Ah Hua and Wu Si looked over at the same time, and the person who spoke turned out to be the woman who knew martial that they were all looking at her, He Mingyue pointed at the bewildered Xiao Mingming and said loudly, "I want to be with her." It turned out that the girl she wanted to take with her was the little girl. Wu Si looked at Ah Hua. He didn't care. The girl was too young. She could be useful as a maid. If she was made a prostitute, she might not survive the night. It was not that he was kind, but he thought it was a waste. It was difficult to find a whole Han woman in the desert. Wouldn't it be a waste if she was killed by mistake? "Miss Ah Hua, what do you think? Although this girl is young, she can do some rough work." Ah Hua nodded and walked forward, as long as they were not those women who looked indecent, it would be fine. He Mingyue waved at Xiao Mingming, and the little girl widened her eyes in disbelief. He Mingyue smiled and said, "It's you, hurry up and follow me." Xiao Mingming grinned happily, followed the crowd like a little tail, and walked into the camp together. On the first day she arrived here, He Mingyue not only did not see Wu Ju, she didn't even see Empress Xiao. After dark, she and the other women, including Xiao Mingming, washed themselves clean. Ah Hua also asked them to put thick oil on their hands to nourish their skin which was cracked by the wind and sand. They were also asked to rinse their mouths with water soaked in jasmine petals and mint leaves to ensure that everyone had fragrant breath.
Ten days passed like this. Ah Hua checked each of them one by one. Although their skin had not completely improved, it was much better than when they first arrived. After all, they were all young girls in their prime. With sufficient food and clean water, they radiated the glow of youth. Ah Hua was very satisfied and asked them to change into silk clothes and embroidered shoes. The girls were very careful, fearing that their not-so-delicate fingers would cause the clothes to get ripped. Xiao Mingming stretched out his feet in surprise and said to He Mingyue: "Sister Yueyue, look, there are flowers embroidered on these shoes." The shoes were all ready-made, but there were no children's sizes. Xiao Mingming stuffed a ball of cotton into her shoes, but she was still very happy. These were the most comfortable shoes she had worn in the past few years. Ah Hua is finally going to take them to see Empress Xiao. Of course, there is no Empress Xiao now, only Madam Xiao. Madam Xiao was in her prime, with hair as long as clouds and skin as crystal clear as jade. She was so beautiful that she didn't look like a real person. He Mingyue was secretly surprised. The Mrs. Xiao in front of her was completely different from what she had imagined. Madam Xiao is the daughter of Xiao Wenyuan. She grew up in the northwest, so she must have ridden horses since she was young and often went in and out of military camps, looking very heroic. But the Madam Xiao in front of him looked like a beautiful jade figure carved out of a fine stone. What surprised He Mingyue even more was that she was actually blind! The only flaw on Mrs. Xiao's face was her lifeless eyes. There was no movement in her eyes, nor any sparkle in her pupils. This reminded He Mingyue of those puppets that were painted but without the finishing touches. He Mingyue was certain that Madam Xiao was not blind when she married the Tartars, and the intelligence sent back from the Tartars did not mention her eyes. In other words, if she really became blind while in the Tartars, then this was a secret among the Tartars, a secret kept secret by the Tartar royal family. He Mingyue immediately thought of Empress Dowager Man, the actual ruler of the Tartars. Although Empress Dowager Man and Madam Xiao were mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, there was only a few years difference between them. One of them was the little emperor's mother, and the other was his wife. They could both control the little emperor's words and deeds. There could not be two tigers in one mountain, and there could only be one person in power in the Tartar royal court, so the Queen Mother Man blinded her daughter-in-law's eyes. Because she was blind, she could not attend court, could not review memorials to the emperor, and she could not even move around. She completely lost her freedom. Hearing that one of these maids knew martial arts, Madam Xiao smiled and said, "Okay, you can stay with me from now on." He Mingyue hurriedly said: "I will obey your orders." Madam Xiao laughed: "What's the point of ordering? This is not a military camp." She asked again: "Your accent doesn't sound like you're from the northwest."
He Mingyue said: "I am from Henan. My father is a merchant. I have been without a mother since I was young. I followed my father to do business everywhere. I can no longer speak my native dialect, but I have learned Mandarin." Madam Xiao smiled and said, "Mandarin is not easy to learn. You speak it very well." From that day on, He Mingyue stayed with Madam Xiao, while Xiao Mingming worked with several other women to do chores such as serving tea and cleaning the house. Three days passed in a flash, and He Mingyue still hadn't seen Wu Ju. She learned from other people's conversation that Wu Ju was in the camp and did not go out. Strangely, Wu Ju did not come to visit Mrs. Xiao for three consecutive days, let alone stay here overnight. Aren’t they married already? Moreover, Wu Ju was so angry that he almost attacked Longxi County for Madam Xiao. Who didn't know that his love for Madam Xiao was moving? He Mingyue had never experienced love between a man and a woman, but she had seen all kinds of love in operas and storybooks. People who were deeply in love would definitely want to be tied together. How could they live together like this but not see each other for three days? On the fourth and fifth day, Wu Ju still did not come to see Mrs. Xiao, but He Mingyue met him. That evening, He Mingyue took the opportunity to go to the kitchen to quietly explore the camp, but unexpectedly saw Wu Ju by the river. One Spring Festival, Wu Ju came to the capital to give gifts instead of Wu Ji. As a garrison commander of the Imperial Guard, He Mingyue met him several times without Wu Ju noticing. Although they had not seen each other for many years and things had changed, He Mingyue still recognized at a glance that the man with a weather-beaten face sitting by the river was Wu Ju. Although He Mingyue could still recognize him, she had to admit that the current Wu Ju was completely different from the high-spirited and stubborn young man back then. Environment and experience have a huge impact on people. In just a few years, a young man of the past has become a weathered man. Wu Ju should be at most 28 or 29 years old, but now it seems that it is not an exaggeration to say that he is over 40 years old. He sat on a rock by the river, his expression the same as that of the severely weathered rock in the desert. He Mingyue hid his figure and did not approach. Wu Ju had no one around him, only him. Yes, this is his camp, surrounded by his soldiers, he is absolutely safe here. At this moment, a graceful figure walked up to him like a willow in the wind. There were wind and sand in the desert and the glaring sun. Even in this oasis, as long as they stepped out of the tent, both men and women would dress tightly. Even Ah Hua, who loved beauty so much, would wrap her hair and white neck with a silk shawl. Sometimes she would also cover her face. The man in front of him not only did not wear a shawl, but also wore a thin shirt, which not only exposed his neck, but also his white chest. Although it was only the back view, He Mingyue still recognized it. This was Xi Que. She heard that Magpie and Thrush were having a hot affair with several officers. Because they had served the Dark Lord before, almost every man wanted to have a kiss with them. At this time, Xi Que had already walked to Wu Ju's side. Wu Ju noticed someone approaching, and when he saw it was her, there was a little more annoyance in his voice: "What are you doing here?" The magpie smiled charmingly: "I have long heard that the leader of the Long Snake Camp, Wu Ying, is young and handsome, a rare talent. Now that I have finally arrived at the Long Snake Camp, I thought I could serve the leader. However, I look forward to your coming every night, but the leader makes me wait in vain every night." Wu Ju snorted coldly: "Get lost!" Instead of running away, the magpie stretched out her delicate hand and touched Wu Ju's face. In a flash, an idea flashed through He Mingyue's mind, and she said secretly, "Not good." Wu Ju was about to push Xi Que away when she saw a short arrow suddenly fly out from Xi Que's wide sleeves and shoot towards Wu Ju's throat. The distance was too close, and Wu Ju had no way to dodge. The charming smile on Xi Que's face turned cold in an instant. The short arrow was about to shoot into Wu Ju's throat. At the critical moment, something flew from somewhere and hit the short arrow. With a dang sound, the short arrow and the object fell to the ground at the same time. The magpie saw clearly that it was a stone.
At this moment, Wu Ju also recovered and rushed towards Xi Que: "How dare you assassinate me, you bitch!" Seeing that the attack missed, Xi Que turned around and ran, but there was someone standing behind him. Xi Que was startled, and the person was Yue Yue! She didn't even know when Yueyue was standing behind her. Obviously, she was the one who threw the stone just now. It was no secret that He Mingyue knew martial arts. All the women who came with her knew it. She was chosen because of her martial arts skills. Xi Que was also wary of He Mingyue at first, but Wu Si proudly told her on the bed that Yueyue was just a show-off. After fighting with Wu Si, she was knocked to the ground after just a dozen moves. Therefore, Xi Que did not take He Mingyue seriously at all. Moreover, since He Mingyue was picked up by Ahua, she had been staying with Madam Xiao every day, and Xi Que had never seen her again. Unexpectedly, when the two met again, it would be this situation. There is He Mingyue in front and Wuju behind, and the magpie is sandwiched between the two. Her martial arts skills are good. If they fight alone, He Mingyue can only tie with her. But with the addition of a Wuju, the situation is completely different. The magpie was quickly defeated, and He Mingyue was quick to remove her chin. Wu Ju was stunned. He thought He Mingyue would subdue Xi Que and then tie her up with a rope, but he didn't expect that she would take off her chin first. Seeing him stunned, He Mingyue said, "This can prevent her from biting her tongue to commit suicide, and she may have a poison pill in her mouth." As he spoke, He Mingyue had already deftly tied up Xi Que's hands and feet behind his back and tied him up in a strange position. He also examined Xi Que's mouth with a familiar look. Wu Ju asked hurriedly: "Do you have poison pills?" He Mingyue glanced at him and said, "Do you have a dagger?" Wu Ju hurriedly pulled out a dagger from his boot. He Mingyue laughed as soon as she saw it. Without hesitation, she put the dagger she had just pulled out of her boot into the magpie's mouth. Xi Que was furious, but she couldn't move, even her mouth was out of her control. She could only let He Mingyue pry off one of her teeth with a dagger with a dead heart. "You see, this tooth is made of wood and is hollow inside." As she spoke, she showed the wooden tooth to Wu Ju. The tooth was hollow, and inside it was a pill covered with wax. "Just lick it with your tongue and the pill will come out of the wooden teeth. If you bite it hard, you will be poisoned and die. If I am not mistaken, this pill is most likely arsenic, and death will be particularly quick." He Mingyue knew all the pills by heart, as if she was the one who put the pill into the magpie's mouth. Xi Que couldn't believe it, but unfortunately from her angle she could only see He Mingyue's feet wearing embroidered shoes. But even though she couldn't see He Mingyue's face, Xi Que could imagine that at this moment, that face must be full of pride. Wu Ju took a breath and said, "How do you know so much? By the way, who are you and why are you here?" He Mingyue pointed at the magpie on the ground and said, "I was sent here by the Condor Camp with her. I know martial arts, so I was chosen to be with Madam Xiao. It is said that this magpie used to warm the bed of the Dark Lord, so now she is getting along well with your superiors. By the way, she has a companion named Huamei. The camp leader had better have Huamei controlled immediately." Wu Ju looked at He Mingyue deeply, and this was obviously not the time to continue asking questions. He said to He Mingyue: "Take her and follow me." He Mingyue dragged the magpie on the ground like a dead dog and followed Wu Ju forward. It is no wonder that Xi Que would attack at this time. It was lunch time for the soldiers. The soldiers were eating, and there was no one around where Wu Ju was.
Moreover, it was obvious that Wu Ju usually liked to sit here alone. His subordinates and the people in the entire camp all knew his habit, so no one dared to disturb him, and there was no one around. It seems that Xi Que has been asking for information in bed a lot. If He Mingyue had not come here by accident today, she would not have known that Wu Ju had this habit, but Xi Que already knew it. He Mingyue reflected on herself and realized that as a Jinyiwei, she lost to an assassin this time. However, it was useless for He Mingyue to reflect on herself. In her current situation, she could not contact those generals at all. And Madam Xiao, who should have been closest to Wu Ju, had not met Wu Ju for five consecutive days. Soon, someone saw them and ran towards them. Wu Ju gave orders, and a moment later, a woman in disheveled clothes was dragged out of a tent. It was Huamei. This time Wu Ju had experience, so he had someone remove Huamei's chin. He then used the method he learned from He Mingyue to pry off a wooden tooth from Huamei's mouth and found a pill inside. The whole camp suddenly became lively. Someone actually tried to assassinate the camp owner, and the assassin was a prominent figure in recent days. That’s right, if you ask who is the most famous in the entire Long Snake Camp in recent days, it must be the two fairies, Magpie and Thrush. Unexpectedly, these two people were not goblins, but evil spirits. The generals who had slept with them laughed in shame. Without interrogating them, Wu Ju could guess that Xi Que must have learned from them that he had the habit of sitting by the river every evening. (End of this chapter)
