1Chapter 1: Despair and Rebirth

In the 24th year of Hongzheng, winter seemed colder than in previous years. It had snowed several times, but it stopped a little on this day.

On a small road thirty miles outside the capital, a black horse carrying two people galloped by, and the horse's hooves raised the snow on the ground, and slowly fell down after the two people walked away.

"Prince, the horse can't run far with two people on its back... Let me down..." The voice of the person sitting behind was a little weak, but the tone was as gentle as usual.

"No, you are so seriously injured. If you are thrown into the snow, you will die in a moment!" Jing Shao wiped the ice on his face, clamped the horse's belly and continued to gallop. He realized that the group of people who came to release him were not right when he came out of prison. If he was forced to go to Shu, he should at least treat the seriously injured princess. He drove them away without saying a word. If he hadn't killed a lieutenant and robbed the horse, he would have been beheaded as soon as he left the capital.

"My body is not good anymore. I will die sooner or later. Put me down!" The people behind him were a little anxious. This horse was not a famous horse. After carrying two people for so long, it began to pant. If it continued like this, I am afraid that both of them would not survive.

"No, let's die together!" Jing Shao said loudly in the cold wind. This woman was the princess he married in a formal way. He favored concubines and ignored his wife for more than ten years. In the end, the only one who accompanied him in prison and served as a knife for him was this male wife he resented for more than ten years!

Jing Shao was the second son of Queen Yuan. He went to the battlefield to kill the enemy at the age of fourteen. He was crowned king when he was young and had great military exploits. Chen Dynasty could marry a male wife. For the sake of family peace, there was an unwritten rule that concubines could marry male wives. However, he was a legitimate son. The Queen Consort forced him to marry a man because he had a brother above him, and he was completely disqualified from inheriting the throne. So he resented, he was not convinced, never treated his wife well, and was unwilling to sincerely help his brother to win that position...

"Haha, what virtue and ability do I have to deserve the prince to die with me?" The person behind him sneered.

"I am sorry for you. If I can survive this time, I will listen to you in everything." Jing Shao comforted the person behind him, holding the reins with one hand and tightening the knot between the two with the other hand. Five miles ahead is Wangyue Slope, where there is a small road that he often walks when hunting. It leads directly to Fengyue Mountain. It is easy to hide in the mountains.

"Cough cough cough..." Mu Hanzhang couldn't help but cough violently on Jing Shao's back because he was talking against the wind just now, and the cold wind was poured into him. A wisp of blood slid down the corner of his pale lips. He blocked a knife for Jing Shao in the prison, which injured his internal organs. It hurt every time he was bumped. At this moment, because of the severe cold, the wound has lost consciousness, but since he has vomited blood... He couldn't help but smile bitterly and simply lay on Jing Shao's back.

After so many years of neglect, the concubine dared to show off to him. It was impossible not to resent him. Since he wanted to die with me, let him go, Mu Hanzhang thought.

He was a bastard from a marquis family. He studied hard for ten years and did not ask his father to pass on the title to him. He only asked himself to pass the imperial examination and leave that family as soon as possible. However, his father and mother wanted him to marry King Cheng as a male wife one year before he took the imperial examination! He was a man, but his wings were cut off and he was imprisoned in the small space of the inner house, unable to realize his ambitions. After so many years, he didn't know whether to blame his cruel mother or this irresponsible husband.

"In front!" There were waves of horse hooves, the collision of armor and swords, and chaotic shouts from behind, each sound like a death warrant.

Jing Shao whipped the horse's butt hard and ran towards Wangyue Slope without caring about his life.

"Swoosh~" The sound of the iron arrow breaking through the air came from behind, Jing Shao dodged it accurately by turning sideways, and the people behind him were also tilted by him.

"Hold me tight!" Jing Shao shouted.

Mu Hanzhang put his arms around Jing Shao's waist, pressed his body against his back, and matched his movements.

Beyond the Lookout Moon Slope is a forest path, which is convenient for dodging arrows. Jing Shao skillfully drove the horse through the forest, and the pursuers behind him gradually moved away.

"Does the wound hurt?" Jing Shao pulled the reins hard to help the horse jump over a big rock, and asked after landing.

"No... it hurts..." The answer became weaker and weaker.

"Hanzhang, don't sleep!" Jing Shao frowned and called anxiously, "After Fengyue Mountain is Yan County, where my old subordinates are, they will definitely help us avoid being hunted down!" While comforting him, he was also encouraging himself. He had been in prison for so long, and his clothes were thin. He was holding on until now entirely by willpower.

"Whew~" The horse under him suddenly neighed and went crazy. Jing Shao kicked the horse's belly fiercely, dragged Mu Hanzhang and jumped away. Looking closely, he found that someone had set a trap here, and it had caught the horse's hoof.

"Just leave me here." Mu Hanzhang said with a ray of clarity.

"We have reached the waist of Fengyue Mountain. The road behind is all downhill. I'll carry you!" Jing Shao looked around. On one side was a cliff, and on the other side was a steep slope covered with weeds. This was the only mountain road. It would be troublesome if they caught up with him. Without saying a word, he carried him on his back and rushed into the forest on the steep slope.

"I see, catch them!"

"Whoever takes the king's head will be rewarded with a thousand taels of silver!"

"Swoosh~Swoosh~" Arrows kept shooting from the forest, and Jing Shao fled in a very embarrassed manner.

"Um~" A stray arrow hit his right leg, Jing Shao staggered, and Mu Hanzhang fell off him.

"Your Highness!" Struggling to get up, Mu Hanzhang stepped forward to support him.

Jing Shao glanced at him and found that his handsome pale face had turned red and his spirit was much better than before. As he was used to seeing death, he naturally knew that this was a last gasp of life. He couldn't help but feel a pain in his heart, and suddenly pulled out the arrow, pulled up the people around him and ran away.

"Hahaha, let's see where you are going to escape?" The leading lieutenant came over with a big knife and a evil smile.

In panic, the two ran onto a dead end road. There was a cliff in front of them and pursuers behind them. It was really impossible to escape.

Jing Shao placed the man in his arms on the edge of the cliff, turned around and kicked him across the face. The lieutenant was unprepared and was kicked to the ground. Without giving him a chance to breathe, he kicked the man in the heart and beat him until he was foaming at the mouth. He took the big knife from his hand and chopped down the chasing horses with the knife. They walked across the narrow mountain road, one after another. Two horses tripped and fell, and the people on them fell off the cliff.

"Whoosh~" The people behind saw that the road was blocked by horse corpses. King Cheng was red-eyed with a big knife and did not dare to step forward easily. They took out their bows and arrows to kill them.

"Well..." It was useless to block with a knife. Jing Shao pulled out the arrow on his shoulder and threw it over with his backhand. There were bursts of screams, and then he jumped over the horse corpse and chopped it down. The remaining few were released. The man with hidden arrows was also killed, but he himself was also riddled with holes. Standing there and looking out, a second wave of pursuers was coming not far away. Looking at the steel knife in his hand, he could kill ten, but he couldn't kill hundreds or thousands of pursuers.

Carrying the bloody sword back to the edge of the cliff, the blood on the knife mixed with Jing Shao's blood, leaving a long blood mark. He took the man who was leaning on the stone into his arms. The man was already very angry and his handsome face was ashen.

"Jun Qing, have you ever blamed me?" Jing Shao stretched out his hand to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth. For the first time in his life, he looked carefully at this person, the wife he was marrying. Only then did he realize that his beautiful enemy was better than all the people in Prince Cheng's palace. Concubine Ji is not the kind of enchanting woman, but a kind of beauty with a literati's pride in her handsomeness. Now, those beautiful eyes reflected his stubble-covered face. How ironic. After boring chatting in prison, I realized that this man was a once-in-a-lifetime confidant. How many beautiful things have I missed in the past ten years? ?

"How can I not complain? If it weren't for you, I would have been named on the gold medal list and entered the temple." Junqing was his nickname. This person had never called him that. Mu Hanzhang smiled and said slowly He stretched out his hand to wipe away the blood on Jing Shao's face, "But I can't blame you. You are a capable person. It was me who prevented you from inheriting the throne... ahem..."

"Hahaha, you are capable? Why are you capable? I have lived such a confused life, and I have never been comfortable for a day. Now that I think about it, I have always been wrong... Hahahaha..." Jing Shao hugged the person in his arms tightly and looked up to the sky. Laugh, think about how he fought for his country all his life, but ended up losing everything, pampering his concubines and destroying his wives. In the end, it was the man-wife who stayed with him who he had ignored for more than ten years. He was jealous of his brother and refused to help him wholeheartedly. To seize the throne, after he was in trouble, he was the only one who worked hard for him, but this brother was the only one...Sigh, sad, it was just a joke in the end!

"My life...isn't it...also a joke..." Mu Hanzhang sighed softly, "If there is...an afterlife..." Before he could finish his sentence, he couldn't take his last breath, and his beautiful eyes Slowly closing it, the slender hand also fell on the green and black stone, lifeless. The sky started to snow again at some point, and the snowflakes fell on his long eyelashes, melted by Jing Shao's breath, and turned into water droplets rolling down.

"If there is an afterlife, I will treat you well and use my whole life to compensate you..." Jing Shao leaned the person in his arms against his chest and said softly, looking up at the thousands of miles of rivers and mountains in the distance, about to fall on the step queen And her violent son... Hearing the sound of horse hooves behind him, he slowly stood up. King Cheng is invincible in all battles in his life, and even if he dies, he will never die at the hands of these young men.

Jumping down the cliff, with the mountain wind whistling past his ears, Jing Shao hugged the voiceless person in his arms tightly, "I won't let you go, but I can hold on to the corner of your clothes on the bridge..."

When I opened my eyes from the darkness, I saw it was not the smoky fairyland of the spiritual platform, nor the life-threatening ghosts with green faces and fangs. The eyes were full of red tents, and the dim light of the remaining candles was flickering. Jing Shao was a little stunned, feeling weak all over and having a splitting headache. He raised his hand to rub his swollen and painful forehead, and slowly sat up. When his body's senses recovered, he suddenly realized that there was someone lying next to him. His bright red robe was torn, and his black hair was scattered on the exposed chest. Jade's skin was covered with purple scars.

He reached out and brushed away the hair covering his face, revealing a handsome face... Jun Qing!