!"
The Gaotan Mountains have a range of about 100 kilometers that border the Canglang Kingdom, and there is no miasma barrier. Logically speaking, the local Xixia people should have suffered from frequent raids by the Canglang cavalry, just like the people on the border of the Great Qi Kingdom.
Fortunately, the mountains here are steep and straight, as if cleaved by a giant axe. The Xixia people only need to guard the key points of the mountain road, which is easy to defend and difficult to attack, and can fight against a hundred enemies.
Therefore, the local people were able to live in peace.
Based on recent developments in the court, Chu Yueyuan vaguely guessed the reason why the Regent was going to secretly visit Xixia Kingdom.
Although the war between Daqi and Canglang Kingdom has entered the peace negotiation stage, the Canglang people are cruel and have no integrity whatsoever. Whenever snow is about to fall, the border becomes a hell on earth. They rob Daqi herdsmen of their cattle and sheep, cut off the heads of local men and hang them on their horses as war trophies, and kidnap children to be enslaved and women to be taken into their warm tents.
The cavalry of the Azure Wolves roared down from the mountaintop, like a vast black cloud, raining down blood wherever they went, causing widespread devastation.
They were cruel butchers who treated the people of Daqi like livestock, slaughtering and trampling them wantonly.
Especially in the later years of Emperor Wu's reign, the princes were busy seizing fertile lands, and no one was willing to take over the besieged Beiting, thus wasting the troops they had painstakingly trained.
The local people of Beiting were burned, killed, and robbed by the Canglang people. In order to survive, they had no choice but to migrate dozens of miles to the east. The following year, they migrated dozens of miles again.
Day after day, year after year, the Great Qi lost its majestic mountains, fertile grasslands, and the hearts of its people.
The appearance of the Floating Pagoda Army was like a gust of wind sweeping through the territory of Beiting. This powerful gale tore the dark clouds that covered the area into pieces, making them unable to gather again, and the blood rain could not fall on the heads of the local people.
Chu Yueyuan thought to herself, "Fortunately, Beiting was taken over by Pei Muwei. Otherwise, the Great Qi would have been doomed long ago, with a prince who was not actually paid and foreigners eyeing it from the outside."
Now, Pei Muwei wants to take advantage of the Xixia Kingdom's influence to completely dispel the dark clouds that have lingered over the northwest border of the Great Qi for many years.
Chu Yueyuan calmly closed the book.
Of course, these were all her guesses, since she hadn't met a man since leaving the palace.
The carriage she was riding in was only three zhang (approximately 10 meters) apart from his, but because they deliberately kept their distance from each other, it seemed as if there was a whole world between them.
Her previous words had deeply wounded the man's pride.
Given his proud nature, once he said he wouldn't bother her, he meant it.
Chu Yueyuan was not worried that he would go back on his word.
"I've heard that in the Kingdom of Xixia, women are revered. The ruler is a woman, the officials in the court are women, and even those who go out to make a living are women. Your Highness, what do you think the men in the Kingdom of Xixia do? Do they stay at home embroidering peanuts and having children?"
Jin Tong noticed that Chu Yueyuan was staring blankly at the scenery outside the window, so she came over and asked.
Chu Yueyuan rolled up the book and tapped Jin Tong on the head: "Nonsense, how can a man give birth?"
Xu Mama did not accompany Chu Yueyuan westward. Xiao Yun was too young and needed to be looked after by trusted confidants. With Xu Mama gone, Chu Yueyuan and Jin Tong inevitably reverted to their carefree state before marriage.
Jin Tong covered her head and playfully stuck out her tongue: "Your Highness knows a lot, so tell me why women in Xixia Kingdom are more noble than men?"
Chu Yueyuan felt a breeze for a while and felt less tightness in her chest, so she sat up, peeled an orange, and slowly said:
"About a hundred years ago, Xixia was still called the Red Kingdom. Legend has it that the Red Kingdom had a licentious and cruel ruler named Ji Wei. Ji Wei was obsessed with the bodies of young women and took pleasure in torturing them, and the men of the kingdom followed suit. At that time, women in the Red Kingdom had a very low status, even lower than cattle and sheep, and could be bought and sold at will..."
"It is said that Ji Weijun's tyranny angered the true god, who sent down an earth dragon to punish him. Since then, the men of the Red Kingdom have been cursed. If they marry women from other races, no matter how carefully the women take care of their babies during pregnancy, they will give birth to stillborn babies. However, if women from the Red Kingdom marry men from other races, they can all give birth smoothly."
"In order to retain the local women, the men of the Red Kingdom initially treated them with great courtesy. Over time, the men of the Red Kingdom accepted that women held a noble status. Later, a capable and shrewd female ruler named Feng emerged in the Red Kingdom. She changed the name of the country to Xixia and drafted laws that allowed women to inherit the throne, serve as officials in the court, and engage in business outside the kingdom..."
"From then on, the throne of Xixia was passed down through generations of women..."
Jin Tong listened intently and immediately pressed for an answer: "Are the women of Xixia Kingdom like the rumors say, able to marry... no... able to 'marry' many husbands?"
Chu Yueyuan shook her head: "Those are all rumors spread by outsiders. When I was attending court in the Hall of Diligent Governance, I remember the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies saying that, apart from the Queen and a few princesses, ordinary people in Xixia Kingdom practice monogamy. Of course, women in Xixia have high status, and if they do not wish to marry, they have no shortage of gold and silver and can keep male servants and entertainers..."
Upon hearing this, Jin Tong's eyes lit up with longing, and she sincerely wished, "If only the men of the Great Qi could also be cursed by the true god."
Chu Yueyuan broke off a segment of orange and put it in her mouth, her bright eyes smiling: "Yes, my family is quite wealthy, raising a dozen or so handsome men is no problem, I'll share half with you."
Jin Tong's face flushed red, and she whispered, "Two are enough for me..."
———
As darkness fell, twenty carriages passed the boundary marker of Cizhou and drove into a post station beside the official road.
The bright moonlight illuminated a line of words on the boundary marker: Qinghu Mountain of Cizhou, the southern border of the Great Qi, 120 li to the west of the border.
In the stillness of the night, Lin Mu pushed open the door, bowed respectfully to the Regent behind the desk, and said:
"Your Highness, I have found two cooks at a tavern in the nearby Majia Town. Tonight's dinner has been sent to the Empress Dowager. Miss Jintong said that His Highness ate more than yesterday."
Pei Muwei leaned on the edge of the table with both hands, a candle burning in the candlestick, the candlelight casting a long shadow of his tall figure on the wall.
His gaze never left the topographical map spread out on the table, and he asked in a calm tone, "Where are Lord Shen and Major General Meng now?"
"Your Highness, the two of them have been traveling at full speed and have already entered Yaozhou territory. They should be able to catch up with our group in less than three days."
The window was open, the candlelight flickered, and the man's sharply defined profile was illuminated and dimmed. He released his hand from the edge of the table, straightened up, and gave a cold, mocking laugh:
"They caught up quickly."
Lin Mu couldn't tell whether the Regent's words were a praise of Lord Shen and General Meng, or something else entirely.
Since leaving the capital, the prince's temper has become increasingly unpredictable. Even the fearless Empress Dowager has to keep her at arm's length. He has no choice but to rack his brains every day to subtly inquire about the Empress Dowager's recent situation from Miss Jin.
Jin is such a kind girl, with a sweet appearance and a lively personality. Last time, she even gave him a cup of thirst-quenching bayberry drink.
"You may leave."
Lin Mu snapped out of his daze, clasped his hands in acceptance of the order, nodded, and withdrew.
Pei Muwei once again turned his gaze to the undulating mountain range on the topographic map.
Below the mountain range, a line of text is written in detail: Gaotan Mountain—stretching 115 li in length and width, 6,000 chi in height, with a winding mountain range, deep clouds and heavy fog. To the north, the mountain range stretches for a thousand li of green, where a fortified city is built, named Tianju.
Tianju was once a territory conquered by the First Emperor of the Great Qi Dynasty. Later, Tianju City was built on Gaotan Mountain. The grasslands below Tianju City were lush and fertile, producing many fine horses. It was once the largest horse farm in the Great Qi Dynasty. Later, this area was gradually encroached upon by the Canglang people, who lived a nomadic life, and was eventually completely annexed during the reign of Emperor Shang.
The Canglang people raised fierce warhorses on the fertile grasslands, and then rode these warhorses to burn, kill, and plunder the herders on the border of the Great Qi.
Pei Muwei secretly traveled to Xixia under the pretext of inspecting Beiting, without taking his old subordinates such as Lin Sizhou and General Kan with him. Firstly, he left them behind to stabilize the situation in the capital, and secondly, he did not want to arouse suspicion among the ministers in the court who advocated peace talks with Canglang Kingdom.
Just as Chu Yueyuan guessed, Pei Muwei's purpose in this trip was not only to establish a border market with Xixia Kingdom.
Instead, they wanted to retake Tianju City.
The war between the Great Qi and the Canglang tribe has lasted intermittently for nearly ten years. Wars always involve expenses, which have fattened up many corrupt officials. They have managed to plunder military pay, military rations, supplies and medicines, and even the post-war compensation money.
These ruthless rats have profited immensely from the war and are most eager for the two countries to reach a peace agreement.
After a year or two of recuperation, the greed of the Canglang tribe gradually increased, the Great Qi recovered some of its strength, war broke out again, and gold and silver were reborn.
Therefore, calls for peace negotiations gradually overshadowed those for war in the court.
The only way is to finish the battle quickly and then deal with these rats.
During the year that Pei Muwei held power, the reforms began to show results, but the nobles in the court were all from families that had inherited their positions for centuries, and the people he supported had not yet fully established themselves in the court.
Among the rising stars in the court, Shen Zizhan and Meng Xun are the most outstanding, one a scholar and the other a warrior, both capable of shouldering heavy responsibilities.
Coincidentally, both of these men had close relationships with the young empress dowager.
Pei Muwei did not choose another person because of this friendship. On the contrary, to prove that he could take things in stride, he ordered Shen Zizhan and Meng Xun to be included in the westward journey.
As for the slightest favor he showed the young empress dowager on the way, it was only because the woman was still of use.
Pei Muwei expressionlessly twirled the sandalwood prayer beads on his wrist, his dark eyes, illuminated by the candlelight, devoid of warmth.
Moreover, he also needed to see clearly how the young empress dowager would attach herself to others after losing him as her support.
———
The weather was bright and sunny that day, the sky was as blue as a clear lake, without a single cloud.
Chu Yueyuan got into the carriage early as usual. She flipped through some miscellaneous books and taught Jin Tong to play chess for a while. Just as she was about to take a nap, she suddenly heard a light knocking sound outside the carriage window.
Jin Tong rolled up the bamboo curtain, and a look of surprise immediately appeared on her face: "Lord Shen!"
Shen Zizhan smiled slightly, his voice clear and melodious: "Miss Jintong, may I ask if the Empress Dowager has retired for the night?"
Chu Yueyuan was equally surprised when she heard Shen Zizhan's voice. She got up, walked around the peony embroidered screen, and saw Shen Zizhan riding a white horse through the open carriage window.
The man was tall and handsome, with clear eyes reflecting the vast blue sky, and a gentle, pure smile on his lips.
"Lord Shen, what are you doing here?"
Shen Zizhan bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I am here to escort you to Xixia on behalf of the Regent. To avoid being seen, we set off from the capital only half a month ago."
The Regent brought the entire Shen family onto the ship, indicating that the purpose of this westward journey was indeed not simple.
Although none of this concerned her, seeing an old friend in a foreign land was always a pleasant surprise. Chu Yueyuan's eyebrows relaxed, and she said gently:
"Lord Shen caught up with the main group in just half a month. You must have been eating and sleeping in the open along the way. The plum juice that the cook made yesterday tasted quite good. When we rest at the post station, I will have Jin Tong send you a pot of it."
"Your Majesty, I thank you."
Shen Zizhan untied the bag on his back, his eyes as clear as amber: "When I passed through Shu Prefecture, I visited Lei Shanren on the way. We got along very well and he gave me a guqin. The journey is long. If Your Majesty finds it boring, you may play the guqin to pass the time."
After saying this, he presented the package with both hands.
Chu Yueyuan hesitated for a moment, but seeing the gentle smile in the man's eyes, she still accepted the package from Shen Zizhan.
Shen Zizhan's smile deepened: "I still need to report to the Regent about recent events in the court, so I will not disturb the Empress Dowager any longer."
After Jin Tong closed the car window, Chu Yueyuan began to unpack the package on the table. The brocade was peeled off layer by layer, and with each layer uncovered, the subtle pine resin became stronger, until the last layer of brocade was lifted, revealing a guqin.
"Your Highness, this zither is so beautiful!" Jin Tong turned her head and saw the zither on the tea table, and couldn't help but praise it.
The instrument has a smooth body, wider at the top and narrower at the bottom, and is lacquered in purple. It has white jade tuning pegs, a sandalwood tailpiece, and small crackle patterns. It has seven strings.
Chu Yueyuan frowned slightly, her eyes flickering softly, and she murmured, "The Fuxi Qin..."
The Lei family of Shuzhou is a family of qin makers with a history of over a century. Their exquisite craftsmanship is renowned far and wide, and their Fuxi Qin is the most precious among them. Many Lei family qin makers can only make one in their entire lives.
She once played "Wild Geese Descending on the Sandbank" in front of Shen Zizhan. At that time, Shen Zizhan said that the music was profound and that if she were to play a guqin like the Fuxi Qin, with its warm, strong, and clear sound, the music would reach an even higher level.
Chu Yueyuan laughed and said that the Fuxi Qin was too precious, and she could probably only play it in her dreams.
At that moment, the man looked at her with tender and affectionate eyes, and said that he would definitely find a Fuxi Qin for her.
Aside from his promise to marry her, he fulfilled everything else.
Chu Yueyuan gazed at the guqin in front of her and sighed softly. What's done is done. His persistence only made her feel guilty and uneasy.
After all, she was the one who broke her promise first.
With a gentle touch of the fingertips across the cool strings, a lively melody, like the colliding of jade, instantly flowed forth.
What a fine instrument!
"Knock, knock!" The knocking sound came from the window frame again.
Chu Yueyuan thought it was Shen Zizhan returning, so she asked Jin Tong to open the car window. What she saw was Meng Xun's bright and cheerful smiling face.
"Meng Xun, you... how did you get here?"
Seeing the woman's wide, bright eyes, Meng Xun resisted the urge to pinch her fair cheeks. He bowed respectfully and said, "This humble official, Meng Xun, greets Your Majesty the Empress Dowager."
"Your Highness is hereby ordered by the Regent to protect you on the journey."
It's the Regent's order again!
Chu Yueyuan was completely bewildered. She couldn't understand the Regent's intention in arranging all the men she had connections with into the westward journey team. Was he trying to gather enough people to play mahjong with him?
Will Li Sanlang be next?
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