Liu Wenji visited the northern forbidden army camp in Chang'an as an envoy to inspect the military appearance.
The King of Qin was punished to reflect on his mistakes facing a wall, and the Crown Prince took back a part of the imperial guards. So the Emperor sent a eunuch to inspect the military situation.
Liu Wenji got this job thanks to his master Cheng An. He spent almost all the money he had saved in the palace for more than half a year to get this opportunity to leave the palace and see the army. Before leaving, Cheng An reminded Liu Wenji that the emperor might take advantage of the time when the King of Qin was facing the wall to re-incorporate the imperial guards. If Liu Wenji wanted to make a contribution, he could not miss this opportunity.
After serving in the imperial court for several months, Liu Wenzhi had already roughly realized that the old emperor was a person who liked to use the opponent's strength to his advantage.
The reorganization of the imperial guards was probably seen by the world as the result of the crown prince's victory over the king of Qin; few people thought that perhaps the emperor had wanted to do so in the first place.
The clouds were dark, covering the sky and the sun. In the northern camp outside the city, several generals welcomed the eunuchs led by Liu Wenji, but they were perfunctory and did not take them seriously.
Liu Wenji was used to seeing other people's sarcasm and ridicule, and he knew people's contempt for eunuchs when he was working in the Hanlin Academy. He had long been trained to have a numb heart, so he didn't take it to heart when he saw the generals' indifference. Liu Wenji only thought about how to complete this task quickly and go back to report.
But the eunuchs who followed Liu Wenji were looked down upon and their faces were twisted with anger. They had always served in the palace and served their masters, but how dare these rough people turn their backs on them?
They spread rumors in front of Liu Wenji, and when Liu Wenji ignored them, they came up with an idea. A few eunuchs deliberately provoked a few captains and forced them to drink during lunch. The eunuchs then led Liu Wenji over and made him listen to what the drunken warriors said about them.
"Just a few eunuchs! How could His Majesty chop off our heads just because of a few eunuchs?"
"Your Majesty actually let the eunuchs come to observe the army! How ridiculous! Do the eunuchs know anything about the army? Do they know what we are doing? Especially that Liu Wenji... He is just a dog kept by the chief eunuch. How dare he put on a stern face when he saw us? What is he pretending for?"
"When I kill people, these eunuchs must be scared to death! By the way, can they still pee? Hahaha..."
Liu Wenji stood outside the tent, listening to the foul language coming from inside. The eunuch who brought him here looked at his face and saw Liu Wenji suddenly raise his eyes to look at them, with a flash of gloom in his eyes, and a cold murderous look. Liu Wenji walked away in a huff, ignoring the even more unbearable humiliation inside.
It's nothing more than looking down on him.
It's nothing more than humiliation.
The injustice of fate weighed on his head, as heavy as the dark clouds in the sky. The road was steep and dangerous, and it was hard to go against the flow. Liu Wenji walked faster and faster, and his face became calmer and calmer from the initial gloom. The murderous intent was hidden in his heart and no longer revealed.
-----
On cloudy days, the trees cast shade all over the ground, and the small flowers on the trees bloom in full bloom on the day when spring and summer meet, like a thin mist.
In Wei's mansion, Concubine Zhao Ling climbed down from the wall and wanted to take the small path, but unexpectedly she saw Wei Shu standing under a tree, looking up at the leaves in a daze.
The leaves and the light fell on him, heavy as algae and bright as snow.
Concubine Zhao Ling met Wei Shu's dark eyes, blushing and embarrassed. After all, she had sneaked in over the wall and was seen by the owner, which was not good.
However, Wei Shu did not say anything, so Concubine Zhao Ling shamelessly pretended not to know about it. She jumped off the wall, clapped her hands, and pretended to explain her behavior naturally: "I went home and saw that my father had actually started to exchange engagement letters and really wanted to marry me to that old man. I was so angry that I had a quarrel with my father and ran away again."
Wei Shu didn't say anything.
Concubine Zhao Ling lowered her head and kicked the flowers and plants at her feet: "Hey, but why are you in the mansion? Shouldn't you be working in the government office?"
Wei Shu replied: "I have been warned by the Censorate that I will rest at home from today. I will wait for notification when I can go back to work."
Concubine Zhao Ling's eyes widened, and she was upset: "Why?! What did you do wrong to deserve this from the court?"
The young man had a face as white as snow, quiet and indifferent. Concubine Zhao Ling looked at him for a long while, and suddenly an idea came to her mind: "Because... you refused to get engaged to Princess Danyang, did the Wei family go to your superiors and say anything? Are they threatening you?"
Wei Shu lowered his eyes.
The Li and Wei families wanted to cooperate, and he and Mu Wanyao were the key. The will of the world came to him, forcing him to surrender, again and again.
He was just a bastard of the Wei family, just a tool in the hands of the Wei and Li families. He should do whatever they needed him to do, and if he made a mistake, he would be abandoned.
However, is this his fate? He ran away from the Wei family when he was fourteen, became an official in the imperial court when he was fifteen, and is sixteen this year... Can he still not escape this fate?
-----
In Prince Jin's mansion, Chunhua turned around and looked at Yan Shang behind the screen.
Yan Shang's voice was trembling, and she couldn't ignore it. This was the first time Yan Shang asked her for help, so humble and powerless... Chunhua looked at him, silent for a long time, and then whispered: "Her Highness would not want me to tell you. She especially doesn't want you to sympathize with her."
Yan Shang said sadly: "I know, so I never ask. But I know this not to humiliate her. There are too many problems between us. Only when I know the past can I know what I should do. I am for respect, not for sympathy.
"I will help someone out of sympathy, but I will not love someone out of sympathy. I know what I am doing."
Time cannot be delayed. If we delay a little longer, perhaps King Jin will come back.
Chunhua was silent for a long time before she whispered, "Then you have to promise me that you will find a chance to tell His Highness in the future and not to lie to His Highness. If I have a chance to see His Highness in the future, I will not hide what happened today. I told you this because I trust Yan Erlang's character. If you knew this and wanted to separate from His Highness, I would have nothing to say. But His Highness did nothing wrong, you can't blame her for her mistakes!"
Yan Shang whispered: "I don't blame her at all."
Chunhua was quiet for a long time.
Through the screen, Yan Shang heard her voice, slow and calm, "Your Highness celebrated your 15th birthday on the way to the marriage. At that time, we only thought that Wu was barbaric and wild, but Your Highness was full of confidence and wanted to teach a group of barbarians to become cultured.
"The most capable personal maidservant at the side of His Highness at that time was not me, but a sister named Nianhua. Nianhua was older than us, and she protected His Highness like a sister. At that time, I was a little jealous of Nianhua, and wondered when I could be like sister Nianhua...
"There is only one Nianhua. We all use the four seasons to name our names, but Nianhua is different from us. But Nianhua died forever in Wuman. She was the first one to die among us..."
-----
The sky was overcast, and even though we were far away from Chang'an, the clouds above our heads were still there.
Mu Wan sat in the carriage, her chin resting on her hand and her eyes closed. The carriage swayed, and the jewels in her hair gently hit her forehead. The red gems on the jewels made her eyebrows and eyes look gorgeous and her skin as white as snow.
Fang Tong knocked on the carriage wall outside: "Your Highness, it seems to be raining. Should we stop the carriage and go to the post station earlier today?"
The girl in the car did not answer.
Fang Tong was used to the princess's odd temper, so he stopped bothering her and told the guards, "Hurry up and walk a little further. Your Highness doesn't want to rest here, so we should try to get to the next post station before dark."
The carriages and horses sped up, fearing that they would be trapped on the road by the impending rainstorm.
Mu Wanyao closed her eyes and fell asleep in the car, and did not hear Fang Tong and others' request. She fell into an absurd dream, and she was reluctant to wake up from that dream...
-----
In Prince Jin's mansion, Chunhua was telling Yan Shang a long story.
The story of the princess marrying off as a foreign prince in the vernacular novels is always a passionate and beautiful exotic love story.
The princesses who are married to the emperor in the storybooks are always gentle, kind, strong and brave, and the barbarian kings in the storybooks are always young, handsome, wise and intelligent. Different cultures collide, and beautiful hearts attract. In the storybooks, the princesses who are married to the emperor go through untold hardships and suffer all kinds of grievances, but there is always a time when the barbarian king sees her sincerity and is always understood.
However, the reality is not like that.
Mu Wanyao was not strong enough, and would only cry blankly when she was wronged; the King of Wuman was not young and handsome, he was a middle-aged man, and it was said that in order to welcome the queen to Wuman, he also abandoned his previous queen. Because of this, he did not like Mu Wanyao from the beginning.
I blame Mu Wanyao for being weak, I blame Mu Wanyao for not being strong enough, I blame Mu Wanyao for not being free from the constraints of etiquette like the Wuman women.
The women of Wuman are shared goods, but Mu Wanyao, who was married to a foreign prince, refuses this; the women of Wuman only need to please men, and Mu Wanyao, who was married to a foreign prince, is arrogant and does not take Wuman men seriously.
The old Wuman King was not wise. The wisest decision he made in his life was probably to make peace with the Wei Dynasty. And the reason why he made this decision was just because he coveted the jewelry, glass, silk and satin of the Wei Dynasty. He was vulgar and barbaric, born and raised like that, and didn't know the rules.
Mu Wanyao suffered greatly from it.
Chunhua said softly: "It was the current Wuman King, Meng Zaishi, who saved Her Highness from such a fate. Meng Zaishi rescued Her Highness many times and took Her Highness away many times when Her Highness was about to collapse. Her Highness seemed to have really become the kind of girl she wanted to be.
"But I don't know, when we were sitting on the grass in Wuman, sitting around the campfire, when everyone was singing and laughing, when Her Highness looked at Meng Zaishi, would there really be love in her smiling and affectionate eyes?
"But I don't know, when Your Highness becomes powerful, when Your Highness plots to kill the old Wuman King, she sits beside the old Wuman King's bed and listens to his confession to her, Your Highness sighs softly, will she really sympathize with the old Wuman King's death?"
Chunhua's voice trembled: "When she was tossed between different men and when people around her died one after another, what was she thinking?
"When she told me she was pregnant but she couldn't have children and she wanted to have an abortion, what was she thinking?
“Erlang, do you know that the princess is killing herself? She couldn’t abort the child, so she tried every possible means. When she was dying, she bled so much. It was King Wuman who went to the snowy mountains to ask for the magic herb to save the princess’ life. But when King Wuman knelt in front of the princess’ bed and looked at the bloody dead fetus, what was the princess thinking?
"Meng Zaishi hugged the princess and cried that night. But the princess didn't shed a single tear. The princess didn't even look at the dead fetus. We buried it secretly... I don't know what Her Highness has been thinking all these years. She doesn't confide in us, but she smiles charmingly to men. She has become reckless and gets angry easily. She often scolds us for being clumsy... But what does it matter?"
Chunhua lowered her head with tears in her eyes.
She supported herself on the wooden table with her hands, her shoulders trembling slightly. Tears dripped and splashed on the floor tiles, leaving withered flowers. She muttered to herself like a fool:
"She's just mad, just unhappy. What does it matter? I've seen how she's been wronged, how she's gotten through it... I wish she could lose her temper more often every day.
"Get it all out, forget it all.
"Erlang, are you blaming Her Highness for not being able to have children? Even if you blame her, don't leave her for this reason. You can find any other reasons..."
Yan Shang remained silent.
Unable to bear the burden, he staggered back two steps and leaned on the table behind him. He clenched his fists in his sleeves, his face tensed, and trembled slightly because of the tension. He was very embarrassed, dazed, and embarrassed: "Sorry to bother you... I, I'll take my leave first."
It was too boring, and he could no longer stay in the Prince of Jin's mansion. Yan Shang bowed hastily, turned around and walked out.
When he left the hall, he heard thunder in the sky. He closed his eyes for a moment. Although he had not seen it himself, he seemed to be able to hear her crying in his ears.
Yan Shang left the Prince of Jin's mansion and rode on his horse. As he rode on the horse, those old memories surrounded him and entangled him. He was already very empathetic, and this time it was Mu Wanyao. So, the young man held the reins in his hand, and every time the horse took a step forward, he seemed to hear her crying.
Whether he opened his eyes or closed them, he seemed to see her standing in the darkness.
She held a sword, her body was stained with blood, and her face was as pale as paper. In the bitter wind and rain, the ground was barren, her dark eyes looked at him, she stretched out her hand to him, and whispered:
"Second Brother Yan, save me."
Yan Shang bowed his head on his horse, his heart aching as if it were being hit by a heavy hammer.
In his hallucination, he saw her lying on the bed, blood flowing, her life slipping away; he saw her chasing the old man, begging him not to take her maid away; he saw her and Meng Zaishi riding horses between the stone walls, smiling carefreely... and when she turned around and looked at him, the smile in her eyes became empty and hypocritical.
She held out her hand to him and whispered:
"Brother, save me."
"Save me."
“Save me!”
Yan Shang was holding back tears, but they were on his eyelashes. He bent over and pressed his heart, the pain was so severe that it felt like his lungs were being torn apart, and his whole body was shaking. A huge sense of sadness enveloped him, and he couldn't help but want to cry.
I was so heartbroken that I cried, but I couldn't express my sorrow in words.
"boom--"
Thunder exploded in the sky, and heavy rain poured down like a flood from the sky.
-----
The sudden rainstorm blocked the way for Princess Danyang and her group. Fang Tong directed the people outside to hurry to avoid the rain. In the carriage, Mu Wan shook her hair and her long eyelashes fluttered. She fell into a dream and still didn't wake up.
She dreamed that she had become a fifteen-year-old princess.
In her dream, she escaped the fate of marrying a foreign prince.
She grew up happily in Chang'an, waiting for the grand coming-of-age ceremony at the age of 15. Later, she met a young man in Chang'an, who was handsome and beautiful like a fairy from heaven.
She loved him so much that she begged everywhere and mustered up the courage to show her princess' temper for the first time, insisting on marrying the boy. Her father and mother had no choice but to select the third place in the imperial examination for him, and finally fulfilled their little daughter's wish and married her off on the day she came of age.
So the evening twilight in the dream always follows the young man:
"Brother Yan, how about staying in Chang'an? How about you marry the princess?"
"Brother Yan, can you play with me? Can you hug me?
"Brother Yan, can we get married? Can I be your wife? Can I give birth to many children for you?
"Brother Yan, can you always like me? Can we always, always... be together?"
-----
Amid the muffled thunder, the rain fell as heavy as beans.
In the afternoon, the city of Chang'an was washed by rain. The rainstorm swept in like a strong wind, and people on the streets took shelter from the rain.
Only one young man did not hide from the rain. He rode his horse and passed by the market in a daze. Men and women standing under the eaves of shops to avoid the rain looked at the young man in the misty rain. A bold girl who was thinking about love shouted to him:
"My dear, it's raining so hard! Come here and take shelter from the rain!"
Yan Shang was riding on a horse, his body and clothes were soaked by the rain. With his wet hair sticking to his face, he turned his head in confusion and saw the men and women standing under the shops to avoid the rain.
He suddenly regained his composure, and for the first time lost his manners and forgot to return the greeting to the kind-hearted girl who greeted him. Yan Shang gripped the reins tightly, turned in another direction, and headed for the princess's mansion.
Many people from the Princess's Mansion had already left Chang'an, but some people stayed behind to create a false impression and to prevent Yan Shang from knowing that the princess was gone. Yan Shang got off his horse in the alley and knocked on the door to enter the Princess's Mansion. The servants of the Princess's Mansion opened the door and apologized as usual, but this time, Yan Shang had to go in and see her...
In the struggle and noise, the people in the princess's mansion were unable to deal with Yan Shang, so they had to shout: "Our prince is no longer in Chang'an! Erlang, it will be useless for you to beg us even if you enter the door!"
"boom--"
Thunder rumbled again in the sky.
The lightning illuminated Yan Shang’s moist eyes, which were like ice and snow.
Without saying a word, he turned around and left, got on his horse again, and headed straight out of the city!
-----
In the northern camp of Chang'an, a riot broke out just after lunch and when a rainstorm arrived.
Some soldiers in the army had a conflict with the eunuchs. A captain came to rescue them, but he was not respectful enough to the eunuchs in his words.
Liu Wenji was brought here by the eunuchs. He heard the captain laughing and said, "You guys are really stupid. Why are you bothering with those rootless people? I was sent by His Majesty, so I have to give him face...ah!"
The captain let out a scream, and all the soldiers around him stood up and glared at each other: "Sir! What are you doing!"
The first sentence was directed at the dead captain, and the second sentence was directed at Liu Wenzhi, who was holding the sword, slowly pulling it out from the captain's back, and then wiping the blood off the sword.
Liu Wenji took a handkerchief and wiped the blood off the sword indifferently. The soldiers surrounded them, their eyes were red with anger and indignation. When they were ready to move, Liu Wenji raised his eyes and stared at them with sinister eyes: "Let's see who dares to move!
"Are you trying to disobey my order?
"If you move again, I will massacre your entire camp! Let's see who Your Majesty is on your side!"
Liu Wenzhi's face was pale and his eyes were gloomy, which made the soldiers dare not move for a moment.
In the silence, a brave soldier said: "Your Majesty is of course on our side..."
Liu Wenji asked coldly: "Are you sure?"
"I killed you, what can you do?"
Liu Wenji held a sword in his hand, his eyes grim, and he stepped forward, while the soldiers retreated. He looked at the people around him and said loudly: "Do you want to be traitors?!"
The soldiers around him were breathing heavily, and those who looked down on him looked at him with hatred. But these people were so cowardly that they didn't dare to move, and even with sharp weapons in hand, no one dared to rush up and kill Liu Wenji.
Liu Wenji heard the crackling sound of rain splashing outside. He was facing a camp of soldiers who were holding fire. The more he spoke, the less they dared to move. Finally, he pointed his sword at those who dared to move, but the brave ones were tied up by the clever eunuchs.
His back was soaked with sweat. The first time he picked up a sword to kill someone, he felt really scared. But at this moment, he felt both bitter and happy. He suddenly wanted to laugh wildly.
Ridiculous! Pathetic!
This is fate!
-----
In the Wei Mansion, when it was raining heavily, Wei Shu and Concubine Zhao Ling were sitting in the hall.
Wei Shu sat in front of the chessboard, opposite Zhao Lingfei who had a sad face.
Concubine Zhao Ling murmured in bewilderment: "Am I really going to marry an old man..."
Wei Shu said: "No."
When Concubine Zhao Ling heard him talking, she looked at him in astonishment. She saw a white piece in Wei Shu's hand fall on the chessboard, and the young man lowered his eyebrows and had thick eyelashes.
He seemed to be trying to convince himself and Concubine Zhao Lingfei at the same time, his tone was calm but firm: "Mayflies can shake trees, and ants can also fight for spring. Why should we succumb to fate?"
Concubine Zhao Ling looked at him blankly.
He raised his eyes and looked at her, and it was as if his eyes were looking through her, towards a broader future. Concubine Zhao turned her head with him, looking at the world outside the window that was watered by the rain, the old trees that stood tall in the rain, and the vines under the window that were being watered but refused to fall off the wall.
The young men and women looked at the heavy rain, and they talked to themselves, muttering in unison: "...Yes, why do we have to succumb to fate?"
-----
Fate is unfair! Fate is unbearable! Fate plays tricks on us!
Then spend your whole life fighting, never surrender, and never fall!
-----
The rain was pouring down and irrigating the sky and the earth. A young eunuch held a sword and started killing people in front of a whole battalion of soldiers. A young minister and a young girl sat opposite each other and made a decision in their hearts to break the deadlock.
A young princess woke up in a carriage several miles away from Chang'an, looking at the rain curtain between the sky and the earth; a young man handed in his badge, rode out of the city and left Chang'an.
-----
It was dark for a long time and the rain became lighter. Fang Tong and others finally found a post station about ten miles away from Chang'an, where they could stay for the night.
Xia Rong helped Mu Wanyao out of the carriage. Mu Wanyao's gorgeous skirt spread out behind her. After she landed on the ground, the maids held up the skirt from behind to prevent the princess's dress from being splashed with mud.
Mu Wanyao walked leisurely, and looked at the lights of the post station. When she was about to walk towards the post station, she heard the sound of horse hooves chasing behind her. Mu Wanyao was so proud that she had no curiosity at this moment. The dream she had in the afternoon made her exhausted, and she was too lazy to care who would stay in this post station.
When Mu Wanyao was about to go up the stairs, the sound of horse hooves stopped, and the footsteps towards this side were hurried and weak.
Mu Wanyao still didn't care.
Until she heard a maid's puzzled and confused murmur: "Er, Erlang?"
Muwan was stunned.
However, she thought that there were many second-best men in the world, and it must not be someone. Someone should have just returned from the Shangshu Province at this time, and if he was lucky, he should have just learned that she was no longer in Chang'an.
As she was thinking this, the man came after her from behind.
Her wrists were held from behind.
She was dragged down the stairs and twisted to face the man who was chasing her. Her wrist was grabbed, and she gradually widened her eyes and stared at Yan Shang, who was wet all over and looked like a drowned chicken.
There were many spots of mud on his collar and sleeves, his hairband hung wetly on his shoulders, and his long hair was wet and stuck to his cheeks. His face was pale and his lips were bright red.
Although the messy beauty presented by this disheveled look is very moving, this is not Yan Shang's usual appearance.
Mu Wan was in a daze, wondering if this was a dream.
This dream I had this afternoon...it was such a long one.
Under the dark lights, Yan Shang held her hand and trembled slightly, the rain on his eyelashes dripped down and landed on her clean and slender wrist. Mu Wan lowered her head to look at her wrist that he was holding, and then looked up at him blankly, still confused and bewildered.
The rain was drizzling, Xia Rong was holding an umbrella beside her, looking at her blankly with the other maids. The maids saw Yan Erlang standing in front of the princess, looking at her.
The rain soaked his entire body, supporting his lean and upright figure. Like jade or bamboo, covered with frost.
In front of the post station, the faint light in Yan Shang's eyes shone on her, as quiet and dark as the night, but as clear and soft as clear water. The princess's eyes became strange, and she wanted to break free and leave, but Yan Shang was unusually tough and did not retreat.
The rain enveloped the two of them. Fang Tong held a lantern and pushed open the door of the post station. They saw Yan Shang standing in the corridor, holding their princess' wrist tightly and whispering, "Don't you always blame me for not being impulsive?
"I guess I was impulsive for you this time... I left Chang'an without asking for leave."
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