Chapter 167: Where is the Immortal in the Painting?

  The painting depicts "a smile that can topple a city, the goddess of the Xiang River is what kind of beauty, yet it has never been heard that the King of Shu would pull his beautiful concubine into his arms, his hands slowly wandering over her body. The elegant and refined lady smiled coyly in response.

  At the beginning of the Song Dynasty, he didn't rush to take out the painting, but first guided his imagination: "A beautiful woman doesn't wear makeup, her body has a fragrance like orchids and musk, far away it's faintly visible, near it's as if hidden and present, as if holding a beautiful woman in one's arms, the fragrance can make the body and mind happy; A beautiful woman's skin is like fat and snow, crystal clear and transparent, blowing and popping can break, even the highest quality silk on her body appears coarse; A beautiful woman's waist is slender and delicate, soft but not weak, *long and straight, thin but not showing bones; A beautiful woman's fingers are slender, holding them is like holding a feather; A beautiful woman's lips are like petals, teeth like shells, eyes like clear pools reflecting the stars...... Her stockings are like waves, smiling slightly, all things are shy, the sun and moon lose their color."

  Song Chu Yi's voice was between a boy and an adult, low and soft at times, exceptionally smooth.

  The King of Shu listened as if he was drunk, and couldn't even begin to imagine the appearance of this beautiful woman, but it seemed as though she stood amidst the misty ripples of water and gave him a charming smile that moved his heart.

  Under such a stunning beauty, the naked women around her suddenly felt ashamed of their own bodies, thinking that the fragrance on them was too common, their skin not delicate enough, their waists not slender enough, and their teeth not white enough... Afraid that King Wu would be disgusted, they couldn't help but quietly cover themselves with silk clothes.

  "Is there really such a beauty in this world?" The King of Shu came back to his senses, and couldn't help but sit up straight, staring intently at Song Chuyi.

  Song Chu smiled slightly and said, "Of course there is. Please ask King Wang to permit me to send a guard with the portrait."

  The King of Shu heard that there was a portrait and his eyes lit up. He immediately said, "Go invite the Qin national guard!"

  Gu Yan as Song Chu Yi's guard would never unsheathe his sword, so he could only send the things to the outer gate of the main hall and have a beautiful maid present them.

  Song Zhucheng opened a bamboo tube and took out a portrait, unfolding it seven paces away from the King of Shu, with two maids holding each corner.

  A beautiful woman emerges from a bath surrounded by clouds and mist, with soft light shining from all sides, her white silk robes semi-transparent, giving off an even more ethereal aura.

  "Thanks to the king's favor, I was lucky enough to see him. This painting is my own work, but unfortunately, my brushwork is clumsy and it's hard to capture his spirit. It's really embarrassing." Song said with a sigh.

  The painting skills are novel, the woman in the picture is curved and beautiful, and can also be considered a famous beauty. However, if it weren't for Song Chuyi's description, King Shu, who was used to seeing beauties, wouldn't have been too surprised. But at this moment, King Shu looked at that person as if she were truly a goddess in the painting with hair like a waterfall and skin as white as snow.

  "Why did the envoy come because of me?"

  The King of Shu is fond of beauty and has a good taste in beauty. However, he was not blinded by his infatuation. Song Chu had already thought of a plan: "This woman is currently in the Xianyang Palace, her name is Zi Chao. Since the Emperor obtained this woman, all other women have become insignificant to him, and the harem only has this one person. The Emperor heard that you love beautiful women, so he wants to present this woman to you."

  "If there really is such a beauty, would Duke Qin be willing to give her up?" King of Shu asked doubtfully.

  Song Chu smiled and said, "Does King Wang know who the new ruler of Qin is?"

  "The Crown Prince wins." Although the roads between Qin and Shu were impassable, it had been over a year since the new king of Qin took the throne. The state of Shu naturally received the news long ago.

  At the beginning of the Song Dynasty, a certain head said, "That's right. Don't deceive the king, but in fact, you are not as good at understanding the emotions of the people as I am. Even if Zi Chao is a stunning beauty in his eyes, it is not as important as the people of Qin State being full and warm."

  The king of Shu actually believed that, for some reason, the men of the Qin state seemed uninterested in women. Throughout history, there had never been a ruler who was particularly fond of beautiful women, and his harem was pitifully small.

  At the beginning of the Song Dynasty, he continued to say, "Since Shang Yang's reform in Qin, there has been some progress, but many men of Qin have died on the battlefield and the land is barren. I am short of food, but the six nations in the east consider Qin a barbarian state, only doing slave business with Qin, and are unwilling to sell grain. When your superior learned that Shu had fertile fields and abundant grains, he wanted to trade with your country, mainly buying and selling grain."

  All these Shu kings had heard of it, but he did not know that after Shang Yang's reform, Qin also accepted many immigrants and encouraged farming. At that time, the land in Qin was barren, so Shang Jun made a national policy: no matter which country people came from, as long as they were willing to register with the Qin government, they could open up wasteland, and the land would belong to them. Moreover, there would be no taxes for the first three years. Therefore, Qin had been free from food shortages for ten years.

  The state of Qin was regarded as a barbarian by the six states in Shandong, and what about Ba-Shu? Although Ba-Shu also had little dealings with the six states in Shandong, being ostracized was not pleasant. Song initially did this, more or less letting the king of Shu feel a sense of "sympathy for each other's misfortunes".

  The King of Shu hesitated for a moment and said, "As for the matter of trade, I will discuss it with my officials before making a decision."

  "So..."

  At the beginning of the Song Dynasty, one bow was about to bid farewell, but was interrupted by the King of Shu: "The envoy please sit down and have another toast with my son, Zhaoming."

  He couldn't help but laugh and say, "Ah, what a wonderful name! How beautiful!"

  Song Chu raised the corner of his lips and knelt down on a stool, "That foreign minister had an interesting story about the court with Wang Shang."

  "Good." The King of Shu lifted his robe and leaned against the armrest.

  According to legend, the Duke obtained a white fox fur coat and gave it to Chao. As Qin State was often snowy, one day Chao wore the white fox fur coat to tread on snow, but the maid couldn't find it anywhere after searching thoroughly. The maid hastily reported this to the Duke.

  Song Chuoyi leaned forward slightly, raised an eyebrow and smiled, saying "Your Majesty, how would you guess?"

  "Could it be that the Snowy Flying Fairy is not going to make it?" The King of Shu also laughed and said.

  Song Chu nodded and said, "Don't panic, follow the direction we went this morning to search for him." He told his maid beside him, "Next time when something like this happens, don't be flustered. Just wait in the snowy field until a peony flower blooms." The maid didn't understand.

  Song Chu paused for a moment, seeing the King of Shu's eyes shining brightly, smiled and said: "Your Majesty must have already guessed. With skin as white as snow, wearing a white fox fur coat to cover her black hair, she can hide in the snow. Standing in the cold wind for a short while, her cheeks will be rosy, with a delicate and charming complexion like a peach blossom. After a while, she will be as beautiful as a hibiscus."

  "Hahaha!" The King of Shu clapped his hands and laughed loudly, his eyes shining with astonishment.

  "Although it's just a rumor, what I've seen is indeed icy skin and jade bones, with nothing excessive or lacking!" Song Chuyi smiled in agreement.

  "What a beautiful and delicate body!" The King of Shu exclaimed, his palm gently stroking the tiger head carved on the armrest, lost in thought.

  Zi Chao is indeed a beauty, but she's not as stunningly beautiful as Song Chu described. However, she was deeply hidden in Xianyang Palace, and the state of Shu could only find out that Qin had someone named Zi Chao, and before Qin Gong's grand wedding, there was indeed only one person in the harem.

  "The gentleman is good at business, but how about the law?" asked the King of Shu.

  At the beginning of the Song Dynasty, one noticed that his title had changed, and after a moment's thought, he still concealed seven parts of the original meaning: "In fact, trade between the two countries only requires the king to nod in agreement, and everything else is just a small problem. And the thank-you gift from Qin Guo to Wang Shang was not just one beautiful woman."

  The purpose of the trade between the two countries is to establish a road between Qin and Shu. The Road to Shu is difficult, easy to defend but hard to attack, without roads and lacking understanding of the terrain of Shu, even the strongest army would be in vain.

  At the beginning of the Song Dynasty, a faint intention was bypassed and shifted to the topic of thank-you gifts. The King of Shu is not a fool, it's not possible to reveal one's intentions too early in front of him.

  "Sir, you're not from Qin, are you?" The King of Shu asked suddenly.

  Song Shi smiled and said, "Wang Shangxian's eyes are like torches, I am a subject of the Song State, and it has only been half a year since I entered Qin."

  "Qi, Chu and Wei are all powerful countries. You, sir, were a young genius, shouldn't you have gone to one of those places? Why did you come to Qin?" The King of Shu smiled as he looked at Song Chuyi, his eyes scrutinizing.

  Song Chu didn't miss his subtle expression, and his heart moved slightly. He took the opportunity to say, "Your Majesty is unaware that as a foreign minister from the Taoist school, our teachings are actually highly respected in the Central Plains. However, my advocacy for governing through non-action is not valued by the rulers of various countries, so I'm just making a living here."

  "Ah, Master Zhuang! I recently met the great Zhuangzi of Daoism. His carefree spirit is truly delightful to me." The King of Shu visited Zhuangzi, his tone full of praise, clearly showing that meeting Zhuangzi had brought him immense joy.

  At the beginning of the Song Dynasty, a certain place in her heart was sour and slowly spreading. The three people who left marks on her heart were her biological father, Min Chi, and her teacher, Master Zhuangzi.

  As for Father, there is more heartache and gratitude besides the blood relationship. As for Meng Zhi, she had long since loved him like a fleeting wind, but Zhuangzi was the one who accompanied her growth, both as a teacher and a father figure. Her temperament was influenced by him to a great extent. If they hadn't met, it would have been fine, but now that she has heard news of him with her own ears, how could her heart not be stirred up even slightly?

  "Does King Wang know where he is now?" Song Chu asked.

  At first, Song Chu was very good at hiding his emotions, and the King of Shu did not notice anything unusual. He simply said, "There is a heavenly realm near the royal city, I will have someone take him there to search."

  Zhuangzi spent his whole life infatuated with mountains and rivers. Wherever there were strange sights or beautiful scenery, he would linger for a period of time - sometimes as short as ten days or half a month, sometimes as long as three to five years. Once news arrived, Song Chou wouldn't have to worry about finding him.

  The King of Shu wore a war helmet like a wolf, but his usual temperament was as gentle as a cloud and a wild crane. The Taoist style and some learning were very much to his taste. In his impression, Taoists are basically all pure-hearted and selfless, without any ambition or desire for fame and wealth, so he also had a few more points of tenderness towards Song Chu Yi.

  Exchanged views on the beauty of women with the King of Shu for a while, Song Chuoyi traveled to various countries in her early years, and each country's women had their own unique charm, which naturally made her experiences rich and colorful. Unexpectedly, the King of Shu became addicted to listening, and forcibly pulled her into his chambers for one night. In the end, he even warmly invited Song Chuoyi to share a bed with him, scaring Song Chuoyi into fleeing in disarray.

  The sky was dim and I returned to the post house with a belly full of tea.

  Song Chuai hastily washed up, instructed Gu Han that if there was no urgent matter, he was not allowed to disturb him, and then fell headfirst onto the bed, sleeping soundly.

  Outside is drizzling with a soft patter, the light is dim, it's just the right weather for sleeping.

  It was unclear how much time had passed when Song Chu suddenly heard a rapid knocking at the door.

  He slowly regained his composure and found that someone was indeed knocking on the door, so he hoarsely asked, "What is it?"

  "Master, it's time to get up and have dinner." Gu Han said.

  Song Chu paused for a moment. If it was just dinner, there was no need to use such urgent knocking. "Come in!"