Chapter 111 "What's it to you? Let me show you some concern..."
"Report—The main force of the Northern Barbarians is pressing in on the border..."
"Report! We've been ambushed at Luoying Ridge! Our supply route has been seized! General Zhu, please send reinforcements immediately!"
"Report—The Alna tribe launched a surprise attack on Yongxue Pass last night, the pass fell, and the defending general Zhang was killed in battle. The vanguard of the Alna tribe has already crossed Yanmingjian!"
A light snowflake fell gently, covering the narrow valley camp in white. Messengers, their armor stained with blood, moved back and forth, their horses' hooves crushing the snow into a muddy mess. The biting north wind blew frostbite across their cheeks and hands, yet they braved the chilling wind, their hoarse voices reporting the news.
Inside the main tent, a burning brazier provided a meager warmth. Baili Xunzhou, his eyes covered by a black silk ribbon and dressed in light armor, with a thin layer of snow still clinging to his shoulders, traced the sand table with his fingertips, pointing precisely to the location of Yanmingjian.
"Order the three armies to set off in the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, with Yanmingjian as their destination."
The young officer by the door immediately obeyed the order, lifted the curtain, and rushed into the howling wind.
Yao Zhiyuan sat close to the brazier, wearing a heavy velvet cloak, pointing towards the direction of the Northern Barbarians on the sand table. "Half of the thirty-six tribes of the Northern Barbarians have sent troops this time, and they know our city defenses very well. They came prepared and have great ambitions. However, the attitude of the other half is still unclear. They are all tribes that have participated in the trade."
"I believe we should immediately send envoys to contact these half of the tribes. Even if we cannot secure their assistance, we must at least try to keep them neutral, otherwise..."
A furious shout suddenly erupted from outside: "Halt! Anyone who advances further will be killed without mercy!"
Baili Xunzhou raised his hand and touched the edge of the table in front of him, then got up, walked around the table, and hurried to the tent door, yanking open the heavy cotton curtain: "What's all this commotion?"
"Brother-in-law! It's me, brother-in-law!" Chu Jingqi's voice pierced through the wind and snow, reaching Baili Xunzhou's ears loudly: "Let us in quickly!"
"Young Master?" Yao Zhiyuan, unwilling to leave the brazier, peeked furtively through the crack. "Didn't His Highness Prince Qin take him back to his residence, preparing to return to the capital? Why is he here?"
The guards blocked him with their spears, their voices cold and hard: "Young Marquis may enter, but this northern barbarian may not!"
"Hey, you bunch of stubborn fools!" Chu Jingqi jumped up in anger. "Mi Tu is here to help us. If you keep blocking her like this, it will really discourage our future allies!"
"How can we trust the Northern Barbarians?" The two guards' voices were filled with resentment. Their battle robes were stained with blood, and their eyes were filled with grief and anger. "Who knows if they will stab us in the back!"
"Oh dear, she's different! Tsk, I can't explain it to you guys!" Chu Jingqi jumped up and down, waving at Baili Xunzhou. "Brother-in-law, brother-in-law, please say a word for us!"
"Let them in," Baili Xunzhou said in a deep voice.
"Your Highness!" The guards were somewhat unwilling.
"With a formidable enemy at hand, we need allies, not adversaries," Baili Xunzhou said calmly. "Let them pass."
The spear that had been blocking his way reluctantly stepped aside. Chu Jingqi wore an expression that said, "It should have been done long ago." As he passed by, he patted the guard on the shoulder and earnestly said, "Young brother, don't be angry. I swear on my life that the Holy Maiden Mi Tu really came to help!"
The guard was taken aback by the pat and turned his head away sullenly.
Mi Tu, his face hidden by a hood, glanced at Chu Jingqi a couple more times. "You trust me that much?"
Chu Jingqi nodded matter-of-factly: "The person I've chosen wouldn't lie to me!"
"..." Mi Tu held back, but still didn't bring up the old story of how she lied to him and then burned the grain.
As soon as he entered the tent, Chu Jingqi rushed to the brazier and squeezed next to Yao Zhiyuan. "I'm freezing! Xiao Baili, can you really stand marching and fighting in this kind of weather?"
“That’s how it is in the northern frontier. Once the soldiers get used to it, they can endure it.” Baili Xunzhou returned to his seat.
Yao Zhiyuan interjected, "This year, with the white dumplings and instant soup dumplings that Her Highness the Princess brought, the soldiers' treatment is much better than in previous years."
When the winter snow is heavy and the land is frozen, a bowl of steaming hot instant soup noodles next to a brazier warms you from the inside out. Yao Zhiyuan's mouth waters just thinking about it.
After he finished speaking, he suddenly remembered that there had been no news from the princess since she left. He quickly glanced at Baili Xunzhou and saw that his expression had indeed become gloomy.
"My little cousin..."
Seeing that Chu Jingqi brought up the Princess again, Yao Zhiyuan quickly changed the subject: "Young Marquis just said outside that Saintess Mi Tu came to help us, is that true?"
“Of course,” Mi Tu said. “Thanks to the benevolence of the princess, our tribe has obtained enough supplies to survive this winter. We do not wish to be enemies with Dayong, so we did not respond to the call of the Alna tribe.”
She bowed deeply in the grand salute of the Canglang tribe, saying, "We are willing to do our utmost to hold back the reserve forces of other tribes for Dayong, only asking to conclude a treaty with Dayong after the war, to live in peace forever, to open up trade markets, and to allow us to trade grain."
"May the saint keep her promise."
These words meant she agreed with what Mi Tu had said, and she felt a sense of relief, a smile appearing on her face.
Seeing this, Chu Jingqi was overjoyed. "I told you, Xiao Baili would definitely believe you!"
Baili Xunzhou: "Young Marquis should be heading to the capital soon, so why are you here with Saintess Mi Tu?"
Chu Jingqi was jolted awake and hurriedly said, "It's my little cousin! Something seems to have happened to her!"
Bai Lixun's gaze sharpened.
Yao Zhiyuan was so shocked that he fell to the ground: "Why didn't you tell me sooner that there was news about Her Highness the Princess!"
"I was just about to say that, but you interrupted me," Chu Jingqi said, feeling wronged.
"Shut up, all of you." Baili Xunzhou rubbed his forehead. "What's wrong with Mianmian?"
The room was filled with the fragrance of incense, and all the furnishings were soft and without sharp edges. A palace maid wearing a veil took away the tray containing food and carefully withdrew from the room.
Feng Mian glanced disgustedly at the incense burner in the corner, which was burning with a muscle-strengthening incense that made her feel weak all over, making it very difficult for her to even get out of bed.
The hand hidden under the brocade quilt moved slightly, and took out a porcelain spoon that had been secretly hidden during the meal.
With difficulty, she raised her hand and struck the spoon handle against the bedpost, but her strength was too weak to break it. She bit her lip, and blood seeped from it. The stinging pain gave her a little more strength, and she struck the spoon handle again. After repeating this three times, she finally broke the porcelain spoon.
The soft rustling sound went unnoticed by anyone.
The shattered porcelain shards slashed across his palm, the sharp pain piercing through his confusion. Fengmian held his breath, resisting the effects of the medicine.
Fresh blood dripped from between his fingers onto his plain white nightgown, spreading out in glaring red spots.
She rolled over with a thud, fell off the bed, and landed on the soft carpet. She struggled to crawl towards the window. A messy bloodstain was left on the elegant carpet.
These past few days she has been obedient and silent, relying on listening to the sounds outside to calculate the time of the shift change. If she's lucky, she can avoid the visiting guards for about an incense stick's time.
She knelt up, clinging to the windowsill, and pushed open the window with all her might. A blast of cold wind rushed in, and she gasped for the icy, fresh air. In a moment of clarity, she braced herself against the edge of the bed and forcefully climbed out the window.
With a dull thud, she fell heavily to the ground.
The cold, hard ground beneath her slammed against her back, causing a sharp pain. She vaguely recalled the hands that had caught her the last time she climbed out of the window.
She gritted her teeth, blinked away the tears in her eyes, clutched the broken porcelain shard in her hand, and stabbed herself in the thigh again, using the pain to stay conscious. She staggered to her feet and threw the shard away unsteadily.
As they walked along the path hidden by withered branches, they suddenly heard footsteps in the distance. Feng Mian hurriedly rolled into the dry grass, holding his breath.
The guard led a greyhound along, and the greyhound turned toward Feng Mian's location, sniffing around with its nose twitching.
The greyhound's pointed ears looked familiar. Feng Mian remembered that it was the same greyhound that used to patrol the Summer Moon Palace.
The greyhound stared at her for a moment, then whimpered, wagged its tail, turned away, and grabbed the guard's trouser leg as it left.
Feng Mian's eyes welled up with tears. This greedy little creature usually had the keenest nose; it could smell the meaty bone she was carrying from a hundred meters away, its tail wagging in afterimage as it waited for her to approach and feed it. It must have smelled her scent and recognized her just now.
After regaining some strength, she staggered to the corner of the wall.
Given her current physical condition, climbing over the wall would be quite difficult. But Feng Mian remembered there was a dog hole in the backyard, through which some stray cats from the palace would often sneak into Shuyue Palace to beg for food. Apart from the palace servants of Shuyue Palace, almost no one knew about it.
With a sliver of hope, she pried open the stone and saw the familiar dog hole.
She bent down and crawled through the narrow opening, the loose rocks digging painfully into her arm.
"you……"
Feng Mian shuddered and turned to look. Chu Jinglian was squatting in the corner, clutching the hem of his skirt, staring blankly at her.
"How did you get yourself into this state..." She was shocked. Feng Mian was covered in mud and dead leaves, wearing only a blood-stained nightgown, which was truly frightening to look at.
“You’re not much better off either…” Feng Mian struggled to crawl out, then collapsed onto the ground, leaning against the wall in exhaustion. The movement aggravated her wounds, causing her to wince in pain.
Chu Jinglian's face was covered in dust, and his cloak was marked with obvious scratches and covered with bits of grass.
Feng Mian: "You snuck out?"
"Mind your own business? You should worry about yourself." Chu Jinglian pouted awkwardly, looking at the messy bloodstains all over her body. He frowned with disgust and fear, wanting to help her up but not knowing where to start, and gestured frantically in the air with his hands.
"Are you still able to walk? I climbed over the wall while Mother was taking a nap, and I have to get back before she wakes up." Chu Jinglian gestured for a long time before finally deciding to put his arm around Feng Mian's shoulder and help her up, but she grabbed his wrist.
Where are you planning to take me away from? Is someone there to meet me?
"..." Chu Jinglian was stunned, shook his head, and asked hesitantly, "Let's... let's get out of here first?"
Feng Mian sighed: "With just the two of us, we can't run very far."
Chu Jinglian felt looked down upon and was not happy: "Then why did you run out here?"
"Call for reinforcements."
...
Where are they?!
The eunuch stared at the mess and winding bloodstains in the room, his vision blurred and he nearly fainted. He glanced at Chu Jingze's dark face and sternly questioned the guards on duty.
Chu Jingze's eyes flashed with malice. "She couldn't have gone far. Lead your men to search along the trail of blood."
"If anything happens to her, you're all dead."
The guards, who had been silent for a moment, immediately scattered to search.
"The last trace of blood was found here." The guard stopped beside the artificial hill in the Imperial Garden.
Chu Jingze parted the withered vines that obscured the cave entrance and saw Feng Mian curled up in a crevice, barely breathing, her face ashen.
"Xiaoman!"
Chu Jingze, both angry and anxious, crawled into the artificial hill and pulled her into his arms, feeling as if he were holding a block of ice.
"Go and summon the imperial physician!"
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