Do you know: I’m Xu Jiazi

Rong Xian sat up straight and looked at Rong Feiyan: "Sister, are you serious?"

Rong Feiyan nodded.

Rong Xian put down the teacup, stood up and said: "Your brother said you are a little girl in the inner house, and you still don't accept it!"

"Let me tell you this, when Jing Ge'er and I didn't know each other, Yongyi Hou was already serving in the Western Army."

"After fighting Baigao and Wusi Zang for more than ten years, it was an old battle. Have you ever heard that Yongyi Hou had been defeated?"

Rong Feiyan's eyes turned, looking thoughtful.

"Don't think about it, I have never lost!"

Hearing her brother's words, Rong Feiyan nodded quickly.

"This veteran general, facing a fortress like Keyi Gate, some people actually say that Xu Hou underestimated the enemy?" Rong Feiyan hesitated and said, "But, Xu Hou really won a great victory! He destroyed a military commander of Baigao State and captured a piece of land for raising horses! Maybe he wanted to win it in one battle like Dengkou!" Rong Xian: "Uh, this... this is different!" Seeing his sister's inquiring eyes, Rong Xian's mind turned quickly, racking his brains and saying, "I heard that Keyi Gate is a fortress! If Xu Hou really wanted to win it in one battle, he would have started the war last month. Why wait until now? Month?"

Rong Feiyan shook her head in disapproval, and said: "Brother, isn't the Yongyi Marquis preparing baggage and arrows, so he waited until this month?"

"You and me. This. Sister! Which side are you on? Maybe this is the Yongyi Marquis's strategy!"

Rong Feiyan pursed her lips: "Brother, what strategy is to make yourself lose first? Won't it lose morale?"

Rong Xian swallowed his saliva, stood up and said: "I can't argue with you! I don't want pocket money! Anyway, I think that the Yongyi Marquis is not so easy to underestimate the enemy!"

As he said, Rong Xian picked up the helmet and was about to leave the house.

"Brother!"

"What for?"

"If the Yongyi Marquis gets into trouble, the Xu family may be implicated! There are many people in Bianjing who don't get along with him, and there will be no lack of sarcasm. Brother, you..."

Rong Xian held the helmet with one hand, turned his back to his sister, closed his eyes and exhaled.

Turning back, he said helplessly, "Okay! I'll go find Jing Ge'er after I get off duty these few days. If I meet someone who is not careful with his words, I will help Jing Ge'er! Okay?"

"Thank you, brother!"

Looking at his smiling sister, Rong Xian waved his hand and walked straight out of the house.

Just after leaving the moon gate of Huixueyuan, a voice behind him shouted, "Young Master, wait a minute!"

The helmet in Rong Xian's hand had been handed over to the servant. He looked back at Ningxiang who was chasing after him and said, "What? Does your lady have anything else to say?"

Ningxiang smiled and took out a few silver bills from her sleeve and said, "Young Master, this is what the lady asked me to give you!"

Rong Xian took the silver bills, unfolded them, and stared at the amount on them. While putting the silver bills back into his arms, he said, "Your lady is willing to give silver bills to his brother now."

Ningxiang smiled and bowed.

Jiying Lane

Sheng Family

Shou'an Hall

The old lady walked slowly in the hall with her hands behind her back and a solemn expression.

"The master is here!"

A little maid shouted outside the door.

Sheng Hong lifted the curtain and walked in, walked quickly to the old lady, and said with a bow: "Mother, you know the news that my son asked Dong Rong to bring back!"

The old lady nodded and raised her chin, motioning Sheng Hong to sit down.

Sheng Hong looked at the old lady walking back and forth, and wanted to speak several times, but seemed to be afraid of disturbing the old lady's thoughts, so he swallowed his words.

When the old lady sat on the Luohan chair, Sheng Hong leaned forward and said, "Mother, will the emperor punish my cousin for this defeat?"

The old lady narrowed her eyes and frowned, saying, "Hong'er, did you hear in the court how many soldiers your cousin lost in this battle?"

Sheng Hong: "Some said hundreds of people were lost, and some said thousands!"

The old lady breathed a sigh of relief and nodded with a thankful tone: "Not bad, not bad!"

Looking at Sheng Hong's surprised eyes, the old lady said: "Your cousin is a general with nearly 100,000 troops under his command! The battle was fierce, and the loss of these people is nothing. There were defeated troops!"

"Otherwise, there would not be such casualties."

Sheng Hong nodded and said, "That's good! Mother, since there will be no punishment, will my cousin be replaced?"

The old lady hesitated for a long time before speaking: "It shouldn't be!"

"But, mother, didn't you see that His Majesty's face was not good after hearing about this matter in the court today?"

The old lady was stunned: "Hong'er, are you saying that His Majesty was unhappy after hearing about this?"

Sheng Hong thought about it and nodded: "Mother, that's right!"

The old lady's eyes were clear, and she clenched her fist and gently hammered the table.

Sheng Hong saw the old lady's expression, thought for a moment, and his eyes lit up and said: "Mother, are you saying that His Majesty was not angry because of my cousin's small defeat, but because some court officials exposed this matter?"

Looking at the old lady nodded.

Sheng Hong felt relieved, and said with some annoyance: "Hey, mother, I just figured it out now!" Seeing that the old lady's face was not relaxed, Sheng Hong said: "Mother, why are you still worried?" The old lady sighed: "Oh, I'm afraid that my two nephews in the school will be disturbed by this news! The college entrance examination is approaching, it's really a sin!" "Send someone to ask them to come to my place after school!" "Yes, mother!" At the intersection of Quyuan Street, Xu Zaijing stopped his horse and looked at Rong Xian beside him, saying: "Brother Xian, come to my house for a cup of tea!"

Rongxian shook his head and said, "I just wanted to play with you on a whim, so I won't go. I have something to do in the evening."

Xu Zaijing smiled and cupped his hands and said, "Then, when our college exam is over, I'll treat Brother Xian to a drink."

Rong Xian smiled and waved his riding crop: "You said this, I took it to heart! Brother Zhang is gone!"

Zai Zhang: "Walk slowly!"

Seeing Rong Xian walking away, Xu Zaijing and his brother rode their horses and turned to Quyuan Street.

roadside,

Seeing Zai Zhang and Xu Zaijing riding over,

Shu Bo and Chu Zhan forced a smile and bowed their hands towards the two brothers.

After the two brothers nodded in return, Zai Zhang said: "It looks like you already know about your father!"

Xu Zaijing nodded.

Yong Yihou Mansion,

Two doors,

Xu Zaijing got off the horse, patted Xiao Liju's neck, and took Qingcao into the inner courtyard with his brother.

When I arrived at my mother's yard, I saw a decent steward standing at the door.

"Youqing! Is your brother-in-law here?"

Gu Tingyu's personal attendant Youqing held up his hands: "I've seen Sanlang, Wulang! The young master came with the eldest lady."

Hearing this, Xu Zaijing and his brother quickened their pace and entered the house.

"Sister, brother-in-law!"

After calling someone, the two sat on the chairs.

Xu Zaijing said: "Sister, why didn't you bring my nephew and my nephew's daughter?"

"Your nephew and niece are staying at home with their grandmother!" Pingmei said.

Gu Tingyu said nothing. He studied the expressions of Xu Zaijing and Zai Zhang. He looked sideways at Sun and Ping Mei, and said, "Mother-in-law, madam, I see that my two brothers have been untied."

After listening to her eldest son-in-law's words, Mrs. Sun looked at her two sons questioningly.

Zai Zhang nodded and explained a few words with a smile.

Gu Tingyu on the side said: "What your Majesty ultimately wants is to regain your homeland. Your Majesty will not care about some twists and turns!"

"Although we, noble children, may have titles, it is better to have fame! My great-aunt said these things very well,"

Zai Zhang nodded.

Xu Zaijing frowned, looked at the people in the hall and said: "Brother-in-law! I was watching at the gate just now. My family's soldiers and old friends all know about this, then..."

After saying that, Xu Zaijing stood up and looked at his mother and said, "Let me know if you want to send someone to Fourth Sister's place!"

Pingmei and Sun looked at each other: "You are the only one who loves your sister. My mother and I are not close to Anmei."

Xu Zaijing scratched his head in embarrassment and sat down again.

Gu Tingyu, who was sitting aside, waited for Xu Zaijing to sit down and said in a deep voice:

"Actually, I also find it strange! Whether it was the Hehuang opening or the battle between Tuoxi Marquis and Bai Gaoguo, the news of victory or defeat on the battlefield has never spread so fast like my father-in-law!"

"Maybe some people in Beijing have some ideas!"

Sun said: "When something happened to the Huyan family before, someone wanted your father-in-law to return to Beijing. Now the situation is much the same!"

"That's what my mother-in-law said!"

Later, after Xu Zaijing and his brother asked for advice on some reading matters, Gu Tingyu got up and prepared to leave the Xu family with Heping Mei.

Zai Zhang stood up and looked at his mother with some doubts, and said, "Brother-in-law, you won't stay."

Xu Zaijing tugged at Zai Zhang's sleeve. Zai Zhang didn't say the rest of the sentence. Xu Zaijing leaned into Zai Zhang's ear and said, "Brother, Zhongyuan is approaching. It's not good for my brother-in-law and sister to go back too late!"

Zai Zhang clicked his tongue in annoyance.

After leaving the hall, Gu Tingyu cupped his hands and said, "Mother-in-law, just stay here and let Zai Zhang and Zai Jing see me off."

Pingmei was also advising Xie and Hualan.

Mrs. Sun nodded and sent the person to the door of the courtyard.

On the way to Ermen,

The four of them walked side by side.

Gu Tingyu looked sideways at his two brothers-in-law and said, "Go to the Taoist Temple tomorrow. When the Lu family brothers arrive, we will go directly to the Gu family in Xingguofang. Let's go together."

Ping Mei, who was standing outside Gu Tingyu, said, "The Lu family sent someone here before you guys finished school, and we made an appointment to meet tomorrow."

This also tells everyone who sees it that Duke Lian's government doesn't care about Yongyi Hou's affairs.

At the gate of Xu’s house,

Looking at the Gu family's carriage going away, Xu Zaijing and his brother smiled and waved, then nodded to Chu Zhan who was looking at them, and then returned to the house.

Chu Zhan walked back under the tarpaulin and said, "Grandpa Shu, I see that the two young masters are fine!"

Shu Bo said: "Don't let the customers in, let's close the stall today!"

"So early?"

"Um!"

July 15th

Hungry Ghost Festival,

In the Xu family ancestral hall,

In front of the spiritual throne like a forest,

Placed on the table are three large bowls of vegetarian food, symbolizing a good harvest for the family and asking ancestors not to worry that future generations will not have enough to eat.

Just like last year, Xu Zaijing was kneeling behind Zai Zhang, listening to Zai Zhang whispering.

The difference is that this year, there is a small figure beside Xu Zaijing, who is also kneeling on the ground like Xu Zaijing. Who is it if it is not Lu Zezong?

After Zai Zhang finished speaking, he kowtowed to the many spiritual tablets. Xu Zaijing and Lu Zezong hurriedly kowtowed to one of them.

Then, the three of them got up and walked outside the ancestral hall together.

After leaving the gate of Hou Mansion,

He, Shu Bo, Chu Zhan and others got on the flat carriage and rushed towards the Taoist temple they had visited last year.

On the way, we went to Xingguofang and met the two Gu brothers.

Entered the Taoist temple,

Everyone got off the carriage,

Seeing the huge wooden frame set up in the yard, Lu Zezong still leaned towards Xu Zaijing although he was holding Xu Zaijing's hand.

Xu Zaijing gently shook Lu Zezong's hand, and when he looked over, he gave him an encouraging smile.

Just like last year, the wooden frame contained a huge mountain of money prepared by the Ministry of Rites.

The difference was that there were many more Taoist priests from the Taoist temple around the wooden frame. When they saw a child approaching, they immediately waved their whisks to block the child outside.

What happened last year made people's scalps numb when they thought about it.

People from various families around were busy placing various paper offerings on the huge wooden frame.

The offerings from the Xu family were similar to those last year, except that there were many more paper swords, spears, and halberds.

Shu Bo looked around from time to time beside the carriage, and talked to the old friends in the Marquis' Mansion when he met them.

Sometimes when talking about old friends who had met at this time last year but were separated by the Yin and Yang this year, Shu Bo would sigh heavily.

When the offerings were almost half placed, Zai Zhang said, "Xiao Wu, don't stay here all the time. You and Brother Zong should go to the Lu family to take a look!"

"I know, brother!"

After that, Xu Zai Jing led Lu Ze Zong to the place where the Lu family placed the offerings.

Seeing Xu Zai Jing and Lu Ze Zong coming, the steward of the Lu family hurriedly asked the two to place a few things symbolically, and then asked them to stand aside.

The Lu family is closer to the place where the Duke of England Zhang's family placed the offerings, and not far away is the Zhongjing Marquis Zheng's family.

However, this year, the two families visited the place where the offerings were placed, but there were no Zhang Sanlang, Silang or Zheng Xiao, who Xu Zai Jing was familiar with, and only the stewards and old friends of the two families were busy.

Lu Zezong beside Xu Zaijing noticed something. He looked up at Xu Zaijing and said, "Brother, what are you looking at?"

Xu Zaijing lowered his head and smiled, "Nothing!"

Lu Zezong continued, "Brother, why didn't I see so many people wearing white cloth strips on their heads last year?"

Xu Zaijing looked around and looked at the people wearing white cloth strips in his brother's mouth. He said softly, "Brother Zong, they are the children of Bian Jing who died in the northwest this year. This is the first year that relatives have to wear white cloth strips."

Lu Zezong: "Oh! No wonder there are so many people on the side of Tuoxihou!"

Xu Zaijing sighed. He didn't know how many families in the Cao family of Tuoxihou died in the battle because of protecting their brother-in-law.

Afterwards, Xu Zaijing continued to look around.

Just then, he looked at a young man wearing white cloth and looked familiar. Xu Zaijing had outstanding eyesight and could see that this man must have cried just now.

Perhaps because he had finished his own things, the young man saw Xu Zaijing and walked over.

Xu Zaijing also recognized this person. It was Wang Hou, whom he had met in Panlou before. His father, Wang Shao, led the expansion of the Hehuang frontier. Now he was in Hehuang with the generals of the Great Zhou to attack the Baigao Kingdom from the south.

Xu Zaijing whispered a few words to Lu Zezong, and Lu Zezong loosened his hand.

Xu Zaijing bowed and said, "Brother Chudao!"

Lu Zezong: "Brother Wang Hou!"

"Brother Jing! Brother Zong!"

Wang Hou bowed in return and stood beside the two without saying a word, continuing to watch the huge wooden frame gradually filled with all kinds of things.

"Brother Wang Hou, did you also have relatives who died in battle?"

Hearing Lu Zezong's voice, Wang Hou shook his head to Xu Zaijing who was about to say something, indicating that it was okay, and nodded to Lu Zezong: "Yes, a cousin who grew up with me, during the siege. Alas!"

Wang Hou sighed, looked at Xu Zaijing and said: "I heard about the matter of Yongyi Hou. After chatting with Chaojie, Herui and others, I felt that Yongyi Hou was luring the snake out of the hole. Brother Jing, don't think too much, just concentrate on the college entrance examination!"

Xu Zaijing bowed: "Yes, thank you for your enlightenment, brother Chudao."

Wang Hou patted Xu Zaijing's arm: "It's okay!"

Several people were speechless and continued to watch the people around them placing things.

After more than three quarters of an hour, there were fewer people placing offerings around the shelf.

Suddenly,

Xu Zaijing's eyes focused on a person who had put away the things and left the offerings full of paper money, paper horses, etc.

Noticing Xu Zaijing's gaze, the man took a look and then walked over and bowed:

"Hello, Wulang."

"Brother Gao, what are you doing?"

The man was Gao Yunqing, a clerk of the Imperial City Department who followed Zhao Meifeng.

Gao Yunqing sighed and raised his chin towards a family of one adult and two children wearing white cloth at the side of the crowd.

Xu Zaijing looked over and saw a mother with two children, a boy and a girl. The boy was holding

Perhaps infected by the sad atmosphere, Xu Zaijing took a deep breath, adjusted his mood and said: "Is it the family of the two imperial city clerks who failed to do their job when the Bai Gaoguo masters came to my house before?"

Gao Yunqing: "Yes."

Xu Zaijing looked at the long sword in the boy's hand, which was quite characteristic of Bai Gaoguo, and said: "How did they die?"

"When I followed Xu Hou to attack Dengkou military camp, I climbed the first and fought until I was exhausted."

"How many did I kill?"

"The military report said that I killed twelve people with my own hands."

Looking at Xu Zaijing's silence, Gao Yunqing said: "Brother Jing, don't take it to heart! According to the rules of the department, they should be beheaded on the day of dereliction of duty."

"Now that they have the merit of climbing the first and these twelve bandit leaders, their family will not be bad."

Xu Zaijing nodded.

After Gao Yunqing finished speaking, he bowed and said, "Wu Lang, I'm going over."

"Yes."

After another quarter of an hour,

a drum sounded,

the Taoist priests in the Taoist temple began to check the shelves.

After the Taoist priests came out,

the huge mountain of money was ignited.

The blazing flames ignited the offerings around Qianshan, and the huge flames were reflected in Xu Zaijing's eyes.

A quarter of an hour later,

Lu Zezong tugged at Xu Zaijing's clothes: "Brother, let's go!"

"Let's go!"

Time flies

It was already August,

Xu Zaijing walked out of the carriage,

looking at the plaque of "Examination Institute" on the gate not far away, he exhaled a little nervously.