Painting Doctor Jinhua

When Fenghuang returned to the inn, he saw Xiao Jinyu lying on the couch and sleeping. On the table was a bowl of fresh and delicious dishes and a plate of snacks. Among them were his favorite chicken slices in lotus sauce and a light pink fragrant cake shaped like a plum blossom.

The room was filled with a strong scent of tea, which came from the tea leaves boiling slightly in a censer, emitting a rich aroma.

The desk was light brown, and on it was spread a piece of smooth and shiny Saeki paper, on which were written eight beautiful characters: "If I fall asleep, please help yourself to food." The handwriting was clear and graceful, as graceful and moving as the mist that had just dispersed from the forest and the light drooping jade willows.

Fenghuang's eyes were moist for a moment. He walked to the bed, looked at Xiao Jinyu for a long time, and suddenly murmured to himself: "If I return to Chen State, I will definitely help you take everything back, and I will never let you die with hatred in this life."

After eating, the boy would sleep on the edge of the bed with a curtain and a mat.

The years are quiet and good, but I had a sleepless night.

The next day, before dawn, the two men left the inn. Except for the innkeeper, no one in the entire inn knew when they came and when they left. When the waiter came to collect the rent, the two men were long gone. Only a bag of five copper coins was placed on the table, which was particularly conspicuous.

The waiter looked a little dazed, thinking of the rumors he had heard today: "I heard that a miracle doctor has come to our Pengcheng, who looks like an immortal. I wonder which temple is so lucky to have this miracle doctor as a guest."

"If she can come to my house, let alone collect rent, I can even support her without any problem, don't you think?"

"Yes, yes! I don't know where that miracle doctor came from or where he's going."

However, these rumors soon disappeared without a trace as time passed, just like the many legends that "come like flowing water and go like wind, and no one knows where they come from or where they end". They will eventually flow into the tide of time with the changes in current events, and either be washed away or return to dust.

……

Half a month later, the State of Chen established Kang City.

This year was the second year after King Ancheng Chen Xu deposed the emperor and proclaimed himself emperor. Just like every previous change of dynasty and political power, in the past two years, the new emperor carried out major purges of the government and the country time and time again in order to rectify the government.

Today was the last day of the purge. When the sky was about to brighten, the imperial capital, which had been silent for most of the night, was suddenly shrouded in red clouds. Along with this ominous omen, a piece of news came from the court - Han Zigao, the right general and favorite of the late emperor, was accused of treason and committed suicide in court out of fear of punishment.

For a moment, the government and the public were shocked, the whole city was in an uproar, the people all sighed and lamented, and there was also a lot of discussion in the teahouse.

At the same time, a green-capped double-axled carriage returned from the north and slowly drove towards the Qingxi Gate of Jiankang City.

In the early morning, the mist had dissipated, and the morning light had already illuminated the solid and majestic outline of the city wall not far away, on which the two large characters "Jiankang" were clearly visible.

After seeing these two words, the boy sitting in the carriage couldn't help but shouted happily: "Brother Qing, look, this is Jiankang City, we have arrived in Jiankang."

After the carriage swayed forward for several meters, it finally came to a slow stop. Xiao Jinyu opened the curtain, walked out of the carriage, and looked up at the two big words on the city gate.

Jiankang.

These two big characters seem to have been baptized by war for a long time and have traces of the vicissitudes of time.

Xiao Jinyu was mesmerized by the sight. The boy beside her said excitedly, "I've heard people say that Jiankang City is located on the Yangtze River and has a royal aura since ancient times. During the Warring States Period, King Wei of Chu conquered Yue and buried thousands of taels of gold under the stone mountain with tigers and dragons to imprison the royal aura. After the Qin Dynasty unified the world, Qin Shihuang was also deeply afraid of the royal aura, so he dug a river in this city to cut off the dragon vein. This river is the most famous Qinhuai River in Jiankang City. Brother Qing, am I right?"

Xiao Jinyu didn't say anything, and Fenghuang continued, "I heard that the southerners value the elegance of clear opinions and the demeanor of famous scholars the most. The people here also admire the elegance of literature and despise military power. They pay special attention to the beauty of weakness, especially the nobles, who are even more ridiculous. Whenever they go out, they wear wide clothes and belts, big hats and high shoes. They go out in carriages and come in with support. There is no one riding a horse in the whole city. So when Hou Jing attacked Taicheng, the scholars and officials here became weak and the soldiers were also vulnerable. Hou Jing destroyed the entire Xiaoliang with only 8,000 soldiers and horses and replaced it."

The boy was only stating the facts about the demise of the previous dynasty in the most normal tone, but Xiao Jinyu's mind suddenly became extremely painful and frightened.

"Hou Jing? Xiao Liang?" She murmured again and again, and her mind seemed to explode with thunders one after another. There appeared piles of corpses like hills. Countless soldiers rushed towards her like tigers, wolves and lions. Their hideous grins and the women's screams echoed in her ears again and again.

"Yuqing, take your brothers and sisters and leave quickly. The farther the better."

"Sister, don't abandon me, Sister, save me!"

There seemed to be countless voices calling her in her mind, and countless sharp knives cutting her body, the pain was deep in her bones, but it was far less than the pain hidden deep in her heart.

Beads of sweat rolled down her forehead again.

"Brother Qing, what's wrong with you?"

The boy finally noticed that something was wrong with her, and hurriedly helped her into the carriage, then picked up a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from her forehead.

……

When Xiao Jinyu woke up again, it was already early morning of the next day, and the boy was sleeping beside her bed.

"Phoenix."

But with a gentle call, the boy woke up from his sleep. Seeing Xiao Jinyu recovered as usual, his phoenix eyes showed unusual joy: "Brother Qing, you are okay."

Xiao Jinyu nodded.

"I'm sorry, Brother Qing, I think I must have said something wrong again yesterday, otherwise you wouldn't..."

"I'm fine. I'm just tired from traveling on the road. This is also because my body is too weak." After that, Xiao Jinyu asked, "You told me yesterday that the scholars of the Southern Dynasty all regarded weakness as beauty. They were carried in carriages when going out and supported when coming in. They were extremely weak. So when Hou Jing attacked the city, hundreds of thousands of people in Jiankang City died at his hands. Is that right?"

Not knowing why Xiao Jinyu brought up the matter again, Fenghuang was stunned and nodded hesitantly: "Yes."

Sure enough!

It turned out that what appeared in her mind was not an illusion. After the murderous maniac attacked the city, hundreds of thousands of Jiankang people were killed and only three thousand were left.

The entire Jiankang city was covered with blood and bones piled up like hills. The prosperity of Jiangzuo and the elegance of the gentry were all reduced to ashes and dust under his butcher's knife.

Xiao Jinyu couldn't help but secretly clench his fists, and his heart surged violently like waves hitting the shore.

"Brother Qing?"

As the boy called her softly, Xiao Jinyu closed her eyes and suddenly asked, "Fenghuang, can you tell me more stories about the Southern Dynasty?"