Li Zhi does not believe in Buddhism, but he loves reading, has studied extensively, and is quite familiar with many Buddhist concepts. From the first time he saw Wu Meiniang, the word "fate" came to his mind.
Buddhism believes that everyone in the world has had wisdom in their previous lives. After going through reincarnation, there is always wisdom accompanying them, so it is called fate.
He must have such a bond with Wu Meiniang. They meet each other too late in this life, but they must be entangled in the past life, so that even if they are reincarnated, they will never forget the slightest bit of wisdom from the past life.
How else to explain this feeling of love at first sight?
Even at a certain moment, the idea of "even if I give up my country for her, and I am the enemy of the whole world, I will still be happy" came into his mind...
But Wu Meiniang didn't think so.
She lost her father when she was young, and suffered abuse and torture from her aunt and brother. After entering the palace, she witnessed and experienced the darkness and turmoil in the palace. Her heart was already mature and traumatized beyond her age. But since she married Fang Jun,
Although she could only commit herself to being a concubine, she received respect and freedom that she had never received in her life. This made her happy and grateful, so she never put the so-called wealth and splendor in her eyes.
Even though he controls the harem and is the lord of the sixth palace, isn't he still constrained at every step and controlled at every step?
Where can one be as free as controlling a powerful business empire in one's hands?
Therefore, she doesn't even care about the position of queen, so how can she care about the admiration of a mere prince?
What's more, with her family background, it is absolutely impossible for her to become the Princess of Jin.
As for his character and talent... His Highness the Prince of Jin is certainly a rare handsome young man and has such a prominent status as a prince, but how can he compare with his own virtuous and heroic husband?
When a woman has her heart set on something, all the men in the world will abandon her like worn-out shoes and look down upon her...
So when His Highness Prince Jin looked directly at her with fiery eyes, Wu Meiniang not only did not feel any shyness, but instead felt indescribable nervousness and disgust.
Hearing Li Zhi's words, Wu Meiniang refused without even thinking about it, saying: "Your Highness's kindness is appreciated. But today's loading of ordnance is of great importance, and the slightest mistake is definitely not something that the slave family can afford. I'd better ask Your Highness to go down a short distance."
Rest in the house, and the servants are here to watch over the porters and make sure everything goes smoothly."
Li Zhi clicked his tongue, a little dissatisfied.
It’s not that she was dissatisfied with Wu Meiniang’s rejection, but that she was dissatisfied with losing the opportunity to have close contact with the beauty...
Li Junxian also had a headache. His Royal Highness, Prince Jin, was usually well-educated and courteous. He was calm and dignified. How could he not be able to move his legs when he saw Mrs. Wu, ignoring her stubbornness?
He had heard that Fang Jun was about to return from the south of the Yangtze River. If Li Zhi didn't know how to restrain himself and offended Lady Wu, or even had some bad words and deeds, and it was spread, Fang Jun would hear about it after he came back, and he would definitely not let it go.
Others may be wary of Li Zhi's status as a prince, but does Fang Jun care about that?
Since that guy dared to hit the King of Wei back then, he will definitely dare to hit you, the King of Jin, today...
He came to assist today on the order of His Majesty. Once something happens, Fang Jun will be more stubborn in the future. When he is investigated afterwards, it is inevitable that he will trace what happened today. If he allows things to happen without stopping them, I am afraid that
Both Your Majesty and Fang Jun will hate him.
Not to mention that he had a good personal relationship with Fang Jun, so how could he just watch Fang Jun's concubine being harassed by the King of Jin?
After thinking about it, he stepped forward and said to Li Zhi: "Mrs. Wu's words are reasonable. The wind is strong by the river and your Highness has a distinguished status. If you catch the wind and cold, you will be unforgivable. Please go and rest first."
Come, take shelter from the wind and drink a cup of hot tea. There are officials from the Ministry of War here to coordinate, Madam Wu is assisting, and the general will be responsible for supervising everything, so everything will go smoothly."
Li Zhi was greatly disappointed, but when he saw Wu Meiniang's obvious refusal, his confidence was greatly hurt.
After listening to Li Junxian's words, he also knew that he had gone too far. After all, she was Fang Jun's concubine. If he went a little too far, if Fang Jun found out about it afterwards, he would definitely not give up.
To be honest, he was shocked and afraid of Fang Jun, his brother-in-law...
Then he nodded and said: "In that case, I'll trouble Mrs. Wu and General Li."
Li Junxian and Wu Meiniang both bowed and saluted: "This is our duty."
Li Zhi waved his hands with a depressed expression, and led a few servants to the building of the dock office not far away, but in his heart he was wondering what the success rate would be if he asked Fang Jun for this concubine.
The atmosphere of the Tang Dynasty was open, and the status of concubines was extremely low. The powerful and wealthy families asked for concubines from each other, and it was not uncommon to give concubines as gifts. I thought that as the dignified King of Jin and the prince of the Tang Dynasty, I would ask for a concubine through the golden mouth.
No matter how hard it is to let go, Fang Jun will have to endure the pain and give up, right?
But it’s hard to say, Fang Jun is too overbearing. He has always been the only one who steals other people’s things. How has he ever seen someone else take away his favorite thing?
If you are not careful, not only will the Lady Wu not come, but you will also anger the stick, and the gain will outweigh the loss.
Alas, it is simply ironic to think that as a nobleman of the Tian family, I am the most advantageous competitor for the crown prince. I am very likely to aspire to the great treasure and dominate the country in the future, but I am helpless with a woman I admire...
…
Not to mention that Li Zhi sighed and walked away, here Wu Meiniang saluted and said to Li Junxian: "Thank you General Li for relieving the slave family."
Li Junxian smiled bitterly and said: "Mrs. Wu has a beautiful country, and His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin is admiring her as a young man. It is actually a normal thing, and it is not particularly rude. It's best if you don't blame Mrs. Wu."
Wu Meiniang was smart and naturally understood what Li Junxian meant, so she stood up and smiled slightly: "General Li, don't worry, although the slave family is a generation of women, they are not people who only know how to cause trouble but not how to resolve it."
Li Junxian burst into laughter. He was afraid that Wu Meiniang would tell Fang Jun about the King of Jin's covetousness, and then Fang Jun would go out of his way to trouble the King of Jin and make things worse.
Everyone has a love for beauty. Even if he has a tempered temperament that is as polished as gold and stone, his heart will sway and be difficult to control when facing such stunning beauties, let alone such a strong-blooded young man like King Li Zhi of the Jin Dynasty?
It's not a good idea to make a big deal out of a mere rudeness with words.
It was obvious that Wu Meiniang knew what she meant. This woman was not only extremely smart, but also had an extraordinary bearing. She was a good wife. No wonder Fang Jun doted on her so much. He would rather hand over all the family's properties, big and small, to her.
The unruly and willful Princess Gaoyang is also quite convinced by her...
While he was talking, he suddenly heard a commotion on the pier. Someone pointed to the dark night sky in the east and shouted: "Look, the ship is coming!"
Li Junxian and Wu Meiniang hurriedly stood on the shore and looked eastward. Sure enough, a black shadow in the distance of the dark river was approaching quickly.
Cui Dunli came behind Wu Meiniang at this time, raised his hand to salute, and said respectfully: "The ship has arrived. Please ask the porters on the dock to cooperate with the officials of the Ministry of War to make proper arrangements and load the weapons onto the ship as soon as possible."
Fang Jun was his boss, and he was in the same camp. He respected Fang Jun very much in his heart, and he did not even dare to salute in front of the concubine whom Fang Jun loved so much.
Besides, Wu Meiniang controls the Fang family's wealth and wealth, so who can seriously ignore her?
He performed the ceremony with great respect, and Wu Meiniang was not at all arrogant. She returned the courtesy with her skirt and said with a smile: "Cui Shilang and my husband belong to the same colleagues and have a deep friendship. How dare I accept your great gift? The Ministry of War is transporting ordnance to Liaodong to prepare for the Eastern Expedition.
, is a major matter for the country. My family has been favored by the emperor for generations, and I should repay the king. The slave family is just a daughter, and I dare not comment on such important matters. Everything is decided by Cui Shilang, and the entire dock is at your disposal.
"
After saying this, she called the dock manager over and told her to obey Cui Dunli's instructions. No matter what the military department requested, she must help complete it regardless of cost or manpower.
Ordnance loading is not easy. There are too many manpower, too many ordnances, and too many ships, which can only be loaded on limited berths. Coordination and distribution between each other are extremely important. A slight negligence will slow down the process.
, which in turn affects the time to travel to Liaodong.
Cui Dunli did not want to delay the process. Although this would make Li Zhi bear the main responsibility, it would also affect the preparations of the Liaodong army, which would harm the country and benefit himself, which is what a gentleman would not do.
At this moment, after hearing Wu Meiniang's instructions, she immediately showed her face and said: "Ms. Wu is a woman who is not inferior to men. I will report this to His Highness the Crown Prince later."
Wu Meiniang said: "This is a matter of one's duty, so why should I ask for credit or reward? Cui Shilang please go ahead and do the work. If there is a request, the entire dock will definitely cooperate with it."