[R18] The stars are brilliant, so lucky even (The stars are brilliant, the moon rises over the sea) – Chapter 134 of “The Stars Are Brilliant, How Lucky They Are (The Stars Are Brilliant·The Moon Rising Over the Sea)” [English]

Chapter 134

Although Shaoshang could now come and go at will, Father Cheng and Mrs. Xiao were still alarmed by opening the door in the middle of the night.The couple hurriedly put on their robes and came out, but were surprised to see their daughter ready to go.

The jet black robe is embroidered with silver threads with ink flowers and birds of opposite colors. The waist is tightly tied, and the wrists are buckled with leather protectors. She wears a pair of sharp straight boots on her legs. Her thick hair is tied into a smooth high bun. Except for a few silver buttons hidden in the hair, there are no other accessories on her body.The girl’s whole person looked condensed, solemn, and slightly cold.

The more Mrs. Xiao looked at it, the more frightened she became. Even her daughter had never dressed up so solemnly before traveling far away.

“Where are you going?! You are getting married in three days. What are you talking about? It’s midnight… there’s a curfew outside!” Cheng Shi shouted anxiously when he saw his daughter leading the eight guards given to her by the queen and going straight out of the gate.

Shao Shang turned around and said with a smile: “I’ve disturbed my parents, it’s nothing important. I have something to do and I’m going out. Please go back to sleep…”

Father Cheng’s anxious forehead had veins popping out. He put his arms into the sleeves of his robe and yelled, “How can we sleep when you are disturbing us like this! Who are you trying to make fun of…”

“Did something happen to Ling Buyi?” Mrs. Xiao suddenly asked.

The young Shang suddenly looked back, with a smile of admiration on his lips. Before she could answer, a Cheng Mansion servant hurriedly ran in front of him. He knelt down in front of the young Shang and said, “Reporting to the young master, I went to the Chengyang Marquis’ Mansion. After knocking on the door for a long time, an old servant came to open the door. He just said that the Linghou family went to a courtyard outside the city yesterday. It sounds like they are celebrating their fiftieth birthday.”

Shaoshang narrowed his eyes: “As expected.”

“…Is there really something wrong with Ling Buyi?”

Mrs. Xiao staggered, and Cheng Shi quickly supported his wife. The couple looked at each other and both remembered the Lantern Festival palace banquet last month.

It was noon at that time, and Shaoshang and Ling Buyi stood on both sides of the emperor and empress respectively. Under the light and shadow of the sun, the former stood under the eaves, while the latter walked to the palace steps.Although the girl is in the lonely shadow, she is full of vitality; while the young man is in the sunshine, surrounded by stars and the moon, like flowers blooming and fire cooking oil, but there is a faint air of gloom and indifference.

Mrs. Xiao felt something was wrong for no reason, so she asked her husband when she got home, “Do I really rarely see the wrong person?”

Cheng Shi complimented his wife: “Even if you were Mr. Chen that year, you were just confused at first. It didn’t take long for you to realize something was wrong, and we were able to escape in time. Niao Niao, too, you were biased at first, but later on, didn’t you think she was better?”

Mrs. Xiao said dullly: “If there is a person, I didn’t think it would be a big deal at first, but then I felt more and more inappropriate.”

Cheng Shidao: “The longer you look at people, the more accurate they will be. There are no exceptions.”

Mrs. Xiao said: “I hope there is an exception. Because this time I think Ling Zisheng is inappropriate.”

Afterwards, the couple discussed for a long time, and both decided to forget it. He was the adopted son of the emperor, a young powerful official, and his future son-in-law. He couldn’t make an unreasonable attack just because of Mrs. Xiao’s intuition.Result——

Shaoshang curtsied to his parents and said respectfully: “My parents, please rest first. It’s okay to come to the capital. But I would like to ask my mother to keep an eye on the concierge, just in case. My daughter will leave first and go… come back as soon as you go.”

Mrs. Xiao took a step forward and shouted sternly: “You are not allowed to go out! If Ling Zisheng is not right, just send someone to tell the palace. Why do you have to go out by yourself! Do you still want to go out of the city? What if something happens to you? Besides, you can’t get out of the city gate!”

Shaoshang paused, looked back at his biological mother, and said word by word: “Don’t worry, mom, I have already reported what should be reported. However, I still want to go out tonight, and you can’t stop me.”

Mrs. Xiao stamped her feet and became furious, shouting: “Come here, arrest the young master…”

At this time, the door of the Cheng Mansion, which had been half-opened, was slammed open, and then a group of golden-armored guards wearing cloaks embroidered with the emblem of the Changqiu Palace poured into the Cheng family mansion. In front of them, a young leader with two phoenixes spreading wings on his golden helmet half-knelt in front of the young merchant, clasping his fists and saying: “I have ordered you to come here, and I will do as Mrs. Cheng does.”

Shao Shang was surrounded by guards and slowly took a step closer to Mrs. Xiao. He said indifferently: “Your Majesty has given me all kinds of talismans. You can enter the palace gate at night and have access to all places without hindrance. You can also order the guards of Changqiu Palace – but I have never used it and no one knows about it.” This was the practice of the empress regent and founding the country when the emperor went out to conquer.

The Cheng family servants who were about to step forward to arrest Young Shang hesitated and turned back one after another, asking their queen for instructions with their eyes.

Mrs. Xiao’s hands and feet were cold, and she yelled out of control: “Don’t go, Niao Niao! It is the Empress who has the final say on any major matter, you, you…”

Shaoshang raised his head and looked at his biological mother. The beautiful woman, who was always neatly and meticulously dressed, now looked flustered and behaved at a loss.She felt desolate in her heart, but she raised her chin high and said proudly: “Mom, don’t you think it’s too late for you to take care of me? You didn’t take care of me at the beginning, and now you can’t take care of me anymore. … Let’s go!”

Cheng Shi stamped his feet angrily, but he could only support his trembling wife and watched his daughter follow the golden-armored guards out of the gate. When he was angry, he had to allocate half of his own soldiers and four other martial maids to catch up with his daughter.

…

When leaving the city gate, the guarding captain looked at Shao Shang with surprise and wariness. Fortunately, she was leaving the city and was not leading a group of fully armed guards into the city, so the captain still followed the order and let him go.

The cow-spotted pinto horse now has long legs and is strong, running like the wind. It is no longer the fat, clumsy and cute look it once was. Young Shang is riding on the saddle, with the cold early spring wind whistling in his ears. Surrounded by the personal servants sent by Father Cheng to catch up, and the Queen’s Guards who make the rumble of horse hooves – in the past, this familiar voice always made her feel at ease, because she knew that no matter what she encountered, there would always be someone with the heavenly soldiers and the heavenly generals to save her., to save her from danger.

But now…she always had to ask for answers in person, so as to give an explanation for her unlucky life as always.

The silver buckles holding the cloak collided on the chest, making a tinkling sound. The young Shang came back to his senses. Sparks flashed in front of him, and they gathered into two rows of long chains as they moved, like fiery snakes circling. Accompanied by the same rumble of horse hooves, they quickly crossed the empty and cold plain.

Shao Shang signaled, and the leader of the guards immediately ordered his men to gallop for a while, shouting: “We are the guards of Changqiu Palace. Who are you, and why are you running outside the city late at night?”

Two cavalrymen from the opposing army also rushed out and replied loudly: “We are the defenders at Chisu Fengkou, and we have been ordered to transfer to Zhenyang Guard!”

After the guards asked the questions, they returned to the team. The young Shang asked the leader to cheer everyone to continue running. Unexpectedly, they met a group of troops again not long after. After questioning, they learned that they were from the Beisheng Mountain Camp and were also ordered to be transferred to the Royal Garden west of the capital.

Continuing to move forward in this way, Shaoshang and his party bumped into two groups of troops marching at night. One of them happened to be an army sent by Zhenyang Guard to other places. Now even the guard leader was surprised.He slowed down his horse and asked, “May I ask Mrs. Cheng, why are there so many military orders tonight?”

Shao Shang said: “In the captain’s opinion, what should these transfer orders be directed to?”

The leader of the guards scratched his head: “These are small groups of guards, ranging from thousands to three to five hundred. Just now it sounds like they are not dispatched to one place, but are moving here and there, replacing each other. I really can’t see the purpose of this humble position.”

There was a sneer at the corner of Shaoshang’s mouth: “Having no intention is also an intention.”

The guard leader was puzzled: “Then we…are still going on…?”

Shaoshang waved his hand decisively: “Ignore it, let’s continue on our way. How far is the Ling Family Courtyard?”

The leader of the guards did not dare to underestimate the girl in front of him. Although she was young and a woman, she had a faint sense of determination in her body.He made an estimate and replied: “It’s almost, another half an hour.”

After jolting on the horse for almost an hour and a half, Shao Shang felt that his muscles and bones were sore and painful, as if he had been squeezed by the birth canal all over again and entered this strange and dangerous world, but she just held back and remained silent – so is it that people come to this world just to endure suffering and deception again and again?Then why bother to go through this life.

Tears filled her eyelashes for a moment, and then she wiped them away silently.

From a distance, I saw the Ling family courtyard built at the foot of the mountain. It was already a sea of ​​fire, mixed with screams and curses.The blazing fires stood out in the dark night. Some were houses on fire, burning more fiercely in the cold wind, and more were torches held high by soldiers exuding a strong bloody aura, surrounding the Ling clan like a dangerous sea of ​​stars.

The guards riding around Shaoshang were stunned and asked in surprise, “What’s going on?”, “Who is so bold and dares to attack the Marquis’s annex?”, “They don’t look like thieves but like the imperial army”, “Oh, is it possible that the Ling family is trying to rebel, and the imperial court has sent troops to encircle and suppress”, “should we save it or not”…

Among the people, only Shao Shang had no expression on his face and rode down the hillside calmly.

The soldiers surrounding the other courtyard saw a group of people riding over and immediately stepped forward to stop them. Shaoshang asked the guards to get out of the way and rode forward himself, asking directly: “Who is leading you? Zhang Shan, Li Si, or brother Liang Qiu?”

These soldiers were Ling Buyi’s private soldiers, and they stayed put as soon as they saw Shaoshang’s face – Tofu and Ling Buyi had been inseparable this year, going in and out together, and more than one or two people had seen Shaoshang’s appearance.

“You don’t have to be embarrassed. I only brought dozens of Changqiu Palace guards, so they won’t hinder you.” Shao Shang said calmly, “You just send people to lead me to find Ling Buyi. These guards will stay outside and wait.”

The leader of the guards became nervous: “Ms. Cheng, how can I let you go in alone! Even if I know about it, I won’t be able to spare us!”

Shao Shang waved his hand to stop him and continued: “I will be fine. Your Majesty knows my temperament and I can’t blame you.”

The soldiers discussed in low voices and decided to let Shao Shang in – no one in Mandu City knew that Ling Buyi and his fiancée were deeply in love and could not let go. Anyone who offended the Cheng family’s young lady would be more troublesome than offending Ling Buyi himself.

The young Shang untied his horse and dismounted, leaving the Queen’s guards behind and walking inside with only four maidservants.

This huge villa can now be divided into east and west halves. The east side seems to have been cleared. People are guarding it with fires everywhere, and they are still catching fish that escape the net in the corners.There were still sounds of fighting in the western half, and there should be people still resisting.

Facing them were corpses dripping with blood lying on the ground in a mess, and the bloody dead faces were as terrifying as nightmares – Shao Shang stepped over silently.

Although Ling Yi was often looked down upon by Cui Hou and other important ministers, he started out as a martial artist and followed him on many expeditions, and all his generals and soldiers were experienced in battle.Therefore, when the villa was breached, it must have been a brutal fight.

After passing through many thresholds and courtyards, the young merchant finally came to a dignified and tall main house. He saw Liang Qiuqi kneeling on the ground and reporting to Ling Buyi: “…As the young master expected, these rows of big houses not only have dark rooms, but also dug two tunnels leading to the back of the mountain. If the young master hadn’t told me to take precautions, that guy would have escaped!”

Ling Buji noticed someone behind him and turned around slowly. He didn’t seem very surprised when he saw it was Shao Shang. Instead, he smiled softly and said in a gentle tone, “Shao Shang, why are you here? You are not supposed to be here. You go back first. I will go find you later.”

——Just like the many times when girls sneaked out of Changqiu Palace in the afternoon and went to the Nangong Assembly Hall to look for him.

Shaoshang felt that his throat was dry and it was difficult to speak for a while.

At this time, Liang Qiufei and several guards were escorting a man over. The man was fair-faced, middle-aged and elegant, and he was Ling Yi.It’s a pity that at this time, he’s hair is disheveled, his clothes are torn, and he lacks his usual elegant demeanor.

As soon as Ling Yi saw Ling Buyi, he struggled and shouted: “Zisheng, Zisheng, are you crazy? You actually attacked your own father!”

Ling Buyi ignored he and still looked at Shao Shang: “I’ll let someone take you back first.”

Ling Yi was kicked hard to the ground by Liang Qiufei, and several swords pressed on the vital parts of his body.Ling Yi wailed and said loudly: “Ahri, Ahri, I am your father! I know you are aggrieved by the death of your mother, but you and I are father and son! Blood is thicker than water, you cannot commit the crime of patricide for your mother! Ahri, wake up and don’t be confused. No matter how much His Majesty loves you, patricide is one of the most heinous crimes and must be cut to pieces! How did you escape…”

Shaoshang stared into Ling Buyi’s beautiful amber eyes and said with difficulty, “I just want to ask one thing, something you have owed me for a long time.”

Ling Buyi said softly: “Just ask.”

“Who are you? Ling Buyi, or Huo Wushang?” Shao Shang asked this sentence with his whole body almost aching.

Ling Buyi looked at the girl deeply, as if he was looking at an unreachable dream. After a while, he slowly turned around and said to Ling Yi on the ground: “Uncle, Ah Li has been dead for a long time.”

Ling Yi stopped struggling and looked confused, as if he didn’t understand.

Ling Buyi’s tone was gentle, but more and more creepy: “Ahli was wearing my clothes and was pierced by a sharp spear, then picked up high and stuck on the top of the city. Uncle, have you forgotten?”

Ling Yi opened his mouth wide, and his whole body felt like it was struck by lightning.

There was a crack in Shaoshang’s heart, and something gurgled out.

When her eyes were blurry, she realized that what he was wearing today was exactly the same robe he wore when they first met in Wanjia – a gorgeous brocade as red as blood, with animal patterns embroidered with dark gold silk thread, a dark red wide-sleeved robe, a woven gold belt and a red gold crown.

The night wind blew up and rolled up the crimson color all over his body, as if he were covered with manju and sandalwood on the road to the underworld, and the overwhelming blood spread.At this time, he is so handsome that it makes people sigh, but also strange and frightening.