Chapter 98 Chapter 98 Jinjiang First Release
Chapter 98
Half a month later, Su Li learned that her grandmother and Qiu Gui were about to arrive in Liuzhou.
She didn't go out to sell cakes these days. Instead, she cleaned up the east room vacated by Cui Jue, and then laid out clean bedding for her grandmother and others to live in.
Liuzhou has distinct four seasons and lush vegetation, but the mountains and forests are humid and the climate is even more damp and cold.
By mid-April, the white plum blossoms in the mountains began to wither, but the cattails grew lush and green all over the mountains.
Su Li went to the market and bought a basket of locust flowers, planning to make pancakes with them.
Before she finished frying two pancakes, there was a knock on the door.
Su Li hurriedly washed her hands and went to open the door.
The moment the door opened, she saw her grandmother and Qiu Gui whom she had not seen for a long time, and her eyes instantly turned red.
I don’t know how my grandmother has been getting along in the past three years. Her old eyes look cloudy than before, but fortunately she is in good spirits and does not look weak or frail.
Qiu Gui was the same as before, but she looked more stable and smiled less.
She supported her grandmother all the way into the village and walked here.
When Qiu Gui saw Su Li for the first time, she was still a little dazed.
Su Li remembered that she had always been in disguise and her family could not recognize her, so Su Li could only cry out with tears in her eyes: "Qiu Gui, Grandma..."
Even though Su Li's appearance had changed and her voice had become a little hoarse due to the smoke, Qiu Gui could still recognize the woman standing in front of her. She was the one he had been thinking about day and night!
Qiu Gui's nose felt sore, and years of injustice and regret surged into her heart. Overwhelmed with emotion, Qiu Gui took Su Li's slender arm and said, "My dear, you have suffered."
Upon hearing this, Madam Su also reached out her hand tremblingly, touching Su Li's shoulders inch by inch, squeezing her arms firmly, trying to measure how much flesh her granddaughter had left with her palm, so that she could know how Su Li had been doing these years...
Mrs. Su wiped away her tears and asked Su Li with a smile: "Li Li, have you been doing well these years?"
Hearing her grandmother's caring voice, Su Li felt as if there was a sour plum in her throat, so bitter that it hurt the tip of her nose.
Su Li burst into tears and nodded repeatedly: "I'm fine, I'm doing well... How about you?"
No matter how much Qiu Gui hated Cui Jue, she had to admit that in the past three years, under the protection of the emperor, they had indeed not suffered any grievances.
Qiu Gui's eyes welled up with tears: "I didn't suffer any hardship... Has His Majesty found my wife?"
Qiu Gui is a cautious person, and she will still address Su Li as Cui Jue to others, so as not to give Su Li a chance to be criticized.
Su Li did not avoid the topic about Cui Jue. She said, "Yes, the eldest master and I... can be said to have reconciled our past grievances."
Qiu Gui didn't say much.
She also knew that Cui Jue was extremely powerful and was the ruler of a country.
Su Li is just a weak woman. If she goes against him, she will probably end up in trouble. It would be best if his wife could see things more clearly and not make herself suffer.
Su Li wiped away her tears and quickly invited the two of them into the house: "Okay, stop chatting outside and come in to talk!"
After saying that, Su Li also helped the coachman who was escorting Qiu Gui and Old Madam Su to move the luggage out of the car and into the east room.
However, when entering the house, she noticed that the driver had a murderous aura that only military generals going to war carried.
She became wary and asked, "Are you a military officer?"
Hearing Su Li's question, the driver immediately knelt on one knee and reported to her: "Madam Li, I am Zhang Yun, the General of the Imperial Guards. I am here to escort Madam Rong and her entourage to Liuzhou on the orders of Your Majesty."
Su Li understood, and with a serious expression, she asked, "Are you alone, or is there someone else here?"
Zhang Yun was loyal to Cui Jue and naturally obeyed the king's military orders.
Cui Jue warned him in person that from now on he would be Su Li's man and should follow her lead.
Therefore, Zhang Yun did not hide anything. He said honestly, "Besides me, there is also a hundred-man death squad led by Lord Wei stationed outside the courtyard."
Su Li was stunned when she heard this.
She inexplicably felt a chill running up her spine, and her chaotic thoughts were connected into one line at this moment. The hidden truth was about to be revealed, and even Su Li's teeth trembled.
Su Li didn't bother to hide her identity in front of others, and suddenly said solemnly: "Please trouble General Zhang to summon Lord Wei. I have something urgent to discuss with him."
"Yes." Zhang Yun had no doubts. He followed Su Li's instructions and let out a sharp whistle to inform Wei Zhiyan.
Lin Yin knew that the truth had been revealed, so he stepped forward, took out a jade token from his bosom, and handed it to Su Li, "Sister, this is yours."
Su Li took the jade token and carefully studied the surname written in sharp strokes on it. It was the word "Cui" engraved with a sharp blade.
It belongs to Cui Jue.
Su Li's palms were cold. After a long pause, she asked him, "A Yin, when did you get the jade token?"
Lin Yin did not hide it: "Half a month ago, the night before Cui Jue left."
Su Li lowered her head and said nothing.
She sat down dejectedly on the chair, lost in thought.
Outside the house, summer rain fell continuously, thunderclouds dominated the sky, and lightning flashed.
There was a sudden storm with lightning and thunder.
When the Thunder Dragon struck, the rubble in the entire yard trembled slightly from the sound of lightning.
Wei Zhiyan arrived quickly in the rain.
He and Su Li had always had some friendship, and now seeing her face as pale as paper, he couldn't help but feel worried: "I had originally thought of letting Madam Su and the old lady exchange greetings for a day before heading to Jingzhou together... But now that Madam Su's identity has been exposed, I'm afraid we'll have to leave immediately."
As if worried that Su Li would resist, Wei Zhiyan scratched his head and explained, "Your Majesty does not intend to imprison the Madam. His Majesty just wants me to escort the Madam for a while. After the situation stabilizes, the Madam can leave..."
Su Li looked at the noisy rain outside the eaves and couldn't help laughing: "Letting him go so generously is a bit unlike Cui Jue..."
Wei Zhiyan was speechless.
Su Li thought about the past, and how Cui Jue's body reacted first when he was young and ignorant about love. In order to protect her, he fell off the cliff with her.
Thinking that even if Cui Jue was on tour, he would still try every means to send troops to capture people.
Although he kept saying that he hated her and wanted to kill her, the beautiful women he painted were charming and graceful, with his brushstrokes full of emotion.
Thinking of the heart-wrenching confrontations between Cui Jue and her on countless nights, she wanted to kill each other.
The hatred was so deep, the love was so deep, even if he gave in, he would still bow his head and say fiercely: "Su Li, even if I die, I will not let you go."
Letting Su Li go was such a difficult thing for Cui Jue... How could he let go so easily? It was totally unlike Cui Jue's style.
unless.
unless……
Su Li: "Unless your Majesty is in great danger, unless he is certain to die, otherwise, given his overbearing nature, how could he be willing to let go..."
Wei Zhiyan sighed and secretly praised Su Li's cleverness.
At this point, Su Li finally understood Cui Jue's recent abnormal behavior.
Why did Cui Jue always stay in bed with her and make love to her during those few days?
Why would he say something that was a matter of life and death?
Why is it that Cui Jue, who has never been afraid of gods or Buddhas, is afraid that his words will come true and keeps his mouth shut?
Why was Cui Jue suddenly so generous and willing to give back the freedom that Su Li longed for?
Because his time was up, because he was in jail, because he could no longer hold her captive.
Rather than trap Su Li to death, it is better to help her.
In this way, Su Li would be grateful to him and would appreciate his kindness...
So despicable and mean, yet so frank and sincere.
Even when it comes to love, Cui Jue is full of calculations, trying to gain something.
Su Li resented and hated him in her heart, but the sour feeling at the tip of her nose gradually spread.
Su Li knew very well that Cui Jue had an intention to make her feel guilty.
In this way, a kind-hearted person like Su Li would be grateful to Cui Jue for protecting her with his life, and would keep his promise to never forget Cui Jue.
How could there be such a bad man...
Wei Zhiyan was unwilling to admit that Cui Jue had taken a risky move. He whispered to Su Li, "My lady, His Majesty has a plan that is perfect. He will definitely find a way to defeat the enemy..."
Su Li remained silent.
Seeing that she was in a serious mood, Wei Zhiyan could only look at Zhang Yun, and they spoke one after another.
"Your Majesty is truly remarkable. Once, he led 5,000 troops against 10,000 Hu soldiers. It was a losing battle, but Your Majesty exploited the extreme weather conditions of a dense fog in the snowy region to lure the enemy into a trap. He then deployed a stream of stray arrows to aid the attack, falsely claiming the Hu soldiers had committed divine punishment, chastising the witch gods. This frightened the religious Hu soldiers into total disarray, allowing them to seize the perfect opportunity to repel the enemy and lead our army to encircle and destroy the enemy's rear flank, turning defeat into victory."
After Wei Zhiyan finished speaking, Zhang Yun immediately followed up, "Yes, yes. Not only that, His Majesty is also well aware of the principle that 'arrogance leads to a fall.' Even if our army is large and the enemy is weak, he will not rashly lead his troops into a frontal attack. Instead, he will divide his forces and set up defenses to reduce casualties and preserve strength... His Majesty is a brave and capable general. Madam, you can rest assured..."
Su Li listened to their admiring praises, and from those words, she seemed to understand Cui Jue a little better.
Wei Zhiyan said a lot.
For example, Cui Jue looks reserved and serious, but he also eats coarse grains with the lower-level soldiers and generals...
For example, Cui Jue is serious, but he treats his loyal followers well...
For example, although Cui Jue was decisive in killing, he only killed traitors. This way, he could protect the other Cui family soldiers and avoid showing mercy and causing harm to others...
They talked a lot, but at this moment, Su Li was thinking of the son who was so sad because of his mother's suicide that he had not celebrated his birthday for many years.
Cui Jue is not completely heartless, nor is he cold-hearted... He is not a god, he is a human being, a mortal who feels pain and bleeds when his flesh is cut by a knife or stabbed by a sword.
Su Li didn't know who she was asking, she suddenly whispered something.
"When did Cui Jue become so resourceful? When did he become so well-planned?"
"Because he could die if he neglected even once, because he carries the hopes of his people on his shoulders, because everyone places their hopes on him. They hope that Cui Jue will always be in command of the situation and win battles from thousands of miles away."
"From then on, Cui Jue had to be very shrewd and not dare to be careless in the slightest... He never had the right to make mistakes, because those mistakes were all stained with the blood and flesh of his people."
At this moment, Su Li began to understand how difficult Cui Juexing's path was.
As long as Cui Jue lets go, countless tribesmen will die.
If he slacked off even for a moment, he would be cursed by everyone and become the target of public criticism.
He never had a good ending.
Everyone forced him to become a demon.
If that's the case, why would Su Li be such a vicious executioner and hurt him so cruelly?
Su Li sighed, rubbed her face, and wiped off the clothes that were stuck to her skin.
She no longer disguised herself in front of others. She reached out to catch the rain water and washed her face.
Su Li turned her back to the pouring wind and rain, revealing a delicate and beautiful face. She said to everyone, "Let's go. Let's pack our bags and set off for Jingzhou. Cui Jue asked you to escort me, which means you are putting your lives in my hands. I am a soft-hearted person. I will not let you die. You should cooperate well with this long journey."
These were the men Cui Jue left for her, and they were his confidants.
Su Li couldn't let her capriciousness put them in danger.
Since Cui Jue asked her to go to Jingzhou immediately, he must have guessed that there would be unrest in Liuzhou in the near future.
In this case, she should leave as soon as possible.
Su Li would not refuse Cui Jue's kindness.
-
Yang Dalang had gone out to work and had not returned home yet, but the noise just now had been heard by Yuan Ge'er and Hu Sao.
Mrs. Hu vaguely felt that something was wrong. She covered Yuan Ge'er's mouth, her face full of fear, shaking like a sieve, not daring to make a sound.
Su Li knew that once she left Yuan Ge'er and Hu Sao behind and left, the remaining secret guards would definitely clean up the traces and would not necessarily spare their lives.
If Su Li wanted to save them, she could only take them away.
Yuan Ge'er was ignorant and naive. Even though Su Li had a beautiful face, he just thought that his godmother had become prettier.
Su Li didn't want to scare the child, so she stuffed a candied fruit into Yuan Ge'er's mouth and gently asked him, "Do you want to go out and play with your godmother?"
Yuan Ge'er nodded repeatedly: "Okay!"
Mrs. Hu's pupils trembled, she was so frightened that she started to cry.
Su Li smiled and asked Mrs. Hu, "Sister-in-law said that even if you become a widow, you will still be controlled by your in-laws and trapped in Plum Blossom Village. Now there is an opportunity for you to take Brother Yuan and run away, no longer subject to others' control. Will you go?"
Mrs. Hu naturally knew what Su Li meant. Even though the officials in front of her looked ill-intentioned, she still believed in Su Li's character.
Mrs. Hu thought for a moment, then gritted her teeth and said, "Let's go! Brother Yuan and I will follow Madam!"
"Okay." Su Li settled Yuan Ge'er and Hu Sao, and everyone packed up their bags and got on the carriage for the long journey.
Su Li gave away all the cake ovens, bedding, and bamboo medicine drying racks.
There is no way around it. Once the world becomes chaotic, common people have to move their families and have no place to live, drifting like rootless duckweed.
-
It was the end of April when the group arrived in Jingzhou.
As soon as they arrived, news came that a mutiny had occurred in Liuzhou.
The Xie family of Qiyuan and the Pei family of Wenxi opened the passes of the prefectures and counties, allowing the rebels and traitors in the northwest to lead their troops southward without any obstruction and launch a large-scale attack on Jianye County.
Not only were the powerful clans in the northwest in constant turmoil, but the noble clans in the southeast also took advantage of the chaos to form an alliance and directly attack Jianye.
Because the troops of the noble families came with great momentum and broke into the city, the local prefectures and counties were in chaos, with corpses everywhere. The people were scared out of their wits and in a panic.
All the princes, heroes, and powerful families were taking advantage of the chaos, recruiting troops openly or secretly, besieging Jianye, and trying to get a share of the spoils in this fierce battle of "siege of Wudong Cui family".
They each had their own ideas, but the same goal - to overthrow the Wudong Cui family's regime and return the imperial power to the hands of the aristocratic families.
Cui Jue has become a traitor. Now he is no longer a model of the aristocracy, and no aristocratic family will openly follow him to fight against the Japanese.
But Cui Jue was a cunning fellow. He had been observing the overall situation and making plans over the years, and had already accumulated hundreds of thousands of Cui family soldiers and horses.
Even without the support of the noble families, the elite troops he had left were enough to compete with the gentry.
Therefore, some powerful clans were wary of Cui Jue's trump card. To protect their clansmen, they played both sides, refusing to surrender to either side, fearing they would be harmed in this war...
Su Li learned about the battle situation from Wei Zhiyan. She knew that this fight was too dangerous, but Cui Jue was not without a chance of winning, and it was still unknown who would win.
After all, no matter how large and powerful a noble family is, it also has the weakness of "being blinded by greed and having divided people". Most of the Cui family's soldiers are elite soldiers selected from humble backgrounds. They also have to protect their parents and fellow villagers. They are well aware of Cui Jue's position and strategy, which is to seek the welfare of the common people.
Since this is the case, people are pursuing profit, and the Cui family army will definitely work together with Cui Jue to resist the enemy.
After all, Cui Jue's triumphant return to the court has become the people's favorite and the popular choice... Su Li also gradually understood Cui Jue's deployment in this war.
This game is too risky, but it will be very profitable.
If Cui Jue wins this battle, he will not only stabilize the country's politics and strengthen the royal power, but also win the hearts of the people.
Cui Jue will be a sage monarch who works hard to govern the country. When he reforms the country's politics in the future, no aristocratic family will dare to stop him. Perhaps the Wu Kingdom will truly be able to enjoy peace and long-term stability as Cui Jue hopes.
Su Li could not really help with the government and military affairs. She could only send the scout team under Wei Zhiyan out again and again to inquire about the battle situation and judge the situation.
But she hadn't heard from Cui Jue for a long time, and she couldn't guess what the situation was like in Jianye County, thousands of miles away... No matter how anxious she was, she could only stay behind and wait quietly.
In order to protect Su Li and others, Wei Zhiyan and others followed orders and placed Su Li in a small mountain town in the far suburbs of Jingzhou.
The town is located in a low-lying valley, isolated from the outside world. Although the mountains are steep, they also prevent the soldiers from entering and trampling on it during war.
After all, the mountain roads are rugged and difficult to travel. When the various armies see such difficult mountains, they are all frightened and will take a detour instead of rashly leading the troops into the mountains, so as to avoid excessive loss of military supplies on the way, which will be detrimental to the war.
Su Li settled down in Taohua Town.
Although Su Li was an outsider, the people of Taohua Town were simple and honest, and they did not show any rejection towards their arrival. While Su Li was repairing the dilapidated house, they even called a few young and energetic men in the town to help lay tiles and build walls.
Su Li now appears to the public without changing her appearance.
She was beautiful and a single young lady. There were always young men who would blush and bring her venison and wolf meat hunted in the mountains, or pickled fish from home after working for her, trying to please Su Li.
Su Li tried to refuse, but the young man was so enthusiastic and unyielding that he refused to back down. Even Wei Zhiyan, who had seen them secretly, couldn't help but advise, "My lady, please take it easy. His Majesty is away fighting, and you're having an affair at home. If he finds out, he'll probably massacre the whole village."
Su Li was also a bit troubled. "I was careless when I came to Taohua Town before and forgot to cover my face and change my appearance. It's not good to change my appearance again... How about this, Brother Wei, please take the trouble to play the role of my husband. If they know I'm married, maybe they won't be so eager to visit me all day long."
After hearing this, Wei Zhiyan's knees weakened and he almost fell to his knees. "My lady, please spare my life... Your Majesty is not joking when you draw your sword. My neck is not as strong as a sword blade."
Having said that, Su Li didn't dare to have a fake marriage with Lin Yin. After all, Cui Jue was narrow-minded. Even if it was a fake, he would still kill someone to vent his anger.
In order not to bring trouble to her brother, Su Li had no choice but to give up.
-
Another month passed, and Su Li gradually got used to life in the mountain town.
Mrs. Hu often heard of the chaos and turmoil outside the town, the horrific scenes of the battlefield. Commoners were displaced by the fighting, the cavalry of the nobles crushed the bones of the humble, spears and swords pointed at the throats of the common people...
Outside the mountain town, there were mountains of corpses and seas of blood, as well as broken limbs and arms. It was an endless hell that made people shudder at the mere mention of it.
Mrs. Hu was extremely grateful that she had escaped with Su Li and saved Yuan Ge'er's life.
She treated Su Li with even greater respect, not daring to slack off at all, and even often got up early and worked late to finish Qiu Gui's work.
If Su Li hadn't persuaded her to get along as usual, Mrs. Hu would have wanted to bring three meals a day into the house, personally help Su Li prepare the meals, and serve her personally.
-
The first time Su Li felt uneasy was when Wei Zhiyan brought her Taxue.
The furry white dog stretched out its long tongue and pounced on Su Li happily when it saw her. It bit Su Li's dress and rolled to the feet of Old Madam Su to act coquettishly.
Su Li was absentmindedly stroking the dog's head, but at the same time she felt as if a basin of cold water was poured over her head, and the chill seeped into her every limb.
If Su Li remembered correctly, Taxue followed Cui Jue to Jianye. If so, why was it sent here?
Su Li couldn't get an answer, she could only comfort herself in her heart that maybe Cui Jue was just marching and fighting outside and was too busy to take care of Taxue.
In this case, it would be best to send it to Su Li.
Old Madam Su looked at Taxue and suddenly laughed, "Your Majesty came looking for me earlier with a dog in his arms and scared me."
Su Li asked doubtfully, "Your Majesty gave Taxue to my grandmother to raise?"
"Yes, he said it was Lili's pup... He wanted to raise Taxue, but it was stubborn and wouldn't eat anything. Later, I don't know what method Your Majesty used, but he finally managed to raise it. Now, its arms and legs are really strong to the touch."
After asking around, Su Li found out that Taxue was a dog adopted from General Zhang Yun's home.
It is said that in order to trick Taxue into eating, Cui Jue made a special trip to visit the Zhang family to look for Taxue's wife.
However, even when the bitch who gave birth to Taxue urged it to chew the meat, Taxue just whined and refused to open its mouth.
The bastard was so ignorant that he scared Zhang Yun half to death.
He thought Cui Jue would be furious, but the king, for some unknown reason, only chuckled and cursed, "The dog recognizes its master."
From then on, Cui Jue personally fed Taxue. When he was really at his wit's end, he would even use brute force to pry open the dog's mouth and force Taxue to open his mouth and eat meat.
Although Cui Jue's way of raising his puppies was too rough, Taxue really fell for it.
Taxue submitted to the imperial power and was fed by Cui Jue with only meat and water, and he actually lived well for so many years.
Su Li felt like laughing when she heard these past events.
She could almost imagine the vicious look in Cui Jue's eyes as he stared at Taxue... Only Cui Jue could fight a battle of wits and courage with a dog.
But Su Li now understood something. Maybe Cui Jue loved Taxue so much that he felt Taxue was devoted to Su Li and her loyalty was rare.
Cui Jue lost Su Li, but at least he was able to keep the dog she had raised.
He wants to save Taxue.
-
Outside the mountain, there was war and swords were flashing.
Taohua Town was also gradually affected, and many refugees from other places came in ragged clothes.
Every household in Taohua Town kept their doors and windows tightly closed, and no one dared to go out without permission, for fear of encountering hungry people stealing food or fleeing soldiers and causing disaster.
In order to protect the female family members, Wei Zhiyan, Lin Yin and others began to patrol day and night to prevent bad guys from approaching the courtyard wall.
Su Li's judgment was correct. Cui Jue did not return until the end of June.
She remembered that Cui Jue's birthday was in June, so she begged Lin Yin to go hunting in the mountains and catch a pheasant to nourish her grandmother.
Su Li personally boiled water to scald the chicken, chopped the meat and made the soup. When the chicken soup was finished, she suddenly wanted to eat noodles.
At night, Mrs. Su looked at the bowls of chicken noodle soup on the table and couldn't help but joked, "If I hadn't remembered your birthdays, I would have thought someone was going to eat longevity noodles today!"
Su Li also laughed: "I just want to eat noodles. Come, Lord Wei, General Zhang, A Yin, you all sit down and have a bowl first. Later, Mrs. Hu and I will knead some more dough so that all the brothers can have a bite of hot noodles."
It was a rare occasion for everyone to gather together, but for some reason, the atmosphere at the dinner table was very depressing.
Wei Zhiyan and Zhang Yun looked at each other several times, wanting to say something but stopping themselves, staring blankly at each other.
Su Li saw through the clue. When she was washing dishes at night, she found Wei Zhiyan and asked him, "Is there any news about Cui Jue?"
She had a vague guess in her mind.
She resented Cui Jue for leaving without saying goodbye, and she didn't even call him by his honorific title, but just called him by his name, forcing Wei Zhiyan to speak.
Wei Zhiyan gritted his teeth for a long time, but still led Su Li to the back of the house.
They walked side by side, bypassed a mountain path hidden by dense forests, and stopped at the bottom of the cliff.
A sharp whistle was heard, and a red shadow flashed by in the distance, as bright as fireworks, and the rumbling sound of horse hooves gradually approached.
Su Li's heart beat faster. She bit her cheek to suppress the sourness in her throat.
Then, she took a deep breath and shouted loudly: "Chixia!!"
The agile horse became even more excited when it heard the familiar call.
The strong horse spread out its four hooves, swift as the wind. Chixia did not hesitate for a moment and galloped towards Su Li.
Chixia was covered in wounds, and the smell of blood hit Su Li's cheek with the surging mountain wind.
She saw the scabbed scars on Chixia's body and the blood covering its saddle.
The closer Chixia got to Su Li, the calmer she became.
The horse's red mane was trembling and its eyes were sparkling. It seemed that it had been running for a long time. Three of its horseshoes had fallen off and its mane had been chopped by a sharp blade, leaving a few clumps shorter.
Chixia seemed to have suffered great injustice. He kicked and dug the ground with his front paws, whining and biting Su Li's sleeve.
Before Su Li could reach out to touch it, Chixia was already exhausted. It bent its knees and fell to the ground with a bang.
"Brother Chixia Ma!!"
Su Li was horrified. She knelt down in a hurry and touched the horse's neck with trembling fingertips... Fortunately, Chixia was panting heavily. It was still alive. It was just extremely tired and could not run anymore.
Su Li knew that Chixia was Cui Jue's warhorse, and had accompanied him in battles across the country, going through life and death for many years.
Chixia knows what others say and treats Cui Jue loyally, and will never abandon his master and leave alone.
The only reason it was able to escape was that something happened to Cui Jue on the battlefield, or that it was ordered to leave its master and retreat to Jingzhou with the soldiers.
Su Li woke up as if from a dream.
She suppressed the fear that was creeping up her spine, and she suppressed the anxiety that was making her feel at a loss.
Su Li breathed calmly, soothed Chi Xia calmly, and stroked the fur gently... until her eyes fell on the saddle.
A lonely sachet hung on the thick and sticky saddle.
It was a titmouse silk sachet, stained with black blood and leaking dry osmanthus flowers all over the ground.
Su Li recognized it.
That was the birthday gift she gave to Cui Jue. She had personally hung the sachet around Cui Jue's waist.
Su Li remembered that Cui Jue cherished this sachet very much, and was even very cautious when hunting, not daring to let it be stained with any animal blood.
But this tit sachet is no longer clean... Cui Jue failed to protect it.
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