After the King of Qi and his entourage left, life became peaceful again.
Time is like water, flowing to the end of the year in a flash.
After a night of wind and snow, the sky opened up on the morning of New Year's Eve, and golden light poured down from the gaps in the clouds, making the ice and snow on the eaves and the grass sparkle.
There was a festive atmosphere in the courtyard of the family, as people were getting rid of the old and welcoming the new. Chun Tiao and the guards had been busy for several days. If nothing unexpected happened, they would return to Wei Bo in the spring. This was their second and last New Year's Eve in Youzhou.
Anyone who stays in one place for a year will feel nostalgic, and even these soldiers who have fought in many battles are no exception.
Sui Sui got up early, washed, changed into Hu clothes, tied his hair into a man's bun, and walked out of the city.
When they arrived at the farm, someone had already brought Little Black Face there.
People need to move around, and so do horses. Little Black Face had been in the stable for a month and was already feeling suffocated. As soon as he arrived at the farm, he spread his hooves and ran wildly in the snow.
He jumped onto the horse's back, loosened the reins and let the horse gallop for two circles. Then he took off the horn bow on his back, drew the bow and drew the arrow, and shot towards the target.
Three arrows were shot in succession, hitting three targets in the center. The guards on the side couldn't help but cheer.
Sui Sui put away the bow, slowed down the horse, and rubbed the little black-faced horse's head: "What a good and obedient horse."
I didn't expect that she and Xiao Hei Lian were still in perfect harmony after being separated for two years.
However, she only rode a few laps before dismounting and letting the little black horse pace around the farm. Although there was nothing unusual about the little horse's left front hoof and it looked like he was pretending to be lame that day, Sui Sui was afraid that he really had some hidden illness and did not dare to let him carry too much weight.
After practicing riding, archery, and swordplay for a whole afternoon, Sui Sui handed Little Black Face to the guards to take him back to the city, and he walked back to his home.
It was almost noon when she returned. She brushed the little black-faced cat's fur with her own hands and fed it before returning to her room to take a bath and change clothes.
After coming out of the bathroom, Chun Tiao brought a lunch box to have lunch with her.
After lunch, the two sat in the room which was as warm as spring. Chun Tiao held the silver scissors and concentrated on cutting gold foil flower ornaments, while Sui Sui used a small knife to carve peach charms.
Before she had finished cutting the two peach charms, Tian Yuerong came back from the shop.
She held a narrow black lacquered sandalwood box and walked straight to the courtyard, saying to Sui Sui: "General, General Ye sent someone to deliver a festival gift to the shop today. This is for you, General."
She put the box on the table and said, "General, please open it and see if you like it."
Sui Sui said: "General Ye is also being polite."
As she spoke, she opened the box and saw a black-scabbarded sword lying on a red brocade cushion with a treasure pattern.
Tian Yuerong said: "General Ye knew that the general's sword was still in Wei Bo, kept by Sima Duan, and he didn't have any suitable weapons, so he specially sent this sword."
The scabbard was inlaid with gold and silver sea patterns and studded with real pearls. When the sun shone on it, it seemed as if the dark sea was shimmering with ripples.
Sui Sui couldn't help but be stunned. She had seen this knife countless times - this was Huan Xuan's sword. When they were in An, Huan Xuan used this knife to teach her the swordsmanship.
Tian Yuerong saw that her expression was not right and asked suspiciously: "General, what's the problem with this knife?"
Sui Sui shook his head, took the knife out of the box, and gripped the handle. The weight of the knife and the feeling of the rough shark skin against his palm were so familiar.
The frost blade was unsheathed, and it was cold and chilly, and it was obvious that it had drunk blood. Even someone like Chun Tiao who didn't know much about swords felt a slight chill on his back when he saw the blade's flash.
Experts like Tian Yuerong couldn't help but exclaim: "What a precious sword!"
Sui Sui glanced at the blade and saw the inscription "Luan Hai" engraved on it.
This is indeed the "Luanhai" sword that Huan Xuan carries with him almost all the time except when sleeping.
All military commanders have their own weapons, so how could Huan Xuan's most treasured Luanhai Sword end up on the market
Sui Sui's heart skipped a beat. Could it be that something happened to Huan Xuan on his way home
"Do you know where General Ye got this knife?" Sui Sui asked.
Tian Yuerong said: "I heard that he drifted from Luoyang to Xiyuan and was found by General Ye's men."
Sui Sui heaved a sigh of relief. Huan Xuan had been gone for less than ten days, and he was riding in a carriage. Calculating the distance, he was still around Weizhou. If the knife was lost in the past few days, it would be impossible for it to appear in Xiyuan so quickly, and it was even more impossible for it to have come from Luoyang.
That was what happened before. As for the reason, perhaps she will never know.
For a moment, she almost thought that Huan Xuan had sent the knife to test her, but then she realized the absurdity of this idea.
Even if he could have gotten the knife to flow from Luoyang to the plain, he could not have expected that General Ye's subordinates would happen to buy the knife and present it to General Ye, let alone that General Ye would give the knife to her as a holiday gift.
Besides, what's the point of going through so much trouble
But his knife just happened to end up in her hands, as if someone was mocking her.
Sui Sui unconsciously rubbed the handle of the knife with the tip of his thumb, and couldn't help but think of the hand holding the knife. The fingers were slender, the palm was dry, and blue veins were faintly visible on the fair back of the hand. At first glance, it seemed like a piece of cold jade, but it was surprisingly warm.
She turned her wrist, and a faint light flashed on the ice-cutting blade.
Tian Yuerong leaned over to take a look at the inscription on the sword and exclaimed, "Look at this sword inscription. It seems to be a pair with the general's 'Shocking Sand'."
Sui Sui glanced at her, said nothing, and put the blade back into the sheath.
Chun Tiao then stroked his chest and said, "I've heard that the light of a sword can frighten people and scare away ghosts. It turns out to be true. As soon as this sword was unsheathed, my heart started beating fast..."
Tian Yuerong said with a half-seriously half-false smile: "This is the sword energy. The more people a sword kills, the heavier the evil energy on it. With this sword to protect yourself, even ghosts dare not approach."
Chun Tiao couldn't help but be shocked, these generals were really ungentlemanly, giving weapons that could kill people as festival gifts during the New Year. If Grandma Gao knew about this, she would definitely frown and keep muttering "Amitabha, what a sin, what a sin".
When Chun Tiao thought of Grandma Gao and Xiaotong, his heart felt bitter and his eyes turned red.
She pretended to lower her head to clean up the dishes and quietly tucked her eyes with her sleeve.
Tian Yuerong added: "By the way, General Ye also sent a rare good horse."
Sui Sui's eyes lit up: "Oh? What color?"
She has loved horses since she was a child. Although the ones she likes best so far are only Shadow and Wind, she has always been a horse lover. When she hears about famous horses, she becomes eager to get them and does everything she can to get them.
Tian Yuerong said: "Yes, it's tied to the stable."
Sui Sui became interested: "Let's take a look."
After saying that, he ran to the outer courtyard.
As soon as I saw the horse, my breath was held.
This horse is really beautiful, with snow-white fur like a snowy field under the moon, and a pair of clear and bright eyes, which shows that it is very docile.
Sui Sui didn't see any other horses for a moment, so he stepped forward and stroked the horse's smooth back: "Little Darling, you are really a big man who defies frost and snow. Let me think about what name to give you..."
Just as he was thinking about it, he heard a "bang" and the stable door next to him opened. The little black-faced boy somehow untied the reins and opened the stable door again, then hissed at Sui Sui in grievance.
Sui Sui quickly took his hand away from the horse's head and tried to comfort Little Black Face: "Little Black Face, be good, this horse is here to keep you company, do you like it?"
The little black-faced man was not so easily fooled. He snorted angrily, rushed to the front of the horse, bare his teeth at it, then suddenly turned around, raised his hind hoof and was about to kick the horse.
Fortunately, Sui Sui was quick to grab the reins, patted the horse on the head, and gently scolded, "Don't bully the new horse."
The little black horse neighed stubbornly, and sometimes nudged the big horse with its buttocks, and sometimes bit the horse's mane.
Although the horse was docile, it was not completely defenseless. After being provoked again and again by the little black-faced man, it finally couldn't help but fight back, and the two horses started fighting.
Sui Sui and the guards finally pulled the two horses apart. The horses were covered in dirty snow and their fur was no longer clean.
The little black-faced boy proudly raised his head, shook his fur, and neighed at the horse in a domineering manner.
Sui Sui didn't dare to comfort the horse in front of him, so he could only ask the guards to lead the horse to a distant place for brushing.
She flicked the black-faced boy's forehead with her finger and said fiercely, "You are such a jealous person!"
As soon as the horse left, the little black face lost its previous domineering attitude. Instead, it drooped its neck and whimpered in grievance, with wet eyes, as if it had suffered a great injustice.
Sui Sui had no choice but to stroke the horse's head twice and said, "Forget it, forget it. It's better to not ride it, right?"
The little black face looked at her steadily, his eyes innocent.
Sui Sui thought that this was just a delaying tactic, as there was no reason to not ride a good horse. She felt guilty, so she grabbed the horse's head and went back to the backyard.
After a while, the guard came to report that the black horse had somehow escaped from the stable again, kicked over the other horses' feeding trough and water trough, and somehow opened the stable door, entered the stable, and had a fight with the other horse.
Sui Sui had no choice but to say to Tian Yuerong: "I have already learned Tiaoying and Zhuifeng, so I'll give you this horse."
Tian Yuerong was overjoyed, rubbing her hands and saying: "Oh, how can I do this..."
Sui Sui glanced at her unhappily: "You're so ungrateful after getting such an advantage."
Tian Yuerong said with a smile: "Thank you for the reward, General."
Sui Sui glanced outside worriedly: "I've never seen such a jealous horse."
Tian Yuerong said: "When I return to Wei Bo and see Jianying, how jealous will I be?"
Sui Sui rubbed his forehead and said, "We'll talk about it when the time comes."
Because it was New Year's Eve, all the cosmetics shops in the market closed early, and the guards all returned to their homes, and the group of people chatted and laughed until the evening.
Everyone sat around the big plan, drinking and eating meat, it was very lively.
Nearing midnight, Sui Sui left the table as usual to go to the kitchen to cook noodles. When she came back, there was still some sadness in her eyes, but that sadness was like aging wine. The sadness had settled, leaving only clear nostalgia.