Warrior in Turbulent Han Dynasty

"Li Hongji is dead!" Zhou Xian couldn't hide his astonishment, "Zhou Duan sent the news from Xuzhou."

Li Yu put down the book in his hand, stood up immediately, glanced at the letter in Zhou Xian's hand, walked over and snatched it without regard to etiquette. A sickly red color appeared on Li Yu's face. He seemed very happy, but after all, the person who died was his own brother, so he didn't laugh, but had a serious face on his face.

He quickly browsed through it, then raised his head and said, "Died from a sudden illness? I remember that Li Hongji was in very good health. Three months ago, he was able to lead troops on horseback, unlike a sick person... Is Zhou Duan's news reliable?"

"He is a member of the clan and has a distant blood relationship with my family, but he used to come to my house to borrow books. He is a very diligent and studious literati." Zhou Xian mused, "Others also commented on his good conduct, and now he has become an official in the Zhou Dynasty.

Li Yu pondered: "But he did die a bit strangely."

Zhou Xian's cheeks turned slightly red suddenly, and he said softly, "Since Li Hongji passed away, Ah Weng (Li Jing) should be restored, and we can return to the Southern Tang Kingdom."

Li Jing treated Zhou Xian very well. Back then, Zhou Xian was first favored by Li Jing; then Li Jing admired her so much that he married her to his favorite son, Li Yu. As long as Li Jing is in power, Zhou Xian and her husband will live well in the Southern Tang Congress.

But the cause of Li Hongji's death made Zhou Xian have to guess: he might have been eliminated by someone. Even if he has already become the lord of the country, if all the people in the court abandon him, it will not be very difficult for him to "die of sudden illness", and no one is willing to strictly investigate the responsibility.

Sure enough, Li Yu also said: "I didn't get sick early, but I was threatened by the Zhou Dynasty before I fell ill and died suddenly. He was self-willed, and he was not tolerated by the inside and outside. He really killed himself!"

Zhou Xian was slightly distracted, and Guo Shao's words in the hall seemed to be in his ears: All the ministers of the Southern Tang Kingdom regard rebellious sons as the main ones, as if they were plotting rebellion! If you don't return to Li Jing's position, I will ask you to lead an army to suppress the country in the future, so that you will regret it later!

Thinking of this, Zhou Xian was afraid that Li Yu would find out that he was distracted, so he said quietly: "The Zhou Dynasty is stable for the time being. They need to go to war to establish their prestige and authority. There are many ministers of the Southern Tang Dynasty who have far-reaching knowledge. It is impossible not to think of such things; they are afraid that the Zhou Dynasty will use this excuse to become famous and take the lead in attacking the Southern Tang Dynasty."

"Ehuang's words are reasonable." Li Yu said, "But I don't know who took the lead in doing it, and I am not small."

Zhou Xian suddenly felt a little suffocated, as if some kind of huge mysterious power was covering his surroundings. It's not the power to pull the bow and lift the cauldron, but an invisible and intangible... will! His will can affect a country, and his every word and every action is full of great power.

...

Within a few days, an envoy from the Southern Tang Dynasty arrived in Tokyo, and dropped by the ceremony hall to deliver Li Jing's personal letter. Now Zhou Xian and his wife have fully confirmed what happened in Jinling, Li Hongji really died suddenly.

The lord Li Jing wrote a letter in his own hand, stating that this special envoy was sent to welcome Li Yu and others back to the country and asked them to make some preparations.

Li Yu's attention shifted, and he was immersed in the joy of returning to China. He didn't pay much attention to Zhou Xian in the past few days. Zhou Xian could fully understand his excitement: Li Jing had a total of seven sons, the second son died a few years ago, and now Li Hongji is also dead. Among the remaining five sons, Li Jing's favorite is the sixth son Li Yu; plus after Li Hongji's mutiny, Li Yu would rather flee than follow Li Hongji as the lord, showing his support for his father with actions. As long as the husband returns to the country, there is a great possibility of being established as the prince.

Power, what Li Yu said he wanted. Being the lord of the Southern Tang Dynasty is the greatest power he can get.

The lord of a country, at least in the Southern Tang Dynasty, was highly respected. But Zhou Xian couldn't explain why, and always felt that a ruler like the Southern Tang Kingdom didn't have the awe-inspiring aura, because there were people riding on his head to bully and intimidate wantonly;

Zhou Xian didn't have much respect in his heart, but he thought to himself: at least the husband is the most powerful in the Southern Tang Dynasty, enough to deter the local powerful and protect the safety of the Zhou family.

In the afternoon of that day, someone came to the ceremony hall to deliver the letter, claiming to be someone sent by Zhou Duan, and only handed it to Zhou Xian. Zhou Xian came out to get the letter, went into the room and tore open the envelope to see if there was any news from Zhou Duan.

Li Yu didn't ask her much recently, which made Zhou Xian inexplicably relaxed, not needing to pay attention to his words and deeds all the time.

As soon as she opened the envelope, she frowned slightly, because the handwriting was really not very good. Looking at the content again, it's neat in lower case... Zhou Xian immediately got up and gently closed the door, and walked into the warm pavilion. Guo Shao's letter!

The letter asked her if she would like to stay in Tokyo. If you are willing, send someone to contact him within today, and if you don't want to, ignore it.

Zhou Xian's chest suddenly rose and fell, and he looked at it again. It may be that Guo Shao wrote with his left hand in order to prevent the handwritten letter from falling into the hands of others, so the strokes are deliberately rusty.

Staying in Tokyo, Zhou Xian was indeed a little impulsive...

Guo Shao’s tone in the letter remained the same: Madame, please take a long-term view. The unification of the world is the general trend, and the Southern Tang Dynasty will eventually cease to exist; instead of being captured later, why not stay in Tokyo now? If you stay now, your wife's status will be very different.

Even though he wrote this, he finally asked her if she was willing and gave her enough respect.

Zhou Xian really felt that Guo Shao was very special. If it was someone else, who would have a chance if he fell in love with her, would she care if she wanted to? Even if it was Li Yu, why did she ever ask her if she was willing...Of course Zhou Xian didn't think her husband should ask, but Guo Shao reminded her of her "will".

She walked back and forth quietly in the bedroom for a long time, feeling a little tangled. But the answer is already there: if she could choose, of course she would not stay in Tokyo.

Because some considerations are very obvious: if she stays in Tokyo, she will be stigmatized, and the Zhou family in Southern Tang Kingdom will also be affected. Not only will the conscience be condemned, but Li Yu and the monarchs and ministers of the Southern Tang Dynasty will directly accuse her... It is a bit too much to voluntarily abandon her husband and vote for someone else.

Moreover, the Southern Tang Kingdom may not necessarily perish immediately. If it was that easy, the Southern Tang Kingdom would not be able to survive for decades in this war-torn world. Zhou Xian admits that he is still not exempt, he cares about face and status. As long as Li Yu is the lord of the country, she will be the queen; what's wrong with her frank identity?

But Guo Shao is really willing to let him go? Zhou Xian is also a little worried about this, if he really wants to force... She suddenly doesn't want to show her ambition by death, if it was two months ago, she would rather die than bow down to serve the person she hates.

If she was forced to stay, she once cursed and swore in front of her husband that she would die to show her will. Zhou Xian felt very ashamed, why are those eternal vows of eternal separation so fragile... If her husband betrayed her, she could still complain a few words of sadness, but now it's good, I always feel that I will betray.

Those entangled feelings of shame and self-blame can only be experienced by Zhou Xian in his heart.