Dongyin

? "I'm back, Your Majesty is back!"

Someone outside the courtyard shouted loudly, and the sound of excitement became one after another.

Duan Hong is back? !These words fell into Chu Xiying's ears, and he felt a little unreal.She got up in a daze and went to open the door. Coincidentally, the moment the door opened, the horse's hoof had just reached the courtyard gate.Just like that, Duan Hong, wearing a dark black long-sleeved gown without even a cloak, fell into her field of vision.Chu Xiying unconsciously stroked the door frame and stopped. She saw Duan Honggao sitting motionless on the horse, his belt fluttering in the cold wind, and anyone who looked at it felt cold.

The voice in the courtyard fell, as if for a moment, everyone bowed their heads and fell silent.Only then did Duan Hong get off his horse and walked in. The guards stepped back one after another to make way.The atmosphere was quite weird, every step Duan Hong took seemed to look at everyone, his steps were a little heavy but extraordinarily firm, his careful appearance made one have to suspect that everyone here had a grudge against her.

What's up with her?Chu Xiying was thinking like this, and suddenly her mind flashed. She remembered the few unburned incense sticks in the corner, and remembered that Shan Junxiang had sent her here at the beginning. At this moment, she proudly said, "You can rest assured that you can live here, except for me." , No one can come in' here, remembering Duan Hong's disappearance yesterday, Yang Zhen sipped his wine and said unhurriedly, "It's useless to look for it. Your Majesty is going, or you will come back, or you will never come back." Come.Why didn't she think of it, she should have thought of it earlier.How else can Duan Hong be kidnapped and come back safely? It turned out that everything was arranged long ago, Bai Yan was behind the scenes, and Yang Zhen was the accomplice.

A bone-piercing chill hit my heart, and then spread all over my body.Chu Xiying bit her lips and looked at Duan Hong, did she know, she must have known.Then she... She couldn't imagine, the moment Duan Hong knew the truth, what kind of anger and coldness was there to support her to leave Bai Yan and come back alone.Chu Xiying slowly descended the steps and helped Duan Hong's arm.

Duan Hong paused, stopped in his tracks, and remained silent for a while, then turned to look at her, and said, "I want to go back."

There was nothing in the voice but weariness.Go back, where to go, Qi State?Chu Xiying flashed these thoughts, but when she figured out Duan Hong's psychology when she said this, she couldn't help but feel sore, she just held Duan Hong's arm tightly and said, "Okay. I'll accompany you."

Duan Hong was stunned and stared at her for a long time before walking in silently.

As soon as Duan Hong sat down in the house, Yang Zhen hurried in, but he knelt down in front of her without saying a word.Ying'er on the side couldn't help being surprised, Chu Xiying hastily held her back and motioned her to keep quiet.

At that time, the room was extremely quiet, Duan Hong held a hand warmer in his hand, sat on the chair, closed his eyes and meditated.On the way back, she imagined the scene in front of her countless times, how angry she should be, and wished she could tear Yang Zhen into pieces.But she didn't, she was so calm now that there was not even a single wrinkle in her heart.That kind of calm made people panic, even herself.

Duan Hong felt that he was going to be overwhelmed by this tranquility, and with all the nostalgia in his heart, he drowned silently.She slowly opened her eyes, looking at Yang Zhen who was sweating profusely in front of her, she suddenly felt something different.The suffocation that had been suppressed in her heart all year finally disappeared and dispersed into her internal organs. Duan Hongjue's self was reborn, "Get up."

Her words were not overly emotional, clean and crisp, with a special decisiveness.

An inexplicable fear hit Yang Zhen's heart, he fell on the ground tremblingly and said, "I'm guilty, I dare not stand up."

"Get up when I tell you!" Duan Hong's tone was already a little impatient.

Yang Zhen got up quickly, took a step back, and bowed.

"Prepare paper and pen." Duan Hong looked at the corners of his mouth slightly, paused for a moment, then got up and went to the table, drew a sketch on the paper from memory, and dropped a big ink at the end "Before sunset, arrest the people from this village to see me, and none of them will be left behind, otherwise, we will be dealt with by military law!"

What are the villagers doing here? Yang Zhen was stunned and forgot to answer.

"Did you hear that?!" Duan Hong suddenly turned around, looking at him coldly, with anger in his brows.

"Yes... the minister obeys the order." Yang Zhen was terrified, and hurriedly took the order and came out.

Duan Hong watched him go out with an inexplicable smile on his face.Chu Xiying was terrified when she saw it. She faintly felt that Duan Hong had changed, even his eyes. Can't be saved.But she didn't believe it, and she still doesn't believe it. She walked over gently, pulled Duan Hong and said, "You are tired, take a rest first."

Duan Hong's eyes quickly swept to her face, paused, "No need!" After that, he turned and walked to the desk, and took out a roll of maps.

Chu Xiying followed, but saw Duan Hong's brows were tightly frowned, and he was holding the map without knowing what to think, and his knuckles were turning white.Suddenly she asked aloud, "What's the name of this mountain in the middle of Qi and Jin?"

It turned out that Duan Hong wanted to take a shortcut, but no one dared to go to that mountain all the year round, and it was a place haunted by wild beasts. "It's Jiulong Mountain"

Duan Hong was stunned, she was not ignorant of the danger of that mountain.When Duan Chun conquered Qi State, he was already suffering from illness, so he wanted to send troops across Jiulong Mountain to directly attack Jin State, but the five thousand troops he sent first disappeared into the mountain like that.

Chu Xiying knew that she was also hesitating, so he took advantage of the situation and said, "Longmen Gate in the southwest, it will take five or six days to get back together."

Duan Hong remained silent, Ying'er at the side heard that he was going back together, and asked in surprise, "Is there no more fighting?"

Hearing this, Duan Hong's complexion changed, she gave Ying'er a hard look, she shook off the map and said, "Just go up the mountain!"

Before sunset, Yang Zhen came back to report.

Most of the people he brought back were old, weak, sick and disabled. Thirty or forty people in thin clothes knelt in the cold wind and kept bowing to the guards for mercy.No one can bear to see that scene.

But Duan Hong didn't, she walked over, without even frowning, ordered, "Put your face up!"

Those people were frightened out of their wits, and if they were obedient, the guards turned their faces up for Duan Hong to see.

Duan Hong looked at each of them, his face became more and more stiff, until he saw the last one, she smiled.It was an old woman, dressed in common clothes, with mud marks all over her face, but Duan Hong recognized her as an old lady serving porridge at a glance, pointed at her and said, "That's her!"

Yang Zhen hurried forward and said, "I would like to listen to your Majesty's instructions."

"You did a good job." Duan Hong glanced at him and praised.Then he turned his head and looked at the villagers on the ground, "They are all remnants of the previous dynasty, and their crimes should be executed!"

them?Did Duan Hong refer to everyone? Yang Zhen was shocked, and so was Chu Xiying.

Just at this moment, a voice lazily rang out, "Wait a minute, why do you think they are remnants of the previous dynasty?"

It is a single king.

She also came here, Duan Hong was annoyed and didn't speak.It wasn't until she came in front of her that she sneered, "Why, what do you think?"

"You..." Shan Junxiang looked at her frivolous sneer and was stunned.Duan Hong's appearance has already become a demon.This day still came, it was really ridiculous, she wanted to prevent her from letting her stay away from the court, but in the end, she actually contributed to all this!

"Didn't you hear what I said!" Duan Hong's tone was angry, but it was more provocative to Shan Junxiang.

"Hong..." Chu Xiying couldn't help but stepped forward, but was firmly held down.Under Shan Junxiang's restraining eyes, her heart gradually became cold. She understood what Shan Junxiang meant. Duan Hong was no longer the person he used to be.This is Duan Hong's fate, the old Taoist priest said it long ago.But she still didn't want to believe it, how could Duan Hong kill these helpless old people and children, how could she do it? !

Despite the desperate clamor in her heart, Chu Xiying still stood where she was, as if she was being restrained by an inexplicable force, unable to move at all.She heard the sound of the guards chasing them away, the cries that were fading away, and the sound of the guards by the lake cutting through the air with their knives.In the end, she saw the dazzling red on the lake in a trance, and then the whole world went dark.

When I woke up again, it was already dark.A lamp was lit in the room, and Ying'er seemed to be setting an abacus, making the room crackle and crackle.Chu Xiying struggled to get up, only to see that she was packing her luggage.

Ying'er hurriedly came over to help her, and said, "Miss, you've finally woken up, what are you doing to see it in such a scene, it scared me to death."

Chu Xiying didn't answer, and was silent for a while, then asked, "Where are those people?"

"Who are they?" Ying'er thought for a moment before realizing, "They're all dead. Taoist Shan asked someone to put their bodies together and say they're going to be sent back to the village for burial."

Chu Xiying recalled the scene in the afternoon, her stomach was still churning, she hurriedly changed the subject, "What are you doing packing these things?"

"Let's go. The King of Qi said that he would be on his way before dawn. I thought I had nothing to take with me. Who would have thought that there would be a lot of things once I cleaned up?" Ying'er paused, then suddenly lowered her voice and said, "Miss, do you really want to go with her?" Are you leaving? She is too cruel, even the single Taoist priest who grew up with her can't escape..."

"What happened to her?" Chu Xiying hurriedly asked.

"It's nothing too much," Ying'er said, "It's just that King Qi banned her here, and for the rest of her life she was not allowed to step out of Yuanyang Lake."

Chu Xiying was startled and said nothing.For a person like Shan Junxiang who likes to travel around and loves to be lively, wouldn't staying here be worse than death?

The room was quiet when there were two knocks on the door.

who is that?Ying'er went to open the door, saw that it was Shan Junxiang, and now she didn't hate her so much, so she let the door go.But Shan Junxiang didn't come in, he just asked, "Is Miss Chu awake?"

Chu Xiying hurriedly put on her clothes and went out. The two looked at each other and both understood.Shan Junxiang turned silent, turned and left.

The temperature at night was much lower than during the day, and it was bitingly cold. The two of them walked by the lake one after the other.The moon that night was surprisingly bright, illuminating half of the lake, and Chu Xiying could even distinguish the water patterns blown by the wind on the lake, but the water was so blue that it turned black, and there was no color to be seen.

Shan Junxiang picked up a stone and threw it into the lake with all his strength. The sound of falling water broke the deathly silence.Shan Junxiang smiled, and then asked, "Are you leaving tomorrow morning?"

Chu Xiying nodded silently, and said, "You are here alone, so be fine." How can you be fine alone?She couldn't help but feel sad when she said this.

Shan Junxiang didn't take it seriously, and joked, "Don't go with her, just stay."

Chu Xiying turned to look at her, but saw that her face was very serious, because she asked, "Why?"

"You know it clearly, but you just don't want to let it go." Shan Junxiang said with a wry smile, "I'm a very casual person, and I don't like to force anything, so you can do whatever you want."

Shan Junxiang made a pun. Chu Xiying understood but didn't know what to say. He just said, "I don't like to force it. If it weren't for you, I don't think she would be alive now."

"You...know all of this." After Shan Junxiang was surprised, he sighed, "This is fate." In fact, she had already calculated that next year would be the year of great evil, and Duan Hong was the culprit.She begged the old man to let her go, because she had found a way to change Duan Hong's life, but she never expected that in the end, Duan Hong would not go with Bai Yan.Now, put all the faults on her head.

Shan Junxiang's tone was so understated, as if the matter had nothing to do with him.But Chu Xiying could hear the difficulty, how much painstaking effort it would take to get the timing right and arrange the plan seamlessly, if it was her, she would not be reconciled.

But if that's the case, Duan Hong and Bai Yan have already lived together.

"You have to tie the bell to untie it. You can't persuade her to turn around." The only one who can end all this is Bai Yan.Shan Junxiang asked, "Have you decided yet?"