Chapter 210: Young Master, my wrists are sore [A thousand thanks for everyone's support

"Madam, the Young Master is unwell, so he won't come for dinner tonight."

Madam Sun, who was teasing the Xu family's eldest grandson in the front hall with Xie Shi and Hualan, paused in her smile, then said as if nothing had happened, "Alright, I know. Go invite a physician."

Looking at the Madam who hadn't changed her expression, Qingcao lowered her head and pursed her lips. This was different from what her Young Master had said.

"Yes, Madam."

Just as Qingcao turned to leave the front hall, Madam Sun said again, "Wait."

Qingcao was happy, but heard, "When you go back, take some food from the kitchen. Don't let him go hungry."

"Oh, yes, Madam!"

Qingcao turned back, squatted in a salute, and left the front hall.

"Mother, aren't you going to see Xiao Wu?"

Listening to her eldest daughter-in-law, Madam Sun snorted and said, "This stinky brat hasn't been unwell since he grew up. Who is he trying to fool?"

Xie Shi handed the grandson she was holding to Hualan and said, "Mother, don't you know? That Bai Gao warrior who fought with Xiao Wu is no ordinary person."

Hualan hugged her nephew, exchanged a look with Xie Shi, nodded, and said, "Could it be that Xiao Wu is exhausted?"

"If he were exhausted, he wouldn't be unwell after so many days."

Listening to Madam Sun, Xie Shi said, "But our Xiao Wu is no ordinary person."

Looking at Madam Sun, who had fallen into deep thought, Hualan and Xie Shi exchanged a proud look. Since their brother-in-law and mother-in-law weren't talking, as sisters-in-law, it wouldn't be right to just ignore it.

After dinner, Madam Sun and Xu Minghua were already lying on the bed.

Suddenly,

Madam Sun sat up. Looking at her husband's puzzled look, Madam Sun said, "I'm going to see Jing'er. Someone come!"

"Just a moment ago you said he was trying to fool you!"

Madam Sun didn't speak, and under the service of the maid, she put on her clothes.

Putting on a heavy cloak, Madam Sun followed behind the maid's lantern and walked toward Xu Zaijing's courtyard.

On the way, there happened to be two old women working together to deliver a large basket of charcoal. Seeing Madam Sun's lantern coming, they hurriedly bowed and saluted.

Madam Sun waved her hand, and the maid beside her hurriedly went up to help. Soon, the group arrived at the door of the room.

Suddenly, they heard a sound coming from the bedroom.

"Someone has entered the courtyard."

"It's the nannies delivering charcoal."

"Young Master, are you done? Come down!"

"No, I can do a few more times."

"But, Young Master, my hands and waist are sore."

"Hold on a little longer."

"Ying-ying-ying, I can't hold on anymore."

Madam Sun stopped at the door, listening to the sounds in the bedroom. The personal maids and nannies beside her all had awkward expressions.

Madam Sun, with an angry look, slammed the door open and walked into the room.

"Bang!"

"Who pushed the door so loudly?"

Listening to Xu Zaijing's question, Qingcao said,

"Perhaps it was the wind, Young Master. Come down!"

"Young Master, I can't do it anymore..."

Hearing this, Madam Sun flicked her sleeves hard, kicked open Xu Zaijing's bedroom door, and rushed in.

"You little beast!"

"Who?"

In the bedroom within sight,

in the candlelight,

Qingcao stood in the room with a flushed face, her hair on her forehead dampened by sweat. Seeing Madam Sun, she hurriedly squatted and saluted, "Mistress!"

Xu Zaijing, having released the finger he was hooking onto the roof beam, landed on the ground. He looked at Madam Sun with a puzzled look, "Mother, why are you here?"

Madam Sun scanned Xu Zaijing, seeing that his clothes were neat and not messy at all, and Qingcao was the same.

"What were you two doing just now?"

"Mother, I was exercising!"

"Hmm? Then why did Qingcao say..."

As soon as Xu Zaijing heard this, he understood that his mother might have misunderstood. He hurriedly jumped lightly, and one hand hooked onto the roof beam in the bedroom, which was more than a zhang high from the ground.

"Qingcao!"

"Oh!"

Xu Zaijing was seen hanging from the roof beam, with Qingcao acting as a counterweight, grabbing his curled-up lower leg, her body suspended in the air. Then, relying on the index finger of his left hand, Xu Zaijing easily pulled himself up, let himself down, and pulled himself up again.

"You call this exercising?"

"Yes, Mother."

"In the evening, didn't you say you were unwell?"

Xu Zaijing said sheepishly, "This... this... I just wanted to sweat a little! Mother, look, I sweated a bit and actually feel better!"

"Hmph, next time let Nanny Xia hang below. Go back!"

Madam Sun flicked her sleeves again and left the bedroom.

The personal maids beside her hurriedly followed behind and closed the door, pressing Qingcao, who wanted to come out to see them off, back into the room.

"Miss Qingcao, don't catch a cold."

Xu Zaijing in the room saw this scene and said, "Qingcao, go order a few sturdy leather belts and a few iron blocks. You are too light."

"Yes, Young Master."

"Look, the strategy worked, Mother talked to me."

"Young Master... that's not what you said at the beginning."

"Sleep!"

The next day,

before dawn,

inside the fortress that formed a pincer shape with the newly built Yongle Great City of the Great Zhou,

thousands of Great Zhou soldiers held torches, standing together according to their respective battalions and stations.

As the war drums beat, the fortress gate opened, and the soldiers filed out.

On the mountain outside the city, the Bai Gao scouts who saw such movement hurriedly shook the frost off their bodies.

After a series of sharp whistling arrows were passed, the warning sound reached the military camp where the Bai Gao envoys were located.

Subsequently, the entire military attention of the Bai Gao Kingdom's front line was attracted by the unusual movement of the Great Zhou army inside the fortress.

Within the Great Zhou territory to the northeast of the fortress,

three knights stood on a mountain with a wide view, watching the Great Zhou soldiers marching in a line like a fire python in the distance. One person said in Great Zhou official language,

"That Bu Zhoutianhuan is in the convoy and entered that military camp yesterday. Thus, our Great Zhou's feint is considered to have fulfilled the agreement. The rest depends on you."

"Hya!"

The other two knights didn't speak but pulled their reins and walked toward the troops on the hillside.

Inside the battle-ready Bai Gao military camp,

as the Great Zhou soldiers moved forward, the military camp hurriedly sent two squads of soldiers to send the envoy convoy out of the military camp.

The Li brothers, who were Bai Gao royal family members and riding horses yesterday, now had their upper bodies tied, tied to the back of the carriage with ropes, and were stumbling along behind.

Receiving the same treatment were the iron-clad loyalists of the Li family of the Bai Gao Kingdom, such as Mi Mu, Mie Mi, and Lian Nu.

After all, how could those who could be sent as envoys to foreign countries and guard the side of the Bai Gao Li family prince not be loyalists?

Mi Mu Tuoxia, whose waist was injured, couldn't stand and could only sit on the ground and be dragged along. Not long after walking, the clothes under his buttocks were already worn out.

The others who were injured didn't look good either. Some were hopping on one leg, while others simply resigned themselves to being dragged along.

Looking at the bloodstains under Mi Mu Tuoxia's buttocks, the Li brothers exchanged a look. One lowered his head and bit the rope of Mi Mu Tuoxia with his mouth to raise its height, while the other drilled under the rope and used his shoulder to pull the rope high above Mi Mu's buttocks, so that what was being worn down was Mi Mu's heels.

After walking not far, their shoulders were bleeding, and they were panting.

"Switch with me."

Li Li Chi Mei said.

Li Taotie shook his head,

"I can hold on for a while longer."

Beside them, Suo Shan, who was coughing blood while walking, said,

"Don't waste your effort. Liang Yi dares to treat us like this, which only shows that something extraordinary has happened in Xingqing Prefecture. *Cough, cough*"

Lian Nu Baili, who was hopping, and Mie Mi Chusheng, who had severe back pain, were no fools. Hearing this, they were shocked and stumbled to the ground, unable to stand up again.

"How... can they still..."

Someone said half a sentence and then shut their mouth.

"Taotie, put me down. Suo Shan is right. You should take care of yourselves first. I won't live to go home. I just don't know how my family is..."

When the sky brightened,

A man's tears fell silently.

Yang Luoyou's pipa sounded again; perhaps it was the father's heroic spirit, or perhaps it was the father in the Zhu family son's memory saying something.

Two pipa sounded again,

and the tone of the pipa in Wei Fangzhi's hands began to become rhythmic, blending into the ensemble of all the instruments.

It was the Zhu family son composing himself and rebuilding his fighting spirit.

All sounds dissipated amidst a continuous horn blast.

In the wooden building, there was silence,

and Wei Fangzhi hugged her pipa, panting.

In the eyes of Yang Luoyou beside her, there was boundless admiration for Wei Fangzhi,

and the silence in the venue also made Wei Fangzhi and the other musicians feel anxious.

"Reward!"

"Bravo!"

"Reward!"

The building instantly became noisy.

Zhu Qinghu and the others,

after looking at each other with teary eyes, took off the valuable items they were wearing on their waists or heads,

and had the servants taking care of them send them to the stage.

The twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month,

three days had passed since the music gathering at Fengle Tower.

Except for the time the Marquis of Xiangyang's mansion, relying on its large courtyard, invited the musicians to perform at their home, all performances were held at the Shanshui Garden of Fengle Tower.

And having heard the "Battle Song" once became a topic of conversation among the wealthy commoners of Bianjing.

If you hadn't heard it, while there wouldn't be any disdain, it... was always a bit behind the trend.

This made business at Fengle Tower much better than in previous years; the kitchen staff, tea and wine experts, and waiters were all exhausted, but they also received quite a lot of reward money.

Zhu Qinghu and his group were taken by Yu Huguang to his own medical clinic before the new year; amidst Zhu Qinghu's surprised eyes at Yu Huguang's identity, Yu Huguang, together with a famous orthopedic physician in Bianjing, began "cruel" treatment on them.

Early morning,

Yelu Sun was riding on a horse,

surrounded by seven or eight Zha Ye (young nobles of Northern Liao),

and behind him, the sounds were noisy, with a group of livestock breathing and the occasional shouting of horse slaves.

He looked at the river in front of him; across the river was the territory of the Great Zhou,

where there were also a few exceptionally tough Great Zhou cavalrymen, and behind the Great Zhou cavalrymen was a group of people dressed as horse officials.

A cavalryman galloped from the distance within the Great Zhou territory, reined in his horse, dismounted, and handed over the urgent letter in his hand.

Soon, the horses on both sides, sharing the intentions of their masters, paced onto the frozen river surface.

In the light of the torches, Yelu Sun looked at the knight opposite, whose face mask was covered in white frost, revealing only a pair of eyes beneath his helmet, and he touched his own cheeks, which were about to freeze.

Subsequently, Yelu Sun took the urgent letter from the Great Zhou cavalryman, unfolded it, looked at it, and nodded.

The Great Zhou side also waved their hands, and a horse with two boxes on its back was led over.

"Take a look!"

Yelu Sun shook his head and said: "This gold from the Great Zhou Imperial City Division, you can give it to the Marquis of Yongyi's mansion in Bianjing; consider it a secondary gift of thanks from our Yelu family."

Seeing the surprised look on the Great Zhou knight's face, Yelu Sun continued:

"Aren't you brothers-in-law with the eldest son of the Marquis of Yongyi, the Xu family?"

Hearing Yelu Sun's stiff words, the Great Zhou knight's eyes narrowed beneath his mask.

"How do you know!!!? Pfft! You really know how to do business, using our Great Zhou's gold as your gift of thanks."

The young Yelu Sun opposite also sneered disdainfully through his nose.

Subsequently, he also waved his hands,

"This is an additional condition proposed by your Imperial City Division; take a look."

Hundreds of prime-aged fine horses behind him were driven by horse slaves to the side of the Great Zhou territory.

The horse officials within the Great Zhou territory were busy screening the condition of the horses, and among them, a father and son screened the fastest,

even identifying a few sick horses and pulling them to one side.

This caused a few of the Zha Ye behind Yelu Sun to look at each other and raise their eyebrows.

After the horse official came over to report that the handover was complete,

just as the Great Zhou knight was about to leave,

Yelu Sun then said: "Wait a moment."

Subsequently, he turned his head and said a few words in the Northern Liao language.

Soon,

two young horses were led over, followed by two fourteen or fifteen-year-old boys wearing dirty, old sheepskin coats.

"This is the main gift."

Listening to Yelu Sun's words and looking at these two horses with eyes as lively as children and exceptionally handsome figures, as well as the Northern Liao children and teenagers beside them, the Great Zhou knight swallowed hard beneath his mask.

He knew all too well what these were,

and just as he was about to look up to say something, Yelu Sun had already turned his horse's head onto the riverbank and galloped west with the Zha Ye holding the Northern Liao national flag.

Looking at the Northern Liao teenagers left behind, who had fearful expressions,

the horse official beside the Great Zhou knight asked in horror: "Is... is this the legendary Northern Liao Dragon Colt and Ma Er Attendant?"

The Great Zhou knight nodded: "Official Yuan was right; these are the legendary Northern Liao Dragon Colts and Ma Er Attendants, where if a horse gets sick, a finger is cut off, and if a horse dies, a person dies. I never expected the legend to be true."

Yelu Sun crossed a hillock; in the wind-sheltered valley beneath the hillock, Yelu Ying, whose face was painted yellow, stood up.

He took the letter from Yelu Sun's hand, glanced at it, mounted his horse, and said in Northern Liao language:

"Let's go, let's go avenge our uncle. Hah!"

On the road west to the Bai Gao Kingdom,

a convoy with Bai Gao Kingdom flags was particularly conspicuous on the road transporting military supplies.

The Li family brothers, Li Taotie and Li Li Chi Mei, were riding on horses, constantly looking around; they were escorting the prince's corpse back to the Bai Gao Kingdom, and behind the carriages followed many more, from which sounds of painful wailing could be heard from time to time.

Because they were carrying people, they were obviously faster than the convoys transporting heavy military supplies,

and Li Li Chi Mei said in Bai Gao language beside a carriage: "This convoy is transporting grain and grass, enough for about one battalion of soldiers for a month."

Inside the carriage, someone hurriedly recorded it with a pen.

Soon,

the convoy passed the large city built after the Bai Gao and Northern Liao jointly besieged the Great Zhou in previous years, only to be counter-attacked by the Great Zhou into Bai Gao territory.

Looking at the towering and majestic city walls, everyone from the Bai Gao Kingdom sighed helplessly.

After bypassing the towering city walls and traveling for another two hours, Li Taotie on horseback said:

"Behind the mountain ahead, there is a fortress that is still in the hands of our Bai Gao Kingdom; today we can go there to warm up and rest."

Hearing Li Taotie's words, a low cheer erupted in the convoy, and the speed of the carriages increased slightly.

But the former Bai Gao Kingdom envoy, Liang Yi Fu, said nothing, only sitting in the carriage with a gloomy expression.

After bypassing a hillock, in the eyes of the Bai Gao Kingdom group, three flags—one large and two small—were flying above the fortress,

the large one being the Great Zhou military flag, and the small ones each inscribed with "Cao" and "Zhe."

The Bai Gao Kingdom group, who had been happy just a moment ago, looked at this scene with surprise; it turned out that this was no longer the territory of the Bai Gao Kingdom.

The convoy had no choice but to continue driving forward; after passing several inquiries from Bai Gao Kingdom scouts stationed along the way, the convoy entered one of the Bai Gao Kingdom's foremost military camps at night.

Liang Yi Fu got out of the carriage and went straight to the room where the general in the military camp was located.

While the group from the convoy coming from Bianjing was still busy moving the wounded, the general in the military camp led soldiers to surround them.

"The Li Taotie and Li Li Chi Mei brothers, colluding with Zhou dogs, plotting against the prince; men, tie them up for me!"

Hearing the words of this Bai Gao Kingdom general, the Li brothers were filled with disbelief; when their trusted attendants wanted to resist, they were surrounded by the soldiers in the military camp, their lives held in others' hands.

When these things were happening within the Bai Gao Kingdom,

Xu Zaijing was lying on his bed, feeling "uncomfortable," looking at Qingcao, who had run to report to his mother that he was "feeling unwell" as he had told her to; Xu Zaijing had a look of complete confidence.

(End of chapter)

The hall was warm. Rong Feiyan took off her earmuffs and handed them to the female official beside Consort Rong. It seemed Consort Rong asked a few questions, and Rong Feiyan nodded.

Consort Rong pointed at Xu Zaijing. Rong Feiyan was finally able to look at Xu Zaijing openly. When Hualan noticed the gaze of the Rong sisters, she tugged at Xu Zaijing's clothes.

Xu Zaijing looked at Hualan questioningly, then looked toward Consort Rong.

Seeing the gazes of Consort Rong and Rong Feiyan, Xu Zaijing hurriedly bowed and saluted.

When the Emperor and high officials returned to the hall, and the Emperor's family of three accepted the mountain-shouting kowtows of the crowd, a eunuch arrived at the hall, panting.

The Emperor didn't say much, and everyone naturally left the palace.

Before they had gone far, a eunuch shouted, "My lords, please stay and return to the hall."

The crowd leaving the palace split, and the masters returned to the hall one after another.

Hualan followed behind her mother-in-law, listening to the madams exchanging various gossip about Bianjing.

On the way out of the palace,

the many noble children walking at the front discussed what might happen.

Among a group of close noble children, Liang Han said excitedly:

"Brothers, we don't understand what's going on. When the masters at home return, we'll naturally know. Why don't we talk about something we can decide?"

"Sixth Brother, you speak."

Zhang Si Ge, Zhang Fangling, said.

"The families of you brothers all have good horses. Why don't we have a horse race around Bianjing?"

As soon as these words were spoken, Xu Zaijing seemed to hear his own Li Ju snorting excitedly.

The few looked at each other excitedly. Gu Tingye, who was beside them, imitated his father's tone and said, "Liang Han, you brat, you really are a talent."

"Then it's settled?"

"Good!"

After speaking, the few laughed.

Leaving the palace gate, beside the Xu family's carriage, an Imperial City Division soldier whom he had met once in Chuzhou was standing there, talking affectionately with Qingyun.

Beside him were three other people and two...

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 211 =====