As night fell, snow began to fall heavily.

There were several loud rumbling noises, and the market was closed. Yuanjue escorted Yaoying downstairs and boarded an inconspicuous felt carriage.

Merchants came out of the market one after another, and the crowd was bustling.

After the carriage had gone halfway down the street, Xie Chong whispered, "Princess, someone is following us."

The felt cloth opened a thin slit, and Yao Ying's voice came out: "Go around a few times before going back, and send someone to follow and see who is following us."

Xie Chong responded in a low voice and pointed at the two members of the caravan. They dealt with the Hu merchants every day and were already familiar with the routes to the royal city.

The guy lowered his head and put on a beard, and soon blended into the bustling crowd.

The driver deliberately turned into a small alley, made many turns and detours, and lost several tails.

Yuanjue's five senses were sharp, and he carefully observed the movements around him. He looked around and said in a low voice: "We have lost the others, and there is still a Han man following us."

A slender hand painted with bright nail polish lifted up the felt cloth. Yao Ying seemed to be very interested in the Han people following them. She looked out with bright eyes and asked, "Can you see who it is?"

Yuanjue opened his mouth a few times and suddenly stuttered.

Yao Ying met with several people today.

He could not understand Chinese and had no idea what they were saying. The Han people who entered the room were stunned for a moment, then all showed expressions of excitement and fanaticism. Some trembled all over, some burst into tears, and some even cried out loudly.

Yao Ying treated them very politely, stood up to return the greeting, graceful and dignified, yet friendly. Everyone in the room sat down, crying and laughing, talking and cursing. Finally, Yao Ying said a few words, and everyone immediately stood up, facing the east and kowtowed, with solemn and serious expressions.

Every time she saw off a group of people, Yaoying would put on makeup again. Just as the last group of people left, the market was about to close. She didn't have time to wash off her makeup. She just took off her hairpins and swaying hair and the pearls on her head, took off her expensive gauze dress, and changed into a light and warm round-necked, short-sleeved long dress with magpie patterns. Her face was still heavily made up.

During the day, when they were far away, Yuan Jue already felt that Yao Ying's face was radiant and he dared not look directly at her. But now, this heavily made-up face was right in front of him, with a charming smile and extremely bright and beautiful face, which was simply breathtaking. His heartbeat suddenly quickened and he quickly lowered his head, chanting Buddha's name in his heart.

At this moment, he sincerely admired the Buddhist. Facing such temptation, the Buddhist remained calm and composed. He was worthy of being their king!

Yao Ying thought Yuan Jue didn't hear clearly, so she asked again: "Can you see who that person is?"

She had been talking all day, and from time to time she had to raise her voice to sound solemn and serious in order to intimidate those wealthy families. Her voice sounded low and hoarse, not as gentle and melodious as usual.

Yuan felt his face burning hot, and lowered his head. He grabbed the animal skin water bag and brought it into the carriage, saying, "Princess, drink some hot goat milk to moisten your throat."

Yaoying smiled, thanked him, and took the water bag in her hand. After speaking passionately all day, her throat was indeed sore.

Yuan Jue coughed a few times, calmed himself down, and said, "The Han man who followed us was very tall. The princess met him today."

Yao Ying's eyes lit up and she asked softly, "Is it the young man with the sword on his waist?"

Yuan Jue's face flashed with surprise: "How did the princess know it was him?"

Most of the nobles Yao Ying met today were elderly old men, some of whom had gray hair. When they saw the books and other things she brought from the Central Plains, they burst into tears. They were obviously people from Hexi who were forced to migrate to Gaochang when they were young. Some were middle-aged people, but there were very few young people, so Yuan Jue remembered them very clearly. The young man wearing the sword was the most eye-catching, because he was sloppy and looked rebellious. He refused to take off the sword when he saluted, and he also shouted at other old men.

In Yuanjue's opinion, the young man was just trying to provoke him. If Yaoying hadn't signaled him to stand still with her eyes, he would have drawn his sword long ago.

If young people follow them, will they have evil intentions?

I clenched my fists subconsciously.

Yao Ying drank some goat milk, which was indeed warm. She said, "I knew he would follow us. Don't worry, he is not a bad guy."

The intuition should be to relax your muscles.

Yao Ying lowered her head and pondered.

The carriage drove through the long street, the wheels rolling over the thick snow, the creaking sound was long and soft, the night was dark, and curfew was about to arrive.

She estimated the time, put down the water bag, and whispered to Yuanjue: "Lead the young man to the alley. I want to talk to him."

Yuanjue whispered to the driver, who whipped the horse whip and drove the carriage into a narrow alley where few people went. The young man was unaware of the trick and continued to follow them. When he entered the alley, Xie Chong left the team, quickly jumped onto a wall covered with snow, and leaped behind the young man.

The carriage stopped.

The young man was stunned and immediately turned and ran away.

Xie Chong came out from the corner, slashing his sword across his chest, blocking his way out.

The young man's face changed slightly.

Yaoying opened the curtain and slowly got off the carriage.

The young man turned around and looked at her, his chin raised high, his expression arrogant, his fingers resting on the sword at his waist, and asked coldly: "Princess, what do you want to do?"

Speaks authentic Hexi Mandarin.

Yao Ying burst out laughing.

The young man was stunned, his expression stiff. After a while, his face was filled with anger, and he shouted angrily: "Princess, what are you laughing at?"

Yaoying stopped laughing, but her eyes and eyebrows were still smiling. She looked at the young man carefully with a smile.

The young man had thick eyebrows and big eyes, and was extremely tall with a slender figure, broad shoulders and a strong body. He had not a single bit of fat on his body. Like the children of the Gaochang nobles, he had his hair braided and hanging down his back, but he did not wear a golden flower crown on his head. Instead, he wrapped his hair with a turban, wore gorgeous clothes, a precious belt, and a long sword inlaid with gems at his waist. He was shining with gold from head to toe, and was dressed like a warrior who was out of place.

She kept staring at the young man. His handsome face gradually turned red, his eyes were alert, and he asked angrily, "Why are you looking at me?!"

Yao Ying smiled, bowed solemnly to the young man, and said solemnly: "I admire Mr. Yang's noble character."

The young man's surname was Yang Qian. Upon hearing this, his eyes were blank and he stiffened his neck and said, "I don't understand what the princess is talking about."

Yaoying smiled.

…

At this time, Yang Qian was just an unknown young man, but many years later, his name would spread throughout the Central Plains.

The mountains and rivers were lost, and the Western Regions were isolated and helpless. This young man was born in the vast desert. He witnessed his people being oppressed and bullied since he was a child. After growing up, he was determined to lead his people to recover the mountains and rivers and return to their homeland. However, they were thousands of miles away from Chang'an. How easy was it to return to the east?

Everyone advised Yang Qian to give up this idea as soon as possible, but he did not lose heart. He practiced martial arts diligently, sold his family property, secretly recruited people, and constantly lobbied the wealthy families in the city, persuading Wei Chi Damo to seek help from the Central Plains.

When he was 20 years old, Tanmarajiva died. The Northern Rong people lost their scruples and began to massacre the tribes that refused to submit. Unrest broke out in various places. He took the opportunity to break through the Northern Rong blockade with his guards and set out on the journey back east to seek help.

When they left, the people of the city, old and young, pulled at Yang Qian's sleeves and cried loudly, "Yang, when you get to Chang'an, ask the emperor and the ministers if they still remember us, their people!"

The 20-year-old Yang Qian drew his sword in anger, cut off his long hair, and made a vow: I will never turn back until I reach Chang'an!

Yang Qian and his guards spent their entire lives on this journey back to the east.

To get from Gaochang to Chang'an, one has to cross the gravel-covered sea road, the endless desert of quicksand with no grass growing, the uninhabited grassland, climb over towering snow-capped mountains, and pass through numerous checkpoints and several important towns where the northern Rong people are stationed.

Yang Qian and his entourage set out from Gaochang and survived many dangers. Some died of thirst, some died of hunger, some died of exhaustion, some died of illness, and many more died tragically at the hands of the Northern Rong cavalry.

They did not look back but continued eastward.

Finally, this team that was eager to get reinforcements from Chang'an disappeared in the vast Gobi Desert.

Many years later, a merchant caravan from the Central Plains that was trading with the Northern Rong people passed through Shazhou and found a dead body in the quicksand. The merchants had a sudden thought of burying the dead body, and accidentally found a package that had not yet decayed next to the dead body. When they opened it, they found a ten-thousand-word letter written on cloth.

Those were the cries and pleas from the people of the lost land to the Central Plains. Every sentence was passionate and every word was heart-wrenching.

The dry bones in the quicksand are Yang Qian. After going through untold hardships, he still failed to reach Chang'an safely and died alone in the desert.

Before his death, he left his name and will on a ten-thousand-word letter, praying that someone who would see the letter would deliver it to Chang'an on his behalf.

The young life has long passed away, but the dry bones still maintain the posture of crawling eastward.

I will never turn back until I reach Chang'an.

Except for Yang Qian, no one else left their names. Dozens of young people were buried in the quicksand, and no bodies were found.

They fulfilled their oath with their lives.

The businessman was deeply moved and asked someone to send the ten-thousand-word letter back to Chang'an.

Finally, this blood letter was finally delivered to the hands of the Supreme Being, and Yang Qian's wish was fulfilled after his death.

At that time, Zheng Jing was already the prime minister. He ordered the ten thousand word letter to be announced to the world, shocking the world.

Yang Qian's name soon spread throughout the streets and alleys of Chang'an City. Ministers in the court expressed their opinions, and the common people also talked about it. People inside and outside the court were outraged and asked the emperor to send troops to recover their homeland.

Unfortunately, it's too late.

The northern barbarians were powerful, and the Central Plains dynasty was plagued by contradictions, internal worries and external troubles, and had no strength to launch a long expedition.

The ministers submitted memorials in a hurry, seemingly discussing the issue of sending troops, but in fact they were just using the Yang Qian incident to criticize and slander each other and eliminate dissidents.

Zheng Jing was helpless, so he advised the young emperor to posthumously confer the title of righteous men on Yang Qian and others, and issued an inspiring edict. The matter of sending troops to recover the homeland north of Hexi was thus left unresolved.

A few years later, the Northern Rong marched eastward, the Great Wei was destroyed, the country was broken up, the families were ruined, and corpses were scattered all over the land.

…

At this time, Gaochang.

Yaoying smiled and gazed at the heroic Yang Qian in front of her, feeling filled with emotion.

She dared to come to Gaochang not just to try her luck.

No matter when or where, when the country is in ruins, there will always be heroes like Zhu's ancestors, Xie Wuliang, and Yang Qian. They take it as their responsibility to save the lives of the people, sacrifice their lives, shed their blood, and move forward courageously.

When she first arrived in Gaochang, she inquired about Yang Qian's character, and the result made her laugh and cry: Yang Qian was a young man with a lot of vigor, who was fond of fighting chickens and hunting falcons, indulging in romantic affairs, and had accomplished nothing. He was a well-known playboy.

Yao Ying couldn't help wondering: Is it just a name match? Or is the person whose bones finally died in the quicksand in the book someone else?

The nobles that she had Lao Qi invite through the post were carefully selected. When she said she wanted to invite Yang Qian, Lao Qi firmly opposed it: "Princess, Yang Qian is young, impulsive, and has nothing to do all day. Such a person is not worth making friends with. I heard that he was jealous of someone over a dancer a few days ago, and he even confronted the elders of the clan, and was scolded by the elders."

Yao Ying hesitated for a long time, and finally decided to meet Yang Qian first. After all, he was the only one with the same name and surname, who matched her age, and happened to be the descendant of a prominent family in Hexi.

No matter what, the dried bones must be related to Yang Qian.

After meeting the person, Yao Ying was sure that she had found the right person.

The middle-aged men among the wealthy families all spoke with strange accents, and some of the gray-haired old men had even forgotten their hometown dialects. However, the youngest, Yang Qian, could speak authentic Hexi Mandarin. He was the withered skeleton buried in the quicksand, but still heading east.

Yao Ying laughed at that time.

Yang Qian revealed all his thoughts as soon as he opened his mouth. He even deliberately provoked her and tested her. Now he was following her to find out her background.

Little did she know that she had already decided that he would cooperate with her.

Because he was always looking forward to resuming contact with the Central Plains dynasty as soon as possible.

Yang Qian confronted Yao Ying and wanted to scare her, but she just smiled and said nothing, calm and composed. After all, he was young and couldn't hold back his temper. He sneered and said, "Princess Wen Zhao is in great trouble and will die soon, but she is still here leisurely. I admire you!"

Yao Ying chuckled: "What do you mean by that, Master Yang?"

Yang Qian said arrogantly, "Princess Wen Zhao, do you think the people you met today are trustworthy? I tell you the truth, Princess Wen Zhao, they swore to you that they are loyal to Chang'an and hope to return to the east. They cried as if their mother had died, and they also swore not to tell anyone about your identity. In fact, they are all full of bad intentions. Maybe someone has already gone to the palace to report you."

Yao Ying's expression changed slightly, and she asked, "Then what do you think I should do, Master Yang?"

Yang Qian raised his chin even higher and said, "My ancestral home is in Hexi. My ancestors were all famous generals in Hexi. My grandfather was the commander-in-chief of Hexi. Before he died, he told me not to forget my homeland. Now that Wei has unified the Central Plains, my Yang family should be loyal to Wei. You are a princess of Wei, stranded in Gaochang, helpless and helpless. As a son of the Yang family, I should take care of the princess."

He quietly straightened his chest to make himself look taller and stronger.

"If the princess trusts me, please go to my Yang Mansion for shelter. I can assure you that no one dares to touch you while I am here!"

After hearing this, everyone looked at each other with different expressions.

Yuanjue suddenly felt a strange feeling in his heart, a little angry and a little uneasy: the princess is the king's daughter of Modanga, and it is not the turn of this young man in front of him to meddle in other people's business!

He looked towards Yao Ying.

Yaoying still smiled. She was right. Among all the people she met today, Yang Qian was the most sincere to her.

She asked with a smile: "Master Yang, aren't you afraid that those people will report you to the palace?"

Yang Qian straightened his back even more, his fingers tightly gripping the long sword: "I'm not afraid of them! My family and Wei Chi's family are old friends. Even if they report it to the king, I can protect the princess."

Yao Ying looked up at the sky and said, "Mr. Yang is right. There are people in the Zhao, Yang, and Zhang families who are loyal to the Central Plains, and naturally there are also people who have defected to the Northern Rong. They may not all be trustworthy. I met them and told them my identity. Some of them must want to take the opportunity to please Madam Yina..."

A smug look appeared on Yang Qian's face.

Yao Ying suddenly changed the subject, and said with a smile, "Mr. Yang, how do you think we should deal with those treacherous people?"

Yang Qian was stunned.