Qin Mubai came home, which made the whole family overjoyed and rejoiced.
Since the last time he returned to Beijing to marry Princess Gaoyang and left home, Qin Mubai had not seen his mother and sister for several years. Too many things have happened in the past few years. Qin Shubao was killed in battle, Qin Mubai faked his death, and then Tubo was destroyed and the Western Regions were leveled...
The poor bones by the river are like those in a spring boudoir dream.
The men at home are marching out to fight on the battlefield, and the most miserable ones are the women at home.
When his mother Liu and her sister Qin Shuang'er received Qin Mubai, they cried with joy and cried in their arms, unable to persuade him. This made Qin Mubai's children also cry loudly, and then burst into laughter. Outsiders were confused after hearing this, thinking what had happened to the family.
Back home, Qin Mubai's heart seemed to have fallen to the ground, and he felt more at ease. For the time being, he left all the worries of the outside world behind and enjoyed the happiness of his family.
Qin Mubai was most happy to see his children reunited after a long separation. When eating, he held Qin Ying and Qin Di in his arms and fed them personally. The eldest daughter, Xiaolouer, got jealous and even went to Qin Mubai's side, shouting that she wanted to be fed. The whole family was happy and enjoying themselves.
What makes Qin Mubai the most happy is the second son Ashina Blood Lotus gave birth to to Qin Mubai. The little guy was probably born with the dual bloodline of a Qin family warrior and a prairie boy. He was quite strong, had a huge appetite that could rival two or three children of the same age, and cried with an exaggeratedly loud voice.
His mother, Mrs. Liu, said that there were many men in the family fighting for war, so the word "blood" in the name of Blood Lotus was unlucky, so it would be better to call it "Xue" Lotus. Blood Lotus originally changed this word because he wanted to avenge blood hatred. Now that her enemy was dead and her hatred was avenged, she was happy to change back to her real name - Ashina Snow Lotus.
As for the son she gave birth to to Qin Mubai, it was initially agreed that his surname would be "Ashina". At first, Mrs. Liu was a little unhappy. After all, she was an elderly person. How could the children in the family take their mother's surname? Qin Mubai tried to persuade his mother, saying that the direct bloodline of Ashina, the first noble family in the grassland, had been exterminated by Xue Yantuo. Xue Lian did this to show her filial piety and allow the bloodline of the Ashina family to continue. If the court grants amnesty in the future, Xuelian will definitely inherit the title of the Ashina family. In the end, her son would naturally have to inherit.
This isn't necessarily a bad thing.
Mrs. Liu couldn't say anything better than Qin Mubai. She had always been tolerant and generous in nature. Seeing that Xue Lian was alone without her parents, she felt very pitiful, so she agreed.
Therefore, Qin Mubai's second son was named Ashina Chengsi. This is a typical "Chinese and Hu combination" name, with obvious meaning. In addition, in order to make it easier for her grandson to raise him and avoid disasters and diseases, Mrs. Liu gave him a nickname according to the ancient customs of the Central Plains, and called him - Little Wolf, Wolf'er!
The wolf is the totem of the Turks, and Snow Lotus is very satisfied with it. After living in this big family for so long and becoming a mother, she gradually integrated in and accepted many relatives. From then on, she no longer felt lonely, but she missed her sister Xiyan who was still in the north.
Qin Mubai said that after Xue Rengui came back and finished handling the matters at hand, he would ask him to go to the northern grassland to bring Xi Yan back. By then, the family will be reunited.
Although there were many disturbances about the big event, Qin Mubai was very calm. He rested at home for three days without talking about state affairs and military affairs, and had a good rest. After running back from a long journey in the Western Expedition, he was like a battery that was about to run out of energy. Now it is fully charged and full of energy under the warmth of his family.
The celebration banquet at the Governor's Mansion arranged by Pang Fei was going to start in a few days. Qin Mubai thought it was time to show up and meet the officials from the Governor's Mansion and the generals in the army. Just as he was about to go out to the governor's office, an uninvited guest came to his home.
The visitor claimed to be the housekeeper of the family of Qin Tong, the son of Qin's eldest son, and his surname was Lu. Qin Mubai had seen him when he went to his eldest brother's house, but he didn't have a deep impression. Mrs. Liu and Shuang'er knew each other, and they said that Butler Lu had served in his eldest brother's house five or six years ago, specializing in matters such as the leasing of Yongye fields under Qin Tong's name. He often went to the fields on the outskirts of Chang'an with him. The tenants do not often stay in the eldest brother's house when dealing with each other. He is said to have always been loyal and honest, and is the person Qin Tong trusts the most.
Although Qin Mubai was not familiar with Butler Lu, but with his mother and sister as witnesses, he didn't think much about it. He saw that the unsophisticated housekeeper Lu was acting in a hurry, as if he was on the run, so he was a little worried that something had happened to his eldest brother's family.
So, he called Butler Lu in private for questioning.
Butler Lu is nearly fifty years old and looks very old, looking like an honest hard worker. Before Qin Mubai could ask any questions, he fell down on his knees and said in tears: "Third Young Master, you must save the eldest and second young masters!"
Qin Mubai was startled, "What's going on? Tell me in detail!"
Butler Lu cried and cried: "There are rumors circulating in Chang'an that the third son is going to rebel. The eldest son and the second son are both loyal people. In order to avoid the suspicion of the court and bring harm to the family, they took the initiative to tie themselves up in the palace to plead guilty. Unexpectedly, the eldest grandson Wuji took advantage of the situation and secretly detained the two young masters and threw them into prison! Not only that, they also arrested the two young masters, their entire family, including their servants, and threw them into prison! "
"What?!" Qin Mubai was furious and shouted, "Such a bastard?!"
"Third Young Master, help me!" Butler Lu begged repeatedly, "If the little old man hadn't gone to the countryside to collect rent, I might have been detained too!... At this time, the two Young Masters were in danger, and they were anxiously hoping that Third Young Master would come to rescue them. !”
Qin Mubai filled his chest with anger and clenched his fists so hard that his bones crackled. He gritted his teeth and roared: "Changsun Wuji, you and I swear to be incompatible!"
A fist hit the table, and the teacup flew and water flowed all over the floor. The solid mahogany table was almost broken by the smash!
"Third Young Master, please help me, please help me!" Butler Lu just kowtowed on the ground and begged.
Qin Mubai glanced at Butler Lu from the corner of his eyes, helped him up from the ground, and said to him: "I have my own opinion on this matter. You have worked hard all the way, so go down and have a good rest. Remember, this matter does not affect anyone." Don’t say anything, including my mother and sister.”
"Yes, yes, I know how to keep my mouth shut. I just hope that the third young master will make plans and save the two young masters!"
"Get down!"
Butler Lu resignedly retreated. Qin Mubai, who was still furious just now, suddenly became extremely calm. He closed the door, straightened the crooked table, picked up the teacups on the ground and put them in place. Fill a new cup with new tea, then sit alone and meditate.
At this time, there was a knock on the door, and it was Chen Yan.
Qin Mubai's heart moved, "Come in!"
Chen Yan came in and closed the door. He glanced around and saw that everything on the table was neatly arranged. He smiled and said, "You dropped something and recovered it by yourself?"
"Scared you?" Qin Mubai smiled.
"No." Chen Yan came over and sat next to him, added some tea to him, and said, "Just now, you roared like you were about to kill someone. You could hear it even from several rooms away. The children were all I was frightened to tears, and the old lady was also frightened. I was sent to ask you what happened
"It's okay." Qin Mubai smiled and said, "I heard some rumors about Chang'an."
"Is it related to your eldest brother?" Chen Yan asked, "I heard the word 'Chang Sun Wuji'. Could it be that Chang Sun Wuji did something to your eldest brother?"
"It sounds like this." Qin Mubai raised the corner of his mouth slightly and said, "Steward Lu told me that Changsun Wuji arrested my eldest brother and his second brother's family."
"What's the reason?"
"Of course I will take them hostage to prevent me from starting a rebellion."
"Do you believe it?"
"If I believed it, I wouldn't be angry." Qin Mubai said with a smile, "Such a stupid thing is not something Changsun Wuji can do."
Chen Yan smiled, "I knew you wouldn't get so angry at home for no reason and scare your family. Did you get angry on purpose to show Butler Nalu?"
"That's right." Qin Mubai frowned and said, "How can it be possible for me, Mr. Qin, to be truly angry with just such insignificant words? After all, I don't trust this Butler Lu at all!"
"But the old lady and Shuang'er both said that he is indeed the housekeeper of the eldest brother's family?" Chen Yan said, "Besides, he doesn't look like a cunning person."
"So what?" Qin Mubai smiled coldly, "Such a servant is too easy to be bribed or betrayed, or too easy to be deceived!"
"You mean, Butler Lu himself might have been deceived?" Chen Yan asked doubtfully.
"Yes." Qin Mubai nodded, "If I hadn't thought of the fear of unjustly accusing the innocent, I would have brought him to justice just now!"
"You didn't take him, but you wanted to play hard to get, right?" Chen Yan said with a smile, "If he was bribed, then you would just use your trick."
"Clever!" Qin Mubai said with a smile, "Yan, you still understand me! No matter who is behind the scenes, his move is not very clever. Their intention is too obvious, just to force me to rebel. Let me fight with Changsun Wuji to the death. In fact, although Changsun Wuji is at odds with me, he is not stupid. Although he strongly opposes the appointment of King Wu as the prince, he also has his political bottom line. That is, the country of the Tang Dynasty cannot be in chaos, otherwise he will not be able to explain it to the emperor and the people of the world. I haven't done anything extraordinary yet. If he takes the whole family of my two brothers first, it will be a false accusation against the ministers and chaos. Chao Gang, using his power to harm the country and avenge himself, doesn't it just give me an excuse to raise troops to serve the king and "clear the emperor's side"? In this way, he will become the source of evil in the world and become the target of public criticism. Changsun Wuji will not do such a stupid thing. Do it!”
"Listening to what you said, it reminds me of the old allusion of 'the snipe and the clam fight, and the fisherman gets the benefit'." Chen Yan said, "If you really fall into the trap and start a fight between King Bingqin and Changsun Wuji, then you will benefit." Who is the one?"
"It's not clear yet." Qin Mubai shook his head with gleaming eyes, "But I guess it is very likely that he is the one who ambush King Wu on the way!"
Chen Yan frowned, "Isn't that what Changsun Wuji and King Wei did to King Wu?"
"I dare to say, no." Qin Mubai shook his head affirmatively, "Although the two of them are most afraid of the King of Wu, they also happen to be the least dare to act rashly like this. Because as long as something happens to the King of Wu, even a common man can do it. Thinking of the two of them being the masterminds, is this any different from hiding something? Neither Changsun Wuji nor King Wei would do such a stupid thing. At the same time, it is precisely because of this reason that if a third party wants to marry. If it brings trouble to Changsun Wuji and the King of Wei, he has a full motive!"
Chen Yan suddenly realized, "No wonder you said that the man behind Butler Lu was the same person who ambushed King Wu! He first blamed King Wei and Changsun Wuji, and then instigated you to go to war with them. The purpose of both things was the same. It’s the same thing, we just want you to fight with each other!”
Qin Mubai raised the corner of his mouth and smiled meaningfully, "If it goes as expected, Changsun Wuji will not only not act rashly against my two eldest brothers, but will also try his best to stabilize them and protect them. How about I, Qin? Would you be fooled by such a low-level trick? What a pity, that Mr. Blackhand seriously underestimated the intelligence of me, Changsun Wuji and others. He probably thought that everyone in this world was as simple-minded as him. !”
Chen Yan shook her head helplessly and smiled bitterly, "Yes, you and Changsun Wuji have already cultivated into fairies, and are invulnerable to all poisons!... You people, hey! You are fighting for power all day long, and you are not tired. ?”
"Tired, really tired." Qin Mubai let out a long sigh and said, "Yan, I will retire after the current matters are dealt with."
Chen Yan's expression changed slightly, a hint of joy appeared on her brows, and she smiled, "Can you comfort me?"
"No." Qin Mubai held his hand and said, "Do you remember what I once told you? One day, I, Qin Mubai, will return to where I started and be myself. By then, we A family can truly be happy and carefree. Yan, over the years, you have been the only one who has followed me without any regrets, no matter when I was in danger or when I was caring for my husband and raising children, you always stood behind me silently; No matter what I do, you never complain at all. You will only support me silently, help me, and give to me without any reservation. I am very grateful to you, and at the same time I feel very guilty. I have neglected many of the most important things in my life. Now, I have finally made the decision to return to my true nature! And you are still by my side... so good!"
Chen Yan smiled, nodded lightly, pulled her hand back, stood up and walked out, "I'm going to give the old lady a reply. To avoid her worrying, I'll say something else. You also remember that your tone of voice is important, don't be scared. family."
"You still call me Madam?" After Qin Mubai said this, he immediately realized - it turns out that I have never held a wedding with Chen Yan!
I felt extremely ashamed!
"Yan, a celebration banquet will be held in the Governor's Mansion in a few days. It will definitely be full of guests and friends. I think..." Qin Mubai hesitated for a moment, acting like a shy little boy in front of Chen Yan for the first time, and even scratched his head. He said with a cheeky smile, "I want you to marry me! How about we hold our wedding ceremony on that day?"
Chen Yan was startled for a moment, then turned around and smiled, "Silly!"