Do you know: I am Xu Jiazi

Chapter 509 Minglan's painting skills [Thank you! Goodbye! 47k more to go]

Yinshi (around 4 a.m.)

The clear night sky is dotted with stars.

The moon appears after midnight.
At this moment, it has climbed high into the sky, casting a clear light.

The snow on the surrounding fields, which had not yet melted, looked grayish white under the moonlight.

"Gu~Gu Gu~"

The owl standing in the tree outside the post station called out.
The early morning seemed to be getting quieter.

Changyuan Post Station,

In the darkness on the roof, Xu Zaijing sat on a wolfskin mat, wrapped tightly in a thick and warm cloak, blending him into the night.

He placed the strong bow with a string strung across his legs under his cloak, with a tube of feathered arrows beside it.

After rubbing his hands, Xu Zaijing put his hands over his ears that were not wearing ear protection.

In the courtyard below,

Several horse-drawn carriages were loaded with fine grain and supplies. Their shafts, without harnessed horses, were propped up flat on wooden supports as thick as forearms.

He Guan walked in the stable, adding some night grass rations into the trough from time to time.

"Squeak~"

The door opened.

Xu Zaijing looked over.
It turned out to be two postmen in the post station, who began to patrol the post station with lanterns in hand and breathing out white air.

In this freezing weather, they don't want to come out for patrol.

However, Xu Zaijing and his group were of rather high status, and as it was unusual, they had been assigned a sentry post at night. As postmen, it was not easy for them to sleep soundly in the room.

If you really make these nobles unhappy, not only them, but also the postmaster and clerks in the post station will suffer.

As ordered, the patrol officer did not approach the stable where He Guan was. He just walked around the yard with a lantern, checked for a while, and then returned to the house.

"Whoo~"

Xu Zaijing covered his mouth and nose with his cloak and exhaled.

The cloak blocked his view, and the white breath he exhaled could not be seen from other places even in the moonlight.

suddenly,

Xu Zaijing stopped what he was doing, moved his ears, and looked towards the official road not far away.

At this time, the owl stopped hooting. Xu Zaijing put his hands next to his ears, and the sound became clearer. It was the sound of horses galloping on the ground.

"Goo~"

Xu Zaijing hooted like an owl.

Hearing the sound, He Guan in the yard stopped what he was doing, glanced at the roof, and listened quietly.

quickly,

The sound of horse hooves approached, and in the post station, the post clerks and postmen who had just come out for inspection also walked out of the house, carrying lanterns and going up to the watchtower on the wall.

Seeing the light of the lantern on the wall,
Outside the post station came the shouts of galloping knights: "Silver military order, prepare the horses quickly!"

Hearing this,

The post station was immediately busy.
Someone shouted, "Quickly fill the gourd with hot water!"

The gate opens.

A Mongolian horse with a complete saddle and bridle was soon led out.

After verifying the seal, the new horse reins and the hot water gourd were handed over to the postman who came running.

The postman, who had been running for an unknown period of time, was now covered in dust and frost. Feeling the warm gourd in his hand, he said thank you and stuffed the gourd into his arms.

The postman bowed and rode away again.

The noise also woke up Gu Tingye, Zhao Meifeng and others.

Candlelights lit up in their rooms, and Gu Tingye's voice rang out: "Zhi Que, don't sleep! Let's get ready early and leave early, and get to Nanle as soon as possible before going to sleep!"

So the yard became busy again.

Firewood was stuffed into several muffled stoves, and the flames suddenly became bright, either for cooking or heating water.

Xu Zaijing stood on the roof and moved his cold body.

Gu Tingye was dressed neatly and walked out of the house.
I happened to see Alan throwing the bit that he had taken off yesterday evening into a bucket of hot water to heat it up.

Seeing Gu Tingye's curious look, Alan explained, "Second Master, I'm just warming up the bit! When I put the bridle on the horse later, it won't be startled by the bit being too cold."

Gu Tingye nodded.

When he was in Bian Jing before, he always rode with a complete saddle and bridle, and he didn't notice that he needed to heat the bit in winter.

Gao Puyu, who was walking behind, exhaled white air and said, "Second Master, if there is no hot water or fire in the wild, either don't unload it, or if you unload it, keep it in your arms to keep it warm."

"Ok!"

Preparation is complete.

After Xu Zaijing and his group had breakfast, they left the post station and continued heading north.

On the way,

Everyone first walked slowly to warm up their mounts, and after two quarters of an hour their pace gradually increased.

When the sun slowly rose from the right side of the crowd, there were already some traces of white frost on the bodies of Xu Zaijing and his men.

The white air exhaled by everyone along the way condensed on their eyebrows and eyelashes because it was too cold, and some condensed on the scarves in front of their noses or on the brims of their hats.

Although the sun only showed its head, it made Xu Zaijing and others feel much more comfortable.

In the early morning before the sun came out, the temperature on the road was so low that people's cheeks hurt and their bodies felt really uncomfortable.

Gu Tingye rode beside Xu Zaijing, leaning sideways to face the sun, feeling the sunshine that was better than nothing, and said in a muffled voice: "Brother Jing, at this time... Huh... Scholar Zhuang should be at the academy, right?"

Xu Zaijing stepped on the stirrups, stood up from the little horse's back, stretched his stiff waist and legs, and said, "Well, Changbai has been learning for more than an hour."

Gu Tingye glanced at the leather boots on Xu Zaijing's stirrups again and asked, "Brother Jing, are your feet frozen?"

Xu Zaijing sat back on the saddle and shook his head, saying, "I stuffed a lot of Ula grass sent by the Huyan family into my boots, so it's OK."

Seeing Gu Tingye's eyes, Xu Zaijing said again: "I'll give you some at lunch."

"That's good enough. It's worth my trouble to accompany you." Gu Tingye said.

Around 10 o'clock in the morning
Jiying Lane,
Sheng family,

The school with the fire burning in the ground was very warm.

Xi Que, who was wearing a rabbit-skin scarf, sat on the low wooden platform behind the school. He looked at Xiao Tao's scarf and whispered:

"Without Sister Qingcao and Sister Qiuniang coming, the wooden platform is empty and it's hard for us to sleep crowded together."

Xiao Tao, with chubby cheeks, nodded in agreement and smacked her lips slightly, as if she was recalling the taste of some delicious food.

Buwei, who was standing next to him, leaned forward and whispered, "It's so cold, the two young masters and Brother Qingyun must be suffering on their journey."

On the other side, Han Niu nodded repeatedly.

Minglan, who was sitting at the back, was balancing the brush head in the inkstone while listening to the low voices of the servants and maids behind her.

Now Wei Xiaoniang is still here,
Minglan did not make Wei Shuyi angry and suffer from a difficult labor, nor did she suffer the pain of losing her mother.
Therefore, Minglan did not become depressed and eat less or have poor appetite due to self-blame, missing her deceased mother, or having wild thoughts, which led to tears and insomnia due to overthinking, thus affecting her physical growth and development and making her body weak.

On the contrary, she had been raised by the old lady over the years, eating well and sleeping well, and was in very good health. After normal development, she was already taller than Lan.

Moreover, Minglan's hair was as black and beautiful as silk, and her skin was as rosy and white as cream.

You know, the reason why Wei Shuyi was able to marry into the Sheng family was because the Wang family was optimistic about her outstanding appearance and temperament.

In addition, leaving aside other things, Sheng Hong's appearance is also outstanding as he has a father who is a top scholar in the imperial examination.

Therefore, Minglan, who combined the advantages of both of their appearances, although her appearance was a little immature and she had slightly chubby cheeks, was already an extremely outstanding beauty at this time.

Listening to the little maid's continued muttering behind her, Minglan held the brush and lowered her head to write. After writing one, Minglan turned her head to look at Xu Zaijing's seat, blinked her long eyelashes, and listened to the whistling of the cold wind coming from outside the partition, and pursed her lips.

Minglan experienced hunger and cold when she was a child in Yangzhou, a city further south.

But cousin Jing and his friends are going further north.

At this time,

"Take a break."

Zhuang Xuejiu, who was sitting behind the desk in front, waved his hands with a bit of disinterest.

The atmosphere in the school suddenly relaxed, and the servants began to busily serve tea and snacks.

But Minglan didn't move much. She just controlled the brush in her hand and started writing the words "the north wind is cold, the rain and snow are heavy" on a new line on the paper.

While writing, Minglan listened to the voices of the young master Qi Heng and the third brother Chang Feng, and felt the gazes sweeping over her from time to time.

Minglan did not look up, but just pursed her lips, holding the pen with her tender white fingers, and continued to write "The north wind is howling, the rain and snow are falling."

It got dark in front of her. Minglan frowned and glanced at the color of the corner of her clothes, then she raised her head.

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"Girl, have some tea."

Xiao Tao stood between Minglan and Qi Heng, holding a teacup and speaking.

Minglan relaxed her frown, put down her brush with a smile, took the teacup to warm her hands, blew on it twice and started drinking.

At the front of the school,

Sitting behind the desk, Zhuang Xuejiu had a panoramic view of the entire scene in the school.

After squinting at Qi Heng, who had a slightly lost expression, Master Zhuang frowned slightly and let out a breath.

When everyone had rested, Zhuang Xuejiao patted the table with his folding fan, waited for everyone to look over, and said:

"Bai Gao has been recovered, Liao and Jin are fighting each other, and today, I suddenly have an idea. Why don't we discuss how to recover and govern the Yanyun area?"

"One quarter of an hour, think about it."

Everyone hurriedly responded.

A quarter of an hour later,
Zai Zhang was called by the scholar and was the first to express his opinion.

Amid the sound of people talking and discussing,

Minglan was sitting at the back, holding a brush and writing something on paper in an orderly manner.

In the light coming through the window paper, it was vaguely visible that the side of the paper Minglan was writing on had been used.

Minglan was using the other side very frugally at this time.

But upon closer inspection, Minglan was not writing at this time, but drawing.

Between a few strokes, one could vaguely make out that it was a cavalryman, riding a large black horse and holding high in his hand a large flag with the word "Zhou" on it.

There is a city gate tower painted in front of the flag.

Minglan then drew a wooden building on the side, and then drew a stick figure with pigtails on top of the building.

Not knowing what she was thinking of, Minglan smiled slightly.

Qi Heng, who was standing in front, had just finished expressing his thoughts. He sat down and looked somewhat complacently at Molan and Rulan who were applauding him. When he looked at Minglan, he saw the smile on Minglan's face.

Seeing this scene, Qi Heng felt extremely relieved and pursed his lips with a smile.

Zhuang Xuejiu was in such a good position that he did not need to look carefully for the scene to come into view again.

"Humph."

Zhuang Xuejiu snorted and said while holding his folding fan: "Chang Feng."

Northern Liao,

Nanjing Xijin Prefecture,
It snowed yesterday.

The snow was not heavy and melted away quickly.

The Northern Liao royal family built a temporary palace in the city, which was not very large.

At this time, outside the rear hall, a monk was walking hurriedly towards the palace.

Seeing this man approaching, the Northern Liao's core guards along the roadside all saluted and greeted him.

Stepping over the threshold and entering the hall, the cold air was blocked outside the door.

The monk straightened his appearance while calming his breathing.

Arriving at the rear hall,

You can also see several strong women from various Mongolian tribes standing nearby, dressed differently from the Northern Liao female officials.

Following the announcement, the monk followed the eunuch inside.

The warm back hall is covered with thick carpets.
Two strong women were wrestling on the carpet, panting.

Looking at Yelu Falcon and Yelu Ying behind the table, the monk bowed and said, "Your Highness, Grand Princess, there is an urgent message from the Bianjing Zhuangfotai by a carrier pigeon."

Yelu Falcon looked at his sister, waved his hand, and said, "Okay, go down."

The two strong women relaxed, stood up, bowed and walked out.

Compared to the Bianjing Palace a few years ago,
At this moment, Yelu Ying's face was clearly that of a woman.
Although her appearance is not gentle and beautiful, her eyebrows and eyes are full of heroism, her eyes are calm, and she has a unique temperament.

Yeluying, who had her hair in a bun, stretched out her hand to the monk and said, "Master, please sit down."

Some strong female officials presented embroidered cushions wrapped in brocade, while others took the information from the monks.

At Yelu Sun's signal, the female official handed the urgent message directly to his sister Yelu Ying.

"Master, what did the urgent report say?" Yelu Falcon asked.

"Your Highness, Maitreya's first disciple sent a letter saying that Xu Jia Wulang had led his men north to Beizhou yesterday!"

Yelu Falcon frowned and said, "It was the Beizhou silencing incident. Did the Great Zhou notice anything?"

The monk shook his head: "That's not the case, but Maitreya's first disciple also said in the letter that if possible, let us take the opportunity to kill this guy to prevent future troubles."

Seeing Yelu Ying put down the paper with the information written on it, he stopped talking.

"According to what was said in the letter, Great Zhou was not aware of it. Xu Wulang went to Beizhou only because he had a grudge with Maitreya's first disciple. He somehow angered the Emperor of Great Zhou and was sent to Beizhou for a tour."

Yelu Falcon nodded, then sighed in frustration: "If only the plan had succeeded, who knew it would turn out like this!"

Hearing this, the monk sitting on the embroidered cushion lowered his head.

Yeluying looked at the papers on the table, raised his eyebrows with a look of nostalgia in his eyes, and asked calmly: "With the experts we have in the Great Zhou, are we sure we can kill Xu Wulang?"

Yelu Ying's voice spread in the hall. A Northern Liao guard standing in the hall, who was obviously Yelu Falcon's confidant, frowned and looked at Yelu Falcon.

The monk looked at Yelu Falcon and the guards not far away, thought for a moment, and said, "Grand Princess, Xu Wulang defeated the Baigao general Mimu Tuoxia with one move; in the Jinyang Stronghold, according to what Your Highness said, one person can defeat a hundred."

The monk took a deep breath and continued, "Let's not talk about the decisive battle of Keyi Gate where a dozen people fought against nearly ten thousand people. But a few days ago, we learned that Xu Wulang hit Tie Yaozi with a spear in the Baigao Palace. The man who was hit was lifted off the ground. This kind of person..."

The monk shook his head and said, "Although Maitreya believers have the aspiration to be reborn, fighting Xu Jia Wulang in the wild is actually courting death. This guy is beyond human power to finish off."

Yeluying frowned and thought for a moment: "What if we don't care about the loss?"

"If we follow what the Grand Princess said, we can lead him to Beizhou City, pour golden juice and kerosene on him, shoot him with poisonous arrows and powerful crossbows, and waste his lives. We will never let him leave Beizhou City!"

Yelu Sun pursed his lips with an expression of reluctance and glanced at his sister.

The monk added: "But, in this case, without Beizhou as the center, the Grand Princess's subsequent plot will not be so easy to launch! It is hard to say how long it will involve the Great Zhou in the future."

Yelu Ying nodded and said sadly: "If possible, I really want to make a deal with the Great Zhou and let Xu Wulang come to our Northern Liao to fight for my Yelu family."

Yelu Falcon on the side rolled his eyes and said, "Sister, when my brother ascends the throne next year, maybe you can invite him as an envoy to come to Xijin Prefecture."

The monk shook his head and said, "Your Highness, Xu Wulang is busy with the Great Zhou Imperial Examination, so he may not come to participate."

Yelu Ying waved his hand and said, "Tell all the people around Beizhou to stay still and wait for orders. Even death cannot ruin my plan."

"As ordered."

(End of this chapter)