Jiangbei female bandits

Chapter 45
Not to mention that Chaoyangzi was cautiously walking towards the south of the Yangtze River with tens of thousands of taels of gold, but He Ze heard that he had lost the gold here, so he was very frightened and angry.He was not in Yiping, but led his troops westward to Wu'an to copy Zhang Huaimin's back route. As soon as Wu'an City was surrounded, he heard that someone had robbed the gold that was transported to Taixing on the river, and he couldn't help saying angrily: "How dare you?" Someone dared to rob my He family's boat on the river, what a coward!"

The soldier who came to report the report said again: "It looks like the gangsters on the river did it, but General Chen Xiao led people to several bandit dens, but they didn't find the gold. Later, they got news, saying It was someone who saw those people get off the boat on the south bank and headed for Jiangnan."

"Going to the south of the Yangtze River?" He Ze sneered when he heard the words, and said, "Why do I see that they want to deliberately create a false impression for people, if they are really robbers from the south of the Yangtze River, they would not dare to go south like this. You go back Tell Chen Xiao that if this guy can figure out the ship's itinerary so clearly, he must have set his sights on Yiping a long time ago, and told him not to look far away, it must be not far from Yiping!"

The soldiers quickly agreed.

He Ze said again: "Tell Chen Xiaomo to forget to look for the lost token. Since they can take the token away, they must be reluctant to lose such a large piece of gold."

The soldier got the order and retreated, and after a while, the curtain of the big tent was pushed aside, and a general with a big but three rough strode in, saying: "Master Twelfth, that old dog Zhang Huaimin sent Yuan Wen to rescue Wu'an."

He Ze lifted his spirits when he heard the words, and said with a smile: "It's him who's waiting, I'm afraid he won't come!"

He hurriedly ordered some generals from the army to come over, and discussed: "Zhang Huaimin has limited troops, and is constrained by Zheng Lun, so there are not many people who can return to help. Let's encircle this Wu'an first, and the city inside the city There is no news from the outside, and the troops in the city dare not go out to fight, and then wait for Zhang Huaimin's reinforcements."

He Ze had a plan in mind, and carefully arranged it for the generals. After listening to it, everyone agreed in unison, and all praised He Ze's ingenious plan.

On the morning of the third day, scouts came to report that Yuan Wen, the general in Zhang Huaimin's tent, had led an army of [-] to fifty miles away.He Ze ordered his deputy general to lead an army of [-] to continue to besiege Wu'an, while he himself led an army of [-] to intercept Yuan Wen on a hillside in the east of Wu'an City.The armies of the two sides fought from noon until dark, and then they called their gold and retreated.

Early the next morning, the two sides had to fight again, and they fought like this for five or six days, when they were exhausted, but He Ze took advantage of the night to exchange the army in his hands with the 2 people besieging the city, and then fought Yuan Wen again.Yuan Wen didn't want that He Jun, who was as tired as his side, suddenly became alive again overnight.Yuan Wen's army was already exhausted from a long journey, and he had been fighting with He Ze for a few days. Seeing that He Ze's army had been helped by a god, they were psychologically broken. How could they resist?After only a short while, the army began to be defeated. Yuan Wen had no choice but to lead the army to flee eastward.

He Ze was not in a hurry to chase, he only sent a few thousand men to chase after him, and the rest turned around to besiege Wu'an.Within a few days, news came that Yuan Wencan's army was ambushed by Zheng Lun of Qingzhou on the road, and the whole army was wiped out.He Ze smiled here, took Wu'an in a leisurely manner, and did not attack Zhang Huaimin, but only stationed troops in Wu'an, threatening Zhang Huaimin's back.

Zhang Huaimin could not stop attacking Qingzhou for a long time. He was already a little impatient, but he didn't want to be cut off by He Ze again, and lost a general and tens of thousands of troops. He was so angry that he kicked over the tables and chairs in the tent, and cursed: " He Zhen didn't have a good son, but he got such a good nephew!"

He Zhen's first wife, Feng Shi, had only one daughter and had no children. He Zhen's only son was the concubine's concubine, who was only seven or eight years old now.Seeing that He Zhen had to reuse his nephew He Ze, the Zhang family and other big families laughed at him, but they didn't expect that He Zhen had really raised He Ze into a fierce tiger, and even dared to let the tiger out of the cage.

Zhang Huaimin was depressed in every possible way, but there was another bad news from Jingyang, that He Zhen personally led the army to take Yuzhou down.This Yuzhou is the throat of Jiangbei, and it has been held in the hands of Zhang's family in Jingyang. It took less than half a year for it to be taken by He Zhen.

If Zhang Huaimin was still furious when he learned that He Ze had captured Wu'an, now that he learned that He Zhen had captured Yuzhou, he didn't even have the energy to get angry.He swayed twice, and hurriedly stretched out his hands to support the table to barely stand upright.The counselor in the tent hurriedly came forward to help, persuading: "General, Jingyang is still here, and we will take Yuzhou back later."

Zhang Huaimin smiled wryly when he heard the words, and said, "You also come to comfort me, taking back Yuzhou is not easy! I shouldn't have listened to dissuasion, insisted on going my own way, and insisted on personally leading the army to take Qingzhou. I am confident that my army is strong and horses are strong, and taking Qingzhou is easy. But I don't think the He family can cooperate with the Xue family regardless of past suspicions."

The counselor was silent for a while, and said, "It is necessary to have Yunxi mediate."

Zhang Huaimin sighed: "Just look at Feng Junyang's pacification of the vassal king's rebellion. Compared with He Ze, that man's ingenuity and resourcefulness are even worse. I think he is young and underestimate him." He slowly sat down in the chair. He sat down, closed his eyes for a long time, and then whispered to the confidant counselor, "You go to Mobei Royal Court and meet Tuoba Yao."

The counselor was startled when he heard it, and asked in a low voice: "General, do you want to lure the Xian family into the pass?"

Zhang Huaimin nodded slowly, and said, "It's the only way to go now."

The counselor's complexion changed slightly, and he said: "After all, the Xian family is a foreign race, borrowing troops from them may cause criticism from others. Moreover, Tuoba Yao moved his capital to Beimo to Beijing, clearly to spy on the pass, and he had no good intentions. What if they What if you come and don’t leave? General, you have to think twice before you act!"

Zhang Huaimin thought for a long time, but he said: "The Xian clan is different from the previous Beimo. They have few people and are unable to occupy this huge Jiangbei land, not to mention that most of their tribes are still accustomed to living in water and grass. Let's borrow troops from them." , give them more gold and silver property at that time, and they will not refuse to leave."

"General!" The counselor persuaded after thinking about it.

Zhang Huaimin raised his hand to stop his words, and said: "At this point, we have no choice but to bring the Xian clan in to fight the He family. Maybe we can still have some respite. Otherwise, the hundreds of years of the Zhang family The foundation will be broken in my hands."

Seeing that he had made up his mind, the counselor couldn't listen to the remonstrance at all, so he had to give up.

While continuing to besiege Qingzhou, Zhang Huaimin secretly sent envoys to Beimo Shangjing to borrow troops from the Xian family Shanyu Tuobayao.It's almost the end of the year, the weather is suddenly cold, no matter Xue Shengying from Qingzhou or He Ze who is stationed in Wu'an, since they are all in the city, they don't feel very sad.Zhang Huaimin, who besieged Qingzhou, suffered from wind, snow and severe cold every day because his army was stationed in the wild. Many soldiers froze to death and suffered frostbite. The situation was even worse than Hukouling.

Although it was colder in the mountains, there were houses to shelter from the cold, and enough firewood was prepared, so there were few casualties among the refugees in the village.The mountain was blocked by heavy snow, and everyone in the village had nothing to do, so they all followed the cat to start the winter.Wen Daya did not know where to find some sweet potatoes and chestnuts, and stood by the stove to roast them until the whole room was fragrant.Although Chen Nian is already the head of the village, he is young and lively after all, he can't stand his greed, and he often comes over to have tooth-beating sacrifices after practicing kung fu.

Wen Daya said casually: "Master, seeing more and more refugees coming to seek refuge, we can't just sit and eat like this."

Chen Nian had just picked out a few roasted and cracked chestnuts from the ashes, held them in his hands until they were so hot that he blew air on them, turned his left and right hands a few times but was reluctant to throw them away, and finally threw them to Lu Xiao who was beside him, Watching him peeling the chestnuts helplessly, he asked Wen Da Ya, "What do you want?"

Wen Da Ya said: "Didn't the head of the family say before that you can go to far away to do business? How about we go far away?"

Lu Xiao silently peeled the chestnuts and handed them back to Chen Nian. Chen Nian couldn't help showing a smile on his face, and said to Wen Daya: "I can't go to the east and west for now, you said it's going to the south. Go or go north?"

To the south is to go to Jiangnan via Yiping, and to the north is Xuanzhou. Wen Daya secretly compared these two places, and asked tentatively, "How about we go to Xuanzhou?"

Chen Nian gnawed on a chestnut, nodded casually and said, "Okay."

Wen Daya didn't want this matter to be so easy to settle down, and seeing Chen Nian focused on Lu Xiao peeling chestnuts for her, he felt a little speechless, and wanted to say a few words about Chen Nian, but he didn't dare after all. Shada was also holding a piece of roasted sweet potato and eating deliciously, couldn't help asking: "Sida, are these chestnuts really so delicious?"

Silly raised his head to look at Wen Daya, then looked down at the sweet potato in his hand, finally raised the sweet potato in front of Wen Daya, and said naively: "Brother Wen, this is a sweet potato, not a chestnut."

Wen Daya was so choked by his words that he almost fell back, he stared and wanted to scold, but out of the corner of his eyes, he caught sight of both Chen Nian and Lu Xiao looking at him. : "Don't care what it is, eat it, eat it."

Shada chuckled twice, finished eating the sweet potato in his hand, and then went to the fire to pull out chestnuts to peel.He has thick skin and thick flesh and is not afraid of being scalded, so he quickly peeled off a dozen of them, and handed a handful to Chen Nian, saying: "Here, master!"

Wen Daya saw how blind he was, wishing he could kick him, he hurriedly said: "Look at your dirty hands, you're too embarrassed to give it to the boss, eat it yourself!"

Unexpectedly, Chen Nian took most of the chestnuts in his hand with a smile, threw one into his mouth, and distributed the rest to Lu Xiao, and thanked the fool with a smile: "Thank you very much."

Seeing that both Chen Nian and Lu Xiao didn't dislike him, Silly Dao was even more happy, he gave Wen Daya a smug look, and said, "Look! The boss doesn't dislike me."

Wen Daya glared at him bitterly, but felt puzzled, took advantage of his unpreparedness, suddenly reached out and snatched all the chestnuts left in his hand, and put them into his mouth.The idiot reacted again, it was too late to grab it.When this fool had an idea, he rushed over and wrapped his hands around Wen Da Ya's neck, threatening: "Spit it out, don't swallow it!"

Wen Da Ya hurriedly broke Sha Da's hand with both hands, he couldn't speak, but he just refused to spit out the chestnuts.Chen Nian and Lu Xiao couldn't help laughing when they saw him arguing like children over a few chestnuts.The house was bustling with activity, but someone came to report outside the door, saying that it was Zhu Zhen who came to see him.

This Zhu Zhen was originally the leader of the Hukou Ridge. When Chen Nian and others occupied the village, they took a fancy to this man's low profile and knowledge of current affairs, so they left him to help manage the village affairs. The most important thing is to calm people's hearts so as not to cause trouble. There were too many conflicts from the original Hukouling village.After the situation stabilized, many affairs in the village began to be gradually handed over to Wen Daya and others, Chen Nian saw that this person was indeed worthy of reuse, so he didn't show him outside, treating him like Niutou Village and others.

However, Zhu Zhen's style of acting was the same as before, still low-key and silent, he would take care of the things Chen Nian handed down, but if nothing happened, he never took the initiative to join Chen Nian.Today he took the initiative to come to find Chen Nian, which made everyone feel a little surprised.

Wen Daya looked at Chen Nian, and asked her: "Do you want to clean these things?"

"No need." Chen Nian smiled, but he didn't get up to greet him, he was still sitting by the fire pond, and told the people in the village outside the gate, "Quickly invite Chief Zhu to come in."

A moment after the words fell, the door curtain was opened from the outside, and Zhu Zhen stepped into the house with a gray-robed man in his twenties. When he raised his eyes, he saw Chen Nian was peeling chestnuts around the fire, and he couldn't help but feel a slight smile on his face. Startled.

Chen Nian looked up at him, smiled and said, "It's warm here, come and sit."

Zhu Zhen hesitated for a moment, then walked over to the fire pond.Wen Daya smiled and passed the small stool to him, then raised his foot and kicked Shada again, cursing in a low voice: "Get up, make room, you look like a bear."

Silly got up reluctantly, but before he stood up, Zhu Zhen pushed him down again, saying: "No, no, just squeeze to keep warm."

Shada grinned at him and moved to the side to make room.Zhu Zhen took the man in gray robe and sat down by the fire pond, looking at Chen Nian who was still concentrating on peeling chestnuts, he didn't know how to speak for a moment, thought for a while, and said: "Brother Fan has something to ask the big boss Say, I'll bring him here."

Chen Nian looked up at the man in gray robe, but said: "I recognize you."

The gray-robed man was slightly startled, he cupped his fists calmly and cupped his hands towards Chen Nian, and called out neither humble nor overbearing: "The master."

"Fan Jingyun, isn't it?" Chen Nian smiled and asked, "I saw you at the priest's place, do you know medical skills?"

"It's a villain." Fan Jingyun responded, but then explained, "I don't really know medical skills, but I have sold medicinal materials a few times when I was a businessman, so I know a little bit about the properties of medicine."

Chen Nian raised his eyebrows unconsciously, since this Fan Jingyun had sold medicinal materials, I don't know why Chaoyangzi didn't take him to Yunxi.She took a look at Fan Jingyun and asked him, "Do you know where he grew up?"

For the sake of safety, only a few leaders in the village knew about Chaoyangzi's going to Yunxi, and even Zhu Zhen didn't know where Chaoyangzi went.Chen Nian asked Fan Jingyun, just to make a test, but he replied: "I know, the Taoist chief originally wanted to ask the villain to go with him, but a while ago, the villain's mother was ill, and the villain dared not leave, so he had no choice but to leave." Live up to the value of the Taoist priest."

Chen Nian saw that this man spoke very thoughtfully, nodded his head slightly, and then asked him again: "What do you need from me?"

Fan Jingyun explained the purpose of coming, and actually suggested that Chennian re-divide the residences of the refugees in the village, "Gather the fellow villagers together, and select those who can convince the crowd. , and less fighting."

Chen Nian, Cui Xi and the others had also thought about this, but they were afraid that these refugees from the same hometown would form cliques and be difficult to manage, so they gave up.Now that Fan Jingyun mentioned it, she pondered for a moment, and said: "This matter has advantages and disadvantages, and we have to think about it in the long run."

Fan Jingyun continued: "Because the villain knows some superficial medical skills, he is often called to bandage everyone's wounds. The villain has been through this a few times, and found that everyone's fights are mostly due to conflicts of interests." Speaking of this, he couldn't help revealing I smiled wryly, "When we fled around in the past, everyone felt very grateful if someone gave me a stutter. But now there are food, drink and houses to live in, but some people are dissatisfied. They want to live more spaciously, eat more better."

Chen Nian lowered his eyes, and said lightly: "There is not enough heart."

Fan Jingyun continued: "So the villain was thinking, can you find something for everyone to do, I'm busy, so there may be no free time for you to fight over."

This idea coincided with Chen Nian, and Chen Nian said: "When the weather turns warmer in the spring, we will organize everyone to open up wasteland and farm in the mountains, and build some new houses."

"That's good." Fan Jingyun said with a smile.

After the matter was finished, Fan Jingyun followed Zhu Zhen to leave.

Wen Daya looked at Fan Jingyun very pleasingly, and couldn't help but said to Chennian: "Master, I think this Fan is a person with mental calculations, why don't you transfer him to my subordinates and be my helper? "

Chen Nian said: "You go back and check his details carefully, as long as there is no problem, just tell Zhu Zhen that you want to come and use it."

Wen Daya is currently in charge of the food, drink and miscellaneous affairs of the entire cottage, which is quite strenuous, and he has always wanted to find a capable assistant to help.Not only did he fall in love with Fan Jingyun, but also got Chen Nian's promise, so he immediately sent people to find out his details.

Within two days, Fan Jingyun's situation was found out. It was indeed as he said, a native of Wu'an, with only one old woman in his family. Marry a wife.Later, when the war broke out in Wu'an, he took his old mother and fled here along with a few fellow villagers.

Only then did Wen Daya feel relieved, and transferred him to his side for use.

Regarding how to resettle the refugees, Chen Nian discussed with Cui Xi several times, and then called Fan Jingyun over to ask his opinion.Before the warm spring, according to Fan Jingyun's suggestion, the outer village was re-divided into areas, and refugees from different states and counties were resettled.They also pick out strong men to weave together, farm the land when they are busy, and learn some stick skills when they are free.

The miscellaneous things in the cottage are chaotic every day, and by the time the things of opening up wasteland and farming have been arranged, it is already March in Yangchun.As soon as Chen Nian breathed a sigh of relief here, Wen Daya remembered that he was going to Xuanzhou to do business again, and hurriedly urged Chen Nian to go out.

Chen Nian felt quite helpless, and asked him: "Wen Daya, even if you command the ox, you still have to give it some time to breathe, don't you?"

Wen Daya, however, laughed and said: "Didn't I see the hard work of the head of the family, and I want you to go out to relax! Doing business is just a side thing, it's optional, it's optional!"

Chen Nian lost his temper with him, so he nodded and said, "Okay."

But going to Xuanzhou is different from going to Feilongxing. It is a big city, and the prosperity is not below Jizhou City, so you can't grab it openly with a sword.Chen Nian approached Cui Xi for a discussion, and Cui Xi said: "We have just gained fame now, all relying on the word 'righteousness'. Instead of robbing those wealthy households scatteredly, it is better to simply be a big one and try to rob Xuanzhou's official bank. .”

Chen Nian only thought that he was daring, but he didn't think Cui Xi was even more daring. He looked at him silently, and said: "We won't get any advantage if we compete with the government."

But Cui Xi said: "The world is so chaotic now, because people know that we did it, people from Xuanzhou can't chase us into our mountains, and Qingzhou and Jizhou don't have time to stand up for him. And with a lot of money , so we can go buy food."

Chen Nian was silent, Cui Xi persuaded again: "Although we have enough food now, but looking at the current situation, Jiangbei has not been able to survive in the past two years. More and more people will come to defect in the future. We must afford these Talent will do."

Chen Nian was moved by his words, gritted his teeth, and said: "Okay, I will follow what you said. However, if the other party can't find out who did the case, that would be the best!"

The two of them discussed carefully, and found someone who knew Xuanzhou to inquire about the situation there, and finally made a preliminary plan.In Chennian, Cui Xi and Wen Daya were left to guard the cottage, while he brought Shada, Fan Jingyun and a group of people to Xuanzhou pretending to be merchants from Jizhou.

Don't look at Wen Daya who wanted to rush out of Chen Nian immediately, but when she left, he couldn't help worrying, and told him: "Master, this time I'm going to do serious business, take a look first. Let’s talk about the situation, don’t be in a hurry, safety first.”

Chen Nian smiled and said, "Don't worry, it's fine with Lu Xiao here." She paused for a while, then called Wen Daya aside, and said in a low voice, "When you meet a difficult person who comes to make trouble, if you can't hold back , go and ask my master to come forward."

Jing Yuxuan has been secretly practicing Wuyun magic skills, and he has no scruples after Chaoyangzi left. Although his skills have only recovered five or six points at this moment, it is more than enough to deal with ordinary martial arts masters.Wen Daya didn't know about Jing Yuxuan's secret practice, but since Chen Nian explained it like this, he nodded in agreement.

Chen Nian said again: "The Taoist priest has been away for such a long time, and I don't know what the situation is. If there is any important news from him, please send someone to send a message to me."

Wen Daya replied: "I know, Master, don't worry."

Only then did Chen Nian bring Lu Xiao and others down the mountain, and headed north along the winding mountain roads that were newly green on both sides.The mountain road was difficult, and they walked in no hurry. When they arrived in Xuanzhou, the spring breeze had passed Yanci Mountain, blowing away the apricot blossoms outside Xuanzhou City.

The willow silk hangs swallows, and the apricot blossoms are like snow.Seeing such a beautiful scenery, everyone was stunned for a moment.Chen Nian got off the horse first, and led the horse slowly down the hillside, walking all the way, as if he was in a picture scroll.She couldn't help turning her head to look at Lu Xiao, and asked with a light smile, "Do you think there will be flower demons here?"

Lu Xiao looked at her deeply, nodded solemnly, and said, "Yes."

Chen Nian didn't know that her features were picturesque, elegant and vulgar, and she was the most charming flower demon in the flower rain at this moment. Hearing Lu Xiao's affirmative answer, she couldn't help but curled up her mouth, showing a hint of naughtiness, and jokingly said: "Then you Be careful not to be taken away by the flower demon."

Lu Xiao's face was reddish, he looked away from her face, and said, "Okay."

Fan Jingyun, who was behind, caught up and interjected with a smile: "Young Master, this southern slope is also called Xinghuapo. Every year when the apricot blossoms bloom, people from Xuanzhou often come here to play. But let's go This is not the best scenery, the best is still in the east. There is a lake with weeping willows beside the lake, apricot blossoms on the slope like snow, green mountains on the top, and green lake on the bottom. The scenery is the most prosperous and the tourists are the most. "

Chen Nian looked back at him and asked, "So, Brother Fan has been there?"

Fan Jingyun replied: "A few years ago, I went there admiringly, and accidentally bumped into a beautiful lady who went to enjoy the scenery."

His words immediately attracted everyone's attention, and some curious people couldn't help asking him loudly: "What's the result?"

Fan Jingyun smiled and said generously: "I was almost beaten to death by her guards, but it was thanks to the lady's words that I survived."

Chen Nian didn't feel curious when he heard it, and asked, "What did the young lady say?"

"She said," Fan Jingyun paused on purpose, causing everyone to wait with bated breath for his next sentence, then he narrowed his voice and imitated a woman's voice and said, "Oh, don't beat him to death. take my place!"

Everyone was stunned when they heard it, and then they burst out laughing.

Shada didn't know what was so ridiculous, he just asked Chen Nian in a rough voice: "Young master, when can we go to the city? I'm very hungry."

Chen Nian got on his horse, lifted the rein, and said with a smile, "Here we go into the city."

The crowd followed her and ran down the slope, and the group went down the mountain to find the official road, and went straight to the outside of Xuanzhou City.Because Fan Jingyun had been a merchant before, he knew the tricks, besides paying the government's taxes and money, he also secretly gave enough money to the guards at the city gate, and then he led the people into the city smoothly, and found a small family. Stay at the inn.

When night fell, Chen Nian had just fallen asleep when she heard someone knocking on her window outside the house.She sat up, looked at the figure outside the window, and asked in a low voice, "Lu Xiao?"

I heard Lu Xiao answer softly outside: "It's me."

Chen Nian put on his clothes and got off the bed, walked over and opened the window, saw Lu Xiao under the window, and asked him, "What's the matter?"

Lu Xiao showed her the wine jar in his hand, and asked, "Xie Chennian, the two of us secretly went outside the city to enjoy flowers and drink, okay?"

Chen Nian didn't think that he came to look for her late at night because of this, so he couldn't help but smiled, and said: "Then you have to climb over the city wall, the city wall of Xuanzhou City is very high."

Lu Xiao nodded: "Well, they couldn't make it over, so we had to go two."

Chen Nian glanced at the wine jar, and asked with a smile: "But apricot blossom wine? If it's apricot blossom wine, I'll let you go."

Lu Xiao grinned at her, turned the wine jar around, showed her the red paper on the jar, and said, "It is said to be the best apricot blossom wine."

Only then did Chen Nian nod his head and said, "You wait for me outside for a while, and I'll come out right away."

Lu Xiao nodded slightly, and smiled silently at her, just below the fence on the second floor, he turned over on the roof.Chen Nian carefully closed the window sash, went back to the bed and put on his clothes, locked the door from the inside, went out through the window, and jumped onto the roof lightly.

Lu Xiao was sitting on the ridge of the roof waiting for her. Seeing her coming, he stood up and looked at her. He only smiled foolishly, then turned around and flew away.Chen Nian rushed forward a few steps to his side, took his hand and jumped from the roof to the street, whispering: "Do you want someone to catch you as a snitch?"

Lu Xiao hesitated for a moment, held her hand behind his back, and said, "Okay."

Chen Nian didn't know why he answered "yes", and looked at him sideways in surprise.Lu Xiao felt his heart beating violently in his chest, he pulled her hard as if to cover up, and hurriedly said, "Let's go!"

The two of them walked through the secluded alleys, walked all the way to the south of the city, climbed over the city wall that was several feet high, and performed light kung fu and ran for more than ten miles, and finally arrived at the apricot grove that they passed by during the day.

At this moment, the moon is in the middle of the sky, the night is quiet and the wind is cool, and the flowers and rain are falling, and the fragrance is refreshing.Taking advantage of the moonlight, the two found an apricot tree that was in full bloom and sat down under it.Lu Xiao patted the wine jar away with his hands, took out two more wine bowls, filled them up separately, handed one bowl to Chen Nian, and asked, "Have a taste, how about it?"

Chen Nian took the bowl with a smile, took a sip, and praised: "Good wine."

Lu Xiao drank his own bowl in one gulp, thought about it a bit, but said: "It's still a bit bland."

Chen Nian smiled, held his bowl of wine with both hands, and said: "I don't drink well, this bowl is enough, open it up and drink it yourself, I will accompany you slowly."

Lu Xiao knew that Chen Nian was not good at drinking, so he didn't let her. He simply threw away the wine bowl, held the wine jug and drank freely, occasionally stopped to look at Chen Nian, although he didn't say anything, his eyes were smiling and full of affection.

This situation seemed familiar, and Chen Nian felt a little dazed, and suddenly remembered that night, it was also like the moonlight, although there were no apricot blossoms like snow, but green grass, the man sat on the grass and looked up at her , chuckled and asked her: "Chen Nian, do you dare to come and kiss me?"

She obviously felt that she had left all the past behind, but at this moment, there was still a dull pain in her heart.She didn't dare to think about it anymore, she hurriedly drank the remaining wine in the bowl in one gulp, got up and went elsewhere.

Lu Xiao looked at her strangely, and asked her, "Xie Chennian, where are you going?"

Chen Nian paused, turned to look at him, and replied with a smile: "I remember Brother Fan said that the scenery in the east is better, so I want to go and have a look."

Lu Xiao didn't doubt that he was there, so he dropped the wine jar, stood up, and said, "Okay, I'll accompany you."

The two walked eastward along the gentle slope, and after another five or six miles, they saw a lake at the foot of the mountain, weeping willows by the lake, and an apricot forest on the slope, which was really as beautiful as Fan Jingyun said.Chen Nian turned around and smiled with Lu Xiao, "I don't know where Brother Fan came from to attack that official lady."

Lu Xiao shook his head and said, "I don't know."

The two of them walked a little further, when Chen Nian heard someone's voice in the apricot grove in the distance, he was surprised and said: "Could it be that we are not the only ones enjoying the flowers at night?"

She became curious for a while, and followed the sound with light steps. After walking about a dozen feet, she suddenly heard someone shouting and asking, "Who is in front?"

The voice was cold and hard, and the tone was slightly weird.Chen Nian heard it strangely, and felt that the tone seemed familiar, so after thinking about it, he turned around and asked Lu Xiao, "Are you from the Xian family?"

Lu Xiao was also a little uncertain. After thinking for a while, he asked loudly in Xian's dialect: "Who are you?"

There was a silence in Xinglin, and a moment later, a big man in black came out from the shadow behind the tree, took a closer look, and shouted in surprise and joy: "Bu Liuguxiao?"

Lu Xiao was stunned for a moment, with surprise on his face, he took a few steps forward and hugged the big man in black vigorously, thumped each other's chest, and said with a smile: "Hou Baili, what are you doing?" it's here?"

The two of them spoke Xian's dialect, and Chen Nian didn't understand it at all, but seeing Lu Xiao's affectionate demeanor with the man, he guessed that he must have a very good relationship, so he was not in a hurry, just stood aside and smiled Looking at the two of them.But I don't know what the big man in black said to Lu Xiao again. Lu Xiao's face suddenly became serious. He glanced back at her, whispered a few words to the big man in black, and then turned to Chen Nian. Walking over here, he said softly: "I have a friend in front, I want to go over and say a few words, can you wait for me here?"

Chen Nian saw some weirdness in his words and deeds, although he felt puzzled in his heart, he still nodded and said: "Okay."

Lu Xiao forced a smile at her, and was about to follow the big man in black to the apricot forest, but a few people walked out of the forest.The leader was also wearing a black robe, and his figure was very tall and heroic.When it got closer, Chen Nian looked at him through the moonlight, although he couldn't see his facial features clearly, but only the vague outline made people think that he must be extremely handsome.

The man walked over slowly, first glanced at Chen Nian, then turned to look at Lu Xiao, and said, "Lu Xiao."

He speaks Chinese.

Chen Nian didn't think he could speak Chinese, so he was slightly taken aback.Lu Xiao obviously hesitated for a while, and then stepped forward to salute the man in black, but called in Xian's dialect: "My king."

That man was Shanyu Tuobayao of the Xian family, and when he heard Lu Xiao speak Xian's dialect to him, Tuobayao raised his eyebrows slightly, switched back to Xian's dialect, and asked Lu Xiao: "Are you afraid that she will know my identity? "

Lu Xiao thought for a while and replied, "Wang, she still doesn't know her own identity."

Tuobayao nodded slightly, waved away the guards around him, and when there was no one in front of him, he asked Lu Xiao, "Is that her?"

At that time, Mu Zhanyue promised that Lu Xiao would not hide the truth about the princess's orphan from Tuobayao. Now that Tuobayao asked this question, Lu Xiao knew that Mu Zhanyue did not lie to him, "Yes, she is the real Yashan. The princess is an orphan." He explained Chennian's life experience and the reason why he stayed with Chennian to Tuobayao, and then explained: "Because Qiu Muling is still needed to get the spirit bones, I feel that what he said is right. He made some sense, so he followed his arrangement. Qiu Mulingyue also promised me that he would report the truth to the king."

Tuoba Yao's expression softened a little, and he said, "He really didn't hide it from me."

Chen Nian heard the two of them chattering in Xian's dialect for a long while, and seeing Lu Xiao's serious expression, he guessed that they were talking about an important matter, not just an ordinary reminiscence between friends.Moreover, Lu Xiao didn't want her to know about this matter, and it could even be said that he deliberately wanted to hide it from her.Because the man in black could speak Chinese, but Lu Xiao deliberately used Xian's dialect to talk to him.

Chen Nian was silent, and stood there calmly. After listening to the two of them talking for a while, he stopped, but the man in black looked up at her, stared at her a few times, and seemed to ask Lu Xiao Xiao said something.Lu Xiao's expression suddenly flustered, he turned his head to look at her quickly, then knelt down on one knee in front of the man, and bowed his head in response.

Tuobayao looked down at Lu Xiao for a moment, and asked, "Age Ren, do you still remember why my father gave you the name Xiao?"

Lu Xiao pursed his lips and replied, "He wants me to be the most valiant warrior in the Xian family."

"Thank you for remembering!" Tuobayao's face was slightly cold, and his facial features were obviously extremely handsome, but he revealed indescribable majesty. He said in a cold voice, "Get up, Bu Liugu Xiao, you are the future of the Bu Liugu clan. The patriarch is my most trusted brother, you should not bend your knees and lower your noble head for a woman."

Lu Xiao raised his head and looked directly at Tuobayao, with eager light shining in his eyes, and said word by word: "My lord, please help me. There is already an orphan of a princess by your side. You said that blood can't represent anything. Since So please give her to me."

Tuobayao frowned, looked at Lu Xiao for a moment, and then said: "A Geren, you are so naive, I am really disappointed. Her identity determines that she has only two ways to go, or become a real Or, die quietly. It is impossible for the blood of the princess to be combined with your family, and I will never allow a sharp machete to be hidden behind my back."

Lu Xiao's body trembled unconsciously, his pupils constricted instantly, and he stared at Tuobayao firmly.

Seeing him like this, Tuobayao suddenly smiled and asked, "Age Ren, will you choose to love her, or choose to be loyal to me?"

Lu Xiao was experiencing pain in his heart, his teeth were clenched tightly, and after a while he slowly loosened, lowered his eyes, and surrendered to Tuobayao: "Bu Liuguxiao will always be loyal to you, my king. "

Tuoba Yao suppressed the smile on the corner of his mouth, turned his head and glanced at the silent Chen Nian beside him, stretched out his hand to press Lu Xiao's shoulder, and said softly: "If she didn't have the blood of the princess, I would definitely give her You are a wife. No matter how beautiful a woman is, it cannot compare with our brotherhood. If you really love her very much now, then stay with her first. When you don’t love her in the future, you can choose to send her back Wang Ting, or kill her."

Lu Xiao raised his head to look at Tuobayao in astonishment, and said anxiously: "Don't kill her, I'm just protecting her personally, and never told me that I like her. Besides, she is someone Qiu Muling values ​​more and more. , killing her will force Qiu Mu Lingyue back."

Chen Nian stood aside, although he couldn't understand what the two of them were talking about, it could be seen that they looked at him several times, obviously mentioning her.This feeling made her very uncomfortable. If it wasn't for the fact that Lu Xiao was here, she would have turned around and left instead of calling.

She endured it for a while, and then she saw Lu Xiao stand up, bow to the man and leave, step by step back to Chen Nian's side.The man in black looked at Chen Nian again, nodded slightly at her, but turned around and walked into Xinglin.He didn't take two steps, he heard another dispute in Xinglin, one side seemed to be the guard of the man in black, and the other seemed to be a young woman.

When Chen Nian was wondering, he suddenly heard the woman shouting loudly in the forest: "Tuobayao! Tuobayao! Did you crash into a tree and pass out?"

Chen Nian was startled when he heard the voice, he felt that the voice was very familiar, and subconsciously wanted to chase into Xinglin to see it, but Lu Xiao grabbed her, shook his head slightly, and said in a low voice, "Let's go back quickly."

After speaking, regardless of Chen Nian's wishes, he forcibly dragged her back and forth.Chen Nian couldn't help turning his head to look at the apricot grove, and said, "Why do I hear that voice sounds like Yun Sheng's?"

But Lu Xiao just dragged her forward and replied impatiently: "No, you heard it wrong."

He dragged her and ran straight for more than ten miles, and stopped when he was almost outside Xuanzhou City.Chen Nian shook his hand away, and asked with some displeasure: "Who are those people? Are you talking about me?"

Lu Xiao turned to look at her, but didn't know how to answer for a moment.

Chen Nian looked at him carefully, and asked the question in his heart: "You deliberately used Xian's dialect with him, what did you hide from me?"

Lu Xiao didn't answer, just looked down at her.Under the moonlight, her face became more and more beautiful, and there seemed to be stars shining in her eyes.Without warning, he stretched out his hand to wrap her in his arms, and lowered his head to kiss her lips.Chen Nian froze, subconsciously leaned back to avoid it, put his hand in front of his lips, and shouted in a low voice: "Lu Xiao!"

Lu Xiao didn't stop, his lips fell directly on her hand, he paused for a moment before leaving, and said in a low voice, "Xie Chennian, I like you."

Chen Nian didn't want him to suddenly confess his feelings to her, even though she knew his affection for her before, but now she said it face to face, she still didn't know how to deal with it, and she couldn't help but blushed in embarrassment.

Lu Xiao looked down at her, with hesitation and struggle in his eyes, but finally said: "Xie Chennian, there are some things I can't tell you now, but I don't want to lie to you, so don't ask any more."

He frankly told the story like this, even though Chen Nian was not happy, but he couldn't continue to press him, so he just nodded, turned around and walked forward silently.Lu Xiao stood on the spot, and then chased after her again, but he didn't get close to her, and only followed a few steps behind her.

The two climbed over the city wall one after the other and returned to the inn. Chen Nian quietly pushed his window open, and when he was about to jump in, he heard Lu Xiao calling her softly from behind, asking in a low voice: "Are you angry? "

Chen Nian turned around, looked at him for a moment, and said with a smile: "I feel a little uncomfortable in my heart, but it's nothing. I know you are in trouble, and I won't be really angry with you. Don't think too much, go back to sleep Bar."

After she finished speaking, she smiled at him again, then jumped into the house, turned around and closed the window.Lu Xiao stood blankly outside her window for a long time before turning around and leaving.Chen Nian sat silently by the bed, watching Lu Xiao's figure disappear from the window, and waited for a while, but when he heard no more movement, he got up secretly, changed into a night clothes, and turned out of the window again. , and rushed out of the city along the old road.

(End of this chapter)