Mingyu herself felt embarrassed. How could this be fair? It was obvious that he was the one who suffered the loss... Since he was willing, she had no choice but to take advantage of him reluctantly. Oh, even such a kind person like her felt embarrassed. Sima Hong was really too mean!
After the two of them had finished their meal, Sima Hong helped Mingyu walk slowly around the room for a few laps to help digest the food. When Mingyu was tired, he helped her sit down on the couch and peeled apples and pears for her. These were fruits that had been stored in the cellar after being harvested in the autumn. The two of them were now quarreling more happily than newlyweds. Sima Hong peeled the apples and they ate them up, taking turns to eat.
In the evening, after they had dinner, Baihao came over. He seemed to have something urgent to do and looked unhappy. He chatted with Sima Hong for a while. Sima Hong then went into the room and apologized to Mingyu, "There is something going on in the military camp tonight. I'll go check it out and come back soon."
Mingyu was very surprised. Since she moved to Tianshui, Baihao, Lin Hui and others were in charge of the military camp. There were very few times when Sima Hong needed to go out in person. But now he was in a hurry to go to the military camp. Could something big have happened? The most feared thing for the commander of the army was a mutiny, but the timing was not right. Mingyu thought to herself, Tianshui is stable now, soldiers have food and drink, and generous military pay, Sima Hong never treats those who follow him badly, what kind of mutiny could there be
“But what big thing happened?” Mingyu asked worriedly, “Let’s ask a team to go with you.
Sima Hong smiled and shook his head, kissed Mingyu's forehead, helped her sit on the bed, and said, "It's really not a big deal. I heard from Baihao that a few civil officials and military officers had an argument and it got to the door. I'll go and take a look. I'll give each of them fifty slaps and end the matter. I'll be back soon. You take a rest first."
Sima Hong said he would be back soon, and Mingyu waited until it was completely dark but Sima Hong still did not show up. Mrs. Liu knocked on the door and came in. Seeing that Sima Hong was not there, Mingyu was sitting alone in the bedroom, absent-mindedly flipping through a book. She asked carefully if they wanted to go to bed first and not wait for the Marquis.
Mingyu held the corner of the book in her hand, her mind in a mess, unable to make up her mind. She didn't say anything, and Sister Liu didn't dare to make a decision for her wife, so she lowered her head and waited on the side.
"Sister Liu, go and make a bowl of pork rib soup. Add only onions, ginger, and garlic, without adding any star anise. When the soup is ready, let the Marquis have it as a midnight snack when he comes back. If the soup is ready but the Marquis has not come back yet, we will deliver it to him." Mingyu said.
Mrs. Liu quickly responded and went out.
Mingyu was hoping that Sima Hong would come back before the soup was ready so that she wouldn't have to go out. The temperature in the northwest was frighteningly low at night and she didn't want to run out in the cold. However, not long after Mrs. Liu went out, Baihao came back in a hurry and told Mingyu through the window that the Marquis had already dealt with the matter. It was getting late and he was coming back cold, so he was afraid of disturbing Madam's rest, so he told her not to worry and that he would be back early tomorrow morning.
Mingyu replied lazily, “Got it.”
Bai Hao felt that the mistress was unhappy when he heard it. That was right. They had just reconciled today, but the Marquis hadn't come back yet. Who would feel uncomfortable? This was not something that a servant like him could manage. After reporting, he left quickly.
After half an hour, Mrs. Liu's pork rib soup was ready. Under the clear soup were chopped ribs and radishes. Tiny oil stars floated on the soup, and finely chopped young green onions were sprinkled on it. It was delicious and fragrant.
Someone at the gate had already packed up the carriage and rushed over. Sister Liu helped Mingyu get on the carriage and ran straight towards the military camp. Mingyu leaned against the soft carriage, looked at the food box beside her, and smiled secretly. She felt that she was especially like a military wife going to visit her relatives, but most military wives had to travel tens of thousands of miles to visit their relatives, but she only had to run from one end of the city to the other. She wondered what kind of surprised expression Sima Hong would have when he saw her.
The main force of the Northwest Army led by Sima Hong was stationed outside the city. Most of the officers led a part of the troops to be stationed in the city to jointly manage the public security of Tianshui. As soon as Mingyu arrived at the gate of the military camp, someone immediately ran to Sima Hong's tent to tell him that his wife was here.
At that time, Sima Hong was sitting in the bed washing his feet with a book in his hand. The incident tonight was caused by his demoting Xu Si's official position, but he did not let him leave easily. He demoted him to a minor official of the eighth rank. Xu Si came to the post with his family. His wife and children were watched by Sima Hong's soldiers, so he could not escape even if he wanted to.
Xu Si was not convinced. He also knew why Sima Hong wanted to demote him. He just felt unconvinced. The words about the wife of the Marquis's Mansion did not come from his wife's mouth. Why did they use him as a target? Demotion would be enough. Why did they demote him from an official to a clerk? Why not just demote him to a commoner? It would be more credible. Sima Hong wanted to grind him to death! The problem was that he couldn't even send a letter now. So he gathered a few good colleagues and went to the government office to look for Sima Hong. They came up empty-handed and thought Sima Hong was in the barracks. In addition, the civil officials always had new and old grudges against the military generals, so they went to the barracks angrily to challenge him.
In fact, Sima Hong did not need to appear in person for this matter. Lin Hui and others were very excited. They had finally waited for the person who came to their door. They had been pent up for a long time and wanted to vent their resentment today. They decided to show off their weapons and preferably get some red to scare these old sour guys who looked down on others because they had read a few more books. However, Bai Hao felt that it was inappropriate and reported to Sima Hong as early as the afternoon when Xu Si went to the government office. When Xu Si ran to the military camp, he simply asked Sima Hong to take charge.
Sima Hong did not stand by them and with a wave of his hand, dozens of brave men pounced on them like hungry tigers, tied up the civil servants who came to reason with them tightly, put them into sacks and threw them into the warehouse. The reason was very simple: this is a military camp, who do you think you are? Do you want to break in
Xu Si still thinks he is the only one being targeted? He didn't even look at the merchant's wife who sneaked into the mansion with his wife. Sima Hong directly arrested her two sons on the pretext that they were old enough to be soldiers and threw them into the military camp. The meaning was obvious: if you want your sons to be well, then you have to behave yourself. At least Xu Si's wife and children were at home, and considering that his wife was an accomplice, he had already given her a lighter sentence.
Sima Hong was also very worried. Dealing with Xu Si was not a big deal. He would not be controlled by the civil servants to this extent. However, Lin Hui and the others were too disappointing. When they were asked to study, they all scattered, as if it was a threat to their lives. They all said that they were too rough and could not do the job. However, they could not put their own people in important positions and were always controlled when doing things.
Even he himself did not like reading in his youth, but now he had to pick up the book to read again. When he felt dizzy, he could not help but recite the famous saying that has been passed down through the ages, "If you do not work hard when you are young, you will regret it when you are old."
If only my elder brother were still alive! Sima Hong sighed more than once, saying that his elder brother was so smart, and this marquis would definitely be able to do better than him.
When Baihao came in to report, Sima Hong was so surprised that the book in his hand fell into the foot basin. In his panic, he did not even bother to wipe his feet or put on his shoes. He picked up the oil lamp on the small table and rushed out. In the cold night, he held up the lamp and looked at the road leading out of the camp.
The carriage gradually approached, Sima Hong saw clearly that it was his own carriage, his eyes seemed to be full of stars, and indescribable joy appeared on his face. Without waiting for the carriage to get to the front, Sima Hong ran over barefoot, and saw that it was Mingyu sitting in the carriage. He laughed, rubbing his hands but not knowing what to say. After a long while, he stammered: "You, why are you here now?"
Mingyu let him take her down from the carriage, smiling, "I'll bring you some food." No matter how good the food in the military camp was, it couldn't compare to the carrot and pork ribs soup cooked slowly in a clay pot at home. After getting off the carriage, she saw that Sima Hong didn't even wear shoes, standing barefoot on the ground, his ten toes stepped on the cold ground, and were frozen red.
"Why aren't you wearing shoes when you come out?" Mingyu asked in surprise.
Sima Hong chuckled and said, "I forgot about it when I was happy."
Mingyu rolled her eyes at him and told him to go back and put on his shoes. She also kindly reminded him, "Is there someone inside that's inconvenient for me to see? Let her go quickly!"
Sima Hong was so angry that he jumped up and down on his way back, "What nonsense!" He was a very chaste man, okay!
Mingyu entered Sima Hong's tent and found that the furnishings were quite simple. There was a bed, a low table, and not even a chair. There was a brazier burning in the middle of the tent, making the whole tent warm. When she entered, she happened to meet Baihao who was carrying out a basin of water. A soaked book was floating pitifully in the water.
"Madam, look at this!" Baihao said, holding up the basin, "When Master heard you were coming, he was so happy that he dropped the book into the basin and didn't even bother to pick it up."
Sima Hong's face turned red. He coughed and cursed, "Why are you talking so much? Go to sleep!" This guy definitely did it on purpose. He didn't clean up the foot basin for such a long time and waited for Mingyu to come over.
The pork rib soup was cooked to perfection and light in flavor. Most importantly, it was brought by his wife herself. The thought was there. Sima Hong was so moved that he almost shed tears. He drank the whole bowl of pork rib soup, both thin and thick, in one gulp. Mingyu thought that the food in the military camp was too bad and Sima Hong didn't even have a full dinner.
Mingyu packed up her dishes and was about to go back, but Sima Hong was reluctant to let her go. "It's so late, why don't you stay and sleep for a night? I'll take you back tomorrow morning."
Seeing Sima Hong's pitiful words, as if begging her, Mingyu immediately softened her heart. It would take another half an hour to get home, and she was too lazy to bother. She asked Baihao to fetch more water, and they washed their feet and went to bed.
After going to bed, Sima Hong was quite obedient at first, hugging his wife and sleeping properly. However, his hands became dishonest while he was sleeping, licking Mingyu's ears and breathing, "Yu'er, it's been three months, right? Didn't the doctor say that it would be fine after three months?" To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to go to Qidian... Vote for recommendation and monthly tickets. Your support is my biggest motivation. PS: The second update is here. It's the end of the month. It's useless for you to keep the tickets. Considering that Xiao Zhai ran home to write after the infusion, please vote for Xiao Zhai to encourage him~~RS