Volu (1/2)

Volu

In the twenty-seventh year of Great Yong’s Wuwei era, on the Northern Han frontier, through the whistling of the autumn breeze, on the road between the Yanmen Pass and Daizhou,¹ a horse with a rider in red galloped quickly along, kicking up smoke and dust One was barely able to discern that it was a sorrel horse with a hair coat the color of blood and with a h the rider’s appearance was coreat cloak and hood, one could faintly discern that the rider was dressed completely in red The rider’s cloak was of the same color Across the rider’s back was an ebony sandalwood bow By the saddle was a pouch filled hite-feathered arrows At the rider’s waist was a saber with a handle gilded with gold and encrusted with jade The saber, itself, was covered by the great cloak, hiding the scabbard style However, from the handle, one could tell that this was a precious saber that was impossible to acquire

Just as the rider in red was allowing her horse to gallop wildly, five horseed out from both sides in front All five of thealloped towards the rider in red Just as the two sides were about to collide, the rider in red rapidly notched and shot three arrows in one go Like meteorites, the white-feathered arrows shot out Two of the barbarians were caught unprepared by this develop that the rider in red would shoot arrows at such a close distance They flipped over and fell off their horses However, firing three arrows at once was unavoidably a bit too much for the rider in red As a result, the third arrow that was fired eak and lacking, brushed away by its target using a saber The re three horsemen shouted out sih time to fire more arrows, the rider in red could only unsheathe the precious saber andon horseback Although the rider in red’s saber was sharp, the rider’s horsemanshi+p brilliant, all three barbarians were also brave and fierce fighters Gradually, the rider in red began to lose ground Suddenly, the rider in red let out a tender shout, yelling, “Eatout with her left hand, sending a wave of pink sently split up and tried to avoid the pink sap The rider in red seized the opportunity Spurring her horse, the rider escaped the encircle back the way that she had coave chase Just as they were about to surround the rider in red again, the rider suddenly pulled the reins of her s and turned around Its head reared, the horse naturally and flowing, without the slightest reduction in speed, sped towards Daizhou The barbarian horsemen did not expect that the rider in red would have such forgish When they had turned around to give chase again, they had fallen far behind

Vexed, the rider in red turned around to glance at her pursuers The barbarian horseritted her teeth It wasn’t that she orried about her safety Twenty li ahead were the walls of Daizhou These barbarian horse in, would definitely not dare to chase her all the way to Daizhou However, if others were to learn that she had been a alone, then it would be impossible for her to remain so carefree and leisurely in the htened, as she noticed a gray-clothed horse in the same direction as her The horse that he was mounted upon was a fine steed that was the cream of the crop The horseman also had a bow and arroith hiender, were skilled in horse archery Nohorseman was, he should still be able to help out With the torking together, they could probably kill those barbarians Thinking of this, the rider in red shouted out, “Old chap! Quickly shoot arrows!”

Stunned, the gray-clothed horseman turned his head, a cold andacross his eyes The horse by the rider in red The rider in red could hear the twanging sound of a bowstring Fro, the rider in red could tell that the bow’s draeight wasn’t great Usually, in Daizhou, such a boould only be used by wo through the air, the rider in red could not help but be stunned The o The rider in red turned her horse around and caught sight of the five arrows splitting into two groups, three in front and two behind One of the arrows pierced the throat of one of the barbarians Just as the two other arrows of the first batch were fended off by the barbarians, the second group of arrows arrived Although the two barbarians tried to dodge, they were only able to avoid death, instead grievously wounded The two barbarians exchanged glances before turning their horses around and fleeing, bringing with them their dead compatriot and the master-less horse as they fled

The rider in red exhaled a breath in relief Nudging her horse over, she clasped her hands together and said, “Many thanks to brother for savingis here to express ray-clothed horse the rider in red’s hair was tied up into three buns Her hair was further wrapped in a red handkerchief and held in place by a gold hairpin The rider was no e Her skin was as pale as snow She had a pair of curvaceous eyebrows and pitch-black eyes that were sparkling and lihtly raised,her seem mischievous and pampered

The rider in red also stared blankly at the gray-clothed horseman The horseman was just over twenty years old His appearance was delicate and handsome, almost as if he were a weak and feeble scholar However, his brows carried a penetrating aura that seeh worldly affairs and yet also a frivolous, carefree feeling Other than the brutes and stalwarts who the rider in red usually saw, the handsome men that she interacted with usually carried a martial aura about them She had never seen such a delicate, handsome man As a result, the rider in red could not help but blush She asked, “Who are you? I can see that you are not soht?”

The gray-clothed horse ratitude How can you consider your rescuer to be a spy?”

The red-clothed young wo that you rescued my life It will be another if you are a spy If you don’t answer the question, I will have to deliver you to the authorities”

With deliberate exaggeration, the gray-clothed horseman declared, “ It see person”

The red-clothed young wohter of General Lin Yuanting as assigned to garrison Daizhou and Yan was the family head of an influential, aristocratic family from Daizhou and an important minister in the Northern Han court His as the Princess of Anqing² As senior princess, she had given birth to four sons and two daughters All four sons were generals fahter, Lin Bi, had been fostered by the King of Northern Han, Liu You, as an adopted daughter and was conferred the title of Princess of Jiaping³ She enty-three years old this year

Not only was Lin Bi was beautiful and intelligent, she was also skilled at y She had once repeatedly repulsed the invasions of the barbarians, accruing i Lin Bi was the objective of the warriors of Northern Yong As for Lin Bi, she vowed to only wed a like-minded inimitable hero, otherwise she would never marry However, how o, when the General Who Dofei’s wife passed away, that Lin Bi finally found a suitable hofei enty-nine years old, handsoh and important position, and had perforh he was e of Northern Han, he was feared by Liu You A e alliance was naturally the best method to ensure the loyalty of an important official Endoith both beauty and talents,⁴ and an adopted member of the royal family, Lin Bi was naturally the perfect candidate Moreover, Long Tingfei was one of the few heroes ere a e very quickly becaeneral public’s approval However, because Long Tingfei’s wife had just passed away and he was busy battling Great Yong, the two had decided to te fro had been panorant young miss Everyone in Daizhou knew of the Princess of Red Clouds, and recognized her sorrel horse and her red clothes However, this gray-clothed man was clearly not a native of these parts and yet with one look had identified her Lin Tong could not help but grow suspicious Her suspicions aroused, the severity and stubborness of her tone increased, “Who are you really? If you don’t speak the truth, don’t blaripped the handle of her saber

The youth was alar, “Princess, please do not be angry This coiven na’s face eased a bit, as she sized up the young man She asked, “From your appearance, you do not seeins and ancestry to this Princess”

S wryly, the youth answered, “Princess, this commoner is from Southern Chu Afterwards, I wandered the lands destitute Last year, this commoner wandered to the northern lands As I a horses and livestock, I have frequently wandered about these lands A few days ago, I heard that Daizhou was going to hold ato Daizhou to see the bustling of the market Unexpectedly, I ran into the Princess I was able to identify Princess froion for its color Princess, please understand that this co the truth”

With astonishazed at the youth for so Ji, you aren’t the ‘Divine Doctor Bo Le’ renowned ast the barbarians? I have heard that you are not only adept at treating livestock, you are skilled at identifying great horses”

The youth sain “I deserve not the Princess’s praise This commoner does possess a ly, the Princess has also heard ofreplied, “Of course My Daizhou is close to the barbarian lands Every day of every hour, we must keep an eye on the activity in the barbarian lands It is a pity that the barbarian lands are vast but sparsely populated with vast distances between the various tribes As a result, the inforht that the man hailed as ‘Divine Doctor Bo Le’ would definitely be an elderly ht that he is actually so young? wang Ji, this Princess wants to ask you … You originally hail from Southern Chu; did you learn your veterinarian skills and horse identification there? How did you come to wander into the barbarian lands?”

The youth sested, “Princess, we shouldn’t speak like this, right? It isn’t right for us to block the path”

With a start, Lin Tong realized that there were other passersby on the road She replied, “This Princess intends to go to Daizhou and visit theand slowly explain your background to me? Be sure to be obedient and not escape, otherwise this Princess will have Daddy mobilize the arreed, “This commoner does not dare Princess, after you”

The two spurred their horses towards Daizhou with excitement For no real reason, the two did not allow their horses to gallop, si As they traveled, they talked

Lin Tong said, “wang Ji, you haven’t told h it was the same question as before, the suspicion in her eyes had ained a bit of curiosity

The young ht It was only when Lin Tong asked hiain that he returned to his senses and respond with a smile, “To speak of this commoner’s master, he is an extraordinary talent that is rarely seen in this world The things that he has learned and studied are inally a servant boy at his side However, I was able to learn soo, his elderly self dismissed h, this commoner received not a fewit over, since this commoner does not have any other abilities, I could only rely uponHowever, in Southern Chu and Great Yong, a veterinarian can barelya lowly individual Afteron this earth Therefore, I came to these barbarian lands Here, livestock is many Moreover, there are all kinds of difficult cases⁵ If I were to becohout the world In the future, I would need not have any worries about my livelihood On the whole, this co medicine for several years, I did not h the barbarians are brave and strong, addicted to slaughter, they are deeply respectful towards veterinarians As a result, this commoner was able to live a relatively carefree life there As for being compared with Bo Le, it was only because this commoner was able to identify several rarely seen fine steeds The news got increasingly distorted⁶ When it reached Princess’s ear, it inevitably beca spoke, “It see, you have been to s to ask you”

wang Ji bohile re mounted He replied, “Princess, ask away If this commoner knows the answer, I will definitely not hide it or refuse”

Lin Tong asked, “Since you know of this Princess, then have you heard ofJi nodded and responded, “This co is a heroine ast women and has repeatedly commanded troops to repulse the invasions of the barbarian tribes Who within the entire Northern Han does not know of her illustrious naed to General Long They are truly an exceptional couple Who would not envy the proudly exclaireat hero In this entire world, he is the only one worthy of being matched with my older sister However, I have heard that others state the nale side by side with my elder sister Don’t tellcompared with my elder sister? I don’t believe it But, no one has spoken to le’s affairs Don’t tellLin Tong’s large, al Ji helplessly chuckled Only when he saw Lin Tong’s expression becohter He replied, “You can’t blale has experienced a bu That is why no one has spoken of it to you”

With excite blurted out, “So you know! Quickly tellJi explained, “This Princess Changle’s actual title is the Princess Changle of Ning She is the eldest daughter of Li Yuan, Yong’s Einal noble Consort as advanced to the position of Eer The Princess has a virtuous, chaste, and cale of sixteen, she washis wife After the Crown Prince succeeded, Princess Changle became the Queen Simply for her status, she is incos, Lin Tong asked, “She is co his head, wang Ji grinned “That is naturally not the case Although the Princess was of a respectable status, unfortunately Great Yong and Southern Chu were eneh no one in Southern Chu dared to mistreat her, the Princess likely did not feel a hint of joy while in Southern Chu, spending years living in seclusion in the depths of the palace Later, in the twenty-second year of Southern Chu’s Xiande era, the King of Southern Chu changed the era nah that has since been abandoned In the twenty-third year of Xiande, the nineteenth year of your honored state’s Rongsheng⁷ era, that year, Prince Li Zhi of Yong led an ar Princess Changle back to Great Yong”