The fifth birthday banquet of Lin Ying, the little lord of the Yulingsheng Palace, was the eve of the collapse of the huge Chu State. At the banquet in King Sheng's mansion, someone suddenly came to report, saying that the king of Chu was extravagant and died violently in Linjiang Chu Palace. There are many princes of Chu, and there are two queens. Among the many sons, there are seven who have been fiefdoms for many years, and they collect taxes and garrison soldiers respectively, and are called the seven kings of Chu State. The seven kings were evenly matched, and the king of Chu had not yet established a prince during his lifetime, and he left suddenly, and Lin Lang, the king of Sheng, knew that now the state of Chu would be in chaos.

Upon learning the bad news, the guests left in a hurry, leaving only the servants and guards of King Sheng's Mansion and the three members of King Sheng's family, as well as Yan Xiao, Song Yun and Shu'er.

King Sheng suddenly made a decision: "When my father collapses, the state of Chu will surely usher in a chaos of the seven kings competing for hegemony." There is the scourge of the seven kings inside, and there is a neighboring Song in the west, I am afraid that the Chu State will not escape this catastrophe, if it is like Qi and Wei, it is not known that the number of qi will be cut off from now on. Qin'er, you take Xiaoying with the three of them to take refuge in the Kingdom of Shu and the Kingdom of Chen. When I calm down the civil strife, I will bring you back. ”

Su Qin asked, "Husband, why can't we go to Song Guoyu to join your sister Lin Long?" She is a Lin beauty who was crowned by Prince Song Huai, and she may be able to take care of us in the Song Kingdom. ”

King Sheng said: "If I can successfully quell the chaos, the next King of Chu will be your husband, and the next King of Chu will be Xiaoying." How could Xiao Ying grow up in the Song Palace? What's more, although my sister is the ninth princess of Chu and the beauty of Song Guolin, she has already been grounded by King Song Huai for many years, and she has no power and power in the Song Palace, how can she protect you? In case when my big event is completed, but Song Guo takes you and Xiaoying as hostages and wants to blackmail me, it is better not to send you out for refuge today. ”

Lin Ying dragged the inky black jade pendant on King Sheng's waist and asked, "Dad, why can't we stay in the Chu State and quell the chaos with you?" ”

King Sheng took off the diamond jade pendant that Lin Ying was holding, handed it to Lin Ying, patted his short shoulder and said: "Xiao Ying, the dispute between the seven kings has been brewing for many years, this disaster is not trivial, no one can predict whether the Chu State is divided or united." You are still young and weak, and you are really not fit to get involved in this mess with your father. When you grow up and return to Chu, your father will let you be the king of Chu. You have to take this diamond jade pendant, and then this will be the customs clearance document for you to return to Chu State. ”

Lin Ying's eyes were full of tears, and Shu'er said comfortingly: "Little lord, you are just leaving the Chu State temporarily, don't be sad." Let's go to Chen Country together, all the way to the mountains and rivers, time will pass quickly. In the blink of an eye, you'll be back. ”

King Sheng glanced at the nine-year-old girl, her eyebrows and eyes, her intelligence and etiquette, seemed to be very similar to her sister Lin Long, who married into the Song Kingdom many years ago. King Sheng suddenly thought: "Lin Long was also very sensible when he was a child, and he was smart and bold, wise and cute, and his seven brothers loved her very much. If the seven kings of Chu still have any common preferences and common regrets, I am afraid that there is only about the little sister Lin Long. When Lin Long married the Song Kingdom, the seven elder brothers tried their best to promote it, everyone thought that she was going to marry Liu Jue, the crown prince of King Wu of the Song Dynasty, that Liu Jue was heroic and extraordinary, and he won many battles, marrying him was the best marriage in Kyushu. But who knows, before Lin Long's sedan chair entered the Jade Capital, the news came that Liu Jue had died of illness. Lin Long could only marry Liu Ying, the second son of King Wu, who was not only married to the powerful girl of the Qiao family in the Song Kingdom, but also heard that she was still a sick and crooked person. Sure enough, Liu Ying died less than two years after succeeding to the throne of the Song Dynasty, and before his death, he even grounded the little sister who was cherished and loved by the seven kings of Chu State in the Splendid Garden. It is rumored that she has a daughter, but I don't know if that daughter is her own, or maybe she really adopted the daughter born to the princess of the dead country of Qi......"

King Sheng asked Shu'er: "Little girl, I heard that you were thrown into the Jade River, and then came to Chu with our merchant ships of Chu State?" Are you from the Song Kingdom? ”

Shu'er replied: "I was thrown into the Jade River, and it was indeed rescued that I came to the Chu State on the merchant ship of the Zhuge family of the Chu State. But whether I am from the Song Kingdom or not, I don't know. ”

King Sheng sighed: "I'm just asking casually, how can you, a girl from an ordinary family, recognize her?" Then changed the topic: "Little girl, you are a smart child, take care of Xiaoying for me, one day, you come back together, I will definitely reward you." ”

Shu'er nodded obediently.

Outside the door, a man in white walked in, with a jade crown and a delicate face. The man saluted and said: "Lord Wang, King Ping, King Li, and King Yu heard that the little lord in their mansion is still in Yuling, and he has already gathered troops in the direction of Yuling. The carriages, suits, and customs clearance documents for the princess and the little lord and the three distinguished guests have all been prepared, and if they don't leave, I'm afraid that after dawn tomorrow, it will be difficult to leave the Chu country quietly. ”

King Sheng said to the people, "Go with Mr. Dongfang." ”

Shu'er got into a carriage with Yan Xiao, Song Yun, Su Qin and Lin Ying, and the white-clothed Mr. Dongfang gave a few words to the coachman, and then turned to leave.

The night was extremely dark, the carriage was bumpy, and Lin Ying and Shu'er's little heads leaned against each other and fell asleep.

When he awoke, the coachman had parked the carriage at a small pier, and he ordered the five men to get into a small boat, and after a few words of instruction to the boatman, he turned and left.

Shu'er asked, "Are we going back to Linjiang?" ”

Su Qin said: "There is no way back, the Chu Palace is in chaos, and the forces of all parties in Linjiang are mixed, so we can only go all the way south, enter the Shu realm first, and then find a way to go to Chen State." ”

Although Shu'er really wanted to go to Chen State to visit her life experience, she also knew that it would be very difficult to go to Chen State not to take the official road of Song State, but to take a detour to the mountain road of Shu State. She had heard her mother say that the road to Shu was bumpy and Xiling was difficult to walk, but she never thought that she would go on such a road one day.

Ten days of waterway, five days of mountain road, going around and around, changing several boatmen and coachmen, the five people finally crossed obliquely from Chu State into a corner of Song State, and hurriedly left Song State into the territory of Shu State.

The chauffeur who met them at the border of Shu was a native of Chen, specializing in business between Chen and Chu that did not pass through the Song State. He was familiar with the road, and when he was in a hurry, he didn't forget to tell the five people about the scenery of Shudi.

The road to Shu is difficult, since entering the realm of Shu, the road is winding and rugged, the mountains and valleys are one after another, and it took more than 20 days to reach the foot of Xiling.

The coachman of the Chen Kingdom parked the carriage at the last inn at the foot of the mountain, and said while leading the five people to stay in the hotel: "Tomorrow we will enter Xiling, this is the most terrifying natural barrier in the five countries of Kyushu. As long as we pass through Xiling smoothly, we will be able to reach the Jincheng of Chen Guo. But the legend of Xiling is not alarmist. The terrain and weather of Xiling are unpredictable, and there are more poisonous insects, strange grasses, and black smoke miasma, but the most terrible thing is the bandits in the mountains and the grudges of the rivers and lakes. ”