La vie des gens de la campagne en ville sous la dynastie Song

Chapitre 30

"No, I'm not going. Although I've never met her, I always feel that woman is dangerous," Qin Zhen said. "We're going to Zhongjing soon, so there's no need to associate with her."

Yue Fei's eyes lit up as he asked, "You met the Prince today, what were the arrangements?"

"Shh..." Qin Zhen cautiously closed the door before saying, "He will set off again in two days to continue his journey north. His purpose in going there is to see Emperor Yelü Yanxi of the Liao Kingdom. And I can guarantee that my 'King Father' will also take us to the capital!"

"Why? He was ordered to stay in Nanjing and cannot be summoned or leave at will," Yue Fei asked, puzzled.

Qin Zhen said with a smug look on his face, "He's got a hot potato in his hands now, he has no choice but to go!"

Just as Qin Zhen had expected, Yelü Chun was frowning and deep in thought in his study, and on the table in front of him was the "Tiger Head Military Talisman" that Qin Zhen had handed over to him.

For the Liao emperor, the palace guards were like a protective sword, but now the hilt of that sword is in the hands of others. What kind of situation is this?

Last year, Yelü Yanxi suffered a crushing defeat in his personal campaign against the Jurchen rebellion. Yelü Chun was puzzled at the time as to why the emperor had not brought his powerful palace troops with him, but instead relied on the tribal armies that fought independently. Now he finally understood the answer: even the emperor himself could not wield that sharp sword.

With the northern front in dire straits and the palace troops idle and unable to fight, Yelü Chun was extremely anxious. For the sake of the Liao dynasty, he had to return the military tally, but... if someone with ulterior motives were to stir things up, he feared that the same thing would happen again!

Yelü Chun had no desire to be emperor, yet he had an inextricable connection with the throne. As early as the reign of the previous emperor, Emperor Daozong intended to pass the throne to him, who was his nephew. However, due to Yelü Chun's refusal, the throne was passed to his grandson, Yelü Yanxi.

Later, without his knowledge, someone rebelled and usurped the throne in his name. If Yelü Yanxi had not had extraordinary trust in Yelü Huan, the entire Wei Prince's mansion would have been unable to protect itself on that occasion.

After much deliberation, Yelü Chun strolled to Qin Zhen's courtyard and saw Qin Zhen and Yue Fei having dinner.

"Mingzhen," Yelü Huan called out affectionately.

Qin Zhen feigned surprise and looked up at the door: "Father? Has Father eaten? Would you like to have dinner with Mingzhen?"

Yelü Chun patted Qin Zhen's head, then gestured for Yue Fei, who had just stood up, to sit down, and then asked, "Have you been settling in well these past few days?"

Qin Zhen nodded and said, "That's good, thank you, Father Wang."

Yelü Chun nodded with satisfaction, then thought for a moment and said, "You've just returned, so you're probably not familiar with the Liao Dynasty. I'd like to take you to Zhongjing to meet your imperial uncle and get your gold certificate sorted out."

"Want to go out and play? That's great!"

Qin Zhen's naive appearance completely fooled Yelü Chun, who was unaware that he was following Qin Zhen's plan step by step.

After seeing Yelü Chun off, Yue Fei gave Qin Zhen a thumbs-up and said, "Truly a brilliant strategist."

"This isn't some kind of divine calculation; it's just that I did some homework beforehand and know his thoughts inside and out. He hates the throne, yet he cares about the world. Once you know that, it's not hard to guess anything."

"Hate the throne?" Yue Fei found it hard to understand why Yelü Chun would hate the throne. Wouldn't he have more desires if he were in that position?

Yelü Chun had the opportunity to be emperor but didn't, and Yelü Huan had the opportunity to be a prince but didn't either. The father and son were truly strange! Ancient books recorded countless stories of royal families killing each other to seize the throne, but now he saw a counterexample, which made him very puzzled.

Qin Zhen's eyes were somewhat deep. To Yue Fei's question, she only said, "Who can see the desolation behind that supreme dragon throne..."

Zhao Gou's spirits improved rapidly, much to the delight of the Song envoys. Their journey north resumed as normal, so they sent a letter to the King of Wei to bid him farewell.

The reply from the King of Wei was somewhat unexpected by the Song envoy. Yelü Chun requested to escort the prince to the capital, citing the disturbances caused by many rioters within his territory. Although surprised, the Song envoy readily agreed for safety reasons.

Thus, at the end of March, escorted by a large contingent of guards and personal soldiers, Prince Wei, Yelü Chun, along with "Princess Mingzhen," embarked on the journey to escort the Song prince to the capital.

Volume Two: Eagle Soars Through the Sky Chapter 61 The White Moonlight Young Man

Nanjing Qijin Prefecture is more than 600 li away from Zhongjing Dading Prefecture. If a single person were to travel at a fast horse, it would only take a few days. However, the caravan that set out from Nanjing was large, with carriages mixed in, so the speed was naturally slow. In addition, after leaving Nanjing, there were often northern refugees suffering from war passing through the area, which also greatly affected the speed of travel.

The Song envoy's carriage was mainly protected by Song troops led by Liu Qi, but Liao troops were added to lead the way, with the Liao King Wei's carriage following closely behind. To avoid being seen by the Song envoy and having his identity exposed, Qin Zhen remained inside the carriage.

Zhao Gou continued riding his horse, but he kept glancing back at the Liao troops. He naturally wanted to see Qin Zhen, but he knew that Qin Zhen couldn't show himself right now.

Although Zhao Gou did not see Qin Zhen, a young man dressed in Han Chinese clothing riding a horse beside Qin Zhen's carriage caught his attention. "This must be Yue Fei, the sworn brother Qin Zhen mentioned," Zhao Gou thought.

The distance was quite far, and Zhao Gou couldn't see Yue Fei's face clearly, but he sensed that his figure was somewhat familiar, though he couldn't remember where he had seen him before.

“Ninth Prince,” Liu Qi interrupted Zhao Gou, who was deep in thought, and reported, “The Prince of Wei just sent someone to say that he will not be able to enter the city today, so he can only camp in the wild. He hopes that Your Highness can make do for one night. Please forgive him.”

Zhao Gou looked ahead and saw an endless plain. There was no sign of a city in the dim sky. He said, "There is really no other way. Let's set up camp in the wild."

It is likely that the Khitan ancestors of the Liao Dynasty were nomadic, and this tradition of migration still influences their descendants today. King Yelü Chun of Wei was meticulous; knowing that Song soldiers were not as skilled at setting up camp in the field as Liao soldiers, he specially dispatched a troop of soldiers to help the Song envoys erect several sturdy and comfortable tents.

At night, after everyone had finished eating the game they had hunted, they returned to their tents to rest. Liu Qi and Zhao Yong arranged for the patrolling soldiers to take their places and then temporarily withdrew to rest.

Zhao Gou didn't feel tired today, but he felt uncomfortable in the tent. Every time he thought of Qin Zhen being so close yet unable to speak to her, he felt extremely unhappy. After tossing and turning until late at night, he finally decided to sneak into her "boudoir" at night.

He had been practicing martial arts and was quite nimble. He traversed most of the camp without disturbing anyone. However, after looking around for a while, he couldn't figure out which of Qin Zhen's tents was which, which gave him a huge headache.

Just as he was hesitating, two figures emerged from a tent. Zhao Gou's eyes lit up. He was quite certain that the petite figure was Qin Zhen, so he immediately gave chase.

The two people who emerged from the tent were Qin Zhen and Yue Fei. They didn't come out in the middle of the night to do anything mysterious; it was simply because Qin Zhen had been in the carriage for too long and felt that if he didn't move, he might become crippled.

She and Yue Fei moved swiftly until they reached a pond almost half a mile from the camp and stopped.

"Wow, there really is a pond!" Qin Zhen said happily.

Yue Fei smiled. When he passed by here in the evening, he noticed the small pond under the setting sun. When he was discussing with Qin Zhen where to go for fun, he thought this was a good place.

In the dead of night, the bright moonlight enveloped the entire northern plain. The small pond appeared even more exquisite under the moonlight. A night breeze blew, and tiny ripples spread out, creating shimmering waves that were incredibly beautiful.

Qin Zhen was attracted by the unique scenery in front of him. Without saying a word, he kicked off his riding boots, took off his socks, and went to the pond to wade in the water.

"Be careful of the cold," Yue Fei advised.

Qin Zhen didn't mind the slight coolness at all, fully enjoying the freedom she felt: "So cool, so comfortable! Brother, look, there are even fish!"

A fish brushed past Qin Zhen's toes, filling her with immense joy.

Under the bright moonlight, the shadows of some fish could be vaguely seen. Yue Fei rolled up his trousers and stepped into the water. He was an expert at catching fish, and the fish in this pond were about to suffer.

"Don't splash the water, watch me catch fish."

Yue Fei stood quietly in the water, his sharp eyes scanning the surroundings, while Qin Zhen watched intently. A plump fish appeared in their field of vision. Yue Fei bent down, and as he reached for it, Qin Zhen suddenly kicked the water, scaring the fish away and splashing Yue Fei with water.

"Oh no, it's all your fault! We almost caught him!"

Qin Zhen giggled happily. Yue Fei realized she was deliberately causing trouble and decided to punish her a little. He scooped up some cool pool water, which, under the moonlight, scattered like pearls onto Qin Zhen, startling her into a scream: "Brother, you're bullying me!"

Zhao Gou was struggling to keep up with their pace as they left the camp. After searching anxiously for a while, he finally caught the sound of Qin Zhenjiao's sweet laughter. He followed the sound and saw the brother and sister playing happily.

He stood at a distance, feeling a strange, indescribable sensation, as if a million ants were crawling into his heart.

Who's there?

Yue Fei keenly sensed someone watching them from the shadows not far away. Zhao Gou turned to leave, suddenly not wanting Qin Zhen to see him. Just as he turned, Yue Fei blocked his path. So fast!

The two inexplicably started fighting. Although Zhao Gou was no match for Yue Fei, he stubbornly fought back. The two were locked in a stalemate for a while. At this moment, Qin Zhen also put on his shoes and rushed over, immediately recognizing Zhao Gou's figure.

"Stop it!"

Luckily, just as Yue Fei was about to strike Zhao Gou with his palm, Qin Zhen quickly stopped the two of them.

Zhao Gou kept his lips tightly shut, turned his head to the side and ignored them. Yue Fei looked at Qin Zhen in confusion, only to see Qin Zhen say with a worried expression, "He is the Ninth Prince, the Prince of Guangping."

Yue Fei was shocked and quickly apologized, but Zhao Gou still ignored them.

Qin Zhen tugged at Zhao Gou's sleeve: "Hey, what's wrong with you? My brother doesn't know it's you, don't be so petty!"

Zhao Gou was even more displeased when Qin Zhen called him "stingy," but in order to appear not stingy, he could only say to Yue Fei, "Ignorance is no excuse."

Yue Fei's anxious heart calmed down a little, and now looking directly at Zhao Gou, he couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "It's you?"

Zhao Gou looked back and was equally surprised. Wasn't this the person he had met at Baolian Temple?

Volume Two: Eagle Soars Through the Sky 062 Midnight Fire Burns Down the Camps

"It's you? Your sister's illness..."

Zhao Gou subconsciously asked about his sister's illness, but before he could finish, he suddenly realized that Yue Fei's sister was none other than Qin Zhen. He looked at Qin Zhen anxiously and worriedly, and asked, "Did you fall ill on the road? How are you now?"

Qin Zhen shrugged and said, "It's just a stomachache. Don't bring it up again, it's too embarrassing. I'm all better now! When did you two meet again?"

Yue Fei said, "When we stayed at Baolian Temple, I accidentally spilled the medicine on the prince."

"Oh, so you've been to Baolian Temple too!" Qin Zhen exclaimed. Why didn't we meet back then? If we had, I wouldn't have had to pretend to be a princess!

Hearing Qin Zhen's slightly disappointed sigh, Zhao Gou was filled with remorse! When Qin Zhen was ill, he was only a wall away from her, and he blamed himself for not finding her then!

Just as Zhao Gou was regretting his actions, Qin Zhen asked him, "By the way, what are you doing here?"

"You're allowed to come out and have fun, but I'm not?"

Zhao Gou's sour tone amused Qin Zhen. She happily pulled Zhao Gou and Yue Fei aside and said, "You two became friends after a fight. Now you're officially acquainted. You're all on the same side. You can't fight each other again!"

Yue Fei wiped his forehead and said, "I will definitely not lay a hand on the Ninth Prince again. Fortunately, I didn't hurt him today."

Zhao Gou continued, still displeased, "It won't be that easy for you to hurt me!"

"Alright, alright," Qin Zhenyi quickly stopped her from bickering again, saying, "We've been out for a long time, let's go back soon, it wouldn't be good if everyone kept looking for us."

The other two nodded, and the three of them quickly walked back.

When they were halfway there and could just see the camp in the distance, they saw countless burning arrows shot from the back of the camp toward the center. In an instant, several tents were engulfed in flames!

"Oh no, someone's attacking!"

Without saying a word, the three immediately ran towards the camp, with Yue Fei even chasing after the direction in which the rockets were launched.

Some of the soldiers awakened in the camp fought the fire, while others chased after the attackers. When they discovered that Qin Zhen and Zhao Gou were nowhere to be found, they panicked. Fortunately, Zhao Gou and Qin Zhen returned to the camp shortly afterward, and the soldiers immediately surrounded them.

Zhao Yong and Liu Qi looked at Zhao Gou nervously. They had just seen his tent on fire and hadn't found him anywhere. They didn't know what to do. Now that they saw Zhao Gou was safe and sound, they still asked worriedly, "Your Highness, are you alright?"