Chapter 160: I Have Come, I Am Here, and I Shall Be With You (Part I)

"Brilliant, truly brilliant!" While everyone’s attention remained fixed on Sha Chongyi and his party, Zhang Qian quietly extended his right hand from his sleeve and gave the "Old Fox" Yang a subtle thumbs-up.

He was impressed—genuinely and deeply impressed. It was no wonder this old man had managed to survive the power struggles between Empress Wu and the Li clan for over seventy years, repeatedly holding high office without ever attracting a shred of notoriety. His political maneuvering was nothing short of divine.

With just a few seemingly lethargic suggestions, the old man had not only done a favor for Zong Chuke’s faction but also avoided offending the Right Chancellor, Xiao Zhizhong. In one stroke, he had effectively detained Sha Chongyi in Chang'an, eliminating any possibility that the man, fueled by resentment, might sell state secrets to the Western Turks.

Brilliant, absolutely brilliant—far beyond the speed of a rocket! It was like the legendary butcher Ding carving an ox, moving through the smallest gaps with effortless precision.

Even more impressive was how he had seamlessly plugged the leak regarding the crude distillation of alcohol and the secret formula for floral water—the very things Zhang Qian had been most worried about being reverse-engineered. While the effect might not have been as legally binding as a state patent, it was far more effective than any clever scheme Zhang could have cooked up after days of agonizing thought.

Furthermore, the old man’s stated motives were entirely for the good of the nation, rendered with such upright dignity that one could hardly help but bow in reverence.

"Why is he going to such lengths to help me? Could it be..." A bold hypothesis suddenly surged into Zhang Qian’s mind, making him so excited he felt like jumping for joy.

It had to be true—the probability was at least eighty percent! The old Minister, Yang Lin, was helping him for the sake of his granddaughter—the girl wearing the ruby hairpins, the one whose name was either Qingxing or Qingqing.

That comment the old Minister had made earlier, asking if he "would be willing to be a junior of this old man," wasn't just idle chatter; it was a deliberate hint directed at Zhang.

The old man hadn't walked halfway across the palace just because he had nothing better to do; he had come specifically to give this eighth-rank novice, attending court for the first time, a trial run to ensure he wouldn't be crushed to dust after being blindly sucked into the political whirlpool.

The old man had guessed that there were secret affections between his granddaughter and Zhang! Or rather, he had seen that his granddaughter had taken a fancy to this low-ranking, slow-witted, and mysterious poor boy, and he had decided to give them a nudge.

In other words, just as the poor boy could not stop thinking about the girl with the ruby hairpins, the girl herself had a place in her heart for the poor boy!

Waves of happiness crashed against Zhang Qian’s heart and mind, causing his breathing to grow heavy and his eyes to moisten without him even realizing it.

She really did have him in her heart; he wasn't just being delusional!

She didn't want to go to Tibet to be the wife of a four-year-old tribal prince! She was waiting for a poor boy like Zhang to have the capability to rescue her so they could grow old together.

Her feelings for him were just as intense as his were for her—to the point where she could no longer hide it from her close elders, or perhaps she had already confided in her grandfather and begged for his help!

She, she...

Love is not a ghost; it truly exists! When you meet the right person at the right time, it blooms instantly, unhindered by time, space, or disparities in status.

Having experienced two different lifetimes, Zhang Qian felt completely defenseless before this sudden bloom of love! Nor did he want to resist. He let the waves of heat in his heart lift his soul from his body, soaring higher, higher, and higher! He flew out through the roof of the Zijin Hall, into the azure sky, and together with the stars, looked down upon this beautiful world.

A thousand lights flickered, the starlight felt like wine, and countless versions of "him and her" met, understood, and accompanied one another amidst the lights and stars. They walked through life happily, becoming a part of the light, merging into the vast river of history.

"Yongzhao, Yongzhao! Step forward, hurry up and step forward! Are you stunned with joy?" A familiar and anxious voice suddenly echoed in Zhang Qian’s ears, forcibly pulling his spirit back from the lights and stars into the Zijin Hall.

"Ah—" An involuntary exclamation escaped his lips as Zhang Qian suddenly realized that the second-rank dignitaries had already sat back down on their silk stools, and the figure of Sha Chongyi had long since vanished.

At this very moment, the Great Tang’s Emperor Li Xian was watching him from behind the imperial desk with a faint smile, his expression quite intriguing.

"Hehehe..." Zhou Jianliang suddenly gave an undignified laugh, and like a spark thrown into a pot of oil, the Zijin Hall erupted into ripples of good-natured laughter.

Clearly, Zhang Qian was far from the only one to have been overwhelmed with joy before receiving an imperial reward, standing foolishly dazed in front of the Emperor. Almost everyone present had experienced something similar; they had just expressed it to varying degrees.

"Could it be that even the disciple of a reclusive master cares so much about the honors and titles of my Great Tang?" Having seen such scenes many times before, Li Xian was not angered by Zhang Qian’s slow reaction; instead, to save him from excessive embarrassment, he took the initiative to make a joke.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, this humble subject... does care!" With the image of the ruby-adorned girl riding away in tears flashing through his mind again, Zhang Qian decisively stepped forward and bowed, "To be able to contribute a small effort to the Great Tang is this subject’s greatest honor!"

What "three refusals and three bows"? What "treating fame and wealth like dirt"? Those were things for peerless masters to do! Zhang was just a worldly rogue—a rogue as worldly as one could possibly be!

Zhang liked the girl with the ruby hairpins, and in the future, he would absolutely marry her and bring her home! He would not stand by and watch her be married off to Tibet to wipe the bottom of some brat, only to hide away and recite melancholy poems in secret.

Zhang had to stop this ridiculous marriage before she was sent away and keep her by his side. Even if it meant breaking the law or resorting to deceit, he would not hesitate.

And to achieve this, his position had to be high enough, and his power had to be strong enough.

The higher his position, the greater the influence of his words, and the less his actions would be restricted!

The higher his position, the more allies he would have, and the more support he would receive from the old fox, Yang. Otherwise, given the old fox’s intelligence, he could help Zhang today without leaving a trace, and tomorrow, out of disappointment, he could withdraw that support just as cleanly. No one would ever catch him in a trap, and no one could do a thing about him!

"Hmm, Yongzhao is indeed an honest man, far more straightforward than those hypocrites waiting for the highest bidder!" Emperor Li Xian’s voice came again from behind the desk, carrying genuine satisfaction.

"Heehee, heehee..." As the laughter in the Zijin Hall subsided, whispers of snickering broke out. Clearly, many officials felt the same disdain for those "hermits" from Zhongnan Mountain and were in sync with Li Xian.

The Emperor was clearly in a wonderful mood tonight and did not mind the ministers' lack of decorum. He held his hands out to the sides in a gesture to quiet the room, then focused his attention back on Zhang Qian. "Minister Zhang is learned and talented, loyal and brave. Though you lived in the countryside, you were determined to serve the court. First, you presented the miraculous arts of gunpowder production and use, relieving the worries of our Tang soldiers. Then you created windmills and mechanical wells, resolving the disasters of drought for our people. I..."

"Your Majesty, please reconsider!" Before the praise could be finished, Lu Zhengming, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, stepped forward quickly. "Your Majesty, I heard from Censor Sha earlier that those windmills and wells are extremely costly to build and are not suitable for widespread use among the common people. If Your Majesty grants a heavy reward to Master Zhang for these two useless inventions, not only will Master Zhang be undeserving of it, but fawning flatterers among the people will fail to understand your intent of 'buying horse bones with gold' and will scramble to mimic him, causing Your Majesty endless trouble. Therefore, I beg Your Majesty to reconsider!"

"When did I offend another fourth-rank official?" Zhang Qian didn't know this man was surnamed Lu, the father of Lu Ting. He blinked, frowned, and used his eyes to consult the old fox, Yang.

Even though the old man clearly felt his gaze, he had no intention of helping. Sitting on his silk stool, he kept his eyes on his nose and his nose on his heart, looking for all the world like a monk in deep meditation.