Red Mansion Soldiers

Chapter 98
Day and night, changing horses but not people.

Jia Hun's memorials and letters were finally sent to Shendu City in an expedited eight hundred miles.

As dusk approached, people who had worked hard all day stepped on the tail of the curfew drum, talking and laughing, and walked out of the city gate.

There are small vendors who come in with burdens to buy some things, there are guys hired by various businesses, and the stewards and guys who come out of the city to buy fresh fruits, vegetables and meat.There are also peasants who come to the city to hang out while they have nothing to do...

There was a sound of horseshoes, and the crowd who were still joking just now quickly moved out of the way, and a man who looked very tired and wore armor rushed over on horseback.

After a few words of scolding with the last old acquaintance who left the city, the general banner of the city gate was about to order someone to close the city gate.

It will be turned on again tomorrow morning.

"Don't close the door, don't close the door!"

A sound of hoofbeats and loud shouts caught the attention of the general banner of the city gate.

Who is so ignorant of the rules, do you not know that the curfew has started?
"Stop comers!"

The gatekeepers quickly assembled into a defensive formation to guard against the knight's breakthrough.

Bows and arrows were also stretched out on the gates of the city, ready to shoot those who broke through the barriers into hedgehogs at any time.

"Shut up!"

The knight hurriedly stopped his horse, jumped off and staggered almost falling.

"Phew, I am the governor of the Zuo Army, a soldier of the Duke of Dunhuang. This is my badge and the badge of my general. I have something urgent to convey!"

Commander of the Left Army!
The general banner of the city gate immediately remembered who it was.In their line of work, ability comes second, and vision is the most important thing.

On weekdays, it’s okay to go to the pawns of the traffickers and ask for cards, but eating and getting some will make these people feel at ease, and feel that they are considered to be on their side.If there is a minor dispute on weekdays, I will not go to the head of the line first, but let myself judge it first while waiting to leave the city before the daily curfew.

He likes the feeling of being trusted.

But some people have to deal with it with all their strength.

In order to do this job well, he deliberately wrote down the names and corresponding official positions of the nobles and civil and military officials in the city so that he could respond quickly.

"It turned out to be the warrior brothers under the general's command, atonement for sin."

The general banner of the city gate hurried over.

"This... big brother, please take a look at the waist card!
It's not that my younger brother wants to embarrass you, it's really the responsibility. You are also a mixed army, and you know how strict the military regulations are.You take more care, you take more care! "

The general flag of the city gate bent down, took the two waist badges with both hands, only glanced at them, and saw that they were indeed in the style of the Duke of Dunhuang County, and quickly returned them to the knight who was looking anxiously at the city gate.

"Come on, big brother, I'll return your badge. Even though it's already curfew time, don't start running. Quick steps are the best way to go.

The Wucheng Bingma Division has recently changed its chief officer. I heard that he is still a Marquis. The three fires that the new official took office have not yet been lit!
If you are carrying a lantern, it is best to type it out, it will save you a lot of trouble..."

The general banner of the city gate tirelessly talked about the unspoken rules for walking around the city during the current curfew.The little soldier who had been following Zongqi also reacted, and quickly took out a wooden stool and put it beside the horse.Lai Xu, who was tired, didn't say much, stepped on the stool and got on the horse, and the general flag of the city gate quickly grabbed the reins and led him into the city gate.

Lai Xu also patiently listened to the babbling of the City Gate General Banner, and he would never hold malicious intentions towards such kind reminders.

Lai Xu, the eleventh child in his family, was born in a Jia family, and was one of the soldiers who followed Jia Hun to the Western Regions.It is of the same family as the Wang family's family, and the five clothes were only produced after the founding of Daqi.

After the general flag of the city gate sent Lai Xu in, he let go of the reins. Lai Xu took out a stacked lantern from his saddle bag, grabbed the bottom with one hand, and pulled the lanyard with the other, and took a few more. Put the bamboo strips into the corresponding interface inside to prop up the lantern.

Seeing this, the general banner of the city gate was about to go to the value room to get candles, but was stopped by Lai Xu.A brand new candle was taken from the saddle bag and placed on the pedestal in the lantern.

"Borrow a fire."

The general banner of the city gate took out a fire pocket and lit a candle.

"Thank you, brother, what's your name?"

"My younger brother's surname is Zhang, and he is the fifth in the family. He is the general banner of the city gate of our five-city soldier Ma Sijianchun gate."

"Brother Zhang Wu, I've written it down. I have something important to do today. I'll treat you to a drink another day!"

"Hey, my little brother will be there whenever you are called!"

Zhang Xiaowei was overjoyed, and got involved with a powerful family again!

The job of the General Banner of the City Gate is his main job, and he has the capital to settle down, but his own salary is not much.

It's not too small, but it's too difficult to support their big family of ten.

In fact, introducing various suppliers to each other as a bridge, or asking questions for others is the bulk of his income.

It's just that there is a dental shop in the city, and he doesn't dare to get involved, it's just that if someone needs something urgently, such as rare melons and fruits, it's right to come to him.Almost everyone who enters or exits the city gate has to be inspected by them once. He knows who has what, and what new things have entered who is better than a dentist.

Even if he didn't, he could ask other city gate general banners.

For Lai Xu, it is not a disadvantage to make friends with a city gate general flag. He also has a frontier soldier who has tried hundreds of households to sue him, which is half a level short.What's more, as a city gate official, he has come into contact with many religions and streams, and there are always times when he comes in handy.

Lai Xu did not go back to the county mansion immediately, but took the lead in going to Prince Yiyong's mansion in Mingyifang, northwest of Chunfengfang where the county mansion is located.

Along the way, he also encountered several waves of Marquis Wu patrolling the city, but when the Marquis Wu saw the lantern with the Dunhuang County Mansion written on it, they ignored Lai Xu who was wandering on the street during the curfew.

. . . . . .

Prince Yi Yong's Mansion.

main hall.

"See the king for a humble position!"

"Excuse me, on the ninth day, Jinyu asked you to come here, but what happened?" Chen Jingyuan, who was only wearing a tunic and a woven cloak, entered the main hall and sat directly on the main seat.

He has known Lai Xu since he first arrived in the Western Regions, and he also gave Lai Xu the nickname Nine Days.

"Your Majesty, I have given you a memorial to the humble officer, and I want you to hand it directly to the two saints. This is a letter from the Lord to you."

Lai Xu ignored Chen Jingyuan's address to him and went directly to the topic.

"Oh, let me see."

After receiving the letter, the personal eunuch took out the letter opener and handed it to Chen Jingyuan.

"Hmm... Fuck, that's my mother!"

Seeing the news in the letter, even Chen Jingyuan, who had experienced strong winds and waves, stood up abruptly with disbelief on his face.

"Hiss—no, it can't be tomorrow, I'm going to check it now!"

"No, Your Majesty! You have told the Lord, now the enemy is out in the dark, we know that they are going to revolt, but they don't know that we know that they are going to revolt!
Since you want to rebel, you must send spies in Beijing, and they may be alarmed by any disturbance, let alone you who are detained in the middle of the night.

Anyone with a discerning eye knows the relationship between you and my general, and those people will definitely think, is it because of my general that you withheld the title?Now that the general is in the south of the Yangtze River, what if they think that my general has discovered something and rebelled in advance?
Why don't you go down and look at the general's plan?But don't disrupt the general's plan just for half a day! "

Lai Xu put his arms around Chen Jingyuan's arm to stop him from going out. Seeing this, the personal eunuch quickly picked up the letter on the table, took it to Chen Jingyuan, and unfolded it for him to read.

Only then did Chen Jingyuan calm down.Lai Xu quickly let go of him.

Chen Jingyuan sat back on the chair and read the letter.

"Well, I understand. I want to impeach Mr. Wu, Duke of Ju, and Mr. Qin Hong, Mr. Jianning, to teach his son Wufang. And the officers of the Jiangnan camp headed by Deng Yuan are reselling arms... This is a good reason...

OK, I see, stay for a meal? "

"This...no need, I still have a letter to send home, so I won't bother you, Your Majesty..."

Lai Xu caught a glimpse of an old white-faced and beardless eunuch looking at him expressionlessly beside the screen, as if saying "If you don't leave, I'll kill you", and saw that he still glanced at the king from time to time, thinking for a while, Lai Xu also It became clear who he was.

The old eunuch sent by the emperor to urge the king to give birth...

Don't spoil the good deed of the king!

. . . . . .

After leaving the palace, Lai Xu went to Rongguo Mansion again.

Before going to the palace, he had already handed over Jia Hun's letter to Jia She and Jia Zheng to the concierge, and when he came to Rongguo Mansion to briefly explain to Jia She and Jia Zhen, Laiwang returned to the county. government office.

Li Wan also received a summons from the two eastern prefectures, and instead of meeting Laiwang immediately, he prepared a table for him to eat, and only after he was full did he meet Laiwang at the Yingtai Hall.

Li Wan, who was dressed as a pregnant woman, sat on the grand teacher's chair on the right side of the main hall, and smiled reluctantly at Lai Wang.

Her pregnancy reaction was a bit severe, and she was very nauseous. She couldn't eat anything bland these days, and she felt a fishy smell in everything she ate, and she would vomit it out.

Now I can only eat something with a little spice to cover the taste of the ingredients, but because I have no appetite to vomit, I can only force myself to eat a little bit.Then drink some white porridge and millet porridge, and I can't eat anything else.

Therefore, as the heart and soul of the entire Jia family, no matter which family's kitchen there will always be two pots of porridge prepared, and whenever Li Wan shows any signs of wanting to eat, they will serve it to her as quickly as possible.

Eat small meals more often.

Unfortunately, when Lai Xu came to the main hall, Li Wan had just vomited once.

"Little Lai Xu, see the mistress!"

Lai Xu lifted his robe and knelt on the ground, and solemnly kowtowed to Li Wan.

"You don't need to be too polite, hurry up... vomit... get up quickly."

Li Wan suppressed his nausea and said to Lai Xu.

"Thank you, Mistress." Lai Xu stood up, and took out Jia Hun's letter from his bosom.

It's better to talk to the wife as little as possible, in case the wife vomits again while talking, that's fine!

"Ma'am, this is a letter from the Lord to my family."

Lai Xu held the letter in both hands and said to Li Wan.

"Well, it's hard work." Li Wan tried his best to be concise.

Our own family is still sensible, these days every time we go to Rongguo Mansion to pay our respects, we have to be surrounded by a group of people talking, and they are all elders, so it’s impossible not to reply, so we can only suppress our nausea and reluctantly smile and be courteous to them.

Suyun, Li Wan's maidservant, took a step forward, took the letter from Lai Xu, looked it over, and handed it to Li Wan with peace of mind.

Jia Lishi (strike out) the baby and his mother

Looking at the few publicity words on the front of the envelope, Li Wan smiled knowingly.

He used this when he wrote to me as a kid!

"Lai Xu, sit down first and serve tea." Li Wan still spoke concisely.

"Thank you, madam!"

Lai Xu found a seat far away from Li Wan and sat down.

"His mother, Zhan Xinjia

It's more than a month..."

Jia Hun's letters were, as usual, less talkative.

No citations, no flaunting of literary talent.It's just like sitting face to face, like an ordinary couple talking about family affairs.

I wrote a few sentences thanking her for everything she has done to this family, thanking her for giving birth to a small life, and writing about the expectation and confusion of being a father soon...

I wrote a lot of things, rambling on and on, completely missing the snappy, vigorous and resolute way I usually do in front of outsiders.

Probably, he only does this in front of me, right?

Li Wan happily buried his face on the letter paper, smelling the fragrance of ink, as if...

Ok?
It doesn't taste right!

Li Wan frowned and pressed the letter paper again.

No, this taste is definitely not just from the master!
This rouge smell is definitely because the master had a vixen around him when he wrote the letter!
Thinking of this, Li Wan looked sharply at Lai Xu who was drinking herbal tea.

Lai Xu suddenly felt a chill in his neck, quickly put down his teacup, and looked around vigilantly.

Then he met his wife's sharp eyes.

hiss--

Not good!
"Mrs, madam..." Lai Xu carefully looked at Li Wan who raised his eyebrows.

"Lai Xu, tell me, by the master's side, Aunt Tian is here?"

Although he was asking questions, Li Wan had already decided in his heart that there was a girl beside Jia Hun.

"This... madam, the general masters him..."

"The letter smells of rouge."

"This..." Lai Xu fell into a battle between heaven and man.

"Boldly say, I am the mistress, can't I tolerate a concubine?"

Right…

Lai Xu's heart skipped a beat.I'm sorry, General, my wife already knows about this, so I have to say it too!

"Yes, ma'am, the general has indeed added a concubine. On the day I arrived in Jinling, the general carried three of them home from the boat..."

"Wait a minute, how many... what?"

Li Wan's eyes widened immediately.

"Ma'am, the three gentlemen are skinny..."

Lai Xu looked at Li Wan cautiously, for fear that she might be angry.

Li Wan gasped for a while before regaining his composure.

That's fine, Jia Da, you're promising, three, we'll bring it back!
"How much did it cost?"

She, Li Wan, didn't pay much attention to the three cheap horses, so she bought them as soon as they were bought. There were a few playthings on the left and right, and they couldn't threaten her in any way, let alone clean and tidy.

Putting it at home also saves the master from going out to mess with flowers and mess with those dirty and smelly ones, and it will be troublesome if he gets sick.

What matters is how much it cost!

The county government has just established a business not long ago. Apart from the expenses of the government, the other four capitals have just bought real estate and spent a lot of money on it!
In addition, various shops and properties have been purchased, and another sum of money has been spent, and it has not yet made a profit. Money is really needed everywhere!Even if the master brought back a lot of loot, he still can't spend money indiscriminately, can't he just sit and eat?
"Oh, this is not much, and the total cost is less than three taels of silver..."

"Three taels? What's going on?" Li Wan couldn't believe it.

Even she, a young lady who doesn't go out very much, knows that a skinny horse costs at least 500 taels of silver. What's going on with these three taels?

"Returning to my wife, I originally wanted to give 3000 taels, but those hooligans who came to ask for the bill didn't want it, saying that it would take 500 taels, and even a penny less would not work!
Then they were broken by Hu Jiu, and they threw some money away..."

So, I thought it was a bribe from someone else. Since it was bought back, there is nothing to worry about.

Well, Hu Jiu is so good, he really saved money for the family!

Since it cost less than three taels of silver, which is equivalent to getting three beauties for nothing, then there is nothing to worry about.

Li Wan had already accepted that Jia Hun would take someone home.

A husband is supposed to have three wives and four concubines, and his own husband is the best husband among husbands. If he only guards himself, although it sounds very infatuated.But these days, a bad reputation of being jealous and not giving her husband a concubine has fallen on her head.

The husband may also be ridiculed if he has any physical problems, or if he is afraid of guilt and so on.

That being the case, accept it.I just help the master to check it out. Without my wife, nodding, no one would want to marry in!

Li Wan was determined.

"Ouch..." Li Wan quickly covered his mouth with a handkerchief, feeling sick for a while.

After covering it for a long time, Li Wan put down the handkerchief.

"Okay, Lai Xu, it's getting late, and you have to go back soon... vomit..." Li Wan covered his mouth again, unable to say the remaining few words.

Lai Xu understood and stood up quickly.

"Madam, I'll take my leave!" Lai Xu stood up, saluted Li Wan, and left.

"call…"

The nausea disappeared, and Li Wan put down the handkerchief covering his mouth.

Huh... child, child, why don't you come out, your mother is really uncomfortable!

　Chapter 1, [-] words.

　　The next chapter will be released around twelve o'clock
　　
　
(End of this chapter)