Jiang Deqing was a native of Zhao, and a guest official in the home of a big shot. However, there were many guests in the big shot's home, and he was nothing special. He had been a guest official for three years and had not been able to show up at the host's home to do anything important. Unlike many other guests who just wanted to make a living, Jiang Deqing wanted to really stand out one day and seek for great wealth.
He had always dreamed of being appreciated by a noble, and finally, he got the chance. The owner of the mansion told them that the master above wanted to control the grassland, and needed someone to sneak into the grassland to pass messages between the tribes and create some chaos when necessary.
Jiang Deqing was ecstatic after knowing who had the idea. He felt that money and power were within his reach. He came to the grassland from Zhao State with great excitement. He had wanted to sneak into the Wutu tribe and find a position in it at first, but unfortunately he could not get in despite all the hardships. The Wutu tribe was different from what Jiang Deqing had imagined. He thought it was just an ordinary tribe. Most people were illiterate and could not even recognize words. They must be easy to deceive. As a result, he was almost scared to death by a half-grown boy.
The young man was a member of the Wolf Riders of the Wutu tribe. He had raised and trained wolves since he was a child. He had a pair of sharp eyes that could see through people's hearts and had caught several spies with ill intentions. If Jiang Deqing had not run fast, he would have been caught in their hands long ago.
But it didn't matter. He went to the Bai tribe and instigated Ilede to oppose the Wutu tribe. He also made promises to the Bai people that the Bai people could move to Zhao State in the future. However, he overestimated his own capabilities and caused the Bai tribe to be destroyed prematurely. He himself was tied with a rope to the back of a horse and taken back to Wutu.
Wotu, the chief of the Wutu tribe who brought him back, became a wild man again when he got home. He thought about taking his wife away to learn horse riding and completely forgot about this man.
All the other captives had been arranged, except Jiang Deqing. The person in charge asked Na Risong about it. Na Risong had heard Jiang Deqing claim to be a Yin citizen and felt that it would be difficult for him to handle the matter, so he told Yin Ruxu.
Yin had so much time as Wo Tu that he seldom had any free time. It was only after two or three days that he was able to have Jiang Deqing brought up.
Jiang Deqing had not suffered much in the past few days. At least he had food and drink. He had calmed down from his initial panic and was thinking about what to do. When he heard that he was going to be taken to see Yin Ruxu, he was delighted. He thought that the Yin princess was said to be a gentle and weak noblewoman. Such women were soft-hearted and had no scheming. If he lied well, he might be able to fool her.
He was relieved, and when he saw Yin Ruxu, he was even more relieved. He decided to play mad and stupid, and rushed to her crying and begging: "Princess, please spare my life. I am innocent. I am a good citizen of Yin State. I was captured by the Bai people. I am not the same as them!"
Yin Ruxu had heard about his sneaky behavior among the Bai people that day, so he looked him up and down and asked him, "Are you from the caravan that was robbed and killed by the Bai people last time?"
Jiang Deqing climbed up the pole and nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes!"
He thought that the princess didn't know so much, and it was probably impossible for her to figure out his identity. As a result, Yin Ruxu waved and asked someone to bring a document over. "So what is your name? Where are you from? Why are you here to do business in the grasslands? Who are the three people who guarantee you in your hometown? What goods are you selling?"
Jiang Deqing didn't expect her to ask so many questions. When he saw the document in her hand, he found that it was the personnel document of the caravan. He couldn't help but curse in his heart why she prepared all this. If he said it was wrong, he would be exposed immediately, but he didn't know the names of the people in the caravan. He could only bite the bullet and make up a lie: "This... I was actually a smuggler. I encountered thieves and lost my goods on the way. I asked the caravan to take me with me, so I was not on the caravan list..."
Yin Ruxu put down the document and asked again: "Are you from Yin?"
Jiang Deqing insisted, "Yes, he is from Yin!"
Yin Ruxu said, "No, you are from Zhao."
Although her tone was gentle, it was very firm, like a thunderclap falling into Jiang Deqing's ears. He was shocked and puzzled, and didn't understand why the princess could tell her origins so easily.
Yin Ruxu said: "You are indeed from Zhao. It seems that you will not answer the questions I ask you truthfully."
Jiang Deqing's heart trembled, but he still shouted, "No, I am from Yin! I am really from Yin!" He was thinking, is she going to kill me? Then he heard Yin Ruxu ordering people to say, "Take him away and lock him up."
Just locked him up? That's not bad, she must have gone to confirm his identity, and it would take some time to go to Yin State and back, during which time he should be safe, if he could take the opportunity to send a letter, maybe someone would come to rescue him. Jiang Deqing comforted himself, and he also felt a little disdainful in his heart, thinking that women are indeed soft-hearted and soft-hearted, and it is difficult for them to achieve great things.
Yin Ruxu did not confirm Jiang Deqing's identity. After she had Jiang Deqing taken away, she told the guards, "Lock him in a small room that is too narrow to lie flat. Deliver him food once every three days and a bowl of water a day. No more than that. Also, no one is allowed to talk to him, not even a word."
The maids asked her curiously, "Princess, is this man really not from Yin? Is he a spy from Zhao?"
Yin Ruxu: “Yeah.”
The palace maids said: "Since he is a spy, it would be too easy to just lock him up. Why not just kill him?"
Yin Ruxu just shook his head and said nothing more. In this world, there are many things that are more unbearable than death. People who have not experienced it will not know how terrible this kind of imprisonment is.
This spy from Zhao State made Yin Ruxu's heartstrings, which had been gradually relaxed, tense up again. Why would Zhao State send a spy to the grassland at this time? Was this the only one? She felt that it was impossible for there to be only one.
…
"Are you saying that you suspect that Zhao has placed a large number of spies in the grassland?" Wo Tu heard Yin Ruxu say this in the tent at night, but he didn't take it seriously. He said nonchalantly, "This is my grassland. What use can a few small spies be?"
He is a very confident man and extremely proud, just like a wolf. However, this confidence can sometimes lead to his failure.
Yin Ruxu did not argue with him about the harm of a few Zhao spies, nor did she try to tell him what ambitions King Zhao Xu of Zhao had. She just calmly said to the man who raised his head proudly: "King Zhao wanted to marry me before, I guess he hasn't given up yet. My mother wrote to me saying that Zhao and Jin had united, and she wanted to pass through Jin to come to the grassland."
Wo Tu's attitude was no longer the same as before.
Just like animals, what can make them alert quickly is the enemy who tries to invade their territory and steal their spouse. Yin Ruxu has already figured out Wo Tu's personality and knows what to say to make him pay attention.
Sure enough, Wotu didn't say anything that night, but the next day he sent someone to send a letter to other small tribes. There were many tribes on the grassland. After Wutu unified, all "tribes" became "tribes", indicating their dependence. Wotu sent a letter to tell all tribes that because the number of caravans was increasing, in order to avoid the chaos of the Bai tribe before, all outsiders must come to Wutu to get their identity certificates.
In just a few days, a lot of spies were caught, not just from Zhao. No matter which country they were from, Yin Ruxu treated them the same way and imprisoned them like Jiang Deqing. These people didn't think there was anything wrong at first, but as time went on, some of them couldn't help but collapse, crying all day long. Those who had been unyielding and silent when they were caught before also begged the people guarding them.
But the guards, after receiving Yin Ruxu's instructions, completely ignored them.
"Princess, you guessed correctly. Jiang Deqing, who was imprisoned at the beginning, did know several of the people who came later. We asked someone to hide there and listen in the middle of the night, and indeed, we heard a lot of news!"
After hearing this, Yin Ruxu nodded and said, "Okay." There was nothing else to say.
She was quiet and only seemed lively when she was with Wo Tu. The maids watched, and from the beginning they complained that the Wo Tu elders were occupying the princess and taking her to do some inappropriate things, but now they were hoping that the Wo Tu chief would come earlier and take the princess out to have some fun.
"Xuxu, let's go. I'll take you to practice archery today." As soon as Wo Tu was mentioned, he came.
He was sweating again, probably just back from a horse patrol. He walked into the tent and gulped down the cooled tea that Yin Ruxu had given him, then helped her pick up the bow and arrow, wiped his hands, and walked out with her.
Yin Ruxu already knew how to ride a horse. Although she couldn't run fast, she could trot on the horse by herself. Seeing that she had learned to ride a horse, Wo Tu wanted to teach her archery. Yin Ruxu didn't mind. As long as Wo Tu was willing to teach, she would learn.
Now the two of them riding out together on horseback has become a daily sight in the tribe.
The bow that Yin Ruxu used was a small bow. Wo Tu could use this kind of bow when he was eight or nine years old, but Yin Ruxu's strength might not even be as good as when he was eight or nine years old. For the time being, he could only use this bow.
"We will practice here today." Wo Tu stood beside Yin Ruxu and demonstrated to her, then corrected her posture, first helped her get the feel, then let her try it herself. He sat cross-legged beside the princess and watched her practice archery. Her palm-sized white face was full of seriousness. She shot an arrow crookedly, then put down the bow, and ran over to pick up the arrow that had been tilted to the side. He thought this woman was so cute.
Yin Ruxu practiced for a while and sat down to rest. Wo Tu took her hand and rubbed her red fingertips. "I'll make you a pair of leather finger gloves. You won't get that way if you wear them."
Wo Tu can make a lot of things. Like most men on the grassland, he is used to making all kinds of tools by hand, especially small things, which he is very good at. It's strange that this man knows nothing about taking care of himself, but he seems to be born to take care of Yin Ruxu.
The small leather boots that Yin Ruxu wore for riding were made of leather that he had tanned, making it tough and strong. Before, Yin Ruxu's thighs were rubbed red from riding a horse, so he made a saddle pad for him, which helped a lot after it was buckled on the saddle. In addition to these, he also made a dagger for Yin Ruxu with his own hands, and the blade was sharpened for a long time. Even with Yin Ruxu's strength, he could easily separate sheep bones and mutton with that dagger.
But this dagger is not just for her to cut food, it is a sharp dagger that can really kill people.
He taught Yin Ruxu how to ride a horse and shoot arrows, and he felt sad when he saw the injuries on her body. But even though he felt sad, he never told Yin Ruxu to stop learning.
Yin Ruxu was a princess, and her body had never suffered any hardship. Her arms were sore and weak from pulling the bow that she couldn't even lift anything. She was too tired to talk. Wo Tu took out a furry lazy mouse from a hole nearby and gave it to her to rub a few times to relieve the pain in her hands. It was very effective.
When they got back, Yin Ruxu couldn't even pick up the meat pie on the plate, so Wo Tu held a meat pie in each hand, ate one himself, and passed the other to Yin Ruxu's mouth for her to eat. He took a big bite and ate half of the pie, his cheeks bulged with a big piece, while Yin Ruxu only took a small bite of the pie, and she was very delicate and took a long time to eat a small piece.
Wo Tu looked at him and laughed, "Hahahaha, you are just like a lazy mouse!"
Yin Ruxu opened his mouth and bit his finger.
Wo Tu: “…”
Yin Ruxu: "I didn't see clearly and bit the wrong one." She pretended that her eyesight was not good and continued to eat the cake.
Wo Tu: ... Damn, it’s all hard.
The author has something to say: It’s like this, even if you think your wife is as cute as a lazy mouse, you cannot praise your wife for being like a lazy mouse.