The night was like splashed ink. The military camp at the foot of the Great Wall was silent except for the rustling of the wind.
At the second watch, except for the soldiers on duty, most people had fallen asleep.
In the eldest princess's tent, Huayang tightly grasped the silk cloak underneath.
Between this luxurious cloak and the rough ground at the border, there is a thick felt carpet.
Therefore, Huayang did not feel uncomfortable sleeping on the floor, nor did she feel that the autumn night was cold. She just thought the night was too quiet and the wind outside was too light.
If anyone came close to the tent, they would definitely hear it.
"That's enough." Huayang whispered.
Chen Jingzong seemed to have heard a joke, and leaned over to whisper in her ear: "Are you sending away the beggars?"
Huayang hits him on the shoulder.
Chen Jingzong grabbed her wrist and clasped it to one side. Knowing what she was worried about, he tried not to make any noise.
The surroundings became quiet and the princess breathed a sigh of relief. But before long, she found that this was not feasible at all and it seemed more like he was just making fun of her in a different way.
Huayang had no choice but to use her status as the eldest princess and demanded, "I'll only give you a quarter of an hour. If you don't listen, you won't be able to return to the capital happily."
It was pitch dark in the tent and Chen Jingzong couldn't see her face clearly, but he could imagine what she looked like now. She must have a tense face and frowned, just like when she first got married.
But it was still different. She was really resisting at that time, but now she was just too nervous. She was afraid of being found out and of ruining her reputation as the eldest princess.
After all, they were in the military camp. The more Chen Jingzong liked her, the more he could understand her difficulties.
So Chen Jingzong helped the princess turn over and covered her mouth.
.
Before dawn, Chen Jingzong discussed with the princess for another quarter of an hour.
Because he was ordered to come before the princess to plead guilty, he stayed overnight in the princess's tent without any hesitation, so he didn't have to sneak away in the dark.
But he couldn't get up too late. When a ray of light came in from outside the tent, Chen Jingzong woke up. He turned over, and the wooden planks that were spliced together during the march creaked.
Huayang was awakened by the sound.
Chen Jingzong hugged her from behind and kissed her shoulder: "Try to see if your legs are still sore. If they are, I will help you massage them again."
Huayang didn't want to bring this up, so he said calmly, "Clean up the floor first."
Chen Jingzong smiled, lifted the quilt and sat up.
Huayang watched him clean up.
The ground remained in the same state as when the battle at dawn ended. The rouge satin cloak was a tangled mess. Chen Jingzong grabbed the collar and shook it, but failed to smooth out the wrinkles.
Even though the eldest princess has countless gold and silver, the things she uses must be her favorites. She would definitely be unhappy if her beloved things were ruined.
Chen Jingzong looked up and saw her frowning eyebrows. He tried to make amends: "Wash it later, and it will be smooth again after washing and drying."
After folding the cloak with a guilty conscience, Chen Jingzong looked at the long felt blanket underneath.
Seeing this, Chen Jingzong almost laughed to death, because the long hair in the middle of the felt carpet was flattened, especially where his knees had been, forming two circles.
"Wash this too."
Regardless of whether the princess saw it clearly or not, Chen Jingzong quickly rolled up the felt carpet.
Huayang just turned his back, looked less and got less angry!
.
After daybreak, Emperor Yuanyou first came to visit his sister whose legs were sore from climbing the Great Wall.
After resting for a night, Huayang's legs became even stiffer. This is a common symptom for people who have been inactive for a long time and suddenly travel long distances. Fortunately, he only needed help when standing up and sitting down, and there was no problem with walking slowly.
What relieved Emperor Yuanyou the most was that the prince consort's apology was indeed effective. His sister seemed to have forgotten the quarrel last night and treated him as kindly as always.
"Sister, do you want to come with us for today's exercise?"
Emperor Yuanyou asked during breakfast.
Huayang: "You guys go ahead, I'll walk around."
Today's exercise was taking place halfway up the mountain. Huayang couldn't climb any further, but she couldn't stay stuck in the tent either. After all, Chen Jingzong stayed there last night. If she didn't go out, people who knew her would understand that she had suffered from climbing the Great Wall, but people who didn't would not know what to think.
Emperor Yuanyou wanted his son-in-law to continue taking care of his sister.
Huayang said disdainfully: "No, let him follow you, I don't like him now."
Emperor Yuanyou then realized that his sister had only forgiven him and was still angry with her husband!
In this way, Chen Jingzong continued to follow the emperor to watch the border army exercises, and Huayang took a carriage to visit nearby villages to learn about the local customs and practices.
When the people saw the princess, they were respectful and enthusiastic. Huayang asked some women and children questions, and they told him everything they knew.
Some soldiers in the garrisons would bully the people, extort money, or bully men and women, but in Jizhen, because of the strict military discipline, neither the commanders, the thousand households, the hundred households, nor the tall and strong soldiers under them had ever disturbed the people. Of course, there were some at the beginning, but since Qin Yuantang used military law to severely punish the few who stood out, such things never happened again.
Whenever people mentioned General Qin, they were full of praise for him. Some local people who had left their homes because of the suffering of the war even moved back home after learning that Qin Yuantang came to Jizhen to serve as the general.
As Huayang looked at those simple faces, his respect for Qin Yuantang grew deeper.
Of course, Qin Yuantang was able to train his troops in Jizhen with peace of mind thanks to his father-in-law’s trust and support.
After three days of rest, Huayang's legs had basically recovered. She watched all the border military exercises in the last three days without missing a single one.
On the sixth day of September, the emperor returned to Jizhou City, and Huayang's sister and brother continued to stay in the city's post house.
At the posthouse, Chen Jingzong would definitely live with Huayang, but he would not be back until dusk, and it was impossible for him to prepare anything for the journey, so he was destined to sleep well tonight.
The emperor will return to Beijing in three days, and Huayang’s plan can no longer be delayed.
Chen Jingzong: "If we both go all out, it's hard to say who will win, maybe 50-50. But according to General Qin's temper, Qin Ji might let me win in the end."
Huayang smiled.
Chen Jingzong was just like that, although he was unruly, he was not arrogant and would not praise himself just to please her.
"If I let you fight against General Qin, what are your chances of winning?" Huayang asked again.
Chen Jingzong looked at her and said, "It's hard to say since we haven't fought before, but the general has been through hundreds of battles, so I think he will lose."
Although he believed that he had no chance of winning, Chen Jingzong showed no intention of retreating or being afraid of fighting. Instead, he was looking forward to fighting Qin Yuantang.
Hua Yang said bluntly: "You should have noticed that General Qin is too respectful to father, which is not good for him or the Chen family. Father must avoid suspicion and cannot meet him alone. I want to talk to him."
With just this one sentence, Chen Jingzong understood: "Okay, I'll go fight him tomorrow. If I get hurt, he'll naturally come over to visit me."
This is what Huayang meant. She was pleased with Chen Jingzong's intelligence and cooperation, but she was also a little worried.
A minor injury is not worth Qin Yuantang's fuss, but a serious one...
Chen Jingzong touched her brow and said, "I'm not even injured yet, why are you feeling sad already?"
Hua Yang lowered his eyes and said, "In short, you should be careful not to hurt yourself."
Chen Jingzong touched her eyelashes with his fingertips: "You are working so hard, are you doing this for your father, our Chen family, or for General Qin, or for your brother?"
Huayang: "All for myself."
If the wise ministers and good generals are doing well, her brother's court will naturally be clear and the country will be peaceful and the people will be safe, and she, the eldest princess, can also rest assured.
Chen Jingzong touched the tip of her nose again, and the look in his eyes when he looked at her showed both regret and relief.
The next day, Chen Jingzong reported for duty before Emperor Yuanyou and confirmed that Emperor Yuanyou had no use for him. He then took his precious spear made of fine steel and gold given to him by the previous emperor and went to find Qin Ji to compete.
As soon as Qin Ji saw the gun in his hand, he knew that Chen Jingzong was serious. He was not afraid and sent someone to get the tiger-head gun he usually used.
As the eldest son of General Qin, Qin Ji's tiger-head spear could certainly not be wrong. General Qin did not like gold, silver, and jewelry, but loved magical weapons. How could he be willing to treat his son badly
The two went to the martial arts arena side by side.
While they were still on the road, someone hurried to report to Emperor Yuanyou: "Your Majesty, the Prince Consort has made an appointment with Young Master Qin to fight, and the fight is about to begin!"
Chen Tingjian and Qin Yuantang were both with Emperor Yuanyou at the time. Upon hearing this, Chen Tingjian first scolded his own son, calling him a wicked son, stubborn, lawless, etc.
Emperor Yuanyou didn't want to hear that, so he interrupted him and said, "There are literary competitions and martial competitions. Only by exchanging ideas can we learn from each other's strengths and make progress. Sir, you are well-versed in history and the present, don't you even understand this principle?"
He Qingxian: "That's right. It's a good thing for young people to make friends through martial arts. Why did Lord Chen bring it up as impoliteness? Fortunately, you are a scholar, otherwise if someone wanted to spar with you, you would scold them in your heart."
Chen Tingjian: …
Qin Yuantang originally wanted to blame his son for not being humble, but when he saw that Chen Ge Lao, who had spoken first, had his face turned red due to being scolded by Emperor Yuanyou and He Ge Lao, he, a poor-spoken military officer, quickly changed his words and smiled and advised Chen Ge Lao not to mind it, saying that it was just a discussion and that it was very common in the army.
How could Chen Tingjian not know that sparring is a tradition among martial artists
But he felt that the fourth brother was unhappy because the eldest princess praised Qin Ji, so he went to provoke Qin Ji.
Emperor Yuanyou thought the same. He was worried that the matter would get out of hand, so he immediately took people to the martial arts arena.
Huayang also got the news. When she arrived at the martial arts arena, Chen Jingzong and Qin Ji had already fought for dozens of rounds.
Ordinary soldiers are not good at marksmanship, and when fighting, they rely entirely on brute force, which is not very impressive.
Chen Jingzong and Qin Ji were both outstanding young military officers. When they sparred with each other, their figures were as fast as the wind and their spears were as sharp as dragons. In just a few blinks of an eye, they chased each other from one end of the martial arts field to the other. Sometimes you attacked and I defended, and sometimes the situation changed drastically.
Huayang didn't know whether to look at the two flying spears or at Chen Jingzong's face.
Everyone was attracted by the wonderful martial arts fight on the arena, and almost no one noticed that the eldest princess secretly clenched her hands, and noticed that the eldest princess's eyes were always following the prince consort.
Only Qi Jin glanced at Huayang a few times without leaving any trace.
With a "clang" sound, a long spear was lifted into the air, flew diagonally across the martial arts field, and stabbed into an empty space on the side.
At the same time, the tip of Chen Jingzong's gun stopped just in front of Qin Ji's chest.
Qin Ji smiled bitterly: "I lost."
Chen Jingzong was enjoying the fight so much that he didn't mind his clever letting go.
The spear turned in his hand, and finally the tail of the spear touched the ground and the tip of the spear pointed upwards.
Chen Jingzong stood with a gun in hand, his eyes fixed on Qin Yuantang, who was smiling and praising his son-in-law: "I have long heard of your great reputation, General. Could you please teach me something?"
Qin Yuantang was suddenly named:…
Chen Tingjian wanted to scold his son again, but he remembered that Emperor Yuanyou had just scolded him for this. Chen Tingjian pursed his lips and looked at the young emperor for instructions.
Emperor Yuanyou had limited martial arts skills, and coupled with the fact that Chen and Qin had just fought so vigorously, he was so tense that he did not realize that Qin Ji had deliberately exposed his weakness to Chen Jingzong. Therefore, his brother-in-law's tall and majestic figure and his arrogance that looked down on the world deeply aroused Emperor Yuanyou's admiration and love for him!
Emperor Yuanyou loved his brother-in-law, so how could he think that his brother-in-law's provocation of Qin Yuantang was wrong
The young emperor turned to Qin Yuantang to watch the fun.
Qin Yuantang understood. He was a powerful general after all. He said in a bright voice, "Okay, I will practice with you, my son-in-law!"
It is only right for his son to become the princess consort. Considering his age and qualifications, if he really loses to a junior, how can he lead the three armies in the future
Before going on stage, Qin Yuantang gave Chen Tingjian a subtle look.
Lord Chen, please don't blame me for not showing mercy to the prince consort later!
(End of this chapter)