★Lou Ning’s perspective★
That's it. After about two months of long journey, I took my men Agui and Axin to Jinling City, known as the "Imperial Capital of Six Dynasties".
Jinling was first recorded in history when Gou Jian, the king of Yue, built the city under the Yuhuatai. It is an ancient city that stands on the bank of the Yangtze River and has gone through many vicissitudes of life. It is also a cultural city where crouching tigers, hidden dragons and singing and dancing flourish.
Of course, I am definitely not here to play, because I shoulder the important task assigned to me by the military advisor - to assassinate and replace the soldiers sent by Han Jin.
"Every word and deed of the general may be related to the fate of this decisive battle. If we want to defeat the anti-Zheng alliance, the general must not make any mistakes!" Military Advisor Yu repeatedly warned me, which made me breathless.
I remember when Emperor Taizheng unified the world and divided the three heroic generals among them. Today, hundreds of years later, there are people in the court who are also recognized as the "Three Heroic Generals".
That is: Mu Mingrui, Ni Hao, Gao Yu
These three generals are all demon kings who kill without blinking an eye. At the same time, they have big strategies in mind. According to my opinion, any one of them can do better than me, a subordinate general. After all, Military Advisor Yu is young and cannot recognize people accurately.
Although he is deeply trusted by his master, Lou is willing to do whatever it takes to destroy him. But on the other hand, I'm worried. Is it really okay to be so trusting of others?
When I think that every move I make will be related to the fate of this war, I can't help but feel like a stone is stuck in my heart.
The three of us found an inn. It was the largest city in Jiangdong, and the cost was so high. It cost forty taels of silver per person. In order to protect my safety, Agui and Axin had to guard the door. outside.
It was time to rest. According to a report from a spy, Han Jin arrived at Jinling City to hand over in about two days after joining the army. At that time, he went out of the city to assassinate him without anyone noticing.
King Wu Huahao especially liked the bright lights at night, so he canceled the night ban without permission. There was a lot of wine and lights inside and outside the house. The noise of pedestrians and the laughter of children disturbed me.
It's really speechless that a hotel was built in this bustling place. I reluctantly covered myself with a quilt and wanted to go to bed as soon as possible.
Once people rest, they tend to have random thoughts. I was in plain clothes and rolling around under the quilt. Just like what happened in the past, it is like a piece of smoke that drifts away quickly, but it deeply affects my heart.
The so-called marrying Wang Li was not voluntary at all, it was just a cruel political marriage. It's not that she was mean to me, but there was always an indescribable pressure when getting along with her. I have to be under his control in everything. If I catch a glimpse of a woman outside, he will always ridicule me when I get home.
The most annoying thing is that my handsome man can’t beat her! This guy has endless brute strength. Every time I argue with her, I am like a chicken - at her mercy.
I couldn't communicate with her at all, and I didn't know who to say what I was thinking, but I always felt lonely. I am an introverted and upright person by nature, but I don’t know how many people I have offended, let alone my confidant friends.
But I can't think about it anymore. If I continue like this and can't sleep well, it will delay important events.
"It's not that I love Feng Chen...it seems that I was misled by my predecessor~"
This song, like a warm current, suddenly appeared and flowed gently into my heart. The whisper-like sound of the pipa plucked my heartstrings. This natural sound made me intoxicated and unable to extricate myself. He stuck his head out and listened greedily to the singing that came from nowhere.
What makes me regretful is that as soon as I cheered up, the singing seemed to be playing hide and seek with me, disappearing in a blink of an eye.
I was so anxious that I was scratching my head and scratching my liver, and my whole body was in pain. This kind of feeling was not finished yet, it was really torture. I ran to the window in embarrassment and looked out. Just opposite my bedroom, I could vaguely see a graceful woman through the window paper, holding a pipa in her arms and sighing.
I concluded that this song must come from his mouth, and I must see her, so I jumped down desperately. Almost! I was on the second floor, but that couldn't stop me from feeling anxious, so I rushed out of the room and told Agui and Axin to wait here.
Who would have thought that Agui was a little unhappy: "My two brothers are here to protect the general. If something happens to the general, how can we afford it?"
Ashin also nodded in agreement, these two boys are going to ruin my good deeds! I had no choice but to ask him to follow me.
When I walked to the restaurant, I saw a group of women posing, standing in front of the entrance and shouting outside: "Master, come and have fun~"
What kind of restaurant is this? This is the brothel! How can I, an upright gentleman, go in and out of such a place? If I go in, what will Agui and Axin think of me?
"Oh, this uncle~" Just as I was thinking wildly, a woman with heavy makeup came over and took my arm: "If you are in a bad mood, how about letting the sisters stay with you for the night?"
If these were two men, they would be so lustful at this moment that they couldn't extricate themselves. But what kind of person am I, Lou Ning? To be honest, just looking at her makes me feel sick. His little face was so white that he looked like he had crawled out of a flour sack. His lips were red, as if he had drank pig blood.
"General, you come to a place like this in the middle of the night..." Ashin looked at me in confusion. At this moment, my image of a tall hero in his mind had completely collapsed.
When the woman saw this, she threw herself directly into my arms: "It turns out that the uncle is a general. Protecting the country is such a great thing! They say that beauties deserve heroes, and my sisters must be worthy. Where is the general~"
The two children, Agui and Ashin, turned their heads and peeked at me shyly from time to time. At this point, I had no choice but to continue, so I bravely asked, "May I ask, Miss, I just heard a song below, with a clear and melodious voice. I wonder if it was sung by Miss?"
"Uncle, please come in. I'll tell you when I come in."
I got angry and pushed her away: "I'm asking you something serious, so don't talk to me about anything!"
"Ouch..." This shameless man came over again, stretched out his finger and pointed at my mouth: "Master, don't be angry, please say a few words and listen."
I vaguely remembered two sentences, but after being teased like this by her, they all disappeared. I had no choice but to slap my head desperately trying to remember: "What kind of dust... is the pastoral fog coming?"
"It's not pastoral fog, but Qian Yuan mistakenly... 'It's not that I'm in love with the world, I seem to be mistaken by Qian Yuan'. Is this the song that the uncle is looking for?"
"Yes, yes!" I was so excited that I subconsciously grabbed her hand: "That's the one!"
If you were a good girl, she would definitely blush and feel ashamed if your hand was grabbed by me like this. But this guy is a brothel girl, why are these things taboo? This turned out to be my fault.
"Sister Yan Rui composed this song. Which of us brothel girls can't sing it? If I like it, can I go in and sing two verses for you?"
In order to find the answer, I had to pay the money and go with him to listen to the music. Although the woman's pretense made people uncomfortable, she had a unique talent for singing. She danced and sang, but she didn't feel the same as when she just listened. This woman was definitely not the silhouette behind the window.
Then five or six more women were replaced, and a hundred flowers bloomed, each showing its beauty, but the fragrance of not a single flower could touch my heart.
The man was also annoyed: "Sir, you don't want to play tricks on us sisters, do you?"
Good guy, I can fall out of love faster than I can flip through a book. This time, I have no interest in it at all. I dropped another ingot of silver from my bag and prepared to leave here quietly.
At this moment, another burst of pipa singing sounded, and the graceful natural sound once again gently touched my heartstrings:
“It’s not that I love Fengchen~
Seems to be mistaken by the front edge;
Flowers fall and bloom in their own time~
Sovereign Lord Raito;
You must go eventually~
How to live!
If you have a head full of mountain flowers~
Don't ask where the slave is -
Oh~ah~
Don’t ask where the slave is—"
