Stay in the new year secretly

Chapter 17: Staying for a Year

There are more than a hundred girls here. Not only will there be chaos of stepping on the people in the same bed, but if you offend one of them, your life will be in danger.

After traveling with her for two days, Yi Huan noticed that she was isolated and asked, "Why do they exclude you?"

"They're isolating me, and you dare to join me? Aren't you afraid of being targeted?"

"No."

Yi Huan swallowed the dry biscuit in his mouth and explained in detail: "They are not as capable as you to save me, and they are not as kind as you."

Mai Zhou's handsome face was cold, and his dark eyes flashed with emotion for a moment at her words, but he turned away with a sneer and changed the subject, asking, "How did you get here?"

“Half voluntary, half forced.”

Instead of waiting for Peng Zuoyan to force her to hand her over, it would be better for her to do it herself and fight for her own way out.

"Because of men?"

Yi Huan nodded calmly, "My fate is out of my control, so I want to take control of my own life."

"Are you not afraid of death? This is not a good place."

"Zhou Niang, my husband and son both died at his hands. My freedom, body and mind, were never under my control. I hate my own incompetence, and I also hate his domination."

Meeting her unrepentant eyes with curved brows, Mai Zhou touched the bowl she was holding with his own and said in a rising voice, "Huan Niang, you won the bet."

Yi Huan also smiled at her. Although her face was shabby and she was wearing gray clothes, she was in a relaxed mood and felt much lighter when she smelled these scents.

“I think life here is better than that.”

"Ha, is this place nice? You've never seen these people go crazy."

Whether they win or lose, all women, without exception, are a bunch of beasts.

"Can he protect you?"

It’s no wonder that Yi Huan noticed Cui Yi. In the past month, she saw the two of them meeting together several times.

When Cui Yi was mentioned, Mai Zhou paused and pretended to be relaxed, "Well, it's really nothing. Sleeping with a group of people is sleeping with one person, but it's better to choose one person. At least there will be a limited degree of dignity."

"You don't like him?"

"Ha, don't say anything you shouldn't say."

Yi Huan could empathize with him and promised to say the same thing: "I won't tell you."

"That's really good."

Chang San killed several of the defending soldiers and brought the news from outside to Peng Zuoyao. Five days after the secret order was issued, Peng Zuoyao said that the pre-battle bold words were used to boost the morale of the army.

"My beloved concubine is willing to sacrifice herself for the greater good. The thief Yang wants to trap us and kill us. Now that external reinforcements have arrived, all the soldiers will join me in encircling and suppressing the thief Yang. Fight his way out of the valley and seize our fertile land!"

Taking advantage of the high morale, Peng Zuoyang launched an appropriate charge and caught the enemy off guard at one quarter past three in the morning.

In the chaos at the rear, some people were attacking and some were fleeing. Yi Huan and Mai Zhou cooperated to kill one person with a long stick and seized a long knife.

Yi Huan felt a long-lost sense of familiarity. He held Mai Zhou's delicate hand with his other hand, with the tip of the knife pointing outward in a defensive posture.

"Zhou Niang, I'll take you and escape during the chaos. Do you dare?"

Meeting her crazy and inviting eyes, Mai Zhou curled his lips and said, "I couldn't ask for more."

"If you can escape, I have the ability to find shelter. I will take care of you in your place. As long as I have a piece of cake to eat, I will have half of it."

Mai Zhou laughed out loud, touched her hands with his, and looked at the chaos in front of him with a slightly solemn look.

Even more boiling than the flying dust was the wailing sound of swords piercing skin. Soldiers in the same color armor were fighting each other, their arms felt sore from the killing, and the murderous intent in their eyes became more and more concentrated.

Mai Zhou had never seen drops of blood splashing onto someone's face, so he followed Yi Huan closely, running as quickly as possible.

"This road is less crowded, Zhou Niang, let's go this way."

"good."

Mai Zhou pulled at the corner of Yi Huan's shirt, a look of relief gradually appearing on his face. "Niang Huan, we escaped."

In the past five years, Mai Zhou did not believe in fate and escaped with the help of Cui Yi. He escaped with little strength and had never walked farther than the road he was walking now.

Yi Huan's hand holding the knife remained unchanged as he responded, "Yes."

Mai Zhou looked around behind him, his happy expression froze. A feather arrow pierced the air and shot towards him with unstoppable force. Mai Zhou pushed Yi Huan away with both hands. While trying to save himself, he stepped on a sharp stone. He watched with wide eyes as the arrow tip passed by, piercing through his flesh and stopping at the bone.

"Zhou Niang!"

The man was about to shoot a second arrow, but Yi Huan cursed angrily and ran over with his sword, slashing his neck before he could put away the arrow and draw his sword.

She staggered back anxiously. Yi Huan avoided the arrow tail and wanted to carry her forward. "Zhou Niang, don't die. I'll take you to see a doctor."

"Accidents are unpredictable, I don't blame you."

Yi Huan choked and said with strength in his arms: "I'll take you out to save lives."

He couldn't find a military doctor if he went back, and he couldn't find a doctor if he went forward. Mai Zhou also knew that the situation was unpredictable. Lying in her arms, he could feel the pain and the blood flowing from his heart.

Mai Zhou held Yi Huan's hand, shook his head and said, "Didn't you say someone was chasing you? Give me your silver hairpin. I'm dying anyway, so let me do one last thing for you."

"I told you I'd take you out, and there would definitely be a doctor. Zhou Niang, just hold on, okay?"

Mai Zhou lay there, letting his strength run out, facing the overly bright sky, tears streaming from his eyes.

"Huan Niang, you are the only one left in the agreement. I can see my father-in-law and mother-in-law now."

The four words "live well" express the longing of Mai's parents for their son Mai Zhousheng, but the living are in shackles every minute and every second, the dead want to live against their will, and the living who are neither human nor ghost want to die.

The last thing they did in this world was to protect their daughter. Only by living could there be hope, and only by living could their daughter, who had not yet reached the age of marriage, experience the vast world.

Yi Huan held her face and wiped the dirt off her face. He knew that the arrow wound was too serious to be repaired, so he let out a low roar of grief and hatred.

"Zhou Niang, thank you, I'm sorry."

Taking the hairpin from her hand, Mai Zhou inserted it into his hair, trembling, and murmured silently, "Life is not easy, staying is painful."

Mai Zhou has been carrying this blessing for six years. Since it was an unexpected gift from heaven, she just went with the flow. Once her body is gone, she will apologize for the crime of self-immolation after they are reunited.

Yi Huan was urged by Mai Zhou to escape quickly. Feeling that breathing was becoming increasingly difficult, Mai Zhou took out a tinderbox and closed his eyes with a warm smile in the blazing fire.

Aye and Aniang, Azhou is coming.

Amidst the piles of corpses, a pitch-black female corpse with a charred hairpin stuck in it was placed in front of the main tent. Her hair, burnt to ashes, could no longer hold the hairpin. Peng Zuodan stroked the charred ashes on the hairpin with his left hand, staring at the corpse whose face was unrecognizable.

Judging from his skeleton and body shape, and the fact that he dared to run so far during the battle, it was undoubtedly Yi Huan.

Peng Zuoyan's silence actually meant nothing. Among the many women in Gongzhou, none of them left a deep impression on him like Yi Huan. This was not love. He could not feel the pain of losing his beloved, and his heart was filled with confusion.

The two words Yi Huan are not a code name, but the soul of the corpse lying in front of him. Peng Zuoyan suddenly felt bored when he heard about the opposite sex other than her.

"Master, how are things going to be arranged after Concubine Huan's death?"

Although it was all black, Peng Zuoyan could still clearly identify which was Yi Huan's face and which were her hands. What he couldn't get rid of in his mind was her intact face.

Peng Zuoyan waved his hand and said, "Let's find a quiet place with few people to bury him."

"yes."

Yang Binglan was personally beheaded by Peng Zuoyang in front of the two armies. At this point, Peng Zuoyang declared war on Goshul completely.

During the two months of recovery and recuperation, Peng Zuoyang, using Panshi as an excuse, flew under the banner of the battle line and marched westward with an army of 50,000.

Returning to Gongzhou Mansion again, the study was smoking with hot charcoal, and the dark night was silent and empty.

Peng Zuoyan requested a few empty red sandalwood tablets, then quietly carved the words with a carving knife in his right hand. He polished the only fully carved tablet smooth with a grindstone, and then placed his fingers over the words.

The position of Yi, the concubine of the Peng family.

Logically speaking, he was twenty-four and still unmarried, so there shouldn't be tablets for maids and concubines in his courtyard, but Peng Zuoyuan wanted to leave something behind. After all, they were master and servant, so he was willing to give her some care.

There was no emotion or reluctance, but he was as cold-hearted as usual. He used her as a pawn and caused her to lose her life. He felt a little complicated, as if he regretted that she, who was so dear to him, should not have died at such a young age.

I won and found your body. You must be able to see it from heaven. I buried you in Yizhou. You are probably close to returning home.

Today marks the third month since your death. I will only remember you until today. Ah Huan, goodbye forever.

At the same time, Yi Huan was stripping off the winter robe of a dead person who had already stiffed in Changzhou, thousands of miles away.

With shaking hands, the unpretentious woman dug the hole and buried the body with soil, muttering, "I'm sorry, my dear. I lent you some clothes to wear. I'm sorry for killing you first and asking for your permission later. Please forgive me for burying you."

Yi Huan mingled with the sparse group of refugees and followed them south.

After walking for most of the day, they encountered bandits lying in ambush. The bandits stared at more than a dozen people with palm-sized swords and threatened them while demanding money.

"Please let us go. We have fled from Mianzhou and don't even have a steamed bun."

The vicious bandits showed no sympathy for their cries and pleas for mercy. They approached with knives in hand and said, "I don't care where you come from. Listen up! Hand over all your valuables, or you'll die."

"Everyone, run! Kill people!"

Yi Huan wrapped her head with a tattered headscarf and ran towards a place with few people with her hungry body. A man was chasing her, and Yi Huan threw the package out but it only blocked the man for a moment.

The only sharp weapon on his body was the wooden hairpin in his sleeve. Yi Huan held it tightly in his hand and looked at him with a desperate look.

When Yi Huan moved to the side to stab him when he was about to attack, his ankle suddenly cramped up and his leg felt numb and painful. He could only watch the sharp knife approaching his head.

“Ah!”

Qiongde reined in his horse and stopped. Nalan Han, who was sitting on the carriage, was shooting his second arrow at another person. "My lady? Are you okay?"

"Thank you, my dear."

Nalan Han dismounted with his bow and arrows and ordered, "Qiongde, go and rescue them."

Qiongde, the guard who also served as the groom, responded and ran forward with his sword drawn to kill.

The scattered bandits were completely wiped out. Yi Huan casually glanced at the two large wooden boxes in the carriage and called out to the master and servant who were about to leave, "Sir, do you need a maid to take care of your daily life? Winter is about to come, and you still have a long way to go. More people will serve you well and take care of you."

The young man in the scarlet collared Hu robe turned around with a smile and said in an equal tone, "Who said we were in a hurry?"

"You traveled with two suitcases, and now it's early winter, and you even brought a folding fan, thinking you were prepared for the hot summer."

Seeing his expression of relaxation with his hands behind his back, Yi Huan raised her voice anxiously and said, "I'm sorry for intruding on your privacy. I just wanted to use your influence to get enough food and a place to stay. I'll take on some odd jobs. I can do the work of a maid and I can also use a sword."

But Yi Huan didn't know that she looked like a dirty refugee. These two skills were not convincing at all. Nalan Han approached with a gleaming smile, leaning over to stare into her eyes. "What if you have ulterior motives? Wouldn't I be in danger?"

"I don't want any wages, as long as you provide me with food and accommodation. I am not picky about food or accommodation."

Her bluish-red eyes were stained with anxiety. Nalan Han stopped teasing her and looked at her: "Look at her, she's really ugly."

"My dear, you must be cautious when you are in exile." Yi Huan pinched his fingertips and deliberately lowered his voice.

"Well, considering your cleverness, I will take you with me."

Soon Yi Huan found out the origin of Nalan Han's "Benguan" character. Nalan Han, the new county magistrate of Changzhou, was an official sent from the capital. It was said that his family was wealthy and he was a leader among the descendants of the Nalan family.

Nalan Han never treated Yi Huan as a maid, and took care of her everywhere in the county office and at home. Instead, it was Yi Huan who first saw through her fake identity as a woman disguised as a man.

The tall and handsome young man sneered and asked frankly, "Ha, are you dazzled, A Zheng? I am definitely your husband. If there were no difference between men and women, I would have verified it thoroughly."

Under her silent gaze, Nalan Han stopped laughing and asked seriously, "How did you know?"

She had never made any mistakes in her twenty years of pretending to be a man. How could Zhou Zheng know that? Or was she trying to trick her?

"County Magistrate, because I live under your roof, I pay special attention to you."

It was concern and suspicion. Yi Huan didn't believe that there were any born good people, and he was wary of Nalan Han's rescue from the beginning to the end.

Nalan Han raised the ring on his thumb and threw it over. Realizing that she pointed it out without any ill intention, he straightened his official robe and said, "Speak nicely and speak human language."

Yi Huan took it with both hands and put it back, thinking back to the past half month, and said honestly: "Because you treat me differently, not as a man takes care of his daughter, not as an elder cares for his junior."

The person reviewing documents on the desk glanced at her sideways and said, "I can't treat you as a friend."

"Of course I can. I am willing to serve the county magistrate with all my heart."