Spoiler History: Starting from the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 667: If You Don’t Eat Five Cauldrons When You’re Alive, You Will Be Cooked When
The food at the Jia residence was far inferior to that at the Xuanwei Marquis' residence, but Zhang Quan enjoyed the meal particularly well.

"Next time I'll bring that dish to Grandpa to try. It's delicious."

"I can't come to your house and I haven't asked you yet. It's cold in Yecheng in winter. Are you used to it, Grandfather?"

"Father, can you clear out an empty room for me in this mansion? The Xuanwei Marquis's mansion is very deserted."

He was chattering while eating, but Jia Xu, who was sitting opposite the table, didn't even raise his head. He just held the letter in one hand and occasionally used chopsticks to pick up some rice and slowly put it into his mouth, as if he was eating the letter with his rice.

After carefully changing his posture to give his kneeling legs some strength, Zhang Quan finally had time to look at the jade pendant.

As an expert in eating, drinking and having fun who had grown up quickly after his father's death, Zhang Quan could tell that the texture of the jade pendant was extraordinary and that it was most likely crafted in the palace. If it was intact, it could probably be worth hundreds of thousands of coins.

Why can't such a good thing be preserved properly? Zhang Quan felt a little distressed for no reason.

But this gap...why does it look like it was cut off?
Before Zhang Quan could continue his study, Jia Xu reached out and took the half of the phoenix jade pendant. After stroking it for a few times, he sighed and carefully put it back into the envelope. Jia Xu also stopped eating.

"Tell me about it."

"Say...what..."

Zhang Quan glanced upwards and stammered:

"It's getting late, Dad, you should go to bed early..."

Jia Xu looked at Zhang Quan for a while, nodded and said:

"Then let's not talk about it. Let's talk about something else."

Zhang Quan breathed a sigh of relief, and saw his grandfather holding a cup of tea, shaking it and saying casually:

"If your whole body cannot be found, Quan'er... then we can bury you with your clothes and hat, okay?"

The tone was as casual as if he was asking about today's vegetable prices, but the content made Zhang Quan feel a chill down his spine.

The chill made Zhang Quan's mind a little clearer. He remembered his father's long sighs before he surrendered to Cao, his teachings after he settled in Yecheng, and his words all night long when he went to the final battle, as if he had a premonition.

What he was talking about, apart from the water, grass, strong wind, cattle and sheep in his hometown of Wuwei, Liangzhou, was the father in front of him who never joked.

So Zhang Quan simply rolled to the side, skillfully bypassed the low table in front of him, hugged Jia Xu's instep and cried:

"Father, save me!"

After taking a sip of tea, Jia Xu said slowly:
"I think it would be better to take care of Ping'er's affairs after her death, so as to save her the trouble..."

"Grandfather..." Zhang Quan's voice became much sadder:

"Quan'er is stupid, so it's only natural that we don't save him, but at least we can let him know why he died without a complete body."

After taking a sip of tea, Jia Xu did not even look at the old friend's son crying at his feet. His sigh was filled with helplessness:
"Ye City is guarded by six armies, and the palace is guarded by eight guards."

"How can you accomplish anything if not a single soldier surrenders and not a single guard pledges loyalty?"

"If this thing is carried out, there is no question of success or failure, but there will be countless people with their heads and bodies separated. How can you escape?"

Now that the conversation was over, Zhang Quan also quietly defended himself:
"Zi Jingdu told me about the eight palace guards. He said he had a close friend named Chen Yi, the Changle Guardian..."

With a "bang", Jia Xu put the cup on the table, pointed at Zhang Quan and said, "I don't think you know what kind of person Chen Yi is. So let me ask you, do you know what the Changle Weiwei is?"

With a "uh" sound, Zhang Quan knew that there were three major palaces in the Han court, Weiyang, Changle and Jianzhang. Changle Palace also had ministers, and Changle Weiwei was one of them.

But this is obviously not what the father meant when he asked.

Then Zhang Quan saw that the smile on his grandfather's face was intriguing:
"When the King of Changyi was enthroned, his minister Anle was transferred to the position of Weiwei of Changle."

"Afterwards, Huo Guang and the Empress Dowager went to Chengming Palace and issued an edict prohibiting the officials from entering Changyi. Anle, the military commander of Changle, also followed Huo Guang's instructions, so the emperor surrendered and was deposed."

"Now that Prime Minister Cao is under great criticism, how can you be so confident that you can make the Changle Weiwei he appointed risk his life just by calling him a 'best friend'?"

Jia Xu's words were convoluted, but fortunately Zhang Quan had also been forced to read by Zhang Xiu while being whipped, so it was not difficult for him to understand.

At the beginning, Huo Guang controlled the government and deposed the emperor. When Liu He, Marquis of Haihun, was the King of Changyi, his prime minister Anle was appointed by Huo Guang.

Later, Liu He was made the heir, and Anle followed him back to the central government and was appointed the post of Changle Weiwei by Huo Guang. Later, Huo Guang "persuaded" the empress dowager to depose the emperor. Anle, who should have been loyal to the emperor, followed Huo Guang's orders and isolated himself from the emperor's messages, which led to the hasty decision of deposing the emperor.

Today, it is obvious who is doing what Huo Guang did.

Did the Changle Weiwei appointed by Prime Minister Cao become a comrade because they shared similar interests with Wei Feng? Or...

Zhang Quan felt his head was in a mess, but he was also vaguely relieved.

Since my father is willing to say all this, then he should still be saved, right?
But when asked what he was supposed to do specifically, his father remained silent and just asked him to take a letter back.

In the end, Jia Xu did not let Zhang Quan stay overnight, but instead found a low wall and let Zhang Quan climb over it by himself.

Zhang Quan tossed and turned all night, and all kinds of bizarre scenes appeared one after another in his dreams.

Soon he returned home in glory, and moved his father's coffin back to his hometown of Wuwei. All the villagers looked at him with envy.

For a moment he seemed to be hung on the city gate, and looking down he saw the people pointing at him and bodies being torn apart by wild dogs.

"Ah!!" Zhang Quan, who was awakened by a nightmare, saw Wei Feng smiling at him:
"It seems that the poor and weak state of Xuanwei Hou has already made clear the great ambitions we have inherited."

Zhang Quan rubbed his face, and then almost all of a sudden he told Wei Feng everything his grandfather had told him about Chen Yi yesterday, and the smile on Wei Feng's face gradually faded.

"Take the trouble of asking Jia Taizhong to give me some advice and fill in the gaps. But are there any other things..."

Taking out the secret letter that he had kept close to him, Zhang Quan solemnly handed it to Wei Feng:
"reply!"

Seeing the smile on Wei Feng's face again, Zhang Quan sighed and told the truth:
"After hearing what Grandfather said, I no longer want to seek fame. I just hope... not to die without a burial place."

Wei Feng shook his head:
"A real man will not eat from five cauldrons when he is alive, but will be cooked in five cauldrons when he is dead."

Wei Feng treasured the letter and put it in his arms. After several changes of carriages and horses, he arrived at a place filled with the fragrance of medicine.

The secret letter left Wei Feng's arms, fell into the hands of an old man, and was finally carefully stuffed into the interlayer of the medicine box.

Carrying the medicine box on his back, he got on the carriage and passed through the layers of guards. A large manor with strict security came into view. This was the "Imperial Palace" of Yecheng today.

However, as they continued to go inside, the guards became familiar with each other because of their frequent interactions. After a cursory inspection, someone said:
"Doctor Ji, just go in. The Queen is already waiting for the doctor to diagnose her illness."

(End of this chapter)