The sandalwood fragrance curled up, and the faint candlelight swayed with the slight ups and downs of the waves.
She saw the blue sea and the clear agate light. When she turned around, there was a huge abyss with no end under the sea.
The deep and huge darkness was frightening. There was a hallucinatory chaotic sound in her ears, and a yellow figure jumped into the water.
The moment she sat up, the noise faded into the surrounding darkness. In front of her was still the cabin that she had gradually become familiar with, the bedding with a little fragrance after being smoked every day, a little star candle, and the undulating waves outside the window.
There was a rustling sound of getting up from the outside of the cabin.
"Your Highness, are you awake?"
"It's okay. You don't have to come in."
Zhou Pei replied and sat quietly on the candlelight bed for a while. She turned her head to look at the sky outside, and then put on her clothes.
When she got out of bed and walked to the outer room, the maid Xiao Song in the compartment had already quietly got up. After asking Zhou Pei if she wanted to wash up, she followed her outside.
Through the aisle of the cabin, there were still orange lanterns shining, extending to the door leading to the main deck. Leaving the inner cabin and going to the deck, the sky on the sea was still not bright. The waves were undulating on the sea, and the stars and moon in the sky were like embedded in the gray transparent glass. At the end of the field of vision, the sky and the sea merged into one in the boundless place.
Looking back, the huge dragon boat was blurred with lights, like a palace sailing on the sea.
Ten years ago, in order to facilitate Zhou Yong's escape, countless craftsmen pieced together more than a dozen large ships and carried out various modifications to build this huge Sea Dragon Palace, which was like a land even on the windy sea. After moving to Lin 'an, the dragon boat was moored on the dock of the Qiantang River, and various craftsmen's ingenious ideas were integrated. In this quiet night, looking back, it was really magnificent and graceful.
But in Zhou Pei's heart, it was difficult to have any ups and downs.
The huge dragon boat fleet had been drifting on the sea for three months. It was summer when they left Lin 'an, but now it was approaching the Mid-Autumn Festival. During these three months, many things happened on the boat. Zhou Pei's mood changed from despair to despair. At the end of June, when her father came over and the surrounding guards avoided her, Zhou Pei jumped from the side of the ship.
Then, the first figure to jump into the sea was Zhou Yong in a royal robe.
Ever since the Lady Zhenren started her journey to the south, Zhou Yong had been living in fear. His body had once become so thin that he looked like a bag of bones. He had indulged in debauchery in the past, and now, his physique was even weaker. However, on this day at the end of June, when his daughter jumped into the sea, not many people could explain Zhou Yong's conditioned reflex at that moment — he, who had always been afraid of death, jumped into the sea.
His jumping into the sea was of no practical use. If it weren't for the guards who jumped into the sea to save them, the father and daughter would have drowned in the sea.
But because of this action, after being rescued, Zhou Pei's hatred towards Zhou Yong gradually turned into more complicated emotions. She cried in the room for half a day, no longer willing to see Zhou Yong. But after that, Zhou Yong gradually fell ill. It was a minor illness at first, but it gradually worsened in mid-July. At this time, he was paralyzed on the bed, unable to get out of bed.
Under such circumstances, whether it was hatred or despicableness, for Zhou Pei, it seemed to have become an empty thing.
She sat on the deck under the night sky, quietly watching the stars and the moon. The autumn sea breeze blew over, bringing with it the smell of blood and moisture. Her maid, Xiao Song, stood quietly behind her. Unknowingly, Zhou Pei tilted her head slightly and noticed that there were tears on Xiao Song's face.
She opened up a seat on the bench and said, "Sit."
"I wouldn't dare."
"You are the granddaughter of Husband Zhao, aren't you?"
"… Yes." Xiao Song wiped her tears, "I … just remembered the poem that Grandpa taught me."
"I heard it … The bright moon rises on the sea, the ends of the earth share this moment … You are also from a scholarly family. When I was in Lin 'an, I heard someone mention your name." Zhou Pei tilted her head and whispered. The Husband Zhao she mentioned was Zhao Ding. When they abandoned Lin 'an, Zhou Yong summoned Qin Hui and others to the boat, as well as Zhao Ding, but Zhao Ding didn't come. He only sent several promising grandchildren of his family to the dragon boat, "You shouldn't be a servant …"
As she said so, Zhao Xiaosong, who was behind her, couldn't suppress the emotions in his heart. He cried more and more fiercely and reached out to wipe his tears. Zhou Pei felt sad. She understood why Zhao Xiaosong was so sad. In front of her, the autumn moon was rippling, and the sea breeze was quiet. She thought of the bright moon rising on the sea, the ends of the earth share this moment. However, her family and grandfather in Lin 'an had probably died under the butcher's knife of the Female Immortal. The whole Lin' an was probably going to be burned at this time.
This intense sadness gripped her mind tightly, making her heart hurt like being squeezed by a huge iron hammer. However, there was no emotion on Zhou Pei's face. She quietly looked at the sky and the sea in front of her and slowly opened her mouth.
"If I remember correctly, when Xiaosong was in Lin 'an, she was known as a talented woman. You are 16 this year, right? Have you ever been engaged? Do you have a sweetheart? "
Zhao Xiaosong shook his head sadly. Zhou Pei looked indifferent. This year, she was nearly thirty years old. Her marriage was unfortunate, and she had been busy with many things. In the blink of an eye, more than ten years had passed. At this time, all the busyness had finally turned into an empty existence. She looked at Zhao Xiaosong, and vaguely, she could see herself from more than ten years ago when she was still a young girl.
"It's okay if you don't. In such times, love will inevitably turn into something hurtful in the end. When I was your age, I was very envious of the games of gifted scholars and beautiful women circulating in the market. In retrospect, when we left Lin 'an, it was the fifth of May, the Dragon Boat Festival, right? More than ten years ago in Jiangning, there was a poem about the Dragon Boat Festival. I don't know if you have heard it … "
Zhou Pei recalled the poem and slowly and softly recited it, "Light sweat slightly penetrates the blue Wan, the Ming Dynasty Dragon Boat Festival baths fragrant orchids. The fragrance blooms and fills the clear river. The colorful thread gently wraps around the red jade arm, and the small talisman hangs on the green cloud. Beauty meets … for a thousand years … "
She recited the charming poem to the end, and her voice gradually became inaudible. She just smiled, "Now, it's almost the Mid-Autumn Festival, and there's a poem about the Mid-Autumn Festival … When is the bright moon, I ask the blue sky with a cup of wine … I don't know the heavenly palace, what year is it this evening …"
This low recitation turned into singing, and it sounded light and soft on the deck. Zhao Xiaosong knew the author of this poem. In the past, these poems were also circulated in the mouth of the young ladies of Lin 'an. However, the one that came out of the mouth of the Princess Royal was a singing method and tune that Zhao Xiaosong had never heard before.
She looked at the Princess in front of her and saw that her face was still as calm as water, but there seemed to be countless things in the words. She still couldn't understand these things now. It was more than ten years ago, the seemingly endless sound of peace and prosperity flowing like water …
Xiaosong listened to the voice, and the sorrow in her heart was gradually infected. She didn't know when, but she subconsciously asked, "Your Highness, I heard that the gentleman was really your teacher back then?"
This was not something she should have asked. As soon as her voice fell, she saw that in the dim light, the Eldest Princess, who had a calm expression, pressed her forehead. Time was merciless like a wheel, and in that instant, her tears flowed down.
The news from the mainland had arrived a few days ago.
For the crisis of Lin 'an, Zhou Yong was not ready to escape in advance. The dragon boat fleet left in a hurry. In the beginning, they were afraid of being caught by the Female Zhenren, so they did not dare to dock at will. After drifting on the sea for more than two months, they stopped for a while and sent people ashore to inquire about the news.
The news came back four days ago. After reading it, Zhou Yong vomited blood and fainted. When he woke up, he summoned Zhou Pei. This was the first time that the father and daughter met after Zhou Pei jumped into the sea at the end of June.
At this time, Zhou Yong's illness worsened. He was skinny and could no longer get up. He looked at Zhou Pei who came over and handed her the news. There was only deep sorrow on his face. That day, Zhou Pei also finished reading the news. Her body trembled and she gradually cried.
Since Zhou Yong abandoned Lin 'an and left, the situation in the world was brewing in chaos for the whole of May. By June, the outline had already appeared. In June and July, many forces that originally belonged to the Wu dynasty had begun to express their positions. On the surface, most of the troops and governors still held the slogan of loyalty to the Wu dynasty. But with the sweep of the Female Zhenren army, more and more people changed sides.
In such a situation, the land of Jiangnan was the first to bear the brunt. In June, Jiaxing, an important town near Lin 'an, refused to surrender and was captured by the rebels and the Female Zhenren army. The Female Zhenren massacred the city for ten days. At the end of June, Suzhou surrendered, and the important towns in the Taihu basin expressed their positions one after another. As for July, more than half of the cities surrendered.
From the shores of the Yangtze River to Lin 'an, this was the most prosperous and populous core of the Wu dynasty. There were stubborn resisters, but they appeared increasingly powerless. The excessive authority of the military generals, which had once been criticized by the civil officials of the Wu dynasty, finally began to appear throughout the world. In Jiangnan's West Road, the military and political officials were unable to unify their orders, and rebellion broke out. General Hong Dou led his troops into the Jizhou government and imprisoned all the officials, raising the flag of surrender. In Fujian Road, the two armies that had been arranged there were already preparing to fight.
Liu Guangshi, who had gone south from Xiangyang, entered the Dongting Lake area and began to divide up the land. At the same time, friction arose between him and the Niuhan troops in the north and the Miaojiang Black Flag troops who had invaded Changsha. In a situation where countless people and countless powers began to move in a grandiose manner, the Female Zhenren had already issued their orders, urging all the troops of the Wu dynasty, who had already surrendered in name, to break camp and advance westward. The vanguard of their weapons pointed directly at the Black Flag. A great battle that would truly decide the ownership of the world was imminent.
Under these circumstances, the authority that had once belonged to the Wu dynasty had already collapsed in front of everyone's eyes.
The destruction of a dynasty might take several years, but for Zhou Yong and Zhou Pei, all of this, all of this great chaos, was perhaps not the most important.
In July, Jun Wu, who had attacked Jiangning, refused all the orders of the small court in Lin 'an, maintained military discipline, and did not retreat or surrender. At the same time, the hundreds of thousands of troops under Zong Fu's command, together with the Han army that had already gathered here and the Wu dynasty troops that had surrendered one after another, began to launch a fierce attack on Jiangning. By the end of July, they had arrived near Jiangning. The total number of troops attacking had already reached over a million. Half of these troops had once been under the command and control of the crown prince, Jun Wu. After Zhou Yong left, they changed sides one after another.
Wanyan Zongfu had declared that even if Jiangning was an iron city, he would melt it into a pot of molten iron.
While the world was in turmoil, the Zhenren's westward march had just begun. In June and July, Jiangning became the center of the fiercest war in the world. The Wu Dynasty had already collapsed. Only the former Crown Prince of the Wu Dynasty remained. He led the troops of Majestic Mountain and Subdued Sea. They were like giant beasts of despair whose homes had been destroyed. They stubbornly and tragically resisted on the ruins.
In front of them, the enemy was still surging forward like a tide.
No one knew how long such tenacity could last in the future.
"I'm sorry, Jun Wu … I'm sorry … my son …"
Perhaps the day he threw himself into the sea had taken away his life force, as well as his fear. At that moment, Zhou Yong's rationality had gradually returned. Amidst Zhou Pei's cries, he could only mutter those words.
That afternoon, he summoned all the officials in the small court and decided to abdicate. He would pass his throne to Jun Wu, who was in danger, and give him one last helping hand. But not long after, the officials objected. Qin Hui and the others put forward all kinds of practical opinions, arguing that this would do harm to the Wu dynasty and Jun Wu.
Zhou Yong fainted amidst the quarrel and clamor of the officials.
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