"Hey, Mingyu." Fu Lemei pulled Mingyu's sleeve and asked, "Is that person Sima Hong, the Marquis of Anxi?"
It was not until the man on the black horse approached that Mingyu could see clearly how he was dressed. He was wearing silver chain mail armor that seemed to have the moisture of morning mist clinging to it. He had a long sword hanging from a belt with animal heads and cloud patterns on it. His long black hair was neatly tied on top of his head, his back was straight, he had long legs and a slim waist, and his body was agile.
When he passed the teahouse, he seemed to sense the gazes from upstairs, looked up, and Mingyu saw his face clearly. However, Mingyu and Fu Lemei were hiding behind the window, and standing in his position, they could not see anything.
"It's him." Mingyu said. After not seeing each other for more than half a year, Sima Hong had matured a lot, his eyes were sharp, and his handsome face had turned wheat-colored due to the wind and sand. The black horse under him seemed to be chasing the wind.
"Quite young." Fu Lemei murmured, "I thought she must be in her twenties at least."
Mingyu smiled. In fact, he was only one year older than Xu Mingye. After the New Year, he would only be eighteen years old.
Following Sima Hong were the 1,000 elite soldiers he brought into the capital to escort the prisoners. The prisoners, chained with iron chains, were unkempt, ragged, and skinny, not at all as fierce and terrifying as the legends said they were.
"I often hear people say that the Tartars eat people." Fu Lemei leaned against the window, watching the troops passing by below, and stuck out her tongue with a smile, "They don't look like they can eat people. Have you seen the Tartars?"
Mingyu shook her head. When she and Lixiang escaped from Tianshui, the arrows of the Tartars shot at their backs, so they should not be far away. However, they were both scared at that time, and neither dared to look back. When people in the northwest talked about the Tartars, they all had hatred and gnashed their teeth, wishing they could eat their flesh and drink their blood, because they were the bad guys who destroyed their homes and killed their relatives. However, people in the capital could not empathize with these things. When they talked about the Tartars, they mostly spoke of them with a curious tone.
It was originally scheduled that Sima Hong would present the captives to the emperor at the parade ground in the capital this morning. However, the weather was not good. Sima Hong had just taken the captives and a thousand elite soldiers into the capital for a walk when it began to rain, and it seemed that it would not stop for a while. The emperor, empress, and ministers in the court were all in good health. Naturally, it was impossible to go to see the captives in the rain, so the date for presenting the captives was changed to the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month.
Sima Hong led the captives and elite soldiers for a tour around the capital city and became famous. Then, he returned to the camp outside the city with a helpless look on his face. He first went to the palace to meet the emperor, and after leaving the palace, he took Bai Hao and several personal soldiers back to the Anxi Marquis' Mansion.
Back to the peaceful and harmonious capital. Sima Hong recalled the days and nights of fighting in the northwest, and felt uneasy when sleeping. The barking of dogs at night would wake him up. He would reach for the long sword beside him and jump up to prepare for the battle. After a while, he suddenly remembered that he was now in the capital. He sighed and put the long sword back. He tossed and turned for a long time and couldn't fall asleep.
The news that Lord Anxi returned to Beijing with his captives had spread to every corner of the capital. In his early years, Sima Hong followed his mother Miao to visit his ancestral home outside the capital and met a group of playboys of the same age. Now everyone knows that the Anxi Marquisate is different from the past. Seeing that Sima Hong has great potential, those friends have come together to invite him out to have fun. They want to curry favor with him.
The weather was gloomy, with occasional light snow. Sima Hong had nothing to do at home, and he couldn't bear to listen to Miao and Sima Lian gossiping about family matters, so he simply went out with the group of friends.
Several people suggested that the winter plum blossoms at Hanzhe Temple in the capital were in full bloom these days, so why not go there to admire them? A group of people agreed and looked at Sima Hong eagerly. Sima Hong just wanted to relax and kill time, so he smiled and said, "Okay, I haven't been to Hanzhe Temple for a few years."
Although it was snowing lightly today, there were still many pilgrims coming to Hanzhe Temple to burn incense. They were a group of well-dressed young men walking together, and they were the focus of everyone's attention wherever they went, especially Sima Hong, who was dressed in a white brocade robe, heroic, resolute and handsome.
Sima Hong didn't walk far before he regretted following them. After all these years in the military camp, he was no longer the wealthy and luxurious nobleman. This kind of life and the way people looked at him made him feel uncomfortable and unable to adapt.
When they arrived in front of the main hall of Hanzhe Temple, several people surrounded Sima Hong, talking to him about the varieties and reputation of the wintersweets in Hanzhe Temple. Sima Hong listened absentmindedly, smiling and nodding from time to time. The courtyard of the main hall was full of wintersweets, and the trees were full of light yellow flowers. The rich fragrance floated in the wide courtyard, refreshing the heart.
There were many pilgrims at the entrance of the main hall, but fortunately, in this pure Buddhist place, no one dared to make loud noises. Although there were many people, it was quiet. Sima Hong took a deep breath, and the fragrance in his lungs was elegant and fragrant, just like the feeling left to him by someone deep in his memory.
"My lord, are there any wintersweets like this in the northwest? I have some friendship with the abbot here, so why don't you ask him for a few branches and take them back to the northwest to plant them?" One of the young masters saw Sima Hong lingering in front of the wintersweets for a long time, and thought that Sima Hong liked these wintersweets, so he flattered him.
Sima Hong smiled and waved his hand. He was extremely busy in the northwest and had no time to fiddle with flowers and plants. Just as he was about to say no, he heard a young man next to him call out, "Hey, isn't that the so-and-so? What's his name?" He scratched his head, unable to remember for a moment.
Following the direction pointed by the young man, Sima Hong saw a blue figure turning around and entering the hall. He only had time to see the corner of his blue cloth robe. Next to the hall stood a woman wearing a veil, her face covered by a veil. Next to the woman stood a maid, who was probably wearing a bamboo hat to cover the snow.
"What are you talking about? Who is so-and-so? You just came to the capital, who can you know?" another young man laughed.
The young master was anxious. He couldn't look down on others. He just came to the capital and couldn't recognize people? "Why, look down on people? I really know the person who just entered the hall! Did you see the woman wearing a veiled hat? She is the concubine my cousin wants to take!"
The young man who laughed at him doubled over with laughter, "You are really amazing, you can identify women before your hair has even grown out? That woman was wearing a veiled hat, how could you see clearly what she looked like?"
The young master smiled proudly and said, "Of course I can't see clearly what she looks like, but I just saw her brother. I have seen her brother before."
Seeing the young master's confidence, several dandy young men also started to feel itchy and asked one after another: "Hey, is that woman pretty?"
The young master had never seen what the woman looked like, but he didn't want to embarrass himself in front of everyone, so he held his head high and said, "Of course she is beautiful. Don't you think about what kind of person my cousin is? How could the woman he likes be bad? I heard it." He kept it a secret, "People who heard it said that she is a rare beauty! Otherwise, my aunt would not agree."
Sima Hong had never seen this young master before. He only heard from the person who brought him along that he came to Beijing in winter to visit his uncle on behalf of his parents. He did not think much about it and just smiled slightly as he watched a group of young masters discussing the appearance of the girl.
When the young men heard that it was a rare beauty, they immediately became eager to see what the woman looked like. However, they were far away and the woman was wearing a thick veil, so no one had the ability to see through the veil to glimpse her true appearance.
Seeing that what several people said was getting more and more outrageous, the young master became a little flustered and shouted, "Don't tell anyone about this. This matter hasn't been finalized yet and hasn't been announced to anyone yet! If someone finds out, I'll be in trouble!" He had heard this secretly at his uncle's house, and he had just said it out just to show off. If it got out, he would be in trouble.
Several older gentlemen advised him nonchalantly, "I know, I know. There's nothing to say about it." It's just taking a concubine, who would take it seriously
One of the young men was so eager that he wanted to see the face of the woman under the veil. He had been in the capital for so long and had seen so many beauties, but he didn't think they were anything special. How stunning must she be to make that boy's cousin fall in love with her! The less he could see, the more he wanted to see. Thinking of Lord Sima next to him, he immediately came up with a plan.
"My Lord, My Lord! We brothers have a favor to ask of you!" The lustful young man smiled flatteringly, "I heard that your archery skills are the best in the world. Please shoot the veil off the woman's head so that we can see what she looks like."
Sima Hong was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. What was going on
The young masters who came with him immediately echoed, "That's right, that's right, Lord, show us your skills!" "That woman is wearing a veiled hat, and we can't see her face, how boring!"
"No, no." Sima Hong declined, "It would be bad for the girl. Besides, I didn't bring a bow and arrow with me when I went out today."
"Bows and arrows are easy!" One of the young men turned around and ran away. Not long after, he came back with a pair of bows and arrows. It turned out that on the way up the mountain, there was a stall selling archery and charging money, so the young man simply bought one and came up.
"Show us your skills, show us your skills!" a group of people begged and patted their chests, promising, "I will go and apologize to that woman afterwards, saying that I accidentally missed the target, and I will accept her beating and scolding."
Sima Hong really couldn't refuse. Infected by the enthusiastic emotions of a group of sixteen or seventeen young men, he had no choice but to obey. He removed the iron arrowhead and wrapped a sweat towel on the tip of the arrow shaft for fear of hurting the girl.
The bowstring was fully drawn and the arrow flew straight to the girl's veil. With a scream, the veil fell to the ground. The heartless young men looked up, no one remembered the promise just now, they just wanted to see what the beauty looked like.
Only Sima Hong felt that the scream was very familiar, and it made him a little frightened.