Jinghong Tower

In the blink of an eye, it was the end of the year. Over the years, He Ran spent most of the New Year in the army, and this year was no exception.

Before leaving, she went to visit Old Lady Meng. The old lady held her hand and insisted that she go with her.

"Take me with you, take me with you, Boss, can you take me with you?"

Her hair was as white as snow, but her smile was as bright as a spring flower. He Ran seemed to see again the slender figure that often appeared in the military camp decades ago. She knew no martial arts and was a delicate person, but she was still busy in the wounded camp while saying that her waist was about to break.

"Okay, let's celebrate the New Year in the military camp this year, okay?" He Ran said softly.

"Okay, okay, let's celebrate the New Year, let's celebrate the New Year!" Old Lady Meng clapped her hands happily and urged the maid to take the gifts she had prepared.

Young Master Jing and Grandma Jing stood far away.

He Ran said to Xiao Li: "Let's ask them to go together."

Although they are the sons and daughters-in-law of Jing Chongguang, they are also descendants of Old Lady Meng.

The couple never expected that Mr. He would let them join the army. They were flattered and honored.

The troops of He Xiulong are still staying in Jinling. He Ran sent someone to inform Old Lady Meng of their arrival, and He Xiulong then asked someone to find some soft cushions.

Also choosing to celebrate the New Year in the army this year are Xiu Gu, her daughter and grandson.

On this New Year's Eve, Old Lady Meng was extremely happy. She sat in front of the bonfire, watching the young people singing and dancing. She was laughing the whole time. Suddenly, someone sat next to her and said, "You said you would embroider a skirt for me. Do you remember?"

Old Lady Meng raised her head and looked at the person sitting next to her. She looked her up and down. Suddenly, she seemed to remember something and said in disbelief, "Xiu Gu? How come you are so old?"

Xiu Gu rolled her eyes and said, "You are over 90 years old. Who here is older than you?"

"Don't talk nonsense. Where is my skirt? Have you finished embroidering it?" Xiu Gu said.

Old Lady Meng was surprised: "You are actually married? I promised to embroider your wedding dress for you, but I thought you couldn't get married, so I forgot about it. I'm sorry, I will embroider it for you when I get home, or you can get married again?"

Xiu Gu's grandson Bai Zhiyuan laughed out loud when he heard this, and Xiu Gu glared at him fiercely.

Unexpectedly, Bai Zhiyuan's laughter attracted the attention of Old Lady Meng. When she saw Bai Zhiyuan, her eyes lit up: "Oh, what a handsome young man, where are you from? How old are you? Are you engaged? What do you think of my Shanshan? Hey, where is my Shanshan?"

Old Lady Meng looked around and suddenly became flustered. She grabbed He Ran's hand and said, "Boss, my Shanshan is missing. Go find her!"

He Ran once asked Master Jing and learned that he had a younger sister named Jing Shanshan. The former wife of the Duke, Li, was very wise and did not want to be in cahoots with Jing Chongguang. She separated the family and quietly fled with her three sons and one daughter long before Emperor Yonghe ascended the throne.

This is the first time that Old Lady Meng has thought of Jing Shanshan in such a long time.

She didn't even recognize the Young Master Jing and Madam Jing, who had always been by her side. She just followed the maids and called them "Young Master" and "Madam Jing".

He Ran was not in a hurry and comforted Old Lady Meng softly: "Shanshan has gone to visit relatives with her mother. The journey is long and it may take a while for her to come back."

The anxiety in Old Lady Meng's eyes gradually dissipated, but she became confused again: "Whose family is Shanshan from? Why can't I remember, is she a relative from my mother's side?"

Yes, she just remembered that there was a person named Shanshan, but she couldn't remember that she was her great-granddaughter.

In her world, there is no husband who betrayed her, nor the grandson who she once had high hopes for.

She no longer remembered any of the people who had saddened her, nor their children.

He Ran whispered to her: "Shanshan, she is the daughter of Mrs. Li in our army. She is lively, pretty and very cute."

Old Lady Meng smiled carefreely: "So she is in the army. No wonder I forgot there is such a lovely girl among my relatives. When she gets married, I will embroider a skirt for her myself."

Xiu Gu snorted coldly from the side. Old Lady Meng immediately shrank her neck, like a child who was caught after making a mistake, and hid behind He Ran: "Boss, hide me quickly. Xiu Gu has a bad temper. I dare not provoke her."

Suddenly, she seemed to think of something and said, "Go back and tell Master Zhou to treat her."

As soon as the words fell, He Ran clearly felt that Xiu Gu's aura had changed.

He Ran remembered that Xiu Gu did not accompany her to fight against King Xiping. She was with Rulan and Li Jinxiu at that time.

It was from that time that Xiu Gu began to be in charge of intelligence gathering.

It was at that time that Xiu Gu and Old Lady Meng came into contact. She had a bad temper and often quarreled with her even though they were comrades who had been through life and death together.

But she gave face to Old Lady Meng. When Jing Dashan wanted to divorce and remarry, Xiu Gu even wanted to assassinate Jing Dashan, but was stopped by He Jinghong.

However, He Ran did not realize until now that with Xiu Gu's personality, she would not open her heart to someone for no reason. What exactly was the reason for the friendship between her and Old Lady Meng?

Fortunately, after a while, Old Lady Meng began to doze off, and everyone helped her to go to He Xiulong's tent to rest. But just as she touched the pillow, Old Lady Meng woke up again and asked the maid, "Where is the headmistress? Go and call her over. I want to have a private word with her."

The maid was embarrassed and coaxed her like a child: "The boss is busy, how about you talk to the boss in private tomorrow morning?"

Old Lady Meng shook her head and said, "No, no, it will be too late tomorrow morning. Go and call the headmaster over."

The maid had no choice but to bite the bullet and go out to find Xiaoli. After Xiaoli heard about it, she told He Ran. He Ran put down the wine bowl in her hand without saying a word and went to see Old Madam Meng.

Seeing her coming, Mrs. Meng smiled. She took He Ran's hand and whispered, "Boss, I'm so happy today, so happy!"

He Ran patted her back gently: "I will take you to the army to celebrate the New Year every year in the future, okay?"

Old Lady Meng looked at her with reluctance in her eyes: "Boss, I heard that you are going back to the capital soon. Why don't you take me back to the capital too? I don't want to stay in Jinling. I want to go back to the capital."

Old Lady Meng was from the north. She had lived in the north for more than ninety years. At an old age, she was brought to Jinling by her grandson. Although travel between the north and the south is now smooth, she is too old to endure the long journey. She cannot return to her hometown in her lifetime.

He Ran couldn't bear to refuse, so she said vaguely: "Then you have to be obedient and take good care of yourself. When you are well, I will take you back to the capital, and then I will call Li Jinxiu and we will play mahjong together."

Old Lady Meng's eyes brightened, then dimmed again: "I'm almost forgetting how to play mahjong."

She vaguely remembered that it was Mr. He who taught them how to play mahjong.

"It's okay, I'll teach you then." He Ran comforted.

Old Lady Meng laughed again, and suddenly leaned close to He Ran's ear and whispered, "They all say you are her apprentice, but in fact you are her. Hehe, they are so stupid. Only I know that you are her."

He Ran stretched out her arms and embraced the thin body: "Yes, I am her. I am He Ran and also He Jinghong. You are so smart."

Old Lady Meng yawned and said, "I'm sleepy, Boss, you have to keep your word and take me back to the capital."

"Okay, I'll take you back to the capital." This time, He Ran didn't ask her to take care of her health. She couldn't bear to disappoint the old man.

"Great, great, I'm so happy today, I'm going back to the capital"

Old Lady Meng lay back on the pillow, her voice becoming quieter and quieter, He Ran quietly left, the maid came in and tucked in the quilt for Old Lady Meng. That night, He Ran stayed up with everyone until almost four o'clock in the morning before returning to the tent to sleep.

He Ran specially asked Xiu Gu to sleep with her. Xiu Gu sighed: "Sister Meng is confused, but it is a blessing."

He Ran felt the same way: "Who says it's not true?"

She thought of something and asked, "Who is the Master Zhou that Old Lady Meng mentioned?"

Xiu Gu hesitated for a moment, but she did not hide it: "Bai Die is not my biological daughter, you know this, right?"

He Ran really didn't know about this, and she suspected that even Xiao Ai and Xiao Kui didn't know about it.

After all, Xiu Gu had lost contact with everyone after she went south. When they learned that Bai Die was her daughter, they naturally assumed that she got married after going south.

As for where her husband went, who dares to ask? Who knows if she left him alone?

Seeing He Ran shaking her head, Xiu Gu said, "I think I forgot to say it."

He Ran laughed and waited for Xiu Gu to speak herself.

Xiu Gu thought for a while, as if she was trying to figure out where to start. After a long while, she spoke again: "That year, you all went to Yulin to fight. I set up a training camp in Qingyuan. One time on the way to Qingyuan, I was ambushed by Yang Shangwang's men."

King Yang Shang, a famous patriarch of the previous dynasty, was also one of Zhou Chi's mortal enemies.

Xiu Gu continued, "It was also because of my carelessness that I only brought Xianxian with me. We were outnumbered, and both Xianxian and I were injured. We fled separately, and I ran all the way and finally hid in a big cart.

The Master Zhou that Meng mentioned was in the carriage.

His name is Zhou Jing, and he is not from Zhoujiabao.

I pointed a knife at him, told him not to say anything, and asked the cart to go to Qingyuan instead.

He refused and fought desperately.

He has martial arts skills, but even if I am injured, he is no match for me.

Finally, I tied him up, gagged him, and ordered the driver to drive to Qingyuan.

The driver was so frightened that he dared not disobey.

A few hours later, we arrived at Qingyuan. I called on people to look for Xianxian. Fortunately, it didn't take long before we found Xianxian who was being besieged and rescued her.

I had already forgotten all about Zhou Jing at that time. It was not until the next day when my men asked me what to do with the man tied in the carriage that I remembered him.

I had someone untie him and take the rag out of his mouth.

As soon as he opened his mouth he started swearing at me, as if he wanted to kill me.

It was then that I learned that he had been separated from his wife and daughter. He heard that they had appeared in a large carriage inn, so he rushed over, but found out that they had just left, so he chased them, but he didn't expect that I would hijack their car on the way.
I felt guilty, so I promised to help him find his wife and daughter.

Later, I brought him to the station and sent someone to follow him to look for him. Only then did I know that he had a leg injury, so he could not ride a horse and could only take a car.

They went for half a month and finally returned empty-handed.

Over the past half month, his leg injury has not received any further treatment and has worsened.

You know, Old Lady Meng has always been kindhearted. When she learned that I brought back a wounded soldier, she eagerly came to help. After a while, she became familiar with me and Zhou Jing. "

He Ran remembered that Old Lady Meng said she wanted to embroider a wedding dress for Xiu Gu, so she asked, "Are you and Zhou Jing together?"

Xiu Gu laughed at herself and said, "I am just unrequited love, he doesn't have me in his heart, only his wife and daughter.

Old Lady Meng saw through it and advised me not to be sad. In the chaos of war, Zhou Jing's wife and daughter might have passed away long ago. She asked me to put my worries aside for now and wait until she was sure that Zhou Jing's wife and daughter were all gone. She would then act as a matchmaker for me and even embroider a skirt for me as a wedding dress.

Later, when his legs had just gotten better and he was able to walk, he left, and I never saw him again."

He Ran sighed silently in her heart. She never expected that Xiu Gu would have such an experience.

She thought of Bai Die and asked, "What's going on with Bai Die?"

Xiu Gu said: "Bai Die is the adopted daughter of Zhou Jing's wife."

He Ran exclaimed, she thought Bai Die was Zhou Jing's daughter, but it turned out to be an adopted daughter.

Xiu Gu continued, "I went south that year, although I was angry, I really wanted to go. First, I knew that the last place the boss was seen was in the two lakes, and second, I found out the whereabouts of Zhou Jing's wife and daughter.

Later, after some twists and turns, I finally found them, but unfortunately Zhou Jing's wife had died, and only his daughter Zhou Ting and adopted daughter Xiaodie were left.

At that time, Zhou Ting was already eighteen years old. Xiaodie was a baby girl picked up by her mother. Not long after, her mother passed away. Zhou Ting was an orphan and had a child, which caused a lot of rumors.

I found her, brought Bai Die with me, and prepared a dowry for Zhou Ting, so that she could marry off in style. She is now in Hangzhou and has become a grandmother. "

He Ran asked, "You haven't heard from Zhou Jing since then?"

Xiu Gu shook her head: "I have looked for it, and Zhou Ting has also looked for it, but there is nothing."

He Ran thought for a moment and said, "You must have heard of Zhou Cangyue, right?"

"Of course, who in the world doesn't know Zhou Cangyue?" Xiu Gu said.

He Ran: "Old Lady Meng mistook Zhou Cangyue for Zhou Jing."

Xiu Gu was shocked. She had never met Zhou Cangyue and had never connected Zhou Cangyue with Zhou Jing.

He Ran said: "Zhou Cangyue's life story is very legendary, and he doesn't know who his biological father is."

Xiu Gu had heard that Zhou Cangyue was born into the Beggar Gang and was an orphan.

"Zhou Jing is from the Lin'an Zhou clan. The Lin'an Zhou clan and the Zhoujiabao in Jin were descended from the same ancestor. Later, they turned against each other. One branch of the Zhou clan fled Lin'an, and the other established Zhoujiabao and became a local lord. The two Zhou clans have not had any contact since then."

The two chatted until almost dawn before going to bed. Unexpectedly, just as they fell asleep, they heard Xiaoli's voice coming from outside: "Boss, wake up!"

He Ran was startled, then immediately woke up and asked, "What's wrong?"

Xiaoli's voice was filled with tears: "Old Lady Meng is gone." (End of this chapter)