Chapter 18 Chapter Eighteen

The two Zi Mian bid farewell to Yan Xiu's family, boarded the carriage prepared by Yan Xiu, and set out on the road with Yan Shi Gang.Along the way, Long Baiyue hugged the pipa and kept silent. Zimian Zhiyi on the other side of the carriage saw her preoccupied appearance, and broke the silence after a long time: "Aren't you tired holding the pipa all the time?" Long Baiyue came back to her senses, and smiled blankly: "Oh, I'm used to it. I used to hold the pipa all the way to socialize like this..." She froze, feeling that she had said something she shouldn't have said.

"Your memory has never disappeared, right?" Zi Mian lowered her eyes and said, stroking her long hair on the temples with her slender fingers. Long Baiyue panicked, knowing that she could no longer avoid it.There were too many turmoil before, fleeing from disaster, recovering from injuries, and socializing in the county government, the two of them had no chance to be alone.But now, the narrow and cramped carriage separated them from the outside world, and it was finally time to face each other. "No... sorry..." she murmured, not knowing where to start. "Why do you say I'm sorry?" Zi Mian lowered her head and still didn't look at her, her tone was a little sad, "...I don't know where you came from, but I vaguely know your plan. I hesitated when I was able to be vigilant. , I miscalculated."

If he made a wrong move, he would lose the whole game, and he should blame himself the most.He should even thank her for being there for him when things couldn't have been worse. "The prime minister found me at the beginning, promised me a thousand taels of silver, and asked me to find a chance to ruin your reputation... I really didn't expect the prime minister's methods to be so vicious. He lied to me..." But, can deception be her excuse? ?She really did something bad.Long Baiyue was sad and ashamed, her eyes were covered with tears. "Defeat..." Zi Mian pondered, thinking about the meaning behind this word.Since he entered the court as an official, the prime minister has always criticized him for no reason, and his attitude is more decisive than ordinary officials.Thinking back that day, the prime minister did tell him that he knew what he wanted to do, so he couldn't let it go.

Does he know what he wants to do? Zi Mian's expression froze, what he really wanted to do was to explore his own life experience, but that was all, he would never have any other unreasonable thoughts, can the prime minister really understand? He has a strange blood mixed with him, he will not allow himself to mess with Gangchang, and get involved in the noble imperial aura - the prime minister will never understand, right? Even if he understands, he can't feel at ease, so he must die? Zi Mian sighed, raised her head and asked Long Baiyue, "Is one thousand taels of silver a lot?"

This question made Long Baiyue blush, but she was still very happy that Zimian was willing to talk to her: "It's quite a lot for me. I run Baiyuefang by myself, and I only have one maid, Bao'er, who is not good enough. It’s like pulling a saw, and it makes me more trouble-I only rely on me to make money, and the internal and external expenses have to be spent. Money is like running water, which can only be passed through one hand, but cannot be saved .” Hearing the chatter, Zi Mian couldn't help laughing—yes, she is a woman, young and beautiful, single and weak, if she wants to survive in this world, what can she rely on?He always thought the Neo Confucianists in the imperial court were ridiculous - they only knew how to accuse prostitutes of self-deprecation, but turned a blind eye to the harsh world.As a beauty, who wants to die?There are already too many villains who have oppressed her, he will not ask her "why is this", as long as she can be so cheerful and optimistic.

"If I can make enough one thousand taels at a time, it will be enough for me and my servant girl to buy a house and land in a remote place, and live a stable life..." Long Baiyue glanced at Zi Mian guiltily, seeing that there was no anger in his expression, she felt relieved. few. "Did I ruin your business?" Zi Mian half-closed her eyes, and asked her amusedly and helplessly, "I'm not dead, I'm still alive and well." "That's not the case...The prime minister has already given me the money..." Long Baiyue felt even more guilty, "Actually, I won't leave the rest to me..."

Zi Mian suddenly thought of the strange woman he saw before he lost his mind that day, and his face suddenly turned cold.He resisted her in a daze, struggling until he fell to the ground, and couldn't remember anything after that.In a trance, he felt that Long Baiyue had come, but he suspected that it was a dream. It was not until he passed by and saw Long Baiyue by his side that he believed that the dream might be true—he didn't want to recall those anymore, it was really bad experience! Obviously, the viscera and the six internal organs are already suffering to death, but under the pressure of the medicine, they have to drink poison to quench their thirst according to their desires—and the pain intensifies with each sip, until the inner breath is completely messed up.What is the difference between this kind of torture and suicide? It made him feel tight in his chest when he thought about it, and the base of his tongue seemed to be stuck with blood again, so he simply didn't want to think about it!

Seeing Zi Mian's ugly face, Long Baiyue was afraid that he would be unhappy, so she hurriedly flattered him: "By the way, do you want to listen to me play the pipa?" Her craft is still very good. Zi Mian was stunned, and when she came back to her senses, she saw Long Baiyue's timidly flattering eyes, thinking that although she was a prostitute, but she was drugged and disorderly, she was always abrupt, how could she be wronged now?So he collected himself and nodded to Long Baiyue: "Okay." Seeing Zi Mian nod her head, Long Baiyue cheered up, took out the pipa from the bag, tried it for a while, and asked Zi Mian with a smile: "Is there any music you want to hear?"

Zi Mian couldn't imagine it, he changed his posture and casually leaned in a corner of the carriage, and said casually, "You can play whatever you want." Long Baiyue nodded and smiled, and with a swish of her fingers, a string of beautiful strings slid out, noisy like strings of scattered beads.The tune is Li Taibai's "Will Enter the Wine": "If you don't see the water of the Yellow River coming up from the sky, it will rush to the sea and never return. If you don't see the mirror in the high hall, the sad white hair, the morning is like blue silk and the evening is snow..."

Zi Mian, who was leaning on the side, was stunned for a moment, her eyes were closed and she couldn't help being amazed.No wonder the prime minister called Long Baiyue the oiran. How could such a beauty and artistry be buried? "...to be happy in life is to be happy, don't let the golden cup be empty to the moon. Talk to each other, and come back when the money is gone....Will drink, don't stop the cup. Let's sing a song, please. Listen to me..." Long Baiyue's voice is round and charming, just like her appearance, plump like a peony, it is the kind of charming and coquettish that the world loves most.She is neither clear nor weak, neither sick nor weak, beautiful and charming, and full of vitality - she is really a radiant woman...

"The bells, drums, and jade are not expensive. I hope that I will not wake up after being drunk. The ancient sages are all lonely, but the drinkers keep their names....Five-flowered horses, thousands of gold, and Hu'er will be exchanged for fine wine, and they will be sold with you through the ages Sorrow..." Long Baiyue looked into Zi Mian's eyes and finished singing, rubbing her own confession into the song.After singing a song, she put down the pipa, her heart turned a thousand times, hoping that there would be the slightest bit of temptation in his eyes. Even if there is only a little bit of subtle emotion, she can find it out skillfully.But Zi Mian's eyes were not there, the eyes of those benefactors in the past were full of greed, so much that Long Baiyue was bored, but now she wanted him to be tempted, but he was just listening to the song seriously. Alas, the mountains have trees and trees have branches, and the heart is pleasing to the king, and the king does not know it. Zi Mian frowned slightly, Long Baiyue's song made him uneasy.He clearly heard her invitation in the song: "Let's play a song with Junge, please listen to me."To be happy in life is to be happy, don't let the golden cup be empty to the moon.Share the eternal sorrow with me, I hope I won't wake up after being drunk... If it were another man, he would probably be ecstatic, right? But what about him?Does he have that casual freedom and never ask about worldly affairs?Even the master has teased him - he is not like a Taoist, but a Confucian scholar, always doing things rigidly, and setting many rules and regulations for his behavior.On this point, he is not as good as senior brother Cuixu. He was going back to the capital soon, he didn't know what was waiting for him, how dare he let his emotions slack off?He still has something to do, so how can he stay drunk and never wake up? "Can you play "House of Flying Daggers"?" Zi Mian suddenly sat up and asked Long Baiyue, with a calm expression, like a stubborn stone who doesn't understand the style. "Huh?" Long Baiyue was taken aback, then stammered, "Yes." "Come and listen." Zi Mian smiled slightly. Long Baiyue had no choice but to act on his word. She is not familiar with "House of Flying Daggers". She practiced it many years ago to please a general.She swiped her fingers vigorously, and the sound of the pipa was much more sonorous than before. Zi Mian was fascinated by the sound, staring at Long Baiyue's fluttering fingers, and said in a low voice: "Play faster." Hearing Zi Mian's order, Long Baiyue speeded up, but fortunately, she recalled all the pieces after playing a piece of music, and with her skillful fingering, she was able to handle it with ease. Her fingers were like shuttles on a loom, too fast to be seen.The humming dragon's chant sounded out from the sound of the pipa, and the chaotic syllables drew swords and swords, making people almost out of breath. Zi Mian's eyes drifted to the dark distance, her expression was dignified, and she was no longer as gentle as water: "Hurry up..." Looking at Zi Mian's solemn eyes, Long Baiyue felt that he seemed to be getting farther and farther away from her.There was an inexplicable pain in her heart, and she gritted her teeth to speed up again, letting her fingertips burn into pieces. Zi Mian's thoughts flew away, and she suddenly found herself in the midst of thousands of troops.He stood naked without a piece of armor or a blade, not understanding why he fell into the battlefield alone.The dark iron cavalry rushed towards him with white puffs of air, and the warrior's eyes hidden under the shiny armor were fixed on him.The samurai raised the long knife to him, the white light of the long knife flashed across, and the blood mist sprayed away, his perspective suddenly fell from a high place, and became close to the ground.Amidst the roar of ten thousand horses, he saw winding black hair appearing in the bloody ground where he could sail. His eyeballs rolled along the black hair, looking all the way, the black hair merged into a section of radiant long hair, with a long hair pinned to it. Blood hosta.The flirtatious back seemed to feel his gaze suddenly, and turned around, revealing a face that was all over the country, and a pair of cold eyes looked at him indifferently. mother…… Zi Mian opened her eyes wide. The carriage suddenly shook violently, causing Long Baiyue to stagger, and the sound of the pipa stopped abruptly. The illusion disappeared, and Zi Mian was still immersed in the emotion of astonishment just now, and lay down in a daze. "What's the matter?" Long Baiyue got up and rubbed his sore elbow, lifted the curtain and looked out. "Ma'am, your horses are frightened by playing the pipa. Just now they were frightened and wanted to jump. I managed to calm them down." A soldier poked his head to meet Long Baiyue with a bitter face, "Please stop playing the pipa, madam." "Oh, I'm sorry, big brother." Long Baiyue hurriedly apologized to him in the car.She turned around and saw Zi Mian lying powerlessly on the side, she was so frightened that her face paled, thinking that his old injury had relapsed: "Zi Mian, are you alright? Are you feeling unwell?" "I'm fine..." Zi Mian murmured, sitting up feeling lost. Long Baiyue relaxed, and smiled embarrassedly: "We were so busy playing the pipa that we frightened the horses outside the carriage." It's uncomfortable to be bored in the carriage in summer, so Long Baiyue rolled up the curtain. Although the dust along the road was a bit heavy, it could at least let the air through. The scenery outside the car is unobstructed.The stretching mountain road is not rugged, the tall trees on both sides are a little wilted by the sun, and the ear-piercing cicadas make people's ears swell.After Long Baiyue didn't play the pipa, the horses trotted quietly, pulling the cart full of boxes of saltpeter forward slowly. The horse team was very long, about a dozen or so cars, Long Baiyue and the others were in the middle of the team, with foot soldiers guarding both sides, it seemed that Yan Xiu had made a good arrangement before. The team moved forward in an orderly manner, rested and replenished when passing by the post station, and walked for a few days in a row, and it seemed that they could change waterways to the capital in another day.This afternoon, the horse team walked into a valley, Long Baiyue was lying in the carriage taking a nap, but Zi Mian suddenly woke her up. Long Baiyue was in pain when she was woken up half asleep, she opened her eyes in a daze and murmured: "What's wrong?" "Don't go to sleep." Zi Mian frowned, observing the woods on both sides with cold eyes, "The atmosphere in this valley is not right." He hadn't finished speaking when he heard a strange noise, and an arrow shot out from the woods and nailed to the wooden box containing the saltpeter. The sound of shouting and killing suddenly resounded in the valley.