Chapter Four
Shi Yunlin gently touched the word "peace" embroidered on the sachet with her fingertips. These two words were embroidered by her. When the eldest brother went on an expedition for the first time, his mother asked him for a peace charm. He couldn't find a suitable sachet, so he asked her to sew one. He used this sachet to hold the peace charm given by his mother and kept it close to his body.
Before fleeing the capital, the eldest brother suddenly gave her this peace talisman.
Sometimes Shi Yunlin couldn't help but wonder, if this peace talisman stayed with the eldest brother, would it be able to keep him safe?
The bright red word "peace" reminded her that she had seen too much blood during this period, and the handwriting gradually became glaring.
When the snow stopped, the troops from Qi State also arrived, and they came to take these Xiang people into the city. Shi Yantong asked the officials who came here where the people of Hunan would be settled, and then said some heartfelt words to the people who gathered. First he reproached himself for his uselessness, then he hated and scolded Lu for his evil deeds, and finally he earnestly asked them to stay safe in Qi and express gratitude for Qi's kindness.
"If they made a mistake here because my teachings were inadequate, please let me receive the punishment for them." Shi Yantong said to the officials who came.
"Easy to say." The host smiled gently and said it casually.
Shi Yunlin looked at the people who had followed her. It turned out that she lived deep in the palace and would never have contact with these people in her life. Now, however, she could name almost every one of the two hundred or so people.
Shi Yunlin understood that life in Qi would be more difficult for these people in the future. If they were unlucky, they might be more or less oppressed by the people of Qi in their daily lives. But after experiencing the destruction of the country, I experienced too many deaths. I am very lucky to be alive.
Her skirt was gently tugged, Shi Yunlin lowered her head and looked at the little boy who was sitting on his father's shoulders, looking up and smiling at her.
"What's wrong with Xiaowen?" Shi Yunlin knelt down and touched his head.
Xiaowen spread out his little hand and handed a copper plate in his palm to Shi Yunlin. Shi Yunlin was puzzled when Xiaowen said in a sweet voice, "This is all the money I have."
Shi Yunlin returned the copper plate to him. Xiao Wen took a step back and said, "Daddy said I should thank you."
"Okay, I'll accept it." Shi Yunlin smiled softly, clasped her slender fingers together, and held the copper plate that was warmed by Xiao Wen in her palm.
Qi State will not let these Xiang State refugees gather together again, disperse them and settle them down, let alone let them contact their old masters again.
The old master of Xiang Kingdom was arranged into a secluded house and assigned several servants. Although these servants were used for surveillance, they no longer cared about it at all.
By the time everything is settled, it's already time.
Shi Jing said with emotion: "After running away for several months and living in the wilderness, I can finally live in a house and sleep on the bed board."
Shi Yunlin smiled and said, "Then you can have a good sleep tonight. Maybe you can sleep until noon tomorrow."
"That's not possible." Shi Jing scratched his head and smiled.
Shi Yunlin took out another quilt from the cabinet and stuffed it into a bed for Shi Jing to send to his father and mother. She ran to the kitchen to bring rice porridge to Shen Tanxi.
Shen Tanxi sat by the window, staring out the window at the silvery winter night in a daze.
Shi Yunlin put the rice porridge on the table and persuaded: "There is no resurrection after death. We are already here, and we have to start over."
Shen Tanxi looked at the soft smile on Shi Yunlin's face and wanted to ask her how sad she was about Zhou Zeming's death, but in the end she hesitated and reluctantly smiled.
Before going to bed, Shi Yunlin visited his father and mother again and said some comforting words to each other.
Finally got a safe place to stay. Everyone is much more relaxed today and can also smile from time to time. Shi Yunlin always smiled.
But when she returned to her room and closed the door, the smile on her face instantly disappeared, as if it had never appeared before.
She stood with her back pressed against the door, motionless, for a long time. She didn't know how long it had been before she finally came to her senses, walked silently and slowly to the bed, and wrapped herself in the quilt.
A lot of things happened on this day, and only at night can I breathe and reminisce when I am alone.
The ridicule and insults on the hunting ground appeared in front of her eyes with great clarity, which was more terrifying than all the nightmares she had had since she was a child.
After a long time, Shi Yunlin pulled the quilt and buried her head and face.
The snowy night was still silent, except for the pillow being soaked silently.
For the next nearly ten days, the family stayed in the house without taking a step out of the house. Although Qi did not explicitly ban them, they would not cause trouble on their own. They ate, slept, and occasionally sat in the yard to bask in the sun when the weather was nice. He looked completely indifferent to foreign affairs.
Shi Yunlin came out of the room and saw her mother sitting under the tree with her head lowered, knitting something.
"What is the Queen Mother doing?" Shi Yunlin walked over and sat down next to the Queen Mother. She also saw clearly the red rope in the Queen Mother's hand and understood instantly.
In Hunan, when a daughter gets married, her mother will use red rope to weave an albizia buckle in the style of a pair of koi fish accompanying each other. In order to hope that the young couple can be harmonious and beautiful.
Empress Xiang cut off the last bit of thread, and then placed the acacia buckle in Shi Yunlin's palm.
"We don't need to prepare too many things for the wedding. Qi has sent them one after another. Mother has nothing to give you. Take this and be good in the future."
"Okay." Shi Yunlin nodded obediently.
Empress Xiang looked at her little daughter's expression carefully and asked with some confusion: "Yun Lin, aren't you afraid?"
"When I think about my brothers fighting on the battlefield and not retreating even if they know they won't survive, what else do I have to fear?" Shi Yunlin shook her head, "I'm just getting married, not going to die. There's nothing to be afraid of."
For a moment, Empress Xiang looked at her little daughter's face, and she couldn't tell whether she was sad or happy.
Shi Yunlin shook the acacia button in her hand, smiled and said, "I'll put it away."
Empress Xiang nodded.
The meaning of this acacia button is not important at all to Shi Yunlin. But since the queen mother carefully made it up for her, it becomes very important.
She thought for a moment and planned to put the albizia buckle and the copper plate Xiaowen gave her into the sachet given to her by her eldest brother.
She opened the sachet and poured out the peace charm inside. Lying in the palm of her hand along with the peace charm, there was also an acacia buckle.
Shi Yunlin said "Huh". Why does the peace charm given to her by the eldest emperor brother still have an acacia buckle?
She took out the acacia button hidden in the sachet and compared it with the one her mother had just made for her. One could tell at a glance that the Albizia Julibrissin button in the eldest brother's sachet was definitely not made by his mother. The workmanship was so rough that Shi Yunlin suspected that the eldest brother had made it up for fun.
"Why did he make this up?" Shi Yunlin murmured to herself.
Not only did I make it up for fun, but I also put it together with the peace charm that I carry with me every day.
Since it was the relic of the eldest brother, Shi Yunlin carefully put it back into the sachet. As soon as she packed her things, Shi Jing trotted over and knocked on the door hard.
"Sister! Sister! Qishanlang sent someone to pick you up!"
Shi Yunlin was stunned.
She said a moment ago that there was nothing to be afraid of in getting married, but now her face paled slightly. She clenched the sachet in her hand, exhaled slowly, then stood up and went out.
Shi Yunlin opened the door and stepped out, asking Shi Jing: "It's not the wedding date, where will he... pick me up?"
Shi Jing shook his head: "I didn't say anything, I just told you to leave quickly."
Shi Yunlin raised her eyes and saw her father and mother standing under the tree. The courtyard door was open and a carriage was parked outside.
Shi Yunlin pursed her lower lip, turned around and went in to change clothes, then took the sachet with her and boarded the carriage that Qishan Lang came to pick her up.
Shi Yantong frowned and watched the carriage leave. Seeing my little daughter being picked up without being asked for her opinion made me feel a little depressed, which was not a good feeling. But when I thought that the wedding date was already set, I reluctantly comforted myself.
He turned around and walked back. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of the cook looking at him with a strange look on his face. When Shi Yantong looked over, she hurriedly got into the kitchen.
Shi Yantong suddenly felt bad and quickly chased into the kitchen and asked, "Do you know the driver who just came to pick him up?"
The cook hesitated for a long time, then whispered: "I don't know him, but he shouldn't be Qishanlang's coachman. Qishanlang doesn't have a coachman, or even a carriage..."
"What's wrong?" the queen asked worriedly.
Shi Yantong took a deep look at the cook. This cook was obviously an informant planted by Qi Guo, why would she tell him so kindly?
It's possible that the person behind the scenes used the cook's advice to get him to find Qishan Lang.
Shi Yantong kept walking around the courtyard, his thoughts racing rapidly. They are both pawns in the battle between Qi Shan Lang and the Qi State Crown Prince. You are already trapped in a situation and you can’t help it. Even if you know there is a conspiracy, what can you do?
Shi Yantong did not dare to gamble with his little daughter's safety, so he immediately took Shi Jing out.
They all agreed that they would not go out. There was no carriage in the yard. When the guard saw the father and son going out, they hesitated and looked at each other, but did not stop them.
There was no carriage, so the father and son asked people all the way and received some blank looks. It took them a long time to find the General's Mansion.
Shi Jing knocked on the door hard. After waiting for a long time, the heavy door was opened. The person who opened the door was an old man with white hair and beard who was walking on crutches. He looked like an octogenarian.
Shi Yantong said: "Old man, my daughter has left something behind. Let's give it to her."
"What?" the old man asked hoarsely, "I can't hear you!"
Shi Yantong looked past the old man into the courtyard, suddenly thought of something, and had a bad feeling in his heart.
Shi Jing became anxious and said loudly: "We have something urgent to ask Qi Shanlang!"
This time the old man heard it. "Oh, you are looking for Qishan Wolf!" He wrinkled eight layers and waved his hands, "But Qishan Wolf doesn't live here."
"Then where does he live?" Shi Jing held his shoulders firmly and asked loudly.
The old man was hurt by being caught and said impatiently: "Qishan wolf, Qishan wolf, of course he lives in Qishan!"
Qishan, that’s too big.
At the same time, the carriage that came to pick up Shi Yunlin stopped on the side of the road. The coachman asked her to get out of the car and transfer to another car.
Shi Yunlin looked out and saw another carriage parked on the side of the road. There are no residential buildings around and it is desolate.
Shi Yunlin's heart suddenly pounded, and she asked, "Where are we going?"
The coachman still waved his hands and couldn't explain clearly as he did when he came to pick up someone. Someone jumped out of the carriage parked on the roadside and came over and said, "Go to the military camp."
Shi Yunlin quietly clenched the sachet in her hand, feeling a little uneasy. She didn't understand why Qishanlang wanted to take her to the military camp...
However, she was not qualified to ask any more questions, so she had to get out of the carriage with an uneasy heart and change to another one.
Shi Yunlin felt increasingly uneasy.
The carriage walked for a while, and Shi Yunlin saw the densely packed military camp with low buildings from the window, and the sound of training on the training ground in the distance could be heard faintly.
Knowing that she had indeed been brought to the military camp, Shi Yunlin breathed a sigh of relief, because in the entire Qi Kingdom, only Qishan Lang could be considered a person who could barely get close.
But Shi Yunlin didn't know that Qishanlang hated people, and he rarely came to places like military camps that were densely packed with people.
The carriage stopped and Shi Yunlin was led through the military camp. Encountering some soldiers on the road, they looked at Shi Yunlin in surprise. Perhaps there was not only surprise in their eyes, but also something else.
"Wait here."
The guide took Shi Yunlin into a room and left.
Shi Yunlin looked around the room and sat down in confusion, waiting silently. She didn't know why Qishanlang brought her here, and she didn't know what she should say when she saw him later.
After waiting for a long time, someone finally came. But it was not the Qishan wolf, but several embarrassed women.
Military prostitute.
