Nine out of ten gamblers lose; I've run into a jerk!

Chapter 46 When Will the Bright Moon Shine on My Return?

Zhao Zheng remained expressionless, tapping his index finger lightly on the table as he listened to Bo Xi's report, lost in thought.

After explaining the situation, Bo Xi waited quietly to the side, awaiting his master's instructions. After a long while, Zhao Zheng's calm and composed voice finally rang out.

"I am currently weak, and Shen Sanlang is young and short-sighted. I will remember this man for now. When I gain power, he will be an adult and will want to make a name for himself. At that time, he will know how to make a choice."

Zhao Zheng was confident and calm, and Bo Xi didn't see anything wrong with his master's move to poach talent from overseas. His master was not only interested in the position of the King of Jingguo, but also had the ambition to conquer the world.

They were even more impressed by Zhao Zheng's strategic wisdom. Not to mention the distant past, didn't Princess Fukang of Qi Kingdom use the prince's strategy of retreating to advance and feigning indifference to completely control her?

This was just a minor incident. Shen Qing didn't even mention to Shen Che that someone was trying to poach his sister, for fear that Shen Che would get angry and leave separately from the Jingguo delegation. He had promised Jing Chuan that he would see his sister off.

This is not to say that Shen Qing is particularly loyal; it's just that he was escorting a princess, and Shen Haiwang has always been chivalrous and never hesitated to do what he could.

In the adult world, appearances matter, so no one bothered to expose this secret. The next day, everyone set off as if nothing had happened.

This journey was much smoother than Jingchuan's return trip. Apart from the cart wheels getting stuck in a ditch once, there were no other accidents. Shen Qing had originally thought that Jingguo was a wealthy land surrounded by six countries, and that other countries might try to sabotage the marriage alliance between the two countries, but so far, that was clearly not the case.

They traveled smoothly for half a month, all the way to Humen Pass in the southern border of Qi Kingdom, without encountering a single assassin. For some reason, Shen Qing felt a little disappointed, as if a hero had no place to use his skills. People are indeed all like that.

That night, the mission rested at the Humen Pass post station. The next day, they would leave the pass and the two missions would soon part ways.

Shen Qing, a night owl, was practicing her light-footed skills by leaping and bounding on the rooftop when she unexpectedly discovered the fat princess sitting alone by the well in the backyard.

But Shen Qing wasn't worried at all that she would try to kill herself, because she couldn't possibly fall.

Fukang seemed to sense that someone was watching him, looked up at the roof, and said with a smile, "Sanlang, you look like a monkey!"

"..." In a way, it wasn't bad, after all, the light-body skill the system gave her was called "Divine Ape Soaring Through the Clouds," but it sounded strange, so Shen Qing didn't intend to pay attention to her and was about to make a quick getaway when she heard the fat princess shout again:

"Sanlang, come down and talk to me."

Shen Qing could no longer pretend not to hear, so she feigned difficulty and said, "Your Highness, it's not appropriate for a man and a woman to be alone together so late at night..."

Fu Kang covered her mouth and chuckled, then winked playfully at Shen Qing, "Brother already told me~"

The meaningful ending tone made it all clear. Shen Qing secretly cursed Jing Chuan for his big mouth and obediently and lightly landed from the roof.

Fu Kang was very envious, but he probably knew that he probably couldn't train with his physique, so he didn't mention wanting to learn.

Instead, they chattered on and on about trivial matters. Shen Qing discovered that the brother and sister were both secretly talkative, especially when they were nervous. Princess Fukang was only sixteen years old, and her future was uncertain as she was being married off to a foreign country. She must have been very scared.

He couldn't help but ask, "Does Your Highness really like the Fourth Prince of Jingguo that much?"

Upon hearing this, Fu Kang did not show the usual shyness of a girl. Instead, she lowered her eyelids to hide her loneliness, and her tone revealed a hint of helplessness.

“A princess like me, even if not married into a powerful family, would just be casually married off to some nobleman and wouldn’t receive much attention.”

"Zhao Zheng is handsome, and he is skilled in both literature and martial arts. He is brave and resourceful, far superior to the noble sons of Qidu. It is worth my gamble."

“But Your Highness, if you like someone too much, especially someone as ambitious as Zhao Zheng, you might get hurt.” Shen Qing advised Fukang, drawing on her own experience, not to be too sincere.

"My brother and I have nothing to offer. Rather than marrying someone I don't love and living a miserable life because I'm useless to my brother, having the chance to marry someone I love would make the Empress owe me a favor and help my brother secure his position as Crown Prince. That's enough for me to risk everything."

Shen Qing suddenly realized that Princess Fukang was a very insightful person who cleverly used her bad hand to break the deadlock that was originally a sure thing, and opened up a new situation for herself and Jingchuan.

Looking again at Fukang's delicate features, he couldn't help but ask, "Did Your Highness deliberately eat yourself into this state...?"

Fukang rubbed his chubby face. "My mother was framed and sent to the cold palace. She died of depression. That person kept us siblings around just to watch us struggle and have fun, like a cat playing with mice."

"Later, my brother went to Qi Kingdom after receiving the promise of becoming the crown prince. I was raised in the empress's palace, which seemed to give me the means to take revenge. But I knew that the empress would not truly protect me. Fighting against that person would be like throwing an egg against a rock. I would not act rashly, but I was afraid that person would mistakenly think that I had a desire for revenge."

"Therefore, they appear to be lazy and gluttonous, and seem harmless and easy-going."

Shen Qing understood. The fat man looked stupid, and he was initially fooled by Fu Kang. It really is true that you can't judge a book by its cover.

Fukang didn't say who that person was, probably because he didn't want to cause trouble for Shen Qing, but Jingchuan must know, and he will settle accounts with him when he ascends the throne.

Fukang grew up in the deep palace and had no friends. He didn't want to upset Jingchuan, so he kept everything to himself. But Shen Qingxi was a very special person. She could save her brother twice and was trustworthy. Speaking out made him feel much better.

But thinking about leaving the pass tomorrow, he still felt a little lost. Looking up at the moon in the sky, he murmured softly, "This is the last time I'll see the moon over the Qi Kingdom."

Shen Qing comforted him, saying, "May we all live long and share the beauty of the moon, even though we are thousands of miles apart. We will meet again someday."

Fukang repeated the poem, a slight smile on his face. "Sanlang is very talented. I really like this poem."

What a sin! Before I knew it, I had become a plagiarist. Shen Qing wanted to make Fu Kang laugh, so she racked her brains to come up with a joke that could be integrated into the present era by combining elements from her past life.

"Your Highness must have seen the suffering of the people along your journey."

Fu Kang nodded, a hint of reluctance in his expression.

Shen Qing continued, "Xuan Kingdom was similar. When we stayed overnight in a mountain village on the road, something interesting happened."

“There was a butcher in the village who once borrowed his neighbor’s chopping board when he was slaughtering a pig. He returned it after he finished. The neighbor’s wife was a thrifty woman. She used the oil from washing the chopping board to make soup. Ordinary people don’t eat meat more than a few times a year.”

Fukang said, "Then their family must be very happy and have praised the woman."

Shen Qing shook his head: "The woman got slapped instead."

Fu Kang asked in confusion, "Why?"

"Her mother-in-law said she didn't know how to manage money. If she poured oil into the well, wouldn't she be able to drink lard soup every day?"

Fukang couldn't help but chuckle: "That's utterly absurd. And then, how did the woman react?"

The woman was naturally aggrieved, and ran back to her parents' home to complain, only to be slapped again.

"Why is that?" Fukang asked in surprise, somewhat indignant.

"Her mother accused her of being unfilial, saying that if she poured the oil into the stream, wouldn't her family downstream also be able to drink pork fat soup?"

Princess Fukang couldn't help but burst into laughter.