La vie des gens de la campagne en ville sous la dynastie Song

Chapitre 23

Volume One: Destiny's Fate 046: Gold Inlaid with Jade is Truly Valuable

Grasping his thoughts from drifting away, Qin Zhen looked up and saw his sixth senior brother, Wu Nian, deep in thought opposite him.

Wu Nian was originally a member of the Liao royal family, though not a direct descendant. However, seeing the respect shown to him by the Liao emperor's second son, Ao Luwo, he knew that Wu Nian held a significant position in the Liao kingdom. The people of Liao were currently suffering terribly; one wonders what he must be thinking.

Today, in order to avoid being seen, Wu Nian took off his monk's robe and wore only a gray and white cloth robe, which made him look even more otherworldly.

Qin Zhen asked, "Sixth Senior Brother, would you like to come with me to the Liao Kingdom this time? Don't you want to go back and visit?"

Upon hearing Qin Zhen's question, a hint of agitation appeared on his usually calm face, as if he were recalling some unpleasant past events.

Wu Nian said, "Since I have already entered the Buddhist order, all worldly affairs are irrelevant to me. Why should I go back?"

"She's all bark and no bite," Qin Zhen sighed. "Alright then, you know the Liao Kingdom better than I do, so you're probably tired of it by now."

Master Fan raised an eyebrow slightly. He had assumed that Wu Nian would definitely go to Liao with Qin Zhen, but unexpectedly, he refused to go. Among the fellow disciples, Wu Nian was the last to join the sect. He had watched Qin Zhen grow up and was naturally the closest to Qin Zhen, so it was no wonder that Master Fan was somewhat surprised.

"Since your sixth junior brother isn't going with you this time, if you encounter any difficulties while you're out there alone, remember to go to your fifth brother. Don't try to be brave and act recklessly on your own."

"I understand." Qin Zhen nodded to Master Fan to reassure him.

Liang Shicheng said with concern, "The Prince of Yun is definitely planning to eliminate the Prince of Guangping outside the palace this time. You must be careful on your journey. If there is any movement in the capital, I will inform you as soon as possible. You only need to focus on dealing with the Liao Kingdom."

Qin Zhen thought for a moment and then said, "There's something that's been on my mind. I'm afraid I won't be able to handle it now that I'm leaving the capital. Fourth Senior Brother, could you please keep an eye out for me?"

"Tell me what it is."

Qin Zhen said somewhat seriously, "The Emperor has already agreed to cease hostilities with the Western Xia envoys this time. Therefore, Tong Guan will definitely return to the capital before next summer. Although I have given some instructions to the Crown Prince and Cai Jing, Tong Guan's cunning should not be underestimated. I will need your help, Fourth Senior Brother."

Liang Shicheng knew Tong Guan, this power-hungry villain, quite well, and naturally took him very seriously.

Qin Zhen added, "Also... if you see a man named Han Shizhong among the officers returning to the capital to receive their rewards, you must help me keep him in the capital."

What are the characters in Han Shizhong's name? If there are any others with the same name, should we leave those as well?

Liang Shicheng was indeed meticulous, having considered even such details. However, how many officers could possibly return to the capital to receive their rewards? The probability of sharing the same name was probably extremely small. Qin Zhen guessed that his question was likely to prompt him to send someone to inquire within the Northwest Army, and that they would surely find the person she was looking for. This put her at ease.

Qin Zhen took the pen and ink, wrote Han Shizhong's name and place of origin on the paper, and then handed it to Liang Shicheng.

"If they even share the same place of origin, then let them all stay."

After discussing some matters, the group of disciples, seeing that it was getting late, prepared to disperse. To avoid attracting attention, they deliberately went their separate ways. Liang Shicheng, having other matters to attend to, left first. After a short while, Wu Nian also prepared to return to the temple.

He hesitated for a moment in front of the door, as if he had something to say but didn't. Qin Zhen knew he was still worried when she saw his hesitation, but she didn't say anything, letting Wu Nian wander around indecisively.

In the end, he left without saying anything. Master Fan said helplessly to Qin Zhen, "If you had asked him again, he would have gone to Liao with you. Why didn't you say anything when you saw him hesitating like this?"

Qin Zhen shook his head and said, "Sixth Senior Brother must untie the knot in his heart himself. If it is because I said too much that he decided to go back and face it, it will still be useless."

Master Fan thought about it and realized he was right; outsiders couldn't help with things like inner conflicts.

The mention of his past troubles reminded him of that person again… Seeing Qin Zhen about to leave, Master Fan hurriedly called out to her, asking, “Is Lady Li… doing well in the palace?”

Qin Zhen looked like she was choking on her words, and after a long while, she asked, "You know her? Were you once one of her clients?"

Master Fan was greatly embarrassed and explained, "Junior Sister, what are you thinking? We've known each other since we were little."

Qin Zhen then realized that his senior brother had been raised by their master. When Li Shishi was staying at Xiangguo Temple, his senior brother must have already been by their master's side. In that case, it was not strange that the two of them had known each other since childhood.

"I haven't had a chance to see her yet, so I'll make time to go in the next couple of days. Is there something you want me to tell you, Senior Brother?"

Master Fan took out a bright red tassel from his sleeve, straightened it, and handed it to Qin Zhen.

"Give this to her."

tassel?

"Senior Brother, you're so stingy. You're incredibly wealthy, yet you only give people a tassel. You should at least give them something else. Otherwise, where are you going to hang this tassel?" Qin Zhen bluntly voiced his question, but Second Master Fan just smiled and offered no explanation.

Hehe, something's up! Qin Zhen started plotting again. She held out her hand in front of Master Fan and said with a smile, "Sir, you should give me a reward for having someone run away!"

Master Fan was amused by the miserly expression on Qin Zhen's face. He patted her little hand and said, "You really are a little rascal. Alright, I'll give you a treasure today."

As he spoke, he took a gold ring off his left thumb and placed it in Qin Zhen's palm.

Qin Zhen picked up the gold ring, clicked his tongue, and shook his head, saying, "Senior Brother has indeed been corrupted by the stench of money, his taste has been lowered. This ring is indeed valuable... but, but it's too vulgar!"

The thick gold ring must have used a lot of gold, as it was quite heavy on the finger. The intricate carvings were exceptionally fine, and what's more, a bright green emerald was set on the ring face, which was dazzlingly bright.

Master Fan said dismissively, "It's precisely these mundane things that make one live comfortably. Keep this safe. If you ever need money, take this gold-inlaid jade ring to any money shop and you can withdraw any amount from Fanlou's account, as long as it's under five thousand taels of silver. If you still need more, you must write to me in advance. Only with my personal signature will they give you more..."

"That's enough, that's enough..." Qin Zhen hurriedly said, "I'm not recruiting soldiers, how can I spend so much money..."

Five thousand taels of silver... a fortune of pure silver...

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The naming of the ring was a bit of a joke~ Do you guys know what "gold inlaid with jade" means? It's the name of our 2008 Olympic medals, *chuckles*. I heard our country is going to use some special materials to fill the gold medals with jade~ to represent extreme wealth and nobility~

Volume One: Destiny's Fate 047 - Meeting in the Sea of People

On this day, two other people who had left the palace, Zhao Huan and Zhao Gou, suddenly visited the Military Equipment Bureau, causing a stir among the officials and craftsmen inside.

After Zhao Huan explained for a long time that he had not come to inspect their performance, but only to show his younger brother the weapons, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

The official in charge did his best to introduce Zhao Gou to various weapons and even showed him the entire process of gunpowder production.

The official pointed to the craftsmen who were preparing black powder and said, "This batch of black powder is going to the gunpowder workshop to make fireworks, so the composition is slightly different. These craftsmen have put in a lot of hard work to make fireworks of different colors. The Crown Prince and the Prince will be able to see the results of their efforts on New Year's Eve this year!"

He thought that saying this would earn him praise from the prince, but Zhao Gou said with dissatisfaction, "Instead of spending time studying how beautiful fireworks are, you should think more about how to make cannons to better repel the enemy!"

The official wiped his forehead, startled by Zhao Gou's imposing manner, and quickly and obsequiously agreed.

As Zhao Gou looked at the other weapons, he said, "I've heard that gunpowder can be made into weapons like bows and arrows. Just pull the trigger and it will ignite, killing enemies from a hundred feet away. There's also a kind of trap-like weapon. If someone accidentally touches the trigger, the gunpowder inside will explode, injuring enemies within a radius of several dozen feet. It's quite powerful. Can you make these things?"

"This..." the clerk said with difficulty, "I am ignorant and have never seen these things before. After I go down, I will definitely have the craftsmen try them out more."

The minor official, who had been living in fear all day, finally saw the two noblemen off. Relieved, he was also curious about what Zhao Gou had mentioned, so he went to consult with the skilled craftsmen.

On the way back to the palace, Zhao Huan asked curiously, "What were those weapons you mentioned earlier? Are they really that powerful?"

Zhao Huan said, "I've never seen them either. Qin Zhen told me about them. She said these weapons are extremely powerful, many times more effective than the 'Flowing Fire' described in military books. If they can be made, they will surely ensure that our Song army is invincible on the battlefield!"

This description aroused Zhao Huan's hopes, and he couldn't help but exclaim, "If it could really have such an effect, I would definitely make it no matter the cost!"

As the two were talking, the carriage suddenly jolted and stopped.

"Zhao Yong, what's wrong?"

"Master, someone couldn't dodge in time and fell in front of the carriage."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Huan lifted the carriage curtain and looked out. He saw a young man in white robes slumped weakly under the horse's hooves, seemingly greatly frightened. Fearing that the man was injured, he got out of the carriage himself and went forward to ask, "Brother, are you hurt anywhere?"

"No...no..." the young man in white said, trembling.

Zhao Huan looked down at him but couldn't see what he looked like. However, judging from his still childish voice, he knew that he was not very old.

"Since there's nothing wrong, young man, get up quickly. It's such a waste to use perfectly good clothes to wipe the floor."

The young man in white hurriedly tried to stand up, but found his legs too weak. Just as he was feeling embarrassed, he saw Zhao Huan reach out to help him up. The young man hesitated for a moment, but still put his hand on Zhao Huan's arm and used it to stand up.

Zhao Huan was startled to see the hand resting on his forearm, white and smooth as jade, with slender fingers. He looked at the young man who had stood up and saw that his skin was as white as snow, his eyes as black as ink, and two rosy clouds floated on his cheeks. What surprised him even more was that the young man was wearing earrings!

Which young lady has snuck out again? How could she be so careless as to not even take off her earrings!

Zhao Huan stared intently at her. The young lady turned away apologetically and said, "I'm so sorry for disturbing the carriage. I'm fine now, you can leave."

"Our carriages were moving too fast and we almost bumped into you. We haven't even apologized yet, how can we just abandon a woman like you..."

The woman stared at Zhao Huan with surprised eyes, completely unaware that she had already given herself away.

Zhao Huan pointed to her earlobe, and she quickly touched it, only to find that the earring was still on her ear. She stomped her foot, both embarrassed and annoyed, looking quite adorable.

Although the woman's white dress was covered in dust, its fine quality was still easily discernible. Her gold-threaded, beaded earrings were also clearly not cheap items, leading Zhao Huan to guess that she must be a young lady from a wealthy family. However, looking around and seeing no maids or servants, Zhao Huan asked, "Miss, are you out alone? Isn't that dangerous?"

"Oh..." Upon hearing his question, the young lady's face flushed even more crimson. She said, "I've gotten separated from my maid, and I've been waiting for her here for so long, but she hasn't come back to look for me... I... I don't know how to get back..."

Judging from the situation, she had gotten lost. This young lady was truly adorably naive; not knowing where to go, she stubbornly stayed where she was, waiting for her maid to come looking for her. When she saw the carriage coming, she didn't even bother to move aside... What was Zhao Huan supposed to say about this?

"May I ask where you live, Miss? If you trust me, how about I take you home?"

The woman was uneasy, her eyes darting around nervously. She had already overheard talking to the man so much; if she were to share a ride with him, what would become of her reputation? But looking at the darkening sky and the dwindling number of pedestrians, her anxiety only intensified. In winter, darkness fell early; if she waited any longer, she didn't know how long it would take to get home.

Just as she was hesitating, Zhao Huan noticed the jade belt around her waist and asked in surprise, "Are you a young lady from the Duke of Fu's family?"

The woman was taken aback, then nodded and asked, "How did you know?"

Zhao Huan pointed to the jade belt and said, "This was a gift from the emperor, and its whereabouts are recorded. This jade belt should be in the hands of Zhu Zhi, the eldest son of the Duke of Fu."

This woman was none other than Zhu Lian, the eldest daughter of Zhu Guina, the Duke of Fu. She was secretly amazed that this person knew so much about her. Not only this jade belt, but her entire outfit belonged to her elder brother. She just hadn't known beforehand that the jade belt was so special.

“Young master has a good eye; it is indeed my brother’s possession.”

Zhao Huan smiled and said, "To be honest, I have a deep connection with the people in your household. Before I met you, I had already heard about your interesting stories."

Zhu Lian looked at Zhao Huan curiously, thinking to herself, "This man is probably talking nonsense. How could a woman like her, secluded in her chambers, have any special secrets that would be known to others?"

"Do you still remember your cousin Zhu Xuan?" Zhao Huan asked deliberately when he saw that she didn't believe him.

"Xuan'er? You actually know Xuan'er? She grew up with me, how come I didn't know she knew the men outside the manor?" Zhu Lian said blankly, "Come to think of it, it's been a long time since I've seen her, I wonder if she's doing well there..."

Zhao Huan smiled faintly. After Zhu Lian finished speaking, he suddenly realized what was happening, took a few steps back, and covered his mouth with his hand, saying in great surprise, "You wouldn't...you wouldn't..."