How can the concubine be a lady in women's clothing!

ten days later.

General Meng has already counted the soldiers and horses, and he can secretly go to the north this morning, and the army responsible for food and grass is already on the way, as the saying goes, soldiers and horses go before the food and grass arrive.

In the clearing behind the woods near Yancheng, the sky was still dim at this time, General Meng Zhenmeng, Prime Minister Lin, the leader of the secret guards, Yu An who was picked up early in the morning, and Yu Ning who was about to see him off stood in front. Riding the horse in front is Yan Zhuangze.

Yu An was also assigned a horse, and turned over in a gentle and elegant manner. After pulling the rein and interacting with the horse a few times, he looked at Yu Ning, who had tears in his red eyes, and comforted him with a gentle voice. Said: "Yu Ning don't be afraid, I'll be back soon."

Yu Ning nodded firmly, pursed his lips tightly to prevent himself from sobbing, and pretended to be brave and laughed through his tears: "Brother, don't worry, I'm fine, brother, you should be careful not to have any accidents."

As she spoke, she looked at Yan Zhuangze, who was standing against the light with a dark face, and it was self-evident who she was on guard against.

Yu An approached on horseback, bent down and patted her head and said, "Go back, we're leaving."

As soon as he finished speaking, Yan Zhuangze at the front ordered in a deep voice: "Let's go!"

The momentum of the army at the rear changed, and the atmosphere was solemn and heavy in an instant. Yu An waved to Yu Ning who was behind him, and then turned around to follow the team.

I hope it doesn't take too long to go, and I hope everything goes well.

The army moved forward quietly, and slowly moved away. The early sun in the sky was shining on the earth, breaking through the early morning fog. Yu Ning saw a man in the army who seemed to be unintentional but made a hand gesture from an angle that she could clearly see from a distance. , the originally worried look relaxed slightly.

That person really meant what he said, her brother will be fine, and she will not let his brother have an accident.

At the same time, Chi Jin and the others also arrived outside the first town in the north. It has already snowed here, and the ground is covered with a thick layer of white snow. When you step on it, it becomes a footprint. It looks like a rabbit when you step on it. ear.

Chi Jin got off the carriage and stretched his limbs, breathing the fresh morning air. He jumped on the ground and stepped on two snow pits in the shape of rabbit ears. When he looked up by chance, he saw a pure white snowflake in the silvery white. The rabbit expertly picked up the sleeve arrow on his wrist and aimed a shot ahead.

After the sound of "whoosh", the rabbit kicked its legs and screamed on the snow, and the short arrow hit its hind leg.

Chi Jin walked over to pick up the rabbit and shook the snow. Just as he was about to hand the rabbit to Xia Mian who was following behind him, he saw a thin, yellow boy poking his head behind a small snowy slope not far away. Looking at the rabbit in his hand.

Xia Mian, who followed, also saw the boy, but just glanced at him lightly, and excitedly said to Chi Jin, "My lord, it's great to eat rabbits again, clean it up for me."

Chi Jin didn't let go, looked at the rabbit in his hand, then at the boy, and finally wiped the broken arrow on the fur of the rabbit and put it into the sleeve quiver, then threw the rabbit towards the timid and eager boy go.

Startled by the rabbit, the boy jumped up and sat on the snow behind him. After seeing what was in front of him, he picked up the rabbit and ran away with a quick and skillful movement without thinking.

Xia Mian behind her pouted unhappily: "My lord, why did you give him the rabbit, obviously you want to eat cute rabbits too."

Chi Jin smiled indifferently: "That kid has been hungry for a long time, we still have something to eat, so it's okay to give it to him."

"Hmph." Xia Mian kicked the snow under her feet unhappily and said, "My lord, you are too kind. This is not a bad thing. I have also experienced famine before. Those people are so hungry that they will do anything, and they will not do it for you." Be grateful...Of course, my son, you have good intentions, and you have a clear conscience."

Chi Jin comforted: "It's okay, it's just a child, what can it do, and I found that the rabbit is very thin and has nothing to eat, so don't be angry, let's go back and make porridge."

Xia Mian nodded, reluctantly said: "Alright then."

It's not that she doesn't want her master to do good deeds, she's just worried that something will happen if she does so. Xia Mian, who has been traveling around with human traffickers since she was a child, knows that the last thing she needs when facing those seemingly pitiful people is kindness, because you never know What greed behind that fragile mask.

This incident just passed, after all, it was just a child, after Xia Mian was unhappy for a while, he didn't worry about it anymore, it's best for the master to be happy, just like what the master said, prenatal education is required.

Several people continued to set off after breakfast. According to the map, they are expected to arrive at the first city in the north at noon today, and then they will be able to have lunch in the city.

The three of them began to look forward to it. For more than ten days, they had been eating and sleeping outdoors. Although the braised pork and barbecue they made by themselves were delicious at the beginning, they still missed the feeling of sitting in a hotel, being lively and comfortable. The feeling of eating.

Walking halfway, the grass in front of him suddenly moved, and then a few people in ragged clothes, yellow and thin, emerged from the grass that was as tall as a person. There were adults and children among them. The boy with the rabbit.

The boy looked at Chi Jin who was getting out of the curtain of the carriage, and shrank back in fear, then silently pointed to Chi Jin's carriage at the others, and then those people looked at the carriage with bright eyes, but pushed Pushing and shoving, he hesitated, only staring at Chi Jin and the others.

It seemed that as soon as Chi Jin and the others showed their timidity, those people would rush forward and loot the carriage.

The coachman reined in his horse and stopped with a "wow". He looked at the crowd in front of him with some anxiety, and was ready to fight at any time with his whip tightly clenched in one hand.

Chi Jin looked at the people in front of him, and when his eyes touched the boy, his eyes sank.

Silently looking at the crowd in front of the road, he asked in a deep voice, "What are you doing blocking the road?"

Those people looked at each other for a while, and the middle-aged man at the head took a deep breath and puffed up his chest and said viciously: "We want food, you'd better hand it over honestly, or don't think about it!"

Obviously, these people were not skilled enough in robbery. After someone started, the others bravely said one after another: "Yes, you can only leave if you leave something to eat!"

The coachman and Xia Mian were waiting in battle, Chi Jin smiled at those people, and said coldly, "Wait."

Those people were overjoyed, and waited expectantly for Chi Jin to bring out the food. The kid who was hiding behind also got out and looked at the carriage longingly. He knew that this was a kind-hearted person, and this kind of person was the easiest Bullied.

It's a pity they might be disappointed.

It didn't take long for the curtain to be lifted again, and the first thing that was exposed was a smear of silver. Before the people outside had time to cheer for it, the smear of silver was completely exposed, but it turned out that it was Chi Jin who took it out of the carriage. A long sword!

The people on the opposite side panicked, and yelled sternly: "Don't toast and refuse to eat fine wine! There are so many of us, there are only three of you!"

"Really?" Chi Jin stood on the shaft of the car with a sword in his hand and gestured twice. When everyone was unprepared, the long sword of luck and inner strength swiped forward, and a piercing sound of breaking wind sounded.

"what!"

The middle-aged man standing at the front screamed and fell back into the crowd, helping the person behind him to stabilize his figure. The group of people looked in horror at the deep sword marks on the snow in front of them, and then looked at Chi Jin's eyes were already full of fear and awe.

These ordinary people have seen such tricks before, and they only thought that they met the legendary master of internal energy, and the leader tremblingly said: "You, you, what are you doing, killing people is against the law!"

Chi Jin sneered, these people really think he is easy to bully if he doesn't show his power: "Isn't it illegal for you to rob? Besides..."

He looked at the surrounding woods and bushes, shook the sword in his hand, lowered his voice with dangerous eyes, and said, "It's in the wilderness here, but no one can prove that I killed someone."

As soon as the words fell, the long sword pointed straight at those people, and growled in a low voice: "Get out!"

The leader's calves were trembling with fear from the long sword, he gritted his teeth and raised his arms and shouted, "Let's go!"

After finishing speaking, he pushed and shoved away quickly, and disappeared into the grass that was half a person's height.

Chi Jin kept holding the sword without moving for a long time, until Xia Mian gently pulled the corner of his clothes before recovering, put away the long sword with a slight smile, and said under the worried eyes of Xia Mian and the coachman: "It's okay, Go on, this time I'm causing trouble."

"Nothing!" Xia Mian shook her head, "It's not wrong for you to be kind, it's those people who are wrong."

The coachman also nodded and said, "Yes, who would have thought that this would happen? But Mr. Doing Good has done a good job."

Chi Jin shook his head and said, "Don't mention him, let's go on and try to enter the city at noon."

The coachman smiled brightly, whipped the horse and said, "Okay, don't worry, young master, I will definitely arrive at noon today."

The carriage rumbled forward again, and the cold wind hit Chi Jin's face, which dissipated a little of the haze in his heart. He retreated into the carriage and rubbed his stomach in a daze.

Only today did he really understand that kindness really can't be let go, especially in this unfamiliar north, where he still has a child to protect, and he can't stand the toss.

This group of people probably robbed for the first time today, and they haven't grown enough courage to be bluffed by his sword. In fact, he hasn't practiced swords since he passed through. It's pretty good to draw a sword mark .

At noon, they just entered Beicheng. Chi Jin silently looked at the people squatting on the side of the road along the way. Those people stared longingly at every passing carriage, which made people feel terrified.

"Go away, go away!" When passing by the city gate, Chi Jin saw the officers and soldiers guarding the city unceremoniously driving away those who wanted to enter the city in ragged clothes, Chi Jin lifted the corner of the car curtain and looked at it without making a sound .

After entering the North City, there was a huge gap between the listless people outside the city and the bustling scene in the city. The carriage kicked across the street and stopped at the entrance of an inn not far away.

Chi Jin got out of the carriage and booked three rooms, and took the opportunity to ask the shop waiter: "Do you know what happened to those people outside the city? Why are they not in a good condition?"

The little second glanced at him and said with a smile: "Guest officer, you are an outsider. Those outside are all refugees after the snow disaster. They wanted to come to our northern city to grab food, but they were locked up outside the city by the city lord."

Close the door and disappear?Chi Jin frowned slightly and asked, "But what should those people do? We can't just let them starve to death."

Shopkeeper: "Guest officer, don't worry, the city lord will distribute food to them on a regular basis. It's just that those victims have been hungry for too long. If they go to the city, they will definitely cause trouble. The loss outweighs the gain."

"Oh, thank you, little brother." Chi Jin smiled knowingly, no wonder those people outside still had the strength to stare at the carriage even though they were listless.

After a good rest at the inn, the three of Chi Jin continued to head towards their destination. Beicheng was the first town in the north. Their destination was relatively remote, and it was estimated that they were still two or three days away from Beicheng.

Along the way, they also encountered poor people with yellow and emaciated faces intermittently. After they had learned their lesson this time, they ignored them. At noon on the third day, the carriage finally arrived in Tai'an City, which is what Chi Jin had hoped for in the morning. town.

Tai'an.

Chi Jin got out of the car curtain and looked at the vigorous and weather-beaten words on the top of the city wall. He felt uneasy and suppressed all the way, and his heart jumped for joy. Finally, he arrived. Looking at the big word Tai'an, he knew he had chosen the right place .

When I arrived at the gate of the city, I felt even more relieved when I saw the officers and soldiers guarding the city strictly. Although this place is remote, it looks very safe.

Because Chi Jin and the others are outsiders, the inspection by the officers and soldiers took a relatively long time, and Chi Jin was not angry about it. The longer the time, the stricter it is, the more it means that Tai'an City is as safe as its name.

After entering the city, Chi Jin couldn't wait to look at the town where he was going to live for more than ten years, and found that the people here were not in high spirits, but he passed through so many towns along the way these days, and he was already used to the state of the northerners Yes, maybe it's snowing and I'm not in a good mood.

The carriage still stopped outside an inn, and the coachman helped to move all the things in the carriage into the inn, and then he could drive the carriage back to Yancheng.

After moving the last bag of rice, the coachman bid farewell to Chi Jin: "Master, I'm going back soon. You can live well here. I think it's pretty good here."

"I think so too." Chi Jin smiled, and took out a piece of gold leaf that he had prepared a long time ago from his sleeve and stuffed it into the driver's hand quietly, saying, "Uncle Liu has worked hard this journey, this is a little kindness from the younger generation."

Xia Mian on the side also chimed in, "That's right, Uncle Liu, just take it."

"You can't do it!" Liu Bo repeatedly waved his hands, trying to return the expensive gold leaf: "It can't be done, Master Lin Yan is kind to me, son, you are kind-hearted, I should give it to you. How can you still accept this thing?"

"Don't refuse." Chi Jin stuffed the gold leaf into his skirt, pushed him out with a smile, and closed them with a "bang".

"You... oh!" Uncle Liu looked at the closed door, smiled helplessly and gratefully, and finally turned and left.

After Uncle Liu left, Xia Mian poured a cup of tea for Chi Jin, went to the inn to borrow a bowl of anti-abortion medicine from the kitchen, and brought it up. After watching Chi Jin finish drinking, he handed over a candied fruit, and asked expectantly, "My lord, When can we go hunting in the small mountain village?"

Chi Jin frowned and sucked the candied fruit fiercely, and when the bitter taste in his mouth was gone, he patted the little girl's head with a smile and said, "Now I want to go to the mountains to play? We haven't settled down where we live yet .”

Xia Mian rubbed her head and smiled sheepishly: "Oh, then go after the arrangements are made?"

Looking at the little girl's expectant eyes, she knew that she was fascinated by the life in the mountains that Uncle Liu said, and now she couldn't wait to experience it for herself. In fact, Chi Jin was also yearning for it.

It's only three months now, and his belly hasn't fully grown yet. He can still run around freely. When he is six or seven months old, he can't go out to play even if he wants to.

After thinking about it for a while, he made a decision: "Take a good rest at noon, we'll look for a house in a while, and go play in the mountains after we're done!"

Xia Mian clapped her hands happily in an instant: "Okay! Young Master is the best!"

After having a brief lunch in the inn, and taking a nap for a while, Chi Jin took Xia Mian out and walked on the wide street. Now that they were free, they noticed that the passers-by looked at them a little strangely of.

Alienation, and these uneases in the defense.

Chi Jin frowned, and waited until he came to the resident who sold the house before the doubt was answered.

The one who wanted to sell the house was a middle-aged man. The first thing he said after seeing Chi Jin and Xia Mian was: "Outsider, what are you doing here?"

Chi Jin was taken aback, and said modestly: "We came from Yancheng and want to settle in the north. We heard that your house is going to be sold, so let's take a look."

"Oh, let's see." The middle-aged man had a cold attitude, folded his arms sideways to let out the door behind him and said, "Go in and have a look."

"Okay, thank you." Chi Jin took Xia Mian in to have a look. The yard was not too big or too small, and it was quite similar to the one he used to live in Yancheng.

Feeling more satisfied, he asked the big man beside him: "How much is this yard? I can buy it if it's suitable."

The big man looked at Chi Jin and Xia Mian several times again, and finally looked at the thin bodies of the two of them, and said in a rough voice: "100 taels is not a bargain, to be honest, this price is really cheap. You can't find it when you go out." The price is lower than mine."

100 taels is indeed reasonable. The yard that Chi Jin bought in Yancheng back then cost hundreds of taels to get it. It's not bad to look at the middle-aged man, although he looks fierce, but his eyes are clear. Thinking, it's safe to live here, Chi Jin immediately decided that this is the place.

"That's 100 taels, all of them are cheerful people!"

With Chi Jin being so neat, the man's attitude towards him became warmer, so he stopped talking, clapped his hands and said, "Okay, that's refreshing, then let's go to the county government office to transfer ownership, I don't like procrastination."

"Okay, from now on, I will be taken care of by my elder brother. Our master and servant are not familiar with the place..."

"No problem!" The man slapped his chest loudly, and he grabbed Chi Jin and said boldly: "I will protect you from now on, so call me Brother Li. My name is Li Zhuang."

"Brother Li, my younger brother is called Jing Chi. I would like to thank my elder brother first."

Li Zhuang was striding ahead, and Xia Mian had to trot to keep up with him. The three of them rushed all the way to the county government office. After quickly handing over the house, Chi Jin carefully put the house deed into his arms, and finally settled in this city. , everything went smoother than expected.

Li Zhuang on the side came over and patted him on the shoulder, and Chi Jin's small body was shaken. Seeing this, Li Zhuang laughed and said, "Little brother, don't take it for granted that I didn't treat you very well before. It's not peaceful, there's a famine, and we don't feel at ease about outsiders."

"So that's the case." Chi Jin understood that it's normal for the remote residents here to be xenophobic, so he said with a smile, "I understand, I understand, it's better to be careful, but I'm a good person, Brother Li Zhuang, you can rest assured."

Li Zhuang smiled confidently, clenched his fists and showed off, "That's right, even if you're not a good person, you can't beat me."

That night, he and Xia Mian worked together to tidy up the new house, and even took time to buy two bows and arrows and a basket on the street to prepare for hunting in the mountains.

When the nearby residents heard that he bought Li Zhuang's house and planned to settle here in the future, their attitude towards them became much better, and they were not so obviously wary and xenophobic at first.

Looking at the tidy new house, Chi Jin is full of the little days in the future. There are three rooms in total, one for him to sleep in, and one for the future cub to live in. Everything is just right.

Early the next morning, Chi Jin took Xia Mian to say hello to Li Zhuang, and then, with a bow and arrow on his back, he hired a donkey cart and drove to the hill not far away.

There is also a village at the foot of the hill. I heard that there is a famine recently and food is in short supply. Taking this into consideration, he and Xia Mian may spend a few nights in the small mountain village. In order not to embarrass the villagers, they prepared everything in the donkey cart. Some dry food and spices, as for the meat can be hunted in the mountains.

Xia Mian drove the donkey cart, and the two arrived at the small mountain village at the foot of the mountain about an hour later. Looking at the silver-white world in front of him, Chi Jin's heart also calmed down. He took a deep breath of the ice and snow and jumped off the donkey driveway: "We will Let's find a family here to live temporarily."

"Okay." Xia Mian readily agreed, tied the donkey to the tree at the entrance of the village, and followed Chi Jin briskly into the village with a bow and a basket on his back.

After walking through the corridors of the house for a while, Chi Jin stopped and frowned. It seemed too quiet here?Not even a dog barking was heard, and the whole village was surprisingly quiet.

Even if it's deep winter, it's not like it's completely unpopular.

Looking around, he saw the closed doors all around, and whispered to Xia Mian: "Go, go back, go to the entrance of the village."

Xia Mian also sensed that something was wrong with the atmosphere, nodded obediently, the two walked lightly and quickly returned to the entrance of the village, stopped at the open space at the entrance of the village, Chi Jin looked at the small village again, only to realize that although it was already past breakfast time, But there is no human habitation at all here, and the chimneys on the roof are covered with snow, and there is no sign of melting from the heat.

There seems to be no one living here.

In order to prove this conjecture, Chi Jin asked Xia Mian to wait here, and quietly walked around the roof of the village on his own strength, and there was no one alive.

His joyous heart suddenly sank, he returned to Xia Mian's side, and said in a deep voice, "Empty Village."

"Ah!" Xia Mian covered her mouth and exclaimed in a low voice, terrified, "How could this happen? Brother Li Zhuang also said this morning that the villagers here are very enthusiastic and will take us in."

Chi Jin shook his head. He didn't know either. He looked up and saw that the door of the courtyard closest to the village entrance was half-closed and not closed tightly. After thinking about it, he decided: "Let's stay here for a while. Let's talk about it after today." .”

Xia Mian was a little scared, and said worriedly: "Why don't we go back, son, you still have a child in your belly."

Chi Jin touched his belly with one hand, struggle and hesitation flashed across his face, and after a while he sighed heavily: "Stay here, there must be a reason why this place suddenly became an empty village, I can't do it, so I just leave."

Xia Mian wanted to refute again, but Chi Jin patted her and said, "Don't worry, nothing will happen, maybe the villagers actually went hunting in the mountains."

Xia Mian couldn't help but Chi Jin, so he nodded and said, "Then we'll live in the yard closest to the entrance of the village, and we won't go into the mountains today, we'll check the situation before we go."

"Okay." Chi Jin readily agreed, it's better to be careful.

Meanwhile, a town on the northern border: Beicheng.

Yan Zhuangze approached here quietly with a large army, stopped in a hidden woods outside the city, looked at the towering city gate not far away, and ordered to General Meng Zhen beside him: "Split me into a team. , and the others follow you to find the Qing army."

"Yes!"

A group of elite soldiers rode out immediately, and Yan Zhuangze nodded in satisfaction, then turned to Yu An and said, "Follow me, let's go find Jing Chi, and move quickly."

"Okay." Yu An nodded. He also met many hungry people along the way. The north is indeed not as safe as imagined.

"It's not too late, do you know where they are?"

Yu An thought for a while and said, "Jing Chi overheard the news that Concubine Jin will go to Tai'an City to settle down."

"Tai'an City..." Yan Zhuangze called up the map in his mind, looked at the sun to confirm the direction, and immediately rode his horse to the front, and at the same time ordered: "Let's go!"

Jing Chi, wait for me.