Chapter 64 From Heaven (4) Zhu Qing, I beg you.

"I wish Qing to be with me."

When Feng Huaihe received this letter, he was packing his bags at Xihuatang, preparing to go to Luzhou.

He held the light letter between his fingers, yet it felt as heavy as a thousand pounds. His gaze fell upon the box he was about to put in his bag.

Inside were a broken inkstone and Zhu Qing's embroidered shoe.

Feng Huaihe lit the letter over the flickering candle flame. The flame quickly spread upwards until it was almost burning his fingertips before he let go and threw it away.

His fingers still stung from the fire, and Feng Huaihe rubbed his fingertips together, letting out a cold laugh.

He then stuffed the box into his bag, slung the willow branch over his shoulder, and went to the courtyard, where he looked up at the small wooden plaque on the wishing tree.

She's back.

Feng Huaihe hung up the last small sign and then turned to leave.

He carefully locked the gate. Outside, Bao Fu was waiting with two horses. When he saw him come out, Bao Fu rubbed his hands together and breathed on them to warm them: "It's so cold today, sir. Shall we set off now?"

It was too cold, and the streets were sparsely populated, with people breathing out white mist in the air.

Feng Huaihe glanced at him briefly before looking away, then mounted his horse and asked, "Has the heir apparent set off yet?"

"His Highness the Crown Prince has dispatched troops to Luzhou, while he remains in the palace."

Feng Huaihe nodded. In his previous life, Li Cunxu did not personally go to the battlefield. Most of the time he personally fought was when he conquered the north.

Even if Li Cunxu doesn't go this time, Feng Huaihe still has to go to Luzhou.

"Let's set off first, and then send a message to General Zhou to meet up in Luzhou."

Bao Fu should be, the master and servant rode off on horseback.

After waiting for Zhu Qing for more than ninety days and nights, Feng Huaihe had thought that the place she returned to might no longer be Qingxi Village, but he never expected that Zhu Qing would return to Zhang Yin's side, and coincidentally, in Luzhou.

Luzhou, two generations ago, it's been so long since I've been here.

As heavy snow fell, Feng Huaihe was unwilling to delay even a moment, traveling day and night, eager to see Zhu Qing, with many things on his mind to say to her.

After exhausting four horses, Feng Huaihe finally reached the border of Luzhou.

-

In the desolate mountains and wilderness, Zhu Qing was afraid of getting lost again, so she followed Zhang Yin's troops.

But as they got closer to their destination, Zhu Qing knew she had left the army. If she continued forward and faced off against Feng Huaihe's Jin army, she would be considered part of the Liang army.

It doesn't matter which side she's considered to be on; what matters is that Zhu Qing is afraid Feng Huaihe will overthink things and punish her even more angrily than before.

He might even assume that she had been with Zhang Yin for the past two months.

Zhu Qing didn't want to bear Feng Huaihe's anger anymore. If possible, she didn't want him to know that she had returned, and she wanted him to never find her again.

At dawn, the snow stopped, and the troops passed through a somewhat desolate town. Zhu Qing felt it was time, and while the troops rested, he quietly slipped away.

Based on their years of understanding as a couple, Zhu Qing knew that if she told Zhang Yin she wanted to leave, he would definitely pester her and ask her those pointless questions again.

Rather than that, Zhu Qing decided to leave quietly on her own.

Unlike Feng Huaihe, Zhang Yin didn't have the time or resources to seek her out.

As it turned out, Zhu Qing was absolutely right. After she quietly left, she hid in a corner and observed the troops. Zhang Yin noticed that she was gone and wanted to go find her for a moment, but was stopped by his deputy.

The lieutenant said, "Don't forget the task His Majesty gave you. Our top priority is to win Luzhou. You've always been a subject of two masters, so don't let His Majesty suspect you."

Zhang Yin clenched his fists, unwilling to accept it: "Feng Huaihe is also a subject of two families, so why was he able to gain the trust of the heir apparent so easily?"

"How arrogant!" the lieutenant sneered. "What is Mr. Huaihe's status, and what is yours?"

Zhang Yin's face turned pale and then red. Looking at the endless, cold, white snow-capped mountains on the distant horizon, his heart grew colder and colder.

When will I finally stand out from the crowd and reach a higher position than Feng Huaihe?

Zhang Yin suddenly loosened his tightly clenched fist, giving up on chasing Zhu Qing and continuing his journey with the soldiers.

Only after their group had gone far away did Zhu Qing dare to emerge from the corner.

Zhu Qing touched the peace bead on her wrist. It was made of silver and was given to her by Zhuo Yunmeng. She never expected it would still be useful now.

Zhu Qing took off the peace bracelet and went into an inn, intending to use it to exchange for a few horses and some clothes. She planned to redeem the bracelet after contacting her family.

The inn was deserted, with only a young man hurriedly gathering his belongings at the counter. Zhu Qing approached and saw the man's anxious expression. As he packed his things, he said fearfully, "How did they manage to break in? I thought I could bring some money home to get married this year, how did they end up here..."

Zhu Qing called out to him, "That..."

Zhu Qing explained his purpose and sincerely presented the bracelet.

The man glanced at her, then waved his hand and said, "There's going to be a war here soon. Everyone who could run has run away. You can stay at this inn if you want. I'm the last one to leave soon anyway. But don't blame me for not warning you, this is not a safe place to stay..."

After saying that, he shouldered his packed bag and hurriedly left.

Zhu Qing followed them out and, sure enough, saw that the crowds in the town were all converging at the road leading out of the town.

No wonder the town seemed so desolate when I arrived; everyone had gone to avoid the war.

Zhu Qing frowned, watching the panicked people rushing about. This was war; the old woman had lost her husband and children, and ordinary people like her were forced into a life of displacement.

Zhu Qing took a deep breath, not having time to think about these things. She quickly turned back to find the horse at the inn.

All the strong and capable horses had been ridden away to escape, leaving only a thin horse in the stable. Zhu Qing had no choice but to lead that thin horse out.

The town was nearly deserted, and no more news of the Jin army could be found here. Zhu Qing searched house to house for food and firewood, but found no food.

The most scarce resource during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period was food; otherwise, people wouldn't have resorted to cannibalism. Zhu Qing tied the firewood he had gathered to the horse's back, intending to take it back to the old woman.

Winter was too cold, and she worried that the old woman wouldn't survive without firewood.

After delivering the firewood from the horse to the old woman, he rode off to the battlefield to find his elder brother.

As Zhu Qing thought this through, he mounted the horse. Fortunately, he hadn't been lazy during his studies and had memorized all the key battle locations and routes of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. Combined with his memories of the battles he had participated in in his previous life, he shouldn't get lost this time.

Zhu Qing followed the marks she had made on her way here and returned the way she came.

It was already night when they arrived. The outlines of the two thatched huts were faintly visible in the darkness. Zhu Qing tied the horse to the tree in front of the door, picked up some firewood, and went to knock on the door.

To his surprise, the door opened by itself when he knocked. Zhu Qing went inside and discovered that the old woman's door lock was missing.

Come to think of it, having two thatched huts in this day and age is already quite good; how could one dare to hope that the doors and windows are intact?

"Old lady?" Zhu Qing groped her way in and soon saw a figure sitting up on the bed. The old woman's frail voice came from behind her: "You're back?"

"I brought you some firewood and some thick fabric." Zhu Qing put the things on the ground. "Make a fire to keep warm. I didn't find any food, but wait for me. I'll bring you a lot of food soon."

The old woman skillfully lit the oil lamp in the dark and saw a pile of firewood on the ground, which she asked Zhu Qing to take to the kitchen.

The old woman and the child returned to their previous spot. A fire was lit in the stove. Zhu Qing spread a thick cloth next to the stove, a distance that would keep them from burning and from getting too cold. He said to the old woman, "From now on, you can stay here. The firewood I brought is enough for you to last for several days."

The old woman, looking blissfully happy, sat on the bed Zhu Qing had made up. "Are you leaving again?"

Zhu Qingdan said, "I still have family members I haven't found. I need to find my brothers, get some better horses, and bring you some provisions. I'll bring you a lot of food before I go back to where I was."

Where were you before?

"In Chang'an."

“I even said I would give you the thatched hut, and if you had nowhere to go after I left, you could stay here. I didn’t expect you to have brothers. It’s a good thing to have family. Not everyone has a home to go back to these days.”

Not everyone has a home to return to these days.

Zhu Qing felt a lump in her throat; the torch in the stove was warming her face, and she felt a lump in her throat, as if she wanted to cry.

Not only now, she inexplicably returned to her original time and space, to a civilized society without war, where she still had no home to return to.

Therefore, she would rather go back here than that.

Fortunately, she was willing to come back, and time and space actually gave her a chance.

Zhu Qing suddenly remembered that she had returned to Qingxi Village to avoid the war, and was sent back to civilized society because of a quarrel with Feng Huaihe.

In any case, it fulfilled his wish to leave Feng Huaihe. If he returns to Qingxi Village, he may still face Feng Huaihe.

Zhu Qing thought to herself, glancing around at the two thatched huts. Perhaps she could renovate them and live there. There was no one within five miles, so Feng Huaihe would never find her.

But she had nothing, so how could she survive with the old woman? She could only go to her elder brother, but he was also a member of the Jin army. Feng Huaihe assisted the Jin army in battle, so they belonged to the same camp. She needed to be careful to avoid being discovered by Feng Huaihe.

As long as she avoids Feng Huaihe and doesn't let him find her, and secretly contacts her elder brother, she can obtain the family's survival resources and stay here to avoid the war, so that Feng Huaihe will never be able to find her.

Even if it were Zhang Yin, the two would only meet halfway, so Zhang Yin certainly wouldn't be able to find them.

As Zhu Qing pondered these things, she slowly pieced together a plan in her mind. She could no longer return to Qingxi Village. What she needed to do now was to contact her family, obtain food, renovate the place, and then settle down.

This time, she must be resolute in her decision to give up and stop striving. If she had insisted on giving up back then, none of this would have happened.

"Could you wait a few days?" the old woman suddenly spoke. Zhu Qing snapped out of his reverie and looked at her in confusion: "What?"

"I won't live much longer. Wait a few days, and after I die, take me to Chang'an. These two thatched huts are a token of my gratitude."

Zhu Qing was taken aback. "What?"

The old woman smiled slightly, her eyes, hidden behind large bags under her eyes, narrowed with laughter. "My husband and sons all died in battle in Chang'an. I want to be with them."

Zhu Qing fell silent. She could tell that the old woman took life and death lightly, but couldn't let go of her attachment to her family.

"Did I put you in a difficult position?" Seeing her silence, the old woman smiled as if she wanted to say something, but Zhu Qing interrupted her, "No, it wasn't difficult at all."

Although she didn't plan to return to Chang'an, Zhu Qing was willing to go if she could take the old woman back. Chang'an was so big; as long as they didn't go to Qingxi Village, they wouldn't run into Feng Huaihe's men.

"Thank you, young lady. You are a kind person, and things will surely turn out well."

Zhu Qing silently picked at his fingers, unsure of what to say.

The old woman asked again, "Young lady, are you married?"

"..." Zhu Qing recalled the seemingly perfect wedding but not a happy one. She wanted to say no, but since a marriage certificate had indeed been written, she fell silent for a moment.

The old woman stopped asking questions, leaned against the cold wall, and slowly fell asleep.

Zhu Qing wanted to wait until dawn before setting off, so he leaned against the old woman and fell asleep.

The stove fire went out in the middle of the night, leaving only scattered embers. It was a bit cold, and Zhu Qing didn't sleep well.

In her dream, she saw herself return to a place called Qingxi Village in the original timeline.

When Zhu woke up, she was in the river, and the man was still pressing her head down with a stick, trying to drown her completely.

His voice pierced through the water, sounding almost unreal with its menacing intensity: "If you refuse to marry, your family won't get any dowry, so they'll have to use your insurance to pay out."

Zhu Qing felt a chill run down her spine.

She recalled the events of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period.

Her brothers' unconditional love, her sister-in-law's gentle voice calling her "Qingqing," her eyes full of tenderness even though they couldn't speak, the tinkling bells on Chen Sangguo's head, and the peace bracelet Zhuo Yunmeng gave her...

Everything should not end with him drowning.

Zhu Qing, drawing strength from who-knows-where, grabbed the wooden stick pressed against her head with the hand adorned with the safety bracelet, recalling what Feng Huaihe had taught her at the martial arts training ground:

"Stand up straight, raise your arms, concentrate all your strength in your arms, imagine that the person opposite you is the one you hate the most, and as long as you shoot this arrow, all your hatred will disappear."

With Feng Huaihe’s indifferent yet powerful voice echoing in his ears, Zhu Qing gathered all his strength in his arm and pulled hard!

Whoosh!

With a loud splash, the people on the riverbank were pulled down. Zhu Qing quickly swam over, climbed onto the bank, panting and choking on the water in his throat, while coldly staring at the people in the river.

The man suddenly popped his head out, water streaming down his face. Zhu Qing recognized him; it was indeed her younger brother.

Her brother pointed at her arrogantly and said, "Zhu Aidi, where did you get the nerve!"

Zhu Qing grabbed the wooden stick from before, pressed it on his head, and gritted his teeth, saying, "My name is Zhu Qing."

Even though the other person was in the river, she was still no match for him. Seeing that her younger brother was about to grab the stick and climb out, Zhu Qing picked up some stones from the riverbank in a moment of desperation.

These pebbles, washed by the water, are particularly hard and perfect for playing with slingshots, so my younger brother loved playing with them too. When we were little, he often teased her with slingshots and pebbles.

Even when they were plotting to kill her, they were still playing around. At that moment, there was a slingshot lying at Zhu Qing's feet.

Zhu Qing picked up the slingshot with one hand and a very sharp stone with the other.

Feng Huaihe once said that because she was not strong, she had to choose a sharp weapon rather than a weapon commonly used by the public, so pebbles were not suitable for her.

Zhu Qing placed a sharp stone in her slingshot, treating it like the arrows Feng Huaihe had given her, and aimed it at her younger brother's forehead.

"You were the ones who tried to harm me first; I was acting in self-defense."

call out--

A sharp stone flew out and struck the younger brother between the eyebrows.

He collapsed into the river in agony, blood streaming from his forehead. He tried to climb out but had no strength. He suddenly realized that he had injured his head—his head…

He panicked and tried to climb out, desperately pleading with Zhu Qing, "Aidi, I was wrong, sister, I was wrong, please call an ambulance for me..."

"My name is Zhu Qing," Zhu Qing repeated.

"Zhu Qing, Zhu Qing, I beg you..."

"But you just pushed me into the river, and now I don't have my phone. What am I supposed to do? Can't I call an ambulance?"

"Find my parents, find my parents, Zhu Qing, please..."

"When we were little, you used to shoot me with a slingshot, and I always ended up with bruises all over my body. My parents always said it was just kids playing. We're just playing kids too, so let's not bother them, okay?"

The younger brother wanted to say something, but couldn't utter a word. He never expected it to end like this.

It's such a waste of the money he spent on insurance... I'm so upset.

Zhu Qing sneered: "Have you ever thought you'd die from your slingshot?"

He's silent; he's probably dead.

Although she couldn't kill with a single shot like Feng Huaihe, she was personally taught archery by him, and she only gave him a few words to say.

Zhu Qing was very satisfied.

Moreover, she was very cautious and made no further moves to stop him from climbing out; otherwise, it would have been an added insult to injury, turning what was supposed to be self-defense into premeditated murder.

Looking at his younger brother's forehead, where blood was streaming down his face, he felt no fear, but rather a sense of pleasure.

Feng Huaihe was right; she could use her meager grassroots strength to cut down towering trees.

She finally cut down the rotten wood that had suppressed her for over twenty years.

Zhu Qing knew she would face a lawsuit, but she didn't care. She firmly believed that she had done nothing wrong; if she didn't kill him, she would die, and it was just self-defense.

After climbing out of the river, Zhu Qing was soaking wet, but felt warm.

A warm, almost scorching sensation enveloped her entire body. Zhu Qing woke up feeling hot and discovered that the old woman had started a new fire.

An old pot sat on the stove.

The old woman said, "I still have some vegetable noodles left. Let's eat them before we set off."

Zhu Qing was still a little dazed, her mind replaying what had just happened.

At the time, she only felt the thrill of crawling out of the river and didn't pay much attention to the details. Now, dreaming about that incident, she unexpectedly discovers that every detail of her success is related to Feng Huaihe.

He wasn't by her side, yet he seemed to have gathered an invisible force within her heart.

Zhu Qing snapped out of her daze and stood up. She used to save money to eat baguettes, but she never expected that she would become so hungry that she could withstand hunger. She ate a little bit and felt that was enough.

She mounted her horse, preparing to find her elder brother and contact her family as soon as possible so that she could help her elderly mother live a better life.

After the old woman passes away, we will send her to Chang'an.

Zhu Qing set off on horseback, using the war knowledge he had learned and the memories of his previous life to find the battle point in Luzhou.

The horse was too thin and weak, and there wasn't much food, so it moved slowly. Zhu Qing passed through a fairly prosperous town, bought the peace bracelet, and secretly remembered this place so that she could redeem it when she returned.

They fed the horses before setting off again, but even with all the preparations, they still got lost twice.

Zhu Qing sighed. No wonder the teachers always said that learning also requires practical experience. The maps in history books are different from actually walking on them.

As for the memories of that life, after so much time, they have faded considerably from my memory of the journey.

Fortunately, they ended up in Luzhou after going around in circles. It took Zhu Qing a bit more time, but at least they found the place.

She inquired with the local people and learned that the battle had now reached the Huizi Fortress.

The Hui-shaped fortress was built during the later stages of the Battle of Luzhou. Initially, it was built by the Liang army for defense, and they even dug tunnels around it. Later, the Jin army added a ring around it, encircling them, and a protracted war ensued.

Later, General Zhou Dewei arrived and began guerrilla harassment, cutting off supply lines, and other operations, which further prolonged the conflict.

However, the construction of the U-shaped fortress indicates that the war is not far from over.

Zhu Qing was shocked. When she calculated the time, it made sense. It was already winter when she returned, but the Battle of Luzhou actually started in the autumn. No wonder she met Zhang Yin.

She got lost and was delayed for a long time; it's almost spring now.

Zhu Qing mingled among the war-torn civilians, trying her best not to be discovered, and quietly approached the area where the wounded soldiers of the Jin army were located. Her second brother was a military doctor who came every day.

Zhu Qing took a few steps and saw a horse charging towards him, its speed like that of a Kunpeng!

She recognized the person on horseback: Feng Huaihe, dressed in white, whipping his horse. After nearly half a year apart, his eyes had become cold and sharp, and his brows held a murderous intent, all traces of the gentle elegance of a scholar were gone.

Zhu Qing hurriedly turned her back and picked up a fan from a nearby stall to cover her face.

A fast horse galloped past, neighing, leaving only a rustling wind behind.

Zhu Qing put down his fan and quickly left.

The fast horse behind him suddenly stopped, startling passersby. Feng Huaihe turned around on his horse, looking at the flow of people and the patrolling Jin army.

Was it just his imagination? Although he didn't see anything, he had a very strong feeling in his heart.

Feng Huaihe raised his bow and aimed it at the crowd.

Upon seeing this, the patrolling Jin soldiers shouted in unison, "If anything seems amiss, none of you are allowed to move!"

Recently, their General Zhou sent cavalry to harass the Liang army, and the Liang army has also learned this underhanded trick, often sending guerrilla soldiers to interfere with them and steal Feng Huaihe's strategies.

These soldiers of Qiao loved to mingle among the common people.

The flow of people came to an instant halt at their shout, the scene frozen, like a film that had been paused.

Feng Huaihe's voice was flat and cold: "Turn them all around."