Yutai Bi

Chapter 69 The Sword
He knew she was delaying time, the longer the delay, the more people would come, and he would not be able to leave.Kong Qing took out the box and handed it over: "I said it was a misunderstanding, if you want to know, just take it and read it."

Danhua stretched out his hand to pick it up, but Kong Qing suddenly changed his move, retracted the box into his arms, and kicked Danhua.The hand has drawn the dagger from between the boots.Dan Hua had no weapons, so he caught him off guard.

With the dagger pressed against his neck, Danhua gasped and said, "Kong Qing, you have to kill faster, don't make me suffer."

Hearing the sound of the door being knocked open from the outside, Kong Qing retracted the dagger: "For the sake of fellowship, I won't kill you." He turned the dagger and hit Danhua's neck hard, watching her limp on the ground , turned and went straight to the backyard.

With the wind blowing from behind, Kong Qing tilted her head, and there was a sharp pain in her back.His body stiffened against the wall and fell like a rock.

The guards outside rushed in.

Danhua stood on the ground, looking at the backyard with a pale face: "I hurt him with flowers, and he ran away from the backyard."

The warship sailed into Poyang Lake, and thousands of government soldiers took small boats to search along the reed beach like a net.A tent was set up on the open space beside the lake, and King Teng watched the map silently.

Day and night passed without any news.

The servant next to him said softly: "My lord, they can only hide in the reed beach. The beach by the lake is in the range of Hongzhou, Jiangzhou and Raozhou, and the area is too large. It will take less than half a month to search all of them. impossible."

King Teng stared at the map, and the setting sun came in from outside the tent, casting a large area of ​​warm orange.He stood in the shadows, his cold breath made the servant shut his mouth.That's right, the prince's trusted personal servant dared to betray a commoner girl, who was standing behind Kong Qing?What is the origin of Cen Sanniang who the prince is nervous about?Even if Cen Sanniang is nothing and Kong Qing has not been instigated by others, betrayal itself is unforgivable.Because he humiliated the dignity of the prince.It also humiliated the dignity of the entire Teng Palace guards.

"Set it on fire." King Teng ordered coldly.

The valet was stunned, fire attack was indeed the fastest way to force the two out.But when it burned, the movement became louder.You must know that many fishermen rely on the lake for food, and their homes are located by the reed beach.

King Teng took a look at him: "Thousands of government soldiers entered the lake to suppress the bandits. They didn't need to attack with fire. Could it be that the soldiers and the lake bandits were allowed to play hide-and-seek in the reed beach? Burn it this autumn, and next year the reeds will regenerate. What's wrong with the people plowing out the fields?"

"Yes." The valet bowed to accept the order.

The government soldiers cheered and burned the reed beach, not to mention the lake bandits, even a wild duck had to fly out.Just stay on the lake and stare at it, it is simple and convenient.

Rockets shot out one after another, crackling and burning the withered reed leaves that had been accumulated all summer.Small boats carrying government soldiers beat gongs along the lake to warn, and most of the fishermen used boats as their homes. Even if they built thatched huts on the shore, their household assets were very simple.After getting the notice, they packed up their belongings and left in their own boats.

The government soldiers only need to stare and search these ships.

Cen Sanniang stood beside the thatched hut blankly. Once the reed beach in the distance was ignited, the fire was unstoppable, and thick smoke rolled up with the wind.Although it is still far away from Shazhou where she is, the smoke has already drifted over with the wind.

Kong Qing didn't come back, and she didn't have a boat to row away.She knew in her heart that most people were choked to death by the smoke, not burned to death.Cen Sanniang went into the house, collected some dried fish and flint and flint, wrapped them in oiled paper, took a linen shirt and made a simple mask, and made two bamboo tubes.What she can do, she has already done, whether she can escape this disaster, she doesn't know.

Kong Qing... Cen Sanniang sighed silently as she thought about this mysterious man.She is kind, she doesn't want Kongqing to come.The sound of gongs in the distance and the sound of announcing the departure of all the fishermen let her know that the waters were surrounded, and that Kongqing had come, but it was a trap for herself.

The smoke has gradually drifted over, and the sight cannot see further places.At dusk, several rockets came in, and one of them hit the roof of the thatched hut, and the fire burst into flames in an instant.Cen Sanniang knew that she should go into the water and hide.

She calmly rolled the water tank to the water's edge and turned it upside down, pushing the water tank slowly to the waist-high water.She wrapped the bottom of the water tank densely with reed leaves, which looked like a mass of weeds.She chose a leeward place to take a deep breath and got into the water.

The water tank floats in the air and has air in it.Cen Sanniang could only wait for the air to run out, and then submerged in the water to breathe through the bamboo tube.She hoped the fire would be out by the time the air ran out.

Staying in the sealed water tank, you can't hear the outside sound, it's eerily quiet.Cen Sanniang recalled her past and present lives.It seems that after regaining her life, she has been unable to control her life.In the Cen's family, he was thinking about how to marry better, and when he arrived in Hongzhou, he was thinking about how to avoid becoming Prince Teng's concubine.

If she can escape this catastrophe, she will get rid of the control of the Cen family and King Teng.Can she regain an identity and live a wanton life?Maybe, she still has a chance.Kong Qing's sudden loyalty, his purse embroidered with the same pattern as the hairpin's head seemed to tell her that her identity might not be as ordinary as she imagined.

What will happen to Nanny and Baicao now?They are just two servants. If they can't find themselves, King Teng will not kill them even if he locks them up.As long as you are alive, you will have opportunities.If she is capable, she will naturally take care of them and protect them.I can't protect myself, Cen Sanniang thought with a wry smile, I'm really sorry.

Time passed in her cranky thoughts.The air in the water tank gradually became cloudy, and she felt chest tightness and dizziness.Cen Sanniang swam out of the water tank with the bamboo tube in her mouth, quietly poked out of the water, and took a breath of smoky but incomparably fresh air.She breathed a sigh of relief, thanking the vast lake, and thanking the September wind for not making the surroundings chaotic.

She opened her eyes, it was already dark.Cen Sanniang breathed a sigh of relief, swam into a clump of unburned reeds and slowly poked her head out.

The voice came rushing in, and she was startled.Looking in the direction of the sound, several boats were sailing towards the sandbar.

The lantern torches on the boat reflected the figure of King Teng.He stood at the bow of the boat, wearing a silver-white ramie deep coat and a blue cloak.The evening wind blew his skirt, his figure was as clear as ice and snow.

A group of government soldiers had been waiting on Shazhou for a long time, and when they saw King Teng come ashore, they held out a sword.

Cen Sanniang immediately understood that it was because of Kong Qing's sword hidden in the corner that King Teng came here.At that time, she was only thinking about how to escape from the fire, completely forgetting that Kong Qing did not take the sword with her.

King Teng took the sword.The scabbard was burnt black, he pressed the mouth of the swallow and pulled it out forcefully, the sword let out a soft moan, and a bright sword light flashed under the light of the torch: "Good sword!"

The sword has been wiped and tried. King Teng waved the sword and saw the gems and characters inlaid on the hilt. His pupils shrank, and he took a closer look and closed his eyes with his hands behind his back: "Retreat."

The attendant was puzzled: "This must be the hiding place of Kong Qing and Cen Sanniang. Leaving this sword proves that they left hastily. My lord, maybe when the fire started, they just hid in the water. Just search carefully, Kong Qing You can’t escape with a little girl.”

"Retreat. Go back to Hongzhou. Let's pretend that there are no Kongqing and Cen Sanniang in the world. Don't mention these two names again." King Teng sighed, and boarded the boat without looking back.

A few feet away, Cen Sanniang heard all the conversation clearly.She was full of astonishment, and became even more curious about Kong Qing's identity.

She watched as several boats surrounded King Teng and left.The fire almost burned the reed beach, so that Cen Sanniang's sight was no longer obstructed.When the boat reached the lake, she was surprised to see King Teng throwing the sword far into the bottom of the lake.

The human voice gradually disappeared, the lights went further and further away, and the surroundings became quiet again.

Cen Sanniang climbed onto the bank and collapsed on the ground.

The first quarter moon rose, and the sky was clear and cloudless, casting a hazy light and shadow.After soaking in the water for a long time, the clothes were soaked with mud and stuck to the body very uncomfortable.When the evening wind blows, it is refreshingly cool.

Cen Sanniang didn't dare to let herself fall asleep from exhaustion.When she got up, she saw that the thatched hut on the sandbar had been burned to the point where only a circle of stones remained at the foundation of the wall.The locust tree with crooked neck was burned to the point where only a bare trunk remained.It looked bleak in the moonlight.

She looked around and saw that the reed beach was burning like a scarred head, with uneven patches here and there, and there were faintly unburned embers glowing.There are a few faint stars on the other side of the lake in the distance.It's quiet all around... No one can hear you yelling out your throat.

Cen Sanniang sighed, in such a lonely night, she guessed that no matter how tired she was, she would not be able to sleep well.As for what to do tomorrow and how to leave, she really didn't have any more thoughts to think about, so let's deal with it now.

She opened the oiled paper bag and devoured the dried fish.After gaining some strength, Cen Sanniang searched for unburned firewood around the house and piled it in the corner of the wall foundation, and found some dry branches and leaves to light the fire.The hot air rushed over, and she instantly felt like crying, and she wanted to cry with happiness.She quickly took off her clothes and hung them on the base of the wall to dry.

Cen Sanniang squatted naked by the fire, folded her arms and wondered to herself, if someone came, would they think she was a fairy.

Just thinking about it, she heard the sound of splashing water.Cen Sanniang was startled, quickly took the clothes and put them on, and stretched out her head to look.There was really no way to extinguish the fire, and she resigned herself to her fate, even if King Teng went and returned, it was her fate.

"Sanniang, Sanniang..." The small black boat crashed into the shore, and a figure rushed down from the boat, crying and despairing.

(End of this chapter)