Chapter 221 Misplaced in a Human Paradise?

the imperial court was a place where one wrong word could lead to disaster.Having someone familiar with court etiquette and rules around her son would allow her and her whole family to rest easy.The s...The original desolate valley was now lush with grass and wildflowers, a patch of rubble cleared in the center where a dozen women were gracefully dancing.

Every move was graceful, her robes flowing like silk, she descended to earth like a fairy, captivating all who beheld her. 。Some soldiers rubbed their eyes hard, even thinking they were hallucinating because of the exhaustion from marching. 。Fortunately, Li Lao Si and Ye Shan reacted first. One stepped forward to protect Jia Yi and Liu Yang, while the other quickly surveyed the entire valley, those caves, and the watchtowers on both sides of the mountain peaks. 。At this moment, the women also discovered that outsiders had entered, and they scattered in fright, dropping flutes and lutes all over the floor. 。Someone's come! Quick, put down the rope ladder! "Master, Master, someone's here!" "Help me!" The valley that had just been like a paradise on earth was suddenly in chaos, with no beauty left at all. 。Everyone awkwardly scratched their noses and the back of their heads, feeling very wronged. They hadn't done anything at all. 。The soldiers were about to drop their bows and swords, but Ye Shan stopped them. 。"Be on guard! Don't think that just because they are women you can let your guard down, this isn't a military camp!"Li Lao Si also said, "We lived here through one winter, to live here is not easy, don't underestimate these women, there must be some who know martial arts among them." 。As expected, after the women scrambled into various caves in a panic, a moment later, a woman dressed as one of them leaped down from the largest cave and ran straight toward the crowd. 。The two sides were about five or six zhang apart. The woman stopped and carefully looked at the crowd. Seeing that Li Lao Si's side was mostly dressed as soldiers, her expression turned grim, apparently treating everyone as remnants of war. 。She gripped the sword tightly in her hand and shouted loudly, “This place has already been taken by us. Gentlemen, you might want to look for another place to rest.” 。" We are not refugees or defeated soldiers, nor are we people seeking refuge here. " 。Last winter, we lived here for several months and left some boxes of books. They were too inconvenient to carry, so we sealed them in the small cave on the far left. 。We are taking this now, and we will not disturb your life here. 。The woman's eyes flickered, and her grip on the sword loosened. 。They arrived here three months ago and found a cave with roughly made tables and chairs, and even a makeshift grass-roofed stove. They were overjoyed. 。Of course, they also discovered the bookcase inside the cave. 。Originally, I thought that if someone came to get the books, they could go with them and leave the mountain. 。But at this moment, the person who came to take the books was not the gentle and polite scholar they had imagined. It turned out to be a group of soldiers... Li Lao Si also saw that the mouth of the cave had been opened, frowned slightly, and said again, "You don't have to be afraid, we mean no harm" 。We just need to retrieve the books. You can use the rest of the things as you please. 。If you are not at ease, we can set up camp at the edge of the forest. 。As long as you bring us all 486 books, not one less, there will be no conflict. 。The woman looked them over carefully for a long time, neither agreeing nor refusing, then turned and walked away. 。Ye Shan looked at this, and said, “Let's build a fire and rest our legs. Dealing with women is troublesome, who knows how long it might take.” 。"Li Lao Si nodded and instructed everyone, "Half of you start a fire and roast the rabbits and wild chickens we caught on the road to fill our stomachs. The other half remain on guard; we can't let our guard down." 。Everyone immediately got busy, working together in an organized and efficient manner. 。In the largest cave in the distance, a woman stood at the entrance, gazing out at the busy crowd on the edge of the forest. 。She was wearing a deep blue tunic top, paired with an embroidered floral gauze pleated skirt. Her black hair was styled in a simple double bun, with a white jade hairpin inserted diagonally. This highlighted her beautiful features, and occasionally when she raised her hand, you could see the filigree turquoise beaded bracelet on her fair wrist, adding a unique charm to her overall appearance. 。If not for the surrounding caves being too crude, one would easily believe this appearance belonged to a pampered noblewoman from a wealthy and influential family. 。The sword-wielding woman who had just spoken to Lao Si and the others, spoke in a low voice, "Master, these people don't look like ordinary bandit remnants, and they also brought two young boys." 。The two leaders, one acting like the foreman, and the other though looking tough, had a hint of a farmer about them. 。The number of books on their list also matches, so they must really be here to borrow books. 。"Look, do you want to give the books to them We... Should we go down the mountain with them"

The beautiful woman gently shook her head and ordered, "Observe a little longer. We are all women. If we trust the wrong person, we won't even have room to turn over." 。Tell them that the books we have been reading need to be organized. Ask them to rest for two days by the forest. 。Also, get them something. Try to find out more about them. 。"Okay, I'll go find Xiǎotong and Huī'er. They're young, so no one will suspect them." 。 。At the edge of the forest, a bonfire had been lit. The hunters hadn't caught much along the way, but after rubbing salt on their meager game and roasting it over the fire, they ate with the white flour cakes they had brought from home. It was enough to fill their bellies. 。Just as the rabbit was freshly roasted, two young girls, about fifteen or sixteen years old, came from the direction of the cave. They were small and slender, dressed plainly, with timid expressions, like little rabbits. 。Two people carried a small iron pot and a small cloth bag, standing a few steps away and addressing the crowd. 。"My fellow heroes, our headmaster said that the chests have been opened by everyone and it will take one or two days to gather them all together. Please wait a little longer." 。Here we have an iron pot and glutinous rice, you valiant warriors far traveled and weary, if you don't mind, we'll help you simmer some hot rice porridge to warm your bellies.

Anyone facing such a young girl wouldn't feel the slightest bit wary

Ye Shan and Li Lao Si clasped their hands together and replied, "Good. Please tell your boss that not a single book should be missing." 。Besides, we'll keep the iron pot, consider it borrowed, but you can take the rice back. 。Perhaps because their voices were too loud, the two little girls were startled and shrank their necks. Their big eyes immediately welled up with tears, as if they could fall down at any moment. 。Both Ye Shan and Li Lao Si felt awkward and instinctively took a few steps back. 。Two little girls tugged at their hems, their tears falling more and more rapidly. 。 Our teacher had ordered us to take back the rice, we would be scolded if… A soldier felt pity and said, “Master Si, they are just two little girls. Let us offer them a rabbit leg.” “Yes, Master Si, let us boil some porridge. We have been eating dry rations all along this journey, I can’t stomach it anymore…” 。Li Lao Si frowned, weighing whether to consider everyone's thoughts, and finally nodded. 。At once, someone took two little girls and sat them down on a big stone, giving them the roasted rabbit legs. 。The little girls were a bit reserved at first, but once they tasted the rabbit meat, they forgot everything else. 。"Wow, this is so delicious! We haven't had meat in a year." 。I'm so hungry all day, boo hoo. 。" Me too, I thought I was going to starve to death in this forest." 。The soldiers felt pity and offered them some dry biscuits, saying, "Eat slowly. You're so young, how could you be in this deep mountain forest"al arts. You're perfect in every way."General Li likes you, that means he has good taste! Don't worry about those rumors in the future. Your family got robbed because you weren't prepared enough."The...