Chapter 1 Talent and Appearance

The turmoil in the Daqi Palace was well covered by Sima Rui. In addition to the eunuchs and concubines in the inner palace, the people of the capital only knew that there was a rebellion in the palace, and the third prince who had been claiming that disappeared for no reason on the way to the imperial mausoleum was the meritorious minister who came to rescue him. Now the emperor is seriously ill and will assist the government. The power was decentralized to the young and leading third prince Sima Rui. There were many admiration and echoes about this matter. Only a few innocent old ministers in the court knew that these news and praises were released by Sima Rui himself.

As in today, Menghua has already been cleared with the last imperial concubine Yun, and the king of Ning was shielded from the court and the opposition. Although the king's mansion of Ning is now safe and sound, the king of Ning has no real power in his hands. What is left in the court is either the newcomer promoted by Sima Rui earlier, or the old minister who defected to Sima Rui like Qin Zhi. Son, and in the harem, there was Concubine Rong, and she did not dare to do anything. Emperor Zhaoxuan's daily life was taken care of by Concubine Rong, which was also under the full control of Sima Rui.

And what gave Sima Rui the most headache was the 3,000 cold family army that protruded from the encirclement. The leader was a young general in his twenties, who made a halberd weighing 100 catties and carried an injured woman on his back. But even so, he took the 3,000 cold family army through the heavy blockade of the Jinling army. Sima Rui has heard before that this person is Leng Wu, the personal bodyguard beside Leng Changxi. Unfortunately, such a talent cannot be used by him after all.

However, he inquired afterwards and learned that the cold vice general had just got married a few days ago and married not someone else, but a girl from the Shang family. He wanted to take another hostage and force the cold vice general to be captured, but he did not find this Shang Chunman all over the capital. In the end, but what did Sima Rui do? The person who has a big event is a person with the world in mind. Now, the most important thing for him is to find Leng Changxi and then watch him die with his own eyes.

The Devil City of Beidi, thousands of miles away, is another scene. At this time, it is early summer. The snow water on the iceberg continues to melt as the temperature rises, converges into a stream, and then slowly converges into a small river. Several small rivers merge to become the most famous mother river running through Beidi - the Alxa River. It nourishes this fertile soil and breasts the people of Northerndi along the coast. Devil City is the largest and most frequent commercial city along the Alxa River.

Although the name is terrible, the bustle and prosperity in the Devil's City are comparable to the great Kyoto. People are mixed. Walking on the street, you can see Persian merchants with deep eyes, glazed Chinese people in colorful national customs and locals in Beidi.

On the street, there were hawkers everywhere. From fur to spices, bargaining came one after another. Suddenly, an abrupt figure in the crowd attracted everyone's attention. He wore a typical half-sleeved suit of the North Di people, and his sweat-soaked clothes outlined the symmetrical muscles on his chest and tanned skin. Healthy and strong, although he looked thin, he carried a total of 14 white cloths on his shoulders and tied them tightly with cowhide ropes. He carried them on his shoulders without shaking at all. The cloth stood high, like a towering hill.

When a clerk from a garment shop on the street saw the man coming, he quickly greeted him: "Ada sent cloth again. To be honest, the cloth sent by Ada is the best-selling. I don't know if I can ask Ada's wife to send more next time, our boss's wife said You can add more money.

Ada is an intimate name for men by the Northern Di people. Some people are born without a name, and they will also use Ada as their own name.

The man smiled lightly and said politely, "I'm sorry for the care of the boss's wife, but my wife's eyes are not good. I really can't do more. I'm sorry."

After saying that, the man wanted to leave.

"Don't rush to go, Mr. Tuoba." This is a door curtain separated from the lobby that was suddenly opened. In the early 30s, the charming young woman twisted her body to stop the man who had walked out of the door.

This young woman is the boss's wife of this garment shop. She is known as Ren Sanniang and is from the Central Plains. She is very popular in Beidi.

The man really stopped. The boss's wife put away all kinds of customs and said to the man very seriously, "Mr. Tuoba, I have been looking at your wife's eyes and diseases for some days. This is not good. Your life is so difficult, even you even go to the cotton alley to find a famous one. I don't have any money to look at. I have a job here. I know you have some skills, and it depends on whether you are willing to do it or not.

When it comes to his wife's eyes, the man's originally cold eyes immediately became 120,000 anxious and worried.

"Ren Sanniang, but it's okay to say it."

Ren Sanniang smiled charmingly: "Well, the Beidi people are belligerent, aggressive and brave. Every summer, they hold a martial arts competition to select the most brave warrior in Beidi. As long as they can be shortlisted for the final, how many eyes can you give your little lady just by rewarding silver, do you think?"

The man's eyes drooped slightly: "I don't need to work for a long time, and I may not be shortlisted."

"Jaughing, that group of hooligans came to my shop to provoke, and you solved them with one hand," Ren Sanniang smiled cheerfully and could see the solemn look on the man's face and restrained a little. "Actually, there is no need to be shortlisted. Now all princes' mansions are recruiting warriors to go to the competition. After all, When you win, it's also glorious to be regarded as their staff. You don't have to directly participate in the martial arts competition and try the selection of the staff. If you are selected, you will also give out regular money every month and save more, and you can still treat your wife's eyes.

The man hesitated for a moment and only said, "I'll consider it." After saying that, he left quickly. Ren Sanniang followed the man and shouted, "Mr. Tuoba, you have to think about it quickly. Tomorrow is the last day of the eldest prince Wanyanba to select warriors. If you miss it, you will have no chance at all."

The man walked in a hurry and didn't know whether he heard it or not. He turned around and finally turned into a quiet alley. The innermost was a clean yard, which was cleaned by the owner. There were several sweet potatoes planted in the yard, and the shelves made of poplar wood were also wrapped with loofah vines. The soil was new. These things It seems that Xidu has just been planted. Under the melon vine, there is a plainly dressed woman who bows her head and embroidered a picture of mandarin ducks. It can be seen that her technique is excellent, but the embroidery is extremely slow. Because of her eyes, every time she inserts a needle, she makes a lot of effort.

Hearing the sound of the wooden door being pushed open, the woman suddenly looked in the direction of the gate. Her eyes were tied with white veil, but her ears were sensitive, even without her ears, and she could smell people with her nose alone.

"Changxi?" Qin Yunuan wore the clothes of local women in Beidi. Like the Beidi women, her hair was braided into a shiny hemp braid from top to bottom. Next to her was a few small hemp braids made of hair. At the end, they plunged into the back of her head together, which looked like a different amorous feelings.

It was none other than Leng Changxi who appeared in the market and was called by Ren Sanniang's left "Tuopa Prince" and a right "Tuoba Prince" on the right.

Leng Changxi felt sorry for Qin Yunuan and pressed Qin Yunuan's hand holding the needle and thread: "I didn't say that. Don't be so tired anymore."

"I'm idle, just bored." Qin Yunuan reached out and stroked Leng Changxi's cheek, "What did Ren Sanniang say? Does she still like the cloth we sent?

"I like it very much," Leng Changxi lowered his head and looked a little gloomy. "It's just that I think it's time for us to leave Devil City."

"Why?" Qin Yunuan's hand went down and touched the corners of Leng Changxi's mouth. The corners of Leng Changxi's lips were hanging down, indicating that he was unhappy. "We've only been here for half a month. It's good here, isn't it? Why don't we collect the fare to continue to Xixia before we go?

"It's too late to leave then," Leng Changxi raised a few tones. "And your eyes are destined that we can't go very fast."

Qin Yunuan lowered his head: "Do you think I'm dragging you down?"

"I didn't mean that," Leng Changxi stood up, turned his back to Qin Yunuan, turned half his head, and finally told the truth. "Do you remember that I taught the ruffian who made trouble in Ren Sanniang's shop a while ago? At that time, I was too flamboyant and exposed that I could do martial arts. Fortunately, I saw ordinary people. If I was seen by people with intentions, I could recognize my martial arts from the Central Plains at a glance. At that time, it would only bring you more trouble.

Qin Yunuan turned his face in the direction of Leng Changxi and silently said nothing. Leng Changxi simply told out what Ren Sanniang said about the martial arts competition, and then shook his head and said, "Do you still remember the siege of the hunting ground in those years? Later, it was found that it was Sima Rui and Northern Emperor Wanyan Ba who colluded with each other. The way Ren Sanniang gave me was no different. So let me jump under the eyes of my enemies. I already knew that I was no longer the first cold general of Daqi. Now I don't want anything else. I just want to keep you safe and cure your eyes.

Qin Yunuan also found this point. Since Leng Changxi was betrayed by Shang Xianhua in that big fire, Leng Changxi's heart began to lack a sense of security and self-confidence. His heart was distressed. Along the way, all he thought about was how to hide his skills and how to spend every day safely in anonymity. The fiercest tiger on the grassland has now shrank its claws and dares to be a sheep. This is not the real Leng Changxi. Qin Yu warm frowns. She understands that people will inevitably have a little distortion in their hearts after such a plummeting blow, but she only hopes that Leng Changxi can come out as soon as possible.

"In fact, real avoidance does not necessarily have to avoid it," Qin Yunuan said, "the so-called most dangerous place is the safest place, hidden in the city, Changxi, you know more about the art of war than me, but I know more about people than you."

"What do you mean?"

Qin Yunuan picked up the work again and smiled: "Go to bed early. Tomorrow, I will accompany you to participate in the samurai selection of the Great Prince's Mansion."