Harue Kagetsu

Yang Xuan came out of Gao Qiao, his back and forehead were still sweaty. He stood in the wind and blew for a while. When the sweat subsided, the abnormality of Xu Mi's anger first appeared in his heart. manner.

Over the years, the Xu Clan has fought against the Gao Clan and Lu Clan for the benefit of the portal.

Although the Xu family takes advantage of the relatives, in terms of prestige and family strength, it is not very likely that they want to overwhelm the Gao family. On the contrary, with the Lu family, because of their equal strength, the competition is even greater in terms of the recruitment and appointment of their disciples and the actual acquisition of local interests.

This time, in the face of the military pressure from Beixia, Xu Mi not only agreed with Gao Qiao leading the military, but also expressed his position at the court that the people of Xu's military mansion can be called by Gao Qiao.

After all, under the overturned nest, how could there be any eggs left? No matter how keen Xu Mi was to the benefits of the portal, he wouldn't be so stupid that he didn't take the national fortune seriously. He also gained a reputation for taking care of the overall situation.

But apart from this reason, Xu Mi's motives did not stop there.

Others may not know it, but Yang Xuan knows it well.

During the period of time shrouded in war clouds, Gao Yun and others had already gone to Jiangbei to prepare for the war. In Dayu, the court and the opposition were still pessimistic.

In the past 20 years, Beixia has successively annexed various Hu regimes established by Rouran, Xiongnu, Xianbei, etc., and unified the Central Plains.

In this battle, both in terms of population and strength, the difference between the north and the south is too great. Therefore, even if Gao Qiao had argued in the court many times, he believed that Beixia seemed to be strong, but in fact there was no internal bonding force. But from temples to ordinary people, everyone still doesn't hold much hope that Dayu can win this battle.

Xu Mi is no exception. When the troops were dispatched, they secretly retained their strength in the Jingxiang area where they had been operating for many years on the grounds of strengthening upstream defenses.

According to Xu Mi's plan, the Gao family would lead the war, and the Gao family would bear the brunt of the defeat. Not only did the Xu family not have to be blamed, but they also took advantage of this reserved territory to take advantage of the frustration of the Gao family.

Yang Xuan was aware of Xu Mi's deployment at that time, knowing that he did not cooperate with Gao Qiao as fully as he promised to Gao Qiao before.

But as the general of the Xu family, he could only follow orders.

What Xu Mi did not expect was that Dayu not only won this battle, but also won so quickly and beautifully.

The prestige of the Gao family also became more and more brilliant because of this battle, which made the Xu family even more powerless.

That's all for the Gao family. The Lu family, who had been evenly matched with the Xu family before the war, saw that because of their brother's excellence and marriage with the Gao family, they had left their own family behind.

Not to mention, if the two married, they would be closely integrated, and in the imperial court, Xu's last foothold would also be taken away.

How could Xu Mi be willing?

This happened just today. Li Mu, a poor family, had the idea of ​​marrying Gao Qiao's daughter.

For Xu Mi, didn't it just bring an opportunity?

Gao Qiaoruo married his daughter to Li Mu in order to keep his reputation as a gentleman. Not only will the Gao family be discredited among the gentry, but the Lu family will inevitably be ridiculed. Not only that, but the two families will also have a rift with each other.

Gao Qiaoruo refused Li Mu's marriage proposal on the grounds that he was not married, and still married with the Lu family, which would inevitably lead to a pretense of breaking the promise, and Li Mu would definitely turn against each other.

This matter, no matter what the final result is, for the Xu family, it is a sure-fire business, so how could he stop it?

Moreover, based on Yang Xuan's understanding of Xu Mi, under this situation, he is probably more willing to see Li Mu's marriage succeed.

Even though Li Muyin became the son-in-law of the Gao family, he would turn to the Gao family in the future. But for the gate valve, the value of a fierce general is nothing but a handy tool.

If the tool threatens oneself in the future, remove it.

And the benefit of the portal will always come first.

With Li Mu's age and previous experience, he had no chance to approach these gatekeepers, nor could he have imagined such a profound experience.

If he wanted to come this time, he was only full of vigor, and he didn't know much about the world, so he only wanted to ask to marry the daughter of the Gao family.

How could he know that this move of his had invisibly become a knife that might sway the game of interests that seemed to have been balanced for a long time among the top gentry portals of Gao, Xu, and Lu?

Yang Xuan figured out the joints, and he couldn't help but gasp, and the hot sweat that had just subsided rolled out again.

How terrifying the power of the gatekeepers is, he knows all too well.

It is as easy as the palm of your hand to strangle a prostitute like them, and let their children and descendants never come to the fore.

Without any hesitation, Yang Xuan decided to go to Li Mu immediately.

He must be told to retreat in spite of the difficulties, so as not to be involved in the undercurrent of this clan rivalry, and he will not know how he will die in the future.

Yang Xuan wiped his sweat and hurriedly walked away, only to hear a voice beside him: "General Yang, stay!"

Yang Xuan turned his head and saw several young men across from him.

One is Gao Qiao's nephew Gao Huan. The other, Lu Huanzhi, who seemed to be from the Lu family, with a big crown and high sandals, stood there with his arms crossed, looking at himself lightly.

The other man next to the two was older, similar to Li Mu, in his twenties, tall and tall, with a handsome face and a jade-like temperament, but between his eyebrows, there was a trace of the children of the gentry. The rare heroic spirit, compared with the children of Shi Zhu Fu Fen who came from the city in an ox cart to watch the army, stood out from the crowd and attracted attention.

This young man is Lu Jianzhi, the famous Lu family son.

Today, Xingping Emperor Xianjun, his name is also in the list of heroes. Besides, he has calmed down the rebellion in Linyi, and he has achieved both.

Yang Xuan naturally recognized him, but because of the disparity in status, he had no contact with him on weekdays. At this moment, when he saw that he had a warm smile on his lips, his clothes were fashionable, and he was walking towards him, he couldn't help being surprised and immediately greeted him.

Lu Jianzhi said: "I have heard the name of the general for a long time, and I am fortunate to see his true face, and he is indeed mighty."

Yang Xuan was even more surprised.

He had long heard that Lu Guang had always prided himself on his identity, and he valued the distinction between scholars and commoners.

But he didn't expect the famous Lu's eldest son, Jian Zhi, to have a high-spirited style. In his words, he didn't mean to look down on a poor general like himself, and hurriedly said: "Young master is wrong, Yang Xuan is afraid to take it."

After the chat was over, Lu Jianzhi said: "The general is mighty and powerful, and Li Mu under the tent is also extraordinary. In this Jiangbei battle, not only did he make extraordinary achievements, he became famous in the first battle, and he also rescued Zile before the battle. Li Mu's bravery is admirable. I regard Zi Le as my own brother. I have long wanted to thank Li Mu for a long time, but I have been involved in wars and never had the opportunity. Now that Jiangbei has been settled, it is a good opportunity. I have always had the pleasure of climbing high on Chongyang. When I want to arrive, I will invite Li Mu to climb Zhoushan to the north of the city and enjoy the autumn scenery together.

Yang Xuan was surprised again, and nodded hurriedly: "Young Master Cheng invites you, this is a rare opportunity, I will thank you on behalf of Li Mu. This will be passed on to him."

Lu Jianzhi nodded and said goodbye to him before leaving.

When the two of them were just talking, Gao Huan had been by his side. Seeing Yang Xuan gone, with a happy expression on his face, he greeted him and said, "Thank you, eldest brother!"

The color of gratitude is beyond words.

Lu Jianzhi smiled and said, "Even if you didn't speak up, I wanted to thank him. I just took this opportunity, and then the eldest brother will invite famous people from Jiankang, how?"

Gao Huan was overjoyed, while Lu Huanzhi frowned in disapproval: "Brother, he saved Zi Le, we naturally have to thank him, but we don't have to recruit teachers like this..."

Lu Jianzhi turned to look at him, his eyes fell on his face.

Lu Huanzhi went out of the city to watch the ceremony this morning. He rubbed balm on his face, and then put a thin layer of white powder on it. After a day, the powder layer fell off, mixed with sweat, leaving traces on his forehead, and some dirty powder on his eyebrows. , It doesn't look very elegant.

Gao Huan followed Lu Jianzhi's gaze, and couldn't help but let out a puff of joy.

Only then did Lu Huanzhi realize it. He touched his face and defended in a low voice, "I didn't want to wipe it. It's just that all those people in my company..."

Lu Jianzhi frowned slightly: "A man with a man's eyebrows, but he learns from that woman all day long, so it's no wonder that the northerners ridicule me that the southerners only have women and infants!"

Lu Huanzhi blushed, hurriedly took out a handkerchief and wiped his face vigorously.

After Gao Huan finished laughing, he couldn't bear his friend to fall into such an embarrassing situation.

If my uncle doesn't agree, then it's better to ask for it in the name of Lu Jianzhi. Presumably Li Mu should also be happy when he heard the news.

Gao Huan wanted to find it in person, but when he thought of his uncle's ban, although he couldn't understand it, he was even more dissatisfied. After all, he didn't dare to violate it clearly, so he looked for Lu Jianzhi and finally got his wish.

He suppressed his anticipation and let out a long sigh, hoping that the day of Chongyang would come earlier.

…

It's the time of the hour.

Usually at this o'clock, the Gao family is closed, and Luoshen also goes to bed early.

But tonight, the entire Gao family is still brightly lit. Gao Qi took the servants at home and waited for the return of the male master in the outer courtyard.

Luoshen is at Xiao Yongjia's side at the moment.

Seeing her yawning, Xiao Yongjia urged her to go back to her room to sleep first.

No matter how sleepy, Luoshen would not go to sleep at the moment.

She widened her eyes and shook her head: "I'm not sleepy. I'm going to wait for Aye to come back. Niang, let me comb your hair for you."

Luoshen has black and shiny hair. When it hangs down, under the light, it is like a fine silk with a beautiful luster.

This all comes from his mother Xiao Yongjia.

Her blue silk is so beautiful that it was once gifted with thousands of dollars, and it was widely spread.

This anecdote happened a few years ago, when Aju was drunk and chatted with Luoshen, she didn't intend to let it slip.

It is said that when the eldest princess was only the age of Luoshen, the Murong clan of Xianbei, who had not yet destroyed the country and was loyal to the banner of Nanyu, once sent messengers south to Jiankang to meet the late emperor.

At that time, there was a young Xianbei clan in the embassy. At a banquet held by the late emperor for the embassy, ​​he came across Princess Qinghe and fell in love with the princess. His admiration, he even expected Dayu to marry the princess.

Naturally, how could the late emperor let his proud and honorable princess daughter marry to the already crumbling vassal state in the north, so he rejected the Xianbei man on the grounds that the princess had a marriage contract. The Xianbei people left with regret.

After many years, everything is different.

The former princess is now a mother. And the country of Xianbei people has long been destroyed by Jie. Murongxi, the clan of that year, was named the Marquis of Daning after he surrendered to Beixia.

And the fu that was exchanged for the heavy sum of money was also early transformed into the thick smoke of Qinhuai River, leaving no traces.

But according to Aju, the whole chapter is rich in color, and the beauty of the princess is described and praised without hesitation with the most gorgeous rhetoric. Especially the blue silk is depicted as a beauty that can make people dream sustenance.

After Aju sobered up at that time, she repeatedly denied it, saying that it was all her own nonsense, and told Luoshen not to take it seriously.

Regardless of whether the anecdote is true or not, in Luoshen's heart, because of A Ju's drunken gaffe, the parent's past has become even more mysterious.

Although Xiao Yongjia is now middle-aged, his long hair is still black and shiny.

Aye will be back tonight.

Out of his own little selfishness that cannot be known to others, Luoshen suddenly wanted to help his mother brush her hair again, so that her hair would look more shiny and beautiful.

She took the sapphire comb, pressed Xiao Yongjia to the front of the mirror, knelt down behind her, looked into the mirror, and combed her mother's hair carefully.

After combing, the shrewd maid took out her mother's favorite bun, and with her little finger, picked out a little bit of rose lip balm that she had just blended out a few days ago, and lightly placed it on her mother's lips. .

The mouth fat is moist and delicate, and it melts on the lips.

Luoshen doesn't like to use these on weekdays, but he also likes the taste.

When she was busy, Xiao Yongjia couldn't stop complaining, but she still sat there, smiling, letting her daughter comb her hair and nod her lips.

"Auntie, Aye has worked so hard, and it's hard to get home. Don't drive him to the study to sleep at night, okay?"

Luoshen came over from behind, a pair of soft arms, wrapped around Xiao Yongjia's shoulders, put his lips to her ear, and pleaded quietly.

Xiao Yongjia turned his face and met his daughter's bright eyes filled with anticipation, and his heart suddenly became sour.

Before she had time to speak, she heard A Ju say, "Princess Chang, Xianggong is back!"