APSIL -Chapter 136 Zhao Garden Was Once Grand View Garden

Halfway down the mountain via the shortcut path, Zhang Shou suddenly realized something.

In order to create the appearance of being alone and help Wang Datou lure out the target, he had delayed his late lunch. Then, because he had fled with Zhu Ying to avoid being caught by Wang Datou and dragged back to the capital, that meal had completely fallen through.

There was no way he could make it up anytime soon.

He turned his head and asked Zhu Ying, who was following behind him with uneven steps on the mountain path: “Yingying, are you hungry?”

“Of course I’m hungry!”

Zhu Ying answered without hesitation.

But immediately afterward, she sighed bitterly.

“But if we hadn’t left just now, and had run into that nagging Wang Datou, he probably would have immediately urged us to return to the capital!”

“Back when we were at your home, didn’t we also eat outside in the wilderness once?”

“Can’t we find something to eat here? I still remember your cooking, A-Shou!”

How could that be compared with now?

Back then, I was prepared.

And that place was originally somewhere a group of village boys went to play and sneak food.

But now, how am I supposed to magically create food?

Could it be that I should drill wood to make fire?

Just as Zhang Shou was thinking this, A-Liu’s familiar voice came from behind.

“I have food.”

Zhu Ying and Zhang Shou turned around almost at the same time.

They immediately saw A-Liu, who had somehow silently appeared behind them without making the slightest sound.

The young man stretched out his hands from behind him, holding a paper package in each hand.

Zhu Ying quickly snatched one over.

When she opened it and saw a package of braised venison, her eyes immediately narrowed happily.

Without a doubt, the secret-recipe braised venison made by the Duke of Zhao’s residence’s kitchen was one of her favorite foods.

Meanwhile, when Zhang Shou took the other package, he couldn’t help glaring at A-Liu.

If this had happened at night, A-Liu’s ghost-like behavior would genuinely scare someone to death.

He opened the oil paper wrapping and discovered eight neatly arranged pieces of rice cake.

There were red rice cakes, green mung bean cakes, white glutinous rice cakes filled with red bean paste, and yellow millet cakes.

They were filling yet delicious snacks.

Underneath them were layers of fresh green leaves, making the cakes look colorful and pleasant while also making them easy to hold and eat.

Needless to say, these were homemade.

They were Aunt Liu’s creations.

Eating while walking was absolutely unrelated to elegance, so Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying stopped and ate something first to fill their stomachs.

At the same time, they asked A-Liu about what had happened afterward.

When they learned that after Wang Jie dealt with Qiao Huaien, he had directly pinned the strange palace theft-and-framing case onto this member of the imperial clan, Zhang Shou was stunned.

After Zhu Ying was briefly surprised, she immediately exclaimed: “Although the First Prince and Second Prince are both not exactly good people, they probably wouldn’t do such a petty and rotten thing.”

“And Princess Yongping, that woman who thinks extremely highly of herself and acts like she’s some pure and noble white lotus every day, wouldn’t use such low-level methods either.”

“That’s why I thought before that she was merely being used as a scapegoat.”

“Qiao Huaien often visited Qingning Palace in the past. Maybe it really was him!”

In just that brief moment, Zhang Shou also understood the possibility.

As for that inexplicable romantic rival of his, he only found the whole thing ridiculous.

He didn’t really care about Zhu Ying’s guess either.

After all, the matter Wang Jie had entrusted him with was already finished.

The time afterward belonged to his rare period of rest.

When they reunited with the several guards from the Duke of Zhao’s residence waiting at the foot of the mountain, they mounted their horses and traveled east.

By the time they returned to the Zhao family’s estate in Haidian on the western outskirts of the capital, the sun had not yet set, but it was already past the hour of Shen.

The modern Haidian area and the Haidian of this era were roughly in the same region.

More than a dozen large and small shallow lakes and rivers were scattered across the plains.

Bridges connected the waterways, reflecting shimmering waves under the sunlight.

Countless rice fields stretched across the land, with paths crisscrossing between them.

The scenery was exceptionally beautiful.

As someone familiar with the geography around the capital, Zhang Shou knew that the future Summer Palace and Old Summer Palace would both be located in this most fertile water-rich area around the capital.

At present, however, the imperial gardens had not yet been built.

But many wealthy nobles had already constructed gardens nearby.

Without exception, these gardens diverted flowing water, built artificial mountains, and constructed countless pavilions and towers.

However, because chaos had followed one after another after the founding of the dynasty, many gardens had undergone reconstruction and changed owners.

The Zhao family estate was no exception.

According to legend, this place had once been temporarily used as a residence by the founding Emperor Taizu before the dynasty was established.

Later, it was granted to a duke.

After changing hands several times, Emperor Ruizong eventually bestowed it upon Duke Zhao Zhu Jing.

This garden did not have an elegant or poetic name.

Like many other noble estates nearby, it was simply called:

Zhao Garden.

When Zhang Shou first arrived, he immediately noticed something strange.

Although Zhu Ying had only decided temporarily to stay here because they encountered Wang Datou and took a detour down the mountain, fearing they would not make it back to the capital in time, the servants of Zhao Garden were clearly not acting like they had only just learned of their arrival.

Their preparations were far too complete.

Eventually, even Zhu Ying—who had initially been slow to notice—realized it.

She suddenly stopped and glared suspiciously at the Zhao Garden steward, who was politely leading the way.

“Looking at how prepared you are, it seems as though you already knew I would come?”

The steward immediately smiled.

“Miss, you rarely leave the city.”

“Madam and the Dowager naturally ordered us to make preparations beforehand.”

“Who knows? Perhaps you might suddenly decide to stay here for a night.”

“After all, Zhao Garden is located between the capital and the Eight Great Temples. It is directly along the way.”

As he spoke, he also bowed respectfully toward Zhang Shou.

Then he turned back to Zhu Ying.

“If Miss feels that this old servant standing here is troublesome, I shall withdraw immediately.”

Even someone as generous and carefree as Zhu Ying was annoyed into embarrassment by his words.

“If you don’t speak, nobody will think you’re mute!”

“Go stand somewhere else. If I need anything, I’ll call you.”

Zhang Shou watched as the elderly steward smiled, bowed, and truly retreated to the back.

This time, he was the one who felt slightly uncomfortable.

However, that subtle feeling quickly disappeared after they boarded a boat and toured the garden.

Under the fading autumn sunset, Zhang Shou followed Zhu Ying around the garden and discovered something completely unexpected.

With Zhu Ying acting as his perfect guide, before nightfall he first enjoyed tea on a boat, then walked around the garden.

What he discovered was that Zhao Garden contained countless imperial inscriptions written personally by Emperor Taizu.

They were all used for the names of pavilions and buildings.

However, compared to the normal inscriptions he had seen at the Imperial Academy, the names here left him speechless.

Xiaoxiang Pavilion.

Hengwu Courtyard.

Daoxiang Village.

Zhuijin Tower.

Qiushuang Studio.

…

Yet there was only one place missing.

Yihong Courtyard.

Zhang Shou couldn’t help wondering:

Did Emperor Taizu dislike Jia Baoyu?

Or did he simply dislike the name “Yihong Courtyard”?

After enjoying a lavish dinner, Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying walked through the garden again to help digest the meal.

Unable to resist, he asked: “Yingying, what was this Zhao Garden called before?”

“When Emperor Taizu lived here, it was called Grand View Garden.”

“But after Taizu moved out and gave it to someone else, the garden was renamed after that person’s title. It became Wei Garden.”

Zhu Ying didn’t notice Zhang Shou’s strange expression.

She continued with a smile: “Back then, Emperor Taizu even wanted to remove all the plaques he had written and let that Duke Wei rename everything himself.”

“But Elder Ge’s ancestor said one sentence.”

“Everyone was already used to these names. There was no need to be so stingy.”

“Only then did Emperor Taizu give up.”

Zhang Shou secretly laughed.

Then, pretending to be casual, he asked:

“By the way, when I was living in the countryside, I read many different books, but I never came across anything about Emperor Taizu.”

“It wasn’t until I arrived at the Imperial Academy that I learned he had written many poems.”

“Did he also write books?”

“The founding emperor didn’t write many poems. There were only a few.”

“But every single one was full of grandeur.”

Zhu Ying became interested and began reciting them one by one.

She did not notice Zhang Shou’s increasingly complicated expression in the darkness.

After finishing the poems, she smiled.

“The founding emperor also wrote a rather strange novel called Journey to the West. He wrote it before founding the dynasty.”

“I like that Monkey King the most!”

“When Sun Wukong caused havoc in Heaven, he was incredibly powerful. Unfortunately, he met that old Tathagata and was trapped beneath Five Elements Mountain.”

“After Tang Sanzang rescued him, he honored his promise and protected him on the journey west.”

“But he refused to become Buddha or an ancestor of immortals.”

“He swore that he would create another world for all demons and monsters, so they would no longer be controlled by immortals and Buddhas.”

“So he rebelled against Lingshan…”

Listening to Zhu Ying’s version of Journey to the West, which had gradually drifted 108,000 miles away from the original, Zhang Shou did not know what to say.

But he gained a deeper understanding of the founding emperor’s personality.

If those poems were merely copied…

Then Journey to the West had already gone far beyond simple plagiarism.

It had entered a world he was extremely familiar with.

Of course, he was still very surprised.

The founding emperor had named his temporary residence Grand View Garden…

Yet he had never written a Dream of the Red Chamber.

That night, Zhu Ying stayed in Qiushuang Studio.

According to her, among all the buildings in Zhao Garden, she had always loved this one the most because of its spacious three-room layout without partitions.

Although Zhan Jin and Liu Yin had not accompanied her, the Zhao Garden steward had carefully selected two capable maids, who handled everything inside and outside perfectly.

As for Zhang Shou…

Since Yihong Courtyard no longer existed, he did not care where he stayed.

So when the steward smilingly told him that Nuanyang Cove, not far from Qiushuang Studio, had already been prepared, he immediately chose it.

Because the garden was near the outskirts, autumn nights were already cold.

The entrance had been fitted with deep red felt curtains, and the bedding had been replaced with thick quilts.

In the three-room building, Zhang Shou chose the western room.

After soaking his feet in hot water, he sat on the large canopy bed but found himself unable to sleep.

Especially when A-Liu calmly brought in bedding and clearly intended to sleep on the floor outside the canopy bed like a tiny room…

Zhang Shou was stunned.

Whether at his home in Rongshui Village or at the small courtyard lent by Qi Jingshan, A-Liu had never performed night watch duty.

What was he doing now?

Before Zhang Shou could ask, A-Liu simply said: “To guard against accidents.”

Zhang Shou was speechless.

Thinking about how he had once been shot by an arrow, and how today—if they had not prepared carefully—he might not have been able to escape when Qiao Huaien’s guards suddenly restrained him…

He sighed.

“Fine. Then keep me company and talk for a while.”

“I really didn’t expect that Wang Datou confidently claimed everything was ready, and that all he needed was for me to appear outside the city to lure someone out…”

“But in the end, it turned into this—”

Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly heard steady breathing.

Looking down, he saw A-Liu had already crawled under the blanket and fallen deeply asleep.

Whether the boy was pretending or genuinely asleep, Zhang Shou was both amused and annoyed.

But thinking that talking with this silent little fellow was indeed meaningless, he simply lay down as well.

After lying there for some time, with his eyes closed, he gradually became sleepy.

Then suddenly…

He faintly smelled an intoxicating sweet fragrance.

His instincts immediately awakened.

He opened his eyes and was about to call for someone.

But in the next moment—

A black shadow flashed before the bed.

A-Liu had already disappeared like a ghost.

Immediately afterward…

A startled cry came from outside the door.