When Qin Mubai arrived outside the small building in the southern suburbs, he found a horse parked outside the yard. Look at the exquisitely carved saddle and the red ribbon hanging from the neck of the horse. It is obviously a standard style used by rich and noble families, and it looks quite familiar.
"Isn't that a saddle specially used in Prince Wu's Mansion? Why is it here?" Qin Mubai walked in and saw that it was Su Lianqing who was sitting in the hall chatting with Chen Yan.
"Why are you here?" Qin Mubai walked over and asked, "Don't you have to serve the princess in the mansion?"
The two girls stood up to greet them, and Su Lianqing smiled and said, "I knew you would definitely come, so I came first to blow the whistle and say hello to the girls."
"What's there to say hello to?" Qin Mubai said with a smile, "Is it possible that she still needs time to hide something?"
"That's not true!" Su Lianqing said with a bad smile, "Maybe if you don't come to visit for a long time, she can't stand the loneliness and secretly raised the little man?"
"Begging for a beating!" Chen Yan scolded coldly, and Su Lianqing hurriedly jumped a few steps away and said with a smile, "My dear, I'm sorry, my mouth is just a bit mean, and I can't change it for a while."
Qin Mubai smiled nonchalantly and sat down, saying, "Why did you run out of the palace before you said anything?"
"It's almost the Dragon Boat Festival, and the princess asked me to go to the street to buy some good things to reward the maids and servants in the house." Su Lianqing said, "So I stopped by to visit my sister. I haven't seen her for a long time, and I miss her so much! "
"Oh, I dare you to do well." Qin Mubai said, "If she were not a trustworthy servant, the master would not let her go out to purchase alone."
"Is that necessary?" Su Lianqing twirled the ends of her hair with her fingers and said with a triumphant smile, "With my experience as a veteran, I still can't coax her into submission? - Okay, don't bother me. You two, I’ll take my leave now. Girl, there’s no one sleeping next door, will you still scream so loudly?”
"Go to hell!" Chen Yan shouted, and Su Lianqing laughed, jumped on the horse, and ran away.
Qin Mubai shook his head, smiled, and asked, "Yan, why is she here?"
"Nothing, just chatting." Chen Yan said calmly.
"Just chatting?" Qin Mubai looked at her suspiciously and said with a strange smile, "Don't think you can deceive me by pretending to be calm. Your eyes have given you away! Tell me quickly, she must be here because of something."
Chen Yan chuckled twice but still didn't answer, but said, "Mu Bai, I'm ready to leave."
"Leaving again?" Qin Mubai frowned, "Didn't you agree not to leave?"
Chen Yan smiled and said: "It seems that I only promised not to leave you secretly again, right? Now, I just want to go back to my hometown and have some things to do."
"How long will it take?"
"At least we have to spend the New Year at home. There are some uncles, aunts and relatives there."
"It's been so long..." Qin Mubai was a little unhappy and curled his lips and said, "It was Su Lianqing who told you something that made you decide to leave, right?"
Chen Yan paused and said, "Not entirely. I was a little homesick at first."
Qin Mubai understood. Su Lianqing must have been the talkative one, telling her that Wu Meiniang and Princess Gaoyang might be coming to Xiangzhou. Chen Yan has always had such a temperament. She never asks for anything from me, and she never wants to cause me any trouble.
"You said you missed home. I don't even know how to keep you." Qin Mubai thought about the reason and said, "But has your injury healed?"
"Good morning. It's been a few months." Chen Yan said, but her face turned slightly red.
"Come, let me check it out." Qin Mubai said, about to take her into his arms.
"No." Chen Yan quickly dodged away, with a hint of shyness on her face.
"Hey, what's wrong with you?" Qin Mubai couldn't help but smile, "Are you still shy?"
"No." Chen Yan smiled awkwardly, "I'm just... afraid that you'll laugh at me."
"What's the joke?" Qin Mubai's curiosity aroused.
"Go upstairs and come to the room." After saying that, Chen Yan got up and walked upstairs. Qin Mubai quickly followed her and asked behind her: "What are you doing, so mysterious?"
"Don't you know it when you come?"
After entering the room, Chen Yan closed the window and door, turned her back to Qin Mubai, and began to undress and take off her belt.
When the smooth skin on her shoulders was just a little exposed, Chen Yan hesitated, looked back at Qin Mubai, and smiled.
"As promised, you are not allowed to laugh at me."
"Take off your clothes quickly and let me see." Qin Mubai was a little impatient.
The soft satin slowly slid down inch by inch on her elastic and tempting skin. Qin Mubai stared with wide eyes and was surprised to see a trace of red and green patterns.
"Tattoo?" He couldn't help but asked in surprise.
"Um… "
The clothes continued to slide down, slowly reaching her waist. Qin Mubai couldn't help but be stunned!
It turned out that Chen Yan's entire back was tattooed with a peacock with its tail spread out, which was colorful and lifelike. Some old scars left on her back were cleverly covered up, and two bird feathers were cleverly extended along her shoulders to her round collarbone. The two dazzling scars left there before turned into gorgeous Peacock feathers!
"Oh my god! How many needles are needed for this!" Qin Mubai couldn't help but exclaimed, "Wouldn't that hurt to death?"
"Just tell me, do you like it?" Chen Yan turned her head and said with a charming smile.
"I do like it...but it hurts too much and will bleed a lot." Qin Mubai shook his head and clicked his tongue in distress.
"It doesn't matter. I asked Su Lianqing to do it for me. A friend of hers in the world has such a unique skill and specializes in tattooing people. It won't hurt with some anesthetics, and the bleeding will be very small." Chen Yan said.
"Oh, I bet you guys see each other often, no wonder she's here today." Qin Mubai suddenly realized.
"It took ten days to finish." Chen Yan said, about to pull up her clothes and put them on.
"Don't be anxious, let me take a closer look." Qin Mubai said, with a smirk, he stepped forward and hugged her waist from behind, and kissed the peacock feathers on her shoulders, which made Chen Yan's delicate body tremble slightly. , twisting and struggling.
"Don't come here!" Chen Yan broke out, pulled up her clothes and put them on, and said, "Wait a minute, I have something to give you."
"What is it?" Qin Mubai asked with a smile, and licked his mouth evilly, as if he was hungry.
Chen Yan was amused and laughed. She walked to the side, opened the cabinet door, and took out the golden hair crown she bought for Qin Mubai. The difference is that now there are two long peacock feathers on the golden crown.
Qin Mubai felt that this plume looked very familiar. In movies, TV shows or operas, wasn't Lu Bu's crown style like this in the Three Kingdoms? The two feathers are nearly two meters long. They are tied vertically on the golden crown side by side and fall back in an arc. The colors are bright and lifelike.
Although such things usually only appear in works of art, there are indeed people in the army who occasionally use such things. They are usually used by young and heroic young generals with noble status. It's just extremely rare. This is like the so-called "performance art" created by some alternative people in the 21st century.
"Do you like it?" Chen Yan shook the golden crown, and the two feathers swayed left and right like living creatures, which was really eye-catching.
"Of course I like it. But you won't let me wear this thing to show off in the market, right?" Qin Mubai took it and looked at it carefully. It is indeed very beautiful.
"Keep it as a souvenir!" Chen Yan smiled, "I'm leaving soon. Maybe you will think of me when you see it."
"Silly." Qin Mubai smiled, "It is impossible to forget you. You have to promise me that you will come back after the New Year. Otherwise, I will go all over the world to find you."
"I understand." Chen Yan smiled and nodded gently. There was a hint of emotion and reluctance in his eyes.
"Yan, can't you just leave?" Qin Mubai gently put the golden crown aside, stepped forward and took her into his arms. Kissing her forehead, he said softly, "I know, Su Lianqing must have told you that Wu Meiniang and Princess Gao Yang might come, and you decided to leave, right? Actually, what does it matter?"
"No, I still decided to go home." Chen Yan said softly, but with a firm attitude.
Qin Mubai also understands her temperament. Once she decides something, she won't change it easily. So he had no choice but to sigh, nodded and said, "Okay! But you have to give me a return date."
"Let's talk about it..." Chen Yan said softly.
"No." Qin Mubai used his arms to hug her tightly and said, "We must give her a return date."
"I can only promise that we will meet again." Chen Yan smiled helplessly, "Why are you so childish again?"
"Ha, then just treat me like a child. Even if it's just coaxing, you should coax me." Qin Mubai smiled and said, "Tell me, when will you come back?"
"Well... I will definitely spend the Dragon Boat Festival with you next year, how about it?" Chen Yan said.
"You only said half a year, but now it's going to be a year?" Qin Mubai curled his lips, "It's just a trip home, and it takes so long? Hey, are you going home to get married?"
"Nonsense! Who can I marry? Who else can I like besides you?" Chen Yan glared angrily, stretched out her hand to scratch his nose, "Be good, it's settled. Anyway, next year's Dragon Boat Festival , I’ll make rice dumplings for you to eat.”
"Hehe!" Qin Mubai laughed mischievously, "Okay, let's do that! It's just that one year is really too long. Maybe I will go to Tanzhou to find you when I can't wait any longer. ”
"Okay, it's best to take Wu Meiniang and Princess Gaoyang with you." Chen Yan smiled warmly.
"Oh, are you trying to provoke me?" Qin Mubai curled his lips and said carelessly, "Don't tell me yet, I don't care how capable or well-connected they are, they won't go west if I say east!"
"Gee, looking at your character, I know you are often bullied by them!" Chen Yan suddenly laughed.
"You're still smiling!" Qin Mubai became angry, picked her up by the waist, and kissed her red lips tightly. Chen Yan stopped struggling, hooked her hands around Qin Mubai's neck, closed her eyes and kissed back passionately.
The two fell on the couch. Qin Mubai gently took off her clothes and kissed her whole body, especially the lifelike peacock. Chen Yan was trembling all over and dripping with sweat. The confused Jiao|panted and murmured: "Mu Bai, you are my last man!"
…
In the evening, Chen Yan was cooking in the kitchen, and Qin Mubai was sitting by the window of the bedroom, blowing the breeze, and pondering the fragments of drawings in his hands. The paper was quite thick and opaque, and it was soaked in oil to prevent moisture. It was smooth and greasy, a bit like today's kraft paper.
After pondering for a long time, I had no clue. When the rice was almost ready, Chen Yan came into the room and called him. She saw what he was holding and asked, "What is this?"
"Zhao Chong gave it to me." Qin Mubai said, "It's a treasure map left by our ancestors."
"It's really strange that he would give it to you." Chen Yan said without paying attention, "The rice is ready, come and eat!"
"Okay." Qin Mubai was about to stand up, but suddenly a light flashed in his mind and he was stunned.
"What's wrong?" Chen Yan asked.
"I suddenly had an idea, and it was you who prompted me." Qin Mubai looked at Chen Yan as if he was surprised.
"When did I remind you?" Chen Yan said in confusion.
"No. It was your tattoo that inspired me!" Qin Mubai rubbed his hands excitedly and anxiously, "Let's not talk about it now, let's eat first. You will know in a moment!"
"What are you doing so mysteriously..." Chen Yan could only shake her head in confusion.
After finishing the meal quickly, Qin Mubai didn't let Chen Yan clear the tableware, and pulled her into the room with him. Spread out the Four Treasures of the Study and start drawing.
"Do you want to copy these drawings?" Chen Yan asked.
"That's right. You'll know immediately why I did this." Qin Mubai said while tracing.
Chen Yan watched quietly. He carefully copied out each drawing with transparent white paper, including the handwriting on the paper. After a long time, when all five drawings were finished, Qin Mubai breathed a sigh of relief.
"Finished? I didn't see anything." Chen Yan said.
"You'll know soon." Qin Mubai smiled mysteriously and ran to the kitchen first to get the vegetable oil jar. Then, he cut the five copied drawings according to the size of the original drawings, then neatly stacked them together with their edges closed, and pressed them tightly.
Seeing this, Chen Yan already understood: "You are so smart! Look, these five drawings are arranged vertically. The originally scattered patterns cleverly form a whole picture, and the words are also juxtaposed next to each other. It forms a complete sentence!”
"This way, you can see more clearly." After saying that, Qin Mubai dipped the brush in vegetable oil and brushed a layer on the rubbing paper. The vegetable oil soaked through the thin paper and seeped into the next layer, making the graphics appear more clearly. After doing this, he smiled at Chen Yan and said, "It was the peacock on your back that inspired me. The clever fusion of the governor and the scars complemented each other, forming a perfect picture."
"Amazing." Chen Yan smiled and nodded in praise.
Qin Mubai raised the corner of his mouth in joy and read the words pieced together on the drawing: "Phoenix in the west mountain, dragon in the river well, look at it day and night, and shed three lines of tears."
"What does this mean? It seems that the love between a man and a woman is about lovesickness?" Chen Yan asked in confusion.
"No." Qin Mubai shook his head and smiled confidently, "These few words explain exactly where the 'treasure' is."
"How to say?"
"It's an acrostic poem." Qin Mubai said, "The dragon in the well in the Phoenix River in the West Mountain is taken from the word Xihe; Tears in the morning and evening are actually not pronounced that way. The word "Chao" is homonymous with the word "cao" in the Xihe River. "Tears" is also homophonic with "Inside and Out".
"In Xihecao?"
"That's right, you're so smart."
"Don't come!" Chen Yan was amused and said, "But the Xihetrough is so big, with a puddle of dozens of miles in radius, and the harbor is covered with reeds. Most people will get lost if they go in, let alone treasure hunting. Look. At first glance, this drawing looks like a maze. Are the branches and branches all about the river? "
"It should be." Qin Mubai nodded and said, "However, are dragons and phoenixes something ordinary people can mention casually? Since he mentioned it, there must be a deep meaning. Also, who usually talks about the three elements of tears? , Either there will be a line of tears, or there will be two lines of tears. There must be something weird in this.”
"If there is a deep meaning, then someone must understand it."
"Zhao Chong!" The two said in unison.
Qin Mubai nodded affirmatively: "It seems that we have to go to prison and ask him again before he leaves Xiangyang."
"Go." Chen Yan smiled.
"At least I won't go today." Qin Mubai held her hand, massaged it gently, and said, "I have to leave, so I have to stay with you."
"No need. I'm not a little girl who will cry when we are separated." Chen Yan smiled.
"It's precisely because you don't know how to do it that I want to accompany you. What if you hide and cry?" Qin Mubai also smiled.
"Fool. I don't know how." Chen Yan smiled slightly, snuggled into his arms gently, closed her eyes, and a charming smile appeared on her face.
One night of lingering, several times of madness.
There was a strong east wind at night, which caused the paper crane on the edge of the window to fly in random directions. In the middle of the night, Chen Yan got up and listened to Qin Mubai's slight snoring. She took off the paper crane and carefully put it into the baggage.
Sitting on the edge of the couch with her hair hanging down, she stared at Qin Mubai. A smile of intoxication, warmth, satisfaction and a hint of sadness appeared on her face, and she whispered softly: "Silly man."
In the early morning, after the two of them had breakfast, Chen Yan tidied up the small building.
Go out and lock the door.
Chen Yan handed the key to Qin Mubai. Qin Mubai shook his head, pushed the key back, held her hand, and said, "This place only belongs to you. If you don't come back, it will never be opened."
"What if you want to come here to take a rest one day?" Chen Yan said with a smile.
"Without you here, I would feel flustered, so I would just look outside and not want to come in." Qin Mubai said, "Just take it. When you come back one day, the door here will be opened again."
Chen Yan shook her head and smiled: "There are two keys, wouldn't it be enough for each person to have one? Really!"
"Haha!" Qin Mubai laughed, "I finally looked a little sad, you are so embarrassing."
"Don't come." Chen Yan said with an angry smile, "It's not a farewell, why are you sad? Come on, take me to the ferry to catch the boat."
"Okay!" Qin Mubai smirked, suddenly picked her up, walked to Huoyun Horse, and put her on the saddle. Chen Yan just smiled and allowed him to do whatever he wanted.
The two rode horses and slowly left the courtyard and walked out of the valley, heading towards the Eight Ghost Ferry.
Although they tried their best to hide it, there was still some lingering sadness in their hearts.
The feeling of parting is really not that pleasant.
Along the way, neither of them spoke. They just cuddled up like this and let the horses trot slowly until they arrived at Bagui Ferry.
"Okay, let's go back!" Chen Yan got off the horse and waved to Qin Mubai.
Qin Mubai stared at her, and the two looked at each other and smiled lightly, without saying a word.
"Take care." Qin Mubai nodded, "You can write to me when you get home."
"Take care of yourself too." Chen Yan nodded and smiled, turned around leisurely and walked onto the southbound passenger ship without looking back.
"Yan!" Qin Mubai called from behind.
"What's going on?" Chen Yan stopped at the side of the deck and turned around to ask.
"It's nothing." Qin Mubai smiled and said, "When I got up in the morning, I looked everywhere for the paper crane, but I couldn't find it. I originally wanted to give it to you as a souvenir, but it was probably very windy last night. It’s such a shame to be blown away.”
Chen Yan smiled slightly, took off the baggage, took out the paper crane and shook it in her hand: "Is it this one?"
Qin Mubai nodded and smiled, was silent for a moment, and said, "Have a nice trip."
"Well..." Chen Yan nodded and smiled, "I will miss you, Sanlang."
With a sweet smile, she turned around and walked into the cabin.
The boatman took off the olive rope and pulled away the bridge plank, shouting loudly. The large passenger ship raised its sails and poled against the river bank, allowing the ship to slowly sail away from the river bank and slowly follow the eastward flow of the Han River.
There were many people at the ferry who came to see him off like Qin Mubai, and they were all waving to the people on the boat. There were a few foolish men and women who were still wiping their tears secretly, and there were also children who were crying loudly.
Qin Mubai held the horse and stood by the ferry, watching the passenger ship sail far away. He always felt that Chen Yan was also watching her from a distance.
"Hey, isn't that General Qin?" Someone suddenly said this. Immediately, many people gathered around.
"Yes, it must be!" Several excited female voices were heard, followed immediately by screams.
"Wow! - General Qin! I saw General Qin!"
"Is he the great hero who is rumored in the streets and alleys, General Qin Mubai Qin?"
"Yes, it's him!"
"So handsome!"
Qin Mubai looked at the crowd gathered around him and couldn't help but be shocked: What about it
The crowd quickly gathered around, and Qin Mubai hurriedly got on his horse and gave everyone a hug: "Fellow folks, I have something important to do, so I will leave first. Please give way."
"General Qin! Don't leave in such a hurry. Do you have time to talk to me?" A few women were bold enough to stop in front of the horse's head and chattered.
Qin Mubai didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Just now he clearly saw that two of the women had just sent away their lover, and the tears on their faces were not yet dry.
"I'm sorry, I have important things to do and it's really hard to accompany me. Let's wait another day!" Qin Mubai said, reining in the reins and turning the horse's head, ready to leave.
"Wait! Another day, which day is it? Can I go to the military mansion to find you? Or can you tell me your official rank?" Those women persisted. Many people nearby saw the excitement and watched with smiles.
Qin Mubai smiled bitterly and said: "I have no official title, and female relatives are not allowed in the military camp. Well, see you again if we have a chance. I really have to leave, so please get out of my way."
"Okay then..." The women moved away sadly, gathered together and whispered eagerly for a few words, then gathered around and stopped Qin Mubai from leaving, saying, "Since we are destined to meet here, Well, General Qin should leave some tokens for us to keep as a souvenir, right?"
"This..." Qin Mu's head turned white. In broad daylight, could this be a robbery? It's not easy for him to scold these women. They and the people next to them are all local people in Xiangyang.
"I left in a hurry and didn't bring any tokens with me." Qin Mubai had no choice but to say.
"Hey, that's easy to offend!" The women exchanged glances with each other, then suddenly rushed forward and grabbed a few handfuls of the Huoyun Horse's tail. Huoyunma hissed in pain. If Qin Mubai hadn't restrained it, it would have kicked someone with its fiery temper.
"Wow! I got it, got it!"
"Feed me too!"
The corners of Qin Mubai's mouth twitched. Taking advantage of their infatuated moment, he whipped up his whip and ran away as fast as he could.
"Haha, General Qin's hair!—you don't have it, right?"
Qin Mubai heard it from a distance and almost fell off his horse.