The Hu cavalrymen were all from foreign tribes. They were extremely rude. After entering the Ruixue Tower, they casually threw Caiyu onto the bed.
Wrapped in the quilt, Caiyu heard the Hu cavalrymen chattering and laughing with someone for a few words before leaving. The door creaked shut. She quickly struggled to poke her head out of the brocade quilt.
She saw the general with his back to her, closing the door.
Caiyu's mind raced. She was thinking whether it would be better to put up a desperate resistance or to use her beauty to bewitch him as she did in the Jinfeng Tower last time.
Just then, Sheng Jiangli closed the door and suddenly turned around.
Caiyu was startled. As she hurriedly shrank her neck back into the brocade quilt, she heard his surprised voice:
"Jinshu! Are you Sister Shu'er?"
Caiyu's full name hadn't been called for several years. Hearing someone call this familiar name suddenly, she trembled all over!
Her pupils dilated instantly. Her heart raced. She stopped dodging and stared at the somewhat familiar man in front of her with her watery eyes.
Sheng Jiangli had already taken off his military armor. Now he was wearing an indigo blue robe. Years of military life had made his figure as straight as a strong pine tree. He had sword-shaped eyebrows and starry eyes, and his thin lips were like the pink silk thread he used to rub between his fingers.
Sheng Jiangli guessed that she might have been a bit unconscious when she was hanging on the tree, so she didn't hear clearly how Guan Baishan introduced him under the tree.
Seeing Caiyu hiding in the brocade quilt with a vigilant look in her eyes, his heart softened. He slowly squatted down along the edge of the bed, looked into her eyes, and showed a gentle smile:
"I'm Brother A Li! Sheng Jiangli! I lived in the Yongchang Marquis Mansion for three years when I was a child! Do you still remember me?"
Sheng Jiangli!
Caiyu suddenly felt a current surging through her body. Every cell in her body was cheering. The world seemed to stop at this moment, completely still, leaving only this unexpected surprise shining.
"Brother A Li...?" Caiyu opened her lips and said uncertainly, "Is it really you?"
"Yes, it's me!"
Sheng Jiangli stood up excitedly, then sat down on the edge of the bed, and then stood up nervously. He rubbed his hands and paced around, constantly muttering:
"I didn't expect, I didn't expect to meet you here. I thought you..."
Caiyu watched his restless figure. At first, the great surprise gradually faded, and she became more and more sober.
Sheng Jiangli was the orphan of his father's old subordinate. Back then, General Sheng died in battle. Her father brought the twelve-year-old Sheng Jiangli into the Lan Mansion and adopted him as an adopted son. He was treated equally with the children of the Lan family and lived there for three years.
But later, for some reason, he insisted on leaving the Lan family.
Unable to persuade him, her father wrote a letter to Marquis Changxing in Kaiping, recommending him to join the Hu cavalry camp outside the Shanhaiguan Pass.
This separation lasted for nine years.
Now, was the current Sheng Jiangli still the Brother A Li she was familiar with?
"Brother A Li." Caiyu called out softly from under the brocade quilt.
Sheng Jiangli suddenly stopped his restless steps. His starry eyes sparkled as he looked at her. "Shu'er, what's wrong?"
Caiyu unconsciously licked her dry lips with her tongue and said hesitantly, "Could you... find me some clothes to wear?"
She couldn't just sit here naked, wrapped in a brocade quilt, and catch up with Sheng Jiangli, could she?
Sheng Jiangli shouldn't have any inappropriate thoughts about her, right?
Sheng Jiangli slapped his forehead hard and laughed. "Look at me! I was so happy to see you that I forgot about this."
He paused for a moment, then hesitated and looked towards the door. "But they saw you being sent in here to serve me. If I ask someone to send clothes in now..."
"I heard when I first entered the mansion that you tried to harm the old princess. Such a heinous crime, you..." Sheng Jiangli looked at her with a shocked look in his eyes. He hesitated for a long time, but finally said, "Forget it. You can wear my clothes first. At least for half an hour, and then I'll ask someone to send women's clothes in."
This was better than nothing.
Seeing that Caiyu didn't object, Sheng Jiangli took off his indigo blue robe and put it beside her. Then he turned around and walked into the inner room.
Caiyu watched him leave. She bit her lip and waited for a moment. After confirming that Sheng Jiangli was indeed a gentleman, she quickly got out of the brocade quilt and put on his outer robe.
Although Sheng Jiangli wasn't as burly as the Hu people, his figure was still quite tall among the people of Daye, almost as tall as Song Yinghuai.
Therefore, even though Caiyu was quite tall, she still had to roll up the sleeves and trouser legs of the robe twice. The loose clothes on her body gave her a kind of lazy and charming look.
After Caiyu put on the clothes, she called out softly to the inner room:
"Brother A Li!"
Sheng Jiangli appeared in a flash. The sight of the girl in front of him was so stunning that he couldn't take his eyes off her.
Her long black hair was scattered, flowing from her shoulders to her waist. Her slender waist, which was hard to hold with one hand, was covered by his wide outer robe. One couldn't see her exquisite figure, but it made people even more curious about what kind of treasure was hidden under the loose clothes.
Because the clothes were too big, Caiyu's fair and slender neck, like a swan's, was completely exposed, and a piece of delicate skin like snow jade was also revealed from above her chest.
Sheng Jiangli didn't want to stare, but he just couldn't control his eyes. He stared at her without blinking.
Facing the man's hot and familiar gaze, Caiyu quietly tightened the collar of her clothes with her five fingers. She said,
"Brother A Li, why did you lead the troops into the Prince of Yan's Mansion? Why did the Hu cavalry in Kaiping obey the orders of the Crown Prince?"
If she remembered correctly, the Hu cavalry camp of Marquis Changxing, Geng Lewen, was under the direct control of the Emperor.
The imperial guards in the palace, the Hu cavalry camp in Kaiping on the border, the Jinyiwei in Shangjing, and the Dongchang all only obeyed the orders of the Emperor.
Among them, the Hu cavalry camp in Kaiping was a sharp sword the Emperor placed on the border.
It could spy on the military intelligence of enemy countries from the outside and detect the strength of the vassal kings on the border from the inside. In case of an urgent border war, the Hu cavalry in Kaiping, known for their speed in surprise cavalry attacks, could also rush to the border to provide emergency assistance at any time.
Such a cavalry force didn't have to obey the command of the Crown Prince's Eastern Palace.
Why did Sheng Jiangli obey the order and enter the pass from the Shanhaiguan Pass? He even dared to challenge Song Yinghuai's bottom line!
He should know that leading troops into the mansion to control it was like rubbing Song Yinghuai's face on the ground!
Being questioned, Sheng Jiangli finally came back to his senses from the shock of her beauty. He smiled faintly and coaxed Caiyu in the tone he used to coax children many years ago:
"Matters of the military and the country are too complicated for me to explain to you for the moment. You just need to know that the Crown Prince is the future emperor. His words are equivalent to those of the Emperor. The Crown Prince ordered me to come to Yanjing, so I came. As for what the Crown Prince's plans are, I don't know either."
Caiyu's eyes flashed slightly. She nodded obediently and innocently, but her heart gradually sank.
That's right, her and Nanny Yu's master was the current Crown Prince!
She thought that after killing Nanny Yu, she was the only spy in the Prince of Yan's Mansion, and the Crown Prince would be restricted. But she didn't expect that Sheng Jiangli would come!
Strictly speaking, they were on the same side. But in fact, their importance in the eyes of the Crown Prince was completely different.
One was the leader of an important and sharp military force in Daye, while the other was just an insignificant maid...
Sheng Jiangli didn't notice Caiyu's complicated thoughts at all.
He entered the pass not to connect with the spies in the Prince of Yan's Mansion. He came for a more important mission -
He had to cooperate with the envoys from Shangjing to station in Yanjing, weaken the power of the Yan army, and announce that Song Yinghuai should go to Shangjing to meet the Emperor!
As for Caiyu, meeting her was indeed an unexpected surprise.
"Why did you end up in the Prince of Yan's Mansion, Shu'er?" Sheng Jiangli asked. "Actually, I got the news about Uncle's accident early on. I also sent people to sneak into the pass to try to get you out. But all I got was the news of your death. I thought..."
"Brother A Li, I'm no longer Lan Jinshu. Just call me Caiyu, my childhood nickname that has been unused for a long time!" Caiyu told Sheng Jiangli to avoid revealing any flaws. "After we leave this room, Brother A Li, it's better for us to act as if we don't know each other."
Sheng Jiangli's eyes flickered several times. Finally, he nodded. "Okay."
"I'm very grateful to you for saving me today. But I shouldn't stay in this room for too long. I have to leave. Since you live in the Prince of Yan's Mansion, we'll have a chance to catch up later."
Afraid that staying for too long would further confirm the ambiguous relationship between her and Sheng Jiangli, Caiyu decided to leave immediately.
Sheng Jiangli watched her hasty back with a deep look in his eyes.
Suddenly, his face changed. He quickly strode forward, grabbed Caiyu, and pulled her into his arms forcefully. "Be careful!"
At the same time, the wooden door was suddenly smashed open from the outside. It flew towards them and fell to the ground with a "bang".
In the flying dust, Song Yinghuai, wearing a black and gold robe, stood outside the door, looking exhausted.