Chapter 72: Once upon a Time

Chapter 72

It was Fei Nanyu!

He was limping in front holding a coffin carried by four men behind him.

When Fei Nanyu saw He Zhiran, his brows immediately furrowed as he looked her up and down carefully, as if trying to see through something. NewW novels updates at novelhall.com

Facing such a gaze, He Zhiran's expression remained calm.

"What are you doing here?"

"I saw it was quiet here, so I took a rest and cooled off at the same time."

As she saw the four men carrying the coffin over, He Zhiran instinctively pushed her wheeled wooden cart to the side against the wall to make way for them.

Seeing the cart full of goods, Fei Nanyu did not doubt her.

He saluted He Zhiran with cupped fists, "There is a funeral at home to take care of. I shall take my leave first."

After saying that, he left without looking back.

Seeing Fei Nanyu lead the group into the innermost courtyard, He Zhiran also got up and pushed the wheeled wooden cart away.

On the road, He Zhiran saw a large pile of straw hats displayed on a roadside stall.

For the exiled, especially these women, being roasted under the scorching sun all day long, they desperately needed hats like these.

So she bought all 28 straw hats from the stall without hesitation.

When Peng Wang saw He Zhiran return so quickly at the teahouse, he was indeed very shocked.

"It's rare for you to go out once. Why didn't you walk around more, young lady?"

He Zhiran looked up at the sky, "It was too hot. There were many things on the cart and I couldn't walk any further, so I came back."

Peng Wang took a look at the things on the wooden cart and couldn't help but click his tongue.

It seemed that Lord He must not have stinted on giving his daughter silver. Otherwise, with her level of consumption, she would probably run out halfway through the journey.

"Since you've bought everything, let's hurry back now."

With the help of the clerks pushing the wheeled wooden cart, they quickly left Pingyuan County.

Peng Wang and the clerks were used to traveling on the road, so they moved faster.

In the third month after Nan Qi's ascension, an imperial edict announced to the whole kingdom that Mo Jiuye was never guilty of surrendering to the enemy and betraying the country back then, but was wrongfully exiled.

For this, Nan Qi even personally built a tomb with ceremonial attire for Mo Jiuye.

It can be said that Fei Nanyu rose meteorically. However, his ambition was not satisfied with just being Prime Minister.

Before Nan Qi's death, he had already secretly started building his own power. Until it grew to a certain scale after some years, he raised troops in revolt and took over the Da Shun Dynasty by force.

Although Fei Nanyu seized power through a coup, he was a diligent ruler beloved by the people.

During Fei Nanyu's 28 year reign, the people went from starving to well-fed, border unrests from endless to dare not stir up trouble. All these fully demonstrated that he was an exceptionally capable ruler.

He was even posthumously honored by later generations as "The Only Emperor in History".

Upon reading this, He Zhiran seemed to understand many things.

If her guess was right, the gaze she felt in the teahouse should be that of Third Prince Nan Qi.

That is to say, her appearance disrupted a chance encounter between Nan Qi and Fei Nanyu.

She had unintentionally changed history again. She didn't know if Fei Nanyu would still have the opportunity to meet Nan Qi in the future with this deviation.

With things going differently, the direction of future events would also change accordingly.

That meant she could no longer accurately predict what would happen to Nan Qi and Fei Nanyu. She could only adapt to changes.

Unable to grasp the general direction of the future, He Zhiran was not frustrated either. During her free time, she started reading that "Unofficial History".

To He Zhiran's surprise, it also contained records of Nan Qi and Fei Nanyu's affairs. Although more explicit than the official history books, the content did not differ much.

After reading about Fei Nanyu in "Unofficial History", He Zhiran continued flipping through and surprisingly found descriptions about Mo Jiuye...

With a gossipy mentality, He Zhiran read it carefully.

Unexpectedly, the first sentence said—Mo Jiuye's origins remain a mystery to this day.

A mystery?

He Zhiran was as excited as discovering a new continent. Her interest in this part skyrocketed instantly.

Some said that Mo Jiuye was not the Mo Family's own son, but the third prince born to Concubine Yuan, Emperor Shunwu's favored consort.

When Concubine Yuan was pregnant, she invited Master Wuchen from Enye Temple to determine the fetus’ gender.