Time seemed to stop at that moment. When Mu Chun came to his senses, Hu Shanwei was almost at the gate of the military camp.
Mu Chun climbed over the railing, jumped off the stage, ran after Hu Shanwei, and shouted loudly: "Shanwei—"
He wanted to say "sister" but then he remembered that this was the notorious Yingyang Guard, full of teenage scoundrels with acne all over their faces who were willful and impulsive and wanted women whenever they had free time, so he swallowed the word "sister" and called out instead: "Brother Shanwei! Wait for me!"
Of course Hu Shanwei would ignore him.
The Yingyang Guard was unattended, and Hu Shanwei passed through the gate smoothly. When she was about to get on the carriage, Mu Chun rushed over like a broken hound and grabbed her wrist tightly.
"Let go." Hu Shanwei did not turn around. He did not want to see him shirtless, with his pants up to his hips, looking like a slut.
Mu Chun listened to Sister Shan Wei the most, so he quickly let go and explained: "Things are not what you see, I am not that kind of person. In a big jar like Yingyang Guard, even if I am a piece of gold, I have to disguise myself as a salted radish and become the same as them, otherwise they will not respect me at all and think that I am just here to gain experience."
"Is the only way to go is to go along with the crowd? You are clearly making excuses!" Hu Shanwei is an unmarried woman. Although she is already a twenty-year-old "old woman" in the eyes of the secular world, she is still ignorant about matters between men and women. Today, she was really frightened by Mu Chun's words and deeds, and felt that the hands holding her wrists were dirty.
"How can I go along with them?" Mu Chun said, "I must be more vile and shameless than them to keep them in check, at least on the surface."
Hu Shanwei was furious and didn't want to talk to him. He got on the carriage and urged the driver: "Let's go."
In desperation, Mu Chun grabbed her wrist again. At this time, the coachman cracked the whip and the carriage moved forward. Hu Shanwei was pulled by Mu Chun and could not stand steadily at the door of the carriage, and immediately fell backwards!
The driver was shocked, but it was too late to stop the car.
Hu Shanwei fell off the shaft of the cart and landed in Mu Chun's arms without touching the ground. His left cheek was still pressed against Mu Chun's chest, which exuded a mixed smell of sweat, a faint smell of blood, a smell of soil from the ring, and some kind of body odor that the young man could not describe, like the smell of wet grass after a drizzle.
When Mu Chun caught up with him, he didn't have time to put on his shirt, or even pull up his pants or tighten his belt. At this moment, Shan Wei's hands were stuck in the deep dimple between the waist and hips. With his five fingertips, he could feel the muscles at the tip of the buttocks suddenly tighten and become as hard as a piece of iron.
Hu Shanwei was extremely angry. She stood up and slapped him. Still not satisfied, she pushed his chest with both hands. Mu Chun fell to the ground like a piece of rag, limp, as if his soul had been pulled out, leaving only a body that could be slaughtered at will.
When the captain tore off the shirt on the target and rushed over, he saw a carriage speeding past and Lord Mu lying on the road with a dazed expression.
"Help come! There's an assassin!" Captain Shi shouted loudly.
Unfortunately, the people of Yingyang Guard ignored him, thinking that the assassin had come at the right time and would have stabbed the shameless Lord Mu with eighteen bloody holes.
Baihu pulled Mu Chun up and put clothes on him. When he was about to tie the belt on his left chest, Mu Chun slapped him away and said, "Don't touch my chest."
How can others touch the place where Sister Shanwei’s face just touched
Captain Shi was puzzled. "Was it Hu Dianzheng who beat him? How come Lord Mu couldn't even beat Hu Dianzheng? I didn't realize Hu Dian was a martial arts master!"
Mu Chun said, "Hurry up and bring me a horse. I want to go after Sister Shanwei."
Yingyangwei is located in a remote area with only one straight road. It is not difficult for Mu Chun to catch up with the carriage on horseback. He rode his horse parallel to the carriage and said in a nagging voice: "Sister Shanwei, this is how the military camp is. You and I are close friends. I don't want to lie to you. I'm just telling you the truth. The truth is hard to hear, but I don't want to lie to you."
In the carriage, Hu Shanwei didn't say a word, but just wiped his left face with a handkerchief. The skin was almost broken, and the smell from Mu Chun was still lingering.
Mu Chun outside the window said again: "Life is about practicing one mask after another. Some are gentle and obedient, some are polite, and some are ferocious and mean. You have to wear a mask to protect yourself in different occasions. Just like the Bodhisattvas in the temple, some have kind eyes and some have angry eyes. Everyone performs their duties and has their own role. Sister Shanwei, don't you agree?"
Mu Chun's eloquence has improved a lot this month. Hu Shanwei poured some cold tea into the handkerchief and continued to wipe his face.
Mu Chun added: "Sister Shanwei, you were just scared by one of my masks, but I am still me. I have changed my shell, but the soul inside has not changed. You have to believe me."
I don't believe it!
Hu Shanwei ignored him and Mu Chun shamelessly continued to follow the carriage. When they arrived at a jewelry store, he suddenly remembered something.
Ah, I was so busy these days that I forgot to get that thing!
With that thing, the relationship between me and Sister Shanwei might still be salvaged!
Hu Shanwei changed into a female official's dress and put on a black gauze hat in the carriage. After she was ready, there was no sound of horse hooves or Muchun's chattering by the window.
Hu Shanwei felt inexplicably lost. When they met again, they would probably just be familiar strangers.
It turned out that in the end, she was still alone, and there were no confidants or friends at all.
The driver stopped the car at the Jinyiwei Yamen. Hu Shanwei paid the fare and walked into the Yamen.
Ji Gang had already moved the documents sent by various post stations from his neighbor, the Ministry of Public Administration. Hu Shanwei copied out the location of every post station where Liu Siyan had stopped, marked them all with a red pen on a map, forming a zigzag route map, and marked the arrival and departure times with small pieces of paper.
Judging from the movements at the post stations, Liu Siyan and his group of more than 70 people took 27 days to travel from Nanjing to the southwest. Due to bad weather such as heavy summer rains, they stayed at five post stations for about two days each and set off again when the weather cleared up.
So it actually took only seventeen days to reach Xi'an, which was considered fast. Liu Siyan did not stop to enjoy the scenery or visit relatives and friends. Everything he did was aimed at completing the task of bestowing the book, without any distractions.
Just as Cao Shanggong said, Liu Siyan was a cautious person who did things properly. Even though she complained about Hu Shanwei because she was jealous of her promotion to the next level right after entering the palace, and deliberately embarrassed her at the wine table, Liu Siyan took Hu Shanwei's request to her to heart and never relaxed for a moment.
Looking at the route on the map, Hu Shanwei suddenly felt respect for Liu Siyan, with whom he had not spent much time together.
After figuring out the way to go, they began to plan their way back. According to the news from the Qin/Wang Mansion, Liu Siyan and his party were warmly received by the palace. The King of Qin and the Princess let them stay in Xi'an for three days, and they visited all the local scenic spots and historical sites.
Xi'an is the ancient capital of 13 dynasties and is much larger than Nanjing. Liu Siyan and his group spent three days there and left Xi'an on the eighth day of the eighth lunar month, which was the birthday of Queen Ma, and began their return journey.
The King of Qin and his wife personally saw them off and entrusted Liu Siyan to bring generous gifts to the Emperor and Empress to show their filial piety. A total of twenty cars were loaded with gifts.
Liu Siyan and his entourage marched back home in a mighty procession, passing through two post stations. They stayed at the Zhuoying County post station the next night, set off early the next morning, and then disappeared. There was no news from the following post stations that they would receive them.
Hu Shanwei looked at the map of Zhuoying County, which was more than 160 miles away from Xi'an. It was a remote place with many mountains and rivers, complex terrain and few people.
Mao Xiang, the commander of the Jinyiwei, frowned. "Poor mountains and bad waters breed unruly people. According to the information from the Ministry of Public Security, there have been many bandits in this area, just like leeks, which grow again after being cut. I think Liu Siyan and his men are likely to have been killed by those daring bandits."
Even Hu Shanwei felt that Liu Siyan had met with an unexpected disaster. Anger surged in his heart, and he said, "The last time Jiang Quan and I went out, nineteen of your Jinyiwei died, and only Ji Gang survived. Lord Mao was furious and ordered Mu Chun to lead three hundred Jinyiwei to Jiangxi Guaishiling to suppress the bandits. Now the Jinyiwei has lost fifty people, and there are more than twenty porters and errand boys. How many people does Lord Mao plan to send to Zhuoying County to avenge them?"
Mao Xiang hesitated for a moment and said, "We have neither found the person alive nor the body dead. The important thing now is to find out the truth. What if there are still survivors, such as Liu Siyan and the others? We must ensure their safety and rescue them first."
With hope in his heart, Hu Shanwei stood up suddenly, "Then what are you waiting for? Go quickly!"
Mao Xiang drew a circle on the map with his index finger. "This place belongs to Xi'an Prefecture. Xi'an is different from Jiangxi. This is the vassal of the King of Qin and an important place for the northwest border defense of the Ming Dynasty. The vassal king governs this place. Even the Ming army stationed here is restricted by the vassal king's mansion. We, the Jinyiwei, can't just go there. We need an imperial decree to do so."
Hu Shanwei said anxiously: "Then go and ask for permission immediately."
Mao Xiang thought Hu Shanwei was daydreaming and said, "You invite me just because you say so? You go just because you say so? If you make a request, will the emperor agree? The Prince of Qin is the emperor's second son, brave and good at fighting, guarding Xi'an. What happened in the vassal state should be handed over to the Prince of Qin first. If the emperor immediately sends troops to intervene, it clearly shows that he does not trust the Prince of Qin. If I rashly ask for an imperial decree to investigate, I will be scolded at best, and at worst, I will be dragged to the Meridian Gate and beheaded for alienating the flesh and blood of the royal family!"
Hu Shanwei fell into a chair and said, "Are we just going to wait here for an answer? Is it safe for Master Mao to sit still?"
Mao Xiang waved his hands repeatedly, "Don't try to provoke me, it won't work. I only listen to the emperor. If the emperor tells me to do something, I will do it immediately. If the emperor doesn't say anything, I will not do anything."
Hu Shanwei said sarcastically, "I didn't expect that you are also a coward. You only care about your position and don't care about the lives of your subordinates. If they encounter an accident, can you sleep tonight? Aren't you afraid that you will wake up in the middle of the night and see bloody corpses under your bed. They open their cloudy eyes and ask you why you don't save them!"
Before Mao Xiang could refute, Ji Gang stood up to defend his superior, "Don't think that you can do whatever you want in our Jinyiwei and insult your superiors just because you have Fan Gongzheng's support! You are brave, you are kind, and you care about Liu Siyan, so go by yourself!"
Hu Shanwei snorted coldly, "You have been so silent and dared not ask the Emperor to investigate. I will go to the Empress! Two teams went to give the letter, and Zhou Sizan and his party returned from the Jin Palace in Taiyuan early and were safe and sound. Why is there no news from Liu Siyan and others? The incident happened in the vassal state. Isn't it the fault of the vassal king's poor governance?"
"You are all officials! You are afraid of losing your positions, afraid of losing your heads, but I am not afraid! Anyway..."
Hu Shanwei paused, trying hard to hold back the tears that were about to fall, "Anyway, I am alone! No one cares about me, no one misses me, so I will die. It is better to die with a clear conscience than to be a confused ghost!"
After saying this, Hu Shanwei left angrily.
Ji Gang was about to stop her, but Mao Xiang stopped him, "Let her go."
Ji Gang lowered his voice, "It would be fine if other palace ladies died. But she was Hu Shanwei, who refused to remarry until she was 20 years old. If she died like this, and Wang Ning knew that we killed his fiancée, our intelligence network in the Northern Yuan Dynasty would collapse. How could we fight the Northern Expedition in the future? If it weren't for Wang Ning's intelligence during the Third Northern Expedition, how could Xiping Hou Mu Ying have rushed for seven days and defeated the Yuan army in one blow?"
At the beginning, Mao Xiang repeatedly blocked Hu Shanwei from entering the palace, even though Wang Ning was still alive. Once he came back and was promoted and given a title, he and Hu Shanwei could reconcile and finally enjoy their happy ending.
Hu Shanwei entered the palace as a female official. According to past rules, female officials would be released after four to five years, or ten years, and retire from the palace. By that time, Hu Shanwei would be twenty-four or twenty-five, or even thirty years old, and Wang Ning might marry someone else. Hu Shanwei might also cut off her relationship with Wang Ning and not marry.
They were all men, and Mao Xiang knew that most men liked young, beautiful, gentle and lovely women. Although Hu Shanwei was beautiful, she had a stubborn personality and was not likable.
So Mao Xiang stopped Hu Shanwei from entering the palace because it was really for her own good, but Mu Chun showed up unexpectedly and everything got out of control.
Now Hu Shanwei has been promoted twice and is doing well in the palace. If Wang Ning has made great achievements again, he will come back and ask the emperor for a fiancée. The emperor will probably agree to his request, but if Hu Shanwei dies...
Ji Gang’s worries are not without reason.
Mao Xiang sighed, "The Empress is different from the Emperor. First of all, the letter of conferment is the Empress's imperial decree, not the Emperor's imperial decree. Secondly, sending a female official to investigate the matter is actually to question the Princess of Qin. Matters between women and between mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law are not as sensitive as the politics between the vassal kings and the central government. So Hu Shanwei will succeed in asking the Empress for permission, and she will not die."
Ji Gang's eyes lit up: "You are wise to kill someone with a borrowed knife. When the time comes, our Jinyiwei will follow Hu Shanwei to the siege. We will have a legitimate reason and won't be so conspicuous."
Hu Shanwei rushed out of the Jinyiwei Yamen with the marked map and other evidence. Mu Chun happened to find him here. He stopped Shanwei and took out a white jade hairpin repaired with gold from his arms. "You lost the jade hairpin on the night of the battle with the eunuch in charge of the Yanxi Palace in Tibet. It was stepped on and broken. I took it to a craftsman to repair it. I was so busy recently that I forgot about it, so I took it out from the jewelry box shop."
The author has something to say: Can the relationship between Sister Shanwei and Chunchun be repaired like the hairpin? Please listen to the next chapter for details~
100 red envelopes will be given away tonight, and there will be 100 big red envelope prize questions. I won’t go into details about the rules, you all know them.
Please listen to the question:
The correct pronunciation of the Xi'an Prefecture Zhuoying County where Liu Siyan and his group disappeared is:
a Zhouzhi County b Aozhi County c Fangzhi County d Shanzhi County