The first time in history

"Thank you, brother." Qian Mingduo clasped his fists and bowed. After walking out of the door, Qian Mingduo thought for a moment, then walked back to the "restaurant", placed the sword in his hand on the counter, and said, "I will leave this sword with you temporarily, and you can take it away when I pay for your meal."

"You don't have to do this, my dear guest." The host pushed the sword to Qian Mingduo and said, "Two dishes and one meal don't cost much, so please do as you please!"

"I just went to two thousand five hundred years ago to get some free food and drinks!" Qian Mingduo laughed secretly in his heart when he left the "restaurant".

Qian Mingduo returned to the palace. He somehow walked into a very small palace gate. The courtyard was overgrown with weeds and there was only a side hall that seemed to have been abandoned for a long time.

Just as he turned around and prepared to leave, a melodious but endlessly sad sound of a piano floated into his ears. The sound had a mysterious attraction. Qian Mingduo's footsteps involuntarily moved towards the side hall.

Standing at the door of the side hall, the sound of the piano became clearer and clearer. Qian Mingduo hesitated for a moment and gently pushed the door open. The door hinge made a dull sound.

There was an old-fashioned atmosphere in the side hall. In the dim light, an ancient zither was quietly placed in the middle of the room.

Qian Mingduo approached the piano cautiously and touched the strings lightly with his fingers. The strings vibrated slightly and a strange feeling instantly spread throughout his body.

At this moment, a cold wind blew, and Qian Mingduo couldn't help shivering. He suddenly felt a pair of eyes staring at him in the dark, and the feeling of being spied on made him shudder. He quickly looked around, but found nothing except vague shadows.

"Who is it?" Qian Mingduo's voice echoed in the empty side hall, but received no response. His heartbeat began to speed up, and fear surged into his heart in an instant.

Qian Mingduo decided to leave this strange place, but when he turned around and prepared to walk out the door, it suddenly closed with a dull sound. He pushed hard, but the door did not move at all.

At this moment, the harp began to play automatically again, with the sound of the harp stirring and surging, as if it was telling the story of a fierce battle.

Qian Mingduo was startled by the sudden sound of the piano. He stood there blankly, looking at the piano as if it had come to life.

As the music continued, the scene in the side hall began to change. Pictures appeared on the wall, showing a fierce war scene.

The soldiers fought bravely on the battlefield, and blood flowed like a river. Qian Mingduo was stunned by the scene before his eyes. He seemed to be in that tragic battlefield, smelling the blood in the air and hearing the soldiers' shouts and painful groans.

The picture kept changing, and finally stopped at a beautiful woman. The woman was wearing gorgeous clothes, with a pretty face, but her eyes were full of sadness. She was sitting on a chair, holding a book in her hand, and seemed to be thinking about something.

Qian Mingduo looked at the woman, and an inexplicable sense of intimacy surged in his heart. He walked towards the woman involuntarily, but when he walked to her side, she suddenly disappeared, and the picture disappeared with her.

The side hall returned to its original state, and the zither stopped playing. Qian Mingduo stood there, his heart full of doubts and fear. He didn't know whether what he had just experienced was real or an illusion, as if he had fallen into a dream.

It was getting dark, and Qian Ming walked slowly into Zheng Dan's palace. Two guards stood on both sides of the palace gate, and when they saw Qian Mingduo coming, they bowed and saluted.

On the stone steps outside the palace was an exquisite bamboo bed, on which Zheng Dan, wearing a bright green gauze dress, lay diagonally, with several maids standing around her, gently waving feather fans to fan her and keep her cool.

"Is everything okay?" Qian Mingduo asked.

"My Lord," the guard said respectfully, "everything is fine."

"When were you two on duty? Did you have your meals?"

"Your Excellency, we will change shifts at twilight hour, and after that we will go to the mess hall to eat."

"What time is it now?"

"My Lord, it is now three quarters past the hour of You."

"Let's go eat." Qian Mingduo said with a smile, "I'll take over for you two."

"Sir, we two subordinates dare not trouble you."

"Go ahead." Qian Mingduo said calmly, "You and I are brothers. I will need you to follow me in the future. This is nothing."

"Who will be on duty after you two?" Qian Mingduo glanced at the hall and found that several maids had retreated into the hall. Only Zheng Dan was still lying on her side on the bamboo bed, gently waving a feather fan.

"Zhou Shan and Shen Yang are taking over our duty."

"You two will change shifts in a moment." Qian Mingduo walked to a guard, stood with a sword in hand, and said, "Go!"

Seeing the two guards leave, Qian Mingduo breathed a sigh of relief. He put his hands in his pockets and walked slowly to the front of the hall. The sword at his waist swung back and forth over his abdomen.

Zheng Dan had been watching Qian Mingduo since he entered the palace.

"It must have taken quite a while to get rid of your two men, right?" He chuckled and said until he walked up the stone steps.

Qian Mingduo saw a maid coming out of the palace. He nodded slightly until she walked out of the palace gate and said, "The two of them have the duty of guarding the queen... I did spend a lot of time spitting."

"They were standing at the door guarding me... so far away." Zheng Dan smiled and said, "Wouldn't it be better if you were my personal guard?"

Qian Mingduo looked around. The palace was already pitch dark, so he walked towards the bamboo bed and slowly sat down on the ground.

His back was gently leaning against the head of the bed, the corners of his mouth slightly raised, as if with a hint of mischievous smile. He lowered his voice and whispered softly: "I wonder how close the queen needs me to be?" This sentence carried a mysterious and seductive atmosphere.

"I am just a broken willow..." Zheng Dan laughed coquettishly, and said with a teasing tone: "Am I worthy of your close proximity to me, my lord?" There was a hint of teasing in her eyes.

Qian Mingduo raised the corners of his mouth slightly, lowered his voice even lower, as if afraid of being heard by others, and whispered: "Is it worth it...the night you pretended to be Zhen'er...didn't you know?"

A hint of cunning flashed in Zheng Dan's eyes, and she responded charmingly: "But I was Zhen'er that night?" Her tone was light and seemed to hint at something.

Qian Mingduo said with a wicked smile: "How come Zhen'er also has two peonies?" His eyes fell on Zheng Dan with a malicious scrutiny.

There was the sound of drums in the distance. Qian Mingduo stood up and said, "Let's stop talking nonsense and talk about business!"

"Go ahead." Zheng Dan said with a smile, "Let me see what you can do, sir."

"Someone will go to Yue soon." Qian Mingduo leaned over to Zheng Dan's ear and whispered, "I have handed the girl's brocade bag to this person. When this person returns to Wu, I will inform the girl of the situation of her family... Is this considered a serious matter?"