La luna brilla intensamente sobre las montañas desiertas y las flores llenan el cielo

Capítulo 93

“Come on…” Long San stretched out his arms and said to Feng Ning, “Come down. The braised pork hock, crispy red pork, and jade tofu should be almost ready. Let’s have a good meal together, and then I’ll show you Bao’er’s painting tonight.”

Feng'er looked at him suspiciously: "You're not lying to me? There really is a painting by Bao'er?"

Long San smiled wryly: "I've learned my lesson, how could I dare to lie to you?"

"Is that so? Let me think about it." Feng Ning sat on the treetop, pretending to ponder. Long San waited below, looking miserable. He was prepared to wait a long time, but as soon as Feng Ning finished speaking, she spread her limbs wide and fell down like a weight. Long San was so frightened that he rushed over and caught her steadily with his arms outstretched. He was still in shock for a while.

Feng Ning smiled mischievously and asked in a sweet voice, "Was it fun?"

"Fun?" Long Sanzai carefully examined her to make sure she wasn't hurt before pulling her closer. She actually asked if it was fun? He really wanted to spank her. "If you had fallen, I'd have given you a piece of my mind."

"Hmph, if you let me fall like that, I won't even bother to discipline you." She raised her eyebrows, pouted, and couldn't be more mischievous than before. Long San had to forcefully remind himself and suppress his impulse to avoid shoving her down on this street corner where anyone might suddenly appear.

He coughed a few times, then a few more times, and said, "Feng'er, now that you've thrown yourself into my arms, we can consider it that we've put aside our past grievances and are as loving as ever. You mustn't say you're angry with me or that you abandoned me."

Feng Ning wrinkled her nose and hummed twice, but didn't say anything, which was taken as tacit agreement. Long San was overjoyed and finally couldn't help but kiss her on the lips: "Good Feng'er, I will definitely treat you well and never make you unhappy again."

That night, Feng Ning nestled in Long San's arms, reading a letter that Long Er had sent through someone. The letter said that Bao'er had grown taller, could talk a lot, and could recite poems. Feng Ning nudged Long San with her elbow and commented, "Second Uncle must be envious that we have such a good child as Bao'er. He said that Bao'er can talk a lot. My Bao'er has always been smart and has been very talkative since he was little. Is he trying to attribute Bao'er's intelligence to his care?"

Long San chuckled and ruffled Feng Ning's hair, teasing her for being petty: "Second brother also taught Bao'er to recite poems and read books. Before you left, it should be a fact that Bao'er couldn't recite poems, right?"

"Hmph, who knows what poems he taught Bao'er to recite? When I get back, I'll have to check it carefully. If he's corrupted Bao'er, I definitely won't stand for it."

Feng Ning finished reading the letter, tossed it aside, and then picked up Bao'er's drawing like a treasure. It had several crooked blobs drawn on it, with Long Er's annotations next to it.

That round ball with a little pointed end was a chick. Bao'er meant to say that the hen in the Long family's chicken coop had laid many chicks, and she had helped feed them. Long Er wrote beside her: "I've told her several times that the hen lays eggs, not chicks; the eggs hatch into chicks, but she still insists that the hen laid chicks. You can teach her yourselves when you get back."

While trying to figure out how that round little thing could be a chick, Feng Ning muttered to herself, "If you're going to teach it yourself, fine, a hen lays an egg, and the egg turns into a chick, so it's just a hen giving birth to chicks. What's wrong with that? Second Uncle is really not as smart as Bao'er."

Another picture appeared, round in shape, but twisted several times. Feng Ning didn't look at the words first; instead, she tried to figure out what it meant. Was it a mountain? Did it mean she went hiking? The explanation next to it was that the little devil Long Qingsheng had made Bao'er a small gold ingot ornament, which Bao'er loved and wore every day. Long Er even said, "Bao'er asked me to tell you that she's kept the gold ingot her second uncle gave her safely, and that Your Majesty shouldn't worry." But a new line next to it read: "This little devil is so greedy at such a young age, how are you raising children?"

Feng Ning was dissatisfied and said to Long San, "He himself is a miser, yet he dares to complain about Bao'er's greed? Humph, I want to see what kind of child this second uncle will raise in the future. He'll definitely be a little miser too!"

Long San laughed heartily and hugged and kissed Feng Ning. Feng Ning read Bao'er's letter over and over again, reluctant to put it down. The big circle with wavy lines meant that she went boating on the lake and was very happy. The little tree that looked like a feather meant that many more trees had been planted in the manor, which she liked. Bao'er said a lot. As Feng Ning read, she burst into tears.

"Long San, Long San, I miss Bao'er, I want to go home." Feng Ning hugged the letter, blaming herself for being heartless.

Long San hugged the tearful doll and coaxed her, "If you want to go back, then go back. We'll go back tomorrow."

After crying, Ke Fengning shook her head again: "It's still no use. We've come all this way. If I don't make it to Shahu Lake, I'll definitely regret it."

Long San sighed inwardly, "Then let's go to Shahu Lake, we'll go tomorrow." Feng Ning nodded, her tears turning into a smile.

That night, Feng Ning was awakened in the middle of the night by Long San. He kissed and caressed her, and by the time Feng Ning was fully awake, he had already entangled her with him until they were one.

Feng Ning was somewhat annoyed. How come her considerate husband had suddenly become such a lustful devil? Long San, on the other hand, had his own troubles. The heavy stone weighing on his heart was still pressing down on him.

The next day, Long San went to see Nie Chengyan, and they talked for a long time. Long San returned and told Feng Ning that they could not go to Shahu for the time being. Because the situation between Xia and Xiao was tense, and Nie Chengyan was going to Xia to find his relatives at this time. Long San explained, "His situation is different from ours. He is burdened with a family feud and was framed and almost lost his life. His grandfather may be in danger at this time. His trip to Xia is fraught with danger. I cannot stand by and watch him go without helping him."

Feng Ning was stunned and very disappointed: "Does this mean we have to wait until his business is settled before we can go to Shahu Lake?"

“Feng’er, Ayan saved my life. If I were in trouble, he would never stand idly by.” Long San knew that this matter would not please Feng Ning, but he had no choice but to do so. He analyzed the situation between the two countries in detail, and also talked about Nie Chengyan’s situation and his life-and-death friendship with Nie Chengyan.

Fortunately, Feng Ning quickly regained her composure: "So what are your plans?"

“Ayan is still gathering information. Once he has made the arrangements, he will lead a caravan into Xia Kingdom. He will leave Xiaoxiao and a guard here. I plan to go with him then.”

"I want to go too."

"no."

"Why not? Since it's so dangerous, how can I not stay by your side?"

"Having you here makes me feel at ease."

One sentence silenced Feng Ning. One thing Long San liked about Feng Ning was that she knew what was important. She could be willful and throw tantrums, but when faced with important matters, she was rational and reasonable.

Long San didn't have to put in much effort to get Feng Ning to agree to stay in Gusha City and wait for him. Feng Ning understood that Long San was right. Although the future was uncertain, Nie Chengyan had brought plenty of men, and adding her wouldn't necessarily be of much benefit. In fact, the farther away she was, the more focused Long San could be. Moreover, Han Xiao had also been left behind, and Feng Ning and Han Xiao got along very well, so she agreed to stay and protect her.

Nie Chengyan did indeed send people to infiltrate Xia Kingdom to gather information, and this investigation took two months. During these two months, Feng Ning waited anxiously, hoping that Long San would not go, yet also hoping that he would return quickly, because she understood that Long San had no choice but to go.

One day, Feng Ning suddenly remembered some routes, which seemed to be the routes she had traveled: cliffs, steep roads, canyons... She told Long San, and Long San said, "Don't be in a hurry, wait a little longer. When A Yan and I return from Xia Kingdom, we will take you on a proper trip."

Feng Ning agreed, but she still felt that this place was not in Xia Kingdom. Long San was very busy, so she went to the market by herself. During this stroll, she heard a place name: Qingshan Valley.

The name suddenly struck her memory. She asked around and found out that it was a place north of Gusha City, and like Yanhun Pass to the east of Gusha City, it was also a military stronghold.

Feng Ning returned to her lodgings but didn't see Long San, so she decided to go and check on him herself, thinking she would just take a short walk and return quickly. However, she never expected that this walk would lead her into trouble. Feng Ning initially headed in that direction, but later turned onto a secluded path, and the more she walked, the more familiar it felt. Overjoyed, she continued walking, only to realize that she had stumbled into the entrance to the strategic pass of Green Mountain Valley.

The soldiers guarding Qingshan Valley were astonished to see Feng Ning. Qingshan Valley was heavily fortified, yet this woman had evaded all the checkpoints and sneaked right to their doorstep without them noticing. This was unacceptable.

So the soldiers were to arrest Feng Ning and bring her before the general guarding the pass. Feng Ning, however, was indignant. She was a law-abiding citizen, merely taking a walk to find her way; why should she be arrested? After a few words, the two sides couldn't reach an agreement and a fight broke out.

Feng Ning was incredibly skilled; after a fight, the guards all believed she was a female spy and were about to launch a group attack when General Mu arrived. The old general immediately saw that Feng Ning had held back, only dodging and not killing, so he stopped his men.

"Who are you?" the old general asked.

Feng Ning countered, "Has anyone here seen me before?"

The old general frowned: "I'm asking you who you are."

Feng Ning was disappointed and lowered her head without answering. The old general then said, "Your identity is unknown, and you have trespassed into my heavily guarded border territory. Do you know that this is a capital offense?"

"I am not of unknown identity, nor did I intend to trespass into this heavily guarded area. I don't remember where this road leads, so I just kept walking." Feng Ning knew this was no joke; she was all alone, and the other party could really kill her, so she confessed honestly.

When the old general heard that she was a daughter-in-law of the Long family, he did not make things difficult for her, but he did not intend to let her go. Instead, he sent someone to find the Third Master Long, who was said to be in Gusha City.

Feng Ning thought to herself that the name of the Long family was really useful, so she took the opportunity to ask, "General, could you help me check if any of the people here have seen me before?"