Жениться на государственном служащем династии Северная Сун

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The envoy stood up, his face pale, hastily bowed, and left.

Sun Jia shook his head: "Junyu, with your attitude, I'm afraid he'll exaggerate and report it to the authorities."

Junyu said helplessly, "If we don't do this, I'm afraid they won't give up and will send people to persuade us again and again, which will make things awkward for everyone."

Sun Jia added, "Recently, Zhu Yu has led his troops to capture several cities on the northwestern border."

“I absolutely do not want to fight him personally. Therefore, I am leaving Phoenix Village.”

“I didn’t want this either. Although he’s never gotten along with us since childhood, I never dreamed that one day he would become our greatest enemy,” Sun Jia said with a wry smile. “Now, are there any capable people in the Northwest Army camp who can fight him?”

Junyu pondered for a moment before saying, "Among the Northwest Army, Zhang Yuan is the most capable strategist. With the assistance of Zhou Yida, Lin Baoshan, and others, if the court makes good use of them, Zhu Yu may not necessarily come out on top."

This was also the main reason why she resolutely resigned from her official post.

She laughed, "As for the Phoenix Army, you, Sun Jia, are enough."

Sun Jia had no words to persuade him, so he could only hurry out and chase after the secret envoy.

Shu Zhenzhen only walked in from outside the door after Sun Jia's figure had completely disappeared.

"Junyu, I'm afraid that once the secret envoy reports back to the court, the emperor will immediately come looking for trouble with you."

Junyu sat down next to her and laughed: "So, Sister Shu, we'd better start a new life in a different place."

Shu Zhenzhen nodded. She, along with Young Master Nongying and Lu Ling, had been busy with this matter for the past few days. She said, "Young Master Nongying has gone to find medicine for you. We can set off once he returns."

Junyu suddenly laughed: "Sister Shu, have you noticed? You, Mr., Lu Ling, Fei Yan, Man Qing and others are all alone. That's good, we can make our home wherever we go, and we don't need to worry too much."

"This is a stroke of luck amidst misfortune!" Shu Zhenzhen said with deep emotion. "Look at Prime Minister Zhu, once he fell from power, only he and his two sons escaped, while more than a thousand of his relatives were executed. Although we have lost a lot of family happiness, we are fortunate to be free and unburdened. At least we are not afraid of being executed along with our entire family."

"Therefore, we should make careful plans and find a peaceful place away from the conflicts here, wouldn't that be better!"

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Chapter 207: Tuosang, I've come to see you.

For the first time in nearly a year, Junyu felt a sense of ease and joy: "Sister Shu, I'm going out again, and when I come back, we can leave."

"where are you going?"

"I need to go see Tuosang. His death anniversary is in two months, and I must go see him one last time."

"Go ahead, but what if Mr. Nongying comes back and can't find you?"

"Sir has his own way of contacting me, and I will contact him promptly no matter where I go. Don't worry."

Junyu mounted her horse, and Xiaoshuai left Phoenix Village. In early summer, Phoenix Mountain was ablaze with wildflowers and lush foliage. She took a deep breath of the fresh air along the forest path, only to suddenly realize that this path, overgrown with roses and wildflowers, was the very place where Tuosang had traveled a long way to meet her that Mid-Autumn Festival.

She smiled and said to herself, "Tuo Sang, I'm coming to see you. Aren't you happy?"

In the woods, blooming roses swayed in the wind, as if silently responding to her words.

Tiema Temple.

Last year's devastating fire reduced the once magnificent temple to ruins. The gates of Tiema Temple are dilapidated, and the surrounding area is deserted and desolate. In the ensuing battle, almost all of Tiema Temple's more than a thousand monks perished, with only the abbot returning to the Holy Palace with Xia Ao and others to continue their spiritual practice. Now, Tiema Temple is completely empty and dilapidated.

Junyu walked along the broken walls and ruins, and in the distance, he could see the sandalwood tree in front of the main hall. Many new branches had already sprouted from the felled sandalwood stump, and some of the faster-growing slender branches were already more than three feet tall.

A dead tree can sprout new buds, but a person who dies cannot be brought back to life.

Junyu carefully examined the surrounding land; this was where Tuosang had been cremated. The ashes from that cremation had long since been swept away by the wind and rain. She suddenly remembered that Tuosang had been wrapped tightly in layers of cloth and thrown into the flames, but almost instantly, he had vanished without a trace. In her grief at the time, she hadn't noticed anything strange, but now, calmer, she wondered: what kind of fire could possibly cause a person to be completely cremated so quickly? In the end, even Tuosang's "relics" were never found.

She took out the jade box from her bosom, opened it, and looked at the fiery red flower. This flower was very strange; it never withered. But for some reason, she never thought, like Xia Ao and the others, that Tuosang had transformed into this flower.

Despite the many strange and inexplicable things in their sect, it was utterly impossible for her to believe that Tuosang would turn into a flower. She shook her head, thinking that perhaps her skepticism stemmed from not being a believer. But if Tuosang didn't turn into a flower, then where did his "relic" go?

She looked at the lush greenery on the sandalwood tree and sighed: "Tuo Sang, even a dead tree can sprout new buds, but a person cannot be brought back to life!"

Chapter 208: Who is here?

The sun was slowly setting behind the mountains.

Junyu placed "Chasing Flight" on the ground and casually sat down against the stump of the sandalwood tree. She looked up at the new branches of the sandalwood tree, and the last rays of sunlight cast a faint golden hue over the empty, dilapidated temple, restoring some of the ancient temple's mystique.

"Tuo Sang, I'll stay here with you for the night!" As the night deepened and weariness gradually crept in, Junyu closed his eyes, leaned against the tree stump, and fell asleep.

After a long, long time, she suddenly felt an extremely strange atmosphere.

"Who, who is here?"

She opened her eyes and leaped to her feet. Dawn had broken, the morning dew was heavy, and the empty Iron Horse Temple remained silent, with only her own voice echoing for a long time.

She took a few steps forward, but there wasn't a single crow or sparrow in the ruins of Tiema Temple, let alone a human figure.

She touched her hair, which was covered in mist, and looked at the gloomy sky in the east. It was a cloudy day.

The leisurely little dog saw her, let out a long cry, and the sound carried far and wide.

“Now, who would come here?” She gave a bitter smile, looked at the sandalwood tree again, and murmured, “Tuo Sang, maybe I will go to a very, very far place, and I will never come to see you again.”

A gust of wind blew by, and the leaves around rustled softly, like suppressed sobs.

Hearing the rustling wind, Junyu smiled and said, "Tuosang, are you feeling sad? But no matter how sad you are, I won't come to see you again. Who told you to leave me?"

This time, even the rustling of leaves disappeared.

Junyu took a few steps, then stopped, looked back, and strode away.

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Chapter 209: Poisoning

Xining Prefecture was just ahead. Junyu reined in his horse and glanced in that direction, but ultimately turned his horse around and headed in another direction.

Around noon, Junyu arrived at the only inn in the desert. Due to the renewed fighting, there were few travelers left in this simple inn.

Just as he sat down and drank a bowl of extremely bitter tea, a cloud of dust suddenly rose at the doorway, and several riders on horseback galloped over from afar. Amidst the innkeeper's enthusiastic greetings, five burly men dismounted and entered, the leader of whom was none other than Sun Jia.

"Sun Jia!"

"Junyu!"

Sun Jia sounded even more delighted than Jun Yu. She immediately sat down on the stool next to her, drank three large bowls of tea, and then exclaimed loudly, "I'm so thirsty!"

"Sun Jia, why are you here?"

"I came here on orders. It's a long story."

It turned out that a few days ago, Zhu Yu had captured several cities in the Northwest, enraging the court, which ordered the Northwest garrison to do everything in its power to repel Zhu Yu. However, due to deepening conflicts between the supervising officer and Lin Baoshan and others, they often disagreed and hindered each other, resulting in several defeats by Zhu Yu. The emperor was even more furious, demoting Lin Baoshan and others, and subsequently sending General Mei, the father of Consort Mei, to take command of the Northwest army. Upon arriving at the Northwest army, General Mei immediately began planning a major battle, aiming to deliver a devastating blow to Zhu Yu. Therefore, the court prepared to dispatch 10,000 elite troops from the Phoenix Army westward to provide support.

After receiving the order, Sun Jia traveled around for several days to first survey the terrain of the Northwest so that he could have a clear understanding of the situation.

Junyu glanced at several burly men in plain clothes at another table. These men were all unfamiliar faces; he had never seen them in the Phoenix Army before.

Sun Jia's expression was somewhat unnatural, but he immediately said, "These brothers are all new members of the Phoenix Army. Junyu, you haven't met them yet."

The men solemnly replied, "We have long admired Marshal Jun's illustrious name..."

Junyu shook his head and smiled, "I am no longer a marshal, so there's no need for such formalities."

“But in the hearts of the Phoenix Army, you will always be the ‘Flying Commander of Phoenix City.’ If you were still in the Northwest Army, how could Zhu Yu have achieved such a swift and unstoppable advance?” Sun Jia said. “After you left Phoenix Village, the imperial court sent several more groups of people to invite you back to the front lines. I’m afraid you simply couldn’t stay out of it…”

Junyu sighed, "In fact, there are many talented people in the Northwest Army, but the court does not make good use of them. Why should it focus on me alone?"

Lin Baoshan had once been a close confidant of Prime Minister Zhu, but his attitude completely changed after Junyu joined the Northwest Army. This is why Junyu escaped the Zhu family's calamity. However, the Emperor still harbored some suspicion towards him, and given the recent defeats, merely demoting him was already a lenient punishment. With Lin Baoshan demoted, Junyu estimated that Zhang Yuan, Zhou Yida, and others would have even less room to maneuver. Now, General Mei was in charge, and he had a past relationship with the supervising officer. What would happen if the two joined forces?

Junyu pondered for a while, when suddenly he heard Sun Jia shout, "This lousy place, even the tea is so bitter, it's better to drink alcohol."

Junyu snapped out of her daze and laughed. Suddenly, Sun Jia magically produced two jars of wine from under the table, handing one to Junyu: "Try this? A brother specially brought me Fenjiu from Shanxi..."

Junyu knew that Sun Jia was a heavy drinker and often carried fine wines he had collected from various places when he went out. She opened the cap and immediately smelled a fragrant aroma, rich but not cloying. She couldn't help but exclaim, "Excellent wine!"

Sun Jia laughed loudly, tilted his head back and took a big gulp, and said loudly, "Drink today, for tomorrow we may die! How many soldiers have returned from ancient battles? Waiter, bring us all the best dishes you can find."

Such a simple desert inn naturally wouldn't have any fancy dishes; a plate of yellow beef, a plate of smoked bamboo shoots, and a plate of peanuts were served.

The two of them drank with relish the simple food.

After drinking most of the jar of wine, Junyu picked up a piece of smoked bamboo shoot, but her hand trembled, and the bamboo shoot fell onto the table. She shook her head and reached for her chopsticks again, but this time, her hand holding the chopsticks trembled slightly, as if she couldn't reach the plate no matter what she tried.

My hands started to go numb, but I knew perfectly well that I wasn't drunk; I was poisoned.

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Chapter 210: Sun Jia and Prime Minister Zhu

She looked up at the opposite side. Sun Jia had already stood up and stepped aside, a hint of pain and shame in his eyes. The several burly men in plainclothes who were with him had also retreated to the side, standing side by side with Sun Jia, each with a fierce look in their eyes and weapons in hand.

Junyu stroked "Chasing Flying Bird" and glanced at Sun Jia. Sun Jia didn't dare to meet her gaze and turned her head away. Junyu sighed inwardly, remained sitting there quietly, and slowly closed her eyes.

……………………

The air around us became still.

Junyu closed his eyes and remained motionless, large beads of sweat dripping from his face.

Several burly men in plainclothes exchanged glances, all staring at the longsword in Jun Yu's hand, none daring to make the first move. Sun Jia stood to the side, looking pained and blank.

Sun Jia was from Chang'an. He lost his father at a young age and was raised by his widowed mother. At the age of eighteen, he was imprisoned and sentenced to death for committing murder. Prime Minister Zhu liked to rescue highly skilled martial artists from among the death row inmates to train as elite warriors, and Sun Jia was one of the death row inmates he rescued.

Seeing that Sun Jia only had a widowed mother, Prime Minister Zhu bought her a house so that she could enjoy her old age in peace. Overwhelmed by the double kindness of saving his life and caring for his mother, Sun Jia naturally swore allegiance to Prime Minister Zhu, becoming one of the Prime Minister's most secret henchmen.

Prime Minister Zhu was shrewd and calculating. Knowing that he and his son were childhood classmates, he feared his identity would be exposed and never allowed him into the Prime Minister's residence. Instead, he secretly arranged for people to contact him. Even Zhu Yu was unaware that he was a trusted lieutenant of the Prime Minister's residence.

Over the years, Sun Jia performed several important tasks for Prime Minister Zhu, earning his deep appreciation. Later, as Junyu's military power grew, Prime Minister Zhu, fearing she would become a major threat, arranged for Sun Jia to join the Phoenix Army. Relying on her martial arts skills and the bond she shared with Junyu as childhood classmates, Sun Jia quickly gained Junyu's trust and gradually seized control of the army.

During that period, Prime Minister Zhu secretly ordered Sun Jia to assassinate Junyu several times, but Sun Jia just couldn't bring himself to do it. He only claimed that Junyu was highly skilled in martial arts and very wary, so he had no way to do it.

"Sun Jia, what's going on?"

A burly man, noticing the faint steam rising from Jun Yu's head, whispered, "This is bad. Could he be using his internal energy to expel toxins?"