Chapter 51 The Daily Life of the Scapegoat and the Omens of the Apocalypse...
Lady Gao and Changsun Wuji stepped forward to bid farewell to Changsun Qingjing.
"You should stay in Luoyang to observe mourning, take care of your husband, and be filial to the Duke. As soon as there is news of your uncle, I will send a letter to the Eastern Capital."
Mrs. Gao and her daughter held each other and wept. While saying comforting words to her daughter not to worry, she held her daughter's hand tightly.
"Heavens! When has my Guanyinbi ever been so far away from me?" Gao was overcome with grief.
Changsun Wuji stepped forward and comforted her, "Mother, it's getting late. Don't keep the Li family's caravan waiting too long."
Madam Gao then let go and continued to weep.
"I was so grieving that I completely forgot the way I came," Changsun Qingjing said, wiping his red and swollen eyes. "Brother, where is Father's grave? I remember it's not far from here."
Changsun Wuji pointed to a place beyond the horizon, where all he could see were endless withered grass and boundless pines and cypresses, and the dim sunlight could not warm this vast wasteland of graves.
Changsun Qingjing, however, did not mind much. He bowed respectfully, silently reciting his farewell words to his deceased father.
"Madam Gao, Qingjing is a bright child." Li Yuan briefly met with Madam Gao during the brief exchange of greetings and farewells with the relatives and friends attending the funeral. "Shimin listened to all her advice; she was also very proper in welcoming and seeing off guests at the funeral. It's just a pity that she and Jing's wife were not destined to be together."
"Madam Dou's letter the other day, and Mr. Tang's undeserved praise today, have overwhelmed me with gratitude. If the child's father could know this in the afterlife, he would surely be gratified that his youngest daughter has finally found a good husband." In fact, Madam Gao said half of what she meant and kept the other half hidden.
She felt a pang of sadness at her daughter's tragic fate: separated from her biological father by death in childhood, from her adoptive father in adolescence, and now about to enter the brutal and deadly battlefield of Luoyang with her husband. The far-reaching implications of the Yang Xuangan and Husi Zheng cases still terrified her.
According to Gao's own wishes, she was determined not to let Changsun Qingjing get involved in the mess in Luoyang again. However, she did not offer any advice.
Because she knew her daughter's character well, Changsun Qingjing would be willing to sacrifice his life to repay the young man who helped her in the darkness and pulled her out of the mire, as well as his family.
Li Yuan, too, tacitly concealed his worries.
He felt that the girl in front of him possessed extraordinary intelligence and cunning.
His gaze shifted between his son and daughter-in-law, pondering who had conceived of this thrilling "Turning Head."
My son has always been bold and responsible, so it's no doubt that the idea for this revenge musical was his.
However, given his frank nature, aside from avoiding the topic, the son is unlikely to come up with any further ideas to alter the original play.
The answer is obvious. This new family member, whether well-intentioned or mischievous, has prepared a sudden and agonizing revenge song and dance that puts him in a difficult position.
The Duke of Tang and his wife originally intended for Changsun Qingjing to keep Li Shimin in check, not for her to hand him a knife when he caused trouble.
However, when Dou Kang acted as matchmaker, he clearly guaranteed that the girl inherited the delicate beauty of the Bohai Gao family and the wisdom and intelligence of the former Right Valiant Guard General!
The young bride at the wedding was clearly dignified and proper; she was clearly so devoted in taking care of the ailing Dou Shi; and she was clearly so gentle and persuasive in encouraging her husband to cheer up.
I only hope that this incident was just an unintentional mistake she made because she was trying too hard to gain the approval of her new family.
Li Yuan didn't know whether Changsun Qingjing's insight was a blessing or a curse. He was also prepared to temporarily accept a daughter with no blood relation, after all, she was the child his deceased wife had approved of.
After bidding farewell to their relatives and friends, Li Yuan, Li Shimin, and Changsun Qingjing embarked on their journey to Luoyang.
The bell on the post road made a monotonous and dull sound, showing no joy whatsoever as its master was promoted.
As they moved further away from Daxing, Li Shimin's depression eased slightly. His swollen and painful eyes began to redden, and a cold wind inadvertently slipped through the carriage window, causing the pain from his chapped eyes to spread. He tried to chat with his fellow passenger, Changsun Qingjing, about the recent funeral.
"Who is that alligator dragon in your newly composed 'Bo Tou'?" Li Shimin asked curiously.
"I'm sorry. Father didn't look well..." Changsun Qingjing turned his face to the car window, "I almost caused a disaster. It was my fault."
"How could I possibly have that ability!" Changsun Qingjing was immersed in frustration, his forehead pressed against the window. "I must have displeased Father. And now you're taking the blame for me."
"Although my father often scolded him and forbade the madman from performing the play elsewhere, it was only out of his cautious nature. In his heart, he must have loved the play very much, otherwise he would not have rewarded the actors so generously and even burned the masks for my mother."
Li Shimin didn't take the blame to heart. After all, it was his idea to perform "Bo Tou" at the roadside memorial ceremony. Changsun Qingjing had just executed the plan too perfectly.
Hearing these words of comfort, Changsun Qingjing stopped blaming herself and her guilt dissipated. She turned back from the window and said, "Once we arrive in Dongdu, I am determined not to act on my own initiative again and not to cause any more trouble."
"So, who exactly does that alligator dragon represent? Can you tell me?" Li Shimin asked with a playful expression.
The carriages and horses sped along the post road for three or four days, and dusk was approaching once again.
Perhaps the road had fallen into disrepair over the years and was swallowed up by withered grass and fallen leaves; perhaps the carriages and horses were exhausted and could not withstand the bumpy ride.
The closer one gets to Luoyang, the more desolate the countryside becomes, with scattered villages and few farmers.
The Li family's caravan was anxious to find the next inn to rest, and the people and horses were somewhat restless. Earlier, Changsun Qingjing, fearing that Li Shimin would think too much about his mother, took the initiative to tell him about his childhood experience of returning to the ancestral home in Luoyang with his father.
Unexpectedly, the person in front of him not only did not listen, but instead brought up his childhood memories in Wugong and Qizhou, followed by a long and heartbreaking recollection.
Changsun Qingjing didn't dislike Li Shimin mentioning his mother; he simply didn't want Li Shimin to be too grief-stricken. Besides, his tears would only distort his original intention to comfort him. Under the influence of this sorrowful mood, Changsun Qingjing would instead think of his father, Changsun Sheng, who had passed away many years ago, and his uncle, Gao Shilian, who had been exiled to Jiaozhi and had been out of contact with him ever since, and he would also sigh and shed tears along with him.
Since I can't stop him from being sad, I can only keep quiet to avoid stirring up more of his sorrow, and also to avoid becoming more saddened by empathy.
"What are you thinking about?" The prolonged silence made Li Shimin feel uneasy.
"I was reciting His Majesty the Emperor's poems, from 'Ode to Sorrow' to 'Spring River Flower Moon Night,' from 'Drinking Horse at the Great Wall Cave' to 'Poem Gazing at the Sea'..." Perhaps it was because he was getting closer to Luoyang that a flash of inspiration appeared in Changsun Qingjing's mind.
She truly didn't know why she inexplicably associated Yang Guang's affected and pretentious poems with her husband, who made no attempt to conceal his love and hate.
The bloodline belonging to Changsun Sheng within her reminded her that she needed to find a clever way to lock the two together and find a way to survive.
"If you are interested, you can also recall with me the Emperor's masterpiece."
"What if reading it is useful?" Changsun Qingjing still couldn't think of a better excuse.
Well, this straightforward temper is probably impossible to change. Even if she did change it, she would lose the innocent heart she once cherished. Changsun Qingjing thought silently: Let Li Shimin continue to protect this youthful sincerity, and not easily tarnish it.
The brief unpleasantness was quickly swept away by a sudden, fierce gust of cold wind, replaced by a sense of fear and bewilderment about the unknown.
Through the gaps in the curtains, all that could be seen was a vast expanse of yellow sand and thick clouds. Changsun Qingjing had the illusion that the carriage was being driven backwards by the wind.
The carriage bells trembled in the unruly, cold wind, emitting a discordant, rapid, and frightened tinkling sound. The branches and bark of bodhi, locust, elm, willow, and paulownia trees were felled and peeled off by the claw-like gale, mixed with sand and dust, flying into one side of the carriage window and rushing out the other.
Changsun Qingjing felt a rough, stinging pain in her mouth, nose, and eyes. She suppressed the urge to scream and pressed herself against a corner of the carriage. The startled horses neighed and retreated involuntarily, leaving even the well-trained coachman helpless.
Li Shimin and Changsun Qingjing jumped off the carriage hand in hand, and their entourage stepped forward to protect the young couple.
On a desolate ridge, a strange creature was staring at the convoy.
No one could say for sure when the monster appeared in front of the caravan. Perhaps the gale was its messenger, or perhaps it was the gale itself. Thinking this way, everyone felt even more terrified.
The monster was over a man's height and about eight feet long. Its grayish-brown fur blended almost seamlessly into the barren fields in the fierce, cold wind, perhaps explaining why no one noticed its arrival. It had a horse-like head and antlers resembling those of a deer, but thicker and taller. Its strength should have been enough to overturn a carriage, yet strangely, it possessed a pair of clear, bright eyes.
Everyone is gazing at it, and it is gazing at everyone.
It seems that a wise soul resides within the monster's body, scrutinizing, selecting, and discerning those before it... arrogant yet cautious.
Li Shimin instinctively shielded Changsun Qingjing behind him, preparing to draw his bow and shoot him dead.
"What kind of monster is that?" he muttered to himself, not caring to think further, and simply commanded his men to draw their bows, "One, two..."
"Wait, don't shoot!" Changsun Qingjing grabbed Li Shimin's arm and said, "It's a barbarian sheep, don't shoot it, they will retaliate and hurt people!"
Before the words were even finished, hordes of monsters gathered in sight, chasing and playing, seemingly convinced that the caravan was safe from them. These creatures, called "Yi Sheep," then marched off in a mighty procession toward the setting sun, toward the decaying, skeletal jungle, and finally merged into a chaotic purple expanse.
"Have we entered Henan Prefecture?" After the initial shock, Li Shimin asked the coachman who was constantly wiping away cold sweat.
"Soon," the driver replied, still shaken. "Aren't these beasts just things the old monk used to scare children in his stories? They shouldn't be here."
“It’s not only in the Bianwen, but also in the Guoyu, the Shiji, the Huainanzi, and even in Xiao Fangzhi’s abdication edict…” Apart from Li Shimin, no one present could understand what Changsun Qingjing was saying.
The prophecies and apocryphal texts from ancient books are now vividly presented before us.
The spirit of the countryside in Yuzhou, the earth god who unexpectedly visited, the omen of the chaotic end times, is a divine beast that the angry Zhuanxu possessed when he searched for a sage who would uphold the Great Way in the human world.
Half destruction, half rebirth.
“The barbarian sheep are being herded.” Changsun Qingjing gripped Li Shimin’s hand tightly.
Their palms were sweaty.
Author's Note: Using ancient books and prophecies to raise a flag
In reality, too many people were implicated in the Yang Xuangan case in Erguang, and people who had received grain from Yang Xuangan were physically slaughtered one by one.
With the fields lying fallow, deer naturally roamed freely everywhere.
Very materialistic [Oh oh oh]
Don't worry, this is just the limit of Fan Zigai's assembly-line killing spree, not Erguang's limit. After returning from Yanmen Pass, Erguang complained that there were too many people in Luoyang hindering his great cause, so he continued killing.
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