Leaving Master Shen is a very painful thing, even in a dream.
A refreshing autumn rain fell during the night. Outside the window, the bamboo branches swayed in the strong wind, and the rain kept pattering against the lattice window under the eaves. The sound was dense and noisy, and Zhan Xinjia, who was already upset, tossed and turned and couldn't sleep.
She could barely close her eyes until the rain stopped and dawn broke.
In my dream, there was that majestic and solemn Golden Palace. The dimly lit hall was empty and the atmosphere was oppressive.
She kept her eyes down, remained composed, and knelt respectfully before the prince.
"I have said everything I wanted to say."
After a long while, the monarch sighed softly.
A majestic voice came from the high platform, echoing through the empty hall like heavenly music.
"Have you thought this through?"
"yes."
Zhan Xinjia lowered her eyes and gazed at her reflection on the spotless black bricks of the golden palace. The bricks reflected the girl's calm, deep eyes, her gaze resolute.
She slowly straightened up, her back upright, neither humble nor arrogant.
"After I leave, I beg Your Majesty to find a way to keep my parents in the capital."
...
Why would I dream about sneaking into the palace a few days ago...?
Zhan Xinjia, who was asleep, suddenly felt uneasy. Her brows furrowed and cold sweat beaded on her forehead.
In the dream, the scene suddenly changed.
Outside the hall, a young man in a crimson official robe with wide sleeves embroidered with cranes stood below the steps, his expression inscrutable.
Mr. Xiao Shen!
In her dream, Zhan Xinjia's heart pounded wildly, like a drumbeat. She was filled with anxiety and her palms were sweating. Forgetting all etiquette, she hurriedly got up and walked towards him, wanting to explain something to him.
The young man merely glanced at her indifferently, then coldly flicked his sleeve, turned and left without looking at her again.
In the vast expanse of heaven and earth, only that solitary figure remained.
Zhan Xinjia found it difficult to describe the pain she felt at that moment.
Even after she was suddenly jolted awake from the nightmare, the panic of having completely lost something lingered in her heart, making it difficult for her to calm down.
At that moment, the sky was bright, and a rustling sound came from not far away in the courtyard. It must be Lord Shen sweeping the fallen leaves from last night. Hearing this familiar sound, Zhan Xinjia's heart calmed down a little.
Just as she was lost in thought, two crisp "tap-tap" sounds interrupted her.
A white carrier pigeon fluttered its wings and flew in through the window. It tilted its head, preening its feathers with its beak, and stared curiously at the girl in front of it with its bright black eyes. A small letter tube was tied to its leg.
Zhan Xinjia was taken aback. She rubbed her aching temples, looked exhausted, put on her coat, and got up to walk barefoot to the window.
He skillfully took the note out of the mailbox, but this time it only had a short sentence on it.
"Yan Wuju and Mu Yunlan have both disappeared."
Zhan Xinjia slightly lifted her eyelids, her knuckles suddenly clenched, and the note was instantly squeezed into a ball in her palm.
Her whole back was trembling, and her steps were unsteady. It took her a long time to recover. She weakly groped for a piece of the cabinet next to her, and she had to lean her entire weight on it to avoid falling.
Just then, footsteps came from outside the door.
Zhan Xinjia was startled and immediately released the carrier pigeon again, while simply stuffing the note into her mouth and swallowing it.
The person who came in was Shen Suqing, who had just finished cleaning the yard.
Last night's storm blew down many withered flowers and leaves, piling up in the courtyard. He patiently cleaned and tidied up all morning, and now he was about to ask Azhi what she wanted for breakfast.
As soon as he entered, his brows furrowed deeply.
"Are you an idiot? Do you think it's still summer? The weather is getting cooler, why don't you put on shoes when you get up? You're just walking around barefoot on the ground like that. What if you catch a cold?"
Muttering to himself, Shen Suqing stepped forward, scooped her up by the knees, and carried her to the edge of the bed. He bent down to pick up her silk stockings and embroidered shoes, meticulously dressing his silly child.
"The windows are always open. The morning wind is the coldest, so be careful not to catch a cold."
After saying that, Shen Suqing carefully examined the face of the little girl in his arms, letting out a barely audible sigh of heartache.
"Hmm, you do look a little pale... When will you ever give me a break? If you really get sick, don't come crying to me with tears in your eyes again."
"Master Xiao Shen."
"Hmm? Do you know you were wrong?"
"Young Master Shen...hug."
Her voice was muffled, as if she was unhappy.
Shen Suqing smiled and hugged her tightly, pressing his cheek against her soft white face. He even childishly swayed her as she sat on his lap, like teasing a child on a rocking horse.
"Weren't we already hugging?"
Zhan Xinjia leaned on her shoulder; the fabric on his shoulder was slightly damp and cool, probably from raindrops.
She lowered her eyes.
"Then you will hold me forever."
"Hmm... it's not impossible. I'll take you with me wherever we go. As long as I'm with my Ah Zhi, it's fine to go anywhere."
"...People will think you're crazy."
"Then you must be sick."
Shen Suqing chuckled softly.
Anyway, he was already sick and had gone crazy long ago; he could only pretend to be a normal person.
"Alright, I'll go change my clothes first. These clothes are covered in the frost from the branches and leaves, and it wouldn't be good if I passed the chill on to you. Ah Zhi, be a good girl and go wash up."
He gently placed the little girl on the ground, bent down and lovingly kissed her eyebrow before restraining himself and releasing her.
His face held the same gentle smile as always.
Zhan Xinjia kept her head down and didn't respond. It wasn't until he left the room and his footsteps faded into the distance that she belatedly looked up in a daze.
Actually, she didn't have much to tidy up. Looking back at the room she had lived in for more than half a year, she saw bookshelves piled high with melodramatic novels, a portrait of an orange cat that she had forced Xiao Shen to draw, and all sorts of miscellaneous trinkets.
Each one carries memories of laughter and joy.
Tucked the silver hairpin into her sleeve, Zhan Xinjia only took the handkerchief that Master Shen had first given her to wipe her hands, which she had kept with her ever since, and the letter that had been written to her yesterday.
The biting wind was still damp, and it stung her cheeks slightly. Zhan Xinjia vaguely realized that it was indeed quite cold today.
She was so cold that she shivered all the way to the outskirts of the city.
Outside the pavilion on the outskirts of the capital, Yan Xiyue and Yan Huishi were already waiting there, with their fine horses chewing grass beside them.
“Little sister…”
Yan Xiyue stepped forward, her delicate brows furrowed, her voice full of worry.
Are you really going?
When the geese returned, they didn't ask any more pointless questions.
From childhood to adulthood, Mei Bao has never given up on anything she wanted to do. All he could do was take care of everything for her in the capital, stabilize the rear, and at least ensure that there would be no problems with food and military supplies.
However, there was still one thing he was unsure about.
"Are you going to go as General Zhan's daughter... or disguise yourself as Zhan Wending?"
Undoubtedly, Zhan Wending's male identity makes it easier for him to move around in the military.
Ke Zhanxin raised her eyes, her gaze fixed.
"Is it shameful to be General Zhan's daughter? I want the people of Nanjun to know that I am Zhan Yue's daughter. Why use a male identity? On the battlefield, there is no distinction between men and women."
If a woman dresses up as a man, wouldn't all the blame, good or bad, ultimately fall on Zhan Wending, this fictional man?
She refused; she would enter openly and honestly as a woman. If she returned victorious in the future, others would naturally think more highly of the daughters of the Great Sheng Dynasty and elevate their status even further.
“Sweetie…sob sob…I’ll come see you.”
Beside her, Yan Xiyue was already crying with tears streaming down her face, her eyes red and swollen from rubbing them.
Zhan Xinjia smiled and wiped away the tears on her cheeks, gently comforting her.
"Oh dear, our beautiful and delicate Princess Ice Crystal Tear is shedding little pearls again."
What would you do in that harsh, desolate border region? Besides, it's not like I'm never coming back. Just stay in the capital and wait for me to return victorious and take you on a horseback ride around the city!
Seeing her silly little sister being so gently comforted by her younger sister, Yan Huishi suddenly felt resentful.
He turned away, forcing out tears he was holding back, and then stood silently to the side, hoping to be comforted by such gentle words.
When Zhan Xinjia passed by him, she only glanced at him as if he were mentally challenged.
She sighed in disdain.
"Don't cry, if pork is injected with water, nobody will want it."
When the geese returned: "..."
That brat, even on her way out, she's still so hypocritical, favoring girls over boys.
He gritted his teeth.
However melancholy she felt, in this desolate autumn of parting, the lightly dressed girl in green rode her horse further and further away through the bleak maple forest, leaving only a faint, blurred silhouette, sharp and resolute.
The journey ahead is long and arduous, with many obstacles ahead.
As the wild geese returned, he suddenly remembered the favor his sister had asked him to do.
This matter isn't exactly difficult, but if you insist it's not difficult, it's certainly quite tricky...
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