Chapter 95: A Question of Strength

In the afternoon, Fan Chuan found some time to take Shen Lingwei out.

She mainly wanted Shen Lingwei to ask her cousin.

Since she herself was a Qiankun, she was afraid it might be awkward if she asked.

“Lingwei, do you think Wei Lan might be a bit inadequate?

Do you think Zijin is too embarrassed to tell us?

Otherwise, we could have the imperial physician take Wei Lan’s pulse and prescribe some tonic medicine to help her recuperate.”

Fan Chuan said.

Shen Lingwei cleared her throat.

She also felt it was strange.

After all, Qiankuns were usually very assertive.

Someone like Wei Lan, who needed a Kunze to hold and coax her, was indeed rare.

But she still said, “Would it be improper for us to interfere?

After all, it is a matter between the two of them.”

“How is this interference?

We’re just trying to help.

Now that I’m the emperor, I can’t guarantee much, but finding some famous doctors to help Wei Lan recuperate is certainly no problem.”

Fan Chuan was very concerned about her cousin’s happiness.

Shen Lingwei sighed.

“Then I’ll find an opportunity to ask?”

“Mm-hmm, please ask.

Thank you, Empress.”

Fan Chuan quickly said.

So, after the four had dinner, Shen Lingwei pulled Lu Zijin aside, saying she wanted to talk privately.

Wei Lan was also called by Fan Chuan to work overtime.

Wei Lan felt something was odd, but she didn’t think too much about it and stayed behind to help Fan Chuan handle matters.

Shen Lingwei, a prime minister’s daughter, was doing this kind of thing for the first time and was inevitably a bit nervous.

Lu Zijin could also tell she seemed to have something to say to her.

She smiled and asked, “Sister Shen, we’re all this familiar.

Just say it directly.”

Shen Lingwei clasped her hands together, then said, “It’s your cousin.

She’s a bit worried about Wei Lan’s health.

How are things between you two in the bedroom?

Do you need the imperial physician to take her pulse and help her recuperate?”

Lu Zijin was stunned.

Then she remembered that morning when Wei Lan was acting spoiled in her arms, and Fan Chuan and Shen Lingwei had seen them.

They must have misunderstood.

“That’s not necessary.

Wei Lan’s health has always been very good.

She just likes to act spoiled with me.

It’s not that she can’t perform.”

Lu Zijin said with a helpless smile.

“Really?

We’re all family.

If you have any difficulties, don’t suffer alone.”

Shen Lingwei advised again.

“Really, Sister Shen.

You really don’t need to worry about me and Wei Lan.

I’m used to her acting spoiled with me…”

The two talked for a good while longer, and only after Shen Lingwei confirmed that Lu Zijin wasn’t just putting on a brave face did she feel reassured.

They returned to the imperial study, each walking with their own Qiankun back to rest.

Wei Lan took Lu Zijin’s hand and asked curiously, “Wife, what did Sister Shen want to talk to you about?”

Lu Zijin smiled at her little Qiankun.

“It was because of you.

This morning, when you were acting spoiled with me, my cousin saw us.

She thought you might be inadequate and wanted to find an imperial physician to help you recuperate.”

“How could I possibly be inadequate?

I don’t need any recuperation.”

Lu Zijin looked at her little Qiankun and smiled, shaking her head.

“Yes, yes, you’re the fiercest.

I’ll thoroughly verify that later.”

If it weren’t for the guards still escorting them, Wei Lan would have wanted to hug Lu Zijin and act spoiled again.

Back in the bedroom, Wei Lan hugged Lu Zijin tightly and refused to let go.

Lu Zijin looked at the clingy little dog in her arms, reached out, and tugged at Wei Lan’s ‘little dog’ plaque.

“What’s wrong?”

“I want to bathe with you.”

As she spoke, she nuzzled her face against Lu Zijin’s chest.

Lu Zijin looked at the delicate, coquettish little Qiankun in her arms.

No wonder her cousin was worried about Wei Lan’s ability.

A little Qiankun like Wei Lan was indeed rare.

“Alright.

As you wish.

I’ll thoroughly check later to see if my little dog is really fierce.”

Lu Zijin played with the little dog plaque in her hand and smiled.

“Of course.”

Wei Lan declared confidently.

Now that they weren’t traveling, her body had long since recovered.

So, the two went to bathe together.

But the Wei Lan who had been so confident just now was now being pinned down and kissed by Lu Zijin.

Her gland opening had several red bite marks.

She looked at Lu Zijin with an expression of someone who couldn’t take any more.

“Wife, I can’t do it anymore~ I want to go back to bed.”

Wei Lan’s eyes were misty as she looked at Lu Zijin.

Her lips were already swollen from her wife’s kisses.

Lu Zijin bit and kissed her lower lip a few times, her fingertips pinching and playing with Wei Lan’s gland opening.

She squeezed out the pheromones inside bit by bit, making Wei Lan almost cry.

“Be good.

This is just the beginning.

You’re not allowed to say you can’t.

Later, when we get to bed, I’ll let you be on top.”

Lu Zijin said as she kissed her.

Wei Lan was kissed breathless, and her gland opening was being played with by her wife.

How would she have any strength left to be on top later?

Wei Lan was bullied by her wife for a good while longer.

When she got out of the tub, her legs were very weak.

Lu Zijin had to hold her to keep her from falling.

Wei Lan touched her gland opening.

It was already more than half deflated, with little pheromone left.

She had no strength either.

After getting into bed, Wei Lan wanted to lie on the bottom and sleep.

But Lu Zijin forcibly pulled her up and made her lie on top.

Wei Lan wanted to cry.

She looked at Lu Zijin with soft, weak eyes, acting spoiled.

“Wife, I have no strength left.

Can we not do it tonight?”

“No.

Hurry up, use your hands.

Weren’t you just saying how fierce you are?

Prove it.”

Lu Zijin pinched Wei Lan’s earlobe and played with it, clearly not planning to let her little Qiankun off.

“Wuwuwu~ I have no strength.”

Wei Lan sniffled as she mumbled, but still obeyed and did as she was told.

Later, she was crying, propping herself up with her hands while sniffling and acting spoiled.

“Can I rest for a bit?

I really have no strength.”

Seeing that she had made her little Qiankun cry, Lu Zijin leaned in and kissed the tears from Wei Lan’s cheeks, coaxing softly.

“Alright, be good.

This is the last time.

I’ll let you rest right after.

Tomorrow, I’ll have the small kitchen make you lots of delicious food to help you recuperate, okay?”

“Mm.

Promise me, this is really the last time.”

Wei Lan buried her face in Lu Zijin’s shoulder, afraid her wife might go back on her word and press her into service again later.

“Alright, I promise.”

Lu Zijin coaxed as she urged her little Qiankun to move.

In the end, Wei Lan fell asleep from exhaustion in Lu Zijin’s arms.

When she fell asleep, there were still a few teardrops clinging to her face, about to fall, looking extremely pitiful.

Was she the first Qiankun to be cried to sleep by her wife?

Wei Lan was still thinking about this as she drifted off.

***

Early the next morning, Wei Lan lay limply on the bed, not wanting to get up.

Lu Zijin had to call her several times before she finally managed to crawl out of bed.

Lu Zijin looked at her listless little Qiankun, her eyes curving.

“Be good.

Get up first.

I won’t touch you today.

I’ll let you rest properly, okay?”

“Mm.”

Only then did Wei Lan nuzzle against Lu Zijin, get up, and dress.

So, when the four gathered in the imperial study the next day, Fan Chuan noticed that Wei Lan’s spirits were even worse.

She quickly had the female official beside her bring four bowls of bird’s nest.

Mainly, she wanted to nourish Wei Lan.

No matter how she looked at Wei Lan’s mental state, she seemed depleted.

When the bird’s nest arrived, Wei Lan immediately drank a bowl.

Her spirits recovered a bit, and she continued reading the official documents submitted from various places.

The new dynasty had just been established, and Fan Chuan couldn’t handle everything alone.

So, the four of them had to deal with these trivial matters together first, with Fan Chuan making the final decisions on major issues.

Before long, Shen Fangzhou paid a visit.

He presented the edict regarding the stone tablet to Fan Chuan for her review.

After Fan Chuan confirmed it was acceptable, edict after edict was quickly distributed.

The surrounding provinces were naturally the first to receive the news.

Those officials had no intention of sending troops to destroy Dazhao.

After all, they knew very well the combat effectiveness of the Great Zhou’s armies.

Looking for trouble with the Fan family army would be suicide.

And so, edict after edict was issued by the Dazhao court.

But due to the limitations of ancient times, it would be over a month before everyone knew the dynasty had changed.

Jiangnan was still in chaos, but the situation in the capital had stabilized.

Fan Chuan sent a general to suppress the rebellion in Jiangnan, allocating forty thousand soldiers to him.

The rest would have to recruit soldiers along the way.

After all, to stabilize the capital’s situation, those forty thousand Fan family soldiers couldn’t be moved.

***

In Panyang City at that time, people were also filled with anxiety.

Scholars gathered in teahouses to discuss the situation in the capital.

“Have you heard?

The dynasty has already changed.

The new dynasty is called Dazhao.”

“I heard.

They say the Zhou brothers were at each other’s throats, and Zhou Xiao killed his father.

The Grand Marshal of the Northern Border Army, Fan Chuan, went to the capital to suppress the rebellion, wiped out the rebels, and has now become emperor.”

“Marshal Fan?

Her being the emperor doesn’t sound so bad.

A ‘horseback emperor,’ with her Fan family army, I bet the rebellions in Jiangnan will be quelled soon.”

“I think so too.

And I heard Marshal Fan barely touched the old Great Zhou officials.

She seems quite understanding of past ties.

She might be an enlightened ruler.”

“There’s another very important benefit that none of you have mentioned.”

“What benefit?

Hurry up and say it!”

“The founding of a new dynasty will definitely be accompanied by a special imperial examination.

Our chance has come!

Enough talk, everyone.

I’m going back to the academy to study!”

“Oh my god, that’s right!

Why are we still chatting?

Let’s go back and review!”

The scholars poured out of the teahouse.

These students, good at observing the situation, had already begun reviewing.

But some people didn’t take it seriously.

Chen Zhou was currently sitting in his study.

Seeing Su Er return, he quickly asked, “Did you find out exactly what happened?”

“I found out.

The Great Zhou has fallen.

The dynasty has changed its name to Dazhao.

The former Marshal of the Fan family army, Fan Chuan, has become the female emperor.”

Su Er quickly said.

“Fan Chuan?

I recall that Fan Chuan was once related to Lu Zijin, but they cut ties long ago.”

Chen Zhou, after all, was a distant cousin of the Lu residence, so he knew a little about these things.

“That’s correct.

The new emperor of Dazhao is that Marshal Fan Chuan of the Fan family army.

Young master, we had conflicts with the Lu residence before.

What should we do?”

Su Er quickly asked.

Chen Zhou didn’t seem too concerned.

“Lu Zijin and her side haven’t had any contact with them either.

If she tries to curry favor with them now, the female emperor might not be happy.

Don’t worry about it.

As long as Panyang City is fine, it’s okay.

Who becomes emperor doesn’t make much difference to us.”

“Yes, yes.

It’s just that you, young master, have such a far-sighted vision.”

Su Er quickly flattered.

***

Two more months passed.

The general sent to suppress the rebellion in Jiangnan quickly led his troops to wipe out the rebels.

It wasn’t that the Fan family army was supernatural; it was mainly that the rest of the Great Zhou’s military was too useless.

The Great Zhou had been impoverished and weak for a long time, its bureaucratic system bloated.

The state paid no attention to military affairs.

As a result, many soldiers in local armies didn’t even dare to kill a chicken, let alone go into battle.

The chaos in Jiangnan was mostly caused by roaming bandits and refugees.

When the people learned that the emperor had changed and that the general Fan Chuan had sent brought enough silver to buy grain from surrounding areas for disaster relief, many of the rebels immediately surrendered.

After all, if they could live a good life, no one wanted to fight and kill every day.

However, the truly evil bandits were all beheaded by the general Fan Chuan had sent.

Jiangnan was soon stabilized.

The general who had been sent did not rush back to the capital.

Instead, he cleared out all the rebel forces within Dazhao’s borders along the way, stabilizing the situation.

At the same time, merchants and commoners in the capital had already begun to open their shops and resume normal business.

New copper coins were also being minted.

Because people were now mostly using broken silver pieces for transactions.

However, due to the capital being surrounded for months, even though the siege was lifted, food prices had skyrocketed.

Originally, a unit of rice cost about sixty-five wen.

Now, it had doubled.

In the capital, a unit of rice was selling for a high price of one hundred and forty wen.

Although the court was doing its best to control grain prices, transporting rice, flour, and such from other provinces would take considerable time.

So, the price of rice and flour remained expensive.

There was no other choice; the court set up several porridge kitchens in the capital to keep the hungry commoners from starving to death.

***

One day, Wei Lan took Xi Ye and over a dozen guards out of the palace to help Fan Chuan inspect the areas around the capital and see how the ordinary people were faring.

So, Wei Lan and her guards went to inspect several villages on the outskirts of the capital.

Because the princes had besieged the city before, these suburban villages had suffered greatly.

Many villagers relied on the porridge kitchens set up by the court on the outskirts to keep from starving.

After all, with food prices doubled, those without money could really starve to death.

Wei Lan and her guards rode along the country paths.

Soon, they encountered about twenty people carrying cloth bags, clearly collecting grain in the villages here.

Wei Lan’s brow furrowed.

In order to keep the surrounding people unaffected, her cousin had specifically sent people to buy grain from other provinces.

How could there be people buying grain in the villages around the capital?

Just as she was thinking, a commotion seemed to break out in the distance.

She saw a middle-aged man being stepped on by a man dressed in fine brocade robes.

“We are collecting grain here on the court’s orders.

It’s not like we’re not paying you.

Who are you putting on this act for?”

The young man in the blue brocade clothes cursed.

“Sir, it’s not that we won’t sell.

It’s that we have very little grain left at home.

My family of three still needs to survive.”

The man pleaded.

After he finished speaking, his back was stepped on several more times.

“You refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit.

We are collecting grain here on the orders of the Dazhao court.

Do you know who the Dazhao court is?

It is His Majesty who ordered us to do this.

How dare you, a lowly peasant, not cooperate?

I’ll ruin you!”

Just as the man was about to stomp down with his foot, he heard the rumble of horses’ hooves in the distance.

A group of riders was headed their way.

This man frowned.

The stomp he had intended to deliver never landed.

Wei Lan and her group had already ridden up close.

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