The story was first published in Nalan Yunzhai, the original ancient style story number, infringement must be investigated. Author: Fang Yu
1
The yellow sand was long, and it was rolled up by the roaring wind, and it smashed its head and face.
The setting sun was like a little blood smeared on the distant mountain, and the eagle falcon hovered lonely on the top of the mountain.
Princess Hening stared at it boredly, and after a moment the curtain hung down.
"How long remains?"
"In one or two more hours, you will be able to reach the Heavenly Ant, and Your Highness will be at ease."
After walking for five days, the best horses in Northern Liang were lacking.
The maids who followed her fainted and vomited, but she, a princess who should have been fine skin and tender flesh, could eat and sleep, and it seemed that the previous life was destined to marry the border pass to eat sand.
In the nearly two hundred years since the founding of northern Liang, it has always been a tribute to the foreign vassal states, and the Fanbang beauties who sent to the harem are really dazzling.
However, in recent years, there have been several droughts and floods and civil unrest, and the century-old foundation of Northern Liang has been in jeopardy. The emperor who had just succeeded to the throne, Hening's brother, had to walk on thin ice.
So he pushed Princess Hening onto this thin ice as well.
"The princess married a foreign clan, but this was never done before!" Green Warp couldn't help but grunt. The little girl was still holding the spittoon and vomiting unconsciously, which would come to the spirit.
"Past this sand, in front of you is the meadow of the heavenly mantis." He Ning raised his hand, "This time and another time." ”
2
The celestial mite is no longer a mess. Their soldiers were able to shoot one by one, and the yellow sand raised by the horses' hooves buried several cities.
The wind and rain on the grassland were smooth, and the horses were fat, and seeing that the territory they occupied was getting wider and wider, they were already eyeing the adjacent Northern Liang.
The Emperor threw her into this place where cattle and sheep were flocked, and naturally did not come to enjoy the blessings.
The leader of the Celestial Ant must have known it too.
He Ning was immersed in deep annoyance. Suddenly, a loud horse hiss came from not far away. The sound of the horse's hooves was getting closer and closer, and she gradually saw that a man was hitting a Hummer, and a gust of wind was passing by her car.
There were as many good horses as the stars on the prairie, but the one he drove was no small feat. The four hooves are like the wind, the speed is like electricity, and the coat color is yellow and white. It is a very expensive Teller.
"It's you... amur. She chuckled softly.
The guards were scattered by his iron hooves, and He Ning grabbed the hunting bow, opened the curtain, and pulled it steadily toward the sky, "Whizzing"—a wild dove fell in response to the sound, impartial, and just happened to hit his horse's head.
He looked back, and Hening saw his gray eyes.
Like a drop of water falling into a mottled ancient well.
When I was a child, among the many children in the palace, Hening's arrow was the most accurate.
If on the grassland, a child can shoot a steady arrow, parents must say with joy that they will not go hungry when they grow up.
But in the palace, there is no hunger, and it is even more difficult to live.
The sons grew ambitious and tore at each other. When the daughter came out beautiful and moving, she was used as a pawn and a bargaining chip.
The Father emperor once praised her for her ability to do things. But what is the use of the daughter's family's mastermind? No matter how shrewd and noble, in the future, he will not be able to take care of the trivial skin of the harem, raise children and serve his parents for a man he has never met. It's really dull.
He Ning flew out with an arrow, and the block in his chest seemed to be flattened a little.
Female red, no. Fat powder, do not love. Singing and dancing, not good at. Looks, fair, good.
He Ning watched as his gray eyes drew closer and closer, quite weighing. So he shouted:
"Do you dare to compete with me!" You lose, give me your Teller! ”
In case he thought she was just a useless waste, he was afraid that tonight he would be poisoned unconsciously by the gods.
"Did I win?"
His voice did not resemble the rough appearance, like the snow flowing through the Tooth River in the middle of summer.
"Then I can go back to Beiliang and not obstruct your eyes here."
During the conversation, He Ning had turned over on his horse, his black hair was high, and his red clothes were lined up in the wind, "A burning incense, shooting at the wild dove more than one person wins?" ”
He nodded with interest.
The wild dove is notoriously light and small, and the archery hunter can't even rub the tip of its tail. He Ning took a calm breath, pulled the arrow with his bow, and "Wow—" A small wild dove fell straight down, as if drawing a sharp knife from the blood-red sunset in the west.
After burning incense, Hening rode Amur's Teller with great swagger, followed by the incredible green warp, the guards of the Northern Liang, and the dowry of the car, and walked into the tent of the chief of the Heavenly Ant under the eyes of everyone.
3
In the evening, a bonfire is raised in the camp.
The Nine-Back Roast of the Heavenly Ant is a well-known spirit in the world, and Ning closes his eyes and drinks a few sips. Suddenly, a hand snatched the wine cup.
It's Amur.
"This wine is so strong that you can't drink it anymore."
"Why not?"
Why not? It was the first time since she was born that she had escaped from the obscure palace, the first time she had galloped on a horse on the steppe, and the first time she had unabashedly revealed her full sharpness.
She will not surrender her freedom again. never!
"I know your disposition. The Northern Liang Mountains are like floating clouds to you, so your mother and concubine stay in the palace to wait for you to triumph. The imperial brother sat high and pronounced the word "triumph" as if it were a thousand junks.
He Ning gritted his teeth and knelt down at the foot of the cold steps, only to see the corners of his mouth slightly upwards.
She couldn't hold back any longer, and angrily slammed her fist into his brow bone, smashing it into the air.
She woke up.
Amur beside her had long been awakened by her movements.
"What did you dream about?"
He Ning stared at him with a heavy breath and tentatively asked:
"Do you want to take your people to the Central Plains?"
Amur, a natural careerist, followed his father all the way from the northern steppes to annex large and small tribes, and by virtue of the time and place, he has become the biggest threat to Northern Liang.
If he had the chance, would he continue to be subordinate?
"How to get there?"
"Sacrifice the knife." He Ning said simply, "Bring the Tiger Stone Treasure Sword of the Heavenly Ant, the cassette and handle of the knife are coated with the poison that kills by touch, of course, we can't die too quickly, ten days is wonderful, so that we can still be full-body and ——""
Her "retreat" word had not yet been exported, and the Tiger Stone Treasure Sword was already resting on her neck, and the cold light was shining, and there was a risk of shaking in a different place.
Hening looked like a quail and seemed to please Amur. His knife had no intention of being withdrawn.
"The Tiger Stone Sword is a sacred relic of the Heavenly Ant, how can it be said that it is offered." Moreover, you are the princess of Northern Liang, so why should I believe you? ”
"Believe it or not." She continued to probe.
"The Mid-Autumn Festival is my brother's birthday, and it is reasonable that you will sacrifice your sword in the name of Heshou, and no one will stop you." Heavenly ant has always been poisoned and deceived, and there is still more than a month before the Mid-Autumn Festival, and I do not believe that you will not find this poison with your ability. Otherwise, if you wait for the opportunity to hit the Central Plains, you may not have such a good opportunity in fifty years. When my imperial brother eased up for a while, the Heavenly Ant might be about to be included in the territory of the Western Regions of Northern Liang. ”
"Besides, Amr, this is not my surrender to you." He Ning stabilized himself and pretended to be slow and leisurely said, "This is a transaction between you and me." ”
"I want you to promise me that if all goes well, you will take my mother back safely when it is done."
The knife finally returned to its sheath.
She was secretly relieved and felt sad again. seemingly...... Plans are about to change.
4
Amur stood on the mountainside. The floating clouds in the sky gathered and scattered, and he was thinking about the Woman of the Northern Liang, remembering her tight arms when she swung her bow, and her focused and cold eyes.
"King, the letter has been cut off. There is nothing wrong with the content, it is Princess Hening who informs the Emperor of Northern Liang that you are about to go to a banquet. ”
His men respectfully held up Princess Hening's carrier pigeons.
Amur took a closer look, and it was indeed a pigeon that could not be more ordinary. So he ordered his men to tie the letter untouched to the pigeon's feet and put it back on the north beam.
The pigeon flew over the vast meadows, streams and yellow sand, flew into thousands of palaces, and landed on the edge of the table of the Emperor of Northern Liang.
He pulled back and squeezed the pigeon's belly three times, spitting out a small ball from its ingestuary bag, crushing it into a note.
His brow furrowed, and after a moment the corners of his mouth were slightly raised, and he placed the note on the incense burner.
At this moment, a bolt of lightning suddenly tore through the sky, and the mountain rain was coming.
"Come on!"
In the blink of an eye, it was already autumn, and He Ning was busy making some gifts for returning to Beijing, as if she was really just a noble girl who occasionally returned to the door after marrying far away.
When she came, she sat in a palanquin, and this time back to Beiliang, she rode with Amur.
The poison took a lot of effort. She could tell that he wanted to kill with one blow.
The prosperity of the grasslands is not easy to come by and difficult to last, and after a wind disaster or hail, countless homeless people starve to death in winter. If you can get rid of the Central Plains, things will be much easier.
The emperor's absence for months is still disgusting. His long narrow eyes stayed on Hening for a moment, and he opened his mouth ironically:
"Aning really married a chicken with a chicken and a dog with a dog, and came back with a body of wind and sand."
The guests understood what he meant and laughed. I don't know if Amur can understand what comes out of her brother's dog's mouth...
He gently took her hand under the table.
"On this visit to Northern Liang, we brought the Tiger Stone Treasure Sword that has been passed down for many generations by the Heavenly Ant, as the sincerity of the good relations between the two countries, and also wish Your Majesty a happy life and good health, and I hope That Your Majesty will smile."
Whispers rang in my ears.
Tiger Stone Treasure Sword, the Central Plains people have heard about it for more than a hundred years but have never seen it. It is said to have cut iron like mud, and when it is used, it is as fast as eyelashes, and even unarmed women can easily take the first rank.
In curiosity, everyone forgot that the foreign clan said that "the two countries have good relations" is a rebellious and rebellious word.
But the emperor could really hear it.
The little servant beside him carefully took the sword cassette and sent it to the imperial court step by step. Amur held his breath.
"Ah!"
As soon as the emperor's hand was about to be placed on the box, the little servant screamed bitterly, foaming at the mouth and convulsing on the ground.
The crowd was horrified, and Amur was stunned, and immediately reacted, and between the electric light and flint, he had rushed forward and kicked away the imperial guards.
The Emperor did not expect him to react so quickly, and in a panic, he grasped the Tiger Stone Sword with both hands and aimed it at Amur's throat. Like a sheep with a toy tortie against the Wolf King, it was ridiculous.
He Ning drew his crossbow from his sleeve and saw a glimmer of anticipation in his brother's eyes, the bulging tendons in Amur's hands, and the frightened courtiers who were on the ground or crawling or panting.
"Wow—"
The Tiger Stone Sword had already cut the Emperor's throat, but the next moment her arrow had penetrated Amur's arm, deep enough to penetrate her bones. The emperor covered his neck in disbelief, but blood couldn't wait to splash from his fingers. There was a pool of blood in front of the dragon chair.
5
There was chaos in the palace, and the palace people scattered and fled in fear. He Ning put away his crossbow and saw the opportunity to go straight to the mother concubine's bedchamber.
The Emperor died under Amur's sword.
Ironically, after Hening secretly revealed the plan to the emperor, he arranged for a small eunuch to perform the poisoning after getting the sword box, intending to preemptively let the guards outside the palace take down Amur on the charge of poison. Unexpectedly, Amur suddenly burst into flames, and he himself fell into a ghost under the knife.
Amur died of poison he smeared on the hilt of his sword.
He was too fierce when he grabbed the knife, he had forgotten about it, and it was too late to let go. He took the wound and forcibly broke through the siege, and died ten days later.
He Ning escaped from the palace with his mother and fled far away.
The wind blows by the ears, and it is all the breath of freedom. She took off the wine jug around her waist and took a sip, stunned.
It was the nine-fold burn that Amur had given her before leaving.
According to the legend of The Heavenly Ant, the Nine Returns Burn is a good wine that the goddess stole from the Heavenly Palace before she went down, and when she missed her husband, she took it out, took a sip, turned around step by step, and exhausted it nine times.
The mother concubine asked her, "You could have joined forces with him to kill the emperor, you are a hero, he naturally will not treat you badly." Why did you kill him together? ”
Didn't she hesitate? Didn't she waver when he held her hand through his sleeve?
"Mother, you have been in the palace for so many years, don't you understand?"
"If I help him kill the Imperial Brother without the constraints of Northern Liang, it will be easy for Amur to kill me in the future." If I kill Amur for my brother, I will be an outcast to him and to Northern Liang. How do I get you out of the palace? There are only two paths, either I will survive in their cracks for a lifetime, or they will lose both, and I will be free. ”
She looked at the mother-in-law. She was one of the women sent by the Fan State to make peace. The Father emperor may have loved her, but he still has three palaces and six houses to love.
She was supposed to be a bird of freedom, but she broke her wings because of fate and love that did not know if it existed, and the best half of her life was trapped in the dark palace.
He Ning should not walk the path she had walked, nor should he shed the tears she had shed in the dead of night.
Winter has arrived in the blink of an eye, and the winter in the steppe is very long.
When she was trapped in the palace in the past, she once dreamed that she was barefoot and running wildly on the snowy grassland.
But yesterday, for the first and last time, she dreamed of Amur.
"Why don't you aim at my head?" Why not look me in the eye? In the dream, Amur looked at her quietly and asked her.
HeNing was no longer afraid that he would draw the knife on her neck, so he smiled and said to him, "Because I loved you."
(End)