The Great Wall of China is forty thousand miles long

  After Liu Danru left the pass, Lü Yu finally put back the heart that was worried about her daughter. Zhang Yan continued to learn the piano at home, occasionally thinking of the situation of that shy and simple girl under the yellow sand and white clouds, sighing and daydreaming, the days passed by like flowing water, without any waves or surprises.

  In the blink of an eye, it's Dragon Boat Festival. Every household burns wormwood, and within a day, the entire city of Chang'an is filled with fragrance.

  Early in the morning, people from the palace arrived at the residence of Xuanping Hou to escort Zhang Yan into the palace for the festival.

  Lu Yuan lay on the sickbed, grasping Zhang Yan's hand. Her neck injury had not yet healed, and she couldn't move suddenly, so she could only entrust her with a look in her eyes. Zhang Yan smiled slightly, covering her mother with a quilt, "Mother, rest assured, I understand."

  Entering the Peacock Room, she paid her respects to Empress Lü. Empress Lü was in a good mood, "Come," she tied the five-colored silk thread she had personally knotted onto Zhang Yan's arm, smiling and patting it, "This way you'll be safe and happy, and no poison will harm you."

  The so-called Dragon Boat Festival, the festive time is at noon. At noon, the pepper house hall set up a family banquet to celebrate the annual festival. With children and grandchildren around her knees, Empress Lü's mood was open-minded, laughing loudly, and radiant with joy.

  "You look much more gentle today," Liu Yan said with a smile to Zhang Yan, when her mother was not paying attention.

  She looked up and saw Liu Ying's smiling face, and couldn't help but smile too.

  "What's wrong with your breath?" Liu Ying teased, "I heard that you were punished by your father and confined in the Hou Mansion a few days ago?"

  "The ban has already been lifted."

  "Just right." Liu Ying smiled and said, "Yesterday Ruyi pestered me to take him out of the palace for a trip, do you want to come together?"

  Zhang Yan had been in Chang'an for a long time, but she was either confined to the Changle Palace or restricted to the Marquis's mansion, and had not yet strolled through the streets of Chang'an. Moreover, although her parents loved her dearly, they were always maintaining the dignity of the princess and marquis due to their age and status. Her younger brother was too young, and she really longed to play with children of similar age, so she nodded involuntarily, her eyes sparkling brightly.

  "All right," said Liu Ying, "you go to the East Palace to find me later." After thinking for a moment, he whispered another sentence in a lighter tone, "Be careful not to let the Empress Dowager know."

  Zhang Yan nodded, suddenly remembering the things she had been thinking about these days, and blinked her eyes to ask, "Uncle, what kind of person is that Zhang He you mentioned a few days ago?"

  "Huh?" Liu Ying was about to get up and turned back with a smile, "How did Ah Yan suddenly become curious about him? Where did she meet him?"

  "Uncle," Zhang Yan angrily turned her face away, "you can say it or not."

  "Ah, okay, I said so."

  "Zhang Xie," Liu Ying sat down beside her, also thinking of their good friend, and sighed, "He is very much like his father."

  Zhang Liang, Marquis of Liu.

  "His appearance and talent are even more like those of Liu Hou than his elder brother."

  "Wait, he has an older brother?"

  "How come," Liu Ying smiled and asked her, "haven't you heard others introduce him, saying he's the 'young son of Liu Heng'?"

  Zhang Liang, Marquis of Liu, had only one wife in his lifetime and she gave birth to two sons, Zhang He and his elder brother, Zhang Buyi.

  Logically speaking, there should be no wife and concubine competing for favor in the family, brothers born of one mother, it should be very happy.

  But unfortunately cannot.

  "Zhang's eldest son was not originally named Yuyi, after my father ascended the throne and enfeoffed his ministers, the merit of being a guardian marquis could not be considered first-rate, but it must have been among the top three. He however took a heroic retirement, only accepting the title of guardian marquis and refusing to enter court as an official, for which my father held him in even greater esteem and specially granted Zhang's eldest son the name Yuyi, indicating that in this life he would never be doubted."

  "Do you know, Ah Yan?" Liu Ying suddenly said, "Although Zhang Ye and I are not as close as Fan Qiao and Cao Kui, who were childhood friends, in the second year of the Han dynasty, when I was temporarily residing in Luoyang, Zhang Ye's father also sent him to the palace to accompany me. At that time, we got along very well. Zhang Ye is naturally clever and has insights into politics and military affairs, but he feared his brother would not be happy, so he gradually gave up on everything, eventually focusing only on studying books and paintings, yet still earning the reputation as the 'Double Absolute' of Long'an's excellent young masters."

  "Zuo Hou was intelligent and resourceful his whole life, never at a loss for a plan, yet he couldn't get his two sons to get along. The brothers were unhappy."

  I often think that Zhang Bu Yi's talent and learning are not as good as Zhang He, but he occupies the name of the eldest son, so he is destined to inherit the title. Zhang He is suppressed by his brother, has ambition but cannot express it, and feels depressed and unhappy. I wonder if, unintentionally, I will also make my younger brother feel this way?

  Thinking this way, I couldn't help but be nicer to these younger brothers.

  Zhang Yan was chewing on the fact that Zhang Xiang's elegant appearance hid a heart full of melancholy, and her mood had also become somewhat downcast. She raised her head to look at Liu Ying, who was gazing out at the distant Chang Le Palace, with a thoughtful expression on his face.

  "Hey, what's going on?" Lü Cuī overheard a few words between the two of them and teased, "Has Ah Yan taken a liking to some man's family?"

  "Ah Po," Zhang Yan was taken aback for a moment, her face flushing to the back of her neck, "what nonsense are you talking about? It's not true."

  "Empress Dowager," Liu Ying smiled, "it's not Ah Yan's fault, it's all because Zhang Ye is too charming." Known as the 'Number One Bachelor of Chang'an', although he had already hidden more than half of his brilliance, "if we calculate according to the Empress Dowager's logic, about half of the women in Chang'an are infatuated with him." He suddenly smiled, "even my sister didn't wait for many years for him?"

  Lü Zhi also smiled and pursed her lips at this.

  "Oh?" On one side, Zhang Yan's eyes lit up, as if she had caught wind of the royal gossip, "Which imperial uncle is speaking of, Auntie?"

  Lv Wei couldn't help but laugh and patted her little head, "You'll understand when you see it."

  Not saying is not saying, Zhang Yan was sulky, arousing people's curiosity, but not giving a satisfactory answer, too unkind.

  Zhang Yan leaned against the table with her cheek in her hand, and suddenly remembered the scene of meeting Zhang He in the restaurant in Qiongyang.

  Her uncle said he was a young man from Chang'an, she didn't know, all she knew was that whenever she saw Zhang Hui, it would make her think of Yu Ru uncontrollably.

  Guan Er and Zhang Xia have almost identical faces.

  At first glance, she almost thought he was Gu Er because of her, so he came after her with great difficulty. However, the absurd idea only lasted for a moment, and she saw the strangeness at the bottom of his eyes.

  Her smile would never make him look at her like this.

  She won't let her be sad, won't see her at a loss, and won't leave her wandering without direction. —— He has been bravely protecting himself until fate separates them.

  After seeing Zhang He, she spent almost the whole day in a daze. Even the delicious food tasted bad to her. She was sent back to the Xuanping Hou Mansion by Lü Bi in a trance-like state. Her father had been furious and waiting to scold her, but upon seeing her condition, he couldn't bring himself to say anything harsh. He simply instructed Hua Mei to take good care of her.

  A person covered with a quilt cried for half the night, and the calm mind that had been gradually stabilized since coming to this era was stirred up by the face similar to Guan Er's, evoking fear and nostalgia. When she woke up, she used thick powder to cover up the slightly swollen tear marks, warning herself that no matter how much she missed him, he was not Guan Er after all.

  She clearly knew that Zhang Xiang was not a frivolous person.

  Her smile is her smile, and its goodness cannot be replaced by a identical face. Zhang Hao can't replace her smile either. She has always known that clearly.

  "Grandma," she suddenly spoke up, feeling stuffy in her heart, "I'm going to the East Palace to find my uncle."

  Out of the Pepper Chamber, it was still early for her appointment with Liu Ying. She took a stroll along the walkway with her handmaiden, and before she knew it, she heard the sound of flowing water. Turning around the corridor, she saw sunlight shining everywhere, and the waters of the flying canal poured from one end into the wine pool, stirring up deep, mysterious green ripples, then flowed out from the other end, quietly flowing towards the direction of the Immortal's Palace. Standing there, with a faint mist rising to greet her, her mood suddenly improved.

  It was getting hot in May, Zhang Yan stood by the wine pool for a while, looked around and saw no one, took off her socks, sat on the edge of the pavilion, held the railing with her hands, and her feet just stepped into the water.

  "Mother," said Mulan disapprovingly, "it's not good for a daughter to behave like this."

  "No one saw it anyway." Zhang Yan said casually.

  "Who says there isn't?" a voice called out in a teasing tone, Zhang Yan was startled and turned her head to see, Ruyi standing outside the pavilion, chuckling at her.

  "You scared me to death." Zhang Yan complained.

  "That's because you're timid." Ruyi jumped to her side and sat down, gazing at her bare feet floating in the water, and praised, "Your feet are quite beautiful."

  Zhang Yan's face turned red with rage and laughter, "Every day, all you do is judge whether people are pretty or not. Can't a person's face even compare to a pair of feet?"

  "That's right." Nodding in satisfaction, he continued with a self-satisfied smile, "But still can't compare to my mother, the empress. She is truly beautiful." Every part of her was perfect.

  Hmph.

  Women, regardless of age, are extremely sensitive to this term. Zhang Yan turned her head away with a huff and refused to talk.

  "Don't you believe me?" Yi Yang raised an eyebrow, but suddenly realized it wasn't right, "Logically, you should be calling me Uncle, how dare you directly call my name?"

  Zhang Yan looked at him with a disdainful gaze, scanning him from head to toe and then back again. "How much older are you than me? You're also worthy of being called 'uncle' by me?"

  At this point, she looked a bit dazed. To mention age, Liu Ying was only a fourteen-year-old boy, younger than her in the previous life. Why did she agree to call him "Uncle" so easily back then?

  You're not satisfied with the hierarchy, "No matter how much older you are than me, if you're my uncle then you're my uncle. The generation gap is right there, even if I had a younger brother born just now, you'd still have to call him 'uncle'."

  She pursed her lips and smiled faintly, then suddenly stretched out her hands to pinch Liu Ruyi's cheeks. "Think I'll call you uncle? Wait till you shed that childish air of yours before we talk."

  "Ouch, it hurts——" Ruyi's voice was somewhat hoarse, but she glared fiercely at the nanny who was about to punish Zhang Yan, rubbed her cheek and muttered, "If you don't call me uncle, then don't call me uncle, it's not a big deal."

  "This is the kind of thing that should be accompanied by the Queen Mother in the Honghu Pavilion," Ruyi said with a turn of her eyes, "My mother's dance is beautiful, I'll take you to sneak a peek, and you must admit that my mother is the most beautiful in the world."

  "Hey——" Zhang Yan was pulled by Ruyi's sudden enthusiasm, her feet almost unable to stop, "I'm still barefoot, wait for me."

  "Why are we hiding behind this pillar?" Zhang Yan asked softly, tugging at her clothes uncomfortably in the Temple of Gods.

  It's not like we're thieves, just walk in confidently and openly.

  "It's because we're sneaking a peek." Ruyi replied nonchalantly without lowering her head, "The lower key the better, of course."

  Zhang Yan's eyes turned black, her trembling fingers pointed at him, "Are you sure this is low-key?"

  The Hong'e Platform is seven feet high, with a paulownia wood column embracing the eaves, which are made of pearls and shells. The middle courtyard is painted red, with vermilion lacquer walls all made of copper, inlaid with yellow gold, and coated with white jade. It is also adorned with bright pearls and kingfisher feathers. Zhang Yan was dressed in a beautiful outfit, holding onto the railing as she hid behind a column, seeing the palace maids glance over at her with embarrassment.

  Ru Yi was busy glaring back one by one, soothingly saying, "As long as the Emperor and Empress Dowager didn't see it, that's all that matters."

  In the hall, above the upper seat, Qi Yi wore a snow-white lotus-patterned jacket, with her hair styled in a cloud-like bun, making her look even more ethereal and beautiful. She sat beside Emperor Gao, peeling an orange with her slender jade hands, her sleeves falling to her elbows, revealing a line of snowy white skin, charming and captivating.