She is not without everything
The cold wind blew up dust and sand, which hit the simple carriage, making a slight whimper. The wheels rolled over the bumpy official road, shaking the people in the carriage.
Ning Lingyi hugged the drowsy Lingyao tightly in her arms, while Zhaoyang protected Yanhe who was nestled beside him, and the family stayed together.
Since that day when they met again in the wilderness, Tuoba Hong's troops followed far behind, maintaining a silent distance.
Ning Lingyi's gaze fell on the barren yellow fields rapidly receding outside the car window. There was no trace of emotion. She no longer looked at him, nor did she say a word to him.
When he came to a fork in the road, he would ask the driver to stop and get off, asking the passing woodcutters, travelers with backpacks, or old farmers basking in the sun by the village for directions to Mingzhou.
"Father, which route is safer to take towards Mingzhou?"
"Auntie, is there a village ahead where we can rest?"
"Young man, where does this official road lead to?"
Her voice was calm, and every time she asked, it meant that she didn't need his guidance or arrangements. She wanted to walk this path on her own.
Tuoba Hong rode his horse and followed her dozens of feet away, and could see her back every time she got off the car to ask for directions. Her slender figure looked particularly thin in the cold wind, but she also revealed a sense of stubbornness.
Occasionally, he would ride a little closer, trying to break the stagnant silence.
"Lingyi, in front..."
As soon as he opened his mouth, Zhaoyang suddenly pulled the curtain of the carriage tighter, blocking out his voice.
The small figures of Yan He and Ling Yao flashed through the gap in the curtain, and then they quickly shrank back behind their sisters like frightened little animals, leaving only frightened eyes peeking through the gap, and no longer dared to be as close as before.
Tuoba Hong pulled the reins tightly, and the following words were stuck in his throat.
He looked at the tightly closed curtain, with complex and inexplicable emotions surging in his deep eyes. He stopped his horse in silence for a moment, and finally turned his horse's head and returned to the distance that was neither far nor near. His back cast a long, lonely shadow on the wasteland.
And so, we walked in silence for a few more days.
Ning Lingyi finally managed to turn the deviated path back to the right path leading to Mingzhou with the help of those fragmentary inquiries. The official road became wider and smoother, and there were more and more carriages and pedestrians.
On this day, as the sun was setting, Ning Lingyi asked the coachman to stop at a flat place on the side of the road. She lifted the curtain of the carriage and walked straight towards Tuoba Hong who was stationed at the rear.
The cold wind blew through her hair, and a few strands of hair brushed against her fair neck, where a light pink scar was still visible.
Tuoba Hong's gaze fell on her neck, then quickly moved away to look into her eyes.
"Thank you, Khan, for your escort." Ning Lingyi's voice was calm, as if she was stating something that had nothing to do with her. "We are now close to the main thoroughfare, and the road ahead is no longer dangerous or difficult. Khan, please return now, and we will walk on our own."
Tuoba Hong looked at her silently. His Adam's apple rolled, and his low voice carried a rare sincerity: "I'm sorry."
"I was wrong that day."
"I just don't want to see you put yourself in danger. I don't want you to..." He paused, as if he couldn't find a more appropriate word to express his anxious worry, "I don't want you to be in danger of your life."
Ning Lingyi met his gaze and slowly shook her head, her eyes clear and distant.
"Matters of life and death are indeed important." Her voice was soft, but every word was clear, echoing in the cold wind.
"But in this world, some things are more important than life and death."
Tuoba Hong frowned deeply.
He couldn't understand. In his understanding, survival, control, and protection were the supreme principles. He offered her what he considered the safest and most honorable path, so why did she insist on hitting that wall?
"Minzhou..." He tried to say something else.
Ning Lingyi, however, had already bent her knees slightly and performed an impeccable salute: "The road ahead is still long. I dare not trouble the Khan any further. I bid you farewell. I wish you a safe journey."
Tuoba Hong pursed his lips tightly, looking at the woman in front of him who seemed to be covered in ice. After a long time, he finally spoke again: "I will take you to the nearest dock."
Ning Lingyi neither refused nor responded, but turned around and walked back to the carriage.
After walking for more than a day, a wide river finally appeared in front of us.
The river breeze was sharp, blowing away the dust of the past few days. On the shore, a pier that was not very prosperous but was bustling with people stood quietly, with several passenger and cargo ships of various sizes moored there.
Ning Lingyi got off the carriage and walked towards the dock with Zhaoyang and his sister-in-law. Tuoba Hong and his cavalry stopped on the river bank a little further away.
Ning Lingyi approached a middle-aged man who looked like a ship captain, exchanged a few words in a low voice, and paid the money. Soon, a small but clean passenger ship was led over by the boatman.
"Sister, are we going to take a boat?" Ling Yao asked with her little face raised, with a hint of curiosity and uneasiness about new things.
"Well, take a boat to Mingzhou." Ning Lingyi touched her head and softened her voice.
She took her sister-in-law and Zhaoyang onto the gangplank, walked to the bow of the boat, turned around, and cast her eyes on the dark figure on the river bank.
Tuoba Hong was also looking at her, from a not-too-close distance, through the noisy river breeze, his eyes were as deep as a pool, as if he wanted to engrave her figure into them.
Ning Lingyi nodded slightly in that direction again, as a final farewell. The boatman untied the rope, paddled the long pole against the rocks on the shore, and the boat slowly left the dock and headed towards the center of the river.
Ning Lingyi stood at the stern, watching the group of people on the riverbank shrink until they finally became a blurry black dot and disappeared at the end of her sight. A sharp river breeze blew against her face, carrying the fishy smell of water and blowing away the last trace of inexplicable attachment in her heart.
The road ahead is uncertain, and they are the only ones left to depend on each other.
After sailing for a day or two, the scenery on both sides of the river gradually transitioned from open plains to slightly undulating hills. In the evening of that day, the boatman stopped at a slightly busy ferry port and said he wanted to buy some rice, grains and vegetables and set sail again early the next morning.
After the boat was anchored, Ning Lingyi and Zhaoyang took Yan and Lingyao, who were a little seasick, to rest in the small cabin.
Zhaoyang wiped Lingyao's face with a wet towel, while Ning Lingyi spread out a crude map. Using the dim light of the cabin's oil lamp, she traced the winding river course with her finger and whispered, "At this rate, we should reach Mingzhou in another four or five days..."
Yan He lay beside his sister's legs and asked quietly, "Once we get to Mingzhou, will we be safe? Will no one kill us anymore?"
Ning Lingyi felt a pang in her heart and was about to answer when she suddenly heard the boatman's terrified shouts and chaotic footsteps outside the cabin!
"Officials! What are you doing?"
Then came the harsh scraping sound of unsheathed weapons and a rude rebuke:
"Whoever's inside, come out!"
"Arrest them by order! Not a single one is allowed to escape!"
"Surround them! Light the torches!"
The cabin suddenly became dead silent. Under the dim light, Ning Lingyi's face suddenly turned as pale as paper. Zhaoyang suddenly hugged Lingyao tightly in his arms. Yanhe was so scared that he shrank into Ning Lingyi's arms, his small body shaking constantly.
The narrow windows of the cabin were brightly lit by the sudden fire outside. Shadows of people surrounded the boat tightly. The sound of boots stepping on the planks was heavy and dense, as if stepping on their hearts.
Ning Lingyi slowly closed her eyes. Was she unable to escape after all?
There is no place for them outside the deep palace?
She hugged Yan He tighter, and with her other hand, she tightly held Zhao Yang's cold hand. Zhao Yang had tears in his eyes and his lips were trembling, but he couldn't say a word.
The hatch was kicked open roughly!
"Come out! Do you hear me?" Several ferocious-looking officers and soldiers holding torches blocked the door. The flickering flames reflected the hunter-like grins on their faces.
At this critical moment.
“Swoosh, whoosh whoosh whoosh!”
Several crossbow arrows pierced the throats or chests of several officers and soldiers at the door. The screams stopped abruptly, and the torches fell and rolled on the deck.
“Plop! Plop!”
Almost simultaneously, more than a dozen wet figures nimbly leaped out of the water on either side of the ship. With a flash of cold light from their short blades, they dragged the officers and soldiers near the side of the ship into the icy water! The water surged, instantly dyed a glaring scarlet.
The officers and soldiers on the shore were in chaos!
"There's an ambush!"
"There's someone in the water! Kill them!"
However, the chaos has just begun.
The few boatmen who originally looked honest suddenly pulled out knives and axes from the baskets and carrying poles and rushed towards the panicked officers and soldiers!
"Protect the princess!"
"Kill all these damn officers and soldiers!"
The battle broke out suddenly and fiercely.
On the dock, flames danced wildly, figures mixed together, and the sounds of metal clashing, roars, and howls mixed together. These "civilians" who suddenly rose up were well-trained and coordinated tacitly, and they actually killed the officers and soldiers who had the advantage in numbers and forced them to retreat step by step.
Ning Lingyi and others hid in the cabin, listening to the deafening fighting outside, looking at the flickering flames and falling figures outside the window, and were shocked beyond words.
"Who is it?" Zhaoyang's voice was shaking.
Tuoba Hong? Not right.
The battle did not last too long. After just over a quarter of an hour, the shouting and screaming outside gradually subsided, leaving only sporadic groans and the crackling sound of burning flames.
Several light boats quietly approached the passenger ship where Ning Lingyi and her crew were traveling. At the bow of the first boat stood a tall woman in a neat water jacket. There were water stains and blood splatters on her face, and she held a bloody scimitar in her hand.
"Your Highness! I'm late!" The woman's voice was filled with excitement as she jumped onto the deck and rushed into the cabin.
In the dim light, Ning Lingyi saw her face clearly and cried out in surprise, "Su Qingfan?"
"It's you!" Su Qingfan knelt on one knee, his eyes filled with ecstasy and deep fear. "Ever since the news of the shocking incident in the capital reached Mingzhou, Prefect Shen and I have been extremely anxious. I led my elite troops to the capital day and night, fearing that Your Highness would be in danger! But when we arrived, we found out that Your Highness had already fled the palace..."
She spoke rapidly, breathing heavily after a calamity, "We searched all the way but couldn't find Your Highness. So, I led my men to guard the various land and water ports day and night, and also sent out people to inquire everywhere."
"Just the other day, I got a vague tip at another dock. Someone had seen several noble ladies and children boarding a ship there. They resembled Your Highness. I led my men in pursuit, chasing them all the way. Fortunately, God has mercy on us!"
Ning Lingyi listened with mixed feelings and tears welled up in her eyes.
She stretched out her hand tremblingly and helped Su Qingfan up: "Hurry up, thank you for your hard work!"
She walked out of the cabin and stood at the bow and the dock. The battle was completely over. Dozens of officers and soldiers' bodies were lying on the ground, and the civilians who had just been fighting bloody battles were now silently cleaning up the battlefield.
Their faces were dark and rough, their clothes were tattered, and many of them were injured, but their eyes were unusually bright as they looked at Ning Lingyi at the bow of the ship.
Su Qingfan stood beside Ning Lingyi and shouted to the crowd on the dock, "Brothers! Her Royal Highness the Princess is here! We finally found her!"
The crowd instantly erupted in suppressed cheers, which then turned into a thunderous roar of worship:
"Your Highness!"
"Greetings to Her Royal Highness the Princess!"
Ning Lingyi's eyes slowly swept over these unfamiliar, simple faces. Who were they?
A middle-aged man with scars on his face and head raised his head, tears in his eyes, and spoke in a choked but resonant voice: "Your Highness! Do you still recognize me? Last year during the flood, my family almost starved to death in our shack. It was you who gave me work, provided me with porridge and cured my illness. You killed Liu Bapi and distributed land to all of us refugees. Only then did my family survive!"
"And me! Your Highness! I saw you at Anji Bridge too! It was you who opened the granaries and released the grain, saving our entire village!"
"Your Highness's kindness, we will never forget it!"
"I am willing to die for your Highness!"
Heartfelt cries echoed over the dock where the blood was still lingering.
Ning Lingyi stared at them blankly, at those pairs of eyes filled with tears and loyalty, and the floodgates of memory suddenly opened. The flood of victims surging along the Anji Bridge, their desperate eyes, the trembling of their fingertips as they distributed food bags...
Those blurry faces now overlapped with the people in front of me.
She didn't remember anyone's face, but every one of them remembered her.
It turned out that her unintentional act of kindness had actually planted such tenacious seeds in this land. It turned out that she was not completely without anything.
Hot tears finally burst out of her eyes. She was not crying for herself, but for them. She only gave them a little, but they were willing to give her everything.
Zhaoyang looked at his sister, and once again, like everyone else, his eyes fell on Ning Lingyi.
What is the will of the people? In the teachings of the palace, in the conversations of my father and the crown prince, it was nothing more than a cold string of tax figures, a few words in the history books, a facade used by the emperor to embellish his benevolence, and empty words sung by his ministers in praise of his achievements. It was distant, intangible, and even carried a hint of condescension.
But what are these?
They were living people, shed with blood and tears! They weren't fighting for the illusory court, nor for the lofty imperial power, but for Princess Mingzhu. So, this was Lingyi. She finally knew what she was.
Su Qingfan whispered, "Your Highness, it's not advisable to stay here for long. Please transfer to our ship immediately. I will escort you back to Mingzhou!"
Ning Lingyi nodded vigorously, wiping away the tears on her face, her eyes becoming firm again: "Okay! Count the number of people and see if there are any casualties?"
"yes!"
Su Qingfan immediately turned around and shouted towards the dock: "Every team, take inventory! Report your numbers!"
"Three people from the team were killed! Five were slightly injured!"
"Five members of the second team were killed! Two were seriously injured!"
"Team Three..."
A low counting sound rang out at the dock. Each number represented a blood shed for her. Ning Lingyi silently memorized it in her heart.
Lingyao suddenly stretched out her little hand and pointed at the dock. Her childish voice was particularly clear in the silence: "Sister, there are so many uncles..."
She opened her eyes wide, stretched out her short fingers with great effort, and pointed awkwardly at the crowd, "One, two, three..."
Her little head shook earnestly as her fingers moved, her little mouth moved silently, and she counted very seriously.
But there were so many kneeling figures that she couldn't point her finger at them all. Her little face gradually wrinkled up with the confusion that only a child can have. Finally, she gave up and looked up at Ning Lingyi with innocent exclamation in her voice: "I can't count them all! Sister, there are so many, countless uncles and aunts!"
The night is dark and the river wind is howling.
Several speedboats quietly sailed away from the blood-stained dock, went upstream, and headed towards Mingzhou, breaking through the heavy waves.
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