Snowflakes were falling, and the beginning of winter had come.
The snowflakes were falling in spirals, and when there was no wind, they looked especially gentle and beautiful.
On the court next to the observation platform, the palace maids were still kicking the ball excitedly, but the three main players of the imperial court team were not on the court.
Nowadays, Princess Taiping only occasionally came to relax. Her favorite was no longer the court, and her mind was no longer on those things.
Xiao Man was standing on the side of the court, but she just watched and did not join in.
Xiao Man was not on duty today. She was wearing a man's shirt, a soft-legged wig, a round-collared, narrow-sleeved robe, a leather belt around her waist, and a pair of black sheepskin boots. There was a valiant feeling in her graceful and pretty appearance, but her eyes did not have the excitement and joy that they had when she saw the court in the past.
Gao Ying, Lan Yiqing, and other close friends who were good friends with her all felt that the once cheerful and lively Xiao Man had changed. She became sad and sad. The snowflakes today somehow touched her feelings. She had originally agreed to go to the court, but when she walked to the court and saw the snowflakes falling from the sky, she suddenly lost interest.
Xiao Man was thinking about her Elder Brother. She remembered that winter, when it occasionally snowed, she and her Elder Brother hugged each other and hid in the broken temple to avoid the cold. In the end, the people sent to Guangzhou Prefecture didn't find her brother. Xiao Man didn't want to believe it, but she was really close to despair. She stared blankly at the figure running on the field, and foolishly thought, "Maybe, brother has already left the mortal world, and went to another world like mother."
At this time, Shanghai Wan'er walked over with light steps.
Wan'er was also wearing men's clothes, a headscarf, a stone blue cotton robe, and a leather belt around her waist. She looked free and at ease, her lips were like red paint, and her eyes were clear and bright. She was just like a charming, beautiful, and charming young man.
It was snowing. This was the first snow of this winter.
Wan'er's heart was like the light snowflakes, fluttering, very happy.
Yang Lang had said that when the plum blossoms, he would come back. Now that the snowflakes had bloomed, would the plum blossoms be far away?
Of course, Yang Lang had also said that at the very latest, it would not be later than the time when the peach blossoms bloom. But, that was just in case. Wan'er would rather believe that the person she yearned for day and night would soon return to Luoyang.
"Xiao Man, why are you standing here? Let's do some cuju."
Wan'er saw Xiao Man and called out to her with a smile.
Xiao Man shook her head and said, "Let's wait for the imperial edict. I'm not feeling well."
Wan'er was originally eager to try, but seeing her lonely face, she couldn't help but pull her hand and pull her to the side of the field. She picked up two praying mats, brushed away the snow on them, and placed them on the stone bench. She said to Xiao Man softly, "Come, sit down!"
The two of them sat on the praying mats. The new praying mats were soft and dry. At first, they felt slightly cold, but after a while, they warmed up.
Wan'er looked at Xiao Man and asked, "For a long time, I always felt that you were very unhappy. Is there something on your mind?"
Xiao Man shook her head, but her eyes suddenly turned red, and tears almost fell down. She hurriedly turned her head away.
Wan'er said, "If you have something on your mind, why don't you tell me? It's not good to keep it to yourself. I'm a few years older than you. Maybe I can help you make a decision."
Xiao Man sniffed and sadly said, "There are some things that no one can help with."
Wan'er gazed at her, her eyes like water.
Xiao Man was silent for a long time. Finally, she told Wan'er what was on her mind bit by bit. From the first time she met her Elder Brother, to the two of them relying on each other for survival, until they parted on the street, until she never forgot the promise from back then. She searched again and again, was disappointed again and again, and hoped again and again...
Wan'er listened to her story, and her eyes turned red.
After Xiao Man finished speaking, she said to Wan'er, "Wait for the imperial edict, do you think... my Elder Brother is no longer in this world?"
Wan'er did not directly answer her question. In Wan'er's view, this person was very likely to be no longer in this world. A beggar did not need to travel a long distance to beg for food elsewhere. In her view, this was not necessarily a bad thing for Xiao Man. A youth who was as pure as water in his childhood might grow up to be a dirty person with a heart full of filth.
A beggar, a man who grew up in a beggar's den, how noble could you expect him to be? If such a person had long forgotten the purity of his youth, but used a pure girl like Xiao Man, from then on attached to her like a leech, using the warmth and friendship of childhood to extract everything from her, how unfortunate would that be for Xiao Man?
Xiao Man saw that Wan'er did not answer, and her eyes turned red again.
Wan'er said softly, "Everyone has loved and cared for them, but no matter how great the sorrow and nostalgia, it will always gradually fade with the passage of time. Why do you always keep thinking about him? I feel... your nostalgia for him even exceeds that of your Mother?"
Xiao Man said in a daze, "It's not like that, it's just because... I know Mother has passed away, but Elder Brother is still alive!"
Wan'er sighed. She always felt that there was something wrong with Xiao Man's excessive obsession, but she could not tell what was wrong. The two of them sat quietly, and for a moment, they were a bit speechless. Only the quiet snowflakes fell silently, sprinkling on their eyebrows, their shoulders...
There was something called love in this world, but everyone's love had a different taste, and it happened differently. There was love at first sight, and there was love after a long time. There was passion, and there was calmness...
For Xiao Man, it was the accumulation of little by little. Bit by bit, it was treasured in her heart, and slowly fermented in the bottom of her heart. As she grew up, that stubborn, persistent, gentle, loving, and protective boy had actually been growing with her in the bottom of her heart.
That boy had always been her support, her only support. When she was young, it was only her Elder Brother. When she grew up, the image of that boy was also constantly repaired and perfected in her heart. Now, in the bottom of her heart, whether that image was family or love, in fact, she did not know.
At this time, Princess Taiping came, walking in high spirits.
She was wearing a scarlet feather cloak that was like blood, reflecting the graceful snowflakes in the sky, shimmering, revealing a valiant charm that made people's hearts beat faster.
Wan'er sighed in the bottom of her heart, and gently stood up.
She found that these days, not only had Xiao Man's temperament changed, but Princess Taiping had also changed. She became strange to her, and she did not want to get close to her.
But she did not realize that in fact, it was not only the two of them who had changed, she had changed no less than the two of them.
...
In the west of the river, heavy snow was swirling.
Thousands of miles of mountains and precipitous ridges were covered with white snow. In the valley where the snow was three feet deep, the stream that usually flowed had long been frozen into a dead snake. There was a hot spring here, but the temperature of the water was not high, and it could not play a role in such a raging cold. Under the ice, there was faint spring water flowing, but above it was a three-foot thick layer of ice.
In the valley, the biting cold wind whistled, and the whistling sound was like the mournful howling of a wolf on the top of the mountain. There was snow, and there was wind. The wind rolled up the snow, and the face was like a knife. Originally, the wind was invisible, but at this moment, the wind wrapped in snowflakes seemed to make people see its shape.
However, the special geographical environment of the Big Dipper Valley played a role in the end, so that the tribes stationed here could avoid the terrible harm to the tribes and livestock of the terrible White Disaster.
On the north and south sides were high mountains and precipitous ridges, which blocked the cold wind. On the east and west sides, there were high ice walls. The tribes of the steppe had invented this method long before the Han Dynasty. In the cold weather, they could use the frozen snow to quickly build high walls to block the wind, thus providing a certain protection against the cold.
The yurts surrounded by the two sides of the mountains and the two sides of the ice walls were grayish-white to begin with. Now that they were covered in a layer of snow, it was almost the same color as the ground. If one did not get close, they would not be able to tell that these were yurts. The thick layer of snow was in danger of collapsing the yurts, but it was not without its benefits. There was a certain amount of snow at the corners and roofs of the yurts, which could also seal all the gaps and keep the yurts as warm as possible.
The herdsmen in the tribe had cut down a large amount of wood from the mountains long before the cold winter came. They kept a fire in their tents from morning to night, keeping the tents warm and protected from the snowstorm outside.
Although they had done their best to protect the livestock sheds, some of the animals had still frozen to death. However, in such a large blizzard, this small amount of damage was negligible to them.
In Wu Zhile's tent, Yang Fan, Shen Mu, Wu Zhile, and the others were eating hotpot around the fire.
In this era, hotpot was called 'antique soup'. It was named after the sound of food being thrown into boiling water. The cooking utensil they used was a three-legged dipper. This dipper was originally a tool used by the army. During the day, it could be used for cooking, and at night, it could be used for night watch. The sound of the dipper referred to this item.
Within the dipper were thin slices of frozen cattle and sheep, as well as wild vegetables picked and dried in the summer and autumn, giving off a rich aroma. In front of each of them was a small plate with some seasonings. As they cooked the mutton and beef, they drank wine at the same time. It was a completely different world from the commotion outside the tent.
Since ancient times, it had been the best strategy for military strategists to employ.
Yang Fan had revealed himself to the Tibetan Minister of Internal Affairs in order to arouse his suspicions. Originally, Yang Fan had been worried that this move would not be enough to arouse the Tibetan King's wariness, so he had prepared a backup plan. Unexpectedly, this backup plan was no longer needed. The Tibetan King and Trinling had long been suspicious of each other. The sudden appearance of this' Turkic Prince 'in the Great Minister's residence, coupled with Big Bear's complaint on behalf of the Tuqishi tribe, had caused the Tibetan King to completely suspect Trinling's intentions.
Trinling's spy was no longer useful. No matter what kind of information was sent, Trinling could not convince the Tibetan King. Not only did the Tibetan King refuse to send troops, he even sent someone to escort Big Bear back to the Tuqishi tribe to negotiate their surrender.
One condition, one request. Time passed as the messengers traveled back and forth. When winter came, a huge weight was lifted off Uzhile's shoulders. In this season, even if the Tibetan King saw through his delaying tactic, he would not be able to launch a large-scale attack.
After confirming that their plan had succeeded, Yang Fan and the rest left the Tibetan capital. First, they headed in the direction of Sichuan. After making a detour, they found the 'Little Flying General' Zhang Yi's reinforcements. Zhang Yi had led his team of mounted bandits through Longyou, Hexi, the Turks and the Tibetans. He was very familiar with the geography of this area and had now safely brought them back to Big Dipper Valley.
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