On May 25, they set off from Mount Tai and went south to Yingtianjing City.

Shen Ruoyu was reluctant to go too fast; Nightshade was reluctant to rush him. The Yan army has fallen into Yangzhou. Shen Ruoyu heard on the road that the official who defended the city in Yangzhou was Wang Bin, the governor of Jianghuai, and the general who defended the city was to pacify Chonggang. The two of them are stubborn in the baby city, and Yangzhou City is difficult to break. Yangzhou guard Wang Li had an affair with King Yan, and the conspiracy should be outside the conspiracy, but Wang Bin noticed it and put him in prison. King Yan shot a book in the city and said: "The one who binds the king and the royal history is the third official product." Wang Chong, the younger brother of Wang Li, wanted to save his brother, and wanted to tie up Wang Bin and surrender the city, but Wang Bin had a strong bodyguard by his side day and night, and he never left an inch. Wang Chong couldn't get close to Wang Bin, so he thought of a way to kidnap the bodyguard's wife, and forced his family to make fake books with him to lure him home. The bodyguard was fooled; Wang Bin had no bodyguards by his side, and when he was disarmed and bathed, Wang Chong led his troops to capture him alive, tied him up, and let Wang Li out of prison, and then opened the door and surrendered to King Yan. Wang Bin and Chonggang refused to give in and were both killed by the Yan army. The bodyguard's whereabouts are unknown.

Shen Ruoyu knew in his heart that the bodyguard was his second brother Liang Tiehan. What is the whereabouts of the second brother and sister-in-law, he can't inquire about any news, and he is anxious; King Yan had already arrived at the gate of the capital, and he no longer had the time and ability, so he went to Yangzhou to find his second brother.

When the Son of Heaven heard that the city of Yangzhou had fallen, he issued an edict to the king of Qin, and sent the imperial historian Lian Zining, the servant Huang Guan, and the writer Wang Shuying to collect the soldiers and horses of the king of Qin. The Son of Heaven sent the county lord of Qingcheng to the Yan army to ask for land and peace.

Use the land to seek peace to ease the king of Yan, who has arrived at the gate of the city, and wait for the soldiers of the king of Qin-Ye Laixiang also said that this kind of trick can also be thought of, and the number of the court should be exhausted.

They walked for eight days and finally came to the river. The Yan army had just defeated the imperial army commanded by Sheng Yong at Liuhe, and fought at Puzikou; Chen Xuan, the governor of the capital, led the Zhou division to rebel against the Yan army, and the southern army fled in a big rout. King Yan did not cross the river in a hurry, but only worshiped the Purple Mountain on the other side of the river at Puzikou, and after crossing the river, he went northeast along the river.

June riverside. It was pouring rain. Through the thick rain curtain, an inn appeared on the side of the forest on the side of the road ahead, and Shen Ruoxiao led the horse to the inn.

It was only when he got closer that he recognized the signboard of the Tianmen Inn. The doors were locked, and all the windows were tightly closed, not like a person.

The two men, already soaking wet, jumped off their horses, ran under the eaves, knocked the door, and waited for a while. There was only heavy rain in all directions, and there was no other movement. Shen Ruoyu took out his boot knife, pried open the door of the inn, and the two of them broke in.

The inn was dark and damp, lifeless, and the tables and chairs were overturned to the ground. Shen Ruoyu walked around, looked at all corners of the inn, returned downstairs, and said:

"Xiang'er, there is no one; It looks like it's been closed for days, presumably to escape the war. Just after the Battle of Puzikou, it is estimated that within a few months, no one will dare to come except for the army. Let's stop here. From then on, further south, you will immediately reach the river; After crossing the river, it is the capital. If we're going to break up, it's here. For the rest of the journey, we had to go separately. ”

"This is the last stop for our companions?"

He nodded. "Yes, the last stop."

"When are you going to leave?"

He hesitated, listening to the pouring rain outside, unable to decide.

"I don't know," he said honestly, "we can rest here for a day or two, so that we can get rid of the fatigue of the journey, and we can have the energy to go into the capital." I'd like to spend a little more time with you. ”

Night Primrose said: "You can seize the timing yourself." I'm not in a hurry. ”

The two of them cleaned up the storefront slightly. The shopkeeper must have been in a hurry when he fled; They found vegetable patches and chicken coops in the backyard, rice, flour, oil, salt, sauce and vinegar in the room, and some clean clothes in other rooms. Shen Ruoyu caught a chicken in the chicken coop in the backyard, pulled some greens from the vegetable field, picked up the rainwater, and boiled a large pot of hot water for two people to bathe.

While he was taking a bath at night, he braved the heavy rain and ran to a small ditch in the nearby forest to touch a fish.

By the time he had finished bathing, wiped off the water, and changed into dry clothes, Nightshade had collected all the necessary supplies from all over the inn, and had chosen a first-class suite upstairs, which was being cleaned.

He looked at the room she had chosen and couldn't help but smile.

"Alas, it's good luck to live in such a good place for nothing."

Ye Laixiang said: "I'm afraid that you have too many reasons and don't want to take advantage of others." ”

Shen Ruoyu said: "Where can this be called taking advantage of others?" The war is in such a mess, even if the owner of this shop comes back, it will be half a year later. At that time, the vegetable fields were also deserted, the chickens were dead, and the rice and noodles were moldy. Why don't you let us eat it? ”

When they had cleaned up their room, they went down to the room to cook. Soon, the room was steaming. The aroma of rice, vegetables, fish, and chicken soup filled the entire inn.

The rain was pouring down, and the sky was getting darker and darker. Shen Ruoyu lit the lights upstairs and downstairs. The two of them sat together, waiting for the meal to be cooked.

Nightshade listened to the sound of the stove and couldn't help but laugh.

"It was probably the most dull and wonderful day I've had in my days."

Shen Ruoyu looked into her eyes. "When I was in Peking before, there were such days."

"There you have it. When you were in Beiping, you never stewed fish soup. Shibei should be impressed for three days, let alone three years. You are worthy of being an official in the capital, and you have actually learned to make fish; Better than me. ”

Shen Ruoyu was stunned. "I don't know if there will be such days in the future."

"Do you mean the days of being an official, or the days of fish soup?"

Shen Ruoyu said: "It's with you, tidying up the house and cooking; Live an ordinary life with you. ”

"For a day or two you're fresh and comfortable; In a month or two you'll be ready to move; You will definitely not be able to stand it for a year or two, let alone for a lifetime. I don't know about you yet. ”

Shen Ruoyu said: "I've been thinking recently, as long as the world is peaceful, I will live in seclusion in the mountains and forests with you for the rest of my life, and live an ordinary life, I really can't be happier." ”

Ye Laixiang said: "According to your own ideas, even if King Yan is enthroned, he will send troops to conquer the northern desert in the future; In this way, when will there be peace in the world? You will always have new ideals. I think it's me who should be pessimistic, it won't take half a year, and your mind will definitely not know where to fly high, and I'm not important for a long time. ”

Shen Ruoyu asked softly, "Xiang'er, do you want a child?" ”

Nightshade felt a slight shock in her heart. She looked at him in amazement. Seeing her reaction, Shen Ruo lowered his head, smiled apologetically, and shook his head.

"You just assume that I didn't say anything."

They had eaten, and it was already dark at night. Outside, the rain was still pouring down. In June, the weather was like a soup pot, and it was unbearably hot, but because of this heavy rain, it cooled down.

They went upstairs and entered the room, and Shen Ruoxiao bolted the door.

"And no one, what are you doing with the bolt?"

He hesitated. "I don't ...... I know," he thought blankly for a moment, then turned to open the door. Nightshade grabbed him.

"I want to bolt the door too," she said softly.

She untied her skirt and stripped off her clothes, leaving only her belly pocket. She let go of her hair, and her long black hair fell down her shoulders and down to her waist. She approached him and said softly:

"You just said you want children?"

Shen Ruoyu picked up a strand of her long hair and gently rubbed it on the tips of her fingers. He shook his head, a little preoccupied.

"Xiang'er, I just thought about it by chance. I know you don't want to; A child will take away all your freedom and your whole life from now on. ”

Ye Laixiang said: "I slept with you for a month, maybe I am pregnant with your child." ”

Shen Ruoyu hesitated and said, "You and Young Master Zhu...... How long has it been? ”

"It's been more than a year. Do you suspect that I can't have children? ”

"Nope. But if you really can't, maybe it's even better. If you become a mother and want to go north and south, it will be too difficult. ”

Nightshade said: "Some things are like rain in the sky, you can't control it, you can only face it." If I really had a child, it would be a lot more difficult to travel from south to north, but it was not impossible. It's man-made. However, we do need to think about it a little more. If I find out that I am pregnant, I must leave the Kyoshi immediately, no matter where you are. Do you understand? ”

Shen Ruoyu said: "This is also my idea. If that's the case, it's too dangerous for you to stay in Jingshi, and if something happens, you won't be able to escape. ”

Night Primrose said: "Don't worry about it now. We're sure we'll figure it out before you go. ”

She pulled him to the couch, reached out and gently untied his coat, and asked softly:

"Do you remember your first night?"

Shen Ruoxiao was slightly stunned.

"Seven years ago? I just remember the feeling – horror, awakening, indescribable, unstoppable. I just remember Qing'er crying and bleeding. Nothing else is impressive; At that age, it doesn't take much to deviate and you don't think too much about it. All thoughts, all regrets, all reasoning and determination, are later. ”

Nightshade smiled lightly and kissed him softly.

"My first night, from beginning to end, hurt to death, I gritted my teeth and survived." She said softly, as if recounting a distant myth, an ancient legend, "but guess what? I didn't bleed, not a drop. It turned out that the sisters in the Huiying Building had told me many terrible stories, and their first nights were usually the most painful. After that, they have to deal with all kinds of guests, they have to meet all kinds of demands, everything is up to the guests, and they rarely get real satisfaction themselves, more often than not, only pain and shame. I guess in comparison, I was really lucky that I had a choice. ”

Shen Ruoyu sighed softly, leaned over, and kissed every inch of her skin gently.

"What made you so bold and so resolute to make this decision that no woman dared to make, to hold yourself in your own hands for the rest of your life?"

"I can't tell; It's just that with time, I have become more and more aware that everything is a shackle and a control; It is the shackles that I put on my soul, and it has nothing to do with others. I want to break this shackle. Sleeping with a man without the slightest emotion allows me to see what it is. It turns out that I can control my own life, it turns out that I have never been independent, and I never need to rely on anyone or any concept. Even if it's you, especially you. I have feelings for you, but this relationship has never supported me, I don't rely on you to live, I don't rely on your love, and I don't rely on love for you to live. I've always been fine on my own. As for chastity, women's ways, the fear and guilt that are imposed on oneself by oneself and the pertinence that depend on it, the essence of everything is parasitic on human inertia, cowardice, and dependence. Once you see through this, everything loses its binding force and no longer has any meaning. ”

Shen Ruoyu said: "Xiang'er, what you said is right. Inertia, cowardice and dependence, this is in fact the essence of all shackles. But have you ever wondered how big the danger is really there? How powerful does it take to rebel against a whole traditional system, and how can one person do it? Since ancient times, the imperial court has put severe punishment on everything, and set up a variety of tortures to deal with all those who dare to resist and provoke the Three Principles and Five Constants, loyalty and righteousness, whether men or women, and all of them are horrific and outrageous. Not everyone has my father's ability, and he can defeat an army of 100,000 by himself, so that Hongwu Tianzi has no choice but to do anything. Even so, didn't he end up running away into the mountains, isolated from the world? ”

Nightshade smiled faintly: "I don't have a name, and I don't want a name; Names can't restrain and hurt me. But the foundation of all legal systems is based on rank, men and women alike. Even if someone sues me, there is no way to sue me. I'm just a woman in a green house, doing my duty; No matter how many charges and torture he had in the court, he dealt with cowardly and cowardly deferential ladies, and he was never a person like me. In this world, I am afraid of the strong and the weak, but I am by no means weak, so why worry about my own safety? ”

Shen Ruoyu gently squeezed her hand and kissed her gently: "You are a strong person; But the fire in Peking still burned Yao's Mansion to the ground, and it almost killed you. Xiang'er, you compare yourself to weeds, and do you know that among the weeds, the fastest and strongest ones are always the first to be eradicated? I'm not trying to dissuade you from anything; I only hope that you will have peace in your life, whether or not you have me in this life. ”

Nightshade shook her head and said softly, "You're wrong, Ruo Liao; How was I the weed? I never wanted to get ahead in the weeds; I don't have the lofty ambition you say, and I want to rebel or even overthrow anything. All I do is choose how I live my life, and I never have anything to do with others. I don't want to hurt or get in the way of anyone, and I don't want to change anyone. I have never deceived Young Master Zhu, nor have I forced you; And those who don't understand me will only avoid me, and I will never approach them. If there are few, I have been living in this state in Beiping for three years, and I have been safe and sound; In the end, the fire in Peking burned not me, but you; Because your rebellious edge is too sharp, and you will not be left alone, and you will not be the enemy of the world. ”

Shen Ruoyu stared at her silently for a long time, and sighed softly: "The flowing water is desireless and formless, and it is safe with encounters, it seems to be the softest in the world, but in fact it is the most rigid in the world." Xiang'er, you were born with a pool of clear water, and I willingly forged myself into a sword; I will always be a weakling before you. ”

Nightshade held his face and teased: "Fool, if you are really a weak person, you will never have the courage and insight to look at me." It's just that the fire that people burned you has nothing to do with me, and in the future, you don't expect to use it to scare me off. ”