Qi Zi, the great master of Yin and Yang, is a recluse who lives in the mountains and fields all year round. If it wasn't for the Queen's accidental acquaintance with him when she was young, even if it was the original royal family, he would not disdain to make astrology divination.
This is the first time in several years that the eldest princess has gone to the place where Qi Zi lives in seclusion to pray for the country instead of the queen. In order to reach the destination as soon as possible, Du Yan only brought more than a hundred guards, pretending to be a businessman, and set off from the capital in a light car.
Although Cheng Yu was a proton of Cheng Guo, and according to common sense, he was not allowed to step out of the original capital, but Du Yan had always had an unreasonable and bullying temperament, and made it clear that Cheng Yu would accompany him to serve.
Recently, the original king has also thought about appeasing the Wu family more, so as to avoid accidents when the general is recalled. In addition, there are more than a hundred guards on the side, and the proton of Chengguo alone can not cause any trouble.
Now that five days have passed, there will be about two more days of travel before reaching the destination.
Sitting on the carriage, Du Yan felt that the speed suddenly slowed down a lot, and there was a faint sound of gurgling water.
He estimated that he should have arrived at the planned location, so he opened the partition on the side window and looked out.
The centurion was guarding the horse on the side of the carriage. When he saw Du Yan lift the curtain, he bent down slightly and said, "Elder Princess, this is not the capital, please don't look around."
After all, he didn't give Du Yan any face at all, and directly reached out and closed the side window of the carriage.
"Where is the reckless man, I want you to look good when I go back!"
An angry voice came from inside the carriage, and the guards outside were not squinting, they were used to the arrogance of the eldest princess.
In fact, in the carriage, Du Yan's expression was calm and calm. He bent down slightly, picked up the note that the centurion had just thrown into the carriage, and began to examine it.
"There are a hundred guards, and more than ten are under Yuan Jue. At that time, the subordinates will try to move the guards around the carriage away to facilitate his actions."
Previously, Du Yan's eyeliner on Yuan Jue's side had already communicated his plan with Mrs. Hui, and they planned to do it here when they returned.
Yuan Jue sent a message to the local robbers, saying that in a few days, there will be merchants passing by here, and the merchants bring valuable goods. With the crowd here alone, it is natural that these elite soldiers and strong generals cannot be dealt with.
All Yuan Jue needed was these bandits to cause a riot, and then the people he placed in the escort team would take the opportunity to startle the eldest princess' horse. The carriage was frightened, or it fell into a deep stream and it was unknown whether it was alive or dead, or if it fell out of the carriage, it was either dead or disabled.
No matter what the consequences were, Yuan Jue felt that he was out of anger, and if the Wu family wanted to pursue it, they could only vent their anger with these bandits.
With Yuan Jue's scheming, he couldn't think of such a strategy to kill with a knife. All this is Du Yan's handwriting, and all the eyeliner he buried is sent to Yuan Jue.
The matter of offering sacrifices to the heavens and praying for blessings is related to the fortune of the country. Even idiots like Yuan Jue know that they can't make mistakes, so they arrange the time for the return trip.
The terrain here is narrow, with high cliffs on the left and deep streams on the right. It is the favorite ambush location for bandits.
While Du Yan was thinking about it, he heard a soft knock on the carriage door.
He opened a gap, saw Cheng Yu sitting in front of the car, and looked back: "Princess, do you find it boring?"
Du Yan glanced at him: "What do you think? I've been stuck in this narrow carriage for five days. It's not like you can still see the scenery on the road."
Cheng Yu said in a low voice, "I was already prepared, there is something under the hidden compartment of the seat."
The purpose of this trip is to pray to the heaven and earth to pray for the original country. Naturally, it is necessary to maintain sincerity and put an end to enjoyment. Therefore, the accompanying baggage, apart from the food and grass necessary for the sacrifice to the gods and the clothing and clothing, there is no longer anything.
Du Yan is also the honor of the princess. For the sake of safety, he can't ride on a horse unless he is setting up camp. Even if Du Yan is not a stubborn temperament, he still feels flustered.
He closed the door, reached out and touched the hidden compartment under the seat, and found a small wooden box with exquisite carvings. After opening it, there were some preserved fruits and a few books.
Looking at the book to pass the time in his hand, Du Yan suddenly felt a little melancholy. After spending such a long time with Chengyu, the other party can be said to be very pleased with him.
Now that they will be separated from Cheng Yu, they may be enemies when they meet again in the future. Du Yan thinks about it and thinks that he may be a little unaccustomed to it.
It's just that Cheng Yu is an emperor who wants to rule the world, so how can he always be a servant. Perhaps in the future, when he thinks of this experience, he would like to stab himself, the initiator, with a sword.
Du Yan squeezed the preserved fruit and put it into his mouth, sighing in his heart, "It's really not easy to have a meal."
A few days later, the group arrived at the place where Qi Zi lived in seclusion.
The guards brought by the eldest princess were all stationed outside the valley, and only the eldest princess was allowed to enter.
Du Yan was in the camp, burning incense and bathing, and after putting on the most solemn dress, he walked out of the tent slowly.
The eldest princess has always been active and doesn't like accessories, and her clothes have always been simple and light. This is the first time Cheng Yu has seen him do such a grand dress.
The solemn black brocade robe, with red piping, has red silk threads embroidered with the dark pattern of the Hundred Birds and the Phoenix, but the black hair is just casually tied up with a hosta.
Apart from the hosta and the accessories around his waist, there was nothing of gold or silver. Qi Zi is an extraordinary person, and when he enters his residence, he naturally cannot wear gold and silver and other common things.
Cheng Yu looked at his back, and suddenly there was an illusion in his heart that the person in front of him seemed to be going to an unknown place and would never return.
This sense of panic that the other party was about to get out of control made him take a step forward and stop in front of Du Yan.
Du Yan was a little unaccustomed to this solemn court dress. Layer after layer, his shoulders were aching, and his steps were a little difficult.
He was concentrating on the situation under his feet, so as not to accidentally trip over the skirt or debris on the road, and suddenly a dark shadow shrouded his eyes.
Du Yan looked up and saw Cheng Yu standing in front of him with an unpredictable expression, and looked over attentively.
He thought that the other party had something to say, and waited for a while, but saw that Cheng Yu just stared at him blankly without saying a word.
Du Yan frowned slightly: "Cheng Yu, how are you doing?"
Cheng Yu seemed to have recovered and said, "Princess, be careful on the road."
"Long-winded." Du Yan glanced at him and continued on.
Du Yan walked all the way into the valley, and after a while, he suddenly became enlightened. In the valley, the birds sing and the flowers are fragrant, and the streams are gurgling, just like a place outside the world.
Above the central clearing, there is a high stone altar. Next to the stream is a simple bamboo house, in which the sound of the piano curls out.
Du Yanjing stood outside the bamboo house without making a sound, but quietly listened to the sound of the piano.
After a while, the song was over, and an old voice came from inside the bamboo house.
"But Young Master Yan?"
"Yes." Du Yan bowed.
The door of the bamboo house opened with a creak, and an old man in gray robe came out.
After a little preparation, the two boarded the star-gazing platform and began the long ritual of sacrificing the sky. When the night gets darker and all the stars have ascended to the sky, the ceremony will come to an end.
Du Yan's shoulders were sore because of the heavy dress on his body, and he felt fortunate that the queen was a general and a tiger girl, and she also practiced martial arts when she was not married. Otherwise, after this long ceremony of sacrificing the heavens, I am afraid that I will be ill for a few days.
Tonight is the night of the new moon. The moon is dark and the stars are shining. It is the best night for stargazing.
The old man knelt on the altar and looked up, holding a bone carving knife in his hand.
"The emperor's star is getting brighter, it has reached the middle of the sky, and the world will be united."
Both the queen and Qi Zi thought that Di Xing was Du Yan, and because of the suspicion of the original king, he could only show himself as a woman, which was dark and unclear. Now is the time to act, to restore the identity of the original prince, will there be a sign of the emperor star.
However, Du Yan knew that the Emperor Star was referring to Cheng Yu, the protagonist of the Cheng Kingdom. It was because he was the hostage in the original country that he had suffered so much. Now that he is about to return to Chengguo to take the throne and start his journey to rule the world, it is gradually becoming clearer.
"The old man made a new discovery a few days ago. A companion star suddenly appeared next to the Emperor Star, and the brilliance is enough to compete with the Emperor Star."
Du Yan said: "Is this companion star assisting the emperor star or competing with the emperor star for the star of the world?"
The tortoise shell used for divination, which had been baked for a long time before, was covered with cracks. Qi Zi picked up the tortoise shell and looked at it carefully for a long time before he said: "The two stars are fighting for glory, and the situation in the world is unknown. I hope you will pay attention to this matter after you return to the capital."
After that, he raised his hand and used a carving knife to inscribe the words of divination on the turtle shell and handed it to Du Yan.
This piece of tortoise shell will not be seen by the original king. Before Du Yan set off, he had prepared forged tortoise shells to deal with the original king.
He bid farewell to Qizi and returned directly along the same path.
In the early morning of the next day, Du Yan left with a group and returned to the capital.
Two days later, the team reached the dangerous road on the mountainside again, and Du Yan casually flipped through the books in his hand, waiting for the bandit to appear.
Halfway through the journey, the carriage stopped.
Du Yan pushed open the door and called, "What's the matter?"
The centurion stepped forward and replied, "The road ahead is blocked by fallen trees, please wait a moment, princess."
The eyes of the two met, and Du Yan nodded slightly, signaling the centurion to act according to the plan.
"Go and see, don't delay your trip."
"Promise." The centurion threw up his hands and walked away.
Du Yan thought for a while, and then ordered: "Cheng Yu, I'm a little uneasy, don't leave the carriage."
Cheng Yu agreed, the current situation is unknown, and he did not intend to leave the princess for half a step.
Just a moment after the centurion left, from the side cliff, there were rocks rolling down.
The team that escorted the eldest princess are all experienced people, and they also know that the terrain here is dangerous, and they did not walk along the cliff. Therefore, the falling rock just smashed the neat team into a little mess, and did not cause much damage.
The people in ambush were originally just building momentum with falling rocks. Their purpose is to rob money. If a falling stone destroys the property, it will be in vain.
So just after a wave of falling rocks, a figure appeared on the top of the mountain, shouting and rushing down.
In the information that the bandit got, it was just a group of ordinary caravans, even with some guards, there would not be too many. These bandits thought that after this wave of rockfall threats, the caravan would obediently hand over their belongings.
It never occurred to me that the ordinary caravan people who were dressed as ordinary people drew their weapons in unison, and quickly adjusted their formation and prepared for the challenge.
It's just that things have come to this point, and the bandit has to bite the bullet and fight.
Naturally, these rabble were not the opponents of well-trained soldiers, but most of them were subdued in a short time, and only a few remained stubbornly resisting.
Just as the fighting was about to subside, a stream of arrows flew out during the melee, just in the middle of the horse pulling Princess Cheyu, who was being guarded by the group in the center.
The arrow was castrated unpleasantly, and the horse was not seriously injured, but frightened. I saw the horse neighing and galloping along the road uncontrollably.