Chapter 484 Without her, I would have been nothing but dirt
The night wind was even colder, making the flags on the city walls flutter.
Gu Junze was still standing there, and heavy footsteps came from behind him.
Gu Junze didn't look back, he knew who was coming.
Apart from Duan Qingye, no one in this city wall would dare to act like this when he is alone.
"Humph, standing here in the cold wind alone, do you think your life is too long and want to freeze to death early to avoid committing suicide?"
Duan Qingye's voice was as harsh as ever. He walked to Gu Junze's side, glanced in his direction, and then curled his lips in disdain.
Gu Junze turned his head and glanced at him lightly without responding.
It is never wise to argue with Duan Qingye.
Duan Qingye didn't seem to expect his response. He fumbled in his arms for a while, took out a package, and stuffed it into Gu Junze's arms somewhat roughly.
"Take it!"
The package felt slightly heavy and soft to the touch, not as cold as metal.
Gu Junze lowered his head and opened a corner of the package.
Inside was a neatly folded piece of black soft armor with a fine texture, obviously not an ordinary item.
He raised his head and looked at Duan Qingye with a questioning look in his eyes.
"What are you looking at?" Duan Qingye felt a little uncomfortable being stared at. He said in a gruff voice, "These are some extra junk from the Zheng army camp. It would be a shame to throw them away. If you don't mind, take them and wear them!"
He paused, then added, "That witch's methods are very evil. Don't let your death be too ugly and bring shame to your mother!"
Gu Junze stroked the edge of the soft armor, and a slight curve appeared on his lips, but quickly disappeared.
"The great general Wang is thoughtful."
"Who, who has such a motive!" Duan Qingye muttered incoherently like a cat whose tail was stepped on.
"If you...if you die, Anyang will definitely blame me..."
The three-day period is coming to an end in a flash.
Outside the city, there is a vast expanse of yellow sand on the ten-mile slope.
Gu Junze was alone, wearing black clothes and with black hair, and had been waiting for a long time with his hands behind his back.
Princess Beiyan got off her horse, and there was no ghost soldier following her, only her.
She stopped three feet in front of Gu Junze and said, "You really dare to come here."
Gu Junze still had that cold expression: "How dare I not come when the princess invites me?"
Princess Beiyan seemed to chuckle, and the laughter was a little vague in the wind.
"Very good. My terms are simple. If you agree, I will immediately withdraw my troops. Northern Yan and Eastern Jin will not invade each other for ten years."
"What are the conditions?" Gu Junze asked.
"I want you to be my consort." Princess Beiyan said something shocking, but her tone was so calm as if she was talking about something very ordinary.
The sound of the wind seemed to stop at this moment.
Gu Junze's eyebrows moved for a moment, then returned to normal: "Princess, you are joking. This general already has a wife."
"Then divorce her." Princess Beiyan answered even faster, without any hesitation.
Gu Junze's expression finally darkened. "Princess, are you mentally ill?"
He turned around and was about to leave.
"Stop!" Princess Beiyan's voice suddenly rose, and her body flashed, blocking Gu Junze.
"Gu Junze, do you know why I look at you differently?" Her eyes behind the mask stared at him intently.
Gu Junze didn't answer, but just looked at her coldly.
Princess Beiyan continued to talk to herself, with a hint of inexplicable fanaticism in her voice.
"Princess Anyang, a legend of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Women like her are role models for our generation!"
"I grew up listening to her stories. If not, how could I have given up my beauty, donned armor, and become a female general of Northern Yan?"
Her eyes wandered over Gu Junze: "I heard that you were paralyzed in bed and unable to walk for several years, but you were able to stand up again and lead troops into battle..."
"You even stopped our Northern Yan army outside the Wengcheng. You are indeed the son of Princess Anyang."
Gu Junze raised the corners of his lips: "Do you know how my legs got better?"
No one knew the expression behind Princess Beiyan's mask, but there was a hint of curiosity in her voice.
"If it weren't for my wife," Gu Junze said each word clearly, "I, Gu Junze, would have already turned into a pile of yellow earth. How could I still be standing here talking to you?"
"She took care of me wholeheartedly, without taking off her clothes; she sought out famous doctors and never left my side; she used her fragile body to support me."
"Tell me, why should I abandon her and choose you for your meaningless conditions?"
Princess Beiyan was silent.
The original determination and exploration in the eyes through the mask were gradually replaced by another complex emotion.
"Chu Ruohan..." She whispered the name, her tone surprisingly showing some genuine interest. "She's no ordinary woman, considering you're protecting her like this."
…
At the same time, deep in the dungeon of Wengcheng.
Chu Ruohan was alone, facing the "ghost soldier" who was tightly locked with iron chains.
What she held in her hand was the captured black bone whistle.
In his mind, the scene of the battlefield where Princess Beiyan blew the bone whistle and the ghost soldiers were precisely controlled like puppets kept replaying.
Every pause and every change of tone seemed to correspond to different instructions.
On the table were spread out several volumes of fragments of Northern Yan music collected from the city.
She picked up the bone whistle, put it to her lips, and tried to play some simple syllables on the music score.
At first, the "ghost soldier" did not react at all and still looked numb and dull.
Chu Ruohan was not discouraged. She tried again and again, adjusting the strength of her breath and changing the pitch of her voice.
She carefully recalled the lip shape and fingering of the Princess of Northern Yan when she whistled. Although she couldn't see it clearly, she still had some vague impression.
Time passes by little by little.
In the dungeon, the only sounds were the discordant, intermittent sounds of bone whistles and the occasional clatter of iron chains.
I don’t know how long it took, but when Chu Ruohan blew a slightly sharp short note, the "ghost soldier" who had been restless suddenly paused.
Although it was extremely brief and almost imperceptible, Chu Ruohan keenly captured this slight change!
Her heart skipped a beat.
The wind was howling between Gu Junze and Princess Beiyan.
The eyes under the mask of Princess Beiyan stared at Gu Junze without blinking.
After a long while, she spoke again, her voice carrying a hint of amusement: "I will go and see for myself what kind of woman could make you, Gu Junze, so devoted to her."
She didn't say anything more. The bone whistle sounded, crisp and short. Then she turned around and her figure quickly disappeared in the wind and sand. She came and went without a trace, as if she had never appeared.
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