Chapter 56 His Youthful Thoughts His Youthful Thoughts
Ye Jindian turned around and looked——
The path shaded by intertwined pine and bamboo trees was obscured by branches, shrouded in darkness even in broad daylight, visible only nearer the horizon. Peering deeper, it felt like staring directly into the throat of a gigantic being; the deeper one went, the darker and more terrifying it became.
The chaotic sound of footsteps and panting echoed in the narrow tree-lined road, gradually approaching.
She frowned.
In the wilderness, the echoing sound is particularly empty.
It felt like the labored breathing of an elderly person in his twilight years, trying his best to squeeze out a trace of air from his throat, but inevitably revealing a dying, lingering breath.
Lei, who had been howling all night, suddenly came out again.
Suddenly there was a loud "boom" and even the ground beneath his feet was shaking.
"Wow!" Amidst the languid breath, a powerful voice suddenly broke through. "I was so scared! I thought it was haunted!"
Ye Jindian: “…”
It's her turn to say this.
The branches and leaves were swept away by a long stick, revealing a pretty face.
The peach blossom eyes met a pair of eyes as clear as glass amber.
"Eh? Sister-in-law—" Zhang Heng quickly changed the subject, "Sister-in-law, why are you here? Are you here to see the peach blossoms too?"
She exerted a little force and lifted up the person who was sliding down her back.
Ye Jindian mumbled "hmm" and looked at the woman whose head hung limply on Zhang Heng's shoulder.
She was dressed in brocade, and even her shawl was embroidered with a circle of crabapple flowers in gold thread, not to mention the precious hairpins and step-shakes on her head.
After hesitating for a moment, she still asked, "What's wrong with this lady?"
"It's okay." Zhang Heng raised her blushing face. "She's just tired and fell asleep. We can wake her up once we reach the top. But—" She looked around but didn't see her eldest brother. She was very confused. "Why did my sister-in-law come here alone? Where's your husband?"
This really wasn't something her elder brother would do.
Ye Jindian didn't know what she was thinking, but she remembered that she was Brother Shitou's sister, so she didn't hide it.
"I have only been in the capital for a short time and do not have many close friends. My husband is with the Right Prime Minister on official business, so I cannot accompany him."
Business trip?
Could it be that something big is happening in the court?
Otherwise, how could he not accompany his sister-in-law when she just woke up from a coma?
Zhang Heng pondered in his heart, but his face remained calm: "In that case, why don't we go together?"
Ye Jindian thought it was okay.
Perhaps it was because she lived in a small place when she was young and moved frequently afterwards, so although she could play with anyone, she didn't have a few close friends.
All friends are just chance acquaintances.
But she is not lonely, and never forces a deeper relationship.
But if she has friends around her, she will still feel happy from the bottom of her heart.
Seeing that she had no objection, Zhang Heng breathed a sigh of relief, and his steps became lighter. Even the words that uttered from his mouth seemed to be able to soar up three thousand miles with the wind.
"I often heard my eldest brother mention you when I was little." She looked at the rocks at her feet, her tone steady. "At that time, I was seriously ill and stayed at home all day. I relied on your stories to fall asleep every night."
Ye Jindian loosened the strap of the backpack on her shoulder and was a little stunned when she heard this: "Me?"
She has something worth saying.
"Yes." Zhang Heng recalled the past, and there was still a sense of regret that he couldn't hide. "I have always wanted to meet you, but the desert wind and sand were too fierce, and my health was too poor at the time, so I really couldn't leave the house."
Gongsun Zhaoye secretly took her out to see the girl, and was punished by his cousin and elder brother to kneel down and not eat.
At that time, their relationship was not as bad as it is now.
She felt guilty and would still secretly bring him bread and water in the middle of the night.
Ye Jindian became more and more curious and glanced at the sleeping person: "Will we disturb her?"
Zhang Heng shook her head gently. "No. If she's quiet, she won't be able to sleep. When we talk like this, she can sleep soundly, but she hasn't had any dreams the whole way."
Ye Jindian rarely sees people like this.
However, she was not familiar with the other party, so it was difficult for her to find out.
So, I just asked, "Why did you fall asleep listening to my story?"
My brother, he——
Why talk about her in front of her family?
Zhang Heng stepped onto the stairs, did not answer immediately, and changed the topic to something else.
"Our family went through great changes in those years. My eldest brother took me and fled Shengjing to join my cousin's husband's army, hoping to establish himself and build a better future for me."
Ye Jindian whispered, "I've never heard him say that."
"Well." Zhang Heng was also helpless. "He's talking to his heart—" After meeting her sister-in-law's eyes, she quickly changed the subject, "…a new friend, how can I have the nerve to chat about those trivial matters at home?"
Ye Jindian couldn't help but smile when she thought of the boy who used to be a little arrogant and never said a word when being bullied.
"Brother..." She paused and looked at Zhang Heng, "Do you mind if I call you elder brother like that?"
Zhang Heng said generously, "I don't mind."
We are all family, why are we talking about different things?
Ye Jindian then continued: "Brother is indeed a man of pride and ambition."
Thinking back to the past, she had witnessed many veterans in the army trying to trip him up, and she thought he was full of knowledge and would definitely devise a clever plan to make the other side suffer a great loss.
Unexpectedly, the boy swallowed it all without saying a word.
Later, she couldn't bear it anymore and got a little angry, so she impulsively pushed the other person down and applied medicine on him.
Thinking of the past, she was a little dazed.
The loess road in front of her suddenly became soft, pulling her back to the sand dunes of the desert a few years ago——
The boy hurried after her.
The wind and sand hit his mask, making clanging and ding-dong sounds.
"Tiantian..." The boy was in the voice change period, his voice was a little hoarse, and he didn't like to talk, but at this moment he had to speak to comfort her, "I didn't waste your medicine."
Her temper was not as calm as it is now. She immediately glared at him with a puffy face: "You are determined to get beaten, why are you still applying medicine!" She spread out her hands and said, "Give me back the medicine."
The boy didn't return it.
He clenched the porcelain bottle in his hand and hid it behind his back: "I didn't do that to get beaten. I wanted to learn the skill of dodging so that I could save my life. Come back..." He turned his face away, and his hands hanging at his side tightened, "Come back to see you... and my sister."
The wind and sand were so strong that day that they almost drowned out the boy's voice.
She didn't understand the other party's implied meaning, but felt that she had wronged him, and lowered her eyes to stare at her toes.
The wind and sand retreated from my toes, and peach petals rolled past.
Zhang Hengzheng finished recounting Zhang Min's journey from private to lieutenant general, mentioning how he had completely eliminated the old guard's habit of bullying the newcomers. On his first day in office, he boasted, "Bullying new recruits is nothing compared to your skill. Come and challenge me if you dare. Defeat me, and the lieutenant generalship will be yours."
Ye Jindian could imagine his pride at that time.
She bent down, picked up a perfect peach blossom on the ground, and pinned it on the cloth belt.
"The bullying veterans were driven away, and Luo Ying and the others were subdued, and later completely defeated." Zhang Heng nodded toward the nearby pavilion. "Let's sit down and rest. Seeing this pavilion, the peach forest should be nearby."
Ye Jindian nodded.
As he entered the pavilion, the maids and guards following behind him quickly surrounded the pavilion, cleaned it, laid out cushions, and placed food and drinks on the stone table.
They even brought out a small red clay stove and used mountain spring water to cook!
A quick count of the group of people showed there were at least two hundred of them.
She thought to herself, even if she wasn't a princess, she must be at least a county lady.
The maid behind him carried the person on her back to the cushioned beauty. Zhang Heng stretched his muscles and bones, still talking: "During those years in the desert, my elder brother told me your deeds over and over again to encourage me to listen to the doctor."
Ye Jindian looked at the huge glutinous rice cakes and snow-white dragon beard pastries that the maid had laid out, and was about to gasp in amazement when she brought over a wooden bucket and took out ice from the quilt to make cherry pastry mountain...
She was taken a moment to react after hearing such a sudden response that came from afar.
Zhang Heng sat on a stone bench, holding his chin and looking at her: "You are the second person in my life who dares to challenge others with a weak body. I admire you very much."
Ye Jindian was stunned: "Huh?"
"You left Nanling, that idyllic paradise, and suffered a rough journey, nearly losing even your winter food. Yet, you didn't feel sorry for yourself. You even told my eldest brother that if the wheat wasn't harvested, he could go hunting in the mountains and still survive." Zhang Heng spoke, becoming more excited. "Do you remember what you said to him?"
Ye Jindian shook his head blankly.
She only remembered that the other party helped her when they first met.
Zhang Heng cleared his dry throat, subconsciously straightened his chest, and held her hand, saying, "Thank you for your concern, my dear. As long as we are alive, there will always be a way to solve all other problems. You don't have to worry about me."
Ye Jindian: “…”
It turns out that she was so optimistic and innocent when she was young.
It's really embarrassing.
"Don't be embarrassed by what I'm saying," Zhang Heng said seriously. "My eldest brother will remember this for the rest of his life. He met you when he was at his wit's end, with nowhere to turn to. Your words enlightened him and pulled him out of his fog. For him, this is truly a great fortune."
Ye Jindian didn't know any of this.
She was a little stunned.
Zhang Heng held her hand tightly, as if afraid that she didn't want to listen any further.
"Later, you wanted to join the military camp to forge weapons and competed in a 100-person competition. You were ridiculed, insulted...someone even threatened you. But you never flinched. You simply stood before them and firmly stated that you were chosen based on merit. Instead of causing trouble, they should go home and practice more."
Ye Jindian: "Ahem."
It seems that in the eyes of others, she must have been quite wild when she was young.
"And, more importantly, the reason my eldest brother tolerated those veteran soldiers was because he felt he wasn't patient enough, a cardinal sin for a general. So, he learned from you how to accomplish great things quietly, honing his skills in secret before teaching those people a lesson." Zhang Heng's eyes were filled with longing. "Do you remember the moment you took over the position of swordsmith forger for the Northern Army, and then plunged the forged divine weapon into the toes of that troublemaker?"
Ye Jindian laughed dryly, not really wanting to recall the arrogant days of his youth.
While the other person was dancing and gesturing, she quickly gave her a glass of water and escaped from the pavilion.
After walking for a few steps, she found that the peach forest was indeed not very far away from here. She only needed to walk for another half a cup of tea before she could step into the forest.
May has arrived and the peach blossoms here have gradually fallen.
She picked for a long time before she finally found three and put them in the basket.
Just as he was about to go back to look for Zhang Heng, he heard the sound of wind rushing towards him from behind.
She subconsciously dodged, but was still grabbed by the shoulders and held tightly, and a heavy, fishy ring knife was placed on her neck.
The iron ring hurts my shoulders a bit.
Ye Jindian wanted to look up at the person coming, but her shoulders were turned away, and she was facing a golden mask climbing up from the side of the mountain.
"General, stop, or I will kill her!"
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