Old Li stretched his arm through the gap in the railing and barely reached the corner of Zhang Fu's clothes.
He dragged Zhang Fu over little by little, pinched Zhang Fu's mouth open through the railing, and poured two gulps of water into his mouth.
Water flowed out from the corners of Zhang Fu's mouth. He was unconscious and had no reaction.
Old Li shook his head and sighed: "Alas, another useless one."
At night, the jailer distributed prison meals to each cell one by one.
After the jailer left,
Old Li dug out a branch hidden under the haystack. He squeezed between two railings, tilted his head, stretched out his arms, pushed out the two white flour buns in Zhang Fu's bowl, and carefully rolled them in front of him.
He happily grabbed the two steamed buns, blew off the dust on them, put them in his arms, and sat down.
"I'm afraid I won't be able to eat this kind of steamed bun for a few more days." He muttered, chewing slowly and eating a white steamed bun.
Grabbing the second one, Lao Li looked back at Zhang Fu who was lying there, and then looked at the white steamed bun in his hand.
After thinking about it, he finally broke off a small piece, reached over the railing, and stuffed it into Zhang Fu's mouth.
"Eat it. Can you swallow it? If you can't even eat a white bun, there's no hope for you." He looked at the pale-faced "neighbor" and added in a low voice, "Aren't you still waiting for someone to rescue you? If you don't eat, you may never be able to wait."
After a while, just when Lao Li almost gave up hope and planned to eat the remaining white flour bun himself.
Zhang Fu's jaw finally moved slowly. He chewed for a while with difficulty, and his Adam's apple rolled with difficulty, and he swallowed the food in his mouth.
Then the pale lips parted slightly.
Old Li sneered and broke off another piece of steamed bun and stuffed it into his mouth.
"As long as I can eat, I'm fine. I'm really strong and won't die."
…
No Saffron looked at the Han woman in front of him with unhappiness.
She frowned and said, "Please don't come to harm me again. I am afraid of you Han people. You are all cunning. I was severely scolded by my sister because of Zhang Fu. I dare not provoke you Han people again."
"Hurry up and leave!" She waved her sleeves to drive him away. "Since you are a woman, I will not bother with you for the time being."
The Princess of Jin who was sitting in front of her seemed to have no temper at all and was still smiling.
She stretched out her white hand and opened a small square box in front of her.
Inside this inconspicuous box sat a pearl the size of an egg. The pearl was placed on a piece of black velvet, emitting a soft glow that brightened the entire room.
Saffron had never seen such a large and bright night-shining pearl before. He was surprised and raised his hand unconsciously.
Then she realized that she had lost her composure, and quickly adjusted her expression, curling her lips in embarrassment.
"How could I harm Your Highness?" The Jin princess said softly, "I came here for peace between Jin and Xirong. Your Highness helped me, and you also helped countless people in Xirong. The Queen Mother knows right from wrong, and has nothing but praise and gratitude for you."
Without Saffron's eyes, he glanced at the night pearl a few times, and his heart felt slightly relieved.
She stopped chasing him away and started asking, "You keep saying you're here to negotiate, but your Jin army has been attacking our towns one after another these days. I wonder what your intentions are?"
Princess Cheng Qianye of the State of Jin spoke in a gentle voice, neither hurried nor slow. She had a charm that could unconsciously reduce one's hostility toward her.
"If our two countries become diplomatic ties, then the war will naturally stop. Wouldn't that be a win-win for everyone?" Cheng Qianye stood up and took two steps, then gently placed the box in front of Mei Zang Hongzhu and clasped his hands in a junior's salute.
Mei Saffron hesitated for a moment, then remembered the slap the Queen Mother gave him in the face. He put away his greed for money and pushed the box forward: "No, no, go find someone else. I can't accept your things."
Cheng Qianye smiled and reached out to gently press the box. "Your Highness has a noble character, which makes me respect you very much. I have been here for two days. Although I have not seen the Queen Mother, I have met several high-ranking generals and ministers, and none of them is as honest as Your Highness."
Saffron's eyes rolled and the strength in his hands loosened. "Tell me first, what do you want me to help you with?"
"This is my first time meeting you, and I admire you. This is just a small gift, so I can't make things difficult for you." Cheng Qianye sat down next to Mei Saffron, holding her hand and shaking it gently.
"It's just that I heard that the Queen Mother is very majestic, so I feel a little uneasy, so I want to ask you to say a few good words for me."
After hearing this, Saffron felt relieved and finally smiled.
"That's nothing. The Queen Mother will summon you tomorrow. I'll find an excuse to go to the palace and say a few good words for you."
Cheng Qianye stood up, thanked him, and left.
Not long after, Saffron's nephew, Pei Zhen, came in.
When Mei Saffron saw him appear at the door, she calmly raised her sleeves and hid the small box into her sleeves.
"Aunt." Mei Zang Pei Zhen was very casual in front of this little aunt and sat down on the chair beside her.
He stretched out his hand and straightened his sleeves. "When my nephew came in just now, I ran into the princess of Jin under the porch. She came to my house the day before yesterday, but I didn't expect that she would even come to my aunt's house today."
No Saffron glanced at him and said: "This Princess Cheng Qianye of Jin is someone you can't mess with. Don't pay attention to her. My sister's attitude is still undecided. She has been leaving her alone for several days, and she said she would summon her tomorrow."
Mei Zang Pei Zhen smiled indifferently: "She didn't ask me to do anything, but just asked me to show some mercy to Zhang Fu's men. I thought that my aunt had not yet made up her mind on this matter, and Zhang Fu had to be saved anyway. So I agreed to her request."
He touched his chin, remembering how they had just passed each other on the porch. The princess was neither arrogant nor humble, and nodded to him with a faint smile.
Mei Saffron said, "Don't have any evil thoughts. The men of Jin are as cunning as foxes, and the women must be as dangerous as poisonous snakes. In my opinion, only the women of our grasslands are worthy of our Xirong men. Pei Zhen, don't follow your uncles and marry a Han woman."
"I don't have any ideas. I just feel that although this woman looks gentle and docile like a Han Chinese woman, she gives people an indescribable feeling." Mei Zang Pei Zhen narrowed his eyes and thought for a while, then found the right words, "Just like my aunt, even though she can't get angry, she has a sense of momentum in her bones."
The next morning, Cheng Qianye was finally received by Queen Mother Mo Zang of Xirong.
When Queen Dowager Mei Zang looked at the young princess of Jin who was slowly walking out of the door of the hall, she was actually suppressing anger in her heart.
The ruler of Jin, Marquis Yue of Jin, sent his sister to negotiate for peace, but at the same time he sent two of his generals to attack the border towns of the Western Rong.
At this moment, Queen Mother Mo Zang had just imprisoned her son and was trying to establish a new king. The court of Xirong was in chaos. They really couldn't spare the time to go to war with Jin, so they really needed this negotiation.
However, she felt humiliated when she was half-forced to lower her head and shake hands with the enemy who had just captured her city.
After the princess of Jin arrived as an envoy, Queen Mother Mei Zang deliberately did not summon her immediately. She wanted to give her the cold shoulder so as to throw the young princess off balance and lower her arrogance.
However, the princess began to visit everywhere openly. In just a few days, she had visited almost all the important officials in the court.
The wind direction in the court has subtly changed in the past few days. The court officials began to believe in the sincerity of Jin's negotiations, and many people advised her to meet the Jin princess.
Queen Mother Mei Zang had been in charge of government affairs for many years and was a true politician. Although she was resentful in her heart, she still remained graceful and allowed Cheng Qianye to sit.
She looked Cheng Qianye up and down and said, "Is your Jin State so deserted? Why did you send a delicate princess like you as an envoy?"
Cheng Qianye laughed: "If someone else said this, it would be fine, but it really surprised me when it came from the Queen Mother. We women are just bound by the secular world and have many inconveniences when doing things, but in fact we are no worse than men."
"I have heard of your name since I was very young, and I have always admired you as a person, and I regard you as a role model for women like me. Your Majesty, what you said today must be just a joke to a junior like me, right?"
Although she knew that Cheng Qianye's words were meant to praise her, these words really touched the heart of Empress Dowager Mei Zang. As a woman, she had gone through so much hardship along the way, and only she herself knew it. She had always looked down upon those self-deprecating women.
This princess is really good at talking. Queen Mother Mei Zang reminded herself in her heart that this is a very stable person, and she should not be underestimated just because she is young.
"You, the State of Jin, have just seized Zhengzhou from me and killed many of my Western Rong warriors. Now you are sending me to negotiate again. How can I believe in your sincerity?" Queen Mother Mei Zang did not respond to Cheng Qianye's words and went straight to the point.
"Empress Dowager, have you ever heard a saying?" Cheng Qianye spoke in a clear voice, her words clearly articulated, spreading across the empty hall, "There may be unsolvable knots between people. But between countries, there are no eternal enemies, only eternal interests."
"There are no eternal enemies, only eternal interests?" Queen Mother Mei Zang chewed on this sentence in her heart. Without many years of experience in the political arena, one cannot truly appreciate the deep meaning of this sentence.
"Besides, there is no deep hatred between our two countries. Zhengzhou is originally the land of our Han people. We are just asking for it back. Now, my brother only wants to let the subjects in the territory recuperate and live and work in peace. He sincerely sent me to your country to divide the land with the Queen Mother, so that we can be good neighbors and have diplomatic relations."
Queen Mother Mo Zang heard the hidden meaning behind these high-sounding words. Jin was a newly rising country that had just expanded a large area of land. It needed time to stabilize the results of the war, improve people's livelihood, and strengthen national strength.
Although she did not want to sit back and watch this terrible neighbor grow stronger, Xirong was in urgent need of a respite due to the internal strife in the court.
It seems that we can only make temporary compromises for the common needs of the two countries.
"Since you and I both want to negotiate peace," Queen Mother Mei Zang said, "then please withdraw your troops on the border first. Especially your General Mo Qiaosheng, he is simply barbaric and rude. If I didn't want to talk to you, I would have assembled our Xirong army and formally confronted him."
In just a few days, the terrible General Mo Qiaosheng of Jin State, leading a cavalry unit, without any baggage, with each man carrying only a few days' worth of dry food, marched straight into the heart of the Western Rong like a steel knife.
No one could stop them along the way, and they had now arrived less than fifty miles outside of Haojing. This was also the main reason why Queen Mother Mo Zang finally agreed to negotiate.
Cheng Qianye took out a letter from his sleeve, on which were several treaties carefully written, and presented it with both hands.
A war without the smoke of gunpowder unfolded in this hall, lasting from morning to sunset.
The two sides bargained back and forth until they had agreed on every detail of the treaty.
When it was time to sign and stamp, Cheng Qianye added casually, "By the way, Queen Mother, I need to ask you for someone else."
…
A prison that is always dark and without sunlight.
The heavy iron door creaked open.
Old Li looked up and saw a group of servants in bright clothes and armor walking in from the dimly lit gate. Among them was a woman in gorgeous clothes.
The woman didn't mind the filth of the prison at all. She walked quickly down the stairs and went straight to the cell door next to his.
The author has something to say: Let’s talk about Cheng Qianye’s decision to go on the mission personally.
First of all, this was definitely a very wrong decision. As a monarch of a country, it was too impulsive to put himself in danger just to save a counselor.
Only Mo Qiaosheng could be persuaded by her. If it was Zhang Fu or Xiao Jin around, they would never agree to let her go.
What I want to say is that Qianye looks like a brilliant and perfect person because of her system ability. But in fact, she has her own emotions and she will make irrational decisions because of impulse.
In fact, we can also see in history that many monarchs have made unwise actions, such as the typical King Huai of Chu who went to Qin State on his own, and the result was of course very bad. Liu Xuande did not listen to Zhuge Liang's advice because of Guan Yu's death, and insisted on taking troops to take revenge, and was burned down.
But just because they are flesh and blood people, there are all kinds of different possibilities in life.
Another point is that Jin is still just a small vassal state, and Cheng Qianye is different from those kings of big countries who sit high in the temple.
Finally, let me clear Zhang Fu's name. Mr. Zhang is still innocent. How did you get to the point of being accused of this