After the banquet, Tian Yuerong and other guards wanted to stay up all night, so they brought out the Chupu and Shuanglu games, rolled up their sleeves and prepared to play all night long.
Gambling is forbidden in the military, but an exception can be made during the New Year holidays. Gambling with real money is very different from betting with meat jerky. Sui Sui played a round of Chupu with them and won a large handful of golden pumpkins. He put them in a brocade bag and gave them to Chun Tiao, smiling: "Sister Chun Tiao has the gambling money."
After saying this, he stood up and said goodbye to everyone.
Cheng Zheng was originally learning to play backgammon from Duan Beicen. Upon hearing this, he immediately stood up and saluted: "General, are you going back to rest?"
A guard said: "Fortunately the general is going to rest, otherwise my wife's betrothal gift would be lost."
All the guards laughed, and Sui Sui also smiled and said to the little slick guard: "If there is a girl willing to marry you, I will pay the bride price for you."
After laughing for a while, Sui Sui remembered that Cheng Zheng had not yet answered her question, so she bowed to him and said, "I'm sorry I can't keep you company. Mr. Cheng, please enjoy yourself."
Then he said to Duan Beicen: "Beicen, bring Cheng Gongxi to play with you. If you lose, it's my turn."
Cheng Zheng came from a prominent family with strict family traditions. He had never been exposed to gambling games such as Chupu and Shuanglu. Unlike these guards who came from the military, he stayed for other reasons. Unexpectedly, General Xiao was the first to leave. He couldn't help feeling disappointed, and looked at his departing figure with a look of melancholy in his eyes.
Duan Beicen patted his shoulder and said, "Mr. Cheng, why don't you try your luck by playing a round."
Tian Yuerong also said: "The less you gamble, the better your luck."
Cheng Zheng came back to his senses and nodded: "I beg you to give me some advice."
As he spoke, he went down to play a round of backgammon. He was smart and quick to learn, and he quickly got the hang of gambling. He asked Tian Yuerong to tell him to play, and after trying his hand at it, he won several rounds in a row, and a small pile of golden pumpkins gathered in front of him.
He didn't take it either. He played a few more rounds, lost what he had just won, then stepped aside and just watched others play quietly.
…
He returned to his room, took a shower, changed his clothes, and went to bed.
After her father passed away, she lost the habit of staying up all night to celebrate the New Year. In all these years, the only two times she stayed up all night were with Huanxuan. One time was when they stayed up together, and the other time was when she was wounded by an arrow. She lay in bed and Huanxuan stayed by her bed. She slept and woke up from time to time until the sound of firecrackers rang out in the courtyard, and that was when she finished celebrating the New Year.
In the past two years, she would go back to her room and sleep soon after the New Year's Eve, but for some reason she couldn't sleep tonight.
After thinking about it, it was probably Tian Yuerong's big mouth that caused the trouble.
The situation in Heshuo has been determined, and Huan Ye's revenge has not yet been taken, so she has no choice but to go to Chang'an in person.
Once I went to Chang'an, I would inevitably meet Huan Xuan.
When he thought of Huan Xuan, Sui's temples began to throb, and he didn't know if it was because he had just drunk a few glasses of wine.
She pressed her fingertips against her temples and rubbed them vigorously.
Huan Xuan sent people to Youzhou to look for horses years ago, and then he inquired about the whereabouts of his family members everywhere. She had received the news here. She thought he had found Youzhou in person, and she should be relieved, but in the past year, she has received news from various places one after another that the King of Qi’s people have not given up and are still looking for Lu Suisui’s whereabouts.
What surprised her even more was the series of interesting events in Wu'an Mansion. She had calculated that Huan Xuan might seek revenge on Zhao Yu, but she did not expect that he would drag Wu'an into the water as well, and this game took a year, leading to several major cases, and it was a sure win, directly taking Wu'an's head, which showed that the person who planned this was meticulous, ruthless, and patient.
Sui Sui suddenly felt fortunate that the imperial court and the three towns were able to check and balance each other and had not resorted to war. Otherwise, facing an opponent like Huan Xuan, both sides would inevitably suffer losses.
She also didn't expect Huan Xuan to go to such lengths over a fake—she had planned everything, but she hadn't expected Huan Xuan to be so stubborn.
Sui Sui tossed and turned in bed, so he got up and drank two glasses of wine, hoping to fall asleep under the influence of alcohol. However, he felt more energetic after drinking.
Unable to sleep anyway, she put on her coat, put on a fox fur coat, and walked out to the outer courtyard.
The lights in the front yard were still on, and bursts of laughter from the guards could be heard from inside the wall.
She was about to push the door open, but then she withdrew her hand. Although they were used to being in a state of disrespect for each other, she was the superior after all, and they were bound to feel a little restrained in her presence. What's more, everyone else was in high spirits, but she was bored, which was a bit of a letdown.
So she continued walking forward, pacing aimlessly in the huge governor's mansion, and unknowingly she arrived at the stable.
The horses don't keep watch, they are all asleep at this time.
But just as she approached, a horse neighed.
The voice was extremely familiar, filled with infinite grievance and resentment, if it wasn’t the little black-faced man, then who else could it be
When it barked like that, the other horses in the stable were also woken up by it, and Big Black Face also started barking. The groom was afraid that the two horses would fight, so he separated them far away, one to the east and the other to the west.
Sui Sui first went to the east stable to touch Big Black Face and add some hay to it, then walked to Little Black Face's stable.
The little black-faced dog had been barking non-stop just now, and when its owner really came, it turned around and faced its buttocks towards her.
Sui Sui took a look in the starlight and snow and found that the feeding trough and the water trough were both full. Even the handful of beans she had thrown the day before were still there. The horse suddenly got angry and refused to eat or drink for the whole day.
She felt as if someone was pinching her heart. She sighed softly, opened the stable door, and stroked the black horse's back twice: "It's obviously your fault. How dare you get angry?"
The little black-faced man didn't greet her, but walked deeper into the stable, shrank into the corner and ignored everyone.
Sui Sui was helpless and softened his tone: "It's okay, it's my fault too. I shouldn't have ignored you during the New Year."
As she spoke, she untied the reins of Little Black Face and tried to lead it out.
The little black-faced horse's four hooves seemed to be nailed to the ground, and its body leaned inward, as if it would never obey.
Sui Sui loosened the reins and pretended to close the door: "Don't want to go to the training ground with me? Forget it."
The little black horse rushed over with a neigh, lowered its head, and butted its head against her.
Sui Sui touched the horse's head and said with a smile, "Silly horse." He led it out of the stable and walked towards the parade ground.
Although the little black-faced boy condescended to leave the stable, he was still a little awkward and not as docile as usual. He had not taken a few steps when his stubborn temper came back and he wanted to make a fuss.
Sui Sui finally dragged it to the training ground, and both the man and the horse were sweating.
In the cold night in the north, water freezes into ice and sweat forms a layer of frost on the horse's hair, which sparkles under the starlight like a layer of silver sand.
Sui Sui brushed the frost off its back and was about to climb onto the horse when the little black face raised his hooves.
"Are you still angry with me?" Sui Sui patted the horse's head unhappily.
The little black-faced boy made a "hiss" sound, as if accusing.
Sui Sui stared at the horse's eyes and said sternly: "Your master is a general, and a general can't have only one horse, understand?"
After a pause, he continued: "Everything has a first come first served, if you want to be jealous, you should be jealous of the shadows. What are you jealous of?"
But the horse became jealous and unreasonable, paddling the ground with its hooves, throwing snow and mud everywhere.
Sui Sui sighed and pulled the horse's ear: "Okay, okay, don't be angry, I still like you."
Who can not like a horse that is smart, beautiful, acts like a spoiled child and can pretend to be lame
Sui Sui stroked the horse's back and said, "Stop being so sulky and get along well with Big Black Face. I promise I won't ride it in front of you. Is that right?"
The black horse stared at her, his eyes seemed confused.
Sui Sui avoided its gaze and said, "Be good, I'll take you with me when I return to Chang'an, how about that?"
The little black-faced boy hissed, as if in answer.
Sui Sui coaxed: "Now it's time for me to ride, right?"
As he spoke, he mounted the horse. This time, the little black-faced man did not resist and took her to run around the parade ground twice.
After getting off the horse, the starry sky was still bright. Sui Sui was not sleepy, nor did she want to go back to the courtyard. She led the horse to the back garden, sat down in the pavilion among the plum trees, and began to braid her hair with horsehair. After braiding, she broke off a branch of red plum blossoms, picked the blossoms one by one and inserted them into the braid.
After inserting the flowers, I took it to the poolside and pointed at its reflection in the water to coax it: "Look, I'm just braiding your hair with flowers. Doesn't it look good?"
The little black-faced boy finally caught his breath, and he cried "whimpering", rubbing his head against her gently, causing the plum blossom on her braid to fall into the water and float away with the ripples.
Sui Sui coaxed Little Black Face and led it back to the stable. When he returned to the yard, it was already dawn.
She returned to the courtyard contentedly, washed up, got into bed, and rolled up her hair into a ball.
Perhaps she was worrying too much. Now the three towns of Heshuo were in ruins, refugees needed to be resettled, and the destroyed city walls, warehouses, and houses needed to be rebuilt. It would take at least a few months before she could get away. Maybe in these few months, Huan Xuan could arrange a marriage, and if he was lucky, he might even get married.
When we meet again, all those old memories will have been forgotten.
Sui Sui comforted Xixi in this way, and she felt a little relieved. Her eyelids began to weigh heavy, and soon she fell into a deep sleep.
…
As soon as the first month of the lunar year was over, Sui Sui began running back and forth between the governor's mansion and the military camp. He was so busy that he had no time to rest until early autumn.
She had always asked people to keep a close eye on the movements in Prince Qi's mansion, but her wishful thinking failed. Even when the affairs in Heshuo were almost settled, there was still no news about the engagement of His Royal Highness Prince Qi to any family.
However, some guards who were looking for horses followed the clues and found out the intricate relationship between his family and the Youzhou army.
Fortunately, they were cautious enough at the time, and King Qi's men had not yet discovered Tian Yuerong's identity.
Sui Sui didn't receive any news about Huan Xuan getting married, but news from the Eastern Palace reached Heshuo one after another.
First, there was news about the Dowager Consort—Ruan Yuewei was bedridden, and suddenly she was asked to go to the palace to serve the Queen. As everyone knew, the Queen was living in a nunnery in the palace, and if the Dowager Consort went to serve the Queen, she would of course have to be accompanied by the green lamp and the ancient Buddha.
Sui Sui felt confused when she heard the news. The Queen Mother needed the help of the Ruan family. Even if she disliked the Concubine Dowager for some reason, she would not break up with her for the sake of the Ruan family. But it was even more ridiculous for Ruan Yuewei to ask her to serve the Queen. Although she had only met this cousin a few times, she could see that she was very concerned about the position of Concubine Dowager.
Before she could find out the truth, something happened to Tai Tai again.
Although Zhao Jun had been executed for the counterfeiting case in Jiangnan that was implicated by Wu Angong, the counterfeiting case was not over yet - counterfeiting in Jiangnan was rampant, and the court had long wanted to dig out this rotten sore, but the forces behind these people were intertwined, and it was inevitable that many people would be implicated once the investigation was carried out. This time, taking advantage of the Wu Angong case, the emperor sent a special envoy to Jiangnan for a thorough investigation.
After much investigation, it was discovered that the Crown Prince seemed to have been involved through his relationship with Duke Wu'an. Although there was no conclusive evidence, the Crown Prince recommended Zhao Jun and later pleaded for Lady Ruan's mother, which was seen by all the ministers.
Duke Wu'an had become the enemy of civil officials and scholars because of his act of forcing a Jinshi candidate to take the imperial examination. Taiyi had originally enjoyed a great reputation among scholars for his outstanding literary talent and his courtesy towards the wise and virtuous. He had already gotten into trouble because of his involvement with Duke Wu'an, and was further implicated in the counterfeiting case, which further damaged his reputation.
Although the emperor did not investigate further, his dissatisfaction with the crown prince was evident. He severely reprimanded the crown prince and ordered him to repent behind closed doors.
The Crown Prince was originally ordered to be the regent, but after this incident, he had no choice but to hand over the power of regent. After many twists and turns, he is back to the way he was before, or even worse than before. Back then, he still had the support of the civil officials and his position as crown prince was relatively stable, but this time, it seems to be in a precarious situation.
This time, Sui Sui guessed immediately that Huan Xuan must have been behind this - perhaps he had always intended to compete for the throne and had planned until now, and now was just the right time to launch the attack, or perhaps his beloved had been treated too badly, and this finally made him make up his mind.
Sui Sui couldn't describe how she felt, but she felt relieved at last. At least she could go to Beijing with peace of mind.
In September, she submitted a petition to the imperial court requesting a title. A month later, the emperor sent an official to deliver the title from the governors of the three towns at full speed.
He immediately began to get ready to go to Beijing to attend the New Year's Day court.