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Chapter 72
It was Fei Nanyu!
He was limping in front holding a coffin carried by four men behind him.
When Fei Nanyu saw He Zhiran, his brows immediately furrowed as he looked her up and down carefully, as if trying to see through something.
Facing such a gaze, He Zhiran's expression remained calm.
"What are you doing here?"
"I saw it was quiet here, so I took a rest and cooled off at the same time."
As she saw the four men carrying the coffin over, He Zhiran instinctively pushed her wheeled wooden cart to the side against the wall to make way for them.
Seeing the cart full of goods, Fei Nanyu did not doubt her.
He saluted He Zhiran with cupped fists, "There is a funeral at home to take care of. I shall take my leave first."
After saying that, he left without looking back.
Seeing Fei Nanyu lead the group into the innermost courtyard, He Zhiran also got up and pushed the wheeled wooden cart away.
On the road, He Zhiran saw a large pile of straw hats displayed on a roadside stall.
For the exiled, especially these women, being roasted under the scorching sun all day long, they desperately needed hats like these.
So she bought all 28 straw hats from the stall without hesitation.
When Peng Wang saw He Zhiran return so quickly at the teahouse, he was indeed very shocked.
"It's rare for you to go out once. Why didn't you walk around more, young lady?"
He Zhiran looked up at the sky, "It was too hot. There were many things on the cart and I couldn't walk any further, so I came back."
Peng Wang took a look at the things on the wooden cart and couldn't help but click his tongue.
It seemed that Lord He must not have stinted on giving his daughter silver. Otherwise, with her level of consumption, she would probably run out halfway through the journey.
"Since you've bought everything, let's hurry back now."
With the help of the clerks pushing the wheeled wooden cart, they quickly left Pingyuan County.
Peng Wang and the clerks were used to traveling on the road, so they moved faster.
Although He Zhiran herself was tough, but the body of the original owner was too weak to keep up with the pace of the two men.
Peng Wang turned back and saw He Zhiran walking with some difficulty. He let her sit in the corner of the wheeled wooden cart to rest.
Being stuck with a weak body, He Zhiran had no choice but to admit defeat. It would probably improve after traveling on the road for a long time.
After saying thanks, she squeezed in next to the grain and sat down.
Thinking of Fei Nanyu in Pingyuan County she saw today, and the elusive gaze in the teahouse, He Zhiran felt it necessary to quickly learn about the history of this period.
So she pretended to fall asleep, leaning on the grain with a straw hat covering her head. But her consciousness had actually entered the space.
In Taobao Mall, He Zhiran bought several books about this period of history in order to understand the information more comprehensively. She even looked through "Unofficial History".
Her consciousness quickly browsed the table of contents of the history books, and finally found the chapter titled "Fei Nanyu" in the later part.
He Zhiran read it carefully—
Fei Nanyu's father was a scholar who taught him to read and write from a young age.
Fei Nanyu was extremely talented in studying. At the age of twelve, he was the top scholar. When he brought this news back home to celebrate, his mother fell seriously ill.
In order to treat his mother, the Fei family had spent almost all their money, but still couldn't save her life. Not long after, Fei's father also fell ill.
In order to support the family, Fei Nanyu gave up the path of further studying for the imperial civil service examinations. He silently took on the responsibility of making money and taking care of his father.
With his scholar status, he could have easily taught in a private school. But that way, he wouldn't have been able to take care of his disabled father.
Left with no choice, Fei Nanyu could only take on some copying work, sitting at home copying books to make money while taking care of his father at the same time.
This kind of life lasted for eight years.
When Fei Nanyu turned twenty-one, his father finally lost the battle against illness and passed away.
In order to bury his father properly, Fei Nanyu went to the bookstore where he often copied books, wanting to borrow some silver from the boss in advance.
But instead he ran into several bullies who had been jealous of Fei Nanyu's superior intelligence since childhood. Looking down on his current down and out state, they beat him violently without saying anything.
Luckily, he was saved by Third Prince Nan Qi who happened to pass by, and also lent him money to properly bury his father.
Since then, Fei Nanyu became a staff member of Nan Qi. It can be said that without Fei Nanyu's contributions, Nan Qi wouldn't have become the next emperor of the Da Shun Dynasty.
After Nan Qi ascended the throne, the person he trusted most was Fei Nanyu. He bestowed him as Prime Minister, second only to the emperor in power.
The first memorial Fei Nanyu submitted after becoming Prime Minister was to petition for the innocence of Mo Jiuye. With Nan Qi's absolute trust in him, he naturally did not object.
In the third month after Nan Qi's ascension, an imperial edict announced to the whole kingdom that Mo Jiuye was never guilty of surrendering to the enemy and betraying the country back then, but was wrongfully exiled.
For this, Nan Qi even personally built a tomb with ceremonial attire for Mo Jiuye.
It can be said that Fei Nanyu rose meteorically. However, his ambition was not satisfied with just being Prime Minister.
Before Nan Qi's death, he had already secretly started building his own power. Until it grew to a certain scale after some years, he raised troops in revolt and took over the Da Shun Dynasty by force.
Although Fei Nanyu seized power through a coup, he was a diligent ruler beloved by the people.
During Fei Nanyu's 28 year reign, the people went from starving to well-fed, border unrests from endless to dare not stir up trouble. All these fully demonstrated that he was an exceptionally capable ruler.
He was even posthumously honored by later generations as "The Only Emperor in History".
Upon reading this, He Zhiran seemed to understand many things.
If her guess was right, the gaze she felt in the teahouse should be that of Third Prince Nan Qi.
That is to say, her appearance disrupted a chance encounter between Nan Qi and Fei Nanyu.
She had unintentionally changed history again. She didn't know if Fei Nanyu would still have the opportunity to meet Nan Qi in the future with this deviation.
With things going differently, the direction of future events would also change accordingly.
That meant she could no longer accurately predict what would happen to Nan Qi and Fei Nanyu. She could only adapt to changes.
Unable to grasp the general direction of the future, He Zhiran was not frustrated either. During her free time, she started reading that "Unofficial History".
To He Zhiran's surprise, it also contained records of Nan Qi and Fei Nanyu's affairs. Although more explicit than the official history books, the content did not differ much.
After reading about Fei Nanyu in "Unofficial History", He Zhiran continued flipping through and surprisingly found descriptions about Mo Jiuye...
With a gossipy mentality, He Zhiran read it carefully.
Unexpectedly, the first sentence said—Mo Jiuye's origins remain a mystery to this day.
A mystery?
He Zhiran was as excited as discovering a new continent. Her interest in this part skyrocketed instantly.
Some said that Mo Jiuye was not the Mo Family's own son, but the third prince born to Concubine Yuan, Emperor Shunwu's favored consort.
When Concubine Yuan was pregnant, she invited Master Wuchen from Enye Temple to determine the fetus’ gender.