Love Lock

Chapter 281 As long as the girl likes it
In an instant, the room fell silent.

Zhao Zun's bronze-colored left arm was completely exposed, with no left sleeve on either his inner or outer robe. His strong arm muscles were clearly defined and gleamed with a healthy sheen under the solar-powered lights.

"This, this is..." The old lady was so shocked that she dropped her chopsticks on the table.

Han Lei, Tang Xiaotong, and the others stared wide-eyed. Yang Xiaomei and her mother quickly raised their hands to cover their foreheads. Yang Xiaomei's heart was pounding.

"Zun'er!" The old lady snapped out of her daze, her heart aching with worry. "In this cold weather, how could you... What if you catch a cold?"

A hint of embarrassment flashed across Zhao Zun's handsome face. He coughed lightly and said, "Mother, don't worry, I'm really not cold."

The old lady looked at Han Lei suspiciously, only to see that her daughter-in-law also looked bewildered.

Zhao Zun was a martial artist. Han Lei thought to herself: Could it be for the convenience of practicing? But she had never seen him do this before!

"Go back and change your clothes quickly!" The old lady couldn't bear to see her son freezing, and she slammed her hand on the table in a panic. "Zitan, hurry up and fetch the Prince a new set of clothes!"

"Hehe! Mother, there's really no need." Zhao Zun chuckled dryly.

Seeing everyone looking at him like he was crazy, Zhao Zun put down his chopsticks, hesitated for a moment, and finally whispered with his ears turning red, "It's...it's because the girl said she likes to see my muscles, so that when she wants to see them, she can just lift up her cloak..."

"what?"

"This...this is too..."

Everyone looked at each other.

"Zhao Zun! You you you..." Han Lei suddenly stood up, pointing at Zhao Zun, unable to utter a word, her pretty face flushed red.

She never expected that Zhao Zun would take her joke seriously. To make it easier for her to see muscular men, Zhao Zun even took off the left sleeve of all his clothes overnight.

Han Lei's lips twitched, unable to tell whether she felt amused or touched. In any case, she was so embarrassed that she stomped her feet, wishing she could disappear into the ground.

Tang Xiaotong suppressed a laugh and teased, "The prince is truly devoted to the princess. He deliberately exposed his arms in this freezing weather just to make her smile. His thoughtfulness is truly admirable."

Is this a joke or a genuine expression of affection?

Han Lei was both embarrassed and angry. She reached out and pinched Zhao Zun's strong arm. "You're a lunatic!"

"Ah! Hahaha!" Zhao Zun exclaimed exaggeratedly, not annoyed at all, but instead deliberately clenching his fist and flexing his muscles in front of her, then casually pulling Han Lei into his arms. "I just love seeing you like this, my little girl. As long as you're happy, I'm always ready, hahaha!"

He laughed loudly, then lowered his head to gently sniff Han Lei's hair, and said softly, "These days, when there's no war and we can just play with the girl, are truly wonderful!"

The old lady turned her gaze to the side, thinking to herself, "You young people really know how to have fun, even bringing this old woman like me into it."

However, seeing her son and daughter-in-law's loving relationship, she felt both amused and gratified.

She shook her head and sighed, "You guys... Zitan, go and get the prince a cloak, at least to cover his shoulders."

The cold wind blew outside the window, but the warmth inside the hall was even stronger. Zhao Zun gazed at his wife's blushing profile in his arms, his eyes filled with tenderness.

...This is a dividing line for asking for a dragon...

Jingzhou.

On a winter morning, a ray of pale golden sunlight slanted through the open windows of the Jingzhou Prince's Mansion and fell on the faded vermilion pillars.

The copper bells on the eaves were covered with frost, gleaming faintly in the light. An old servant walked across the courtyard, his footsteps crunching through the snow, startling a few gray sparrows.

He looked up and saw the warm sun shining on the plaque that read "Loyalty and Filial Piety Passed Down Through Generations." The gold paint had long been faded, but at this moment it suddenly came alive, as if the glory of the past had never gone away.

The King of Jingzhou led over a hundred craftsmen waiting to start work into the palace, and the entire palace was immediately filled with a noisy and bustling scene.

"Tear down all the walls over here!" Liu Yan stood in the center of the courtyard, pointing to a section of the wall.

The foreman, Wang San, wiped his sweat and asked cautiously, "Your Highness, we can't bear to part with this. Look how new the wall is, and look at the carvings..."

"Tear it down!" Liu Yan interrupted decisively, tapping his finger heavily on the wall. "Replace it all with cement. What I want is an impregnable fortress, not these fancy gimmicks."

He then pointed to another magnificent building, "And that house was completely demolished and replaced with a cement one."

The King of Jingzhou wanted to demolish this place and that place. Soon, the antique and magnificent King of Jingzhou's mansion was marked with demolition signs everywhere.

Having witnessed Zhao Zun's royal palace and Tuomugou's fortress in Cangzhou, he couldn't wait to replace all the important parts of his own royal palace with cement.

He was still haunted by the memory of the assassination attempt.

Not only that, when he returned to Jingzhou, he shamelessly asked Zhao Zun for two pistols, one for himself and one for Princess Shen Yanru, for self-defense.

At this moment, he was dressed in a brocade robe with floral patterns, and a shiny black pistol was prominently displayed on his jade belt.

His right hand was always on his waist, stroking the pistol tucked there, as if only in this way could he feel the sense of security that the pistol brought him.

Princess Shen Yanru of Jingzhou walked gracefully down the corridor, her lotus-colored gauze skirt swaying gently in the warm breeze.

She also had a finely crafted pistol tucked into her waistband, gleaming coldly in the sunlight.

Hearing footsteps, Liu Yan turned around, his right hand instinctively resting on the gun handle. Only after recognizing the princess did his tense shoulders relax slightly.

"Your Highness, should the beams and pillars in the east wing also be replaced? They're made of top-quality Phoebe zhennan wood."

"My beloved concubine has arrived." He sighed softly. "You saw the defenses of Zhao Zun's residence in Cangzhou; they were truly formidable..."

He swallowed his words, then said instead, "In short, learning from past mistakes, we must replace our mansion's with the most robust one."

Shen Yanru noticed her husband's constant stroking of the gun handle and said softly, "Your Highness has been quite restless lately."

"It's better to be safe than sorry." Liu Yan avoided his wife's concerned gaze and roared at the craftsmen, "What are you all standing there for? The west courtyard wall must be torn down today!"

A loud crash came from afar, and a section of the wall collapsed, raising a cloud of dust.

Liu Yan stood in the dust, fanning away the dust with his left hand, while his right hand never left the gun at his waist.

He squinted at the collapsed wall, as if he could see some kind of threat crumbling away with it.

"Your Highness..." Shen Yanru hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but then stopped.

“Go tell the gatekeeper to bring the cement that just arrived here directly,” Liu Yan suddenly said, his voice tinged with urgency. “If it’s not enough, send someone to Zhao Zun immediately. Oh, and check if the construction team Zhao Zun sent has arrived yet.”

After saying that, he laughed self-deprecatingly: "This palace will eventually become a fortress."

Shen Yanru gently grasped her husband's wrist, feeling the rapid pulse in his hand. "Your Highness, please rest assured, I will always be by your side." Liu Yan returned the favor, grasping his wife's hand in return. "Yanru, you haven't written to your father-in-law in a long time, have you?" His voice was low, tinged with worry. "I wonder if they are doing well in the capital?"

Shen Yanru unconsciously twisted the handkerchief with her slender fingers, her dark hair fluttering in the breeze and swaying gently against her cheek.

“When we fled to Cangzhou last time, we didn’t even have time to bring a decent set of clothes,” she said softly, a hint of pain flashing in her eyes. “At that time, we were barely able to protect ourselves, and I really didn’t want my parents to worry, so…”

Her voice trailed off as her gaze fell on the gap in the collapsed wall in the distance. There, a few withered blades of grass stubbornly raised their heads from between the bricks.

The King of Jingzhou took a step closer and gently placed his broad hand on her shoulder. "Now we're back, and we're safe."

His voice was gentle, but he couldn't hide the seriousness in his eyes. "Go and write a letter to your father-in-law. It's dusty here, so don't stand here for too long."

Shen Yanru nodded obediently and was about to turn around when she suddenly heard the King of Jingzhou call her back.

"Wait a minute." The King of Jingzhou frowned, his eyes gleaming. "How about... we bring my father-in-law and mother-in-law's whole family to Jingzhou?"

He paused, lowering his voice even further, "Although His Majesty is currently preoccupied with the campaign against Cangzhou and the Wei clan, once he has some free time..."

A gust of wind blew by, stirring up dust from the ground.

Shen Yanru's pupils suddenly contracted, and she gripped her husband's arm tightly, her knuckles turning white.

"You mean..." Her voice trembled slightly, "If His Majesty can't get rid of us, he'll do something to our parents in the capital..."

The King of Jingzhou took a deep breath and nodded heavily. “The imperial family is the most ruthless. It’s only a matter of time before they get rid of us. With His Majesty’s treacherous and ruthless nature, once he finds out that we have returned to Jingzhou, he will definitely threaten us with our father-in-law and mother-in-law, or… he will directly target them.”

Shen Yanru's face turned ashen instantly.

She should have realized it sooner; this emperor was not the same as the previous one, their styles were completely different. Her relatives were either assassinated or imprisoned, and her parents…

Thinking of this, Shen Yanru said urgently, "I'll go write a letter right now!"

As she turned, her skirt billowed, and the gold hairpin in her hair swayed violently, drawing streaks of chaotic gold light in the sunlight.

The King of Jingzhou watched his wife's hurried departure, his worried gaze finally turning into a long sigh, startling the crows perched on the eaves.

That sigh carried a weight of unspoken worries.

He recalled the heroic figure of his father-in-law, Shen Daohong, when he was in charge of Nanguan. The fifty-year-old commander was in his prime, wielding a long spear with impeccable skill.

At that time, which soldier in the Southern Pass did not respect this marshal who was both a scholar and a warrior? But Emperor Jing was unfortunately born with a pair of suspicious eyes.

He feared that his father-in-law held considerable military power in the South Gate!
His second fear is that his father-in-law will become part of his power base!

“Shen Qing…” The King of Jingzhou stroked the pistol at his waist, as if he could hear Emperor Qianlong’s grand and dignified words in court again.

All that talk of "showing consideration for veterans" and "rotational duty for rest" ultimately amounted to nothing more than replacing the imposing commander's seal with a mere empty title.

The suit of armor in the Shen family's study is probably covered in dust by now.

The King of Jingzhou turned and looked towards the direction of Cangzhou.

During his months in Cangzhou, he gained a deeper understanding of Zhao Zun and Han Lei.

The young man's composed demeanor, his willingness to share weal and woe with his soldiers and civilians, and the gleam in his eyes when he talked about people's livelihood.

He believed that if Zhao Zun succeeded, he would likely become a wise and benevolent ruler in the future.

If his father-in-law goes to Jingzhou, he might become a capable general under Zhao Zun and regain real power.

"If I could have a father-in-law as capable as him..." the King of Jingzhou murmured, suddenly clenching his fist.

In the sunlight, he seemed to see the white-haired veteran once again donning his armor and presenting the defense map of the South Gate before the emperor.

At that time, the dusty military books and strategies in the Shen family study might truly become a good solution for pacifying the world.

In the distance, craftsmen were beginning to clear the ruins, and the clanging sounds were particularly clear in the courtyard.

The King of Jingzhou took out a neatly folded drawing from his bosom. The edges of the A4 paper were already yellowed and wrinkled, indicating that it had been repeatedly unfolded and examined many times.

He carefully unfolded the drawing, his slender fingers gently smoothing the creases on the paper, his gaze intently scanning the fine lines and annotations.

Sunlight filters through the leaves of the sycamore trees in the courtyard, casting dappled shadows on the blueprints.

Han Lei handed him this drawing before he left. It not only showed the building structure in detail, but also had various practical suggestions written in delicate handwriting in the corners.

“East side of the front yard…” he muttered to himself, looking around as he walked towards the front yard, his black boots making a crisp sound on the bluestone slabs.

Upon seeing this, the attendants immediately followed, but wisely kept a distance, not daring to disturb the prince's thoughts.

The King of Jingzhou stopped and stood in the center of the front yard, looking around.

The view here is expansive, and while it's not far from the main entrance, it still maintains sufficient privacy.

He nodded in satisfaction and lightly tapped a spot on the drawing.

As the exclusive distributor of Zui Xian Niang (a type of brew) and accompanying snacks in Jingzhou, he was already very busy. Now, he has taken on new distribution rights for cement and building materials, and his business is about to double in size.

"We need to get started as soon as possible," he murmured, already picturing the future office in his mind.

The spacious and bright cement house is furnished with solid wood desks, and against the wall are rows of neat filing cabinets, where important contracts and documents are stored in a categorized manner.

Perhaps, a small tea room should also be set up in a corner, specifically for entertaining important business partners.

Thinking of this, a smile unconsciously appeared on the King of Jingzhou's lips.

The King of Jingzhou summoned his steward and instructed him: "Go immediately and personally invite all the merchants who sell Drunken Immortal Wine and its accompanying snacks. Tell them that I will be hosting a banquet tomorrow to discuss cooperation matters in more detail with them."

The steward bowed and replied, "This old servant will take care of it immediately. Does Your Highness have any other instructions?"

"Wait a moment." The King of Jingzhou strode into the study, dipped his brush in ink at the desk, and said, "Prepare another visiting card, inviting Prefect Song to my residence tomorrow for a chat."

His writing was vigorous and flowing, and he suddenly added meaningfully, "I wonder if Song Yuanqing has written to his uncle about the King of Cangzhou. I should have a good talk with this uncle of his."

Song Peilin is Song Yuanqing's uncle. Since Song Yuanqing has already aligned himself with Zhao Zun, Zhao Zun gave him a task before he returned: to win over Song Peilin, the prefect of Jingzhou.

Thank you for the tip, Fei Lan! I'll dance for you. Love you!