Fuyao's heart skipped a beat.
Who was Ru Han? His … sister? Lover?
She remained silent, not wanting to ask. Since Zong Yue had brought it up, it meant that he was finally willing to talk about the past with her. She was only responsible for listening.
"She was my fiancée. We were betrothed before we were even born. I didn't like her when I was young. She was just a silly girl from a rich family, but she liked to play with spears and sticks. She didn't seem to like me either. She said in front of everyone that I couldn't carry a basket, couldn't carry a load, and was a complete piece of trash. We parted in a fit of anger and swore that I would marry anyone but her."
He smiled and stroked the ancient xun in his hand. His eyes looked far into the distant horizon. The days when the two of them hated each other as childhood sweethearts had long been pressed into a thin leaf bookmark in an old book, revealing the old meridians of time. It was so brittle and fragile that he didn't dare to pick it up easily. He was afraid that the moment his fingers touched it, it would turn into eternal memory dust with a "pa" sound.
"Later on, that year, my family … was attacked. My family either died or fled. Under the protection of my family's guards, I traveled 3,000 miles day and night, escaping death countless times. Finally, I escaped with my life. At that time, the enemy was too powerful, and no one dared to defend my family's innocence. Actually, it was common sense. What's wrong with people being wise and wise to protect themselves?"
"A long, long time later, I heard that after my family was defeated, someone stood up to speak for me. That was her. She carried the broken pieces of the ancestor's merit tablet that she found in the ruins of my house and carried them step by step to my enemy's house. She smashed the tablet into the ground in front of him and cursed as the dust filled the air. 'Three generations and above, brothers who kowtowed to our ancestors and swore never to betray us, actually dared to wield a knife! Those who are loyal and virtuous will die, and those who plot to usurp power will become kings. The sun and moon will not shine upon their sincerity! ' At that time, everyone's expression changed, except for her. She continued, "As the widow of Yue, I also deserve to die. Please kill me!" After being publicly rejected by my enemy, she carried the stele and left. She circled around the city three times and said with a smile in front of everyone, "Nie Ruhan must kill this demon!"
The woman who had passed away seven years ago stepped forward with a few simple words. Her beauty and strength of character were faintly discernible. Zong Yue's eyes were watery, but Meng Fuyao could not help but clasp her palms together in admiration. "What a good woman!" she exclaimed.
Zong Yue looked at her with a gratified expression and said in a low voice, "I knew you would like her. There are some similarities between the two of you. However, the longer you spend time with her, the more you notice the differences. It's a pity that she's not as flexible as you, able to combine strength and gentleness. She's too tough and unyielding. Otherwise, she wouldn't have …"
Meng Fuyao sighed and hugged her knees as she stared at the moon. A question flashed across her mind. Judging from Zong Yue's tone, his enemy should be a powerful and ruthless person. Why did Nie Ruhan not kill her despite her provocation and public insults?
"At that time, I didn't know that she had done all this. I even thought that she and my enemy were jackals of the same lair. All the nobles in the country knew that Nie Ruhan was the daughter of the Nie Family, but in reality, she was the illegitimate daughter of my enemy. However, Ruhan didn't know that she had a fiery temper. No one dared to tell her. From then on, she ignored her family's objections and went around visiting famous masters to learn martial arts in order to avenge me. The Nie Family couldn't do anything to her, so they went to seek help from her biological father. My enemy then found some fake 'famous masters' to teach her 'shocking skills.' She was very happy and studied day and night. She couldn't find anyone to spar with, so she competed with the martial arts masters in her family. Naturally, she won every time. Thus, she felt that she had succeeded in her martial arts and wanted to assassinate her father. Naturally, she couldn't do it. She wasn't satisfied and heard from somewhere that I wasn't dead yet, so she wanted to find me and kill me together."
Meng Fuyao almost fainted. If not for the sad atmosphere and the fact that the beauty had passed away, she would have laughed. 'Sigh, how good would it be if this unyielding and adorable girl were still alive? Perhaps the sharp-tongued man wouldn't be so lonely with his venomous tongue. '
Zong Yue turned to look at her with a faint smile in his eyes. "Laugh if you want to. She's a valiant girl, so she wouldn't mind."
"I think she'd rather see you laugh," Meng Fuyao replied softly.
Zong Yue was silent. After a while, he turned his head and gently caressed the golden-red xun in his palm. When he spoke again, his voice was slightly hoarse.
"Her martial arts skills were naturally not enough for her to roam the pugilistic world. However, her biological father was a watertight man and sent many people to secretly follow her. Whenever she encountered danger, they would quietly use flying needles to help her get rid of them. As a result, she accidentally earned the title 'Heavenly Needle Witch' in the pugilistic world."
Meng Fuyao really laughed this time. 'Ah, the Heavenly Needle Witch.'
"That year, in another country, she really met me. At that time, I was dueling with someone, and she accidentally saw me. With an 'ah', she immediately understood the level of her martial arts. However, because I saw her, I was distracted and was defeated and injured by my opponent. She saved me and took care of me for a long time. When I woke up, I pushed her away with one palm, mistakenly thinking that the hidden guards behind her were here to kill me."
"That night, it was raining heavily. We were in a cave, and she was kneeling outside. She didn't beg me to let her in. Instead, she said, 'Ah Yue, today I finally know what real martial arts are. I've been misled … Ah Yue, I heard that you're good at medicine. Help me improve my martial arts and we'll go back and kill him together.' I scoffed and told her to scram. She stared at me for a long time, then got up and left."
That night, the wind howled in the mountains. Because of the cold misunderstanding of fate, the fiancée in and out of the cave did not get to hug each other for warmth. From then on, they would never have the chance to hug each other again.
"When I saw her again, it was another year later. At an inn, I saw her talking and laughing with a man in green clothes into the inn. I looked at her from upstairs and felt that her complexion was not good, as if there was a bit of a blockage in her zhenqi. I didn't know where she had managed to cultivate zhenqi in the past year. I wanted to call out to her to help her clear the way, but when I saw her laughing heartily at the man, I felt unhappy, so I went back to my room, and the room they got happened to be next to mine."
"In the middle of the night, I heard the door next door creak. At that time, I was angry, thinking that it was indeed a fickle woman. Ignoring her was the right decision. Then, the bed next door started to creak. It was summer, and we used a bamboo bed. Once there was movement, it was unbearably loud. I was annoyed and angry when I heard it. I wanted to kill the adulterous couple, but I felt that it was the dirtiest thing in the world to let me witness such a scene …"
He raised his head and closed his eyes. Suddenly, he fell silent. After a long time, sparkling beads of tears appeared under his thick eyelashes. He said softly, "In the end, I didn't go over. In the end, I didn't go over …"
The past crashed into the tottering, fragmented memories, bringing with it heart-wrenching pain. Zong Yue's breath fluctuated, and the golden-red xun in his trembling palm let out a broken hum. She reached over and took the xun away. "Is this what she left behind? Don't break it. "
Zong Yue grunted softly. After a while, he calmed his breath and turned to smile at her. His smile did not seem like one. She turned her head away.
"That morning, I paid the bill and was about to leave. As I was leaving, I bumped into the waiter knocking on the door next door. I walked past it without looking, not intending to take another look. The waiter pushed the door, and it opened."
The door opened.
Many years ago, the door slowly opened. Sunlight poured in and illuminated the small room. The sunlight was so bright that it hurt his eyes. From then on, he had an eternal pain in his heart.
That door would never close again in his memory. His heart was locked by thousands of locks, but it could not lock the layer of haze.
"… She died on the bed. The body of the man in green was on the ground."
"Ah!" Even though she knew from Zong Yue's description that Nie Ruhan was not a fickle woman who would spend the night with men, such a sudden death still shocked her because of the coldness of fate.
Zong Yue's tone had calmed down. It was as if speaking up to this point was nothing more than the most painful. Once the pain reached the extreme, he would become numb. It didn't matter if it was a little more painful. His gentle profile was written in the moonlight. The moonlight shone on his hair and lips, which were lighter than an ordinary person's. That light cherry-like color made one think of a flower that bloomed in the spring breeze. However, that flower had already been frozen.
"That night, the man in cyan wanted to offend her. She probably knew what was going on, so she kept the knife by the pillow. However, the two of them probably struggled. Although she managed to kill the man in the middle of the struggle, the internal energy that was blocking the air suddenly went astray. Later on, the bamboo bed creaked. It was because she was possessed by the devil and was tossing and turning in agony."
"Her body was twisted in death. One of her hands was pressed against her heart, while the other was stretched far away. I don't know what she was trying to touch …"
She bit her lip.
She died in such a miserable way …
In an inn in a small town, all the lights were extinguished. One was struggling for her life on the bamboo bed in the dark, while the other was burning with anger because of a misunderstanding next door. In the end, she did not take that crucial step.
When she died, she did not know that he was next door. When she died, she did not know that she had never let him down.
When Nie Ruhan stretched out her hand at the last moment of her life, was she trying hard to touch the hard and thin wooden wall, imagining that it was her lover's chest?
She would never know that behind the wooden wall was his real body temperature.
So close, yet so far away.
Zong Yue did not speak anymore.
Fuyao, however, understood all of his explanations.
The reason for the 'urgency' was merely a knot in her heart that could never be solved.
If he had helped Ru Han improve her martial arts, she would not have turned to any doctor when she was sick. She would not have forcefully cultivated her true Qi, which led to her death in the inn.
If he had treated Ru Han as soon as he saw that her complexion was not right, none of this would have happened.
These two mistakes ruined his life's happiness, which led to his impatience in the future. He worked so hard to help her improve her martial arts because he was afraid that she would end up like Ru Han. She would not be able to protect herself due to her lack of skills, and in the end, harm herself.
He worked so hard to help her control her injuries. Whenever there was a problem, he would immediately use medicine to suppress it. He refused to give her a chance to slowly recuperate on her own because he was afraid that she would end up like Ru Han, missing the quickest chance for treatment and losing her life in some unexpected incident.
A large part of Zong Yue's title of 'Holy Doctor' came from his quick treatment. Once he accepted a patient, he would go all out, without sleep or rest, day or night, in order to treat the patient as soon as possible. In the past, Meng Fuyao had thought that this was due to his personality. Now, she knew that all his eagerness came from an irreversible mistake.
The unforgettable past that had sunk into the depths of her nightmares!
Meng Fuyao's sigh dissipated in the wind. Zong Yue gently took the xun from her hands and caressed it lovingly. He brought it to his lips, and a melody that was as gentle as flowing water and as heavy as a mountain flowed out from his lips. It carried with it an ancient sadness and some memories that could not be recalled. It was of a woman dancing under the Falling Flower Gallery in autumn. Her movements were light and graceful, but she did not crush the red maple leaves. Yet, no matter how tenderly she tried to persuade him to stay, time had passed, and the fallen leaves could never return to their original branches.
It was the song 'Sad Farewell'.
People always bid farewell to each other with sadness, and then refuse to meet again.
He slowly played his ancient xun in the pavilion, in the night breeze and under the bright moon.
That small, finely dressed person with eyes as bright as snow had scolded him with her hands on her hips, "You scrawny chicken! You're useless! You won't be able to protect me in the future!" That year, the young boy had scoffed. Then, many years later, he suddenly realized that his words had come true.
That year, on Mount Xuanyuan, the pearl curtain opened and the moon shone brightly. That young girl swept past the willow branches, startling the rustling green leaves on the tree. He raised his head amidst the green dust and saw her startling eyes — as bright as snow, like a piece of snowflake flying into his eyes.
Then, on the blue water, a flying sleeve came to his rescue. Her long hair hung on the surface of the water, and her figure was graceful but not yet bent. When she raised her head, her eyes were as white as snow, causing his heart to tremble. He actually thought of the girl who had been his childhood sweetheart many years ago. That kind of unhappiness suddenly surged from the bottom of his heart, and he simply abandoned his very important belt, just to leave faster.
Leave, can't leave. That kind of fate went round and round, and they met in front of the Wuji Red Rock Mountain. She blocked the road and robbed him with the strength of a gangster, just like the 'Naive Demoness' who carried an idiot martial arts and roamed the Jianghu in ignorance.
Suddenly, he wanted to make her stay. Thus, a spring became the excuse to snatch the manservant.
The manservant was born to be a genius, not a naive demoness. He accompanied her from Prince De's manor to Yao City, watching her shed tears for the warmth of the mortal world at the dining table, watching her kill the Rong people to save Old Hu's family, watching her in front of the cunning County Magistrate Su, talking with assurance one moment, then turning hostile and killing the next, watching her quickly subdue the county yamen runners, ordering them to give false information, and reaching out her graceful hand from County Magistrate Su's corpse to choke the fierce and cautious City Lord Ashina Castellan.
That kind of fierce, kind, cunning, and magnanimous woman.
That kind of casual and self-loving woman, who would rather choose to lock her emotions into poison than to give herself to someone else for the sake of survival.
He finally gradually realized that she was herself, not Ru Han. Even if the pair of eyes were equally extraordinarily bright, even if the personality was the same on the outside, in the heart, they were so different.
Ru Han used firmness to reject softness, and she used firmness to wrap softness.
When Yao City was besieged, she actually chose to feign surrender and bravely entered the enemy's camp. Although she was despised by tens of thousands of people, her hot-blooded and loyal heart was frozen by frost and snow, and she was almost forced to commit suicide at the city gate.
At that time, he was picking herbs in Qiongcang, and the news finally reached him. His hand shook, and a piece of dragon pearl grass that he had painstakingly picked fell into the abyss.
But he couldn't care less and rushed down the mountain. In a few days, several horses died from running, and his old illness almost relapsed.
When he came back and saw that she was fine, he let out a long sigh. Something in the depths of his heart instantly collapsed.
When the 'news' of Zhangsun Wuji's death arrived, she was knocked down, but she still stood, steel-like and cold. She didn't cry, she wanted to make her enemy cry.
He watched her calmly and numbly do those things without batting an eyelid. He thought of Ru Han, who swore to kill her own father to avenge him. She used the thin, rich young lady's back to carry the heavy Monument of Merits and Virtues, and walked three li with each step. When she fell heavily on the main hall, she was pressed to the point of vomiting blood, and then she wiped away the blood, and carried the monument three times around the busy city.
To this day, he still didn't understand how Ru Han, who hadn't practiced martial arts at that time, could carry it.
Some women like this.
They walked under the astonished gazes of the world, unwavering in the wind, rain, frost, and snow.
Because of their perseverance, they had unique charm, and stood out from the crowd in the ten-zhang-soft red.
So he thought that he only admired this kind of woman, and hoped that she had Ru Han's fierceness, but was warmer and broader than Ru Han — to be protected, to move forward smoothly, and not to end up like Ru Han, miserably.
However, was it really so?
Last night, Zhangsun Wuji's gentle question was like a thunderclap that broke through the fog in his heart. In that sudden light, he saw himself, and those feelings that he called cold but could not get rid of.
Ru Han was his fiancée, whom he had no deep feelings for, and the number of times they had met in their lives could be counted on one hand. Even now, he remembered the pain of losing her, but her face had already filled up his memory.
But Meng Fuyao, on the other hand, had accompanied him all the way. Her life was getting brighter and clearer, and she was a scenery that attracted people to chase after her.
But why was he like this? Why was he like this? Why was he so afraid that she would suffer the same fate as Ru Han, even though he knew that she wasn't Ru Han?
Because he cared, and he was afraid of losing her.
The feelings that were written in the deepest part of his heart had long since turned into a frosty river, but finally, they were slowly surging.
But when the waves finally surged, they would no longer be able to overflow the embankment of yearning. Perhaps, the embankment that belonged to her had already been illuminated by another round of moonlight.
Zong Yue smiled faintly, raising his xun and blowing into it. His light hair brushed past his lips, and under the moonlight, it was like cherry blossoms. The color that represented the weakness of life was like the eternal paleness beneath the surface of his seemingly full life.
Sorrowful Separation.
She was by his side, my sorrowful separation.
= = = =
A song was played, sighing silently.
Zong Yue was still blowing lightly, and the moonlight between his brows deepened. Meng Fuyao hugged her knees as she sat beside him, her long hair scattered in the wind. She looked at his gentle side profile quietly, thinking of the woman who had chased after her whole life, and the cold fate that belonged to them.
She thought of the Heaven's favored ones of the Golden Horse of Yutang beside her: Zhangsun Wuji, Zhan Beiye, Zong Yue, Yun Hen, and Yan Jingchen.
Are all the people who stand at the top destined to suffer more than ordinary people?
When they had identity, wealth, status, and knowledge, God would take back some of the ordinary happiness that belonged to the human world, and plated those blessings with the brand of fate.
Deep love did not last long, and extreme strength brought humiliation.
She stood up gently. This moment belonged to Zong Yue and his fiancée, and no one should break this day of mourning.
She left slowly, not knowing that the figure that had floated past the heart of the man who had played the xun under the moonlight had overlapped with hers.
Until she left, Zong Yue did not turn back. He gently caressed the sound hole on the xun and smiled calmly.
"Ru Han, why do I feel that meeting her is a punishment from the unseen?"
Meng Fuyao did not hear his words. She returned to her room in a daze and climbed onto the bed in a daze. Then, she crawled into a warm embrace.
"I'm not in the mood today. I don't feel like joking or beating people up. You can leave now." She pushed him away.
"I know you're not in the mood today." The man did not move. He reached out his slender hand to hold her, pulling her pale body into his embrace. Yes, the position was just right. It was a perfect hug.
"So I'm responsible for bringing you some good mood."
There was still a little space between them, and Lord Ingot immediately crawled over to fill it.
Meng Fuyao could not help but laugh. "It's hot."
The man immediately adjusted the temperature. His true Qi was of the Yin side, so once it circulated, it was cool and comfortable. He put Ingot on his shoulder. This time, Meng Fuyao was a little reluctant. She grabbed his palm and rubbed it. "Zhangsun Wuji, it's rare for you to be so obedient."
The man on top of her head laughed, his chest slightly trembling. "I can't be soft or hard with someone like you. You can only be obedient, and perhaps General Meng will take care of you."
"How pitiful." Meng Fuyao laughed. Her sleepy eyes were bright. "I wonder how many people have been tricked by your Buddha's mouth and snake's heart."
Zhangsun Wuji smiled and lowered his head to look at her. The woman's figure was graceful, sinking into the flickering moonlight in the room. Because of tiredness, her eyebrows were a little sleepy, and her usual bright temperament had a bit of misty laziness. The thick long eyelashes in his palm reminded him of a cat, lazy like a cat, with a bit of the mystery of sneaking in the dark night.
The fluttering eyelashes on his palm tickled him. Zhangsun Wuji smiled and asked softly, "What story did you hear? Why are you so distracted?"
Meng Fuyao was silent for a moment. She told him about Ru Han's story and concluded, "Misunderstandings can't be more wrong."
"No, no," Zhangsun Wuji said. "The reason for such a fatal misunderstanding is because he doesn't love her enough."
Unconvinced, Meng Fuyao retorted, "Look at Zong Yue's nostalgia. Isn't that love?"
Zhangsun Wuji smiled but did not answer. Men were not women who would confuse guilt and nostalgia with love. However, there was no need to explain so much to the little fool. Zong Yue was a love rival after all.
Meng Fuyao absent-mindedly pulled Ingot's fur. "Zhangsun Wuji, why are you guys so prone to experiencing things ordinary people can't?" she asked.
Zhangsun Wuji laughed and blocked the angry Ingot's mouth. He shoved him to the corner of the bed and covered him with a pillow. Then, he patted her back and coaxed her to sleep. "We're not ordinary people anyway."
Meng Fuyao laughed. She felt that this person was really narcissistic. She immediately understood what he meant. The royal family was the world's most intense, darkest, and filthiest family. The nobility they put up on the surface coexisted with the filth hidden in their bones. Throughout the seven countries, which noble family had not been stained with blood? Which rich family had not thrown corpses into a dry well? Which palace had not been haunted by the ghosts of those who had lost in the struggle for power?
She sighed softly and said, "I heard a saying before. A princess covered her face and cried before the fall of her country. She wished that she would never be able to live in the royal family. At that time, I thought that she was just unlucky. A princess who encountered a calamity that destroyed her country was naturally the most miserable. Now, I know that even a princess or a prince in a peaceful era is just as unlucky … Zhangsun Wuji, is there such a dynasty that is equal, bright, and balanced in power? Although there are unavoidable darkness and unfairness, it is still trying its best to be fair and just? "
Zhangsun Wuji was silent for a while before answering, "Waiting for you to build it."
Meng Fuyao laughed and covered her eyes as she fell back onto the bed. "I'm really out of my mind. How can a person who studies history ask such a stupid question? Talking about equality and power balance in the feudal system and low productivity of the five continents? Isn't it as ridiculous as talking about when the China Men's Football Team will win the World Championship or talking about human self-awareness with Sister Feng … Waiting for me to build it? If I really want to stay here for the rest of my life, I'll build it. Now, I don't have time. "
She closed her eyes tiredly and felt someone gently approaching her from above. A gentle voice brushed past her ears like the spring rain. "Why not?"
"… Going home." Meng Fuyao turned over and answered lazily. She then waved her hand softly. "Remember to close the door when you go out."
She fell into a deep sleep and did not hear the answer. Only at the moment when the curtain of darkness fell, she felt her forehead being brushed by the slightly moist midnight wind. The wind lingered for a long time, mixed with a lingering and gentle sigh.
= = =
Peace returned to the days. The quarrel caused by the treasure of the Moon Soul and the collective memory of a deceased woman had been carefully put away by those who owned and listened to them. They did not forget or mention the past. The road ahead still had to be walked. Looking back, one would see the reflection, but looking forward, one would see the sun.
Meng Fuyao and Zhan Beiheng had been getting along well recently. That day, when she said, "Your Highness doesn't have long to live", Zhan Beiheng was almost chased out of the door by the guards. However, Meng Fuyao just sat there calmly and leisurely sipped her tea. "Your subordinate was hot-blooded and took the risk to enlighten Your Highness. Your Highness, you still want to chase me out? Fine, I'm out of this door. I won't come back again. "
She straightened her clothes and left. She even ordered the guards of the mansion, "Lead the way for me. Next time, you won't be able to see me, General Daren."
Zhan Bei Heng did not know whether to laugh or cry at this seemingly smart, yet slow-witted, bold, yet ignorant rascal general. He stopped the guards, leaving Meng Fuyao to have tea and chat. After a few cups of tea, Zhan Bei Heng finally asked casually, "What did you say back then?"
"There's no solution," Meng Fuyao answered. "Your Highness is well aware of it. There's no need for me to explain."
Zhan Bei Heng cast a sidelong glance at her. After a long time, he finally said, "Then what are you going to do? Instead of being His Majesty's favorite, you're here to inform me? "
"Well, men, when they're awake, they wield the power of the world, and when they're drunk, they lie on the knees of beauties." Meng Fuyao giggled. "What's so great about being a Dragon-Tiger General? Becoming a minister of the Dragon Nation is the true ambition!"
Zhan Bei Heng was once again provoked by her and jumped up. "How dare you! Men!"
Meng Fuyao smiled and sat still.
Zhan Bei Heng stopped mid-sentence and glared at her, panting in anger. "You, you, you, you, you …"
Meng Fuyao stood up regretfully and spread her hands. "Aiya, you're not going to drag me to the Golden Palace? You're not going to capture me and behead me? I was thinking that it would be an honor to die together with His Highness at the Fallen Dragon Platform. Sigh, what a pity … "
Zhan Bei Heng pressed his hand on the table. He could not do anything to this mischievous rascal. Could he really drag him to the Golden Palace just because of these words? All his brother had to do was ask, "Why did he say this to you in your residence?". If he were to think of something else, his crime of treason would definitely be heavier than his!
This rascal was vicious!
Meng Fuyao said, "I know it's hard for Your Highness to believe me. It's alright, Your Highness, one day you'll understand my sincerity."
She staggered out of the Prince's Mansion and went to meet her colleagues in the Imperial Camp. The Commander of the Imperial Camp, Xie Yu, was serious in speech and manner and handled matters rigidly, making him unpopular. However, they all felt that the new Deputy Commander was generous, straightforward, and did not like to meddle in various affairs. She turned a blind eye to their daily money-making methods. Good person!
After playing dice for a while, Meng Fuyao lost again. Laughing heartily, she took out a large ingot of silver and placed it on the table. "Brother, I didn't bring any loose silver today, so I'll take this."
Someone was put in a difficult position. "I don't have a scale. How am I supposed to find it for you?"
Meng Fuyao waved her hand. "What are you looking for? Remember, it's more convenient the next time you lose!" She then walked out. "Brother, go pee."
A burst of laughter came from behind. Someone said, "There's someone who left some silver to lose. Commander Meng, that's great!"
Meng Fuyao waved her hand. What was great? There was probably someone laughing behind her back and cursing her to lose again next time? Idiot!
She walked out of the barracks but did not go to the toilet. Naturally, she did not go to the toilet outside. After a few steps, she met a white-faced man who looked familiar. He was a eunuch from the palace.
The eunuch looked at her with a faint smile and said, "Commander Meng, His Majesty has summoned you to the palace."
Meng Fuyao replied with an 'oh' and followed him obediently. She had a calm expression on her face and turned a blind eye to the strange gazes of the servants. Zhan Nancheng was waiting for her in the imperial study. She paid her respects to him, but he was not as warm and amiable as before. It was as if he did not hear her and did not greet her. Meng Fuyao knelt patiently and counted the square tiles on the floor.
After a long time, Zhan Nancheng threw down the book. As if he had just seen her, he laughed and said, "Commander Meng, you've been assigned a new position recently. You're so busy that you won't be coming to the palace anymore."
Meng Fuyao blinked. "You didn't summon me, Your Majesty."
Zhan Nancheng choked. After a while, he said, "Can't you see me? Aren't you very attentive to Prince Heng's Residence? "
Meng Fuyao looked at him in disdain. 'Old Zhan, you're not on the same level as Zhangsun Wuji. No wonder he can't be bothered to deal with you.'
Zhan Nancheng stared at her, thinking that she would beg for forgiveness. Instead, she said in a clear voice, "Your Majesty, your humble servant's knees are sore from kneeling."
The entire hall burst into laughter. Zhan Nancheng's face turned black and white. After a while, he realized that it was just as the letter had said. Meng Fuyao was a boor with boundless guts and a shallow mind. It would be a waste of energy to compete with her.
Hence, he called her up and gave her a seat. Meng Fuyao sat down happily and started chatting with Zhan Nancheng about the affairs of the imperial camp. Zhan Nancheng felt uncomfortable at her calmness, but he knew that it was useless to beat around the bush. He could only remind her, "You're just a foreign official. It's not good for you to interact too much with the nobles. I don't think the Heng Prince needs you to report back, right?"
"Nope." Meng Fuyao shook her head directly. "His Highness is your humble servant's superior. How would I dare to disobey him when he asks me to visit more?"
These words made Zhan Nancheng speechless again. He felt that everything about this kid was good, except that he was a little stupid and stubborn. He was depressed, but at the same time, he felt a little more at ease — to the Emperor, it was not a good thing for his officials, especially military generals, to be smart and ruthless.
Meng Fuyao happily told Zhan Nancheng all sorts of jokes about the Heng Prince's residence, telling him about the gossip of the officials. "His Highness has eighteen concubines, known as the Eighteen Immortals. They say that His Highness is the Buddha who subdues the Immortals. I don't know where he got his physique, but it's probably a good prescription from the Imperial Physician Bureau. They urged me to ask His Highness for one, but His Highness refused to acknowledge it. Hehe, I said that I want to marry three wives and live happily every day. I'm afraid that it would hurt my body, so I pestered His Highness to make a copy for me. He repeatedly instructed me not to spread it, but I couldn't read the words, so I secretly copied it from the medical officer in his residence. Do you want it, Your Highness?"
Zhan Nancheng didn't know whether to laugh or cry. What was this? A monarch and an official talking about the romantic affairs of the Heng Prince's residence and sharing the aphrodisiac? If word got out, wouldn't he be an incapable monarch? He hurriedly refused, but Meng Fuyao took out the dirty paper and stuffed it into his hands. Zhan Nancheng's eyes swept over it and suddenly froze.
There were a few medicines on the paper. They were tributes from Mo Luo. He had seen them on the list of tributes in previous years, but they weren't available this year. He thought that Mo Luo didn't bring them in, so he didn't ask about it. The last time Consort Cheng wanted to use the medicine due to internal heat, the palace treasury reported that it wasn't available. Bei Heng was there at that time, but he didn't say a word. He didn't expect it to be in his residence.
He took the prescription and looked at it carefully. His eyebrows couldn't help but tremble. He was well-versed in medicine, so he could tell that this prescription wasn't just for aphrodisiac. He was afraid that it would also have a great effect on Yang deficiency caused by external injuries. It was indeed a priceless treasure. He remembered that on the night he was held hostage, he was injured on the saddle that Bei Heng had designed to insert needles into. After that, he had not recovered. He had also hinted to Bei Heng to find some good prescriptions. Bei Heng agreed and gave him the prescription, but it was useless. He did not expect that he actually had such a wonderful prescription in his hands! Then why didn't he give it to him?
He thought about how difficult it was for him to have children. He only had two sons and a daughter. The Third Prince was stupid, the Crown Prince was weak, and his children were sick … His back started to sweat.
He didn't show any expression on his face. He casually threw the prescription on the table and said, "I can't casually use the prescriptions that I've presented. But I can feel your sincerity. I'll accept it first and ask the imperial physician to examine it before giving it to you. Of course, I won't use it. It's just that it's a common prescription, and some of it is dangerous. It's better to ask someone to examine it before using it."
"Thank you for your love, Your Majesty!" She giggled. "I haven't tried it yet. Some medicines are really hard to find. No matter how much money you spend, you can't buy them. It must have been hard for me to sneak into the imperial physician's residence and copy it for nothing."
Zhan Nancheng smiled coldly. 'Of course you can't buy it. Even I don't have it!'
Suddenly, he had a flash of inspiration. He finally caught the last sentence. He raised his eyebrows and asked, "Did you sneak into the imperial physician's residence to copy this prescription?"
"Yes." She answered innocently. "The handwriting that Your Highness gave me was very sloppy, and it didn't seem to have as much as this prescription. It was locked in a very secretive drawer. Imperial Physician Sun didn't let me near it, so I deceived him and opened the lock to get my hands on it. He really knows how to hide it. But I used to be a street thug. I can't do anything else, but I'm good at picking locks.
Hehe. "She laughed wretchedly. Zhan Nancheng smiled without a smile. After a while, he waved his hand and said," You may kneel. "
She took her leave and walked all the way to the palace gates. She rode her horse on the main road outside the palace gates. Under the setting sun, the road was bright and spacious, like a vast expanse of water. She whipped her horse and rode on the surging water. Every time she moved her whip, it would be a large cluster of bright sunlight.
At this moment, a deep smile appeared on her bright and clear face.
= = =
A few days later, the inner court announced that Meng Fuyao would be promoted to the position of deputy commander of the Flying Leopard Battalion and commander of the Flying Fox Battalion. Flying Tiger, Flying Leopard, and Flying Fox were the three main battalions of the imperial camp. The position of Flying Fox had always been vacant, and it was difficult to balance it out. In the end, the position was given to the new deputy commander of the Flying Leopard Battalion, Xie Yu. Xie Yu's position remained unchanged, but the position was removed. It was given to Meng Fuyao, who had just been promoted to deputy commander of the Flying Leopard Battalion. This was indeed an anomaly in the imperial court. What was even stranger was that Prince Heng, who was directly in charge of the imperial camp, did not have any objections to the edict. Neither did the deputy commanders of the various factions. Prince Heng believed that Meng Fuyao was one of his people, and the deputy commanders believed that it was fair. As for Zhan Nancheng, he also believed that Meng Fuyao was one of his people.
The most shameless official in the history of the Heaven Fiend Imperial Court was born.
The shameless official, Meng Fuyao, continued to run the Heng Residence every day. After a while, she finally ran into trouble.
She was caught having an affair with the Ninth Immortal, the most favored of the 18 immortals.
= = =
Did the previous chapter not understand the reason why Zhangsun Wuji questioned Zong Yue? As for the problem of meridians, it was actually a medical concept. The human body had the ability to heal itself, and it was important to cultivate this ability and antibodies when necessary. As the saying goes, medicine is 30% toxic. Blindly relying on medicine to suppress illness or injury might seem effective at first glance, but in the long run, it might not necessarily be beneficial to the body. Take antibiotics for example. If a child in China had a fever, they would immediately use antibiotics to reduce the fever. However, overseas, they did not approve of the use of antibiotics. Instead, they would choose to let the child slowly recover and produce antibodies. A body that had been forged through pain and suffering would be stronger than one that relied on antibiotics to heal. Antibiotics, on the other hand, were not beneficial in the long run.
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