On a frosty and breezy autumn morning, we left the quiet and serene valley, and what awaited us in the distance was a big river with waves in the autumn wind and a war that could shake the entire Central Plains. I tried to resist and try to escape, but my father, who had the flame of revenge, couldn't wait to lead us all the way to the unknown battlefield that made his emotions stir and his blood boil.

On the banks of the great river, the howling autumn wind blows yellow dust and mist from the desolate north bank. Under the dim sky, the river roared, its fury and strength fueled by the wild wind, and a thousand feet of turbid waves emptied, and the sound of striking the shore roared like thunder. I hid in the grass hut at the ferry with Quinoa, and my father stood alone in the wind under the old trees that had lost their dead leaves by the riverbank, he did not carry a sword, and the white jade group with a long silk thread around his waist jingled in the wind.

Qi wants to cut down Jin, and the monarchs of the four kingdoms of Huilu, Wei, Zheng, and Xianyu are in Xiaqiu. The Jin anti-coalition army will inevitably drag the Song State into the war. Back then, he broke Yaoqin and pulled out his sword, which caused chaos in the six secretaries of the Jin Kingdom; Now, he doesn't touch the piano, he doesn't wear a sword, he has one mouth on his own, and he is going to ignite another war of the Seven Kingdoms. At this moment, in the face of the irresistible power of the river, what was he thinking? Is it a battlefield where the sound of killing is earth-shattering and blood flows like a river, or is it a sea of hibiscus flowers on the shore of the great river in the past?

"It's cold, put on a winter coat!" Ah Su walked into the grass shed and handed me a silk robe, I took it, and she put a heavy wolf fur on Ah Quinoa, who was sleeping in my arms, "Today's wind is strong and the waves are bigger, but don't be too afraid, Qi country is near the sea, Qi people's shipbuilding skills are no worse than those of Wu people and Chu people, and the boat that will pick us up later is the best ship in the hands of my father-in-law, and the boatmen who sailed the boat have also gone to sea and can control the wind and waves." As long as the river does not freeze, we will definitely be able to reach Xinzheng by the end of the month. When the time comes, you and Ah Quinoa will be able to recuperate in Uncle Zheng's palace. ”

"Miyagi? The two of you are Qi envoys, what are Ah Quinoa and me, how could Uncle Zheng take us in and live in the palace? I hugged Ah Quinoa, who was frowning and clenching his teeth in my arms, and whispered.

"You're underestimating your daddy. In front of Uncle Zheng, what your father said was what my father-in-law wanted to say, and what my father-in-law wanted to say was what Qi Hou wanted to say. Uncle Zheng is now anxious to marry his daughter into the Qi Palace, not only does he want to take you and Ah Quinoa to live in the palace for a long time, but he also has to treat you well. ”

"But I don't want his hospitality, and I don't want to get bloody."

"What do you mean by that?" Ah Su sat down beside me.

I looked at her in men's clothes and pleaded, "I don't want to go to Zhengguo with you." If I promise you that I will never reveal the matter of the Liqiu Alliance to anyone, can you let me and my brother go? My brother has suffered enough, and you have seen what he has been doing these days, and what he needs most now is stability and healing, not intrigue and war. ”

"Neither Quinoa nor you can afford to run around, I know that. But Ah Shi, why do you think you can get out of it all now? You and I are already pawns on the chessboard, and unless we die, the only choice in front of us is to lose and win. And I don't want to lose, and I don't want to die. ”

"Sister, we have a choice! In addition to winning and losing, in addition to dying, we will always have a fourth option! ”

"Do we have it?" Asu stared at me with excitement, her lips pursed, and a light sadness flashed in her hazel pupils.

"Yes!" I'm categorical.

"I used to think that I had it, I thought I could hold someone's hand and fight against fate, but then I knew that I was wrong, my mistake made me lose my four-month-old child, and I lost - lost many, many ......" Ah Su frowned, I squeezed her hand, and she immediately changed to a gentle smile: "Sister knows that you don't want to go to Zheng Guo now, and I also know that you can't let go of Zhao Wuxian in your heart, but Sister Ah can't let you go, let alone let you go." ”

"Are you afraid that I will tell Wuxian about the Liqiu Alliance, but you can't believe my promise?"

"If you don't tell Zhao Wuxian, tell you about the alliance alone, your father has already taken a great risk. You are kind by nature and have great love in your heart, and most of the time you took the risk of taking Qi Jun Lu Ren from the Qi Palace to prevent Qi and Jin from going to war over the defense of the country. Now, seeing the five kingdoms attacking Jin and the world in chaos, how can you stand idly by? Don't hide it from you, don't lie to you, it's your father's apology to you, it's his father's kindness to his daughter, but it's never trust. You're too clever and too good at getting into trouble. That year in the country of Qi, I tried my best to protect you in the palace, but you caused me a lot of trouble. Your father asked Chen Pan to rush to the jungle to give you a way out, but you teamed up with Zhao Wuxian to tie Ah Pan up the mountain. The stakes are high this time, and I must be optimistic about you no matter what, and I can't let you ruin our plans, nor can I let you get involved and lose your life. ”

"He protects me, you protect me, I died in Qi Country, but it was all my own fault?"

"If you listen to me, there will be no death. Your father never thought of hurting you, when you were trapped in Qi Mountain, if it weren't for his quick wisdom to find a ranger in Linzi City and sneak attack Chen Liao at the bottom of the mountain, you and Zhao Wuxian would have died a long time ago. ”

"You mean, I can't blame him, and I have to thank him?"

"Ah Shi, he's not a bad person."

"I know. But Qin is in the west, Qi is in the east, and the east and west are separated by thousands of miles? When A-Niang died, I was only four years old, and it was not easy for me to walk in front of him alive, but he didn't recognize me, but he tried his best to take advantage of me. ”

"He was there...... I just don't know how to face you yet. ”

yes, why shouldn't I?

I want to call him Daddy like Quinoa, but to this day, I still don't know how to be his Handanjun daughter......

I was silent, and Asu was silent. Under the low canopy, we turned our heads and silently stared at the lonely and independent figure on the bank of the big river.

"The boat has arrived, let's go!" Zhao Ji turned around under our gaze, the wind blowing his robe, and behind him, a huge wooden boat was slowly heading towards us.

The river has four distinct seasons, with a calm spring, a high water in the summer, a wave in the autumn, and a frozen and dry winter season. After an autumn rain, for several days, every day I could see boats shattered by huge waves, livestock drowned in the river, and even swollen and foaming dead bodies in the whirlpooled river twice.

Asu was dizzy and never saw her walking on the board. Quinoa is weak, sleeping more and waking up less.

Every morning at sunrise, only Zhao Ji and I stood on the board of the boat to watch the vermilion morning sun leap out of the river, dyeing the turbid waves of the half of the river red, and watching the red sun rise into the sky, inlaid with dazzling gold edges on the mountains, trees, forests and houses on both sides. The two of us never talk, and we don't speak, maybe it's also a tacit understanding.