It's the New Year again.
The Heshuo Jiedushi Mansion was successively occupied by Xiao Tong'an and Xue Zhi. Fortunately, the house was not destroyed, the layout of the courtyard had not changed, and the plum tree planted by Sui Sui and his father in the courtyard was still there, looking as red as blood against the white snow.
Sui Sui ordered his men to clean up the courtyard and rooms, and then he took Tian Yuerong and everyone else back to the Jiedushi Mansion.
After wandering around for several years, I can finally spend the next year at home.
At noon on New Year's Eve, Sui Sui had just finished practicing swordplay in the back garden when someone came to report that Daoist Master Duan had arrived.
Sui Sui immediately asked someone to take him to the hall to serve him tea, then he went to the bathroom to take a quick bath, changed his clothes and went out to greet him.
Duan Beicen was killed by Xiao Tongan after she was attacked. After Xiao Tongan's death, he "surrendered" to Xue Zhi. Xue Zhi was wary of him and did not dare to entrust him with a major position, so he gave him an idle position. He "betrayed" General Xiao and was cursed for many years. It was not until Sui Sui took back the town that everyone knew that he had always been General Xiao's confidant.
After taking over Chengde, Duan Beicen was casually left in Zhenzhou to deal with the aftermath. He came to Wei Bo just to celebrate the New Year and would return to Zhenzhou after staying for two days.
The two grew up together in the army, but they have been apart for many years, so they have a lot to talk about when they meet.
After exchanging greetings, Duan Beicen said with a smile, "I will bring Jianying back with me."
Sui Sui's eyes suddenly lit up. When she was attacked, Sui Ying was also injured. Xiao Tong'an wanted to kill her horse, but Duan Beicen took the horse back and raised it in a manor on the outskirts of Wei Bo City.
Sui Sui was busy with the expedition against Xue Zhi for most of the past six months. Even after returning to Wei Bo, he stayed in the barracks and never paid attention to Da Hei Lian. He only moved back to the Jiedushi Mansion after dealing with Xue Zhi.
She had just ordered people to renovate the stable the other day, and had planned to send someone to the outskirts of the city to pick up Da Hei Lian to come back for the New Year, but she didn't expect Duan Beicen to be one step ahead of her.
She couldn't help but smile and said, "You know me best."
He bowed and said, "I'd like to trouble Sima Duan to personally lead the horse for me."
Duan Beicen's eyes moved slightly, and he also smiled and said, "The general is polite. Since you are called Sima, it is my duty to lead the general's horse."
Sui Sui's eyes curved, "We haven't seen each other for so long, now even you can tell jokes."
After a pause, he continued, "Cheng Zheng has been with you for a while. What do you think of him?"
Duan Beicen said: "You are a man of both talent and learning, extremely intelligent, if given the right time, you will surely be able to make a great contribution to the world."
Sui Sui nodded and said, "He is a talented person who can be cultivated, but he still lacks some skills. You need to pay more attention to him."
Duan Beicen said, "I obey your command. Master Cheng also came to Wei Bo with me and is resting in the post house. He plans to come to pay New Year's greetings to the general early tomorrow morning."
Sui Sui said, "So he's here too. Why is he staying at the inn? It's so lonely to spend the New Year alone. Let's ask him to come and have dinner with us."
Duan Beicen said: "I said the same thing, but Master Cheng is a cautious and polite person and he is unwilling to come."
Sui Sui nodded: "He is indeed of that kind of personality. When he was in Youzhou, he was very restrained and reserved. No problem, I will send someone to the posthouse to invite him to come."
The two chatted for a while. Duan Beicen noticed that she was a little absent-minded. He knew that she was thinking about Ma'er, so he smiled and said, "Go check on Jianying. He misses you too."
Sui Sui was anxious to see Da Hei Lian, and did not hear the hidden meaning in his words, so he stood up and said, "Please sit down, I will be back soon."
Duan Beicen said, "General, there is no need to be so polite to your subordinates."
He stood up casually and walked hurriedly to the stable.
It had been several years since Suiying had seen her owner, but the horse was smart and intelligent. He recognized Suisui immediately upon seeing her. He neighed and raised his front hooves as if he was going to pounce on her. Tears filled his gentle eyes, making his eyes look even clearer and more crystal clear.
Sui Sui's eyes felt hot and his nose felt sore. He took two steps at a time and ran forward, hugged the horse's neck, and put his face close to it: "Big Black Face, do you still recognize me? You are such a good horse, you are the best and most obedient horse in the world..."
Before he finished speaking, a horse head stretched out from the stable next to him, and it was a small black face.
It hissed twice at Big Black Face, then bit the horse's mane and started tearing it.
Sui Sui immediately frowned, slapped its face and scolded: "Zhuifeng, let go!"
The little black horse was stunned, its eyes full of disbelief. It had never seen its master so sternly face when scolding it.
It forgot to bite the new black horse for a moment, and stared at Sui Sui aggrievedly, neighing loudly. The sound was so miserable that anyone who heard it would cry. Usually, no matter what trouble it had caused, as long as it neighed like this, its owner would immediately soften his heart.
But the owner of the horse did not behave normally. He pushed the horse's face back and scolded it harshly: "Big Black Face arrived earlier than you. If you could talk, you should call it brother. Don't bully it just because it has a good temper. If you dare to bully it, I will send it back to Chang'an. Do you understand?"
The black horse naturally didn't understand, but it felt that its master was angry with it, or was angry with it because of another horse. How could it accept this? It raised its head and neighed at Sui Sui, as if it was protesting its grievances.
Sui Sui was helpless, so he stroked the back of Da Hei Lian and said, "You are a magnanimous person, don't bother with that stupid horse."
The big black-faced horse neighed gently and looked at its new companion curiously. After watching for a while, it seemed that it was very interested in a horse that looked like itself. It stretched its neck and wanted to rub its head against it.
The little black-faced horse turned around suddenly, turned its horse's rump towards it, and raised its hind legs, blowing the hay and dirt on the ground all over its face.
"Bad horse!" Sui Sui patted the horse's smooth and round buttocks.
Pull the big black face back: "Don't touch it."
While gently picking the hay stuck on its mane and brushing the dust off its face, he said, "Come on, I'll take you to run two laps around the training ground."
As he said this, he led Big Black Face out of the stable.
When the little black-faced boy saw his master taking another horse away, he neighed and kicked his hooves like crazy, kicking the stable door, making a loud clanging sound.
Sui Sui didn't care about it and said to the horseman, "This horse has been spoiled and doesn't know how high the heaven is and how deep the earth is. It's time to kill its temper."
Seeing that kicking his hooves had no effect, the little black-faced dog turned around, raised his front hooves, grabbed the stable door, and made a "wei wei" sound in pain.
Sui Sui's heart suddenly softened, he stopped, turned around and grabbed its head: "You really need to change your temper, I don't know who you took that from."
He grabbed a handful of beans and stuffed them into his mouth: "Just reflect on your behavior in the stable."
The little black-faced boy looked at the man and the horse going away, turned his back dejectedly, lowered his head, and sobbed for a long time, not even bothering to look at the beans that he usually loved to eat.
…
At nightfall, lights were lit in the Jiedushi's mansion, and the main hall was as bright as day.
A grand banquet for guests and staff is held on New Year's Day, while a New Year's Eve banquet is a family banquet.
Sui Sui no longer has any family, and Duan Beicen, Tian Yuerong and some of her close subordinates are like her family.
Although Cheng Zheng was not close to them, he had lived with them for a period of time in Youzhou, so he was not considered an outsider. As soon as he sent the invitation, he readily came to the banquet.
This was the first time that Sui Sui returned to the Jiedushi Mansion to celebrate the New Year after leaving home for many years. The banquet was exceptionally sumptuous, with all the delicacies from land and sea. General Xiao was in high spirits, and she asked someone to set up an iron stove, rolled up her sleeves, and baked her specialty, Gulouzi, for everyone.
Because she had to cook herself, she wore a neat Hu costume even on New Year's Day, with her hair tied into a bun with a gold hairpin, and she didn't wear any makeup.
Cheng Zheng held the wine glass in his hand, his eyes passed over the rim of the glass and fell on Sui Sui's face. Her fair face was reflected by the fire, as if jade was stained with the glow of the sunset. He was stunned.
It was not until Sui Sui put the finished batch of chicken on the plate and raised his eyes that he hurriedly lowered his eyelids, but his cheeks were still hot enough to cook the chicken.
Tian Yuerong saw this and said with a smile, "Mr. Cheng doesn't seem to be able to drink much. He's already flushed after less than half a cup."
Cheng Zheng smiled shyly: "I really can't handle the alcohol."
Sui Sui was cutting the cake with a knife. He looked up at Tian Yuerong and said with a smile, "Master Cheng is a gentleman, not like you, the soldiers. Besides, he is still recovering from his illness. You are not allowed to mess with him."
Tian Yuerong smiled meaningfully: "No, no, we don't even have time to admire a talent like Master Cheng."
Sui Sui placed the first piece of cake in front of Cheng Zheng: "Mr. Cheng, please."
Since everyone present was her trusted subordinate, Cheng Zheng had not officially joined her court and was still considered a guest.
Cheng Zheng bowed and said, "Thank you, General, for the reward."
Sui Sui said, "Mr. Cheng, there is no need to be so reserved."
Cheng Zheng picked up the cake with his silver chopsticks and brought it to his mouth. He took a small bite politely, savored it carefully, and exclaimed: "How did you cook the mutton? There is not even a hint of mutton smell."
Tian Yuerong said: "This is a secret recipe that our general searched for and tried countless times before he finally found it..."
Cheng Zheng asked, "General, are you not used to the smell of mutton?"
Tian Yuerong said: "It's not the general, it's someone else."
Sui Sui picked up a piece of cake and stuffed it into Tian Yuerong's mouth: "Eat more and talk less."
This reminder inevitably reminded her of another person who doesn't eat mutton.
I left in a hurry and forgot to give the recipe for cooking mutton to Grandma Gao. This recipe was originally made for people who are not used to eating mutton, so giving it to him is the best way to make the most of it.
Cheng Zheng saw that she looked a little dazed, and lowered his eyes thoughtfully.
As it approached midnight, Sui Sui left the table early as usual.
Duan Beicen came back from changing clothes and saw Sui Sui was not there, so he asked Tian Yuerong casually, "Is the general in the kitchen cooking noodles again?"
Tian Yuerong said "hmm".
Cheng Zheng was surprised, but when he looked at everyone at the table and saw that they were all used to it, he realized that it was General Xiao's habit.
His mind raced as he recalled that General Xiao had been engaged to the late Crown Prince, and that the late Crown Prince was born in the Yuan Dynasty, and he immediately understood the connection.
He picked up the wine glass and stared at the wine in the glass. The light fell on the glass and the wine seemed to be burning.
He drank the wine in one gulp. It felt like fire was burning from his throat to his heart, and he couldn't help coughing.
Tian Yuerong said, "Mr. Cheng, don't underestimate the wine. If you are not a heavy drinker, I guarantee you won't be able to get out of bed tomorrow after a few drinks."
Cheng Zheng said "thank you", put down the wine glass and picked up the tea bowl.
Sui Sui finished cooking the noodles, waited quietly for them to cool down, and then walked out of the kitchen.
There was a figure standing under the locust tree in the courtyard. Sui Sui recognized it as Tian Yuerong at a glance and raised his eyebrows and asked, "What's wrong?"
Tian Yuerong came forward and sighed softly: "It's been so many years, isn't it time for the general to let it go?"
Sui Sui raised his eyelids: "When did I stop letting go?"
Tian Yuerong said: "At the banquet just now, that young man Cheng stared at you without blinking. I think he is quite handsome, gentle as jade, elegant and refined. He and the general are a perfect match for both civil and military talents..."
Sui Sui sneered and said, "Thank you, I can put together a combination of civil and military skills by myself."
Tian Yuerong said: "Yes, yes, the general is right, but a general who is both civil and military can't reconcile yin and yang by himself, right? I can't help but feel sorry for you because you are alone..."
Sui Sui glanced at her and said, "Mind your own business."
Tian Yuerong suddenly said without thinking: "Now that the affairs in Heshuo are settled, the general should go to the capital, right?"
Sui Sui crossed his arms and asked, "What do you want to say?"
Tian Yuerong said: "I haven't seen you since I entered the capital... ahem..."
Sui Sui turned around and walked out: "Since Guard Tian is so free, you can clean the stables during the first month of the year."