Troubled times: Start practicing spiritual practice by taking care of your sister-in-law.

Chapter 704: Mother, is she also Jiaer’s aunt?

In the cold winter, snow is falling for thousands of miles outside the Great Wall.

Yingcheng was almost buried under snow, but in this cold December weather, the city was very lively. Smoke rose from the houses and stalls, filling the city with the breath of life.

Two years ago, Yingcheng was still a dilapidated city with a declining population. However, as King Wei led his army, they almost killed all 80,000 barbarians of Jinxia, ​​and fought all the way to Jinxia's Haiyan Pass, confiscating all the Jinxia people and horses in Haiyan Pass.

This battle not only hurt Jin Xia, but also stopped Jin Xia from committing crimes again, thus gaining peace on the border of the Song Dynasty.

Where there is peace, there is an opportunity for development.

In just over two years, with the support of the imperial court's policies, people's livelihood in Yingcheng has gradually recovered.

From the beginning of the year to now, civil unrest has occurred again in Jinxia. The Jinxia court went to war with the Beidi tribe. This war involved several small tribes around the Beidi tribe and affected hundreds of thousands of Jinxia people. The outbreak of war caused a shortage of daily necessities in the Jinxia war zone.

Shortage means huge profits, and with huge profits, there will be a rampant smuggling business on the border between the two countries.

Because the Song Dynasty needed to develop, it adopted an almost laissez-faire approach to the smuggling business.

This led to an increasing number of merchants traveling to and from Yingcheng, and the scale of Yingcheng also grew larger. During its heyday, there were as many as three to four thousand merchants gathered in the city.

Unfortunately, the overall strength of the Beidi tribe was far inferior to that of the Jinxia court. Therefore, more than two months ago, the Beidi tribe was wiped out by the Jinxia court. Then the Jinxia court carried out centralized governance and appeasement of the original war zone, so that local living supplies gradually returned to normal levels.

Without the temptation of huge profits, the smuggling business began to decline, and fewer and fewer merchants came to Yingcheng.

However, with the flow of people, Yingcheng still has a prosperous scene during the day.

It was snowing heavily and there were few pedestrians on the street, but the vendors were still shouting loudly.

At ten o'clock in the afternoon, the sound of horse hooves was heard on the street.

A brave soldier, riding a warhorse and holding a gong in his hand, shouted as the gong sounded: "General Chang En has ordered that the entire city be under martial law and the passes be closed immediately."

"General Chang En has ordered that the entire city be placed under martial law and all checkpoints be closed immediately."

"clang clang"

The sound of the gong was very clear. No matter whether it was the pedestrians on the street or the people in the shops and houses on both sides of the street, they all stretched their necks, pricked up their ears, and cast their eyes over.

Stationed in the barracks of Yingcheng, in the central military tent.

Chang'en sat at the top, his bright Ming Guang armor making him look extraordinary and heroic. He is no longer the naive and simple country boy. More than two years of military life have made him accustomed to life and death and made him a qualified general.

On the left and right sides below are Cui Shuang, Song Shiming, and the people from the Li, Gan, and Xiao families who came from Xiangyang, such as Xiao Yi and Gan Yao.

At this moment, all their eyes were cast on the scout in the tent.

According to the scouts, Jinxia's Haiyan Pass has recently received additional troops and has become more heavily guarded.

After listening to this, Xiao Yi frowned and said, "Jin Xia has just quelled its internal strife. Could it be that they want to invade our Song Dynasty again? It seems that the King of Wei didn't scare them off last time."

"This group of barbarians have never given up their desire to destroy us. Although the Eastern Army was defeated last time, the Western Army was not too badly hurt. Instead, they took advantage of Longyou. Now that they have solved their internal troubles, it is not impossible for them to attack again while we are still not recovered." Song Shiming said in a deep voice.

"If we can hurt them the first time, we can certainly hurt them the second time. If they dare to come again, I will definitely give them a good beating." Cui Shuang said with a ferocious expression.

"No matter what they want to do by increasing their troops, we can't slack off. The most important thing now is to find out who the commander-in-chief of Haiyan Pass is, and then report to the court and let the prince make the decision." Chang'en said carefully.

The generals nodded.

Chang En said, "The prince told me at the beginning that I will not move unless the enemy moves. Before the order from above comes, we only need to guard the border and never act rashly."

"promise."

"Report——"

At this moment, a soldier walked in quickly, raised his hand and saluted: "General, General Han and his men are here."

"General Han?"

When Xiao Yi and Gan Yao heard this, they both turned their heads, with doubts in their eyes.

Obviously he was not familiar with this General Han.

Chang En and Cui Shuang were delighted, the former said, "Please come in quickly."

Soon, a tall figure walked into the military tent.

Chang En saw the person coming and quickly came down from the seat, stepped forward and shook the person's hand, saying with a smile: "After receiving General Han's letter last time, I have been looking forward to seeing you, and finally you are here."

The reason why Chang'en treated him like this was because the visitor was Han Wu, who was not only an old man who had followed Chen Mo for a long time, but also a relative of Han Anniang.

Han Wu exhaled a puff of white mist, rubbed his hands in the cold, and said, "I'm sorry to have kept you waiting for a long time, General. The heavy snow blocked the road and it was cold, so we were delayed for some time. Fortunately, the baggage we transported is not affected."

"No time, no time, please sit down." Chang En invited Han Wu to sit down, and then shouted outside the tent: "Someone, bring a brazier."

Han Wu sat down next to Cui Shuang. The two had known each other for a long time. Cui Shuang poured Han Wu a glass of strong liquor and said, "It's cold here in Youzhou. Come, have a drink to warm yourself up."

"Thank you."

"Why are you and I being so polite? Is the prince doing well recently?"

"The prince has moved to Tianchuan. I haven't seen him for a long time. I think everything is fine." After drinking the strong liquor, Han Wu suddenly felt his body warmer.

"By the way, what exactly are the supplies you brought from Xiangyang this time?" Cui Shuang asked curiously.

"Oh, it's a new bow and arrow developed by the military workshop. I heard it was made by the prince. It's called a compound bow, and it's more powerful than the crossbow. When the prince was still in Xiangyang, he instructed that the first batch be shipped to the border first." Han Wudao.

"Compound bow?" Chang En was stunned, then said, "Let's go and take a look."

……

Tianchuan.

It was also snowing in the capital. Compared to the north, the weather was not as cold, the snow was not as deep, and the snow had stopped.

The midday sun shone over the square imperial city, seeming to dispel the biting cold wind and bring a touch of warmth to the palace.

But the palace maids and eunuchs who were waiting outside the palace still kept their necks hunched, and while the nobles had not arrived yet, they secretly cupped their hands to their mouths and blew out hot air.

"Da da da"

A team of elite soldiers trotted over from the end of Xuanwu Avenue. As they ran, the rubbing of their armor plates made crisp sounds.

Soon after, carriages appeared at the end of the avenue.

Whether it was the palace maids and eunuchs, or the imperial guards, they all stood in full readiness.

These carriages did not stop when they reached the outer city, but went straight to the inner city. The palace maids and eunuchs could only trot behind the carriages.

Lin Xuelan, Yuzhu and Xingyao were in a carriage. Xingyao slightly lifted the window curtain and looked at the towering imperial city outside the carriage. She trotted after the palace maids and eunuchs who were afraid to fall behind for fear of making the slightest mistake. Her eyes could not help but be a little dazed.

For more than half a month, Xingyao has not left the Prince of Wei's Mansion, so her understanding of Chen Mo's status in the Song Dynasty only remains in her imagination, and she does not have a clear sensory understanding.

But now, I have a certain sensory understanding for the time being.

As a minister, not only could he bring his wives and concubines into the palace to see the wintersweets, he could also drive in directly in a carriage without getting off.

When they reached the inner city entrance, the carriage stopped.

Xingyao, Lin Xuelan, and Yuzhu got off the carriage. It wasn't that the carriages of the Prince of Wei's Palace couldn't enter the inner city.

Instead, Emperor Yong'an and Queen Zhao came to greet him in person.

"I have met Your Majesty, the Queen."

"Your Majesty, your Majesty, your Majesty."

Chen Mo took Wu Mi's hand, came before Emperor Yong'an and Queen Zhao, and raised his hand to salute.

"Prince Wei, Princess Wei, there is no need to be so polite." Emperor Yong'an raised his hand and glanced behind Chen Mo. Almost all of them were young and beautiful young ladies. But he knew that they were all the concubines of the Prince of Wei. He did not dare to look at them for too long and quickly turned his gaze back.

But at this moment, a childish voice came to Emperor Yong'an's ears.

A chubby two-year-old child held Empress Zhao's hand and said to Wu Mi, "Mother, is she also Jia'er's aunt?"

The maid who was taking care of Chen Jia turned pale at this moment. She was distracted just now and Chen Jia ran past her and went to the front.

Queen Zhao was stunned.

Wu Mi was also startled, and hurried forward to hug Chen Jia over: "Jia'er, what nonsense are you talking about? Hurry up and salute His Majesty and the Queen."

Chen Jia stood there in a daze, he didn't know what respect meant. When he was in Prince Wei's mansion, everyone else always respected him.

The expressions of Chen Mo's concubines were also changing inexplicably at this moment.

Just when Chen Mo was thinking about how to explain, Queen Zhao suddenly walked up to Chen Jia, squatted down and said with a smile: "This should be the young master, so cute"

She even touched Chen Jia's head, then turned back to Emperor Yong'an and said, "Your Majesty, can I recognize the young master as my godson?"

Emperor Yong'an was not in a good mood either. After all, this was a matter of great loss of face. However, in front of everyone, he could only pretend to be calm and laughed dryly: "I have the same idea, but I don't know if the Prince of Wei and the Princess of Wei mind."

Before Chen Mo finished speaking, Wu Mi laughed and said, "Your Majesty, what are you talking about? It is an honor for Jiaer, me and the prince that Jiaer has won the favor of the Queen. We are so happy that we don't mind."

Chen Mo smiled, as a sign of agreement.

So, the matter is over.

Chen Jia also climbed up the pole and hugged Queen Zhao who was squatting in front of him. Without being taught, he directly called her sweetly, "Godmother."

Chen Mo: "..."

Wu Mi: “…”

Queen Zhao: “…”

Emperor Yongan pretended not to care.

He coughed lightly and said, "Prince Wei, Princess Wei, let's move to the wax plum forest. The scenery in the wax plum forest is beautiful now, and it is suitable for sightseeing."

Chen Mo and Wu Mi nodded, and the group headed towards the wintersweet forest.

Chen Jia was taken away by Queen Zhao.

Lin Xuelan in the back breathed a sigh of relief for some reason. She was so nervous just now.

……

Royal Gardens, in the wintersweet forest.

The wintersweets in December are so beautiful.

The goose yellow flowers are dotted on the branches in an orderly manner. When the breeze blows, the flowers sway slightly along with the bright light, casting mottled and jumping shadows of the trees on the snow.

The wintersweet is not as colorful as the spring flowers, nor as graceful and elegant as the lotus, nor as colorful and varied in shapes as the chrysanthemum.

But in this world of ice and snow, it has a unique simplicity and elegance.

In his previous life, Chen Mo had also seen wintersweet.

But that was in a park in the city, and there weren't as many of them as there are now. Moreover, the background of the plum blossom forest at that time was all high-rise buildings, and there were modern facilities such as marble seats and street lights next to it. The two didn't match at all and didn't have the beauty that it has now.

The plum blossoms have a rich fragrance that spreads far and wide.

When they arrived at the wax plum forest, Queen Zhao let Chen Jia go.

Although the wintersweet was beautiful, Queen Zhao, who was in the imperial palace, had long been tired of it and no longer found it novel. She wanted to find an excuse to leave, but Emperor Yong'an asked her to take Princess Wei and the others for a walk.

On the contrary, Emperor Yong'an, after staying with Chen Mo and the others for a while, found an excuse to leave, leaving Queen Zhao behind to keep him company.

Queen Zhao bit her red lips. At this moment, she felt a little aggrieved.

It’s fine if His Majesty is becoming increasingly cold towards her.

It was you who told me not to be alone with the King of Wei. Why is it that now...

But in front of outsiders, she still has to put on a smile.

Queen Zhao wore a gorgeous red skirt and jacket, trimmed with delicate gold piping and embellished with strings of tassels, which made her look more graceful and elegant, and perfectly matched the snowy scene.

Her temperament is unique, like a touch of bright red in the snow, which is fascinating.

At least at this moment, Chen Mo's wives and concubines are slightly inferior to her.

Of course, this is not a comparison of appearance, but an overall feeling.

Wu Mi couldn't help but smile and said, "The Queen is so beautiful."

Queen Zhao's face was as delicate as white jade. She blushed slightly when she heard the words and chuckled, "Princess Wei is praising you. Princess Wei is much more beautiful than me."

As she spoke, she stepped forward and held the Princess of Wei's hand: "The Princess's hands are so tender. It seems that the King of Wei loves his daughter-in-law very much."

In Queen Zhao's opinion, it was right to establish a good relationship with the Princess of Wei.

"The prince is indeed very good to me." Wu Mi smiled slightly, turned her head to look at Chen Mo, with a hint of tenderness in her eyes.

Chen Mo smiled back and asked Ruyan to pay attention to this side, while he took the children to play over there.

The Song Dynasty didn't take any photos or anything like that.

I came to the plum forest just to see something new.

It is beautiful.

But after watching for a long time, I feel a little tired.

In less than half an hour, the girls were already losing interest.

Queen Zhao invited them to sit aside, have some snacks, drink some hot tea and take a rest.

The women nodded in agreement.

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(End of this chapter)