Mi primer marido después de la transmigración

Capítulo 114

With bloodshot eyes, Tie Jun carried the dead civilians to the mountains outside the city, dug several large pits to bury them, and worked all day to clear away all the corpses. The bodies were no longer visible, but the heavy stench of blood still lingered in the air, and the white snow on the ground was already stained with blood, frozen into red ice, a shocking sight.

Dai Chongyan then ordered all the snow in the city to be swept away. Everyone worked together and finally piled all the red snow outside the city. Overnight, the ground was covered with another layer of white snow. When they woke up in the morning, looking at the clean streets, it was as if nothing had happened.

The streets were deserted except for the occasional soldier in armor delivering messages; not a single ordinary citizen could be seen walking on the streets.

Ultimately, it was still a dead city.

That night was the most painful night of my two lifetimes. I didn't close my eyes once, as if if I did, I would see corpses lying on the ground, their bodies gruesome and mutilated. The wind howled outside, like the wailing of ghosts. It wasn't fear, just a feeling of coldness, a sense of irrationality, and utter confusion…

Later we learned that Chen Dan had disappeared two days before the enemy's massacre of the city. No one had seen him, and no one knew where he had gone. His family was hidden in a secret place, and those who were taking care of them had never seen him. Perhaps, knowing that such a thing was about to happen, the enemy had quietly disposed of him to reduce resistance. But it's puzzling that his subordinates were still working for Xuan Ying. Or perhaps he simply left on his own…

There are too many mysteries in the world, and the mystery of Chen Dan's disappearance will probably never be told to us.

Do not lean against the west railing to lock in the clear autumn. Chapter 097

Chapter word count: 3363 Update time: 09-09-03 08:07

After clearing the desolate city of Caizhou, the army marched in high spirits towards Rongzhou. Before setting off, they swore an oath to avenge the people of Caizhou.

Ironically, as soon as the army arrived at Rongzhou and began their siege, the enemy threw down the corpses of two hundred civilians from the city walls, boasting that they would slaughter all the inhabitants of Rongzhou if the army attacked. The soldiers were filled with grief and anger, but they could not gamble with the lives of the people of Rongzhou. They could only grit their teeth and hastily withdraw their troops, remaining inside Rongzhou city and refusing to venture out again. The enemy army also remained silent.

Everyone was waiting, but the enemy held too many bargaining chips. As long as the civilians remained in the cities, it seemed there was no longer any chance of retaking them. To take back those cities, they would have to sacrifice the people there… Thinking of this, I shuddered. It wasn't impossible. Given Emperor Youjing's character, these people had only believed in Chen Dan, and when the enemy attacked, they didn't flee but continued to live peacefully here. Would Emperor Youjing care about these people who didn't really care about him? Would he allow these people to hinder his steps to reclaim lost territory?

The situation in the army would be reported to the court regularly, and it wouldn't be long before Emperor Youjing received news from here. It wouldn't be long before he knew his decision. Time became exceptionally agonizing.

Meanwhile, bad news was spreading throughout the capital. A favored eunuch had been secretly reporting to the emperor for months, accusing officials of disrespectful acts, disparaging remarks, and conspiring against each other. Emperor Youjing was furious and ordered thorough investigations. The results were overwhelmingly conclusive; the officials could not escape their accusations, some were dismissed, others had their homes confiscated. The entire court was gripped by fear, and everyone fawned over the eunuch.

Intriguingly, these officials who suffered were not limited to that faction; almost every one of them had their power diminished, leading one to suspect that this was a deliberate act by the emperor, who made the eunuch the scapegoat.

The days of waiting were not easy, so I would often go for a stroll outside the city when I had nothing to do. Even though it was freezing cold outside, it was still better than staying in that lifeless city.

The snow stopped that day, and everyone rode their horses to a valley several dozen miles from Caizhou City. Surrounded by snow-capped mountains, the valley contained a clear lake with wisps of white steam rising from its surface—it was a hot spring lake. I jumped off my horse in delight, ran to the lake, and dipped my hand into the water. The water was indeed hot, the perfect temperature for the human body.

Shen Haoyu took out the map, pointed to a small circle on it, and said, "Is this the Drunken Sleep Lake? But it doesn't say it's a hot spring." I leaned over to take a look, and I didn't see any other lakes around. This should be it. The name is also quite fitting. Who cares if it is or not, let's just treat it as our Drunken Sleep Lake.

Because of the nearby geothermal activity, most of the valley was free of snow, but some frost-resistant green vegetation grew lushly, with some unidentified wildflowers in the grass. After circling the lake, we discovered a small stream flowing from afar into the lake; the water was warm. So we went upstream to see what lay at its end. It wouldn't be bad if we accidentally stumbled upon another paradise.

After walking for the time it takes to eat a meal, we followed the stream to a cave halfway up the mountain. There was nothing inside, except water bubbling up from the ground, forming a small pool. When the pool was full, the water flowed out of the cave entrance. Seeing that the water was shallow and clear, and we could see the bottom at a glance, I said, "Let's fence off the cave entrance. This would be a great place to soak in a hot spring."

Shen Haoyu nodded in agreement: "Let's stay here tonight and soak together." Anyway, everyone has been going out a lot lately, and sometimes they even bring tents because they're afraid of going too far to get back to the city. So staying here for one night won't be a problem.

Soaking in the lake below wouldn't have been a problem, but I didn't bring any change of clothes, and it would have been bad if they got wet. Now that I have this cave, it's really nice.

After descending the mountain, Shen Haoyu ordered a tent to be set up on the spot, and he also had people put up curtains around the cave entrance. Before long, Shen Haoyu himself went up the mountain, seemingly eager to soak in the hot spring, which was much more comfortable than taking a bath in the wooden tub in the room.

As soon as Shen Haoyu left, about half of the guards followed, while the rest set up tents. Shen Haoyu always had so many people with him when he went out, so he never had to worry about being left without someone to do his bidding.

Seeing that everyone had something to do, Zinuo happily skipped stones on the water, while Song Zhixuan and Lin Zhao went up the mountain again. I then took a stroll by the lake. Walking on the grass, I felt the soles of my feet were warm, as if the heat from the ground was penetrating through the soil and my boots and directly into my skin… Of course, it wasn't that exaggerated; it was all in my imagination. However, the ground really did have some temperature, otherwise the flowers wouldn't have been able to bloom.

With the melted snow water still damp, the ground was too wet to sit on. I found a rock by the lake and sat down. I grabbed a blade of grass from nearby and rubbed it in my hand. Soon, my fingers were covered in the grass juice, a pale yellowish-green. I threw down the mushy grass and washed my hands in the lake. The grass juice washed away, but the color on my fingers wouldn't come off, and my nails even had a faint red tinge.

I was a little surprised. Could it be that flowers like balsam can be used as dye to color nails? On a whim, I broke off a stalk and rubbed it on my nails. At first, it was light green, and after washing it off, it turned light pink. It even changed color!

The color on my nails was pink, and the color on my skin was the original color of the dye. I wonder what color it would be if it stained other parts of my hair? I then took some grass leaves, mashed them, and applied the juice to a small strand of my hair. After waiting for a while, I still couldn't see any strange color, so I washed the juice off with water. I wonder if it only changes after rinsing with water. After waiting for a long time, when my hair was almost dry, I noticed that the color of my hair strands had lightened, slowly turning into yellow.

I was so surprised I almost cried out! Ah, I'd stumbled upon such a treasure! I could dye my hair in ancient times! The color was pretty good, and it was all-natural and green, so I didn't have to worry about the irritation from those chemical agents! Encouraged, I bent down and started experimenting with other grasses and flowers on the grass. By the end of the afternoon, my back was aching. I had tried almost every species on the grass, but sadly discovered that only the first type of grass had dyeing properties.

Is this the price of insatiable greed? Once you have a type of grass that can be used for dyeing, you expect there to be other types that can produce other colors, only to find out after going around in circles that all your efforts were in vain.

Although I was somewhat annoyed, I was mostly overjoyed. I presented the treasure I had found to Zinuo and told him about the amazing properties of this little blade of grass, fully expecting him to be curious and want to take a look. But to my surprise, he snorted and said, "I've been lying on the ground all afternoon looking for it. I thought you had lost some money. It's just a blade of grass."

I shook my head at him with an expression that seemed to say nothing. This guy really has no sense of money. In modern times, using such irritating hair dye would cost anywhere from tens to hundreds or even thousands of dollars. If it were this green and all-natural dye, how much would it cost?

I secretly decided that if no one bothers me after I leave the Prince Qing's mansion, I must open a hair salon and give them beautiful blonde hair! Of course, the premise is that I have to change the aesthetic concepts of men and women in this era, otherwise there will be no market.

Shen Haoyu and the others returned. Zi Nuo accompanied me up the mountain, and the two of us took turns soaking in a nice hot spring bath before coming down the mountain to have a simple dinner with everyone around the campfire. It was nothing more than some fish and animals from the water and mountains that we used to grill directly over the fire, and there was also a big pot of fish soup. We didn't bring any other cooking utensils when we were out and about, so one pot was enough.

Spending the night by Zuimian Lake, the usual chilly air conditioning was gone. The closer I got to the ground, the warmer the air felt. I wrapped myself tightly in the blanket and slept soundly for the first time in the wild, feeling as if I were drunk.

When I woke up the next morning, I felt refreshed and comfortable all over. I didn't know if it was because of the geothermal heat or because I had soaked in the hot springs the day before. In any case, this place is indeed a good place. I wonder what a beautiful sight it would be if the surrounding snow melted.

Stepping out of the tent, they were surprised to see Zi Nuo and Lin Zhao sparring on the grass. Shen Haoyu and Song Zhixuan stood by, watching intently. The others were either packing up their things or preparing breakfast. Taking a deep breath of fresh air and then exhaling contentedly, they strode over to Song Zhixuan and watched with them.

The two men exchanged blows without even drawing their swords, their moves so fast that it was hard to keep up. "When did my Zi Nuo's swordsmanship become so good? It seems Gan Lin really deserves all the credit!" "That's enough," Lin Zhao suddenly announced, withdrawing his attack and sheathing his sword. "Only a few months, and you can't even beat you anymore. No way, I'll have to get Gan Lin to give me some pointers when he comes back."

Zi Nuo smiled and said, "We'll see."

Song Zhixuan shook his head with a smile, "The younger generation surpasses the older generation, A-Zhao, just accept it."

Upon hearing this, I chuckled and interjected with a touch of sarcasm, "Old age may not diminish one's vigor, nor should one's ambition be abandoned even in old age. As the saying goes, one is never too old to learn. Ah Zhao, you must not give up!"

Lin Zhao glared at me angrily: "You brat..." Then she quickly changed her words to "You brat, don't you have any sense of hierarchy? Don't think that just because I can't beat your brother, you can climb ahead of me!"

I grinned and ignored Lin Zhao's aggressive gestures. Shen Haoyu watched us laughing and joking, chuckled softly, and slowly walked away.

After breakfast, we went for a walk in the nearby mountains. When we passed that valley again, I insisted that everyone wait for me. I jumped off my horse and picked a large handful of the dyeing grass that I named "color-changing grass." Back in the group, everyone was quite disdainful of the grass in my arms, and I was too lazy to say anything to them. We'll see what happens when I get my results.

The group then leisurely returned to Caizhou City, lingering along the way for a short while each time. By the time they arrived back in the city, it was already dark.

Do not lean against the west railing to lock in the clear autumn. Chapter 098

Chapter word count: 4098 Update time: 09-09-03 08:07

Upon returning to Caizhou City, I began planning my grand experimental work. Early the next morning, I found Cui Lang and said I was incredibly bored in the city, offering to help care for the horses. Considering I had already taken care of the sick, there was no reason to refuse.

Cui Lang readily agreed and immediately led me to the horse farm, handing me over to the farm manager. He told me I was just passing the time at the farm and could do whatever I wanted; there was no need to assign me any tasks. The manager nodded repeatedly in agreement, but after Cui Lang left, he looked at me with great curiosity.