Chapter 536

Outside,

the snow that had been falling for several hours since last night had stopped.

The courtyard was white everywhere.

The weather was overcast with no sunlight,

and the fallen snow showed no signs of melting.

Under the veranda,

a maid wearing a cloak was walking, carrying a tray in her hands.

A cold wind blew past,

and snowflakes were blown down from the top of the veranda, drifting toward the maid.

Seeing this, the maid hurriedly turned her back and shielded the tray in front of her.

After this gust of wind passed,

the maid continued to walk forward.

Approaching the hall, a young maid at the entrance lifted the curtain; after the maid stepped into the room and walked a few paces, she stopped outside the screen.

At this moment, a pair of hands took away the large celadon bowl from the tray and walked inside the screen; the hands holding the bowl were slender and fair, clearly not those of someone who did rough work like washing.

Inside the screen,

amidst the sound of people talking about "bringing a woman back to the capital,"

the bowl was held and gently placed on a small table; then, jade-colored chopsticks were held by those slender, fair hands, moving about in the bowl, and pieces of cucumber with skin as green as jade were picked out and arranged on several porcelain plates.

Zhang Wu Niang, with the sheen of roasted mutton grease on the corners of her mouth, asked with a smile:

"Oh? Younger Sister Li, why is Brother Xu muddled?"

When Zhang Wu Niang asked the question, Yun Mu, the personal maid standing beside Chai Zhengzheng, was helping to place the porcelain plates containing the cucumber on the table.

Hearing this,

Li Wu Niang said: "Ah?"

As she spoke, Li Wu Niang also looked at the people sitting around the table in a flustered manner.

And the young ladies who had come to the Zhang mansion to attend the warming party were some looking at her with curiosity; some were staring at the newly served porcelain plates, lost in thought; and some were shaking their heads slightly, smiling helplessly.

"Brother, Brother Xu, he, he has a bright future! Bringing a woman back like this, isn't that, isn't that ruining his reputation?!"

"He hasn't, hasn't even discussed marriage yet, and he already has a concubine; wouldn't that make his marriage... difficult!"

Li Wu Niang said with a slight stutter, her shortsighted eyes scanning the faces of the people around the table as she spoke.

Seeing everyone nodding in agreement, Li Wu Niang finally breathed a sigh of relief in her heart.

Zhang Wu Niang nodded repeatedly with a smile in her eyes and said: "Younger Sister Li is right! But, how do you know she is a concubine? What if she is..."

"Clang~"

The serving chopsticks someone was using to pick up food fell from her hand and hit the bowl and plate.

This sound made everyone at the table look over.

Chai Zhengzheng, who had been lost in thought, was also startled out of her contemplation and looked toward the source of the sound.

Rong Feiyan, with an embarrassed expression, hurriedly squeezed out a smile and said while picking up the chopsticks: "Sorry, sorry, my hand slipped."

After Rong Feiyan finished speaking, everyone's gaze returned to Li Wu Niang; Li Wu Niang exchanged a glance with Yu Yanran beside her and said:

"Ah? Elder Sister Zhang, you mean... how could she possibly be a legal wife? Could it be that the woman is a young lady from some noble family in the North?"

After Li Wu Niang finished speaking,

except for Gu Tingyi, the noble young ladies around the table all looked toward the well-informed Zhang young lady.

Zhang Wu Niang met everyone's gaze, shook her head with a smile, and said: "No, no, that woman is not a young lady from a noble family!"

After speaking, ignoring everyone's curious and anxious expressions, Zhang Wu Niang comfortably picked up a piece of cucumber and ate it with a crunching sound.

Sitting beside Rong Feiyan was the sister-in-law of Rong Xian, the young lady of the Duke of Fu's Dou family; seeing the anxious and curious expressions of everyone at the table, her eyes turned and she said:

"Sisters, I heard that the Marquis Yongyi Xu family's ancestral home is in Daizhou; could that woman be the childhood sweetheart that the Xu family brother was betrothed to since they were in the womb?"

"Clang~"

Rong Feiyan, who was helping her relative, the Dou family young lady, pick up food, had the chopsticks in her hand fall onto the bowl and plate again.

Rong Feiyan froze, and feeling the gazes around her, she frowned and closed her eyes in embarrassment.

Seeing Xi Bu, who was standing behind Rong Feiyan, saw this and hurriedly stepped forward, grasped Rong Feiyan's hand that was suspended in mid-air, and said urgently: "Young Lady, is your hand cramping again?"

Rong Feiyan, who had her eyes closed, immediately relaxed her brow, nodded repeatedly with her eyes closed, and said: "Hiss! Yes! Help me quickly!"

As she spoke, Rong Feiyan's hand still forcefully maintained the gesture, looking as if she were truly cramping.

Seeing this, the Dou family young lady who had just spoken felt moved in her heart.

While Seeing Xi Bu was helping Rong Feiyan smooth out her fingers,

the young ladies present all cast their gazes toward one person simultaneously.

Gu Tingyi, who was sitting below Zhang Wu Niang and also picking up food, held the cucumber strips very steadily and asked in confusion:

"Why are you all looking at me?"

After thinking about it and understanding what everyone meant, Gu Tingyi placed the food on the small plate in front of her and said with a calm expression:

"From the time I was small until now, I have never heard that Xu Wu Ge Xu had any betrothal since he was in the womb!"

Hearing this,

Hai Chaoyun, who was sitting on the other side of Li Wu Niang, moved her eyes; seeing that no one was paying attention, the hand hidden under the table finally let go of the handkerchief she had been gripping tightly.

If one were to ask how much she liked Xu Zaijing, Hai Chaoyun would definitely shake her head; it was more gratitude and a hint of affection.

After all, she had known since she was small that for a family status like the Hai family, the young ladies could never make their own decisions regarding marriage.

Looking at everyone nodding and seemingly breathing a sigh of relief, Zhang Wu Niang drank a sip of warm wine and continued: "Do you know where that woman was sent?"

Chai Zhengzheng looked at her good friend in confusion and said: "Eh? Wu Niang, how do you even know this?"

Gu Tingyi ate a cucumber strip and silently curled her lip.

Everyone sitting at the table nodded and looked at Zhang Wu Niang, who was speaking.

"I, this..."

Zhang Wu Niang was speechless for a moment, glared at her friend who was undermining her, and said: "Just say, do you want to know or not!"

Everyone nodded one after another.

Zhang Wu Niang held one hand in front of her mouth, deliberately lowered her voice, and said: "I heard that she was sent to..."

Except for Gu Tingyi, everyone leaned in to listen,

"The Huangchengsi Yamen!"

The young ladies at the table: "!!??"

"Hahahaha!"

Looking at everyone's surprised or confused expressions, Zhang Wu Niang laughed without regard for decorum.

Yu Yanran and Hai Chaoyun, who was equally surprised, exchanged a glance and said: "How, how could she be sent to the Huangchengsi Yamen?"

"Because she is a Northern Liao spy!"

The young ladies all had expressions of sudden realization on their faces.

Chai Zhengzheng shook her head helplessly at Wu Niang from the side and said to Gu Tingyi with a smile: "Sister Tingyi, did you know about this all along?"

Gu Tingyi, who had been calm throughout, nodded: "Yes! I told her everything!"

"I heard my brother say that the Northern Liao spy had a seductive figure and an outstanding appearance!"

"If it weren't for someone persuading him on the side, Xu Wu Ge Xu would have made the decision to let a commander surnamed He kill that person south of Zhangyuan County as a sacrifice!"

"Ah?"

The young ladies looked at each other in dismay.

"Kill, kill someone? How terrifying!" Li Wu Niang shrank her head and whispered to Yu Yanran.

Zhang Wu Niang glared at Gu Tingyi and said: "Sister Tingyi, why didn't you tell me about this?"

"Why take the person from Beizhou to Zhangyuan County to kill them?"

Chai Zhengzheng asked in confusion.

Gu Tingyi pursed her lips, looking somewhat dejected, and said: "Because... Xu Wu Ge Xu and my brother and the others... were ambushed!"

"Slap."

Rong Feiyan gripped the chopsticks between her fingers tightly, not letting them fall.

"Ambushed? What ambush?"

Chai Zhengzheng asked, trying to keep her tone steady.

Gu Tingyi put down her chopsticks, looked at the nervous crowd, and said: "When my brother and the others were returning to the capital, they were ambushed by Northern Liao spies south of Zhangyuan County."

"Before going to Beizhou, Xu Wu Ge Xu once gave a gourd of wine to three people driving donkeys to sell dates, and later..."

"Men and horses armored, after a charge..."

"They were originally going to be escorted to the capital, but after seeing those four children, Xu Wu Ge Xu didn't stop Commander He from executing them on the spot..."

After speaking, Gu Tingyi looked at Zhang Wu Niang, whose expression was dejected, and said: "I told you this, and it just made you feel bad for no reason."

The young ladies around the table also had grim expressions.

Zhang Wu Niang said: "Then, what about the commoners who lost their children? Is that it? I still have some of my own money..."

Gu Tingyi looked at Chai Zhengzheng, who was nodding, and then at the others at the table, shook her head, and said: "No need!"

Hai Chaoyun asked in confusion: "Third Niang, why no need... if we all contribute a little, it will be quite a lot; although it won't solve the problem, it can make their lives a little better!"

Gu Tingyi smiled with relief: "The Northern Liao spies killed south of Zhangyuan County count as the war merit of Xu Wu Ge Xu and the others! My brother said that the rewards for eight of the Northern Liao spies will be converted into money and given to those four families."

Hai Chaoyun looked at Yu Yanran, Li Wu Niang, and the others beside her, and said somewhat embarrassed: "Sister Tingyi, I wonder how much money there will be?"

Gu Tingyi looked at Rong Feiyan, the Dou family young lady, and others who were equally curious, turned her head, and said: "Wu Niang, you tell them."

Zhang Wu Niang was nodding; hearing this, her expression showed quite a bit of relief, and she said:

"In that case, it should be calculated according to military merit: killing a Northern Liao cavalryman, if killed in action, the reward plus pension is about two hundred and twenty guan! The reward for a Northern Liao spy might be even higher! The government will also reduce the summer and autumn taxes by half."

Hearing this,

the young ladies around the table nodded one after another: in this way, a commoner household would receive over four hundred guan of money.

Just this money alone would be enough for a family of three to live worry-free for more than a decade.

While the young ladies were talking,

in the Great Zhou Imperial Palace,

inside a warm palace,

the Emperor sat behind the imperial desk, with the Grand Eunuch and Zhao Zilong, the Grand Director of the Huangchengsi, standing beside him.

Standing solemnly not far from the imperial desk was Gao Yunqing, the deputy to Zhao Meifeng.

"As you said, it was because the carrier pigeons of the Beizhou Huangchengsi pigeon house were borrowed by the thief leader, which is why the information could not be transmitted back to Bianjing in time."

"Reporting to Your Majesty, yes! And the Huangchengsi soldiers in Beizhou said personally that Lord Zhang and the thief leader had a very deep friendship!"

"What about those Huangchengsi soldiers?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, at that time, the situation was urgent, so the Director ordered his men to strike hard."

Zhao Zilong, beside the Emperor, explained softly: "Your Majesty, striking hard means killing without mercy."

The Emperor nodded: "When Zhang Shipan was capturing the Northern Liao spy, that spy shouted the slogan 'Maitreya is in the world'; did anyone else see it?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, the nanny of the family of Lord Feng, the Military Inspector, saw it with her own eyes!"

The Emperor sighed heavily, leaned back in his chair, and said powerlessly: "Order Pei Yuanchen to demote Zhang Shipan's military rank, demote him to... demote him to a foot soldier, and keep him in service!"

The Grand Eunuch beside him bowed and agreed.

"You go too! You've worked hard along the way."

The Emperor waved his hand and said.

"Your humble servant kneels and thanks Your Majesty for your compassion."

Gao Yunqing kowtowed and said.

After rising, Gao Yunqing walked out of the palace gate.

Watching the Grand Eunuch walking slowly at the palace gate, Gao Yunqing was stunned for a moment before hurrying over.

After Gao Yunqing caught up, the Grand Eunuch resumed his original walking speed.

Gao Yunqing said softly: "Grand Eunuch."

"Hmm! Lord Gao, you've worked hard; your trip to Beizhou was a great merit."

"Grand Eunuch, you are joking; compared to Fifth Young Master Xu and Second Young Master Gu, what is my humble merit!"

The Grand Eunuch smiled and said: "That Lord Zhang Shipan, after hearing about the incident in Beizhou, knelt outside the palace at the first opportunity, begging Your Majesty to let him go and suppress the rebellion."

Watching Gao Yunqing nod, the Grand Eunuch continued: "Regardless of his motives, His Majesty is soft-hearted and nostalgic! Without conclusive, ironclad evidence, Lord Zhang will at most be guilty of dereliction of duty."

"Your humble servant understands! We and Jing Ge'er did indeed strike too hard; not a single thief who knew the connections survived. We should have captured the thief leader alive!"

"That is true! I heard you came to the Imperial Palace with Jing Ge'er?"

"Wh..."

"Hmm, no need to wait for Jing Ge'er; he is still with Her Majesty the Empress right now!"

"Thank you, Grand Eunuch."

After finishing speaking, watching the Grand Eunuch flick his horsetail whisk, Gao Yunqing said: "Your humble servant takes his leave."

"Hmm."

Inside the Empress's palace,

the Empress looked at Xu Zaijing, who was sitting and talking with Zhao Fang, with a smile on her face,

her eyes full of not only smiles but also quite a bit of appreciation and affection for the younger generation.

It is no wonder the Empress has such feelings for Xu Zaijing;

not to mention the Empress herself becoming pregnant with Zhao Fang, and the time Zhao Fang was saved by Xu Zaijing when he was small.

Those were things from a long time ago.

Just speaking of recently,

because of Zhang Shipan serving in the Imperial Palace Guard,

some time ago, hearing about the incident in Beizhou, the Empress, in order to get Zhang Shipan out of the Imperial Palace Guard and minimize the possibility of Zhao Fang encountering danger, almost tore her face off with the Emperor,

even saying things about voluntarily resigning her position as Empress.

Because of this, when Xu Zaijing came to the palace to persuade her that night, he also suffered the Emperor's anger and was ordered to go to Beizhou to investigate.

And then...

Beizhou almost had a major incident.

If the military supplies in Beizhou City had really been burned, what would have been burned would not only be the blood and sweat of the Great Zhou people but also the combat power of the Great Zhou soldiers.

It is not to say that the Empress was gloating over this; the incident in Beizhou verified her own thoughts, but because in the Empress's view, the things that happened to Xu Zaijing were quite "everything is favorable to me."

Looking at Gu Tingye, who was explaining beside Zhao Fang and Xu Zaijing, and Lu Zezong, the eldest grandson of the Duke of Lian, who was looking around with wide eyes, the smile in the Empress's eyes became even richer.

"Your Highness, that thief leader stepped on a shield and leaped this high!"

Gu Tingye jumped and gestured, then continued, looking at Lu Zezong, who was listening seriously beside him, and said:

"Seeing this, I was anxious in my heart! I understand the power of that long-handled dadao! But! I saw the flaw in that thief leader at a glance!"

Zhao Fang and Lu Zezong opened their eyes wide and nodded repeatedly.

The young eunuch Qingyun hurriedly handed over a throat-soothing drink.

After Gu Tingye nodded in thanks, he continued:

"At this very moment, Jing Ge'er and I were of one mind, and we drew our bows and shot toward the flaw I had seen!"

"Second Young Master, what was that flaw?"

Zhao Fang asked urgently in confusion.

"Heh, Your Highness, the flaw was that the thief leader actually wasn't wearing chainmail! This armpit was exposed right in front of Jing Ge'er and me."

"No matter how powerful he was, swoosh, just one arrow, and the thief leader felt the pain, couldn't hold the long-handled dadao, and fell from mid-air!"

Zhao Fang and Lu Zezong listened intently, nodding repeatedly.

"Swoosh! Another arrow, and it pierced right through his chest!"

"Swoosh! The third arrow killed that thief leader!!"

"Oh! Truly, truly wonderful!" Zhao Fang sighed.

Gu Tingye smiled and said: "Your Highness, the wonderful part is still to come!"

Zhao Fang handed the teacup to Gu Tingye's mouth and said: "Hurry and tell me, hurry and tell me!"

Gu Tingye didn't get carried away; after bowing, he said:

"Speaking of which... I was facing enemies on three sides, but I was guarding Jing Ge'er's back; how could I be lax..."

"When I heard this, I stepped forward, solemnly handed the long spear in my hand to Jing Ge'er, and said, 'Xu Wu Ge, do not fail this spear blade of mine that kills enemies!'"

"Jing Ge'er was encouraged by me, nodded heavily, and then threw the spear with all his might..."

"We went to that Beizhou Great Warehouse again! Your Highness, guess what happened?"

Zhao Fang, Lu Zezong, and the young eunuch Qingyun all shook their heads.

"I saw more than a dozen fierce-looking thief leaders standing on the high wall of the Beizhou Great Warehouse; when they saw Jing Ge'er and me, they were about to call for archers to shoot!"

"But, when they saw the thief leader behind us, they were all terrified! Some were shocked, while others seemed to breathe a sigh of relief; seeing this opportunity, cough..."

Glancing at Xu Zaijing, Gu Tingye said: "Jing Ge'er, why don't you tell it?"

Xu Zaijing shook his head and said: "Second Young Master told it wonderfully; I'll pass!"

Gu Tingye looked at everyone in the palace and nodded: "Good! Seeing this opportunity, I immediately exchanged a glance with Jing Ge'er and drew my bow to shoot at those who were shocked."

"The two of us shot a few more arrows at the thick door of the Great Warehouse; just as Qingyun beside Jing Ge'er was about to climb the wall, someone among the thieves suddenly shouted the slogan 'Great Zhou is victorious, loyal to the country,' and hacked and killed several people beside him!"

Zhao Fang said: "Was it that Qianxia surnamed Du?"

"Exactly!"

Gu Tingye gave another narration with the flair of a solo storyteller in a teahouse, listening until Zhao Fang, Lu Zezong, and even the Empress were stunned.

When Gu Tingye was vividly describing "the ambush south of Zhangyuan County, Xu and Gu fighting bravely to kill the strong enemy,"

in the palace where the Emperor was,

the Grand Eunuch, who had just finished his business, looked at the Great Zhou officials waiting in the corridor outside the palace, smiled, bowed, flicked his horsetail whisk, and said:

"My lords, please wait a moment; this servant will go in and report."

"Sorry to trouble you, Grand Eunuch."

Entering the palace,

after a report, the somewhat listless Emperor nodded and said: "Hmm, let them come in!"

"Proclaim, let the officials enter the palace!"

After the ministers entered the palace and the Emperor ordered them to be seated, he said: "Good, let's talk! Minister Huangfu, you go first!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Minister Huangfu took a thin booklet from his sleeve, opened it, and said:

"Your Majesty, according to General Zhang's verification, there are currently 50,000 sets of Wuchui armor in the Beizhou Great Warehouse, each valued at 45 guan."

"There are 30,000 sets of vermilion-lacquered mountain-pattern armor, each valued at 40 guan."

"There are 40,000 sabers, each valued at 3 guan and 300 wen."

"There are 40,000 strong bows, each valued at 1 guan and 800 wen,"

"there are over 90,000 bowstrings, each valued at 120 wen."

"There are 50,000 powerful crossbows, each valued at 2 guan and 500 wen,"

"and over 100,000 crossbow strings, each valued at 140 wen."

Following Minister Huangfu's words, the Emperor slowly sat up straight.

"8 million bow arrows, each valued at 80 wen."

"15 million crossbow arrows, each valued at 70 wen."

"..."

"10,000 military tents, each valued at 70 guan and 900 wen."

"Over 2,900 war chariots, each valued at 110 guan."

"700 war drums, each valued at 7 guan and 200 wen."

"..."

"The above totals 7,172,800-plus guan."

The Emperor nodded heavily, looked at the officials sitting in front of the imperial desk discussing among themselves, and said slowly: "Good, let's discuss, my lords, how we should reward them!"

"Ministry of Personnel, Minister Li, you go first."

(End of chapter)