Painting Doctor Jinhua

The carriage was speeding on the official road. Fenghuang was looking at the picture, but suddenly she heard a string of mumbling coming out from the lips of Xiao Jinyu who was sleeping.

As if she was caught in a nightmare, the girl's brows were filled with an inescapable pain.

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

Fenghuang moved closer and asked anxiously, but unexpectedly Xiao Jinyu suddenly reached out and tightly grasped his wrist, causing so much pain that he couldn't break free for a while.

"Brother Qing, please let go, you're hurting me!"

Suddenly, a boy's voice came into her ears, and Xiao Jinyu was awakened from her dream. The light in her eyes seemed to change from unwilling fear to clear confusion.

In the two months since she woke up, she has been having the same dream. A carriage was speeding on a deserted road. She was riding her horses desperately with several children, avoiding a group of pursuers. In order to buy more time for the children, she even used herself as bait to lure away the pursuers. She had already made preparations to die, but she didn't expect that she would wait for a man to rescue her.

But what she never expected was that the man who was so gentle to her actually wanted her life and the thing in her arms in the end.

Thinking of this, she saw the hand still holding the boy's wrist, and she quickly let go and apologized, "I'm sorry, Phoenix."

Fenghuang shook her head and smiled, "It doesn't hurt that much, it's just that Brother Qing looks so weak on weekdays, I didn't expect him to be so strong. Did Brother Qing have a nightmare just now?"

Xiao Jinyu nodded and said it was a dream, but the dream was so real that she felt like she was living in two different worlds.

The man in her dream, she was so close to him before she died, but she could not remember what the man looked like or his name that she should have kept in mind.

"So what did Brother Qing dream about?" the boy came closer and asked.

Xiao Jinyu smiled and lifted the carriage curtain again, and saw outside the endless stream of people and the rows of wine shops and tea houses under the warm sunshine.

"Phoenix, what is this place? Where are we?"

Seeing that she was trying to change the subject, the boy stopped asking and replied, "This is Xuzhou Pengcheng, which is the border of Qi. After passing here, we can take the waterway and reach Jiankang in at most half a month."

Xiao Jinyu nodded and asked again: "We have stopped many times along the way and have not been frugal. How much money do we have left? Is it enough?"

"Brother Qing, have you forgotten that the money we got from Madam Zheng is enough for us to eat and drink for several months, and my aunt also left some. Although I will not use the money my aunt left for you, we are not short of money."

Xiao Jinyu nodded again, and her hand subconsciously touched her chest: the feeling of the sword piercing her chest was so real, as if it happened just yesterday, but why couldn't she fully remember her past?

Who is she? Is Xie Yuqing her real name?

While she was thinking about all this, there was a sudden noise on the street, mixed with women's laughter and the deafening sound of horse hooves. It instantly filled the entire street and broke the last bit of tranquility in their car.

"What happened?"

Both of them lifted the curtain of the carriage out of curiosity to see, but saw that the crowds on both sides were surging like the tide, and dust was raised high in the distance. It was a group of knights riding horses. The leader was riding on a tall horse with jade bridle and golden saddle. He was wearing a white robe and a veiled hat covering his face. When the wind blew, his high nose bridge and rosy lips were vaguely visible, and his exposed chin was as smooth as jade and as white as snow.

This should be just a young man of about seventeen or eighteen years old. Although his full appearance is not visible, his tall and slender figure stands as majestic as a jade mountain, and like the wind under a pine tree, high and slow. Even if he stands in this vast crowd like the sea, he cannot be ignored like a crane standing out among chickens.

"Who is he?"

Xiao Jinyu asked, but soon she also heard the cheers of the young girls in the crowd.

"Prince Lanling, Prince Lanling..."

Since the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the customs of the people have been open, and all the literati and scholars have emphasized "speaking one's mind directly and being broad-minded". The nuns are no longer as strict as before in observing etiquette and morality, but advocate independence and express their emotions. The pursuit of handsome men has become a fashion of the times.

Especially after Emperor Gaozu of Wei issued the decree that "since the sixth year of Taihe, all those who have bought healthy people from the hungry in the four states of Ding, Ji, You and Xiang shall be returned to their relatives. Even if they are betrothed as wives or concubines, if they treat them unreasonably or are unhappy with them, they shall be divorced", the status of women in the Northern Dynasties rose rapidly. If they were not satisfied with their husbands, they could divorce and remarry on their own. Some of them, such as princesses and empress dowagers, could even openly keep male lovers, and it was no longer a rare thing.

Although her memory was not complete, Xiao Jinyu was not unfamiliar with such a scene. Instead, she felt a sense of familiarity and could not help but stare at it in a trance.

I don't know how long it took, but I heard a boy's voice in my ear, "This is Lanling King Gao Changgong of Qi. He is the only one in Northern Qi who attracts crowds every time he travels. People say that Gao Changgong is handsome and strong, and he hates being watched like a woman, so he always wears a mask or a veil. In my opinion, he is deliberately showing off his charm. If he really doesn't want to show his true face, who would know that he is so beautiful and rated him as the most beautiful man in Qi? Brother Qing, don't you think so?"

Xiao Jinyu heard the obvious jealousy in Fenghuang's tone. She smiled and made no comment. She had no impression of this Lanling King. She only asked, "Is he a general of Qi?"

"Yes, I heard that three months ago, the Turks invaded Jinyang in Northern Qi, and it was Gao Changgong who fought hard to repel the powerful enemy and won the battle. As a result, his reputation soared and he was named the Prince of Lanling County. He became a war god in Qi, almost on par with Duan Shao and Hulugu. However, I still think that it was all because of his face, so those people praised him a little more when they commented on him." After saying that, he murmured, "If we really talk about using troops like a god, who can compare to Murong Shaozong?"

"Murong Shaozong?" Xiao Jinyu frowned slightly, showing a little surprise.

The boy then realized that he seemed to have said something wrong. He smiled slightly and continued, "Yes, this Murong Shaozong was also a general of Qi State. However, he has passed away now, so his name is no longer heard in the Northern Qi State, and his descendants have also disappeared."

At the end of his speech, his tone was somewhat lonely and even contained some resentment that was suppressed in his heart. Noticing that Xiao Jinyu was looking at him, he apologized again, "Look, why am I telling Brother Qing all this? Brother Qing will definitely not like to hear it."

Xiao Jinyu stopped asking questions. It wasn't that she didn't like to hear it, but the four words "Murong Shaozong" seemed to stir up quite a lot of waves in her heart, but she didn't know why it stirred up such waves. After thinking for a moment, she simply gave up and cast her eyes again to the man in the crowd outside the car. Suddenly, she murmured, "He doesn't look like he will live a long life."

This naturally refers to the Lanling King Gao Changgong who was being watched by everyone.

Hearing this, a flash of excitement and surprise flashed across Fenghuang's face: "Really? So Brother Qing can also read faces?"

"That's not the case." Xiao Jinyu shook her head and said with a smile, "You just said that he is handsome and strong, and is one of the three great generals in Qi?"

"Yes."

"How about the king of Qi?" Xiao Jinyu asked again.

The boy curled his lips in disdain: "Don't mention the Gao family. Each generation is worse than the previous one, and more crazy and cruel than the previous one. In order to consolidate his throne, the current Qi Emperor Gao Zhan has stained his hands with the blood of his brothers and nephews. Even many ministers in the court have been unfortunate enough to fall victim to his murderous hands, not to mention some women and children."

From the boy's tone, Xiao Jinyu could tell that he was dissatisfied and angry with the King of Qi, but she didn't expose him. She just said, "That's it. In ancient times, there weren't many emperors who didn't kill each other. Moreover... since ancient times, beauties are like famous generals, and they are not allowed to grow old in the world. He is both a beauty and a famous general."

Fenghuang was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized: "So this is what Brother Qing meant."

Seeing the innocent smile on the boy's face, Xiao Jinyu couldn't help but smile as well: "Let's go! We've been traveling for most of the night and I'm a little hungry now. Let's find a place to stay first!"

When she heard about food, Phoenix's eyes lit up. Her eyes narrowed slightly, revealing a faint blue crystal light, which was a bit like the first rays of the clear sky and the flowing glow of the sunset, and was quite romantic and charming.

"Okay, I'm hungry too, I'll take Brother Qing to a nice restaurant." He said happily.