New Song Dynasty: My Wife is an Imperial Princess

After staying at the post station in Linhuang Prefecture for five days, Zhuo Luwang received orders to accompany Wanyan Zongwang to the capital.

It was now May of the first year of the Jingkang era. If Tang Qian were present, he would naturally have realized that the Jin emperor had summoned the various Jin army marshals to Liaoyang to discuss matters related to another southward attack on the Song dynasty. Although Zhuo Luwang was unaware of the true purpose of this trip, he was certain that he would go to Liaoyang in order to marry Wanyan Xi.

When they first left the city, Zhuo Luwang simply followed Wanyan Zongwang's orders, leading several hundred personal guards to the very back of the column. After marching for several days, he was transferred to the central army by the Grand Marshal.

Riding alongside the spirited Wanyan Zongwang, Zhuo Luwang naturally didn't forget to flatter him, showering him with compliments that made Wanyan Zongwang quite pleased, though on the surface he remained calm and composed: "I've spent half my life in the military, and besides the merits I've achieved, I've also been left with a body full of wounds. Even now, I still suffer from some old ailments. The green fruit you brought back from the Western Regions is indeed remarkably effective. After taking it, I felt much more refreshed. If this could be cultivated on a large scale, our soldiers would no longer be tormented by illness."

At this point, Wanyan Zongwang suddenly felt a tickle in his throat and trembled slightly. He immediately reached into his robes, pulled out the porcelain bottle that Zhuo Luwang had given him, uncorked it, and tilted his head back to pour it into his mouth, which made Zhuo Luwang, who was beside him, tremble with fear.

Wanyan Zongwang was unaware of the other deadly medicinal property of this green fruit, but Zhuo Luwang knew it perfectly well.

When my father brought back the seeds of this flower from the Western Regions, he said that if you take too much of it, you will become addicted. When you take it, you will feel like you can spread your wings and fly into the sky. Once you become addicted, if you can't take it, you will feel weak and lethargic, and eventually your body will become emaciated like a lump of mud. If you take too much, it may even be fatal.

He only intended to use Wanyan Zongwang to help him obtain the imperial decree of marriage bestowed by Emperor Wanyan Wuqimai, but he never expected that this blockhead in front of him would actually eat these pills like candy.

While Wanyan Zongwang was taking his medicine, Zhuo Luwang secretly wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and whispered a reminder: "Every medicine has some toxicity. Grand Marshal, please be moderate. Too much of a good thing can be bad."

Faced with Zhuo Luwang's persuasion, Wanyan Zongwang looked disdainful: "Do you think I'm too weak to handle such tonics? It's just some ginseng, deer antler, lingzhi, and snow lotus. I've even drunk tiger blood before."

"The Grand Marshal is vigorous and powerful, naturally incomparable to ordinary people." Zhuo Luwang swallowed hard. If Wanyan Zongwang knew that the pills he gave him did not contain those big ingredients at all, but were just flour and green fruit juice mixed and kneaded, would he peel off his skin and make it into a war drum?

After a brief moment of thought, Zhuo Luwang took out another porcelain bottle from his robes: "Grand Marshal, this is all the pills I have. These really can't be taken in large quantities; they must be taken regularly and in measured amounts, otherwise..."

Upon seeing that Zhuo Luwang still had these pills in his hand, Wanyan Zongwang's eyes lit up.

Just as Zhuo Luwang had thought, after taking it for more than ten days, he had unknowingly become dependent on this green fruit. If it weren't for the limited quantity of the finished pills that Zhuo Luwang had given him, and his lack of knowledge about the various materials and proportions needed to prepare these pills, he would have finished the entire bottle long ago.

Completely oblivious to the changes in himself over this period, Wanyan Zongwang felt an itch to take the porcelain bottle from Zhuo Luwang's hand, but due to his status as Grand Marshal, he still did not reach out to take it: "I cannot accept a reward without merit. I will still promise to do something for you so that I can feel more at ease."

"To be honest, I do have a favor to ask of the Grand Marshal." At this point, Zhuo Luwang decided not to pretend anymore. If the Grand Marshal in front of him died mysteriously due to an overdose of medicine, his plan to marry the Seventh Princess and monopolize the Youzhou glass mine would be ruined.

"I have long admired the Seventh Princess, and I am well aware that the Zhuolu tribe is too weak and is not a direct tribe of the Great Jin royal family. With my status, I am naturally not qualified to ask for the princess's hand in marriage. However, if the Grand Marshal puts a good word for me in front of His Majesty, I will surely be able to get my wish. The Grand Marshal is the mainstay of our Great Jin. As long as you raise your arm and call, the entire court will naturally respond in unison."

Wanyan Zongwang glanced at Zhuo Luwang, his eyes filled with disdain and disappointment: "The pleasures of the heart are the grave of heroes. You are so young, and instead of thinking about making achievements, you are full of these romantic tales and love affairs. You are simply ignorant."

As the saying goes, troubled times produce heroes. Now that the Liao Kingdom has been destroyed and the Song Kingdom is in imminent danger, it is the time for the Jin Dynasty to rise. If one can establish unparalleled merit in the upcoming war to destroy the Song Dynasty, it will be a piece of cake to ask for a princess in marriage.

This shows that Zhuo Luwang lacked ambition and was incapable of achieving great things.

"The Grand Marshal is right. I do not wish to be so infatuated with the Seventh Princess's beauty, but such things are truly beyond my control. The more I try not to think about it, the more I cannot shake off the image of the Seventh Princess's graceful figure." Zhuo Luwang sighed, appearing quite helpless. "If the Grand Marshal can help me fulfill this wish, I am willing to do anything for the Grand Marshal, even risk my life."

Wanyan Zongwang snorted: "Anyone can say nice things. Once you've charged into battle, the young master will know what it means to be willing to sacrifice everything."

Despite uttering words of rebuke, Wanyan Zongwang's body language betrayed his words. He took the porcelain bottle from Zhuo Luwang's hand, weighed it in his hand, and then put it into his own pocket.

"I'm afraid I won't have time to plant this during this trip to the capital. After the victory against Song, I will personally plant some of the green fruit you presented. If I could obtain the pill formula, that would be even better."

“If the Grand Marshal has spoken, I will naturally comply. After returning to the tribe, I will ask my father to bring out the prescription.” Zhuo Luwang’s eyes flickered slightly, then he changed the subject, “Grand Marshal, did you come to the capital this time to discuss the attack on Song with His Majesty? The Jin and Song countries just signed a peace agreement not long ago. Why does my Great Jin want to start a war again?”

"Hmph, in my opinion, this must still be Guo Lun Bojilie's intention. He is obsessed with going south, and I'm afraid he has gone mad. Even if the Song Dynasty saved his life, it still cannot extinguish his desire to destroy the Song Dynasty."