Outside the guardhouse, a group of people stood.
The servants beside the carriage were unloading boxes from the carriage and were very busy. In the place where the guards entered the door to rest, the guests were sitting and drinking tea.
As soon as Xiao Juefu entered the door, what he saw was Liang Ping pouring tea.
"Fourth Young Master Chu." Lin Shuanghe was the first to greet him. He waved his fan and stepped forward. He smiled as if the host was entertaining guests, "I wonder if tea is still good for your taste?"
Chu Zilan stood up and bowed to Lin Shuanghe and Xiao Jue: "Captain Xiao, Young Master Lin." He smiled and said, "The cloud tea from Liangzhouwei is mellow and bright, with fragrant teeth and cheeks. The commander has a good mouth."
Xiao Jue grabbed a chair, sat down and stared at him and said, "It's just rough tea, don't be polite."
Chu Zhao was not annoyed, but smiled and said, "The Governor is joking."
The fourth son of Shi Jinbo's mansion is the same age as Xiao Jue this year. Compared with Xiao Jue's often indifferent and lazy expression, he appears to be much gentler. The birth is also very good, with bright facial features, fair skin, and a long jade-colored robe, which makes him look thinner and thinner like a fairy. His eyes are long and narrow, always smiling, he is a gentleman, and he is as warm as jade.
The two of them are in the same place, one is as cold as autumn water, and the other is as clear as a secluded orchid, which is very pleasing to the eye.
Beside Chu Zhao, there was a girl who looked like a maid. Although she was wearing maid's clothes, she was extremely beautiful. Her facial features were deep and bright. Lin Shuanghe, who was used to seeing beautiful women, couldn't help but stare at the woman's face more, and sighed inwardly, this master and servant standing together, it is not like a worldly person. Among Shi Jinbo's four sons, the first three were mediocre in appearance. Only this one looked like this. It seemed that the appearance of his mother was really important.
"Why did the fourth son of Chu come to Liangzhou Guard?" Xiao Jue asked.
Chu Zhao smiled and said only: "Your Majesty heard that Governor Xiao annihilated tens of thousands of enemy troops in Liangzhou Guard and eliminated the remnants of the Qiang people. Longyan was very happy. He specially asked me to send a reward, and by the way, take a look at the morale of Liangzhou Guard's heroic soldiers."
"A reward?" Xiao Jue looked at him playfully, and said casually: "In the bitter and cold land of Liangzhou, the fourth son of Chu could be honored to come and watch." He smiled slightly, "It's not easy."
Chu Zhao said: "It's Zilan's luck to be able to see the heroic soldiers led by Governor Xiao."
Xiao Jue laughed and said nothing.
"Your Majesty ordered me to hold a banquet here to celebrate the great victory in Liangzhou." Chu Zhao said, "But I don't know how the Liangzhou guardhouse celebrates the victory in the past day. Therefore, there is only trouble."
"The recruits who died in the battle have just been buried," Xiao Jue said, "I'm afraid it's not appropriate to celebrate now."
Chu Zhao smiled softly, but his tone was persistent, "How can you not shed blood during a war? Besides, annihilating the enemy is a happy event, and it should be rewarded. This is what Your Majesty meant."
Did this bring up Emperor Wenxuan
Xiao Jue stared at him for a while, then nodded for a while, then smiled: "Okay." He stood up and said meaningfully: "Tomorrow, we can have a celebration banquet, so please invite the fourth son of Chu to join us."
Chu Zhao got up and returned the salute: "It's better to be respectful than to obey."
Xiao Jue went out of the room and told Fei Nu, "Arrange a room for the fourth son of Chu."
Fei Nu took orders to leave.
Lin Shuanghe followed him, leaned beside him, and asked in a low voice, "What is this Chu Zhao doing? Look at this, do you want to stay in Liangzhou Wei for a while?"
"The people are gone, Xu Jingfu is in a hurry," Xiao Jue said in a low voice, "Send his dog over to take a look, what's the problem?"
Lin Shuanghe glanced back at the room and saw that Chu Zhao was drinking tea with his head down, and asked, "Will it be a little unsafe to let him stay here? After all, this kid belongs to Xu Jingfu."
"Not safe?" Xiao Jue said, "It depends on his ability. Let's go."
"Where?"
"It's a reward, and you should see what it has." Xiao Jue said playfully, "It's hard to justify coming to my Liangzhou Guard with such a big fanfare and just a few boxes of rewards."
"Are you going to pluck the wild goose again?"
Xiao Jue glanced at him.
Lin Shuanghe said: "No other meaning, just ask, don't be angry. Let's go and see the baby!"
…
He Yan came back from the martial arts field and returned to a state of doing nothing. Lying on the bed, I read a few travel journals, waited for Song Taotao to deliver the meal. After eating, when Song Taotao left, I heard movement outside the door. It seemed that Song Taotao was talking to someone. I thought it was Xiao Jue who came back. He got out of bed with a stick and opened the door, seeing Lin Shuanghe at a glance.
"Doctor Lin?" He Yan looked left and right, but couldn't see Xiao Jue's shadow, and asked, "Is the Governor not there?"
"He went to discuss the celebration banquet with the coach." Lin Shuanghe smiled and said, "I'll wait for him in the room first, and I have something to tell him."
"Celebration banquet?" He Yan was stunned for a moment, "What kind of celebration banquet?"
"Liangzhou Wei Qinggong Banquet." Lin Shuanghe waved at Song Taotao, and after seeing Song Taotao leaving, he walked towards He Yan, but when he reached the door, he suddenly stopped and refused to go any further.
He Yan was inexplicable: "What's wrong?"
Lin Shuanghe withdrew his hand and said sternly, "It's not good for a man and a woman to be in the same room. Spreading it out will damage your reputation."
He Yan: "..."
She said, "No one here knows my identity. Doctor Lin can just treat me as an ordinary recruit. Besides, haven't you been here before?"
Lin Shuanghe waved his hand reservedly: "There were other people in the room before, but now it's just you and me, I'm afraid it will cause misunderstanding."
"Is there any misunderstanding?" He Yan felt helpless, "I often share the same room with the Governor, and there is nothing wrong with it."
Hearing this, Lin Shuanghe took a step back: "That's even more important. My friend's wife can't be played. Am I the villain who betrayed my friend?"
He Yan: "..."
What the hell is this guy talking about
She thought about it, and finally came up with a good solution: "Well, Mr. Lin, you go to the governor's house, I am in my own room, I will open the middle door, and we will talk through the middle door, so that , not in the same room, but in two separate rooms, is it possible?"
Lin Shuanghe didn't expect He Yan to be able to do this, he was stunned for a moment, then slapped his fan: "Let's do it like this!"
So when He Yan returned to the room, he used Cheng Lisu's silver wire to pry the lock, and pushed the stool to the other side of the middle door with great difficulty. Lin Shuanghe was already waiting there.
He looked at the middle door and asked He Yan, "Do you all play like this on weekdays?"
"How to play?"
"That's it..." Lin Shuanghe said this, as if he felt embarrassed, shook his head and smiled: "I didn't expect Huai Jin to be like this..."
He Yan was inexplicable at what he said, but he was still thinking about the celebration banquet he had just mentioned, so he asked, "Doctor Lin, what was the Liangzhou Wei Celebration Banquet you just mentioned?"
"Aren't you the ones who won the battle against Zida Muzi before and annihilated tens of thousands of enemy troops," Lin Shuanghe said, "Your Majesty heard about this, Longyan Dayue, specially sent people to bring rewards to reward them, and they have to set up a guard in Liangzhou. Celebrate the merits with a feast to reward the three armies."
He Yan was stunned when he heard the words: "Now? It's not good to celebrate now."
It's not a good time to celebrate Wei Gong in Liangzhou now. Although this battle was won, it came in a hurry in the end, and dozens of sentries died without knowing it at the beginning. The mood of these recruits at the moment, rather than the joy of winning the battle, is probably more about the sadness of the death of their comrades and the fear of the war. How can it be good to celebrate at this time
"Your Majesty's meaning, what can I do?" Lin Shuanghe sighed, "How can you not know how to lift up?"
For a while, neither of them spoke.
After a while, He Yan asked, "The one who came to convey His Majesty's will is what Chu Zilan you said today?" He Yan asked, "Who is Chu Zilan?"
"You haven't heard of Chu Zilan?" This time, Lin Shuanghe was surprised.
He Yan shook his head.
"The dream of a young girl in Beijing, Xiao Rubi ranked first, Xiao Huaijin ranked second, and Chu Zilan ranked third." Lin Shuanghe sighed, "But since Xiao Rubi got married, only Xiao Huaijin and Chu have been married. There are two Zilan. We Huaijin are cold-hearted and don’t like to talk to girls. In recent years, we have not been as good as Chu Zilan. Although Chu Zilan was born a little lower, she was born beautiful and gentle, and she has not yet gotten married. Go ask who the woman in the capital is the most willing to marry. In all likelihood, it is Chu Zilan. Why," he looked at He Yan, "When you were in the capital, you never heard of him. Name? Impossible!"
Of course He Yan didn't know that she had been leading troops to fight before, so she didn't have the heart to pay attention to Feng Hua Xue Yue and what kind of beautiful men there were in the capital. Later, when he returned to Beijing, he quickly got married, and he had no way of knowing the news of the foreigner. Chu Zilan had never heard of this.
"I was raised by my father in a deep boudoir since I was a child. I didn't even open the door until I opened the door, and I seldom even talked to men outside." He Yan said casually, "I really don't know anything about these things outside."
"Really?" Lin Shuanghe said, "Then your father is really strict with you."
He Yan nodded: "Indeed." She asked, "What is the relationship between Chu Zilan and Governor Xiao?"
Although Xiao Jue is not close to others, he has never seen anyone he particularly likes, but he has never seen anyone he particularly hates. Xu Jingfu is one of them. This Chu Zilan has not been seen today. Just hearing his name made Xiao Jue unhappy.
Could it be that there used to be festivals
"That's a long story." Lin Shuanghe got up and went to pour himself a cup of tea a few days ago. After drinking a sip of tea to moisten his throat, he sat down again and said to He Yan, "You haven't heard of Chu Zilan. , but I have heard of his father Shi Jinbo Chu Linfeng."
He Yan felt that the name sounded familiar, thought for a moment, and said, "Is it the one who married the nineteenth concubine, the one who is beautiful in all countries?"
"Exactly!"
He Yan remembered the name Chu Linfeng. When he was in the army, the lieutenant's subordinates gathered together to chat, not envious of the emperor, the most envied is this Shi Jinbo. Shi Jinbosheng's Yushu Linfeng was a famously beautiful man in the Wei Dynasty, but the wife he married was a few years older than him.
A prodigal son like Chu Linfeng would never stop there. Before getting married, he lingered in the flower shop every day, and after getting married, it even worsened. The lady he married was also virtuous. She seemed to know that she was ordinary in appearance and would not be favored by her husband, so she never stopped him from taking a concubine. Over the years, he has actually taken nineteen concubines, each with a beautiful appearance, a fish and a geese, and each has its own interest in life.
It's just that concubines can be summarized as concubines. For so many years, except for the three young masters who crawled out of his wife's stomach, no concubine has ever given birth to Shi Jinbo's flesh and blood.
It was heard that these concubines would be fed with sterilization medicine before entering the Chu family gate. Mrs. Shi Jinbo took these concubines so tightly that no one dared to make trouble under her nose. Shi Jinbo still loves and loves his concubine every day, and Mrs. Shi Jinbo just pretended not to see it and raised her three sons well.
Chu Zilan is Shi Jinbo's fourth son, but not from Shi Jinbo's wife.
"Is he a concubine from the concubine?" He Yan asked.
"No, no," Lin Shuanghe said, "Mrs. Chu is stricter than your father when it comes to taking care of your concubine. How could the concubine's wife give birth to a son?"
"That is… "
"I don't know exactly what's going on, but suddenly one day, during the Chu family's banquet, there was an extra four-year-old son named Chu Zhao." Lin Shuanghe took another sip of tea, "Although I didn't say anything. , but everyone is well aware that this Chu Zhao is probably the illegitimate child born in Chu Linfeng's outer room."
He Yan widened his eyes.
"Mrs. Chu is on guard. I didn't expect Shi Jinbo to keep such a hand. The child is already four years old, and everyone has recognized it. What else can you do?" Lin Shuanghe spread his hands, "If this is the case, Chu Zilan is nothing more than Chu Linfeng's concubine, but when Chu Zilan was ten years old, he was recorded in the name of Mrs. Chu. Therefore, his current status is the fourth son of Shi Jinbo's house. Do you know why?"
"Why?"
"Because he was the most proud student of the prime minister Xu Jingfu."
He Yan was startled, it was Xu Jingfu again
"Although Shi Jinbo is a wanderer, he is not a kind father. If he wants to be under Mrs. Chu, Chu Zilan's life is not easy. I don't know what means he used to live safely until he was ten years old, and then he went with Xu Jingfu. How dare Shi Jinbo disregard Xu Xiang's face? Later, Chu Zhao was recorded under the name of Mrs. Chu, which is also what Xu Jingfu meant."
"That fourth son of Chu is very powerful."
Lin Shuanghe looked at He Yan: "Do you think he is very powerful?"
"Awesome, as you said, he has no foreign aid in the mansion, his father does not hurt, and his biological mother is not around. Now that he has become a young master, he can still ask His Majesty to order him to come to Liangzhou Wei to pass the order. It’s really amazing to get to this point.”
"How could he become Xu Jingfu's favorite student if he wasn't great?" Lin Shuanghe shook his head and sighed.
"What about his biological mother?" He Yan asked, "Isn't he included in Shi Jinbo's mansion?"
"I don't know." Lin Shuanghe shook his head, "I heard that he died of illness after giving birth. If not, with Chu Zilan's current ability, she should have a better life."
He Yan nodded thoughtfully, "So it turns out, I'm sorry that Governor Xiao doesn't like the fourth son of Chu."
Xiao Jue and Xu Jingfu are enemies but not friends, Chu Zilan is Xu Jingfu's student, and naturally Xiao Jue's enemy.
"He... brother," Lin Shuanghe said, "if you were asked to choose between Huai Jin and Chu Zilan, who would you help?"
He Yan felt that this question was simply unbelievable, "Why do you ask this?"
"I'm just curious, what choices will Dawei's girls make."
"I don't know Chu Zilan at all." He Yan said, "Of course I'm on the side of the Governor."
Lin Shuanghe showed a very meaningful smile, "It's not too early to speak, you will be able to see Chu Zilan at the celebration banquet tomorrow."
He Yan: "..."
What if you saw it? Is there anything peculiar
He Yan did not expect that if Lin Shuanghe said that, on the second day, she would meet the fourth young master of Chu, Chu Zilan, who was in the dream of the legendary Wei girl who could compete with Xiao Jue.
…
This night, it was rare that there was no snow, and the next day, it happened to be a sunny day.
Although the weather is cold, people feel warm when the sun shines on them. He Yan got up and drank porridge, feeling that the wound on his waist had healed faster after being exposed to the sun. Liangzhou Wei is really strange. In summer, it is terribly hot. When he sees the sun, he will cry and cry. In winter, he is very happy if he can see half the sun.
She can't go to the martial arts field for daily training now, but she feels that the sun is very good, and she simply wants to go for a walk in the yard with a stick. When she walked to the door, she heard Song Taotao's voice, saying: "This golden cake roll is for me to see first. It's mine!"
Then came a woman's good-natured voice: "This girl, this is specially made by the cook brought by our son, not from the kitchen of the guard house, so it's not yours."
"You said it was your son's son's?" the little girl said angrily: "It's all in the kitchen, how do I know if your cook did it? Since you have a cook, why don't you just make another one?"
"The golden cake roll process is troublesome. If you do it again, you will miss the time for your son's meal."
"Then don't eat it!"
"Girl..."
He Yan couldn't listen anymore, and went out and said, "Miss Song."
Song Taotao turned his head, looked over with the woman who was arguing with her, and said happily, "Brother He! This is a golden cake roll, do you want to try it!"
He Yan: "..."
The woman also said: "That is the son's..."
He Yan took the golden cake roll, returned it to the woman, and said, "Children are ignorant, please don't care."
"Brother He!" Song Taotao stomped his feet angrily, "Why did you give it back to her!"
"This is someone else's." He Yan shook his head. She guessed that the son in the other's mouth should be Chu Zilan, the fourth son of Shi Jinbo's mansion. The relationship between Chu Zilan and Xiao Jue is so delicate, if it causes Xiao Jue any trouble, it will be worth the loss.
"Thank you, son." The woman smiled at He Yan.
He Yan was also stunned, and for a moment was shocked by the girl's face. There are few girls in Liangzhouwei, except for her fake ones, there are only Shen Muxue and Song Taotao. One is beautiful, the other is cute, and now one thick as a peony is particularly eye-catching.
Chu Zilan even the maid looks so beautiful? He Yan said in his heart, that the big Wei woman mentioned by Lin Shuanghe earlier had the first husband in her heart, and only a fool would choose Chu Zilan. This selection of maids is so beautiful, how can ordinary women get into his eyes? It's better to choose Xiao Jue, Xiao Jue is surrounded by men, maybe if a man sees too much, then if he sees a woman, the requirements will be much lower, and there are still some opportunities.
Seeing He Yan staring at the other person's face without speaking, Song Taotao became even more anxious, and hurriedly pulled He Yan's sleeve and said, "What do you think she is doing? What's so beautiful!"
When the woman holding the golden cake roll saw this, she laughed out loud, and the smile was captivating.
"Yingxiang." Someone said.
The maid named Ying Xiang immediately put away her smile and bowed to the front, "Fourth Young Master."
Fourth son? Chu Zilan? He Yan turned around and his eyes fell on the person in front of him.
This is a young man, wearing a pale jade-colored robe, with very wide sleeves and a jade crown, as noble as a secluded orchid, and as handsome as a banished immortal. With a faint smile on his face, he nodded to He Yan.
He Yan frowned, this person's appearance was very familiar.
When he saw He Yan, he was stunned. After a while, he smiled. He seemed to see He Yan's thinking. He stretched out his hand, palm up, and said softly, "Little brother, you dropped something."
In a word, He Yan suddenly came back to her senses, she remembered where she had seen this person! She was still in Shuojing that day, racking her brains for Shuxiu, who was going to school for He Yunsheng, and had to go to Letongzhuang to gamble, but was chased and beaten by the losers, and finally beat them all down. Suddenly someone appeared and told her Lost money.
That person's good looks are hard to forget as long as you meet them. Now I suddenly see it here, because it was daytime, He Yan didn't recognize it for a moment, but he recognized He Yan first.
"You... the fourth son of Chu?" He Yan asked.
Chu Zilan nodded: "It's me."
He Yan was speechless for a while, what kind of luck she was. What kind of coincidence is this when you casually jump over the wall and fight at night, and you can meet the dream person of a girl in Wei's boudoir
"Chu Zhao," Chu Zilan looked at He Yan with a smile, "My little brother and I are old acquaintances, but I don't know the little brother's name. How dare you ask the little brother's surname?"
Being so gentle and polite, He Yan somewhat understood why he could be on par with Xiao Jue, and hurriedly replied: "I don't dare to do it, it's under He Yan. Grass and trees, He Qing Haiyan's Yan."
Chu Zhao smiled, "Nice name. However," he looked around and wondered, "Why is Brother He here?"
"Me?" He Yan said, "I'm a recruit of Liangzhou Guard, but I was injured a few days ago, so I didn't go to the martial arts field for daily training."
"I see."
At this time, Song Taotao, who had not spoken for a long time, finally came to her senses. She pulled He Yan's hand carefully. She probably saw that Chu Zilan was so good, and the aggressiveness towards Ying Xiang dissipated in an instant. A bit embarrassed, she whispered, "Brother He, who is this person, do you know him?"
It was difficult to answer these words. She knew Chu Zhao, but she was not as familiar as Song Taotao thought. It's just that I saw a familiar face in Liangzhouwei, and I was a little excited subconsciously.
He Yan then said: "This is the fourth son of Shi Jinbo's mansion. I had a relationship with him when I was in Shuojing before."
Chu Zhao smiled and said, "It's an old friend."