Chu Qiao's face was as white as jade, her skin was crystal clear and tender, with a slight chill from the outside. The warmth of Yan Xun's fingertips made her slightly startled, her face flushed uncontrollably, she pushed his hand away uncomfortably, and frowned, "What are you doing?"
"Wow," Yan Xun stretched out his hand, a grain of white rice sticking to his fingertips, he said with a smile, "Ah Chu, you are really hungry outside, it seems that I will make it up to you."
Just as Chu Qiao was about to speak, she suddenly caught a glimpse of Yan Xun's fingers, and saw that hand was as white as jade, with four slender fingers, but his little finger was severed.
Chu Qiao's eyes suddenly turned cold, she slowly took a bite of the food, then raised her head and said in a deep voice, "If it works this time, Wei Jing will never be able to get up again."
The air was suddenly quiet, Yan Xun looked at Chu Qiao's profile, stretched out his hand, and patted her shoulder lightly, "Ah Chu, don't think so much."
"Yan Xun, I will not be reckless, I will do what I can." Chu Qiao's voice was suddenly muffled, she lowered her voice, and said slowly, "We have been waiting for so many years, I will not be so impatient .”
The afternoon sun was warm, shining on the two of them through the window lattice, and the air seemed to smell the smell of spring.
Time flies, and the young children of the past have long since grown up. The sun is bright outside, and the world is changing, but some things, like old wine, become more mellow.
"Ah Chu, don't go out again when you come back this time, take a good rest for a while."
Chu Qiao raised her head. Although she was not very old, her small face had already begun to look like a beauty, with curved brows and eyes, but it was different from ordinary ladies, with a bit more heroic vigor and wisdom. She lowered her head, rested her forehead on Yan Xun's chest, nodded lightly, and said in a low voice, "Okay."
Yan Xun stretched out his arms, wrapped around the girl's shoulders, and caressed her back, "When we arrive in Yanbei, spring will be here. I'll take you to Huoleiyuan to hunt wild horses."
"Well," Chu Qiao said in a muffled voice, "We will definitely go."
Time passed slowly, Yan Xun's shoulders felt a little sore, but Chu Qiao didn't speak for a long time. The man lowered his head and saw that the girl's eyelashes were very long, casting a silhouette under the eyelids, which looked even more beautiful under the sun.
"Achu?"
Yan Xun called out softly, seeing that Chu Qiao didn't respond, he couldn't help laughing, she actually fell asleep just like that. He stood up, wrapped his arms around her and hugged her in his arms. With Chu Qiao's vigilance, she didn't struggle at all, and seemed to know that she was in a safe place.
As soon as he walked out of the study, Ah Jing greeted him, Yan Xun raised his eyebrows, Ah Jing and several servants retreated immediately, not daring to vent their breath, they could only watch Yan Xun holding Chu Qiao who was dressed in men's clothes, and slowly Walk slowly to the bedroom.
After a while, Prince Yanbei walked out of the room, and Ah Jing hurried forward.
"what happened?"
"I encountered an ambush on the road, and the girl led someone to run back from Luye all the way, in case the prince is in a hurry, and he hasn't left the saddle for three days. I'm afraid he's exhausted right now."
Yan Xun frowned, and said in a deep voice, "Where are those people?"
"Right now, in Liangshan Town, eighty miles west of Zhenhuang City, we have someone watching. My son, do you want to attack?"
"Yeah." Yan Xun nodded, and walked towards the study with a calm expression.
"Then," Ah Jing hesitated slightly, thought for a while, and then asked, "Where are the stone merchants in charge of the imperial mausoleum who were bought by the girl?"
Yan Xun pondered slightly, then said: "Since it's useless, let's get rid of it together."
"Yes, this subordinate obeys."
The cold wind was blowing slowly from the direction of Yalang Mountain, Yan Xun raised his head, and saw a white bird with not fully grown feathers hovering in the north wind, not sure if he was attracted by the fragrance of him, but he was not afraid at all The ground hovered above his head, flapping its wings, flying up and down, chirping curiously.
Ah Jing was slightly taken aback, and immediately exclaimed in surprise: "It's the Cangwu bird! My son, it may be a little Cangwu bird that has lost its way. This kind of bird is the most humane, and it is not afraid of life. It is very precious, and many people domesticate it." Just having fun! This is the first time I have seen such a small Cangwu bird."
"Really?" Yan Xun agreed lightly, stretched out his hand, looked at the little bird circling in mid-air, and raised his eyebrows slightly.
The little bird chirped, seemed to be very curious, fluttered a few times, and landed on Yan Xun's finger, pecked Yan Xun's palm lightly with its bright yellow beak, its bright red eyes turned nimbly, very affectionate look.
Ah Jing was very surprised, just about to open his mouth to sigh, suddenly there was a crackling sound, Yan Xun clenched his hands tightly, and the precious bird didn't even have time to scream, it fell to the ground with a puff.
"If you trust people so easily, if I don't kill you, you will die at the hands of others sooner or later."
The man's black robe flashed, his figure was tall and straight, and he disappeared among the pavilions in an instant. The strong wind blew and the snow fell, which quickly covered the little bird's body. It was already late at night when she woke up, and there was a pot of milk warmed in the small warmer on the table as usual, Chu Qiao poured out a small cup and took a sip, immediately warmed up from inside to outside. The moon outside was huge, hanging brightly in the sky, shining brightly in Yingge Bieyuan. Pushing open the window, the bright moonlight came in. She sat on the chair, propped her elbows, leaned on the window eaves, and let out a long breath.
She couldn't count how many times she looked at this yard like this. Many times, she couldn't tell whether everything in front of her was a dream, or the memory of her previous life was just an illusion. In a blink of an eye, it has been almost eight years since I came to this world. Eight years is enough to change a lot of things, including a person's thoughts, beliefs, visions and ideals for which he strives.
There are two wooden stakes in the yard, which have been standing there for more than seven years. Even in such a dark night, the deep and shallow knife marks on the wooden stakes can be clearly seen by the bright moonlight.
That's where she and Yan Xun practiced martial arts these years. In the first few years, they didn't dare to practice during the day, so they could only quietly hold a knife every night, go out to watch the wind alone, and quietly practice those martial arts drawn by Chu Qiao that combined the essence of martial arts from all over the world. Exquisite knife skills. Every time one or two palace people pass by, they will be very nervous, and then they will breathe a sigh of relief when others leave.
In the west conservatory in the side wing, there were always two sets of quilts prepared. At that time, they didn't have a single servant they could trust. The two children often live in the same room with a sword in their arms. When one is asleep, the other must be awake. The door latch is always tied with a thin thread, which is connected to the hands and feet of the two. People will pull out the knife and jump up from the bed.
The antique vases on the bookshelves in the study room are always filled with various wound medicines for emergencies. Although they seldom use it, they have gradually developed such a habit. Even the chopsticks and spoons they eat are made of silver, and they feed a lot of little rabbits. Every meal must be eaten first by the rabbits. Dare to eat into the mouth. In the first few years, they never seemed to have a freshly cooked meal.
Whether it is hot summer or mid-winter, a layer of soft armor should always be covered under the inner shirt. Whether it is eating or sleeping, there must always be the most convenient weapon on your body. Time passed slowly like this, no matter how difficult it was, they still grew up side by side. Hope suddenly became no longer bleak, and the future was no longer hopeless, and a trace of warm anticipation gradually grew in my heart.
Chu Qiao raised the corners of her lips lightly, so, maybe it is the so-called sense of belonging, after so many years, so many killings, so many scheming plots, she finally no longer regards herself as an outsider, wants to escape, wants to stay out of it up.
In fact, from the moment she walked into the imperial city, their fates were tightly bound together.
Thinking of this, Chu Qiao couldn't help but look towards the northwest sky. There, there are Huihui Mountain and Huoleiyuan that Yan Xun has described to her countless times, and the Yanbei Grassland that they have always yearned for. In every cold night, in every humiliating predicament, in every hateful situation, they supported them and made it through with difficulty.
Taking a deep breath and closing the window, Chu Qiao came to the desk, spread out a chart, lowered her head, and looked at it carefully.
The door creaked and was slowly opened. The man was wearing a cotton white gown with a circle of fine camel hair around his neck. His clothes were upright and his face was handsome.
Chu Qiao smiled slightly, but didn't get up, she sat down and said hello: "It's so late, why are you still awake?"
"Didn't you sleep too?"
Yan Xun walked in with a food box, opened the lid, and said, "You slept until midnight and didn't eat dinner, aren't you hungry?"
As soon as the words were finished, there was a loud sound of stomach drumming. Chu Qiao rubbed her belly and smiled embarrassedly, "It's fine if you don't say it, but once you say it, it will start to rebel."
"Eat some first, see if it suits your appetite?"
"Hmm." Chu Qiao put down the pen and paper, stood up and took the food box, looked at it, and exclaimed in surprise, "Ah! It's pear blossom dumplings!"
"Well, I know you like to eat. I asked someone to prepare it early in the morning. It has been frozen outside for several days. I just waited for you to come back. I just cooked it."
"Hehe," the girl narrowed her eyes into a line and said with a smile, "Yan Xun, every time I eat this, I feel like I'm coming home."
She gulped down a few dumplings, Yan Xun poured a glass of deer milk and watched her eat quietly. The moonlight outside the window was shining brightly on the two of them through the window, and the candles in the corner were crackling, making it all the more peaceful and quiet.
"Achu," seeing Chu Qiao finished eating, Yan Xun handed over a white brocade handkerchief, and naturally wiped the oil stains from the corner of her mouth, and said in a deep voice, "Those stone merchants who were bought by you..."
"Yan Xun, just go ahead and do it, don't tell me." Before Yan Xun finished speaking, Chu Qiao said, "I was not careful about this matter, and I couldn't be so cruel, but such a person will keep it forever. It is a scourge. It is very unwise to leave such a handle when we are not yet capable of confronting the Shengjin Palace Elders. The reason why I brought them back is to hope that you will help me make this decision, so, you You don't have to explain it to me."
Yan Xun smiled slightly, his eyes suddenly softened, "Well, I just don't want to hide it from you."
"That's right," Chu Qiao said with a smile, "We have agreed that we will never hide anything from the other party. Concealment is the cause of all misunderstandings and estrangements. No matter whether the intention is good or not, we cannot make this mistake."
"Hehe," Yan Xun said with a light smile, "Okay, then you can tell me the whole trip to Nanji Mountain right now, no matter how big or small it is."