Chu Qiao’s eyes went dark and she nearly fainted. Her heart could hardly bear the weight. She clutched the girl's collar tightly and asked in a hoarse voice, "How long have you been walking? How long have you been walking?"
"It's been an hour, Yue'er, there's no hope."
Chu Qiao turned her head and looked at Xiao Ba who was standing at the door. The child's eyes were red and he looked up at her. As soon as their eyes met, tears began to flow, but no one cried out loud.
"Yue'er, I have to go back. You guys should be careful. I heard from the people in the laundry room that Butler Zhu is targeting you on purpose. Did you offend him in some way?"
The room gradually became quiet, and the yard was filled with a large area of pale white. The two children stood there quietly, not saying a word for a long time.
The third watch drum had just sounded when the last two remaining children of the Jing family quietly passed through the bluestone forest and came to Ting Lake behind the Zhuge family's house. The cold wind was blowing, the bamboo forest was swaying, and the Pavilion Lake was dead silent and calm, looking no different from any other day or night.
Chu Qiao knelt on a high slope and said to Xiao Ba beside her: "Xiao Ba, kneel down and kowtow to your brothers and sisters."
Xiao Ba is not even seven years old. The child has gone through a great change tonight, and his little face has lost the innocence that a child should have. She knelt quietly beside Chu Qiao, bowed deeply in the direction of Tinghu Lake, and kowtowed three times.
"Xiao Ba, do you hate this place?"
The child nodded without saying a word.
Chu Qiao said calmly, "Do you want to leave?"
The child said in a deep voice: "Yes."
Chu Qiao looked ahead, her voice calm, her eyes slightly narrowed, her brows slightly furrowed, and she said slowly: "I promise you, I will take you away soon. But before that, we still have some things to do. After everything is settled, we will leave here."
The child nodded quietly, knelt on the ground, and said in a deep voice, "Sister Zhixiang, you always ask for the blessings of gods and Buddhas, but you don't know that God has actually been blind for a long time. You should take your brothers and sisters and walk slowly. Wait and see, wait and see Xiaoba and Sister Yue'er avenge you."
The cold wind was raging, the night was dark, and on the high slope of the bluestone forest, two small figures leaned on each other, holding hands tightly.
In December, the Quanrong people invaded the northwest border on a large scale, with smoke smoke rising, beacon fires blazing, and a large army covering the land.
Within twenty days, the war intensified and tens of thousands of people outside the Great Wall were drawn into the flames of war. The Northwest Pass has a special geographical location, being located between the Batuha family in the west and the Yan King in the north of Yan. Old Batu of the Northwest has been fighting with the Lion King of Yanbei for many years. Now, with the increasingly stable position of Muhe, the boss behind the old Batu, in the court, the Batuha family has gradually gained the upper hand. Years ago, he finally seized the military power of the Northwest Pass, carried out a large-scale replacement, and purged the officers from top to bottom in the Northwest Pass. Other clans in the court also sent their direct descendants to the northwest one after another, attempting to infiltrate the empire's largest military system. As a result, the experienced generals who had guarded the border for many years stepped down one after another, and those who took over were all imperial nobles who had never seen blood.
It was precisely because of this that the Quanrong people had the opportunity to take advantage of, and at a small cost, they broke through the first barrier outside the northwest pass, allowing their powerful soldiers and cavalry to charge into the vast fertile land outside the northwest pass like a sharp knife.
Even though the Batuha family showed resistance in time and sent elite troops from the Northwest Pass to quell the rebellion, due to the lack of understanding of the enemy and the numerous factions within the pass, the repeated resistances were like a mess. Not only did the rebellion not ease at all, but it became more and more intense. Emergency documents were sent to the imperial capital like snowflakes, requesting the Zhenhuang Elders' Council to send troops to quell the rebellion.
On the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth lunar month, the Pojun star appeared, Zhaoming retired, and the Taizhu of the Qintian Palace showed the divination text: Taihe is empty and Chong, and Chishui contains ice, which is very bad.
The seven major clans discussed overnight and decided to send the Huangtian tribe to the outside of the Great Wall to quell the rebellion in the northwest.
After the proclamation was issued, it was presented to the Shengjin Palace, where the emperor read it and approved it.
For a moment, chaos broke out in the capital of Zhenhuang Empire, and all the major families were on edge. In the inky black night, turbulent undercurrents were surging rapidly under the thick layer of ice.
At this moment, Chu Qiao was busy in the dry grass of Beiting, carefully searching for the snakes that were hibernating, but suddenly she heard a horn sound resounding in her ears, like the cry of a white crane, deep and powerful. She slowly stood up and looked towards the south of Zhenhuang with half-closed eyes. There is the Shengjin Palace.
The night is thick and the road is very difficult to walk on.
On the afternoon of the second day, the heavy snow had just cleared up. Under the glazed tiles of Qingshan Pavilion, two cute jade-made snow dogs, as cute as snow jade, were crystal clear and bright in the morning light. It snowed heavily last night, and the snow piled up more than a foot thick. The servants who were cleaning the house passed by the snow dogs without even looking at them, as if they were afraid that one more look would bring them trouble.
Jinsi was wearing a small bodice decorated with sable, a pink silk skirt with flowers, and a tender pink sash tied around her waist. She stood on the white snow, looking even more graceful and beautiful. This girl who serves the Fourth Young Master all day long is only thirteen years old now, but she has grown into a graceful and beautiful lady. She was usually clever and docile when she was with her master, but now she seemed a little overbearing. She spoke coldly and with disgust at the children who were only wearing a thin shirt and hugging the jade snow dog tightly, "Hold tight, the young master said that this jade is alive. As long as it is borrowed by human energy, it will become more and more shiny and translucent. You lowly servants are lucky enough to work for the fourth young master today, so you are not allowed to be lazy. If I come back and see anyone disobeying me, I will drag you all to Ting Lake to feed the fish."
The children nodded timidly in agreement. Jin Si sneered and turned to walk towards the warm greenhouse.
The weather became colder after the snow. Even wearing a snowsuit and holding a heater was not comfortable, not to mention standing in the snow in just a thin shirt. In a short while, the children's lips were frozen blue.
Chu Qiao had just come over from Lanshan Courtyard with a plate of fresh peaches. When Jin Si saw her, he quickly ran out of the greenhouse and greeted her.
Chu Qiao turned around and stopped, her face flushed and her appearance innocent, she tilted her head and said, "Sister Jinsi, what's the matter?"
"The fourth young master is taking a nap, just give me the peach."
Chu Qiao nodded with a smile and handed the peach over. Jinsi turned and entered the greenhouse, but before she could sit down, she heard an angry shout from the pavilion. Jinsi put down the peach in panic and ran away.
Before she reached the door, a colorful shadow flew out from the door and hit her face with a swish. It felt soft and cool, with a slight fishy and slippery feeling.
Jin Si looked down and saw a small snake with its head raised and its tongue sticking out. She was so frightened that her soul flew away and she sat on the ground with a scream.
Chu Qiao ran into the room, only to see Zhuge Yue with a frown on his face. He was wearing a lake green brocade shirt and leaning against a soft couch. Black blood was flowing from his wrist, and he had obviously been bitten by a snake. She hurriedly ran forward, grabbed Zhuge Yue's wrist, picked up the knife used to cut fruit on the table, and cut the wound.
When the servants outside the door saw this, they shouted loudly, and someone came forward to capture the rebellious little slave.
Zhuge Yue frowned and waved his hand slightly, stopping the servants' actions. But Chu Qiao only made a small cross-shaped wound. After squeezing it a few times, she lowered her head and sucked it with her mouth. Then she spat twice and said anxiously, "Master, please don't use force, otherwise the poison will spread faster. I will go find a doctor now."
In a moment, a large number of servants had gathered at the door. Jin Zhu rushed forward in panic, pushed Chu Qiao aside, knelt on the ground, grabbed Zhuge Yue's hand and shouted, "Master, how are you?"
Zhuge Yue frowned, seeming to be very angry at being grabbed by her hand, and kicked Jin Zhu in the chest, shouting in a deep voice: “Get lost!”
When Jinzhu's hand touched the ground, she screamed. She saw more than twenty insects and snakes crawling all over the ground, which looked weird and scary.
Chu Qiao took out a candlestick and quickly lit it, using the fire to drive the snake away. The snake was afraid of fire and immediately scattered.
The doctor of Zhuge family came quickly and the crowd was dispersed. The servants of Qingshan Courtyard all knelt at the door trembling with fear, their faces pale.
After a while, the doctor came out from the inner room and said to the servants, "Who is Miss Xing'er?"
Chu Qiao stood up from behind the crowd. She was short and had a childish face. She raised her hand and whispered, "Sir, I am."
The doctor didn't expect it to be such a big child. He was a little stunned. After pondering for a while, he said, "Come in. The fourth young master said that you took drugs for him. He wanted me to take a look at you."
The hundreds of servants on both sides were all shocked and looked up at Chu Qiao.
Chu Qiao looked panic-stricken. She knelt down and kowtowed a few times to thank her master for his mercy, then followed the doctor into the pavilion.
The wind was chilly, and the servants of the Zhuge family, who were trying to rise high and step low, had their minds racing.
After a while, Chu Qiao came out, her face respectful and without any arrogance on her face.
After the doctor left, two maids, Jin Si and Jin Zhu, led several high-ranking servants into Zhuge Yue's room. Zhuge Yue leaned back in his chair, eyes half closed, and asked calmly, "Who is on duty in the room today?"
Jinzhu glanced at Jinsi, her face pale as dirt, and she stammered, "Master, yes, it's me, I just..."
“No need to say more,” Zhuge Yue said in a cold and deep voice, “You know the rules here. We never support idlers. Go down and receive thirty strokes of the cane, then take my letter to the Anjunyuan to seek a position.”
When Jinzhu heard this, tears immediately flowed down her cheeks. She knelt on the ground and cried loudly, "Master, please forgive me this time. I will never dare to do it again."
Zhuge Yue frowned slightly, and two strong and muscular men immediately stepped forward, picked up the brocade candles and walked out.
"Who's guarding the gate?"
The two servants knelt on the ground, trembling all over and kowtowing continuously. They were so scared that they couldn't even speak.
Zhuge Yue opened his eyes and glanced at the two of them calmly, saying, “You two?” He then snorted, “You guys are always the ones beating others up, so if that’s the case, go to the patio now and beat each other up with sticks. Whoever dies first won’t be punished.”
The room was dead silent. Zhuge Yue was upset because his wrist was injured. He frowned and said, “Get out of here. I’m upset just looking at you guys.”
If everyone were to receive a general amnesty, they would all withdraw in unison. At this time, a small voice suddenly said, "Master, can I move those pots of burning vines outside the pavilion?"
Zhuge Yue raised his eyebrows and looked over in the direction of the sound.