July was like a wildfire. The heat wave hit them and they could almost smell the burnt smell in the air. Although the sun was already setting in the west, the quicksand of the desert beyond the Great Wall fluttered in the sky, the sand was bright red all over, one could faintly hear the crackling sound, as if it was about to catch fire.
The city gate of Xingqing Prefecture was half-closed. The constant flow of people in and out of the city added some coolness to the Spring City. The Da Hua soldiers guarding the city gate were all covered in armor. Although they were sweating profusely, none of them dared to slack off in their armor.
"How many times have I left my bosom before I finish my cup? My dreams are long, and my books are few.
Amidst drunkenness, the misty rain in my dreams. My temples are green because of my yearning.
I know there is love involved, but I can't bear to think about it. The moon has set.
She leaped back on her horse and leaned against the railing. She welcomed the gate with a smile. Look at my red makeup, I will never grow old! "
A graceful and moving figure was standing on top of the city gate tower, looking at the bright red sun in the distance. She was muttering to herself. The afterglow of the setting sun shone on her beautiful cheeks, and two lines of tears sparkled like snow.
"Aunt Xu …"
A voice called out from behind. The woman quickly wiped her tears and turned around, "Wuling, why are you here?!"
"Aunt Xu, do you think Brother Lin will come back?!" Little Li choked, "It has been more than a month …"
After returning from the grasslands, Li Wuling had tanned quite a bit, and he had also grown a lot taller. He was no longer that young man with a tender face, but had grown into a true soldier.
Xu Zhiqing's face was pale, "No, he will definitely come back."
Li Wuling lowered his head, "Aunt, you haven't seen the Turkic Khagan's arrow. Three consecutive arrows, it was earth-shattering. Even a deity can't stop it. "
Even a deity can't stop it? Miss Xu's eyes were filled with tears. She shook her head firmly, "How can a deity compare to him? He is the worst person in the world. Even the heavens don't dare to take him. "
Little Li nodded and looked forward with hope. Beyond the Great Wall, the sand danced wildly and spiraled into a ball, covering half of the bright red sunset.
"Wuling, why are you looking for me?!" Miss Xu asked after a long silence.
Li Wuling hurriedly nodded, "Aunt, the Turks are waiting for our reply! After capturing the Little Khan, the Right Prince, and the others. Every other day, they would send an emissary to investigate our information. Just now, Big Brother Zuoqiu, who is stationed at Mount Helan, came to report that Lu Dongzan sent another letter today, wanting to negotiate with us. "
Hu Bugui and the others passed through the grasslands. Although the Turks had thousands of soldiers and horses, no one dared to stop them. The royal court was breached, the Young Khan and the Right Prince were both captured. This was the most powerful Turkic Khaganate. This had never happened before. On top of that, their repeated assaults on the Helan Mountains had ended in failure, costing them countless lives and blood. While they were furious, the Hu were also deeply shocked by the determination and killing intent of the Chinese.
Because the Turks were deeply apprehensive. Over the past month, they had slowly retreated back to the grassland. Both sides deployed their troops at the border of the two countries. Although there were small conflicts from time to time, there were no major battles. Amidst this confrontation, there was a rare peaceful buffer zone between the grassland and the desert.
"Negotiate? We are not in a hurry, they are the ones who are in a hurry! "Xu Zhiqing said leisurely. To be able to have today's situation, to have all the initiative in the hands of China, this was exchanged with the lives of countless soldiers, especially him, whose life and death was unknown.
Faint tears surfaced in her eyes, as she let out a long sigh, "How to deal with the Young Khan and these captives, must be decided by the Emperor. Before the imperial edict arrives, there is no use in discussing. Lu Dongzan will not be unaware of this. He is deliberately pressuring us in exchange for some initiative in the negotiations. "
Li Wuling anxiously nodded, "I came here for this matter. Aunt, grandfather told me to tell you that the Emperor's imperial edict has arrived. "
… …
In the sunset, a small horse carriage, braving the sky full of sand, clanked as it slowly moved forward. The afterglow of the setting sun shone on the roof of the carriage, casting a bright red.
A slender white hand stretched out from behind the curtain, occasionally pulling on the reins, urging the horse to correct its direction. The flying sand beat against the curtain, and a weak voice, as if sick, sounded from the carriage, "Sister, don't walk so fast, stop and rest for a while. Think about it, strolling leisurely under the setting sun, just you and me, our faces flushed, the scenery like a painting, this is such a leisurely thing! "
How leisurely was not known, but how slow was it for sure. Sister shook her head helplessly, smiling, "You, didn't you just rest a moment ago? Lazing in the morning, taking a nap because it's too hot, and only setting off after the sun sets. If we continue like this, how many miles can we walk in a day?! "
"If we can't finish, then walk slowly. I am a patient," the weak voice coughed, panting, "It's fine to walk slowly, it is only right for patients to receive preferential treatment! When sister is in confinement, I will also take care of you like this, carrying you without moving, what do you say? "
"Pei!" Sister's face turned red.
Seeing the patient's pale face, saying a few words and then starting to pant again, she suddenly felt a pain in her heart, and quickly held his hand tightly. The air in the carriage was obviously hot, but the patient's body was cold. This was a sign of extreme weakness in a serious illness. Although the external injuries were fine, the shock that the arrow had caused to his internal organs was not something that could be easily healed!
"Sister, your hair is messed up." Seeing the tears in his sister's eyes, the patient smiled and gently brushed away a few strands of hair beside her ear. He was extremely gentle.
There was sadness in the sweetness, and his sister's tears rolled down silently. She gently held his palm, letting him hold her face, "You, I don't know why you are so stubborn. When we came back from Bayanhaote, you didn't walk on the flat grassland and desert, and insisted that I carry you across Helan and back the way we came. You are so seriously injured, is that something you can bear? Now, no one knows that you are still alive, and no one knows that you have come back! "
"It's good that they don't know." He sighed faintly, "I'm tired! I just want to find a place where there is no one and have some peace. I don't want to think about anything and do nothing. I just want to sleep, count some money, hug my sister, and do the whole thing! How delightful these days are! "
"Pfft." His sister laughed and poked his nose with her finger. Tears and smiles bloomed together, "Don't think that I don't know what you are thinking. You are afraid that they will find you, drag you to the negotiation table, and let you see the person you don't dare to see, right?!"
"Sister, why do you have to do this? I only have this little secret! "The patient smiled bitterly and shook his head. He said helplessly," Alright, I admit that you are right. Negotiation is their business, it has nothing to do with me. No one should bother me. I want to be a deserter now, a carefree deserter. "
"Yes, deserter. Take your medicine. " His sister smiled and shook her head. She took out some herbs from a small box, and a faint fragrance mixed with a strong bitter smell assailed his nose.
The patient had obviously suffered enough from this medicine. He was so scared that his face turned pale, "Can, can I not take it? It's so bitter! "
"No!" There was no room for negotiation.
"Then, little brother, can you make a request? Ask your sister to chew this medicine and feed it to me personally. It will be sweeter that way … Oh, it's so sweet!" "Bam, bam."
"Bam, bam." She was still in the midst of sweetness. Suddenly, she heard the sound of the carriage shed being smashed. The horses had stopped, and the fairy hurriedly retracted her mouth. She blushed and rolled her eyes at him.
The patient instantly became furious, "Who is it? Who ruined my big plan? I am taking sweet medicine! "
A few shouts came from outside, "Who is inside? Why are you hiding inside? Get off the carriage, get off the carriage. Accept inspection!! "
His sister hurriedly poked her head out and took a look. She said happily, "We have arrived at Xingqing Prefecture!"
Xingqing? The patient hurriedly lifted the curtain and swept his eyes across.
Tall city walls, sturdy battlements, towering beacon towers, bustling hawkers, people coming and going, teahouses, green and red men and green women, mules and horses, all these appeared in front of him in an instant.
He had not heard such a sound for more than three months. It was so familiar. When the bustling sounds entered his ears, his whole body felt refreshed as if he had eaten a popsicle. His eyes instantly became moist. Xingqing Prefecture, I am back!
As he was feeling pleased with himself, he felt his sister hurriedly pull his sleeve and hide behind him angrily. He raised his head and saw the sentry in front of the carriage door staring blankly at his sister, saliva dripping down his face.
Although his sister was wearing a cloth dress and a braided hairpin with a thin veil covering her face, how could her voluptuous body and peerless beauty be concealed? The row of guards outside the carriage stared with their eyes wide open.
The patient instantly became furious, "What are you looking at?! If anyone looks at my wife again, I will dig his eyes out. Let me tell you, I have killed tens of thousands of people! "
Just you, a tuberculosis ghost?! The few soldiers were so happy that they burst into laughter. Looking at his sunken eyes, pale face, swaying body, and frail appearance, he looked exactly like a tuberculosis ghost. Not to mention killing people, even if he were to kill a chicken, he would probably make people sweat for him!
"Why are you so fierce? Even the Turks don't dare to be fierce in front of us! Get off the carriage, get off the carriage and accept the inspection. Beware of Hu spies sneaking into the city! "Xu Zhi Qing was good at commanding the troops. The soldiers under her were only joking around, but they did not dare to be presumptuous.
This was called a tiger that fell to the plains would be bullied by dogs. Since he wanted to be a deserter, he could only obediently get off the carriage and accept the inspection. Seeing his indignant expression, his sister suppressed her laughter and helped him down the carriage.
He weakly leaned on his sister and watched as the soldiers rummaged through the carriage. After a long time, they finally stopped and waved their hands to let them enter the city.
"Tuberculosis ghost! A beautiful flower stuck in cow dung! "One of the soldiers could not suppress the gloominess in his heart and snorted angrily.
Damn it, don't insert cow dung when offering flowers. Do you want me to insert cow dung into a flower? He was furious and was about to rush forward to reason with her. His sister smiled and pulled him back, saying tenderly, "I like cow dung like you!"
He laughed and retracted his hand, wrapping it around his sister's slender waist, "Really? I didn't expect my sister to have such a special hobby! Cow dung is good. Cow dung is nutritious and is specially used to nourish flowers. If someone wants to insert cow dung, they have to queue up, haha. "
Sitting in the carriage and entering the city, they could hear the endless hustle and bustle. There were shouts and hawkers everywhere. Young masters rode on white horses, and young ladies wore flowery clothes. Flowers wilted in pavilions, wine shops, and pavilions played music. Orioles sang and swallows danced. Men in red accompanied women in green, and mules accompanied horses.
After not returning to Xingqing for three months, the Spring City of the Great Wall was completely different from when he first came. China's elite troops had won several battles, and the Helan Mountain Pass was impregnable. Recently, they had captured the Khan and Right Prince of the Hu people. China was in an uproar, and Xingqing Prefecture had regained the feeling of a Spring City beyond the Great Wall. It was even more prosperous and lively than before, and there was a vague shadow of Jiangnan.
It had been three months, and he had finally returned to the world alive. Looking at a few sisters standing at the door not far away, twisting their bodies to attract customers, their crisp laughter drifted through the entire street.
It was such a familiar scene, and he was overwhelmed with emotions. He could not help but poke his head out, and frivolously whistled, "Hey, sister, what's the price for a full set?! The kind with Mister Horn! Sigh, this is my first time, and I'm very inexperienced. I don't know anything, can you give me a discount?! "
This is your first time today, right? The prostitutes swarmed forward, "Young master, it's my first time too. Half a tael of tea in the room, and two taels for the night, cheap and affordable. You're so dark, and you don't need to light a lamp. It saves money on oil, and I'll give you a discount of half a tael. One and a half taels of silver, and it's for the night! "
This damned person! His sister pricked his buttocks with a needle.
"Sister, I'm just teasing them." The patient pouted, feeling wronged, "I just want to find the feeling of being alive!"
His sister did not know how he felt, but jealousy was a woman's natural instinct. She had fallen into the mortal world, so how could she be immune? She could not help but snigger, and said angrily, "You are not allowed to say such explicit words to these women!"
"If I understand, I should tell you, sister!"
His sister's face turned red, but surprisingly, she did not object.
"Eh, tanghulu?!" The patient excitedly stretched out his head and waved his hand, "Boss, boss, how much is the tanghulu?!"
"Five copper coins for a skewer! Sorry, no bargaining. "
What a good 'sorry, no bargaining'! When I bought tanghulu with the Grand Mistress in Hangzhou, I bought three skewers for ten copper coins.
"Eight copper coins for two skewers, are you selling it? It's so hot, and the candies have melted. Don't even think about selling it tomorrow! If I buy it, it will stick to my teeth! "
"Hmm, you want two skewers? Okay, eight copper coins! "
"Who would be willing to pay for this sticky paste?! Sister, give him ten copper coins, and we'll buy three skewers! If not, we'll leave! "
…
"Sweet, right?!" The other two skewers.
It was her sister's first time eating this thing in her life. It was sour and sweet, and it was delicious. She licked it a few times, then stuffed it back into the patient's mouth, and said with a smile, "It was originally five copper coins for a skewer, but you bought three for ten copper coins. You paid more, and he bought more tanghulu. Who won?! "
"We're happy, and he and I both won!" The patient took a bite of the tanghulu, shook his head, and smiled. "Happiness is a feeling!"
"Little thief." His sister stared at him blankly, surprised and surprised. Suddenly, she kissed him on the cheek and said shyly, "I'm just like you, very happy!"
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