The day we entered Wu County, the sky had cleared up, and as the sun was high in the sky, it was very hot before noon. All that came into view was green, even the wormwood growing on the wall had a freshness of being soaked in rain, and the willows swayed in the wind and the cicadas chirped, making it very lively and bustling.
But apart from these, the whole city still seems lifeless.
I immediately realized that something had happened. At this time of year, most of the people on the street were soldiers, which was absolutely not right. The panic-stricken looks of the occasional ordinary pedestrians who looked at me and dodged in all directions also made me more certain that something had happened, and it was a big one.
Still relying on the name or reputation of the so-called Marquis of Ping An Feng Yun, I met everyone I wanted to meet in the shortest possible time, although in reality, I was just a commoner. However, this commoner himself did not think so, and others also agreed with this commoner. However, this commoner did look a lot different from the former Marquis of Ping An Feng Yun. At least his two old friends needed to carefully recognize his face before they could relax their brows.
"Don't look at me like that. I've been caught in the rain for half a month, and my horse has been in the mud for more than ten days. My clothes are all moldy." The commoner pulled his still wet collar and turned his neck, showing an uncomfortable expression. He helplessly looked at the two eyes beside him that were both filled with evil taste.
"Then don't look at me. You definitely can't wear my clothes." The fat man pretended to be angry, but there was a smile on his lips.
"Don't look at me, mine isn't good either." The older ones couldn't hold back anymore and burst out laughing.
"I'll wash up right away, and you can just find a coat for me to wear." I paused for a moment, and asked sternly, "What's going on?"
"What's going on?" The fatter young man understood immediately, his face immediately became serious, and he said quite straightforwardly: "Yan Baihu, Wang Lang's dozen leaders have all been... "
Then he made a cutting motion with his hands, and continued: "I did it on the night of the 19th."
"It's my idea. I guess you'll feel a little uncomfortable, Brother Zhi... But you have to know how dangerous I was at the beginning." The younger one wanted to explain, and even felt a little aggrieved, but I immediately understood what was going on, and I could understand it.
“No need, I know, you should do it… you should do this, otherwise it won’t work.” I nodded intermittently, and then I didn’t say anything else. I just listened to them telling me the whole story.
At that time, Yinling was still "sister".
When Sheng Bin stayed here, he only had a few thousand soldiers, while Yan Baihu, Wang Lang and others each had more than 10,000 followers. When my sister, Guan Hai, Ye Jian and others left, Sheng Bin's situation immediately became quite serious. Fortunately, they were not sure they could withstand our counterattack, and my sister had sent people to spread all kinds of rumors among the bandits, in order to create dissension among these people and prevent them from fully dealing with us.
There is another practical reason that prevents everyone from taking action, that is, my sister took away a large amount of food, arrows, weapons and supplies. Once someone dares to commit a crime, no one can support it for a few days just by the daily consumption of things. Even if they succeed, once we come back, they can only fight us with empty stomachs and sticks picked up from anywhere. The most beautiful thing is that my sister also stored all the food in the pass on the edge of Wujun, and transported it to Wujun every five days to supply the army with daily food. With this arrangement, she determined that nothing would happen here.
But being with a group of people like that is like living with a group of vicious wolves. If they have food, they will eat it and ignore you; but if they are hungry, they will still bite you. From the beginning, Sheng Bin knew that the group of people he worked with were no good.
So, although his sister had planned everything for Sheng Bin, Sheng Bin still started his own plan. On the one hand, he asked the two brothers Yang and Yan who lived nearby to send troops to help; on the other hand, he invited these bandit leaders to drink and have fun every three days and every five days. Later, he set a date with this group of people, going to this house today and that house tomorrow. Then, during the banquet, he pretended not to be good at drinking. Whenever he was 30% drunk, he pretended to be 70%, and then he talked nonsense, saying this was coming and that was coming. Then, when he was 50%, he pretended to be drunk and unconscious, and asked the servants to drag him away quickly. When he returned, he fell asleep.
There were unexpectedly assassins among them, but fortunately he always brought a lot of guards with him, so he was safe. In this way, Wu County remained peaceful.
On the 17th, Brother Wensheng (Yan Yan, the author's note) led his troops to the city and camped 15 miles outside the city. They did not move for several days. That night, we first held a reception at Shengbin's house and invited everyone to come. There was no incident that day. On the 18th, during the banquet at Wang Lang's house, Bin pretended to be drunk again, and talked about that in a few days, the Marquis of Ping'an Fengyun would come with troops. After a while, Bin fell down half drunk. Yan Yan hurriedly ordered people to send him away, and severely scolded Sheng Bin in front of everyone, but asked those people to help, and nothing happened that night. However, on the night of the 19th, when they were about to go to Yan Baihu's house for a drink, Sheng Bin dared not drink too much in front of Yan Yan. Everyone tried to persuade brother Wen Sheng, and brother Wen Sheng relented. Only then did they start to drink happily during the banquet. Later, both of them were drunk and were helped away by the soldiers. But when they returned to the Wujun government office, they immediately returned to normal, no longer just sleeping like they did a few days ago, and ordered the soldiers who had been deployed in the city in the past few days to rush into Yan's mansion together, and the garrison outside the city also guarded the exits of the city. The spies in various places also hurriedly spread the news that I had arrived. They first killed all the leaders in the city, and then the army came to suppress the troops that dared to disobey. Unexpectedly, my reputation could really scare these people. The leaderless gang of people dispersed or surrendered. By the time I really arrived, they had basically calmed down. It was just that in the past few days, the fish that escaped the net that day were hunted down in Wu County, and the city gates were only open for entry but not exit, which made the people in the city so panic.
Listen, so far only Yan Baihu's brother is missing. After interrogating several of Yan's confidants, we found out that he was specifically there to monitor Yan and Sheng.
Finally, through interrogating the retainers of each mansion, we found that everyone was actually monitoring each other. The reason why we were so successful this time was that when they had the initiative, they were hindered by all parties and dared not act rashly; while we acted immediately as soon as we got the opportunity and conditions. It's a pity that these heroes were once domineering and owned a piece of land, but now, they have all gone to the west and squeezed into a pit with others.
If you think that the matter is so simple, it seems to be too light. In fact, one thing alone makes me feel that this matter is very difficult to solve, because more than 700 people were killed in half an hour that night. This is what I asked a soldier in the basement, and he told me.
I didn't mention this matter to them again, as if I didn't know it, and they didn't know I knew it; or maybe they knew I knew it but deliberately pretended not to know.
I really pretended to have forgotten about this matter, as if nothing had happened. During the meal, although I was thinking in my heart how Brother Yan and Sheng Bin, who seemed so honest and straightforward in my impression, could be like this, I was asking about my sister-in-law whom I had never met, and asked my brother to take good care of her, and how Bin's marriage was going, etc.
On the surface, nothing seemed to have happened, until two days later, when I went south again, the streets were still somewhat bleak, with only the weeds and wild wormwood still looking so green and lush.
I was the first person to leave the city in these few days. After I left the city for a while, I heard a burst of shouting behind me. I didn't look back because I knew the city gates were opened.
I finally decided to put aside all these things, because I think what they did was right. The situation forced us to do it. If we didn't do it, they would eventually do it, and then it would be even more difficult for us to deal with it now. In fact, I was just too kind-hearted. Although I was sure of this, I couldn't help feeling uneasy in my heart. I always felt that it would be better if I was here, thinking that at least there would be fewer deaths. In the end, I finally decided to just laugh at myself. I have experienced so many battles and rushed into the front line many times. The blood on my hands is almost like a river. Why do I still pretend to be kind and righteous? It's really laughable. In the end, I could only smile and look at the depths of the mountains in the south, because my Yinling is there. She must be waiting for me, and now I just want to see her.
Since we were in Wu County, we had to mention the story of the struggle between Wu and Yue in the spring and autumn. The teacher had told us this story before, but unfortunately I fell asleep during many of the exciting parts. When I woke up later, my classmates mentioned this long series of stories with great interest, which made me regret it deeply. I thought that this must be a story that the teacher loved very much, because when he told these stories, he actually let me go even though I was almost asleep in the middle.
I like the original Wu Kingdom very much. There is no other reason, but the brothers who wanted to take the throne gave up their virtuousness. Although they were all virtuous, they all believed that their younger brothers were more outstanding. In order to let their younger brothers ascend the throne, they were willing to die calmly. This kind of mind is not something that ordinary people can match. Students can't help but sigh at this point. Next, it is the matter of the two assassins after Wu Zixu passed Zhaoguan. (For related stories, please refer to "Wu Yue Chun Qiu", so it is not appropriate to unfold it here, so it is omitted, author's note)
Zhuan Zhu's assassination of King Liao caused Helü to seal his sword and not use it (Zhuan Zhu stabbed King Liao of Wu with Yuchang, but was also killed by King Wu's guards. Prince Guang entered Suzhou and became King Helü of Wu. Helü cherished Zhuan Zhu's loyalty and sealed the sword Yuchang and did not use it anymore. It was eventually buried with himself. The place of burial is said to be under the sword pool of Tiger Hill in Suzhou, where there may also be Juque and Bianzhu, author's note), which is considered to be quite exciting; Yao Li's assassination of Qingji was extremely cruel, and the two of them cherished each other when stabbing, and committed suicide when the success was achieved, which was extremely thrilling. In the end, the two of them were hidden in the same place (Yangmeiwu, on the southern foot of Hongshan East Ridge, because it is so old that it is impossible to find the traces of their tombstones. These places are specially noted for reference by tomb robbers like Laura, and the author Chunjiequan made them as jokes to reward guests on holidays), and thus became the classic of assassins in the world.
Thinking of this, I thought of the thing that stabbed me, but when I thought of this person, I felt helpless. I could only throw away this useless worry and continue on my way.
But then, I fell in love with King Goujian of Yue. This is the example of the backbone and the meridians I mentioned. He slept on straw and tasted gall, worked hard to govern the country, gathered people for ten years, and learned lessons for ten years. With the ability of a group of wise ministers, the whole country worked together. I really want to see what a magnificent and moving scene it is. And what I remember most clearly is the part that the teacher talked about, which was about some special laws and regulations he implemented at special times in the country. As a result, when I brought this up with the teacher last time, I was criticized and told that I only care about this. In fact, I was just waking up from the part he talked about. Because I slept well before, I was in good spirits at the time, so my memory was also good.
However, I also hate Gou Jian, who could share hardships with others but could not share wealth with others. After Yue conquered Wu, he slaughtered his own meritorious officials wantonly, and it seemed that only Fan Li escaped (the one who later became Tao Zhugong, but there is debate in the historical community about whether Fan Li is Tao Zhugong, so we should not make a rash conclusion, author's note).
It is indeed a good story. There is even love between men and women in the story. Later, the story of Xi Shi washing silk by the stream, holding her heart and frowning, is often mentioned by everyone to reflect that there are too few beautiful girls in Xiangyang, so that a certain kind of people covet "my sister" Yinling. At that time, I heard that there were many beautiful women among the Yue people, and I admired them very much, but I didn't think that "my wife" Yinling was one of them. This is riding a donkey to find a donkey. Suddenly, I felt that the words I used to describe it were very interesting, but they were somewhat derogatory of Yinling. I quickly said to myself that I was guilty; but I kept thinking about the words riding a donkey to find a donkey. I was a little puzzled in my heart. I was riding a horse, but I could still think of a donkey. I must be a little crazy. I laughed and then returned to the serious story.
Xiao Ding thought about this story again and wanted to switch roles with Gou Jian, let me govern Yue State and see how I can govern Yue State. I think at least I will not be so ruthless to the meritorious officials, so maybe the story will be more complete. Unfortunately, I know that this is impossible, so I can only temporarily put aside all the worries in my heart and indulge in the mountains and rivers here.
The scenery here is obviously different from the style of Po Liu Han Lie Ya's hometown in the north, and it is also different from the mountains and forests in the southwest of Jing. The main thing is the water that appears from time to time in these mountains and hills. It is the same water, but because of its different appearances, it is difficult to describe its beauty. Some are waterfalls that flow straight down without stopping; some are a handful of clear springs in the quiet grass without ripples; some are deep pools that are bottomless; some are a shallow layer of clear water on pebbles; and there are streams that laugh through the mountains. All of them are the divine work of nature that cannot be expressed in words.
I like to stand on the high mountain to face the wind, so that even if I climb to the sky, it will not be enough to exhaust my ambition; I like to stay in the quiet valley to rest, so that even if I am young and frivolous, it will not be easy for me to have greedy and violent thoughts.
It’s a pity that the only thing missing is the person in my heart.
There is no wind in the mountains, and even though it is summer, it is not too hot. Since the Kingdom of Yue was destroyed by the Kingdom of Chu, many Yue people moved their entire families into the mountains southeast of Yangzhou and lived in seclusion. It has been hundreds of years, and there has been no war here. There should be a lot of people now, but I haven't encountered these Yue people in the past few days. It is also possible that some of them have seen me in the mountains, but they are a little afraid of my appearance and dare not come out to say hello to me. Indeed, in the past few days in the nearby spring, I always wanted to call the man in the water uncle. One morning, when I thought I should call him old man, I decided to take a bath and clean my hair and beard. I finally turned into a big brother before I set off again.
The dry food would be finished in a few days, but I had no intention of giving up looking for these Yue people and turning back. Anyway, I might not be able to find the way back if I turned back now. I was just looking at the scenery all the way. God knows how I got here, how could I know how to get back? Besides, I had my own bow and arrows, and there were wild fruits everywhere in the forest. It was midsummer, and the green color of many fruits shining in the mottled sunlight in the forest was quite similar to the color of the green plums around Xiangyang City in May, which made me drool. However, since I still had dry food, I didn't look for these fruits to try.
One day, I suddenly started to think that recently when I wanted to go out alone, everyone was too confident in me. No one persuaded me or asked someone to accompany me. After a few days, I finally felt lonely again. I didn't expect that the closer I was to her, the more lonely I felt. Although I thought of Yinling in my heart and she often lingered in my mind, it was a pity that this phantom could not talk to me; sometimes I would think of Guo Pei, but she couldn't either; not to mention the bad guy who came to disturb me from time to time in my dreams.
In the end, I explained it this way: I went to the north alone, traveling thousands of miles. Thinking of this, I felt that I was getting more and more confident. After all this, everyone thought that I would not be afraid of the short journey of 1,800 miles, and that these territories were almost all under our control, so they stopped worrying about me; or maybe a bunch of brothers thought like those people in the market: "Marquis Ping'an Fengyun? Xiezhi? Who would dare to provoke him? Wherever he wants to go, he can go there."
Thinking back to when I was in Wu, the soldiers guarding outside were telling me all kinds of stories and praising me, and I, who was still a little vain, actually quietly eavesdropped on the couch for half a night. Unexpectedly, the only battle I really lost in Mingzi so far, just because I survived, made me look like a god.
Therefore, I feel that the loneliness I enjoy now can only be attributed to the burden of fame.
Although I couldn't see anyone along the way, I still had some doubts. Especially in the first few nights when I entered the forest, I always felt that I was sleeping under the eyes of others. This naturally made me feel at ease and sleep peacefully, so every night I used the Tianlang as my pillow, held the iron spear in my hand, and put the thorn on my waist and hip bone to prevent myself from sleeping too deeply. In this way, if I moved a little, I would wake up and get up quickly.
But every time I woke up with my gun in hand, I was surrounded by layers of darkness and the moon that had appeared in the sky for the past few days. Occasionally, there would be wind blowing, making the forest rustle continuously. I had to catch my breath as quickly as possible, look around, and make sure there was no one, at least I couldn't see anyone, before I could fall asleep again. Sometimes, I would use my gun to randomly sweep around, and sometimes this would even scare some birds roosting in the trees, and they would fly across the dark sky in panic, and it would take a long time for them to slowly calm down.
These past few days, I always felt that I could see Yinling at any time. Although I was blocked by mountains, branches and weeds, I was always excited. But frankly, I still felt a little uncertain.
Finally, at noon one day, when I was still feeling lost and was urging my horse over another ridge, things suddenly became clear.
The beginning of this story really surprised me, because the horse suddenly stumbled and I fell heavily to the ground without any preparation. However, I was nervous because of the sudden change, and I still held the reins tightly in my hand, so I didn't fall far. So, when I looked up and saw the grass around me was rustling, I at least had time to get up, and just took the wolf and the spear tied together from the horse. I didn't care about the pain at that time, but I held the spear in one hand and the bāh in the other hand, found a stone to stand on on the mountain road, got ready, and shouted loudly: "Who?"
What followed was a wave of leaves like a dragon, which swept and contracted towards me, making me a little panicked at first, not knowing what it was. But as the dragon wave stretched out and formed a large circle of bamboo sticks around me, I finally knew clearly that these should be the Yue people. At that time, I was no longer nervous, but calmed down. These people were also my wife's family. At least I couldn't treat them as enemies psychologically. Thinking of this, I lowered all the guns and even put a smile on my face, waiting for them to speak.
But they surrounded me and didn't say a word or move for a long time. This made me feel relieved and gave me time to carefully observe the people who surrounded me. Although it was noon and the sun was high in the sky, many dark faces were still difficult to identify under the cover of leaves. But from the panting of the people who came over, they should be very young and basically not tall. Everyone had to look up to see my face clearly, except for those standing high on the mountain road.
"What are you going to do?" This situation of neither fighting nor not fighting really made me anxious, so I had to speak first: "I'm here to look for Uncle Sima Dechao and my wife Yinling. If you know them, please lead the way."
After saying this, I hung my weapon back on the horse, ignoring the gradually tightening of the bamboo sticks around me, and turned around again to bow.
They finally started talking, but it was as if they were arguing among themselves. What was even more damning was that I couldn't understand what they were saying. They were talking very fast, their voices were a little soft and nasal, and I seemed to understand them occasionally, but they were soon drowned out by the gibberish, leaving me in a state of confusion. But gradually, they seemed to form two factions, arguing with each other, but I didn't know what they were arguing about. I wanted to join in and help end the argument quickly, but it was obviously impossible. In the end, I was a little impatient and even thought that I'd better take a nap first. After they finished arguing, we could light a fire and have dinner together, and then go to sleep separately, and continue arguing tomorrow morning.
Just when I was planning to find a place to relieve myself first and then unfold my bedding for a nap, things were heading towards my favorite path of quick resolution.
At that time, in my eyes, a pile of leaves quickly jumped towards me from the back row, and stopped five feet in front of me. He stretched out a hand from the pile of leaves and plucked off the large pile of leaves on his head, and immediately revealed a childish black face. He looked at me with a stiff face, but I always wanted to laugh in my heart. He stuttered, his words were not very clear, and he had a clear accent, but he finally managed to make me understand: "We have two instructions, and we don't know which one to listen to. Now we plan to knock you out and take you into the mountains, okay? Sorry."
They were very polite, but I didn't quite understand what they meant. But as soon as he finished, the gang didn't intend to listen to my opinion, and the bamboo sticks started hitting me. However, I was already tired of standing there and listening to the noises of the gang, so I thought I'd just knock them out. It wasn't like I hadn't been knocked out before, as long as they could take me to see Yin Ling, I felt like a dead pig that was not afraid of boiling water, so I didn't struggle and just stood there. But the most unfortunate thing was that these useless people were useless, their blows were too light, and those damn black bamboo sticks just happened to make me feel a little painful, but I was so soft that I couldn't faint. I was thinking that today's bamboo sticks were surprisingly hard, and if they continued like this, I would definitely have no good skin on my body, but I was still standing here, wouldn't that be too bad.
"Hey, if you make me faint, you will also be severely punished..." Just as I was shouting, a bamboo pole suddenly swept over my head. It seemed that something on the pole scratched me. I immediately felt a little hot on my head, and something immediately flowed down my hairline, followed by the pain on my scalp. I quickly covered my forehead with my hands, and blood soon dripped from my fingers. I thought that it was too early to wait for their method, so I might as well faint myself. This is good, but it is too cowardly, but it is worse than not being able to solve the problem for such a long time. I made up my mind, closed my eyes, and fell straight down along the momentum of the stick.
The beating of the bamboo stick stopped immediately, and I heard an anxious rebuke from above. Perhaps because I had heard what that man and I said, I could really understand it now: "Who of you hit harder? He hit harder, but you dared to hit harder. Your uncle's head was broken, shouldn't you just knock him unconscious? What if Aunt Yinling gets angry when we go back?"
There was no movement for a long time. Apparently everyone thought they didn't do it, and they were all waiting for the culprit to come forward to see who it was, but of course no one came forward. I was still wondering in my heart, it turned out that Yinling was of a higher generation, and she also brought me up.
"Or, just follow what Grandpa Qi said and send him out, and pretend he didn't come?" Someone suddenly answered. I thought the Grandpa Qi in his words must be Mr. Shuijing, my father-in-law, and the word "send" was so polite, which didn't seem like the temper this old man had towards me now. I thought we should just beat him out, but they thought Yinling seemed more terrifying, so they finally decided to lean towards Yinling's direction.
"That won't do. Once Aunt Yinling finds out, tell my mother. Do I still want to live? Besides, it will take several days to get out of the mountain. We will walk even slower if we carry him. When uncle wakes up, how can we explain it to him? Look at how big he is. Aunt Yinling is not afraid of uncle. What should we do if he attacks us?" Everyone nodded, feeling the seriousness of the matter. They were at a loss for a moment, and it was delayed for a while. Obviously, the real owner had to come out and give a push. Things couldn't continue like this.
But I do have a bad habit, which is to exaggerate things, and I like to brag about myself. When I reflect on myself three times a day, I often criticize myself for this, but I have never changed.
So this time, I groaned and sat up on the ground. I put my hands on my knees, wanting to let the blood flow freely to make myself more terrifying. Suddenly, I found that the blood seemed to have stopped flowing. I thought that the blood dried up really quickly, so I stood up. I looked around solemnly and noticed that they were also looking at me. The few dark faces that I could clearly identify, which were still childish, had a very surprised expression, as if I had crawled out of the ground.
Just as I was about to sigh and start bragging, suddenly these bamboo sticks came up again. This was really a bit too much, but the good thing this time was that there were only a few of them. I quickly dragged them under my armpits and clamped them. Both sides tested their strength on the spot. I felt that I was really strong despite my big body, and I was immediately delighted. I secretly exerted force and was about to break these bamboo poles. Suddenly, I found that these bamboo poles, which seemed to have been roasted and were therefore black, were a bit strange. They were really surprisingly hard. I tried my best not to make a sound and could only bend a single one under my left rib a little. It also hurt my ribs so much, but I finally achieved something. I quickly threw away these bamboo sticks and prepared to speak. However, given that some of them had just raised their sticks, I decided to restrain myself a little: "If I really wanted to fight with you, you guys would not be what you are now." In order to show that I was serious, I looked at the people around me with a serious look: "In the battle, no one has ever been able to stop me with my Tianlang. The number of people who have died in that sheepskin package is at least thousands." I think I blushed a little. I was bragging a little too much and felt embarrassed.
But at that time I felt it was my right to brag like this, so I continued, "Didn't your aunt Yinling tell you that your uncle always rushed to the front of the battle and never lost a battle." I leaned forward to appear taller, and suddenly felt that I was still just a naughty boy.
Suddenly someone came out to refute me, but I was relieved after hearing it. I thought it was to expose my lie, but it turned out to be a dispute over status: "They are indeed your nephews, but I am her cousin."
But I don't like to be called by generation names, so I won't just follow the crowd and call him my uncle. So, I must have boasted even more: "Do you know who I am? I am Xiezhi. I was by Gao Yao's side when he was alive. Even the current emperor doesn't dare to make fun of me, and you actually talk about seniority with me." I suddenly put on a very ferocious expression and looked at him.
I heaved a sigh of relief immediately. He was a child after all. Seeing me looking at him like that, and it really looked like that, he actually lowered his head and said nothing. But I suspect that this Yue barbarian didn't know which village Gao Yao Gong was from or what ancestor he was from. He was just scared by me because everyone seemed a little terrified.
"Take me in. Nothing happened to me. I pretended to faint just to help you. Now lead me to where I want to go, and then I will pretend to be knocked unconscious and help you explain to my father-in-law." After that, he jumped on the horse and ordered the nephews and a cousin to stand up.
The journey was a bit boring, so I couldn't ask casually. I had to maintain my godlike attitude and appearance. I couldn't just approach him with a calm face and look nervous, and then ask cautiously, "Nephew, is your seventh grandfather in good temper?"
To be honest, I am really afraid of this.
What is really worth recording has to happen in another place at the same time, because Yinling is there.
At this moment, she was leaning on a bamboo couch in front of the west window of a thatched cottage on the cliff, looking up with her pretty face and squinting her eyes, leisurely watching the sunlight flashing through the gaps on the edge of the thatched eaves. At this moment, she was wearing a very common Yue people's blue linen dress, and the tight-fitting jacket with a front opening outlined all the seductive features of a mature girl, which was definitely not seen in Xiangyang; although the hem of her skirt only reached her knees, there were two leg bindings underneath that bound her legs like a person on the march, leaving only two naughty feet playing with each other on the thin bamboo railing beside the couch.
Suddenly, she sighed, retracted her playful legs, and sat with her arms around her legs. She lowered her eyebrows, rested her face on her knees, and looked at the beautiful scenery outside the cliff with a trace of sadness, but her eyes were a little distracted. After a while, she returned to her original appearance, but this time she moved her fingers on the window railings, and sang softly: "Thinking of my enemy, looking at the cliff, where is the grass to ride a horse? The sun is setting, I am lazy and wear flowers, although I am tired and can't sleep just for him; the valley is clear and green, and my lover should be included in the painting, but I am afraid that the soft and pale silk is not good, and it will be a waste of his strength."
After the song, he sighed again, "It's already midsummer, why haven't you come yet? Have you forgotten that I still miss you? As long as my father is not watching, I will wait for you on the way into the mountain, but where are you, my enemy?" (The term "enemy" as a term of address between men and women is a folk term, not found in official history or ancient orthodox literature. The original source is unknown. It seems that this special term has existed since folk singing. The more famous term is mentioned in "Dream of Red Mansions", author's note)
Suddenly, the girl seemed to have discovered something. She stood up on the couch excitedly, and suddenly jumped out of the window, looking at the winding mountain road leading up the cliff.
I saw the thatched house on the cliff very early, but I saw that the people didn't react, so I thought it was not an important place, maybe just a post station for the Yue people. So I was more interested in watching the black-skinned people holding black bamboo sticks. I even guessed with a sense of malice that the reason why they burned the sticks so black was probably to make them look more like their skin color, so that they would look better. Anyway, they were a group of children, so anything was possible.
Suddenly, a person appeared on the cliff. To be exact, it was a woman. But it was not because I was blind. I did not confirm that the person on the cliff was my Yin Ling at first. Because I saw a thatched house behind the woman at that time, and the sun was shining above my head; so I felt that although this Yue woman looked familiar, she was a little dark, and at least darker than "my Yin Ling". Moreover, the Yue people seemed to look the same. Looking at the group of Yue barbarians around me who were still covered with leaves, I could only draw such a conclusion. I saw that this woman first rushed along the cliff towards the mountain road in a hurry. Suddenly, she lowered her head as if she found something, raised her head and looked at our direction reluctantly, turned around, and disappeared behind the rocks on the cliff. From this, I guessed that this person must be Yin Ling's cousin or niece, so it was not surprising that she looked very similar, because this person's panic made me believe that this person was like the group of people around me, very young and disorganized, at least she was not as steady and organized as my Yin Ling. At that time, I was very excited, thinking that in a few hours, I would be able to meet her when it gets dark; but when I thought about meeting my father-in-law in the end, I felt that this matter was still a bit troublesome.
I didn't turn my head until I couldn't see the man anymore; the group seemed to be looking up the cliff too, and then they turned back. Suddenly they found that I was looking at them, and they all lowered their heads, afraid that I would stare at them. This made me a little suspicious, so I decided to ask, but of course I couldn't ask so directly.
"Are we going to pass by that cliff?"
"Yes, after we climb over the cliff, we're only a few miles away." The group of people still kept their heads down, and only the leader spoke.
"This road is really... a little difficult to walk on," I blushed a little at this point because I was the only one riding a horse, but I immediately asked: "What is the house upstairs used for?"
"Because this is the only way from the north into the mountains to our village, so it is specially used as a resting place for us when we keep watch at this intersection at night." After returning, the group of people still did not look up, which really confused me.
"Who is the woman above? You looked at her, and I looked at her too, but why did no one dare to look up all of a sudden?" I pointed my finger at something randomly and asked in a very casual and natural tone.
Suddenly, a group of people all looked at me with an incredible expression, as if they saw another unicorn head on my face.
But soon one of them told me my unforgivable sin: "Isn't that Aunt Yinling?"
"Ah?" I almost fell off my horse and hurriedly stumbled forward, complaining loudly: "Why didn't you come earlier?"
I vaguely heard someone say from behind: "You don't even know your own wife?"
Looking at Yinling hurrying down the mountain road, my heart almost jumped out. I was so excited that I couldn't control myself. All my calmness, sanctimoniousness, demeanor, and the orderliness, clarity, and steadiness that I had just taught them a lesson in my mind were completely thrown away. I just ran towards my Yinling with my legs spread out. Sometimes I would be tripped, but I would continue to move forward, rolling and crawling; I even completely forgot all the possible adverse consequences that might be caused by my previous stupid standstill on the horse.
But later facts told me that this would not work because you would forget, but Yinling would not.
But the moment of reunion was still very beautiful. When we could really look each other in the eye, we happened to be on a natural step formed by a huge rock on the mountain road. The flat stone was round and spread out in the mountains, as if floating on the clouds, and there were only the two of us talking on it.
"You've become darker and thinner." Me.
"You've become darker and thinner," she said.