Chapter 1 The Gentle Sound of the Erhu

The melodious sound of the erhu drifted slowly from the Xuehai Pass Count's residence. Every day, the Blind Man would play a tune here.

Today, the erhu music lasted a little longer.

Tian Tian sat there every day,

his two chubby little hands resting on his knees, his head bobbing up and down, trying his best to fight off his sleepiness.

It was too much to ask such a small child to understand the profound and subtle sounds of the erhu.

Moreover, today's erhu rhythm was particularly long. Tian Tian had tried his best to resist, but he still couldn't stop the strong drowsiness that kept coming with the erhu music.

After a long while,

the Blind Man put away his erhu.

Tian Tian raised his head, dazed,

reached out,

rubbed his face,

and smiled.

Then,

he clapped.

At such a young age, he had already learned to go through the motions.

At this moment, Liu Ruqing walked over with a cup of tea.

The Blind Man stood up,

left his seat,

and took three steps back.

Liu Ruqing stepped forward, placed the tea on the coffee table, and took three steps back.

Only then did the Blind Man walk back, return to his original position, and pick up the tea.

It was flower tea.

In fact, the Blind Man didn't like this flavor of tea. They often added honey to it, claiming it was the sweetness of the flowers, but it was actually a bit cloying.

"Mr. Bei, has news arrived?"

The man was fighting at the front,

and the woman was naturally waiting anxiously at the back.

In this season, a letter from home was worth a fortune, which was absolutely true.

Now, Liu Ruqing's younger brother, Liu Zhong, was already helping with accounting at the Count's residence, which was considered a good job.

Liu Ruqing felt very content with this.

The atmosphere here wasn't as oppressive as in the Fan family, and life was peaceful and comfortable. Her younger brother also had a job, so she really didn't have much more to ask for.

Actually, if the Count hadn't suddenly restrained himself that night, she would have already been his woman.

She was just damaged goods, but it would have been enough to please him, to gain his generosity, his gallop, his excitement, and his resonance.

This concept was naturally not correct;

but one could only lament,

in this era,

a woman's survival was already difficult;

a beautiful woman's survival was actually even more difficult.

But the Blind Man knew that

Liu Ruqing wasn't the type of person to ask about this matter.

His erhu playing today was indeed a bit longer than usual. Liu Ruqing might have noticed, but she wouldn't have come over specifically to ask about it.

The master's inner courtyard was actually very simple;

not counting the matrons and maids,

there were only three women who could be considered his concubines:

Si Niang, the Princess, and the Liu Ruqing in front of him.

Si Niang was following the master in battle, leaving only two at home.

Who was more respected and who was less was obvious.

"Princess, if you have something to ask, you can just ask me directly. Our Count's residence has never had many rules."

As soon as the Blind Man finished speaking,

the Princess walked out from around the corner.

The Blind Man stood up,

offering his seat.

The Princess stood where she was and said, "I wouldn't dare to ask Mr. Bei to give up his seat for me."

"It's just a gesture, to show that I have some manners."

"Heh."

The Princess laughed, not a cold laugh, but because she was already used to the way she interacted with the "gentlemen."

They seemed to be a group of people who understood etiquette very well,

but in reality,

they were also a group of people who had the least regard for it.

At the same time,

although they were nominally master and servant with her husband,

in reality,

to some extent, they were equals.

Some women were born experts at palace intrigue, especially Xiong Liqing, who had grown up in the palace.

Some people were not to be offended. She understood that.

Liu Ruqing quickly got up and brought another chair from the house and placed it down.

The Princess sat down generously.

At this moment,

Liu Ruqing walked over, wanting to hug Tian Tian.

In the inner courtyard, they knew exactly what the identity of the Count's godson was.

To put it bluntly, even if they gave birth to children in the future, they might not be able to compete with the child in front of them for favor.

Tian Tian opened his arms and hugged Liu Ruqing, but he didn't let her pick him up. Instead, after a symbolic gesture, he avoided Liu Ruqing's arms.

In the flower garden,

the huge head of the azure python poked out.

Tian Tian trotted over,

and hugged the huge snake head.

The azure python flicked its tongue and licked Tian Tian's face. Tian Tian patted the azure python with his little fleshy hand.

From childhood to adulthood,

this child had spent more time playing with ghosts and demons than with normal people.

Moreover,

he naturally carried a spiritual energy that made those demons feel close to him.

In the past, when the Sword Saint returned for a short vacation, he specifically looked at this child.

The Sword Saint, who had originally not planned to take any disciples, had the impulse to take Tian Wujing's son into his tutelage at the same time that he had a sword maid.

It was a pity that

he had lowered himself, but

the child only wanted to learn the saber from his godfather.

Over there,

the child and the python were having a great time.

Here,

the Princess also spoke:

"It's not that it's inconvenient to ask, but I don't care, but I'm afraid Mr. Bei might overthink it."

"I won't overthink it. I have too many things to think about every day."

"Mr. Bei, you're really not polite at all."

"We're all family, what's the point of being polite? It's too tiring."

"That's the truth."

Then,

the Princess asked, "Did the Count win the battle?"

"Ying Du has fallen."

The Princess's breath caught in her throat when she heard this.

Ying Du was where she grew up. Now, it had been captured by her husband.

In fact,

strictly speaking,

the fall of Ying Du was not directly related to Zheng Boye, but it was undeniable that it was Zheng Boye's initial rampage that led to the destruction of the supply route to Zhennan Pass and the chaos in the Jing region of Chu,

which ultimately

led to the Jingnan Prince's army directly attacking Ying Du.

"Your brother left a fire, intending to burn the Jingnan Prince to death, but who would have thought that the Jingnan Prince didn't die, but Ying Du was set on fire."

The Princess looked at the Blind Man

and said:

"Ying Du was burned?"

"To be precise, it should be said that it was destroyed by fire."

"How tragic."

"Yes."

"Where's my imperial brother?"

"He's not been there for a long time. Your brother used the hands of my Yan army to remove some people and things that he had long wanted to get rid of but had always found it inconvenient to do so."

"According to Mr. Bei's words, my imperial brother actually profited?"

"Overall, he must have lost, but at least the house has been cleaned."

"Then, will the war continue?"

"No, it looks like it's about to end. The master should be coming back soon. Also, if nothing unexpected happens, you will soon be promoted from Countess to Marchioness."

"Just like that, he'll be ennobled as a marquis?"

"Eight or nine times out of ten, because the Jingnan Prince is still alive."

The Blind Man knew very well how big the difference was between the Jingnan Prince being alive and not.

If the Jingnan Prince wasn't around, it would naturally make things easier and freer for their side;

but if the Jingnan Prince was around, it would be equivalent to ensuring the connection between their master and the Yan court.

Sometimes,

the Blind Man himself felt it was quite boring.

He was eating from the Great Yan's bowl, eating his fill, putting down the bowl, and then rebelling against Great Yan.

It was a bit too unchallenging;

but the problem was that as long as the Jingnan Prince didn't die, everyone could only continue to follow this development model.

After this battle,

being ennobled as a marquis

was inevitable.

This was an arrangement that Tian Wujing had been making a long time ago, and it was also an arrangement that the Blind Man had seen through long ago.

Xiong Liqing smiled slightly

and said;

"In Yan, being ennobled as a marquis is no small matter."

"Yes, before the Zhenbei and Jingnan Princes were ennobled, the highest-ranking noble title for those with different surnames in Great Yan was Marquis. Being ennobled as a marquis also means being granted land."

The Blind Man pointed at the ground with his finger

and said:

"It's estimated that it'll be this piece of land in Eastern Jin. Perhaps, before long, Princess, you can go home to see the Empress Dowager and your brother.

After visiting your family,

they will send you back here respectfully."

Their status was different,

their level was different,

and naturally,

their treatment would also be different.

"It's much earlier than I expected."

The Blind Man smiled and didn't speak.

The Princess continued:

"What if my mother is reluctant to let me marry far away?"

"Then that will give the master a reason to enter Chu again and snatch you away once more."

"When will the Count return?"

"It's hard to say, but it should be soon. Based on my understanding of the master, once the war is over, he will be more obsessed with the gentleness of women."

"Thank you for the tip, Mr. Bei."

"You're too kind, Princess."

The Princess stood up, but didn't leave.

She asked again:

"May I ask you, sir, who do you think is more important, the country or the individual?"

"The country is like parents."

"Mr. Bei's answer is truly…"

"If the children are happy, the parents will be happy too."

The Princess was stunned for a moment,

then smiled and said:

"It's really interesting to chat with you, sir."

"You flatter me."

Just then,

outside Xuehai Pass,

a blue vortex was approaching this way. It stopped in front of the Xuehai Pass South Gate city wall, revealing a figure in blue. Because they were wearing a mask, it was impossible to tell if it was a man or a woman.

At this time, the guards on the city wall had already drawn their bows and aimed their arrows at him. At the same time, a team of cavalry was about to rush out of the city gate.

…

Inside the Count's residence,

in the courtyard.

The Princess hadn't left, and the Blind Man hadn't gotten up.

However,

a cellar in the center of the flower garden sank down, revealing steps leading down to a secret room.

Shatuo Queshi, dressed in black,

with his eyes closed,

walked out step by step.

The Blind Man stood up, bowed slightly, and said:

"You're awake."

The Princess immediately squatted down and paid her respects,

saying:

"Greetings, Godfather."

Liu Ruqing was a little stunned. She had never seen Shatuo Queshi before. At first, she only felt that a sudden change had occurred, and a terrifying existence had suddenly appeared in front of her.

But after seeing the Princess pay her respects, she immediately followed suit.

"Whoosh!!!!!"

A signal arrow rose into the sky from the southwest, meaning that there was a situation over there.

Shatuo Queshi faced southwest.

The Blind Man quickly said:

"I'm afraid it's a diversion."

At this time,

after seeing Shatuo Queshi appear, Tian Tian immediately abandoned his python partner and stumbled towards Shatuo Queshi.

Others were afraid of Shatuo Queshi, who was like a zombie, but he wasn't afraid.

Because he had been sleeping on top of his coffin since he was a child, sleeping until he grew up.

Shatuo Queshi reached out,

a black wind wrapped around Tian Tian, restraining him, and finally landed on his shoulder.

Shatuo Queshi held Tian Tian's leg with one hand,

and stretched out his other hand.

"Buzz!"

In the courtyard, on the weapon rack that Zheng Boye usually used to practice his saber techniques,

a saber

fell into Shatuo Queshi's palm.

Then,

with the blade pointing downwards,

touching the ground,

Shatuo Queshi slowly turned his head,

still without opening his eyes,

but his voice was transmitted in the form of air vibrations:

"Tiger... carrying the mountain."

————

I will resume updating tomorrow.