Chapter 525: Minglan's painting skills [Bowing in thanks! Bowing again! Debt of chapters 47k]

4:00 AM

The starry sky was dotted with stars.

The moon, which only appeared after midnight,

was already climbing high into the sky at this moment, casting a piece of clear radiance.

The fallen snow that hadn't melted on the surrounding wild ground was grayish-white in the moonlight.

"Coo~ Coo-coo~"

The sound of an owl on a tree outside the post station came,

making the early morning increasingly quiet.

Changyuan Post Station,

In a dark corner on the roof, Xu Zaijing sat on a wolf skin pad, wrapped tightly in a thick and warm cloak, blending him into the night.

The strong bow with the string set was placed horizontally on his legs under the cloak, and a quiver of feather arrows was placed to the side.

After rubbing his hands, Xu Zaijing covered his ears, which were not wearing ear muffs, with his hands.

In the courtyard below,

Several carriages were loaded with fine grain and materials. The carriage shafts, which were not harnessed to horses, were placed flat on the ground supported by arm-thick wooden props with forks.

He Guan was walking in the stable, occasionally adding some night grass and fine grain to the manger.

"Creak~"

The sound of a door opening rang out.

Xu Zaijing looked over,

but it was two post station workers carrying lanterns, breathing out white air, starting to patrol the post station.

In such freezing weather, they didn't want to come out to patrol.

But this party of Xu Zaijing's had quite an extraordinary status, and they had rarely arranged sentries in the middle of the night, but as post station workers, it was not good for them to sleep soundly in the room.

If they really angered this group of nobles, let alone them, the post station master and post officials wouldn't have a good ending either.

Because they had received instructions, the patrolling officials didn't get close to the stable where He Guan was, but just turned around in the courtyard with lanterns, checked, and then returned to the room.

"Hoo~"

Xu Zaijing covered his mouth and nose with his cloak and exhaled.

With the cloak blocking it, others couldn't see the white air he exhaled by the moonlight.

Suddenly,

Xu Zaijing stopped his movements, moved his ears, and looked toward the official road not far away.

At this time, the owl was no longer calling. Xu Zaijing placed his hands beside his ears, so the sound became clearer; it was the sound of horses galloping and stepping on the ground.

"Coo~"

Xu Zaijing imitated the owl's call.

Hearing the sound, He Guan in the courtyard stopped his movements, looked at the roof, and listened quietly.

Soon,

The sound of horse hooves approached. In the post station, the post officials and workers who had just come out also walked out of the room and walked onto the watchtower by the wall.

Seeing the light of the lantern on the wall,

A shout from a galloping rider came from outside the post station: "Silver plaque military order, prepare horses quickly!"

Hearing this,

The post station was immediately busy,

and there was a shout of 'Quickly fill the gourd with hot water'.

The courtyard gate opened,

A Mongolian horse with complete saddle and bridle was quickly led out.

After verifying the seal, the new horse reins and the hot water gourd were handed to the post station worker who had run over.

The post station worker, who didn't know how Longhe had been running, was covered in dust and white frost at this time. Feeling the hot gourd in his arms, he said a word of thanks and stuffed the gourd into his arms.

After the post station worker bowed and saluted, he galloped away again.

This commotion also woke up Gu Tingye, Zhao Meifeng, and others.

Candles lit up in their respective rooms, and Gu Tingye's voice sounded: "Zhi Que, stop sleeping! Let's prepare early and set off early, and sleep when we reach Nanle!"

Thus, the courtyard was busy again.

The stove mouths that had been covered were stuffed with firewood, and the flames became vigorous, either cooking or heating water.

Xu Zaijing stood on the roof and moved his body, which was a bit cold.

Gu Tingye was dressed neatly. When he walked out of the room,

he just happened to see Alan throwing the bit (horse bit) that was taken off yesterday evening into a bucket of hot water to heat it.

Seeing Gu Tingye's curious gaze, Alan explained: "Second Young Master, I'm heating the bit! When putting the bridle on the horse later, it won't startle the horse because the bit is too cold."

Gu Tingye nodded slightly.

Before in Bianjing, he was fully equipped when riding a horse, and he really didn't notice that he had to heat the bit in winter.

Gao Puyu, who was walking behind, breathed out white air and said: "Second Young Master, if there is no hot water or fire in the wild, either don't take it off, or if you take it off, you have to keep it warm in your arms."

"Hmm!"

After preparation,

Xu Zaijing and his party had breakfast and left the post station, continuing north.

On the road,

The crowd first walked slowly to let the mounts warm up their bodies. After two quarter-hours, the speed of travel gradually increased.

By the time the sun slowly rose from the right side of the crowd, there were already traces of white frost on Xu Zaijing and the others' horses.

The white air exhaled by the crowd along the way, because it was too cold, some condensed on their eyebrows and eyelashes, and some condensed on the scarves in front of their noses or the hat brims above.

Although the sun only revealed a head, it made Xu Zaijing and the others feel much more comfortable.

In the early morning without the sun, the temperature on the road was too low, making people's cheeks ache, and the body was really uncomfortable.

Gu Tingye rode his horse beside Xu Zaijing, turned his body to face the sun, felt the negligible sunlight, and said in a muffled voice: "Jingge'er, at this time... hoo... Scholar Zhuang should have arrived at school, right?"

Xu Zaijing stepped on the double stirrups, stood up from the little horse's back to move his stiff waist and legs, and said: "Hmm, Changbai has already studied for more than an hour."

Gu Tingye looked at the leather boots on Xu Zaijing's stirrups again and said: "Jingge'er, are your feet frozen stiff?"

Xu Zaijing sat back on the saddle, shook his head, and said: "I stuffed a lot of Ula grass sent by the Huyan family into my boots, it's okay."

Looking at Gu Tingye's gaze, Xu Zaijing added: "At lunch, I'll share some with you."

"That's more like it, not in vain for me to accompany you on a trip." Gu Tingye said.

10:00 AM

Jiying Lane,

Sheng family,

The school, which was heated with floor heating, was very warm.

Xique, hugging a rabbit fur scarf, sat on the low wooden platform behind the school, looking at Xiaotao's scarf, and said in a low voice:

"Qingcao sister, Qiuniang sister, and the others aren't coming. The wooden platform is empty, and we can't squeeze together to sleep."

Xiaotao, whose cheeks were chubby, nodded in agreement, smacked her lips slightly, seemingly recalling the taste of some delicacy.

Buwei to the side leaned forward and said in a low voice: "In such cold weather, the two young masters and Qingyun brother and the others are suffering on the road."

Han Niu to the other side nodded repeatedly.

Minglan, sitting at the very back, was dipping her brush into the inkstone while listening to the low chatter of the servants and maids behind her.

Now that Wei Xiao Niang was still there,

Minglan didn't make Wei Shuyi angry or have a difficult labor, didn't encounter the pain of losing her mother,

So Minglan didn't become depressed, eat poorly, think too much, cry, or have trouble sleeping due to self-blame, missing her late mother, or wild imagination, which would have affected her physical growth and development, making her body weak.

On the contrary, she was raised at the Old Madam's knees all these years, ate well, slept well, and her body was very healthy. After normal development, her stature was already taller than Rulan's.

Moreover, Minglan's hair was like silk, black and beautiful, and her skin was rosy, white, and delicate like congealed fat.

You must know that Wei Shuyi could enter the Sheng family because the Wang family favored her outstanding appearance and temperament.

In addition, not to mention anything else, having a father who was a Tanhua, Sheng Hong's appearance was also outstanding.

So, Minglan, who combined the advantages of both parents' appearances, although her appearance was slightly immature and she had chubby cheeks, was already an extremely outstanding beauty embryo at this time.

Listening to the whispering voices of the little maids behind her, Minglan lowered her head, holding the dipped brush, preparing to write.

After writing one character, Minglan turned her head to look at Xu Zaijing's seat, her long-lashed eyes blinked, listening to the whistling of a cold wind from outside the partition, she pursed her lips.

Minglan had personally experienced hunger and cold when she was a child, and that was in Yang Zhou, which was further south.

But Jing cousin and the others were going further north.

At this time,

"Rest for a while."

Scholar Zhuang, sitting behind the desk in front, waved his hand with a somewhat listless expression.

The atmosphere in the school relaxed instantly, and the servants and maids began to busy themselves serving tea and snacks.

But Minglan didn't move much, just controlled the brush in her hand, started another line on the paper, and wrote the words 'North wind is cool, rain and snow are falling'.

While writing, Minglan listened to the conversation between the little Duke Qi Heng and Third Brother Changfeng, and felt the gazes that swept over from time to time.

Minglan didn't raise her head, just pursed her lips, her tender white fingers holding the brush handle, and continued to write 'North wind is whistling, rain and snow are falling'.

It darkened in front of her. Minglan frowned, glanced at the color of the hem of the clothes, and only then raised her head.

"Young Lady, drink some tea."

Xiaotao blocked the space between Minglan and Qi Heng, holding the teacup and saying.

Minglan's brows relaxed, she smiled, put down the brush, took the teacup to warm her hands, blew twice, and drank it.

At the very front of the school,

Scholar Zhuang, sitting behind the desk, took in the scene in the school.

Squinting his eyes to look at Qi Heng, whose expression was slightly disappointed, Scholar Zhuang frowned slightly and exhaled.

After everyone had rested enough, Scholar Zhuang patted the desk with a folding fan. After everyone looked over, he said:

"Bai Gao has been recovered, Liao and Jin are fighting. Today, I am in the mood, let's discuss this Qin Yan Yun land, how to recover it, how to govern it."

"A quarter of an hour, think about it."

Everyone hurriedly replied.

A quarter of an hour later,

Zaizhang was named by the scholar to be the first to express his opinion.

Amidst the voices of everyone talking and discussing,

Minglan sat at the very back, holding a brush and writing something on the paper in a decent manner.

Reflecting the bright light coming through the window paper, it could be vaguely seen that the side of the paper under Minglan's pen had already been used.

Minglan was very frugal at this time, using the other side.

But looking closely, Minglan was not writing at this time, but drawing.

In a few strokes, it could be vaguely seen that it was a cavalryman, sitting on a large black horse, holding a large flag with the word 'Zhou' high in his hand.

In front of the flag was a city gate tower,

Minglan drew a wooden building to the side, and then drew a fire-stick figure with a pigtail on the wooden building.

Not knowing what she thought of, Minglan smiled slightly.

And Qi Heng, who was sitting in front, had just finished expressing his thoughts. While sitting down, he looked at Seeing Mo Lan and Rulan, who were applauding him, and when he looked at Minglan, he saw the smile that appeared on Minglan's face.

Seeing this scene, Qi Heng felt extremely comfortable in his heart and pursed his lips with a smile.

Scholar Zhuang's position was too good, he didn't need to look specifically, and this scene was reflected in his eyes again.

"Hmph."

Scholar Zhuang gave a light hum, held the folding fan, and said: "Changfeng..."

Northern Liao,

Nanjing Xijin Prefecture,

It snowed yesterday,

The snow was not heavy, and it soon melted away.

The Northern Liao royal family built an imperial palace in the city, and the area was not large.

At this time, outside the rear hall, a monk walked hurriedly toward the palace.

Seeing this person walking over, the Northern Liao core guards on the roadside all bowed and expressed their respect.

Stepping over the threshold into the hall, the cold air was blocked outside.

This monk tidied his appearance while calming his breathing.

Arriving at the rear hall,

One could still see several strong women dressed differently from the Northern Liao female officials standing to the side.

Following the report, the monk followed the eunuch and walked in.

The warm rear hall was covered with thick carpets.

Two strong women wrestling were gasping for breath while grappling on the carpet.

Looking at Yelu Sun and Yelu Ying behind the desk, the monk bowed and said: "Your Highness, Grand Princess, urgent pigeon report from the Bianjing Buddha-decorating platform."

Yelu Sun looked at his sister and waved his hand: "Alright, go down."

The two strong women relaxed their strength, stood up, saluted, and retreated outside.

Compared to a few years ago in the Bianjing Imperial Palace,

Yelu Ying's face at this time could be seen at a glance to be a woman.

Although her appearance was not soft, charming, or beautiful, her eyebrows were full of heroic spirit, her eyes were indifferent, and she had a unique temperament.

Yelu Ying, who was wearing a married woman's hairstyle, reached out to the monk and said: "Dharma Master, please sit."

Strong female officials offered embroidered stools wrapped in brocade, and female officials also handed the information in the monk's hand to them.

At Yelu Sun's signal, the female official handed the urgent report directly to his sister Yelu Ying.

"Dharma Master, what does the urgent report say?" Yelu Sun asked.

"Replying to Your Highness, the Maitreya's chief disciple wrote to say that the Fifth Young Master of the Xu family has already taken people north to Beizhou yesterday!"

Yelu Sun frowned: "Is it the Beizhou silencing incident that made Great Zhou notice something?"

The monk shook his head: "That's not it, but the Maitreya's chief disciple also said in the letter that if possible, let's take the opportunity to finish off this guy to prevent future trouble..."

Seeing Yelu Ying put down the paper with the information, he didn't continue.

"According to the letter, Great Zhou hasn't noticed. Xu Fifth Young Master going to Beizhou is also just because he has a feud with the Maitreya's chief disciple, and I don't know how he angered the Great Zhou Emperor, so he was sent to Beizhou for a turn."

Yelu Sun nodded, and then sighed with some frustration: "If the plan had succeeded back then, who knew it would be like this!"

Hearing this, the monk sitting on the embroidered stool lowered his head.

Yelu Ying looked at the paper on the desk, raised her eyebrows with a reminiscent expression, and asked indifferently: "With our experts within Great Zhou's territory, is there any certainty to finish off Xu Fifth Young Master?"

Yelu Ying's voice spread in the hall. A Northern Liao guard standing in the hall, who looked like Yelu Sun's confidant, frowned and glanced at Yelu Sun.

The monk glanced at Yelu Sun and the imperial guards not far away, then thought for a moment and said, "Great Eldest Princess, this fellow Xu Wulang destroyed the fierce Bai Gao general Mumu Tuoxia in a single move; as for the Golden Sheep Mountain stronghold, according to what Your Highness said, it was one against a hundred."

The monk took a deep breath and continued: "Not to mention blocking nearly ten thousand people with a dozen people at Keyi Gate, just a few days ago, we knew that Xu Fifth Young Master, in the Bai Gao Imperial Palace, with one spear, whipped... whipped the Iron Kite cavalry until the people and horses left the ground. This kind of character..."

The monk shook his head and said: "Although Maitreya believers have the ambition of rebirth, fighting Xu Fifth Young Master in the wild is truly courting death. This guy is really not something that can be finished off by human power."

Yelu Ying frowned and thought: "What if we don't count the losses?"

"If it is as the Grand Princess said, then he can be lured into Beizhou city, and by splashing gold juice and fire oil, shooting with poison arrows and strong crossbows, and using human lives to drag and wear him down, he can definitely be kept from leaving Beizhou city!"

Yelu Sun couldn't bear it and pursed his lips, looking at his sister.

The monk added: "But, in this way, the Grand Princess's subsequent plans, without Beizhou as the hub, will not be so easy to launch! How long we can involve Great Zhou in the future is really hard to say."

Yelu Ying nodded, sighing: "If possible, I really want to make a deal with Great Zhou and let this Xu Fifth Young Master come to our Northern Liao to fight for our Yelu family."

Yelu Sun to the side turned his eyes and said: "Sister, for my succession ceremony next year, maybe I can invite him as an envoy to Xijin Prefecture."

The monk shook his head: "Your Highness, that Xu Fifth Young Master is busy with Great Zhou's imperial examinations, I'm afraid he won't come to participate."

Yelu Ying waved her hand: "Order everyone around Beizhou to lie in wait, even if they die, they cannot ruin my affairs."

"Obey the order."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 526 =====