Zhu Wen was already in a bad mood. He was worried about Li Keyong's revenge and how to explain it to the court. Many complicated emotions raged in his heart, making him extremely upset.
Suddenly seeing these messy and dirty refugees, my mood became even worse, and my irritability and violent emotions suddenly reached the extreme.
He had a gloomy face, and his eyes flashed with murderous light from time to time. A green light kept sweeping over the refugees. Just when he was about to lose control of his emotions and was ready to vent, suddenly a figure appeared in his sight.
The figure that haunts my dreams, I look back at him several times in my dreams, but my heart remains the same.
In life, everyone will meet many different kinds of people. Even if you see some of them every day, once you haven’t seen them for a long time, the impression will fade. Unless you meet again, you will not feel that the other person has ever existed.
But some people, even if you have only met them once, will be deeply imprinted in your heart and engraved in your mind. That person's description and expression will become clearer with every time you miss them, so clear that you can't stop missing them at all.
And the figure that entered Zhu Wen's sight was the one he would never forget at first sight and would remember for the rest of his life.
You may not believe in God, heaven or earth, but you have to believe that deep in everyone's heart, there is a soft place. In the deepest part of his heart, his true love and his life are deeply hidden.
Looking back to the past, Zhu Wen’s widowed mother, along with Zhu Wen and his two brothers, lived in Liu Chong’s home in Xiao County, carrying the burden of the family on her weak shoulders.
In the blink of an eye, his mother's beautiful and loving face was carved into wrinkles and her black hair turned white by the pressure of life and the ruthless years. Zhu Wen saw all this and felt pain in his heart.
If you don't have a son, you won't want your parents to enjoy their old age. Don't refute those exceptions in your mind. Are they sons of man? Are they human beings? They are not, so of course they are not included.
Unfortunately, the three brothers in the family were all slaves.
Zhu Wen, who was unwilling to accept his fate and be ordinary, stood out and suffered a lot of punishment as a result.
It was not easy to change the monotonous life, so Zhu Wen decided to take a risk and join Huang Chao's rebel army. And that year, he met her.
She is high above, delicate, and holy like a white lotus on a snowy mountain, graceful and elegant, with a fragrance that spreads far and wide. Looking at her makes one's mind clear and full of admiration.
It was at that time that this figure was imprinted in Zhu Wen's mind, and has been engraved deep in his heart ever since, unable to be erased or forgotten.
Zhu Wen, who was always known for his violence and cruelty, gave his first love to unrequited love at that time.
If there is still a soft spot in his heart, if Zhu Wen still has a vital point, then deep in his heart, apart from his mother, there is probably only this figure.
That was his dream in his youth, that was the person he could not stop thinking about every time, that was the source of strength that inspired him to have courage and move forward countless times, that was the god in his heart, unique and irreplaceable.
Almost everyone has such a person deep in their heart, who is hard to cut off and hard to sort out. They want to hide it, but it only makes it more obvious.
This woman, about 23 or 24 years old, was delicate and ragged, but her face was solemn, and her gentle eyes always carried
A touch of tranquility, like an ice lotus isolated from the world.
In that noisy and dirty crowd, her situation was equally bad, but she still stood out from the crowd.
There seemed to be a unique aura about her, an aura that made people feel at ease and calm, and it was also the aura that made Zhu Wen most obsessed.
She was Zhang Hui, the apple of the eye of Zhang Rui, the governor of Songzhou, the woman whom Zhu Wen had coveted for a long time and missed madly.
The moment he saw Zhang Hui, Zhu Wen's original irritability and violent mood instantly disappeared, leaving only full of attachment, longing, and confusion.
"Go and settle these people down." Zhu Wen's voice trembled slightly and he seemed a little excited. He looked at Zhang Hui infatuatedly and instructed Ge Congzhou and others around him without turning his head, completely ignoring the surprised looks of these generals.
As if he had thought of something, he quickly added: "Also, allocate some food and fodder to properly entertain these refugees."
"Yes." Ge Congzhou did not dare to be negligent. Although he did not understand why, he quickly responded.
Zhu Wen's abnormal behavior surprised him. Following Zhu Wen's gaze, he saw a refugee woman. She was a special woman, one that people would never forget after seeing her once, and they would even feel ashamed of themselves.
Zhu Wen jumped off his horse as if no one was around, straightened his clothes, and even looked at his face carefully through the eyes on the side of the horse. After making sure that there was no flaw, he slowly walked towards Zhang Hui.
Zhu Wen and his entourage walked with resounding steps, like dragons and tigers, which had already aroused the refugees' vigilance. When they saw these people walking directly towards them, many people showed an inexplicable uneasiness in their eyes.
Zhang Hui also looked over curiously. She was carefully supporting her mother at the moment, following behind Zhang Rui, who looked elegant but in a disheveled state. Her eyes flickered and she looked thoughtful at Zhu Wen and the others, but she looked much calmer than the others.
"Generals, my name is Zhang Rui. What can I do for you?" When he saw Zhu Wen and others stopped in front of him, Zhang Rui hurriedly and cautiously asked with a fist clasped.
Zhang Rui was the governor of Songzhou. When Huang Chao was defeated and fled to his hometown in Caozhou, he captured Suiyang County, the seat of Songzhou. Zhang Rui had no choice but to abandon his post and flee with his wife and daughter, blending in with the refugees along the way to avoid being recognized by others.
In this era, once a governor lost his control over a place, he would be like a phoenix without feathers, worse than a chicken, and Zhang Rui's situation was even worse.
Zhu Wen had not paid any attention to this dishevelled and rather shabby old man. He only had eyes for Zhang Hui. It was not until Zhang Rui asked that Zhu Wen suddenly came to his senses. He looked a little embarrassed, but recovered in a flash. He clasped his hands and said, "I am Zhu Wen, the governor of Xuanwu. This must be Zhang Rui, the governor of Songzhou, or Zhang Shijun."
Zhang Rui's expression changed drastically when he heard this, but his years of experience in officialdom had calmed him down, and Zhu Wen was still his superior in theory, so he quickly bowed and said, "It's me, nice to meet you, Chief Steward Zhu."
Zhu Wen knew Zhang Rui. How could he not ask for details as the father of his dream lover? When he saw the other party's fearful look, he immediately said gently: "You are too polite, Envoy Zhang. Speaking of it, I am also sorry that your family has fallen to this state."
Zhu Wen's courtesy and kindness immediately made Zhang Rui flattered. He didn't know why.
Therefore, he dared not neglect it, and bowed his hands again and said modestly: "General Manager, there is no need to blame yourself. It is the general manager's duty to hunt down the bandits. The bandits are wreaking havoc in Songzhou because they are hard to change. Naturally, it has nothing to do with the general manager."
Zhu Wen was very happy that the other party was so sensible. He was afraid that the old man was dissatisfied with him. This was the father of his sweetheart. If he didn't nod, even if he used force to win the goddess of his heart, he would always feel that it was still not perfect.
In front of this woman who haunted his dreams, Zhu Wen unconsciously wanted to behave perfectly. He patiently continued to be polite, "Your Excellency is generous, and I admire you. However, I have an unreasonable request, and I hope you will agree to it."
Hmm, Zhang Rui looked suspicious when he heard this, and said carefully, "I have nothing now and have ended up here. I don't know if there is anything I can do to help the steward. If there is anything I can do to help the steward, I will definitely do my best."
"Haha!" Zhu Wen laughed loudly, appearing to be very respectful to others. He said gently, "Now that Huang Chao has been defeated and Songzhou has been pacified, you are the governor of Songzhou. I, Zhu, would like to ask you to continue to serve as the governor of Songzhou."
"Ah" Zhang Rui was shocked when he heard this. He couldn't figure out why Zhu Wen was talking about this matter. If he could be reinstated, he would of course be happy. But he was a governor who abandoned his post and fled, but he could still receive such courtesy. It really caught him off guard.
However, he and Zhu Wen were not related at all, so why would this man help him? This was something Zhang Rui couldn't understand. However, as he was old and experienced, he still discovered clues by following Zhu Wen's occasionally flickering eyes.
It turned out that the reason why Zhu Wen was willing to help him was not because of the wine, but because he wanted his daughter.
After realizing this, Zhang Rui was not happy but hesitated. According to his original intention, there was nothing wrong in betrothing his daughter to Zhu Wen. After all, no matter in terms of identity and status, the other party was worthy of his daughter.
However, although Zhang Hui was still a virgin, she had been promised to someone else. She was unlucky and her husband died in the war before she got married. If Zhu Wen knew about this, he would probably be in big trouble.
However, he did not dare to not respond to Zhu Wen's request, so he said nervously: "Of course I am willing to serve the general manager, but..."
"Haha, as long as Mr. Zhang is willing, from now on, we are a family." Zhu Wen laughed loudly, looking very happy. He put his arm around Zhang Rui's shoulders and said generously, "Speaking of which, Songzhou is also under my control. I have been busy fighting bandits and have no time to visit Mr. Zhang. It is really rude. Now Mr. Zhang has been stranded here. I am very sorry."
Zhu Wen's affection made Zhang Rui feel a little uncomfortable, so he quickly called his wife and daughter over to greet the rogue steward. Zhang Hui came hobbling over with the old lady in his arms. When they got close, they bowed together and said, "I greet the steward."
"I have met the steward."
The greetings of the two made Zhu Wen, who was already in his thirties, a little flustered like a young boy. He hurriedly made a false gesture to indicate that he could not accept such a courtesy.
However, his eyes never left Zhang Hui's face from then on. Even a fool could see the obsession and admiration in his eyes. It was as if he had a note on his forehead saying "I want this girl, marry her to me soon".