Chapter 41
“That mountain god didn’t lie…” Nian Qing stood on the edge of the cliff, looking down the mountain, and was stunned for a moment.
There were few lights in the border city of Fenlong, perhaps because it was still dark.
Gu Luoyan walked over, her body shivering because she was wet and cold due to the falling snow.
A heavy snow fell in the northern frontier. It was the heaviest snow ever seen in the Ming capital. Looking down from the cliffs above, Gu Luoyan saw only a vast expanse of white. A true snowstorm descended from the horizon onto the land, a magnificent poem. For a moment, Gu Luoyan was stunned.
The women who grew up in Mingjing had never seen snow.
She had only seen snow in Yan Nanzhi's description.
It is white and odorless, like a pure bird falling, a spectacle different from rain.
Yan Nanzhi had said this to Gu Luoyan. She had never seen snow either, so when she described snow to Gu Luoyan, her eyes would always be filled with hope and longing.
Watching a heavy snowfall is Yan Nanzhi’s long-cherished wish.
Now, Gu Luoyan saw it for her.
Colorful snow fell from the foggy sky, falling on the treetops, on the grass, and on the leaves and flowers.
It is just as Yan Nanzhi said, like a pure bird resting in the world.
When Nian Qing looked at Gu Luoyan, he found that her eyes were filled with tears.
Confused, she did not ask Gu Luoyan this time, but moved closer to her and put her furry tail on Gu Luoyan's thin body.
She looked at her, then at the heavy snow in front of her, silently accompanying her.
Gu Luoyan stretched out her hand, tears shed, she smiled, and through her tears, she smiled happily.
Gu Luoyan said in her heart:
Sister, I saw snow. It was beautiful, very beautiful.
·
Later, as we went down the mountain, there was no road to follow, and we encountered heavy snow, and the cold was mixed with a biting wind, making the road ahead difficult.
Fortunately, Nian Qing's sense of smell and vision were excellent in the dark. She led Gu Luoyan, wrapped her with her tail, explored the way herself, and went down the mountain step by step.
Nian Qing walked on the snow, and Gu Luoyan stepped on the footprints left by Nian Qing.
Little by little, step by step.
Finally arrived at the foot of the mountain at dawn.
Border towns have strict entry and exit controls. After descending the mountain and walking for another half an hour, we arrived at the border city walls of Fenlong.
Merchants and common people who want to enter and exit the city need to obtain a bronze pass in advance.
Neither Gu Luoyan nor Nianqing has this thing.
Seeing people entering the country one after another, the two of them were still wandering outside the team, feeling worried.
A sharp-eyed old woman noticed the predicament of the two and came over quietly, but before she got close, she was discovered by Nian Qing.
She put on a smile, rubbed her palms together, and approached the two people. Then she said, "I see that the two girls are not dressed like people from the border, but are you worried about how to get through?"
Nian Qing looked at her and answered yes.
The old woman then smiled brightly, moved closer to the two of them, and said in a low voice, "We have a way to get in! Are you two girls willing to give it a try?"
This time it was Gu Luoyan who spoke: "How do we get into the city?"
The old woman chuckled and whispered, "Go west around the city wall. There's another secret passage that leads into the city."
"One thousand coins each, and we will lead the way."
"One thousand! You old witch, why don't you go and rob?" Nian Qing had no concept of money. Just hearing one thousand coins, she thought it was a lot.
In reality, it was only one ounce of silver per person. For an ordinary family, one ounce of silver was enough to support their food needs for three months, but at this time, when passing through a border town, one ounce of silver per person was not much.
The old woman became unhappy when she heard her say that. She waved her hand and was about to leave, but was stopped by Gu Luoyan.
Gu Luoyan thought for a moment, reached into his lapel, took out a jade bracelet, and handed it to her.
"We sisters left home in a hurry and didn't bring any extra silver. Please pawn this bracelet. I estimate it's worth ten taels of silver. The remaining money can be considered as a reward for Aunt's hard work."
Gu Luoyan smiled at the old woman, and the old woman became more and more pleased the more she looked at her.
He nodded repeatedly and led the way forward.
"This way, girls."
About a mile west of the city gate, the old woman bent down and lifted a wooden board from a hidden bush.
"Go down the tunnel and you'll be able to enter the city."
"Please come in." A flattering smile appeared on the old woman's face. Gu Luoyan was very familiar with this smile and felt disgusted from the bottom of her heart.
She took the wooden steps first and entered the tunnel. Nianqing followed her down, and the old woman, standing at the back, smiled excitedly when she saw them both land.
"Here comes the good stuff! Treat them well!" She yelled at the tunnel in a shrill voice.
Then he stood at the entrance to the tunnel and closed the door. From outside, there was the sound of chains being dragged. The door was locked, so he could only go forward.
In front, several men dressed as soldiers came out and their eyes widened when they saw Gu Luoyan.
The fat one among them chuckled and scolded the woman who closed the door: "This old procuress is very clever. Where did she find such a good thing?"
The other thin one looked the two of them up and down with an obscene look and echoed: "Don't rush to send them to the snow house yet, brothers, let's be quick and refreshing first!"
Gu Luoyan didn't say anything. She looked at Nian Qing beside her and was surprised to find that Nian Qing was also looking at her.
Gu Luoyan whispered to Nian Qing, "Don't delay any longer, we have important things to do." After that, she took off the hairpin on her head and used it as a dagger.
Nian Qing hummed in agreement, the smile on his face widening, and his eyes began to emit blue fireflies.
——
As early as when the old woman came to see her, Gu Luoyan noticed her abnormality.
Her face was powdered, but her hands were incredibly rough. She was clearly no ordinary woman, especially since there was a woman plying her trade outside the city walls at dawn. Who would believe that?
Anyway, Gu Luoyan doesn't believe it.
She immediately held Nian Qing's hand and gestured to her.
So they decided to use their own strategy. They had to enter the city anyway, so they didn't have to look for other ways.
As for the madam who closed the shop, she looked at Gu Luoyan's bracelet again and again and liked it very much.
The cold wind blew away the lacquer, leaving cracks on its surface. Just as the madam was about to take a closer look, her hand suddenly felt a pain. Before she could throw the bracelet away, her palm was completely corroded.
Poison. It was just the most common trick used by the girls in the Red Pavilion to fight against humans and demons.
The poison of the jade mantis will form a thin film when applied to jade.
It will become poisonous after being exposed to air for a quarter of an hour. It evaporates as a gas, making it difficult to prevent.
If the antidote is not found within an hour, the poison will attack the five internal organs and cause death.
The old woman screamed and cried bitterly. She finally realized that she had been fooled. How could she find someone to reason with her?
She lost the bracelet and was about to head to the city. But there was no antidote for the jade mantis beetle here. The pharmacists had never seen it, let alone a detoxifier. This woman could only wait to die. It was her own fault.
——
In the tunnel, Nian Qing was about to activate his magic power.
From the darkness behind, there was the sound of weapons rubbing against each other, and then a bright fire broke out, blocking the way.
Several men with unfriendly faces panicked.
Seeing that he couldn't escape, he ran towards Nian Qinggu Luoyan, with his sword drawn, ready to take the lives of the two men.
The blue light in Nian Qing's eyes finally lit up, and she smiled and said softly, "Let's kill each other."
Then he withdrew his magic and returned to normal, looking along with Gu Luoyan towards the place where the fire appeared.
As the men slashed and stabbed each other with swords, the crowd behind the firelight finally arrived.
The leaders were a man and a woman, both in their thirties or forties.
Gu Luoyan identified the two men based on the difference in their armor from that of other soldiers.
The man wearing silver armor with a dragon head should be General Saibei, Duke Zhenbei, Dongxuan.
The woman was wearing a tiger-head armor and iron armor. She should be the deputy general, but Gu Luoyan didn't know her and couldn't guess who she was.
The woman was surprised to see the men fighting in a group, but she didn't wait long before she gave an order:
"Capture a few people and keep them alive."
The soldiers on both sides answered yes, stepped forward quickly and captured several people.
General Saibei looked over and saw Gu Luoyan and Nianqing, who looked normal. He was also a little shocked. They didn't cry or make a fuss, which was different from the women who were being sold.
He spoke up and asked the two, "Why did you sneak into the city?"
Gu Luoyan answered frankly: "Because I don't have a pass with me."
"Then why do you want to enter the city?" the woman next to General Saibei asked.
"We came from Mingjing to see Duke Zhenbei, Dongxuan."
"Oh, you want to see Dongxuan? What's the meaning?" Duke Zhenbei looked at her with a look of surprise on his face.
Gu Luoyan looked at him and said word by word, "I was asked by General Saixi Gu Zhuoyu to come and see my old friend."
"Jade carving..." Lord Zhenbei took two steps forward and looked at Gu Luoyan, with an unspeakable doubt in his heart. He asked in a deep voice:
"Who are you?"
"My surname is Gu, my name is Luo Yan, and I am the daughter of General Saixi and the Left Prime Minister."
"Uncle Xuan, it's been so long since we last met." Her expression was filled with sadness, and the moment she finished speaking, both people over there were shocked.
Duke Zhenbei stepped forward, but didn't dare to extend his hand. He asked tentatively with a trembling voice, "Are you really... Gu Luoyan?"
Gu Luoyan saluted and smiled.
"It's me, Gu Luoyan."
Dong Xuan's eyes trembled and tears fell.
He approached Gu Luoyan, unable to say anything.
In the end, he just reached out and pressed Gu Luoyan's shoulder, "My child, you have suffered."
·
After entering Fenlong City, the female general also told the story of what happened today.
It turned out that the general had heard about this smuggling and kidnapping incident a long time ago, and today he was just taking advantage of the situation and wanted to catch them all in one fell swoop.
Some soldiers at the border were pedantic and cruel, and colluded with the Snow House in the city's Ji Pavilion to sell all the women who sneaked into the city to the pavilion.
The female deputy general became more and more angry as she spoke, and was also saddened by the lax discipline in the Saibei army.
Nian Qing walked beside the woman, glancing at her repeatedly, causing the woman to look at her as well, asking what was the matter.
Nianqing shook her head and smiled, saying nothing, like a shy younger sister. Gu Luoyan had told them the same thing, saying that Nianqing was Ji Zi, who had walked out of the Hong Kong Coliseum with her, and that they were like sisters.
On the way to the military camp, Duke Zhenbei asked Gu Luoyan the real reason for coming here.
"Zhaoyu has been gone for many years. Even if he really wants to deliver a message, it shouldn't be left to you."
Duke Zhenbei looked at Gu Luoyan, feeling even more guilty. "Every time I went back to Mingjing, I asked about you. Of the group of people who sent you away, only a few remained. I couldn't find you, and I didn't even know you were hidden in the Red Pavilion."
"Uncle Xuan, I don't blame you. Luo Yan had forgotten many of the past events and only recently picked them up."
"I'm not here to reminisce about the past. Uncle Xuan, Luo Yan wants to use your power to start an uprising." She spoke calmly on horseback, as if this matter had already been decided.
Duke Zhenbei looked at her, then exchanged glances with the female deputy general.
He asked her, "Why?"
"I see the people living in dire straits. They are divided into different classes from birth, and from that point on, their fate is to be lowly, noble, and noble, and they can never rise above that. I see how the emperors govern their countries absurdly, obsessed with pleasure. After General Sisi's death, the west was lost, and most of the country has been eroded and annexed by other countries. I also see how the people's morals are rotten. The elderly, the weak, and the sick have no one to rely on, and women are treated as slaves and tools, not even human beings."
She laughed at herself, "Xuan Bo, tell me which of these is not my reason."
"The Son of Heaven should be born for the people. If he is not established, he should be destroyed!"
"Well said!" the female general agreed.
"I am also a woman. If I don't fight, thousands and thousands of women like me will still enter the Hong Kong Coliseum and become slaves, concubines, and running dogs. There will never be fairness." Gu Luoyan's face showed grief and anger.
"Xuan Bo, are you willing to help me?" She looked at the Duke of Zhenbei again. But she saw that the Duke of Zhenbei was looking at the female general on horseback beside him.
Seeing her nod, Dong Xuan turned around and looked at Gu Luoyan and said to her:
"Do you know who this person next to me is?"
Gu Luoyan looked at the female general again and found that she was indeed unfamiliar, so she shook her head.
The female general smiled and then spoke cheerfully, "My original surname was Jia, and my given name was Zhen. Today I change my surname to Zhen, and my given name to Zheng. I swear I won't be a hypocrite."
"My name is Zhen Zheng, you can also call me Zheng Zheng."
"In the past, I had another identity. I was the Princess of Golden Wing in Mingjing."
"I am the emperor's eldest sister, Zhen Zheng."
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