Chapter 179: Fang Xinyu's Whereabouts
After his elder brother and the others left, Li Zichu arrived at the palace. Zhao Xiaofei asked, "Has Fang Xinyu been found? I want to see him alive or dead!"
"Your Highness! General Fang really cannot be found now. I have ordered a full-scale search. However, the hot air balloon crashed into the Yangtze River. There are only two possibilities for General Fang. One is that he was buried in the river, and the other is that he was washed away by the river and his body cannot be found!" Li Zichu said.
Zhao Xiaofei genuinely didn't believe Fang Xinyu was dead. He was a modern soldier, a veteran of military service. He'd practiced swimming, diving, and snorkeling. But Li Zichu's attitude made it clear he was completely convinced Fang Xinyu was dead. So Zhao Xiaofei had no doubt Fang Xinyu was truly dead.
Was Fang Xinyu really dead? No! Ma Xiangling chased Fang Xinyu's hot air balloon, killing several horses, until she saw it slowly descending by the river. She thought Fang Xinyu would land safely by the river, but a sudden gust of wind sent the balloon plummeting straight down into the water.
With a loud splash, the hot air balloon plunged into the river, sending a shower of water. Ma Xiangling called out from the riverbank, but there was no response. The winter waters were cold and turbulent, and it was nighttime—in the eyes of any experienced river fisherman, this was the worst possible death. As for the bodies not floating up, ha ha! No bodies floated in the Yangtze River? The number of people who drowned in the Yangtze River could be counted, even by the weight of a truck or boat, and not all bodies floated.
Ma Xiangling wept bitterly on the shore, even contemplating suicide by jumping into the river. Ma Wanchun chased after her and rescued his precious daughter. He shouted, "Silly girl! What if you get pregnant with his child? Even if you want to die, wait and see if you'll die if you get pregnant!" Ma Wanchun's words were, of course, a stalling tactic, a way to calm his daughter down. At worst, she'd be a widow, which was better than suicide. With time, his daughter's despair would subside, and he could find her a husband and have another child, and everything would be fine.
When Ma Xiangling heard her father's words, she suddenly remembered that she hadn't had her period yet. If she got pregnant, wouldn't she be cutting off her husband's family line? So she stopped thinking about committing suicide and just kept crying. Ma Wanchun said, "Don't cry, child! If a woman keeps crying when she's pregnant, she'll easily miscarry the child! Stop crying!"
Fang Xinyu also felt as if he were dead, his entire body losing consciousness. He knew he had fallen into the water, and all around him suddenly became quiet. His entire body felt as cold as if being pricked by needles.
He didn't know how long he'd slept, perhaps a few days, perhaps a month. After a long while, he finally opened his eyes. He found himself lying in a wooden house, surrounded by a fire, where someone was boiling water. A woman in Miao clothing was crouched nearby, burning wood. Hearing a noise behind her, she turned and looked over.
Fang Xinyu took one look and thought, "Oh my God! Did I get the wrong script, or did you? Isn't it said that those who survive a great disaster will be blessed in the future? In novels, after falling off a cliff or encountering danger, doesn't the protagonist always meet a beautiful girl? But this one before him, first of all, was incredibly black—not shiny black, but rather dark and black. Although her hair was wrapped in a cloth, the sideburns on either side showed that she had no hair.
When Fang Xinyu saw the girl coming over, he said in stiff Chinese, "You, finally woke up!" and then smiled brightly.
Fang Xinyu took a long time to say, "You saved me?" Fang Xinyu's voice was hoarse.
"Yes! I saved you! My name is Xilian! Hanren, what's your name?" Xilian asked.
"Where am I? Where is this place?" Fang Xinyu asked. He wanted to first understand the situation before answering what he should say.
"You Han people are so scheming. Are you afraid that I will sell you out?" Xilian said.
"Since the lady has seen through me, I'm not afraid of her knowing. I am..." Fang Xinyu was interrupted by Xilian before he could finish his words.
Xilian said: "I know you are a high-ranking official in the Ming Dynasty. I can tell from your clothes! Also, you have a mirror next to you that can see far away. It looks very nice! Can you lend it to me to play with?" Xilian asked.
"How about giving it to you, young lady? You saved my life!" Fang Xinyu thought to himself: "It's already in your hands, why should I appear stingy? Even if it falls into the hands of the Jiannu, they can't imitate it. A telescope can't change the entire battle situation!"
"Okay! This will be your thank you gift!" Xilian said.
"Miss, you haven't told me yet, where is this place?" Fang Xinyu asked.
"This is Jiugong Mountain!" Xilian said.
Fang Xinyu was surprised to hear this: Jiugong Mountain? The place where Li Zicheng died? But now that history has been changed, who knows if he would come here again? Fang Xinyu tried to sit up, but he couldn't.
Fang Xinyu felt a terrible loss of sensation in his lower body. He wondered if he'd been amputated, or if his genitals had been injured. Fang Xinyu could accept being missing arms and legs, but if he lost his genitals, he'd be better off dead!
He ignored the Miao girl beside him and immediately lifted the quilt to check his lower body. He saw that his good brother was still there. He then looked at his legs and saw that his left leg was probably broken. It was fixed with two bamboo boards.
Xilian blushed and said, "What are you doing? You Han people value propriety, righteousness, integrity and shame the most. How could you do this?"
"I'm sorry, I thought I was completely gone!" Fang Xinyu laughed foolishly.
Xilian's face turned even redder when she heard this. She understood what Fang Xinyu was thinking! This was a place where ethnic minorities gathered, and the sex between men and women was not as strictly guarded as the Han people. So she understood everything!
Fang Xinyu said awkwardly, "Isn't it that I feel like I have lost all sensation down there? That's why I'm too anxious. You know what I mean!"
Xilian said unhappily after hearing this: "What do I understand? What is there for me to understand?"
Seeing the ugly girl angry, Fang Xinyu realized that he had spoken out of turn. He quickly apologized and said, "Miss, please forgive me! I am a rough person, please don't bother with me."
"Are you a civil servant or a military officer?" Xilian asked, not really angry, but suddenly changed the subject.
Although Fang Xinyu was also surprised by the sudden change of topic, which made him feel that the girl's change of topic was unpredictable, he still said, "I am a military attaché!"
"Oh! A military officer? How many battles have you fought in? Isn't he as useless as the government troops?" Xilian said. She showed no mercy.
Fang Xinyu was a little angry. He was educated by the army of later generations, so he said: "I am from the Kenan Army, under the command of Prince Anqing!"
"What? You are Prince Anqing's soldier? Great! Help us train the army, we will defeat other Miao villages and become the strongest house here! If you succeed, I will send you home! If you fail..." Xilian was interrupted by Fang Xinyu before she could finish her words.
Fang Xinyu asked anxiously: "How?"
Xilian smiled and said, "Then stay in the village and be my husband!"
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