Xu Shu didn't hate her, he just looked down on her.
He looked down on her background, her official position, and the fact that she was a woman but wanted to be in the martial arts world.
In the past, she would get angry at the other party's few words because she felt in her heart that she was indeed inferior to him and was always eager to prove something.
But now she no longer needs those. With just a glance, she understood that Xu Shu had long been just a grain of sand that fell behind her when she passed through Sanmu Pass.
After wiping the last drop of water off his face, Xiao Nanhui prepared to turn around and leave.
Before Xu Shu could say something more, the woman suddenly looked behind him and made a gesture to salute him.
"Meet Choi Suk-won."
Xu Shu's whole body froze. When he turned around nervously, he found that there was no ghost behind him.
Xu Shu, who had been teasing Xiao Nanhui with this trick for years, had never imagined that he would one day be punished in return. He stared at the graceful figure of the woman, who had already mounted her horse and left in the distance, and was momentarily stunned.
She seemed a little different from before, yet she seemed still the same.
What an annoying day.
When the team set off again, the left passenger still had an ugly look on his face, but the right passenger looked much brighter and even hummed a little tune.
The tune was a folk song from the Xuanmenling area that she hummed most often. Unfortunately, she could only remember one line, so she hummed it over and over again, which annoyed Xu Shu so much that he rode away on his horse.
At early noon, the marching team finally arrived at the old city of Yu'an.
The emperor's residence wasn't within Yu'an County itself, but rather the newly constructed Yulin Villa. This was once the site of the Yueze Army's barracks, and its layout and structure resembled a military encampment, with only a few pavilions and towers renovated, and some flowers, plants, and rocks added to soften the otherwise cold and stark atmosphere.
Even compared to the Jiaosong Palace, such a place had many shortcomings. However, Xiao Nanhui did not think that all this was due to the poor preparation of the officials who arranged the spring hunt.
It was not until she actually stepped into the territory of Yulin Villa that she truly understood why the king had settled there.
The Yulin Villa has no obvious wall boundaries, so it covers a large area. There are more than a dozen strongholds and camps scattered around it. Its offensive and defensive facilities are very solid because of the heavy troops stationed there all year round. The points are connected into lines, and the lines are connected into surfaces, forming an invisible wall, which is much stronger than the obvious old city walls.
Furthermore, the villa's location was strategically located. Yu'an was surrounded by mountains on three sides, making it easily defendable and difficult to attack. The Yulin Villa's terrain was particularly complex, yet it conveniently occupied the upper reaches of a stream and boasted vast expanses of fertile farmland. This not only monopolized the entire Yu'an region's water security, but also ensured self-sufficiency and abundant harvests year after year.
All this depends on the site selection made by Yue Zejun back then.
The four armies of Tiancheng each have their own strengths: Subei is good at cavalry, Guangyao is good at armor, Yanchi is good at swordsmanship, and Heiyu is good at archery. Tiancheng once had a fifth army.
The two words "Yue Ze" are enough to summarize this once secret army. When going to war, they are good at surveying mountains, rivers and land, and selecting natural and strategic locations as strongholds. When at peace, they are good at developing water conservancy and civil engineering, and can build cities and produce food and grass overnight. It is a small but crucial team.
However, such an army was reduced to bandits during the Bai family rebellion, and the two words "Yue Ze" that once carried supreme glory were also covered in dust.
At dusk on the second day, the spring hunting team officially arrived at the center of the villa.
The rain continued and the sky was gloomy. The sun had disappeared by dusk. The stone walls of the villa were worn away by the darkness and became as blurry and ambiguous as distant mountains.
After traveling for most of the day, Xiao Nanhui's legs began to ache again. She now had some idea of the pattern of the pain: it was better during the day and worse at night, and it was most severe when it was cloudy or rainy.
When entering the gate, everyone must dismount according to the rules.
When she dismounted, her ankles gave way and she stumbled. She glanced around furtively, only to breathe a sigh of relief when she saw no one seemed to notice her.
She almost fell down when she dismounted. If such an embarrassing thing were to be reported back to the army, she would not be able to stay in any camp.
However, the moment she adjusted her posture, the man's voice sounded behind her.
"The roads are slippery in the rain, and Officer Xiao's boots don't look very useful. Come to the tent later to get a new pair."
She adjusted her posture and turned around, and saw his back as he left the carriage, got on a sedan chair, and walked away with Cui Xingyao.
She blinked, not sure whether the other party really wanted her to change her boots or was just joking.
She wanted to chase after him and say a few words to make amends for herself, but she stepped into a puddle of mud. Turning around, she met Ding Weixiang's omnipresent gaze. She was so upset that she finally gave up.
The muddy boots became very heavy, and my legs hurt more with every step I took.
Perhaps God was reminding her to remember her fate of standing in the mud and not to covet things that did not belong to her.
Xiao Nanhui stomped her foot twice, but the mud didn't budge, as if it were part of her foot. Furious, without waiting for Xu Shu to come up and taunt her, she simply untied her leggings and yanked the boot off. Ignoring Xu Shu's undisguised gaze, she limped forward barefoot.
There were less than a hundred civil officials and military generals in total, most of them were traveling light and no one dared to put on a show at this time. However, Xiao Nanhui noticed the long convoy. Apart from the arrangements around the king's carriage, there seemed to be thousands of accompanying carriages and horses.
When they were resting at the station earlier, those people seemed to never get out of the carriage. They disappeared together outside the Yulin Villa until they arrived in Yu'an County.
The Yulin Villa stretches as far as the eye can see, like a bottomless cloth bag. No matter how many people enter it, they will disappear in an instant.
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