Chapter 1: Golden Wind and Jade Dew Meet Again (1) He must have hated himself...
"Spring Night" by Zhezhiniao
2024.6.22 Jinjiang Exclusive
@Lippmann_
September, Qingzhou territory.
Bitter winds and rain had been falling for over half a month, and the chilly autumn wind was sweeping down yellow leaves. A man and a woman walked into an inn outside Qingzhou City.
Xie Yun asked, "Boss, are there any rooms left?"
Qingzhou is located at the border between Da Zhou and Daliang. During the war between the two countries, there were constant battles in the area, soldiers and bandits fighting each other, and the people were living in dire straits. People living here had to live with caution.
Because Xie Yun was wearing a mysterious veil, hiding her true face, and behind her stood a tall, muscular, and fierce-looking warrior... the boss's face was full of vigilance. "Yes, there are plenty of rooms."
Xie Yun took out some silver and placed it on the counter. He asked for two adjacent guest rooms and ordered a few dishes to be delivered to the rooms.
As I was walking through the lobby, I happened to see a few diners chatting.
"In this world... the two countries are constantly at war, and those in the capital are only concerned with conscription and fighting, but in the end, it's us ordinary people who suffer. I can't stay in Qingzhou any longer. Sooner or later, I'll have to attack."
Another person echoed, "I have a cousin who runs a small business in the capital, and I plan to go and join him soon."
"The capital is a peaceful and comfortable place. Oh, if it weren't for the old thief from the Xie family collaborating with the enemy and killing Lord Yan, how could Meizhou have been lost? If Meizhou hadn't been lost, Qingzhou, thousands of miles away from the capital of Daliang, would never have become a battlefield."
"I heard that Xie the traitor had benefited greatly from Daliang. He sold out his country to save the Daliang prince and returned, where he became the prime minister. His family now lives a prosperous life in Daliang. He was only a minor official of the fifth rank in the imperial court before. He is truly a man who does not work for himself, and he will be punished by heaven and earth."
The two of them sighed.
"Thank goodness we have General Yan. At just sixteen, he's already been able to defeat Daliang's renowned generals. He's truly even more capable than his father, Lord Yan. I heard that General Yan was once the most dissolute playboy in the capital, a complete failure who only cared about eating, drinking, and having fun. Who would have thought...he truly is the son of a powerful general."
"He's indeed the son of a general. But what child can continue to enjoy life after suffering the devastation of losing both parents? Originally, General Yan was to be executed along with him, but his mother was the emperor's sister, and the emperor spared his life because he was of royal blood. He's the only one left in the vast Yan family... It's tragic."
…
Xie Yun couldn't help but shudder. Those words were like a whip of shame, lashing her with each blow. Because the "Xie thief" they were talking about was her father, Xie Qingyun.
Xie Qingyun had betrayed the map of Meizhou to Daliang, rescued Daliang's hostage from the Great Zhou, and smuggled his family to Daliang. He then murdered Lord Yan, leading to the Zhou army's continuous defeat and the loss of cities and territories. This opened a gap to the capital, nearly allowing it to fall.
Hearing them talking about General Yan, it must be Yan Huinan without a doubt.
She only knew that a few years ago, a brave and invincible general suddenly appeared in the Great Zhou Dynasty, but she didn't know that the man was Yan Huinan.
The Yan Huinan in her memory... was still the intimidating little bully from Beijing, following her around all day long. He was simply Xie Yun's follower, and she couldn't get rid of him even if she shook him off.
Because Xie Yun suddenly stopped, Fei Jing patted her shoulder lightly, reminding her that it was time to go upstairs and rest.
Only then did she come back to her senses from her old memories.
When Xie Qingyun and his family fled westward, they passed through Jiangnan, where Xie Yun's mother fell seriously ill and died.
Xie Qingyun just ordered people to find a random place to bury her mother's body. One of her purposes for escaping from marriage and returning to Da Zhou was to return to Jiangnan, find her mother's grave, repair it properly, and then settle down in Jiangnan.
In troubled times, it is not difficult to change your name, make a fresh start and start a new life.
I hope I don’t run into old friends this time.
Especially Yan Huinan.
Qingzhou was the only city open to trade during the war between the two nations. After a simple dinner with Fei Jing, she instructed, "Fei Jing, go investigate and find out which army is currently stationed in Qingzhou and who is leading it?"
She didn't know that Yan Huinan was the famous general before. Now that she knows, she decided to hide if possible to be on the safe side. Even if she falls into Li Wei's hands, it would not be worse than falling into Yan Huinan's hands.
He must hate himself.
-
In the evening, it began to rain again, a torrential downpour that flowed like ink, lashing directly into the window. The candlelight on Xie Yun's desk danced wildly in the wind, and she stood up to close the window.
Suddenly, she heard a commotion downstairs, and occasionally the clang of armor and weapons clashing. She instantly became alert. She walked to the door, quietly opened a crack, and tried to peek downstairs, but she couldn't see what was happening downstairs from across the corridor.
Logically speaking, she had already entered the territory of Qingzhou, and her father and the third prince's pursuers should not have chased her so blatantly.
Fei Jing hadn't returned yet, so she couldn't leave rashly. Otherwise, it would be difficult for her, a woman, to survive in this chaotic world. She put on her veil, checked that no one was passing by in the corridor, and then crouched down to take a look at what was going on downstairs.
Xie Yun hadn't misheard; the people entering were soldiers, but judging by their attire, they weren't dressed like Daliang soldiers. She finally felt relieved. As long as they weren't pursuers seeking to take her back for marriage, she was safe.
She returned to the guest room to continue studying the route to Jiangnan.
Unexpectedly, not long after she had watched, there was a rapid knock on the door. From the sound, except for her, all the doors of the inn were knocked.
"Is there any doctor in the inn who can treat arrow wounds? If there is, there will be a huge reward!" The person outside the door shouted loudly.
Xie Yun recalled the attire of the soldiers she had just seen. They weren't ordinary bandits, but rather soldiers from the Great Zhou Dynasty. The inn was still quite a distance from Qingzhou City. Those soldiers must have been unable to return to Qingzhou City and couldn't find a doctor, so they desperately sought medical help in this desolate inn.
But Fei Jing was not there, so Xie Yun didn't dare to open the door rashly.
The knocks on the door became more urgent, and the person outside threatened domineeringly: "Whoever is inside, open the door quickly, otherwise we will break in."
She had to open it now; this broken wooden door wouldn't be able to withstand a few blows from the outsiders. If she continued to hesitate, she would only appear more suspicious.
I had no choice but to open the door and was driven downstairs with other guests and gathered in the lobby.
When we got downstairs, we found that one of the people in the group had been seriously wounded by an arrow. His attire was different from that of the people around him, so he must be a general.
The wound was on his left chest. Xie Yun estimated it was very close to his heart. If the archer had been more accurate, they could have killed him with one arrow. The skin around his neck was faintly bluish-purple, suggesting the arrow must have been poisoned.
The general's men paced back and forth in front of the crowd, loudly asking if there was a doctor. "If anyone can cure our general, there will be a huge reward. Otherwise, everyone here will be buried with him."
There was silence below.
The seriously injured general forced himself to take a deep breath, shouted back the men who were menacing him. He gasped for breath and said weakly, "I am... Zhang Ke, the garrison commander of Qingzhou. While pursuing the enemy here... I wasn't very capable and was shot by an arrow. If anyone here knows a little about medicine... and can remove the poison from the arrow, I will reward you handsomely... If not, I think I am doomed..."
"General, could you please allow me to take a look at your injuries?"
As soon as Xie Yun's voice came out, everyone around looked at the thin and frail woman with an expression of disbelief. Zhang Ke's originally dead pupils seemed to be injected with fresh water in an instant, and became clear. His voice was filled with surprise and gratitude, "Please, female doctor."
Xie Yun bowed slightly, "General, please don't speak any more. I'm not a female doctor, I just know a little bit. I don't know if I can cure you yet. But please rest assured, General, I will do my best."
"Thank you, young lady. Please treat me. In any case, Zhang Ke is very grateful."
Zhang Ke dismissed the remaining female relatives. In full view of everyone, Xie Yun used a knife to cut open the clothes around Zhang Ke's wound. After checking the wound, she first used the disinfected blade to help him pull out the arrow, and then made a small incision in the area where the poison had invaded to release the poisonous blood.
The poison on the arrow had a distinct smell, the smell of a poisonous weed that only grew in Daliang's Shezhou. However, this poison was unusual and must have been newly developed.
However, the people of Da Zhou might not be able to find an antidote for the time being, but she had lived in Daliang for many years and had learned some medical skills from the imperial physician in the Daliang Palace, so she was very familiar with this poisonous weed.
She quickly wrote the detoxification recipe and handed it to Zhang Ke's men, asking them to find the herbs listed above. "There's a hard-to-find herb here, only found in Daliang. But Qingzhou and Daliang have been trading for years, so it should be possible to find it."
She then said to Zhang Ke: "You can send someone to look for it. I will use the herbs in the inn to help you slow down the flow of the poison and delay some time."
After receiving the order, his subordinates rushed back to Qingzhou to get the medicinal herbs.
It was already late at night when they finished handling everything. Zhang Ke ordered several soldiers to guard outside Xie Yun's guest room and said to Xie Yun, "Thank you, Miss Yun. Please have a good rest tonight. I will send someone to call you tomorrow morning after the herbs are brought."
Xie Yun did not reveal his real name, only saying that his surname was Yun.
Now Zhang Ke's life is in her hands. Zhang Ke seems to be a kind and loyal person, and is deeply loved by this group of people. These soldiers should not harm her.
She could finally sleep peacefully.
In her dream, she saw pink walls and black tiles, clear water flowing around the city. It was the Jiangnan region she had always dreamed of, the land she longed for. It was where she held a deep memory, and where her mother was buried.
The dream was very short. Before she could catch up with her mother, she was awakened by a shaking.
When I opened my eyes, the sky was still the deep blue of a lake, a waning moon hanging high above the branches. Fei Jing stood by the window, his expression unclear, carrying their luggage.
Seeing that she woke up, he frowned and signed to her: I went to Qingzhou City to investigate, and the person in charge of Qingzhou now is Yan Huinan.
!!
Xie Yun's eyes suddenly went dark. Qingzhou was three thousand miles away from the capital. Now the main battlefield of Zhou Liang was in Longxi, which was also very far away from here. Even with a fast horse, it would take half a month to get there.
When she asked Fei Jing to investigate, although she had some doubts in her heart, she was more certain that Yan Huinan was not there.
He was a commander-in-chief, with hundreds of thousands of soldiers waiting for his command. How could he have such a great time? He actually went to Qingzhou, a small mountain city that was easy to defend but difficult to attack.
Fei Jing continued to sign: "Miss, there are soldiers from the Great Zhou outside. Let's run. It's faster to go out the window."
Xie Yun nodded. She must not let Yan Huinan catch her, because that would be a dead end.
But just as she was about to climb through the window by stepping on Fei Jing's hand, there was a knock on the door.
"Miss Yun, the herbs are here."
If she ran away now, she would be found by Zhang Ke's men before she got far. For now, she could only bite the bullet and go downstairs. If she saved Zhang Ke and disguised herself as an ordinary person to get him to let her go, as long as she passed Qingzhou, she would be able to avoid Yan Huinan.
She told Feijing her thoughts in sign language, then quickly put on her veil and went to open the door.
In order to facilitate her treatment and to prevent the toxins in Zhang Ke's body from flowing faster, Zhang Ke stayed almost motionless next to her guest room all night.
After the soldiers pushed open the door, they found that the dim room was only lit by a few candles and they could not see anything clearly. Moreover, there was a crowd of people standing in the room.
Xie Yun: "You all are so tall and strong, standing here, getting in the way and blocking the light. Aren't you hindering the treatment for no reason?"
After saying that, she randomly found someone in the room who looked delicate and smart and could help her, raised her hand and pointed, "Go get a basin of hot water, everyone else, get out."
The people in the room seemed to not understand what they were saying for a moment. They all stood there in a daze, unable to help but gasp.
Xie Yun also looked at everyone in confusion. Her brows were slightly furrowed, and when she was serious, she had a kind of imposing aura without anger: "What are you all standing there for? Why don't you save people?"
The man Xie Yun had taken a fancy to stood up calmly and said in a calm voice, "Okay."
The author has something to say:
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It had been too long since I last saw him and it was too dark, so I didn't recognize my childhood sweetheart and ordered him to do things for me, and he was so cold!
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