The next day, when Qin Zheng woke up, it was already mid-morning.

After freshening up, her maid guided her, saying they were going to the pavilion for a meal.

When Qin Zheng stepped out, she noticed Lin Zhao’s room was tightly shut. She asked, “Isn’t the young lady next door coming?”

The maid replied, “The master only instructed you to go alone.”

Qin Zheng furrowed her brows lightly.

Did Shen Yanzhi have something to discuss with her privately, avoiding Lin Zhao?

Given their current situation, it was better to avoid suspicion.

After pondering for a moment, she went to knock on Lin Zhao’s door, intending to invite her along.

But there was no response from inside.

Qin Zheng found it strange, and the maid’s expression was subtle as she said, “That young lady just got up and went to the kitchen to get some food.”

Her words were quite revealing, implying something embarrassing.

In noble households, servants usually brought meals to the courtyard.

It was unheard of for a guest to go to the kitchen themselves early in the morning.

The maid’s deliberate remark was aimed at mocking their lack of sophistication and manners.

Qin Zheng knew that Lin Zhao grew up in the mountain stronghold and was accustomed to going to the main kitchen for meals.

She didn’t understand the unwritten rules of noble households.

Yesterday, Lin Zhao said they would only eat plain buns with pickled vegetables in the future.

Qin Zheng thought it was just a whim at the time, but now she realized Lin Zhao might have gone to the kitchen in another courtyard to get buns.

When the maid mentioned the price of bird’s nest earlier, Qin Zheng sensed some implications.

She had only glanced at the maid at the time, expecting her to tone it down, but she hadn’t expected her to be so blunt.

Qin Zheng was protective by nature.

She immediately said to the maid, “It’s my poor memory. I told Zhao last night that we would eat pickled vegetables and buns. We’re used to coarse grains, suddenly eating delicacies from the noble household might not sit well. I won’t go to the pavilion.”

The maid’s face turned pale.

She knew the master had an interest in this woman.

If she exaggerated something to the master, considering Shen Yanzhi’s usual methods…

The maid shivered at the thought.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she pleaded, “I have elderly parents at home and younger siblings to support. I’m not good at speaking. I hope you won’t hold it against me, my lady.”

Qin Zheng smiled faintly, her eyes unusually cold. “Why would a person like you, who’s in the same boat as me, say such things? Weren’t you speaking up for your master earlier?”

The maid’s face turned even paler.

How could she, a mere servant, speak up for Shen Yanzhi?

She realized how foolish her actions had been.

She thought she was cleverly trying to take advantage, but she didn’t expect the other party to be so tough.

Last night, the lack of response was simply because Qin Zheng didn’t want to bother with her.

Seeing her frightened like this, Qin Zheng let go of her intention to scare her.

Being stuck here was already frustrating, and hearing her side remarks now and then was making her mood worse.

She only hoped the maid would learn her lesson from now on.

Qin Zheng turned and walked back to her room.

Seeing this, the maid was so scared that she knelt on the ground directly. “I was disrespectful in my words earlier. Please forgive me, my lady. Please don’t make it difficult for me. Please go to the pavilion.”

Qin Zheng paused for a moment and said, “Please tell your master that as a married woman, I’m already grateful to stay in this mansion. I don’t want to attract gossip, so I won’t dine together.”

The maid didn’t know Qin Zheng’s identity.

Hearing her say she was a married woman surprised her even more.

Thinking of Shen Yanzhi’s interest in her, the maid couldn’t help but feel disdainful.

A woman who had been married and had been in a bandit’s den, what kind of woman was she besides being a troublemaker?

Where did she deserve their master’s attention?

Despite being scolded by Qin Zheng, the maid didn’t show any resentment in front of her.

She respectfully bowed and retreated.

Qin Zheng didn’t pay much attention to the maid’s little schemes.

She instructed the maid to relay the message to Shen Yanzhi partly because she didn’t want too much interaction with him and partly to see where his tolerance limit was.

Shen Yanzhi hadn’t grown into the extreme antagonist portrayed in the original book yet. Many things couldn’t be taken to such extremes.

Understanding his level of tolerance was also part of her plan to escape.

Qin Zheng hadn’t been in the room for long when Lin Zhao returned with a tray of chicken congee and steamed buns. “Sister Zheng, I went to the kitchen to get breakfast.”

She placed the congee and buns on the table and said, “There was only chicken congee in the kitchen. No plain congee.”

The buns were made of fine white flour, looking plump and white.

They were soft and sweet, completely different from the coarse grain buns Lin Zhao had eaten in the mountain stronghold.

Lin Zhao, usually quite vocal, was unusually silent now, just focusing on eating.

Qin Zheng put down the bowl of congee she had just tasted and asked, “What’s wrong?”

She was afraid someone from the kitchen in the other courtyard had said something to embarrass Lin Zhao.

Lin Zhao finished the last bun in big bites before muttering, “It’s nice to be an official. These fine white flour buns are only given to the lowest servants in the mansion. I hope one day the people in the stronghold can eat such fine buns too.”

In the rise and fall of nations, it was always the lowest class of people who suffered.

Qin Zheng looked at her and said, “That day will come.”

Her comforting words sounded somewhat weak.

Although the imperial city had been captured by the rebels, the three powers in the world were now divided.

Whether it was the king of Huaiyang in the south or the marquis of Lianqin in the north, it wouldn’t be easy for the rebels to conquer them overnight.

The ultimate ruler of this world was still uncertain.

Lin Zhao’s voice grew heavier, “I heard there’s going to be another war in the south. The court plans to attack Yingzhou, but the weapons shipped by water to Minzhou were intercepted by river bandits. So, the attack on Yingzhou has been postponed for now.”

Qin Zheng pondered.

Yingzhou was under the control of the Lu family. The court’s purpose in attacking Yingzhou was obvious.

But the Lu family had already allied with the king of Huaiyang.

With the protection of the king of Huaiyang, it was hard to say whether the court could capture Yingzhou.

In today’s world, it was only a matter of time before the three major powers clashed, and attacking Yingzhou was just the beginning.

Only the lowest class of people truly understood the pain brought by war.

Fields couldn’t be cultivated, and young men would be forcibly conscripted.

In the battlefield, who knew how many lives would be lost.

She couldn’t help but sigh, “The major powers don’t submit to each other. Everyone wants to sit on the throne of power. Perhaps only when another Emperor Wu Jia appears, who can conquer all the rebel kings, can there be true peace in the world.”

Upon hearing this, Lin Zhao’s eyes revealed a hint of melancholy. “I heard the scholars say years ago that Emperor Wu Jia’s constant wars brought complaints from the people.

Many literati criticized him, calling him a warmonger who was only fit to be a butcher. At that time, I thought the scholar was just making things up. But now, I understand a bit.”

“In those years, there were internal and external troubles, worse than the current situation. The people suffered from the chaos of war, and when the situation stabilized, they didn’t want to start wars again. But Emperor Wu Jia knew that only by defeating the surrounding nations could he truly achieve peace.”

“As expected, after he used drastic measures to pacify the southern and northern barbarians, even though he died less than a year after ascending the throne, the northern barbarians who used to harass the borders of Chu every winter didn’t dare to invade Chu for more than ten years after his death.

At that time, Chu was too weak to fight again, but the surrounding barbarians were even worse off after being defeated by Emperor Wu Jia. Without more than a decade to recuperate, they couldn’t recover.”

For some reason, listening to Lin Zhao talk about this, Qin Zheng suddenly remembered the reaction of Chu Chengji when she first mentioned Emperor Wu Jia to him.

“No one criticized him for being a warmonger, for killing like a butcher from Longxi?”

When he said this, was there a hint of desolation and self-mockery in his eyes?

Was he unhappy about the criticisms his ancestors had received?

But the Chu dynasty had prospered for over three hundred years.

Later generations of Chu people already regarded Emperor Wu Jia as a reincarnation of the War God, building temples and offering incense to him.

No one thought Emperor Wu Jia’s wars were wrong anymore.

Looking back at that sealed-off history, some even felt fortunate that Emperor Wu Jia had cleared away all the hidden dangers, allowing Chu to prosper after his death.

What was he unhappy about his ancestors?

The more Qin Zheng thought about it, the stranger she felt.

Could it be that Chu Chengji thought that with the downfall of Chu, Emperor Wu Jia, the founding emperor, should be dragged out and whipped?

Lost in thought for a long time, Lin Zhao called her several times before Qin Zheng came back to her senses. “What’s wrong?”

Lin Zhao looked at her suspiciously. “Sister Zheng, what are you thinking? I called you several times, but you didn’t respond?”

Qin Zheng gathered her thoughts and said, “I was thinking, Emperor Wu Jia became more aggressive towards the end. Perhaps he knew his time was running out, so he cleared away all the hidden dangers while he could still lead the troops into battle, so that the people of the world could avoid the pain of war even after his death.”

Lin Zhao’s eyes reddened at Qin Zheng’s words. “Emperor Wu Jia is the best emperor of Chu.”

Thinking of the great Chu Empire Emperor Wu Jia had founded was now gone, Lin Zhao felt even more emotional.

“From now on, on Emperor Wu Jia’s birthday, I will go to the temple to worship him and offer incense.”

Qin Zheng looked at Lin Zhao’s reddened eyes and felt a touch of emotion in her heart.

In any era, there were emperors who could be remembered and revered across the ages.

They were immortal because of their achievements, which were enough to be remembered for eternity.

Perhaps limited by time and the perspectives of people at that time, they might bear names of criticism, but time could prove everything.

The only regret was that after they slept forever in their own time and space, they might not know that future generations had praised and admired them in such a way.

Qin Zheng gently held Lin Zhao’s hand to comfort her. “I once heard someone say that as long as someone remembers, the remembered person will always exist.”

Lin Zhao wiped her eyes. “If Emperor Wu Jia were still alive and knew that the Chu Empire had fallen and the world was now divided like this, he would be sad…”

Qin Zheng paused for a moment and said, “I think he might just want to rearrange this land again.”

Lin Zhao’s original melancholy dissipated because of Qin Zheng’s words, turning her tears into laughter.

---

In Ying Prefecture, the Lu Family.

The middle-aged Lu patriarch looked at the message delivered by the carrier pigeon with a solemn expression.

He and the Grand Tutor Lu were cousins. When the Lu family produced an empress, the Grand Tutor led part of the clan to move to the capital, while the Lu patriarch stayed behind in Ying Prefecture with the rest of the family.

Unexpectedly, the conservative decision made back then had now become a wise move to safeguard the family.

Seeing his father’s grim expression, the eldest son of the Lu family asked anxiously, “Father, what does the letter say?”

The second son of the Lu family slammed the teacup onto the table and casually said, “If you ask me, the fate of the former dynasty is sealed. With the Crown Prince lacking military power, what can he achieve by hiding and scheming? We can sit safely here now all thanks to the protection of the Prince of Huaiyang. In the future, we should wholeheartedly assist the lineage of the Prince of Huaiyang! If the Prince of Huaiyang finds out that we still have dealings with the Crown Prince, don’t provoke his displeasure.”

His eldest daughter had long been married to the Prince of Huaiyang, so naturally, she always spoke in favor of the Prince.

The Lu patriarch eldest son argued. “How would the Prince of Huaiyang know about the Lu family’s dealings with the Crown Prince?”

When the daughter of the second son married the Prince of Huaiyang as a concubine, the second son’s family often took the upper hand against the Eldest family, and there was constant tension between the two branches.

The second son of the Lu family stood up and slapped the table. “What do you mean by that?”

Seeing that his two sons were about to argue again, the Lu patriarch said in a deep voice, “What’s the point of arguing?”

The eldest son turned his head away, and the second son reluctantly calmed down and sat back in his seat.

Only then did the Lu patriarch say, “The Crown Prince’s letter instructs us to attack Min Prefecture.”

The eldest and second sons of the Lu family looked at each other, obviously puzzled.

The Lu patriarch pondered for a moment. “The court has blocked the news. Their military supplies destined for Min Prefecture were seized.

If we attack Min Prefecture now, and the Prince of Huaiyang’s troops come from Ezhou, Min Prefecture will be ours.”

The Lu family had been able to stand firm with the support of the Prince of Huaiyang. If they could take Min Prefecture, it would be a significant achievement for the Lu family.

For a moment, the Lu patriarch and his two sons were united, but the second son was still somewhat worried. “Father, why would the Crown Prince suddenly instruct us to counterattack Min Prefecture?”

Could it be that the Crown Prince also wanted to defect to the Prince of Huaiyang?

The Lu patriarch looked out the window for a moment with his hands behind his back and said, “Young Master Shen has been ordered to suppress the bandits. He leads thirty thousand elite soldiers stationed in Qing Prefecture.

Min Prefecture is in urgent need of help, and the quickest route for reinforcements from the court is the thirty thousand troops stationed in Qing Prefecture.”

The Crown Prince was restrained by the thirty thousand elite soldiers in Qing Prefecture. Without them, Qing Prefecture might also fall.