Love Lock

Chapter 191 It’s not the time yet

"How much money did the Lin family give you for divorcing your wife?"

Zhao Qiao'er lowered her head: "...Not a single penny. The Lin family said I was guilty of heinous crimes, and it's already merciful that they didn't send me to the authorities for prosecution. Don't even think about getting anything..."

"Useless! Utterly useless." Aunt Qin grabbed a teacup from the table and smashed it on the ground, shattering it into pieces. "I raised you all these years, and you learned so much from me, and this is the result?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Qiao'er finally snapped.

"Are you ever going to stop?! If you weren't just a concubine, why would I have been forced to marry into the Lin family, a merchant household?"

Aunt Qin was deeply hurt. She clutched her chest and said with heartache, "So that's it! You said when you were little that you never looked down on your mother for being a concubine. It turns out you were lying to your mother all along."

“Mother, it’s true.” Zhao Qiao’er rolled her eyes. “If it weren’t for helping you poison that bitch and consolidating your position in the family, I wouldn’t have ended up in this state!”

She became more and more agitated as she spoke, her voice trembling, "Do you know how the Lin family treated me? On the day the ancestral hall was opened, they made me kneel before the ancestral tablets and read a letter of repentance in front of the entire clan... Lin Yuanshan wouldn't even look at me..."

Aunt Qin sneered, "Now you're blaming me? I was just complaining that that bitch Han Lei has been bullying me ever since she came to the Prince's mansion, and I can't live like this anymore. Who said we should just kill her?"

The mother and daughter were arguing fiercely when Aunt Zhang's loud voice suddenly came from outside the door.

"Madam, Miss, it's lunchtime. Would you two like to find your own way to eat, or would you do us the honor of having our humble meal?"

Aunt Zhang had come to inquire about lunch, but her tone was full of sarcasm, as if she were there to watch the show.

Aunt Qin rushed to the door and flung it open: "Granny Zhang! Don't go too far!"

Aunt Zhang was not afraid at all; on the contrary, she laughed even more heartily.

"Oh dear, is Auntie getting angry? That's fine then. We won't prepare any meals for you two today, since you don't care about the food we servants eat anyway."

As she spoke, she deliberately raised her voice, "Sisters, let's add some dishes today, let's divide Auntie's portion too!"

A cheer erupted in the courtyard. Aunt Qin trembled with anger, but there was nothing she could do.

She slammed the door shut and turned around to see Zhao Qiao'er staring blankly at the treasure cabinet that used to hold precious objects; now it was completely empty.

“Stop looking,” Aunt Qin slumped into a chair. “The valuables were either taken away by Zhao Zun or… sold off by me.”

She sighed, her voice lowering, "These past few months, in order to maintain the household's expenses..."

Zhao Qiao'er suddenly felt extremely tired.

She silently walked over and sat down beside her mother. For a moment, neither of them spoke. The sounds of servants eating outside the window only amplified the desolation inside.

"Mother," Zhao Qiao'er finally spoke softly after a long silence, "what...what should we do from now on?"

Aunt Qin stared at her increasingly rough hands, which had long lost their former pampered state.

“What can I do? You were divorced by the Lin family, and I… I don’t have any savings left.” She suddenly grabbed Zhao Qiao’er’s hand. “Is there anything valuable in that bundle you’re carrying?”

Zhao Qiao'er smiled bitterly: "Just a few changes of clothes, and... the pair of bracelets you gave me when I got married."

"Hurry up and take it out," Aunt Qin's eyes lit up, and she reached out to rummage through her bundle. "I know the manager of the pawnshop on West Street. Let's go see if we can pawn it for some money..."

Zhao Qiao'er clutched the bundle tightly: "No! This is my last bit of savings!"

"Private matters?" Aunt Qin sneered. "What kind of time is this to talk about private matters? Are you not eating? Are you trying to die?"

Just as the two were arguing, Aunt Zhang's loud, gossipy voice suddenly came from the courtyard.

"Xiao Tao, why are you running? Slow down."

A young maidservant rushed in from outside, her face flushed with excitement.

"Hey! Everyone, come out and look! It's so lively outside. It's all the prince's entourage, one after another, so impressive!"

A young maidservant ran in from outside, lifting her skirt, her face flushed with excitement.

"Which prince?" The old woman who was sweeping stopped what she was doing, and her cloudy eyes suddenly lit up.

"Come on, let's go take a look. It's so boring here." The kitchen helper threw down the cleaver and wiped his hands on his apron.

"Yes, let's go, let's go take a look."

There was another burst of chaotic footsteps outside the courtyard, which then quieted down.

The argument between Zhao Qiao'er and her daughter also stopped.

"Mother, what's going on outside?" Zhao Qiao'er lifted the window screen and looked out, only to see the servants running towards the gate of the mansion.

Aunt Qin straightened her slightly disheveled hair, a glint of shrewdness flashing in her eyes. "Let's go, let's go take a look. Maybe..."

The mother and daughter hurriedly followed the servants out of the mansion. As soon as they stepped out of the vermilion gate, they were stunned by the scene before them.

The normally spacious streets were now incredibly crowded, with people standing on tiptoe and craning their necks like a flock of fledglings waiting to be fed.

"Make way, make way!" Aunt Qin covered her nose with a handkerchief and pulled her daughter to squeeze to the front.

On the bluestone path, a procession of honor in different colors snaked past like a colorful dragon.

First came the crimson procession, led by sixteen golden-armored guards, followed by a gilded carriage with four-clawed dragon patterns embroidered on its black curtains, gleaming in the sunlight.

“This is the ceremonial retinue of the Prince of Liangzhou!” A scholar-looking man next to him said to his companion, “Look at the golden gourd on the roof of that carriage; it’s the symbol of the Prince of Liang’s residence.”

Following them was a procession in indigo blue, with musicians playing solemn tunes, and twenty-four guards holding long halberds that gleamed coldly.

In the middle, on a tall, snow-white horse, sits a middle-aged man in a python robe, his face solemn.

"His Highness the Prince of Jizhou has arrived too!" an old man in the crowd exclaimed. "I've lived most of my life, and this is the first time I've ever seen so many princes come to the capital at the same time."

Zhao Qiao'er stared, her eyes wide, and unconsciously gripped her mother's sleeve tightly: "Mother, why are all these princes suddenly..."

Aunt Qin's eyes darted around, and she lowered her voice, saying, "Are you stupid? Have you forgotten the fire in the palace a few days ago? I heard..."

"Shh—" a candy vendor next to her suddenly interrupted, "Madam, watch your words, be careful, the walls may be overheard."

The mother and daughter reluctantly shut their mouths, but the excitement in their eyes only intensified.

The Great Jing Dynasty had nine provinces and seventy-two counties. Except for Zhao Zun's Cangzhou, which was a fiefdom granted to a king of a different surname, all the other vassal kings in the provinces were Emperor Jing's brothers.

Even the vegetable vendors on the street know that princes cannot enter the capital without an imperial edict, but now all the princes are entering the capital at the same time... What a spectacle!

"Mother, do you think my brother, Prince Zhao Zun of Cangzhou, might also be returning to the capital?" Zhao Qiao'er's eyes suddenly lit up.

Aunt Qin pinched her daughter: "What are you calling me, brother! You should call me Prince!"

Despite saying this, she couldn't help but smile. "If the King of Cangzhou also returns to the capital, our good days will begin." The two stood on the steps, looking at the magnificent and imposing procession, having long forgotten their previous argument.

Zhao Qiao'er had already started planning which brand of rouge and face powder to buy, while Aunt Qin was figuring out how to get the land deed for the Prince's mansion back from Zhao Zun.

"Mother, look! Isn't that the flag of Cangzhou?" Zhao Qiao'er suddenly stood on tiptoe and pointed to a group of people in the distance, shouting.

Aunt Qin squinted and examined it carefully, then shook her head in disappointment.

“That’s the King of Jingzhou’s army. Your brother… cough, I don’t even know what color the King of Cangzhou’s flag is.”

The mother and daughter craned their necks to search through the line, but they never saw a familiar face.

Only when the last prince's procession disappeared around the street corner and the crowd gradually dispersed did they have to admit that Zhao Zun had not come.

“These are all the Emperor’s own brothers,” said a merchant dressed in silk. “What right do princes of other surnames have to be considered?”

Upon hearing this, Aunt Qin's face immediately darkened. She pulled her daughter back, muttering to herself.

"Even if they don't come now, once things are settled, we should summon the princes of different surnames to the capital. At that time..."

As she walked, a fierce glint flashed in her eyes. "Let's see if that mother and son dare to abandon us in this dilapidated yard again! If they dare to abandon us, I'll go to the authorities and sue them for being unfilial."

Zhao Qiao'er nodded in agreement, already imagining herself dressed in fine silks and satins, adorned with gold hairpins and jade bracelets.

The two were completely unaware that several servants behind them were pointing and whispering, their faces filled with mocking smiles.

While Zhao Qiao'er and her daughter were discussing how Zhao Zun would surely bring them a better life, Zhao Zun, back in Yong'an City, felt an itch in his nose and sneezed loudly.

"Hmm! Who's thinking about me?"

Zhao Zun squatted on the ground and rubbed his red nose. Coal dust left a few comical black marks on his bronze face.

The sun was too strong, so he was hiding under a corrugated steel roof watching Big Fatty fiddling with a manual honeycomb briquette machine.

The chubby man, who was busy with woodworking tools, turned around. His smart short-sleeved shirt was already stained gray with coal dust, making him look like a coal miner.

He grinned, revealing a row of white teeth that contrasted sharply with his dark face: "Heh, if you ask me, who's insulting you?"

Zhao Zun dusted off the coal dust on her clothes and glared at him irritably: "Bullshit! I think it's definitely that girl Han Lei who's thinking about me. It's been a month or so since I left, and I haven't heard a word from her."

"Hahaha..." Big Fat Head's laughter shook the coal dust off his face. He winked and said, "I think you're the one thinking about your sister-in-law, aren't you? You were even calling her name in your sleep the other day!"

"Tch! You're so talkative." Zhao Zun was immediately embarrassed, a faint blush rising on his bronze face.

He lightly slapped the fat man on the back of the head, making a crisp sound: "You'd better hurry up and finish it, or your sister-in-law will come back and beat you."

Big Head shrank his neck and quickly held up the wooden tool in his hand: "I've got it done, look if you don't believe me."

He stood up, rubbed his slightly numb legs, and walked to the coal pile, demonstrating it like a child showing off a new toy.

"Press it down like this, and it will be filled with coal. Then press this handle, and the coal will come out."

"Kata!"

With the sound of the wooden mechanism turning, the first standard twelve-hole honeycomb briquette in Cangzhou was born, and sunlight shone through the neat holes, casting twelve fine spots of light.

"Good heavens! It really worked?" Zhao Zun's eyes lit up. Forgetting all about his princely dignity, he snatched the wooden instrument and said, "Let me try it!"

He pressed out five or six honeycomb briquettes in one go, not caring at all that coal dust splattered all over his face.

Not far away, Zhang Shiyang, the Minister of Works, was directing the craftsmen to move the finished honeycomb briquette stoves.

Hundreds of iron stoves were neatly arranged, gleaming with a metallic sheen in the sunlight.

In the center of the open space, many clay furnace cores were drying in the sun, and several craftsmen were carefully turning them over.

“Your Highness,” Zhang Shiyang walked over, wiping his sweat, “these furnace cores will be ready to use in three days. We’ll test them in the government offices and military camps first, and if there are no problems, we can then roll them out to the general public.”

Zhao Zun nodded and was about to speak when he suddenly saw Xiao Zhengfei running over in a hurry.

The usually composed commander of the personal guards had fine beads of sweat on his forehead, and the sword and pistol at his waist swayed with his rapid steps.

Xiao Zhengfei stopped a few steps away from Zhao Zun and glanced warily at the fat man.

Big Fatty immediately understood, patted the coal dust off his hands, and said, "I need to take these honeycomb briquettes over to dry in the sun. I'll try them out once they're dry." With that, he tactfully walked away.

After the fat man had walked away, Xiao Zhengfei took out a thin bamboo tube from his pocket, speaking in a very low voice.

"Your Highness, we just received a message from Liu Bolai in the capital via carrier pigeon." His fingers trembled slightly. "It was marked with a red symbol."

Zhao Zun's pupils suddenly contracted.

He remembered clearly that he had instructed Pingchuan to tell Uncle Liu not to contact him unless it was an extremely urgent matter.

The red mark signifies—a matter of life and death.

The bamboo tube was crushed by Zhao Zun with a "snap!"

Zhao Zun took out the note inside; the handwriting on it was slightly messy due to the haste.

"On May 25, an explosion occurred at the Marquis of Champion's residence, killing all the masters of the residence. On the night of June 15, an explosion occurred at the Imperial Palace. Civil and military officials rushed to the palace overnight, but the palace gates were tightly closed."

"Something's happened in the palace." Zhao Zun's voice was like ice, and he handed the note to Xiao Zhengfei with two fingers.

Xiao Zhengfei took it, and after just one glance, he gasped in shock.

"Your Highness, there are explosions everywhere. Could this be another one of the Princess Consort's..." He stopped mid-sentence, shaking his head. "Wait a minute, didn't the Princess Consort already arrive in Jingzhou?"

Zhao Zun's gaze deepened, like two bottomless ancient wells. He looked up in the direction of the capital and asked in surprise, "Yes, then who was responsible for the explosion in the palace?"

Xiao Zhengfei took a step closer, placed his hand on the hilt of the knife, and lowered his voice to a very low level.

"Your Highness, this is an opportunity not to be missed. A palace coup is imminent, why don't we take advantage of the chaos..." He made a gesture of brandishing a knife, his eyes gleaming with ambition.

"No!" Zhao Zun suddenly raised his hand to stop him, his sleeve kicking up a cloud of coal dust. "It's not the right time yet. A large number of beggars will soon come to Cangzhou for help. If we start a war now, it will be the common people who suffer."

He turned to look at the craftsmen working in the distance, and said firmly, "The honeycomb briquette project cannot be stopped. Let's make sure the people can get through this winter first."

Xiao Zhengfei wanted to persuade him further, but Zhao Zun stopped him with a look.

Zhao Zun took a deep breath, his mind preoccupied with the problems within the imperial palace in the capital. Just then, Ma Zi hurriedly ran into the honeycomb briquette factory.

As he ran, he shouted, "Your Highness, a message has arrived from Communication Station Number One!"

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