Forever twenty-one years, spring.
The imperial tributary of Dingzhou was dissatisfied with the heavy taxes and tributes for years and rebelled. Emperor Yongzai sent veteran general Xu Yong to lead an army of 100,000 to pacify the border areas and suppressed them by force. Tens of thousands of soldiers were stained with blood in the Mianhe River.
After a year of stubborn resistance, Ting Xi was finally defeated and his king was beheaded in court. More than a hundred members of the remaining royal family were taken to various vassal states and beheaded in front of the capitals of each country to shock the kings.
After the affairs of Tingxi were completed, Emperor Yongzai was deeply aware of the increasing power of the vassal state, so he named his sister Princess Yongning the King of Tingxi. He went to the fiefdom soon and ordered the sons of each royal family to accompany him to Dingzhou before the autumnal equinox in the 22nd year of Yongzai. The emperor drove me to express my sincerity.
…
In late July, the morning breeze is getting colder and autumn is approaching.
King Yin Shu of Qi Hui, along with his eldest daughter Yin Guang and his infant son Yin Zhi, sent his second daughter Yin Shang, who was only eight years old, to Dingzhou in front of the palace road outside the palace in the capital of Qi Hui.
The sky was dim and before the rooster crow, more and more people were on both sides of the palace road, silently standing on both sides to bid farewell to him.
Wei Shengxu's eyes were red, and he kept holding his daughter's hand and refused to let go, and warned carefully: "...Don't show off in everything, don't be in the limelight, but if someone bullies you, don't just tolerate it, be careful... …”
"I know, father." Yin Shang stood beside the carriage and agreed patiently, until Yin Shu came up and pulled Wei Shengxu and said, "Okay, Shang is sensible."
Wei Shengxu couldn't hide his grief, turned his face and wiped away his tears. Yin Shu stood in front of his daughter, tied a peace order around her waist, and said: "This order is the order of Qi Hui's son. He leaves home this time. You have to remember your identity and responsibilities.”
Yin Shang nodded, with steady eyes and a straight voice, saying: "No."
Yin Shu smiled with satisfaction, and the attendant pushed Yin Guang's four-wheeled cart forward. Facing the eldest sister, Yin Shang felt a little reluctant to leave her. He ran over and hugged her, saying: "I Let’s go, sister.”
Yin Guang smiled and touched her hair and said, "Sister, I'm waiting for you to come home."
Yin Shang nodded again, took one last look at her family, and finally turned around. Her guard Jin Chengyi came over and helped her onto the tall carriage.
Wei Shengxu stood beside Yin Shu and saw this scene. Tears finally fell down and he said sadly: "She is still so young. She can't even get on the carriage by herself, so she has to go to such a far place alone."
"Okay," Yin Shu interrupted him calmly and said, "Your Majesty is my daughter. Qi Hui's future heir apparent will definitely achieve great things, so don't spoil her too much."
Hearing this, Wei Shengxu held back his tears and stopped talking, silently watching Yin Shang standing in front of the car door waving to the people on the roadside.
The sky is getting colder and the carriage is getting farther and farther away.
…
Qi Hui and Dingzhou were separated by a Xu Rong.
Although it is Linguo, Xu Rong King Chen Que was once a confidant of the late Emperor Dingzhou. He has always relied on his talents and arrogance, and even the current Emperor Yongzai of Dingzhou looked down upon him, let alone other vassal states.
Therefore, Yin Shu did not intend to let Yin Shang enter the territory of Xurong. Instead, he would go around the border area between Xurong and Dongpei, enter Dingzhou in the south, and then go to the capital from the west.
In this way, although the distance is almost half the distance, for safety reasons, it doesn't matter.
Qi Hui is not a big city. About dusk on the third day, Yin Shang and his party walked to Ding Qi Pass, the border town of Qi Hui. As the sky was getting dark, Yin Shang ordered them to stay in the military camp for one night and get up the next morning. Exit.
The group restocked supplies and prepared the army and horses. Yin Shang finally got into the carriage, lifted the curtain and looked at the retreating scenery outside the window.
It wasn't until the tower at Dingqiguan got further and further away that Yin Shang really felt like leaving home. Thinking of his parents, eldest sister, and infant brother, he felt a surge of sadness.
When...can I go home?
Yin Shang stared blankly at the unfamiliar scenery outside the carriage window, listening to the neat sound of horse hooves around the carriage, and his heart felt empty for a moment.
————————————————
Yin Shang's team was in good health and had King Qi Hui's flag in front of them. In addition, they traveled along mountain and forest trails, so the journey went smoothly. At the end of July, they entered the territory of Dingzhou.
Officials from the surrounding city of Ding received the news the day before and waited at the city gate early in the morning. When they saw King Qi Hui's flag approaching from afar, they all dismounted to greet him.
The leading official looked to be in his forties, had a long beard, soft facial features, and looked kinder.
When he saw Yin getting out of the car, he led someone forward and said, "Your Highness Wang Ji has had a hard journey. Your subordinate is Chunyu Hua, the governor of Xunzhou, and I am here to greet Your Highness."
Seeing Chunyu Hua bowing and bowing, Yin Shang said hurriedly: "Master Chunyu, please get up. I just came to Dingzhou. I hope you will take more care of me."
Chunyu Hua said casually: "Wang Ji, the official post has prepared wine and food for His Highness to receive the wind and wash away the dust. Your Highness will have a good night's rest and will set off tomorrow."
Yin Shang said: "Thank you very much."
After the two of them finished speaking, they were about to drive into the city when another carriage came from a distance, with the king's flag still flying in front of the carriage.
The carriage got closer and stopped beside Yin Shang's team. Everyone looked up and saw that the royal flag was embroidered with "Jiang" on one side and "Dongpei" on the other. It was clearly the royal family of Dongpei.
Chun Yuhua immediately looked at the officials around him, stepped forward alone, stood under the carriage and asked in a loud voice: "But the three princes of Dongpei?"
When Yin Shang heard this, he was immediately confused. Before coming to Dingzhou, her mother had told her many times about the princes of various countries. She only said that the Dongpei royal family only had two daughters and one son. The third daughter was obviously a girl, so why did she become Wang Qing.
She raised her eyes and saw an attendant opening the car door, lifting the curtain, and a figure wearing a dark blue cloak came out.
The child was only seven or eight years old, with only one face exposed, but his skin was porcelain-white, his facial features were delicate, his pupils turned a beautiful cyan color under the sunlight, and his long hair only had one hair. The belt is tied up and there are no other unnecessary accessories on the body.
He untied his cloak, handed it to the attendant on the side, and said expressionlessly: "Yes."
Only then did Yin Shang see that he was wearing a cross-collar robe of the same color, tied around his waist with a jade-white silk ribbon. Compared to Yin Shang, he looked a little thin and shabby.
After receiving a response, Chunyu Hua smiled and said: "You two are destined to be together. Seeing that it is getting late, you two please follow me into the city to settle down."
Several people agreed, and the two teams followed Chun Yuhua towards the city.
Yin Shang walked in front of Jin Chengyi, looking at the officials leading the way, and inadvertently glanced in the direction of Dong Pei, and found that the attendant who opened the door for Wang Qing glared at him fiercely, and pulled his arm towards him. Go forward.
The child staggered several steps, but remained expressionless and did not protest.
Yin Shang withdrew his gaze, his expression as usual.
The two groups of people checked into the official post. The number of people Yin Shang brought was neither too many nor too few. The sixty soldiers escorting her were sent to the capital of Dingzhou and were about to return to Qihui. In addition to the people who protected her, they were her personal bodyguards. Internal officer Lin Boyu and bodyguard Jin Chengyi, both of whom had protected Yin Shang since childhood, also followed her to Dingzhou this time.
On the other hand, there were no soldiers accompanying Dongpei, only a dozen attendants in regular uniforms. It would be fine to say that they were highly skilled in martial arts, but Yin Shang had also been practicing martial arts since she was a child. In her opinion, the strength of those few people was not enough. Not outstanding.
...Is this person really Wang Qing of Dongpei? I'm afraid he's not a fake.
Yin Shang was suspicious and became more wary of him for a while.
It was dusk when everyone entered the city, and meals had been laid out in the official post. The soldiers were ordered to go outside. Yin Shang, Jin and Lin ate in the company of Chunyu Hua and others.
Chunyu Hua showed his friendship to the landlord, so he told Yin Shang and others about the customs and customs of Dingzhou. Yin Shang said a few words while eating, but Wang Qing of Dongpei remained silent and just kept his head down while eating. He didn't have any manners, and he wanted to grab it with his hands, as if he had been hungry for a long time.
It wasn't until the attendant seemed to push him under the table that he reluctantly raised his head, looked at Chun Yuhua, and then at Yin Shang, but in the end he remained silent.
The attendant's face suddenly twisted, as if he wanted to curse, but due to the situation, he endured it.
He ate in a hurry, and soon the food in front of him was cleared away, but he didn't ask for more, so he sat quietly aside, still maintaining silence.
After Yin Shang and Chunyu Hua said their goodbyes and the meal was gone, he followed the attendant back to the room.
…
Yin Shang and the three people lived in two rooms together. Lin Boyu lived in the same room with her and kept vigil for her, while Jin Chengyi lived in the room on her left.
After serving Yin Shang to bathe and wash, Lin Boyu covered her with a quilt, pulled up the curtains, and said softly: "Go to sleep, Your Highness."
Yin Shang nodded and said, "Sister Lin, you can go to sleep too. Nothing will happen." Jin Chengyi was beside him, and sixty soldiers would also keep watch. It couldn't be safer.
Lin Boyu smiled and nodded, saying, "Okay." After saying that, he sat beside her bed with a weapon and blew out the candle.
…
It was deep in the middle of the night and the moon shadow was heavy.
Yin Shang was lying on the bed, unable to sleep with her eyes open. Lin Boyu seemed to be tired and rested with her sword beside her bed. She secretly opened a corner of the curtain and climbed out of bed quietly.
The window paper was thin, and it was poked a little open. Through that hole, you could just see the moon hanging in the sky.
She was lying by the window, her head raised blankly.
Mother...what is she doing?
And your father and eldest sister, are you thinking about her?
Will my brother do the same? He is still so young...
She looked at the bright moon and fell into a homesick mood, unable to extricate herself for a while.
Just as he was thinking about it, he heard a strange movement outside the door, as if someone had stepped on something.
She stood there and thought for a while, then grabbed her cloak, walked carefully to the door, unlatched the door, and gently pushed the door open a crack.
The corridor was silent.
Yin Shang looked carefully and saw a dark figure nestled in a corner not far from the corridor, holding himself and shivering.
Sensing that someone was looking at him, the black figure immediately raised his head, and his eyes shot towards him like poisonous arrows, full of vigilance and malice.
However, the person who peeked was not afraid, his eyes were indifferent, and he continued to look at him through the crack in the door.
Yin Shang recognized that it was the strange and beautiful Wang Qing of Dongpei during the day. After thinking for a moment, she retracted into the room, picked up the snacks on the table, carefully pushed open the door a little, and nimbly got out. .
Jiang Yixue naturally recognized the other party. Although the other party seemed to be about the same age as himself, when he saw her suddenly walking towards him, he still subconsciously stepped back a few points.
Yin Shang saw that he was afraid and immediately stopped where he was.
There were no lights on the corridor, and only a few clear moonlight spread on it, illuminating the other party's porcelain-white face and also illuminating the successive scars on his arms.
Yin Shang frowned, squatted down, put the plate of snacks on the ground, and pushed it towards him.
She whispered in a breathy voice: "You didn't have enough to eat tonight, did you? Here you go."
He looked at her warily, his cyan eyes condensed, and he remained silent.
Yin Shang looked at him for a moment, and seemed to have thought of something. He reached out and picked up a piece of snack, broke off some of it and stuffed it into his mouth, saying, "This is prepared by Guanyi. It's not poisonous. It's not mine."
She put the snack on the plate again and pushed it towards him again: "You can eat it."
Seeing that he still didn't move, Yin Shang frowned in distress. Seeing that he was shaking, he reached out and took off his cloak and placed it on the ground. He said, "Here it is, just put it by the door for me tomorrow morning." Finally, he spread his hands to show that he meant no harm.
After a few breaths, Yin Shang stood up and said, "I'm going back first."
There was no response in front of her, he just stared at her closely, with a hint of doubt in his fierce eyes.
Yin Shang glanced at him one last time, took a few steps back, and then cautiously returned to the room.
…
Jiang Yixue didn't want to eat.
He had eaten in the evening. Although he was not full, it was not enough for him to let down his guard and eat something sent by a stranger.
But he did feel a bit cold.
The attendants Dongpei chose for him were not so much escorting him as monitoring him. The leader also beat and scolded him frequently. He ran away once before he left Dongpei and was hungry after being captured. After several meals, I had my first meal tonight.
After entering the room at night, the man thought that he only cared about eating the whole time and had lost Dong Pei's face, so he beat him severely. At night, he occupied the bed and slept soundly.
He was curled up in the corner of the room sleeping, but he couldn't stand the other person's snoring, so he sneaked out in the middle of the night.
He did think about running away again, but then they had entered Dingzhou and recognized their faces in front of the officials. Running away again would not be as easy as it was in Dongpei, and the end might be even worse.
He had no choice but to find a leeward corner to sleep in the corridor.
However, in the middle of the autumn night, he was exposed even more deeply. Within a short time, he was shivering with cold and could hardly hold on.
Just when he was thinking that he might as well go back, the door of that room suddenly opened, and the Queen Qi Hui she saw during the day secretly looked at him through the crack in the door.
He was a little scared, and stared at the other person with an inward look, hoping that the other person would be scared away by him.
But her expression was calm and she didn't mean to be scared at all. She quickly disappeared through the crack of the door. After a few breaths, she got food and clothes for herself.
…
Jiang Yixue slowly looked around, then stared at Yin Shang's door. After a long time, she slowly moved her hands and carefully pulled the dress towards her.
…
When she woke up the next morning, Lin Boyu didn't notice that Yin Shang had gone out in the middle of the night, and asked her to get up and wash up as usual.
While Yin Shang was preparing water, he secretly opened the door and took a look. The figure was no longer in the corner, but there was a plate of snacks and a cloak at the door.
Yin Shang took it in quickly with eyes and hands, and found that the snack was almost untouched, and only the piece he broke off was missing.
Putting the snacks on the table and putting the cloak in place, Lin Boyu came out of the room with water and said to Yin Shang: "Your Highness, it's time to wash up."
"good."
