Love Lock

Chapter 154 What does this mean?
The boundless sky is dotted with stars, a gentle breeze blows, the grass sways softly, and the night on the grassland is like a profound painting.

However, the beautiful night could not warm Princess Yujia's cold heart.

She stood alone outside the tent, gazing at the distant horizon, her eyes filled with confusion and sorrow.

The maid Alan quietly approached her and whispered, "Princess, it's late and chilly. You should go back to your tent and rest."

Princess Yujia didn't turn around, her voice a little hoarse: "Alan, do you think I'll ever see this grassland again after I leave?"

Alan felt a pang of sadness, and tears welled up in her eyes.

“Princess, please don’t overthink it. Although Dajing is far away, you are the jewel of the Turks, and the emperor of Dajing will surely treat you well.”

“Treat me well?” Princess Yujia gave a bitter smile, a hint of mockery flashing in her eyes. “I was nothing more than a pawn used by Bolu to consolidate his power. For the sake of the Turks’ interests, Bolu pushed me out without hesitation, without even a word of comfort.”

Her voice gradually lowered, filled with endless disappointment and resentment.

“Alan, do you know? I once thought I could marry him like the women of Dajing, wearing a beautiful wedding dress, and that he would protect me and fight for my freedom. But now, he has sent me down this path with his own hands.”

Alan knew who the "he" the princess was referring to was; he was Zhao Zun, a highly decorated border general of the Great Jing Dynasty.

The princess and the border general had countless exchanges on military strategies. Although they had never met, the princess's heart was never at peace.

Now, this feeling is destined to remain a regret!
“Princess, please don’t blame the Khan,” Alan gently advised. “He did it for the sake of the Turkic people. The Great Jing not only has a capable general like Zhao Zun, but also powerful weapons like the ‘Peanut’. If we don’t make peace through marriage, the Turks will probably have a hard time resisting their iron cavalry.”

Princess Yujia closed her eyes in anguish, tears silently streaming down her face.

"I know, I know everything. But why me? Why must I become the victim of this power struggle?"

Princess Yujia's voice was filled with endless helplessness and pain.

Everyone says she is the pearl of the grasslands, a princess of noble status.

As a Turkic princess, Yujia knew that while she enjoyed supreme honor, she also bore the responsibilities that a princess should have.

For this mission, for all the Turkic people, she could not pursue the love she desired without hesitation, and was forced to become a victim of power transactions.

Who can blame her when everything is a case of the enemy being stronger and herself weaker? This is a fate she cannot defy.

Alan knew what she was thinking, so he stepped forward and gently took her hand.

“Princess, don’t be sad. Wherever you go, Alan will be with you. We’ll go to Dajing together and face the future together.”

Princess Yujia opened her eyes and looked at Alan's determined gaze, feeling a slight warmth in her heart.

She sighed softly and whispered, "Alan, thank you. At least you're still here with me."

I looked up at the starry sky and silently prayed.

"If fate is truly beyond my control, then I can only pray to heaven that my days in Dajing won't be too unbearable. And... I hope I can see him in Dajing, and that he will remember me."

The night breeze swept by, and the night on the grassland remained beautiful, but Princess Yujia's heart was like this boundless darkness, with no end in sight.

She turned and walked towards the tent, her back view appearing exceptionally lonely.

“Alan, let’s go in!” Yu Jia’s voice calmed down, but carried a hint of determination. “Since we can’t escape it, we can only face it bravely.”

Alan nodded and followed Princess Yujia into the tent.

The tent curtains slowly fell, and the night on the grassland remained tranquil, as if nothing had happened.

However, Princess Yujia's fate may have been completely changed on this very night.

On the afternoon of the fifth day, the servants hurriedly loaded the dowry prepared for the princess, including boxes of gold, silver, jewelry, and rare medicinal herbs, onto the carriage.

Princess Yujia stood quietly to the side, dressed in a magnificent Turkic robe and wearing a gold crown inlaid with jewels. Her face was calm, revealing no joy or anger, but her eyes subtly revealed complex emotions.

The delegation quickly assembled, and the leader of the delegation was none other than the elderly tribal chief.

Knowing the importance of this mission, the elder tribal chief dared not be negligent in the slightest and decided to personally take the trip.

As he boarded the carriage, the elder tribal chief turned back and gave Boru a deep look, then sighed.

He didn't know what the outcome of this mission to the Great Jing would be, but he had a feeling that Bolu's abilities were far from matching his ambitions, and the future of the Turks was uncertain.

In the distance, Boru Khan personally came to the outside of the royal court to see the delegation off.

He stood on the high earthen slope, watching the convoy gradually disappear into the distance, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

"We hope that the Great Jing Dynasty can accept our sincerity."

Boru murmured softly, his eyes filled with a mixture of anticipation and unease.

The mission traveled south, traversing the vast grasslands towards Dajing.

According to custom, marriage alliances between ancient states were usually a complex diplomatic process involving negotiations and arrangements from multiple perspectives.

Generally, the process of marriage alliance includes: initial contact and negotiation, reaching an agreement, preparation and escort, and formal marriage alliance.

Therefore, princesses sent for marriage alliances usually did not accompany the delegation during the initial negotiations, but were escorted by a special escort team only after both sides reached an agreement.

This was done to ensure the princess's safety and to demonstrate the importance both sides placed on the marriage alliance.

But Boru Khan was either too young to understand these procedures, or too afraid that the Great Jing Dynasty's "peanut-sized" weapons would soon reach the Turks.

He completely skipped all the previous procedures, allowing the delegation to travel directly to Dajing with Princess Yujia and the prepared generous dowry.

If the Emperor of Dajing did not think much of Princess Yujia, then the Turks would only seek peace and offer compensation.

If the two sides successfully reach a peace agreement, Princess Yujia can stay in Dajing and immediately hold a marriage ceremony with Emperor Jing.

The Turkic delegation slowly made its way towards the capital of the Great Jing Dynasty, while Han Lei's group had already reached the capital region and was heading towards the capital.

Han Lei and her entourage's carriage moved slowly along the winding official road. The horses seemed to sense the leisurely pace of the journey, their steps unhurried, occasionally lowering their heads to nibble on the roadside grass.

Inside the carriage, Han Lei leaned against a soft cushion, holding a mobile phone in her hand, on which was playing a tutorial video on special effects makeup.

Her gaze was focused, and she would pause the video from time to time to carefully examine every detail.

The light inside the carriage flickered as the carriage swayed.

Han Lei didn't care at all; her attention was entirely focused on the skin wax and makeup brush in her hands.

She first gently applied skin wax to both sides of her cheeks, carefully shaping it into a rounded arc. Then she thickened it at her chin to create a plump double chin.

With each revision, she would carefully examine herself in the small mirror, her brows furrowed, as if sculpting a work of art.

After countless adjustments and refinements, Han Lei finally stopped what she was doing.

She looked up with satisfaction; her reflection in the mirror was completely different.

With fair skin, thick, dark eyebrows, round cheeks, and a double chin that symbolizes wealth, he looked exactly like a chubby rich kid who bore a striking resemblance to Wei Dabao.

She couldn't help but chuckle softly, her eyes slightly upturned, revealing a hint of smugness and mischief.

This group of people were under close surveillance, as they were "not allowed to enter the capital without an imperial edict."

With this makeup, they could come and go freely in the capital for a month.

Even if she stood boldly in front of Emperor Jing, he would never have imagined that "he" was the Princess Consort of Cangzhou, who should have been living in a remote and impoverished area.

After getting her makeup done, Han Lei felt much more relaxed than before.

She leaned against the car window, watching the fields recede into the distance, secretly planning her next move.

Princess Chang Le, in order to be with Zhao Zun forever, did not hesitate to poison and harm others. She was cunning and ruthless.

To sever his daughter's obsession, the Marquis of Champion was ruthless and merciless, even sending assassins to kill Zhao Zun. His methods were so vicious that they were despicable.

How could she "greet" the Marquis of Champions' family without involving Cangzhou or harming innocent people?

More importantly, she and her brothers in the Big Character Team had to escape unscathed without any mishaps.

The Su family, the family of the Marquis of Champion, wielded immense power in the capital. Many of their members were military generals, commanding large armies and wielding considerable influence.

While using a sniper rifle to directly kill Champion Hou would be precise, the range of the "greeting" would be too small, which Han Lei found unsatisfactory.

Moreover, once the shot is fired, the sniper's position will be exposed.

With so many skilled warriors around him, the Marquis of Champions could mobilize the capital's troops in no time, making it virtually impossible for them to escape unscathed.

If they switched to machine guns, the power would certainly increase significantly, and it wouldn't matter if they were discovered. However, the machine gun fire would inevitably injure innocent civilians, which was something Han Lei absolutely did not want to see.

So, what should she do?

Han Lei gently leaned her head against the carriage wall and closed her eyes in deep thought.

The carriage was completely silent, with only the sound of wheels rolling over the ground echoing in the ears.

After a long while, she suddenly opened her eyes, a glint of light flashing in them, and the corners of her mouth turned up slightly, clearly having come up with a brilliant idea.

She gently knocked on the car wall, and the voice of the freshman captain came from outside.

"Miss, is there anything I can help you with?"

"Freshman year. After we get to the city, we won't go to Youjia Inn first; we'll go to 'Drunken Immortal Brew' for drinks first," Han Lei said casually.

"okay!"

In the afternoon, the afterglow of the setting sun cast a golden glow on the bluestone streets of the capital. Han Lei and her entourage finally arrived in this bustling metropolis.

The streets of Beijing are wide and clean, lined with shops on both sides with signs hanging high. Pedestrians come and go in an endless stream, and the noise of carriages and horses shows the prosperity and bustle of the capital.

The brothers in the Big Character Squad had all fought on the battlefield in the North Pass before, and had never even left Cangzhou. This was their first time coming to the capital.

They rode their horses behind Han Lei's carriage, looking around with wide eyes.

The bustling scene in the capital city broadened their horizons, and they couldn't help but start discussing it.

"The capital is indeed different! Look at these streets, they're more than twice as wide as those in our Qingshui County!" one of the men exclaimed, his eyes constantly glancing at the shops on both sides.

“You’re right! Look at that silk shop, the fabrics hanging at the entrance just look so luxurious!” Another brother pointed to a shop not far away and exclaimed in amazement.

"Hey, look over there, what's that building? Why is it so tall?" someone asked curiously, pointing to a towering building in the distance.

"That's Tengyunlou, the most famous restaurant in the capital, even His Majesty frequents it. However, whether it's still considered famous now, I don't know."

Han Lei's voice came from inside the carriage, tinged with amusement.

The brothers were immediately excited upon hearing this. They had long heard of Tengyun Tower's reputation, but they never expected to have the opportunity to see it for themselves.

Han Lei didn't know where Yang Haibo and Tang Xiaotong had opened Zuixianniang, so she asked the freshman captain to ask for directions on the way. Before long, the group arrived at the entrance of Zuixianniang.

The entrance to Zuixianniang is impressive, with the three large characters "Zuixianniang" written in a bold and elegant style on a tall plaque, and red lanterns hanging on both sides, making it particularly eye-catching.

"Girl, we're here."

The freshman captain reined in his horse, looked up at the impressive signboard, and secretly marveled.

Besides knowing that the Shi family's businesses were spread throughout Dajing, they already felt that Han Lei's project in Qingshui County was an extremely large undertaking, no less impressive than that of the Shi family.

He never expected that Han Lei had such a large business empire in Beijing.

The scale of this Drunken Immortal Brew is many times more upscale than Tongfulou in Qingshui County.

Han Lei lifted the curtain and gracefully jumped down from the carriage. When the brothers of the Big Character Team saw her new look, they were stunned.

The Han Lei before my eyes is a completely different person.

She wore a gorgeous silk robe, her hair was tied up on top of her head, a jade belt was tied around her waist, and an exquisite young master's hat on her head, making her look like a wealthy and plump young master.

"Girl...?" The freshman captain stared wide-eyed and called out uncertainly.

"This...this is..." The other brothers looked at each other, their lips twitching involuntarily.

Seeing this, Han Lei suppressed a laugh and deliberately lowered her voice, asking, "How is it? Not bad, right?"

"Ah, yes, yes."

"That's great."

The brothers then realized that Han Lei had told them on the way that everyone had to change clothes and sneak into the capital.

They also changed into the silk clothes prepared by Han Lei, pretending to be the friends and attendants of a wealthy young master.

But they never expected Han Lei's transformation to be so complete. Not only was her figure and appearance completely different, but even her gender had changed.

"Ahem, ahem." Han Lei coughed twice, adopting the air of a wealthy young master, and said, "Remember, from now on, you have to call me Young Master. You can't keep the surname Han anymore, so... for now, let's keep the surname Wei!"

The brothers looked at each other, and although it was a little awkward, they quickly got used to it.

"Yes, Young Master Wei!"

The freshman captain was the first to respond, and the other brothers also smiled and changed their tune.

Han Lei nodded in satisfaction. "Find an inn nearby and settle your horses and luggage first. Then come find me, and we'll drink and eat meat together, and maybe even find out some gossip about the capital."

"Yes, son!"

The brothers responded in unison, then led their horses toward a nearby inn.

Han Lei watched them leave, then straightened her clothes and stepped into Zuixianniang.

As soon as I entered, I was greeted by the aroma of alcohol and a noisy atmosphere.

The tavern was bustling with noise, as it was the peak time for customers.

Han Lei narrowed her eyes slightly, her gaze sweeping across the full hall, quite satisfied with the number of customers.

At this moment, Tang Xiaotong, who was busy at work, quickly came up to greet them with a warm smile on her face and a clear, loud voice.

"Sir, how many of you are there?"

Han Lei glanced at him, secretly amused. Tang Xiaotong really didn't recognize her.

She casually raised her hand, her voice low: "Five."

"Five people," Tang Xiaotong responded, her smile unwavering. "This way, please. We have private seats here; I guarantee you'll be comfortable!"

Han Lei shook her head and pointed to an inconspicuous small table in the corner: "Let's just use that one, it's quiet there."

Tang Xiaotong followed her finger and saw that it was a secluded table in the corner. She was a little puzzled, but still nodded with a smile.

"Alright! This way, sir!" he said, leading the way while turning back to call out, "Waiter, quickly bring this gentleman some tea!"

Han Lei followed him to a corner, and after sitting down, her gaze remained fixed on Tang Xiaotong.

Tang Xiaotong hurriedly poured her tea, her movements swift and efficient, a smile always on her face.

"Sir, please have some tea first. Please wait a moment while I have someone come and take your order."

Han Lei nodded, picked up her teacup and took a sip, but her gaze never left Tang Xiaotong.

She watched him turn around and greet other guests, his steps light, his voice loud, and his face always bearing a warm smile.

Whether facing wealthy merchants dressed in fine clothes or ordinary guests in coarse cloth, he handled them with ease, neither appearing obsequious nor lacking in manners.

"This kid has improved quite a bit," Han Lei thought to herself, a hint of approval flashing in her eyes.

A short while later, the waiter came over to take her order.

Han Lei ordered a sumptuous meal and drinks, then continued to sit in the corner, quietly observing Tang Xiaotong's every move.

She watched him move about the tavern, sometimes pouring drinks for customers, sometimes chatting and laughing with them, so busy that his feet barely touched the ground, yet he never showed the slightest sign of panic.

"Tang Xiaotong!" a drunken customer suddenly shouted, "Another pot of wine!"

"Alright! Coming right away!" Tang Xiaotong responded and went off with a smile on her face, quickly pouring wine for the guests.

Han Lei watched his retreating figure and nodded to herself, "It seems Yang Haibo has put a lot of effort into teaching him. This kid, after a few more years of experience in Beijing and broadening his horizons, will definitely be a top-notch professional in the future."

As she was thinking, her brothers from the Big Character Team came in. Han Lei smiled slightly and gestured for them to come and sit down.

"Young Master Han... this place is really nice," the freshman captain said with a smile as he sat down, lowering his voice. "This place is lively and well-informed."

"Everyone, please don't be shy, eat whatever you like." Han Lei nodded, her gaze still fixed on Tang Xiaotong.

The brothers followed her gaze and, seeing it was Tang Xiaotong, couldn't help but ask in confusion, "Young Master Wei, what brings you here...?"

Han Lei smiled, picked up her wine glass, took a sip, and said casually, "That kid, the one who stole our wine last time, is now the manager of this shop. What do you think?"

Upon hearing this, the brothers' gazes also fell on Tang Xiaotong.

"So young?"

"Not bad, quite capable."

"The capital city is a mixed bag, it's not easy for him to gain a foothold here."

The brothers all commented on Tang Xiaotong.

Tang Xiaotong seemed to sense something, turned around and glanced over. Seeing that they were several unfamiliar guests, he smiled and nodded to his brothers before continuing his work.

As night fell, the tavern was brightly lit, and more and more customers came. The atmosphere in the tavern became more and more lively, as if all the hustle and bustle of the capital city had gathered here.

Han Lei and her group had a table full of modern snacks to accompany their drinks.

Spicy peanuts, garlic chicken feet, spiced beef jerky... these novel snacks were never seen before in Beijing, naturally drawing praise from drinkers.

The brothers of the Big Character Team drank and ate heartily, bursting into laughter from time to time. This was a delicacy they couldn't even get at Tongfulou Restaurant in Qingshui County.

However, Han Lei's mind wasn't entirely on the dinner table.

Her ears perked up slightly, carefully listening to the conversations of the patrons around her.

Zuixianniang is a place where people from all walks of life gather, but most of those who come here to spend money are prominent figures in the capital.

Their conversations often conceal many unknown secrets.

"Have you heard? Marshal Cao Xiong, the garrison commander of Beiguan, has been impeached by two generals for allegedly giving false military intelligence," a middle-aged man at the next table said in a low voice.

“Indeed! But what’s strange is that His Majesty not only didn’t punish Cao Xiong, but also reprimanded two generals. What does that mean?” another drinker chimed in, his tone tinged with confusion.

It's snowing here in March, it's so cold! How's it in your hometowns, everyone? Don't forget to wear warm clothes.