After being left behind by Ruda, King Qin and his party headed south. However, seeing that the situation was getting more and more critical and that his party was very eye-catching, he changed his strategy, dispersed more than 20 people, and sneaked into Xiangzhou City one after another before making plans.
King Qin led two of his closest followers to stay at the end. On this day, when passing by a small city, he heard a noise from the front, saying that the new Lord Bingyilang led an army to defeat an invading Jin army. The imperial court was poor and weak, and there had been no power for a long time. After hearing the news of the victory, everyone was very excited and rushed to tell each other.
King Qin mingled in the crowd and thought to himself, what kind of person is this Bingyilang? It's better than the straw bag of the imperial court. He was able to win. I don't know if he won by luck.
A team came over, and the discipline was very strict. It can be seen that the people who led the army were very good at running the army. When he saw the young officer riding the big white horse with curly hair, King Qin could hardly help but scream, this boy Isn't it Yue Pengju
The boy back then has long since become a grown man, armed with a eight-foot-long spear, which is very majestic.
He wanted to rush out of the crowd, pull him off his horse, and ask about Hua Rong's whereabouts, but when he saw the army he was leading, he still held back. He immediately led his men and followed them, and saw that they were heading towards Xiangzhou.
In the main camp of Xiangzhou City, the Ninth Prince was overjoyed to report a great victory and went out of the city to greet everyone in person.
Yue Peng raised his horse and saw Hua Rong in men's clothing among the guards next to the Ninth Prince. He was overjoyed. After saluting the Ninth Prince, he was about to greet her when he saw her wink quietly and signal him to talk later.
When he saw his sister smiling, he didn't say much and just followed the Ninth Prince, but he couldn't help but glance at her from time to time.
Return to the camp and discuss your merits and reward them.
The Ninth Prince was overjoyed: "Pengju, the country has talented people, and ZTE has hope. I will give you 100 taels of gold, 10 pieces of brocade, and two singers..."
Yue Pengju said anxiously: "Thank you, Your Majesty. The singer should be rewarded to other meritorious soldiers."
The Ninth Prince laughed and said, "You haven't married yet, so you should have one or two concubines to take care of you."
He said with emotion: "The gold thief has not been eliminated, so why should we take care of our family? Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty. Let's talk about personal matters later."
The Ninth Prince was very happy to see him like this, and immediately rewarded the two singers to other soldiers.
Hua Rong was on the side, smiling all the time, as if she was happier than him. She just thought that her brother had grown up and truly became a man who stood upright. For the first time, it seemed that she was facing a man instead of the child he was before.
That night, after a banquet, the generals went to the brothel in Xiangzhou City to visit prostitutes as usual.
After serving in the army for three years, a sow became a Diao Chan. After the victory, prostitution became an open secret among the soldiers, and no one cared about it.
The generals went to call Yue Pengju, only to find that he had disappeared a long time ago. Every time like this, he was not there and had never participated once. Everyone was used to it and stopped calling him.
Hua Rong returned to the house and saw that it was not too late. She was very excited, but regretful that there were so many people today. She didn't even say a few words to Peng Ju, and she didn't know how long he could stay.
Just as I was thinking about it, I suddenly heard Yue Pengju coming to visit.
She shouted happily: "Come in quickly."
Yue Pengju felt happy when he saw that she seemed to have been waiting for him for a long time. For some reason, his heart started pounding as soon as he entered the door. He only glanced at her, then lowered his head, looked away, and said slowly: "Sister, what are you doing these days?" OK?"
"It's okay. Pengju, they all went out to have fun, why didn't you go?"
Yue Pengju blushed: "Sister, I never go."
"Well, this is a good man." Hua Rong was extremely happy. The people he had known since he was a child, except for his poor scholar father, and those relatives who had a little money and power, all had three wives and four concubines, and they went to brothels. As usual, I was very relieved to see that Yue Pengju was very young, but even though he was in the military camp, he was extremely restrained and kept himself clean.
Hua Rong went to the house and put some dried fruits and snacks that the Ninth Prince usually sent to him on the table. When he was about to invite him to eat, he saw something in his hand and asked him: "Pengju, what are you doing?" What did you get?"
Only then did Yue Pengju remember, and he immediately handed over a small piece of yellow gold. He always gave away a penny of the rewards he received from previous battles to the soldiers. The 100 taels of gold he received this time were all given to his subordinates. Because I was thinking about Hua Rong being sent to someone else's house, I left five taels and brought it to her. I don't know from which day I realized that she was alone and helpless, and I must take care of her and make her live a happy life.
Hua Rong looked at the gold and laughed, surprised: "Haha, I don't need money."
"Sister, take it. In these troubled times, iron money can't buy anything. If you leave Xiangzhou, you will need it."
This is true. Iron money is commonly used in this dynasty, but iron money is very heavy and has poor purchasing power. In troubled times and withered resources, it is naturally much better to buy things with gold.
In addition to living in a farm, it was the first time in her life that she accepted money from a man, as if it was the cost of supporting the family. Hua Rong felt warm in her heart and smiled sweetly: "Will you support your sister from now on?"
He nodded seriously: "Yes. We have never had a home. When the situation becomes a little more stable, I will find a quiet place and buy a small house. My sister will not have to travel around."
Hua Rong originally asked casually, but when he saw that he answered so seriously and was by no means casual, he was very touched. He couldn't say anything for a moment. When he heard the tea water gurgling, he poured him a cup of tea. : "Drink this and see if it tastes good?"
Yue Pengju had served in the army for many years, and now they were sitting opposite each other so quietly. But seeing her cooking tea with bare hands, his heart skipped a beat. He took the tea and drank it all in one gulp. He couldn't tell what the taste was. He hurriedly put the tea cup on the table, but it felt like it was... The feeling of home that I have longed for countless times in my dreams is warm and peaceful.
Hua Rong didn't notice anything strange about him and asked him with a smile: "Pengju, you have been away from home all these years without anyone to take care of you. It's time to start a family and start a business. The Ninth Prince rewarded you with a singer, why don't you want it?"
The legal age for marriage in this dynasty is fifteen for men and fourteen for women. Yue Pengju is almost 20 years old. He has no other relatives. Hua Rong regards him as his biological brother and has considered this issue for him, but she was unable to do it for him. Secondly, he was away from home all year round, and now he was getting some rewards because of his military exploits, so he started to care about his marriage plan.
Yue Pengju blushed when he heard her question and just shook his head.
Hua Rong thought he was embarrassed. Besides, she didn't agree with the idea of rewarding a singer as a concubine. She just said: "Forget it, my brother is versatile in both civil and military affairs. From now on, my sister will help you keep an eye on those girls from good families with outstanding talents and appearance..."
Yue Pengju suddenly said: "Sister, you don't have to worry about me, there's no rush for these things."
"Haha, that's fine. We'll wait until we kill the gold thief."
Speaking of killing enemies, Yue Pengju became more energetic. The two talked about the situation outside for a while. Hua Rong became more frightened as he listened. It seemed that the Jin army was about to move south. Yue Pengju's views were almost exactly the same as Luda's.
"Pengju, when will you set off again?"
"Estimated in three days."
Only have to stay for three days? Hua Rong was very disappointed. It was useless to talk about the troubles in his heart, not just to hold them in. Yue Pengju was about to leave, which only made him worry.
Yue Pengju saw that she looked uneasy and hesitated to speak, so he immediately said: "Sister, what's bothering you?"
When he asked, Hua Rong couldn't help it any longer. He sighed and briefly told the story of King Qin's visit. He only didn't mention the matter of Prince Ninth Prince's proposal of marriage, because Prince Nine said it was Xu Caizhi himself. "Making his own decision." In a short period of time, it is obvious that he will not do anything else.
But when Yue Pengju heard that King Qin actually came to visit him, he couldn't bear it anymore and said angrily: "Sister, don't be afraid. I will send him away. Sister, don't worry, I will never let anyone hurt you again."
Hua Rong felt relieved, smiled, and said softly: "Well, I'm not afraid as long as you are here."
That night, I don't know if it was because she told Yue Pengju about her worries, but Hua Rong slept very soundly. But Yue Pengju was just the opposite of her, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep no matter what. He was originally a carefree person. , but remembering that my sister is alone in Xiangzhou, and she is a woman, everything is inconvenient, so this is not a long-term solution.
Early the next morning, he got up and practiced his marksmanship for a while. After having breakfast, he just said to Hua Rong, changed into casual clothes and went out. Originally, since King Qin had already come to the door, he would naturally come to him, but he did not have time to wait for him. He came to the door by himself. He had decided that before he left, he must solve this troublesome matter for his sister. Avoiding was not the answer, so it was better to face it.
Because of the war, Xiangzhou City also lost its former prosperity, but because the Nine Princes were stationed here, it still had some atmosphere. People came and went in the city, people were panicked, and everyone was talking about the Jin army going south.
Yue Pengju looked around, but there was no trace of King Qin walking down the streets. Although it was a small city, it was not easy to find someone. Fortunately, King Qin was tall, so if he was among the crowd, It's easy to find.
In the evening, I finally found four people who were behaving very strangely. One of them was vaguely the pirate Li Xing I had seen on the island before.
He immediately paid attention and saw those people hurriedly walking towards a brothel called "Chun Laizhu". Could King Qin be here too
He couldn't follow him, so he just made a secret investigation and then set off back to the camp, planning to check again tomorrow.
There were some shops next to it. He went in first and bought a pair of calfskin boots. After walking a few steps, he saw a small stall in front of him. The hawker greeted him enthusiastically: "Brother, buy a hairpin for your wife. It's very cheap. You only need 30 dollars…”
He picked up the butterfly-shaped jade hairpin handed over by the vendor. It was lifelike and very delicate. This was the first time he had seen such a thing in his life, but he found it extremely beautiful, so he bought one and carried it in his arms.
When I returned, it was getting late, and I saw Hua Rong looking at the door. When I saw him, I immediately smiled and said, "I was looking for you to have dinner."
He strode over and handed the boots and jade hairpin to Hua Rong: "Sister, here you go."