spring flowers

Chapter 3
Before dawn the next day, Mei Lin was kicked awake.Murong Jing and the side attendant tidied his clothes while kicking her lightly, waiting for her to open her eyes before giving up.

"Get up, you are allowed to go hunting with me today." When he said this, he looked like he had given someone a great gift.

Mei Lin's eyes were still sore, she was a little confused when she heard the words, her naked body hidden under the blanket moved, and the pain immediately caused her to gasp, her facial features were all squeezed together.But when Murong Jing and the next glance passed over, she still sat up with her sore and limp waist that seemed to have melted away, and hid behind the blanket and fumbled to get dressed.

She was probably used to training with injuries, and even under such circumstances, she still didn't think that she might be able to try to find an excuse not to go.

When they went out, Murong Jing and Ah Dai, who was still beside Murong Jing in the end, were already standing neatly at the tent door, bowing their heads and sending them off respectfully.However, when Mei Lin passed by her side, she raised her head, without concealing the contempt and disgust in her eyes, obviously looking down on Mei Lin's self-willed depravity.

Meilin smiled and ignored her.

Murong Jinghe didn't ask people to prepare an extra horse, but asked Mei Lin to ride with him.Meilin couldn't figure out his intentions, she certainly wouldn't think that he would dote on her after one night, and she wouldn't even hesitate to anger the old emperor for it.

Recalling that before departure, when Emperor Murong saw himself sitting in Murong Jing's arms, his face turned black with anger, his beard trembled, but he cared about the situation. It was funny, but he couldn't figure out Murong Jing And what medicine is sold in the gourd.It wasn't until meeting the woman in military uniform that all doubts were resolved, including Ah Dai's special treatment.

The place where they met was at the edge of the mountain forest. Just when Mei Lin was jolted by the horse and began to tremble and protest, the woman appeared in their sights riding a tall black horse.Or in other words, Murong Jinghe had been lingering on the edge of the forest just to wait for this person, so he went up to meet her as soon as he saw her.

"Luomei." Without turning her head, Meilin could feel that Murong Jinghe's mood suddenly became high.

Makino Luomei, as the first female general of Yan, can be said to be a household name, Meilin has no reason not to know, but she never expected such a young woman.

As the distance approached, the face hidden under the curly feather hat gradually became clearer, with bright eyes and cherry lips, and skin as white as fat, she was actually an alluring beauty.It's just that the eyes are too sharp, paired with a neat soft-armored battle robe, it looks a little more heroic in the charming.

The beauty glanced lightly at the eyebrow forest leaning against Murong Jing and her chest, snorted coldly, did not speak, and rode straight into the forest.Meilin noticed that her nose was sharp and pointed up playfully, very similar to Ah Dai's, but without Ah Dai's sense of disobedience.At that moment, she suddenly understood that Ah Dai was caught by a glance, probably because of the nose that was very similar to this female general.

Murong Jinghe was obviously used to this kind of indifference, so he didn't take it seriously, he pulled his horse's head and followed her, while waving his hand to stop the guards from following her.

After yesterday's hunting, countless trails were stepped out in the forest, and the horse didn't have much difficulty walking along them, but naturally there was no prey to be seen.If you want to gain something today, you must go deep into the mountains and forests.But after a while, he met several groups of people, including Murong Xuanlie and his personal guards.

Seeing Murong Jinghe holding a woman in his arms and following a woman, Murong Xuanlie was angry and funny, couldn't help but tease a few words, then left quickly with his men before Makino Luomei broke out, and disappeared in the blink of an eye Among the lush forests.

Makino Luomei was so angry that she had nowhere to vent her anger, so she turned her head and glared at Murong Jinghe, and said coldly: "Your Highness, don't follow the lowly post again, so as not to cause people to gossip." Saying that, she quickly ran forward with her horse's belly.

This time Murong Jinghe didn't catch up immediately, but led Mei Lin to sit on the horse and slowly walked in the direction she was walking.

"Can you hunt?" Suddenly, he asked Meilin.

Meilin was sitting uncomfortably, when she heard the words she shook her head first, then felt something was wrong, and hurriedly said: "Go back to the master, I can't." When she was speaking, she didn't dare to look at the man, and she couldn't explain why, but she was always a little afraid of him in her heart , I wonder if it is the shadow that fell last night?
I thought that this impromptu topic would end in this way, but I didn't expect that Murong Jing and I didn't know what was wrong, so they said with great interest: "I will teach you." As he said, he really took off the crossbow on the horse's back, and held it carefully with his hands. Taught her how to use it, and didn't seem to care at all about the departure of Makino Luomei.

Of course, Meilin learned how to use a strong bow and crossbow when she was in the dark factory, but now that her martial arts have been abolished, ordinary bows can't be drawn.Fortunately, Murong Jinghe used a compact and light small continuous crossbow, so she didn't have much trouble using it.It's just that he was a little uncomfortable by his suddenly gentle and intimate attitude, and he didn't know how to move his hands and feet, let alone use a crossbow.Murong Jinghe was amused by her clumsy movements, and even more tirelessly wanted to teach her how to shoot prey.

Before they knew it, the two had entered the depths of the dense forest, and there were no other people around.At this moment, the grass swayed for a while, Murong Jinghe pulled the horse, and then whispered in Meilin's ear: "Pay attention to that side." As he said, he raised her arms holding the crossbow, and then supported her aim.

Feeling the scorching breath on his ears, coupled with his almost embracing posture, Mei Lin couldn't help being in a trance for a while, before he recovered, the arrow on the crossbow had been shot, and it went into the grass with a sound of "咻".

"Shot." Murong Jinghe let go of his hand, and his voice returned to normal.

On his back, he could still feel the slight vibration of his chest when he spoke, and for a moment, Mei Lin suddenly felt that the slightly hoarse voice was very pleasant to hear.Shaking her head and biting her lip, the light and sharp pain cleared her mind, and she immediately knew that she was almost dazed just now, and a thin sweat broke out on her back involuntarily.

Ever since she could remember, she had faced all kinds of harsh environments and indifferent and cruel human relationships, and she had already been able to deal with these with ease.But no one told her, what should she do if someone treats her well?
"Go down and have a look." Just when he was at a loss, Murong Jinghe's voice sounded again.Then her body was lifted off the horse's back and landed gently on the ground.

Probably due to sitting on the horse for a long time, plus the tossing and tossing last night, as soon as Meilin's feet touched the ground, she immediately felt exhausted and almost fell to her knees.Fortunately, Murong Jinghe supported her in time, and she didn't let go until she stood firmly.

Gathering his mind, Mei Lin walked towards the bushes in an awkward posture, pushed aside, and a gray hare lay on its side inside, with an arrow stuck in its belly, it was no longer breathing.She squatted down slowly supporting her sore waist, then leaned over and grabbed the hare by its ears and picked it up, turning her head to look at Murong Jinghe.

The man was sitting high on the horse, his back was facing the rising sun, he couldn't see the usual frivolous expression on his face, and the figure reflected in the morning light gave people the illusion of awe-inspiring dominance.

I thought I met a useless and harmless person, but now it seems that I am going to face a character who is more ruthless than anyone else.Meilin frowned slightly, troubled by her own judgment.

"What are you thinking?" Murong Jinghe saw her squatting there for a long time and couldn't get up, so he pulled the rein and let the horse walk over slowly.

Seeing him approaching, Meilin panicked inexplicably, stood up quickly and said with a smile, "I'm thinking that my master's arrow skills are really accurate."

"Since you want to shoot, you have to hit it right away. Otherwise, when the prey is alert, it will take a lot of trouble to catch it again." Murong Jing said slowly, with a hint of chilling coldness in his voice. .

Mei Lin suddenly felt a little uneasy, and always felt that there was a deep meaning in his words.

Without allowing her to think too much, Murong Jinghe bent down and carried her on the horse's back again, walking unhurriedly deeper into the dense forest where no one had visited.From time to time, pheasants or deer deer jumped in front of him, but he never made a move again, and Meilin became puzzled.

"Master, don't you want to hunt something?" It can be seen from rewarding the beauties last night that the amount of prey represents the strength of ability, which is directly related to one's own glory.

Unexpectedly, Murong Jing and Yi patted the hare dangling on the horse's buttocks, and asked with a smile: "Isn't this?"

Meilin was speechless for a moment.

He paused, and then said: "What's the point of shooting these little things that have no resistance and no use..."

While the two were talking, a fiery red shadow suddenly flashed across the rocks and weeds not far away, Murong Jing and his words stopped abruptly, and he raised his crossbow and shot.Unexpectedly, a fast arrow flew from the slanting stab, forcefully knocking his arrow away.With this obstruction, the red shadow immediately disappeared into the dense forest.

Makino Luomei rode her unusually tall black horse and appeared under the tree on the left rear, looked at Murong Jinghe with raised eyebrows, and said indifferently: "Murong Jinghe, let's have a competition." The content of the competition is self-evident, naturally That fiery little thing that suddenly appeared and fled quickly.

I don't know how she walked behind the two of them, but when she noticed that she was named Murong Jinghe, Mei Lin immediately knew that she might not dislike him as much as she showed on the surface.More likely, there is a deeper relationship between the two that cannot be understood by outsiders.Of course, these are just guesses. What doesn't need to be guessed is that Murong Jinghe suddenly became happy when he saw her appear.

"Since Luomei is interested, Jing should accompany her." He said with a smile, holding a crossbow in one hand and wrapping around Meilin's waist with the other. He was about to gallop towards the place where Hong Ying disappeared, but was stopped by Muye Luomei's horse .

"You take her..." Seeing her small and round chin pointing her brows, she said proudly, "Even if I win this general, it's not a victory."

Meilin's heart skipped a beat, and before she could react, she heard Murong Jing laughing, and then her body shook, and she was put on the ground.

"You're waiting for me here." He leaned over to meet her startled eyes, and said gently, but his attention was not on her.Before he finished speaking, he straightened up, pulled the reins and disappeared into the woods one after the other with Makino Luomei.

Meilin stood among the weeds, a gust of wind blew on her body through the forest gap, making her shiver involuntarily.

Mei Lin didn't think much about it, so she found a place with soft grass and flattened it to sit down, leaning against the wild rock next to her and taking a nap.Even though he was left like this, his tired and sore body could finally rest, which is not bad.

In fact, she knew in her heart that Murong Jing and the purpose of bringing her out had been achieved.Even if Makino Luomei's reaction doesn't prove how much she likes him, at least she cares about the attention she gets being distracted by another woman.Otherwise, she wouldn't turn around, and let him leave the unsightly existence in the name of fair play.Of course, that obtrusive existence is Mei Lin.

At first, Meilin thought they would be back soon, so she didn't dare to fall asleep.However, seeing the sun rising higher and higher, her stomach began to sing empty city plans, but there was still no one in sight, and she thought in her heart that she was probably forgotten.

Knowing this, she simply lay down in the grass, taking advantage of the warmth of the sun, and fell asleep peacefully, regardless of whether there would be any danger.

This sleep lasted until the sun set and the autumn cold gradually set.

Rubbing his stomach that hadn't eaten all day, Mei Lin sat up, looked at the blue sky above his head and the thin clouds dyed red by the setting sun, and let out a long breath.

Should I take this opportunity to escape, escape from all this, and live like a normal person?There was a commotion in her heart, and strong longing floated in her eyes, but it was quickly suppressed.Of course, she will not forget the poison in her body, and she needs to get the antidote every month, otherwise, the torment of the poison is enough to make her unable to live or die.What's more, she has nothing on her body, and it is difficult to protect herself now, so where can she escape, could she be a beggar?Not to mention that Murong Jinghe didn't say that he didn't want her, even if he really asked her to go, she would still have to cry and beg him to let her stay.

Taking out a wooden comb from her bosom, she loosened her grass-covered hair and combed it in a loose bun, then got up and walked back along the way she came.If you don't leave now, you won't be able to leave later.The mountains and forests at night are full of dangers, even experienced hunters have to be careful, let alone her who is powerless.

So far, the only thing she is thankful for is that after the rest, the discomfort in her body has been greatly reduced, making her walking not as strenuous as in the morning.She wasn't worried about getting lost in the mountains, after all, the training in the dark factory was not for nothing, it was just that she was hungry.

A mountain grasshopper suddenly jumped from the blade of grass in front of her and landed on the bark. She grabbed it, pinched its head, put it in her mouth, chewed it and swallowed it.

She didn't have time to search for food slowly, so she could only find something edible as she walked, including bitter wild fruits, and some insects that made ordinary people's hairs stand on end.In fact, when a person is hungry enough, he can eat anything as long as it is not poisonous.Of course she wasn't there now, but she had been before.Since you can eat, there is no reason to be hungry. After all, walking out of the mountains requires physical strength.

After autumn, once the sun goes down, it gets dark quickly.After walking for a long time, it became dark in the woods. Fortunately, the moon has risen. Although the light is weak, it is better than nothing.Meilin took advantage of the dim light to search for the traces left behind in the dark forest while carefully avoiding the wild beasts that came out to hunt for food at night. It was quite difficult to walk.At this time, she had no choice but to miss her abolished martial arts.Then think of the mysterious master from martial arts.

If at that time she couldn't understand why the master would abolish her martial arts, after knowing her mission, she should also understand.Whether or not she has martial arts can be easily tested by others. As a dowry woman, knowing martial arts is definitely not a reassuring thing.

She sighed helplessly, thinking of the dark factory before, thinking of last night, and thinking of the life she would face in the future, an indescribable exhaustion instantly swept over her body, making her almost unable to walk anymore.

After a pause, she knocked her forehead on the rough tree trunk, and it took her a while to recover, then she shook off those thoughts that would come uninvited as long as she was in the dark, gritted her teeth and continued walking.

"No matter what, I always want to get rid of all this." Mosquitoes were buzzing around her ears, she said to herself while waving her sleeves to drive them away.When she said this, the wild spring flowers she saw through the car window that year appeared in her mind, and she couldn't help smiling.

It was already mid-moon when I walked out of the forest.Meilin looked at the lights in the tents in the distance, and her legs, which were as heavy as lead, could barely move.

I really don't want to go there!She laughed at her hesitation.

But this time she didn't hesitate for too long, and a stern question came over: "Who's there?"

There was a sound of horseshoes, and a group of people rushed out from the forest on the other side with torches. The first person was dressed in black warrior uniform, standing on Hai Dongqing's shoulders. He was so handsome that it made people feel pressured. It was the eldest prince Murong Xuanlie.The horsebacks of the guards behind him were all covered with prey, among them was a leopard, which obviously harvested a lot.

Meilin didn't expect to meet them, she was stunned, and then bent down to salute.

"My maidservant has seen the First Prince." Judging by their appearance, it is obvious that they have just returned to the camp, so they don't know if Murong Jing and Muye Luomei have returned.

Murong Xuanlie narrowed his eyes and looked at her for a while, as if he just remembered who it was, he couldn't help feeling a little puzzled.

"Aren't you the one who entered the forest with the third child in the morning? Why are you here alone? Where is the third prince?"

The series of questions made Meilin not know how to answer, but she had to answer, she thought about her words, and said: "Your servant and His Highness the Third Highness were separated in the forest, and I was going back to the camp to ask His Highness if he has returned... "Until now, she didn't know that Murong Jing was ranked third, so there was another prince above him, and she didn't seem to see it yesterday.

While she was speaking, a guard behind Murong Xuanlie suddenly stepped forward and whispered a few words in his ear.He looked at her again, and there was undisguised sympathy in his long and narrow phoenix eyes.I don't know if it's because of the fact that she was left behind, or because of something else.

"Then you come with us." As he said, he signaled his subordinates to give up a horse, and then helped her to sit on it.

In fact, due to unspeakable reasons, Meilin would rather walk than ride a horse, but she couldn't refuse.She could only lean sideways without any trace, trying to make her look look normal.

She was probably considered Murong Jinghe's wife, so Murong Xuanlie didn't talk to her again during the rest of the journey.

Mei Lin rode behind on horseback, and occasionally raised her head to see his tall and handsome back, and couldn't help but think of the incense she smelled when she fell on him last night, and felt uneasy in her heart.

Murong Xuanlie's people kept sending Meilin to Murong Jinghe's camp, and only after finding out that Murong Jinghe had returned safely did they return.

When Meilin entered, Murong Jinghe was lazily leaning on the soft pillow, drinking while squinting at Ah Dai, who was kneeling beside him, playing with a small fiery red thing.

Mei Lin stood at the edge of the tent and saluted without going any further.After a while, Murong Jinghe seemed to realize her existence, raised his eyes, and waved to her.

Meilin walked over, because he was half lying down, she didn't dare to stand anymore, so she knelt and sat down like Ah Dai.But before she could sit still, she was pulled into her arms by Murong Jinghe.He put his nose against her neck and sniffed for a while, and then asked in an intimate tone: "Where did you get this fragrance of flowers?" His expression and tone were as if he had never left her alone in the deep mountains and wild forests. Speaking of guilt, there is no excuse for perfunctory.

Maybe Mei Lin would be at a loss when others treated her well, but it was not difficult to deal with the situation in front of her.

"You know how to tease people. It's autumn, where is the fragrance of flowers? It's just the smell of grass and leaves." She pretended to be angry, and while speaking, she pulled up her sleeves and put them under her nose to sniff lightly.Regarding the matter in the morning, he didn't mention a word, and he didn't complain a word.

"Really? I'll wait for this king to smell it carefully..." Murong Jing smiled, and really moved her head again, but this time the target was her breasts which were more plump than ordinary women.

Meilin's heart skipped a beat, thinking of what happened last night, her whole body seemed to ache again.In desperation, she hastily raised her hand to lightly block her chest, but her movements were not so stiff that people would feel rejected, but more like shyness, and at the same time she stammered: "Master... Slave... ...servant... hungry..."

She wasn't lying, although she found some messy things to fill her stomach on the way back, she couldn't control her fullness.

Murong Jinghe was taken aback, as if it was only then that she remembered that she hadn't eaten all day.Probably because he was swept away, he raised his head with a resentful expression on his face, but he still said, "Go to the next tent to find a banquet, let him get you something to eat, and arrange a place to rest by the way." Obviously, it's just to let her rest after eating, so she doesn't have to come here again.

Mei Lin heaved a sigh of relief in his heart, quickly got up from his arms and knelt down to thank him, then hurriedly backed out, not even thinking about putting on a show, he looked really hungry.Only she knew that it was because she was afraid that the stubborn Ah Dai would show some evil moths, and he would draw his anger on her again.

Of course she could tell, because of the somewhat similar relationship with Muye Luomei, Murong Jinghe was also particularly conniving towards Ah Dai.She didn't dare and didn't want to compete with Ah Dai for favors, she just hoped that she wouldn't suffer from unreasonable disasters all the time, and then she could complete the task without risk and escape safely.

After the bill was settled, she breathed a sigh of relief, looked up at the faint moon and sparse stars in the sky, and calculated the time, the antidote would be changed in ten days, but she didn't know if the hunting would be over before then?
Qing Yan is a servant, in his twenties, with no white hair.She looks younger than Murong Jinghe, but is actually a few years older.People who are probably castrated will always look younger.

Murong Jinghe hadn't slept yet, so he naturally didn't dare to sleep. Hearing Mei Lin's request, he still lost face and raised his eyes.He went out for a long time before returning, but what he served was cold barbecue.

"Eat." He raised his chin, looked at Meilin almost through his nostrils, and said in a tone of voice.

Mei Lin didn't dislike it either, and thanked her.

"Don't think that just because you got into the master's bed, you think you are also half the master..."

On one side, she was trying hard to cut the cold and hard barbecue with a thin knife, and on the other side, she began to teach her a lesson.

"Elder-in-law taught you the right thing." Meilin didn't get angry, she stopped what she was doing, and said calmly with lowered eyebrows.Her temper had been smoothed out in the dark factory, Qing Yan's attitude could not arouse the slightest wave in her heart.

Seeing her like this, Qing Yan muttered a few more words, felt bored, and stopped automatically.

Mei Lin lightened the movements of his hands, and tried not to make any noise when chewing, but the speed was not slow, or could be called fast, and in just a cup of tea, he wiped out a plate of roast meat.

When Qing Yan saw the clean plates, he was so shocked that he couldn't close his mouth from ear to ear.

"Have you not eaten for a few days?" His expression changed, and finally he couldn't help asking.Although it was cold barbecue, what he served was enough for two meals, and no matter how I thought about it, she couldn't finish it.

"One day." Meilin smiled, without explaining too much, and then asked, "Please tell me where should I send this plate of slaves?" Naturally, he didn't dare to trouble him about the aftermath.

The courteous feast to her was obviously very useful, so he stopped making things difficult, waved his hands and said, "Leave it there, someone will come to collect it tomorrow." As he spoke, he looked her up and down as if suddenly remembering something, and frowned, saying, "How do you serve the lord in this state?" After saying that, he walked out.

Mei Lin was a little dazed, and looked down at herself, only to find that after a day of tossing in the mountains and forests, the white clothes she was wearing were not only crumpled, but also stained with the juice of grass leaves and wild flowers, which looked yellow, yellow and green, so exciting .Thinking of Murong Jinghe hugging such a self into her arms without disdain before, she couldn't help but feel a strange feeling in her heart, and at the same time, she understood the true meaning of what he said to be covered in the fragrance of flowers.

While she was thinking wildly, the Qing banquet had already turned back, followed by two big men in imperial uniform.One was carrying a large wooden bucket, and the other was carrying two buckets of hot water.

Qing Yan directed the two people to put down the bucket and pour water into it. After watching them leave, he put aside the clean clothes and handkerchief and soap in his hands, and said to Mei Lin: "Take care of yourself, don't be too tired." Let people say that we people in Jingbei Palace don't know etiquette, like dirty beggars."

Without waiting for Meilin to speak, he said again: "Put the water there after washing, and we will spend the night here tonight. I'll ask someone to set up a tent for you tomorrow." After speaking, he left the tent and never came back.

There was a thin white mist in the water in the bucket, and golden rice-sized broken flower petals were sprinkled on the clear water, steamed by the heat, full of fragrance, making people want to soak in it just by looking at it.

Meilin stood there for a while, and after confirming that no one came in again, she slowly took off her clothes and stepped into the water.

When she sat down, the water in the bucket was rippling and rising, and just covered her chest. The slightly hot water stimulated and soothed the aching muscles all over her body. She involuntarily let out a comfortable sigh, and leaned against the edge of the bucket to relax completely.

Although this Qing Yan spoke harshly, he was considerate and considerate.Meilin thought, whether it was because of Murong Jinghe's face or because of his own duty, these did not prevent her from being grateful to him.

After soaking for a while, after the fatigue subsided, Meilin reached out and pulled out the hairpin, let her long hair loose, took a deep breath, slid down her body, let the water cover the top of her head, and her mind became clearer.

When she heard Murong Jing and Occasionally claiming to be the king, she just took it as a slip of the tongue, but only now did she know that he has been crowned king.If the prince is crowned king, if it is not because of his great achievements, he will be exiled in another way.No matter what the reason was, the position of the old emperor was destined to be lost to him.

Jingbei.that place……

As soon as she breathed out, she burst out of the water with a "splash", wiped away the wet hair and water droplets sticking to her face, and her eyes sparkled as she looked at the candlelight.

There...there is where she came from.

That year, she and other children were crowded in the swaying and bumpy carriage, watching the green hills receding from her eyes, and the broken white flowers swaying in the rain and mist, feeling at a loss as to where she was going to be taken.At the very beginning of that journey, I occasionally heard conversations with passers-by, and Jingbei was mentioned the most.

Maybe Murong Jinghe will take them back to Jingbei.Thinking of this possibility, Mei Lin couldn't help being excited, and a hope that she didn't understand faintly rose in her heart.

But that expectation didn't last long.Because from the next day until the end of the hunt, she couldn't see Murong Jinghe's face again, as if she had been forgotten.

Contrary to her, Ah Dai, who finally succumbed to reality, has been living in Murong Jinghe's main tent, and has been favored for a while.As a result, Qing Yan couldn't help showing pity in his eyes every time he saw her.

What made her completely desperate for that thought was that after the hunt was over, Murong Jinghe did not return to Jingbei, but drove into Beijing.Only then did she know that he had always lived in Zhaojing.As for Jingbei, perhaps it can only be regarded as a nominal fiefdom.

(End of this chapter)