In 636 AD, Xia Xue gave birth to a third son, and Li Shimin was overjoyed and named his third son: Li Fu.

At this time, Xia Xue was 36 years old and Li Shimin was 38 years old. However, judging from her appearance, Xia Xue is only like a 17-year-old girl, her figure is still slim, and after becoming a wife, she is even more graceful and charming. The rings of time seem to have never left a mark on her beautiful cheeks, and she is still so young and beautiful. Li Shimin obviously looked middle-aged, his face was wrinkled, and he looked more mature and stable, but he was still handsome.

Ouyang Qian, who is three years younger than Xia Xue, is already married to Dugu Jun and already has two children, but the 33-year-old Ouyang Qian looks like a teenager older than Xia Xue, and she looks like a mature middle-aged woman. There are basically no other women who are the same age as Xia Xue, or a few years younger than Xia Xue, who have not become mature middle-aged women. Looking at Xia Xue's still delicate and beautiful appearance as a 17-year-old girl, they had to believe that Xia Xue was really a fairy.

Li Shimin looked at Xia Xue more and more in love, the fairy wife is really longer and more charming, the longer and more beautiful, he always feels that he can't see Xia Xue's charming face, charming eyes, charming smile, charming figure, as long as he can see Xia Xue every day, he feels extremely satisfied and happy in his heart. "My wife is not a fairy, no matter how long she is, she will not look old, and the longer she grows, the more beautiful she is, the longer she grows, the more moving she is, it's amazing, with Xue'er, I, Li Shimin, am so lucky and happy!"

……

In January 637, Xia Xue, who was inspecting the headquarters of the Angel Company in Haijing, suddenly received a secret report: "A batch of valuable goods of the Angel Foreign Trade Company was robbed on the Silk Road in the Western Regions, and more than 300 employees of the Angel Foreign Trade Company were all missing. ”

After Xia Xue received the secret report, she had a strong sense of foreboding, and the staff of the 300 Angel Foreign Trade Company estimated that it was more than lucky. So he immediately returned to Chang'an to discuss with Li Shimin. It just so happened that Li Shimin also received a report that the goods of six caravans in Datang were also robbed on the Silk Road in the Western Regions, and more than 1,200 Tang merchants were all missing.

Li Shimin decided to send someone to the Western Regions to investigate. Since Xia Xue is the chairman and president of Angel Company, she is even more concerned about the disappearance of 300 employees, and decides to personally lead the team to investigate. Although the third son is only more than 7 months old, she is still a little reluctant, but the stakes are very high, the situation is urgent, as the supreme president of the angel company, she has to ruthlessly temporarily put down the child and go to the Western Regions to investigate the murderer. She carefully chose her third son Li Fu with a healthy body, kind and gentle personality, and milk. The wet nurse with sufficient water, and then chose a few nannies and pediatricians who knew how to take care of the children, and at the same time asked the mother and aunt to help take care of them, and promised that as long as the murderer was identified, he would return to Chang'an as soon as possible, take care of the children, and leave the matter of punishing the murderer to her husband Li Shimin to deal with the aftermath.

Although Li Shimin was reluctant to go to Xia Xue to investigate the murderer in the Western Regions, he knew that Tianxian's wife was very attentive to the angel company and attached great importance to it, and it was basically impossible for the company to stop her from investigating such a big thing, so he had to compromise.

Xia Xue was ready to lead a team of 300 angel soldiers dressed up as a caravan and consigned disguised valuable goods to the Western Regions to investigate, but Li Shimin was not at ease, so he asked him to bring more people, but bringing more people would arouse suspicion, and it was not good to carry out an investigation, and finally under Li Shimin's repeated persuasion, Xia Xue had to compromise and decided to add another 200 people, forming a camouflage caravan of 500 people to investigate in the Western Regions.

Li Shimin was still not worried about Xia Xue's safety, and ordered Su Dingfang and Xue Rengui to lead Tang. The elite 10,000 people of the army went to Yumen Pass to prepare to receive and protect Xia Xue.

Daming Palace is the new palace of the Tang Dynasty Royal Summer Palace, the original palace Taiji Palace is low, the autumn is humid, the summer is sultry, the palace is small and old, Li Shimin can't bear Xia Xue and the child to stay in such a palace, so in the north side of Chang'an, Longshouyuan built a relatively dry and cool Daming Palace, which has become the place where Li Shimin and Xia Xue live and deal with the government, and become the new Zhengzhi center of the Tang Dynasty.

Tang Taizong Li Shimin every day in his spare time to deal with the government, will stand in the 30-storey 100-meter-high Daming Palace built by Xia Xue let his angel construction company last year, and the highest floor of the Daming Palace Sightseeing Tower, which is as high as the headquarters of the angel company Haijing, look at the west, and his son Li Zhi asked: "Father, what are you looking at?" ”

"I'm looking to see if your queen mother is back!" Li Shimin looked at the west and said to his son.

The tallest building in Chang'an City, the Daming Palace Sightseeing Tower, was later jokingly called: "Wangwife Tower!" ”

In February 637, in the Western Regions, Xia Xue led a caravan of 500 people dressed as merchants and escorted caravans disguised as valuable goods to the vicinity of the Flame Mountain, not far from Gaochang Kingdom.

In order to avoid arousing the suspicion of the hidden enemy, the 500 Angel Army soldiers led by Xia Xue this time did not carry firearms, nor did they carry bullets. These warriors were only equipped with the weapons that the caravan was usually equipped with at that time, and they were all cold weapons, but the cold weapons used by the 500 Angel Army soldiers were all more powerful Tang knives, bows and arrows, etc., and the robe was also equipped with plate armor made of light and thin steel plates for body protection.

Flaming Mountain, also known as Chishi Mountain, is located on the northern edge of the Turpan Basin, the northern route of the Silk Road. It runs east-west. Flaming Mountain, called "Kiziltag" in Uyghur language, means "red mountain", and the Tang people used to call it "volcano" because of its heat. The mountain is more than 100 kilometers long, the widest point is 10 kilometers, the altitude is about 500 meters, and the main peak is 831.7 meters above sea level. Flame Mountain, Tong Mountain, bald mountains, no grass, birds hidden. Whenever in the middle of summer, the red sun is in the sky, the russet mountain is under the scorching sun, the sandstone is scorching and flashing, and the hot air flow rolls up, just like the flames are blazing, and the tongue of fire is touching the sky, so it is also called the flame mountain.

Most of the houses in the Flaming Mountain area are half cellar-style and half buried underground.

Although the heat is unbearable, Xia Xue knows that the Flaming Mountain is a natural underground reservoir dam. It is precisely because the center of the Flaming Mountain blocks the groundwater infiltrated by the Gobi gravel belt, raises the diving level, and forms a diving overflow zone on the northern edge of the mountain, with many springs exposed, moistening several oases such as Shanshan, Lianmuqin, Subash, etc., thus creating life in this area.

Xia Xue and his entourage rested for one night near the Flaming Mountain and found nothing unusual. The next day, they entered the city of Gaochang Kingdom, they deliberately spent money lavishly, which attracted the attention of many people, Xia Xue found that there were several deep-eyed and high-nosed Qiuzi people who had been following them not far away. Xia Xue was also silent, and after a day of rest in Gaochangguo, she continued to move west along the Silk Road. At first glance, it was the Datang caravan preparing to go to Western countries to do business.

Early in the morning, Xia Xue and his party went out of Gaochang Kingdom, and after walking for a short time, they encountered a desert area in front of them.

In the early morning, the desert is covered with white fog, and nothing can be seen. After the morning glow comes out, the fog color gradually changes from white to red, and the red and bright sun on the desert is like a huge red agate, which is brilliant and charming.

The vast desert, the dead sea of sand. Majestic, quiet, always giving people a monotonous color: yellow, yellow, always a scorching yellow. It is as if nature has frozen the turbulent waves and the empty angry waves here in an instant, making it stand still forever.

The fiery red sun rose higher and higher, shining on the silent "waves" of the sandy sea. In an instant, a gray mist rose from the desert.

Xia Xue and his party rode horses and drove the desert. As far as the eye could see, there was a monotonous yellow everywhere, not even a single tree, and the vastness of the desert made each of them feel tired, as if they could never go out.

The boundless desert resembles a yellow sea, on which the sun shines, and ten thousand points of light shine brightly. The rolling dunes are like waves in the sea.

The hot air in the desert is as if it were steaming. The quicksand under his feet was also hot, as if it was about to turn into flaming red magma.

Under the scorching sun, waves of heat rise in the desert, making it difficult to breathe.

There were already people in Xia Xue's group who were so hot that they hallucinated, and they said that they saw the blue sea. Xia Xue knows that due to the effect of sunlight and cloud shadows, the vast and vast desert sometimes transforms into a blue and clear sea. Hurriedly let the angel soldiers who were hallucinating drink some water.

Climbing sand dunes is more difficult than climbing a mountain, and when you step on the sand dunes, the soft sand will sink you down, and if the sand slides down, you will be sent to the same place. It is very physically draining and hydrating for a person.

The climate in the desert can change dramatically in an instant, from sunny weather to windy sandstorms.

Suddenly, a strong wind blew on the desert, and the sand flew and the sky was dark, making it impossible to gain a foothold. A whirlwind rolled up the yellow sand like smoke rising from the flat ground, and it spun around and flew on the desert.

Xia Xue hurriedly asked the soldiers to dismount and hide behind the truck to avoid the wind and dust.

At last it was dusk, and a round sunset was attached to the ridge line of the desert, and the earth was lined with a dull and dark layer, revealing a layer of crimson; The desert waves, which held the setting sun, froze, like a sleeping sea.

The afterglow of the setting sun painted the desert red, and the scorching heat slowly dissipated, replaced by a dim canopy that slowly opened and enveloped the entire desert. In the evening, the desert looks even more desolate and tragic.

When night fell, a red crescent moon hung high in the sky, indifferently looking at this desolate place, with a bit of coldness and depression, the west wind howled, filling the whole desert with a murderous atmosphere.

At night, Xia Xue asked everyone to take turns on duty to be vigilant, and heard some news that many caravans were missing in this desert.

Fortunately, the night was uneventful, and the next day, Xia Xue let everyone have breakfast and then continued to march west.

After walking in the desert for two days, Xia Xue and his party finally walked out of the desert.

Came to a piece of the Gobi Desert.

The vast Gobi Desert is covered with coarse sand and gravel, and stepping on it rustles. Dry ditches lay lifelessly on them. Except for some drought-tolerant plants such as ephedra grass and sand canopy jujube, few plants grow, and not a single animal is visible. It's really "a poor desert bird doesn't fly".

Ouyang Qian, who was following Xia Xue, felt that walking into the Gobi Desert was like entering a primitive wilderness, full of desolation and desolation. At the beginning, when she was on the vast Gobi Desert, she still felt that the vast Gobi Desert had a rugged and heroic and majestic charm. Soon, however, there was a strong desire for water. Despite carrying the kettle, his lips were chapped and bleeding from bright light and excessive dryness of the air. The lack of water made Ouyang Qian restless, her mind swelled, and her eyes were gray.

The Gobi Desert has been quiet, except for the sound of horses' hooves of Xia Xue and his party, it is so quiet that it is suffocating, occasionally a whirlwind rolls up a pillar of yellow sand and rises into the air leisurely, and there is an inexplicable quiet atmosphere.

Suddenly, the wind blew violently, and the sand and rocks were flying, and the momentum seemed to wipe out the entire natural world under its Y power, which was terrifying and helpless.

Xia Xue and his party walked with difficulty against the wind for most of the day, and a wind erosion valley formed by wind erosion mounds appeared in front of them. Xia Xue let everyone go into the Wind Erosion Valley to take shelter from the wind.

After entering the wind erosion valley, Xia Xue carefully observed and found that due to the strong wind erosion, many ridge-shaped wind erosion mounds with a height of more than 20 meters and a length of about 300 meters were formed around this wind erosion valley, which was consistent with the tectonic direction and wind direction.

This is indeed a good place to escape the wind and heat, and the summer snow makes everyone camp here today and continue to set off tomorrow morning.

A stronger gust of wind blew, the sky was dark, flying sand and rocks, and suddenly Ouyang Qian screamed loudly: "Oh, there are ghosts here." Ouyang Qian's face turned pale with fright, "Listen, what kind of sound is this!" ”

When they heard that there was a ghost, many of the Angel Army soldiers were horrified in their hearts and pricked up their ears nervously. Xia Xue looked at Ouyang Qian, who looked frightened, and couldn't help but wonder in her heart, "Seeing Ouyang Qian scared like that, is there really a ghost?" She listened attentively, too.

I heard a lot of strange noises around me: like donkeys barking, horses neighing, tigers roaring...... It is like the cry of a baby next to me and the shrill laughter of a woman; Then it was like being in the middle of a busy city: the cries of selling, shouting, and quarreling were endless; Then the wind rose suddenly, the black clouds overheaded, the ghosts cried wolves, and they were confused...... The wind-eroded valley was shrouded in a hazy darkness, as oppressive and terrifying as the Devil's Castle.

Ouyang Qian was so frightened that she wanted to run away, but was stopped by Xia Xue. Xia Xue calmly said loudly to everyone: "Don't panic, everyone, there are no ghosts here." It's the sound of the raging wind as it passes through the rocks, not some ghostly howl. ”

Everyone saw the queen's calm demeanor, and they also slowly calmed down, they carefully observed the surrounding rocks, these wind erosion mounds and rocks are strangely shaped, many rocks have small holes through, and most of the rock surfaces are uneven, it seems that it is indeed a "prank" made by the wind and the rocks.

Xia Xue knows that under the action of the air current, the wind blows up the sand particles on the ground, constantly impacting and rubbing the rocks, so all kinds of soft and hard rocks are carved into all kinds of strange shapes under the action of the wind, these strange phenomena can be explained by the "wind erosion landform" of earth science, for the knowledgeable "Xueba", of course, do not believe in any ghosts and heresies.

The wind blew for more than an hour, and finally stopped, as soon as the wind stopped, those strange screams really disappeared, Ouyang Qian finally understood that this was really a ghost caused by the wind and rocks, and couldn't help but blush a little embarrassed by the gaffe just now.

Outside the Wind Erosion Valley, the sky was now clear and the breeze was blowing, and Ouyang Qian's ears suddenly heard bursts of beautiful music floating from afar, as if thousands of wind chimes were shaking with the wind, and like thousands of strings were playing. He was shocked, and then muttered self-deprecatingly: "It seems that the breeze and rocks are ghosts again, and it seems that as long as there is wind in this place, it will make sounds." However, the sound of the breeze and the rocks is much better, like music. The strange scream of the wind just now is really scary! ”