Han Changmu raised his eyebrows: "There is a palace maid named Wu in Ye Ting who is good at needlework. You have been in Ye Ting for many years. Didn't palace lady Wu teach you needlework?"
Yao Yao guessed what Han Changmu meant, and felt that there was no trap, so he smiled and said: "I have studied for a few days. Madam Wu was later released from the palace, and I left Yeting and entered the Sixteenth Guards, so I stopped studying. ."
"In the fourth year of Yong'an, there was a drought in the Gyeonggi area. The saint let a group of elderly palace ladies out of the palace. You must have entered the Sixteenth Guards not long after that." Han Changmu spoke carelessly, but every sentence was important. place.
Yao Yao knew that Han Changmu must have checked her details. There were no ulterior secrets in these details. He couldn't easily find out the real ulterior secrets.
She nodded: "Yes, in May of the fourth year of Yong'an, Lady Wu left the palace. In August of the same year, after the Mid-Autumn Festival, I entered the Sixteenth Guards."
Han Changmu raised his eyes and stared at Yao Yao calmly. She sat sideways, lowered her head slightly, her expression was as respectful as ever, as if she really didn't know anything, but she was by no means innocent, but was very good at covering up.
Still underestimated her.
He had no mood swings and said calmly: "There are eight Yeting sin slaves who entered the Sixteenth Guards with you, but girls, there are only you and another girl named Li." He paused, his words sharp. Bi Xian, pressing forward step by step: "That girl is the same age as you, she is both seven years old, and her name is Li Yuqing."
Yao Yao suddenly let out a sigh of relief.
They were not the same age. She entered Yeting at the age of five, but soon her age was deliberately changed two years younger.
She was trained inhumanely by the Sixteenth Guards. The more dangerous the terrain, the more calm she became. She nodded calmly: "I was young at that time, so I don't remember clearly."
Han Changmu glanced at Yao Yao deeply: "Nine children escaped from the wolf's mouth, just two of you. Don't you remember her?"
Yao Yao sighed: "Maybe I was so scared that I forgot."
Han Changmu's original intention was to beat Yao Yao and tell her clearly that he knew she was hiding something and would eventually find out. If she was a smart person, she would either wipe it clean before he found out or confess before he found out.
But she is really stubborn, she forgets a sentence clumsily, and she doesn't even bother to find excuses to distance herself.
She was not a prisoner in the Guards' cell, nor was she the Guard in his hands.
They cannot be arrested, tortured, or interrogated.
He raised his eyelids, his eyes becoming colder and deeper, like the torture tools in the inner guard's prison, falling on Yao Yao: "The selection of the Sixteenth Guards is strict and the training is cruel. It is not easy for you to survive." , it is even more rare to be able to escape from the Sixteenth Guards intact."
Yao Yao smiled: "I'm not the only one who can survive, and I'm not the only one who can leave."
Han Changmu's eyes flashed: "So, what about Li Yuqing? She didn't stay or leave. In the Sixteenth Guards, it's like she never existed."
Yao Yao closed his eyes, feeling a struggle and pain in his heart.
Among the Sixteenth Guards, there are many ways to make people disappear silently, but Han Changmu is also very skillful and can find these.
It's just that Li Yuqing didn't mean that Liu Wei meant for her not to exist. It was an accident, an accident in Liu Wei's eyes.
Yao Yao was silent and said with a smile: "Everyone in the Sixteen Guards has a file to investigate. If you have the means, you can do it."
Han Changmu's face looked a little ugly.
Check, it would be strange to find out that the thin books of everyone in the Sixteen Guards were all destroyed when that person disappeared.
It was just a coincidence that he was able to find Li Yuqing.
In the fourth year of Yong'an, after a group of palace ladies were released from the palace, the number of palace ladies left behind in Ye Ting was different from what was recorded in the book.
Eleven years have passed, and now it is the fifteenth year of Yong'an. Many thin books have been lost.
But he paid attention, and compared them one by one, he found that there were a few maids missing. One of them, Li Yuqing, happened to live in the same courtyard as Yao Yao, and they both worked under the maid surnamed Wu.
The thin book recorded the time when Yao Yao entered the Sixteenth Guards, and after that time, all records about Li Yuqing disappeared.
This person completely disappeared from Yeting.
What kind of secrets does an insignificant, seven-year-old palace maid carry? It requires people to go to great lengths to destroy all traces of her future existence.
It's just trying to cover up.
Han Changmu was also a little tired. Yao Yao usually looked silly and a bit heartless, and her mouth was faster than her brain. But when something important happened, she was like a hedgehog, with no place to bite and no place to bite. She was difficult to deal with. very.
He waved his hand, and became furious when he saw her. It was like punching cotton. He couldn't use his strength. He had better let her go. There would be plenty of opportunities to deal with it slowly in the future. He was afraid that if he kept asking like this, he would not be able to help it. Choke her to death.
After nightfall, the boat slowed down, and the dark mountains and dark water slowly passed by outside the window.
Han Changmu climbed out of the window, climbed sideways on the outer wall of the hull a few times, and gently opened a window.
He hung his whole body on the window lattice and looked into the room.
There was no burning lamp in the room. The moonlight fell inside, and the light was weak, illuminating the thin and frail body on the bed.
Her black hair was spread out and fell under the edge of the bed. A thin brocade quilt was draped over her body, outlining the ups and downs of her body.
Han Changmu turned over and landed lightly and silently on the ground.
He looked at the girl on the bed expressionlessly, then turned around and added a stick of incense to the celadon incense burner.
Thin light purple smoke passed through the thin moonlight, rising seemingly non-existent.
The girl's brows furrowed in pain, as if she was sinking into a nightmare.
Han Changmu took out a thumb-sized cyan leaf, put it to his lips and blew it.
The voice was extremely low, whining without a tune, like the night wind blowing through the window lattice.
The girl's frown opened and she let out a relaxed groan.
Han Changmu moved his lips, and the leaves were rolled into his mouth. He chewed it and swallowed it.
His lips didn't move, but a soft voice came out, like a magic voice coming from his chest: "Is your name Yao Yao?"
The girl's eyes were closed tightly, beads of sweat appeared on her forehead, soaking her temples, as if she was talking in her sleep, and she whispered: "Yes."
Han Changmu remained motionless as the night wind broke in through the window and made his clothes rustle.
His voice was long and lingering, echoing the night wind: "Are you a sin slave from Yeting?"
The girl's emotions gradually calmed down, and she breathed out a nightmare-like word with a steady breath: "Yes."
Han Changmu continued to ask: "Are you the Sixteenth Guard?"
The girl was immersed in the peace of her dream: "Yes."
Han Changmu paused and asked the key point he wanted to ask: "Are you a death guard?"
The girl said calmly without a moment's pause: "No."
Han Changmu frowned slightly, wondering if he had really guessed wrong.
He got closer to the girl and looked at her carefully for a long time. She was indeed sleeping soundly, with no sign of waking up or pretending to be.
He suppressed his doubts and continued to ask: "Do you know Li Yuqing?"
The girl was still calm and didn't think about it: "I know you."
Han Changmu breathed a sigh of relief and continued to ask: "Where is Li Yuqing?"
The girl didn't stop, her eyes were closed tightly, and she was as calm as before: "I don't know."
Han Changmu choked, he was still so irritating even when he was asleep.
He sighed gloomily. His mouth was so tight even when he was asleep. It seemed that he couldn't ask.
He quietly extinguished the incense stick, poured the ashes out of the window, and scattered them in the wind without a trace.
Then he cleaned up the traces of his presence and climbed out the window silently.
Just as the window was closing, the girl suddenly opened her eyes, her eyes flashing with light, not even a trace of sleepiness.
She looked at the direction in which Han Changmu disappeared and sneered: "It would be such a waste to use the Lost Soul Incense to ask questions on me."
In the past few years, the imperial court had fought several wars with the Turks and recaptured the old Yiwu Road occupied by the Turks. The Gaochang Kingdom sent a letter to repair it and paid tribute every year. The imperial court reopened the Yumen, with 800 troops and horses garrisoning the pass, and 5,000 Yumen troops garrisoning the sand. state.
When the Yiwu Road was occupied by the Turks, the caravan envoys mostly took the Dunhuang Road to the Western Regions. The road there was sandy and windy, and the road was winding and difficult to navigate. It was often buried by wind and sand. It was often a business trip in ancient times, and only a few people could return.
Now the imperial court has reopened the Jade Gate and set up ten post stations. Most of the caravans have changed their route from Dunhuang Road to the Jade Gate. There is an endless stream of caravans and it is very prosperous.
Enter from Yumen Pass, rest in the city for half a day, and then drive a few days to Suzhou. There will be no more dangers along the way.
Although Dunhuang Road was gradually abandoned by merchants and envoys, Dunhuang City remained prosperous. The governor's office of Yumen Yangguan and Shazhou prefectures were both located here. The distribution of military pay and the replacement of housing plans every three months were all located here. Conducted in the city.
Dunhuang has always been loose on the outside and tight on the inside. Especially after losing the salary and housing transfer plan, the security in the city suddenly became tight.
First, two hundred armored soldiers were mobilized from the Yumen Army and stationed at the Fengyi Posthouse within a radius of dozens of miles outside the city. Then three hundred soldiers were recruited and entered Dunhuang City.
The chilling atmosphere became more solemn day by day.
In Dunhuang City, Hu and Han people lived together, and the food, clothing, housing and transportation were very heavy with the Hu style. The houses were built completely different from those in Chang'an City. Most of them had domes with colorful tiles and even colorful flags to catch the wind.
You can see yellow-skinned and black-haired Han people and Hu people with tall noses and deep eyes everywhere. After nightfall, beautiful orchids with snow-skinned skin are waiting in the street, just looking at them and getting drunk even if they don't drink.
A large area was surrounded by a high wall in the north of the city. Carved beams and painted buildings could be faintly seen within the wall. Sometimes a swing was swinging high, and only then could one see the Orchid on the swing. She had snowy skin and blue eyes, and was particularly beautiful.
The owner of this house is surnamed Wan. I don’t know what the relationship is with the Wan family in Chang’an City, but the names are the same.
At night, the cold stars twinkle and the moon shadow is sparse.
A varnished car with rosewood gauze drove through the streets. The car was not luxurious and eye-catching, and did not attract the attention of passers-by. The car was also very quiet, with only the sound of the driver's whip.
The carriage passed by, leaving a strong fragrance that lingered in the nose for a long time.
A passerby exclaimed in low voice: "It's the girl from the Hongzhuang Academy."
"It's a girl from the Hongzhuang Academy. You're so happy, you're a poor guy, you just smell it." Someone laughed and cursed.
"It's also pleasant to smell it." The man said disdainfully.
