The White-haired Queen

When Wen Lanyue entered the banquet hall, Shangguan Xin and Jing Li were sitting by the fire, drinking wine and chatting. Jing Li said, "Our queen mother is really amazing! Have you ever heard of wall clocks, cement, bricks...?"

Shangguan Xin shook his head repeatedly and said with emotion: "I have never heard of it. To be honest, I have never even thought about it." He took a sip of the wine and continued: "Look, they both have the same head, but how can the difference be so big?"

Jing Li couldn't help but burst into laughter when he heard this, and said, "Your brain is naturally different from mine! Do you remember my locomotive? The Queen Mother gave me a little hint, and I suddenly understood."

Shangguan Xin joked, "It's that square box-like object. You haven't given it up yet?"

Jing Li looked helpless and sighed, "After all, I have put a lot of effort into this. I am unwilling to give up easily. But if I don't give up, I will not be able to make any new progress. However, after the Queen Mother's advice, I have a new idea in mind. I will try it again after I return this time."

Shangguan Xin smiled and sighed: "You are really persistent..."

When Shangguan Xin reached out to take the wine jug, he caught a glimpse of Wen Lanyue and Hong He from the corner of his eye. He quickly stood up and said with a smile on his face, "Oh, it turns out that Envoy Wen has come to visit us! Please take a seat, please take a seat."

Then, Shangguan Xin warmly invited Wen Lanyue to the big table behind the screen and waved for her to sit down. Then he turned to Xiaolan and said, "Xiaolan, hurry up and bring the dishes." As soon as he finished speaking, Shangguan Xin was about to turn around and walk out of the screen.

At this time, Wen Lanyue said, "General Shangguan, Deputy Envoy Jing, and Honghe, everyone please don't be restrained and sit down together."

Shangguan Xin hesitated for a moment and responded, "I'm afraid this... is a little inappropriate. You are a dignified..."

Wen Lanyue smiled slightly and said calmly: "I am just an ordinary envoy of the delegation now. We are all colleagues. There is no need to be so restrained. Come on, I have something I want to discuss with you all."

Hearing this, Hong He sat down first, and then Jing Li walked to the table and sat down. Shangguan Xin looked at them and finally sat down slowly.

Wen Lanyue cleared her throat and said slowly: "I just had a very wonderful dream..."

As she described the scene in her dream, she carefully observed the reactions of the people around her. "In my dream, I saw mountains covered with lush pine and cypress forests, tall and straight poplar trees on both sides of the road stretched to the end of my sight, the swamps on the shores of the lake became a paradise for wild cranes and other birds, large areas of flax and ramie grew neatly in the fields, and agricultural greenhouses continued to emerge like mushrooms after rain... So, can you guess where this place I dreamed of is?"

Hong He was the first to guess, "Could it be that Envoy Wen described the Black Water Mountain and the Flame Mountain?"

Wen Lanyue shook her head slightly to express her denial.

Jing Li thought for a moment and said, "Such a beautiful scenery, if such a place really exists, perhaps only Taoyuan Town can compare with it."

However, Wen Lanyue still shook her head.

Shangguan Xin frowned and asked in confusion: "Envoy Wen, are you talking about Sumu City where we are now?"

Wen Lanyue nodded slightly, and replied affirmatively: "Yes, it is the Sumu City in front of us that looks withered and desolate."

Shangguan Xin looked at Wen Lanyue and said, "Envoy Wen just mentioned that we are colleagues with equal status, so I hope you can allow me to be a little rude."

Wen Lanyue smiled and responded: "Just say it directly."

Shangguan Xin turned his head and looked at Jing Li, and continued: "Deputy Envoy Jing, please be a witness here."

Jing Li nodded and said, "No problem, the Queen Mother's words are as good as gold, and I can guarantee that you will be safe and sound."

Shangguan Xin frowned and said, "At this time, you still have the mind to joke?"

Jing Li smiled and replied, "I didn't know the Queen Mother's true identity before, so my words and actions may have offended her, but now we have become partners in this mission. As long as it is related to the affairs of our Shangxie Kingdom, everything is forgivable."

Isn't it said that drinking makes one braver? Shangguan Xin picked up the wine glass, raised his head and drank it all, then said loudly: "Queen Dowager, please forgive my recklessness. In my opinion, this matter is probably just a fool's dream."

Jing Li could never have imagined that Shangguan Xin would actually say the words "a fool's dream"! The Queen Mother had a dream and told them about it. Isn't this just a way of insulting the Queen Mother as a fool? He stood up and retorted: "It's just a dream that happened in broad daylight. It can only be regarded as a daydream at best."

Shangguan Xin was immediately aware of the inappropriateness of his remarks after being confronted by Jing Li. It was just a disguised way of saying that the Queen Mother was a fool! He quickly knelt down to apologize. When Jing Li saw Shangguan Xin kneeling down, he immediately came to his senses and realized that what he had just said about the Queen Mother daydreaming was also disrespectful, so he knelt down to apologize as well.

The little bit of wine they drank in the afternoon really did a lot of harm to them. Not only did it make their brains confused, but it also made them unable to speak straight. They even dared to say all kinds of nonsense!

Wen Lanyue was very calm. She said slowly, "Okay, everyone get up. Deputy Envoy Jing was right. I did have a dream in the daytime. General Shangguan was also right. Judging from the current situation in Sumu City, it would be like a fool's dream to realize that kind of scene."

Wen Lanyue continued in a firm tone: "But I never said when we will achieve this goal! We just need to give ourselves enough time and enough patience, then this beautiful vision will surely come true one day. As the saying goes, 'It takes ten years to grow a tree'. No matter how difficult it is, it will surely become a reality in ten years at the latest, right?"

Seeing that the Queen Mother did not blame them, the two stood up as if relieved. Shangguan Xin said slowly: "As the saying goes, fortunes change over time! Life is short, how many decades can we have?" His voice was deep and powerful, as if he was announcing some kind of determination to the world.

Then, his eyes became extremely firm, like a burning flame that could not be ignored. He clenched his fists and said word by word: "However, it is precisely because life is short that we should cherish every decade. As long as we hold on to our dreams and work hard, then in the next ten years, everything is possible!" His words echoed in the air like thunder, shocking everyone.