Fish Meat – Chapter 213
by Little PandaThe Fifth Year of Zhao Wu
Jointly Chasing The Lost Deer (9)
Outside Yanxing City, Black Colt Mountain.
Li Feng and the injured Wei Tingxu finally managed to drag the unconscious Zhen Wenjun out of the tunnel. They were so exhausted their limbs felt detached; their hands weren’t hands and their legs weren’t legs. Li Feng collapsed on the ground, gasping for air, wanting nothing more than a deep sleep.
“Your Majesty,” Wei Tingxu reminded him that now was not the time to sleep, “We must leave this place quickly, in case pursuing soldiers come.”
Li Feng scrambled up, adjusting his crown [ε | guΔn | traditional Chinese headwear for men], which had slipped back, and pointed at Zhen Wenjun: “What about her? How are we going to move her?”
Wei Tingxu asked him: “Is this Black Colt Mountain?”
“Yes! I used to run into these mountains to catch wild chickens [ιιΈ‘ | yΔjΔ« | pheasant]!”
“Then Ah Liao and the others should have come from here. Calculating shichen [2 hours], they should already be nearby.” Wei Tingxuβs legs simply couldnβt move anymore. She glanced at Ah Qiong, who was staring blankly and muttering to herself. She called Ah Qiong’s name, and then called out “Alai”, but got no response. It seemed communication with her was impossible.
“Your Majesty, I have an impolite request.”
“Speak.”
“The Maritime and Terrain General Zhangsun Ran is currently travelling from Black Colt Mountain to Yanxing, using this very road. Now that we are all injured and unable to move, we can only trouble Your Majesty to go and find her.”
Li Feng was quite excited to hear there were reinforcements: “Excellent! Which direction is she coming from? How will I recognize her?”
“She should be coming from the south. Your Majesty, head south. If you see a domed, emerald green luxurious carriage, that will be General Zhangsun.”
An emerald green luxurious carriage? How luxurious?
Li Feng walked on the bumpy mountain road as if it were flat ground, pondering what kind of luxurious carriage Wei Tingxu was talking about.
Although the sudden crisis in Yanxing had scared him sh*tless, now that the danger had passed and he had returned to the mountains, he no longer had to study etiquette [η€Όδ»ͺ | lΗyΓ | rituals and ceremonies] or scriptures [η»ε¦ | jΔ«ngxuΓ© | Confucian classics]. He didnβt have to ride horses until his backside was raw [literally: rub/grind rotten buttocks], and he didn’t have to kneel formally behind a desk [ζ‘ε | Γ njΗ | low table] until his legs were numb. The mountains were his domain, where he felt free and at ease. Even the strong wind felt comfortable.
Li Feng was almost bouncing with joy, nearly forgetting what he was supposed to be doing until he saw a glittering green object floating towards him in the distance.
Seeing such a thing suddenly in the dark mountains made Li Feng stop in his tracks.
What the hell?!
The glittering green object was quite stable despite the strong wind. As it got closer, Li Feng heard the rumbling of hooves. It was an enormous carriage!
Eight tall, strong horses pulled a giant, round carriage along the dark mountain road. No matter how rugged the terrain, this luxurious carriage remained as stable as if it were travelling on flat ground. Despite the cold weather, each horse galloped, dripping with sweat and spraying saliva. Their muscles, from chest to hooves, were well-defined and powerful. They flashed past Li Feng’s eyes with the momentum of a landslide, nearly lifting him off his feet.
Li Feng was dumbfounded. Such a luxurious carriage actually existed in this world!
Li Feng chased after the carriage, yelling and waving his arms, swallowing several mouthfuls of wind, and hiccuping wildly.
Outside, the mountain wilderness was dark and windy, with an emperor howling like a ghost behind the carriage. Inside the Green Carriage, however, it was a different scene entirely.
Ah Zheng held a wine cup with her scallion white plain hands, steadily walking around and filling the cups of all the Qingluan sisters. Ah Liao lay on the south side, hugging a small tiger plush toy sewn for her by Ah Xu, her eyes closed as she listened to Ah Qin’s beautiful qin music.
Ah Qin was an old friend whom Ah Liao had played with as a child. This time, after returning to Pingcang with Wei Tingxu, Ah Qin went back to her old home in Dongchun. She sorted through some old belongings from her old house, and besides finding some inspiration from unfinished childhood crafts, she unexpectedly reunited with Ah Qin.
If Ah Qin hadn’t called out to her, she wouldn’t have recognized her.
Actually, when Ah Qin initially called out, Ah Liao didn’t recognize her either. She wondered who this beautiful woman, as lovely as a peach blossom, could be. How did she know her? Could it be someone she had met before? Impossible. Ah Liao wouldn’t forget such a beauty even after a lifetime.
The other party introduced herself as Pan family’s Ah Qin.
“Ah Qin? Qin-gege?” Ah Liao finally found a familiar trace in her face after scrutinizing her features, blurting out the name.
Ah Qin blushed at being called “Qin-gege”: “I only liked wearing men’s clothing as a child because it was comfortable. If you still call me that now, are you trying to embarrass me to death?”
Ah Qinβs beauty and loveliness were like a mouthful of honey smeared across Ah Liao’s heart, leaving her soul scattered and intoxicated by the joy of this unexpected reunion.
The two were inseparable, appreciating flowers and admiring the moon. Ah Liao composed poems, and Ah Qin composed music. It was truly a joyous reunion of close friends, and they spent a wonderful time together.
Wei Tingxu was going to attack Runing, and Ah Liao couldnβt remain idle any longer. She wanted to take the Green Carriage ladies with her to participate in the battle, contributing to the great cause of the Wei and Zhangsun families.
Ah Qin, knowing that Ah Liao was leaving, spent a night thinking it over. The next day, she packed her bags and went directly to Ah Liao, willing to leave Dongchun with her. From then on, whether it was a life of comfort and ease or wandering the world, she only wished to grow old together with Ah Liao.
Ah Liao was naturally overjoyed, but before leaving, she honestly told Ah Qin about the Green Carriage. Besides herself, there were more than thirty other ladies within the Green Carriage who were willing to grow old with her. She truly loved each and every one of them, and each one was her beloved. Over the years, many had come and gone, and she bore no grudges, believing that this was the fate between people. Even if someone wanted to change their lifestyle, or if two people fell in love with each other and wanted to leave Qingluan, Ah Liao never forced them to stay. Coming and going freely, she only wished for everyone to be happy together during their time together. If there was ever a need for Ah Liao’s help in the future, she would do her best to assist.
Ah Qin was not surprised. In fact, she had noticed that many ladies came and went around Ah Liao these days. Since it was her own choice, she had no regrets.
Ah Qin was multi-talented; playing the qin was just one of her skills.
The ladies of the Green Carriage were mostly talented individuals. They gathered together like family, caring for each other and exchanging knowledge and skills. Ah Liao never liked to travel with the army, fearing that the sweaty smell of the soldiers would offend her precious ladies.
The Qingluan travelled independently, their horses never stopping, yet still finding time to appreciate the scenery. This was Ah Liao’s pleasure. Even amidst war, she and her close friends lived freely and carefree.
Ah Qin suddenly stopped playing the qin, looking suspiciously towards the rear window of the carriage.
Ah Liao opened her eyes and asked curiously, “Darling, what’s wrong?”
“I think I hear someone shouting.”
“Impossible. Who would be out here in the desolate mountains? Perhaps the wind is too strong and you heard wrong?”
Ah He lifted the window and looked outside. There really was someone.
Li Feng had chased for a long time and shouted for a while, but the Qingluan simply didn’t stop. When he finally gave up and stopped, panting, the luxurious carriage slowly turned around and came back.
Being the emperor? What’s so good about being the emperor?
Li Feng remembered asking Wei Tingxu this when she had come to find him and asked him to become the emperor.
He didn’t want to be any emperor. He just wanted to live with his ah fu and ah mu.
“Being the emperor means you can eat your fill and dress warmly. You can eat as much meat as you want,” Wei Tingxu had said. She knew that a child who grew up in the countryside during a famine wouldnβt understand talk of jade palaces and fine silks. A full stomach was the most practical thing.
“Really?” Sure enough, upon hearing about meat, Li Feng immediately turned into a hungry wolf, his eyes shining.
“Of course it’s true. Not only can you eat meat every meal, your Ah Fu and Ah Mu can too. Besides that, the emperor is the most powerful person in the world. There will be many good things you can’t even imagine.”
Li Feng never understood what “good things you can’t even imagine” meant. As things stood, Wei Tingxu might have lied to him. He hadn’t encountered any good things, only the bad luck of two lifetimes combined, and he had almost lost his life in Yanxing.
It was the Green Carriage that salvaged the young emperor’s last shred of beautiful fantasy about the world.
Li Feng was stunned when the luxurious carriage stopped in front of him. There was actually such a carriage in the world. It was like a wealthy family had attached wheels to the bottom of their mansion and were pulling it around the world. When the Green Carriageβs door slowly opened, the sight that greeted him took his breath away.
Fairy older sisters floated towards him, gently asking who he was and why he was chasing the carriage. Li Feng couldnβt utter a word, his eyes glued to them.
“He’s probably a foolish child,” Ah He said to Ah Zheng with pity, seeing that he didn’t respond to their questions.
Ah Liao peeked out from behind the ladies to see what was going on. One look and she nearly jumped, immediately pushing through the crowd and jumping out of the carriage. Ignoring the dirt on the ground, she bowed to the young man, calling out “Your Majesty.”
“Your Majesty?” Ah He thought she had misheard. The ladies looked at each other, then followed Ah Liao and prostrated themselves.
“Rise, rise⦔ Li Feng wiped under his nose, making sure there wasn’t any embarrassing fluid before putting his hands behind his back. He tried to imagine how an emperor should behave, putting on an air of importance. He completely forgot why he had come until Ah Liao asked him why he was there. Only then did he suddenly remember the injured survivors who were still waiting to be rescued.
The Green Carriage rushed to the scene. Ah Liao jumped out of the carriage as if flying, already mentally prepared, but the state of Wei Tingxu and Zhen Wenjun still shocked her.
“Ladies, come quickly and help!” At Ah Liao’s command, Ah He and the other ladies with martial arts skills and strength carried Wei Tingxu and the others onto the carriage.
There was no need to look for any other lodging; the Green Carriage was spacious enough. Moving the screens within the carriage and hanging curtains created a private space.
Ah He took special care of Ah Qiong, while Li Feng, upon entering the carriage, couldnβt hold on any longer and rolled over, falling fast asleep.
Ah Liao asked Ah Qin to help examine Wei Tingxu and Zhen Wenjunβs injuries. Wei Tingxu said, “My injuries are only flesh wounds, nothing serious. Wenjun has been poisoned. You must save her quickly.”
Ah Qin touched Zhen Wenjunβs forehead with the back of her hand and found her temperature extremely high. She fetched a bag of ice chips [shards/bits] used for chilling fruit and placed it on Zhen Wenjunβs forehead to help lower her temperature. Looking at the wound on her neck, after cleaning the blood, she discovered it had turned black.
“I already sucked out some of the blood,” Wei Tingxu said, “but it still doesnβt look good.”
“This poison is quite vicious, not easy to remove.”
“Then what should we do?”
“If I remember correctly, this poison is called Intertwined Cold and Fire [Literally: cold and fire mutually generating]. After poisoning, the first wave of the poison causes the body to become extremely hot, as if burning with fire, and it is incredibly painful. Fortunately, you sucked out some of the poison in time, temporarily saving her life, but the toxicity will still continue to act. When it does, the pain will be unbearable. I will try my best to use medicine to help resist it.”
“Will her life be in danger?”
“I canβt say for certain. I can only say Iβll do my best to treat her. When the poison acts up, her body will alternate between extreme heat and extreme cold, and she needs someone to watch over her constantly. First, use ice to combat the heat. We have ice here, and if necessary, we’ll need to do bloodletting to reduce pressure. Second, use heat to combat the cold. This is more difficult, especially now in the depths of winter. Besides adding blankets, we need to think of other methods.”
Wei Tingxu said, “I’ll think of something for that. Ah Qin, could you please take a look at my wounds?”
“Yes, of course.”
Wei Tingxu was indeed seriously injured; both the wound on her waist and her leg were deep. While Ah Qin was applying medicine and bandages, she saw the scars all over Wei Tingxu’s body and couldn’t help but shed tears.
“Ah Qin, why are you crying?” Ah Liao sat beside her, gently holding her hand and asking.
“Zizhuo is so beautiful, yet covered in scars. Those who achieve great things often suffer and endure injuries. I feel sad and reluctant thinking that you might also have to go through hardships.”
Ah Liao was usually the one saying these words to others. Now someone felt such heartache for her, which warmed her heart and filled her with joy.
After the two shared a tender moment, they prepared the medicine and set it to boil outside the carriage. The Green Carriage continued to race forward. Ah He rode a separate horse to inform the Wei family army, telling them to retreat to Ru County and join forces with Zhen Wenjun’s troops.
As the Green Carriage sped towards Ru County, Zhen Wenjun, relying on the ice and the cold wind blowing in from the open window, endured the first wave of burning heat. Soon she entered a state of extreme cold, as if she had been stripped naked and thrown into a frozen wasteland, the chill piercing her bones.
Covered with many blankets and quilts, with several braziers [ηη | tΓ npΓ©n | charcoal basin] burning, making the ladies inside the Green Carriage flush-faced, Zhen Wenjunβs face remained pale, and she continued to shiver.
Just as her consciousness blurred and she felt she was about to freeze to death, a soft and warm object suddenly appeared in her arms. Struggling on the verge of life and death, Zhen Wenjun immediately clung to the object, unwilling to let go.
The object seemed to be wrapped in cloth, and inside the cloth, it was even warmer. Zhen Wenjun dissatisfiedly unwrapped the cloth, entwining herself around the object and holding it even tighterβ¦
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