After my father was sent to marry into the princess's household, I became the darling of the en

Chapter 249 If only I could be this free forever

Shen Jingque hastily threw on a coat and slipped on her shoes before heading outside.

Pushing open the door to the next room, it was pitch black inside, not a soul in sight.

She turned and walked towards the courtyard gate, where she happened to bump into Sun Ji, who was carrying a lantern and hurrying out.

"Lord Sun, wait!" Shen Jingque quickly took two steps to stop him. "Have you seen Miss Xu, who was traveling with me?"

Sun Ji stopped, raised the lantern higher, and nodded after seeing who it was.

"Miss Xu? She's been spending all her time with the ladies that Her Highness the Princess brought these past few days."

"With them?" Shen Jingque asked, somewhat surprised.

Although she already knew that Xu Wanying was naturally outgoing, she was still a little surprised that they became familiar with each other so quickly.

"That's right!" Sun Ji nodded repeatedly. "Miss Xu's strength is even greater than the strongest yamen runner in our yamen."

"In the past few days, as the disaster victims have been rebuilding their houses, she has been helping to carry wood and build sheds. She is as capable as three grown men."

As he spoke, Sun Ji pointed to the area outside the county government office.

"It's a festival outside right now, and Miss Xu is probably out enjoying the festivities with everyone. If Miss Shen wants to find her, she'll definitely see her in the open space outside the yamen."

A holiday? What holiday is it at this time?

Before Shen Jingque could react, Sun Ji waved and left, saying he wanted to reunite with his family.

The night breeze blew along the covered walkway, carrying a faint, melancholic yet joyful song, mixed with the soft crackling of burning bamboo and wood.

Shen Jingque followed the sound and walked out of the county government gate.

As soon as she stepped out the door, she was stunned by the sight before her.

Outside the gate, in the wide open space, a huge bonfire, several meters high, was burning.

Flames licked the night sky, turning half of it crimson.

The people of Cangcheng, who had survived the epidemic and floods, were now gathered around the campfire.

The most eye-catching person in the crowd was the girl in the red dress with her sleeves rolled up to her elbows.

Xu Wanying, without any makeup and with two streaks of gray-black charcoal on her cheeks, was leading several girls from Qianyuan Village in singing and dancing around a bonfire.

Her steps were imposing, lacking any of the lightness and grace of a noblewoman.

But those eyes, reflecting the firelight, shone with an unprecedented brightness and vibrancy.

It was a wildness that had been suppressed by the rules of the capital, but finally broke through the soil on this ruin.

Xu Wanying turned around and happened to see Shen Jingque standing on the steps.

Her eyes lit up, she let go of the other person's hand, rushed up the steps in a few strides, grabbed Shen Jingque's wrist, and forcibly dragged her into the revelry.

"Where have you been these past few days! I thought Uncle Shen had locked you up!"

Xu Wanying's voice was loud enough to drown out the sound of burning firewood, and she pulled her around in circles without saying a word.

Shen Jingque stumbled as she was pulled, barely managing to regain her balance before asking breathlessly, "What are you doing? Why did you light such a big fire out of the blue?"

Hearing this, a woman with a cheerful face came over and explained with a smile.

"The young lady is from out of town and doesn't know the customs of Yunzhou. Today is our Autumn Festival."

"The Autumn Festival?" Shen Jingque slowed her pace.

The woman pointed to the towering flames, her tone filled with awe.

"Legend has it that in ancient times, this area of Yunzhou was occupied by miasma and a monster called the 'Erosion Valley Demon,' so that no grains grew and no grass grew."

"Later, a saintess named 'Ahe' appeared. She used her own blood to irrigate the sacred valley and drew down the star fire from the nine heavens, burning all the demons and evil spirits to ashes."

"She herself has become a guardian stone beside the terraced fields."

The woman clasped her hands together and bowed towards the bonfire: "Later generations, grateful for the kindness of the Holy Maiden Ahe, designated this day as the Autumn Grain Festival. Tonight, we light this fire, firstly to worship the Grain God, and secondly to worship the Holy Maiden. This is called 'using fire to guide the grain, and using song to call back the soul,' praying for a year free from illness and disaster, and for peace year after year."

Shen Jingque listened attentively on the surface, nodding occasionally in agreement, but inwardly she couldn't help but sigh.

Even the myths and legends of this Yunzhou region exude a spirit of "no destruction, no construction."

Sacred Maiden Ahe's actions of sacrificing her own life for world peace are somewhat similar to those of her mother, Xiao Mingyue.

After reveling for half an hour, Shen Jingque's body began to feel the strain.

The two, panting, retreated to the stone steps surrounding the campfire and sat down.

A night breeze blew, carrying away some of the heat.

Shen Jingque rested her chin on her hands, looking at the survivors embracing each other tightly in the firelight, and sighed softly: "After being away for so long, I wonder what the situation is like back home in the capital now."

Xu Wanying pulled out a wine sac from somewhere, bit off the stopper, tilted her head back, and took a big gulp of the rice wine brewed by the villagers.

She raised the back of her hand and wiped her mouth with a flourish, letting out a snort through her nose.

"What's so great about the capital? If you just keep people locked up in those tiny schools and back rooms, they'll be learning all sorts of formalities every day, comparing what kind of fabric and hairpins they're wearing to banquets, and who glances at whom more. It's utterly boring."

She handed the wine flask to Shen Jingque, her eyes shining with an astonishing light.

"On this trip, I watched those collapsed houses being rebuilt one by one by our hands, and watched those who were about to die take another breath. Only then did I truly understand what it means to have a vast world and a myriad of landscapes."

"If I could stay this free forever, and never return to the capital, I would be willing to do it."

Shen Jingque didn't take the wine pouch, but instead turned her head to look at her, a mischievous smile playing on her lips: "If I remember correctly, your greatest wish used to be to fight on the battlefield and become a female general whose name will be remembered in history, right? What, now all you want is freedom?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Xu Wanying's carefree smile gradually disappeared.

She turned her head and stared intently at the burning campfire, where a little boy with a missing front tooth was riding on his father's shoulders, giggling.

"Sparrow, I've been thinking about something a lot these past few days."

Xu Wanying's voice carried a depth beyond her years. "If everyone in the world could be like this now, with food to eat and clothes to wear, and families not having to be separated, I hope there would never be war in this world."

She turned her head and looked into Shen Jingque's eyes, her expression more solemn than ever before.

"Even if I never become a female general in my life, even if I can only be an ordinary village woman, it is much better to see everyone living with hope than to see them displaced under the hooves of horses, or lost in natural disasters, with their families destroyed."

Shen Jingque widened her eyes slightly, showing great respect for Xu Wanying's words.

She originally thought that Xu Wanying was just a young girl who couldn't stand the constraints of feudal ethics and was eager to prove herself.

Unexpectedly, this natural disaster forced such a compassionate heart into this girl's very being.

The woman in the original book who fought for the male lead's affections and ultimately met a tragic end has now grown into the nascent form of a towering tree.

"Yes, we will." Shen Jingque's eyes welled up slightly, but her tone was firm. "We will definitely usher in such a glorious era."

……

at the same time.

The same desolate crescent moon shone on a small courtyard in the epidemic-stricken area south of the city.

Xiao Mingyue, dressed in black, sat calmly before Rong Jing, whose face was somewhat pale.

Rong Jing smiled slightly. "I am very pleased that the Princess trusts me."

He raised his eyes, a dark glint flashing in his pupils.

"What does the Princess desire?"

Xiao Mingyue chuckled lightly, "Sect Leader Rong is straightforward."

"I want all the details about Cheng Rui, the prefect of Yunzhou."

She also looked up, meeting Rong Jing's gaze.

Name your price.