Shengshichun

It rained heavily all night, and Pei Zhan and his men didn't get much rest because they were escorting the imperial criminals. Fortunately, the rain stopped in the early morning of the next day, and the bright sun climbed up into the sky early.

The team reorganized and set off.

When Yang Yi came downstairs, he looked no different than usual. Only Pei Zhan was sharp-eyed and noticed that the color under his eyes was darker than usual.

But he said nothing.

The remaining 100 to 200 miles would be reached in a little over a day. At almost every posthouse along the way, people were discussing the exposure of the King of Yan's background.

The next afternoon, the team entered the city gate as scheduled.

The Minister of War led some civil and military officials to welcome them outside the city gate. Everyone praised Pei Zhan highly, and also praised generals such as Liang Zhi and Cheng Chili. As for Yang Yi, the most unfamiliar face in the crowd, no one was familiar with him, but they still stopped to look at him for a while because of his extraordinary temperament.

Yang Yi remained silent until everyone dispersed after entering the city. Pei Zhan and his men followed the Minister of War into the government office, while he took his people back to the Yang residence.

Of the guards that the Queen left for Yang Yi that day, half followed him to the northwest, and the other half stayed behind to guard the house.

The first thing Yang Yi did after returning to the mansion was to have someone call these people up.

"How did the King of Yan's background come to light?"

The guard in charge was called Liu An, and Liu An replied, "Your Highness, I don't know either, but someone suddenly spread the news more than half a month ago.

"I sent someone to the palace to see the Queen, but she was unaware of the situation and felt very strange.

"Later, the queen was worried that the news would spread to the northwest and affect your highness's battle, so she asked her subordinates to hold their troops in place and search the streets every day for the source of the news."

"Did you find out?"

"Not yet. But the place where the news first came out has been locked down. It's the Huzhou Guild Hall in the south of the city. It's said that it was spread by several merchants.

"But we can't find out who they are now."

"Huzhou?"

When Yang Yi heard this, his eyes flashed.

Liu An looked up at him and asked, "Does Your Highness have any clues?"

Yang Yi did not answer. He looked out the window for a while and then said, "Are you familiar with the guards of the Qianqing Palace?"

Liu An was stunned for a moment. Then he lowered his head and said, "There are a few that I'm quite familiar with."

"Go to the Qianqing Palace and ask around."

Liu An looked at the ground and said yes, then stepped back.

Chen Song and He Zhao came up and asked, "My lord, do you suspect that the emperor released the news?"

"Who else could it be but him?"

There was a hint of disdain in Yang Yi's voice.

Not many people knew about this matter. The Pei family would not do such a thing, and neither would the Ning family.

On the contrary, the emperor's ancestral home is in Huzhou, and the news came from the Huzhou Guild Hall. How could the Qianqing Palace be free of suspicion?
The two looked at each other, and He Zhao said, "If it was the emperor who did it, there is no need to go to the Huzhou Guild Hall. Isn't this the same as confessing it yourself?"

Yang Yi said: "How do you know he didn't do it on purpose?"

Now the two were stunned and didn't know what to say.

Yang Yi turned back and untied his outer robe: "Let's see what news they get back from the Palace of Heavenly Purity first."

After taking a sip of tea, he added, "By the way, send the souvenirs we bought on the road to mother."

……

After entering the city, the prison van encountered many rotten cabbage stalks and rotten eggs.

The teahouses and taverns were unprecedentedly lively that day, and all kinds of topics were brought to a climax again.

But this reaction was all expected, so even if there was a lot of discussion outside, each family had to continue living their lives.

Pei Zhan and his men returned to the capital four or five days earlier than the scheduled month. Since they could not travel fast along the way with the prisoner carriage, the guards who fought in the front arrived in the capital a day earlier than them.

So Fu Zhen and the others had already received the news yesterday and prepared a welcoming banquet early.

They arrived after noon, and the banquet was scheduled for the evening. They also invited Yang Yi, Liang Chen, Liang Zhi, and Cheng Zhili and his brothers.

But Pei Zhan and the others had to go to the palace to report first, so Fu Zhen started to make arrangements before they came back.

While the banquet hall was being decorated, Yang Tong walked in leisurely: "The general just entered the palace. I met the general at the palace gate. I haven't seen him for a month. He has become darker and thinner. He went there and back again in such a short time, and fought a big battle. I don't know how much he suffered on this trip."

Fu Zhen had just sent Zi Yan away to pick some flowers for the vase. Upon hearing this, he picked up a white porcelain plate and asked, "How dark? How thin?"

Yang Tong gestured: "He is so thin that his eyes are sunken and his cheeks are fleshless. He is so dark that he is almost as dark as the bronze drum in the martial arts training ground in our backyard."

"Really?" Fu Zhen thought about the dark bronze drum and took out his handkerchief to wipe the white porcelain plate on his hand, one after another, somewhat carelessly. "Is he injured? How is his spirit?"

Although the guards who fought in the front battle yesterday did not suffer any injuries, only some scratches on their hands and feet, who knows?
"Probably not." Yang Tong shook his head and said, "I see the general riding a horse with a golden sword, walking with his head held high, looking very majestic, just like when he married you, young lady, he is full of energy!

"When the general saw me, his eyes lit up! He asked Madam, what are you doing? Then he sent me to tell you that he will be back soon! Madam, don't worry!"

When Fu Zhen heard the end, his face couldn't help but feel hot.

It was as if something in my mind was suddenly seen through by someone.

She pretended to be calm: "It's good that he's not injured. What does it matter if he's a little darker or thinner? He's young, he'll be back after some care."

When he was in Beijing, although he was not a handsome man, he was also average-looking. He became so dark after the battle... Never mind, my mother brought me a few pounds of excellent bird's nest a few days ago, I'll just give it all to him.

Isn't he still thin? Then Wanbinlou's Dongpo pork elbow roast suckling pig and other dishes should also be prepared.

I have been bored these days, so I learned a few specialties from the chefs at Wanbinlou. They all said that I am ready to cook, so I will make them for him to taste later.

If he likes it, she will make it more often. If he doesn't like it, it doesn't matter. She is just learning it to kill time anyway.

Fu Zhen made a strategy for himself in his mind, but for some reason, not only his face was hot, but his whole body was also hot.

A piece of charcoal that had been burning for a month had now turned red in her heart.

"…Young Madam? Young Madam?"

Bixi, who had come up to her at some point, stretched out her hand and waved it in front of her eyes. She didn't take her hand back until her eyes focused on her face. "Can you give me this plate? I have to use it to put some dried fruits."

Fu Zhen looked down at his hands and realized that he had polished the plate to a shiny finish.

The burning coal in her heart burned to her face again. She cleared her throat twice, put down the plate and said, "Go to work!" Then she glanced at them and hurried out of the yard.

The cool autumn breeze blew away some of the heat from her body, and when she heard the noise coming from the front yard, her steps became lighter again.

Just as I was about to step out of the door, Jiang Lin and his friends came in carrying two boxes.

Fu Zhen had prepared Pei Zhan's weapons and luggage personally before he set out. When her eyes fell on the boxes, she immediately recognized that they were the two that Pei Zhan had taken out.

"Madam!" Jiang Lin and the others saluted her. "The general has to go to the palace to report and will be back later. This is the general's luggage. I will help him move it back to the side courtyard first."

Fu Zhen nodded and made way.

Halfway through the journey, she turned around again and said, "Let's move to the main room."

Jiang Lin was stunned.

Fu Zhen left without looking back.

The guards scratched their heads, looked at each other, then turned the box around and carried it towards the main room.

The two boxes were placed side by side in the middle of the spacious main room.

After the guards retreated, Fu Zhen walked out from behind the bead curtain, came to the door and looked out, then retracted his body and walked to the box.

There was nothing special about the box, and he wouldn't take it with him when he went to war.

Fu Zhen opened the lids of the boxes one by one, and saw that the clothes, military books, and weapons inside were all neatly classified and arranged just as she had arranged them at the beginning.

In fact, Fu Zhen is not a "good wife and good mother" in everyone's eyes. Her ambition since childhood has been to be on the battlefield, but she does not like fighting. She just feels that as the daughter of a general, it is her duty to fight against foreign enemies.

She was growing up during the Northwest Rebellion, so despite her passion, she never really thought about how to be a good wife and mother.

When she was still Liang Ning, she could not do needlework, could not cook, and had never learned the three obediences and four virtues.

All this was not a problem for her at all.

She felt that women should never be confined to a framework. There could be virtuous and gentle ladies from noble families, and there could also be domineering women from military families like her.

Now that she has become Fu Zhen, she no longer needs to fight the enemy on the front line, and she has another position. She still likes martial arts, but she is also happy to learn financial management and cooking.

Before she packed Pei Zhan's luggage, she had never done this for anyone. That day, when she suddenly heard that he was leaving immediately, she felt empty in her heart for no reason and always wanted to do something for him. However, she couldn't follow him to the northwest with her current status. She couldn't go, so it became natural for her to do these motherly things for him.

Fortunately, the schedule was tight that day, and Pei Zhan also had many things to arrange, so he didn't see himself busy with these things, so he didn't seem embarrassed. At first glance, it seemed like a natural outcome.

After I sent him away, there was nothing busy for a month.

Liang Ning’s revenge had already been taken.

The remnants of the Xu family were also captured.

The Liang family was very peaceful. The eldest and second sisters-in-law were in a good mood every day. Apart from performing a duet with Madam Ning every now and then to urge her to have a baby soon, they also began to worry about Qi Cheng Chili's marriage.

The Queen originally asked her and Madam Pei to help find a suitable woman for Yang Yi, and Fu Zhen also took it to heart, but before she could make any arrangements, the background of Prince Yan suddenly came out, and there was no way to discuss the marriage at this moment.

So I have even more free time.

The days become especially long when I am free.

Apart from occasionally going to Wanbinlou to listen to gossip and learn cooking, I don’t know what to do with the rest of the time.

But Pei Zhan - the shadow of this man had long covered his childhood appearance and occupied his entire mind.

She was extremely bored, so she just wandered around following the trajectory of his life.

Sometimes Su Xing'er came to see her, and the two of them took out the various fruit wines brewed by Mrs. Pei and drank them together.

The garden was bleak in late autumn, with the withered lotus leaves on the lake writing a desolate tone. The two of them sat on the terrace, talking about their respective men.

Su Xing'er scolded Liang Chen for not taking medicine on time every day and eating so quickly that it seemed like he was pouring it directly into his stomach. He really thought he was made of iron!

After cursing, he took a sip of wine and sighed that it was not easy for him. He was young but he managed the huge General's Mansion. When everyone thought that the Liang family was going to decline, he relied on his own flesh and blood to win back the face of the family.

After drinking half a pot, she would ask Fu Zhen if he was happy with Pei Zhan and if he regretted getting married.

Fu Zhen said he had no regrets.

Su Xing'er was a little skeptical, but she was a good listener, so even if she didn't believe it, she would never ask further questions.

Every time Fu Zhen heard Su Xing'er scolding Liang Chen, he would silently evaluate Pei Zhan in his heart.

I couldn't find what was so annoying about him.

Maybe there are some things that you really need to become a couple to feel.

But such a relationship is still desirable.

Hearing the sound of fallen leaves being trampled in the yard, she closed the box, stood up and ordered, "Go and clear out the wardrobe in the green gauze cupboard. It will be for the general's use from now on."

After saying that, she turned around, and her breath suddenly stopped in her throat...

The door has been blocked.

He is the person she doesn't want to admit that she misses, but who indeed makes her miss him all the time.

Pei Zhan looked around the room, put his left hand on his waist, and stroked her chin with his right hand: "What did I hear just now?"

The calluses on the fingers stroked the delicate chin.

Fu Zhen looked at him, sniffed deeply and said, "Yang Tong is right, you have really become uglier."

Pei Zhan was stunned for a moment, touched his face, and then frowned: "I should have listened to the second brother. I'll find a place to wash myself clean and put on some powder first, and then come to see you after I'm ready."

Fu Zhen sniffed again, stretched out his arms and hooked them around his neck: "Don't worry, I prefer skinny, dark-skinned rough men to pretty boys."

Pei Zhan's body became as stiff as an iron rod.

Fu Zhen stood on tiptoe and hugged him a little tighter.

The next second, she simply hung her feet in the air and directly on his neck.

The strange posture was not ladylike at all, but she tilted her neck back and laughed out loud, looking very satisfied, and she was clearly still the proud and proactive Taiping.

Pei Zhan sighed softly, put his arm around her waist and held her, then looked at her deeply, and then carried her on his shoulders with great force...

(End of this chapter)