Chapter 2
The north wind was howling, and the footprints on the snow were deep and shallow.
It has snowed in the capital before winter even arrived. This is the first snow of the year.
Lu Ling's hands and feet were tied with iron chains, and the chains swayed with every step he took.
"Miss, how are you?" Shannai lowered his head and asked Lu Ling.
Lu Ling shook her head and said nothing. She had no strength left. They had been walking for three days and three nights. They would rest for a while in the middle, but each rest was not long.
"What are you doing! Why are you getting so close? Go back!" the soldier next to him shouted with a knife.
Shanna glared at the soldier and wanted to curse back, but when he thought of his current situation, he swallowed the curse back.
"San Nai." Lu Ling called out weakly.
"Things are different now, don't cause trouble." Lu Ling patted Shannai's shoulder.
"If you care about me, then you must protect yourself even more. We can't fight them right now. If things get out of hand, we might all die. You and Qingdai are the only ones by my side now, so don't let anything happen to you."
Shannai's eyes were red, "I know."
Perhaps Mother Lu's advice was effective, or perhaps Lu Ling was naturally independent, but the day after his father and mother passed away, Lu Ling returned to normal.
The snow fell heavier and the sky grew darker, hindering our progress.
"Let's take shelter in the temple ahead!" shouted the leading general.
"Miss, have a drink of water." Shannai handed the kettle to Lu Ling.
Lu Ling didn't answer. "You and Qingdai drink it. You haven't had water for a long time."
"Miss, we are fine, you can drink it." Qingdai said before Shannai could speak.
Shannai also echoed, "Miss, you are still injured, Qingdai and I are fine."
Lu Ling's wounds were inflicted during the last interrogation. Although more than ten days had passed, without medication, the wounds hadn't healed at all. Fortunately, the weather wasn't hot, so there was no risk of suppuration.
Lu Ling didn't say anything else, but took the kettle and drank the water. She was indeed thirsty.
Although this dilapidated temple is shabby, it is really big and can accommodate more than 20 prisoners. Lu Ling looked around and found that some of these people were children of twelve or thirteen years old, some were elderly people, and some were young people.
The temple was in tatters and could not withstand the wind and snow. Snow fell from the roof with a rustling sound, making the already cold weather even colder.
The kettle in my hand was snatched away, "Where did you steal it from?"
"No! This is on the ground!" Shannai looked up and shouted.
Although they were exiles, basic water and food were still provided. Generally speaking, anything that was not placed on the table was considered to be left for the exiles.
The soldier whipped Shannai a few times, "How dare you talk back! If it wasn't stolen, how could you have brought it yourself? Do you think this is the Lu residence?"
"What's wrong?" asked the leading general.
"General, this woman stole the water and refused to admit it."
"Oh, stealing water?" The leading general sneered, "The eldest daughter of the Lu family is actually doing something sneaky."
The person who stole the things was clearly a maid in the Lu Mansion, so how did she become the eldest daughter of the Lu Mansion? The soldier next to him was puzzled.
Lu Ling clenched his hands and gritted his teeth, saying, "General, we are the ones who made the mistake. Please be magnanimous and forgive us."
Things are different now. If I quarrel with them, I will probably end up with my body torn to pieces.
"Miss, no, it's not, it's obviously..." Shannai was not convinced and wanted to continue reasoning.
Lu Ling stopped Shannai from continuing.
"Miss Lu, stealing is a serious crime!" The leading general lowered his head and stared into Lu Ling's eyes. "Come here, tie up this slave girl and throw her outside. Don't let her in."
Several soldiers tied up Shannai and took him outside.
"Fang Shuo! How dare you! We are exiled, but you can't kill us at will." Lu Ling shouted.
It was windy and snowy outside, and the prison uniform was already thin. If Shannai went out, he would be frozen to death in less than three hours in the snow.
"Why wouldn't I dare? What did you do to me back then? I'm just giving you a taste of your own medicine." Fang Shuo raised his head and walked to the side. "We won't leave tonight. Let's rest in this dilapidated temple and keep watch."
"Yes, the jailer below obeys your order.
"Also, keep an eye on the one outside. Don't let her run away."
"yes."
After saying that, Fang Shuo sat on a wooden chair beside him.
A dilapidated temple and a wooden chair that was found somewhere.
Outside the dilapidated temple, Shannai was kneeling in the snow with his hands and feet tied up. Snowflakes fell on his head one by one, and he was shivering from the cold.
A fire was lit in the dilapidated temple at some point, and the originally extremely cold temple had a hint of warmth.
In the middle of the night, Lu Ling secretly glanced around and found that everyone was asleep. She gently shook Qingdai.
"Little..." Before Qingdai could say anything, Lu Ling stopped her. He picked up a stone and whispered, "I'm going to check on Shannai. You stay here. If anything happens, throw this stone outside."
Qingdai nodded.
Lu Ling tiptoed out, "Where are you going?" a voice suddenly came.
Lu Ling turned her head and Fang Shuo looked at her with his right hand resting on his head.
Fang Shuo's voice was neither too loud nor too soft, just enough to wake up everyone in the temple.
"General, I'm sorry. It was too cold and I fell asleep by the fire. Please forgive me this time." A soldier knelt in front of Fang Shuo.
Fang Shuo didn't say anything, but walked towards Lu Ling and said, "You want to go out and be with her?" Fang Shuo walked around Lu Ling and leaned over and said, "I won't let you do that."
"You!" Fang Shuo pointed at the jailer who had just admitted his mistake, "Go back and get your punishment."
The jailer kowtowed immediately to express his gratitude to the general for not killing him.
Lu Ling ultimately didn't leave that night. After a night of fear and anxiety, the snow outside stopped falling and the sun shone brightly. There was no sign of a heavy snowfall the previous night. Only a few flakes of snow occasionally falling from the roof of the dilapidated temple gave any evidence of the heavy snowfall.
"Let's go! Let's go!" Fang Shuo ordered.
Several people walked out of the temple, and Lu Ling saw Shannai kneeling in the snow.
She was lifeless, with snow covering her eyebrows, nose, and mouth. The snow had melted on her eyelashes and was dripping down drop by drop.
Lu Ling stared at Shannai, feeling heartbroken.
"General, what should we do with that lowly maidservant?" asked the lowly soldier.
Fang Shuo gave him a look and said, "Go and see if he's dead or alive."
The soldier ran over to check for breath and came back, "General, the man is dead."
"Dead? Just leave it here to save trouble." Fang Shuo sneered.
Lu Ling's mind went blank, and what flashed through his mind was the first time he saw Shannai.
The little girl was only twelve years old at the time, begging on the street in tattered clothes. Little Lu Ling, seeing a child about his own age, begged his mother to take her into the Lu Mansion. From then on, Lu Ling would always think of Shan Nai whenever he had anything. If Qing Dai had something, Shan Nai would definitely have something too. In fact, Shan Nai even had more things than Qing Dai.
Shannai was illiterate, so Lu Ling taught her how to read; Shannai didn't know martial arts, so Lu Ling taught her martial arts. However, Shannai was clumsy and only knew some mediocre skills, so she was never a match for Lu Ling.
Later, Shannai was no longer a maid without Lu Ling realizing it. In Lu Ling's heart, she had already regarded Shannai as her good sister.
Now that Shannai is dead, Lu Ling has lost another loved one.
Lu Ling looked up and closed her eyes, trying to comfort herself.
If Shannai had gone with them, given her temperament, she would have suffered even more horrific torture than this, and would have been worse off than death. It was such an injustice to Shannai that she couldn't even be buried after death.
Lu Ling lowered his head and smiled bitterly.
Qingdai, who was standing aside, was crying so hard that she was out of breath. Lu Ling patted Qingdai to comfort her, and his eyes also became red.
Perhaps this is where our friendship ends, Lu Ling thought.
The group of people walked towards the southwest in a mighty procession. They were exiled to Shu, which was a long way away and surrounded by obstacles and many snakes and rats.
The journey was so long that many people might die before reaching the destination. If they were lucky enough to reach the place of exile, it would be difficult for them to survive.
The road ahead is long and full of dangers.
"Miss, how are you?" Qingdai asked.
Lu Ling's mouth was dry, a layer of skin had formed on his lips, and his face was getting paler and paler. Lu Ling felt unwell all over.
Not only Lu Ling felt unwell, but Qingdai did too.
Lu Ling shook his head and forced a smile. Three or four people had died along the way because they couldn't adapt.
The further southwest you go, the warmer the weather gets. Although the southwest climate isn't as dry and cold as the north, the wind can still be just as chilly.
As soon as the group of people entered Shu, they were shocked by the scene before them. At a glance, there were lush trees and overgrown weeds in front of them, with only a small path that one person could pass through. The path did not look very old and should have been made by the exiled people in recent years.
Ten years ago, the late emperor personally led an expedition to attack the Kingdom of Shu and won a great victory, forcing the Kingdom of Shu to surrender.
However, the living habits of Shu were different from those of the Central Plains, and the production activities of Shu were backward. In order to promote the development of Shu, a large number of slaves and prisoners were exiled to Shu to promote the development of Shu.
After ten years of development, the economy of Shu has improved, but it is still lagging behind most provinces and counties in the Central Plains.
Before they knew it, the group had passed through the woods and entered a flat and open area with a wide view, where they could see the opposite side of the mountain at a glance.
Lu Ling just heard the conversation between Fang Shuo and his subordinates. This place is not far from the city and they will be able to arrive in two days.
Lu Ling didn't know what he was facing, he just thought that he could breathe a sigh of relief and not have to be so scared every day.
Lu Ling didn't hear wrongly, they did arrive two days later.
They were taken to the military camp outside Shuzhou City. Soldiers hurried past and soon passed by carrying the wounded.
Since Daliang conquered Shu, the contradiction between Daliang and Baipu Kingdom has become increasingly serious, and there have been frequent frictions between the two countries.
Daliang wanted to make Baipu a vassal, but Gao Mazhuang, a Baipu native, was unwilling to do so. Speaking of which, one of the reasons Lu Ling's father was killed was the conflict between Daliang and Baipu.
The military flag with the word "Liang" written on it fluttered in the wind, and there was no sign of defeat at all.
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