Chen Tang didn't even raise his head: "Feeding ants."
Gong Xichou lifted his skirt and squatted down. Only when he got closer did he sense that there were indeed dense "red dots" moving on the ground, moving something in several groups. Those were the pieces of biscuit crumbs that Chen Tang had swept up in the corner of the dining table after finishing his breakfast.
She used these to feed the ants.
Gong Xichou asked, "What is there to feed the ants?"
Chen Tang threw another piece of biscuit crumbs to the ant: "Isn't this too boring? Wu Hui and the others are already mature subordinates, they can handle official business and arrange tasks by themselves. Wei Yuanyuan and Qian Shu and the others are also mature military commanders, they can open up wasteland and plant crops, cut mountains and build roads, and dig canals to divert water... Alas, isn't my lord idle? Very bored."
Gong Xichou: “…”
It did sound boring, and he could relate.
Before Gong Xichou volunteered to invite the holy object to play marbles, Chen Tang was looking at the ants on the ground and said, "Have you ever thought about what we look like in the eyes of ants?"
Why would Gong Xichou think about such a question if he had nothing to do
However, since Shen Tang asked, he thought about it.
"Maybe it's the mountains, maybe it's the gods. Is the food that Mama feeds them a blessing from the gods?" He thought seriously, "Are we to the ants like mountains to humans? And it has to be a mountain that towers into the clouds and is hard to see with the naked eye?"
It is not easy for ants to find food.
In the process of searching for food, they have to face many natural enemies.
Mama casually dropped a little biscuit crumbs, and it would take dozens or even hundreds of ants to carry these crumbs back to the ant nest. How could it not be a gift from God that they could easily get enough food to fill their stomachs for a long time without risking their lives
Chen Tang looked at the ants working diligently in a long line, and put a piece of biscuit crumbs on their way back to the nest: "What you said makes sense, but I have heard another saying - they can't actually see us."
Gong Xichou was surprised: "Can't see it?"
Chen Tang said: "It is said that in their perception, the world is a flat surface, with only left and right but no up and down."
Gong Xichou blinked quickly, unable to imagine it.
"Small ants can only see you within one or two finger joints, and large ants can only see six inches. Their vision is not enough to see us, and our naked eyes cannot see the end of the sky..." Chen Tang threw all the remaining biscuit crumbs into the ant colony, clapped his hands, stood up and said, "What is the end of the sky?"
Gong Xichou doesn't like to think about this kind of question.
No one likes to be an ant, right
He smiled and patted Chen Tang on the shoulder: "Let's play marbles?"
Chen Tang asked, "Are you bored?"
"I'm bored, and Mama is bored too, that's perfect!"
Chen Tang's marbles skills were not bad, which made Gong Xichou feel like he had met a worthy opponent. Unfortunately, that happened many years ago, so now was a good time to relive it. Chen Tang was pushed by him and said with a smile, "Gong Xichou, how old are you?"
Gong Xichou argued confidently: "When you get older, you can't love the things you used to love? That doesn't make sense!"
Don't say now—
Seventy or eighty years later, he still likes to play marbles.
Chen Tang asked, "Can you see it with your eyes?"
You want to beat her even though you're blind
"I'm blind, not deaf." Hehehe, a Wudan warrior can still judge the direction and distance by relying on his hearing and perception of air flow, and being blind does not affect his performance.
Chen Tang: “…”
She couldn't quite understand why Gong Xichou liked this kind of exercise so much, lying on all fours with his butt raised
Gong Xichou sat cross-legged on the stone, propped up his clothes on his legs, built a platform, then took off the small cloth bag hanging from his waist and poured out the round and plump beads. He counted ten for Chen Tang and ten for himself.
"By the way, Mama, I brought you a good seedling this time." Gong Xichou handed the bead out and mentioned Yun Ce casually, "From the looks of it, you should know him."
Chen Tang reached out and took it: "Who?"
It is not easy to get Gong Xichou to evaluate you as a “good seedling”.
Gong Xichou said: "His name is Yun Ce."
Chen Tang was quite surprised: "Yun Yuanmou? Didn't he return to Huang Xiguang's camp? How did you bring him back? Didn't you use force to tie him up and bring him back?"
Gong Xichou said, "How can that be possible? When I found the Luan family's group, he was there too, and his injuries looked terrible."
Shen Tang became more and more confused.
As far as she knew, Yun Ce had been gone for a long time. With his strength, it would not be difficult for him to find Huang Xiguang's troops. How could he be so seriously injured and mixed with the Luan family's caravan? And he was even brought back by Gong Xichou? This was completely inconsistent with her understanding of Yun Ce.
Chen Tang said with a smile: "Do you know what 'being in Cao's camp but with one's heart in Han' means? Yun Ce is loyal to Huang Xiguang, and Huang Xiguang didn't do anything to him, so it's impossible for him to switch sides. I guess he had an accident on his way back to the team, and he will leave after his injury heals. Although I have a good impression of Yun Ce, no matter how good this guy is, he is still an enemy, and it's too dangerous to keep him around..."
Yun Ce knew too much, so she could only silence him.
Gong Xichou said: "He betrayed Huang Lie."
His words caught Chen Tang off guard, and the finger shot out with a deflected aim, failing to hit Gong Xichou's bead. Gong Xichou happily took her bead away and said, "The man named Luan Xin under Mama's command has a personal guard who speaks well of Mama to Yun Ce. It will be easy for you to recruit Yun Ce into your command."
Chen Tang: “…”
Running in both directions is the eternal God
Chen Tang said, "Alright, I'll turn around and pay attention."
Although she was not short of brave warriors after the Dragon Slaying Bureau, since Yun Ce was willing to come, why shouldn't she accept him? The more talents, the better, not to mention that this boy was handsome. In the future, when holding morning meetings or combat meetings, it would be comfortable and pleasing to the eyes.
Inexplicably, she suddenly understood why appearance was one of the requirements for becoming an official. If she were the emperor, she would see handsome faces of different styles every day when she went to court, old, middle-aged and young, each with its own charm, and she would be motivated to work hard every day.
Hey, she decided—
Every day for the rest of my life starts with seeing a group of handsome men and beautiful women.
Gong Xichou is not Gu Chi, and he doesn’t know what Chen Tang is thinking at the moment, so he continues: “This Yun Ce has a background.”
Chen Tang asked, "What background?"
Gong Xichou's aim was as steady as ever. With a crisp sound, the bead in his hand jumped over a roadblock, flew in a beautiful arc, and hit the target. "I wasn't sure before, but Yun Ce's movements are consistent with the record in the clan history. His last name is 'Yun', which is rare, so it's almost certain - behind him, there is most likely a 19th-rank Guannei Marquis, or even a 20th-rank Che Marquis."
Chen Tang: “???”
Chen Tang failed to perform normally for the second time: "You mean - you want me to use Yun Ce as a channel to win over the people behind him?"
Gong Xichou really overestimates her.
Not to mention the 20th-rank Chehou, even the 19th-rank Guanneihou, she couldn't handle it! Even if she could, she couldn't afford to support him. She didn't have the capital to attract him, nor did she have the strength to suppress him. Can't a big boss of this level do it alone
Gong Xichou turned his head away, his pigtail hanging down to the side of his face, as if he was shocked and puzzled by her answer: "When did I say that? I just asked Mama to hold Yun Ce and Xian Yu Jian, the two brothers, in check. If anything unexpected happens in the future, kill them!"
Chen Tang: “…”
Why would she kill her own subordinates for no reason
Gong Xichou: "This Yun guy is not easy to deal with, and Mama's identity means that he will never help her."
Chen Tang: “…Why?”
Gongxi Chou replied: "Because he has a grudge against the Gongxi tribe. It can't be said that they have a grudge, but their relationship is not good. The most important thing is that he came from Shiwu a hundred years ago. According to the tribe's records, his biological mother was born in a tribe in Shiwu, and married to Beimo because of political needs. She lived in Beimo for more than ten years, and then because of some changes, she fled back to Shiwu."
Of course, he was later persecuted and fled into the interior.
Although she never went back after that, it was a foregone conclusion that Shiwu was their mother's tribe. On the other hand, Mama, didn't she have any idea of what she had done to Shiwu? In addition, she was also a sacred object of the Gongxi tribe, so the two sides were naturally hostile.
Chen Tang: "... Shiwu still has this connection?"
Why didn’t you come out when I attacked Shiwu
If the Ten Crows did not exist, how could Yonggu Pass be defended? We can't just stay in seclusion forever and ignore what's happening outside, right
Gong Xichou nodded affirmatively: "Yes!"
Then he added: "He didn't help Shiwu. It's possible that he has no feelings for Shiwu anymore, or it's possible that he didn't know about it at all, but the most likely possibility is that he couldn't come."
Chen Tang: "... Can't come?"
Gong Xichou said: "He is locked up."
There is a strange rule in the clan rules. All Gongxi clan members must avoid five places when they are outside. One of them is the man's lair. Gongxi Qiu has also read the old priest's notes and knows the trick.
Chen Tang: "... Doesn't that mean it can't threaten me?"
Gong Xichou sighed: "I don't think he will be locked up for long."
The Gongxi clan is now a small group of people, and the restraints of the five barren mountains are also weakening day by day. It is only a matter of time for those old guys to come out of the mountains. As for the things suppressed under the barren mountains
Hehe, a hundred years, how long can a tenacious Gu King survive when he can only go out but not in? According to the speculation of the old priest Jimo Xing, he died decades ago. It's just that the guardians of the five barren mountains don't know...
Once they come out and discover the truth, it will be interesting. Gong Xichou is considering whether to hide for a while under an assumed name and wait until he is strong enough to challenge them before coming out.
Otherwise, you will suffer retaliation.
Chen Tang didn't know about all the details.
All she knew was that she might be in trouble.
"This... How long can it be closed for?"
Gongxichou spread his hands, "I'm not the high priest, so I don't know the details of the seal. It could be as short as three to five years, or as long as thirty to fifty years? Alas, how could our ancestors have guessed that the Gongxi clan would be wiped out? If it weren't for that disaster, they would have been locked up until they died! Naturally, they wouldn't have to worry about being sought after by a few old guys from a hundred years ago."
Chen Tang: “…”
She finally understood that the hatred was directed at the Gongxi tribe.
"Is it too late for me to cut ties with the Gongxi tribe now?"
Gong Xichou showed a mouthful of white and neat teeth: "It's too late. You are the sacred object of the tribe. By then, even if Mama wants to lie back in the coffin, it will be too late. They will definitely dig out the urns in the tribe one by one and scatter them..."
Chen Tang: “…”
It’s true that every dog passing by will be slapped.
She lowered her voice: "Why are you saying it now?"
Gong Xichou was honest: "I forgot before."
Strengthening the seal is the job of the high priest. When the old priest Jimo Xing was still around, he would go out in disguise every twenty years to check whether the seal was strong enough. If it was not strong enough, he would tighten it one level more. This is also what he saw in the notebook.
Chen Tang: “…”
-----------------
Gong Xichou left after completing his mission, leaving the task of settling the Luan family to Luan Xin and Luan Cheng. Luan Cheng hadn't seen his mother for a long time, and he couldn't hold back his tears. The mother and son cried together. The guards also rushed to Luan Xin to pay their respects.
“Parents.”
Luan Xin retracted his gaze: "Thank you for your hard work."
He actually didn't want to see this elder sister, not because he hated her, but because he had been away from home for many years and didn't know what identity and attitude he would use when he saw her again. Luan Xin turned around and was about to leave, but the lady of the Luan family saw him, pushed her son aside and walked forward quickly.
“Justice!”
Luan Xin could only stop, turn around and bow: "My Lady."
When she heard Luan Xin address her as "Lady Lady" instead of the more intimate "Sister", she was startled at first, then smiled bitterly. After Luan Xin was adopted, she and him had lived together as siblings for many years and knew Luan Xin's temper. After that incident, he had never changed his address back. Now, she was too embarrassed to ask him to change it back: "Thank you for saving Ah Cheng."
She once thought Luan Cheng was dead.
Without Luan Xin, Luan Cheng would have died.
Now he has saved himself... What Luan family owes Luan Xin now is far greater than what Luan Xin got from Luan family back then.
For a moment, she didn't know how to express it.
"He's not the only one who was rescued." Luan Xin's face was cold. He didn't go to rescue Luan Cheng specially. He just happened to meet him. "I'm busy with official duties now. If you have nothing else to do, I won't disturb your mother and son reunion. Goodbye."
Luan Xin left with his personal guards.
The lady stood there in a daze, watching him for a long time.
Only after Luan Xin's back disappeared did Luan Cheng dare to speak in a low voice: "Mother, let's do this. If we get too close, both families will feel uncomfortable. Although what happened back then has passed, the traces have been left on my uncle. It's not easy to overcome this hurdle."
Whether it's my mother or my uncle, both of them are introverted people. Once they get stuck in a dead end, they will start to get upset.
Forcing themselves to be affectionate would really put things in a difficult position for both of them.
The lady poked her son's forehead with her finger, leaving a white fingerprint: "Heh, you're not that old, but you know a lot?"
Luan Cheng said: "My uncle has a knot in his heart."
It's still an old knot that can't be untied.
The lady sighed and looked lonely. They all understood the situation back then, and knew the difficulties each other faced. However, knowing the difficulties did not mean that they could accept the reality calmly. This was the key to their hearts: "Alas, how could I not know?"
We should meet less often in the future to avoid embarrassment for both parties.
It is enough that Gongyi is willing to acknowledge Cheng as his nephew.
Everyone goes back to their own home and finds their own mother.
Yun Ce also went to find his junior brother.
I found a pitch-black junior brother in the wasteland.