In the forest, a horse was lying on the ground snoring.
Li Xia walked down from the top of the mountain and said to Gao Mingyue: "They had a conflict. They won't chase them again for a while. Let's rest for the night and walk north tomorrow to distract the pursuers."
"good."
Li Xia looked around and saw Gao Mingyue sitting there, still looking very delicate.
When Li Xia went to explore the way to the top of the mountain, she had already built a shelf with stones and branches, and put a clay pot on the fire to boil water.
"You have an injury on your foot, why are you running to scoop water?"
"It doesn't matter if you walk slowly." Gao Mingyue responded, wrapping the pottery pot in a cloth and taking it down, and then said, "It's already boiled. You can drink it after it cools down."
Li Xia thinks she is quite attentive and can remember so many details on the road.
"I'm not that particular either."
"Um."
Li Xia added: "The Zhang family cannot stay on Shandong West Road for too long. They will evacuate in a few days."
"good."
"I made an appointment with Lin Zi and the others to arrive half a month later than them. So far it seems that we should be about the same."
"good."
Gao Mingyue raised her head, as if she felt that it would be bad if he didn't answer after he said so many words, so she said softly: "Don't worry, they will be fine."
"yes."
Having said the business, there is nothing else to say.
This silence is partly due to the fact that they have a tacit understanding and do not know many things.
The two of them stared at the fire in silence.
In this situation, Li Xia couldn't help but compare Gao Mingyue and Zhang Wenjing in his mind.
The two little girls are almost pretty, but Zhang Wenjing is not quiet when they get along, and talks endlessly; Gao Mingyue is like a tall bright moon, quiet and fresh.
Of course, this was just his impression of them, and he wouldn't like any of them just because they were beautiful.
Although I didn't get married in my previous life, I was still considered outstanding. I had all kinds of stunning women around me. I had passed all the flowers in full bloom, and there were two sixteen-year-old girls in bud...
In addition, the current climate is different, and now that you are growing taller, you should be more restrained in this regard.
"Can you tell me that story?" Gao Mingyue suddenly asked in a low voice, "That... the story of Tian Long Ba Bu."
"Okay." Li Xia said, "Where did you hear it last time?"
Gao Mingyue thought to herself that he hadn't noticed that she wasn't listening beside him, and felt slightly disappointed.
"Speaking of which, Mu Wanqing followed Duan Yu to the Zhennan Palace." Gao Mingyue was looking forward to it, secretly feeling very happy in her heart.
Li Xia nodded and spoke casually.
"After arriving at Zhennan Prince's Mansion, they met Princess Zhennan..."
Li Xia spoke casually, skimming over the things he didn't remember.
He did not notice that as Gao Mingyue listened, the light in Gao Mingyue's eyes gradually disappeared.
During the subsequent journey, the two were no longer as silent as before, and occasionally discussed topics related to the story.
"By the way, are the Bai people monogamous?"
"Well, it's not like the Han people who have the custom of taking concubines."
Li Xia said "Oh".
Gao Mingyue thought of what her brother had mentioned and thought that this man wanted to have a concubine, so she shouldn't marry him...
The two rode their horses in a large circle to the north to ensure that the Zhang family would not catch up again, and then turned southward along Shandong East Road.
Five or six days later, they sat in the forest again at night, and the story was almost finished.
After hearing this, Gao Mingyue thought for a while, hesitated a little, and said softly: "When you see my second brother, don't tell him the rest of the story, okay?"
"Um?"
"The story is very nice, the best story I have ever heard, but..."
"Is it because of Murong Fu?" Li Xia said, "The story I read in the book is just like that. I didn't mean to insinuate Brother Murong by it."
Gao Mingyue shook his head and said: "It's not because of this that the hope of restoring the country is slim. We have always known..."
She raised her head and looked at Li Xia, and finally said directly: "The story is really good, and I shouldn't say anything about what happened more than 150 years ago. However, the reason why Duan Zhengchun came to the throne was because the Gao family became emperor.
Later, he took the initiative to return to him, and Duan Yanqing's son was nothing, and he used this nothing to ruin a woman's innocence... As a descendant of the Gao family, it is difficult to agree with the metaphor, arrangement, and slander of Queen Wen'an."
Only then did Li Xia understand.
This time, I really offended Gao Mingyue.
He himself liked this story very much, and he often read it when he was a child... To tell a story, if the plot requires it, it is normal to use some fictional characters from ancient times.
But who would have thought that I would meet a descendant of this family.
"Sorry, I never meant any offense."
Gao Mingyue said: "You don't have to apologize. I also understand that making up stories is like this, but... I'm just afraid that if you tell my second brother, he will annoy you."
In fact, there were many other things behind her words. For example, she was not angry with him, but wanted to remind him because of her identity and position; for example, she also hoped that he would be more inclined towards the Gao family rather than the Duan family.
If it were Zhang Wenjing's temperament, he would probably chirp about how noble the Gao family was in returning the throne, how upright they were in fighting for their country and dying for their country, and frankly said that they wanted to recruit Li Xia.
But Gao Mingyue didn't, because her father, Gao Taixiang, was not like Zhang Rou. Her father died in the war, leaving behind only a broken family after the fall of the country.
Unlike Zhang Wenjing, she has always been protected by her father.
If she didn't tell her, Li Xia wouldn't delve into a girl's thoughts.
"Okay, I understand."
Gao Mingyue said: "I'm not unhappy, I'm just reminding you."
"I know." Li Xia smiled.
"I'm also sorry for asking you to tell me a story, but then you said this."
"It doesn't matter, it's a small matter..."
Apparently there was no bad blood between the two.
Gao Mingyue glanced at Li Xia secretly and saw that his eyes were open and his apology was sincere, but there was no trace of embarrassment or embarrassment.
This made her admire him very much. His magnanimity, determination, and detached attitude of not being obsessed with anything made her admire him very much.
But she felt a little lost. She sensitively discovered that... Li Xia was not embarrassed, which meant that he was not attracted to her.
If he was moved, he would never be so upright and calm.
Some vague expectations in Gao Mingyue's heart seemed to be suppressed by her.
In fact, she sometimes secretly looks at Li Xia after he falls asleep.
She knew she liked him.
Every time her second brother mentioned that he wanted to propose marriage, she felt that his thoughts had been revealed and she was embarrassed and annoyed.
It's just that I don't like her enough to stalk her.
Just like that story, she found it very exciting and liked it very much, but from the perspective of a descendant of the Gao family, she didn't like it so much.
Moreover, her favorite Mu Wanqing in the story did not get married in the end. She felt that maybe this was Li Xia rejecting her tactfully...
All in all, after Li Xia "dismissed" Gao Mingyue by "taking responsibility for matters in a hurry", the small feelings that developed between the two were covered up by her.
She would also think that if she had more courage, if she showed more admiration for Li Xia in every frown and smile... maybe... she would marry him.
However, when the two of them got along, because they had such a tacit understanding, they seemed a bit... respectful to each other.
Later, several strange little things happened on the way.
When we walked to Lianzhou, one night, Gao Mingyue didn't sleep deeply, and she faintly heard a very slight sigh.
"Hey."
She woke up in a daze and had no idea what Li Xia was saying. She could only vaguely see him getting up and walking to the stream, squatting there... washing his pants.
Gao Mingyue stared at his back, inexplicably feeling the trouble and embarrassment of a young man that belonged to him. He rarely showed such emotions.
But for some reason, she liked this scene very much. She just felt that this was a secret scene about him that only belonged to her.
Although she didn't know why Li Xia was so mysterious.
…
In fact, Gao Mingyue also had some mysterious things. She counted the days and gradually became worried.
It was hard for the girl to tell Li Xia about the inconvenience of being away from home.
When they reached Chuzhou, Li Xia went into the city.
That night, when Gao Mingyue was packing her things, she saw that in addition to various necessary items, there was also a large roll of soft silk, paper, and needlework.
Li Xia didn't say what the purpose of buying this thing was.
…
However, in Chuzhou City, there was a cloth shop owner who was whispering to her maid.
"Today a handsome man asked me to buy a menstrual belt. How can such a private item be sold ready-made? Whose wife doesn't sew it herself? He is teasing me. He will definitely come again tomorrow. Then you can
Alang goes out..."
In the woods, Gao Mingyue was sewing with her back to Li Xia. Occasionally she turned her head and glanced secretly, saying to herself that he seemed cold and distant, but he had paid attention to her.
The needle and thread shuttled between the fine cloth, and a trace of emotion grew in Gao Mingyue's heart.
Unfortunately, the next day, Li Xia took her across the Huaihe River and returned to the Song Dynasty...