Chapter 29 Interesting

The Qingyun Guards' army retreated to the north, leaving only two thousand soldiers to escort them to Beijing.

The team formed a long queue. As a guard, Shen Yu followed Xie Tingzhou's carriage on horseback.

New Year's Eve is less than a month away, and Xie Tingzhou doesn't seem to be in any hurry. The team moves very slowly, taking three days to reach less than a hundred miles. At this rate, it might take two months to reach Shengjing.

The carriage moved very smoothly along the official road. There was almost no vibration inside the carriage, and even the sound of the wheels on the snow was very light.

Xie Tingzhou was leaning on the couch playing chess with him, holding a white piece between his two fingers.

The slender fingers were as white as jade, and their color was not inferior to that of the chess pieces.

Just as he was about to make his move, there was a sound of horse hooves coming from far and near outside the car.

Because we were walking slowly on the road, the sound of the horses treading the ground was also very slow. The horses' hooves hit the ground in waves, and the tread was louder than other horses, which was very abrupt.

Xie Tingzhou narrowed his eyes and put the white piece in his palm.

This was not the first time Xie Tingzhou heard this voice.

In the past few days, every half an hour, the sound of horse hooves would gradually fade away, mixed with the sound of galloping horses. However, within a cup of tea, the sound would come back, comparable to telling the time.

Xie Tingzhou calmed down for a while, but finally couldn't hold it back and shouted loudly: "Xi Feng."

Xi Feng was sitting in the front room of the carriage. Hearing the sound, he opened the curtain and came in, "Your Highness."

Xie Tingzhou looked worried, "What on earth has he been running back and forth these days?"

Xifeng knew who he was asking as soon as he heard it, and replied: "Liang Jianfang and a group of important criminals are escorting in front. Shi Yu seems to be worried and goes to check from time to time."

Checking is checking, but it’s a bit too frequent.

"Call him in." Xie Tingzhou threw the chess pieces back into the basket angrily.

Shen Yu was surprised for a while when she heard that Xie Tingzhou called her.

During the period when she became Xie Tingzhou's personal guard, except for her daily shifts, she actually never saw Xie Tingzhou several times, and he never summoned her intentionally.

And from the observation, she found that her rotation was less than that of other guards. She didn't know whether it was Xifeng's deliberate arrangement or Xie Tingzhou's instruction.

It seems that the sun is coming out in the west today.

How did she know that Xie Tingzhou was really annoyed by her.

For example, if he wants to play a good game of chess, the sound will come back and forth. For example, if he wants to take a nap, the sound will still come and go.

Shen Yu got on the carriage and when she heard Xie Tingzhou's voice inside the carriage, she opened the curtain and walked in.

The carriage is about six or seven feet in length and width, which is as big as a small house. It has a magnificent exterior with red couplets and carved inscriptions. When you open the curtain and go in, you find that there is a cave inside.

There was a heater in the carriage, and the ground was covered with 氍毹 (qú shū)①. It was extremely warm inside.

Xie Tingzhou wore only a moon-white singlet and leaned on the couch, looking carefree and romantic. When Shen Yu came in, she only glanced at him and lowered her head, kneeling down in front of the desk.

"Your Highness called me here. What are your orders?"

Xie Tingzhou looked at the person in front of him, "You've been running back and forth dozens of times in the past few days, right?"

Shen Yu raised her head and looked at him doubtfully.

She always paid attention to the safety of the criminal, and Xie Tingzhou couldn't even blame him.

But having those horse hooves running around all day long is really annoying.

Xie Tingzhou picked up the teacup, pondered for a moment, and then said thoughtfully: "The prisoner is escorted by Qingyun Guards. You are my guard. You don't need to worry about anything else."

Shen Yu heard that there was something in his words that meant she was overstepping her bounds, so she lowered her head and responded, "Yes, my subordinates know."

After saying that, he still couldn't help but remind him, "Your Highness, escorting Liang Jianfang and others to Beijing this time may not go smoothly."

Xie Tingzhou motioned for her to continue.

Shen Yu said: "As long as Liang Jianfang lives, there must be someone in Shengjing who can't sleep at night. If someone wants to silence him, he will probably do it on the road."

Xie Tingzhou moved his fingers along the tea cup, "What do you think?"

Shen Yu hesitated for a moment and saw a teapot on the table. She poured some teapot on the table and drew a rough map with her fingers.

"This is Yanliang Pass. On the way from Yanliang Pass to Beijing, there are several places, including Pingdu Gorge..."

She explained while drawing, and marked several suitable locations for setting up ambushes.

She grew up in the border area. She had traveled the road from Yanliang Pass back to Beijing so many times that she was already familiar with it.

Xie Tingzhou listened silently.

He hadn't had much rest in the past few days, and he was woken up by the sound of Shigure's horse's hooves several times during the day when he tried to fall asleep.

He half-closed his eyes and looked at the young man in front of him, wondering where his mind was wandering.

"Your Highness?" Shen Yu raised her eyes and looked up.

Xie Tingzhou came to his senses and said, "I understand, go down."

Shen Yu frowned inadvertently, and as soon as she stood up, she heard Xie Tingzhou say: "Can you play chess?"

"ah?"

"Can you play chess?" Xie Tingzhou asked again.

Shen Yu looked at the collapsed chessboard, "I know a little bit, but I don't play well."

"It's okay." Xie Tingzhou raised his finger slightly, motioning for her to sit.

Shen Yu holds the white one and Xie Tingzhou holds the black one.

Xie Tingzhou was an excellent chess player. Every time Shen Yu made a move, he would follow her without even thinking.

The warmth in the carriage, coupled with the ticking sound of ticking, made people drowsy.

Shen Yu was concentrating, and every time Xie Tingzhou made a seemingly random move, she was forced into a dilemma.

It was okay at first, but then the play became slower and slower. After Xie Tingzhou made the move, she held the white piece and did not move for a long time, staring at the chessboard intently, trying to find a way out from above.

After a while, she raised her head and said, "I give up."

After saying this, she realized that Xie Tingzhou had closed his eyes against the soft pillow.

His nose was very straight, his eyebrows were handsome and cold, and his hair was scattered on the moon-white robe, black and white as if it was stained with ink.

He looked defenseless, as if he could end his life immediately with just a hand.

Shen Yu looked at him for a while and gently put down the chess piece in her hand.

When she left, Xie Tingzhou opened his eyes, and there was no fatigue in his eyes.

"I closed my eyes and pretended to sleep, and he didn't attack me." Xie Tingzhou said to Xifeng who had just come in.

Xi Feng's expression was serious, "Your Highness shouldn't put yourself in danger like this."

Xie Tingzhou glanced at him, "You wouldn't think that I have lost all my martial arts like others do, would you?"

Xi Feng said, "I dare not."

"The identity of this person is still in doubt. I don't know which sect he was sent from."

Xi Feng said, "But I think his swordsmanship seems to be inherited from Mr. Jun Song."

"But not completely. His gun skills have some shadows of the Shi family gun. It seems that he has mixed the skills of several families and learned too much."

Xie Tingzhou was also puzzled. Mr. Jun Song would not come out easily. Since he could become his disciple, it was impossible for him to learn the gun skills of the Shi family.

Interesting, Xie Tingzhou seemed to smile.

In the past few years, he has been living a life of luxury in Beilin. It has been a long time since he met such an interesting person.

It makes people want to peel off the layers of skin on his body to see what is hidden inside.

①Qú shū: ancient woolen cloth or carpet,