One day earlier, in Liangzhou.
To the west of the city lies a barren grassland, with some areas exposed sand. When the wind blows, sand and stones fly everywhere, creating a dim, yellowish expanse that blocks out the sun.
Jing Zhe followed the heavy cavalry regiment westward. He had thought that the yaks would walk very slowly, but in reality, these yaks were very strong. Even carrying so many heavy loads, they walked very steadily. Although it was slower than riding a horse, it was much faster than a horse-drawn carriage.
The further west he went, the colder it got. After walking for more than an hour, the cold wind was biting and icy. Fortunately, he now had profound internal strength, so he only needed to activate his internal energy to dispel the cold. However, the Yueyao Empress in front of him was quite pitiful.
She had just returned home from the arena and changed out of her golden armor, wearing only this thin peach-colored long dress. She never expected things to turn out this way.
Sitting behind her, Jing Zhe could clearly feel her body trembling.
After thinking for a moment, he took off the wool cloak he was wearing behind him. When they left Jingzhou this time, Zhu Xinning was worried that he would get cold, so she made him a lot of cotton-padded clothes and prepared a cloak as well. He wore it after leaving Jinxi.
Take off the cloak and put it on her.
Empress Yueyao was startled and immediately turned around, only to find that Jing Zhe had draped a cloak over her shoulders. She was speechless for a moment.
"You're too cold, put this on!"
Half a day ago, she still disliked Jing Zhe, even though he had accompanied her out of the city. But with her intelligence, she had now figured out that Babu's trip to Liangzhou seemed to be more about him!
Am I just an extra?
This made her mindset even more complicated. Coupled with her preconceived notions about Jing Zhe, she was unsure how to handle Jing Zhe's "kindness."
I wouldn't accept it; it's too cold.
If I accept something too directly, will he look down on me?
After all, she had just given him the cold shoulder!
Her pride as an empress prevented her from immediately accepting the cloak. Instead, she took it off, pushed it towards Jing Zhe, and said softly, "Thank you, Young Master Jing, I'm not cold..."
The word "cold" was squeezed out from between her trembling teeth, making it obvious whether she was cold or not.
But Jing Zhe acted as if he couldn't see it and reached out to take it.
"Oh, so the Queen isn't cold! That's even better, I'm cold!"
"..."
Empress Yueyao was taken aback, then grew even colder.
...
The heavy cavalry regiment marched in a hurry, heading west from Liangzhou City. Ten miles away, they reached the western border of the region, a place called Shili River.
The Western Frontier barbarians who usually attacked Liangzhou were mostly stationed here, but the Western Frontier heavy cavalry regiment bypassed Shilihe directly and marched from the southwest of Shilihe.
Two hours later, it gradually got dark.
In the last rays of the setting sun, you could see that Empress Yueyao's neck and ears were even whiter, probably from the cold.
Jing Zhe pursed his lips and took off the cloak again, draping it over Empress Yueyao's shoulders: "Just say you're cold, what's there to be embarrassed about?"
"..."
Empress Yueyao gritted her teeth, her expression of having her thoughts exposed instantly revealing her shame and anger. She wanted to throw off her cloak, but she remained motionless for a long time.
Because... it's really warm.
She knew that Jing Zhe knew martial arts, so she wouldn't be pretentious and say things like "Aren't you cold if you give it to me?" Of course, even if he didn't know martial arts, she wouldn't ask, since he was just teasing her on purpose.
At this moment, they had just crossed a desert and arrived at a vast grassland.
The heavy cavalry regiment at the front stopped. After Babu said something, all the heavy cavalry regiments scattered. Then the yak carts at the back of the column were pulled to the middle, and a group of cavalrymen surrounded them and began to set up tents.
Looks like I'll have to prepare to spend the night here.
Jing Zhe turned around and glanced back. The Liangzhou city wall was no longer visible. He calculated in his mind that flying back from here would be almost two hours faster than the heavy cavalry regiment, and that would be enough time for him to deploy the grenades.
Thinking of this gave him a sense of security, and he decided to observe the situation tonight before making a decision.
At this moment, a general led their yaks to the front, where a group of cavalrymen were setting up tents. The tents were not large, and they were almost ready in no time.
"Empress Yueyao, Young Master Jing, the journey to Kadian is long, so we will rest here for the night."
Since it was the Prince of Jin who ordered them to arrest him, they certainly wouldn't kill him, since Su Xinping's antidote was still in his hands. So Babu's attitude was within Jing Zhe's expectations.
However, Babu's gaze toward Empress Yueyao was filled with greed and desire, and although it flashed by, Jing Zhe still caught it.
Before long, all the tents were set up. Apart from the largest tent in the middle, there were smaller tents all around, spaced far apart, for making fires.
Jing Zhe and Empress Yueyao were led to two small tents facing each other. There were no guards outside the tents. It wasn't that Babu trusted them, but that besides the two of them, the only people who could stay in the tents were Wan Jiang, Ban Jiang, and Qian Jiang. There were only a dozen or so tents in total. The other cavalrymen gathered in a circle around the perimeter, lit a campfire, and spent the night there. There was no way to get out.
The tent was a makeshift structure, and the interior was naturally extremely rudimentary. There was a pile of straw haphazardly spread on the ground, with a thin blanket on top, and nothing else. The grassland was even colder after nightfall, especially in the latter half of the night. Although the tent could block the cold wind, the temperature was almost the same as outside. Sleeping like that would probably freeze one to death.
Jing Zhe is alright, but what about the empress next door?
...
The largest tent naturally belongs to Wan Jiangbabu.
Inside, there was not only a bonfire, but also thick carpets and blankets made of yak hides. Babu was sitting around the bonfire with a half-general and five other thousand-generals, with steaming hot yak milk tea beside them and iron skewers of roasted meat in their hands. It was a world apart from the environment on Jing Zhe's side.
"His Majesty attaches great importance to this matter."
“We’ll spend the night here and see the king tomorrow.”
"During this period, we must not make any mistakes!"
"Yes, General Wan!"
After Babu finished speaking, the other six people agreed.
Babu nodded in satisfaction, then glanced at Chamu with some unease: "Chamu, you've done a great service by bringing back three martial arts manuals this time. When I see the King, I will report the truth to him, and he will certainly not treat you unfairly!"
"Thank you very much, General Wan!"
"Chalm said excitedly."
"However, you absolutely cannot have any more thoughts of violence against Jing Zhe. We must bring him safely to the King, otherwise you can forget about any credit!"
At this moment, Babu spoke again in a deep voice.
————
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