The day before returning to the capital, Luo Ping came to Nanzhao.
Before the imperial edict to appoint a new King of Nanzhao arrived, he temporarily took over all affairs of Nanzhao, and even Song Zhan had to obey him temporarily.
At the welcoming banquet, Xie Nanjia finally met the legendary Admiral Luo.
Zhao Jingyu told her that Lieutenant General Luo played an indispensable role in helping him reach Nanzhao so quickly.
Lieutenant General Luo had spies in Nanzhao City. Before Zhao Jingyu went to Yunyang, Lieutenant General Luo had received the news in advance. He made full preparations for the dispatch of troops and arranged internal support in various counties along the way. When Zhao Jingyu arrived in Yunyang, Lieutenant General Luo had already set up a farewell banquet for them in the military camp.
The person had not arrived yet, but the farewell wine had already been served. Xie Nanjia felt that this lieutenant general was quite interesting.
Only when you meet the real person will you realize that he is more interesting.
This tall and vigorous veteran was humorous, straightforward, informal, and even a little rude, a typical military general. When he saw Xie Nanjia for the first time, he joked cheerfully, "No wonder the second young master was so anxious to fight back to Nanzhao. He refused to drink three cups of wine with me. With such a beautiful wife waiting for him to rescue, no one would have the time to drink with an old man like me."
"General Luo, you are joking. You are in your prime, very brave and heroic, not just an old man." Xie Nanjia said with a smile, "General Luo played an indispensable role in the Second Young Master's success in conquering Nanzhao. I will let the Second Young Master toast you a few glasses of wine later to make up for what you missed last time."
Lieutenant General Luo waved his hand and said, "I dare not take credit for it. In my opinion, a large part of the credit belongs to you, Miss Xiu'er."
"What contribution have I made?" Xie Nanjia asked with a smile.
Lieutenant General Luo said, "I've heard a saying that if you want a donkey to walk faster, hang a carrot in front of it. Miss Xiu'er is that carrot."
Xie Nanjia was stunned for a moment, but quickly reacted and pointed at Zhao Jingyu with great joy, "Then he is just a donkey."
Zhao Jingyu: “…”
I didn't say a word, how did I suddenly turn into a donkey
Have you ever seen such a handsome, talented and stunning donkey
The generals of the Yunyang Army were probably already accustomed to Lieutenant General Luo's temper, and they laughed loudly without restraint at the banquet.
The officials from Nanzhao who were accompanying the guests were all very restrained, and even their smiles were dry.
Although Song Zhan is now the master of the palace, he can only sit below Zhao Jingyu and Lieutenant General Luo. Fortunately, he has always been calm and steady, and there is no sign of unhappiness on his face. He keeps raising his glass and inviting the two to drink together.
Song Ze sat next to him. Perhaps because he would soon be crowned an independent king, he felt very relaxed and at ease, and had a sense of confidence.
Xie Nanjia looked at the two brothers and couldn't help but think of Song Huai who was imprisoned in prison.
Song Huai is actually the most handsome, smartest, most talented and most patient one among the three brothers. If he had not met himself and Zhao Jingyu, he might have been the one who had the last laugh among the three brothers.
Regardless of whether his conspiracy with King Nanzhao could succeed, at least the position of Crown Prince and the next King Nanzhao would definitely be his.
It was a pity that he and Zhao Jingyu were too easy to deceive, which led to the failure of their plan.
Will the King of Nanzhao, who is in prison now, regret that he should not have agreed to the emperor to bring them to Nanzhao
He thought the emperor was handing him a pillow as he was sleepy, but it turned out to be a knife.
A knife he used to kill himself.
After more than a decade of painstaking efforts, everything disappeared overnight. It was just as the saying goes, one wrong move and the whole game is lost.
He did not lose because of his weak soldiers and horses, nor did he lose because of the hearts of the people, but he lost to his brother.
Song Wanji was able to sit on the throne, his scheming is beyond the reach of ordinary people. The gap between the two of them is too big.
After the banquet, Xie Nanjia told Zhao Jingyu that she wanted to go see Song Huai.
Zhao Jingyu did not object and personally accompanied her to the prison.
Song Huai was locked up in a single cell. The room was very tidy and had all the necessary items. Except for not being able to go out, everything else was fine.
His right shoulder was badly injured and was wrapped in several layers of bandages. His face was extremely pale and he was leaning against the head of the bed, coughing constantly. It was heartbreaking to see him.
Xie Nanjia stood in front of him with mixed feelings.
"You'll feel better if you drink some water." She took a glass of water from the table next to her and handed it to him.
Song Huai lowered his eyes, not looking at her, nor extending his hand.
"What are you doing here, showing me mercy as a victor?"
"Of course not." Xie Nanjia withdrew his hand and put the cup back. "I came to say goodbye to you. I will leave for the capital early tomorrow morning."
Song Huai raised his head abruptly, his eyes resting on her face for only a moment, then he lowered his head again, snorting softly: "You will be the Crown Princess when you go back, right? Congratulations, you finally got what you wished for. Do you want me to kowtow to you in advance?"
"I've said before that I didn't want to marry Zhao Jingyu just to become the Crown Princess." Xie Nanjia said calmly, "No matter what you think of me, as a friend, I've done my best for you, and as an enemy, I've also shown you mercy. I don't owe you anything, and I don't feel sorry for your current situation. I just want to say that if you're lucky enough not to be executed by the Emperor, I hope you can live a good life no matter where you are in the future."
"Living well?" Song Huai snorted and laughed, "Do you think I can still live well?"
Xie Nanjia was silent for a moment, then took his hand, placed a piece of paper in his palm, and said softly, "I have properly arranged for Madam Ning. This is the address. I put a jade pendant in Madam Ning's amulet. If you are not dead and need help, take the jade pendant to me. I will do my best to help you."
"..." Song Huai looked at her blankly, "So you started to doubt me at that time?"
Xie Nanjia smiled, neither saying yes nor no: "You are my first friend, and maybe my last. With my future identity, I probably won't have any more friends, so..."
She paused, then said, "I'm leaving, take care of yourself!"
After saying that, he turned around and strode away.
"Wait!" Song Huai raised his hand and called her.
Xie Nanjia stopped but did not look back.
"Where did I lose?" Song Huai asked.
Xie Nanjia was silent for a moment, then turned back and said, "You're not cruel enough."
"..." Song Huai raised a bitter smile and nodded, "I understand."
He really wasn't cruel enough.
If he was cruel enough, Song Zhan and Song Ze would have died long ago.
If he was cruel enough, Xiu'er would have been his on the day she was drugged.
If he was cruel enough, how could Zhao Jingyu be alive until now
His eyes followed Xie Nanjia's figure and watched her open the door of the cell. Zhao Jingyu's face flashed outside the door, but before he could see it clearly, the door closed.
But the voice came in, soft and concerned: "Wife, why are you crying?"
Song Huai's heart seemed to be hit hard by something, and the pain spread instantly.
He covered his heart and his vision gradually became blurred.
After knowing each other for a while, he was already satisfied that she could shed a tear for him.
The next morning, the red sun was rising and the sky was filled with morning glow. In the gentle morning breeze of the south, Zhao Jingyu and his party said goodbye to the people who saw them off outside the north city gate, and rode their horses towards the capital.
In addition to the guards brought by Xie Nanfeng, Lieutenant General Luo assigned another team of 200 people to escort Zhao Jingyu back to Beijing.
Because fighting with Zhao Jingyu was so exciting, even though they had only been together for a few days, the generals of the Yunyang Army were reluctant to part with him. Before he left, they gave him earnest instructions, hoping that he would come to Yunyang again and lead them in another exciting battle.
Song Zhan tried to keep Zhao Jingyu on the surface, but deep down he hoped that Zhao Jingyu would never come to Nanzhao again.
North is the direction of home. Everyone is so eager to return that they have no time to appreciate the beautiful scenery along the way. They wish they could give their horses wings so that they can quickly return to their long-lost home.
After a long journey of more than ten days, the team finally approached the capital.
When I left, it was still chilly in spring in the capital, and when I returned, it was already late spring. People on the road were wearing light clothes, kites were flying over the fields, and flowers and willows were in full bloom everywhere.
Xie Nanjia was tired from riding, so he returned to the carriage to rest.
Zhao Jingyu was like a follower. When Xie Nanjia rode a horse, he rode a horse. When Xie Nanjia took a car, he took a car. He didn't care at all what everyone thought of him.
When they passed Jinping County on the way, Xie Nanjia lifted the car curtain and pointed to Zhao Jingyu: "Look, this is my territory."
There was a lot of pride in his words.
Zhao Jingyu asked her, "After you return, do you want to officially change your title to Princess Jinping?"
Xie Nanjia thought about it and shook her head: "Forget it, there are too many names and I will get confused."
"It's up to you. Do whatever you feel comfortable with." Zhao Jingyu said, "Anyway, your title will change in the future, such as Crown Princess, Empress, Zhao Su."
Zhao Su
What the hell
Xie Nanjia resisted instinctively: "Why should I use your last name?"
"How should I know? This is the rule passed down by our ancestors. We can't call it Su Zhao, right?" Zhao Jingyu said with a smile.
"Aren't you going to change back to your biological father's surname?" Xie Nanjia asked.
Zhao Jingyu frowned worriedly: "Don't you think Song Jingyu sounds bad?"
Xie Nanjia repeated it silently twice and nodded, "It is indeed hard to hear."
Zhao Jingyu: “…”
Don't give others any face at all.
"But what does it matter? No one dares to call you by your name anyway," said Xie Nanjia.
"That's true. Only you can call my name." Zhao Jingyu said, and then added, "Only I can call your name too."
“…” Xie Nanjia rolled her eyes at him.
Zhao Jingyu didn't finish: "But what should I call you, Xiu'er, Nanjia, Jiajia, Jinping, Ping'er..."
"Shut up!" Xie Nanjia yelled, getting goosebumps.
Zhao Jingyu laughed loudly, and suddenly pulled her over without any warning, and kissed her on the back of her head.
"Nanjia, Nanjia..." He whispered softly between her lips, "I like to call you this..."
Xie Nanjia's heart was moved, so she hugged him and entangled him passionately.
"Second Young Master!" Wei Jun reported from outside, "The messenger has reported that the Emperor has personally led all the civil and military officials to welcome you and Miss Xiu'er back to the capital nine miles south of the city."
The serenity in the car was broken, Zhao Jingyu had to let go of Xie Nanjia and said through the car curtain: "Got it."
The emperor had already told him about this in his personal letter, so he and Xie Nanjia were not surprised.
The people outside didn't know about this in advance, but when they heard that the emperor was going to come out of Jiuli in person to welcome them, they became very excited, as if they were the ones the emperor was going to welcome.
As noon approached, the team entered the capital city.
Zhao Jingyu lifted the car curtain and pointed it to Xie Nanjia: "Look, this is my territory!"
Xie Nanjia: “…”
Humph! I'm not happy, his territory is bigger than mine!
"It will be yours in the future." Zhao Jingyu added.
Xie Nanjia was satisfied and happy in her heart, but she muttered: "Who can compare with you? The whole world belongs to you."
Zhao Jingyu pecked her pouty red lips lightly, her peach blossom eyes sparkling: "The world is mine, and I am yours."
(End of this chapter)