In the 15th year of Xinzhao, after years of efforts by Sima Hong, Marquis of Anxi, the border market between Da Chu and Tatar, which had been closed for many years, was finally reopened and recognized by the Da Chu court. Merchants from the two countries no longer had to risk being hunted down and beheaded by soldiers to conduct underground transactions, and the court could also collect a large amount of tax silver.
Of course, this result was also achieved by the Tatars sending envoys to Sima Hong for many times. For the Chu State, they needed the Tatars' excellent horses and furs. For the Tatars, their daily necessities such as tea, salt, cloth, etc. could only be obtained through the Chu State. Before there was no border market, they relied on robbing. Now that they can't rob others, they can only shamelessly ask for the reopening of the border market.
Sima Hong was not polite to his old enemies, the Tartars. He took a share of the profits and also put forward a condition. He wanted the Tartars to hand over the spy they had planted in Longxi, who had opened the city gate in the middle of the night to let the Tartars in and indirectly killed his father—Lu Yi.
The young man who led the Tartar spies that Mingyu encountered when she was pregnant for the first time a few years ago was Lu Yi's only son, Lu Bin. At that time, Sima Hong thought that if he caught Lu Bin, he could force Lu Yi to commit suicide. However, he did not expect that even after his only son was captured, Lu Yi was still so calm and hid in the Tartar court, which allowed him to live a few more years.
However, this time, in order to facilitate border trade, the Tartars tied Lu Yi into a bow and sent him to Sima Hong's residence.
Sima Hong looked at Lu Yi in silence for a long time, and asked Baihao to call the old lady, the wife, and the young ladies and masters in the mansion. When everyone was present, Sima Hong raised his whip and pointed at the middle-aged man who was tied up like a dumpling on the ground and said, "This man is the enemy of our Sima family, the traitor who killed my father! The scum of the Great Chu!"
Mingyu was very surprised. She originally thought that Lu Yi was a Tatar who had infiltrated the interior by pretending to be a member of the Great Chu. After all, the difference in appearance between Tatars and people of the Great Chu was not as obvious as that between Europeans and Asians. As long as the Tatars shaved off their beards and removed their messy braids, and dressed like Han people, there would be basically no difference.
"Is he from our Great Chu?" Mingyu asked doubtfully.
Sima Hong pointed at Lu Yi and said in a hateful voice: "If he was a Tartar, how could father trust him so much and give him such an important task as guarding the gate of Longxi? Which general under father's command did not have his ancestors' family history thoroughly investigated before he dared to use him!"
It turned out to be a traitor who betrayed Sima Hong's father... Mingyu looked at the man on the ground speechlessly. After the war, the devils can be repatriated to Japan, but the traitors must be taken out and shot five hundred times! In any dynasty, traitors who surrendered to the enemy and betrayed their country are the most intolerable existence.
With the help of her mother-in-law, Miao was trembling and covering her face with a handkerchief. When she thought of her husband, her tears flowed. Mingyu felt distressed and hugged the children to stand behind her. Perhaps she realized that today was unusual, even Sima Fei and Sima Xiao, who loved to make noises the most, were surprisingly well behaved and didn't make a sound.
Sima Hong walked forward slowly, stepped on Lu Yi's head, and sneered: "Lu Yi, did you expect that you would end up like this? You recognized the Tartars as your parents, but unfortunately, your new parents sold you to me for the border market."
Lu Yi's face was pressed to the ground. He didn't seem to be afraid, but laughed loudly. "I have nothing to say now that I'm in your hands. Now it seems that you won't let me go even if I beg for mercy. Just give me a quick death!"
He still refused to repent even when facing death! Sima Hong was so angry that he kicked Lu Yi away and scolded him: "You were just a commoner back then, and my father took good care of you. But you did all these unscrupulous things. Where is your conscience?"
"Bah!" Lu Yi spat out the blood and the teeth that were broken by Sima Hong. "Why should I work hard for the Great Chu? No matter how well I work, no matter how hard I work, I am just a small gatekeeper under your father, working hard in the military camp all day long. You second-generation heirs who rely on your ancestors' influence can get official positions as soon as you are born. You can eat and drink endlessly without doing anything in your whole life, and you are superior to me. The road to advancement for people like me who come from poor families has been blocked by you. What hope do I have? I can only seek refuge with the Tartars! You dandies who grew up in luxury, how can you understand the suffering of people like us who come from poor families and fight from scratch!"
Sima Hong couldn't stand it anymore, and kicked Lu Yi so hard that he rolled several times on the ground, knocked over two chairs, and rolled onto the doorpost before stopping. "It's totally unreasonable and nonsense!" Sima Hong shouted coldly.
Lu Yi was kicked several times. He was already quite old, and he had been tortured all the way to Tianshui. Now he just prayed for a quick death. He knew in his heart that if he fell into Sima Hong's hands, dying quickly would be a relief for him.
Sima Hong naturally knew that Lu Yi was deliberately provoking him, but he couldn't remain calm. That man was equivalent to his father's murderer and the murderer who caused his family to be destroyed.
Lu Yi laughed as he watched Sima Hong stop fighting, blood dripping down his chin. "After not fighting for a few years, you have become much more lenient! Now that I have fallen into your hands, it is my bad luck. It's just a matter of who wins and who loses."
Mingyu frowned and protected the children behind her, not wanting them to see this scene.
Sima Hong sneered, "You are a person who still doesn't repent when death is imminent! According to what you said, if someone feels that his career is not going well and he has not been promoted as he wished, he can betray his country and surrender to the enemy? There are many sages who started from nothing and eventually became high-ranking officials. You blame others for your own incompetence? It's no wonder that you have gone astray and ended up like this. It can be said that God has opened his eyes. Do you think you are born poor and can't make it? What about those people who were born poor like you but were killed by the Tartars? Who can they hold accountable?"
Mingyu turned around quietly and told Sister Liu to take the children out first. Having been with Sima Hong for so many years, she had already seen that Sima Hong was furious. Mingyu stepped forward and gently patted Sima Hong on the back, holding his hand, and whispered, "Don't get angry with such a person, it's not worth it."
He smiled at Lu Yi who was breathing heavily on the ground and said, "I think what Lord Lu said is very right. Lord Lu has been wronged for so many years. So when Lord Lu goes down and meets his ancestors, he must scold them and ask them why they don't work hard and wrong Lord Lu for not being able to enjoy the ancestral blessing."
What a joke, even in the modern world of relative fairness and justice, the second generation of officials and the second generation of rich people have many more opportunities than ordinary people. There is nothing they can do about it. Who lets them have a good father? Their ancestors worked hard, while your ancestors did not. Society is just like this, and no one can change it. Even if you work hard to make a career, most people still think about creating better opportunities for their children, thinking that their children will be born in a superior position? Mr. Lu Yi is not thinking about how to work harder to get promoted and make money, but he wants to take the crooked and evil path and collude with outsiders to harm his compatriots. It really proves the saying that you will suffer for what you have done! Traitors are harder to forgive than the devils.
Before dealing with Lu Yi, Sima Hong wrote a memorial to the emperor, who quickly gave his approval, saying that since he was his enemy, he could handle it himself. It was not necessary to spend money to escort a shameful traitor to the capital since the journey was so long.
In the days and nights before, when Sima Hong was crazy about revenge for his father, he imagined countless times how he would take revenge on Lu Yi if he fell into his hands, revenge on the murderer who destroyed his family. But when this day really came, he didn't think of those cruel means. He just calmly ordered the executioner to chop off Lu Yi's head at the execution ground, and ran to the Sima family cemetery with Lu Yi's head to pay tribute to his father.
Then he went to the ancestral temple and burned a stick of incense for each of his relatives. Only then did he feel that the burden that had been weighing on his heart for many years was lifted and he had completed his last task.
It was lunchtime when Sima Hong arrived at the ancestral temple. Because it was a sudden visit, the monks in the temple hurried out to line up to welcome the Lord. Luo Lingxiu, who lived in the last courtyard of the temple, heard the noise and climbed up to the roof to see Sima Hong entering the temple. She hadn't seen her cousin for many years, but he was still so heroic, handsome and charming. Time had added to his mature man's charm. At that moment, her resentful and numb heart seemed to beat again.
The farmer woman who rented land from Sima's family behind the temple went to deliver lunch to Luo Lingxiu with a lunch box. When she opened the small door on the courtyard gate, she called for a long time but Luo Lingxiu didn't come out to get the lunch. "What are you doing weird again!" She muttered unhappily and bent down to push the lunch box into the door. Only then did she see Sima's big breasts lying straight on the ground, her chest not rising or falling, as if she had been lying on the ground for a long time.
"Oh no! Someone is going to die!" The farm woman did not dare to hesitate. She immediately ran to find the abbot and got the key. When several people opened the door and went in to rescue people, Luo Lingxiu, who was lying half-dead on the ground, suddenly jumped up. To everyone's surprise, she ran out and disappeared in a moment.
"Go and bring that person back!" The old abbot was so frightened that his legs went limp. He saw the Sima family's eldest grandmother running away. The old lady of the Sima family was determined to settle the score with him. Besides, there were distinguished guests in front, and if the widowed eldest grandmother disturbed the marquis, he would not be able to escape the crime.
Sima Hong had just finished paying homage to his deceased relatives and came out of the hall where the spirit tablets were kept. The courtyard outside the hall was full of peach blossoms. It was April now and the peach blossoms at the foot of the mountain had already withered, while the peach blossoms on the mountain were in full bloom. Sima Hong looked at the clusters of peach blossoms and thought of Mingyu who was at home taking care of the children. He couldn't help but smile. He walked forward and picked a peach blossom and hid it in his arms, preparing to take it home and put it in a vase for Mingyu. She would definitely like it.
At this moment, Luo Lingxiu ran in in a panic. Bai Hao, who was guarding the door, saw someone breaking in and immediately frowned and shouted, "Who is it? Get out of here!" When Luo Lingxiu took two steps closer, Bai Hao did not see her get out of here and drew the sword from his waist. However, at this moment, he recognized that the woman in front of him with disheveled hair and a linen monk's robe was the eldest young lady of the Anxi Marquis's Mansion who had once been in great glory.
Baihao hesitated for a moment, put the knife back into the scabbard, and advised kindly: "Big*mother, aren't you in seclusion? You should go back quickly."
Luo Lingxiu ignored him and stared at the handsome figure with his back to her in the yard. "Cousin," she murmured softly.
Sima Hong's back didn't even move.
Baihao stopped Luo Lingxiu from entering the yard. Luo Lingxiu had no choice but to raise her voice and called out again, "Cousin!" She was sure that he must have heard it, because he was not deaf, but he still did not turn back, but just looked at the peach blossoms blooming in the yard leisurely.
"Big *aunt, if you have anything to say, just tell me." Bai Hao couldn't stand it anymore. It was not a good idea to let Luo Lingxiu stay here.
Luo Lingxiu wanted to push away Bai Hao who was blocking her, but there was no way she could push away Bai Hao, a strong middle-aged man. After trying several times, Luo Lingxiu felt wronged and resentful, but her dry eyes could not even shed a tear.
"I'm not looking for you, I'm looking for him! I'm looking for my cousin, I'm looking for Sima Hong, I'm looking for Marquis Anxi!" Luo Lingxiu screamed fiercely in the yard.
Sima Hong turned around at this time, glanced at Luo Lingxiu who was like crazy, and smiled apologetically, "It turned out to be my sister-in-law, what's the matter?"
The master had spoken, so Bai Wu couldn't stop him. Luo Lingxiu looked at Sima Hong, who was still as handsome as ever, and wiped her messy hair with her hand, straightened her clothes, and tried to make herself as clean and tidy as possible, and slowly walked over. She kept thinking, this shouldn't be the case... Her cousin liked her and admired her, so why was he so indifferent to her, like a stranger on the street
She recalled that when she was unmarried, she could see Sima Hong's feelings for her. She could see it from the boy's eyes, words, and actions. But so what? She was going to marry his elder brother, the one who could inherit the mansion. She could only secretly enjoy this admiration with a high and mighty reserve, and be proud of it. But now, she found that she could no longer find any trace of emotion in his eyes. Even if there was, it was contempt, just like looking at a beggar on the street, wishing to stay away from him, that kind of unspeakable disgust.
She already had nothing, so why would God take away her last bit of hope
Luo Lingxiu suddenly thought of Xu Mingyu, the woman who replaced her position in Sima Hong's heart. It was said that she already had four children. Jealousy surged from all directions like a tide, almost drowning her. During the years she was locked in the temple, she kept thinking, how great it would be if she had married her cousin! She is now the wife of the Marquis, raising her and Sima Hong's children, in charge of the power of the mansion, and enjoying endless wealth and glory. When she opened her eyes, she was in a miserable and lonely confinement life. Only when she closed her eyes could she be a glorious woman in her fantasy. This abnormal life almost tortured her crazy.
"Cousin... Marquis." Seeing Sima Hong's unhappy expression, Luo Lingxiu hurriedly changed her words. Now she had no hope in Sima Hong. "I beg you, please let me go back to my parents' home. I can't stand this life for another day. I beg you!"
Sima Hong turned sideways to face her, and without looking at her for long, he just nodded and said calmly: "Okay, I understand. I will talk to my mother about it when I get back."
At this time, the people who were looking for Luo Lingxiu had already caught up with them, confessed their crimes to Sima Hong, and hurriedly carried Luo Lingxiu back. Compared to when she came with high expectations, Luo Lingxiu's face was pale and gray when she left, and she let people drag her away.
On the way back, Baihao asked tentatively: "Master, do you really want to talk to the old lady about the big * grandma?"
Sima Hong smiled and shook his head, flattering his horse and taking the first step. Whether he mentioned it or not, his mother would not give in on this matter. Why should he make the originally harmonious family unhappy for an irrelevant person? Thinking of his lovely wife and several adorable children at home, Sima Hong could not help but speed up his horse's pace.
After arriving home, Sima Hong waved his hand to stop the old woman's message and walked into his own yard lightly. In April, the flowers in the courtyard had all withered, and the whole garden was full of lush greenery. The afternoon sun shone warmly on the garden, and the breeze occasionally blew over the drooping willow branches.
In the garden, the eldest daughter Sima Fei was leading her two twin brothers to play wildly. The childish laughter of the children made people happier than any beautiful music.
Mingyu, with her hair tied up lightly and wearing a light blue dress, sat next to her eldest son Sima Lin at the small desk in the corridor. She fanned him to get rid of the insects and watched him write with a smile on her face. The six-year-old boy puffed up his face and held the pen with a serious and quiet expression.
Mingyu, who had given birth to four children, was still slim and graceful, with a beautiful face, but with a gentle maternal glow on her face. She watched her eldest son practice his homework, and occasionally glanced at the other three children playing in the garden. Sima Hong stood behind the archway and secretly looked at his beloved wife and children. His heart seemed to be filled with a heavy sense of happiness, as if it was about to overflow.
"I'm back!" Sima Hong walked into the yard and laughed loudly.
Sima Fei, who was closest to him, screamed excitedly, "Daddy is back!" and rushed to his father with her two younger brothers. Sima Lin, who had been practicing calligraphy quietly, also hurriedly put down his pen and threw himself into Sima Hong's arms with his sisters and brothers, cheering. At the round archway, Sima Hong was climbed by a bunch of carrot heads as if they were a tree. Before he could reach Mingyu, two big ones were already hanging on his arms and neck, and two small ones were trying their best to hold on to his thighs and waist to climb up.
Sima Hong laughed loudly and walked into the house with the four children in his arms easily. When he looked up, he saw Mingyu holding a round fan in her hand, leaning on the porch, looking at them with a gentle smile.
When their eyes met, Sima Hong felt unprecedented peace and tranquility in his heart.