Leaden clouds hang low in the sky, the north wind blows chilly and chilly, the heavy snow falls heavily, and the ground is covered with green.

The royal city of Gaochang was shrouded in a blanket of silver-white.

The sound of drums echoed, the city gate opened, and a caravan consisting of camels and horses slowly drove out of the gate. Several large carts were loaded with goods. Hu guards wearing felt hats and curved swords on their waists followed on horseback on both sides of the team, patrolling back and forth.

Yao Ying was wearing a snow-white cloak, long boots, a thick brocade-edged felt hat on her head, and a snow and wind mask on her face. She was wrapped up tightly from head to toe. She rode a jet-black horse at the end of the team. After she walked out of the city gate, she looked around and saw a vast expanse of snowfield.

The wind was howling as the caravan left the royal city and traveled on the wide snowy road in the wind and snow.

Yao Yinglema stood on a high place, looked around and found the figure of Sultan Gu.

He was riding a horse and walking at the front of the team, far away from the others. He was dressed in black and looked tall and straight, cold and lonely, like a thousand mountains and a thousand feet high, with a unique peak standing alone.

Yaoying looked at his cold back, and a strange feeling surged in her heart again.

Sultan Kumar had not spoken a word to her since the night before.

Whenever she had something to discuss with him, Yuanjue would always convey the message on her behalf.

Yesterday, in order to talk to Sultan, she waited until dark, her feet were sore from standing, and finally met him on the front porch. As soon as she went to greet him, he glanced at her indifferently and walked away.

He didn't avoid her on purpose, but he looked at her as if he suddenly didn't know her, his eyes were as cold as frost and snow.

Yao Ying stood there, looking confused.

Yuan Jue pulled the corners of his mouth and smiled awkwardly, explaining that the Regent has always been like this and asked her not to mind it.

Yao Ying smiled at the time and didn't ask any more questions.

Yuan felt that he was lying.

Sultan Gu was not like this usually. He looked cold and indifferent, and didn't care about anyone, but if anyone in the team was in danger, he would definitely help. He knew that she was testing his identity when she was sick, but he still took good care of her, tolerated her various little calculations, and urged her to take medicine. When she asked him for advice, he patiently explained it to her and told her everything he knew.

He was like a towering snow-capped peak in the sky, silent and speechless, often disappearing in the dust, mist and snow. But she knew he was always there. No matter when she looked back, she could always see his tall and straight figure standing there, making her feel extremely at ease.

How could such a person suddenly change his temperament?

Yaoying held her coat tightly and thought carefully. It seemed that when she went to the room to find Sultan Gu that night, there was something wrong with him.

Although he was cold at that time, at least he was willing to talk to her.

She had been busy like a top these past two days, going in and out of the palace, Yang's residence, and the market, meeting waves of people, reminding Lao Qi to count the goods, and finally finished the most important thing last night. When she told Yuanjue that he could return to the palace, Yuanjue breathed a sigh of relief, revealing an expression of relief.

Yaoying understood that Yuanjue was as anxious to return to the royal city as she was.

The reason is not hard to guess: the Sultan is too weird, and perhaps he can only recover by returning to the royal city.

The wind was whistling and the horse neighed impatiently. Yao Ying came back to her senses from her meditation, leaned over, and patted the horse's neck to comfort it.

She is waiting for someone.

Soon, the sound of horse hooves came from the direction of the royal city, and Yang Qian came galloping over on a strong jujube-colored horse.

"Princess!" Before the horse had even stopped, he loosened the reins, bowed to Yao Ying, and took out a dagger inlaid with gems, "Please accept this."

Yao Ying recognized that this dagger was the one that Yang Qian usually wore on his waist.

"Did your father leave this for you?"

Yang Qian held the dagger and said in a loud voice: "My father told me that if I could return to the Central Plains in the future, I should present this dagger to the emperor of the Central Plains on his behalf and tell the emperor that even though he was forced to change into Hu clothing, speak Hu language and follow Hu customs, he still did not forget his homeland and would be a son of the Yang family in Hexi in life and death."

He looked into Yaoying's eyes with a serious expression.

"Today I present this dagger to the princess."

Yaoying showed a little surprise.

Without waiting for her to say no, Yang Qian stretched out his hands and looked at her with a sharp gaze: "Princess, please keep this dagger for me. When I escort you back to the Central Plains and recover Hexi in the future, you can give it to me. I don't know who the emperor of the Central Plains is, and I don't know if the aristocratic officials in Chang'an still remember us survivors. I only know that Princess Wen Zhao is my comrade who fought side by side with me!"

The wind and snow were blowing, the sky was dim, his young and resolute face was covered with a faint glow, and there seemed to be two flames burning in his eyes.

Hot and firm.

A warm current surged in Yaoying's heart. She took off the mask, and a bright smile gradually spread from the corners of her eyes and eyebrows, like a trembling peony flower, radiant and dazzling.

She took the dagger and said with a smile, "Okay! When we return to Central Plains, I will definitely have a clear discussion with Silang!"

Yang Qian laughed loudly: "My capacity for drinking is as vast as the sea and the river. I can drink ten thousand glasses of wine. Princess, please don't think I am too much of a drinker when the time comes!"

"Is it a deal?"

"It's a deal!"

The two smiled at each other and high-fived.

Yang Qian held up the reins and said, "The king cannot come to see the princess off. Please forgive me."

Yao Ying's heart moved. She glanced at the caravan in the distance and subconsciously asked in a low voice, "Silang, do you know what kind of alliance the king and the royal court's envoys have reached?"

Sultan Kumar and Yuchi Damo must have met. What did they exchange and what did they agree on? Why did Yuchi Damo keep it a secret, even from Yang Qian?

Yang Qian shook his head, his eyes flickered twice, and he lowered his voice and said, "I asked the king, but he didn't reveal a word. I'll go back and ask the king again. Is this matter of great importance?"

Yao Ying smiled and said, "I'm just curious for a moment, Silang, don't take it to heart."

Yang Qian let out an "oh" and looked into the distance, his sight falling on the personal soldiers waiting not far away.

There were too few personal soldiers around the princess, so he picked out thirty household soldiers to protect the princess. In order to conceal their whereabouts, those household soldiers had to pretend to be slaves who had sold themselves into slavery.

He originally wanted to send more men to serve the princess, but Yuchi Damo reminded him that doing so would alert Lady Ina, so he had to give up the idea.

Yang Qian clenched his hands and said in a deep voice: "Princess, Gaochang can't protect you now. You can only return to the royal court of Fozi and wait for news. But please rest assured, I have been secretly training the volunteer army, and the family soldiers of each family have been stationed in various tribes. When the time is right, the king can take back the throne without anyone noticing and detain Lady Ina. At that time, I will go to the royal court in person to pick you up. As long as Zhang Jiu sends back the news, we can set off back to the Central Plains."

Yao Ying lowered her head and put the dagger away, chuckling, "Don't worry about me, Silang. I have my own soldiers to protect me. Although our plan has not gone wrong, there is no guarantee that Lady Ina will not be able to see the clues. You and Lord Wei Chi must be careful."

Yang Qian nodded in agreement, and said with a hint of dissatisfaction: "Dharma is more cautious than anyone else."

Yao Ying didn't respond.

Yang Qian was filled with passion and wanted to rebel against the Northern Rong immediately and then lead his volunteer army back to the Central Plains. However, he did not know that with Gaochang's current strength, raising the banner of rebellion would undoubtedly be like an egg hitting a rock. Before they could escape from Gaochang, the Northern Rong would send cavalry to intercept and kill them.

What they have to do now is to secretly strengthen their strength and find out where the Northern Rong have stationed in various places, while constantly sending messengers to contact the Central Plains, deliver the news as soon as possible, and then wait for the opportunity.

The two men discussed some trivial matters such as how to maintain communication, recruit and train volunteers, and how to relocate the Hexi survivors who had drifted to various tribes, and then waved goodbye.

The young boy and girl, one put down the burden in his heart and was one step closer to the goal of returning to the Central Plains, while the other saw hope and was more determined to lead his people back to the east. Both of them were full of longing for the future. Their eyes were bright and they looked heroic, without any melancholy or sadness of parting.

Yao Ying held the reins and gave the horse a light kick on the belly, and the horse spread its four hooves and rushed down the hillside.

Suddenly, there was a clear and loud sound behind me.

Yaoying turned around.

Yang Qian had a pipa in his arms at some point. He straightened his back and moved his fingers, and a thrilling sound like the collision of metal and stone rang out.

With the wind and snow blowing on her face, Yao Ying lay on the horse's back. She waved to Yang Qian, who was playing the pipa on horseback, and smiled sweetly. She rode away, the horse's mane like black clouds and its snow-white cloak fluttering pretentiously.

Yang Qian looked at her receding figure, his heart filled with heroic emotion like a surge, his fingers flew up and down, and the sound of the pipa became more passionate and cheerful.

He has been determined to recover his homeland since he was a child, and he has no regrets even if he dies. His family laughs at him, his friends ridicule him, and the elders shake their heads and sigh when they see him... Now, he finally meets a friend who can understand his aspirations and ambitions.

The sound of the pipa, as loud as the sound of heavy rain, spread far into the endless snowfield through the raging wind and snow.

The caravan members looked back curiously.

On the hillside, a young man from a noble family, dressed in gorgeous clothes, holding a pipa, sang a sonorous and passionate "Liangzhou Qu" to see his princess off.

The Han and Hu people in the caravan all knew this song. When they heard the familiar tune, smiles appeared on their faces and they hummed along softly.

Yuanjue looked around, snorted, and rolled his eyes to the sky.

The sound of hooves was crisp and the snow and mud were splashing.

Yao Ying rode quickly, caught up with the caravan surrounded by his personal guards, and came to his side.

Yuan Jue immediately put on a serious expression and put on a stern face.

Yao Ying did not slow down, but flew past him and ran towards Sultan Gu who was at the front of the team.

Yuanjue was stunned for a moment, so he pinched the horse's belly and quickly chased after it.

Yao Ying tightened the reins, caught up with Sultan Gu, and rode side by side with him.

"General Su!"

She called softly, her voice brisk and smiling.

Sultan Gu lowered his eyes, and there was a thin layer of snow on his mask.

"General Su, why didn't I see the Buddha's eagle today?"

Yao Ying looked up at him, trying to find something to say. She had just come all the way here at high speed, without a mask on, her face was red from the wind, her chest was heaving, she was breathing slightly, her eyes were bright.

Sultan said nothing, his green eyes were cold and gloomy.

Yuan Jue followed the two men, staring at Sultan Kumar without blinking, observing his reaction. His expression was tense, his shoulders were tense, and his right hand was loosely grasping the hilt of the knife at his waist, his fingers stiff.

Sultan moved.

Yuanjue immediately gripped the long knife tightly, pursed his lips, and was ready to attack at any time.

Sultan Gu turned his horse's head, urged it to gallop, and shook Yao Ying off.

These days of being together seemed like a dream, and she was just an irrelevant stranger to him.

Yao Ying looked at Sudan Gu's back and did not chase after him.

Yuan Jue breathed a sigh of relief.

Yao Ying suddenly turned around and glanced at him. Her eyes were dark, calm, and scrutinizing.

Yuanjue suddenly felt creepy and his scalp tingled. He hurriedly grabbed the reins, turned around and left, pretending to order his guards to be on guard.

After a long time, he felt Yaoying's gaze move away. He patted his chest, still feeling frightened.

The princess is worthy of being a princess. She was so scary just now.

…

The journey back to the royal court was peaceful and uneventful.

When passing the place where they encountered bandits last time, Yao Ying asked Xie Qing and others to be alert. The people in the caravan remembered this place and picked up their knives.

As a result, they didn't encounter anyone and passed through the quicksand hill safely.

Yao Ying thought: The bandits must have been really frightened by Sultan Ku and gone to find another way to make a living.

Thinking of this, she looked around.

No one knows where Sultan has gone.

Yao Ying frowned, as if thinking about something.

After leaving the uninhabited desert, other camel caravans gradually appeared on the trade road, and occasionally the sound of camel bells could be heard in the wind.

On this day, the sky cleared after the snow, the sun was shining brightly, and brilliant rays of light were reflected on the snowy field.

The caravan was walking on the snow and when they stopped at an inn to change horses, a shout of surprise suddenly came from the opposite side.

Yao Ying dismounted and looked in the direction of the sound.

In the sunlight, a tall and straight man walked towards her, took off his felt hat, and his golden hair fluttered in the wind.

Yuan Jue behind her excitedly rushed forward: "General Ashina!"