This night, when Xiao Yi returned to Bixiao Hall, it was already half past Xu time.
Nangong Yue had already brought little Xiao Yu back to her yard from Tingyu Pavilion. As soon as Xiao Yi entered the room, she heard a burst of laughter belonging to a baby: "Giggle..."
Xiao Yi pursed his lips, the brat was still awake.
The next moment, I heard a delicate meow, "Meow—", Xiao Yi raised his eyebrows suspiciously, the meow seemed a bit unfamiliar, did they have another kitten in their house
Thinking about it, Xiao Yi lifted the curtain and entered the inner room, just in time to hear another "meow".
When the four eyes met, the black-eyed cat in the inner room showed embarrassment, and its eyelids were half-drawn.
It turned out to be this cat that had been raised for eight years! Xiao Yi's mood suddenly became lighter, and he also turned into a cat.
"Meow—" the voice was vivid, but it couldn't hide the banter in it.
Nangong Yue glared at him, cleared her throat, and explained, "I'm teaching Brother Yu to speak. An Niang said that she should learn more about animal sounds from children, and teach him to know the things at home. It is easier for him to learn to imitate some simple refraining words."
Xiao Yi strode to the bed, bowed his head and kissed the corner of her mouth, and said with a smile: "That's not easy, just let someone bring Xiaoju and Xiaobai over!" When I'm free, it's good to hug and play with the brat.
"Don't bother Xiaoju and Xiaobai." Nangong Yue's mouth twitched. According to his teaching method, she was really afraid that Brother Yu would treat herself as a cat.
Xiao Yi still wanted to argue with Nangong Yue, but saw a small round head suddenly stuck between the two of them, and then with a "paw", the little meat ball used two fleshy claws to grab the mother's skirt and struggled to lift her head on the mother's chin A slobbering kiss was left on his face.
"Giggle..." He seemed to have accomplished a feat, and smiled innocently.
The two adults were dumbfounded. Nangong Yue rubbed her chin foolishly. It was the first time that the baby took the initiative to kiss her.
But the child's father squinted his eyes, and his eyes became dangerous.
He knew that it would be no good to give birth to a brat, so he came to rob him of Ah Yue!
Today is a kiss on the chin, isn't it going to be a kiss on the mouth tomorrow
Xiao Yi's eyes became darker and darker. Nangong Yue, who came back to her senses, immediately realized that something was wrong. She quickly hugged the little guy and said with a dry smile, "It's getting late...Brother Yu, you should go to bed."
Of course Xiao Yi knew her intentions, he squinted at her, and took Xiao Xiao Yu from her hand, "I'll do it."
Seeing Xiao Yi walking around the room holding a little person similar to him, Nangong Yue couldn't help laughing with the kindness in those charming peach eyes that maybe even he didn't realize.
This is what she dreamed of, with her cats and cats...
The night was getting deeper, Xiao Yu, who was always easy to coax, fell asleep in his father's arms after a while, Xiao Yi carefully put the little guy on his little bed.
After that, he went into the clean room to take a shower and change clothes.
The sound of splashing water soon came from inside. Nangong Yue, who was sitting by the bed, carefully tucked the corner of the quilt for the little guy, her eyelids were half drooped, and when the smile on the corner of her mouth was put away, her expression calmed down.
After Xiao Yi came out of the clean room, looking at her beautiful and peaceful profile, he couldn't help but stop, the room was very quiet.
After a while, Nangong Yue suddenly asked: "A Yi, are you going to fight again?"
Xiao Yi never avoided Nangong Yue when doing things. During this period of time, he and Guan Yubai's busyness was naturally noticed by her, and she knew that another battle was coming...
Xiao Yi, who was still damp all over, walked to her side, sat down too, stretched his arms and took her into his arms, kissed her hair, and said softly: "Xiao Bai will go first Go, I can spend a few more days with you."
Nangong Yue rubbed against his arms like a cub, already thinking about what preparations she could make for Xiao Yi.
"Ah Yue, don't worry!" Xiao Yi lifted her chin, lowered his head to meet her eyes, and said with certainty, "This battle will be over before the first year's banquet of the brat! It depends on whether we are willing or not, don't you think?!"
He smiled and cast a wink, his smile was bright, but his tone was full of unquestionable arrogance, his obsidian eyes shone with light that was almost impossible to look at in the dim yellow candlelight.
Nangong Yue stared at him blankly, showing off her face.
She believed him!
Of course she believed him!
Her Ah Yi always walks the talk! There is nothing he can't do!
The eyes of the two were glued together, the two faces slowly approached, and the breathing and heartbeat of each other gradually merged into one...
The night was quiet, and the darkness was as thick as fog, until the light of dawn swept away the darkness.
It was daylight again.
Early in the morning, the Luoyue City camp woke up with the sound of horns. The Xuanjia Army was organized under the command of Yao Lianghang. The flags were flying wildly in the wind, and 10,000 Xuanjia soldiers formed a neat square formation. , The uniform voice when shouting is like thunder, shocking.
There is a saying: "Before the soldiers and horses are moved, the food and grass go first." At the same time, the food, grass, army horses, armor and equipment needed by these 10,000 soldiers are also being nervously prepared and dispatched...
This series of movements caused commotion in the camp of Luoyue City, and even the whole Luoyue City. Soon, everyone in Luoyue City learned that the emperor came to southern Xinjiang to borrow troops. Discussing this matter, Marquis Pingyang in the other courtyard also heard the news, and was in shock.
Marquis Pingyang originally thought that Xiao Yi just casually agreed to borrow troops yesterday, and there must be another move later, or he simply delayed with excuses... Unexpectedly, Xiao Yi made such a big noise, it seemed that he really wanted to help the imperial court send troops to the western border.
This cognition made Pingyanghou even more uneasy, almost unable to swallow, and repeatedly speculated in his heart what Xiao Yi wanted to do. What good would this do for Xiao Yi
In the afternoon of that day, Marquis Pingyang came to Bixiao Hall again.
This time, he met Xiao Yi in the Shuzhi Hall very smoothly, without embarrassment or delay, since arriving in Luoyue City yesterday, everything has gone so smoothly that Marquis Pingyang doesn't feel like it's real, and there must be demons when things go wrong, the more so It went well, the more Marquis Pingyang felt terrified, this really wasn't like the usual style of Prince Xiao!
Pingyanghou only stayed in Bixiaotang for a cup of tea, but Xiao Yi dismissed him with a few words and returned empty-handed. Now that the situation is out of his control, he can only comfort himself in his heart: at least this Prince Xiao is willing to borrow troops now, he finally has an explanation to the emperor!
As for the future, we can only take one step at a time...
In the next few days, the Zhennan Prince's Mansion and Bixiao Hall were full of people coming and going, and it was extremely lively. From time to time, generals of the Southern Border Army would visit, some wanted to test Zhennan King's intentions, and some came to invite Ying to accompany the army Yes, and some, like Yao Lianghang, expressed indignation that they would swear to follow the son...
Various preparations for the expedition were carried out in an orderly manner. On August 13th, Yao Lianghang led 10,000 Xuanjia troops to Feixia Mountain in a mighty manner.
For other people in the city, since the matter of the emperor borrowing soldiers is a done deal, it is over, but for Bi Xiaotang, this is just the beginning...
After that, Xiao Yi became busy, often leaving early and returning late, either going to the military camp with Guan Yubai, or staying in Qingyunwu. Sometimes Nangong Yue, who had already fallen asleep, didn't even know when he would come back. I can only feel from Yu Wen next to the pillow in the morning that she was not alone last night, no, of course she is not alone, there is Brother Yu too.
As long as she looks at the innocent and cute face of the little guy, Nangong Yue feels that she can forget all her troubles, and she won't worry about anything. She just needs to do her best for A Yi...
On this day, Nangong Yue ordered Baihui to send meals and herbal tea to Qingyunwu as usual.
She stayed in the west room with Xiao Yu by herself. Ever since the little guy learned to crawl, Nangong Yue had someone spread a Persian carpet in the west room, and let this energetic little guy crawl around in it...
No, after the little guy crawled around, he returned to his mother's side, grabbed her skirt with a chubby little hand, and announced his victory with a "babble".
The child is really amazing, as if yesterday it was a little monkey with wrinkled cheeks and only crying loudly, but today it has become lively... When Ah Yi returns from the expedition, will the little guy not recognize his father?
"Brother Yu, call him Daddy." Nangong Yue looked at Xiao Xiaoyu's black and white eyes, and said seriously. If he could hear the little guy call him daddy before Ah Yi set off, Ah Yi would be happy.
It's a pity that Xiao Xiaoyu didn't understand his mother's painstaking efforts. He giggled twice as if he felt that he had been praised, and crawled towards the rattle not far away...
At this time, a clear and familiar female voice sounded from outside the curtain: "Shi Zifei..."
The sound is so loud that no one has arrived.
The next moment, Lily came in through the curtain, holding a female doll in her arms.
"The servant girl and Chu Xiao have come to greet you."
Lily followed behind Que'er, Thrush and the others, all looking at the doll in Lily's arms with strange eyes.
Lily's doll, Chu Xiao, has just turned one year old, and her thinning hair is combed into two small balls. She is wearing a big red coat, carved with jade, and a pair of black and white eyes are blinking cleverly. .
In the past few months, Nangong Yue has finally chosen a nanny again. Now Baihe and Chu Xiao don't have to stay in Bixiaotang all the time. They can go home every night and take a bath for four days a month. Nangong Yue finally let go of her heart.
After Lily entered the room, she put her daughter on the carpet. Xiao Chuxiao was only one year old, so naturally she couldn't salute, but obediently let her mother put her in a kneeling and prostrate position, which was regarded as a kowtow.
The little girl was extremely well-behaved, and she was at the mercy of her mother without crying or fussing. Although they could see this scene almost every day, Que'er and Huamei could never get tired of watching it.
Que'er couldn't help teasing: "Concubine Shizi, do you think Chu Xiao has embraced someone else's child by mistake? She doesn't look like Lily at all in appearance and temperament."
Lily sighed, flattened her mouth and said, "Have you never heard of your daughter, Father Xiao?... Concubine Shizi, obviously a slave is pregnant in October..." As she spoke, she couldn't help complaining, but her brows and eyes were full of complacency. Lily is naturally proud of having such a well-behaved, obedient and easy-to-carry daughter.
While the adults were talking, little Xiao Yu had crawled back nimbly, greeted his little friend with a "babble", and then handed her the rattle in his hand.
Chu Xiao also responded in a "babbling" manner, grabbing the rattle and shaking it. Amid the regular sound of the rattle, the two little guys laughed happily as they spoke a language that adults couldn't understand at all...
The two chubby little dumplings are still at a carefree age, eating, drinking and having fun every day.
Amidst the sound of rattle drums, Baihui came back with a dignified expression.
Nangong Yue and the others in the room knew something was wrong when they saw Baihui's expression. Lily immediately took the rattle from her daughter's hand smartly, and then deliberately covered her face to attract the attention of the two little guys.
The room quickly became quiet.
"Concubine Shizi," Baihui walked quickly to Nangong Yue, then took out a white jade ring pendant with a wishful knot from her belt, and presented it to Nangong Yue with both hands, "This is from the Red Silk Pavilion today..."
Hearing the words "Hongxiao Pavilion", Nangong Yue's complexion changed slightly, Que'er blurted out: "That's not Qing..."
She swallowed the last word without saying it.
They all only heard of this Red Silk Pavilion, and it was one of the most famous brothels in Luoyue City... It would not be a good thing if it had something to do with brothels.
Baihui continued to talk: "After the Hongxiao Pavilion sent the ring pendant to the Hall of History, the Hall of History found that the name of the eldest girl was engraved on the jade, so they called the servants over..."
Sister Fei's name engraved on it? ! Nangong Yue's eyes were as deep as the sea in an instant, and she reached out to take the jade ring.
Although this white jade pendant is ordinary, Nangong Yue can be sure that it belongs to Xiao Fei, and she taught Xiao Fei how to tie the wishful knot on the pendant.
She still remembered that Xiao Fei accidentally dropped a piece of jade pendant when she went to the Great Buddha Temple to remove Xiao Fang's clothes in June, but Xiao Fei said that there was no imprint on the jade pendant, let alone engraved with Xiao Fei's name.
Two months have passed, and this jade pendant has been reduced to a brothel...
Nangong Yue took the white jade pendant and looked at it carefully. The pendant was carved from high-quality suet jade. Two words: "Xiao Fei".
Nangong Yue's fingers rubbed the lettering, the tentacles were a little rough, as if they hadn't been polished.
With a thought in her mind, she carefully looked at the patterns of those cloud patterns and compared them with the strokes of the lettering.
The former is delicate and smooth, while the latter is rough and stiff. It really doesn't look like it was written by the same person.
Nangong Yue's eyes flickered, and countless thoughts flashed through her mind. Finally, she took a deep breath and said, "Baihui, ask Zhu Xing to go to the Hongxiao Pavilion to find out what happened."
Baihui immediately retreated in response, followed Nangong Yue and told Que'er: "Que'er, go to Yuebiju and ask the eldest girl what kind of jade pendant she lost at the Great Buddha Temple, and whether there is a name on it... just It is said that someone picked up a jade pendant and returned to the palace."
"Yes, Concubine Shizi. Don't worry, this servant will not let these dirty things spoil the ears of the elder girl." Que'er also took orders and left.
"Ah! Ah!" Suddenly, someone pulled Nangong Yue's skirt, and she looked down. Little Xiao Yu didn't know when she crawled to her side, raised her little arm with all her strength, and tried to hand the windmill in her hand to her. she.
"Brother Yu, is this for me?" Nangong Yue pointed at him, then at herself, a warm current flowed through her heart: her brother Yu already cared about her.
The little guy smiled unreservedly again, his eyes smiling like a crescent moon, completely turning the mother's heart into a river of spring water.
After a while, Que'er came back first, and said solemnly: "Concubine Shizi, the eldest girl said that the jade pendant she lost was a white jade ring pendant, which was a high-quality sheep fat jade. wishful knot."
This is indeed the jade pendant that Xiao Fei lost.
When the night fell and the lights came on, news also came from Zhu Xing.
It is said that there is a man named Mr. Lu Jiu who is a frequent visitor to the Red Silk Pavilion. He spends half of the year in the Red Silk Pavilion. He spent another night in the Red Silk Pavilion a few days ago, but he couldn't afford any money. He temporarily mortgaged the white jade ring pendant to the old bustard, saying that he would come to redeem it in two days. The old bustard was greedy for money, saw that the white jade ring was worth a lot, at least a thousand taels of silver, so he accepted it, thinking that Mr. Lu Jiu would go to redeem it. Who knows, after waiting for a few days without seeing Mr. Lu Jiu come back, the old bustard wanted to sell the ring, but found that Xiao Fei's name was engraved on it. He neither dared to sell it nor kept it, so he sent someone to give it to him. Come to the palace.
After hearing Zhu Xing's words relayed by Baihui, Nangong Yue played with the white jade ring while thinking: This jade pendant should indeed be the one that Sister Fei lost, but Sister Fei's jade pendant did not have a name at all. However, she had an extra name and was left in the brothel. Obviously, someone did it on purpose... Did the other party want to ruin Sister Fei's reputation
A sharp light flashed in Nangong Yue's eyes, and said: "Baihui, let Zhu Xing continue to investigate, but don't startle the snake."
"Yes, Shizifei." Baihui took the order and went, and her slender figure quickly disappeared into the night.
The sky outside seems to be getting darker, but Xiao Yi hasn't come back yet. The busier he and Guan Yubai are these days, the more Nangong Yue feels that the upcoming battle may not be easy...
The more this time, the more I have to calm down.
"Humei, you go to the small kitchen to prepare supper and send it to Qingyunwu to the son and Marquis An Yi." Nangong Yue ordered.
After Huamei withdrew, the room became quiet, and the dim candlelight softly shone on the little guy's peaceful sleeping face. Little Xiao Yu was sleeping soundly. Father and son had different lives, but his father was not so lucky.
In Qingyunwu, Guan Yubai was messing up the sand table casually, erasing all the traces left by them, then raised his eyes to Xiao Yi who was sitting opposite him, and said: "Yao Lianghang and the others have been gone for ten days... Ayi, I plan to leave the day after tomorrow."
During the conversation, Feng Xing came over graciously, helped his young master remove the unsightly sand table, and served tea for the two of them. Xiao Si looked at Feng Xing serving tea to Xiao Yi with disdain, and jumped out of the window.
Xiao Yi stretched his waist, and said with a smile: "Xiaobai, the farewell banquet will be skipped. When we come back from a big victory, we will have a welcome banquet and a celebration banquet. How about having a good time?"
He spoke casually, but confidently. When the two looked at each other, Guan Yubai also smiled, a confident smile.
Following this, Guan Yubai's demeanor also changed, from gentle to fierce, even though he was still wearing a Confucian shirt, he was not a Confucian official, not a counselor, but a warrior! A general who fights on the battlefield and defends his home and country!
"We will definitely win this battle." Guan Yubai said slowly and firmly.
Guan Yubai knew in his heart that winning Xiye would not be of any real benefit to Southern Xinjiang, and would do more harm than good to the current situation in Southern Xinjiang. Even if Xiao Yi knowingly chooses to start the war, if he loses this battle, his accumulation in southern Xinjiang in the past few years is likely to be in vain.
Therefore, this battle, I must win!
Not only for himself, but also for Xiao Yi who trusted him, and tens of thousands of Southern Border Army soldiers!
Therefore, in the past few days, he and Xiao Yi have been doing sand table deduction and map analysis. The two have tried their best to imagine all the situations they will encounter, how to respond, and then what kinds of countermeasures the enemy may have, and then You have to come up with strategies for these coping methods...
Xiao Yi really felt that he probably hadn't spent more than ten days in his entire life.
Now that everything is ready, what is there to be afraid of? !
Xiao Yi blinked with a smile and said: "Xiaobai, you can relax, when you come back from this battle, my stinky boy will be called foster father, you just have to prepare the red envelope..."
In the dark night, only hearing Xiao Yi's eloquent voice kept coming, unknowingly, the oppressive atmosphere before the storm was coming...