At this time, the snow fell again. The wind and snow are always ruthless, because they always arrive at the most critical moment as scheduled.
Yu Zhi lay on the ground like a dead corpse and did not move for a long time. Only the hot white breath coming out of his mouth proved that he was still alive.
He didn't know where this place was. Through the faint moonlight reflected by the snow, he was sure that he had left Kyoto.
Abandoned corpse wilderness?
Yu Zhi sneered, but he didn't expect that he would be beaten severely as soon as he returned to Kyoto. Kyoto is really not a nice place.
A sneer made Yu Zhi spit out several mouthfuls of blood. Based on the medical classics he had read over the years, he knew that he would not be able to go far with his injuries. However, the heavy snowflakes falling all over the sky urged him to move forward. Otherwise, he would really freeze to death in the wilderness.
Yu Zhi regretted it. He should have fought back at that time. Otherwise, how could these guards be his opponents?
Overthinking won’t help. Yu Zhi stood up unsteadily. The areas that received the most blows were his back and chest, as well as the hands protecting his head. His feet were not injured, but they were not very neat either.
He randomly picked up a dead tree branch in the snow to support his body.
There were bright lights flickering in the distance in the wind and snow, and Yu Zhi kept heading in that direction.
Jingle, jingle, jingle.
The sound of carriages and horses intertwined with the sound of wind chimes, which was extremely loud in the silent night. It also warned pedestrians in the dark not to block the road.
The driver was an old man. Even though he was old, with decades of driving experience, he could still drive wildly in the dark.
The lantern hanging on the side of the carriage swayed, and the light swayed with the bumps. The people in the car were also shaking uneasily, and it was difficult to stay calm while driving at night in windy and snowy weather.
"Old Huang, please slow down. Miss can't bear the bumps." A scolding voice came from inside the carriage.
The coachman, Lao Huang, smiled dryly. He liked the feeling of traveling at night, as if he was the only one left in the world, allowing him to come and go.
"Old Huang, don't hit pedestrians." Another softer voice came from the carriage. This was the young lady.
Lao Huang reluctantly pulled the reins and said in an understated voice: "Miss, in the wilderness, how can there be any pedestrians in this weather?"
Just as he reluctantly slowed down, he heard a bang.
The horse neighed, raised its hooves, and then landed heavily. The carriage shook violently a few times and then stopped.
"Old Huang, what's going on?" The pleasant voice came out again.
Lao Huang stopped the carriage and was a little dazed. After a while, he said: "It should have hit a wild beast. It's okay, miss. Don't worry."
"Go down and have a look. If it's a passerby, who can't bear your bump." The voice of the lady in the carriage was still so calm, which gave Old Huang a feeling of stability.
Yu Zhi was lying in the snow, unconscious, and heard voices beside his ears. Most of the time they were young ladies, and the young ladies were shouting in a panic.
He didn't know what happened, but he saw the light getting closer and closer, and then he felt a pain in his chest, followed by pain in his back.
Disaster is coming!
Yu Zhi remembered the words in his dream - you won't live long.
It really came true.
…
The dinner at Prince Zhao's Mansion was very late. Qiu Ruoruo was sitting next to Ye Qinghuan. She was indeed a little tired. After dealing with the etiquette of coming and going all day long, even if you are able to do it with ease, you will still feel tired.
Ye Qinghuan glanced at Qiu Ruoruo with pity. He rarely showed such emotions. If Yu Zhi is the kind of person who is outstanding in disregarding matters that do not concern him, then Ye Qinghuan's indifference is towards everything around him, except for his friends.
He is not good at languages and cannot express many of his feelings.
Sitting across from the two men were members of the mission. There were dozens of people who came to Kyoto, but only five people were able to sit down.
Sitting next to Prince Zhao is a woman who is said to be the envoy of the mission and the sister of the new king of the Prairie Wolf Court - Nuo Min.
The women on the grassland did not have the rough appearance as rumored, at least not the Nuomin in front of her.
Nuo Min is tall, taller than the women from the Chu Dynasty. She has willow-leaf eyebrows and pink-phoenix eyes. Her appearance is very similar to that of a woman born in the south of the Yangtze River. If it weren't for her heroic spirit, no one would have thought that the woman came from the vast grasslands in the north.
"Princess Nuomin, Xiao Wang proposes another toast to you." Prince Zhao raised his glass. He had already drank a lot and his cheeks were flushed. He was already a veteran of the drinking scene, and seeing Nuo Min drinking one cup after another, he felt a little overwhelmed.
Nuo Min raised her wine glass and looked at the small and exquisite wine glass. This amount of wine made it difficult for her to enjoy herself to the fullest. But as a princess, she naturally couldn't show off her face for trivial matters.
"Hey, give me a jar. Don't you take us seriously with such a small thing?"
There was a commotion below, and a burly man in the delegation grabbed the waiter's lapel and refused to let him go.
Drinks on the grassland are measured in jars. Even my daughter’s family can drink a jar of the strongest kumiss. Drinking it half-sip is not the style of the grassland.
The waiter shivered, after all, his body was already lifted in the air.
"presumptuous!"
Prince Zhao slapped the table, the drinks spilled out, and the entire pavilion was filled with Prince Zhao's roar.
The majesty of the royal family's children was also revealed.
King Zhao is your Majesty's sibling, but he is an idle prince. The mansion is located directly across from the palace, but it is far less majestic than the prince. King Zhao didn't care. He leisurely played with the different scenery in the palace every day, or indulged in calligraphy and painting. He had a small collection of authentic works from hundreds of families, and dabbled in all the four books and five classics. Literati in Kyoto all say that King Zhao has a master of calligraphy and painting.
It's just that today, this calligrapher and painter doesn't know why the task of receiving the mission falls on him?
How hard is this kind of thing?
He asked his son to entertain him well and made proper arrangements, but he disappeared.
Prince Zhao was reluctant on his face, but he was extremely happy in his heart. It's just that he didn't expect those barbarians in the north to be so rude!
As Prince Zhao's voice echoed, all the guards outside the pavilion rushed in, holding swords in their hands, as if they had been ambush!
When Nuo Min saw this, he sneered in his heart and did not get up. He quietly watched the wine that had been overturned on the table fall on the blanket drop by drop, and then said without expression: "Is this Da Chu's way of hospitality?"
Prince Zhao was very angry when he saw the guards who were waiting for him. He arranged some guards to prevent any unexpected events, but he didn't expect these pig-brained people to rush in for no reason and even drew their swords at each other.
"Stand down! The envoy is our close friend of the great Chu state. Who asked you to come in with swords?" Prince Zhao said as if to make amends, "Don't blame me, princess. The prince's palace is at the feet of the emperor, guarding the safety of the imperial city. The defenses here are more rigorous, and the guards in the mansion dare not slack off, not just for the envoys."
Prince Zhao calmly picked up the overturned wine glass, filled up another glass of wine calmly, and held the glass in both hands toward Nuo Min as an apology.
Unable to wait for Nuo Min to intervene, Prince Zhao said again: "Princess, can you ask your subordinates to put the person down."
Moving clouds and flowing water!
Qiu Ruoruo saw it in her eyes and secretly praised in her heart: "It is said that Prince Zhao is just like his father, Prince Zhao, who has no interest in government affairs and spends all his time looking for food and wine in the streets. Now it seems that is not necessarily the case."
The calmness shown in this short moment is not something ordinary young people can possess.
The burly man was not an idiot. He put the waiter down safely, then put his right hand on his chest and lowered his head forward.
"Don't blame me, Your Majesty. We people on the grassland are used to drinking from jars, and these small cups cannot satisfy our strong and strong men. All guests on the grassland use wine jars, and those who use cups are considered unfriendly. . Batu has never been to Dachu, and he doesn’t know the elegance of Dachu’s customs. He mistakenly thought it was the unfriendly petty spirit of the grasslands, which led to such a misunderstanding.”
Nuomin had no intention of apologizing, it seemed that this was all a misunderstanding.
"Batu, back off. If you want to drink and go back to the grassland, that's enough, but this is Chu, not a place where you can run wild!"
Batu, a burly man, still clenched his right hand on his chest, hammered hard, bent down to salute, and then quietly sat back down.
Prince Zhao did not pursue the matter further, but instead said, "Someone will serve you wine."
Of course the waiter understood what his master meant, and after a while he held dozens of jars of fine wine and placed them in the middle.
Songs and dances were added to the fun, wine was drunk, and everyone acted as if no conflict had occurred. The man on the grassland suddenly stood up, walked into the dance floor, and twisted his body to the music.
The rough dance and the soft music don't match each other, and they also have a different flavor.
"It is said that people on the grassland are good at singing and dancing. It is true." Qiu Ruoruo said to Ye Qinghuan.
Ye Qinghuan thought about it and put it in the tea cup. He never drank alcohol. "Yu Zhi said that your dancing is also beautiful."
"Ah? Brother Xiaoyu is such a big mouth!" Qiu Ruoruo recalled the scene when she was laughed at by Yu Zhi when she learned to dance for the first time, still feeling secretly resentful in her heart.
Suddenly, someone on the dance floor extended an invitation to Qiu Ruoruo. He was not a burly man like Batu. He had a straight face and neatly styled long hair. He also looked extremely handsome.
Qiu Ruoruo shook her head with a smile and declined politely.
Mengsi was not a person who chased and fought fiercely. When the little beauty he fell in love with refused, he put on a sad look, and then continued dancing with his companions.
"Mengsi, have you ever failed?" the woman dancing with him mocked.
"The women of Da Chu are not as bold as we are on the grassland. It is normal to fail." Someone said to Meng Si.
The woman was obviously not satisfied with this answer, "There is a more handsome man beside her, how can she like Meng Si?"
Seeing that the woman was a nymphomaniac, Meng Si also chuckled and said, "Dolan, that handsome man didn't take you seriously either."
The woman named Dolan was not convinced and took a jar of wine and sat in front of Ye Qinghuan. There was only a narrow table between them.
"Come on, I respect you." Dolan took a big sip and the wine soaked her armor.
Ye Qinghuan glanced at this heroic woman who suddenly sat in front of him. He neither took Dolan's wine jar nor picked up his own tea cup to signal.
There was some awkwardness between the two.
Qiu Ruoruo smiled, she knew that Ye Qinghuan was asking her for help, but the way of asking for help was very special, and only Qiu Ruoruo could know it.
"My brother doesn't drink, and he's not good at talking. How about if you drink this drink on my brother's behalf?"
Dolan was puzzled.
On the grassland, like Mengsi, she had won many battles, but after coming to Dachu, she suffered losses one after another.
