jdhmnovel Chapter 427 Touched
Chapter 427 Touched
New Year's Day.
The first day of the new year.
The city gates of Cangzhou were opened wide, and no more news was blocked.
The good news, which had been delayed, finally spread from Cangzhou today.
If you want to take it, you must first give it.
If Prince Chen doesn't rebel, and the Emperor is biased towards him, there's really nothing you can do about it.
However, if they were to hear the news of Liang Jun's great victory and Mu Yunji's imminent triumphant return to the court, Prince Chen and the Left Prime Minister's faction, and even those fickle opportunists in the court, would surely be restless.
It's time to say goodbye to the old and welcome the new.
As soon as the news came out, the people of Cangzhou who had been evacuated returned to the city one after another.
The city was devastated after the great battle.
Corpses littered the field, some were fellow countrymen, others were northern barbarians...
They were all cleared and buried before the city of Cangzhou was unsealed.
In every major battle, there are always a group of loyal and brave men who sacrifice their lives for their country and are buried in foreign lands.
The smoke and fire of war can be extinguished, and the remains of soldiers can be buried.
But the houses burned down and the homes destroyed by the enemy could not be restored.
Although the people escaped the calamity, many were still displaced and fled to other places, afraid to return to the city.
The northern barbarians, tireless, repeatedly invaded.
Whenever the people heard the sound of war drums, they would flee south in panic, like birds startled by a bow.
Even beggars know that the safest place is the one closest to the emperor.
If even the capital is not safe, then the Great Liang Dynasty will perish.
But during their escape, they heard news of the Liang army's great victory, so they returned.
Returning to the place where our ancestors have lived for generations.
Because they trusted the Lu family army and the Duke of Shen, Mu Yunji.
I believe that as long as they are here, Cangzhou will not fall, and the Northern Barbarians will not cross Yijin Pass and Yukou Pass to move south.
The city of Cangzhou was in dire need of reconstruction.
Lu Qingyao took Xiuxiu out early in the morning.
They cooked several large buckets of porridge and steamed buns, and also brought a lot of grain, preparing to take the guards to the city gate to distribute the porridge.
So that those who have traveled a long way and want to rebuild their homes can have a bowl of hot porridge.
"Xiuxiu, call Miss Liu along. Since she wants to stay, she should do some servitude. Besides, it'll be more reassuring to keep an eye on her."
"Why is Sister giving her another chance?" Xiuxiu felt that her sister was being indecisive this time.
In the past, if a spy were discovered, there would be absolutely no mercy.
There is no doubt that Liu Qingqing has problems.
However, Lu Qingyao also had some concerns.
After much deliberation, I decided to give her another chance.
"Regardless of Liu Qingqing's purpose in saving Feng'er, she did save his life after all. Otherwise, if he had really been frozen in the wilderness for a night, we wouldn't be seeing Feng'er alive now."
Whether she was a spy for the Prince of Chen, a spy for the Northern Barbarians, or, as she herself claimed, a lonely and helpless songstress, it doesn't matter.
Lu Qingyao didn't want to sentence someone to death before she understood the truth.
This is no different from being a brute.
There was another reason why she kept Liu Qingqing.
This girl isn't inherently bad.
According to the investigation, after Prince Su fell from power, the courtesans he kept in his mansion fled in all directions, and many of them fell into the hands of local ruffians.
It was Liu Qingqing who rescued them and took good care of them.
He continued to protect them.
"Xiuxiu, it's not easy for women to stand in this world. If they weren't forced by life, they probably wouldn't want to show their beauty to others to make a living, and no one would want to be a pawn in someone else's hands, to be manipulated by others. If they had other choices, perhaps they could have other ways of living."
Xiuxiu nodded.
Even she herself, formerly a bodyguard for Prince Jing.
Even if King Jing treated them very well, they were still powerless to control their own destiny.
Fortunately, Prince Jing gave her to his elder sister, giving her more options in life.
During the time she spent with her older sister, she gradually put away her fists.
Learn to use your brain to solve problems.
Indeed, they were genuinely grateful to Liu Qingqing for saving Feng'er.
So she was persuaded by her older sister: "Shall we take another look?"
"Hmm, let me take another look..."
Just then, Liu Qingqing arrived.
She was very self-aware and changed into a coarse linen outfit.
They also happened to overhear Lu Qingyao and Xiuxiu's conversation.
Her heart trembled slightly, as if something was stirring within her.
He stepped forward slowly and bowed: "Madam, you wanted to see me?"
Lu Qingyao stared at her blankly and instructed, "Go, hang the red silk we brought all over the city tower."
"Yes, ma'am."
Liu Qingqing didn't ask any further questions and did as she was told.
Since I have agreed to stay in the manor, I must serve as a servant and cannot reveal any flaws.
However, she was curious.
So many people died inside and outside the city, yet instead of hanging white silk and white banners, they hung red silk.
Although it is New Year's Day, looking at those houses destroyed by war...
Who's in the mood for celebrating the New Year?
It's good enough if you don't end up sleeping on the streets.
For someone like her, celebrating the Lunar New Year is an even greater luxury.
But she didn't ask; it wasn't something she should ask.
Looking out from the city tower, all one could see were burnt-out eaves and walls, collapsed houses, and potholed roads.
Even after a month or two, the smell of burning can still be smelled.
The people looked at their destroyed homes with a heavy heart and a sense of helplessness.
Lu Qingyao was the same.
Standing atop the Bell and Drum Tower, she leaned on the railing and looked down, remarking with emotion, "What Cangzhou City needs now is not white silk, but red—red to encourage the people to regroup and rebuild their homes."
She lived here for many years. "Back then, Cangzhou opened a trade market. Shops, inns, restaurants, and taverns lined the city, attracting merchants from all over. Boats and carriages converged here to trade silk, furs, horses, and medicinal herbs... It was a prosperous place for a time..."
Lu Qingyao pointed and said, "That used to be Yunlai Restaurant, the largest restaurant in Cangzhou City."
“That place…that used to be the only pharmacy in Cangzhou.”
“That was the shop of my Lu family before we were exiled…”
“Sister, as long as the green hills remain, there’s no fear of running out of firewood. As long as people are still alive, roads can be rebuilt, irrigation ditches can be reopened, and houses can be rebuilt,” Xiuxiu comforted her sister, holding her hand.
“Yes, as long as people are alive, anything is possible.” Lu Qingyao suddenly turned to look at Liu Qingqing: “Back when Prince Su rebelled and Prince Chen conquered Yuzhou, what was the scene like?”
Liu Qingqing was taken aback, and slowly said, "The houses in the city are not as dilapidated as they are now... but quite a few people are displaced..."
She also found several children who had been separated from their families.
In the end, General Mu and Jiang Zifeng led people to pave roads and repair houses, appease the people in the city, and help them find their families.
Those who have lost their families are sent to Tzu Chi Fang for resettlement.
Been through so much.
This has caused her immense inner turmoil and great distress.
She could use her beauty to bewitch Prince Su, poison him, and kill him—she would stop at nothing.
Because Prince Su deserves to be killed.
Her thoughts were simple: she didn't want wealth or luxury.
All she wanted was to live, and for her family to live.
And those sisters who entered the palace with her—if she dies, those lonely and helpless girls will surely be bullied.
She had to live, but she was also always prepared to die.
The day she became a suicide squad member, she knew her fate was death.
However, the order issued by the capital was to kill the commander-in-chief and steal the military tally.
So she came to Cangzhou.
They chose Jiang Zifeng, who looked the most honest and kind, because he had pleaded for the sisters.
I thought he would be more easily swayed.
She followed Jiang Zifeng all the way.
He witnessed the battlefield firsthand and saw the contempt and ridicule of the Northern Barbarians towards the soldiers of Liang.
Seeing the Liang soldiers fighting desperately, even though the enemy was much taller and stronger than them, and could almost hold off several of them with one man, they were shocked.
Even so, the soldiers of Liang did not flinch, even at the cost of death...
It's too tragic.
She was terrified; her heart trembled and her body shook uncontrollably.
I pinched my palms to calm myself down.
Her gaze was fixed on Jiang Zifeng.
She was nervous for him, sweating bullets, afraid that he would be hacked to death.
However, Jiang Zifeng was extremely brave on the battlefield.
The cold, resolute look in his eyes was something she had never seen before.
Jiang Zifeng continued until he plunged his sword into the enemy's chest, beheaded him, and there was nothing left to kill.
He glanced around before closing his eyes and collapsing straight down.
Only then did Liu Qingqing dare to go and investigate.
She thought Jiang Zifeng was dead. So much blood had flowed from his armor, his hands, his feet…
All of them.
Fortunately, he was still alive.
So she saved Jiang Zifeng and, as she wished, went back to the General's Mansion with him.
But she was ordered to kill Jiang Zifeng and Mu Yunji, which she couldn't do and couldn't bring herself to do.
I didn't understand national righteousness before, and I still don't understand it now.
But she knew that without their commander, the Liang army would surely fall into disarray. If the Northern Barbarians attacked now, all these living people, women and children, would become their victims.
Those Liang soldiers who died were all killed in vain.
With the capital city destroyed, where is there a home left?
How could she possibly protect the people she wanted to protect?
She even began to suspect that the person who gave her the orders was a Northern Barbarian.
They actually helped the northern barbarians harm their own people.
How is this different from selling out one's country?
……