Lin Chong's Women's Cuju Team

After Du Shiniang's persuasion, Lin Chong and Wu Song both felt that Zhou Chengquan's disappearance was somewhat suspicious. Although Du Shiniang was Zhou Chengquan's sworn sister, she was only a commoner, and entering the palace would not be easy for her. So Lin Chong sought out Shen Daoyuan, asking him to find a way to bring Du Shiniang to the palace to ask the Emperor to send officials to find Zhou Chengquan's whereabouts.

Unexpectedly, Shen Daoyuan already knew about Zhou Chengquan's disappearance. However, he had only secretly sent people to search for him within the Ministry of War these past few days and had not reported it to the Emperor. Firstly, he feared that this matter would alarm Zhou Chengquan's political enemies in the court, such as the Left Chancellor and Gao Qiu; secondly, he feared that if the Jin people knew that Zhou Chengquan had disappeared on his way to the border, they would put pressure on the border general and become even more unscrupulous.

Just as Shen Daoyuan was sitting in the Zixiang Pavilion trying to persuade Du Shiniang to give up her idea of ​​going to the palace to ask the Emperor for help, a guard entered the hall and secretly handed a note to Wu Song. Wu Song quickly hid behind a pillar in the hall to take a look, then frowned and whispered a few words in Lin Chong's ear. Lin Chong's face immediately turned gloomy.

Lin Chong walked up to Du Shiniang and Shen Daoyuan and solemnly said to them, "Du Rushuang just brought back some news. She said that General Zhou Chengquan was probably tricked by the Wolf King and may have been captured by him."

"So it was the Wolf King who plotted against my sworn brother! What should we do now? Should we go directly to the Wolf King? No! This matter must be related to Yelü Wen. Let's go to the Jin Kingdom's post station to find him!" Du Shiniang said excitedly, and tried to run out of the hall as soon as she finished speaking.

Lin Chong quickly grabbed her sleeve and advised her, "Shi Niang, please don't act rashly! Shuang'er said that General Zhou is not in immediate danger. The Wolf King only wants to trap him and does not intend to kill him. She told us not to act rashly and that she will continue to gather information from Yelü Wen's side."

Seeing this, Shen Daoyuan also advised Du Shiniang not to act impulsively. He suggested reporting Zhou Chengquan's capture by the Jin people to the Emperor, because the Jin army feared the Song Dynasty's war god—General Zhenbei Zhou Chengquan. This was a matter of great national importance, concerning the safety of the Song Dynasty's borders. The Emperor should make plans as soon as possible to prevent the Jin people from taking advantage of the situation to invade the border. Du Shiniang and Lin Chong agreed with Shen Daoyuan's reasoning.

So the next morning, after the morning court session, Shen Daoyuan led Lin Chong and Du Shiniang to the palace to meet the emperor. Emperor Huizong received the three of them in the imperial study. At that time, the sky was dark and a sudden downpour had begun. Emperor Huizong was practicing calligraphy at his desk. After writing the four large characters "惠风和畅" (meaning "gentle breeze and pleasant weather"), he glanced at the three kneeling before his desk, his expression cold, clearly indicating that he was in a bad mood.

Shen Daoyuan truthfully reported to the Emperor that Zhou Chengquan had been captured by the Jin people. Upon hearing Shen Daoyuan's words, Emperor Huizong's mood worsened. He picked up the calligraphy paper he had just finished writing on, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it directly at Shen Daoyuan's face, uttering words of extreme anger:

"Shen Daoyuan, you're something else! General Zhou has been missing for so many days, and you're only now reporting to me. You think I murdered Zhou Chengquan, don't you? How could you be so foolish! He was a meritorious official who guarded the border for me. If I killed him, wouldn't I be cutting off my own limbs?"

Shen Daoyuan was so frightened that he kowtowed six or seven times, making his forehead red and swollen. Then he cupped his hands and begged for forgiveness, saying, "Your Majesty, I was foolish before. I was afraid that General Zhou's disappearance would cause turmoil in the court, so I secretly sent people to investigate. Now I have received definite information that General Zhou was captured by the Wolf King and the Jin people. Only then did I dare to come and report to Your Majesty. Please forgive me!"

"Shen Daoyuan, it's too late for you to realize your mistake now! Last night, Minister Gao and his son truthfully reported to me that General Zhou had been captured by the Wolf King and the Jin people. If you had come to tell me, the Jin people would probably have already reached Yanmen Pass." Emperor Huizong pointed at Shen Daoyuan's nose and angrily scolded him.

Seeing this, Du Shiniang stepped forward to plead for Shen Daoyuan, saying, "Your Majesty, I believe that Lord Shen is just being cautious and has no intention of deliberately hiding anything from Your Majesty. Please forgive him this once, considering his loyalty to the country and his willingness to share my burdens."

Emperor Huizong, seeing that Du Shiniang was so bold in pleading for Shen Daoyuan, felt a pang of sympathy. He sighed softly and waved for Du Shiniang, Shen Daoyuan, and the other two to rise and speak. Lin Chong quickly supported Shen Daoyuan's shoulder and gestured to Du Shiniang to continue pleading with Emperor Huizong.

Du Shiniang quickly took out a scroll from her bosom and respectfully presented it to Eunuch Liu, saying, "Eunuch Liu, this is a gift that I brought for His Majesty. Please present it to His Majesty."

Liu Guangyu took the scroll from Du Shiniang's hand and ordered the eunuch beside him to help slowly unroll it. It turned out to be a painting of "The Night Banquet in the Palace" by a Tang Dynasty painter. The figures in the painting were painted with lifelike detail, and the magnificent and lively scene of the palace banquet was rendered perfectly. This made Emperor Huizong of Song, who loved calligraphy and painting, light up his eyes and feel as if he were there.

Emperor Huizong's initial displeasure vanished instantly. He said gently to Du Shiniang, "Shiniang, where did you get this painting? It's truly thoughtful of you! I like this painting very much. What reward do you want?"

"I don't want any other rewards, I only want Your Majesty to send someone to find my sworn brother and rescue him from the Jin people," Du Shiniang said earnestly to Emperor Huizong of Song, pleadingly.

Emperor Huizong glanced at Du Shiniang and Lin Chong, then at the dejected Shen Daoyuan, and revealed the plan he had already devised with Gao Qiu and his son. Shen Daoyuan was speechless upon hearing the emperor's words. Liu Guangyu then produced the imperial edict he had prepared beforehand and read its contents aloud in front of the emperor and Shen Daoyuan.

Shen Daoyuan had no interest in listening to Liu Guangyu read the imperial edict. His spirits plummeted to rock bottom, and he knelt blankly on the ground to receive it. Then, like a puppet drained of its energy, Shen Daoyuan was pulled out of the palace gate by Lin Chong and Du Shiniang, one on each side. Even after leaving the palace, the heavy rain continued to fall. Shen Daoyuan insisted on returning to Zixiang Pavilion with Du Shiniang and Lin Chong. He was determined to see Chai Nianci today, no matter what. He didn't want to just leave like this; he needed to give her an explanation.

Chai Nianci was embroidering a red love knot by the window of her room. Raindrops pattered against the window frame, but she was so focused that she didn't notice Shen Daoyuan had already pushed the door open and entered. Xiaoqin stood beside Chai Nianci, helping her, holding a pair of scissors. When she caught a glimpse of Shen Daoyuan entering, she secretly turned and left without making a sound.

"Xiaoqin, trim this loose thread for me," Chai Nianci instructed in a low voice without looking up. At that moment, a large hand handed her a pair of scissors, but didn't cut the thread as she had asked. Chai Nianci looked up in confusion and realized that Xiaoqin was gone; it was Shen Daoyuan who had handed her the scissors.

Shen Daoyuan looked a bit disheveled at this moment. Chai Nianci looked him up and down and saw that his lake-blue official robe and black boots were already soaked by the rain, and there were glistening water droplets on his hair and eyelashes.

Chai Nianci quickly placed the love knot pattern into the bamboo basket on the table by the window, then took out a pinkish-white handkerchief from her bosom. While wiping the rain off Shen Daoyuan's face, she scolded him, "Shen Lang, it's raining so hard outside, why didn't you let Wu En hold an umbrella for you? Where is Wu En? Let me scold him."

“Ci’er, Wu En didn’t come into Zixiang Pavilion with me. I asked him to wait for me outside.” Shen Daoyuan grasped Chai Nianci’s delicate hand, which was wiping the rain from his face, and said excitedly, “I want to talk to you alone for a while. I have some news to tell you, but I don’t know if you will be sad after hearing it. I’m afraid…”

Seeing the sadness and dejection in Shen Daoyuan's tone, and his bloodshot eyes, Chai Nianci quickly asked, "Shen Lang, what happened? Why do you look so heartbroken? Have you encountered some trouble in court?"

The instant Shen Daoyuan and Chai Nianci's eyes met, a bolt of lightning struck from the sky, followed by a deafening clap of thunder. Chai Nianci was startled. Shen Daoyuan pulled the woman into his arms, gently kissing her forehead, and said in a hoarse voice, "Ci'er, General Zhou was captured by the Jin people on his way to the border. His Majesty is worried about the security of the border and has ordered me to lead 20,000 elite troops to the border tomorrow morning to guard it and prevent the Jin army from invading our borders."

"You're going to the border tomorrow morning? Why is this happening so suddenly? There are so many military officers in the court, why did His Majesty choose to send you?" Chai Nianci's eyes reddened, and she asked Shen Daoyuan with tears welling up in her eyes. Shen Daoyuan did not respond, but instead kissed her from her forehead down to her cheek and then to her lips, swallowing all of Chai Nianci's sobs.