Chapter 107

Zhou Shuo, when he first established Fangsheng Hall, besides using glass to gather wealth, was also used to stockpile grain and goods and purchase land; Tie Lao Cai and others later continued this order, developing in this industry, so grain was not lacking for him. He ordered Tie Lao Cai to allocate a batch and then transport it with his thought into Liu Manor, and the problem was readily solved.

The ladies of Zilan Pavilion hid in Liu Manor, having already dealt with several patrols of the Qin army; although the Qin army was under martial law, they issued an order designating Han's existing territory as Yingchuan Commandery, striving to restore order. Now with grain and water, the ladies are temporarily safe, but the Han palace is presently surrounded and held by the Qin army, making it difficult to gather any news; only that the King of Han is imprisoned in his sleeping palace.

When the moon was high in the sky, Zhou Shuo projected his soul and slipped silently into the palace; from a height he slightly looked down, swaggering past several patrols of Qin soldiers, then arrived at the King Han's bedchamber he had visited before; this place was heavily guarded last time he came, and it remains so now, except that last time he saw Han attendants in red robes and gray armor, while this time they were Qin soldiers in black helmets and black armor, and the atmosphere also carried a sense of imprisonment.

Zhou Shuo didn't need to open the door; he simply passed through the wall, entered the bedchamber and saw that he couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief, because the last time he came to peek, the great hall had been empty and spacious, but now there were many people: besides the King of Han, there were his beauties, attendants, children, and officials.

"Good thing I didn't make a wasted trip." Zhou Shuo's soul, transparent, floated through the midst of the people in the palace; he couldn't help but feel a sigh, thinking that according to his view, a Qin general who conquers a state inevitably has some arrogance, likely to create a hegemon's palace and a sleeping dragon bed, but now upon reflection, given that Xinzheng is currently restoring order, it shows the commander's intellect shouldn't be that low, and even if he wanted to do such a thing, he couldn't do it openly; the wind would blow it to Xianyang—would his head still want to stay?

With a hint of complaint in his heart, Zhou Shuo's soul drifted through the crowd, scanning each face he saw, looking for Madame Hu and Nong Yu's whereabouts; soon he found his target: Nong Yu was currently together with Madame Hu and a beautiful young woman; that woman resembled Madame Hu by forty to fifty percent, but was younger and prettier, though her complexion was somewhat sallow; she should be Madame Hu's younger sister, another daughter of the Fire Rain Mountain Villa, the Lady Hu who married into the Han palace.

"Madame! Where is my madame?" Just as Zhou Shuo was about to exert more effort to find Nong Yu, suddenly a heavy, aged voice rang out; hearing this call, the previously somewhat subdued atmosphere in the palace instantly erupted, with cries of "Father King," "Your Majesty," and "Great King" surging toward the palace bed; Madame Hu and Lady Hu were also caught in the crowd, but the two did not shout like the others, merely following silently, while Nong Yu silently followed behind them.

"I want Mingzhu; where is Mingzhu?"

Zhou Shuo couldn't just go up and greet him immediately; he could only float to the roof and look down from above, seeing that the former King of Han, now emaciated, lay on the bed like a dying old man; when his children and officials approached, he wouldn't acknowledge any of them, merely calling for his favorite concubine.

"At this point, you're still thinking about women!" Zhou Shuo looked at the King of Han, still lying in bed despite the country's ruin, and couldn't help but curl his lips; hearing the king's cries, he easily imagined that peerlessly beautiful figure, but she seemed not to be here now—where had she gone?

"Lady Hu, you were once close to the father king; could you go comfort him?" A dignified, imposing man pushed through the crowd and spoke to Lady Hu, who stood shoulder to shoulder with Madame Hu.

"Your Majesty wants Lady Mingzhu; a few days ago, during the great disturbance in the palace, she disappeared without a trace." Lady Hu's complexion was sallow; she looked at the dignified man, glanced at the king on the bed, feeling some resentment in her heart and a hint of complaint in her voice, but she still gently moved to the bedside, leaned forward, and tried calling out "Your Majesty."

"Mingzhu, I want Mingzhu." The king, seemingly on his deathbed, suddenly raised his voice, as if pleading, demanding personnel.

"I am powerless, Fourth Prince; why don't you ask Officer Teng and see if we can retrieve Lady Mingzhu?" Lady Hu looked at the king who ignored her, frowned and stepped back, then spoke to the earlier dignified man.

"I..." Fourth Prince Han Yu looked at Lady Hu, whose brows were slightly furrowed with some resentment, opened his mouth, but he now had no chance to casually meet that Qin official; even if he did, how could he speak such words? Moreover, given that lady's beauty, if she fell outside, death would be preferable; if alive, she is likely already in Qin hands...

Feeling a bit of disgust in his heart, with countless thoughts he couldn't articulate, Han Yu momentarily had nothing to say, but hearing the father king's continual calls from the bed, he couldn't help but suppress his disgust and irritation and step forward to properly console him; Lady Hu then went forward, pulled her sister aside, gave Nong Yu a look, and the three quietly withdrew from the crowd and stood to one side.

"Nong Yu." Zhou Shuo stood above, looking down at the men and women surrounding the dragon bed, likewise feeling a bit restless; he quietly descended to Lady Hu's side, conjured an illusion with a thought, dragged Nong Yu, Lady Hu, and the Lady Hu she was pulling into the illusion, and spoke to announce his presence.

"You are, Elder Brother Zhou." Nong Yu turned her head; her first sight of Zhou Shuo was doubtful, but after sizing him up from head to toe, her eyes brightened, then she looked around, her face somewhat uncertain; the palace is now tightly guarded by the Qin army—how did you get in?

"Elder Brother Zhou, how did you get in?" Nong Yu scanned the surroundings, somewhat uncertainly looking at Zhou Shuo, but before she could get an answer, she heard Lady Hu from beside her voice a question.

"What is this?" The Lady Hu, about twenty years old and somewhat alert, first looked at Zhou Shuo, then released her sister, tried waving her hand in front of a nearby attendant; seeing that he paid no attention to her, she then looked at her own palm, confirming it wasn't transparent, her face showed disbelief; she felt as if some mysterious force had separated her from the world, like she had fallen into a mirror world, becoming an image that does not exist in reality.

"What's wrong?" Madame Hu looked at her sister's actions, glanced at the people who remained unmoved, and her face began to turn pale quickly.

"This is a void illusion, just a little trick; don't be surprised. In their eyes, you are still maintaining your previous actions, staring in that direction, while I am invisible to them. But don't be afraid—I am here to take you away from here." Zhou Shuo, seeing the women's faces filled with doubt and even fear, quickly pointed toward the dragon bed, explained the principle of the void illusion, and assured them he was a good person.

"Mother, aunt, Elder Brother Zhou is a good person; he is a friend of Guardian Zhuang and the Purple Maiden elder sister; don't be afraid." Nong Yu looked at Madame Hu and Lady Hu, whose faces showed panic and even turned pale, and hurriedly added her reassurance, fearing that the two elders might come to harm if they panicked.

"A void illusion? A good person? Can you take us out of here?" Lady Hu, who was somewhat more accepting, glanced at her sister, then at her niece, finally looked at Zhou Shuo, her eyes showing a hint of hope.

"I came precisely for this." Zhou Shuo looked at Nong Yu, who was helping explain, and at the woman with hope in her eyes, and nodded without hesitation; he felt that Lady Hu and Madame Hu's minds were not very stable now, but when faced with such a thing, a person's spirit truly is hard to keep steady.

"That's wonderful, you really can take me—" Lady Hu saw Zhou Shuo nod, instinctively glanced at the crowd gathered before the dragon bed, but halfway through her sentence she swallowed the final "we," feeling she had spoken out of turn.

"I can't take that many people away." Zhou Shuo looked at the startled Lady Hu; following her gaze he could naturally see some clues, but this time he did not nod—while taking so many people together would not be a problem, who would patch up the loopholes afterward?

"I understand, I understand." Lady Hu quickly nodded; she fully grasped Zhou Shuo's words, and also did not think she needed to bring along the other people in this room, even though her nominal husband was the King of Han, who had too many wives, concubines, sons, and daughters.

Zhou Shuo saw Lady Hu nodding repeatedly, gave a slight nod himself, then looked toward Nong Yu, who was supporting her mother nearby; Nong Yu, after glancing at the other people in the palace and at her mother, who was somewhat faint in her hand, also nodded on her own; she understood how to weigh pros and cons, and in choosing, her closest kin mattered more.

"By the way, do you know where Princess Honglian went?" Zhou Shuo looked at the nodding Nong Yu and couldn't help but ask; he had searched the room, which was mostly the King of Han's close relatives and retainers, but that little red flower seemed absent, not knowing whether she had turned into a flowing sand crimson chain, and he had gone to great trouble for her.

"Princess Honglian disappeared when the Qin army entered the palace, just like Lady Mingzhu; if she were fortunate, she should be hiding somewhere in the palace, not found by the Qin army; if unfortunate…" Lady Hu quickly composed herself, answered Zhou Shuo's question, her tone carrying some pondering.

"I'd rather send you out of here first, then come back later to search!" Zhou Shuo looked at Lady Hu, whose tone was pondering, felt somewhat uneasy, but still decided to first send those he had found away, then talk about it later.

"Are we just leaving like that?" Nong Yu, supporting her mother, couldn't help but ask.

"First go out, then I'll fly you out of the palace; where could you go? Many people are staying at Liu Manor now—can we go there?" Zhou Shuo pondered.

"Fly?" Nong Yu thought she had misheard.

"Hmm, you don't need to worry about that." Zhou Shuo looked at the astonished young woman, waved his hand, and said it wasn't the point.

"No, Elder Brother Zhou, my opinion is that, if possible, we should hide in the palace right now." Nong Yu, seeing Zhou Shuo's reaction, hurriedly explained.