Soon, Guo Shao rode back and rode straight to the side of the sedan chair with a yellow umbrella. He jumped off his horse swiftly, knelt on one knee in front of the sedan chair, and said, "Report to the Queen, the troops coming are commanded by the Sanyuan of the Palace Front Department. General Ma Quanyi has been ordered to lead the army to Huainan." When Ma Quanyi learned that the Queen's carriage was passing by, he ordered the troops to move aside to the side of the road and asked the Queen's procession to pass first.
Fu did not speak. At this time, she gently lifted the silk scarf in front of the veil, first revealing her fair and delicate chin, her red lips lightly painted with rouge, and her small but relatively straight nose. Then her bright eyes appeared from under the silk scarf, her curved eye sockets seemed to contain a smile, and her eyelashes curled upwards almost touching her upper eyelids.
Guo Shao lowered his head quickly, but he could feel Fu was really looking at him from the corner of his eye. He suddenly felt nervous and his heart was lifted. Just now, he accidentally saw Fu's face, like a glimpse of a beautiful woman, and Guo Shao was already a little confused. It was hard to figure out: he risked his own life to save her life, but she looked so relaxed just now, and there seemed to be a smile in her eyes.
Fu looked at Guo Shao alone, not for long. But in that short moment, Guo Shao felt as if he had been stared at all day. Fu's gaze was so powerful, especially when he was stared at so closely. Guo Shao could not describe the feeling in his heart. Anyway, he was sure that when the queen looked at anyone, that person would not ignore her gaze.
I understand, let's go. She quickly put down the scarf and said in a casual tone.
She just said this and then disappeared.
When the guards and soldiers passed by the troops commanded by the Sanyuan in front of the palace, the knights all dismounted, knelt on one knee, raised their tasseled spears and saluted the queen who was sitting high on the sedan chair. Although the queen's face could not be seen, the expressions of those who could see her were full of respect; Fu Shi was very famous among the soldiers of the imperial guards. She was like a kind-hearted fairy who loved the soldiers and often advised the officials to treat the soldiers well and give them rewards as much as possible. Everyone risked their lives to eat a bite of food and often fought hard in the battlefield. They knew who was attentive to them.
No one called out to Byrne. The brave ones stared at her sedan chair, and occasionally someone excitedly muttered: "Queen, that's the queen!"
Just meeting on the road, Guo Shao also felt the atmosphere moving, and had a little more respect for Fu. He desperately saved Fu's life, which was indeed a very valuable thing.
The road from Chenzhou to Tokyo is relatively easy to travel, a total of more than 300 miles, and it only takes a few days to reach Tokyo.
Guo Shao led the cavalry to escort the empress and the palace maids to the palace, and then ordered the disbandment of the inner palace guards. The next day, he went to the barracks to listen to the military orders of the superiors of various departments. At that time, Xiang Xun was the governor of Tokyo and judged the affairs of Kaifeng Prefecture. These matters should be handled by Xiang Xun.
He planned to go home and take a rest before visiting Xiang Xun to ask where the first and second armies of the Hujie Army were. Unexpectedly, as soon as he reached the Daxiangguo Temple, he met Li Chuyun, Luo Yanhuan and other generals, as well as Zuo You.
Guo Shao exchanged pleasantries for a while, and briefly talked about the Queen in Chenzhou, and then said that they should go home and rest first, and meet at the mansion tomorrow to discuss in detail. At this time, Zuo You took out a cloth bag and handed it over, saying: Shu Kingdom has sent people to deliver money and property several times. We can deal with the prisoners according to the order of the Privy Council, so we released them. It is said that the money for Li Tinggui, the chief general of the Shu army, was paid by the emperor of Shu. This person seems to be trusted by the Shu king, and was rewarded after the defeat.
Zuo You handed over another booklet: "This is the account book. According to our previous rules, the generals below the rank of commander-in-chief will get two shares, and the soldiers will get one share; the generals above the rank of commander-in-chief will get a share according to the court's salary; those who died in battle will also get a share. The property has been divided."
Guo Shao took both items without even looking at them, and continued walking south. The group followed him all the way, as if they would not stop until they sent him to the government office.
Unexpectedly, when they just turned a corner and arrived at the street where Guo's mansion was, they suddenly saw a young woman standing next to the carriage, looking over here. It was none other than Li's young woman. Luo Yanhuan turned his head and glanced at Li Chuyun, whose bearded face suddenly darkened and he did not speak.
Everyone pretended not to notice, and the topic of what they had just seen and heard gradually died down and fell silent. Guo Shao also felt a little embarrassed.
When Li, who had frail bones but strong muscles, saw a group of people coming, her face flushed. She stood there awkwardly, not knowing whether to get on the carriage to avoid them or to continue standing there. She was very embarrassed and it seemed that nothing she did would be easy.
Mrs. Li was a relatively generous and open-minded young lady. She did not hide. Instead, when people came over, she knelt down and bowed: "Greetings to Envoy Guo Du, Uncle Luo Xian, and my father."
Guo Shao endured for a while, looked at her, and could only say one sentence: Brother Li and Madam Li, please go home first. I'm here. We brothers will meet again another day.
Li Chuyun said: Okay, I will take my leave first.
Guo Shao still had a lot to say to Li, but he just looked at her a few times and couldn't say a word because there were other people around.
He suddenly thought: Fu Shi was probably in the same situation as himself. She didn't say a word, not because she had nothing to say, but because there were too many eyes watching her. The queen was always the center of attention.
The queen must want to say something to me, besides the high-sounding words that should be said. What does she want to say and what is in her mind
Guo Shao couldn't help but wonder whether Fu's order for him to go and find out in person when he met the soldiers of the Palace Guard on the way was intentional because after Guo Shao received the order, he would definitely go to her to report.
Guo Shao had no idea what was going on.
He and Jingniang and the others entered the mansion, and as usual, they were greeted by Yulian and Dong Sanmei. Yulian's eyes deliberately stayed on Qingxu's face, a strange fair-skinned young lady who looked pretty good; perhaps Yulian also wanted to know where Guo Shao brought this girl back from.
Qingxu followed Jingniang listlessly, as if she hadn't woken up yet. She didn't greet anyone or speak. She had nowhere to go. Guo Shao and Jingniang couldn't just find someone to send this girl back, so they had to bring her back first. She was also very bored, but she didn't seem to care much. Maybe no one cared about her during the days when she was raised by her master. Maybe when Chen Tuan was sleeping, she also developed the ability to doze off. Anyway, she yawned all the way.
Guo Shao did not mention this matter for the time being. He first handed a bag of gold and jewelry to Yu Lian, and then wanted to go into the yard to take a bath, change clothes, and rest. Guo Shao felt that he had lost a lot of weight and was exhausted. Not long ago, he went home to get Chen Tuan's elixir and met Yu Lian. She helped to keep the thing before.
My dear, this is the jade lotus given by the government as a reward. She opened the cloth bag and took a look inside. She was surprised, and her face was shining with the faint colorful luster reflected by the jewels and gold.
Guo Shao casually explained it roughly. The content he and Yulian talked about in front of others was all about money and family matters, which was already very vulgar, but Guo Shao was used to such vulgarity. It would not be too late to have a secret love talk with her when they entered the room later, and there was no need to rush to do it in front of others, especially in front of Jingniang.
He thought: It is a bit vulgar, but giving the money directly to her is also a sign of trust in her. If I didn't treat Yu Lian as a family member, how could I just give her something and be done with it
At this moment, Guo Shao looked at the heavy bag and suddenly thought: Jingniang has no share.
Maybe Zuo You thought Jingniang was one of his family members or he had to ignore Jingniang for the sake of winning the support of the people. Guo Shao felt that Jingniang had made contributions and hard work in gathering military intelligence against Shu and in running around to save the queen, and her efforts should not be ignored; but the bag had already been given to Yulian, and it seemed inappropriate to take it out and divide the things in public.
But if I divide the spoils among Jingniang carefully, should I treat her as my subordinate? If not, then how should I treat her? She has followed me for thousands of miles.
Guo Shao said: Yulian, prepare some hot water for me. I will go in and take a bath. I have been on the road for several days. I have something to discuss with Jingniang first. Come with me to the wing room.
The two of them walked towards a room in the outer courtyard. Qingxu followed Jingniang. Guo Shao ignored the girl.
After entering the house, Jingniang was still standing there with a cold expression. Guo Shao didn't bother to be polite with her. He found a stool to sit down, rubbed his dizzy head, and didn't know whether to start the conversation from money or something else.
Jingniang kept her composure and didn't ask him.
Guo Shaoxian glanced at the scene outside the door and said thoughtfully: I want to thank you for what you have done for me recently, especially for finding the Taoist priest in hemp clothes to treat the queen. It has nothing to do with you.
Seeing that he was hesitant to speak, Jingniang said lightly: I heard Qingxu say some of what Envoy Guo said at the Queen's headquarters in Chenzhou, and there is one sentence I remember very clearly.
Guo Shaozhen didn't know how to tell her his thoughts. After hearing her take the initiative to smooth things over, he followed her words and asked: Which sentence
Jingniang said: If the emperor thinks I am guilty, just say one word and I will commit suicide to apologize.
Guo Shao was stunned for a moment and said in a low voice: I just want to show my loyalty.
Jingniang didn't say anything or explain. Guo Shao pondered for a while, couldn't help but observe her face, and said: Why do you obey me in everything
Jing Niang nodded without hesitation: No reason. If the emperor thinks you are guilty, would you care why you are guilty
Guo Shao thought: Of course I care. He was obsessed with this question and asked: If I asked you to die, or do something wrong that is difficult for ordinary people to accept, would you agree
Jingniang looked at him without saying anything. Guo Shao looked back at Qingxu and suddenly felt that it was really inappropriate for this little girl to be here now, clinging to Jingniang like a tail.