My hand went up by itself. I didn't know what it was going to grab because I hadn't reacted yet. But to my surprise, the person next to me had reacted long ago, but I didn't think this reaction was good for me. Although the man's dagger was knocked away, my hand firmly grabbed the sword. At that time, I was very sad and said: My poor hand! Although I withdrew my hand in time, I knew that my hand was still cut. But at that moment, my mind suddenly turned quickly. I clenched my hand and tried my best to pretend that nothing happened, but blood still dripped on the table.
The guards nearby pinned the assassin to the ground. This was my first time being assassinated. It felt quite thrilling and fresh. At least my heart was beating a little faster. But my hand was actually injured by the sword of the person who protected me, and it was my sister who injured me. This made me very painful. Because I knew that my sister must have blamed herself for making me feel worse than her.
"You, you actually hurt me with a knife. If it wasn't for your sister saving me, I would be dead." I quickly put the blame on her, and seeing her eyes, I quickly said, "Fortunately, only some skin was hurt, otherwise you would have been cut into pieces."
"Zirui, I was the one who got hurt by that sword." My sister took the initiative to admit it.
"Why did you try to stab me?" I quickly changed the subject. I didn't want my sister to blame herself so much. She also felt like she was carrying a heavy burden when she almost choked me to death. She always felt like she owed me something. She never cared about the trouble I caused her after all the hard work I put on her for so many years. This was too unfair. I couldn't let my sister be like this. My sister always took everything on her shoulders. If she continued like this, she would be crushed by herself one day.
"Since I received the great kindness from Master Xia, I have never done anything. Now that both masters are dead, I must avenge myself."
“Then why were you so scared that day… You liar, you were screaming and howling to alert the people outside.” I felt how powerful this man was.
He said nothing, but looked at me viciously, as if he wanted to eat me. I thought about it and sighed, "You are also a scholar, why can't you tell right from wrong? The Xia family has been doing evil and oppressing the people. The people who have been harmed by them are so heavy that you can't even move them. But you are willing to sacrifice your life for them." I was angry.
"He treated me as a guest of honor. He made me feel my dignity and status as a scholar. What's the point of studying? Without a good family background, nothing is useful." He was also moved, and I felt that I sympathized with him.
"If I let you go, will you come back to kill me?"
"meeting!"
"Go away!" I am a competitive person, of course I also boasted: "I live with wolves, insects, tigers and leopards all day long in the north. Tigers and leopards attack in the middle of the night, and wild wolves in the valley pounce. No matter how many come, they will die. I will not be afraid of you. I, the great Han Ping An Fengyun Hou, swear to the sky here: No matter how many times you come, as long as you come to find me, no matter how many times you come, I will catch you, as long as I am alive, I will let you go as many times as you are interested! But if you hurt anyone except me, you will commit a heinous crime, the same crime as hurting me. I will definitely skin you alive for my brothers and let you suffer for three months. This is absolutely true. If there is any falsehood, I will be punished by heaven. You are taking advantage of this, do you want to do it!"
"I ask to die."
"Why?" I felt a little strange, and then I felt a sense of victory.
"I won't have another chance. I failed this time when I was so close, and I won't have another chance in the future. So, if possible, please take off your clothes and let me cut you twice, and then kill me. This way, I can face Lord Xia with a smile and tell him that I have avenged him. Please." The man who had been holding back suddenly knelt down.
His way of revenge was taken from a story from the Zhou Dynasty, but after careful consideration, I decided not to follow the correct explanation in the story.
"I won't let you chop my clothes, because the Xia father and son combined are far less useful to the world than this piece of clothing. This piece of clothing can at least bring warmth to one person, but how many families have lost the warmth of their own families because of the Xia father and son. This piece of clothing was sewed for me stitch by stitch by my sister, but what else did the Xia father and son do except squeeze every penny of blood and sweat out of the people? I don't know how many people were killed just to support you. You don't think about those people, but care about your loyalty to two gangsters. You don't deserve to touch my things. You even dirty the hands of our soldiers. Throw him into jail. It's up to him to commit suicide." I admit that I may be a little biased, but I no longer feel pity for such people. I have no other thoughts except disgust.
When he was dragged away by the guards, I raised my voice to the others: "If I commit many evil deeds and am sniped by a righteous man, no one will be allowed to seek revenge. I don't need such a death warrior."
My sister didn't say anything. She bandaged my hand with a piece of cloth that she had pulled off from somewhere. I asked my sister if I did the right thing. She nodded, but she added: "It was just that my words were fierce." I guess my sister also felt that I was too aggressive, and it might have driven people to desperation, so it's possible that she went crazy and fought with me after she went out. I think my sister might be overthinking.
But I usually don’t worry too much about this kind of thing, because I think I did nothing wrong, so I have been thinking about how to make my sister forget the injury on my hand.
However, when I thought about it, I didn't come up with any ideas. Instead, I remembered that there were still many other things that I hadn't done or dealt with. But I was really lazy. Since I could take a break for a while, forget it and put it aside for now. Just don't let my sister know about this, so that she won't scold me again. I really don't want to have anything to do with these things for the time being.
After that, I was always asked if my hand hurt. I quickly told him how many times I had given up my life along the way, but there were always things like God's blessing. When the blood on my hand coagulated, I immediately untied the cloth and said that I was thick-skinned and it was nothing. My sister was helpless after being persuaded by me, and finally laughed. The whole process took me three hours, and she also compensated me with a lunch.
It rained that afternoon, and I got a lecture from my sister. She said that my life is determined by water, and it will always rain whether I go out or come back. I can only hope that tomorrow will be a good day.
The next day, the weather was merciful and cleared up, so the army set out quickly. We said goodbye to Brother Zheng and Sister-in-law, because we didn't know when we would see each other again. Sister-in-law was moved by this farewell, so we quickly left with a smile. Of course, there were always those who didn't see the point, such as Mrs. Zishi, who was also in tears, and we dragged her away from below.
Our planned route is to go north to Chaisang by land, then take a boat along the Yunmeng Lake and go down to Changsha. The two armies will join forces with Master's army to put an end to the chaos in Jingyang after this summer. I just don't know what Wushan has become, but thinking that Brother Chen is there, there should be no problem. This marching route was not discussed with me, and I was too lazy to ask, because I don't know anything about these places, and I don't want to add to their chaos. I think I will have to spend my birthday on the water, at most in Changsha. I don't feel bad about my 18th birthday, but I am worried about what those old guys will do if they can't find me. Don't let them run away again, then I don't know when I will know my life experience. The more I think about it, the more upset I am, mainly because there is this old monkey Xu Zijiang among them, which is really difficult.
My sister always sees through me. She asked me about my life story, but I didn't tell her. I was afraid that once she knew about it, those old men would run away and she would be very disappointed. So, I was just very upset. I wanted to go back to Xiangyang, go home, but I didn't know how to meet the teacher. It was reasonable. I thought my sister should believe it, because even I believed it, so I had another worry.
The ground was a bit muddy, but we had enough horses and manpower, so the cart could be pushed out almost immediately once it got stuck, and there was basically no hindrance.
On the way, there are still things to write down. I was in my sister's car. My sister joked with me that in a few days, I would be over 18 years old and would not be allowed to stay in her car. It seems that at this time, I was still treated as a child. I opened my bag in my sister's car and rummaged through the things. Unexpectedly, my sister scolded me because the things in my bag were really too sloppy, and even I felt embarrassed. I turned to her poem that I had copied down, and my heart sank, and I was stunned.
"What is this?" My sister was obviously interested. "Can you show it to me?"
"Of course, please take a look, sister."
After reading it, my sister breathed a sigh of relief and seemed serious, but I noticed that she was wiping the corner of her clothes: "Tell the truth, where is my brother and sister-in-law?"
“Sister-in-law? I haven’t… yet, don’t make fun of me.” I was speechless for a moment and could only smile bitterly.
"This is obviously written by a young woman, and you have never been interested in poetry. This is about love, and you put it together with your seal and other things." My sister paused for a moment, and just as I was about to complain, she continued, "Also, although you are not a very handsome man, at least you look heroic. Moreover, you are simple-minded, humble and polite, and you are young and promising. Judging from the temperament of that girl... the girl should like you, and you obviously like her. With your usual temperament of not considering the consequences and acting on impulse, I'm afraid you two have already married, or at least you are destined to be together for life."
My sister rarely praises me like this, but this time, with this incident, why don’t I feel happy
"No, no, I haven't told my sister yet. How could this be possible? Besides, it's impossible for her and I to be together." I paused, feeling that something was wrong with my words, and quickly added, "My sister hasn't married yet, and I will never marry."
"Why is it impossible?" As expected, my sister was not distracted by the last sentence, and still found out the part that I had missed in my previous words.
"She is from Jiange, Yizhou." My sister is a smart person. After she said this, she never asked me any questions about women or my younger brothers and sisters again.
According to the season, it should be a bit cold at this time and in this place, although it is not necessarily icy and snowy, but the soldiers obviously did not feel that way, and neither did we. But the blankets on the carriage next to me made me curious. We didn't seem to have any wounded soldiers. Thinking of this, I smiled a little. Maybe he was sick, but what was even more strange was that these blankets were bulging high. Could there be such a fat man in our army? I wanted to laugh even more, so I quickly left the carriage and went over.
When we got around to the other side, we found that there were four horses eating the grass on the cart with their heads down.
Before anyone greeted me, I asked them how old the horses were, and they told me they were less than ten days old.
"Why are they covered with a blanket?"
"They don't have their mother to shield them from the wind. We are on the march and we are afraid they will run under the wheel tracks, so we will let them run like this when we camp."
"How did we lose our war horses? Four at once. Was there an epidemic?"
"No, Second Young Master, these four horses were born from the horse you rode here, and they died soon after they were born."
"Giving birth to four children at once?" I was surprised.
"I'm so old, and this is the first time I've seen this." The oldest person among them told me.
However, I was no longer surprised that the horse gave birth to four cubs. Instead, I was surprised at how the groom in Ganning Village was so inconsiderate as to let me ride a horse that was about to give birth.
"That mare was a top-notch horse. It's a pity that she died. I wanted her to give birth to a foal for our horse."
This woke me up. I guess it was Gan Ning's order to use the best horses, and the groom probably thought that the horse would not give birth on this journey. However, he did not expect that I urged the horse along the way and exhausted the mother horse, which made these guys give birth early.
When I was making a fire and cooking at noon, I was still thinking about how to explain this to Gan Ning. Suddenly, I remembered that Gan Ning's people stayed in Yuzhang. I don't know if they got away with it, but I was relieved. I stood up and looked around. My sister seemed to be looking at something and kept closing her head. There were pots and stoves everywhere. The brothers were working very quickly. The water was boiling, and the heat made it even hotter. I had to take off my coat. This weather was really weird. Could there be a bigger disaster? I quickly scolded myself for being a pessimist, but this weather did give people an ominous feeling.
My sister was with some grooms, listening to someone telling her something. I went over to join in the fun. My sister smiled at me and signaled me not to make any noise.
But I still made a sound, because the four horses were playing in a big circle surrounded by the cart, but the reason for making a sound was not because the way they played was strange, but because the colors of the four horses were really interesting. I remember that I felt that there were two white horses and two black horses, but now I see the whole picture, I feel surprised, mainly because of the overall effect of the four horses together.
One was completely white, but three inches above the four hooves were black. Another was just the opposite, completely black, with three inches above the hooves white. The third was completely white, but with a few black spots here and there. The fourth was the opposite of the third, with a few white spots here and there that made the black horse look even cuter. If they had the same mother, it would be surprising.
At this time, the food in the coachmen's big pot seemed to be ready, and several coachmen left. Before leaving, my sister gave them a few instructions, asking them to eat more, because we had to travel at night and would not stop until we reached Chaisang.
Then, she finally turned to me with a very strange look in her eyes. I knew that it was the correct and usual solution to directly wrestle with my sister at this time. Because, when my sister usually had this kind of look in her eyes, it must be bad for me. But in the army, this didn't seem very good.
"According to reports, these horses are related to you." This sentence seemed to be nothing, and I was confused.
"It turns out that you rode the horse that gave birth to these four beasts." My sister suddenly took a step back and pointed at me up and down with her hands: "We are on the march. If we want to fight, let's go back and fight." She made my face turn red with anger.
"Don't cry." My sister must be being naughty on purpose, like she was trying to coax a baby. She put her finger against my nose and said with a smile, "Do you want me to coax you to sleep?"
But my sister suddenly stopped, bent down, supported the cart with her hands, lowered her head, and turned her head to the four happy horses. She seemed to be talking to me, or to herself: "You are so big now, but I still remember what you looked like when you were only a dozen days old. It feels like just a blink of an eye."
I did the same as my sister, but I rested my head on my arm as before. Then I turned to look at my sister. My sister obviously noticed the malicious look and smiled at me. "You have grown up so fast. You are no longer the stupid brother who knows nothing and just follows me."
I just looked at my only relative without saying anything.
"When you were crying, I was really afraid that you were a fool. When you were crying, you just sat there without saying a word, staring blankly in front of you. You would only cry out when you were about to poop or when you were hungry. Moreover, once you had a bowel movement, you had to eat, as if you had lost a lot. It seems that you only started to become smarter and bad because you were with Zishe."
"How do you know so much about what happened to me? I only remember you and I were together. I was a little stupid at that time. How can you remember it so clearly?"
"I only remember some scattered things. These are what Aunt Zhang told me."
"Why are you telling me now?"
"I just found out, but you don't know that Uncle Zhang and Aunt Zhang missed you so much. When you left, Aunt Zhang asked me when you would be back. She also asked me to find you a husband in Xiangyang as soon as possible. Then, during dinner, she kept talking about your past. However, I have been away for such a long time, I wonder how they are doing?"
When my sister went to eat, I kept that posture and looked at the horse. As a result, I got kicked in the butt. I pretended to be angry and said that I was so old and still pretended to be cute. I didn't think that it affected my appearance so much when my thing was so high.
During lunch, I noticed that my sister didn't seem to eat much, and when I looked over, I realized that she was also looking at me. I quickly looked myself up and down, and felt that there was nothing wrong with me. I subconsciously touched my beard and immediately said that I would shave it off.
"It's okay, it's okay. You're going to be eighteen soon. If you want to keep your beard, keep it. But your beard grows too fast. You'll need to trim it from time to time. I just feel that you've changed a lot since you came back. You're no longer that silly kid, but a man who's truly experienced the ups and downs of life. You still seem a little dull, but outsiders probably won't be able to tell." My sister smiled.
"Give it back to me. You've changed a lot too." I didn't fight back because it hurt as soon as my left hand holding the dish touched the wound, but I had to stay natural. However, the pain still made me lose the inspiration to attack others, so I found a plain sentence that would definitely distract my sister.
"You know there is a law for those four horses, don't you?" My sister started to change the subject, and I was eager to do so.
"how?"
“The black hoofed white horse is like heavy snow falling on the horse, which is called flying snow; the black horse with white hooves is like a horse flying in the snow, which is called stepping on snow; the black horse is white, like snow about to fall, which is called snow drifting;” I kept repeating, indicating to continue: “However, the last one has many methods, such as this inferior horse, it is called, rotten sore…”
"Is the name so ugly?" My sister and I looked at each other and immediately confirmed it.
"The better ones are called splashing mud; the better ones are called snow-wrapped fallen leaves; the very good ones are called slight flaws; and I don't know the best ones. These are the horses of the horse breeders and mine. The best of them are called thousand-mile horses, and they don't need any good names."
"I have to ask my master for a few good horses and return them to Brother Gan Ning. After all, his horse died because of me." I let out a long sigh. This was the first sentence I said on the road that afternoon.
"You want to take these four pony cubs for yourself, right?" My sister's voice was very soft, but it was really to the point. I had no way to hide.
All I can do is pretend to be calm and ignore it.
The road to the north to Chaisang is relatively flat, and the only thing to cross is the Yuzhang River, which has a very solid floating bridge. So there is no problem along the way.
In winter, it gets dark early, and when everyone lights torches, it looks like a river of fire, which is spectacular. I remember the last time we went to Hanzhong, we set up camp as soon as it got dark. This time, it was rare for tens of thousands of people to move together. It was a pity that I was just an escort this time, and Zishi was the commander. This made me feel a little disappointed. At least being the commander-in-chief still felt very satisfying to my vanity.
As soon as I glanced at my sister, she immediately scolded me, "Are you thinking of something bad again?"
I can't help it. Habit always leads me to be scolded unconsciously. Whenever I have bad intentions, I am always afraid that my sister will find out, so I will secretly look at her. No matter how I think about it, I feel that I am a bit cheap.
"I'm going to see the brothers I brought from the north." This reason sounded very humane, and I used it to slip away.
The first people I saw were two excited kids, Wenwen and someone. Someone came over and greeted me warmly, and I asked him where his cousin's husband was. He excitedly pointed to a covered cart behind him. Many people in front and behind the cart greeted me, and I also greeted them warmly.
I also asked them whether they prefer to live in the city or in the mountains, and their answer was very cute: in the city, but with a large forest nearby so that they can hunt at any time. It sounds like Xiangyang, because there is a mountain range running from northwest to southeast to the south of Xiangyang.
The people in the car must have heard my loud voice, so Long Xing stepped out gracefully and gave me a big gift in a very formal manner.
I quickly waved my hand to stop him, "Don't try to play that on me. You can't even come down to the ground to pay your respects. How have you been these past few days?"
"Hello, I'm learning to write poetry recently." Immediately, a discordant laugh came from the car, and Liu Wan also lifted the curtain and came out. After a slight bow, she said to me: "Uncle, don't listen to him bragging there. When it comes to learning poetry during this period... it's better not to mention it." She covered her mouth and laughed again.
"Sister-in-law, why don't you tell me about it?" I was definitely very interested. Of course, my brother Beihai was much less interested, but he obviously didn't have the guts to go against his wife's idea.
"After I married Beihai, I found that his words when he discussed with his tribesmen were always very interesting, like odes. So I wanted to teach him my Han Chinese poetry and songs." My understanding of Sister Liu immediately deepened. This merchant's daughter even understands this, but I really don't have any talent for that. I want to see if Longxing has a talent in this area. However, if I am surpassed by a foreign barbarian in this area in just three or four months, wouldn't it be a bit embarrassing
"I've thought of everything, but the result still surprised me. It may also be that our requirements are very different from their habits. So, at the beginning he couldn't open his mouth and didn't know what to write. I started with a sentence: The bright moon shines coldly, and the clear flute washes the night sky. Guess what he said? He held it in for a long time with a red face and said: Chopping wood and making fire, but my stomach is empty. I was speechless at the time. But he is really smart. He has shown some signs in just a few months. But I always feel that something is wrong. Uncle, please take a look." She handed me a piece of paper, and I finally finished reading it under the light of the torch.
"No wonder I'm learning to act like a scholar today?" After reading it, I also felt that there were some problems, but I couldn't feel that there was any problem, and I felt that the problem was very familiar.
"Brother, where is the headscarf I gave you?" This person probably wanted to change the subject and disturbed me while I was thinking.
"Oh, here, because there have been too many things in the past few months, your headscarf has been damaged, and I am afraid it will break into pieces, so I can only fold it and put it on my body." However, looking at the headscarf taken out from my waist, I immediately realized it, and quickly read Long Xing's poem again. Long Xing may have been influenced by their songs, and the text is seven-character, but the main problem is not here. I read it again: I drink alone in the building with a light frown and smile, and the spring rain moistened Qiongyao last night. I get up and look at the clear sky. Cranes fly into the sky.
"Your lyrics are written in a man's language, but your descriptions of scenery and objects reveal a girl's feeling. You have to take responsibility for this, sister-in-law. But it is indeed well written." I was still very annoyed, and I wanted to tell him that it is winter now. But with this weather, let's just treat it as spring coming early.
I also talked to them about the person, they had someone with them, and she hadn't been saying much lately.
I didn't go looking for her.
They also discussed some future plans and asked for my opinions.
I chatted with them until late at night in Chaisang, until my sister came over.
"Zi Rui." A clear and beautiful voice came from the front. She looked extremely beautiful among the army that boarded the ship in a sleepy state. I believe that everyone around wanted to see what a woman with such a gentle and beautiful voice looked like.
"Princess Yinling, what do you want from me?" I don't think I fell asleep yet. At least the one above could still make some witty remarks, probably with a strong sense of pride.
"Come aboard with me." This was the only order the princess gave me.
My sister saw the people next to me and greeted them one by one in a very elegant manner. I also quickly introduced them to each other.
"Ah, big brother." Beihai obviously took some effort to close his lips, "You are really enviable, having such a..." His hands shook for a while, but he couldn't find the words. It seems that his vocabulary is still a little poor. I don't know how he made his sister-in-law so happy.
"You are Po Liu Han Lie Ya? You are prettier than Zi Rui, and not as scary as him." My sister obviously likes this young Xianbei patriarch very much, otherwise she wouldn't belittle me like this: "When Zi Rui talked about the northern things, he always mentioned Li Bei Hai or Po Liu Han Lie Ya. After seeing you today, I find that you are indeed a young hero. Since you and him are sworn brothers, Sister Wan'er is my sister-in-law, you are my brother, and I am your sister. Hey, don't be so polite."
Po Liu Han Lieya was very happy. This young clan leader lost his parents very early and had been alone since he was a child. He had never had any real relatives by his side, but he had always been burdened with heavy burdens.
However, first I found a wife for my eldest brother, and now he has such a good elder sister, so he finally has a real family. When his child is born, his happy time may really come.
On our boat, there were Gan Ning and his wife and son. This guy was less than a year old. When I saw him, he didn't even have a neck. His chubby cheeks were almost directly attached to his chest. He had his eyes closed and was sleeping soundly.
For his sake, none of us said anything. We just looked at each other and went back to sleep.
Because of him, I was woken up many times at night. I slept in a single room, and it seemed that many people came to my room. The reason was simple, I snored. It happened so many times that I really lost my temper.
The next day, I was very sleepy but was scolded by everyone, and my snoring sounded like thunder.
I wanted to take a good nap in the afternoon, but I was still woken up because Fengcheng couldn't take a nap. I asked who Fengcheng was, and they were very surprised. Of course, he was a child. I must have been dozing off, but I didn't notice them discussing his name.
My sister felt sorry for me. When she saw that the child was awake, she let me go to sleep for a while. As a result, I was woken up again. I almost left Husa Lie Nanguo in Yunmeng. I guess he was deceived by everyone. The reason is even more unacceptable to me. Today is the 100th day of Ganfeng City. I have always liked children, but now I feel that children are so hateful. At least today I hate them.
Su Fei and I toasted each other and it suddenly dawned on me that I understood why he said that without even thinking about it. He also understood that this was how he let out his secret when he robbed me.
I can’t remember the rest. I was indeed very sleepy. If I were given a moment of comfort, I would fall asleep. I didn’t care what they were talking about.
However, God was kind to me, the northwest wind was blowing, and the boat with full sails stayed on the water for two days before landing, and then I could finally sleep in the car without restraint. But the moment I landed, I knew that I would have to go to the battlefield again in a few days, and my opponent was Qu Xing on Mufu Mountain.
On the first day of the twelfth lunar month in the second year of Zhongping, I was enjoying rare peace and comfort on the 120-mile dry road to Changsha. The sacrificial ceremony that began in the twelfth lunar month could not be carried out normally for us in the army, but soon there were large-scale human sacrifices. The place of sacrifice was Mufu Mountain in the north, and I felt that the time would definitely be before my eighteenth birthday.
But now I don’t care about anything. I just curl up my huge body in the quilt and enjoy the joy of sleep.