Sui Sui and his group disguised themselves as merchants from the south and arrived at Youzhou City in October.
They rented a small three-story courtyard at the west end of Sushenfang and settled down there, and also rented a two-story shop with a moderate frontage in the new goods store in the city. They sorted the rouge and powder shipped from the capital, Jiangnan, Sichuan and other places, hung up the signboard of "Bai's Rouge and Powder", and started business.
Sui Sui and her personal guard Tian Yuerong hid their real names and pretended to be a couple. Tian Yuerong pretended to be the wife, whose surname was Lu. She had a family of her own and managed everything inside and outside the house. She was a capable and shrewd person. Sui Sui pretended to be the husband, whose surname was Bai. He was a sickly pretty boy who relied on his wife's shop to pay for his studies and dreamed of passing the imperial examination one day. The other guards pretended to be shop assistants or servants.
Chun Tiao didn't understand why Tian Yuerong's pseudonym was Lu. Logically, they should have kept their identities secret and distanced themselves from Lu Suisui, but her wife just said, "It's just to be on the safe side."
Chun Tiao now admired his wife to the core and understood that she always had her own reasons and intentions for doing things. After hearing what she said, he stopped asking questions.
She had just arrived in a strange place and had no idea what to do. She thought she dared not join the army, and she knew nothing about the civilian work in the army. After thinking about it, she decided that opening a shop and doing business might be an opportunity. So she played the role of the sister-in-law, taking care of her "sickly brother" and learning some tricks of bookkeeping and inventory from Xiaoshun.
Sui Sui never leaves her house, but from time to time people come to discuss matters with her.
The Sushenfang where they lived was a gathering place for the Heishui Mohe people. Many Hu people migrated from Youzhou. Although the Hu and Han people lived together, there was still a gap between them. The Hu people in thefang basically did not interact with the Han people, thus saving the trouble of dealing with their neighbors.
Because it was a merchant's house, no one suspected anything when there were many cars and horses in front of the door.
There are so many things to do when you just settle down. Time flies quickly when you are busy, and in the blink of an eye it is New Year's Eve.
Youzhou City is in the north, and winter comes earlier and longer there than in Chang'an. After two days of clear weather, the wind started to blow again in the evening of New Year's Eve. The wind here is as sharp as a knife, blowing snow particles from the roof onto people's faces.
Although it was freezing cold, the Bai family's small courtyard was decorated with lights and full of joy.
More than a dozen people gathered in the main room, without any distinction between high and low, or between men and women. In the middle was a large, wide table, which was filled with dishes and plates stacked on top of each other. Everyone sat cross-legged around the table.
After finishing the five-spice dish, drinking pepper and cypress wine, and eating sticky rice dumplings, Xiao Shun jumped up like a monkey and ran to the kitchen. After a moment, he brought out a steaming whole roasted lamb like a magic trick. Two guards brought in two large jars of wine, removed the seals, and a strong and intoxicating aroma filled the room.
Sui Sui stood up and sliced mutton for everyone herself. Chun Tiao watched the knife in her hand flying and flashing with cold light, and couldn't help but sigh. At that time, when she watched her slicing meat and fish in Shanchiyuan, she was often amazed at her knife skills. Now she realized how could an ordinary hunter girl have such knife skills.
Sui Sui divided the mutton, wiped the dagger clean, took the wine glass from Tian Yuerong, toasted everyone, took a sip and said with a smile: "This Ganhe Tao is very good, not much worse than the tribute that the Qi Wangfu drank before."
Everyone was startled, and the hall suddenly fell into silence.
They knew her relationship with the King of Qi, so they never mentioned him in front of her these days. Even when they occasionally talked about the Huaixi War, they always used the word "chief general" to pass it over.
He invited everyone to drink and eat meat as if nothing had happened.
Seeing that she had a natural attitude and seemed to have let the matter go, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. The King of Qi was the commander-in-chief of Huaixi, and the battle in Huaixi was closely related to their situation in Heshuo, so it was inevitable to talk about it.
Sui Sui had gotten used to the light diet during the time he was recuperating. After taking two bites of the roasted mutton, he felt a little sick of it. He put down his silver chopsticks and wine glass, scooped up a bowl of nectar soup and ate it slowly.
After a few rounds of drinks, they inevitably talked about the war situation in Huaixi.
Tian Yuerong sighed, "I thought this war would drag on for at least one or two years, but I didn't expect the imperial army to be so unstoppable that in less than half a year, they had already forced the Huaixi army back to Caizhou. The King of Qi is really young and capable, and should not be underestimated."
As he said this, he glanced at Sui Sui meaningfully.
Sui Sui remained calm and nodded, saying, "Huan Xuan is indeed a very good general. After the Huaixi Campaign, he became a famous general of his time."
Tian Yuerong said with interest: "Looking at his fierce military force, he is on the same track as the general. It's a pity that you two don't have the chance to fight."
Sui Sui glanced at her and said, "If a fight breaks out, will you set a handicap to bet on the outcome?"
Tian Yuerong immediately expressed her loyalty: "Then I will definitely bet all my wealth, including my cosmetics shop, on the general to win."
Sui Sui said, "The name of the cosmetics shop is Bai, and it is owned by my Bai family."
Tian Yuerong pretended to bless him and said, "I know I was wrong. I beg you to remember that although I have not done anything great, I have worked hard all year. Please don't divorce me."
Everyone laughed. Chun Tiao knew that General Xiao was not a very humble person, but he was still shocked by their disrespectful behavior. He accidentally swallowed a glutinous rice ball in his mouth down his throat, choking and hiccuping.
Tian Yuerong poured her a cup of warm tea and said with a curved eyebrow: "Don't be offended, Sister Chun Tiao. Don't think that we are just playing around in private. If we really go to the battlefield, the general will be the mother Rakshasa and the living devil. We little ghosts won't dare to say a word."
Sui Sui laughed and said, "My husband's reputation has been ruined by a shrew like you."
He turned to Chun Tiao and said, "After this New Year, I will find you a new sister-in-law."
Everyone laughed again, Tian Yuerong stopped laughing and said, "The King of Qi is also a man of character. How many years has he been in the army?"
Another guard glanced at Sui Sui, and seeing that she looked normal, he couldn't help but say, "The battle in Huaixi was not easy to fight. The Divine Wing Army accounted for less than half of the hundreds of thousands of troops, and the generals had their own thoughts. It was difficult to coordinate these people alone."
Sui Sui nodded. This time the imperial court conquered Huaixi, most of the troops were borrowed from various prefectures, counties and military towns. It was not like commanding one's own army. Even she did not expect that Huan Xuan could force the rebels back to the three prefectures of Huaixi in just half a year.
Tian Yuerong looked at Sui Sui and said, "General, when do you think the King of Qi will be able to take over Huaixi?"
Sui Sui thought for a moment and said, "We should be able to capture Caizhou before March. The Huaixi Army is not a monolithic entity. With continuous defeats, people's minds are changing. We should be able to return to the capital before June."
Tian Yuerong raised her eyebrows: "So fast?"
Sui Sui took a sip of wine and said, "This is my conservative estimate. Maybe it will be faster."
Tian Yuerong said: "No wonder that damn old demon Xue Zhi can't hold back any longer. Poor Xiao Tongan is still dreaming about the imperial decree, not knowing that the knife is already at his neck."
Sui Sui said: "Before the first month of the year, he will be unable to resist and take action."
Xiao Shun explained to Chun Tiao, who was confused, "Among the three towns in Heshuo, General Ye, the commander of the Youzhou Army, is a close confidant of General Xiao. The Wei Bo Army was originally her personal army, but now it is occupied by her uncle Xiao Tongan. The commander of the Chengde Army, Xue Zhi, has always had ulterior motives. When our general was here, he wanted to separate from Heshuo and set up his own faction. Now that the general is gone, he has become more ambitious and wants to swallow up the three towns. Now he wants to take advantage of the fact that the court is busy conquering Huaixi and can't take care of him to cause trouble."
Chun Tiao's attention was not on the overall situation of the three towns of Heshuo. He frowned and asked, "Madam, what is your uncle?"
Xiao Shun nodded and said, "Xiao Tongan, my wife was injured on the battlefield because he used a trick. My wife was injured and he took advantage of the trick and escaped. Sister Chun Tiao knows what happened later."
Chun Tiao only knew that Sui Sui was injured by a villain, but she didn't expect that the man was actually her uncle. She couldn't help feeling a little distressed. Although Xiao Ling was a governor of a region, in terms of kinship, he was only worse than the orphan girl Lu Sui Sui.
Everyone was drinking and chatting, and before they knew it, it was past midnight and snowflakes began to fall outside again.
Sui Sui stood up, toasted everyone at the table with a glass of wine and said, "I'm sorry to leave you, everyone please enjoy yourself."
Chun Tiao was about to follow, but Tian Yuerong grabbed her and said, "Sister Chun Tiao hasn't finished her drink yet, don't even think about running away."
Chun Tiao knew that this was an excuse to keep her. After Sui Sui left, he asked Tian Yuerong in a low voice: "Sister Yuerong, why are you holding me? Where are you going?"
Tian Yuerong took a sip of wine and sighed softly: "Your wife went to the kitchen to cook noodles."
Chun Tiao was confused and asked, "With so many dishes and cakes, why do we need to cook noodles?"
Tian Yuerong patted her shoulder and said, "Your wife makes this bowl of longevity noodles every New Year's Day. It has been her habit for many years."
Chun Tiao then remembered that last year in Shanchiyuan, her wife also prepared chicken soup early in the morning and went to the kitchen to make noodles in the middle of the night. Nanny Gao said that she was cooking for His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi, but now it seems that it is not the case
Tian Yuerong glanced towards the kitchen and sighed, "The prince was born on New Year's Day. Your wife was once engaged to the prince, did you know that? The prince went to the northwest to quell the rebellion, and it was our general who led the troops. They stayed in the northwest together for two years..."
She had naturally heard about the engagement between General Xiao and the Crown Prince, but she didn't know there was this part. She suddenly remembered someone saying that His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi looked like her elder brother...
Harujo's eyes widened, and she let out a soft "Ah!" and then covered her mouth. She seemed to understand something.
…
In the Shenyi Army barracks outside Xiping City, the soldiers built bonfires, sat around them drinking and eating meat, singing and dancing.
Although they were away from home and on a campaign, they still had to have some fun during the New Year and other festivals. Moreover, they had just won a victory not long ago, defeating the rebels and capturing two cities in succession, and forcing the Huaixi army back to the border of Sanzhou.
Huan Xuan hosted a banquet for his generals and military supervisors in the big tent. After drinking a few glasses of wine with them, he said he was drunk and returned to his own tent.
Today, a letter from Chang'an was delivered, but he was dragged to the banquet by his subordinates before he had the time to read it. When he returned to the tent, he couldn't wait to take out the letter and put it on the table.
He realized that he was getting impatient. Although the guards had asked him to leave and he was the only one in the tent, he still felt that being so impatient was unmannerly, so he left the wooden box on the desk for a while, then used the tip of a knife to pick off the wax seal and opened the lid.
As usual, the letter contained a stack of stationery and some small miscellaneous items.
He took it out and saw that it was a half-worn handkerchief and a colorful silk cord for tying a jade pendant. The cord was finely crafted and decorated with gold flakes and broken jade. It looked like something bought from the market. He couldn't help but sigh. This village girl was really getting more and more perfunctory towards him. In the first half of the year, she gave him some handwritten characters, fox fur muffs, felt footwear, pickled bamboo shoots, preserved meat, candied fruits, etc., but now she just used some second-hand things and things bought from the market to fool him.
Although he thought so, he still picked up the old handkerchief and placed it under his pillow, and put the purchased cord into the large sandalwood box beside the pillow - inside were all the things he had received over the years. Except for the food that could not be stored for long and was eaten by him, all other items were put away in there without missing a thing. He even did not bear to wear the pair of crookedly sewn anklets.
After putting the things away, he unfolded the letter and saw that it was all written in Gao Mai's handwriting. He couldn't help feeling disappointed again. He had hinted at this before he left, but this country girl had never written him a single word. A whole year had passed, and wasn't it enough for her to learn a few words
He glanced at Gao Mai's letters. The first part was about the latest news in the court, the palace, the royal palace, as well as the weddings and funerals of the noble families in Chang'an City. He glanced at it and saw that there was nothing important in the court, so he skipped to the end - the report on Lu Suisui was always attached at the end.
Lu Suisui was perfunctory, and Gao Mai followed suit. His reports in recent months had become briefer and briefer. In the past, he had talked about what new dishes Mrs. Lu had researched that day, and what pheasants she had hunted in the forest that day, but now there were only a few lines left. However, on second thought, Lu Suisui, apart from going to the suburbs to worship Buddha every month, had never left the house in the courtyard by the mountain pond, and had only played chess and written calligraphy to kill time. She had not researched any new dishes recently, probably because she had lost interest in thinking about him too much.
Thinking of this, he felt better. He couldn't help but feel sorry for the village girl again. Today was New Year's Eve and his birthday. She must miss him more than usual. She was staying up all alone. I wonder if she would be so sad that she would cry.
Just as he was thinking about it, a eunuch said outside the door: "Your Highness, the chicken noodle soup is ready."
Huan Xuan said, "Bring it in."
The eunuch lifted the door curtain, brought the food box into the tent, set up the food table and bowls, plates and silver chopsticks, and brought out the steaming chicken noodle soup.
Huan Xuan picked up the silver chopsticks and took a sip of the soup, then picked up the spoon and scooped up a sip of the soup, then put down the tableware.
The eunuch said anxiously, "But the noodles are not cooked well, and not to your highness's taste?"
Huan Xuan shook his head and said, "It's not that the noodles are bad."
It just doesn't taste like that.
He pinched his brows, asked the eunuch to take the noodles away, rewarded the cook with a ten-liang silver ingot, then washed, changed his clothes, and went to bed.
Lying in bed, he was not sleepy at all. He tossed and turned for a while, took out the old handkerchief from under the pillow, hesitated for a moment, and finally put it to his nose and sniffed it.
It was an old handkerchief that I had washed and used half a year ago, and I had traveled all the way from Chang'an to Huaixi, so naturally there was no special smell.
But as long as Huan Xuan closed his eyes, he could remember the warm fragrance on Lu Suisui's body, and the old handkerchief also seemed to be lingering with that faint fragrance.
They had been separated for more than half a year. In fact, they had been apart more often than together since the autumn hunt last year. During those months, she was recuperating from her injuries, and he was running between the court and the barracks, so he had almost no time to accompany her.
The Lantern Festival comes after New Year's Eve. Huan Xuan thought about the first time they spent the Lantern Festival together. They were so happy, but they ended up parting on bad terms. She was recuperating from an injury during last year's Lantern Festival, and she was going to miss the Lantern Festival again this year.
But fortunately, they still have many New Year's Eves, many Lantern Festivals, and many, many springs, autumns, winters, and summers.
Huan Xuan unconsciously clenched the silk handkerchief in his hand.