A hundred years ago
"Okay, I'll definitely go."
The village chief was urging Xiaohe again. His old and kind voice used to feel incredibly gentle, but now, when Xiaohe met his cloudy eyes, she felt a cold sweat break out on her back.
After hesitating for a while, she got off Fan Lingzhang's shoulder, tugged at Sui Zhixu's clothes, and whispered in her ear.
Finally, she ran to the village chief, a bright smile on her face, "Sister, you must come!"
"It seems Xiaohe really likes Madam Xu. You must come, so as not to disappoint Xiaohe." The village chief hugged Xiaohe, put her on his shoulder, and turned to smile.
After the group left, Fan Lingzhang approached Sui Zhixu and asked, "What did Xiaohe say to you? She's so young, can she really understand?"
"It's okay if you don't understand. It'll just be a bit more troublesome. The military strategist is capable of taking down a mountain, it's just that there will be some trouble afterward. But now Mother and Father don't have to clean up the mess."
Liu Lü nodded in agreement, "With the clues provided by my wife, Master can lead the military corps to attack Lianyun Mountain."
Fan Lingzhang blinked. The Sui family had their own way of sending messages, so he didn't ask any further questions.
Sui Chuke squatted to one side, drawing on the ground with a wooden stick. Suddenly, he stammered, realizing he couldn't speak. Pointing to his throat, he wrote on the ground, "Lianyun Mountain! Sui Family!"
"Is there a connection between Lianyun Mountain and the Sui family, during the Northern and Southern Dynasties?"
Sui Chuke nodded, pointing frantically to his throat. Sui Zhixu paused for a few breaths, then took out a medicine bottle from his pocket and tossed it to him, "Take three pills."
Sui Chu Ke quickly poured out three pills from the medicine bottle, only to find there were only three. After swallowing them, he burst into a tirade, his voice hoarse, "You're really something! Cunning and treacherous, even more so than your mother!"
"Enough with the nonsense."
“The Sui family has lived in seclusion since the pre-Qin period, but they do not restrict their members from going out. As a result, the Sui family members can be found in various places after the Han Dynasty.”
“I have time to listen, but Cheng Hui doesn’t have time to wait. We need to get the person out before the sacrificial ceremony tomorrow night.”
"To make a long story short, during the Northern Wei Dynasty, someone in my family was obsessed with carving and building the grottoes on Lianyun Mountain. When I was young, I saw the records in my family and always wondered where Lianyun Mountain was. I once thought the records were wrong. When the murals mentioned Lianyun Mountain, I felt very familiar with it, but I never remembered it. Now I know that it was actually a mountain that was renamed."
As soon as Chu Ke finished speaking, his voice, which had been silent for a long time, was put back into use, and he suddenly coughed.
"Ahem, he was also extremely skilled in mechanical arts. Under his leadership, the Mo Family Organization flourished and became the top of the three organizations. It was in his notes that I discovered the Echo Passage."
"Does it mean that the predecessors planted the trees, but the successors... suffer the consequences?" Fan Lingzhang couldn't help but exclaim.
Sui Chuke glared at him fiercely, and he shut his mouth in embarrassment, running behind Sui Zhixu and leaning on her shoulder.
She touched Fan Lingzhang's face; his skin was delicate and smooth, and it felt very nice to the touch.
"There may be some connection. By chance, we helped the ancestors of Yungang Village. When this news was sent back to the Sui family, there may be more records in the previous Mo Family Lodge Chief's notes that could help the Military Strategist Lodge attack the mountain."
After much deliberation, she decided to have the soldiers attack the mountain, demolish all the wooden buildings on the land, and search the entire mountain. She believed that the disaster relief funds would eventually be found.
Sui Chu Ke nodded, "I'll go deliver the message."
The family has trained gyrfalcons for generations, and the head of the household and the young master of the family also have gyrfalcons specifically responsible for delivering messages.
As Chu Ke hid in a secluded corner, the melodious whistle rang out. Soon, the gyrfalcon's broad and powerful wings flapped and circled above his head. He stretched out his arm to catch the bird's sharp claws, muttering incantations, and released it after it tilted its head.
On the other side, Sui Zhixu picked up the wooden stick that Sui Chuke had just used and started drawing on the ground.
"Liu Lü's lightness skill is even better. Go get the account books first, and I'll think about how to rescue Cheng Hui."
When Xu told Liu Lü the location of the account book, a hint of surprise flashed in Liu Lü's eyes, but she quickly calmed down and quietly left the courtyard.
Unable to break the iron bars, the only way out was through the main entrance to the water prison. A thoughtful expression appeared on Xu's face as he sketched the layout of the water prison on the ground.
She drew a circle at the main gate, stuck a wooden stick in it, and deepened the color of her eyes.
"I hope everything will end soon."
She didn't want to stay here anymore; the food was all dry rations, even worse than the meals at the inn.
The people here are awful, and there are no lovely flowers or plants.
Sui Zhixu wiped the drawing off her feet, pinched Fan Lingzhang's well-maintained cheek, and felt somewhat glad that she had brought Xiao Furong along.
"You're so beautiful, your eyes are so pretty, like flower stamens."
Fan Lingzhang pressed his face against Sui Zhixu's hand, his eyes as clear as amber in the midday sun.
"Everything will end eventually. I will always be with you, no matter the past, present, or future."
Upon hearing this, her peach blossom eyes narrowed into crescent moons. She seemed to have come to understand fate a little better. If one is not in control of one's own destiny after birth, why be bound by it before?
—
Chang'an City
Ever since Tianyuan, Cheng Zhijie's servant, risked his life to run to the Prime Minister's residence for help, Cong Lan has not had a single good night's sleep.
"Teacher, please rest assured. Young Master is exceptionally intelligent and will surely be able to turn the danger into safety and rescue Senior Brother." Puyang Kai visited Cong Lan today and, seeing him pacing back and forth, couldn't help but say.
"You don't know, ever since Ah Xu and that brat Chu Ke went to Yungang Village, my eyelids have been twitching nonstop. I've always felt uneasy, always afraid that something might happen to them."
"We have news. Ah Xu and the others have dispatched the Bingjia Liao (Military School) into the mountains, with the Mojia Liao (Ink School) assisting from the side." Upon receiving the news, Sui He rushed to Cong Lan's study.
"That's great, that's great. Parents worry when their children travel far away." Cong Lan took the letter, her hands trembling, and quickly scanned it. She felt a surge of life. "Thank goodness, as long as everyone is alright, the rest won't be a mess."
Cong Lan hugged Sui He tightly, "My wife!"
Just as Puyang Kai was about to offer his congratulations, his teacher had already embraced his teacher's wife. He opened his mouth, but finally said, "Disciple will go and check on Tianyuan's injuries."
Sui He waved his hand, signaling him to step back.
After the person left, he grabbed Cong Lan's arm and said, "You have no manners! Your apprentice is still here. Don't you have any dignity?"
Cong Lan ignored her and leaned on her shoulder. "None of that matters. This is the first time Ah Xu has been so far away from us since she came home. I'm really afraid that this perfectly healthy young lady will get hurt. We've only been raising her for less than a year."
Sui He hugged him and whispered, "I'm scared too. It wasn't easy for her to accept us as her parents and to be close to me. Such a lovely little girl, I'm afraid something might happen to her, but she has to go through this. We carefully nurture her, and she herself needs to have the ability to withstand the wind and snow."
"By the way, why did you send Ah back this time? I know that kid wants to climb the ladder, but given your style, you wouldn't directly arrange such a dangerous task for him."
Cong Lan said in a deep voice, "There are various factors involved. The most important one is the list of names in the ledger that records the disaster relief funds. I'm afraid something unexpected might happen. I only feel at ease with Ah Hui. I'm worried that there will be more turmoil in Chang'an after they return."
July is hot and dry. The midday sun shines on the earth, and even the flowers and plants look wilted.
While Sui Chengyu watered Sui Zhixu's flowers and plants and prayed for her, the thoughts in the mansion on the other side of Chang'an City were completely opposite to hers.
"Did that child also go to Yungang Village?" Prince Xuanping asked his subordinate casually as he watered the flowers and plants in the courtyard.
"Yes, Master, what is the next step for you, Wang?"
“That child always manages to ruin my plans, even if I had to do it all over again. Leave her there. The orchids in Yungang Village grow beautifully, but she doesn’t like them. Remember to bring her back. Poor child, last time she didn’t even have a place to be buried, but this time it won’t be like that.”
Prince Xuanping watered the jasmine, gently placing his fingertips on the pure white petals, and waved for everyone to leave. "Fan Lang is also deeply in love with you, remaining unmoved even by your stunning appearance that leaves me in a daze. Wouldn't it be better to listen to your uncle? Just be Fan Lingzhang's wife and live a peaceful life. You could have a stable life, but you insist on going against your uncle."
"What is the king muttering to himself again?"
"Why has the Princess come? Has something happened to An Niang again?" Prince Xuanping still remembered the incident where Sima An pushed Xi Yuzhen into the water.
Shen Huaiyu shook her head. "She's fine. I wanted to ask Your Majesty how to deal with Xi Niangzi. Originally, I planned to use her to keep Fan Lang in check, but Xi Niangzi is timid and, no matter how similar she looks, she's not the same as A Ling. Perhaps Fan Lang prefers A Ling's personality."
"Her temperament? She was indeed good-natured. Even after she passed away, everyone, including An Niang, missed her."
Prince Xuanping remained calm and showed no anger, but Shen Huaiyu knew that he seemed unwilling to bring up the topic again.
She awkwardly shut her mouth and instead asked about Sima An's marriage.
"Let's observe her first. She's still young, there's no rush."
...
What are you doing hiding here?
"Brother? You scared me!" Xi Yuzhen was hiding behind the artificial hill, eavesdropping on the conversation between Prince Xuanping and his wife in the pavilion. The sudden shout behind her made her tremble.
Xi Yuzhen clenched the handkerchief in her hand and whispered, "I was just passing by."
"Really? Ah Zhen always lies so obviously." Xi Yushao looked down at her; every expression of his sister's was a flaw in his eyes.
Xi Yuzhen grabbed his arm, her voice terrified, "I'm scared. I've never been able to learn how to handle things like Madam Lu. Will the King and Queen abandon me? We've already offended Madam Sui, and there's the matter of the Xi family from before. If we can't catch the King, how will we survive in Chang'an?"
Xi Yushao kept staring at Xi Yuzhen's arm as she reached up, making Xi Yuzhen feel uneasy, and she slowly pulled back.
His voice was gentle yet seductive, “Don’t worry, with your brother here, I have a plan. The king won’t abandon you. There’s no turning back once the arrow is released. We can’t leave, but we must keep going.”
As Xi Yushao spoke, the green figure appeared in his mind, and he didn't want to be associated with him.
But he thought.
Xi Yuzhen nodded and nestled in Xi Yushao's arms. He was somewhat impatient but never pushed her away.
Fortunately, he thought of a way to contact Sui Zhixu, and the corners of his mouth involuntarily turned up.
A way to get her to approach him.
He Miao received a message from Prince Xuanping and scolded him for giving him more work to do.
Doesn't he know he sent his own bodyguards? He's a Taoist priest, not a warrior.
But he had no choice but to accept his fate and work because he coveted the dragon aura that accompanied the ascension of the Prince of Xuanping.
He sat beneath the clay statues of the temple, cleared his throat, and made a sound, prompting the villagers guarding the temple to shout "Village Chief!"
The long, authoritative voice reached the ears of the village chief who had rushed over, "Where are my offerings?"
"Rest assured, the offerings have been prepared and will surely satisfy you."
He Miao lowered his voice and asked, "Oh?"
“Young lady is a newcomer from out of town. She looks just like a fairy in a painting and is absolutely a beauty. Only a beauty like her is worthy of your heroic presence. We hope you will bestow your blessings upon the newborn baby of Yungang Village.”
"Yes, I will naturally bless my believers."
He Miao listened to the kowtows of thanks in the hall and thought to himself that they were fools. Why would they make their child worship the Guanyin who grants children? Why would they worship an emperor who became a Buddha after death? Emperor Taicheng had been reincarnated countless times and would not care about their business.
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