Sizhen looked at Kong Tingxun opposite, his expression was indifferent, there was no vigilance or surprise in his eyes, as if he didn't know her at all, as if he had forgotten that she was his sister.

It's as if, to him, she's just a stranger, inconsequential, stranger-human!

Sizhen suddenly remembered that night, the night when the fire was raging, and she parted with her father, mother, and brother.

In 1652, the year of Renchen, the year of the dragon, and the ninth year of Shunzhi in the Qing Dynasty.

On the fourth night of the first month of July, in the city of Guilin, a fire broke out in the Dingnan Palace.

The fire soared into the sky, in the lonely night, it was particularly frightening, and the entire Guilin City, because of this fire, printed half of the sky.

Kong Sizhen, who had been dragged to sleep by her nurse early, suddenly woke up, she jumped out of bed, ran barefoot to the window, pushed the window and looked at the sudden fire in the city.

Even her house outside the city could be seen, how big should the fire be?

"Mama, Mama, look, is that the direction of our palace?" Sizhen shouted in horror.

As early as when Sizhen jumped off the ground, her nurse Mama Qin had already woken up, she took a dress from the bedside, wrapped it around Kong Sizhen's body, and hugged her.

At the moment when she hugged Sizhen, Mama Qin raised her eyebrows and looked out of the window, seeing the scorching firelight, she was already pale, and she forcibly pulled Sizhen back to the bed with half of her arms, complaining: "Gege, you will get cold like this." ”

Sizhen threw herself into the arms of the nurse, "Mama, I dreamed of my father and mother just now, and I dreamed that they were ...... in the fire."

Before he finished speaking, Sizhen had already shed tears, and between her breaths, she was a little choked and couldn't breathe.

Mama Qin hurriedly smoothed her back and comforted her softly, "It's okay, it's okay...... It's just a dream, the prince is so brave, it's going to be fine...... Who has the ambition to leopard and dare to move the prince? ”

Thinking of her father's courage and skill, Sizhen made up her mind slightly, but she did not stop crying, the dream was so real that even when she was awake, she was deeply afraid.

Mama Qin looked at Sizhen's frightened appearance and kept reassuring her, "It's okay, Gege, it's okay, the prince has so many guards, and there are so many sergeants in Guilin City, it's going to be fine......"

After a while, Sizhen calmed down, she wiped her tears, sobbed and said: "Mama is right, the father and the mother will be fine, they will be fine, they will definitely be fine......"

It's not so much that Sizhen believes Mama Qin's words, but that she must firmly believe that her father and mother are fine, and those scenes in her dreams are something she can't imagine.

Comforting Kong Sizhen, Mama Qin was a little stunned, thinking of the words that the prince had told her and Mama Liu, the princess's grandmother, five days ago, and her heart was confused for a while.

On that day, the prince asked her and Mama Liu, led by the head of the guard, Bai Yunlong and his son, to escort Shizi and Gege out of the city. At that time, the prince's expression was as solemn as Tuogu, and the princess almost didn't cry, pulling the prince and her and Mama Liu and said: "If the prince can escape this catastrophe, simply shave as a monk, don't learn from his father to gallop north and south all his life, and end up today!" ”

In her heart, Mama Qin already knew that something was wrong, if it weren't for the critical situation, the prince would not let them take the powerful guards to escort the prince and Gege out of the mansion, plus the sky-high fire tonight, the prince and them, they are only afraid that there will be more luck and less luck!

Moreover, this morning, she also vaguely heard from the guards that some villagers said that Li Dingguo, the general of the Southern Ming Dynasty, had led the Ming army to break through the Wusheng Gate this morning, and the Qing army could not resist the enemy, and the whole line was defeated, and the prince was also hit by an arrow in his forehead......

This news may have been a rumor released by Nan Ming, disturbing the morale of the army, but in the face of the caution that the prince told them to take the prince and Gege out of the city, coupled with the fire in the direction of Dingnan Wangfu tonight, it is obvious that the city of Guilin is no longer peaceful.

There was a fire in the city, and it seemed that the situation had changed, and he had to go according to the second move deployed by the prince.

No, we need to get out of here as soon as possible.

Only poor Gege would think that he would be able to go back after going out of the city to play with the prince for a few days!

Thinking of these, Mama Qin secretly wiped a handful of tears, forced her mind, and made a happy face, she clenched the shirt she was dragging in her hand, thought about it, put it down again, and let the thrush take a plain one out of the package, and try to calm down and put it on Sizhen.

Whether it is the prince or princess who has an accident, or who walks at night, it is always inappropriate to wear those brightly colored clothes.

Mama Qin coaxed her while dressing Sizhen, "Gege, aren't you yelling all day long to go out for horseback riding?" The prince can say, after a few days, you will be able to go out, have a good time in Liangjiang Town, and then go back! ”

As she spoke, Mama Qin picked up the embroidered riding boots on the ground and put them on Sizhen.

Such boots are the most convenient to travel, but they are not as light and good-looking as embroidered shoes, but Sizhen has practiced martial arts since he was a child, and he is used to wearing them.

When Sizhen heard this, she burst into a smile, "Really? Is it really possible to play in Liangjiang Town? That's great, I haven't seen Yuechan for a long time, and I can have fun with her this time. ”

In a blink of an eye, she said again: "It's not good, it's not good, I still want to go back to the city first, I miss my mother and my father." ”

As he spoke, Sizhen smiled at all and looked downcast, "I look at the place where the fire started, it seems to be in the direction of our palace, if I don't go back to take a look, I won't feel at ease." Mama, you say, "Father, if they are in good shape, how can there be a fire in the city?" ”

Glancing at his clothes, Sizhen jumped out of bed, "It's just right, this dress has also been changed, let's go back overnight, maybe at this time, the mother will miss me too." ”

Mama Qin secretly sighed at the intelligence of Sizhen, who was not yet eleven years old, and found a reason to prevaricate, "Gege just rest assured, maybe the prince is using tricks against those chaotic soldiers and thieves, and we don't dare to go back to make trouble for the prince at this time." The prince is going to fight with the people of Nanming, and when you go back with the prince, won't you distract him? ”

Sizhen is a child in the end, and being coaxed by Mama Qin feels very reasonable.

But she was still a little worried in her heart, and said in a tangled way: "I'll go back and take a look secretly, I won't distract my father, Mama Qin, wait for my brother to come later, I'll tell him, you don't have to be afraid." ”

Mama Qin was afraid that Sizhen would be willful, so she ran back, and hurriedly persuaded her, "Gege is so easy to come out alone with Shizi, why do you want to go back after only a few days of playing?" ”

She looked at Kong Sizhen and smiled hard: "The princess said, you always say that you are a big girl, you have to look like a big girl, if you run back, won't the princess laugh at the childishness?" If you're worried, let's send someone back to see it, wouldn't it be the same? If you really want to go back, the princess will not allow you to come out again, don't regret it. ”

Sizhen thought that when she came out in the past, her mother always accompanied her, and she was restrained everywhere, but this time, she offered to let her brother take her out to play, if she really went back because of a dream, maybe she would be laughed at by her mother, maybe she would detain herself, and she would not be allowed to go out of the house to play, so she couldn't help but hesitate: "That-when my brother comes, let him send someone back to see it first." ”

Mama Qin avoided answering, and straightened Sizhen's clothes again, "This fire is on, maybe the prince will come to see you in a while, it's not good to see him if he is not in good clothes." ”

Sizhen, a little girl, didn't think deeply about Mama Qin's intention to dress her, and after hearing this, she just nodded, "Okay, wait for my brother to come over in a while, I will ask him to send someone back to take a look, outside the city, there is nothing fun at all, I don't even let this yard out all day, I am suffocated, if it weren't for Yuechan in Liangjiang Town, I would definitely go back to the city." ”

Mama Qin was secretly thinking to herself: the prince once said that if there is nothing to do in the past few days, it means that the reinforcements have arrived, and the predicament of Guilin can be solved, and when it is calm for a while, they will send someone to pick up Shizi and Gege back, if there is anything abnormal, it means that the city of Guilin is broken, and they have to quickly take Shizi and Gege away from Zhuangzi outside the city, and go as far as possible.

At this moment, I am afraid that the son of the world has a plan.

Sure enough, as soon as Mama Qin and Thrush had dressed Sizhen, they heard someone outside tapping the door, "Gege, we have to go on our way." ”

It was the voice of Bai Yunlong, the head of the guard.

When they went out, Kong Tingxun greeted them: "Sister, we have been sold, and there are thieves who come to steal things." You and Mama Qin will go first, and Uncle Bai and I will be behind. Our soldiers are already in formation, and the crossbowmen are ready, so don't worry, none of the betrayers and the thieves who robbed us will escape. ”

Without waiting for Sizhen to say anything, Kong Tingxun made a gesture to the front.

Seeing Kong Tingxun's gesture, the people who drove the car, as soon as they raised their whips, the carriage they were sitting in went to the back door.

Bai Yunlong and a few guards followed closely.

There are not many people they brought out, most of them are defending against those who come to attack outside, in order to fight quickly, and they are trying to sneak away while the other party is unprepared, so there are not many people.

"Where's my brother? And Uncle Bai, why haven't they caught up yet? ”

The carriage walked out of the back door, Sizhen didn't see Kong Tingxun's figure, and hurriedly asked.

As she spoke, she looked outside.

Sizhen only saw the rear of a carriage going out of the front door, and she suddenly understood that it was another carriage in the courtyard, which was much more beautifully decorated than the one she was sitting in.

In that carriage, there must be my brother's nurse Liu Mama and the maid Quezhi.

The day before yesterday, Quezhi wore the same clothes as her, and she still felt fresh, which would be remembered when she remembered it, but it was very strange.

The sound hits the west, and the golden cicada sheds its shell!

It's like the shouting outside the door just now, it's all for the other party.

When they came out this time, they obviously didn't bring so many people, how could they set up a formation and ask the archers to prepare? It's all about paralyzing each other.

This is the response of the Kong family, the response is very timely and effective!

But this also shows that things are not as simple as my brother said, those people are not thieves at all, they are officers and soldiers, officers and soldiers of Nanming.

As the daughter of the king of Dingnan, Kong Sizhen certainly knew what the officers and soldiers of the Southern Ming Dynasty meant.

Those people, Xu knew that she and her brother went to Zhuangzi to play, and bribed the people who picked up them in Liangjiang Town, and wanted to arrest her and her brother and go back to blackmail their father.

Obviously, the situation is very critical, if they don't separate, they will all be caught, and my brother and Uncle Bai take another path in order to divert each other's attention and give her a chance to live.

I'm afraid that this one will die!

No, she can't let her brother be in danger, she can't let her brother take risks, her brother is the prince of Dingnan, he is more important than herself!

I really don't know how my brother persuaded Uncle Bai to make such a move.

Sizhen only felt panicked like a drum in her heart, and she half-stood up in the carriage.

Without waiting for her to make any further moves, Mama Qin had already pulled her back and hugged her in her arms, "Gege, don't lose a big deal because of a small thing, the prince and the chief of the guard said that the soldiers are divided into two ways, and one can run, you can run one by one, don't go down, go to death in vain, and waste the prince's mind......"

Mama Qin didn't finish speaking, but Kong Sizhen already understood that she went down, but she was just a number of people who were sent to death, in that case, her brother's arrangement would be in vain. After struggling a few times in Mama Qin's arms, Sizhen finally sat down dejectedly.

She kept clutching the corners of her clothes, with a miserable white face, teary eyes, listening to Mama Qin holding her in her arms, hearing the fighting, shouting, and the sound of swords hitting outside, and slowly went away.

Looking at Kong Tingxun, who was looking at him indifferently not far away, Sizhen burst into tears: Such a brother would rather be captured and killed by himself, and leave the hope of survival to her brother, how could he not know her?