Half in the river wind, half in the clouds

Chu Yan was very upset by Guan Shanyun's secret talk before departure. Because of the separation of lovers, she was unhappy all the way. She just forced herself to deal with Aunt Jiang and Jiang Feng, and played with the kingfisher when she was free. The kingfisher had emerald green feathers all over its body, with a metallic luster. A few days ago, it suddenly flew to the team and refused to leave. The two girls had never seen such a beautiful kingfisher, especially Chu Yan, who liked it very much. Guan Shanyun found a cage to keep it.

That day, Chu Yan felt stuffy in the car, so he picked up the bird cage and sat on the carriage. Aunt Jiang had been busy for several days, so she took a nap on the low couch. Jiang Feng squinted his eyes and massaged his aunt's legs.

The carriage suddenly stopped, and there was a lot of noise outside. Aunt Jiang stood up quickly and asked what happened. Cousin Xingjian replied from outside the carriage: "Don't be afraid, mother and sister. A group of people just came and took a fancy to Miss Chu's kingfisher. Miss Chu didn't want to give it up, and General Li is negotiating with her."

Aunt Jiang said, "When you are out, it is important to be harmonious and don't argue. It's just a bird, and this girl is too stubborn."

Jiang Feng pulled Aunt Jiang's sleeve, shook his head, and said to Bai Xingjian outside: "Second brother, who is that person over there?"

Bai Xingjian said: "It is hard to tell what he does. Although he wears the clothes of an ordinary citizen, his shoes are official boots, and his sword is also official made."

After thinking for a while, he said, "General Li showed the badge of the Prince's Mansion, but the other party didn't care much. It seems that he must have the kingfisher."

Jiang Feng was in a big position, and Guan Shanyun, his confidante, was too willful. Just as he was thinking about how to persuade Chu Yan, he heard another commotion in front of him, and there was a strong sign of fighting.

Jiang Feng quickly stood up and said to his aunt, "Don't worry, aunt. I will go and take a look with my second brother."

As he said this, he put on his veiled hat and got off the carriage. Li Zan's face had already turned red due to his youthful vigor, but the other party was still arrogant.

Jiang Feng was nervous. This place was already under the emperor's feet, only a hundred miles away from Chang'an. There were only three types of people who didn't take Zhongshan County Prince's Mansion seriously: the emperor's family, Empress Wei's mother's family, and the Wu family. Li Dan's ascension to the throne was a matter for the future. Now it was Li Xian's world, Empress Wei was the only one in power, and Wu Sansi was the only one in power.

In court struggles, a small wave is enough to overturn a huge ship. No matter who the other party is, Li Longye must not provoke a head-on conflict with them for a bird.

Thinking of this, she took a few quick steps and came to Chu Yan's side. Seeing the girl protecting the kingfisher like a child, with a look of fear on her face but a firm gaze, Jiang Feng sighed softly, moved closer to the girl and whispered: "You have already reported the name of Uncle Guan, and General Li has also reported the prince. The other party is still unyielding and unyielding, which shows that they are people we can't afford to offend. People have to bow their heads under the eaves, so why bother to fight in vain."

Chu Yan was about to cry: "This was given to me by Brother Guan."

Jiang Feng strongly disagreed with Chu Yan's practice of cutting open her body to hide the pearls, but he still said patiently: "A gentleman controls things, while a villain is controlled by things. How can the relationship between you and Big Brother be affected by a kingfisher? Give it to them quickly so that we can get on with our journey."

Chu Yan was still hesitating, and the situation in front of him was tense. Jiang Feng could no longer care about anything else. He snatched the birdcage and walked forward quickly, shouting, "Don't be upset, my dear, the kingfisher is here."

Li Zan and the other person looked over and saw a graceful girl with a clear voice. Under the veil, their faces could not be discerned, but they inexplicably thought she looked pretty.

Seeing that the two sides had stopped arguing, Jiang Feng immediately handed the bird cage to Li Zan and whispered, "General, please don't argue out of pride. The prince never shows his edge when doing things. Why should you be so stubborn for a bird or beast?"

Li Zan was angry that the other party was so arrogant that he didn't even give the Prince's Mansion face. He refused to give in, on the one hand, to maintain the dignity of his master, and on the other hand, Chu Yan was Jiang Feng's guest after all. If she didn't hand over the kingfisher, would he let him snatch it away!

In fact, although the other party did not reveal her family background, Li Zan guessed that it was Princess Anle. They could not afford to offend this ancestor. He was in a dilemma when Jiang Feng came to his rescue.

But the young man was so young that he kept silent even after hearing Jiang Feng's words. Jiang Feng couldn't let the Prince's Mansion lose face, so he had to sacrifice himself.

When she saw the other party took the bird cage, she continued, "Please forgive me, my sisters at home like beautiful birds. But this blue-eared kingfisher has bright feathers and is a rare species. We are children by nature, so we just like it for its novelty. This kind of thing should be presented to you. It is excellent whether you want to watch it or decorate it with kingfisher feathers."

Jiang Feng's words not only politely and respectfully gave up the kingfisher, but also did not bring down the Prince of Zhongshan. It was a relatively appropriate solution.

The leader on the opposite side was holding a kingfisher and was very satisfied after hearing Jiang Feng's words. Although he was working for Princess Anle, he would not offend Li Longye for a trivial matter.

Seeing the steps, he was about to call it a day, but a female voice came from behind him: "When did Xuan Zhao become so easy to talk to? It seems that the princess is too kind to me."

As soon as the words fell, a middle-aged woman with a Japanese hairstyle and a pomegranate skirt walked to the front.

Jiang Feng thought to himself that this was not good. Princess! Li Xian's daughter, no matter which one, she was not someone you could easily mess with!

The one called Xuan Zhao nodded and bowed: "How dare I trouble my aunt with such a small matter." Jiang Feng saw that the other party was very respectful to this woman and guessed that she must be a powerful female official beside the princess.

The female official looked at Jiang Feng with disdain, then looked at Chu Yan who was indignant behind him, then turned to Li Zan and said, "Is everything going well for Wulang in Liangzhou? The princess said that Wulang planned the battle against the Turks and won beautifully, which pleased the queen! A few days ago, the prince came back to the palace to make a report, and he was full of praise for Wulang! But why did I hear that Wulang didn't come back because he was held back by a girl from a ninth-rank bookkeeping family?"

Jiang Feng heard the other party call Li Longye "Wu Lang" and couldn't guess who he was. But he heard another meaning from her veiled tone: Li Longye was close to the prince, participated in the victory over the Turks, and stayed in the Liangzhou army for too long, which caused dissatisfaction with her, especially the princess behind her.

The female official changed the subject, which made Jiang Feng even more frightened! Her affair with Li Longye had actually spread to Chang'an? She had a premonition that this trip would not be smooth sailing, and she had the idea of ​​escaping from the place of trouble.

Li Zan bowed and said, "It turns out that it is my aunt who is here. Please forgive me for my poor eyesight."

The female official smiled and said inconspicuously, "How come you recognized me? Who are these two women? I just heard that they seem to be related to Jingren's family."

Li Zan said: "One is a friend of the eldest son of the Guan family, and this one is the sister of the newly-minted Jinshi Jiang Zuo."

Li Zan deliberately concealed the title of "the bookkeeper's daughter", and Jiang Feng felt grateful.

The female official frowned slightly, and seemed to think for a while before she said slowly, "It's okay for a general of the Protectorate! There are people in the world who are so vulgar and shallow that they think they have obtained the imperial sword just by reporting the name of the Guan family! Today I have really opened my eyes. There are people who dare not give the princess something she likes!"

Li Zan thought to himself, how unlucky he was to run into such a tough guy. He had to bite the bullet and said, "Aunt, that's not right. I didn't even know it was something the princess wanted."

Seeing that Li Zan could find no fault, the female official looked at Jiang Feng and said, "Are you the sister of the proofreader? Your brother does a good job and is a decent person, but I wonder what his sister is like?"

Jiang Feng naturally knew what the other party meant, so he lifted his veil, bowed in a standard manner, and said, "Hello, aunt."

Although the female official looked surprised, she still said disdainfully: "The color is very good, but it is a bit stingy. But after all, she still understands some principles."

After Jiang Feng traveled through time, he was labeled with various labels, such as eccentric, stubborn, and unlucky. Today, he was also labeled as "stingy", which is really cause for celebration.

The female official saw that Li Zan and Jiang Feng were both very respectful, but Chu Yan was arrogant. She became ruthless and raised her hand and said, "Ah Jiu!"

A woman with a face full of flesh came out from the team. The female official smiled and said, "Although we work for the princess, we cannot take away someone's love."

As he spoke, he pointed his index finger at Chu Yan and said, "That delicate beauty seems to like this little thing very much. Take ours quickly and give the rest back to others."

When the old woman heard her say this, she was stunned at first, but then she understood her intention. When Jiang Feng and others were confused, she took out a tool like tweezers from her arms, reached into the birdcage and grabbed the kingfisher.

With the kingfisher's scream, the woman plucked out the feathers on its back. At this time, a maid had already brought a yellow silk cloth, and the woman put the plucked feathers on it, and then plucked the second one, the third one...

The two girls were startled at first, then they reacted. Chu Yan screamed and tried to grab it, but was held tightly by Li Zan.

Jiang Feng looked at the bloody kingfisher, suppressing the urge to feel nauseous, his nails digging deeply into the flesh through his wide sleeves.

No pain at all!

The kingfisher's shrill cry echoed through the valley, hitting Jiang Feng's eardrums again and again.

After an unknown amount of time, the maid finally plucked all the gorgeous and bright feathers. At the female official's signal, the maid held the still gasping, bloody thing in front of Chu Yan with both hands.

Chu Yan screamed and pushed him away, then her eyes went dark and she fainted.

The female official then revealed a satisfied smile, clapped her hands and said, "You despise this filthy thing."

He pointed at the bloody bird feathers and said contemptuously, "You can't afford those noble ones. What should I do?"

Jiang Feng's face was pale, his teeth were chattering, and he couldn't utter a word. Li Zan's blood was boiling, and he remained motionless with the last bit of his sanity.

The fact that others were unhappy with her but couldn't do anything about it really made the female official feel proud.

She was in a good mood, smiled sinisterly at Jiang Feng, and then said: "You have contributed a lot by offering the birds. The princess's bird skirt is now ready, and I think you have contributed a lot."

Jiang Feng couldn't hear what the female official said anymore, his mind was filled with that heart-wrenching cry.

She watched the female official's mouth open and close, watched her get on the carriage, watched a group of people leave in a mighty manner, and finally she couldn't help vomiting.