Chapter 56: Shared Shackles and Food

  Cui Yu'er, who was secretly crying, made Lin Chunhong feel extremely sorry for her. Cui Yu'er said: "Governor Dian has already been very kind to me, I thank him here, and we will meet again!" Cui Yu'er's words were full of despair, which made Lin Chunhong stunned. It turned out that Cui Yu'er thought Lin Chunhong really wanted to hand her over to Xin Yigen and others. Lin Chunhong said: "Miss Cui, don't worry, I'll grab you onto the horse later, let the carriage rush past, and we'll follow behind the carriage!"

  After finishing speaking, without waiting for Cui Yu'er's response, he secretly instructed Zhou Shiliang and the others on how to proceed. Then, in a low voice, he said "I've offended you!" and grabbed Cui Yu'er's slender waist, lifting her up and placing her horizontally on the horse. Cheng Si fiercely whipped the horse several times, causing it to gallop towards the musketeers. Cheng Si laughed loudly and jumped onto Yu Xiaoer's horse, and the five of them followed the carriage as they rushed forward.

  All that could be heard was the sound of gunfire erupting all around, as Xin Yigeng and others jumped to the side while firing their guns at the horse carriage rushing towards them: people in a state of panic always subconsciously resolve the most urgent danger. The horses pulling the carriage were finally injured and fell to the ground, trampled by the neck by the horse carriage behind, and it was clear that they would not survive. The musketeers behind also couldn't help but fire their guns, aiming at the five people fleeing quickly, but in the urgency of the moment, their accuracy was greatly affected, and Yu Xiaoer and Cheng Si's horses, as well as Lin Chunhong's horse, were hit by bullets, but fortunately did not fall to the ground, and they galloped away with their lives.

  Lin Chunhong and others were getting farther and farther away from Xin, and they couldn't help but burst out laughing. Only then did the crowd rush out of the edge of life and death, with cold sweat pouring down their bodies, feeling a chill to the bone in the cold wind. Several people didn't dare to slack off, using all their strength to run forward desperately. Suddenly, Lin Chunhong's horse stumbled and fell to the ground, throwing Lin Chunhong and Cui Yu'er to the ground.

  Lin Chunhong quickly got up and helped Cui Yu'er to her feet, but she let out a cry of pain - she had twisted her ankle.

  Lin Chunhong was greatly alarmed and immediately took out a token from his waist and handed it to Cheng Si, instructing him: "The enemy behind will arrive in an instant, you ride General Zhou's horse to the nearest village to gather troops, hurry!"

  Cheng Si said nothing, took over the token, turned around and jumped onto Zhou Shiliang's horse, whipping it to gallop away.

  "Abandon the horses and hide in the woods, let's stall for time!" Lin Chunhong said, supporting Cui Yu'er as they quickly made their way deep into the forest.

  After a while, the four of them found a secluded cave and finally put their minds at ease, taking a short rest.

  Seeing Cui Yu'er's face full of guilt, Lin Chunhong said: "Miss Cui, don't feel guilty either. These are all fate, we were destined to have this calamity." As soon as Cui Yu'er heard this, she couldn't hold back her tears anymore and they fell down in a patter. This cry made her think of her own difficult fate, and it was even more uncontrollable. Cui Yu'er leaned against Lin Chunhong's shoulder, crying until she was heartbroken, and her tears soaked a large patch on Lin Chunhong's coat.

  Cui Yu'er's slender fingers were gently brushing against Lin Chunhong's neck, and a whiff of feminine fragrance wafted over, making Lin Chunhong's heart skip a beat. Zhou Shiliang and the others deliberately turned their heads away, pretending not to have seen this scene. Lin Chunhong saw the awkward expressions on Zhou Shiliang and the others' faces, and quickly composed himself, asking: "Is your ankle still hurting?"

  Cui Yuer slowly stopped crying, nodded. Lin Chunhong said: "You press the painful place with your hand, use some force, and rub the painful place continuously, rub for a while and rest for a while before rubbing again. When the blood stasis is gone, it will be fine. Ah, if there's a hot towel, it would be better to apply heat a few times."

  Cui Yu'er turned around, her back to Lin Chunhong and the others, slowly removing her shoes and socks, and began to massage them. Lin Chunhong caught sight of Cui Yu'er's enchanting back and was momentarily stunned, thinking to himself that he wondered just how beautiful her feet would be!

  Cui Yu'er's heart was filled with mixed emotions, and she immediately regretted leaning on Lin Chunhong's shoulder earlier. She stole a glance at Lin Chunhong and found him looking at her, her face suddenly turning red. She quickly turned her head away and continued to massage her jade ankle.

  Lin Chunhong gathered his attention and said to Zhou Shiliang and Yu Yuer, "Our traces can't be hidden, I believe the pirates will come after us sooner or later. We must be careful and prepared. Take up your knives, hide in the dark, and take them down one by one as they enter. Even the gunners won't be able to do anything about it!"

  The three men each chose an advantageous position and stood guard cautiously.

  Xin Yi Gen pursued to the place where the horse fell, and immediately ordered his men to follow the trail. Half an hour later, they finally found Lin Chun Hong's hiding cave. Outside the cave, they shouted for Lin Chun Hong to surrender, occasionally firing bullets into the cave.

  The four of them remained silent, quietly waiting for the pirates to enter the cave.

  As expected, Xin Yigeng couldn't hold back and ordered two pirates to search inside the cave.

  From the outside looking in, almost nothing can be seen clearly, but from the inside looking out, it's crystal clear. The movements of the two pirates are all caught in the eyes of Lin Chunhong and others. With a deliberate calculation, soon the two pirates were knocked to the ground, causing Xin Yigen to jump up and down outside the cave.

  Xin ordered the pirates to set fire at the entrance of the cave immediately, preparing to smoke Lin Chunhong out. Lin Chunhong immediately ordered four people to tear off a piece of cloth from their clothes, soak it in urine and cover their mouths and noses.

  This command was nothing to Zhou Shiliang and Yu Yuer, but Lin Chunhong immediately took action and soon prepared. However, for Cui Yu'er, it was extremely difficult, her face turned red as if she were about to bleed.

  Lin Chunhong was furious and scolded: "Do you want to take my life or my face?"

  Choi Ok still hesitated, Lin Chunhong had no choice but to tear the cloth soaked with his own urine in half and throw one half in front of Choi Ok, "Don't mind the filth, survival is key, being alive is better than anything!"

  Cui Yuer remained still, and Lin Chunhong didn't bother with her again, cautiously guarding the outside of the cave.

  In an instant, thick smoke rolled in from outside the cave. Lin Chunhong, Zhou Shiliang and Yu Yuer immediately covered their mouths and noses with rags. Cui Yu'er let out a violent cough, finally unable to bear it, picked up the rag thrown by Lin Chunhong and covered her mouth and nose.

  Cui Yu'er immediately felt a bit better and finally stopped coughing, but the strong smell of urine instantly drilled into Cui Yu'er's nose, almost suffocating her. One sentence kept swirling in her mind: I actually smelled his pee!

  Xin Yigeng was shouting outside, asking them to surrender. Suddenly, the shouting stopped, and a miserable cry came over, it was Cheng Si who led the reinforcements to arrive.

  Zhijiang is Lin Chunhong's territory, and in every village there are his archers. It was easy for Chengzi to gather more than 20 men and launch a siege against Xin Yigen. In the end, Xin Yigen broke through the encirclement with another pirate and fled in disarray.

  Lin Chunhong was furious and immediately mobilized all his forces to search for Xin Yigen everywhere, but unexpectedly, Xin Yigen vanished into thin air like a ghost.

  After this incident, Lin Chunhong became vigilant. He saw that Cheng Si and Yu Yuer reacted quickly and had excellent martial arts skills, so he transferred the two to his side as personal bodyguards. At the same time, he also strengthened his guard force, and every time he went out, he was surrounded by people, which was secretly noted by those with ulterior motives as evidence of his arrogance.

  On February 16th of Chongzhen's fifth year, it is auspicious for weddings.

  Li Chongde had prepared a new house for Lin Chunhong not far from the warehouse, and the previous house was divided between the Zhou and Chen families. The Li family also moved to the new house, looking at the full house of flowers and busy crowds, laughing with joy that couldn't be closed. In her heart, she felt that she had fulfilled her duty to her late husband by seeing their only remaining son get married and have children.

  In the new house, a faint sweet fragrance wafted in, making one's muscles relax and bones soften. It was the scent of expensive agarwood. On the wall hung a painting by Tang Bohu, "Spring Sleep under the Peach Blossoms". Below the painting stood a dressing table with a crystal mirror on it, which had been purchased from the West. Next to the mirror were some golden trays and jewelry. Opposite the dressing table was the bed, where a pearl-encrusted canopy hung, and inside the canopy lay smooth silk quilts and mandarin duck pillows. All the objects in the room were draped with red satin, turning the entire house into a sea of red.

  The bedding was arranged by the best woman in Yiling City, and even the big red double happiness in the main hall was hung by this woman to symbolize good luck. On the silk quilt, there were also dates, peanuts, longan and lotus seeds, symbolizing early birth of a noble son. Ah, it's hard to describe the glory and wealth, and the auspiciousness is beyond words. The outside of the house had already set up floor lamps, and before it got dark, the lamp oil was lit, illuminating the red faces of the bustling guests.

  All the gifts from the guests had already been delivered and placed in a room, exuding an aura of luxury and grandeur. The bustling crowd made Peng Xin busy to the point of exhaustion. Although Li Xiuchang was the master of ceremonies, Peng Xin was actually in charge of the practical matters. Peng Xin proved to be very capable, anticipating that the biggest problems with the wedding would be dereliction of duty and lost items. He divided the personnel into two shifts, each taking turns resting. Each shift was further divided into several groups, each responsible for a specific task, such as pouring tea or welcoming guests... To prevent theft, Peng Xin specially assigned someone to be in charge, and if something went missing, the person in charge would have to compensate for it. To prevent people from slacking off, Peng Xin clearly stipulated that anyone caught slacking off would be severely punished. As a result of these measures, the wedding proceeded smoothly without any major mishaps or chaos. This caused Li Chongde and Lin Chunhong to look at Peng Xin's abilities in a new light. Lin Chunhong even thought that in the future, if he wanted to find management talent, he would let him organize large-scale events, and those who managed well would be directly appointed, while those who messed up would be replaced by others.

  The procession to welcome the bride has set off, Lin Chunhong is riding a pure white horse, wearing a bright red ceremonial robe, behind him is a large sedan chair with eight bearers, and then there are countless chests and boxes. Behind the crowd, numerous children are jumping and shouting: "Carrying chests, carrying lanterns, welcoming the bride! Hurray!", Lin Chunhong's wedding is a major event in Yiling City, astonishing everyone from the provincial officials to the common people.

  Lin Chunhong's face had long been stiff with a smile, occasionally twitching slightly, unsure if it was tension or a natural reaction after stiffness. As he approached the Zhou family, deafening firecrackers sounded, followed by bewildering gunpowder smoke and intense fireworks smell, the scene rivaled that of the Liaodong battlefield, even surpassing it. The Zhou family was shrouded in smoke, Lin Chunhong found the Zhou's gate as if riding on clouds and mist, after a series of difficulties and rituals, he finally invited Zhou Feng into the sedan chair.

  In the midst of a burst of firecrackers, Lin Chunhong and others set foot on their return journey. The return journey was different from the one they came on, meaning they wouldn't be taking the same road back. After circling around Yiling City for a week, they finally arrived at the new house. Following a series of tedious rituals, Zhou Feng was sent into the new house. At this time, Lin Chunhong still couldn't go accompany Zhou Feng, he had to thank all the guests, so cup after cup of joyful wine went down, voice after voice of friendship came out, and sentence after sentence of blessings lingered in his ears. Lin Chunhong had long since lost track of how much wine he had drunk, nor did he know how much cold water he had drunk.

  When Lin Chunhong was supported into the new room, it was already past midnight. Lin Chunhong closed the door with one hand and inserted the door bolt, looking at Zhou Feng who was wearing a red veil with his drunken eyes.秀吉 had gone somewhere, Zhou Feng sat here and was already impatient, she quietly lifted the red veil to observe left and right several times, her stomach growling with hunger.

  The sound of the chicken startled Lin Chunhong, who approached with a smile and pulled out a piece of cake from his sleeve, saying: "Little Feng, look what your husband has brought for you!"

  The aroma of the cake wafted around Zhou Feng's nose, and his stomach protested again. Zhou Feng was furious: You want me to eat the cake, but first take off my veil! But Lin Chunhong didn't think of it, and he kept waving the cake in front of Zhou Feng. Lin Chunhong wasn't intentionally teasing him, after all, his hands and feet were no longer agile.

  After a moment, Zhou Feng couldn't help it anymore. She lifted the red veil with one hand and took the pastry from Lin Chunhong's hand, taking a big bite. This series of actions was done in one swift motion, leaving Lin Chunhong stunned on the spot. Lin Chunhong wasn't surprised that Zhou Feng had lifted her own veil, but rather because he discovered that Zhou Feng, adorned with the phoenix crown and colorful tassels, had an entirely different charm. This was a privilege granted by Empress Ma, allowing all women to wear the phoenix crown and colorful tassels on their wedding day.

  Zhou Feng nibbled on a few biscuits, then stopped eating. Her beautiful eyes stared at Lin Chunhong, and her face also turned bright red. Lin Chunhong smiled, rummaged in his sleeve for half a day, and pulled out a silk-wrapped object. Zhou Feng curiously stared at the object and asked: "What is it?"

  Lin Chunhong didn't say a word, layer by layer unfolding the silk cloth, and took out a wooden carving of a pig from inside. The wooden carving had been smoothed out by hand to an extreme degree, and was carved with great precision. Lin Chunhong said: "This is what I promised to give you."

  Zhou Feng took out a box from the trunk, opened it and found eleven wooden carvings of zodiac animals inside, all given to her by Lin Chunhong. Zhou Feng took the pig carving from Lin's hand and placed it with the others, saying "Now it's perfect!"

  Two people stared at the twelve wooden carvings, and their affection for each other grew. Lin Chunhong hugged Zhou Feng's waist and said: "Your husband relied on wood to start his career, and also relied on wood to catch a wife!"

  Zhou Feng leaned her head on Lin Chunhong's shoulder and said in a mosquito-like voice, "I will serve my husband to sleep!"

  Lin Chunhong's body felt hot and dry, he couldn't stop swallowing his saliva, he took off Xiao Feng'er's phoenix crown and removed her cloud cloak, revealing Xiao Feng'er's beautiful curves, he couldn't help but use his hands to caress Xiao Feng'er's round and fragrant shoulders. His hands, filled with lustful thoughts, slowly moved upwards, lightly touching the snow-white nape of her neck.

  Zhou Feng tightly closed his eyes and couldn't help but hum a tune. This humming was like the sound of a battle horn, and for a moment, the scenery was breathtaking and indescribable.

  At the same time, Zhou Wang sat in the bedroom, staring blankly at his wife with red eyes. His wife had cried many times before. After seeing off the celebrating guests, he just sat there like that, savoring the tea water that had long lost its flavor.

  "Sleep, daughter is grown up and will be married soon." Zhou's wife said with a yawn.

  Zhou Wang didn't make a sound, as if he had entered a meditative state. Suddenly, he slammed his teacup onto the table and exclaimed, "I knew it! That rascal is now bullying our little Feng'er!"

  A loud roar of anger shocked Zhou Wang's wife, who trembled with fear and looked at Zhou Wang to see two lines of clear tears rolling down his face...

  The person who is most heartbroken when a daughter gets married is of course her father.