Chapter 47 Chapter 4 Friends from afar

It was already late at night when she woke up, there were two braziers in the room, the air was very dry, Chu Qiao's throat was dry, she fumbled to get up to find water to drink. As usual, there was a pot of milk warmed in the small warm cage on the table, which was produced by the snow deer raised in Nanlan Temple and was extremely precious.Chu Qiao poured out a small cup and took a sip, her mouth was filled with fragrance, and it became warm from top to bottom. The room is very dark, the moon is very big tonight, it hangs brightly in the sky, and the Yingge Courtyard is brightly illuminated, when the window is opened, the bright moonlight shines in.She sat on a chair, propped her elbows, leaned against the window eaves, and let out a long breath.

She has lost count of how many times she has looked at this yard like this, time flies by, and many times, she can't tell whether everything in front of her is a dream, or the memory of her previous life is just an illusion. It has been almost eight years since I arrived in this world.Eight years is enough to change many things, including a person's thoughts, beliefs, aspirations, and goals and ideals of hard work. There are two wooden stakes in the yard, which have been standing there for more than seven years. Even in such a dark night, the deep and shallow knife marks on the wooden stakes can be clearly seen by the bright moonlight.That was the place where she and Yan Xun practiced martial arts for these years. In the first few years, they did not dare to practice during the day. They could only quietly hold a knife every night, go out to watch the wind alone, and practice quietly alone. The exquisite sword techniques that Chu Qiao drew combine the essence of martial arts from all over the world.Every time one or two palace people passed by, they would turn blue with fright, and then let out a long breath of cold air when others left.

In the west conservatory in the side wing, there were always two sets of quilts prepared. At that time, they didn't have a single servant they could trust.Often, two children will live in the same room with a sword in their arms. When one is asleep, the other must be awake. Alarmed, the two would pull out their knives and jump up from the bed. The antique vases on the bookshelves in the study room are always filled with various wound medicines, ready for emergencies.Although they seldom use it, they have gradually developed such a habit. Even the chopsticks and spoons they eat are made of silver, and they feed many little rabbits. Every meal must be eaten first by the rabbits, waiting for a day and a half Dare to eat into the mouth.In the first few years, they never seemed to have a freshly cooked meal.

Whether it is hot summer or mid-winter, a layer of soft armor should always be covered under the inner shirt.Whether it is eating or sleeping, there must always be the most convenient weapon on your body.Time passed slowly like this, no matter how difficult it was, they still grew up side by side.Hope suddenly became no longer dim, and the future was no longer hopeless, and a trace of warm anticipation gradually grew in my heart.Chu Qiao raised the corners of her lips lightly, so, maybe it is the so-called sense of belonging, after so many years, so many killings, so many scheming plots, she finally no longer regards herself as an outsider, wants to escape, wants to stay out of it .

In fact, from the moment she walked into this imperial city, their fates had already been tightly bound together. Thinking of this, Chu Qiao couldn't help but looked towards the northwest sky, where there were Huihui Mountain and Huoleiyuan that Yan Xun had described to her countless times, and the Yanbei Grassland they had always longed for.In every cold night, in every humiliating predicament, in every hatred-filled situation, he supported them and made it through with difficulty. Taking a deep breath and closing the window, the girl came to the desk, spread out a chart, lowered her head, and looked at it carefully.

The door creaked and was slowly opened. The man was wearing a cotton white gown with a circle of fine camel hair around his neck. The clothes were upright and handsome, and he looked very handsome.Chu Qiao raised her head, smiled slightly, did not get up, and said hello while sitting, "It's so late, why are you still awake?" "Didn't you sleep too?" Yan Xun walked in with a food box, opened the lid, and said, "You slept until midnight and didn't eat dinner, aren't you hungry?" As soon as the words fell, there was a loud belly drumming sound, Chu Qiao rubbed her belly and smiled embarrassedly: "It's okay if you don't say it, but it will start to rebel once you say it."

"Eat some first and see if it suits your appetite." "En," Chu Qiao put down the pen and paper, stood up and took the food box, looked at it, and exclaimed in surprise, "Ah! It's pear blossom dumplings!" "Well, I know you like to eat. I asked someone to prepare it early in the morning. It has been frozen outside for several days. I just waited for you to come back. I just cooked it." "Hehe," the girl narrowed her eyes into a line, and said with a smile, "Yan Xun, every time I eat this, I feel like I'm coming home." After gulping down a few dumplings, Yan Xun poured a glass of deer milk and quietly watched the girl eat.The moonlight outside the window was shining brightly, shining light on the two of them through the window, and the crackling candles in the corner made everything seem more and more peaceful.

"Achu," seeing Chu Qiao finished eating, Yan Xun handed over a white brocade handkerchief, and naturally wiped the oil stains from the corners of her mouth, and said in a deep voice, "Those stone merchants you bought..." "Yan Xun, just go ahead and do it, don't tell me." Before Yan Xun could finish speaking, Chu Qiao cut off his mouth and said, "I was not careful about this matter, and I can't be so cruel, but such a person stays behind. It will be a disaster in the end. It is very unwise to leave such a handle when we are not yet able to fight against the Holy Golden Palace Elders. The reason why I brought them back is to hope that you will help me make this decision, so , you don't have to explain it to me."

Yan Xun smiled slightly, his eyes suddenly softened: "Well, I just don't want to hide it from you." "That's right," the girl said with a smile, "We have made an agreement that we will never hide anything from the other party. Concealment is the cause of all misunderstandings and estrangement. Regardless of whether the intention is good or not, we cannot make this mistake." "Hehe," Yan Xun said with a light smile, "Okay then, tell me the whole story of your trip to Mount Nanji right now, no matter how big or small it is." "Okay," Chu Qiao smiled, pressed Yan Xun in front of the desk, pointed to the chart above, and began to explain in detail.

The sky was misty and everything was quiet. After taking a sip of tea, Chu Qiao drew the last stroke, pointed to the chart and said, "As long as the Meng clan is still in charge of General Mengtian for a day, we don't have to worry too much. From my point of view, Instead of worrying about Shengjin Palace and Wei Clan, it is better to worry about Zhuge's lineage." Yan Xun raised his eyebrows, and said in a deep voice: "Didn't Zhuge Huai just leave Beijing? Zhuge Muqing has gradually faded out of the Presbyterian Council in recent years, leaving Zhuge Huai to take care of all the family matters. Will he intervene this time?" ?”

"You have underestimated Zhuge Muqing, an old fox." Chu Qiao shook her head and said, "In the past three hundred years of the empire, the Presbyterian family has changed hands many times. Among the founding heroes, only Zhuge's lineage followed Emperor Peiluo back then. Killed from the grassland. This is the Zhuge family's wrist. They know how to balance and never put themselves on the cusp of the storm. Taking the most popular people, their family was saved. Over the years, the empire has been in constant disputes, and Zhuge Muqing seems to be moderate, but he has been able to avoid disasters every time. These are not just luck." "Look here," Chu Qiao stretched out her finger on the chart: "This is the information I have collected in the past few months. On the surface, Zhuge's lineage does not seem to have any action, but the grain, river salt, and iron mines in the southeast are not. There are frequent small-scale deployments, although there is little movement, but they are very frequent. Zhuge Xi was transferred from Songshui to Xihan City to collect the farmland grain tax, and he hasn't returned for two months. The above only said that Zhuge Xi is dull and can't be used In my opinion, although Xihan City is small, it is the only way for us to return to Yanbei. It is the hub of Yaoshui, Fusu, and Chishui post roads. Its strategic location is extremely important and must not be underestimated. .” "Also, look here. On the eighth day of last month, the Elders Council approved Zhuge Ran's application for joining the army. Zhuge Muqing did not send his son to guard the Zhuge family's southeast base camp, but instead went to the southwest camp as a general. The southwest and northwest are adjacent, The Southwest camp is located within the territory of the Batuha family. If the Zhuge family hadn't secretly communicated with the Batuha family, how could the old Batu let outsiders set up camp in his heart? Also, and most importantly, you Didn't you notice that Zhuge Yue will be back soon?" Yan Xun nodded, "I have paid attention to this, Miss Yu sent someone to mention what you said to me a few days ago." "Oh?" Chu Qiao's eyes lit up, "What did Miss Yu say?" "She said that it's still early. During King Xia's birthday, powerful people from all over the world gather, and the situation is complex and ever-changing. We can only adapt to the situation and see what happens." Chu Qiao frowned immediately, she raised her face to look at Yan Xun, and said slowly, "Yan Xun, is this okay? I'm worried that something will happen, shouldn't we make some preparations in advance?" "Ah Chu, there is no perfect plan in this world. Speaking of preparation, haven't we prepared enough in these years?" Yan Xun looked at the girl's bright eyes, he stretched out his hand, held Chu Qiao's shoulder, and said in a deep voice. Said: "Ah Chu, do you believe me?" Chu Qiao nodded: "I believe." "Then you can take a break," Yan Xun said with a faint smile, "Leave the matter to me, this trip to Nanji Mountain, your body is too exhausted, you are sick, you can't work any longer." "Yan Xun..." "I don't want to go back to Yanbei alone." Yan Xun suddenly said in a low voice, "I don't have half of my relatives anymore, Ah Chu, you are my most important person." "Ah Chu, do you still remember what you told me when I first entered the Holy Golden Palace, I had a severe fever but there was no medicine to cure it?" Chu Qiao was taken aback, Yan Xun looked gentle, and said slowly: "You said you let me sleep at ease, you will stay awake until I wake up. In the end, I slept for four days, and you were still taking care of me with your eyelids open. Me, Ah Chu, now that I have the ability to take care of you, you can rest assured to sleep, I will stay awake until the day when the two of us can close our eyes and sleep safely." Chu Qiao lowered her head, pursed her lips lightly, raised her head after a long time, and smiled faintly: "Okay, then I won't go, stay by your side, and wait for you to take me away." Yan Xun nodded, his eyes were bright, his smile was like a lake thawed in March.The boredom of the past few months disappeared in an instant. "Ah Chu, if we can walk in together, we can definitely go out together. You have to trust me, because in this world, we can only trust each other." At that time, there was snow in the middle of winter, the long night was peaceful, and the capital of Emperor Zhenhuang was calm.However, no one knows what kind of fierce edge surges beneath the potential undercurrents. Those weird and unpredictable countercurrents are quietly dormant in the ground, and they will boil up at any time, drowning everything.People walking on the shore can only walk carefully, trying not to let the corners of their clothes get wet by the muddy water. When a person's ability is not enough to fight the tide, all he can do is stay away from the tide. After closing the door of Chu Qiao's room and watching the lights go out with his own eyes, Yan Xun's eyes suddenly became colder. He raised his head and looked in the direction of Xiahua Palace, with a fierce sharpness in his eyes.With a slight force of fingers, a dry branch was broken, Yan Xun raised his head, closed his eyes, and suddenly remembered a night many years ago.That day, Ah Chu, who was only nine years old, was found by Wei Shuyou, who had been spying on them, in order to find medicine for him who was sick. The excuses used by others to deal with him, he didn't escape or fight back, his whole body was covered in flesh and blood, dripping with blood.When he arrived, the child was almost dying, still clutching the stolen packet of medicine. From that day on, he swore secretly that from now on, he would never let the person he valued leave his side again, and the person he valued, in this life, would never have a second one. It's time to come, come quickly, he has been waiting for too long, almost can't wait anymore. The man opened his eyes, and his eyes were clear. Tomorrow, when Zhuge Yue returned to court, he hadn't seen him for seven years. The old friend from the past is doing well. The wound on the shoulder had long since healed, and there was some hatred, but it took root in his heart.Yan Xun smiled coldly, turned around, and strode away into the darkness, with a resolute figure and clothes blown by the wind.