This development was indeed something Lu Linyuan had not expected.
His first reaction was not even the shock that Princess Dayue wanted Xie Chuji to marry her, but he looked at Xie Chuji's clothes calmly, and then looked at his own.
His outfit is obviously much better looking than Xie Chuji's
Xie Chuji was overwhelmed by this matter. When Hanguli looked at her shyly again, she quickly bowed to avoid her eager gaze, "Thank you for your kindness, Princess, but I... really cannot agree to your request."
Hanguli's eyes were filled with sadness. The Great Moon King was obviously a protective daughter. He immediately blew his beard and glared at her: "Why, do you still think that the apple of my eye is not worthy of you?"
Xie Chuji said no: "The princess is so beautiful and charming, I dare not marry her."
King Dayue wanted to say something threatening, but Hanguli made a gesture to stop him. She looked at Xie Chuji sincerely and said, "Hanguli admires you very much. May I ask if you rejected Hanguli because you have someone you love?"
Xie Chuji shook his head somewhat embarrassedly.
When Hanguli heard that she had no lover, her eyes were suddenly filled with joy: "Then why did you reject Hanguli?"
Xie Chuji thought of a reason to leave: "It's really... too sudden."
Hanguli said: "There is no rush to get married. Sir, you can stay in Dayue Country for a while longer. Feelings are developed through getting along..."
Xie Chuji asked: "Princess, this is just the first time we have met. May I ask what did the princess see in me?"
Hanguli was a little shy. She looked at her handsome and elegant face full of bookish air and said, "Sir, you are well-read and eloquent. Hanguli admires you very much."
Xie Chuji quickly pointed at Lu Linyuan who was standing beside him and said, "I am just relaying the story. Those words were said by this young master."
Hanguli looked at Lu Linyuan with some suspicion.
When Lu Linyuan learned that Hanguli was going to marry Xie Chuji, he fell into deep self-doubt. Now, because he couldn't understand Dayue Mandarin, he didn't know what Xie Chuji was talking about with Hanguli, and he looked particularly confused and bewildered.
His appearance was naturally the best, but Hanguli fell in love with Xie Chuji first, and when she looked at Lu Linyuan, she felt that Xie Chuji was better than Lu Linyuan in every way.
In addition, Lu Linyuan looked confused and shocked at the moment, as if he was the stupid son of a landlord.
She frowned unhappily and said, "Even if you don't like Hanguli, you don't have to push Hanguli to someone else with this reason."
Xie Chuji said anxiously, "Thank you for your kindness, Princess, but I... really can't agree to it."
King Dayue pressed him, "You don't have a lover, but you feel that my son fell in love with you too suddenly. My son also said that he would spend some time with you to cultivate feelings. Tell me, is there anything you can't agree to?"
Xie Chuji had studied the teachings of Confucius and Mencius since childhood, and was unable to learn the cunning tactics used in military strategy. He also knew that truth would come to light sooner or later, and he did not intend to continue deceiving the Dayue King and his daughter. He untied his hair bun, and his three thousand strands of black hair immediately fell down.
She tucked her loose hair behind her ears, used her hands to remove the powder that covered her ear holes on her earlobes, and used a silk handkerchief to wipe off her eyebrows that she had deliberately drawn thick before leaving, revealing her original slender willow-shaped eyebrows.
King Dayue and Hanguli were both surprised.
Hanguli exclaimed: "You... you are actually a girl!"
Xie Chuji nodded and said, "During the chaos and turmoil, I had no choice but to dress as a man for the sake of convenience. I hope the king and princess will forgive me."
King Dayue was so angry that he blew his beard and glared. After Hanguli was shocked, she looked at Xie Chuji with more appreciation: "My teacher said that in your Daxuan, it is advocated that 'women without talent are virtuous'. Even if you are the emperor's daughter, knowledge is not valued. As long as you are good at needlework, it's fine. You are a woman, but you are so talented. Hanguli really admires you."
Xie Chuji said: "There is also a couplet in this sentence, 'A man with virtue is talented'. This is what our ancestors taught the world that virtue is more important than talent. It does not mean that women do not need to have talent."
Hanguli said happily: "So this is the correct answer to this sentence. Can the lady stay in Dayue to be Hanguli's teacher for a year and teach Hanguli to learn Middle-earth culture?"
Xie Chuji hesitated a little, and Hanguli said, "Sir, if you feel it is difficult to refuse, it is fine. Dayue will definitely send troops to help. Hanguli still understands the principle of lips and teeth being cold. Before meeting the female teacher, Hanguli admired Miss Chu Si of your Daxuan the most. Now Hanguli also admires you, sir."
It's only a year, so it would be good to stay in Dayue Kingdom and experience more of its customs and culture.
Xie Chuji's lips curved, hiding the bitterness very well, she said: "It is my honor to be appreciated by the princess, I am willing to stay in Dayue."
The troops were borrowed, but what remained was a tough battle. Xie Chuji could not help much if he went back, and there were many inconveniences on the way. On the return journey, Lu Linyuan was alone.
When leaving Dayue capital with the reinforcements, Lu Linyuan looked at the royal palace in the distance and felt a deep emptiness in his heart, just like the day when he got drunk after learning that Jiang Yanyi was marrying Feng Shuo.
In this life, he and Hanguli only met once, and it seems that they will not have any more interactions in the future.
He knew that this outcome could not be better, as Daxuan was still there, Dayue Kingdom would not perish, and many people he cared about would not have to die.
It’s just that everyone has their own new life, but he can’t start over.
He still has memories from the past. He has experienced life and death with those people, and even promised an afterlife. They will always weigh heavy in his heart.
It is not a pleasant feeling to be the only one in the world who remembers an absurd past life. The people you are grateful, guilty about, and miss are only those people in your memory of the past life. The people in this life are them, or maybe not them.
No one understands your sorrows and joys. After going around in circles, at the end of your life, you are still alone.
With his shoulders covered with fine snow, Lu Linyuan sat on the horse's back. He suddenly let out a desolate smile, turned his horse's head, and walked into the white snow. Only a string of horse hoof prints were left on the long street.
The north wind blows through, bringing bone-chilling cold.
*****
There was a heavy snowstorm at night, and everything was dark everywhere. The people who were seeking refuge in Yuzhou had been traveling all day, and had just experienced a surprise attack this morning, so they were all exhausted.
The guard team of An Mansion organized young and strong men to take turns to keep watch at night, one to prevent jackals from having no food in the mountains in winter, and the other to prevent the Turkic cavalry from bypassing the territory of Dayue.
An iron pot is placed above the fire, and the people boil the snowballs directly into boiling water. They scoop up a bowl of boiling water, soak a piece of instant noodles in it, pick up the prepared oil and sauce from the bamboo tube with a wooden chopstick, and then they can eat a bowl of fragrant and hot noodles.
The blacksmith was previously in charge of the noodle shop's business. When he fled, he brought a lot of noodles on the carriage. After the carriage was destroyed, he distributed all the noodles that he could not take away to the people who were accompanying him.
Therefore, when he went out to make instant noodles for Qiukui, he would often receive an egg from the old lady who had escaped with the hens. If a man broke the ice and caught a fish to cook fish soup, he would also bring them a bowl of fish soup.
Qingsong stood by the prison van with his sleeves rolled up and his neck hunched, shivering with cold.
Ogusdan knew the Central Plains dialect. He glanced at Qingsong and tried to bribe him: "Boy, give me the key now. When I return to Turkic, I will guarantee you wealth and glory."
Qingsong yawned and said, "After I follow the young master back to the capital, I will also enjoy endless wealth and glory."
Ogusdan: "... When the Turkic cavalry attacks again, none of you will survive."
Qingsong changed his posture and dozed off: "I believe in my young master. If he says he can bring reinforcements, he will definitely bring them."
Ogusdan looked at the heavy snow falling in the firelight and sneered: "Do you think you can stop the Turkic cavalry with just the mob of people from Dayue Kingdom?"
Qingsong rubbed his sleepy eyes and said, "The second prince who led the army to attack Xizhou hanged your mother and allowed the tribe to rob the cattle, sheep and women of your mother's tribe, and killed the men and children in the tribe. You have a grudge against him, so why do you always hope that he will win?"
Ogustan slammed his shackled hands heavily on the crossbar of the prisoner's car, his eyes bloodshot: "Want him to win? The first thing I will do when I return is to chop off his head!"
Qingsong rolled his eyes and said, "You have no military power, and no support from your mother's clan. If you go back, you will probably be killed by him."
The speaker may not mean it, but the listener may take it seriously.
Ogustan, who had been manic all the time, suddenly fell silent, squatted in the corner of the prison van with disheveled hair and dirty face, and no one knew what he was thinking about.
***
The Turkic cavalry who wanted to bypass Xizhou from the territory of Dayue were caught off guard by the Dayue army who had been ambushed during their night march and fled in panic.
The An family is safe, but the tough battle with the Turkic army still needs to be fought by the Xizhou Army led by An Yongyuan.
As dawn approached, the heavy snow that had fallen all night stopped, and dawn even appeared in the eastern sky.
The Xizhou soldiers who had defended the city for a whole day were already exhausted. They sat against the frosted city wall, their faces covered with soot, blood and sweat, and their original appearance was unrecognizable.
The soldiers of the Fire Head Battalion brought them food, and they stuffed it directly into their mouths with their dirty hands.
The big, white and soft steamed buns would leave a black handprint if touched, but the soldiers didn't care at all and just ate as quickly as possible to replenish their strength.
There were corpses everywhere on the city wall, some of the Turks and some of our own.
The dilapidated city gate could not withstand the next attack. All the soldiers knew that they could not defend Xizhou today.
When the sun rose, the soldiers stopped swallowing and looked up at the fiery red round sun.
Perhaps, this is the last time they see the sun.
When the siege horn sounded, the Xizhou soldiers on the city wall, who had experienced several days of fighting, looked at the Turkic army advancing like dense black ants below the city wall, and their eyes were filled with numbness.
All the movable people from the Fire Battalion and the Sick and Injured Battalion went up to the city wall and were able to barely fill up the row of battlements.
An Yongyuan stood in the center of the city wall with a solemn expression. Although there were only a hundred or so remnant soldiers left, his aura was as if there were a million-strong army standing behind him.
But his face was extremely pale, and there was not much blood on his lips. Yesterday, he was wounded in the battle on the tower, and waited until the Turks retreated before going down to let the military doctor treat the wound. He lost too much blood, and this morning he could hardly hold the halberd.
Although the Turkic second prince, who was famous for his warmongering, was accompanying them this time, the commander was a man who valued talent. He sent the imperial guards to capture An Yongyuan's family in an attempt to force An Yongyuan to surrender.
But now an accident happened and the hostage was not captured.
The Turkic commander had his subordinates who could speak the Central Plains dialect shout, "General An, our marshal respects you as a warrior and cannot bear to force you into a desperate situation. If you surrender, our Khan will definitely use you!"
An Yongyuan called the deputy general's name: "Chen Lin."
His deputy general immediately yelled back, "Kneel down and call me Grandpa, and I will consider leaving you an intact body!"
The subordinate relayed this to the Turkic commander, whose face instantly turned pale. He made a siege gesture, and dozens of catapults were pushed to the front of the army.
The big stones were wrapped with thick rope nets soaked in kerosene. The Turkic soldiers set the rope nets on fire and used catapults to throw the stones at the city tower. The stones hit the city walls with loud noises, and even the solid stone bricks of the city walls were cracked.
Some of them fell onto the city walls, and the kerosene caused the surrounding wood to start burning.
The soldiers could only hide. With the cover of this wave of artillery shells, the Turkic army carrying ladders quickly rushed to the bottom of the city wall. Some climbed the ladders, and some rammed the city gates.
The remaining Xizhou remnants were unable to hold out at all, and seeing that the situation was hopeless, a horn sounded suddenly from the rear of the Turkic army.
The Great Moon King's flag appeared on the snowy plain. The silver armor on Lu Linyuan's body glowed with a dazzling golden luster in the morning light. He gritted his teeth and shouted: "Cut off the Turkic army's tail."
After all, he couldn't bear to watch his former comrade shed his last drop of blood on the city wall while he did nothing.
When the Turkic army saw the Dayue army attacking from behind, they were stunned for a moment and then quickly fought back.
Both the Dayue and the Turks are peoples that are good at riding and shooting, but because the Turks are belligerent, no matter whether it is internal tribal fights or external invasions, the fighting experience accumulated over the years allows them to crush the Dayue army. Coupled with the numerical suppression, the reinforcements brought by Lu Linyuan were quickly surrounded and trapped by the Turkish army, and they were unable to take care of themselves.
At the moment when the Xizhou city gate was breached, An Yongyuan hacked to death a Turkic soldier who climbed up the ladder. The warm blood splashed into his eyes, causing severe pain. He tried to raise his head to look at the sun again, but all he saw was a spot of light glowing in the blood.
In a trance, he seemed to see Madam An Shao and their newborn child in that spot of light.
Madam An smiled at him and called him softly, "Husband."
"General!" The deputy general pushed An Yongyuan away and blocked the knife for him. He didn't care about the pain and killed the sneak attacking Turkic soldier with a sword. He wiped the blood from his mouth and said ecstatically: "The prince is here!"
The Xizhou City behind him was shaking, and the sound of horse hooves rolled in like thunder.
The sound of the battle horns was swept across the sky and earth by the howling north wind, sounding solemn and dull.
The Turkic soldiers who had just broken through the city gate seemed to be nailed to the spot by something, staring blankly at the long street in the distance.
The pale light of the sky shone through the city gate which was more than ten meters high. From a distance, a flag seemed to be as high as the city gate. The cold wind tore at the black flag. The scarlet word "封" on the flag made people feel cold all over.
Feng Shuo rode on Wuyun and took the lead, with the black cloak behind him flying high. The personal guards on the left and right wings were arranged in a goose formation, each holding two sickle-shaped scimitars. The wide black cloaks that shielded them from the wind and snow were blown up by the strong wind on the horse's back, leaving only the cold light of the scimitars in their hands. At first glance, they looked like a ghost messenger from the underworld.
The galloping war horses arrived in front of them in an instant, and after just a face-to-face encounter, they rushed directly out of the city gate, and the Turkic soldiers who were standing there just now had become a pile of dead bodies.
Feng Shuo came in person and led his cavalry guards who charged into the heart of the Turkic army like a life-harvester, and continued to advance towards the chariot where the Turkish commander was. When the soldiers on the city wall saw this, they were like chickens with blood injected, and they roared, picked up their weapons and continued to block the Turkish soldiers who were climbing up the ladders.
The reinforcements arriving from the rear were like a torrent, one stream poured out from the city gate and joined the battle, while another stream went up to the city wall and filled the gaps there.
The Turkic commander saw that the situation was not good and quickly ordered his guards to call back the troops.
The chariot he was riding in was pulled by dozens of horses and was more than ten feet high. From the chariot, he could clearly see that Feng Shuo was coming straight towards them.
The moment his eyes met Feng Shuo's, the Turkic commander felt as if he was being stared at by a vicious wolf.
He had never fought with Feng Shuo before, but just from this one glance, the Turkic commander knew that he was no match for him.
He shouted, "Retreat! Take His Royal Highness the Prince back quickly!"
Seeing that the Xizhou City that was about to be captured was defended again, the second Turkic prince suddenly kicked the soldier who came forward to persuade him to evacuate: "Coward, you have been attacking a city for several days and still haven't taken it! How can I explain to the Khan later?"
He raised his weapon and was about to get off the chariot, but the Turkic commander grabbed him and said, "Second Prince, retreat first! The one coming is the King of Liaonan, we have no chance of winning!"
The second Turkic prince broke free from the Turkic commander's hand and said arrogantly, "If you hadn't been so timid, Xizhou City would have been captured long ago! So what if it's the Liaonan King who came? Do you think I'm that rubbish Ogusdan? I'll just take the Liaonan King's head and take it back to claim credit!"
He cut the reins of a horse, shouted loudly and rushed towards Feng Shuo. Unfortunately, before he could reach Feng Shuo, he was knocked off the horse by Feng Shuo's halberd and was trampled to death by the cavalrymen who were following closely behind him.
The Turkic commander was heartbroken, but seeing Feng Shuo coming towards him, his life was at stake, so he didn't care about anything else and chose a horse to escape in panic.
The Turkic commander fled in panic, and the rest of the soldiers abandoned their weapons and armor.
The Dayue Army led by Lu Linyuan was almost trapped to death. Fortunately, Feng Shuo arrived in time and turned defeat into victory. His tense nerves relaxed and he was nearly chopped by a Turkic general, but Feng Shuo passed by and saved his life.
After the fierce battle, when Lu Linyuan got off his horse, his legs and feet were still a little weak. His face and body were covered in blood, some of his own and some of others.
The number of people I have killed in my two lifetimes combined is not as many as today.
The rising sun became somewhat dazzling. He looked at Feng Shuo, who was standing in the distance in a black armor. For a moment, he couldn't tell whether he felt more admiration and relief, or more bitterness.
He walked over and said to Feng Shuo, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for rescuing me."
Feng Shuo glanced at him and patted him on the shoulder: "You have done a great job this time."
When Feng Shuo turned around to check on An Yongyuan's injuries, Lu Linyuan, not knowing whether he was possessed or something, suddenly asked, "Is the princess okay?"
Feng Shuo's eyes suddenly became sharp, and he said coldly: "Of course."
Lu Linyuan smiled bitterly and said, "Linyuan wishes the prince and princess a happy marriage."
Feng Shuo said two words coldly: "Thank you."
At that time, Jiang Yanyi didn't know that someone had been harassing her day and night after coming back, wanting to complete his plan of having a baby with her, because he was jealous here.
Author has something to say: Feng Hanhan: You don't wish me and Ayi to have a baby soon, right? I'll make one myself!
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