Jinxia hurriedly stood up from the stairs: “I’m here!”
Chun Yumin carried the lunch box, tiredly walked towards her: “I brought food for you, where is Brother Yang?”
Before Jinxia could answer, YangYue had already appeared in front of them. It seems like he also heard Chun Yumin calling for Jinxia. YangYue accepted the food from her, and asked: “Ms. Chun, why are you here?”
“You guys didn’t eat anything last night, you must be hungry.” Chun Yumin excitedly opened the lid of the food box, the smell of food wafted out, the inside was filled with golden pancakes, looking absolutely appetizing.
Jinxia, who had been starving for a long time, reached out her hand to take a piece of pancake and ate it.
When he saw the pancake, YangYue was stunned for a moment: “This pancake….”
Chun Yumin smiled shyly, pursed her lips laughing and said: “I made it. I watched you cook a few times, and wanted to give it a try. Brother Yang, why don’t you try and let me know if it’s good enough?”
Upon hearing her words, Jinxia quickly swallowed the pancake and said in surprise: “You made this? Ms. Chun, it’s much better than the one Da Yang made.”
YangYue glanced at her briefly, laughing while nagging: “You brat, pushing me to the side already, huh?”
Chun Yumin smiled slightly, opened the second part of the box, took out a bowl of porridge and gave it to Jinxia: “Miss Yuan, eat some porridge, be careful, it’s still hot.”
Jinxia quickly accepted the porridge from her hands.
YangYue saw that Chun Yumin was also about to get him a bowl of porridge, he hastily said: “I’ll get it myself…. Did you make this porridge too?”
Chun Yumin nodded her head: “Yes, I followed as brother Yang said, when cooking porridge, put a few drops of oil, Try it, how does it taste?”
She had been in the kitchen helping him a few times before, but YangYue didn’t expect her to remember everything he said, he was momentarily stunned.
“This is called talent,” Jinxia ate while praising, “Even if Da Yang had told me a thousand times, I still won’t be able to make porridge this fragrant and thick. Ms. Chun, whoever marries you in the future will be very lucky.”
YangYue nudged the back of her head with his elbow: “Speaking carelessly, Ms. Chun Yu will definitely get married into a big and respectable family, there’s absolutely no need to do things like this.”
“That is true.” Jinxia thought for a while, turning around smiling at him, “Then we are the lucky ones.”
All this talk made Chun Yumin feel uncomfortable, so she hurriedly changed the topic: “A’Rui is still unconscious. Mrs. Shen has checked his pulse, although it is very weak but it’s relatively stable, he’s not at risk anymore.”
“How is Shangguan Sister? Still there with him? ”
“Yes.”
Jinxia sighed and said: “A’Rui doesn’t like Xie Xiao, yet he is willing to sacrifice himself for him, for the sake of Shangguan Sister. His sincerity, even if Shangguan Sister’s heart it’s hard as a rock, it will surely melt. All the bad things A’Rui did in the past, he has already repaid it with his life, karma really does exist, isn’t that right, Da Yang?”
YangYue glanced at her briefly: “Young Master Xia, how about dealing with the matter at hand first?”
“About what? Cen Shou has already collected all the gunpowder that people use for fireworks and brought them up to the city tower. If we have to fight, I think we can still withstand it for another hour. Madam Qi has also collected all the lamp oil from each house, putting them into barrels; if we run out of supplies, we’ll just throw them down from the tower.” She quickly swallowed her food, “Cen Shou is definitely the cruel wolf. Just now, he came up with an idea to create a heated chain, so when the pirates attack, they will swing it down and burn anyone that touches it.”
Chun Yumin who heard it immediately felt scared, her expression fell into YangYue’s eyes and he signaled Jinxia to stop talking.
***
It was today that everyone started to understand the phrase “a day seems like a year”.
Madam Qi didn’t eat nor come down from the city tower all day, she probably didn’t even have a drop of water. The cannon have been placed near the edge of the tower, although there’s no more cannonball, but they can still use it to scare the pirates away. If the number of pirates increased, they could throw this cannon down and crush all the pirates.
As the sun slowly moved towards the west, Jinxia could see all the smoke, indicating that the pirates were cooking not far from the city.
Are they filling themselves up and then withdrawing, or are they filling themselves up to attack the city? There has been no movement from them all day, which makes everyone very anxious.
The soldiers’ hearts were filled with various thoughts due to fear and restlessness.
“It’s been a day and the troops still haven’t come, they won’t be coming at all!”
“General Qi has hated Madam Qi for a long time, he won’t come to help her! We’re all going to die because of this woman!”
“There won’t be any troops coming, we better run away, don’t be fooled by this woman!”
Several gossips that were spoken in whispers in the morning, until now, were getting worse and worse. Initially, they spread only among the soldiers, then among their families, but now even the soldiers’ gazes towards Madam Qi changed; the surroundings began to feel a bit rebellious.
Suddenly, someone started inciting others to retreat from the city gates. Soldiers with guns and flags overheard the conversation and quickly became flustered. At last, Madam Qi could no longer hold it in, and ordered the person who spread the word to be arrested, locked up, and investigated later.
“General Qi is on his way to Xinhe City!” Madam Qi yelled loudly, “General Qi has been fighting with pirates for countless years, has he ever let any of us down? He once said ‘All my soldiers, riding horses and eating meat, fight the enemies and guard the borders. My people are fed without having to cook, are clothed without having to sew. Government collects taxes to support soldiers, therefore, no matter if it is raining or windy, we’re here to prevent the worst. Being a soldier means letting our people live in peace and protecting our city, so I must protect my people’.
As her eyes swept across the people around her, Madame Qi paused for a moment before continuing: “Earlier, there were people who used my family affairs to start rumors and cause trouble. Right now, I will say this only once, it doesn’t matter what status I have, but for the sake of this Xinhe City, General Qi will definitely come home to help us. If there are people who continue to spread false information, rebel against me, you will be punished without exception!”
Everyone immediately fell silent, no one dared to carelessly let out a sound.
Finally, the last rays of light are disappearing from the sky.
Along the city walls, torches were lit above and below. Fire shone brightly on Madam Qi’s armor, her expression was firm, focused, and at no point relaxed.
Including the flag raisers, everyone held tightly to their weapons. When Jinxia placed all the arrows she collected in the quiver, the number was still too low, and she became anxious.
In the sky, the moon has risen to its center. It is now Zishi time (11-1pm).
It seems like pirates are gathering together not too far away. Are they planning to attack the city again? Jinxia quietly took out one of the arrows from her quiver, and placed it on her bow. At the same time, Cen Shou also loaded his gun. YangYue and Xie Xiao slowly took out their iron chain.
Madam Qi stood tall above the city gates, gazing into the darkness. As the pirates slowly came closer, her eyes filled with determination: ‘No matter whether the Ming troops arrive on time or not, she will defend this city until her last breath‘.
The moment everyone was ready to fight, a firework exploded. Suddenly, roars were heard from a distance.
“The Ming troops are here! They’ve arrived!”
“General Qi has come! General Qi has arrived! He’s finally here!”
Although they haven’t attacked Xinhe City yet, they are about to be surrounded. At this moment, even the pirate army standing in front of the city began to retreat, not daring to take any risks.
Jinxia couldn’t see anything, so she turned to ask Cen Shou: “You have good eyesight. Is it the Ming troops? Can you see their flags?”
Even squinting and stretching his distance to 30 meters, he still couldn’t see anything, but he could hear the sound of fighting.
“Definitely the Ming troops! They’re fighting! ” Cen Shou said with certainty.
Trumpet sounds were made loudly to inform the city and its people that Ming troops were arriving.
Everyone immediately felt relieved as they listened to the trumpet sounds.
Madam Qi gathered all the on-site soldiers, ran down, asked the gatekeepers to open the city gates and yelled loudly: “Come with me to meet our enemies!”
After 2 nights, and a full day of exhaustion, everyone can finally fight back confidently. The soldiers shouted loudly in agreement, held their weapons, and followed Madam Qi. Slashing and killing began as soon as they left the gate.
Jinxia rubbed her hands together, threw away her bow and took out one of the swords from the other soldier’s hand, quickly followed Cen Shou, Xie Xiao and others. As she was about to exit the city, her collar was being dragged back by someone.
“Uncle, let me go!” She said uneasily.
The beggar uncle advised her: “The Ming troops have arrived, they don’t need someone like you anymore. Plus, your kung fu is like a cat scratching the wall, you’re gonna embarrass yourself.”
“All right, I’m not going, but you let me go first!”
The beggar uncle let her go: “If I didn’t stop you, you would’ve become a decoration in that battle. Save your energy, swords do not have eyes, they won’t be able to tell who they’re fighting, don’t add trouble for others.”
“My aunt sent you here?” Jinxia looked around, did not see Mrs. Shen, “Where is she?”
“She heard that the Ming troops had arrived, so she went home. She told me to stay here and look after you.” The beggar uncle yawned and said, “I haven’t slept for almost 2 days, let’s go home.”
The exciting battle was happening outside and Jinxia was not allowed to participate. She’s unwilling to leave her spot.
The pirates were attacked from both directions, not to mention it’s still the middle of the night, it was hard for them to see how many people there were in the troops. One thing they know for sure is that General Qi has come home with his soldiers. At this point, most of the pirates have left the battle to save themselves.
After a long while, the pirates outside the city were completely eradicated, either killed or captured, the Ming soldiers had captured more than a hundred pirates.
General Hu Shouren, who was in charge of the Ming troop, got down from his horse and kneel in front of Madam Qi: “I’ve arrived late. Madam Qi, please punish me.”
Madam Qi patted his shoulder: “You must’ve travelled day and night to get here as fast as you can.”
Hu Shouren said: “After receiving the news, we immediately turned around. Actually, I was afraid I wouldn’t arrive in time to help, but General Qi said I just tried my best to arrive as soon as possible, Xinhe City will definitely be alright.”
“General Qi said that?” Madam Qi asked quietly.
“Yes! General Qi said as long as Madam Qi is here, Xinhe will survive until its last drop of blood.”
Madam Qi froze, but she quickly turned her back to him and wiped away her tears. She has been carrying a heavy burden for two nights and one full day. She was fine until she heard General Qi’s words, and she began to cry.
Jinxia stood by the gate, watching the soldiers drag the pirates into the city. The peace has finally been restored to Xinhe City, and Xie Xiao, Cen Shou and the rest of them can finally relax. The mere thought of it makes her smile unconsciously. She can finally rest.
A familiar figure appeared in the corner of her eye as soon as she turned around. It was a man slowly walking alongside his horse, and entering the gate. Despite being tired, she still walked towards the figure.
After taking a few steps, the blurry figure is coming clearer. A familiar feeling rushed over her, Jinxia didn’t know what it was, but she suddenly thought of something. She squinted her eyes, hoping she could get a better picture of the person.
It’s him. It’s actually him!
Although the night was dark, Jinxia was still able to recognize Lu Yi. The excited feeling pushed her to run towards him.
Jinxia ran past Cen Shou and Xie Xiao, who had just returned from battling with the pirates. Cen Shou quickly glanced at her happy face, and thought she was excited to see them, but didn’t expect her to pass by them without looking back.
“This girl, where are you running to?” Xie Xiao also surprisingly turned his head to look.
Jinxia ran as fast as she could. Finally, she was standing in front of Lu Yi, and smiled brightly at him: “You’re home?”
“Yes.”
Lu Yi let out a smile, reached out his hand to push aside the strand of hair on her face. Having heard that the pirates unsuccessfully attacked Xinhe City, he was very relieved. Especially seeing the person standing in front of him is well and unharmed.
Jinxia looked at him, wanted to say something but she didn’t know what to say, and the joy of seeing him made her speechless. At this moment, she didn’t care about what others were saying or how they would look at her, she couragely walked up to him, wrapped her hands around his waist, forcing their bodies to become closer, and buried her face in his chest.
Lu Yi also wrapped his hands around her, returning the hug, and placed his head on her shoulder.
“Is that Lu Daren?” Xie Xiao squinted his eyes at them, while chuckling, “This girl, doing something like this in public, she really can’t hold herself back.”
Seeing the shadows of two people hugging, Cen Shou couldn’t help but feel a little ache in his heart. He moved his attention towards something else to distract his thoughts.
From a far distance, Lan Daoxing watched the two of them hugging each other, he couldn’t help but smile. He turned to face his horse and stroked its hair, and then both of them walked off into the darkness.
Jinxia hurriedly stood up from the stairs: “I’m here!”
Chun Yumin carried the lunch box, tiredly walked towards her: “I brought food for you, where is Brother Yang?”
Before Jinxia could answer, YangYue had already appeared in front of them. It seems like he also heard Chun Yumin calling for Jinxia. YangYue accepted the food from her, and asked: “Ms. Chun, why are you here?”
“You guys didn’t eat anything last night, you must be hungry.” Chun Yumin excitedly opened the lid of the food box, the smell of food wafted out, the inside was filled with golden pancakes, looking absolutely appetizing.
Jinxia, who had been starving for a long time, reached out her hand to take a piece of pancake and ate it.
When he saw the pancake, YangYue was stunned for a moment: “This pancake….”
Chun Yumin smiled shyly, pursed her lips laughing and said: “I made it. I watched you cook a few times, and wanted to give it a try. Brother Yang, why don’t you try and let me know if it’s good enough?”
Upon hearing her words, Jinxia quickly swallowed the pancake and said in surprise: “You made this? Ms. Chun, it’s much better than the one Da Yang made.”
YangYue glanced at her briefly, laughing while nagging: “You brat, pushing me to the side already, huh?”
Chun Yumin smiled slightly, opened the second part of the box, took out a bowl of porridge and gave it to Jinxia: “Miss Yuan, eat some porridge, be careful, it’s still hot.”
Jinxia quickly accepted the porridge from her hands.
YangYue saw that Chun Yumin was also about to get him a bowl of porridge, he hastily said: “I’ll get it myself…. Did you make this porridge too?”
Chun Yumin nodded her head: “Yes, I followed as brother Yang said, when cooking porridge, put a few drops of oil, Try it, how does it taste?”
She had been in the kitchen helping him a few times before, but YangYue didn’t expect her to remember everything he said, he was momentarily stunned.
“This is called talent,” Jinxia ate while praising, “Even if Da Yang had told me a thousand times, I still won’t be able to make porridge this fragrant and thick. Ms. Chun, whoever marries you in the future will be very lucky.”
YangYue nudged the back of her head with his elbow: “Speaking carelessly, Ms. Chun Yu will definitely get married into a big and respectable family, there’s absolutely no need to do things like this.”
“That is true.” Jinxia thought for a while, turning around smiling at him, “Then we are the lucky ones.”
All this talk made Chun Yumin feel uncomfortable, so she hurriedly changed the topic: “A’Rui is still unconscious. Mrs. Shen has checked his pulse, although it is very weak but it’s relatively stable, he’s not at risk anymore.”
“How is Shangguan Sister? Still there with him? ”
“Yes.”
Jinxia sighed and said: “A’Rui doesn’t like Xie Xiao, yet he is willing to sacrifice himself for him, for the sake of Shangguan Sister. His sincerity, even if Shangguan Sister’s heart it’s hard as a rock, it will surely melt. All the bad things A’Rui did in the past, he has already repaid it with his life, karma really does exist, isn’t that right, Da Yang?”
YangYue glanced at her briefly: “Young Master Xia, how about dealing with the matter at hand first?”
“About what? Cen Shou has already collected all the gunpowder that people use for fireworks and brought them up to the city tower. If we have to fight, I think we can still withstand it for another hour. Madam Qi has also collected all the lamp oil from each house, putting them into barrels; if we run out of supplies, we’ll just throw them down from the tower.” She quickly swallowed her food, “Cen Shou is definitely the cruel wolf. Just now, he came up with an idea to create a heated chain, so when the pirates attack, they will swing it down and burn anyone that touches it.”
Chun Yumin who heard it immediately felt scared, her expression fell into YangYue’s eyes and he signaled Jinxia to stop talking.
***
It was today that everyone started to understand the phrase “a day seems like a year”.
Madam Qi didn’t eat nor come down from the city tower all day, she probably didn’t even have a drop of water. The cannon have been placed near the edge of the tower, although there’s no more cannonball, but they can still use it to scare the pirates away. If the number of pirates increased, they could throw this cannon down and crush all the pirates.
As the sun slowly moved towards the west, Jinxia could see all the smoke, indicating that the pirates were cooking not far from the city.
Are they filling themselves up and then withdrawing, or are they filling themselves up to attack the city? There has been no movement from them all day, which makes everyone very anxious.
The soldiers’ hearts were filled with various thoughts due to fear and restlessness.
“It’s been a day and the troops still haven’t come, they won’t be coming at all!”
“General Qi has hated Madam Qi for a long time, he won’t come to help her! We’re all going to die because of this woman!”
“There won’t be any troops coming, we better run away, don’t be fooled by this woman!”
Several gossips that were spoken in whispers in the morning, until now, were getting worse and worse. Initially, they spread only among the soldiers, then among their families, but now even the soldiers’ gazes towards Madam Qi changed; the surroundings began to feel a bit rebellious.
Suddenly, someone started inciting others to retreat from the city gates. Soldiers with guns and flags overheard the conversation and quickly became flustered. At last, Madam Qi could no longer hold it in, and ordered the person who spread the word to be arrested, locked up, and investigated later.
“General Qi is on his way to Xinhe City!” Madam Qi yelled loudly, “General Qi has been fighting with pirates for countless years, has he ever let any of us down? He once said ‘All my soldiers, riding horses and eating meat, fight the enemies and guard the borders. My people are fed without having to cook, are clothed without having to sew. Government collects taxes to support soldiers, therefore, no matter if it is raining or windy, we’re here to prevent the worst. Being a soldier means letting our people live in peace and protecting our city, so I must protect my people’.
As her eyes swept across the people around her, Madame Qi paused for a moment before continuing: “Earlier, there were people who used my family affairs to start rumors and cause trouble. Right now, I will say this only once, it doesn’t matter what status I have, but for the sake of this Xinhe City, General Qi will definitely come home to help us. If there are people who continue to spread false information, rebel against me, you will be punished without exception!”
Everyone immediately fell silent, no one dared to carelessly let out a sound.
Finally, the last rays of light are disappearing from the sky.
Along the city walls, torches were lit above and below. Fire shone brightly on Madam Qi’s armor, her expression was firm, focused, and at no point relaxed.
Including the flag raisers, everyone held tightly to their weapons. When Jinxia placed all the arrows she collected in the quiver, the number was still too low, and she became anxious.
In the sky, the moon has risen to its center. It is now Zishi time (11-1pm).
It seems like pirates are gathering together not too far away. Are they planning to attack the city again? Jinxia quietly took out one of the arrows from her quiver, and placed it on her bow. At the same time, Cen Shou also loaded his gun. YangYue and Xie Xiao slowly took out their iron chain.
Madam Qi stood tall above the city gates, gazing into the darkness. As the pirates slowly came closer, her eyes filled with determination: ‘No matter whether the Ming troops arrive on time or not, she will defend this city until her last breath‘.
The moment everyone was ready to fight, a firework exploded. Suddenly, roars were heard from a distance.
“The Ming troops are here! They’ve arrived!”
“General Qi has come! General Qi has arrived! He’s finally here!”
Although they haven’t attacked Xinhe City yet, they are about to be surrounded. At this moment, even the pirate army standing in front of the city began to retreat, not daring to take any risks.
Jinxia couldn’t see anything, so she turned to ask Cen Shou: “You have good eyesight. Is it the Ming troops? Can you see their flags?”
Even squinting and stretching his distance to 30 meters, he still couldn’t see anything, but he could hear the sound of fighting.
“Definitely the Ming troops! They’re fighting! ” Cen Shou said with certainty.
Trumpet sounds were made loudly to inform the city and its people that Ming troops were arriving.
Everyone immediately felt relieved as they listened to the trumpet sounds.
Madam Qi gathered all the on-site soldiers, ran down, asked the gatekeepers to open the city gates and yelled loudly: “Come with me to meet our enemies!”
After 2 nights, and a full day of exhaustion, everyone can finally fight back confidently. The soldiers shouted loudly in agreement, held their weapons, and followed Madam Qi. Slashing and killing began as soon as they left the gate.
Jinxia rubbed her hands together, threw away her bow and took out one of the swords from the other soldier’s hand, quickly followed Cen Shou, Xie Xiao and others. As she was about to exit the city, her collar was being dragged back by someone.
“Uncle, let me go!” She said uneasily.
The beggar uncle advised her: “The Ming troops have arrived, they don’t need someone like you anymore. Plus, your kung fu is like a cat scratching the wall, you’re gonna embarrass yourself.”
“All right, I’m not going, but you let me go first!”
The beggar uncle let her go: “If I didn’t stop you, you would’ve become a decoration in that battle. Save your energy, swords do not have eyes, they won’t be able to tell who they’re fighting, don’t add trouble for others.”
“My aunt sent you here?” Jinxia looked around, did not see Mrs. Shen, “Where is she?”
“She heard that the Ming troops had arrived, so she went home. She told me to stay here and look after you.” The beggar uncle yawned and said, “I haven’t slept for almost 2 days, let’s go home.”
The exciting battle was happening outside and Jinxia was not allowed to participate. She’s unwilling to leave her spot.
The pirates were attacked from both directions, not to mention it’s still the middle of the night, it was hard for them to see how many people there were in the troops. One thing they know for sure is that General Qi has come home with his soldiers. At this point, most of the pirates have left the battle to save themselves.
After a long while, the pirates outside the city were completely eradicated, either killed or captured, the Ming soldiers had captured more than a hundred pirates.
General Hu Shouren, who was in charge of the Ming troop, got down from his horse and kneel in front of Madam Qi: “I’ve arrived late. Madam Qi, please punish me.”
Madam Qi patted his shoulder: “You must’ve travelled day and night to get here as fast as you can.”
Hu Shouren said: “After receiving the news, we immediately turned around. Actually, I was afraid I wouldn’t arrive in time to help, but General Qi said I just tried my best to arrive as soon as possible, Xinhe City will definitely be alright.”
“General Qi said that?” Madam Qi asked quietly.
“Yes! General Qi said as long as Madam Qi is here, Xinhe will survive until its last drop of blood.”
Madam Qi froze, but she quickly turned her back to him and wiped away her tears. She has been carrying a heavy burden for two nights and one full day. She was fine until she heard General Qi’s words, and she began to cry.
Jinxia stood by the gate, watching the soldiers drag the pirates into the city. The peace has finally been restored to Xinhe City, and Xie Xiao, Cen Shou and the rest of them can finally relax. The mere thought of it makes her smile unconsciously. She can finally rest.
A familiar figure appeared in the corner of her eye as soon as she turned around. It was a man slowly walking alongside his horse, and entering the gate. Despite being tired, she still walked towards the figure.
After taking a few steps, the blurry figure is coming clearer. A familiar feeling rushed over her, Jinxia didn’t know what it was, but she suddenly thought of something. She squinted her eyes, hoping she could get a better picture of the person.
It’s him. It’s actually him!
Although the night was dark, Jinxia was still able to recognize Lu Yi. The excited feeling pushed her to run towards him.
Jinxia ran past Cen Shou and Xie Xiao, who had just returned from battling with the pirates. Cen Shou quickly glanced at her happy face, and thought she was excited to see them, but didn’t expect her to pass by them without looking back.
“This girl, where are you running to?” Xie Xiao also surprisingly turned his head to look.
Jinxia ran as fast as she could. Finally, she was standing in front of Lu Yi, and smiled brightly at him: “You’re home?”
“Yes.”
Lu Yi let out a smile, reached out his hand to push aside the strand of hair on her face. Having heard that the pirates unsuccessfully attacked Xinhe City, he was very relieved. Especially seeing the person standing in front of him is well and unharmed.
Jinxia looked at him, wanted to say something but she didn’t know what to say, and the joy of seeing him made her speechless. At this moment, she didn’t care about what others were saying or how they would look at her, she couragely walked up to him, wrapped her hands around his waist, forcing their bodies to become closer, and buried her face in his chest.
Lu Yi also wrapped his hands around her, returning the hug, and placed his head on her shoulder.
“Is that Lu Daren?” Xie Xiao squinted his eyes at them, while chuckling, “This girl, doing something like this in public, she really can’t hold herself back.”
Seeing the shadows of two people hugging, Cen Shou couldn’t help but feel a little ache in his heart. He moved his attention towards something else to distract his thoughts.
From a far distance, Lan Daoxing watched the two of them hugging each other, he couldn’t help but smile. He turned to face his horse and stroked its hair, and then both of them walked off into the darkness.
