It was surprisingly cold outside, the north wind was blowing heavy snow, and the torches poured with pine oil were whistling in the wind. Ah Jing stood at the door, and the guards on the left and right saw him, but they didn't say a word, they just saluted lightly, which was regarded as a greeting. Ah Jing felt uncomfortable for a while, he didn't know any of the current guards, and he, the captain of the guards, was almost becoming a decoration.
I don't know how long it took, Ah Jing was so cold that he kept jumping up and down on the spot, rubbing his hands and walking back and forth, when suddenly the curtain moved, and a young officer in a dark blue straight military uniform came out calmly from inside.
"Cough... bah!" Ah Jing coughed deliberately, and then spat vigorously under his feet, and the phlegm landed on the tip of the officer's shoe.
The officer stopped immediately and turned his head slowly, but just met Ah Jing's provocative eyes. The officer's face was expressionless, his eyes flickered, and then he turned and walked into the thick darkness as if nothing had happened.
"Coward! Worthless!" Ah Jing cursed loudly, "No wonder you want to be a deserter!"
The night was pitch black, and the figure of that person could not be seen in a blink of an eye, Ah Jing hummed twice, turned around and entered the big tent.
Yan Xun was looking at the map under the lamp, when he heard him coming in, he didn't look up, but asked in a deep voice, "What's the matter?"
Ah Jing calmed down, and said quickly: "Your Highness, the girl is still following. In such a cold day, there is no tent to spend the night, so..."
"What?" Yan Xun's beautiful brows were slowly frowned, and he raised his head, his eyes were dark, his voice was low, and his tone was drawn very long, but there were traces of obvious anger mixed in, "Didn't you say that she has gone back already?"
Ah Jing scratched her head and said in a low voice: "Yes, I saw the girl turn the horse's head and go to Beishuo with my own eyes, but she followed at night."
"Trash!" Yan Xun threw the map on the table and said angrily, "A group of men can't even look at a woman."
Ah Jing lowered her head in grievance and said nothing, but said in her heart: "That is your heart. We dare not do it, we dare not use it violently, and we dare not tie it up and send it back. She agreed and said send it back." I'll go back in a while, who knows I'll follow up!"
Yan Xun turned around and picked up the big fur on the hanger, put it on his body and walked out. Ah Jing was overjoyed when she saw it, and hurriedly came forward and said courteously: "Your Highness, I have prepared all the horses for you, let's go quickly, we are going late, the girl is going to be cold, and my subordinates will go Tell me, Your Highness, why don’t you care about the girl? Apart from you in Yanbei, the girl is the number two person. The girl followed you in Zhenhuang to share the joys and sorrows. How can those treacherous white-eyed wolves compare? The subordinates know... "
However, before he finished speaking, he suddenly realized that the people behind him hadn't followed up. He turned his head and saw Yan Xun standing in the middle of the big tent, the candle in the downlight shone brightly on his face, his face shone brightly, and there was faintly light gray light and shadow shaking on his cheeks, as if separated by An impenetrable fog.
"His... Your Highness?" Ah Jing tentatively called in a low voice.
Yan Xun stood there with silent eyes, like the clouds cruising in the sky, finally, he lowered his hand that was tying the fur belt, and said calmly: "Take twenty guards and go to fetch her. Bar."
"Ah?" Ah Jing opened her mouth blankly and asked, "Your Highness, are you not going?"
Yan Xun didn't speak, just turned around lightly and took off his coat. Then, he walked slowly to the desk, stroking the huge map of Yanbei with his fingers, and did not speak for a long time.
Yan Xun's back was hidden in the heavy lights, the light was so bright that it was hard to stare at. In a trance, Ah Jing suddenly felt that his eyes seemed to be dazzled. Looking at Yan Xun's back, he suddenly remembered that many years ago in the Shengjin Palace, on that dazzling morning, the emperor of Daxia walked out of the palace. , he knelt down in the middle of the crowd, raised his head secretly, but was almost dazzled by the golden dragon robe.
"Yes, this subordinate obeys."
Ah Jing agreed, and was about to leave when she heard Yan Xun's deep voice, "From now on, you are not allowed to enter the big tent without a notification."
The young Yanbei soldier nodded silently, no longer the liveliness he had at the beginning, and replied sternly: "Yes, this subordinate obeys orders."
When Chu Qiao followed Ah Jing into the camp, Yan Xun had already fallen asleep, and she stared at Yan Xun's big tent with the lights off, dazed. Feng Zhi trotted all the way over, and said with some embarrassment: "Your Highness should be very tired after walking for a day."
"Well," Chu Qiao nodded, without any particular emotion, she just said quietly, "Then I'll go back first."
When I returned to the tent, my hands and feet were already numb from the cold. Ah Jing led people in to bring hot water to her enthusiastically. Although most of the soldiers did not know her, they had heard of her name and deeds, so they all surrounded the outside to probe her brain, and did not leave until Ah Jing scolded her.
After a while, the curtain moved, and a small head flashed in from outside, and shouted with a smile, "Lord Chu!"
"Ping'an?" Chu Qiao was slightly surprised, seeing that Ping'an was wearing a small military uniform, and he seemed to have grown taller after not seeing him for a few days. After the Beishuo war ended that day, she fell ill and never cared about him. She didn't expect to see him here today, and she quickly said, "Why are you here?"
"I'm a soldier."
"You? A soldier?" Chu Qiao was taken aback, "How old are you?"
"My lord, don't look down on me. General Ah Jing just said that Ping'an will be the girl's orderly from now on. You can entrust me with any chores you have."
orderly? That's good, at least you don't have to go to the battlefield. Chu Qiao smiled slightly, rubbed the child's hair, and said, "Go tell Ah Jing, just say that I thank him."
"The general doesn't keep watch tonight, it's Master Cheng who keeps watch."
Chu Qiao raised her eyebrows slightly, Ah Jing is Yan Xun's personal guard, and has always been the most loyal guard, how could she not keep watch? She asked softly, "Master Cheng? Which Master Cheng?"
"I don't know either." After all, Ping An is still young, frowning childishly, "I know that adult's surname is Cheng."
"Oh," Chu Qiao nodded, "It's getting late, you should go back and rest first."
Ping An agreed crisply, seemed to be very happy, and went out the door bouncing around. Chu Qiao looked at his back and suddenly felt a little sad. If it is in modern times, such a big child would be the age to carry a schoolbag to school every day, and hide in the arms of his parents and cry like a baby when something happens! But here, he prematurely assumed the responsibility of taking care of his younger sister, and lived a life of licking blood.
After washing her face, the water, which was still boiling hot before, was already a bit cold now, so she took off her boots with difficulty and put them into the water. Her feet were swollen from the cold, red and purple, and itched whenever she touched the heat. She took a deep breath. After washing, she took a bite of the dry food that had just been delivered, and then leaned on the warm quilt, slightly lost in thought.
After all, what happened that day still left a grudge between the two of them. Although she didn't show her face, Yan Xun tried hard to adjust and restore it, but some things are like porcelain, once it is broken, no matter how you fix it, it will be useless.
Because of her illness, Yan Xun postponed the departure of the army for two full days. In the past two days, he stayed by the sick bed all day and all night, feeding her food and drinking water, and even brewing medicine himself, his hospitality made everyone around her tremble with fear. However, when Chu Qiao proposed to join the army, he refused decisively, and the reasons were so good that it was impossible to refute. But no matter how much those words sounded for her sake and how reasonable they were, Chu Qiao's mind still kept echoing Yan Xun's words that day: "If they violate the military law again in the future, I will not show mercy gone."
It's a warning, but how can you be sure it's not a signal? Chu Qiao felt guilty for thinking this way. Since when did she become wary of him? Except for that day, Yan Xun treated her as always, so good that Chu Qiao even thought that everything that day was just a dream. However, on the day when the army marched out, when she stood in front of the city gate with all her armor on and knelt on the ground asking to join the army to join the battle, Yan Xun was angry.
This was the first time he got angry at her, and instead of cursing angrily, he looked at her for a long time, as if he saw a lot of things through her thin shoulders, in the end, he just asked softly: "Ah Chu, what are you worried about?" Then, before she could answer, she rode past without even turning her head.
The soldiers surrounded her and asked her to go back to the house immediately. She quietly watched Yan Xun's leaving figure, and suddenly felt desolate in her heart. He understands everything, knows everything, he has so many thoughts, he asked her, what are you worried about? But Yan Xun, how about you? What are you worried about
She followed after all, as he said, she was worried, yes, she was worried about him, she was afraid that he would kill all the envoys of the Southwest Township. On the battlefield, there are too many ways to wipe out an army silently and without showing any traces. The officers and soldiers of the Southwest Township's government risked their lives to follow her, and she couldn't let them die without knowing why.
Maybe it's her villainous heart, but Yan Xun, since you know what I'm afraid of, why don't you make a promise to me? Or, you don't dare at all, and what I'm afraid of is already in your plan
The charcoal fire on the ground was burning quietly, it was the best white charcoal, there was only a faint smoke, Chu Qiao stared at the charcoal fire steadfastly, her eyes gradually became dry and sore. Her illness has not completely recovered, and she has trekked in the cold wind for a whole day, and her fatigue is like a tide. She was wearing white single clothes, curled up on the bed, blew out the candle, and fell asleep quietly.
The moon outside was shining brightly, shining brightly on the snow below. It was pitch black inside the tent, and the wind was blowing fiercely. There were no trees on the flat ground, and only the chirping of nighthawks could be heard, cutting fiercely across the quiet night sky.
I don't know how long it took, but it was pitch black all around, and there was a sudden icy cold sensation on my feet. Chu Qiao closed her eyes, frowned slightly, then sat up abruptly as if she had been electrocuted, and said coldly, "Who?"
In the darkness, a slender figure sat at the foot of the bed. The man was dressed in soft cloth, and with the faint light, the contours of his eyebrows and eyes could be vaguely seen. He sat there, gently holding her frostbitten feet with his palms, and a bowl was placed on the edge of the bed, with a strong medicinal fragrance emanating from it.
"Are you awake?" Yan Xun asked quietly, then stood up and lit a candle. The warm yellow light of the fire shone on his face, exuding a peaceful and peaceful aura. He sat back again, stretched out his slender fingers, dipped in the medicine, and then smeared it on her frostbite finely. The pads of his fingers were gentle, like a gentle wind, gently sweeping across her fingertips and insteps. Yan Xun didn't raise his head, his eyes were like a pool of cold water, and he said calmly, "Your feet need medicine every day. In the army, there are maids to wait on you. Things are complicated here. Don't forget about it as soon as you get busy. to take care of your body.”