Jinghong Tower

Chapter 406: Wu Bi Hong Xiu
General He Dali of Anyuan led his troops into the city. The next day, when the snow stopped, dozens of large pots were set up in the city. The Ran army took out military rations and provided porridge to the people.

Two days later, merchants from Xi'an and Xianyang came into the city, bringing with them rice, medicinal herbs, charcoal and cotton-padded clothes to keep warm. In the previous three months, these were good things that could not be bought even with money.

Seven days later, He Dali took it upon himself to give Wu Ji a grand funeral.

The reason why it is said to be a self-initiative is that He Dali has not received any orders from the capital.

Wu Dongming had a certain prestige not only in Yulin, but also in the entire northwest. After Wu Dongming's death, He Ran ordered He Dali to bury Wu Dongming with the ceremony of a marquis.

People do not know about the grievances between the father and son of the Wu family. They only know that Wu Ji is the son of Wu Dongming. Therefore, no matter what, Wu Ji must be buried with honor.

But Wu Ji was the King of Chang'an, and He Dali was not sure whether he could be buried according to the rites for a king or a duke. But he couldn't just keep his body unburied. The New Year was approaching, and it would not be auspicious to keep the body unburied.

So He Dali gave Wu Ji a grand funeral, but not according to the specifications for a prince.

Due to the freezing weather, the correspondence between Qianzhou and the capital became slow.

It was not until the end of the first month of the year that letters from the capital finally arrived in Qianzhou. By then, it had been two months since Wu Ji committed suicide.

As expected, He Ran said in the letter that Wu Dongming was buried with the ceremony of a marquis, and a son could not surpass his father, so Wu Ji should be buried in the name of General Chang'an.

King of Chang'an, not recognized.

There was no monument in front of Wu Ji's tomb yet. After receiving the order, He Dali asked the craftsmen to carve the monument overnight and selected an auspicious day to erect the monument for Wu Ji.

It is already February. Spring comes late in the northwest, but it is no longer as cold as winter.

From Yulin to Qianzhou, all the troops have returned to Ran Army. The roads are clear, the city gates are open, merchants from all over the country are pouring in, and officials sent from the capital are arriving one after another. This land that has experienced the baptism of war has once again ushered in vitality.

On the day when the monument was erected, there was a huge crowd of people outside Qianzhou City. Not only were there people from Qianzhou, but there were also officials and common people from all over the northwest, including former members of the Wu family who had come all the way from Yulin.

He Dali read aloud the eulogy written by Nie Chen himself. In the past two or three years, Nie Chen has been very famous. When many people learned that the eulogy was written by him, they sighed silently in their hearts.

From the beginning to the end, He Ran never concealed the achievements of the Wu father and son in fighting against the Tartars. The Wu family held Yulin for decades, making the Tartars terrified and dared not to cross the line. The loyal souls of the Wu family will be recorded in history.

On Wu Ji's tombstone, there is a detailed account of his heroic deeds in fighting against the Tartars, but there is no mention of what he did after coming to Xi'an.

The old members of the Wu family were even more moved to tears. What if they were not buried as princes? He Ran gave the Wu family the last dignity. Thousands of years later, Wu Dongming and Wu Ji would be recorded in history books as national heroes.

The winner is the king and the loser is the bandit. The King of Chang'an was just an unsuccessful rebel king, while the national hero can shine like a sun and moon.

"Young Master is so confused, so confused!"

In the crowd, an old man wiped his eyes with his sleeve and muttered to himself.

The grandson beside him quickly pulled him out of the crowd: "Alright, alright, stop crying. You came all the way from Yulin, don't cry and hurt yourself."

"I just feel sorry for the eldest son. He was such a steady person before, how could he make such an outrageous mistake when he was confused? He harmed himself and the old general. Alas, the whereabouts of the second son are still unknown."

"That's why I don't marry. Women will only slow down my sword-drawing speed."

"Nonsense, how can you not marry a wife? Go back to Yulin, go back now, and see her when you get back!"

When the news of Wu Ji's death reached Longxi, He Shuting locked herself in the room, not crying or making a fuss, just sitting there in a daze.

The man who saved her from danger, the man who pitied and loved her, ended his life in this way.

General Changan?

He Shuting sneered, "He Ran, you shouldn't do this. Wu Ji is already dead. You don't even let a dead person go. You bury him as a prince. What do you lose?"
But you refused to even give him posthumous honors. You are so cruel!
Wu Ji is no longer the King of Chang'an, so what about her?

Without the Prince of Chang'an, she would certainly not be the Princess of Chang'an.

He Shuting gritted her teeth. Fortunately, this was Longxi, and the Meng family army in Longxi would not listen to He Ran.

Although Wu Ji had already been buried, since the news had reached Longxi, He Shuting, as his first wife, still had to hold the funeral.

After Meng Zhong was entrusted with the care of his son by Xiao He before his death, he "accidentally" fell off the bed and died.

After Xiao He and Fang Dalong's affair was exposed, they were hacked to death by the angry generals of the Meng family army.

Meng Zhong's son, grandson, and younger brother all died. Because Meng Cheng raped his eldest sister-in-law, Meng Cheng's wife and children were ashamed, so they simply took the family's valuables and left Longxi overnight.

Now, only He Jiang and his daughter He Shuting live in the huge Meng Mansion.

Wu Ji's funeral was held in the Meng Mansion. Although the plaque of the Meng Mansion has not been taken down yet, there is no one with the surname Meng in the mansion anymore.

But He Shuting didn't expect that when she was dressed in mourning and pregnant with a big belly to receive the wives of the generals, the wives didn't call her princess, but Madam Chang'an.

Madam Changan?

What is this name?
But He Shuting soon discovered that what had changed was not only the name but also everyone's attitude towards her.

Although the emperor is far away, these people used to be respectful to her. Although they were from the Meng family army, Meng Zhong was Wu Dongming's subordinate. Therefore, for many years, everyone in the Meng family army, from top to bottom, worshipped Wu Dongming as a god, and they also valued Wu Ji, who was already the King of Chang'an, very much.

He Shuting is not only Wu Ji's first wife, she is also Wu Dongming's eldest daughter-in-law and is pregnant with Wu Dongming's eldest grandson. Her identity represents her status. In this remote place, she is as noble as a crown princess.

But now Wu Dongming is dead, Wu Ji is dead, and the King of Chang'an has become the General of Chang'an. With Wu Ju's whereabouts unknown, the once glorious Wu family is now left with only two widows.

In the past, news of what happened in Xi'an did not reach Longxi due to the long distance. However, as time went by, and the roads there became unblocked and the weather turned warmer, merchants began to travel between Longxi, Xi'an and Xianyang, so news of what happened at that time gradually reached Longxi.

The Wu father and son became alienated, Wu Ji declared himself king, He Shuting killed the shopkeeper of Jinghong Tower, He Ran was furious, Wu Ji robbed everything, the people besieged the palace, He Shuting escaped from Xi'an, and Wu Dongming's son died to atone for his sin!

The people of Longxi understood.

Meng Jiajun understood.

So you are this kind of Princess Chang'an!

He Shuting is sober.

She knew long ago that without Wu, she would be nothing. But she was lucky, as she was already pregnant when she escaped from Xi'an.

She thought that with the child in her belly, she could still enjoy the glory of the Wu family.

But she didn't expect that these people didn't care about her belly at all. In their eyes, she was just a widow.

The wives of the generals also changed their previous respectful attitude towards her, and their tone gradually became harsh.

"Madam He, I heard that Madam Wu is now in Xi'an. She has a stroke and cannot take care of herself. As her daughter-in-law, you should take care of her and show filial piety."

"Yes, yes. How can a daughter-in-law be out and about while her mother-in-law is sick in bed?"

"Also, Madam He, you came to Longxi after General Wu passed away. You were still in mourning at that time. Oh, your father-in-law's body was still warm, but you, as his daughter-in-law, came out to show your face in public. Wow, this is the first time I've seen you do that."

He Shuting's face was as gloomy as water. She was indeed in mourning. She was in it before and even more so now. The Wu family was almost extinct. How could she not be in mourning?

But this was just the beginning. Wu Ji's funeral had just ended when the news that He Shuting was He Ran's sister reached Longxi.

This matter was no secret in Xi'an. In order to raise He Shuting's value, He Jiang and his wife "inadvertently" released this news. Although it has never been confirmed, those wealthy families have been discussing it privately.

It was just that due to the power of the Wu family, everyone just closed the door and discussed it at home.

However, following the incident at Jinghong Tower, these discussions gradually died down.

If He Shuting is really He Ran's sister, why would she attack Jinghong Tower?
Either there is only hatred and no love between the sisters, or this is a fake.

But now that the Wu family has fallen, these things have become the topic of conversation after dinner, and have been blown to the distant Longxi by the spring breeze.

At the same time, news also came of the past stories of the real and fake daughter of the He family in Zhending.

My goodness! The whole Longxi was in an uproar.

This He Shuting is only He Jiang’s adopted daughter, so where is her real mother’s home and what is her background?
He Ran was born in the He family of Zhending. If He Shuting was just her cousin, it would be fine. But according to rumors, she was He Ran's biological sister. What was that? Of course, she couldn't be the fake daughter of the He family. Then she could only be the daughter of He Ran's stepmother.

It is said that the stepmother was married during the mourning period.

He Shuting also showed up in public during the mourning period and ran from Xi'an to Longxi.

If He Ran admitted that He Shuting was her sister, then she would now be as delicate and precious as the eldest princess.

How did he end up in Longxi?
Either it is fake, or she fabricated an identity in order to marry into the Wu family.

Or maybe He Ran didn't recognize her at all. No, she offended He Ran and the entire Wu family.

This is a disaster, she can't stay in Longxi!

The white lanterns at the gate of the Meng Mansion had not yet been taken down when a group of soldiers broke into the mansion. The general in the lead was named Yu, and he was in his thirties. His mother's family was related to the Meng family, but the relatives were distant and distant. Therefore, when Meng Zhong was alive, he was just an ordinary general, and Meng Zhong did not treat him as a relative.

He Jiang came out after hearing the news, his face full of displeasure: "General Yu, what do you mean by this?"

General Yu looked around and said disdainfully: "This is my cousin's home. Do I need outsiders' permission to come to my cousin's home?"

After saying that, General Yu looked He Jiang up and down and said, "By the way, I heard that you are the cousin of that bitch He? He did something shameful and couldn't even enter the Meng family's ancestral tomb. You are her mother's family, and you still have the nerve to stay here?"

He Jiang had risen from a soldier, so General Yu's sarcasm could not irritate him. But before he could retort, General Yu waved his hand and said, "Come here, tie up the murderer who killed General Meng Er!"

He Jiang's personal soldiers rushed over and fought with General Yu's men. Even the maidservant beside He Shuting joined in.

In the chaos, someone shouted loudly: "General Yu, General Yu!"

At this moment, a woman flew to a high place, holding a bloody head in her hand.

"The man surnamed Yu is dead. If anyone wants to avenge him, just come up. I am not afraid!"

Everyone looked and saw that the woman was young and beautiful. She was Hongxiu, the maidservant beside He Shuting.

He Jiang's cheek twitched. He never expected that these maidservants' martial arts skills were so high.

He had seen Wu Bi kill people before, but she only did it after knocking her opponent unconscious. This was the first time He Jiang had seen someone take someone's head in a fight.

He asked He Shuting, and found out that all these maidservants were from the Zhang and Liu families in Yulin.

The mistresses of these two families are sisters. They are both martial artists and all the women in their families know martial arts. Even the maids are taught by famous teachers. Yulin is a frontier city and is often harassed by Tartars. In addition, the local people are fierce. Therefore, the wealthy families in Yulin often use their connections and spend a lot of money to buy martial arts maids for their female relatives from the Zhang and Liu families. However, the Zhang and Liu families do not make money by doing this. Therefore, in Yulin, if any lady can get one or two martial arts maids from the Zhang and Liu families, it is considered a face-saving thing.

When He Shuting was still living in He Jiang's house, He Jiang asked someone to ask the Zhang and Liu families, but unfortunately they were both rejected.

He Shuting brought four maids from Xi'an. They were all asked by Wu Ji from the Zhang family. This shows the respect that the Zhang family has for the Wu family.

He Jiang was most impressed by the maidservant named Hongxiu. He used to think she was beautiful, but now he knows that her martial arts skills are so high.

If she were asked to assassinate someone, she should be able to do it.

Once this thought arises, it can no longer be suppressed.

In the capital, Zhong Yi came to see He Ran. He brought two pieces of news. One was that Feng Zhaoyan and Feng Jianjian were captured. No wonder it took the Jinyiwei four months to catch them. It turned out that Feng Zhaoyan had successfully lost weight and transformed from a round fat man into a thin and skinny old man.

The Jinyiwei went to the alley where he lived three times, but they didn't recognize him!

There were no special markings on Feng Zhaoyan, so after catching him, Zhong Yi asked Mrs. Feng to identify him in order to confirm his identity. He also sent people to Feng Zhaoyan's hometown to find his cousin. This cousin was 60% similar to the current Feng Zhaoyan, so it was confirmed that this person was Feng Zhaoyan.

The second piece of news that Zhong Yi brought was a piece of information that had already been translated.

The intelligence now used by Jinyiwei is the code borrowed from Jinghonglou. According to the code, they look for the corresponding text in a popular book.

This information came from Hongxiu, a maidservant of He Shuting.

Like Lan Ruo and Lu Mingming, she is a killer trained by King Jin.

Lan Ruo died early, and she and Lu Mingming were taken to Hengshan by Zhong Yi. Later, she was sent to the northwest and followed He Shuting all the way to Longxi.