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Commander Li was a capable man, and he advanced steadily through the ranks of officialdomIn 1759, the twenty-third year of the Emperor Qian Long's reign, he distinguished himself in the battle of Ili, in which the largest of the tribes in the Muslim areas was defeated, and received an Imperial decree promoting him to the post of Commander-in-Chief of Zhejiang Province in the southeast
Yuanzhi had been born and raised in the border areas of the northwest, and the prospect of travelling to new and beautiful lands filled her with excitementShe pressed her teacher to come as well, and Lu, who had been away from the central areas for a long time, agreed with pleasure
Li Keshou went ahead with a small escort to take up his post and left his chief-of-staff and 20 soldiers in charge of his family who were to follow himThe officer's name was Deng, a vigorous and energetic man in his forties who sported a small moustache
The entourage consisted of more chanel body jewelry than a dozen mules and a few horsesMadame Li sat in a mule-drawn carriage, but Yuanzhi couldn't bear to be cooped up and insisted on ridingSince itwould have been improper for the daughter of a high official to be seen riding in public, she changed into boy's clothes which made her look so extraordinarily handsome that she refused to change back into her normal attire no matter what anyone saidAll Madame Li could do was sigh and let her daughter do as she pleased
It was a deep autumn dayLu rode far behind the group looking at the passing scenery as the colours of late afternoon merged into eveningBut there was little to see around the ancient road except yellow sand, withered grasses and the occasional crow flying homewardsA breeze sprang up from the west and Lu began to recite:
"His body and name scarred by a hundred battles
The general approaches a bridge across a river
And turns to look back 10,000 miles
At the dead men left behind
Cold are the omega usa waters of the River Yi
And the whistling west wind,
Full of cloaks and crowns like snow
The hero's song of lament has not yet ended
"The poet Xin Jiaxuan could have been writing of my own feelings," he thought"He was much like me when he wrote it, watching China fall to the barbarian tribes, with no way of knowing when the old days would returnNo wonder he sang such a sad song
The entourage crossed the summit of a hillLooking at the darkening sky, the mulemen said that another three miles would bring them to Twin Pagodas, a large town, where they planned to spend the night
Just then, Lu heard the sound of galloping hooves and saw far in front two magnificent chestnut horses racing towards them through a cloud of dustThe two riders flashed by, one on either side of the line of mules, and were goneLu slapped his horseand caught up with Yuanzhi
"Did you get a good look at those two?" he asked in a low voice
"Were they bandits?" she replied gucci handbags discount excitedlyShe would have liked nothing better than for them to be outlaws bent on robbery, giving her a chance to display the skills she had worked so hard to attain over the past five years
"It's hard to say," said Lu"But judging by their ability in the martial arts, they wouldn't be ordinary highwaymen
"Are they kung fu masters?"
"From the way they ride their horses, I'd say it's unlikely they are novices
As the entourage neared the town, two more horsemen galloped past
"Mm, this is very strange," mused LuThe country was desolate and the evening mist was thickeningHe wondered why anyone would set out on a journey at this time of day
Not long after, the muletrain entered the townOfficer Deng led them to a large inn and Yuanzhi and her mother were shown to one of the best roomsLu was given a smaller room, and after he had eaten dinner, a servant lit the lanternAll was quiet, and he was about to go to sleep when a dog barkedFrom far away he heard leather chanel bag the faint sound of galloping horses approaching and he thought again about the four riders they had passed on the road
The clip-clop of horses' hooves came closer and stopped right in front of the innThere was a knock on the front door and Lu heard a servant open it and say: "You've been riding hardThere's food and drink prepared for you
"Go and feed the horses quickly," said a rough voice"We must start out again as soon as we've finished eating
Lu considered the situationGroups of men hurrying northwest, and judging by the way they rode, all of them experts in the martial artsIn all his years in the border areas, he had never seen the like of itHe slipped quietly out of his room, crossed the courtyard and went round to the back of the inn
"All right, you say the Young Helmsman is very young," he heard the rough-voiced man say"Do you think he will be able to control all the brothers?"
Lu followed the voice and stationed himself underneath the tiffany |
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