Chapter 1: Suffering
April 14 is the time when the spring breeze blows the earth and everything grows vigorously, but for the Yu family, it is tantamount to the homonym of this day - death and death.
The whole family of seventeen people, all of them were yellow and haggard, their clothes were ragged, their wrists and ankles were red and swollen and festered by heavy chains, and they were driven down the steep mountain roads like cattle, and a little slower was waiting for them with a fierce whipping and cursing.
Yu Mingzhi licked his chapped lips and glanced at the road with no end in sight.
The father was convicted, and the whole family was exiled to northern Xinjiang.
It was a bitter cold place, and the road was difficult, and even if they reached their destination, only three or four out of ten would survive after two or three months.
She turned her head worriedly to look at the pale young sister beside her, seven or eight years old was when she was spoiled by her father, but she fell apart overnight, became a prisoner, and was always worried about her life.
But she is still so naΓ―ve and useless, she obviously took the opportunity to know the future, and was reborn at the moment of raiding her home, she ran out in time, inquired about the news, collected evidence and wanted to rehabilitate her father.
Dark clouds gradually gathered in the sky, thick and oppressive, indicating a violent storm to come.
Seeing that the rain was inevitable, the leader of the official mission in charge of the escort probed the way forward and learned that there was an abandoned and uninhabited ruined temple, his eyes flashed with a murderous aura, and he waved his hand to signal his subordinates to drive the prisoners to the ruined temple.
The temple is broken, the wall is broken, and the weeds are overgrown.
The officials were barely huddled in a sheltered place, and the prisoners were not treated so well, and their slightly trembling bodies curled up in front of the dusty cobwebs of the Buddha statues, one by one, trying to avoid the raindrops the size of beans.
In such a difficult time, if you catch the cold, you have to wait for death.
"Mingzhi, Mingyang, the wind is strong, and it is warm in the mother's arms. Mrs. Yu said softly, she still had a graceful temperament when she was in trouble, and reached out to hold the shoulders of her two daughters and bring them into her arms.
The father was beheaded for public display, and now the only person closest to them is their mother. Yu Mingzhi thought of this, and his dry eyes were slightly sour. She moved into her mother's arms, burying her face in her mother's shoulder socket, warming each other and covering her face.
She didn't want her family to see her weakness, and she should think about how to escape the impending murder.
As long as you can delay a little longer, when Yue Lang comes, the whole family can be rescued.
Thinking of Yue Lang, she clenched her fists.
I don't know how long it took, the rain gradually subsided, and the officials were talking to each other, glancing at the prisoners from time to time, unabashedly thinking, and it could be seen that it was a little obscene.
Among the prisoners, Yu Mingyang was the only one who was still young, and soon understood what their eyes meant, and the young woman hid behind her family in fright, helplessly hoping to stop the evil thoughts of the officials.
"Hurry up, I'll take a few people outside to prepare. The leader of the official mission whispered, this errand was not easy, the brothers were all hard, and there was no reason why he should not let them taste the young and beautiful ladies of the Yu clan.
The officials immediately did not hide their eyes and expressions, and threw themselves at the prisoners with a cruel smile.
Listening to the screams, the leader of the official mission shook his head helplessly with a smile, and beckoned a few of his men to go outside to carry fire oil and firewood.
Yu Mingzhi had already understood the intentions of the officials, and at the moment they pounced, he stood up suddenly, stretched out his arms, and seemed to be delicately dressed to hug the official, but in fact, the chain between his arms crossed the top of the official's head, and then turned behind him, and the chain was tightly twisted in front of his neck.
Where did the official expect that a delicate girl who was weak and couldn't help the wind would suddenly make a move, and the strength was so great, she only felt that the restraints on her neck and hands were getting tighter and tighter in her hurry, and it became more and more difficult to breathe.
"Stinky girl, you're going to die!" The official who was on the rise next to him looked up coldly, found this scene, scolded and shouted angrily, and was about to cut it with a knife.
Yu Mingzhi was short and wanted to avoid the blade.
But the knife failed to cut down, and a sharp feathered arrow struck him in the throat.
The blood that spurted out splashed Yu Mingzhi's face, and she silently and calmly watched the official errand slowly fall.
Immediately after that, more feather arrows came in from the outside, and the officials were caught off guard, and they were hit one after another, and some of them reacted a little faster or were not dead, and drew their swords to resist, but they were cut by the black-clothed man who flashed into the house like a ghost.
The prisoners in front of the Buddha statue were stunned by the mutation in front of them, and one by one, for fear of being implicated, desperately leaned on the Buddha statue covered with dust and dirt, hoping in vain for the Buddha to appear and bless them from the scourge of killing.
As a result, Yu Mingzhi, who was pestering the official, was exposed in front of people, and Mrs. Yu had the heart to save it, so she was dragged back by her cousin-in-law.
With the sword and sword shadow beside him, Yu Mingzhi didn't care so much, and only relied on a ruthless force to strangle this shameless person.
It wasn't until this official errand was also killed by a passing man in black that Yu Mingzhi slowly let go of his hand, still falling from the corpse to his feet, panting and looking at the men in black who ignored them, Mrs. Yu quickly pulled her and protected her behind her.
After a while, all the officials were put to the ground, and only the suddenly black-clothed man looked coldly at the prisoners who had survived the catastrophe.
"Who are you?!" Mrs. Yu asked in a loud voice, shielding her two daughters.
The man in black didn't answer her.
Yu Mingzhi looked out the door, his heart beating like a drum. It must be Yue Lang who is here!
"Hello Mrs. Yu. A clear and gentle male voice suddenly broke the silence of the room, and then a gray-clothed young man came slowly, and the prisoner's eyes were immediately focused on him.
This young man is dignified, as bright as a sunrise treasure, dressed in gray clothes that looks ordinary, but there are delicate and gorgeous dark lines faintly emerging. And between the walks, the steps of stepping over the corpse were calm and graceful. Such an elegant and steady young man is incompatible with the current environment, and everyone looks at him like a monster, with puzzles and questions.
Why...... Isn't it Yue Lang? Yu Mingzhi was stunned for a moment and re-alerted.
It wasn't until Mrs. Yu recognized his identity that her face turned cold, "I don't know what happened when the Qin Sheren came thousands of miles away?"
When Yu Mingzhi heard this, he looked at his mother and looked at the young man seven or eight steps away in a daze.
Qin Sheren's gaze didn't know whether it was intentional or unintentional, and stayed on her for a short while. But Yu Mingzhi didn't care about this, but wanted to know what Qin Ji, the Zhongshu scholar who was scolded as a "traitor" behind his back, was doing, and where Yue Zhaohui, who was supposed to be here, went.
Although his father was framed, the mastermind was not the Qin Sheren who had been constantly eradicating dissidents, but Cheng Li Wangshan, who had always been known for his honesty and justice.
This is something that no one expected, let alone what it can do with the people of Qin She.
"One, to save you. Qin Ji said lightly, pointing to the wooden barrel carried by the attendant behind him, "This is the oil in it, those officials who went out prepared to burn down the temple, kill people and extinguish their mouths, and cut off the Yu family." β
Hearing this, everyone in the Yu family was taken aback.
There are rules for the exile of prisoners, a few people at the time of departure, and a few people when they arrive at the destination will be checked by local officials, and if there are people who die on the way, serious questioning will also be carried out a lot of interrogation.
These officials have eaten the courage of ambitious leopards, and they dare to kill people halfway?
Mrs. Yu didn't believe it, "Why do you take the risk of killing us?"
Qin Ji glanced at Yu Mingzhi and several men of the Yu family, "I hate Yu Tingshi to the core, and I am afraid that one day I will enter Beijing to avenge my grievances." β
Yu Mingzhi bit his lip and lowered his head.
Mrs. Yu asked again: "My father-in-law has never interacted with you, why did he save us?"
"Entrusted by Yu Thorn History. Qin Ji's eyes were sincere, and his tone was ordinary, so that people could not see the slightest trace of lying.
But where could his father be in the same league as Qin Ji? Yu Mingzhi didn't believe it, and asked, "What kind of evidence do the Qin Sheren have?"
This time, Qin Ji's gaze looked at her generously, and he pulled out a rag from his clean and flat sleeve, with a blood book on it.
He slowly unfolded the rags and showed them to everyone in the Yu family, "Second, Yu Tingshi promised to marry my eldest daughter Mingzhi. β
Yu Mingzhi was stunned.
When she was young, her mother and aunt once said that she would choose a young and talented son-in-law at her best age, let them meet on a sunny and warm day, and finally handle the marriage in a beautiful way.
This is the case with her and Yue Lang.
But now, under the gloomy sky and in the ruined temple, she stared blankly at her new future husband through the sticky blood stains that covered her eyes.