Chapter 152 Zhen Si Niang

The woman was about twenty years old, with pretty looks and gentle temperament. Her every move exuded the charm of a mature young woman.

After Gu Mingchuan traveled through time, he had seen many chivalrous women in the martial arts world, but this was the first time he had seen such a charming young woman.

The first word that popped into his mind was young mature woman, but he felt that it was not accurate enough. After all, this is a word that appeared in modern cities. It is indeed a little meaningless to use it to describe young women in ancient times.

He stood up and saluted, "Meet the Madam."

She had her hair in a bun, which represented a woman's style, and said, "Madam, there's nothing wrong with it."

The woman looked at him calmly and smiled, "You must be Zhizhi's friend, right? What's your name, sir?"

"Jiao Fei."

Gu Mingchuan answered briefly. He didn't know what the relationship between this woman and Chu Zhi was, so he naturally wouldn't reveal her true identity.

The woman suddenly realized, "So you are Mr. Jiao. I've heard Zhizhi mention you several times. You are indeed a handsome man."

"Madam, thank you for your praise. I wonder if you and Miss Chu are..."

"I am ranked fourth in the escort agency."

"It turns out to be Zhen Si Niang. I have heard of you for a long time."

Gu Mingchuan said politely.

Among the nine chief escorts of Ping An Escort Agency, there are two women. In addition to Chu Zhi, who is ranked seventh, there is also Zhen Si Niang, also known as Madam Zhen.

This is a widow whose husband is also the leader of the Ping An Escort Agency. A few years ago, while escorting a caravan, he had a conflict with the number one on the Heavenly Ranking at that time and was killed on the spot.

Then, Chen Pingan took action personally and killed the previous number one on the Heavenly Ranking on the spot, becoming the number one on the Heavenly Ranking.

This can be said to be Chen Pingan's most famous battle.

Later, the widow of the escort leader took his place and became the fourth escort leader in the escort agency.

However, this Zhen Si Niang never went out to escort the convoy. She only managed affairs in the escort agency and kept a low profile.

Gu Mingchuan didn't dare to underestimate this woman.

He has seen the intelligence capabilities of Ping An Escort Agency, which are extremely strong and feel much more powerful than Jin Yutang.

If he guessed correctly, this Zhen Si Niang was most likely the person in charge of intelligence.

After all, Chen Pingan, who was only seventeen years old and looked like a rebellious teenager, did not look like someone capable of intelligence work.

At this moment, Zhen Si Niang looked him up and down with eyes like a mother-in-law looking at her son-in-law, which made him feel a little uncomfortable.

She smiled and said, "Zhizhi is a person with a miserable life. You must treat her well in the future. If you dare to betray her, I will not let you off easily."

Gu Mingchuan explained, "Madam, you misunderstood. Miss Chu and I——"

As he was speaking, Chu Zhi pushed the door open and walked in. When he saw the two people sitting there chatting, he was visibly stunned.

Zhen Si Niang stood up and said, "Zhizhi is back, and I should go back too. Master Jiao, remember what I just said. Zhizhi, you don't have to see me off."

After saying that, he left.

Chu Zhi watched her leave the yard before sitting in front of Gu Mingchuan and asked curiously, "What did you talk about?"

Gu Mingchuan said, "Nothing. It's just that she seems to have misunderstood our relationship."

"What's our relationship?"

He didn't want to continue this topic, so he asked her, "Where is Miss Shangguan?"

Chu Zhi said quietly, "You come to my place, but you ask another girl, don't you think it's a bit hurtful?"

Gu Mingchuan looked at her in confusion and said, "You took Miss Shangguan away, who else should I look for if not you?"

Chu Zhi was stunned for a moment before she said, "I didn't pick her up. It should be the fourth sister. The two of them are old acquaintances."

"What about her?"

"At Princess Yong'an's place."

"Who is that?" "You've been with Gong Miaomiao for so long, don't you know her true identity?"

It turns out that Gong Miaomiao is a princess.

When Gu Mingchuan heard that Shangguan Yu was with Gong Miaomiao, he finally felt relieved.

The most important thing was that through the connection between him and the "demon species", he could feel that she was safe now, but the distance was beyond the range, so he could only sense her approximate location.

He asked another question, and said seriously, "I just heard on the road that the emperor wants to marry Princess Taihua to Nanchu as a marriage alliance. Is this true?"

Chu Zhi naturally knew about the relationship between him and Princess Taihua, and was a little worried that he would do something wrong, so she whispered, "I know you have a special relationship with her, but this is a major court matter, and it is also a family affair of the royal family. It is decided by the emperor alone. No one can change it."

"So, this is true." There was a dangerous light in Gu Mingchuan's eyes.

Chu Zhi grabbed his arm and said, "Don't mess around."

As soon as her hand touched his arm, it was bounced away.

Gu Mingchuan said coldly, "I am just an ordinary citizen, how can I influence such a national policy? I just don't understand, the national strength of Wei is far greater than that of Nanchu, why would they send a princess to marry Nanchu?"

Speaking of the feud between the three countries of Dawei, Nanchu and Xizhu, we have to go back five hundred years.

At that time, Emperor Shang of the Jin Dynasty passed away, and the Jin Dynasty also collapsed. Warlords fought for supremacy for more than ten years, and finally only three forces remained, and they established their own kingdoms.

To put it bluntly, after the fall of the Jin Dynasty, it split into three countries.

Among them, Great Wei was the strongest, occupying the most prime areas, with the largest territory and the largest population. In terms of national strength, the other two combined were not even half of Great Wei.

However, in this world, just having a large population and a large territory is not enough to unify the world.

At that time, both Xizhu and Nanchu were ruled by powerful people. If one wanted to destroy these two countries, one could not avoid those powerful people.

In the end, the only option is to maintain the status quo.

For hundreds of years, there had been constant friction between the three countries, and many major wars had been fought. It was not until the past hundred years that things finally calmed down.

All of this is to blame on Emperor Shang. That battle destroyed the way of heaven, thus narrowing the gap in combat power between the martial arts masters.

We are both in the Sinking Sea Realm. Even if you were stronger than me before, in this environment, even if you can kill me, you won’t have an easy time.

It is precisely because of this situation that those martial arts masters will naturally not act rashly, forming a balance and causing a situation of three kingdoms coexisting.

What Gu Mingchuan didn't understand was that when Wei wanted to marry the princess to Nanchu as a peace treaty, shouldn't it be the other way around?

Chu Zhi sighed, "What you said is all old news. Today's Nanchu is no longer what it used to be."

"One hundred years ago, Nanchu fought a great battle with our dynasty at Gushan. We defeated them, lost a million soldiers, and finally ceded two states. Since then, our dynasty has been severely damaged."

"I thought that Nan Chu would decline and never recover. But a few years later, a man of extraordinary talent emerged and became the prime minister. He established a Taoist temple and trained talents. He also recuperated and restored the country's strength."

"Not long after, Nan Chu began to attack the southern barbarian countries. Over the past few decades, it destroyed countless countries, expanded its territory several times, and developed ocean trade, earning countless money."

"Now, the national strength of Nanchu has far surpassed our dynasty. There are hundreds of thousands of armored soldiers and many talented people. In the Taoist Academy alone, more than a dozen powerful people with the Palace of Fate have emerged in the past few decades. There are also unfathomable figures like Si Jun. It is no longer something our dynasty can contend with."

The more Gu Mingchuan listened, the more outrageous it seemed. Wasn't this really just a made-up story?
Isn't this the same as what he has been hearing all along?
Among the people, everyone thinks that the Great Wei is the legitimate dynasty in the Central Plains. Whether it is Xizhu or Nanchu, they are just small countries in a corner and cannot cause any waves.

As a result, the weak Nanchu has completed a brilliant transformation and has become a more powerful crocodile than the Wei Dynasty.
Is this reasonable?
Seeing his reaction, Chu Zhi knew what he was thinking and said, "The high-ranking officials in the court have always been very clear about the situation in Nanchu. The people in the prefectures across the river from Nanchu also know something. However, the high-ranking officials have been blocking the news to avoid shaking the people's hearts."

That being said, it does make sense.

Not to mention the ancient dynasties, even on modern Earth, the Beacon Country has been smearing our country in various ways and will never let ordinary people know the real situation. This kind of public opinion war is played very well by rulers of all eras.

Chu Zhi continued, "During the battle of Gushan a hundred years ago, the two sides signed a contract, agreeing that the two countries would not fight for a hundred years. Now, a hundred years have passed. The officials in the court are worried that Nan Chu will start a war to avenge the shame of a hundred years ago. Given the current situation of Wei, the chances of winning are slim. The emperor has no choice but to resort to this last resort."

Gu Mingchuan said calmly, "But he shouldn't let her go."

After saying that, he stood up and was about to leave.

Chu Zhi said from behind, "You'd better not go look for her. You killed a magic elephant from the Demon Suppression Division, and you have become a mortal enemy with the Demon Suppression Division. They will definitely set up a trap for you in the Princess's mansion, waiting for you to fall into it."

Gu Mingchuan did not stop and soon disappeared outside the yard.

(End of this chapter)