You finish your performance and I will take the stage
Feichun never thought that he would meet Helan Zhu again in prison. It seemed that every time they met, they were inseparable from these lawsuits.
How unlucky.
Shen Ju'an stood side by side with Liu Qingbai at the gate unwillingly, but there was nothing he could do because he had accepted Miss Yin's money.
The mouth that eats is grateful, and the hand that takes is short.
"How is it? Are you used to living in the village?" Shen Ju'an made small talk and exchanged a few pleasantries.
"Not bad, I'm used to it."
"Then it seems that Mingyue Village is quite wealthy."
"Well, I can't let my wife be poor."
When Shen Ju'an saw Liu Qingbai lower his head and smile with an ambiguous tone when he mentioned this, he shut his mouth in disgust.
People with different ideas cannot work together.
He looked up at the sky, then down at the ground, bored to death, until Helan Zhu finally arrived and he could finally say goodbye to Liu Qingbai. Besides Miss Yin, the only people walking with them were the bandits from Mingyue Village.
He stared at Feichun for a long moment before confirming that the thin figure was indeed Yulan from the North Courtyard. Although they had never met before, he had heard a few anecdotes about the Liu family and had met them a few times.
Thinking of Magnolia back then, she was a little plump and had a face like a silver plate. Although she was not a beauty, she was still a pretty lady with a beautiful face.
Now he is as thin as a bamboo, with a sword-like look in his eyes and a heroic demeanor, which is a completely different scene.
I can't help but sigh that times have changed and things and people have changed.
After picking up Helan Zhu, the few of them went up the mountain together to return to the village. When Nie Qing saw Zi Yan, whom he hadn't seen for a long time, his face turned red, and he didn't know what he was shy about.
As the few of them were chatting, Liu Qingbai quietly put a heater into Feichun's hand.
"What are you doing? So dishonest?" She just grumbled, but her heart was warm. She held the heater in her hands and covered it in her palms.
"The cocoons tend to crack when it's cold."
"It's not like it just got cold, why are you taking it out now?"
“Just bought it.”
Seeing Liu Qingbai's serious explanation, Feichun joked again: "Are you dissatisfied with the calluses on my hands?"
Liu Qingbai ignored her nonsense and took out another piece of ointment to apply on her again: "It's made of lard. I'm afraid you will dislike yourself."
Feichun's hands were greasy with lard, and he felt disgusted. He said in disgust, "Do you really have to smear it on me?"
"Second Master, consider this as paying the price for your talkativeness."
Liu Qingbai was smiling triumphantly at this time, and Feichun took advantage of his unpreparedness and smeared lard on his face.
A few people were still laughing and joking, but the closer they got to the way back, the more they realized something was wrong. In the distance, they saw billowing black smoke.
A big fire broke out in Yueming Village.
The northern barbarians marched southwards with unstoppable force, and even treacherous individuals cleared the way for them. As long as a gap was breached in the city, their cavalry would be able to break through the gates and march straight in.
Thick black smoke destroyed the city, and the vast green mountains were covered with snow.
This scene had been seen by several people in Hanxiang County. Thousands of thoughts flooded into their minds at once, and all the past events came to mind vividly.
Helan Zhu was losing his temper. Those barbarians had burned down his house and killed his mother, and now they had destroyed another family of his. His sanity was devoured by the flames.
Feichun couldn't stop him no matter what.
"If you stand in my way, there will be no more friendship between us."
The hand raised the knife and the corner of the clothes was torn in two. The sound of the cloth tearing was even more piercing than the sound of the sword.
Helan Zhu walked towards the raging fire, determined and determined, and no one could stop him.
Feichun was filled with grief, but she couldn't process it. She felt a lump in her throat, unable to suppress it. The fire was so intense it would soon spread to the mountain. If it caught fire on the mountain, it would be disastrous. There were still dozens of people in the village, so she couldn't just ignore it.
Nie Qing made a brief deployment. She would go up the mountain to evacuate the remaining people, while Liu Qingbai and Feichun would go into the city to inform the people to flee. Zi Yan's identity would make it easier for her to communicate with officials, so they could cooperate in resisting the enemy or help the people escape. In short, they could only resist for a while. A lone "mountain bandit" like them would be no match for the barbarians.
"Where are the officers and soldiers?" Shen Juan asked from his seat in the dilapidated courtroom. He then suddenly laughed at himself, "They were all from the local wealthy families who had been favored for generations. I'm afraid they've all run away long ago."
After saying this, he spread his hands towards Zi Yan. What a ridiculous position he held. But he wasn't the only one who was so ridiculous. Everyone was like this. He couldn't blame anyone else, nor could he blame himself.
"Where are the soldiers defending the city?"
"The loyal and righteous ones would have died long ago."
It was a blessing from the gods that the court, which was on the verge of collapse, could still survive until now. He looked at the imperial city in the distance and then at the people who were fleeing in all directions.
It wasn't that Shen Ju'an was heartless; it was that the city was about to collapse and he was powerless to do anything. Abandoning the city and fleeing was not his choice, but a last resort.
Who would be willing to give up a good official position?
He stepped on the rough ground step by step. His shoes were thick, so he couldn't feel the coldness of the ice and snow, the sharp gravel, or the blood and dead bodies on the ground.
Zi Yan was not far from the yamen. After a few steps, she turned around and saw him standing alone in the middle of the long street, holding the official seal and official disc, looking dazed.
"What are you doing?" Zi Yan asked.
"Run away! What do you think I'm doing?"
"Then why don't you move?"
Shen Ju'an was stunned for a moment and looked at the ground. He slowly raised his head and said, "Oh... someone just grabbed my foot. It's gone now."
Zi Yan didn't bother to expose his mistake and asked directly, "Do you have anyone else you can mobilize? Just escort me out of the city so I can borrow troops from other counties."
Shen Ju'an shook his head, then suddenly remembered something and gave the token on his waist to Zi Yan.
"There are still death row prisoners in the prison. Those deserters might have left behind some weapons that could be used by the condemned prisoners. They should know whether it's certain death or a chance of survival."
Zi Yan took the token and thanked Shen Ju'an, "You don't have to pay back the money you borrowed before."
She quickly mounted her horse and turned to ask him, "Where are you going now?"
Shen Ju settled in for a moment. He was no longer as confused as before, his eyes clearer. Looking at the devastated streets, he still remembered the bustling scene. He knew he wasn't an honest official, and he had done things that were harmful to the world, but at this moment, his body made the first choice.
He turned around and walked towards the city wall, guarding the last checkpoint to buy the last bit of time for the people.
He knew that what he was doing was just a drop in the bucket, but the trace of conscience in his heart that was still alive made him unable to sit idly by.
Perhaps he still remembered the words of the ancient sages:
"Establish a mind for heaven and earth, establish a destiny for the people, carry on the lost knowledge of the ancient sages, and bring peace to the world for all eternity."
He thought, if it were a peaceful and prosperous time, he would definitely be a good official, right?
It's a pity, a shame. Everything is fate.
This was the last time Zi Yan saw him. No one knew whether he was alive or dead, or where he had gone. He had no family, no friends, and the whereabouts of a maid named Chanjuan who had once lived in the mansion were unknown.
I heard that he later lived a secluded life in a village, and although he was poor, he lived a stable life.
Before Zi Yan's reinforcements arrived, Yueming County fell into despair.
Nie Qing made it up the mountain under the protection of Feichun and Liu Qingbai, but the fire was so intense she hadn't anticipated it. The path she'd usually hiked was covered in broken branches, making it impossible to tell what it had been. Fortunately, she was a hunter by birth, so she wasn't completely clueless. However, her haste had delayed her, leaving her utterly distraught.
Suddenly, a yellow dog poked its head out and rubbed Nie Qing's leg, as if hinting at something. It kept looking back as if it was leading the way, and Nie Qing, understanding its intention, followed closely behind, not daring to slow down even a step.
The dog was small and very agile. Although the path it led was difficult, it was the right path after all, which saved Nie Qing a lot of effort.
She threw a piece of meat pie to the little yellow dog, but the little yellow dog didn't appreciate it. Instead, he showed a look of disgust and continued to lead the way.
There was no other way, so Nie Qing picked up the small piece of meat pie, patted it, stuffed it into his mouth and continued on his way.
Not long after, Nie Qing heard Yinghua shouting at the top of his voice, "Da Huang!" and he knew it was here.
The people of Mingyue Village went down the mountain one after another. Those who were willing followed the leader into the city, while those who were unwilling quickly fled for their lives.
Nie Qing led a group of people to fight their way into Mingyue County to support Feichun and Liu Qingbai. But all they saw was blood and death.
The barbarians had been on the march for a while after slaughtering the city, and the soldiers they had just encountered were just stragglers.
Nie Qing refused to give up, searching the ground for corpses. Her return journey had already taken her over two days, and Yueming County had already been completely destroyed.
"Feichun and her husband are blessed by heaven. They have survived this great disaster and will surely have good fortune in the future." Yinghua said as she took out her medicine box and checked whether there were any wounded people mixed in with the pile of dead bodies.
A doctor by nature, she is the "Medicine Fairy", not just the "Medicine Fairy" of Mingyue Village.
Da Huang walked in front of her, sniffing around. If it stopped at a spot and began barking, it meant someone was still alive. Yinghua would rush forward to rescue and treat the person. She was too weak to move, but thankfully, she had Haitang, a girl with immense strength.
The people from Mingyue Village searched the pile of corpses for a whole day and night, until they were exhausted and collapsed on the pile of corpses, unable to move.
Da Huang couldn't walk anymore and just lay down beside Ying Hua, wagging his tail. It seemed his owner must be dead.
Yinghua touched its head. She had always felt that Dahuang was destined to be with her, so now she just treated him as her own dog.
Nie Qing wanted to stand up and boost morale, but his voice was hoarse and he couldn't speak. His dry throat could only make distorted sounds, and he couldn't even form a complete sentence.
"You were choked by the thick smoke." Yinghua took out a few pills and asked Nie Qing to take them quickly.
Nie Qing refused, stood up, and began searching again. She wasn't the only one choked by the smoke. She was in good health and could still endure. The medicine should be given to those who needed it more.
Yinghua understood her nature and didn't force it; she simply felt sorry for her. She patted Dahuang's head and said comfortingly, "You've suffered."
On the third day, snow fell again, and the people of Mingyue Village were already in despair. The weather was freezing cold, and the snow and wind buried them.
Just at this moment, the sound of horse hooves came from afar.
These were the troops borrowed by Zi Yan.
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