Pihanjin

In the winter of this year, near the end of the year, the Tianshan Mountains were covered with extra thick snow. For more than half a month, there was no trace of anyone on the ancient road. But in Jincheng, the atmosphere is unprecedentedly lively.

Just before the heavy snow closed the road, the last batch of winter supplies from Hexi arrived in time. In addition to a thick cotton coat, the fish, meat, and various fruits and vegetables that are rarely seen in winter here are abundant enough to survive the winter. The merchants of Nakubera expressed their gratitude, and after returning, they also sent people to Jincheng to bring many gifts, including several carts of grapes and wines in huge wooden barrels.

The wines of the Western Regions have always been well known in the name of tribute, and they are rare and precious. On the day before the New Year, in the Golden City, sheep and cattle were killed, and the city lord gave the wine to the soldiers to drink it. Everyone laughed and laughed, celebrating the New Year, and rested until late at night.

As winter turns to spring, the ice and snow melt, and a letter from Tianshan was delivered to the young man in the Shangjing Palace.

The letter was written by Mu Fulan.

She said that she was all right and told him not to worry. The weather is getting warmer and the roads are reopened. When there is nothing to do, she often goes out for a walk. It is different from coming in in a hurry and leaving in a hurry. Now that I go deep into this place, I know the magnificence of Baoshan and the richness of goods and resources, which cannot be described by pen and ink. A few days ago, she came across the first group of business travelers from the east this spring on the road. While chatting, she learned that the imperial court issued a letter to continue to reduce the fortune at the beginning of the year. Besides, don't be overworked. It is also said that in the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains, the people regard the white yak as a divine animal, and see it as auspicious. Last year, when the mountain was blocked by heavy snow, some soldiers captured a white yak that was injured in the wild and brought it back to the city to present to her. After she healed the wound of the white yak, she took advantage of the warmth of spring and released it to the wilderness. When the white yak was about to leave, it seemed to understand human nature, and when he looked back several times, the water went away.

In the letter, she talked about her daily life in that place, like gossip, without mentioning the man at all, but at the end of the letter, she attached a geographical map of the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains drawn on the parchment scroll, saying that the drawing The person, who spent several years walking through every pass and river, made this picture. The circled place in the picture is the place where the post is suggested to be used for the daily use of the imperial court.

The teenager read the letter over and over again, put it down, picked up the parchment, spread it on the table, stared at it for a long time, then got up, and took out a long and narrow object wrapped in cloth from a sandalwood box.

He unraveled it layer by layer, until it reached the bottom of the cloth, revealing the sword with blue cloud patterns that he was all too familiar with.

He slowly drew out his sword, laying it in front of him, and looking at the pair of black eyes that were reflected in the white blade, his eyes gradually turned red.

…

In June, these few days are the best time to pick a herb called Zidancao. After a few days, when the flowers bloom, the medicinal properties will be greatly reduced. Xie Changgeng left other things behind and specially accompanied Mu Fulan out of the city to collect herbs. The two set off early in the morning, rode to the foot of the mountain, let the horses graze, Xie Changgeng asked the people who were traveling with him to wait at the foot of the mountain, and accompanied Mu Fulan up the mountain.

Beneath the snow line, the stream was gurgling and the wildflowers were everywhere. The two of them were gathering herbs and looking at the scenery. Before they knew it, most of the day had passed, and Xie Changgeng seemed to be tired when she saw her climbing the mountain. There was a flat stone in front of her, so he called her. Sit and rest.

Mu Fulan sat on the rock, hugging her knees and staring at the back of her husband who was climbing and collecting medicine for her, gradually becoming fascinated. After a while, when he saw him coming over, he regained his senses, and hurriedly got off the stone and greeted him.

"Is it enough? If it's not enough, I'll find you again." Xie Changgeng asked her.

"Enough is enough, let's go down the mountain."

Mu Fulan took out her handkerchief and wiped the sweat from her husband's forehead.

Xie Changgeng bowed his head, kissed her, and said, "If you can't walk, I'll carry you down." His tone was a little intimate and provocative.

Mu Fulan smiled, then pushed him away and said, "Who wants you to carry it!" As she said that, she picked up the medicine basket and started walking, but she saw him standing still, his eyes fixed on her behind , take the bow and arrow backhand.

She turned her head along his line of sight, and saw a elk with beautiful fur on the other side of the hillside by the stream, parked by the stream and drinking water with her head down.

Xie Changgeng was already bending a bow and arrow, aiming at the elk.

His arrows hit a hundred hits, and when this arrow goes out, the prey he hits by himself is still good?

Mu Fulan hurriedly grabbed his wrist: "It's a doe. This season, the doe's maternity period has passed soon. If there is a calf, the mother and child will never be able to see each other again. Don't shoot it."

She just finished speaking, and a deer jumped out from behind the bushes, chasing after the doe, and drinking water. The doe turned her head and stretched out her tongue to lick the fur on the fawn's face. The mother and son were intimate and touching.

Xie Changgeng was startled, and slowly put down the bow and arrow. Seeing her looking at the elk mother and child by the stream, her eyes did not blink, until the doe left with the fawn, still looking in that direction, not daring to startle her, after a while, When she turned her head, Fang reached out and held her hand gently: "Let's go, go back."

Mu Fulan hummed softly and followed him down the mountain. As if in a trance on the road, I stumbled under my feet. Xie Changgeng's eyes were quick, he held her up, stopped in front of her, lowered his body slightly, and said softly, "You've been taking medicine for a day, and you're tired. I'll take a few steps behind you." She lifted her back.

Mu Fulan didn't refuse any more, her face was pressed against the back of his neck, without saying a word, she quietly leaned on her husband's generous back.

Xie Changgeng carried her like this and descended the mountain steadily.

The two returned to the city, it was already dark, and they returned to their residence. After taking a bath, Xie Changgeng carried her to bed, and lay down with her, staring at his wife by the pillow.

Her face was like a hibiscus, and she smiled and said, "Why do you look at me like this? It's not the first day we meet."

Xie Changgeng's fingers lightly stroked her cheek. "Lan'er, did you miss Xi'er today?"

He hesitated, "If you really miss him, I'll take you to Hexi tomorrow. You can come back anytime, I'll wait for you."

Mu Fulan was silent for a moment, then said in a low voice: "Seeing the elk today reminds me of the scene when Xi'er was young, and it was a bit emotional for a while. Don't think about it too much."

Xie Changgeng stretched out his arms, took her body into his arms, and slowly hugged her tightly.

Mu Fulan snuggled into her husband's chest and closed her eyes as she listened to the sound of his heartbeat.

The night was getting darker, and the sweet wife beside him was already deep asleep. Xie Changgeng thought about how she saw the elk mother and son getting along with each other during the day. He couldn't sleep for a long time, afraid of disturbing her peaceful sleep, he quietly got up from the bed. , went out of the house and stood in front of the steps. While Mochizuki was thinking, he heard claps from the courtyard gate.

He walked out of the courtyard and went to open the door. Seeing that the servants had come, Dao had just sent a message from the gatekeeper of the city gate. A young son came from outside the city, claiming to be the son of the city owner's wife, and came here to visit his parents and asked him to spread the word.

Xie Changgeng's figure froze for a moment, as if he had just recovered. He turned his head abruptly, as if he was about to go in, but stopped suddenly, turned around again, went out of the gate, got on the horse of the doorman who came to report the message, and drove away in the direction of the city gate. .

He rushed to the gate of the city, turned over and dismounted, and ran out of the gate without stopping.

A young man, his thin and tall figure was outlined by the night, and his handsome and handsome face was illuminated by the moonlight. He stood quietly beside the road, looking at the man who appeared behind the city gate and was running towards him. Almost at the same moment, he walked towards him.

"Hee!"

Xie Changgeng called him, his voice sounded low and steady at first glance. However, if you listen carefully, it is not difficult to tell that there is a trembling in his voice, and the excitement of his mood can be seen.

The boy stared at him.

"Father, I'm here to visit my mother," he said.

"In addition to visiting my mother, I also want to tell you that the person named Xi'er has never forgotten the time he came here when he was a child. He once asked you why this place was named Jincheng. He remembered that his father was at that time. Tell him, when summer comes, when the snow melts, the sun shines, standing on the top of the snow peak and looking down, the city seems to be covered with gold, so it is called Jincheng. Father, you also said that if he wants to see, You can come anytime…”

"Summer is here, I don't know if you are willing to take me to see the beautiful scenery that is covered with gold?

The boy's voice was choked, and he knelt down slowly towards the man in front of him, and kowtowed to the ground.

Xie Changgeng hurried up and took the boy off the ground.

He looked at the young man in front of him, his eyes gradually warmed, he raised his hand and held his shoulder tightly, and said in a low voice, "I'll take you to see it tomorrow. Let's go and see your mother first. She still thinks of it today. After you, I coaxed her for a long time before she fell asleep."

The young man wiped his eyes quickly, nodded, and followed him into the city.

…

The young man stayed in this city for three days.

On the third day, he was going back.

Mu Fulan sat in the carriage, sent him one ride after another, and finally arrived at the finish line. The place in front of him was where he was staying, and then he stopped.

The young man said goodbye to her, got off the carriage, reluctantly looked back at the woman in the car behind him who was still watching him, and whispered to Xie Changgeng: "Father, I'm going back. Take good care of my mother and keep her safe and happy for a lifetime."

Xie Changgeng also turned his head, glanced at it, and nodded with a smile.

The boy finally got on the horse and left.

Mu Fulan watched the boy's back go away, and when her husband got back into the carriage, he asked him, "What did you say just now?"

Xie Changgeng looked at her beautiful red eyes and embraced her in his arms: "I promise Xi'er to protect you well, and to be safe and happy for a lifetime."

Mu Fulan leaned against her husband's arms and slowly closed her eyes.

This night, the two seemed to be newly married, and they entangled their ears and temples until the middle of the night, when Fang stopped.

Mu Fulan was clearly very tired, and after a good night, he was reluctant to sleep and asked him to tell himself a story.

He thought about it and said yes.

"...It's about which dynasty or generation is unknown, the imperial court is almost in arrogance, and the vassal kings in the world are in turmoil. There is a young man born in the water bandit, surnamed Xie and named Chang Geng. Obviously, with a ruthless temperament and a bit of ability, how can he be willing to live as a pirate? He has long been determined to ascend to the top of the world and seek the throne of the emperor. In order to achieve this, he put his idea on the body of the princess of Dongting Changsha, I want to marry her as a wife, and use this as a step to step into the officialdom..."

Mu Fulan felt dizzy and sleepy, yawned, and said vaguely: "Don't listen to this... I know it later... You can change it..."

Xie Changgeng patted his head curled up in his embrace, and coaxed, "Listen, it's going to be different."

He continued: "But it was said that the princess of the Mu family was only thirteen years old. Although she was a little girl, she worshipped Junshan Yaoweng as a teacher and learned medicine and medicine from him. On that day, she went to Junshan to find Yaoweng. , before arriving at Yaolu, she was told that Yaowen had a visitor, so she wanted to go down the mountain first. How could she know that in Yaolu, the man who crossed the river under the moon last night and came by a black boat was facing Yaowen at this moment. The ambitious person who sits and brews tea, he feels uneasy, and finally waits for her to show up, can't he chase her out immediately?"

Xie Changgeng said, without hearing any reaction from her, he lowered his head and saw that the person in his arms had fallen asleep.

He laughed, stopped, stared at her sleeping face for a moment, covered her with the quilt, and embraced her to sleep.

At that time, thousands of miles away, on the side of the cliff of Junshan Mountain in Dongting, on the old cypress that had been reborn after the thunder and fire, the night bird quietly nested.

The moon is in the sky and the breeze is bright.