The beauty of the Hou family and the king's plan

It was a cold winter in the sixteenth year of Dali Chengde.

The snowflakes in the sky were scattered like ashes, and the cold wind whistled through the withered branches, scaring the black crows away.

Cold, bone-chillingly cold.

But outside the gates of the Kyoto Imperial City, a huge army was waiting in formation. The leader was wearing armor and standing a mile outside the gates.

On the city gate, there was a man hanging upside down, naked, obviously having been whipped.

The man's body was covered in solidified blood, snow had piled up on his body, and his messy hair was frozen into strands of icicles hanging down.

The only thing you can tell from the fluttering eyelashes is that the person is still alive.

The other end of the hemp rope was in the hands of the general on the city wall. If he loosened his grip at the command, the woman would be killed on the spot.

The defenders on the city wall shouted, "Traitor Xiao Yuanhuai, surrender and you will not be killed. Otherwise, your fiancée will surely die."

She didn't know how long she had been hanging upside down, and she was completely unconscious. Shen Baozhao laughed at himself, is she not dead yet?

Unexpectedly, she was captured by the enemy on the last mission she thought was foolproof, and was used as a hostage to threaten Xiao Yuanhuai.

They think too highly of her.

If it were three days ago, she might have felt that she was his weak spot.

She accompanied him through all the difficulties and finally when his troops arrived at the imperial city, he personally appointed her to go into the city to get the map of the imperial city's military deployment.

He told her that she needed to achieve great things to silence many people. Only in this way could she be made queen.

He also comforted her that he had secretly arranged for his trusted people to escort her on this trip, and that everything would be smooth.

He never expected that he would be captured alive by the enemy as soon as he entered the city, and the confidant he swore to be never showed up from beginning to end.

When they first raised the flag against the court, everyone in the world knew that Shen Baozhao was Xiao Yuanhuai's favorite.

The enemy actually thought that if they captured her they would be able to control Xiao Yuanhuai. After whipping her for two days and seeing that she was unwilling to take the initiative to persuade Xiao Yuanhuai to surrender.

So he hung her upside down on the city wall!

For two days and two nights, she hadn't eaten a grain of rice or slept a wink. She couldn't figure out why Xiao Yuanhuai used her as bait.

Was all the tenderness and sweetness in the past fake?

Suddenly, an arrow pierced through his heart. Shen Baozhao opened his eyes wide, and blood spurted out of his mouth, covering his face.

As the people on the city wall loosened their grip, Shen Baozhao was thrown down and fell heavily on the cold ground.

Finally, an upside-down figure was seen rushing towards us from a distance, slowly getting closer and closer.

From a black dot, it slowly became clear, a horse, a man, and a gun. He shouted: "Zhao Zhao!"

Warm hands embraced her cold body, and all she could hear was the rumbling sound of horse hooves.

The soldiers screamed: "Kill!"

But why were there warm tears dripping down her face drop by drop?

"Ah Huai!"

Shen Baozhao woke up from his nightmare again, screaming and sweating. His moon-white underwear was soaked and sticky.

Looking at the light blue gauze curtain with white cloud pattern embroidered on it above the bed, he was stunned for a moment. He reached under the pillow and took out a dagger with crabapple pattern carved on it, and stroked it.

Damn, I don’t know how many times I’ve had this dream since my rebirth a month ago.

"Miss, you are awake. The old lady sent someone to say that she is ill today, so there is no need to go and pay her respects."

The maid Qingkong entered the bedroom and gently interrupted Baozhao's thoughts.

"Miss, you can sleep a little longer."

Shen Baozhao stared at the clear sky. There was a small red mole under the right corner of his eye, and his eyebrows were gentle. He was indeed a handsome man.

Unfortunately, she was unable to protect Qingkong in her previous life, and the third young master of Duke Lu's mansion defiled her. The silly girl jumped into the well for fear of bringing shame to her master.

But I couldn't even protect myself, and I couldn't even give her a thin coffin.

Seeing Baozhao staring at her, Qingkong subconsciously touched her face and said, "Miss, is there something on my face?"

I don't know why the young lady has been sitting in a daze alone lately, or staring at one place.

"Nothing, I won't sleep. Clear sky, let the little girls fetch water to clean themselves."

"Okay, miss." Then he stepped back.

Rich, colorful petals float in the bathtub, with steam rising up.

Shen Baozhao had his black hair loose and was immersed in hot water, with his white neck and collarbone faintly exposed.

She had a straight nose, a pair of slightly closed eyes, the reflection of her long feather-like eyelashes fell on her delicate face, and she was half leaning casually on the side of the bathtub.

If I remember correctly, my aunt should have come on this day in my previous life, Bao Zhao thought.

Sure enough, after breakfast, Madam Wang walked towards Zhaoming Garden where Baozhao lived.

The early spring morning was cool. The peach blossoms in Zhaoming Garden were in full bloom, with dewdrops on the stamens, sparkling in the sun.

On the left side of the yard, there is a camphor tree that is so big that it takes two people to hug it. It has lush branches and leaves and occupies a full one-third of the yard.

The young buds were sprouting, and the fragrance was wafting in. There was a swing hanging under the camphor tree, swaying in the wind.

Wang did not have the leisure time to appreciate the spring scenery at this time. She hurried into Zhaoming Garden. The third-class maid who was sweeping the garden hurried in to report.

Shen Baozhao had already finished washing up, wearing a plain, light blue skirt without any patterns.

Her hair was casually tied up in a bun, with a pure white magnolia hairpin hanging loosely on it. Even with such a casual look, it still couldn't hide her gracefulness.

She was leaning on the couch, reading a local chronicle in her hand, but she wasn't concentrating, and she would look up at the door from time to time, as if she knew someone was coming.

Hearing the footsteps getting closer, Shen Baozhao thought, what is coming is finally coming.