In the winter of that year, near the end of the year, the snow on the Tianshan Mountains was extremely thick. For more than half a month, there was no sign of people on the ancient road. But in Jincheng, the atmosphere was more lively than ever before.
Just before the heavy snow blocked the road, the last batch of winter supplies from Hexi arrived in time. In addition to a thick cotton coat for each person, there were carts of fish, meat, and various fruits and vegetables that were rare in winter here, in sufficient quantity to survive the winter. To express his gratitude, the merchant from Kubera also sent many gifts to Jincheng after returning, including several carts of huge wooden barrels of grape wine.
The fine wine of the Western Regions has always been known as a tribute, and its rarity makes it valuable. On the day before the New Year, sheep and cattle were slaughtered in Jincheng, and the city lord gave fine wine to the soldiers, who drank it. Everyone laughed and celebrated the New Year until late at night.
Winter passed and spring came, the ice and snow melted, and a letter sent from the Tianshan Mountains was delivered to the hands of the young man in the Shangjing Palace.
The letter was written by Mu Fulan.
She said she was fine and told him not to worry. The weather was getting warmer and the roads were open again. When she had nothing to do, she often went out for a walk. Unlike the past when she came and left in a hurry. Now that she had gone deep into this place, she realized the magnificence of the treasure mountain and the abundance of goods and resources, which could not be described in words. A few days ago, she met the first group of merchants coming from the east this spring on the road. During the chat, she learned that the court had issued an edict at the beginning of the year to continue to reduce taxes. The people benefited and were grateful for the grace of heaven. She was very pleased and asked him to be diligent in his work but not to overwork himself. She also said that people in the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains regarded white yaks as sacred animals and saw them as auspicious. Last year, when the mountains were closed due to heavy snow, a soldier caught a white yak that was injured in the wild and brought it back to the city to present to her. After she healed the white yak's wounds, she took advantage of the spring to release it back to the wild a few days ago. Before leaving, the white yak seemed to understand human nature and looked back several times before wading through the water.
In the letter, she narrated her daily life in that place as if she was chatting with her family. She did not mention the man at all. Only at the end of the letter, she attached a geographical map of the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains drawn on a parchment scroll. She said that the person who drew the map spent several years visiting every pass and river to make this map. The circled places in the map were the recommended places for posting outposts for the court to use in daily life.
The young man read the letter over and over again, put it down, picked up the parchment, spread it out on the table, stared at it for a long time, then stood up and took out a long and narrow object wrapped in cloth from a sandalwood box.
He untied the cloth layer by layer until he got underneath it, revealing the sword with a green cloud pattern that he was so familiar with.
He slowly drew out the sword and held it horizontally in front of him. He looked into the pair of black eyes reflected on the blade, and his eyes gradually turned red.
…
June is the best time to pick a herb called purple dan grass. After a few days, when the flowers bloom, the medicinal properties will be greatly reduced. Xie Changgeng left everything else behind and accompanied Mu Fulan out of the city to the mountains to pick herbs. The two set out early in the morning, rode to the foot of the mountain, let the horses graze, and Xie Changgeng asked the people who were traveling with him to wait at the foot of the mountain, and he accompanied Mu Fulan up the mountain.
Below the snow line, the stream was gurgling and wild flowers were everywhere. The two of them were half picking herbs and half enjoying the scenery. Before they knew it, most of the day had passed. Xie Changgeng saw that she seemed tired from climbing the mountain, and there was a flat stone in front of them, so he asked her to sit on it and rest.
Mu Fulan sat on the rock, hugging her knees and staring at her husband's back as he climbed the rock to collect herbs for her. She gradually lost herself in thought. After a while, she saw him coming over, came to her senses, and hurriedly got down from the rock to meet him.
"Is it enough? If not, I will go find it for you again." Xie Changgeng asked her.
"That's enough, let's go down the mountain."
Mu Fulan took out her handkerchief and wiped the sweat from her husband's forehead.
Xie Changgeng lowered his head, kissed her, and said, "If you can't walk, I'll carry you down." There was a hint of intimacy and teasing in his tone.
Mu Fulan smiled, then pushed him away and said, "Who wants you to carry me?" She picked up the medicine basket and took a step to leave, but saw him standing still, his eyes fixed on her back, and he took out the bow and arrow with his backhand.
She turned her head following his gaze and saw an elk with beautiful fur coming to the stream on the other side of the hillside. It stopped by the stream and lowered its head to drink water.
Xie Changgeng had already bent his bow and aimed his arrow at the elk.
His archery skills are always accurate. If this arrow is shot, the prey will bump into him. How can he be any better
Mu Fulan hurriedly grabbed his wrist and said, "It's a doe. At this time of year, the doe has given birth not long ago. If there is a fawn, the mother and the fawn will never see each other again. Don't shoot it."
As soon as she finished speaking, a fawn jumped out from behind the bushes, chased the mother deer, and followed her to drink water. The mother deer turned her head and licked the fur on the fawn's face with her tongue. The mother and child were very affectionate and touching.
Xie Changgeng was startled, and slowly put down his bow and arrow. He saw her looking at the mother elk and her baby by the stream, without blinking. She kept looking in that direction until the mother elk and her baby left, not daring to startle her. After a while, when she turned her head, he reached out and gently held her hand: "Let's go, let's go back."
Mu Fulan hummed softly and followed him down the mountain. She seemed a little dazed on the way and stumbled. Xie Changgeng was quick to catch her and stopped in front of her. He leaned down slightly and said softly, "You have been collecting herbs for a day and you must be tired. Let me carry you for a few steps." Without saying anything, he carried her on his back.
Mu Fulan did not refuse again. She put her face against the back of his neck, said nothing, and lay quietly on her husband's broad back.
Xie Changgeng carried her on his back and went down the mountain steadily.
They returned to the city when it was already dark. After returning to their residence and taking a shower, Xie Changgeng carried her to bed, lay down next to her, and stared at his wife beside him.
Her face was as beautiful as a lotus, and she smiled and said, "Why are you looking at me like that? It's not the first day we've met."
Xie Changgeng's fingers gently stroked her cheek. "Lan'er, are you thinking about Xi'er today?"
He hesitated, "If you really miss him, I will send you to Hexi tomorrow. You can come back anytime, I will wait for you."
Mu Fulan was silent for a moment, and then she said softly, "Seeing the elk today reminded me of Xi'er's childhood. It made me emotional. Don't think too much about it."
Xie Changgeng stretched out his arms, pulled her into his arms, and slowly hugged her tight.
Mu Fulan snuggled in her husband's chest, listened to his heartbeat, and closed her eyes.
As the night deepened, his beloved wife fell into a deep sleep. Xie Changgeng thought about the intimate moments between the mother and child elk that he had seen during the day, and could not fall asleep for a long time. Fearing to disturb her sleep, he quietly got up from the bed, walked out of the house, stood in front of the steps, gazing at the moon in deep thought, when he heard knocking sounds coming from the courtyard gate.
He walked out of the courtyard and went to open the door. He saw that it was a servant who came and said that the gatekeeper had just passed on a message that a young man had come from outside the city, claiming to be the son of the city lord's wife, and had come here to visit his parents, and asked him to pass on the message.
Xie Changgeng froze for a moment, as if he had just come to his senses. He turned his head suddenly, as if he was about to go inside, but suddenly stopped, turned around again, went out of the gate, got on the gatekeeper's horse, and galloped towards the city gate.
He rushed to the city gate, dismounted, and ran out of the city gate without stopping.
A young man, his thin and tall figure outlined by the night, his handsome and elegant face illuminated by the moonlight, he stood quietly by the road, looking at the man who appeared behind the city gate and was running towards him. Almost at the same time, he took a step towards him.
"Xi'er!"
Xie Changgeng called him, and his voice sounded low and steady at first, but if you listened carefully, you could easily tell that his voice was trembling, showing how excited he was.
The boy stared at him.
"Father, I'm here to visit mother," he said.
"In addition to visiting mother, I also want to tell you that the man named Xi'er has never forgotten the time he came here as a child. He once asked you why this place was named Jincheng. He remembered that father told him that when summer comes and the snow melts, the sun shines down, and if you stand on the snow-capped peaks and look down, the city will seem to be covered with gold, so it is named Jincheng. Father, you also said that he can come anytime he wants to see it..."
"Summer is here. I wonder if you are still willing to take me to see this beautiful scenery that looks like it is covered with gold
The young man's voice choked, and he slowly knelt down and kowtowed to the ground towards the man in front of him.
Xie Changgeng walked over quickly and lifted the young man up from the ground.
He looked at the young man in front of him, his eyes gradually getting hot, he raised his hand and tightly grasped his shoulders, whispering: "I will take you to see it tomorrow. Let's go, let's go see your mother first. She still thought of you today, I coaxed her for a long time before she fell asleep."
The boy wiped his eyes quickly, nodded, and followed him into the city.
…
The young man stayed in this city for three days.
On the third day, he wanted to go back.
Mu Fulan sat in the carriage and accompanied him for one journey after another until they finally reached the destination, where his stay was located, and then they stopped.
The young man bid her farewell, got off the carriage, and reluctantly looked back at the woman in the carriage behind him who was still watching him go. He whispered to Xie Changgeng, "Father, I'm going back. You must protect my mother well and ensure that she lives a peaceful and happy life."
Xie Changgeng also turned around, took a look, and nodded with a smile.
The boy finally mounted his horse and rode off.
Mu Fulan watched the young man's back gradually go away, and when her husband came back and got on the carriage, she asked him, "What did you talk about just now?"
Xie Changgeng looked at her beautiful red eyes and held her in his arms: "Xi'er, I promise to protect you well and keep you safe and happy for the rest of your life."
Mu Fulan leaned in her husband's arms and slowly closed her eyes.
That night, the two of them were like newlyweds, whispering to each other and lingering until late at night.
Mu Fulan was obviously very tired, but she was reluctant to fall asleep on such a beautiful night and asked him to tell her a story.
He thought about it and said okay.
"… It is about an unknown dynasty, when the imperial court was about to end, and the vassal kings were fighting each other. There was a young man who was born a bandit. His surname was Xie and his name was Changgeng. At a young age, he became a big bandit on the river and commanded heroes. But he was ambitious and cruel. In addition, he had some skills. How could he be willing to live as a bandit all his life? He had long been determined to become the best in the world and seek the throne of the emperor. To achieve his goal, he set his sights on the daughter of the King of Changsha in Dongting, and wanted to marry her as his wife, so as to enter the officialdom…"
Mu Fulan felt dizzy and sleepy after listening to this. She yawned and said vaguely, "Don't listen to this... I know everything that happens next... Change another one..."
Xie Changgeng touched the head curled in his arms and coaxed, "Listen to me, it will be different later."
He continued, "The princess of the Mu family was only thirteen years old at that time. Although she was a young girl, she had already worshipped the medicine man of Junshan as her teacher and learned medicine from him. That day, she went to Junshan to look for the medicine man. Before she arrived at the medicine house, she was told that the medicine man had a visitor, so she wanted to go down the mountain first. How could she know that in the medicine house, the ambitious man who had crossed the river under the moon last night and came on a black boat, was sitting opposite the medicine man and making tea. He was in a nervous mood and finally waited for her to show up. He wished he could chase her out immediately?..."
As Xie Changgeng spoke, he didn't hear any response from her. He lowered his head and saw that the person in his arms had fallen asleep.
He laughed, paused, stared at her sleeping face for a moment, covered her with a quilt, and hugged her to sleep.
At that time, thousands of miles away, beside the cliff of Junshan Mountain in Dongting Lake, night birds were quietly nesting on the old cypress tree that had been reborn after being struck by lightning and fire.
The moon is bright in the sky and the wind is gentle.
The author has something to say: The main text is finished. There is a sequel, which will be posted later today or tomorrow when it is finished~