After being a widow for half my life, I found out that my husband was not dead.

At night, Liu Yunxiang was lying on the bed, feeling uncomfortable in his stomach, as if he had taken cold air when he went out of the city during the day. She was afraid that she was going to give birth, so she didn't dare to sleep.

At this time, the curtain opened and a dark figure crept in.

The black shadow was short and heavy, still dragging a thick wooden stick. Liu Yunxiang didn't say anything this time, but when he saw the black shadow approaching, he actually raised the wooden stick.

"Aunt Yan, I haven't offended you, have I?" Liu Yunxiang said.

Because of this sound, Aunt Yan took two steps back in fright, and the stick fell to the ground.

Liu Yunxiang stood up with his arms raised, lit the candle on the table, and looked at Aunt Yan, wearing a thick cotton-padded jacket, staring hard at her, as if she was afraid that she would run away.

"You want to beat me to death with this stick?" Liu Yunxiang glanced at the wooden stick as thick as an arm.

Aunt Yan's hand was broken and she could only hold it with her arms. She probably practiced it while sweeping the floor in Ziyun'an, and her movements of holding the wooden stick were quite flexible. But in the end, he was no match for his hands and could not use his strength.

Aunt Yan shook her head when she heard this, "Kill... faint... you."

Liu Yunxiang raised his eyebrows, "What then?"

"take away."

"doing what?"

Aunt Yan looked at Liu Yunxiang, looked at it quietly for a long time, then took off the monk's hat with difficulty, and took out a letter folded into a square from the mezzanine.

I don’t know how long this letter has been hidden, and it has turned yellow. Aunt Yan had no hands and couldn't open it, so Liu Yunxiang took it from her. Open it carefully under a candle and there are a few lines of words on it.

"There are traitors in the army who have defected to Beijin. One thousand of our soldiers are trapped in Tuhun Fort. Please send troops to help as soon as possible, Your Majesty."

Liu Yunxiang looked at these words and remembered the legend from the previous life. The soldiers of the Western Expedition were not dead, and 1000 people entered the Mobei Desert.

"Who wrote this?"

"Master Hou." Aunt Yan said tremblingly, with tears in her cloudy eyes at the mention of this person, "He...is...alive."

"This letter is for the Emperor. How did it get into your hands?"

Aunt Yan spoke intermittently for a long time, and Liu Yunxiang finally understood.

There was a traitor in the army who passed the news to Beijin. The other party knew about Lao Houye's actions in advance and set up an ambush, causing countless casualties. The old marquis led three thousand soldiers to fight and was forced to retreat into the desert of Mobei. And these three thousand soldiers were injured and killed, and only one thousand were left when they finally arrived at Tuhun Fort.

Outside Tuhun Fort was the border garrison of Beijin. They could not escape, so they sent a few soldiers to sneak into the caravan back to Shengjing to ask for help.

However, these soldiers were hunted down all the way, and by the time they reached Shengjing, only one was left, and he was seriously injured.

The soldier guessed that there was also a traitor in the court. He could not see the emperor at all, so he could only sneak into the Marquis's mansion and entrust the letter to Aunt Yan.

The soldier was dead. Aunt Yan had always been smart and relied on the old man. She knew that the matter was not simple, so she hid the letter first, and then went to find the old man's best friend.

Li Chengwu, Minister of the Ministry of War, asked him to take her into the palace to meet the saint.

It couldn't be for no reason, so she still revealed some news. Unexpectedly, she found trouble. She was imprisoned in a dungeon and subjected to all kinds of torture. Her hands were cut off, her appearance was destroyed, and she suffered numerous burns. But she gritted her teeth and had no idea what he was saying. She just wanted to beg the emperor to show his innocence. Investigate the case of the Western Expedition and avenge the old marquis.

Those people wanted to know the clues, but they couldn't find out and were afraid that she would tell anyone. So they cut off her tongue and threw it back to the Marquis Mansion.

The old lady didn't know what was going on, but she had an intuition that Aunt Yan was a disaster, so she didn't find a doctor for her and left her to fend for herself. This is why the old lady felt guilty when she saw Aunt Yan.

But at this time, the Queen Mother ordered Aunt Yan to go with her to Ziyun Temple to pray for blessings. After she was cured, she was allowed to stay in Ziyun Temple.

"So you have been hiding this letter for the past few years and never showed it to anyone else?" Liu Yunxiang asked with a trembling voice.

Aunt Yan nodded, "No...dare..."

Don't dare, don't trust anyone.

"Why give it to me?"

Aunt Yan stared at Liu Yunxiang and said with difficulty: "You...brother..."

Liu Yunxiang's heart skipped a beat, "You mean my brother is still alive?"

Aunt Yan paused, then shook her head.

She didn't know either, she could only say there was a glimmer of hope.

Liu Yunxiang glanced at Aunt Yan's thick stick again, "You knocked me out and wanted to take me away, and then you are looking for them?"

Aunt Yan nodded, her eyes burning.

"But it's been four years, have you ever thought about whether they are still alive?"

Not anywhere else, but in the desert.

How can they live without water and food?

She couldn't help but think of the rumor, that the soldier who came back alive might be the only one alive...

Aunt Yan shook her head and said anxiously: "He...he must...must be alive...he is waiting for me...waiting for me to find him..."

Liu Yunxiang looked at Aunt Yan's anxious look. It was hard to imagine how a weak woman like her could endure it in the torture chamber, and how she had endured it in the past few years.

She loves the old Marquis very much, this is the only answer.

Aunt Yan probably understood in the past few years that even if she saw the emperor and gave him this letter, the foolish emperor would not send anyone to rescue her. She had no choice but to selfishly go to see him alone.

Liu Yunxiang looked out the window, "But can you take me out?"

Aunt Yan nodded hurriedly and pointed in the direction of her room.

The next day, Liu Yunxiang sent Aunt Zhang out to buy groceries.

Aunt Zhang responded loudly while looking at Liu Yunxiang worriedly. When she saw her nodding at her, she went out with the basket in hand.

Liu Yunxiang returned to the west room, and Jin Yan was busy doing needlework.

She held a middle coat in her hand, put a cloth bag on the inside, and stuffed a wad of banknotes into it.

"Girl, please change into this dress."

Liu Yunxiang was amused, "Did you hide it on your body?"

Jinyan patted his chest, which was bulging, "There is a lot hidden."

Liu Yunxiang nodded, "You are still thoughtful."

After the two had finished packing, they heard Zijin shouting from outside: "Girl, come and have a look, Aunt Yan seems to be sick."

Liu Yunxiang glanced at Jin Yan and said, "Let's go."

Jinyan nodded heavily, "Yeah."

The master and servant came out of the main room. Liu Yunxiang glanced at the wall, but saw the branches of the locust tree outside the wall swaying. She lowered her eyes and entered Aunt Yan's room on the pretext of seeing a doctor.

When Aunt Yan saw the three masters and servants coming in, she hurriedly moved away the pile of firewood at the end of the wing.

Liu Yunxiang looked around and saw a hole in the back.

Aunt Yan got in first, Jin Yan supported Liu Yunxiang before going in, and Zi Jin covered the firewood behind.

This hole leads to the west wing of the west courtyard next door, which is Lu Changan's home. Fortunately, his place is deserted and no one lives in it. There is also a hole in the west wing, and you can enter the west room. There is also a hole behind the west room, and you are in another alley behind Liu Yunxiang's house.

It must have taken a lot of time to dig this road, and Aunt Yan was not very good with her hands. No wonder she stayed in the house and never came out.

There was a carriage deep in the alley, and the driver was waiting for them.

"Master, hurry up and get in the car. The shopkeeper asked me to take you to the outside of the city."

Liu Yunxiang asked Zhang Qi to prepare this carriage. He got on the carriage and quickly left the city.

Liu Yunxiang looked at the distant city gate, feeling a little uncomfortable in his heart.

She left the place where she was born and raised, she left her home.