“Father, I went to Guang’an Prefecture with Mother a couple of days ago, and I heard from the young lady of the Commander of the Central Army that the rebels have reached Jingzhou.” Since her father was considering surrendering, she thought she might as well lend a hand. So, twisting the hem of her clothes, she stammered, “What do you think…?”
"Why should a young lady care about such things?" Jiang Zhongsi interrupted as expected, his voice tinged with displeasure.
“My daughter is just scared. I’ve heard that the rebels are extremely brutal. Wherever they go, people are gone and beasts roam and ghosts wail.” Jiang Yuan pressed on, “If we break through Jingzhou, this road won’t be unobstructed.”
Seeing her father's displeasure, Jiang Yuan gently tugged at his sleeve, her large eyes blinking slightly, her voice sounding extremely uncertain, "Father, what should we do if things get that way...?"
Jiang Zhongsi had considered this point. The current emperor was dissolute and the crown prince was an incompetent ruler. The Prince of Fei'an had countless elite troops under his command. If Jingzhou fell... Although he knew the implications, the mindset of a loyal subject to the emperor was deeply ingrained in him. He couldn't help but hesitate to betray his master and collude with the enemy.
Jiang Zhongsi was somewhat irritated. "Jingzhou has a rugged terrain, and Prefect Yu is a capable man. It won't be so easy to conquer."
"Hmph." Jiang Yuan's tone was ambiguous. "If I were the governor of Jingzhou, I would definitely find a way to survive. Maybe I could even be remembered favorably after I bought this favor."
Smack! Jiang Zhongsi slammed his hand on the table, the impact making his palm sting. "Who taught you to spout this nonsense!"
“Father.” Jiang Yuan knelt down on the ground. The sunlight outside the window was unusually warm. She looked up at her father’s gloomy and uncertain face and said, word by word, “You should know better than your daughter that we should have made plans earlier.”
"You!" Jiang Yuan's words were mumbled, but to Jiang Zhongsi, they were utterly treasonous, hitting a nerve. Enraged, Jiang Zhongsi was about to slap him when Jiang Yuan quickly closed his eyes and lowered them.
After a long while, instead of the expected pain, a warm blanket gently covered her head. Jiang Yuan cautiously squinted and looked up, meeting her father's gaze, which held emotions she couldn't decipher. Jiang Zhongsi patted Jiang Yuan's arm, his voice seeming to suddenly become much hoarse, "Yes, how is this any different from burying one's head in the sand? I've been too old-fashioned." He then patted Jiang Yuan's head, "It's a pity my Yuan'er isn't a man."
You are a man, I will kill you.
Jiang Yuan smiled and tugged at Jiang Zhongsi's sleeve, shaking off the voice that suddenly appeared in her mind. She looked quite charming and innocent. "Luckily, I'm not a boy." Then she changed the subject and said, "So I'll have Bifan wait for Father at the Second Gate from now on. Otherwise, Father will go to Xiangsang Courtyard every day and his heart will be biased towards Second Sister."
Jiang Zhongsi raised his hand and flicked Jiang Yuan's head. This little rascal.
Chapter 3 Green Jade Flower Blooms
"Haha! Good! Good! Good!" Inside the Fei'an Prince's tent, Li Sheng held Jiang Zhongsi's secret letter in his hand and said "good" three times in a row, feeling extremely happy.
He launched several strong attacks on Jingzhou, but it was too difficult to enter, and he suffered heavy losses. Just as he was frowning with worry, Jiang Zhongsi's secret letter was delivered to him.
At first, he thought it was just a topographical map of the Jingzhou area, but the more he looked at it, the more surprised he became. Jiang Zhongsi even told him about the sentry posts, granaries, garrison points, and the spies planted in the city and the methods of rendezvous.
"General Song has arrived."
"Please come here quickly." Li Sheng waved his hand, but his gaze once again fell on the thin paper in his hand, which was filled with almost everything he wanted to know. In the past two years, Li Sheng had seen many people surrender and defect, but he had never seen anyone like Jiang Zhongsi who left no way out.
Song Yansi was dressed in military uniform, his hair was simply tied up, his eyebrows slanted into his temples, his face was handsome yet exuded a heroic spirit.
As the evening clouds gradually dispersed on the horizon, the intermittent sounds of armor clashing and metal scraping could be heard outside the tent. Amidst the somber atmosphere, he stood back to the light, his back ramrod straight, as solitary as a towering mountain, seemingly containing immense and resilient strength. His voice was as gentle as a spring breeze: "What has made Your Highness so pleased?"
"Zhongli, do you think this is true?" After dismissing everyone, Li Sheng slowly unfurled the thin scroll in his hand. "A secret letter sent by Lord Jiang."
The scroll is densely covered with the mountain forests and important roads of Jingzhou.
Song Yansi's slender fingers traced each key point meticulously; what was clearly a topographical map became, in his hands, a painting to be admired.
"Congratulations, Your Highness." After a moment, he seemed to have found something, smiled, tucked his sleeves in, and clasped his hands in a fist salute. "The great victory over Jingzhou is just around the corner."
"Hahahaha!" Li Sheng knew it was true, of course. He asked Song Yansi for peace of mind. He felt very relieved. "I didn't believe it at first. I thought that civil officials were pedantic and cowardly. I didn't expect that Jiang Zhongsi is really capable and pragmatic."
“That’s only natural.” Song Yanji’s smile remained unchanged. “The reign of Emperor Wenchang has come to an end, and a wise ruler should be established to replace him.”
By the time Song Yansi returned to his tent, the stars had already climbed high into the sky.
In the middle of the night, the military camp was quiet and oppressive. Fu Zhengyan lifted the curtain and entered. He saw Song Yansi sitting alone at the table, supporting his forehead with one hand, his eyes lightly closed, and his breathing sounding quiet and even.
Without waiting for his invitation, Fu Zhengyan strode into the tent and sat opposite Song Yansi. He filled a cup with tea and looked at the man who was pretending to be asleep with a puzzled expression. "Lord Jiang is cautious by nature. He should have hesitated for some time before deciding on this matter. Why is it so early?"
He had known Song Yanji since childhood. The Song family was the leading merchant family in Southern Liang, with businesses all over the country. However, no matter how wealthy the Song family was, their status as merchants meant they were still considered inferior in the eyes of noble families.
However, Fu Zhengyan did not think so. After all these years, he still remembered the first time he met Song Yanji.
That year, the poplar flowers were in full bloom, and sunlight streamed into the room through the carved windows. The old teacher's lecture in the academy was so drowsy that he was jolted awake by the noisy chatter outside the window.
Then, he saw Song Yansi. The catkins fluttered gently. The little boy was dressed in a white brocade robe, with fair skin and a pair of narrow, phoenix eyes that were lowered, making it impossible to see his expression. Even so, one could tell that he was a clever and insightful person.
Later, Fu Zhengyan learned that he was the last disciple of the great Confucian scholar Han Fuzi, who had praised him in public on more than one occasion as unparalleled in the world.
“It’s alright.” Song Yansi interrupted Fu Zhengyan’s recollection, but still did not open his eyes. His voice sounded somewhat lazy. “It’s just that Prefect Yu probably won’t be able to gain both fame and fortune this time.”
"One should never be too greedy."
“Let’s do him another favor.” Song Yansi looked up, his eyes sparkling like glass. “If we attack, he will be taken prisoner, but if he opens the city gates and surrenders, Your Highness will not have to expend a single soldier and will not make things too difficult for him.”
“Zhong Li.” Mentioning Yu Huai’an, Fu Zhengyan couldn’t help but feel a little disdainful. “This man is ruthless and cunning. Keeping him around would probably be a disaster.”
"Better to employ a true villain than to trust a hypocrite." Only those you can control are the ones you should use. Song Yanji's gaze shifted to his palm. "I have my own plans."
These hands are exceptionally well-shaped, with distinct joints and very clear lines in the palms.
Seeing that he was somewhat lost in thought, Fu Zhengyan followed his gaze, chuckled softly, and said with a hint of teasing in his eyes, "You don't actually believe what that fortune teller said, do you?"
Thinking of Rong'an dragging him to have his marriage fortune told, Fu Zhengyan couldn't help but laugh, "Only you spoil her."
Upon hearing him mention Rong An, Song Yansi's expression softened, and he replied, "Rong An is simple-minded. If she likes it, what's wrong with me playing along with her?"
"I was just worried that the Gu family's daughter would be concerned." Fu Zheng raised an eyebrow and tapped the table lightly with his finger. "But you are engaged."
"I only consider Rong'an a younger sister." The evening breeze blew through the tent, causing the candlelight to flicker. Alcohol was forbidden in the army during wartime, so Song Yanji toyed with the teacup in his hand, wisps of steam rising from the spout of the teapot on the table. "If you care so much, why don't you marry her?"
Fu Zhengyan was taken aback when he heard this. "You know the relationship between the Tang and Fu families. I can't marry her."
Hesitant and indecisive, the marriage is shallow, and similarities will never be as good as they once were.
Song Yansi's eye twitched slightly, but he eventually fell silent.
That month, Yu Huai'an, the governor of Jingzhou, made a three-point agreement with Li Sheng's army, and then opened the city gates wide, allowing the army of the Prince of Fei'an to enter Jingzhou in a grand procession.
In September of the same year, Li Sheng ordered Wang Hongyi to lead troops from Huazhou to Lin'an, while Song Yanji led troops from Hezhong to attack Fengxiang. In early November, the two armies met at Huaxian, with the troops only about twenty li away from Lin'an.
The November weather was already bitterly cold. Jiang Zhongsi clutched the secret letter from outside the city in his hand, his back icy cold. Fortunately, he had arrived a step earlier. His hand brushed against the She inkstone, the candlelight flickered, and the shadow under the lamplight reflected a resolute air. He pressed the sealing wax onto the letter seal without hesitation.
Just as the Prince of Fei'an's army was at the city gates, Emperor Wenchang ordered the city of Lin'an to be sealed off. He himself, along with a group of concubines, hid inside the palace walls. The entire imperial city was surrounded by the Tiger Army, with three-tenths of the city's walls encircling it. No one was allowed to enter or leave, and those who disobeyed would be killed. This caused panic among the people of Lin'an.
"This is the third time already, and this rouge color is so hard to apply." Jiang Yuan sighed, her fingertips wrapped in layers of silk gauze. "These old things just can't absorb color as well as newly blooming flowers." The sap of the golden phoenix flower seeped out slightly, making her skin look even whiter and her fingers as slender as tender shoots.
A young woman's slender, jade-like fingers are exquisitely flawless; but once stained with scarlet, they look like a monster.
For some reason, this sentence flashed through Jiang Yuan's mind. She stared at her fingertips for a long time before finally letting out a cold snort.
"Miss!" Upon hearing Jiang Yuan's snort, Bi Fan immediately became displeased and stomped her foot playfully, "Did you even hear what I said?"
"I heard you, I heard you. You've been chattering away all morning, it's giving me a headache." Jiang Yuan raised her fingers, which were wrapped up like a dumpling, and gestured for Zhu Chuan to massage her throbbing temples. "So, that Southern Barbarian merchant at the west entrance of the city can't get out either?"
Bi Fan was stunned for a moment, then nodded quickly. "That's right. I heard from Wang Mama, who is in charge of purchasing in the kitchen, that some ignorant fools tried to leave the city this morning and were chopped down on the spot by Hu Benlang." She described it vividly, gesturing a large area in the air with her hand, as if she had seen it with her own eyes. "The blood flowed... tsk tsk."
"Hmm." Jiang Yuan didn't respond to her words. To her, the blood on the ground was no different from water used to water flowers. Compared to that, she was more concerned about the pot of green jade in the hands of the Southern Barbarian merchant.
Green viburnum is not rare, but it only blooms once a year, and each bloom lasts for two days. On days when it is not in bloom, it looks like a withered branch, lacking any of the delicate beauty of flowers and plants. Therefore, very few people grow it in their gardens.
But the merchant, for some reason, managed to keep the Viburnum in his hands blooming year after year. In his previous life, this one and only Viburnum was with Queen Wei, for which Jiang Yuan had grieved countless times. Now that it was so close, Jiang Yuan's heart was itching with desire. Who knew that this little thing was also so expensive that it made his teeth itch; a single, solitary bunch of flowers was priced at a hundred taels of gold.
In her previous life, Jiang Yuan would have been able to buy a thousand taels of gold without batting an eye, let alone a hundred. If she saw something she liked, she would have had people carry the silver notes back to the palace. After all, it wasn't her own money that was being wasted. Seeing Song Yanji's treasury becoming emptier and emptier made her feel incredibly satisfied.
In this life, Jiang Yuan is as powerless as a defeated rooster when faced with the price of his beloved item. Every time he goes out, he has to take a detour to take a look, and then sigh and touch the key on Zhu Chuan's waist. With his monthly allowance of five taels of silver, he could not afford it even if he saved until he died. In the end, he could only leave sadly with three steps back, which was quite like being lovesick.
"Zhang Xiang, come with me this afternoon to take another look at that little treasure." Jiang Yuan's fingers were wrapped in white silk. Her fingertips lightly tapped the table, bouncing off the thick silk. After a moment, she suddenly smiled, her eyes curving like crescent moons in the night sky. "Never mind, let's wait a few more days."
Life in Lin'an was far from easy. The Prince of Fei'an besieged the city without attacking, and food supplies were dwindling. Initially, merchants were selling rice at high prices, but as time passed, everyone realized this was a trap. Once the food supply was cut off and people were driven to the brink of starvation, even the most timid populace would likely rebel for a bite to eat. At that point, the Prince of Fei'an would have no effort whatsoever; simply opening the granaries on the outskirts of the city would be enough to earn the gratitude of the people of Lin'an. Gold and antiques were no match for a meal in a crisis.
Jiang Yuan had experienced it once in her previous life, and this life was just another one, so even though there was a commotion outside the mansion, it didn't affect her mood. She continued to eat and drink as usual, living a rather carefree life.
At this moment, she was lazily wrapped in a fox fur coat and sitting at the four-person table in the guest room. A stove was burning in the room, and the smoke was vented outside through a long pipe, making it so warm that it was hard to open one's eyes.
Chapter 4 This is too much!
Jiang Yuan calmly observed the person in front of him. In just half a month, his mink coat had been replaced with a coarse blue cotton-padded jacket, and his once rosy face had turned somewhat pale. However—Jiang Yuan's gaze shifted to the person in his arms, where small, emerald-green petals wrapped around fiery red flowers stood out strikingly in the winter.
“Mr. Meng, let’s be frank.” Jiang Yuan parted her red lips slightly, pointed to his chest with a determined air, “I want this Green Jade.”
Meng Xizhi was taken aback, looked down at the emerald green in his arms, and immediately put on a displeased expression. "This item is worth a hundred taels of gold."
"This unscrupulous merchant, still sticking to this price even at a time like this," Jiang Yuan thought to herself, but put on the airs of a spoiled young lady. "I don't have that much gold to give you." As she spoke, she leaned over and quickly poked the blooming flower buds. "How about I provide you with food, lodging, and transportation, and give you a hundred taels of silver when the city gates open, and help you get out of Lin'an safely?"
Meng Xizhi wasn't in a hurry. He had poured a great deal of effort into this Green Jade Plant, only one out of tens of millions of plants survived. However, with the struggle for the crown prince position in Wei Kingdom reaching its climax, he had only recently come to Nanliang. He also felt that while a perpetually blooming Green Jade Plant was certainly rare, this plant wasn't particularly eye-catching and probably wouldn't catch the eye of a nobleman. So, he simply displayed it among other small odds and ends in his rented shop. Unexpectedly, Jiang Yuan took a liking to it at first glance.
“Miss Jiang, as you know, this is a fixed-price business.” Meng Xizhi refused without even thinking.
"I'm not here to negotiate with you. Mr. Meng won't sell me this land even though it's in such a state. Has someone else already gotten there? Let alone when the city gates will open, even in the current situation, you might not be able to leave the city." Jiang Yuan looked at his expression and guessed that the item had already been reserved. She felt like she had been made a fool of for the past few days, and a surge of anger rose in her heart. Her tone became much harsher. "A wise person knows when to yield."
“Miss Jiang, although I am a businessman, I have also traveled to many places.” Meng Xizhi’s eyes darted around, and a smile appeared on his lips. “I know very well that a new emperor brings a new court.”
“To do something you don’t know is foolish; to do something you know is impossible is sage.” Jiang Yuan’s voice was soft, like a soft feather brushing against the heart. “As far as I know, my ancestor, Feng Wenyi, was not only a prime minister of two dynasties.”
After a stick of incense had burned, Jiang Yuan touched the vibrant, fiery petals of the green jade flower, got up and left, not forgetting to remind the refined Meng Xizhi, "Sir, please eat slowly. Later, try the mixed shredded chicken with assorted ingredients made by the cook in the manor. The taste is absolutely delicious."
The wind was really strong. As soon as Jiang Yuan opened the door, she shivered from the cold wind. Bi Fan behind her quickly helped her pull her cloak tighter. The black fur collar wrapped her up tightly, leaving only her big, round eyes, which were full of shimmering light.
Under the guise of a gardener, Meng Xizhi shamelessly moved into the Jiang residence. Every day, he acted like a nouveau riche, directing the kitchens of the Jiang residence. He prepared dishes such as mushrooms and duck feet, roasted pheasant, golden mushrooms and pickled vegetables, and fragrant sesame venison pies. He treated the place like a restaurant, and even Jiang Yuan, who was usually not fat, gained weight after a few days.
"Extravagant! Truly extravagant!" Meng Xizhi leisurely added a piece of roe deer meat to his mouth, slowly stuffing it in, and stared through the window at Jiang Yuan, who was about to step into the kitchen. "Behind the red gates, meat and wine go to waste, while on the road, frozen corpses lie. The ancients were right." His voice was so gentle that it sounded as if he were saying how nice the weather was today.
"Sir, don't forget you're right here in Zhu's house!" Jiang Yuan couldn't get too close to him, so she stood at a distance outside the kitchen door with Zhu Chuan, glaring at Meng Xizhi, who was openly stealing food. This guy ate her food, wore her clothes, and always looked at her with that shameless, smiling face. She couldn't help but mutter to herself, "Song Yanji, Song Yanji, the enemy is already at our gates, why don't you hurry up and attack? Are you going to drag this out until the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month?"
"What a fierce-looking but cowardly woman." Seeing Jiang Yuan's glaring eyes and the prelude to her anger, Meng Xizhi quickly turned away, still holding the bowl.
"You...you..." Jiang Yuan was about to rush in when she seemed to catch a glimpse of something out of the corner of her eye. Her heart immediately went into overdrive. Seeing Bi Fan roll up her sleeves and try to barge in, she quickly grabbed her and pulled her back, her fingers gripping Bi Fan's wrist tightly. "Don't bother with this kind of person." But her face showed an expression of exasperation. She lifted her skirt and huffed a few times before angrily leading Zhu Chuan and Bi Fan out of the kitchen courtyard.
Jiang Yuan left in a hurry, but her arm inside her sleeve trembled uncontrollably. Tiny beads of sweat climbed up her cold back, and her mind was blank. She couldn't believe it: How could it be him?!
The footsteps of the group faded into the distance, and once the outside was quiet, a pleasant male voice, tinged with doubt, drifted from the quiet kitchen: "Master, did she see me?"
"Xuesheng, let's get down to business." Meng Xizhi interrupted him. Actually, he was also a little puzzled. Xuesheng's concealment skills were excellent. A woman like Jiang Yuan, who was not proficient in martial arts, should not have noticed. However, he clearly saw her little gesture of pulling that girl, and her steps when she left were too hurried.
They clearly want to keep to themselves.
This is interesting. Meng Xizhi smiled slightly. Since she was unwilling to get involved in his private affairs, he was happy to give her face. After all, this was Nanliang, not Wei. If something went wrong, he would not be able to get away with it. Thinking this, he reached out and touched the skin on his face. It was smooth to the touch.
"The Second Young Master's power is gone." Xue Sheng squatted behind the stove. As soon as Jiang Yuan left, he immediately rushed out, frowning as he dusted off the dirt on his clothes. "Master, you should go back now, otherwise it will be difficult to explain to the Eldest Young Master."
"He actually returned this private seal to me." Meng Xizhi played with the ring on his hand. The blood jade was on his thumb, like a clump of blood plasma wrapped around the white base of his finger, with blood vessels swimming inside, making it even more crimson. "Where is Lady Zhuang Ji?" He asked casually, but to Meng Xuesheng, it stirred up a storm.
“Master’s rule is effective, so even without the private seal, there’s nothing to fear. As for Madam…” He stammered for a long time, feeling miserable inside. But then he thought that he was going to suffer the consequences anyway, so he gritted his teeth and said, “How could the eldest young master tolerate her?”
“That’s true. Zidu has never cared about these romantic feelings. Lüqiong shouldn’t have gambled with her life.” Meng Xizhi’s voice was flat and without any fluctuation, as if he were talking about something that had nothing to do with him. “She always wanted the Lüqiong flower that blooms all year round. I planted it, but she never got to see it.”
He touched the words on the blood jade and sighed. Suddenly, he thought of Jiang Yuan. Originally, he only wanted to leave Lü Qiong with her to take care of her and retrieve her when he left. Now, he was afraid there was no need for that. "Let's wait until Zi has cleaned everything up before going back, so as not to make him suspicious and cause unnecessary trouble."