The old things I repaired have become fine

Chapter 273: When you meet again after more than ten years, will you still protect her?
The gentle spiritual tide rose again, more turbulent than ever before.

Shen Le used a lot of effort to restrain himself and not fall into a trance immediately. He respectfully stepped aside and asked Teacher Zhang to come over and take a look:
"Teacher, is this color connection okay? Is there anything else that needs to be modified?"

...Now that you have fixed it, is there anything else you want to ask me?
Teacher Zhang couldn't help but complain in his heart. He finally restrained himself, read it carefully from beginning to end, and nodded slightly:

"It's basically OK. Although some places don't quite conform to the common brushwork of Chinese painting, such as here, here, and here..."

He pointed out several places in succession that he felt were awkward, and at the same time carefully observed Shen Le's attitude.

Shen Le listened very attentively, nodding from time to time, but his eyes showed a little disapproval, as if he wanted to refute, but was concerned about being polite to the teacher.

Teacher Zhang did not ask any more questions and smiled:

“You must have your reasons for repairing it this way, and the teacher doesn’t understand spirituality.

Well, it’s basically OK, and the next step is to frame it - do you still want to frame it with the original materials as much as possible? "

Shen Le gave him a forced smile. He still had many questions to ask about mounting, and there were many areas where he needed Teacher Zhang's help.

But now, the more important thing is...

"Teacher Zhang, I'm going to take a break. I'm so tired from finishing the homework just now..."

He staggered out, rushed back to the bedroom, and threw himself on his bed. He didn't even have time to take off his socks. He found a comfortable position and fell asleep under the wrapping of the spirit gathering array:

Or perhaps, the ancient painting he had just restored was dragged into his memory impatiently -

In a flash, more than ten years had passed. Over the past ten years, the young man went south to become a guard, and a few years later he went north again to serve under another famous general.
He fought several times and made many military achievements. Soon, he became the commander of an important pass, commanding 6,000 troops and a hundred-mile defense line. The safety of the people in the rear depended on him alone.
Of course, he also followed the routine, got married, had children, and raised his two sons, just as his father taught him literature and martial arts.

The love in my youth seems to have passed without a trace. Only when the flowers bloom on the grassland, I stand on the pass and occasionally look at the rolling blue waves in the northwest and think:
How is she?
I heard that she got married, I heard that she married the new king of the grassland, I heard that she gave birth to a son, I heard that she was very loved - but is she living a good life?
Damn it, Xiao Jin has been gone for so many years and never came back. There is no news at all.

Even if you can send her a message?

Deliver a letter for her?
Until now, he had only heard news about her from the merchants he met and from military intelligence.

And those news only care about her power, the favor she received, her son, and her husband's tribute to the court, which was somewhat influenced by her.

The last thing they cared about was whether a young girl like her was living well and happily with an old man who was almost her great-grandfather...

Until an urgent letter came and the situation changed suddenly.

"Altan Khan is dead!"

"Altan Khan is dead!"

"Now that Altan Khan is dead, there may be chaos on the grassland for a while. All checkpoints must be guarded tightly, tight inside and loose outside. No grassland people should be allowed to enter or leave without permission, and no hostility should be shown first!"

With an order from above, there is endless busyness below.

The young general, who was no longer a teenager, led his troops to patrol the city, inspect every beacon tower on the defense line, and patrol outside the border. He met and separated from the cavalry outside the border tacitly.

He was busy for two full months before he was transferred from the Eastern Front to the Western Front by a military order:
"You want me to protect the envoys when they go out of the border? To confer titles on the vassal kings?"

The young general was a little confused. Was it necessary to transfer him from afar for such a matter?

Is he not going to guard the loophole on his side?
But the military order was as heavy as a mountain, and he had no choice but to obey it. He hurriedly handed over the military affairs of the pass, took a dozen trusted servants, and rushed hundreds of miles to Datong.

When they got there, they realized that the reason they hurried out of the border this time was not to simply read out the imperial edict of enthronement, but because something unexpected had happened during the enthronement ceremony.

"The tribute market at the border has been suspended for a long time." On the night of the trip, the envoy invited him into the tent and talked about the details of the trip, and he was very upset:
"The one who should be canonized is not in the garrison - he ran hundreds of miles west. This time, we are going to chase him -"

What?
Waiting to be canonized, isn’t that the greatest thing?
Why don't you stay here and wait for the angel's message instead of running hundreds of miles away?
So you don’t want the title of Khan or king anymore?

The young man was also stunned. He subconsciously asked:

"But I remember that person was very old and sick..."

Running hundreds of miles westward at this time is seeking death!
"Who said it wasn't? Just for a woman... Alas, barbarians are like this, they don't know the seriousness of the matter and bring trouble to those of us who are doing the work! General, I guess it will be a difficult journey. I'm counting on you!"

"Not really. The barbarians still respect our Great Ming and will not attack the envoys for no reason." The young man smiled and comforted him. He returned to his tent, but his face darkened: For a woman?
For Jinzhu?
Jinzhu - when Aldan Khan was alive, she was favored and powerful, but now that Aldan Khan is dead, her position will certainly be challenged - what happened to her?

The horses' hooves kicked up dust and grass as they pursued westwards. They rode lightly on fast horses and galloped all the way for several days and nights, until they finally saw the flags and tents in the distance.

Even someone like Shen Le, who was floating along in his memories, felt that he was covered in dirt, and perhaps even his lungs were filled with dust and grass debris.

When he arrived at the destination, he didn't have the energy to guess what was going to happen next. He could only sigh:
Oh my god, I finally caught up with it, I can finally get down to business... Why can't I fast forward this memory...

Then, his whole body was shocked and he slowly opened his eyes wide:
The flags and tents in front were not next to each other, but were divided into two distinct sides. Each side pulled ropes, set up fences, and had cavalry patrolling, with a vague tit-for-tat posture.

When the envoys arrived, the two teams of cavalry started cursing each other, then urged their horses to get closer, and then each side sent one person to charge at each other, and they almost came to a fight!

"Oh, this is troublesome..."

The envoy shook his head and sighed.

If they were envoys from the Han Dynasty, they would probably have their men raise flags and blow bugles, and rush into the two teams at all costs, forcibly separating and subduing them.

But the Ming Dynasty envoy found a safe place to stay and watched from afar. He led his men to sneak over and find the tent of Altan Khan's successor until both sides withdrew their troops.

"Mr. Envoy, it's not that I, an old subject, despise the Emperor's majesty." Facing the envoy who was half showing favor on behalf of the Emperor and half coming to call for punishment, the sick old man trembled and smiled bitterly:

"But you see... Zhong Jinhatun refused to marry me. If she didn't marry me, the tribe, military tents, slaves, cattle and sheep in her hands would not be in my hands.

On this grassland, my words don’t count. I can’t decide whether to open the tribute market or not…”

Shen Le took a quick glance. The young general stood quietly in the shadows behind the envoy, and it was hard to tell what his expression was.
However, Shen Le instinctively felt a chill spreading through his body. His entire body was as tense as a bent bow, and a sharp arrow could be shot out at any time and anywhere.

Will you protect her?

Will you let her have her way without marrying this old, ugly, smelly man?
Shen Le asked silently in his heart. No one answered him, no one saw him, and even no one explained to him what the confusing conversation between the envoy and the successor of Altan Khan was about.

About half an hour later, the messenger got up and left. Soon, he and his guards went to visit the widow of the former Khan, the woman the heir wanted to marry, chasing after him on horseback:
More than ten years have passed. I haven't seen him for more than ten years. Shen Le followed the team, nervous, excited, and also a little gossipy:

So many years have passed, how is Miss Jinzhu doing now?

Being forced to get married, would she feel a lot of pressure?

Of course, there is one more point, although it is not very important, but he really wants to know - after more than ten years of hardships on the grassland, is she still beautiful?

They walked slowly through the gaps between tents. Shen Le looked around as he walked:
Different from what I saw at the sick old man's place, the tents here were clean, neat and arranged in a regular pattern.

Although the lights were off in most of the tents, they could still hear high and low snoring sounds from inside, but no matter where they went, they could see vigilant guards holding torches and looking at them.

The military tents, stables, and all the wider entrances were guarded.

The guards led them forward with torches in hand. The further they walked, the more serious the young general became. He placed his hand on his sword, keeping his eyes and ears open.

His emotions also infected the envoy. The middle-aged civil servant paused and whispered:
"how?"

"The troops are very strong." It was hard to tell whether the young general's voice was one of admiration or nervousness, he just gave a low reminder:
"This person... is not simple."

The "extraordinary" Miss Jinzhu greeted them in the big tent in the middle of the camp.

As soon as the tent door was opened, a strong scent of sandalwood filled the air. A group of red-robed monks were beating various instruments, and the sound of chanting scriptures filled the air.
In the middle of the tent, there was a huge Buddha statue. Under the statue, there was a set of weathered armor, an old bow, and a long sword.

On the left side of the Buddha statue, a woman in heavy mourning clothes was hugging a half-grown boy, kneeling in front of the coffin with her back to them.

When she heard the servant's announcement, she turned around and bowed to everyone. She looked pale, sad, and haggard, with shiny rosary beads wrapped around her fingers. She bowed gracefully:

"Thank you angel for coming... I am here to pay my respects..."

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(End of this chapter)