Chapter 2 second quarter

Just after dawn, a lamp came on in the stable.The lamp flickered on and off in the heavy cold. Uighurs have always said about the weather, "wear fur coats in the morning and gauze in the afternoon", and the weather changes greatly, which is even more different from that in the Central Plains. The horse in the stable was still standing with its eyes closed, still asleep.A groom leaned on the ground, leaning on the ground with one hand, and vigorously shoveled the horse manure that had frozen into hard lumps with the other hand.Unable to shovel, I planed with my hands, dug out a piece and put it aside, and quickly piled up a small pile.After shoveling one place, he propped up the ground with one hand and dragged his legs to shovel another place.

Frontier soldiers work very hard, and this groom must be no exception. Suddenly, there was a commotion among the horses.The groom looked up and saw a person standing under the flickering lantern. A girl in white clothes like snow.It was surprising that such a spotless man should come to such a dirty stable.But the groom wasn't surprised at all, and turned back to clean the stables silently, without looking at her again, as if she was no different from those horses. After a long time, I only heard a "swish" sound getting faster and faster.He finally couldn't help raising his head, wanting to see what she was doing.

She is washing the horses.A bucket of water just brought back from the well was beside her, and she was rolling up her sleeves and brushing the muddy horse vigorously with a brush.Muddy water splashed all over her, but she didn't seem to care about anything. "You... finally found this place." The groom finally spoke, sighing, "Why bother?" Her hand never stopped, and she gritted her teeth: "Because I want to!" She brushed seven or eight horses in one go before she stopped and looked back at the groom with tears in her eyes.He is also looking at her.As long as anyone has seen him, he will never be considered a groom again.His face is straight and clear, with resolute lines, and there is a kind of all-powerful bearing in his eyes——

But on his forehead, there is a blue-gray word "Prisoner" branded, obviously, he is a prisoner sent to the army. The girl in white sat down beside him, ignoring the dirtiness of the ground. She lowered her head, as if she didn't know what to say, but kept silent—that kind of silence seemed to be a rare enjoyment, as long as she was by his side, even He didn't say a word to her, and she already felt happy. Seeing him dragging his disabled leg and struggling to clean the ground, she blurted out in surprise: "Your leg is still not healed?" "Those forty military sticks beat you really hard..." She took out a handful of plaster from her bosom, and carefully applied it on his leg, muttering and cursing, "You old bastard, Yu Dutong, It's simply a..."

The groom withdrew his legs, as if he had woken up suddenly, turned his face and said coldly: "This is not the place for you, Princess Weiyang. It's so late, it's really inappropriate for lonely men and widows to live together." Princess Weiyang?This girl living at the border is actually a princess? "Don't call me Princess, call me Xuehong!" The woman's hand froze, and she suddenly corrected sharply, recalling his words, a wry smile slowly appeared on her face, "Yes. I shouldn't have come here... maybe I should As before, hugging the mink fur, teasing the parrot on the shelf by the fire—but, I would rather be here! I want to be with you, Di Qing."

Di Qing!A name that shines in the annals of history and shines through the ages, a famous frontier general who will be called together with Huo Qubing and Li Guang in later generations!What a dazzling and fascinating name it is.But before he became famous in the first battle, no one would have expected him to have such a past. He was a prisoner, a groom.He sleeps in haystacks and lives with horses all day long. Xuehong found that his gaze was gradually gentle, and no longer had the expression of repelling people thousands of miles away.She stretched out her hand and applied the wound medicine to him.Her movements were very gentle, as if she was afraid of hurting him.After applying the medicine, she looked up and saw his gradually softening eyes.Her heart skipped a beat.Isn't it because of his eyes that I abandoned my family, gave up my glory, and came to this desert from the capital?

In the cold morning, Di Qing took her hand, which was swollen and swollen in the water, and held it in his own.His hands were warm and strong, just like him.Xuehong's slender hand trembled slightly in his palm—— He is definitely not something in the pool, and one day he will definitely be famous in the borderlands. "Yu Duhu has returned to Beijing, now you will have a bright future." She said softly.Di Qing smiled noncommittally. "The new Major General Ding, although young, is very calm and capable. I believe he is a leader who knows talents." When talking about this Major General Ding, her tone was a little unnatural.

Di Qing sighed, and let go of his hand: "It's dawn, you go back!" He bent down to clean the stable again, and never looked at her again, as if she was just a stranger.Because he understands that he can give her nothing. He was just a nobody, born poor and humble.But—Xuehong's surname is Zhao! The surname of Tianhuang nobles, the surname of today's emperor of Song Dynasty! She is one of the royal family.Although the branch of her family is a distant relative of the current emperor, and the power is not as good as before, but after all, the blood of the emperor is still flowing on her body.What's more, her beauty and intelligence are also well-known among the royal family. Her father has already found a powerful husband's family for her.

But she turned her back on her family, the Zhao family, the number one family with great power in the world. Just because she knew Di Qing, a prisoner who had just been released from the Youzhou camp prison and was about to be taken to Xubian, and ran away from home because of him, completely ignoring the embarrassment on the royal family's face! That day was clear and breezy, Xuehong and his family went for an outing in the countryside, and sneaked out by himself. She will be married in a few months.For some reason, even though she knew that her fiancé-in-law was a dignitary in the dynasty, her heart was filled with emptiness—she had never even met him, yet she wanted to be his wife, and from then on she would spend the rest of her life in a sea of ​​lords.

She was only eighteen years old, and she didn't want to bury her life so early! When she was taking pictures by the stream, she found someone washing horses on the other bank!She immediately vomited out all the water she had just drank——she had eaten all kinds of delicacies since she was a child, but she had never drank horse washing water. At that time, she was young and vigorous, and she was proud of being favored, so she immediately pointed at the groom on the other side and began to curse.She had already learned a lot of swearing words secretly, but the strict discipline at home made it difficult for her to "use it". This time, she finally had a chance to show off her articulate ability.

Her voice is like a yellow warbler coming out of the valley, so beautiful and beautiful.The group of soldiers on the other side of the stream were all dumbfounded.To be honest, not only did she not seem to be swearing at that time, but her soft and moving voice seemed to be singing. At this time, the soldiers who washed the horses were in a commotion. "What a beautiful little girl!" "Teasing her!" "Tell her to see how powerful Jun Ye is! Who told her to curse people?" Xuehong scolded boredly, and was about to leave when suddenly the horses on the opposite bank neighed, and several angry horses charged straight at her!She turned her head and saw the angry horse rushing towards the water, she couldn't help but startled.In an instant, the petite figure had disappeared into the crowd of horses, and after she let out an exclamation, she lost her voice. At this time, a sergeant on the opposite bank waded over, shouted loudly, grabbed a horse's tail with one hand, and pulled hard, pulling the two angry horses back a few feet. He was trying his best to subdue the horses that were deliberately provoked by his partners, when he suddenly heard someone laugh—— Xue Hongan held a horse's bridle firmly with one hand, restrained two horses rushing towards her, and smiled calmly. "Hey, let go, Miss Ben is not afraid!" She said to the soldier in old clothes with messy hair with a smile, "It's okay to let all these horses come here, Miss Ben is not afraid!" However, the soldier didn't let go, instead he took the horse back a few steps.He is not tall, with thick eyebrows and straight nose, calm and calm eyes, and his demeanor is like a general who is decisively victorious thousands of miles away.Just as Xuehong was about to say something, he saw that the group of horse-washing soldiers had surrounded him, making teasing gestures. She got angry and scolded: "You guys are so brave! Be rude to me, be careful of your dog heads!" Everyone laughed: "What a hot girl!" A person reached out to touch her face, but was stopped by the soldier who had restrained the angry horse just now: "Everyone, please stop...how can you molest a woman from a good family in broad daylight?" Everyone felt disappointed and scolded: "Di Qing, you are here again. Why are you pretending to be serious... Go, go, if you don't play, just go!" Hearing this group of people talking about him unscrupulously, Xue Hong became furious, and said even louder: "Listen, this lady is the current Princess Yang! I have a gold medal, and I can take your dog's life at any time!" She let go of the two horses, took out the imperial gold medal from her bosom, and was about to teach those rude people a lesson, when Di Qing shouted: "Be careful!" She was about to ask, "What are you careful about—" the horse next to her was frightened again, its hind hooves stood up, and its front legs kicked at her! There was no time to dodge, she landed on the back of her waist, there was a "crack" sound, and there was a soft sound of bone breaking-the spoiled and pampered her fainted for a moment, she was kicked!Are you going to die? One hand pulled her towards her, avoiding the other hoof just in the nick of time.She was screaming in surprise, but before she could finish her sentence, that hand hugged her lower back, threw her on the ground, and quickly rolled aside.More horseshoes stamped behind her ears! Xuehong was startled and embarrassed, seeing that the soldier who saved her was the soldier who restrained the horses just now, he was inexplicably angry, and raised his hand to slap him: "You stinky hand, you also came to touch me?" Di Qing was startled, and then a cold look flashed across his eyes, but he stood aside silently: "Princess, pardon me." The gold medal fell to the ground, and all the sergeants were shocked when they saw that it was the current princess who was molesting. Xuehong cursed angrily, and was about to stand up when suddenly his lower back hurt, and his eyes were suddenly dark. When she woke up, when she opened her eyes, what she saw was the familiar furnishings in the county mansion, and the maid Yin Cui standing beside her. "Miss is awake!" Yin Cui exclaimed with joy, and there was a lot of movement outside the room—parents came in, brother came in, all the seven aunts and eight aunts came in, and they all said in one go: "Wei Young is awake! "Oh, I hurt my back at a young age, and my back hurts when I grow old!" Xuehong's head was getting bigger, she just woke up, and she was really afraid of those kind-hearted people.But with her parents by her side, she, who grew up adhering to the family education, could only return the greetings with a smile and a few polite words, and dealt with those people seamlessly. She tried her best to suppress the unhappiness in her heart, with an elegant smile on her face all the time.In the end, the mother relieved her: "Weiyang, your back injury is just right, you should lie down and rest!" So the relatives in the room all backed out. She lay down obediently, but couldn't fall asleep anyway, turned over and asked Yin Cui: "How many days have I been asleep?" Yin Cui said with concern: "Miss has been in a coma for four days, and everyone in the palace is worried to death!" "My mother! Been in a coma for four days?" Xuehong blurted out in surprise, but immediately covered his mouth and rolled his eyes - this is a bit inappropriate, so don't be overheard. Yin Cui smiled: "Miss, don't be afraid, there is no one in the room!" Xuehong breathed a sigh of relief. He has grown up so much and has always been pampered. This is the first time he has such an "adventure". It's really... very exciting. Yin Cui stammered again, as if she had accumulated a lot of resentment: "Miss, you have been in a coma for the past few days, and others are panicking - but there is no movement at Ding's house over there, and they don't even come to ask - really ungrateful!" Xuehong blushed a little, feeling a sense of disappointment in his heart, but he said angrily, "I'm the commander-in-chief of the world's soldiers and horses, are you busy!" Yin Cui said angrily: "Are you busy or not? The daughter-in-law who has never been in the family doesn't ask if she is hurt. I see...80% of them want you to die! I heard that the young master of the Ding family was caught outside by a girl who sang pingtan in Suzhou. The actor was fascinated, and he was arguing to withdraw from the marriage! Really, with your character and appearance, Miss, you are more than enough to be a queen, but that kid is not satisfied! Damn it!" Xuehong's face gradually turned pale, and he lowered his head, staring at the picture of butterflies wearing flowers on the silk quilt, in a daze. Seeing that the princess was sad, Yin Cui quickly changed the subject and persuaded: "Miss, don't be sad. Don't worry, this marriage was personally promised by the Long Live Lord. Although the Ding family has great power, they can't resist the order and regret the marriage? Don't worry. Yes, miss!" Xuehong didn't speak, twisted the tassels on the tent with his fingers, and sighed.She will not be happy, not now, nor ever. She thought of something again, and asked, "Has dad tracked down my injury?" "Of course. That guy is so daring, he dared to moles the princess. My lord beat him a hundred sticks in court, sent him to prison, maybe he will be executed after autumn!" Yin Cui said angrily Say. Princess Weiyang felt that something was wrong, and couldn't help asking: "'That guy'? It should be 'those guys'! ——Could it be that only one was caught and the others were missed? Hey, who is that unlucky guy?" Yin Cui thought for a long time: "I heard it's called 'Di Qing', a recruit from the countryside." "Wow!" Xuehong didn't care about the pain in his back, sat up from the bed at once, patted the bed and shouted, "Why did you arrest him? Instead, let someone else go? Damn it, is it right and wrong!" In a hurry, She said "dirty" again. Yin Cui winked at her vigorously, but Xuehong couldn't see her hint, and was still attacking: "Daddy is so confused!" "Weiyang, you're being presumptuous again." A voice rang out from the door, sternly, "Miss Princess, what a proper way to speak!" Hearing that voice, Xuehong's whole body trembled, he stopped talking immediately, and lowered his eyes: "Father, I know I was wrong." The county king snorted, waved his hand, and asked again: "What did you say just now, that man was wronged? But the soldiers who went with him all pointed out that he did it! That's why I severely punished him." "Damn it!" Xuehong realized that those soldiers were slandering the good guy with one voice, and his face turned pale, so he had to tell the whole story exactly—when he said that he sacrificed his life to save others, he was slightly embarrassed, but Still honestly said. "Father, do you think those people are hateful? Let them go quickly, and give him some more money!" She begged. The county king pondered for a long time before getting up: "Father understands, you can rest assured." Looking at his back, Xuehong beckoned Yin Cui, and said quietly: "I want to go to the prison to see that person tonight, you tell Lao Yu to keep the side door open, and let me go out." Yin Cui was startled: "Miss, you just had an accident and you are going out again? Master knows that!" Xuehong gave her a blank look: "Stupid girl, don't let him know?" She thought for a while, and then ordered: "Go to the pharmacy and get some wound medicine, be careful not to let mother know." Yin Cui sighed, and obediently went down to do so.Although the young lady is obedient, she is not a woman who can be manipulated by others. Even nine cows cannot pull back what she has decided. Seeing that the young lady had arranged everything, put on a strong outfit and went out gracefully, Yin Cui's heart sank. She had a premonition that tonight would not be peaceful. When Xuehong walked into the prison, he couldn't help covering his nose.The humidity in the prison was heavy, and there were bursts of deadly and rotten smells, which made her nauseous.She waved the gold medal to the prison guard, who immediately got up and said, "Princess!" She covered her nose and asked softly, "Which number is that 'Di Qing' locked in? Take me there!" The head of the prison heard the sound all of a sudden, but his face was already very ugly, and he laughed again and again: "Princess, this place is too dirty, please go back!" His face was cloudy, as if he was worried about something.The pawn had already taken the opportunity to slip away.Xuehong became impatient, slapped the gold medal on the table, and said sharply, "Take me there quickly, don't be so wordy!" He stopped in front of a cell, took out a key and opened the door.His hands were shaking so badly that he could barely hold the lock. "Do you have a ghost in your heart?" Xuehong snatched the key, and doubts arose in his heart—this is a single cell, and usually only death row prisoners are locked here. Di Qing is not guilty of death, so why was he sent to death row? ?She unlocked it all at once, pushed open the door and walked in. There was a pool of purple blood on the ground.Dark purple blood. "Ah?" She exclaimed in surprise, "Captain, what's wrong with him?" She knelt down on the straw pile as she spoke, and turned over the motionless prisoner lying on the grass.He was covered in blood and was beaten all over with cuts and bruises.Blood stained his clothes, but Xuehong just stared at his face in a daze. The face had turned gray, and the features were distorted with pain.There is a trace of blood at the corner of the mouth, it is black blood, the color that symbolizes death!His hand was still clutching a handful of straw, his nails digging into the flesh. "What's going on? What's going on!" Xuehong turned around and yelled, "Prisoner, are you going to poison him to death? How bold!" Her voice was trembling with extreme anger. The cell boss didn't dare to look at her, he lowered his head and muttered something. Xuehong took out a medicine box from his bosom, took out a pill, kneaded it into powder with his hands, and fed it into Di Qing's mouth.This is the inner elixir that she carries with her everywhere, she only hopes that it can alleviate the toxicity a little bit.Her hands also trembled slightly.She didn't know why she was so nervous, as if her life and death were hanging by a thread! She turned her head, stared fiercely at the prisoner and asked, "What did you just say? Speak up!" As if mustering up his courage, the jailer raised his head and said, "Yes... the king of the county ordered the little one to do this!" "What!..." Xuehong froze suddenly, as if his whole body lost strength, he sat down on the haystack and stared blankly at the ground, "Father...Father wants to kill him? Why?" "Because he offended you and touched you - if this matter gets out, it will be bad for your reputation of innocence. You will marry into the Ding family in two months, and I don't want them to have any reason to pick on you." The cell door was opened again, and the pawn brought in a middle-aged man in rich clothes—Jun Wang, out of breath! He looked at his distraught daughter, then at Di Qing who was dying, and couldn't help frowning, and said: "Wei Young, don't touch him! Be careful to get your hands dirty!" Xuehong said in a daze: "Dirty... my hands?" She seemed to be stunned, and whispered over and over again.He suddenly raised his head and sneered: "Father, I understand! You killed people to silence your daughter for the sake of your daughter's innocent reputation, right?" The king of the county nodded: "That's right, I will kill all the other soldiers who offend you. Father is also painstaking." Xuehong looked at him fixedly, and suddenly laughed: "Your painstaking efforts? You just tried your best to marry me into the Ding family, so that you can climb the dragon and the phoenix, and use your strength to make a comeback! You...you really love your daughter, knowing that Ding Ning You already have someone you like, and you still try your best to break them up! You are pushing your daughter into the fire pit!" The county king's gaze has gradually turned cold, and he shouted word by word: "Weiyang, shut up!" Xuehong laughed: "I can't keep my mouth shut, I can't keep my mouth shut! I've been silent for eighteen years, and I want to talk!" For the first time, incomparable firmness and courage flashed in her eyes!The king of the county didn't say anything else, and suddenly rushed forward, pointing at her maze point.His skills are actually top-notch! Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin fought all over the world with the stick method and created a new world. Naturally, his martial arts should not be underestimated.The boxing score and cudgel technique he left behind have been handed down among the Zhao family for hundreds of years. Most of the men in the clan practiced it, and the king of the county was the best among them. However, as soon as his father made a move, Xuehong moved slightly and immediately avoided the blow.Her footwork is extremely ingenious, as if she just took a leisurely step, her posture is beautiful and her temperament is elegant.Her skill has already reached perfection! The county king stopped and looked at his daughter.After a long time, he slowly said: "When did you practice?" "I've read that book too! I knew it a year ago, but you didn't know it," Xuehong sneered, with mocking eyes, "Don't think that you know everything, don't think that I can only obediently listen to you! " "You don't want to marry into the Ding family?" The county king looked at his rebellious daughter with anger in his eyes. "Go to the fucking Ding family!" Xuehong scolded unscrupulously, "I will not marry even if I die!" Such a decisive answer that has never been seen before shocked the king of the county. He paused, and suddenly sneered slightly: "Well, you can just watch this person die! He has been poisoned by opportunism. The Great Inner Secret Pill only suppresses the toxicity, within three hours, he will have a broken liver and die!" Xuehong was stunned, and looked down at Di Qing in a daze. Although Di Qing couldn't move, his mind was still there.There was a flash of determination in his drowsy eyes—he didn't want to be someone else's bargaining chip to persecute such a poor noble girl.Blood kept flowing from the corner of his mouth, purple-black blood, and he pushed her hand away with the last bit of strength, signaling her not to worry about him. Xuehong sat in the straw in a daze, looking at the gradually dying person. She had only met Di Qing once, and it was in such an unpleasant situation—but somehow, this lowly soldier was something she couldn't forget.for what?Is it for the calmness and calmness in his eyes?Or for his occasional flashes of superior demeanor?Or, it was nothing, just because he was the first good person she met after leaving this cage? She held Di Qing's hand, only feeling that the temperature on his hand was slowly disappearing... Her hand gradually began to tremble. After a long while, she suddenly raised her head and said resolutely, "Okay! I'll marry you!—Give me the antidote!" The king of the county smiled coldly, and immediately took out a small bottle from his arms and threw it over.He understands that his daughter has a strong temper and always walks the talk.Since she promised, she will never go back on her word. Xuehong gave Di Qing the antidote, his eyes were calm.Overnight, she seemed to have grown up a lot. The temperature in Di Qing's hands began to rise, and his pulse gradually became stronger.Xuehong looked at this handsome young man and the word "Prisoner" branded on his forehead, and felt a twinge of pain in his heart—it was all because of her that he was troubled. He finally opened his eyes and took a look at her. Princess Weiyang's heart trembled.For the first time in eighteen years, she had such complicated and indiscernible feelings, this kind of feelings that could shake the deepest part of her heart!She held Di Qing's hand, wishing never to let go, forever and ever... Could it be that this is the word she read in the poems in the past - "love"? At this time, the king of the county said: "Weiyang, be careful to get your clothes dirty, come back to the palace with me!" Xuehong gritted his teeth, let go of his hand inch by inch, and whispered: "You must promise not to kill him! Otherwise, you know what I will do, as a father!" As she spoke, her tears had already flowed down, hitting his hand lightly.Tears were hot—she understood that from now on, she would return to the cage where she had been held for eighteen years, and would become Mrs. Ding—there was only one person in this world who had the right to hold her hand. But that person is not what she wants.What she wants is nothing more than some insignificant things... How strange!A day ago, she was a well-educated and well-known lady, but in just one night, she actually rebelled against her father, her family, and even repented of her marriage!Because, she finally understood what she wanted—— She wants real freedom and true love. However, even though she knew it, she would never get it after she could. But, I understand, it's better than a life of muddling around - there are some people in this world who don't know what they want until they die. After she left, the king of the county pondered for a long time, and finally found a compromise, and ordered word by word: "Send this guy to Yumen Pass, let Yu Dutong take good care of him, and never let him go!" Return to the Central Plains!" As a result, the annals of history turned another page, leaving behind a glorious and eternal name——Di Qing. He was originally a young man from the countryside. He was drafted into the army during the conscription and left his hometown.He thought that as long as he worked honestly for a few years, he could return to his hometown after retiring.Unexpectedly, this turmoil pushed him to another shore. Amidst the icy wind, snow, rain, sand and flying stones, he worked hard.Although he was picked on and discriminated against by several superiors, he endured them silently.But he is often at a loss—because he doesn't understand what he is living for. Until one day, when he was passing Langjuxu Mountain with his team, he heard a soldier pointing to a section of earth platform and said, "Here, this is here! Huo Qubing once sealed the mountain on the platform!" All the sergeants made a sensation all of a sudden, and there were many discussions. Huo Qubing!A generation of famous generals who illuminate the annals of history! Di Qing's eyes lit up, and he could no longer suppress the excitement in his heart, and walked to the edge of the earthen platform.He caressed the remnant stele and looked far into the Central Plains, as if he saw the raging smoke and fierce war more than a thousand years ago, and saw the all-powerful General Huo who chased the Xiongnu for more than 800 miles. When the big man died in battle, he returned his body wrapped in horse leather.Suddenly there was a wordless excitement in his heart, and he silently made a wish - one day, I, Di Qing, can also stand here, seal the wolf and live in Xu, and pacify the northern border for the Song Dynasty! Just as he was in a trance, his contemplation was interrupted by the shout of the corporal behind him, and he hurriedly led his horse to follow the team. Maybe even he didn't expect that after many years, he really stood on this stage!