"Your Highness, please have mercy on me." Ayang rushed to Zhou Zixi in a few steps and kowtowed desperately to beg.
"The prince escaped from Jin. If we send him back, he will die."
"Ayang." Prince Ang's always gentle voice sounded above her head.
Ayang lay on the ground with her eyes wide open. All she could see were the floor tiles in front of her and the dirt in the cracks between them.
Her fingers were digging into the cracks in the mud and were trembling slightly.
In fact, she knew it clearly in her heart.
It's over, sir. It's over.
As a group of death warriors who have lived in darkness since childhood, they know better than anyone what kind of person His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is.
"I am also helpless, Ayang. Zixi and I have known each other for many years. In fact, I feel worse than anyone else."
A light voice above his head reached Ayang's ears.
Two warriors with swords came over and kicked Ayang away.
Ayang watched as the two men pressed Zhou Zixi to the ground, and one of them raised a sharp knife.
She felt her ears buzzing, as if the whole world was buzzing.
Before she could figure it out, her body had already rushed forward uncontrollably. She pushed one of them away like crazy, then pulled out the dagger she carried with her and blocked the blade of the other man.
"Yang, what are you doing?" A thin and sturdy middle-aged man stood in the darkness behind Ji Ang. He stood with his hands behind his back and spoke coldly.
This man's name is Jie. He is the master who taught Ayang and other boys and girls since childhood.
When the voice that was engraved in her bones and made her fearful came, Ayang trembled subconsciously.
Before she could react, she was hit hard on the head, then kicked in the abdomen, and was kicked against the wall.
Ayang fell from the wall, she covered her stomach, spat out blood, and stopped moving.
Jie walked towards her with a gloomy face: "How many times have I told you that the fate of betraying the lord is only death!"
Zhou Zixi stretched out his hand to block Ayang. He took a breath and looked at Ji Ang: "Your Highness, let her go. I can do whatever you want with me. Please spare her life, please."
A bloody hand reached out from behind and grabbed Zhou Zixi's clothes.
"Sir, please don't beg me. I... can't do it anymore."
Zhou Zixi turned around and held the girl's hand tightly.
Although she deceived herself, she was the only person who gave her warmth when she fell into the darkest abyss.
I once thought about holding her hand and spending the rest of my life with her.
"Sir, don't be sad." Ayang crawled forward a step and raised his head. "My whole life, I have lived for the master's will. Only at this last moment, I lived for my own ideas."
"This feels... not bad."
She closed her eyes, and the tears from the corners of her eyes flowed onto Zhou Zixi's hands.
The tears were so hot, but the girl's young body turned cold in Zhou Zixi's hands.
…
Cheng Feng was sitting in the palace of Song State.
There were singing and dancing and clinking of glasses in the hall.
The palace is magnificent and splendid.
Compared with this, the palace of Jin Yuehou in Bianzhou is so simple that it is a bit shabby.
The host here, Duke Xiang of Song, was receiving the envoy from the State of Jin with great enthusiasm.
After the singing and dancing stopped, Duke Xiang of Song clapped his hands, and a ragged middle-aged man was pushed up into the hall.
The man was timid and as soon as he entered the hall, he lay on the ground in front of Cheng Feng's desk, trembling.
It took Cheng Feng a while to recognize the man with gray hair and haggard appearance.
It turned out to be his former master from his youth, Chu Yezhi.
Chu Yezhi secretly looked up and glanced at the person in front of him.
He saw that the slave, whom he once thought he could bully at will, was now sitting upright at the table.
He was wearing a bright crown with tassels, a crimson robe, and a majestic look. He was no longer the weak and pitiful boy in his impression.
Cheng Feng put down the golden cup in his hand, making a slight sound on the table.
Chu Ye was shocked, holding his head with his hands, trembling all over: "Don't hit me, don't hit me, spare me, spare me."
Duke Xiang of Song laughed and said, "I heard that this man had offended the noble envoy before. I was very angry and confiscated his property and demoted him to a commoner. Now he makes a living by carrying manure, living with that filth every day, and being bullied all the time. Today, I am afraid that he will stink the noble envoy, so I ordered someone to wash him first, and then bring him to the palace for General Cheng to punish."
After he finished speaking, he shouted, "What are you doing standing there? Why don't you kowtow to General Cheng and apologize for your crime?"
Chu Yezhi was obviously startled. He repeatedly bowed his head and cried without thinking, "It was all my fault in the past. Please spare my life, please spare my life."
Cheng Feng looked at the gray figure curled up in front of him.
The past scenes flashed through my mind.
At that time, I also lay on the ground, crying and begging desperately, while the master sitting behind the table turned sideways, hugged the gold in his arms, with a chilling look, and watched me being grabbed by the ankles by several noble young masters and dragged into a dark corner.
Cheng Feng closed his eyes. The pain that once overwhelmed him now became distant and blurred.
His heart was firm enough, and he only wanted to look at the smooth road ahead, no longer disturbed by the dark years of the past.
He took one last look at Chu Ye, clasped his fists and bowed to Duke Xiang of Song, "Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty. Let him go. Don't let such a villain ruin our fun."
Duke Xiang of Song waved his hand and had Chu Yezhi carried away, and raised his glass to toast: "General Cheng is indeed broad-minded, and I admire him very much."
After three rounds of drinking, Duke Xiang of Song took advantage of his drunkenness to bargain with Cheng Feng regarding the letter from the credential he brought.
"The Marquis of Jinyue defended Bianzhou alone and fought against the Quanrong army. I admire him. Logically speaking, our Song State should also do its part to resist these barbarians. However, these 50,000 dan of grain are too much, and it is difficult for our country to raise them in such a hurry. I hope General Cheng will tell the Marquis of Jinyue that our Song State can raise 20,000 dan of grain to lend to the Jin State to help the friendly country's military prestige."
Cheng Feng smiled faintly: "It's easy for me to talk, but I can't do anything about General Mo's temper. His 20,000 troops in Shaohuang are worried about the lack of food and clothing. Why don't you send someone to Shaohuang City on the border of the Song Dynasty to discuss it with General Mo?"
Mo Qiaosheng led an army of 20,000 and was stationed on the border between Song State and Bianzhou.
He broke through the border of Song State with lightning speed, and his cavalry almost reached 40 miles outside the capital of Song State.
Although he later led his troops back to Shaohuang and stationed there, he would send out cavalry to important border towns of the Song State every now and then to show off their military might and intimidate the people.
The garrisons of the various towns in Song State were frightened and closed their city gates like frightened birds. Emergency documents flew onto the desk of Duke Xiang of Song like snowflakes.
The nickname Mo Yanwang gradually spread in the State of Song.
When Cheng Feng said these words with a smile, his beautiful phoenix eyes curled up beautifully, revealing a charm in his masculinity.
If it were any other time, Duke Xiang of Song might have appreciated this beauty.
Now, he was so angry at this handsome but extremely sharp-tongued envoy from the State of Song that his teeth were itching.
It's not that he didn't understand Cheng Feng's blunt threat, but he was afraid of actually going to war with the State of Jin, which would put him in an embarrassing situation.
Cheng Feng said, "Now, one-third of our Han world has been occupied by the Quanrong, and even the capital has fallen into the hands of foreigners. If our Bianzhou is defeated by the Quanrong, won't Song be the first to bear the brunt? If you face the Quanrong cavalry head-on, the loss will be more than just tens of thousands of dan of grain. Why don't you donate generously now to help our Jin country and fight against foreign humiliation together?"
He half threatened and half gave an excuse.
Duke Xiang of Song relaxed his expression and walked down the stairs: "General, what you said makes sense. If that's the case, our country will do its part to resist the Quanrong. Please go back and tell the Marquis of Jin Yue that our country is willing to stand together with Jin and be friendly with them."
"I will convey your kindness." Cheng Feng stood up and bowed. "I was originally the left envoy of the Sikou Guards who guarded the palace. These military and political affairs are not my job. But a month ago, a slave that the master loved very much escaped from the palace. The master blamed me for not defending him well, so he punished me to run this errand. I heard that the escaped slave is now in the residence of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of Song."
As soon as he raised his hand, his attendants brought up five sheepskins.
"This is the price of the slave. I hope His Royal Highness the Crown Prince can part with it."
Five smelly sheepskins piled on the luxurious carpet in the hall were simply an irony.
Everyone in the hall knew that the ruler of Jin probably deeply hated Zhou Zixi, who had fled from Wei, so he used this humiliating transaction method to buy him back.
Prince Ang clapped his hands, and the guards outside the hall brought in a stretcher with a person on it. His hair was disheveled and he was covered with a thin blanket, with faint traces of blood under the blanket.
Cheng Feng took off his sword and used the scabbard to lift the man's chin, revealing Zhou Zixi's pale face.
"You ungrateful fellow, you dared to betray your master. You are courting death." Cheng Feng threw his hand and slashed Zhou Zixi's face with the sheath of his sword. "I should have let you run to death behind the carriage."
A wide red mark appeared on Zhou Zixi's cheek. He propped himself up, gritted his teeth and said nothing.
"Stand up and follow me."
Zhou Zixi supported his upper body and lay motionless on the stretcher.
Cheng Feng noticed something was wrong. He stepped to the side of the stretcher, lifted the thin blanket, and saw the pair of bloody ankles.
Cheng Feng raised his head abruptly and glared at Ji Ang who was sitting under Duke Xiang of Song.
Ji Ang said, "This man concealed his identity as a fugitive slave and came to me for more than a month. I didn't know the inside story and treated him with courtesy."
"Yesterday, I saw the letter from the empire and heard what General Cheng said. I learned that he had escaped from the Marquis of Jinyue. Since the Marquis of Jinyue was his master and treated him well, he should have been loyal to his master. But he escaped from me to enjoy a comfortable life and wealth, and almost put me in an unjust situation. I was furious and punished him a little."
"You cut off his leg meridians, making him a cripple. That's really a light punishment." Cheng Feng laughed in anger, "I heard that this man was a classmate of the Crown Prince when he was studying in Wei State, and he has been a close friend of the Crown Prince for many years. The Crown Prince is even more ruthless than me."
Ji Ang has always been known for being courteous to the wise and humble, and for being public-spirited and righteous.
He rarely reveals his ruthless side in front of outsiders.
Now he had no choice but to do it, but was exposed by Cheng Feng in public without any face.
He was furious and sat there with his face turning pale and blue.
Cheng Feng snorted coldly, ordered his men to lift Zhou Zixi up, and then said goodbye and left on the spot.
The author has something to say: Do you think cutting your hamstrings is stupid? Sometimes people just can't think that much at the moment. We can't say Pang Juan is a stupid person, right? Didn't he only cut off Sun Bin's legs but didn't chop off his head? Later, he was beaten by Sun Bin one after another, and he was surrounded by Wei to save Zhao and then by Wei to save Han. I'm afraid he must have been very upset. I guess in that era, people thought that if you disabled someone, that person would be useless from then on.