Chapter One
This was the first time Shi Yunlin saw Xue. Tiny silver grains flew one after another, fell into the flames and melted instantly, but the snow petals still rushed towards the burning flames, not afraid of dying.
She hugged her knees and sat beside the fire, looking at the jumping flames. The prosperity of the golden palace in the past slowly emerged before her eyes, and then the scenes slowly dissipated like ashes and smoke.
The cold wind and falling snow reminded her that she was now in a foreign land, and they had already abandoned the capital and fled for a long time. The people who followed him here were less than three hundred, which was all the people.
Shi Yunlin raised her head and stared intently in the south direction for a long time. The cool breeze blew the strands of hair from her temples and brushed her cheeks again and again. The night was as dark as an abyss, and after all, she couldn't spit out the figure she wanted to see.
My father said two days ago that the eldest brother was in danger.
When they first escaped from the capital, the eldest emperor brother led the remaining army to resist the pursuers, giving them time to delay their escape. If the elder brother was still alive, he would have chased him long ago. Days and nights of waiting slowly made Shi Yunlin realize that she could no longer wait for her eldest brother to come back. Just like he couldn't wait to return to the other royal brothers who died in the war.
Since then, she has lost her last brother.
The day before they parted, the eldest brother told her seriously that he had something very important to tell her after he escaped to a safe place.
Now, Shi Yunlin will never know what the eldest brother wants to tell her.
Shi Yunlin's eyes suddenly became wet when she thought of the silhouette of the eldest brother standing with a knife on his back on the day of separation. She quickly turned her face to take a breath of cool air to suppress the tears that were about to well up. In the past six months, Shi Yunlin had experienced too many farewells. She had cried, hated, and been afraid, but she gradually understood the uselessness of tears.
The cool breeze brought a few sobs in the distance. On this cold snowy night, the remnants of the Xiang people who had fled here were weeping in unison, paying homage to their dead relatives and friends, and fearing the unknown future.
Shi Yunlin listened to the wailing from far and near, and barely held back her tears.
A noise made Shi Yunlin turn around and saw her younger brother Shi Jing stumbling towards this side in the night cover.
"Ah Jing?" Shi Yunlin noticed that her brother was in a bad mood.
Shi Jing ran over, squatted in front of Shi Yunlin, and held her hand tightly. He said: "Sister, let me take you to escape!"
He stared at Shi Yunlin nervously with tearful eyes, as if he was afraid that his sister would disappear in the next moment. He pointed with one hand into the distance and said in a panic: "Let's run away to the mountains! Let's hide from the Lu people! I can protect you!"
Shi Yunlin followed Shi Jing's hand and looked over. The mountains were just outlines in the night, so dark that it made people breathless.
"Sister, how can you go and get married? How can you let a girl go and get married in exchange for the survival of others! The old emperor of Qi State is older than our grandfather! The prince of Qi State is not only a cruel, dissolute and vengeful person, but also extremely hateful. We Xiang people. No matter whether we marry any of them, it’s not good, it’s not good!” Shi Jing shook his head desperately.
The jumping firelight reflected his face red, and also revealed the tears on his face.
Shi Yunlin felt warmed by her younger brother's love and care. She smiled for the first time in many days, with a soft smile appearing in her eyes that were shining with moisture, showing a bit of sadness.
Shi Yunlin once had five brothers and four sisters. She has always been the most favored little princess among her brothers and sisters. But now that her brothers and sisters are gone, she has become the eldest child.
She smiled and held her brother's hand, and said seriously: "Ah Jing, if you want to protect your sister and don't want her to get married, and if you want to escape with your sister without caring about the people behind you, then you and I, the father, the emperor, the queen, and the queen will follow us. The people who fled here will continue to flee for their lives as they have in the past, until the day we are captured. And if we all die, those who died in the battle will have died in vain."
The smiling faces of countless dead people immediately appeared in front of Shi Jing's eyes. He moved his lips and was speechless. His legs gave way and he knelt in front of his sister, burying his face in her knees and crying bitterly.
His wails caused the people in the distance to mourn.
"Ajing, my sister knows that you are still young. But the prince and several other brothers died in the war. You are the future prince. The people are the most important thing for the king. Since you have inherited the love and trust of the people, you must take on the responsibility of serving the people. It is your heavy burden. When the country is in ruins, it is duty-bound to die for the people. Never say such words as abandoning the people and running away again."
Shi Jing cried desperately. It seems like yesterday that I was pulling my husband's beard and fighting with crickets, but today my country has been ruined and my family has been destroyed, and I am forced to bear a burden as heavy as a mountain. My shoulders hurt.
Shi Yunlin patted her younger brother's shoulder to comfort her: "Ah Jing, don't cry. Don't be afraid. Just put yourself to death and live. As long as you are still alive, everything is still variable. My sister is waiting for A Jing to grow up, and for A Jing and her father to make a comeback again." The country will destroy Lu, and then take my sister home!"
Shi Yunlin smiled, and the gentleness between her eyebrows seemed to have truly seen the bright future she imagined. The words were obviously meant to comfort and encourage her brother, but they also quietly took root in her own heart.
A long sigh from behind made Shi Yunlin quickly turn around.
"Father." Shi Yunlin let go of Shi Jing's hand, stood up, and explained: "A Jing cares about his words and makes a mistake. I know his character and know that those words are not his original intention."
Shi Yunlin knew that because of the death of his mother and concubine, her younger brother was not as favored by her father as the other royal brothers. She was worried that her brother's nonsense would make her father more unhappy.
Shi Yantong glanced at Shi Jing, then fixed his gaze on Shi Yunlin, saying nothing for a long time.
The four seasons in Xiang are not very distinct, let alone such a cold winter. Now that we have arrived in Qi Kingdom, Shi Yunlin feels cold even though she is wrapped in a thick coat. Looking at her father's thin clothes, she hurriedly says: "It's freezing cold outside, and it may snow heavily soon. Father, let's go into the tent."
Before Shi Yantong could speak, he heard the sound of horse hoofbeats and his expression changed slightly.
Shi Yunlin also became nervous out of habit. She subconsciously pulled her brother behind her and looked at the sound with a frown. After some identification, Shi Yunlin heard that the sound of horse hooves was not from the south, and knew that it was not the pursuers of the Lu State. Shi Yunlin breathed a sigh of relief.
If you are not from Lu, then you are from Qi.
"Go into the tent." Shi Yantong told his children and went forward to meet the approaching cavalry.
Shi Yunlin was worried and still stood there watching her father's frail figure go down the mountain with General Zhao.
The place where they took a rest tonight was a very low mountainside. At this moment, a group of people came and stopped at the foot of the mountain.
Fan Yeming sat lazily on his horse, waiting for the old emperor who had perished to come over for interrogation. He was ordered to leave the capital and passed by this place. He happened to meet the remnants of the Xiang State who had come to Qi. The interest came up and he planned to come over to "say hello".
After all, having the former Ninth Five-year-old nod and bow down to me can indeed bring out an indescribable feeling of joy in my heart.
The rebels from Xiang State fled all the way to Qi State, and Qi State had long known about it. It's just that the attitude in the palace was ambiguous, which caused the courtiers below to speculate.
It stands to reason that the Xiang Kingdom almost no longer exists and is now unprofitable. What's more, there was a conflict between Qi and Xiang two years ago, and the Qi Kingdom should not lend a helping hand at this time. However, the Lu State that destroyed Hunan was the sworn enemy of Qi State. No one knew whether someone in the palace would deliberately help the Emperor of Xiang in order to make Lu Guo uncomfortable.
Seeing the Emperor of Xiang approaching, Fan Yeming stretched his neck and raised his chin, then cleared his throat and raised his voice: "Who is down there, gathering here in the middle of the night?"
Shi Yantong said: "The Emperor of Xiang, come to see the Emperor of Qi."
Fan Yeming was a little dissatisfied when he did not see a flattering or embarrassed emperor. He raised his eyelids and said with a "Yo ha": "It turns out to be the Emperor of Xiang. I thought he was some local ruffian. I almost sent troops to arrest everyone and put them in jail."
General Zhao, who was standing behind Shi Yantong, took a step forward with a cold face. Shi Yantong glanced at him and stopped him.
"Oh, the Emperor of Xiang." Fan Yeming twitched the corner of his mouth with a smile, deliberately emphasizing the word "emperor".
"It turned out to be a misunderstanding." Fan Yeming slowly fiddled with the riding whip in his hand. He raised his head and squinted his eyes at a beautiful figure next to the fire on the mountain. The night was as dark as fog, and the beauty could not be seen, but just a hazy figure was graceful enough to catch the eye.
Fan Yeming probably guessed the identity of that beautiful figure.
He stopped fiddling with the riding whip and made up a serious story: "I was ordered to go out of the city to hunt down the assassin. I saw the assassin fleeing to the mountains, so I had to climb the mountain to search."
Shi Yantong pursed his lips tightly and looked at Fan Yeming with deep eyes.
Being stared at by him like this, Fan Ye felt a little guilty for no reason. But he realized in an instant, what power could there be in the embarrassed emperor of a subjugated country in front of him? He smiled and said: "Please cooperate and let everyone in the tent come out."
Shi Yunlin stood in the middle of the mountain and worried about her father. Not long after, she saw her father turn his face and say something to General Zhao, and then General Zhao turned around and came up the mountain.
Seeing her father facing the Qi people alone, Shi Yunlin was even more worried. She hurried forward to meet General Zhao and asked about the situation.
General Zhao suppressed his anger and explained to Shi Yunlin respectfully.
Shi Yunlin frowned and listened, guessing that the other party was deliberately making things difficult. But how could a person not bow his head under the eaves? She nodded and asked General Zhao to tell the people in each tent to come out. She herself went back to the main tent to explain the situation to her mother.
Shi Jing helped the queen out of the tent, while Shi Yunlin helped her sick cousin. Cousin Shen Tanxi has been crying every day since her husband was killed in the war, and her body is broken from crying.
Not long after, everyone came out of the tent and accepted Fan Yeming's inspection.
When Fan Yeming swaggered up to Shi Yunlin, his eyes lit up. I thought that the person who can dazzle people with just one shadow turns out to be a beautiful person.
He took another look at Shen Tanxi who was being supported by Shi Yunlin, and couldn't help but wonder which of the two was the princess of Xiang? As far as he knew, the Emperor of Xiang only brought one princess with him. Although the two people in front of me both have extraordinary looks, the former is even more stunning. But the former is supporting the latter, which shows that the latter is obviously more noble.
In just a moment, Fan Yeming made a self-righteous conclusion.
He looked at Shi Yunlin and said sternly: "The bold assassin is indeed hiding here! Tie her up!"
The queen immediately gave Shi Yunlin a hand and pulled her behind her. Shi Jing stepped forward with a vigilant look on his face, blocking the way.
General Zhao immediately said: "General Fan recognized the wrong person. This is our princess of Xiang."
Fan Yeming was stunned. Was his analysis wrong?
After a brief silence, Fan Yeming twitched his lips. So what if the analysis is wrong? He smiled and said: "Seriously? Haha, could it be that the assassin was forcing you to help hide it?"
What he said was really unreasonable, and the expression on his face showed that he didn't want to be unreasonable.
Shi Yantong gritted his teeth and tightened his cheek lines. Who can't see that Fan Yeming is deliberately making things difficult? Isn't it because he, the emperor of the subjugated country, is expected to grovel? Shi Yantong knew full well that the days of being trampled on his dignity had not really begun yet.
Shi Yunlin watched Fan Yeming take a step toward her with ill intentions. Just as she was about to speak to persuade him to retreat, she saw Fan Yeming's expression suddenly change.
The arrogant little face a moment ago suddenly showed tension and fear.
Fan Yeming looked around and asked his men around him what time it was. Before his men had time to reply, he had already turned around and hurried down the mountain, muttering as he walked: "Go, go, go!"
It's fun to add insult to injury, but if you waste time, you will lose your life.
Seeing Fan Yeming leave, everyone was relieved but at the same time confused.
"What's that sound?" Shi Jing suddenly asked.
Only then did Shi Yunlin hear a strange cry in the distance, like some kind of animal that she had never heard before. It seems that Fan Yeming changed his face because of this sound.
Suddenly someone raised a voice——
"It's a wolf!"
