Chapter 178: General Ke

The He couple was surrounded in the center of the crowd, like stars surrounding the moon. Everyone was full of praise for them.

He Chunhua was even more radiant and talked freely; where was there any sign of stage fright or discomfort? He Lingchuan sipped his wine: "This is truly Father's highlight moment. Look, his face is red."

He Chunhua had just arrived at the Deer-Calling Garden and hadn't even had two sips of wine, yet his face was flushed red; that was naturally because his heart was surging and he was high-spirited.

"Finally, I can hold my head high." He Yue also let out a long breath, full of emotion. "Our family has waited for this moment for twenty years."

Twenty years ago, the He family was executed, and only He Chunhua wandered the frontier like a wild dog, seeing through the coldness of the world; twenty years later, He Chunhua brought his whole family back to Shi Huan, and the powerful families around him had to surround them to ask about their well-being and offer flattering praise.

From the mud to the clouds, one step to the sky, how could he not be proud of himself?

This confirmed to him once again that his plan, his calculations, and his sacrifices were all worth it.

At this time, three youths strolled over from not far away, with a young man in white in the middle, and two followers behind him.

The young man in white clasped his fists at He Lingchuan: "Are you the He brothers?"

He Lingchuan laughed: "And you are?" This guy's footsteps were a bit floating; he wasn't a practitioner.

"My surname is He; my father is in the Censorate."

The follower on the side hurriedly introduced: "This is the third son of Censor-in-Chief Lord He, He Su, courtesy name Feiyang."

The He brothers both made a look of sudden realization.

The rank of Censor-in-Chief wasn't high, but he held the power of impeachment and inspection, and officials were in awe of him.

Both sides exchanged pleasantries, and He Su laughed: "I heard that Xiuer sister was brought back to Shi Huan by Lord He all the way from the south?"

Good fellow, he set a trap as soon as he opened his mouth. He Yue remained calm: "Miss Zhu recognized my mother as her foster mother. This ten-day journey by water and land, except for encountering the rebel army retreating from Woling Pass, everything went smoothly."

"Woling Pass?" He Su's attention was successfully attracted by the two words "rebel army." "You even encountered the rebel army?"

The last two words were not small, attracting the guests nearby, and two of them said:

"I heard Lord He defeated the rebel army in the south."

"Not only that, he also saved many villagers."

"Two generals under Hong the rebel were beaten away by Lord He, and he even persuaded one to surrender!"

Before long, many people surrounded the He brothers, all wanting to ask for details. He Yue picked what could be said, and everyone exclaimed.

He Lingchuan watched coldly and found that this kid talked eloquently, and his demeanor was no less than his father's.

He Su was left on the side and was a bit displeased. At this time, he coughed twice and raised his volume: "Xiuer sister returning to the Zhu family is a great thing. It's a pity that countless people have been searching for her all these years and couldn't find her whereabouts. Can the He brothers solve our confusion? Where exactly was Xiuer sister abducted to, and how did you find her?"

He Yue had a draft long ago:

"Miss Zhu was stolen to the south, and it happened to be a flood in Hongxiang; the human traffickers and other girls were all knocked into the water, and their life or death was unknown. She was lucky and was saved from the water by the nuns of the Heavenly Temple, and since then she was settled in the temple. But she was hit in the head by floating wood and couldn't remember the past, so she couldn't think of herself as a daughter of the Zhu family."

When the He couple sent back Zhu Xiuer, they agreed with Zhu Xiyan on a set of rhetoric to replace the fact that she had been sold into a poor village and gave birth to children for a mud-legged man.

The daughter of the Zhu family shouldn't have such a shameful experience, and Zhu Xiuer herself shouldn't have such a tragic past.

He Su wouldn't give up: "Then how did Lord He discover her?"

"That Heavenly Temple was looted by a small group of rebels, and the nuns in the temple were also tied up. It happened that we passed by and killed them. Perhaps the scene of the battle was too bloody, which accidentally stirred up Miss Zhu's memories from before." He Yue spread his hands. "Isn't this Heaven's will?"

Anyway, it was lying with eyes open; could others still verify it?

Several noble ladies were very cooperative and sighed repeatedly: "The Zhu family's precious granddaughter was found after seven years; this must be Heaven's pity."

He Su laughed: "Missing, amnesia, and finally found. Listening to this, Xiuer sister's experience sounds familiar; one person is also like this! Do you all remember?"

This topic successfully drew the attention of the crowd back: "Who?"

"Eh, as He kid said, I seem to have some impression."

"Hmm, the age is not very similar. Zhu Xiuer was already over ten when she was abducted; that child was only five when she went missing."

There are actually similar cases? He Lingchuan frowned secretly, his face showing confusion: "Who are you talking about?"

A plump noble lady put her hand on his shoulder quietly, covered her mouth and laughed: "Young Master He doesn't know; they are talking about Songyang Prefecture's..."

Before she finished speaking, fragrance followed the person, and Zhu Xiuer appeared nearby, tilting her head slightly: "It's so lively here; what are you all chatting about?"

The protagonist had arrived, so how could the crowd gossip in front of her? They said one after another: "Just chatting randomly; the He brothers are telling us about their deeds of fighting the rebels."

Zhu Xiuer laughed: "Lord He is resourceful, and the He brothers are brave and fierce; I have seen it with my own eyes."

At this time, the announcement sounded again: "General of the Chariot and Cavalry—Ke Jihai has arrived!"

The scene suddenly caused a commotion, and the guests whispered to each other. He Lingchuan listened and listened, and the focus was only one sentence: "Why did he come?"

Not to mention others, the name "Ke Jihai" was also like thunder to the He brothers.

Immediately after, Zhu Xiyan and Zhu Xiuer accompanied a person in, and the whole audience stood up.

He Lingchuan finally saw this legendary Great General.

This person was in a brocade robe, six feet tall, with an ordinary appearance, and didn't seem to meet the standard of "a dragon and phoenix among people," except for his eyes that were full of light.

He Lingchuan happened to look at him, only feeling that this person's eyes were like a tiger, intimidating first.

It was Generals Wu Di and Ke Jihai who led the official army to successfully quell the rebellion at Woling Pass, causing the rebel leader Hong Xiangqian to die, and the remaining crowd to be defeated, thereby preserving the Shi Huan City under everyone's feet; this was a great merit.

The Grand Marshal rebelled and forced the palace at Little West Mountain. It was also Ke Jihai who arrived in time to save the king, which made the Grand Marshal retreat to Wuzhou.

Saving the king's imperial carriage was also a great merit.

If one were to talk about the most popular and unrivaled figures inside and outside the Royal Court, who else but Ke Jihai? However, what surprised everyone was that Ke Jihai was currently encircling and suppressing the Grand Marshal within the borders of Wuzhou; why would he appear in Shi Huan City? As soon as Ke Jihai arrived, the guests were all present, and after Zhu Xiyan's speech, he announced the start of the dust-washing banquet.

The guests saw Zhu Xiuer standing beside him with a smile throughout the whole process, and they knew that Old Zhu's love for this granddaughter had not been reduced by time, and he wanted to take this opportunity to push his granddaughter back into the upper-class circle.

Delicacies were sent to the table like flowing water.

Holding a banquet at the Deer-Calling Garden, the biggest gimmick was not the famous chef, but the imperial chef's handiwork. The three great chefs here were said to be specially sent by the palace, each with their own strengths.

The He family was used to eating big fish and meat in Black Water City, and Lady Ying and He Yue started to use their chopsticks here, wanting to slap the table and shout bravo.

It turned out that dishes could be made like this? The minced meat was not tired of being fine; every dish here was small and refined, and it was gone after a few small bites, making people smack their lips and have endless aftertaste.

Lady Ying sighed secretly that the previous meals had been eaten in vain.

He Lingchuan had eaten all kinds of flavors in the north and south in his previous life, and at this time he didn't praise it like the other bumpkins in the He family, but there were two dishes here that were truly to his heart. First, the fire-exploded eel, only using yellow eel the thickness of a finger, live-killed and taken in sections, then deep-fried in a pot and then returned to the sauce. Only after deep-frying three or five times like this was it truly crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, melting in the mouth, showing the skill.

The other was the chicken-fir mushroom and pigeon soup. This kind of mushroom was outstanding among mushrooms regardless of taste or price, and the Deer-Calling Garden also produced it, but it was the middle of winter, and there were no fresh goods, so he could only use dried chicken-fir mushrooms. However, the flavor was not reduced after hanging the soup, and even the mutton smell of the pigeon was gone; one light sip and the eyebrows would fall off.

He Lingchuan finished a cup in one gulp and wanted to drink more, but unfortunately, there was no refill.

He waited for a long time, wanting to see if there was any palace jade liquid wine here, but he was a bit disappointed. It seemed that the King of Yuan still didn't know how to make big gimmicks.

After the pigeon soup came out, the guests all went to toast the General of Chariot and Cavalry, and the focus of the whole venue shifted from He Chunhua to Ke Jihai.

After all, the newly appointed Xiazhou Superintendent only saved the orphan of a minister's family, while Ke Jihai defended the country's rivers and mountains for the king.

Whose merit is greater and whose status is higher is self-evident.

Although the limelight was taken by Ke Jihai, He Chunhua didn't show any displeasure, but grabbed his wine glass and went to toast Ke Jihai.

With Zhu Xiyan's introduction, Ke Jihai's eyes lit up when he heard He Chunhua's name: "By the way, you are the Xiazhou Superintendent who killed the traitor Sun Fuping!"

He came to attend the Zhu family's banquet just out of etiquette; as a general commanding hundreds of thousands of troops, he had no interest in the orphan returning home, but paid attention to the fighting and killing related to the national plan.

He Chunhua smiled bitterly: "It seems so."

Zhu Xiyan said on the side: "General Ke might not know that the remnants of the rebel army defeated by you and General Wu fled south along the river after Woling Pass, wanting to meet again and revitalize their momentum, but were defeated by Lord He's army!"

Ke Jihai was even more interested: "Oh? Which remnants of the rebel army?"

"Wu Shaoyi, Lu Yao, Pei Xinyong." Zhu Xiyan laughed and said, "Lu Yao died, Pei Xinyong fled, but Wu Shaoyi was recruited by Lord He and included in the army along with his troops."

"Most importantly, Lord He only had three hundred elites, but those three rebel armies added up to more than six thousand!"

"Good, very good! In extraordinary times, Heaven sends a general!" Ke Jihai stood up and pulled over a chair. "Come, Lord He, sit down, please tell me the process of defeating the thieves."

The news of He Chunhua killing Sun Fuping and Nian Songyu had spread throughout the capital long ago. If that was still some accidental factor, the great victory of defeating the Woling Pass rebel army led by him was a solid victory. With these two proud achievements placed together, Ke Jihai had to look at this official who grew up in the frontier with new eyes.

After all, although the Yuan Nation is large, good generals are hard to find.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 179 =====