The night was blurry, and a fast horse galloped past, raising invisible yellow dust. On horseback, Han Shi panted heavily to calm down.
At this moment, he was defeated and fled, fearing that he would be humiliated as a prisoner: "You need to rush back as soon as possible to report the news!"
Turning around the mountain pass, I faintly saw someone in front of me. The man also noticed Han Shi and shouted: "Is this General Han coming?"
Han Shi heard that this person's voice was quite familiar. After thinking for a moment, he remembered that this person was Gu Shuci who joined the army.
So, Han Shi hurriedly stepped forward, reined in his horse and stopped in front of Gu Shuci, jumped down and said, "Are you okay, sir?"
Gu Shuci smiled and said: "I escaped from the camp on my own and was not injured. It's just that I was alone and couldn't go back to rescue him, so I had to wait here. I don't want the general to get here safely, so you can rest assured."
Han Shi was naturally happy to meet Gu Shuci again, but he didn't know that there was a hint of coldness in Gu Shuci's eyes between his smile.
Han Shi said: "Now, we need to go to Qishan Camp as soon as possible to report the defeat of Dazhu Kingdom and let him make arrangements in advance."
Gu Shuci responded with a smile, touched the hilt of the sword at his waist, and suddenly pointed behind Han Shi and shouted: "No! The Han army is coming!"
Han Shi turned around suddenly, and a sharp blade pierced the back of his heart and penetrated his chest.
"ah--"
Han Shi screamed softly, bleeding from the corner of his mouth. He slowly turned around and looked at Gu Shuci in disbelief: "Why...what..."
Gu Shuci pulled out the sword with his backhand and said with a cold smile: "It's just a matter of convenience. If someone wants you to die, you can't live. It's a pity that the dignified general did not die in front of the battle, but died under his own sword. What a shame." absurd?"
Han Shi couldn't stand up and fell backwards to the ground, his eyes still staring unwillingly, and his whole body was shaking: "Why... why..."
Gu Shuci put away his sword and said with a smile: "Don't worry, you died resisting the Han army. I will leave your name in history. You should be grateful!"
Han Shi's mind gradually weakened. When he was dying, he reached into his arms, took out half of the jade pendant, and said with a sad smile: "Lian'er... the agreement between you and me... can only be repaid in the next life..."
Gu Shuci saw that Han Shi was dead and planned to leave. It happened that a middle-aged scribe came here at this time, it was Li Su, the great captain of the Han Dynasty.
When Gu Shuci met Li Su, he smiled and saluted: "Li Taiwei came in person, Gu is not very scared."
Li Su glanced at Han Shi, who was lying dead on the ground, and asked in a deep voice: "Thanks to you, our army was able to capture Jiepai Mountain, but I don't understand why you did this?"
Li Su had long been in contact with people in the Daqian Dynasty. This time it was Gu Shuci who first leaked the distribution of the Daqian military camp, and then set fire to the food that night, creating chaos. Finally, they took the opportunity to open the camp and destroy the defensive formation, so the Han army could break through the defenses so easily.
Gu Shuci smiled and said: "I am just entrusted by others, and I don't know anything else. Lieutenant Li should go back and help Prime Minister Zhuge arrange the troops. Take your leave!"
After saying this, Gu Shuci turned and left.
Li Su glanced at Han Shi on the ground, waved his sleeves, and Han Shi's body flew down to the hillside nearby. Covered with loess, it became a simple tomb, facing Daqian.
"General Han, just lie here and see with your own eyes what Dagan, which you are desperately protecting, looks like!"
…………
At the same moment when Han Shi died, Xie Lian'er, who was putting on makeup backstage in the theater, suddenly felt a pain in her heart, and then fell into a coma and fell unconscious.
"Thank you boss!"
"Thank you boss!"
"Quickly, carry me to the bed and find the doctor!"
Everyone in the theater troupe was in confusion. They sent Xie Lian'er to bed and sent people to find the doctor.
On the front desk, the boss apologized to the onlookers: "I'm really sorry for all of you. Boss Xie suddenly fell ill and won't sing tonight. Please bear with me!"
Everyone was in an uproar. Most of the audience came for Xie Lian'er. When they heard that Xie Lian'er would not sing tonight, they all got up and left. Among them was the third prince Baili Shuze who often came here.
Baili Shuze waved his fan and walked out of the theater: "I don't know where to go, so why not go to my sixth brother's place and have a look." As he spoke, he called his followers to go to the west of the city.
The proprietress, the waiter and the fat chef who were under the stage heard that Xie Lian'er was ill, so they hurried to the backstage and saw Xie Lian'er lying on the bed with a pale face. The three of them were all frightened.
The proprietress leaned forward and stretched out her hand to check for a pulse. After a while, she took a deep breath and said, "It's just a rush of fire in my heart. It's nothing serious."
The waiter and the fat chef also breathed a sigh of relief. The waiter asked: "What's wrong with the lady? Why are you so angry?"
The landlady shook her head and said, "I don't know either. It seems we can only find out when she wakes up."
Several eyes looked at the unconscious Xie Lian'er, but she didn't know that Xie Lian'er was now dreaming about the dream she had when she was a child:
…………
In the winter clouds, the snow came very early that year, and even the sky was caught off guard. The sunlight shining on the snow was still warm and friendly.
In the small hut, the mother woke up Xie Lian'er who was sleeping soundly: "Lian'er, get up quickly, the sun is shining on your butt!"
The little girl knelt down on the couch reluctantly, half of her body still hidden under the quilt. She rubbed her sleepy eyes with her little hands and said, "Mom, it's so cold today, Lian'er doesn't want to go to school!"
"How can you not go?" The mother smiled and rubbed Lian'er's head: "The teachers in the school have told mother that Lian'er is the most sensible and obedient one. Get dressed quickly. You can wear a new coat today!"
"Really? I'll get up right now!"
Xie Lian'er jumped up and put on the red coat that her mother had sewn overnight. She looked cute instantly, especially her red cheeks when she smiled, which matched the red coat perfectly.
After dinner, Lian'er took the book and went out. There was a little boy standing at the door, throwing stones to chase birds away out of boredom.
"Little Stone!" Xie Lian'er shouted with a smile.
"I told you not to call me Little Shitou!" Han Shi puffed out his cheeks angrily: "I'm already ten years old, and I'm not young at all!"
"You're not as tall as me yet, so I'll call you Little Stone!" Xie Lian'er smiled and stretched out her hand to compare their heights.
"I will be taller than you soon!" Han Shi said: "My mother said that boys grow faster after they are ten years old, and they will be much taller than you by then!"
"Then let's wait until you are taller than me!" Xie Lian'er smiled and ran: "Hurry up, or you will be scolded again."
"It's not because you get up too late every day."
"No, look at the new clothes my mother made for me, do they look good?"
"It looks good, but my mother won't make it for me. She said she had to wear it tightly on my brothers first."
"Hehe, I am the only child in my family, so my mother only makes it for me."
"It would be great if I went to your house. Then I would have new clothes."
"I don't want you to go to my house..."
The two of them arrived at the school chatting and laughing, but because they were late, the master slapped them with a ruler and made them stand for a long time.
When school was over, several boys surrounded Xie Lian'er and wanted to snatch her clothes: "I made a new dress and showed it everywhere. Let us wear it for a few days!"
Xie Lian'er defended her with all her might: "No, my mother made this for me, so I don't want to give it to you!"
"If you dare to resist, pull it off and freeze her to death!"
"What are you doing!" Han Shi rushed over and pushed these people away. As a result, he was too thin to fight so many people. He was pushed to the ground and kicked several times before he gave up.
On the way home, Han Shi's nose was bruised and his face was swollen, and he was limping very pitifully. Xie Lian'er was beside him, with his head lowered, and it took him a while to say: "Thank you."
"You're welcome, as long as you're fine," Han Shi smiled and scratched his head: "If I hadn't eaten in the morning, they wouldn't be my opponent!"
Xie Lian'er smiled, looked at Han Shi's increasingly thin face, and then said: "Why didn't you eat in the morning? How can your body bear this? It must be your stepmother who doesn't give you food."
Han Shi said: "Mom said that my brothers are growing, so it's important to keep an eye on them. It doesn't matter if I skip two meals because I'm strong."
"How can this be done..." Xie Lian'er sighed distressedly. Han Shi smiled, and the two of them just took advantage of the setting sun and slowly walked home.
The next morning, Han Shi stood at the door of Xie Lian'er's house as usual. The swelling on his face yesterday had subsided, but because of the fight, he was punished by his stepmother and was not allowed to eat. Now he was so hungry that he couldn't stand still.
Xie Lian'er came out of the house, holding two warm steamed buns in her hands, handed them to Han Shi and said, "Here, you didn't eat in the morning, I'll give you this!"
Han Shi had been hungry for a long time. When he saw the steamed bun, he immediately took it and wolfed it down.
Xie Lian'er looked at Han Shi's unfazed look and smiled happily. After Han Shi noticed it, he also laughed.
The two of them just smiled and walked slowly to the school.
"You know, in two years I will be able to serve as a soldier. Then I will be a general galloping on the battlefield, hehe, majestic!"
Xie Lian'er looked at Han Shi who looked proud and said with a smile: "With your small body, no one is willing to be a big-headed soldier!"
"Who said that?" Han Shi snorted unconvinced: "Just wait and see. Sooner or later, I will impress you!"
Xie Lian'er smiled, but secretly said to herself: "I'm waiting to see this day!"
In this way, Xie Lianer spent the winter wearing a red coat, while Han Shi carried it in a single coat. He said that it was thanks to Xie Lian'er's daily bread, otherwise he would probably be dead.
As spring comes in the east, the green plums on the roof of Xie Lian'er's house have also begun to bear fruit. One of the two children climbed up the tree, and the other carried a basket under the tree to pick green plums.
"Are you okay? Why can't you catch any of them? They all fell to the ground!"
"You also said that you didn't throw it properly, and you should be the one to keep an eye on it!"
The two bickered, but they still picked a basket full. Han Shi jumped down from the tree, and the two looked at a basket of green plums and smiled at each other.
Xie Lian'er said: "These green plums can be made into wine. We can sell them in the market and exchange them for money."
"That's great. I can use the money to buy rouge for Lian'er!"
Xie Lian'er smiled, reached for a green plum and stuffed it into Han Shi's mouth. Han Shi bit it, and his teeth were immediately sore. His expression was ferocious, making Xie Lian'er burst into laughter.
When Han Shi saw it, he also took one and stuffed it into Xie Lian'er's mouth. Then Xie Lian'er couldn't bear the soreness and wrinkled his face in a funny way.
The two of them laughed at each other for a long time, and then walked hand in hand to the market...
