In the spring of the 13th year of the Tianqi era of the Tang Empire, it rained in the City of Wei.
This military border city was located at the northwest end of the vast territory of the Tang Empire. In order to prevent the barbarians from the grassland from invading, the four earthen walls were built very thick, looking like a solid earthen enclosure.
In the dry season, the dust on the earthen walls would be blown away by the northwest wind, and then fall on the simple barracks and the soldiers. The whole world would be covered with earthen yellow dust. When people shook their bedding at night, it would cause a sandstorm.
During the spring drought, the rain came at the right time, and was warmly welcomed by the soldiers. Since last night, the rain had washed away the dust on the roofs, and seemed to have brightened people's eyes.
At least Ma Shixiang's eyes were very bright at this time.
As the highest military officer in the City of Wei, he was very humble at this time. Although he was a little dissatisfied with the yellow muddy footprints on the expensive carpet, he managed to cover up his dissatisfaction into a trace of surprise.
He bowed respectfully to the old man in a dirty robe beside the short table, and asked in a low voice, "Dear boss, is there anything else that the noble in the tent needs? If the noble insists on leaving tomorrow, I can send a team of 100 guards to accompany her at any time. I will make a record and send it to the Military Ministry immediately."
The old man smiled gently, pointed at the figures in the tent, and shook his head to show that he had no objection. At this moment, a cold and proud woman's voice came from the tent, "No need. Just mind your own business."
This morning, after the caravan rushed into the City of Wei in the rain, it did not take Ma Shixiang long to guess the identity of the noble in the caravan. Therefore, he did not have any objection to the arrogant indifference of the other party.
The person in the tent was silent for a moment, and suddenly said, "From the City of Wei to the capital, the road around the Min Mountain is difficult to travel. It seems that the rain will continue for some time, and maybe some mountain roads will be washed away … Find me a guide from the army."
Ma Shixiang was startled, and thought of a hateful guy. After a moment of silence, he lowered his head and replied, "There is a ready-made candidate."
…
…
Outside the barracks, the lieutenants looked at each other with different expressions on their faces. Some were regretful, some were reluctant, some were glad, and some were shocked. However, it was obvious that none of them had expected Ma Shixiang to choose that person to be the noble's guide.
"General, are you really going to let him go just like that?" a lieutenant asked in surprise.
The City of Wei was not big, and there were no more than three hundred soldiers and officers. The military camp was far away from the bustling area, and sometimes it was more like a bandit's den. The so-called general was just a deputy general of the lowest rank. However, Ma Shixiang was very strict in managing his army, or in other words, the leader of the Wei Gang liked to be called General. Therefore, his subordinates didn't dare to forget to add the word General in their daily conversations.
Ma Shixiang wiped the rainwater off his face and looked at the yellow-brown puddles around the barracks. He sighed and said, "We can't keep him in this desolate place forever. The recommendation letter has been here for almost half a year, and he has a bright future ahead of him. Anyway, he's going to the capital for the Academy's preliminary examination, and it's just in the same direction as that noble's team. Let's do him a favor."
"I don't think that noble will appreciate it …" the lieutenant answered angrily.
The door of the barracks behind them was pushed open, and a pretty maidservant walked out. She looked at Ma Shixiang and the lieutenants and said coldly, "Take me to see that guide."
As the personal maidservant of the noble, she didn't hide her slight arrogance in front of the frontier generals of the imperial court.
The gatekeeper of the prime minister, the personal maidservant of the noble, and the guest of the prince were all troublesome roles in the officialdom. They were the most troublesome ones in the officialdom. Ma Shixiang really didn't want to deal with these kinds of people. After a few casual words, he waved his hand to summon a lieutenant and ordered him to take the maidservant of the noble to find the guide.
The rain had stopped for a while, and the City of Wei looked especially fresh after the light rain. Along the road, there were a few willows blooming with spring green. However, although the scenery was good, the city was too small. After a few steps, the captain led the maidservant to their destination, which was a simple but lively barracks.
Hearing the noise, curses, and orders coming from the door, the maidservant slightly frowned, thinking that someone dared to drink in the military camp in broad daylight? The curtain was blown up by the wind, and the sound inside suddenly became clear. It was indeed a finger-guessing game, but not a proper drinking game. Hearing the order, the maidservant's pretty face flushed with shame and anger, and she secretly clenched her fists in her sleeves.
"Let's play the lecherous finger-guessing game! Who is lecherous, you are lecherous! Who is lecherous, I am lecherous! Who is lecherous, he is lecherous! … "
The dirty orders came back and forth, and the noise was endless. After a long time, there was no winner. The maidservant, who looked more and more annoyed, lifted a corner of the curtain and looked inside with an extremely unfriendly look. At first glance, she saw a young man at the square table.
The young man was about fifteen or sixteen years old, wearing a standard cotton shirt commonly seen in the army. The front of the cotton shirt was full of oil stains, and his black hair was a little curly and oily, either naturally or because he had not washed it for several years. But his face was very clean, so his eyebrows and eyes were particularly clear, and so were the freckles on his cheeks.
"Who is lecherous, you are lecherous!"
Contrary to the dirty finger-guessing game, the young man's expression was particularly focused and serious. Not only was there not the slightest hint of lechery, but even his eyebrows revealed a bit of holiness and loftiness. His right hand kept making rock-paper-scissors gestures in front of him. His fists were like the wind, and his knives were full of killing intent. It seemed that winning or losing this finger-guessing game was more important than his own life.
A few green-headed flies that had survived in the harsh environment of the northwest and possessed strong vitality were trying to land on the front of the young man's cotton shirt that was stained with oil, but they were always driven away by the wind generated by his fists.
"I won!"
The long finger-guessing game, which seemed to squeeze all the air out of the lungs of the two people at the table, finally came to an end. The black-haired young man waved his right arm hard, announcing his victory. He smiled very happily, and a lovely dimple appeared on his left cheek.
The young man's opponent refused to admit defeat, insisting that the young man changed his game when he called who was lecherous, so the room suddenly fell into a fierce quarrel. The soldiers watching the game on the side all had their own sides, and no one could convince the other. At this moment, someone shouted, "As usual, listen to Sangsang!"
Everyone turned to look at the corner of the room. There, a girl around eleven or twelve years old was moving a bucket of water. She was short and skinny, with dark skin and ordinary eyes. The maid uniform on her body, which her master had stolen from somewhere, was obviously a little too loose. The hem kept dragging on the ground. It was obvious that it was very strenuous for her to move a bucket that might be even heavier than her.
The little handmaiden named Sangsang put down the bucket and turned around. The soldiers looked at her nervously, like the rich guests in the casino waiting for the dealer to open the final big or small, and it was obvious that this was not the first time such a scene had happened.
The little handmaiden frowned and glanced at the young man, and then looked at the indignant soldier across the table. She said seriously, "In the twenty-third round, you used scissors, and he used fists. But you said he was lecherous, so you had already lost at that time."
There was a roar of laughter in the room, and the crowd dispersed. The soldier cursed as he handed over the money. The young man happily took the money, wiped his hand on the grease stains on his chest, and then patted the soldier on the shoulder to express his sincere consolation.
"Don't think too much. In the whole City of Wei … no, in the whole world, who can beat me, Ning Que?"
The maidservant's face was very ugly, and so did the captain who had been standing beside and secretly watching her. He grabbed the curtain with his hand and took a deep breath. When he was about to cough, he was stopped by the fierce eyes of the maidservant.
In order to stop the captain from disturbing the young man, the maidservant followed the young man and the maidservant out of the barracks. Along the way, she observed them silently. The captain did not know what she wanted to do, and had to think that she was a cautious and weird person who was close to a noble.
Along the way, the teenager named Ning Que did not show anything special. He bought some food and greeted the fat auntie in the tavern by the street. He seemed to be very relaxed. The only thing that made the maidservant feel strange and made her face turn uglier and uglier was that the skinny maidservant was struggling to drag the bucket behind him, but the teenager did not have the slightest intention of helping.
The empire was a country with a strict social class, but the people were simple. Even in the gloomy and flashy capital Chang 'an, even the most indifferent nobleman could not watch a weak girl of eleven or twelve years old struggle so hard without being moved.
"Soldiers are allowed to keep maidservants in the army?" The pretty maidservant suppressed her anger and asked the captain beside her.
The captain scratched his head and answered, "A few years ago, there was a great drought in Hebei Province. Countless refugees rushed to the south and the border counties. There were dead people everywhere. I heard that Sangsang was picked up by Ning Que from the dead bodies. Ning Que was also an orphan. Since then, they have been relying on each other."
"Later, he signed up for the army, and the only condition was to bring this little girl into the City of Wei." He glanced at the maidservant and carefully explained, "We all know that this kind of thing is not allowed in the army, but their situation is a little special. We can't force a little girl into a dead end, so we … don't see it."
Hearing this explanation, the maidservant's face became a little better. However, when she saw Ning Que holding half a roast chicken and the little handmaiden dragging the bucket a few meters behind him, her mood became bad again. She said coldly, "This is not relying on each other. He obviously wants that girl's life."
The City of Wei was indeed very small. Soon, the four of them came to a house in the south. There was a small stone platform outside the house, surrounded by a simple fence. The maidservant and the captain stood outside the fence and looked in.
The little handmaiden moved the bucket, which was half her height, to the side of the water tank with difficulty. Then she stood on the stool next to the tank and poured the water into the tank with all her strength. Then, she began to wash the rice and vegetables. While she was steaming the rice, she took a rag and began to wipe the tables, chairs, and doors. Not long after, a mist rose and shrouded her thin body.
Although it had rained last night, the rain was not heavy enough. The dirt on the doors and windows had not been washed away. Instead, it had turned into ugly muddy water stains. These muddy water stains were quickly removed by the little handmaiden's wiping cloth. The small courtyard of the house suddenly became clean and bright.
Obviously, she did these housework every day, and she seemed to be very skilled and fast. The little black handmaiden, who was still a child, was as busy as an ant, running around like a servant. She was so tired that she was sweating and her face was red, which looked a little funny and pitiful …
The guy named Ning Que obviously lacked these two emotions. He was lying on a bamboo chair quietly or comfortably, with an old book in his left hand and a hard branch in his right hand. Occasionally, when he was lost in thought, he threw the branch in his hand casually and stretched out his palm to the air. After a while, a pot of hot tea was put on his palm.
The soldiers in the City of Wei had long been used to the daily life in this small courtyard, so they did not feel strange. But the eyes of the noble maidservant standing outside the fence gradually became cold. Especially when she saw the little handmaiden was busy cooking and cleaning, she dared not forget to pay attention to the request of the young soldier and was ready to make tea, pour water, and massage his back and legs at any time. The frost on her face became heavier, as if it was about to freeze.
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