Chapter 285

The fourteenth year of Emperor Jia Zhao, January 15th.

Love Shenjing, Rongguo Prefecture.

Today is the Lantern Festival of January 15th. Lady Rongguo set up several tables of wine in the Great Flower Hall, called a troupe of small actors, hung all kinds of lanterns, and enjoyed the festive atmosphere.

Lady Wang, Li Gongcai, Daiyu, Baoyu, the three sisters, and Lady Rongguo sat at one table, chatting and laughing, which was very lively.

This year was different from previous years; in addition to the female family members of Rongguo, Xue Yima and Xue Baochai were added.

Xue Yima was old and worldly-wise, best at following Lady Rongguo's wishes and saying festive words that were pleasant to hear and heart-warming.

Therefore, ever since Xue Yima entered the Jia Prefecture, she was the closest to Lady Rongguo; in daily chats and card games, she was always invited over.

Among the girls in the prefecture, the one Lady Rongguo treasured most was Daiyu, so she had always disapproved of the 'Gold and Jade Affinity' talk circulating in the prefecture.

However, Baochai was gentle and magnanimous, and her appearance was also first-rate and proper; Lady Rongguo still liked her, but it stopped there, and she didn't think much else.

And Lady Rongguo, in the main seat of the banquet in the Great Flower Hall, surrounded by grandchildren in brocade and gorgeous clothes, was still laughing happily, seemingly not noticing the abnormality at the banquet at all.

Of course, she wouldn't realize that today the descendants of the Rongguo Prefecture couldn't be considered truly gathered together; she still had one grandson who was facing the wind and snow in the bitter cold land of the Nine Borders.

Nor would she realize that the Ning-Rong Jia family had already declined by more than half, and how many more years such high-spirited wealth could be maintained.

Even if this grandson had more ability, she had begun to use some worldly tricks on him.

Perhaps it was because she was a daughter of a boudoir and was too lazy in her daily life...

Although it didn't have any immediate effect, after developing the habit of pacing in the room, after a month, Daiyu felt her steps were somewhat light and healthy.

Since the Ningguo lineage was stripped of its title, the Ning and Rong lineages were different in rank, and their relationship naturally began to distance itself. After a few more years, the Ningguo lineage would definitely decline completely.

If he were at home at this time, how good it would be for the sisters to chat and laugh together.

But in her heart, this grandson was still not worth it; even if he was thousands of miles away, she was ignorant and unaware.

I don't know how Third Brother is doing in the North. He is spending the New Year alone outside; it must be very boring.

The male family members like Jia She and Jia Zheng set up banquets in the outer halls, but this year the Ningguo Prefecture was stripped of its title and raided, so many people were missing from the men's banquet.

Around January 15th, it was the coldest period in the Love Shenjing.

She wore a light pink satin-faced stand-up collar jacket, covered with a peony-embroidered jacket, and a light pink horse-face skirt on the lower body, exuding a lovely, fairy-like spirit.

She saw the Old Lady holding Baoyu and talking to Xue Yima, and didn't notice that there were fewer people at the table, so she quietly got up herself.

Tan Chun was lost in thought when she suddenly discovered that one person was missing from the table; she didn't know where Lin Jiejie had gone.

In Daiyu's room, she was holding that map, looking at it while pacing back and forth in the room; it was the maintenance method Jia Cong taught her before he left.

Tan Chun still remembered that during the spring sacrifice, she begged the Lady to let Third Brother enter the inner banquet of the Great Flower Hall.

This once made Xue Yima somewhat disappointed, but no one pointed it out; it wasn't impossible for things to change in the future.

Just now at the banquet in the Great Flower Hall, Daiyu felt somewhat uninteresting, so she quietly returned to her room alone.

It wasn't just the dead Jia Zhen and the exiled Jia Rong who were missing; Ningguo descendants like Jia Qiang and Jia Jun, who would appear at the Lantern Festival banquet in previous years, were also nowhere to be found.

At this moment, she held the map in her hand, thinking of the places Jia Cong had pointed out to her, and was so lost in thought that she didn't even notice Tan Chun entering.

"Lin Jiejie, why did you leave halfway through the banquet?"

"It's Third Sister. I'm a bit tired, so I came back early."

"Lin Jiejie, what are you looking at?"

"It's a map. I want to see where Third Brother is now."

Tan Chun's eyes lit up when she heard this, and she shouted: "I didn't know there was such a thing; point it out for me to see."

Seeing Tan Chun's bright and spirited appearance, Daiyu smiled: "I've never seen a younger sister so close to her own brother. Look at you, your eyes light up as soon as someone mentions Third Brother."

Tan Chun's pretty face flushed: "Stop teasing me. Don't you think about Third Brother all day long? Tell me quickly, which region is Third Brother in now?"

Daiyu's face turned rosy when she heard her say 'all day long'.

However, there were only two sisters now. Tan Chun and Jia Cong had always been the most compatible, and Daiyu and Tan Chun were also closer than other sisters. Since there were no outsiders listening, it naturally didn't matter.

The two sisters spread the map on the desk. Daiyu didn't know how many times she had looked at that map, and every time she would think of Jia Cong's appearance of pointing out the country on the map.

"Look, Third Brother said that this border patrol will mostly be in the three towns of Liaodong, Jizhou, and Xuanfu. Now that Third Brother has been gone for more than a month, he is mostly in Liaodong at this moment.

The border patrol minister will definitely inspect the border passes. Liaodong has three major passes: Yunding Pass, Yonglan Pass, and another place is... Yafu Pass."

"These were all told to me by Third Brother..."

Daiyu and Tan Chun squeezed together, looking at the markers on the map, their eyes filled with longing and yearning.

More than ten miles outside Yafu Pass.

On the boundless Liaobei wilderness, the withered grass was yellow, the cold wind was biting, and a team of knights was galloping on horseback.

The two fine horses running in the front left the people behind them at a distance.

One of them was riding a tall, majestic black horse, and his whole body was wrapped tightly in fur.

The knight following closely beside him, although also in fur, could still see a slender figure.

She was riding an ordinary gray military horse, but her riding skills were very superb, actually running neck-and-neck with the treasure horse her companion was riding.

And high in the sky above the two, a Gyrfalcon, snow-white with black spots, was circling.

When the two riders rushed onto a small hill, the rider on the gray horse reined in the horse.

"We can't run any further. We are already twenty miles away from Yafu Pass. If we go any further, we might encounter Jurchen scout cavalry."

The rider on the black horse also reined in his warhorse, untied his thick mask, and asked: "Through Ai Li, did your Hawk Slave really discover the Jurchens' movements?"

Through Ai Li replied: "Yesterday, Hawk Slave went out hunting. In winter, many wild animals hibernate. Gyrfalcons will fly at least fifty miles to find prey, and sometimes even fly further."

"After Hawk Slave flew back yesterday, it seemed to have discovered something; it definitely won't be wrong."

Early this morning, Through Ai Li told Jia Cong that her Hawk Slave went out hunting and seemed to have discovered the Jurchens' movements.

Although Jia Cong was somewhat skeptical, he had hired Through Ai Li with a large sum of money precisely because he valued her excellent hawk-training skills, which were of great use to him; naturally, he knew she wouldn't speak nonsense.

So early this morning, Jia Cong informed Commandant Liu Yongzheng and went out of the city twenty miles with Through Ai Li to check. Liu Yongzheng even sent twenty cavalrymen to accompany them for protection.

Now that the major forward military forts had been abandoned, cutting off the Jurchens' path to plunder grain and grass, there were very few Jurchen scout cavalry activities within thirty miles of the various Liaodong passes.

So Jia Cong and the others went twenty miles out of the city to check, basically within a safe range, even if they encountered Jurchen scout cavalry.

Relying on Jia Cong and Through Ai Li's skills, plus those twenty cavalry guards, there would be no problem returning to the city safely.

Jia Cong settled the horses, had the cavalry guards stand guard around, and then asked: "Through Ai Li, can your hawk really scout for enemy movements?"

In fact, Jia Cong had heard that when the Mongols conquered the world, they would use tamed eagles to scout for enemy situations, but that was just a legend, and he had never seen it himself.

Through Ai Li seemed somewhat dissatisfied with his question and said: "How could that be fake? My father was the most famous hawk master among the Cossacks. The hawks he trained could all scout for enemy movements.

Twenty years ago, his clansmen were fighting the wild Jurchens, and he was captured and lost his left hand, never returning to his homeland. My blade skills and hawk-training skills were all taught by my father.

This hill is just downwind. Let Hawk Slave take off from here, and we'll wait here to see what it can discover."

Seeing her untie her mask and keep blowing whistles at the Gyrfalcon in the sky—sounds that were sometimes short and sometimes long, full of strange rhythmic sense—while the hawk in the sky seemed to respond with cries.

It was as if Through Ai Li and Hawk Slave were communicating in a strange way.

Before long, Hawk Slave circled in the sky, flew straight into the clouds in the direction Through Ai Li pointed, and soon disappeared without a trace.

In the cold wilderness, Jia Cong didn't dare to light a fire, just dug a pit and used burning charcoal to keep warm.

Although Through Ai Li was a woman who lived on the edge of a blade, she was still in her prime, with a lively and straightforward personality, and she had become familiar with Jia Cong over these days.

While waiting for Hawk Slave to return, the two talked about many idle things.

Jia Cong also learned that Through Ai Li's mother was a Han Chinese and was born in Jiangnan.

Although Through Ai Li didn't say her mother's background, a Jiangnan woman drifting to Liaobei and marrying an alien as a wife...

She must have had a miserable past, mostly likely her family was convicted, or she was exiled to the border as a slave. Although this was just Jia Cong's guess, he thought it must not be far from the truth.

Through Ai Li said her father passed away last year, and her mother's wish was to return to her hometown before she died.

That's why Through Ai Li worked as a bodyguard in town to earn gold; she heard that the Southern Dynasty was wealthy, and it wasn't easy to live without gold.

Jia Cong finally understood why Through Ai Li's appearance and skin color were different from Central Plains people, yet she could speak fluent Han Chinese and even had a southern accent.

The two waited until the burning charcoal turned to ash before they heard a clear eagle cry from the horizon.

And two full hours had passed since Hawk Slave flew out to scout for enemy movements.

Jia Cong saw Hawk Slave circling in the sky, sometimes diving, sometimes climbing, making flight postures with large amplitude changes, emitting sharp cries from its mouth, as if full of some kind of warning.

Through Ai Li's expression was solemn, and she said: "Hawk Slave discovered a large group of people in a very distant place, and then flew back to report. It flew for two hours back and forth, so it should have flown a distance of four hundred miles.

That is to say, it discovered enemy movements two hundred miles away. This distance shouldn't be very different. It is very likely that the Jurchens are gathering, and two hundred miles only takes one day to reach Yafu Pass!"

(End of chapter)