Mythical Three Kingdoms

Zhang Shiping naturally possessed the ability to keenly observe words and expressions, as he was used to hustling through the market streets and frequenting government officials’ residences. The fleeting hint of gloom in Fa Zheng’s expression inevitably caused Zhang Shiping’s heart to tighten.

Zhang Shiping, who now fully depended on Liu Bei, was well aware that if any of the feudal lords could sweep the lands and restore the Han Dynasty, Liu Bei would have a sixty percent chance. With Liu Bei’s benevolence, a young and high-ranking minister like Fa Zheng, who was exceptionally talented, would—if nothing unexpected happened—dominate high positions for the next few decades.

Therefore, a merchant like Zhang Shiping would definitely not offend a prodigy like Fa Zheng, whose potential was immense. Naturally, that hint of gloom made Zhang Shiping wonder if something was wrong on his end.

”Elder Brother Zhang, you needn’t mind it. My eyes just played tricks on me, probably because I’ve not seen a woman for several days and a touch of spring fever has stirred within me, hahaha,” Fa Zheng laughed heartily.

Although Zhang Shiping’s expression hardly changed, Fa Zheng, who had been mentored by Guo Jia and Jia Xu for a long time, had his own grasp of the human heart and instantly saw through Zhang Shiping’s worries, thus putting on the expression of a lecherous wolf.

”Hahaha, the National Chancellor looks to be quite the player,” Zhang Shiping said with a humorously lecherous grin. As long as the fault was not his, he certainly wouldn’t take Fa Zheng’s words seriously, nor would he pretend he hadn’t heard them. However, since they were on the move, they obviously couldn’t stay, and they would have to wait until they reached Mount Tai.

After a brief conversation with Zhang Shiping, Fa Zheng returned to the caravan with Lu Xun, but once back in the carriage, he received a hit from a walking stick.

”Dad, you could be a bit more gentle; I can’t withstand your beating,” Fa Zheng said with a wry smile, casting a glance at Lu Xun, who stifled a laugh.

”How did I, Fa Yan, come to have such a son!” Fa Zheng’s father was infuriated by Fa Zheng’s previous words. To be so shameless in public was outrageous, though had it not been in public, the beatings might have been more severe.

”Just the other day I was your favorite son,” Fa Zheng said helplessly. ”As soon as you have a grandson, you’ll stop bothering me.”

Fa Yan remained silent. He had nothing more to say concerning Fa Zheng, who had, admittedly, far exceeded his expectations. However, sometimes Fa Zheng’s inappropriate behavior and frivolousness gave him an urge to smack him.

Meanwhile, Jiang Ying, a year older than Wang Yi, said to her, ”Sister, I think I saw my husband...”

”Then why don’t you go see him?” Wang Yi pursed her lips. ”We came here to find him. From Liangzhou to Mount Tai, we’ve traveled so much, and now that we’re here and you’ve seen him, you’re not going to meet him?”

”...” Jiang Ying smiled bitterly. Indeed, she had come to find Fa Zheng. Her family was planning to wed her to the Ma Family of Fufeng, that is, the Ma Chao family. There wasn’t much to discuss about that. Compared to the increasingly declining Legalist family, the Ma Clan was growing stronger in recent years. For the Jiang Family to live better in Xiliang, a marriage alliance was inevitable.

Nevertheless, Fufeng is the ancestral home of the Ban Family, the place that produced Ban Gu, Ban Chao, and Ban Zhao. Incidentally, the ”Women’s Precepts” were written by Ban Zhao, and girls from that area all grew up reading the ”Women’s Precepts”. It was only natural for them to emulate Ban Zhao, and Jiangg Ying naturally belonged to that category.

Now that the marriage contract had been delivered, Jiangg Ying was, in actuality, Fa Zheng’s. Naturally, her family’s decision to proceed with the marriage greatly displeased Jiangg Ying. It wasn’t as if Fa Zheng had died; even if Fa Zheng were now far away and had completely fallen from grace, she would still have to marry him. And now that they had come to fetch the bride, her family actually forbade her from leaving. How could they be so heartless?

However, the Jiangg Family turned a blind eye to Jiangg Ying’s dissatisfaction. After all, in their minds, no matter how much Jiangg Ying made a fuss, she couldn’t escape the reality that the distance from Liangzhou to Mount Tai was not to be trifled with. Amidst the chaos of war, Jiangg Ying was effectively trapped in the Jiangg household, but they didn’t keep a very tight watch over her.

Given these circumstances, Jiangg Ying nearly had the opportunity to make contact with the outside world, and with the support of her mother and sisters, she enjoyed what could be called a regional advantage. There was no helping it; you have to understand the women who hail from the land where the ”Women’s Precepts” originated.

Clearly, Jiangg Ying’s mother, aunts, maternal aunts, female cousins, and other relatives had no viable solution, especially since at this juncture, they didn’t even know Fa Zheng’s exact whereabouts. When Fa Zheng sent someone to fetch Fa Yan, he hadn’t specified his current official position or exact residence, simply instructing them to reach Mount Tai.

In the end, Wang Yi, Jiangg Ying’s smartest cousin, put together a plan for Jiangg Ying, which, in essence, was ”A Thousand-Mile Quest for Her Husband”. Since they were supposed to be at Mount Tai, all they had to do was search for him there. After all, once they left, it wouldn’t be easy for the Jiangg Family to find them.

Actually, this plan was incredibly unreliable; if it had just been Jiangg Ying alone, she might have ended up disappearing. Naturally, her sisters were completely against the idea. However, being the smartest among all her sisters and aunts, Wang Yi would go ahead with the plan even if the others disapproved. After Jiangg Ying hadn’t outright rejected the ”A Thousand-Mile Quest for Her Husband” proposal, Wang Yi said she would take care of everything else.

After that, it became simple. Miss Wang’s intelligence, not to speak of her logical acumen and meticulousness, was more than sufficient. After a lengthy period of comparison and selection, Wang Yi had made contact with Zhang Shiping.

First, they used the Wang Family’s local influence to lure Zhang Shiping, then leveraging the Jiangg Family’s influence to connect with the Ma Clan. In this stage, they arranged for Jiangg Ying to dress as a man and have a vague meeting with Zhang Shiping while accompanied by a steward, simply to give Zhang Shiping an impression of Jiangg Ying.

Then, they helped Zhang Shiping successfully purchase horses. As a result, Zhang Shiping naturally developed a favorable impression of the Wang and Jiangg families. Afterwards, Wang Yi had Jiangg Ying disguise herself as a man once more, with the steward who looked very much like a lord and herself as a servant boy, stating that ”they” were bound for Mount Tai to assess the potential of the trade route and to see if they could establish it as a stable commercial path.

For Zhang Shiping, this was exactly what he desired. Without any suspicion, he treated that steward as an honored guest, and along with Wang Yi and Jiangg Ying, he arrived at Mount Tai without any issues.

Throughout this journey, Jiangg Ying learnt more and more about Fa Zheng. He was far from the minor official her father had estimated him to be, and Liu Bei was not the insignificant feudal lord her father had mentioned. Everything was the complete opposite: Liu Bei was the Hegemon of Central Plains, and Fa Zheng had been the National Chancellor of Qii before the new year, truly a young man achieving great success.

Consequently, Jiangg Ying didn’t know how to approach Fa Zheng. In her memory, he was still that boy she used to play with, but years had passed since their last meeting, and his status now far exceeded her imagination. The National Chancellor of Qii at barely twenty, could he still accept her? Jiangg Ying couldn’t help feeling lost.

”I’ll do it, Sister Ying. It seems that in the end, it’s up to me to take action,” said Wang Yi calmly after drinking the tea from her cup and placing it back on the saucer. Honestly, even Wang Yi wasn’t sure anymore, but as a clever person, she knew that maintaining composure was key to giving her teammates confidence. (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit Qidian ) to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to read.)