Chapter two
"Wolf?" Shi Yunlin was a little confused. There was a beast garden in the palace. She had seen many spiritual beasts since she was a child. There are wolves in the Beast Garden, but they don't sound like this. She directly expressed her doubts: "But the wolf in the zoo doesn't bark like this. It can hardly bark."
"The ones who can be locked up in the zoo are not wolves." Shi Yantong said with emotion. He squinted his eyes and looked at the mountains in the distance, and said, "We're not far from Qishan Mountain."
There are a pack of wolves in Qishan Mountain, and people stay away from them at night.
There is also a person living in Qishan who was discovered by a fisherman as a companion with wolves when he was young. No one knows where he comes from, and no one knows his name. He is called Qishan Lang.
He was later introduced to Emperor Qi, and now has the rank of general, commanding most of the troops of Qi State.
Shi Yunlin thought about it for a while. The general who just left the city in the middle of the night was supposed to have military affairs. Military affairs could not be delayed, so he had a reason to leave in a hurry.
It was getting late, and except for the night watchers, everyone else returned to their tents to rest.
The queen came out in such a hurry that she didn't have time to put on her cotton-padded clothes. After standing outside for a while, her face became unhappy.
Shi Yunlin hurriedly asked Shi Jing to boil hot water. She put a cotton coat on the queen. When she looked back at her cousin, Shen Tanxi looked even pale and kept coughing. She looked even worse than the queen. She quickly wrapped her cousin in thick clothes and helped her lie down.
They, the people of Xiang State, could not adapt to the cold weather of Qi State immediately, not to mention that the Queen and Shen Tanxi were both ill.
Their diseases are all heart diseases. Shen Tanxi lost her husband. The queen lost many children. Although none of these princes and princesses were her own, the queen regarded each of them as her own.
After letting the Queen and Shen Tanxi drink some hot water to warm up, it was already midnight. Seeing that both the Queen and Shen Tanxi were asleep, Shi Yunlin lay down next to the Queen.
But Shi Yunlin couldn't sleep, staring at the ceiling of the tent in confusion with her eyes open.
In the silence, the queen held her hand and whispered: "My child, your future will not be easy."
Shi Yunlin was startled, then turned to face the queen with a smile and said, "Then I'll fly."
The queen cooperated and pretended to be amused. The emotions in her eyes changed a thousand times, and finally she suppressed her sadness, thought over and over again, and said: "No one has entered Qi's harem for more than ten years. If Qi agrees to the marriage, you are more likely to marry the prince of Qi. He is people……"
The queen sighed in embarrassment: "He is really a shameless person. You must have heard a lot of his stupid things. He raped and tortured women to death not once or twice. What's more, he asked us to marry him two years ago and was rejected. Refuse, maybe she holds a grudge. Besides, the Crown Princess’s brother died in the hands of your eldest brother. Even if the Crown Prince of Qi takes pity on you, the Crown Princess will never treat you well. My Yun Lin has never seen the dirty tricks in the back house. Let's live. Of course, Qi Guo is also likely to refuse the marriage. My child, your life will not be easy..."
Shi Yunlin listened quietly, her expression unchanged. She knew exactly what path she was going to take. She couldn't say she wasn't afraid, but she could already listen and think calmly.
"Don't worry, Queen. If the marriage works out for the best, we can take a breather and I will be smarter to save my life. If we are rejected, we will think of other ways. At worst, we can hide in the mountains like A Jing said."
The queen looked at Shi Yunlin's still green and childish cheeks and remained silent. She was also not sure whether the Qi Congress would not only refuse to help, but also add insult to injury. If they are adding insult to injury, it would be a good idea to drive them away. If you were more ruthless... the capture of female relatives would not end well, as can be clearly seen in the history books. The queen did not dare to think any further, nor did she dare to tell Shi Yunlin the worst possible outcome. She caressed her little daughter's head, with a look of pity in her eyes.
On the other side of the tent, Shi Yantong turned over.
He did not fall asleep and listened to the entire conversation between the Queen and Shi Yunlin. It was not his original intention to ascend the throne as emperor, and it is heartbreaking to become the king of a country that has perished. He closed his eyes and had only one thought in his mind - as long as he was given a moment to breathe, he would die for the restoration of his country.
In the next three days, the group finally no longer had to rush to escape for their lives. They have to wait for the summons of the Emperor Qi.
The Emperor of Qi quickly summoned him, but it was not in the palace where he was supposed to summon the emperors of neighboring countries, but in a hunting ground. On this day, the Qi royal family went hunting and was suddenly summoned.
The casual approach is self-evident.
Before going out, Shi Yunlin changed her clothes. Red can barely be regarded as the meaning of wedding dress. She didn't even wear bulky cotton clothes and tried her best to look good. She had long since lost her rouge and gouache on her escape journey. Fortunately, her cheeks were still pretty enough even without makeup.
"Does it look good when combed like this?" Shi Yunlin turned around and asked the queen and Shen Tanxi.
Shi Yantong felt extremely uncomfortable watching Shi Yunlin combing her hair carefully. The little princess he had raised and raised should have been surrounded and pleased, but now she was trying her best to dress herself up to please others and to be chosen.
Shi Yantong couldn't bear to look any further, turned around and walked out of the tent.
It has been sunny for two or three consecutive days, but today it is overcast with clouds and freezing. Someone whispered that this was not a good sign.
As soon as Shi Yunlin stepped out of the tent, she immediately shivered due to the biting cold wind. She raised her eyes and looked up at the dark clouds. Between the darkness and darkness, the cold wind ruffled her red dress. The delicate princess is like a delicate hibiscus waiting to be broken, teetering on the edge of collapse.
Originally, Shi Yantong only planned to take Shi Yunlin to the hunting ground, but the sick queen insisted on going, and Shi Jing also insisted on going with her.
The people of Xiang who followed all the way here knew that this day was very important to them, who were subjugating their country. Watching the emperor and his entourage descending the mountain, they followed silently for a while to see them off.
The carriage that Qi Guo came to pick up stopped at the hunting ground.
Shi Yunlin hesitated for a moment, turned around, and said seriously to Shi Jing: "A Jing, no matter what the people of Qi say or do to my sister for a while, you don't say anything or do anything. Remember?"
Shi Jing gritted his teeth, slumped for a moment, and nodded dejectedly.
Ignorance of propriety is enough if it happens once.
When the royal family of Xiang State arrived at the hunting ground, the people of Qi State were having a banquet. The aroma of freshly slaughtered cattle, sheep, rabbits and pigs fills the entire mountain forest.
The little eunuch bent down to lead the way, and Shi Yunlin followed her father, queen and mother through the long banquet table. After experiencing the war in which the people were in dire straits, Shi Yunlin suddenly saw the people of Qi riding, shooting, hunting, drinking and eating meat here, which made her feel as if she was in another world.
Shi Yunlin looked straight ahead, without looking at anyone, and walked forward step by step, silently accepting the scrutiny of the Qi Emperor.
Originally, this kind of casual summons was enough of a slight, but Shi Yantong didn't expect to see the Emperor of Qi at all when he arrived here.
"Your Majesty is tired of hunting in the morning and is taking a nap in the tent at the moment. Just wait." The person who spoke was dressed in black and yellow and was sitting on a high place. The casual tone was unabashedly condescending.
There is no need to guess his identity, he is none other than Qi Jiazhi, the crown prince of Qi State.
Shi Yunlin couldn't help but raise her eyes to look at him anxiously, never expecting to catch his gaze. Qi Jiazhi was looking at Shi Yunlin condescendingly.
"What are you doing?" Qi Jiazhi smiled.
Shi Yunlin was startled and immediately lowered her eyes.
Seeing her embarrassment, Qi Jiazhi felt even more amused. Can't stand it? Where is this?
He leaned lazily on the back of his chair and recalled the past: "I remember that I asked to marry the princess of your country two years ago, but was rejected."
"The State of Hunan has always hoped to promote the friendship between the two countries. At that time, several princesses in the palace were either married or young, so they had to regret missing the opportunity to form a good relationship." Shi Yantong said, "Now the young girls have grown up and sincerely continue to have a good relationship. "
Qi Jiazhi burst out laughing. When he smiled, everyone in the banquet laughed.
Surrounded by dishes filled with delicious food and wine, the Xiang royal family was left in a state of disarray.
Qi Jiazhi put away the fake smile on his face and said: "This is a joke. There are more than thirty beauties in the East Palace now. I am afraid that we will not be able to continue this good relationship. The noble Princess of Xiang will not be willing to be the third daughter of the orphan." Concubine with thirty-seven rooms.”
After that, he stared at Shi Yunlin and asked interestingly: "The princess is not really willing, is she?"
Shi Yantong closed his eyes.
Shi Yunlin's face was burning. She heard herself say in a calm tone: "I wish to continue our good relationship."
Qi Jiazhi showed that he had known he would succeed. But he has never done any good deeds in his life. He said bluntly: "A lonely person never does anything unprofitable. This is a good match for you. Where is the good relationship for the lonely people? Is it the hunted remnants of the subjugated country who can help me destroy Lu, or is it the princess of your country who can be coaxed by Jie Yuhua?" Solitary... comfortable?"
There was laughter again during the banquet.
Shi Yantong suppressed all the emotions in his heart and said sincerely: "Now the world is in chaos, and the countries are constantly fighting and annexing. The Lu State's ambition to annex other countries and become the world's hegemon is known to everyone. Your country has a benevolent government, but if you let Lu The country continues to annex small countries to expand its army, and I am afraid that Lu will start a war with Qi sooner or later. How about your country use Lu's evil deeds of harming small countries, and preemptively attack with troops on the pretext of peace in the world!"
War requires strong soldiers and horses. But people want face, and so does the country. Sometimes you need a good reason to go to war. It is natural to start a war in the name of a righteous teacher.
This is the reason why Shi Yantong traveled thousands of miles to find Qi. He wanted to give Qi the pain of Xiang's destruction as a reason to start a war.
"But we Qi love peace." Qi Jiazhi said. Of course this is false. Shi Yantong said something wrong. People want face, so does the country? Not everyone wants to be ashamed, but Qi Jiazhi doesn't want to be ashamed. He doesn't intend to go out in the name of a teacher of justice.
Another burst of laughter.
Shi Yunlin and others had been mentally prepared before they came, but at this moment they were still in shameful embarrassment and pain.
The laughter suddenly stopped during the banquet, because the Emperor of Qi State came over. Everyone stood up, even the prince Qi Jiazhi also stood up to greet him.
Emperor Qi's face didn't look good. He frowned and sat down and asked, "Has Fan Haoyan's head been delivered?"
Qi Jiazhi continued: "The emperor also wants to know whether Qishanlang can bring the thief's head, but he has bet a thousand taels of gold."
The little eunuch trotted over to report. Before he could finish his words, "The Qishan wolf has arrived," he was covered up by the sound of horse hooves.
Qishan Wolf came on horseback and passed through the banquet without any scruples. Shi Yunlin followed her father and hurriedly moved out of the way, but her clothes were still stained with dust.
Qishanlang rode up to the emperor's table without dismounting, and directly threw a bloody human head on the banquet table full of delicacies.
"Well done!" Emperor Qi laughed. He pointed at Qi Jiazhi and smiled: "The prince lost!"
Qi Shanlang was disgusted with the noisy banquet of these royal relatives and nobles, so he put down the fresh heads and turned around and left.
His rudeness seemed to have been approved by Emperor Qi, and all nobles were accustomed to it.
Qi Jiazhi's face turned gloomy instantly, and he turned his gaze to the Xiang royal family who was standing aside.
There was quite a hint of venting, and his tone lost the joke and was filled with chill: "I don't care if you don't want this little benefit from your country. If you really want to take out some lonely alleys to take in such a group of homeless dogs, you can only rely on yourselves. For example, men They go to fish and build dams and work as coolies, and the women go to the army to reward the soldiers."
Qishan Lang listened to the words of Prince Qi Jiazhi behind him and glanced at the few Xiang people in the corner.
Shi Yunlin's face was pale and she couldn't help shivering. She didn't know whether it was because of the severe cold or because of what Qi Jiazhi, the crown prince, said, which made her feel chilly in her heart.
The horse's hooves suddenly stopped beside Shi Yunlin.
The banquet that was very noisy a moment ago suddenly fell silent.
Shi Yunlin's eyelashes trembled slightly, and she looked up suspiciously at Qishan Lang on the tall horse.
Before she could see anything clearly, a mink fur cloak with the smell of blood was draped over her body.
