As Li Siye and his party embarked on their return journey, green green pastures spread out from under their feet, and the peaks of the Karakoram Mountains reached the sky. The top of the snowy peaks looked like the figure of an independent goddess left in the world, distant and unattainable.
Gong Juezan was tied up into a rice dumpling and rode on a horse. His body swayed left and right with the jolt of the horse, like a roly-poly. The reins of the horse were held far away by Tian Zhen with a hemp rope.
Zong Lu fell far behind the team without a trace. Li Siye did not have to worry about his escape or other premeditated plans. As long as Gong Juezan was in his hand, the fly would not be able to fly out of his palm.
During the days when Yan and Aranda were abducted and tied up, they had no water or rice, their hands and feet were stagnant, their body and mind were traumatized, and they were too weak to ride alone. This required two to three months of conditioning to recover.
They must be supported on the way back. If Shiluo takes the initiative to ride a horse with his mother Yan, what should Aranda do?
Li Siye immediately dispatched an errand and pointed at a commander and ordered: "Yang Wulong, you will take care of Aranda. You and she ride on the same horse and escort her back to Congling to capture her."
Yang Wulong frowned in embarrassment: "Shou Zhuo, I have a wife, look at me... I am riding a horse and hugging a woman. What do you mean by this? If my wife finds out, she will have to skin me."
"
"Are you still a man? You're afraid of women!" Li Siye raised his finger angrily and poked him in the air. The soldiers laughed and Yang Wulong bowed his head shyly.
He glanced left and right and saw Tian Zhen.
"Tian Zhen, you don't have a wife, you can take care of her."
Tian Zhen crossed her hands on her chest and was about to speak when she suddenly frowned and covered her chest with her hands. She grimaced in pain and crawled on the horse, almost rolling over.
The soldiers rushed towards him, shouting, and quickly supported him and asked: "Captain Tian, what's wrong with you! You seem to be injured!"
Tian Zhen frowned in pain, and his breathing was uneven. His face was originally waxy yellow, but there were no flaws visible.
"The day before yesterday, when I was fighting against the Tubo people on the battlefield, I was stabbed in the chest by the enemy's spear. It has not healed. I didn't expect that it has taken an attack now."
Li Siye looked down suspiciously, but Tian Zhen closed his eyelids slightly and did not look at him. He could only nod helplessly and said: "Since you were injured, why did you pursue Gong Juezan with me for hundreds of miles in the first place?"
Tian Zhen breathed intermittently and said: "This injury is not too serious. It will be fine even if you ride a horse and shoot a crossbow. I can take care of myself, but it won't be possible if I have to take care of another sick person."
Li Siye snorted and turned his attention to Kubani, the newly recruited soldier of the Tang Army: "Qubani, you are only seventeen years old, don't you have a wife? Don't tell me that you are also injured!"
Kubani blushed and hesitated and said: "I am indeed not injured, but I already have a wife. Although it has not been made public, we are already living together. If Suozhu knows that I am carrying another woman home, she will definitely
You will be so sad that you leave me and go into other men’s felt tents!”
The surrounding soldiers laughed sarcastically. Li Siye smiled instead of angry and waved his hands helplessly. When he turned his attention to others, they all lowered their heads and ran away.
Aranda sat weakly on the sheep's felt, so Li Siye had no choice but to go up and help her up, put his shoulder on her feet, and let her crawl onto the horse.
The face of this frail and invisible woman was particularly pale, with beads of sweat condensing on the high bridge of her nose. Her loose braids were all spread out, forming a shawl with long hair, which gave her a bit of the style of a modern woman of later generations.
Li Siye did not get up, but just walked to lead the horse. Aranda was swaying on the horse, her body was thin and thin, as if a gust of wind could blow her off the horse. The soldiers followed him, and they couldn't help but feel a little anxious, but they didn't know why.
Are you anxious for Li Siye or Aranda?
In the evening, everyone arrived at the Yiduo River. Li Siye helped Aranda off the black fat body. She finally regained some consciousness and strength. After dismounting, she was able to salute Li Siye: "Thank you Li Shijun for supporting me all the way. Aranda is very grateful."
All."
Li Siye had no choice but to return the gift: "No need to thank you..."
A bonfire was lit by the river. Li Siye rolled up a sheep's rug and let Aranda lie on it. Yan lay on another sheep's rug. Her son Ruoshuluo ran away to no one knows where.
Aranda did not feel sleepy at all. She stroked her long hair to reveal her beautiful profile. The high bridge of her nose made her face more prominent, and she had both Western and Eastern features.
Li Siye was disassembling the saddle when he heard Aranda say from behind: "Li Shijun, I heard that my father wants to marry me to you, what do you think?"
He was stunned for a moment, but he didn't expect that Aranda was weak and weak all the way. When she finally had the strength to speak, the first thing she asked about was marriage. She looked like an older woman who was urged to get married and go on a blind date.
Li Siye nodded and said, "General Gayancong seems to have mentioned it to me, but I refused."
Aranda looked sideways at her reflection in the river, then proudly raised her chin and asked, "Then don't you regret seeing me now?"
"Regret? Why should I regret it?"
Aranda closed her mouth and turned her face away.
…
Tian Zhen and a few others hid behind a sunny rock, lying on the slope and enjoying themselves, accepting the mint leaves sent by Ruosuluo with peace of mind. This is the Tang Dynasty version of chewing gum, which can be kept in the mouth to keep the breath fresh.
"These few taels of leaves are from my father's inventory. Thank you for creating opportunities for Aranda and Li Shou to catch envoys."
The soldiers smiled tacitly, and some of them said something sarcastic, hoping to take advantage of the opportunity to increase their reward: "I sold out Li Shou's envoy for a few mint leaves. If he comes back for trouble in the future, the gain will not be worth the loss."
Tian Zhen spat and said, "Just be content. If I don't give you mint leaves, you will still betray him."
He leaned out and took a peek at Li Siye and Aranda in the distance, then quickly lay down on the rocky slope, spit out the chewed leaves and said: "If Luo is lost, your father's good intentions may be in vain.
If the melon is not sweet, the two of them have no fate."
Ruosuluo nodded, but then shook his head: "I don't want Aranda to marry him."
…
Li Siye blew the wooden whistle he took out from his arms, and the scattered soldiers ran towards him like a flock of happy sheep.
"It's getting late, let's leave now!"
Aranda was still riding on the horse, with Li Siye holding the reins and walking in front. She looked at his back, and a strange thought flashed in her mind. It was because this man refused to ride with her and only wanted to walk, which slowed her down.
The speed at which the team is traveling.
"Li Shijun," Aranda called sweetly.
"Um."
"Get on the horse and sit for a while."
"No need, I'll just walk."
"Then you come up and ride the horse, and I'll go down and walk."
"No need, your body has not recovered yet."
After only a moment, Aranda let out a sobbing sound, and huge tears flowed down her cheeks. Then the sound became louder and louder, and became more and more sad, like a river of sadness flowing backwards.
The soldiers looked sideways and did not dare to come forward to ask.
"Why are you crying?"
Aranda rubbed her eyes with both hands and sobbed: "The envoy personally chased thousands of miles and saved Aranda's life. Aranda is very grateful for this, but the envoy would rather walk alone than ride with me. Could it be that Aranda
Is it so filthy that it disgusts you so much? Although I fell into the enemy's hands and could not protect myself, if the Tibetan thieves came even slightly closer, I would bite my tongue and kill myself! Aranda is still as white as the snow lotus on the Karakoram Mountains.
Just as you imagined."
Li Siye turned around in shock and annoyance, spread out his hands and said, "What kind of human language are you talking about? We Han people have a saying that men and women are not intimate, that's all, why bother thinking about it?"
Aranda wiped away her tears again and said: "I don't care about being a woman, but you, as a man, are so worried. Do you think I can eat a piece of your meat if you ride with me? Or can you give me an extra piece of meat?"
Li Siye suddenly became mute, and all the soldiers behind him snickered.