The person who brought meals to Cheng Qianye every day was an elderly veteran with a haggard face, a thin figure and a taciturn personality.
When it was time for dinner, he would pass the food in through the door with his dry hands and take back the tableware from the previous meal. During this process, no matter what Cheng Qianye asked him, he remained silent.
This time, when he handed the food in, before he could withdraw his hand, his wrist was grabbed by Cheng Qianye.
"Please help me bring some food to the slave in the stable." Cheng Qianye made his request immediately without waiting for him to break free.
A warm jade pendant was stuffed into the hand that was rough and deformed from working all day.
Cheng Qianye held his hand and whispered through the door, "Please, find him something to eat. He is also a life. It is not difficult. Please."
The hand hesitated for a moment, and finally closed its fingers and hid the jade pendant into the sleeve.
Cheng Qianye leaned on the window railing and looked out.
After a while, the old soldier was finally seen coming to the stable with a bowl.
He looked around to make sure no one was noticing, then he lifted up Mo Qiaosheng's face and fed him the bowl of liquid food.
He whispered something in Mo Qiaosheng's ear, hurriedly put away the bowl and left.
Mo Qiaosheng raised his head and his eyes met Cheng Qianye in the window.
Cheng Qianye put his hands around his mouth and mouthed a few words.
Cheer up, Qiaosheng!
Although he knew that Mo Qiaosheng couldn't hear, Cheng Qianye believed that he would understand what he meant.
Mo Qiaosheng looked at her for a moment, then turned away.
A thick yellow of fallen leaves rose between his beautiful blue, representing the color of anxiety, guilt and powerlessness.
This little fool feels guilty for not being able to protect me. Cheng Qianye thought. Even though he is in such a situation, he still only cares about me, his lord.
I must find a way to escape from here and not let Qiao Sheng get hurt again.
Cheng Qianye began to observe the environment outside the window carefully. She found that the room where she was imprisoned belonged to a magnificent palace complex and was located in a corner outside the building.
There is a high possibility that he is currently in the palace of Yao Hong, the king of Wei.
Servants were constantly coming and going in the stables opposite, leading out or returning all sorts of famous and handsome horses.
Sometimes some nobles in gorgeous clothes would come to the stables in person.
Among them, a young woman caught Cheng Qianye's attention.
She never wore complicated attire such as the curved-hem skirt that was common among women at that time, but usually wore a neat and tight-fitting Hu costume.
Whenever he appears, he acts ostentatiously and with great fanfare.
She would often go to the stables in person, pick out a horse she liked, have the groom lead it out, then she would mount the horse and lead the group away.
Cheng Qianye heard people respectfully calling her Princess Tianxiang.
Among the memories inherited by Cheng Qianye, there are memories about this princess. She is the only biological sister of Duke Heng of Wei, Yao Hong, Yao Tianxiang.
Princess Tianxiang was once married to Duke Zhuang of Lu from a neighboring country. However, less than a year after the marriage, Duke Zhuang of Lu, who was over 50 years old, died of illness.
Duke Heng of Wei's mother, Lady Ji, could not bear to see her only daughter become a widow at such a young age, so she brought her back to Wei with the intention of choosing another good husband for her.
Cheng Qianye leaned against the window, quietly watching the woman in red who was jumping off the horse.
The beautiful woman handed the reins to a young groom, and while the horse's body blocked everyone's view, she reached out and pinched the buttocks of the muscular young man.
The man lowered his head, blushed, and led the horse away.
This is the third one, Cheng Qianye thought, the third man who was emitting pink bubbles towards the princess.
Interesting, maybe I can try to find a breakthrough from this princess.
She sat in front of the guzheng in the house, tuned the strings, calmed down, and played a song "The Phoenix Seeks the Phoenix" with her fingers flying.
There was no movement at the door.
Cheng Qianye continued to work hard and played a song called "Longing" with all his heart. But it still didn't work.
Finally, she had an idea and played the theme song of "Swordsman", "A Laugh in the Ocean".
A moment later, a woman's cold voice came from outside the door: "Open the door."
The guard at the gate said in panic: "Princess, this person is..."
"Get out! I want to go in. Do you dare to stop me?"
With a bang, the door was opened from the outside and a bright woman in red walked in.
She tapped the whip in her hand, sat down on a chair, and looked at Cheng Qianye with a smile.
"Tell me, what's the matter with bringing me here?"
Cheng Qianye stood up, straightened his clothes, and bowed respectfully.
"I occasionally see the princess's face and am amazed at her beauty. I will sing a song to ask your heart and invite you to meet her to ease your longing for me."
"You play the piano well, but your words are fake." Yao Tianxiang's beautiful lips curled up, "I suggest you just say whatever you want to say. I don't have time to waste here with you."
Cheng Qianye raised his head and went straight to the point: "I heard that Duke Heng of Wei intends to choose a husband for the princess. I am not talented enough, but I am ashamed to be the king of Jin State. I intend to marry the princess and make the friendship between Jin and Wei last forever."
Yao Tianxiang sneered: "You are now a prisoner, how dare you talk about marrying me?"
"That is why I want to borrow the princess's power to free both you and me."
"What do you mean?"
Cheng Qianye said: "I like men and women, and I don't like women."
"How dare you! Since you like men, how dare you ask me to marry you!" Yao Tianxiang was furious.
"When I look at the princess, I see that she is so beautiful and radiant like the sun in the sky. I guess that the princess is different from ordinary women. She is willing to be inferior to men and several women share one man." Cheng Qianye observed her expression and said slowly.
"I admire the princess's appearance only because I love beautiful things. If you and I get married, not only will I not need you to pretend to be nice to me, I can also completely ignore your private affairs."
Yao Tianxiang rolled his eyes and remained silent.
Cheng Qianye continued: "As a princess, you will have to marry again sooner or later. The person you marry must be a prince of a certain region. Maybe an old man, or at least a man with many wives and concubines. Is there a better choice than me?"
"If the princess is willing to return to Jin with me, I will set up a princess's mansion just for you. I don't like women and will never get entangled with you. At that time, whether you like a guard, a groom, or anyone else, I will not interfere with you."
"What nonsense are you talking about!" Yao Tianxiang's face darkened. "You want me to believe you with empty words. How can I know that you won't turn against me after you've used me?"
Cheng Qianye smiled. She sat down next to Yao Tianxiang and said, "Princess, you see, the relationships between people are actually all about taking advantage of each other. Any promises and guarantees I make to you are not as reliable as real benefits."
"You are the princess of Wei. You just need to marry into my Jin State with this identity." She stretched out her white palm and gestured lightly, "I will marry you back, but it will only take a luxurious house and fine clothes to settle you down. It won't be a big deal for me."
"With you, our two countries, Jin and Wei, are close relatives. I paid a little money and got such a great benefit. How could I be so cruel to you?"
"Even if there is a conflict between our two countries in the future, you are just a woman, you are not a threat to me, and you have helped me before, so why should I make things difficult for you?"
Cheng Qianye leaned close to Yao Tianxiang's ear and whispered, "You will never have to compromise yourself again and try to please a man you don't like. From now on, you will get the freedom you really want."
This last sentence cut deep into Yao Tianxiang's heart.
She bit her lip and looked at Cheng Qianye: "Do you really like men?"
Cheng Qianye spread his hands, approached Yao Tianxiang, and pointed at Mo Qiaosheng at the stable outside the door, "That one. That's the person I like."
Yao Tianxiang stretched her head and looked for a while: "He has a good appearance and figure, and his taste is not bad. I don't like the kind of men who are timid and showy the most."
She stood up and patted the whip in her hand: "What you said really touched me. But I may not be able to make the decision. Let me go back and think about it carefully."
Cheng Qianye breathed a sigh of relief.
When Yao Tianxiang was about to leave, Cheng Qianye stopped her and said, "Your Highness, can you do me a favor first?"
Yao Tianxiang raised her eyebrows.
Cheng Qianye bowed his head and saluted sincerely and respectfully, "He is injured, has nothing to eat or drink, and is tied up there without rest. Qianyu would like to ask the princess to raise a hand and give him a hand."
Yao Tianxiang stood at the door frame and looked back at her: "You look like this, which makes people believe you a little more. I hope you are really not a heartless and ungrateful person as you show."
Not long after Yao Tianxiang left, Cheng Qianye saw two servants coming towards him from the window. They untied Mo Qiaosheng and placed him on a pile of thatched grass in the woodshed.
Although he was still tied up, there was a roof to protect him from the wind and rain and space for him to lie down, which was much better than the previous situation.
Some people even brought him simple drinking water.
Watching Mo Qiaosheng slowly prop himself up and eat, Cheng Qianye finally let out a long sigh of relief.
Cheng Qianye waited for two days, and finally one day the door of the room opened, and several servants came in one after another, bringing her gorgeous and clean clothes, asking her to bathe and change clothes, and then led her to see Duke Heng of Wei.
Yao Hong, Duke of Weiheng, was a handsome man with a square face, high eyebrows, a white face and a beard. When he saw Cheng Qianye, he walked up to him with a big laugh and said, "It's a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding. I'm sorry that you have been wronged."
"I was away from the palace these few days, and the soldiers below were ignorant and dared to detain the Marquis. It is really hateful, and I have ordered them to be severely punished. I am here to apologize to the Marquis, and I hope you will forgive me."
Cheng Qianye smiled and said, "Brother, why do you say that? If you hadn't saved me, I would have died in the wilderness. I am so grateful to you, how dare I say anything surprising."
Yao Hong laughed loudly and pulled Cheng Qianye's wrist: "Brother, you are so broad-minded, I am very happy. Come, come, I have prepared a banquet in the hall to calm you down."
So the two of them came to the hall hand in hand, sat down as host and guest, called each other brothers, drank and talked happily, and soon the atmosphere became familiar and lively.