Chapter 61

"Yes, Mother."

"It was the post horses sent from Bianjing that galloped to inform the Yang Zhou officials, saying that the Bai Gao Kingdom had brazenly sent troops, surrounded our Great Zhou's horse-raising land, Lingzhou, and with Northern Liao's wolfish ambitions, they are pressing toward Suizhou."

"Mm, I heard you say before that the Bai Gao Kingdom is ruled by an Empress Dowager? Sending troops to Lingzhou—this Empress Dowager wants to establish prestige in the Bai Gao Kingdom and consolidate power."

"Mother's insight is brilliant."

In the main hall, Hualan, who was serving, placed two cups of tea on the table in front of her grandmother and father.

Sheng Hong continued, "The imperial court received the news and sent experienced generals from the capital to the front line. At this time, they should be fully prepared for battle along the entire line."

"Mm, to contain Northern Liao, Lingzhou alone is not enough. We must massively recruit soldiers from the two Hebei routes and the two Jingdong routes to threaten Northern Liao's left flank."

"Mother's judgment is divine; the Marquis of Zhongjing and the Marquis of Yongchang have already gone."

"Then is the war in the northwest clear?"

"It is only said that the Duke of England and the Marquis of Gu have gone to the north; there is no news from the Western Army yet. Cousin Xu is in the Western Army."

"Swords have no eyes on the battlefield. Sigh, I hope he can achieve merit! I hope there are no mishaps."

"Mother is right."

Old Madam Sheng looked at the tabletop, rubbed the lid of the teacup with her hand, and after pondering for a moment, said:

"Also! Lingzhou is our Great Zhou's most important horse-raising land; the imperial court will definitely go all out to protect it.

I think the war will definitely not end in a short time. You should discuss it with the Prefect and greet the gentry of Yang Zhou in advance.

This war is a gold-devouring beast; it will eat up mountain-like silver money! The imperial court will definitely levy taxes and increase taxes. Let them prepare early."

"Yes, Mother, your son understands."

Sheng Hong turned to leave, and Old Madam Sheng continued:

"Also, you should also pay a visit to the Prefect at Wuyi Lane. With the Bai family taking the lead as an example, some things will be much easier."

"Your son has exactly that idea. Then your son will take his leave."

Old Madam Sheng nodded.

After speaking, Sheng Hong did not change his clothes and had people prepare the carriage and horses; he was going to the Prefect's house.

Weirui Xuan.

Changbai was looking at a map. He had just heard from his eldest sister that there was a war in the north and was estimating the scale of the war on the map.

Although he was young, he already had national affairs in his heart.

The next day, the Yang Zhou government issued a notice, the general idea being that the Bai Gao Kingdom had recklessly provoked border incidents, attacked and killed border people, and intended to covet the Great Zhou's Lingzhou; the imperial court had already sent troops to the north.

If there are any rumors, those caught will be detained without exception, and those with serious consequences will be dealt with as spies.

The public opinion in Yang Zhou was instantly cleared. Many young scholars in the restaurants promoted the wolfish ambitions of the Bai Gao Kingdom, and even scripts about the Empress Dowager of the Bai Gao Kingdom became popular.

Sheng family,

Lin Qige,

the personal maid Xueniang said in Lin Qinshuang's ear, "Little Niang, I heard from the Master that fighting has started in the north."

Hearing this, Lin Qinshuang's eyes were flustered, and she said, "What? Fighting has started? Is the world going to be in chaos?"

"Looking at the Master's expression, it is quite normal; there shouldn't be any major events."

"Don't worry about his expression first. You go and collect all the interest on the silver money that should be collected; prepare it first. If it doesn't work, we will go south to avoid the disaster first."

"Yes, Little Niang."

Side courtyard,

Sheng Hong's concubine Wei Shuyi was embroidering under the light by the window.

The light from the window shone in, covering her with a layer of light gauze.

Sister Xiaodie was not in the room; only a little girl of more than five years old was standing on the side.

Wei Shuyi stretched her waist, looked at the peach cakes on the table beside her, and picked one up.

"Xiao Xiaotao, come."

"Thank you, Little Niang."

Xiao Xiaotao chewed the peach cake, and the deliciousness made her squint both eyes.

The cloth curtain at the door was lifted, and Sister Xiaodie walked a few steps quickly to Wei Shuyi's side, panting, and said:

"Little Niang, I heard from the servants in the mansion that fighting has started in the north."

Wei Shuyi's eyes were stunned, and she said, "You drink some water first. Do you know where the fighting started?"

"It is said to be in the north, the place where the Great Zhou Dynasty raises horses."

After pondering for a while, Wei Shuyi said:

"The north is very far from us. In between, there are the Hebei East Route, the Jingdong East Route, and the Huainan East Route. Separated by thousands of miles, it has nothing to do with us."

After speaking, she continued her embroidery work.

"Huh? Little Niang, is the distance so far? I heard from the servants, and I thought it was going to be fought nearby."

"It is mostly hearsay. Is that piece of embroidery selling well?"

"Yes, Little Niang. Your embroidery is being snatched up by several shops."

"Don't let others know."

Sister Xiaodie showed a smile: "Mm! Little Niang, when I went to the embroidery shop, I also heard something."

Wei Shuyi turned around and continued to embroider a handkerchief: "Speak."

"It is said that the Xu family, which is our family's Old Madam's family, has someone who was commended by the Empress..."

Wei Shuyi stopped her movements and listened to Sister Xiaodie's words.

After Sister Xiaodie finished speaking, Wei Shuyi said sincerely, "That is truly good."

After speaking, she continued to embroider the handkerchief.

I don't know if she meant Pingmei is good, Xu Zaijing is good, being commended by the Empress is good, or having both parents is good.

Bianjing,

after the initial slight chaos,

after getting used to the situation, Bianjing became lively again.

The various main restaurants and wine houses increased a program similar to storytellers,

but they were not telling books; they were telling the court gazette printed by the Chancellery.

What people cared about most was naturally the war in the north; the Great Ministers and Cabinet Elders in the court naturally knew what the people were thinking.

Therefore, there would be news, big or small, about the northern war in the court gazette.

This is also controlling public opinion.

Regarding the northern war in the court gazette, there were already Southern Opera troupes looking for learned scholars to write lyrics and music about winning battles, and the people in the troupes began to rehearse.

Preparing for when the war ends, they could have a new repertoire.

This trend soon spread throughout Bianjing.

And it spread from Bianjing to all parts of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

The first to be adapted was the story of the Duke of England's superior wisdom, seeing through Northern Liao's treacherous schemes, and capturing the great general under the Northern Liao's Southern Court King.

Military families have taboos against carelessness, and even more taboos against saying they will definitely win just because they have a huge advantage.

That is, the taboo against opening champagne at halftime.

So this new play by the Southern Opera troupe was also greeted by the Zhang family, saying to wait until the overall situation is settled before singing it.

Days went by,

one day after the Fifth Young Lady of the Duke of England's mansion sent the invitation, the Duke of England's carriage arrived at the Yongyi Hou Xu family.

The Duke of England's carriage entered the Xu family, accompanied by the Duke of England's maids and servants,

entered the inner courtyard, and Madam Sun brought her daughters-in-law and two daughters to welcome them.

The first to get off the carriage was a slightly plump managing Mama, who welcomed the Zhang family's Fifth Young Lady, who was dressed in opulence and wearing gold and jade, out of the carriage.

The young girl got off the carriage, saw the Xu family, and bowed slightly,

"Sister-in-law, peace; two sisters, peace; Madam, peace."

The managing Mama behind followed and saluted.

"Sister, peace."

"Oh, Fifth Young Lady, I haven't seen you before. Come, let's go in."

As she spoke, the group entered the main hall of the inner courtyard.

Xie followed beside the managing Mama and asked softly: "I wonder what is the Mama's surname?"

"This old woman's surname is Fan."

"Oh, so it is Mama Fan. Please come in."

After talking in the main hall for a while, Madam Sun instructed the two Mei to look after the Fifth Young Lady and then left with Xie, letting the young ladies go play by themselves.

Mama Fan accompanied the three young ladies and went to Pingmei's courtyard.

"Sister Anmei, I heard from many sisters that your family's little cat is particularly cute. Can I take a look at it today?"

"Naturally, you can. That little thing is in my sister's courtyard."

As she was speaking, the Zhang family's Fifth Young Lady heard the cat meowing and howling in the courtyard, the sound somewhat shrill.

Turning past the moon gate, the Fifth Young Lady saw a 'Golden Bed and Silver Bed' (cat) locked in a cage.

On the table not far away, there was also a small water tank.

The shrill sound, the little cat howling hard, saw the three people approaching, and suddenly the sound became much smaller, turning into a soft, sweet sound.

If Xu Zaijing were here, he would definitely say: "Yo, the little thing has two faces."

The Zhang family's Fifth Young Lady walked closer and saw clearly that the little cat's neck was tied with a finely woven red ribbon, and a small bell without sound was hanging below.

Beside the small bell, there was also a small gold plate with the word 'Xu' engraved on it.

"Wow, so cute." The Fifth Young Lady's eyes were almost filled with pink hearts.

"Fifth Young Lady, there are fish in that small water tank; you can feed it. It likes it the most."

Pingmei was still very steady in front of outsiders. She whispered to Mama Fan: "Mama Fan, why doesn't the Duke of England's mansion hire a cat to accompany the Fifth Young Lady to play?"

"There was a cat before. It died of old age when the Fifth Young Lady was young. The Fifth Young Lady was so sick from crying that a Daoist priest said she couldn't hire another cat, so it has been like this."

"The Fifth Young Lady is a kind-hearted good girl; I am relieved."

"Miss Ping, I see this cat has been hungry all morning?"

"It was my little Fifth's idea, afraid that if the Fifth Young Lady came, the little cat would run out and spoil the fun."

The two were talking when a speaking voice came from outside the wall.

It was Xu Zaijing leading Zheng Xiao to play in his own courtyard.

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(End of Chapter)