Chapter 21: First Victory (3)

"Oh, I'll feel relieved." Chen Jun breathed a little relieved, and said in his mouth: "Northwest, Tingzhou...oh!" She suddenly lit up her eyes and asked, "Brother, I remember Lord Di's third son and Mr. Li, they went to Northwest, Tingzhou, right?" Chen Huai nodded with a gloomy face. Chen Jun did not notice his expression and said more joyfully: "By the way, and Mr. Mei, it seems that he was also going there. Brother, can you see them this time?"

Chen Huai snorted, and Chen Jun realized that his expression was wrong and wondered: "Brother, what's wrong with you? Don't you want to see them? Mr. Di and Mr. Li, aren't they both your good friends?" Chen Huai was silent. Chen Jun thought for a while, stood up and opened the cabinet, found a stack of clothes from it, put it on the bed, and looked at Chen Huai and said carefully: "Brother, when Mr. Li and Mr. Di came to our house last time, I saw that their clothes were too thin, so I planned to make a vest for each of them. Oh, I made one for Xiaobin'er, but they were too hurrying and I didn't have time to do it. I only finished it after coming to Luoyang, but I just didn't know when I could bring it to them. This time, if you can meet them, you can take it."

Chen Huai suddenly changed color and his voice rose: "Ajun, you're too much of a move! Don't say that I might not be able to see them. Even if I see them, it's already midsummer. The Western Regions are hotter than the Central Plains. What do you want to do with this vest? You don't think it's ridiculous, I'm still afraid of laughing!" Chen Jun's face turned red and white after being said, Qiqi said aloofly: "Brother, don't be angry, I just think that they have done it. Besides, if they want to stay in the northwest, they will still be cold..." Chen Huai interrupted her and sneered: "Ajun, you have been with them for two days and have been so obsessed with. Is there any special reason?"

Chen Jun was shocked, and his right hand was stroking his hand on the carefully sewn clothes, lowering his head without saying a word. Chen Huai's cold eyes locked on her body, and continued to insidiously say: "Ajun, I have always had great doubts about what happened at home in Jinchengguan on New Year's Eve last year. How did the old man die in our family still not understand. Humph, I always felt that this matter cannot be separated from Mei Yingchun, and it must have something to do with Li Yuanfang and Di Jinghui. If I really meet them this time when I go to the northwest, I would take the opportunity to check the cause of the old man's death!"

Seeing Chen Jun just lowering his head, Chen Huai pulled her hand impatiently, pushed the pile of clothes away from the bed, and pulled Chen Jun into his arms with great force, and said, "Okay, don't worry about those irrelevant ones. I'm leaving. We can only gather tonight. You want to make me happy, right?" Chen Jun then raised his head. Although there were tears of grievance in his eyes, he still smiled at Chen Huai with great warmth. His slender arms surrounded Chen Huai's waist and untied his clothes for him.

Chen Huai was asleep and snored softly beside Shen Jun. With the faint moonlight, Chen Jun looked at his sleeping face in a daze, and looked over and over again, but he couldn't see enough. She no longer remembered how their first time happened. She only remembered that she had been born to belong to this man since she was a child, so when and where she became his person was actually not important at all. What is important is to stay by his side for the rest of her life, serve him, take care of him, love him, and give everything for him.

Involuntarily, Chen Jun leaned over to kiss Chen Huai's lips, thinking in a daze: "What a beautiful and lovely person, he is my life, my ideal, my god... Mother, your last wish has always been to your heart, 'Never leave, life and death are with you're with you're always remembering this sentence in my heart and I dare not disobey you at all. Mother, my daughter also wants to thank you. It is precisely because you ask your daughter to love him that her daughter can live as fulfilling as she is now..."

Three days later, on the third day of the fifth month, Emperor Wu Qin ordered the general of the military commander of the West. General Lin Zheng, the right Wuwei Guard, led a 100,000 army to fight from Luoyang. The Longyou Road pacification envoy Di Renjie accompanied the army. The prince Li Xian sent him to the outside of the city on behalf of the emperor, and gave him earnest instructions and farewell with him. Since this day, the people along the eastern capital Luoyang and the army have gradually realized that the Great Zhou and the Turks were going to go to war again.

However, Tingzhou on the border of the Western Regions is still calm and the wind is calm. This romantic border town enters summer every year from May. Once summer enters, the temperature in Tingzhou suddenly rises during the day, especially the deserts with barren slopes and mountains that lack vegetation. The temperature difference between day and night is extremely large. At noon, everything you see will be roasted to the point of boiling hot by the scorching sun. No wonder several bald mountains not far away are even called "Flame Mountain".

Of course, summer is also the most lively, splendid and intense season of the year. The flowers bloomed throughout the spring gradually withered, but welcoming the time when the fruits and melons ripened one by one. The sun was dazzling and dazzling, making people unable to open their eyes; the air was filled with various rich fragrances, and the smell of fruits and various spices in the Western Regions made people intoxicated. The Hu people who liked singing and dancing thought the weather was too hot and were reluctant to work, so they drank full of wine and played the piano and sang all day long, dancing in a carnival. The vines on their heads were creeping all over the shed, covering up the shade, and even birds came to join in the fun, chirping and music. This scene, even the paradise on earth, is not the case.

Among them, the Grand Bazaar is the most lively place in the entire Tingzhou city. Due to the long days and short nights, the opening time of the Bazaar was one hour in summer. Li Yuanfang had nothing else to do in the past two days, so he simply stayed in Bazaar from morning to night. He could speak Turkic, and it was quite smooth to deal with the Hu people. After touching Bazaar thoroughly according to the account book left by Gao Changfu, he began to do his best to perform his duties in managing Bazaar. That day, he had been busy all morning, and found a wine shop next to Bazaar and sat down for lunch.

Li Yuanfang specially picked a wooden table outside the pergola, and the sun was sunny on his head and back. He was sweating profusely but felt very comfortable. Li Yuanfang liked the warm summer in Tingzhou very much. The dryness, high temperature and sunlight relieved his pain a lot. He often unconsciously thought that Di Jinghui had a good idea. Maybe he should really choose to settle down here. What a beautiful and comfortable life like a paradise. If there were no lurking evil and crisis, how great it would be...

The Hu boss came over with a wooden barrel full of wine and put it on the table with a loud bang. Li Yuanfang invited several shop owners on the bazaar that were having dinner together, and his eyes were suddenly lit up. He rushed to roll up his sleeves and pour wine, and couldn't wait to drink. One of the small Persians was quite thoughtful and poured a bowl for Li Yuanfang. Li Yuanfang poured most of the bowl down. Seeing the guys drinking happily, he had already started dancing and laughed. The Hu boss then brought the fragrant chicken, beef and mutton, the yogurt that was cooled with water, as well as a large plate of fresh cherries and yellow apricots, all of which were shining brightly in the sun.

Since seeing Mei Yingchun and Meng Dan away, Di Jinghui and Han Bin were placed in the herdsmen, Li Yuanfang was left with only one person in Tingzhou. He bought medicine from the Great Cannibal without spending money, and the herdsmen were not interested in money. Di Renjie traveled thousands of miles to invite Mei Yingchun to the money but could not spend the money. With this money around him, Li Yuanfang found that he suddenly became a big and small rich man. He was generous. Relying on his wealth, he simply took turns to treat people to dinner in Bazaar and squandered the silver of the prime minister. Li Yuanfang's reason was: he had no appetite for eating alone, and if someone was accompanying him, he could temporarily put his worries aside and get familiar with vendors of all races. Even if Di Renjie knew that he spent so much money, he would agree!

The little Persian who poured wine for Li Yuanfang was Mumu, a spice vendor. After drinking several large bowls of wine, Mumu's tongue became a little straight. Seeing Li Yuanfang eating apricots and cherries with relish, he leaned over and said in a pleasing manner: "Li, Mr. Li Jun, these cherries are delicious? But it is even worse than the cherries in our hometown of Persia. When I go back, I bring you some to taste it? It's so sweet!" Li Yuanfang nodded to him: "Well, when will you go back to Persia? It's going to fall?" Mumu was stunned, looked around, and then lowered his voice: "Mr. Li Jun, we've been leaving these two days. There are other caravans who have set off in the past few days and take a detour to the Turkic Jinshan to return home."

Li Yuanfang looked at Mumu and asked quietly: "Oh, I also found that there were many shops on Bazaar one after another. What's going on? When it's best to do business in summer, why are you in a hurry to leave? The goods are sold out?" Mumu looked around sneakily, then made up his mind to come to Li Yuanfang's ears, and rushed over with alcohol: "Mr. Li Jun, you are a good person, you are good to us, I will tell you the truth. Tingzhou is about to fight!" Li Yuanfang narrowed his eyes and repeated gently: "Tingzhou is going to fight? Where did you get this news?"

"Well, I don't know where the news came from, but it's already spread from the bazaar." Mumu said as he poured another bowl of wine into his stomach. Li Yuanfang didn't ask, and waited for a while before saying, "Didn't you just get this news today? Why did you leave in the past two days?" Mumu shook his head and sighed, "It's not because of those goods that can't be sold out, and I can't bear to bear it. Fortunately, someone has come to receive the goods these days. Although the bid is very low, it's better than throwing it away, so we quickly deal with the goods and can set off."

Li Yuanfang was a little surprised this time: "Someone receives goods at a low price? Who? Do you collect all the goods or choose specific goods?" Mu Mu shook his head with a red face: "I don't know what the origin is. I have never seen such a group of people in this bazaar. I have received all the goods and the bargaining price is very harsh, but in order to get out earlier, everyone doesn't care about anything else."

Li Yuanfang frowned and was about to speak, but suddenly heard a noise in front of him. The crowd gathered in one direction, as if there were still crying. Li Yuanfang hurriedly took out the silver from his arms and threw it on the table, telling Mumu: "You settle the bill with the boss." He rushed to the place where the crowd gathered in three steps. In just a while, he was surrounded by idle people watching the fun. Three layers inside and three layers outside. Li Yuanfang squeezed into the crowd and saw a half-dead old monk lying on the ground. A teenager in his teens kneeling beside him, crying bitterly with tears in his mouth, "Master, Master... Woo woo, wake up quickly!"

The onlookers were talking nonsense but no one came forward to help. Li Yuanfang walked forward and squatted beside the master and apprentice. They found that they were all unkempt and ragged, with half black and red all over their bodies. They rushed towards their noses and had a stinking smell mixed with blood. Li Yuanfang frowned unconsciously and asked the little monk in a gentle tone: "Little Master, don't cry for now, tell me what's wrong with your master?"

The little monk wiped his tears and said sadly: "Wuwu, my master was injured. I haven't eaten after walking so far. He, he is almost dead, wuwu..." "Is he injured?" Li Yuanfang helped the old monk up from the ground, and suddenly his heart sank. The body in his hand was actually cold in the hot summer. He stumbled on the old monk's breath without saying a word, then gently placed it flat on the ground, and lifted the blood-stained robe on the old monk's chest. Li Yuanfang's brows suddenly frowned, and immediately asked the little monk: "This is a knife wound! What's going on? Who is your master injured?"

"Yes, it's Turkic people." The little monk burst into tears. Li Yuanfang pressed his shoulder and said gently: "Don't worry, you can say it slowly." The little monk nodded and looked at the master who was completely silent. Then he sobbed and told Li Yuanfang that they were monks who painted rock paintings in the caves at the Mingsha Mountain in Shazhou. His master's name was Puhui. Just half a month ago, the Turkic army suddenly invaded Shazhou and fought fiercely with the Great Zhou army guarding the city. The Turkic soldiers could not capture it for a long time, so they surrounded Shazhou City into an iron barrel and burned near Shazhou.

He killed and looted, and did everything he could do, and even the cave where he and his master painted Buddha statues were not spared. In order to protect the rock paintings, the master was severely injured. Later, the master and his disciple fled to Shazhou in chaos and came all the way west. Puhui was seriously injured. When he passed by Yizhou, he wanted to enter the city to hide, but the gate of Yizhou was closed and no one was left inside. The little monk had to drag Puhui to escape west again, and walked and stopped along the way. Today, he finally rolled and crawled into Tingzhou. However, his master fell to the ground near the bazaar and could no longer walk.
Chapter completed!