Chapter 91: Whose concubine is delicate? [Thank you for your support, readers! Once more]

Qi State Duke's Mansion,

The personal mama is currently removing the hairpins and jewelry for Princess Pingning.

"Princess, the Du family shop came to the mansion today to deliver some trendy fabrics. I chatted with the Du family's people for a while and heard some interesting gossip."

Princess Pingning closed her eyes and said, "Speak."

"The Du family said they went to the Ningyuan Marquis Mansion yesterday and chatted with the Ningyuan Marquis's Chang Mama. They learned that the eldest young lady of the Xu family brought an embroidered painting to the Gu family that is a masterpiece of craftsmanship, and she focuses on studying it whenever she is free."

"Hmm."

"The Du family boldly requested to take a look, and the Xu family's eldest young lady agreed."

"How was it? The Du family's embroidery skills are among the best in Bianjing. If the Xu family's eldest young lady let them take a look, they should be able to explain it clearly."

"The Du family brought a veteran embroiderer who has seen this embroidery style a few times! She said that years ago, a clever young lady sent it to the Du family for consignment. The needlework was unique, but she never saw it again after that."

"That is indeed an interesting anecdote. After several decades, to be able to see that needlework again!"

"Indeed."

"Is there any clue as to why the Xu family's young man went to the Ningyuan Marquis Mansion?"

The personal mama massaged the acupuncture points on the Princess's head to relieve the fatigue and pain of her scalp, and said:

"I had the people below spend some silver and managed to get some news from their fourth branch. They said the Xu family young lady's maid bumped into a concubine and was going to be tied up and dealt with by the concubine's people. The strong women brought by the Xu family beat the concubine's people and saved the maid."

"Hmm? The Xu family caused a scene because of this?"

"Naturally, they wouldn't for such a small matter. It was the old woman who tied the person up who died. That concubine went to cry and complain, demanding that the Xu family's strong woman pay with her life."

"Hmph! The order of superior and inferior has been disrupted. A concubine dares to touch the people of the master's courtyard?"

"Yes. The Xu family brothers went to make a scene, and in the end, it was handed over to Madam Bai to handle."

"Hmm, then the Xu family young lady's people are fine," Princess Pingning said.

Suddenly, she was startled, frowned, and asked:

"How did the Xu family know so quickly? The two mansions are not close to each other."

"It is said that the Xu family provided two fine horses as part of the dowry. Before dawn, the Xu family's young servant who came with the dowry rode them to the Xu family to report the news."

Princess Pingning did not speak. The personal mama knew her mistress's thoughts.

If she had such maternal brothers, the Princess would not be so overbearing and tyrannical; if she suffered a grievance, she would naturally have her maternal brothers to stand up for her.

Without maternal brothers, one can only rely on oneself.

"Princess, the relatives will be coming to visit in these few days. Are you still not going to let Heng Ge'er..."

"He is still young. He should see fewer female cousins, lest it distract him from his studies."

"Yes, Princess, this servant understands."

Half an hour later, the lights in the Princess's room were extinguished.

I do not know who sighed.

In the cold weather,

The moon and stars in the night sky became brighter.

The sun rose and the moon set,

A night passed.

On the coldest morning,

People had already begun to set up stalls on the street.

As the sky brightened,

In the cold air of Bianjing, the public began to bustle about shopping.

Stalls on the roadside burned stoves, and steam rose from the pots.

There were also vendors selling peach wood charms, door god paintings, and firecrackers.

Lanterns of various styles hung all over the scaffolding behind the roadside stalls.

The city was filled with an atmosphere of busyness and reunion.

At this time,

More than a dozen horses left the city from the Chaoyang Gate in the east of Bianjing.

After leaving the great city gate, the speed of the horses increased.

Outside the city, the grass and trees were withered and yellow, and white frost covered the ground.

Because there was no obstruction from the city walls and the smoky atmosphere of the streets,

After leaving the great city, the air suddenly became much colder.

Xu Zaijing rode his horse with his father, elder brother, and Great Zhou officials to rush to the garrison where the Tianwu Army was located.

As soon as they left the city, they felt the difference in temperature.

They hurriedly used their cloaks to cover their mouths, noses, and chests.

Fortunately, the garrison was only two miles away from Bianjing City, not very far.

They showed their tokens, verified their identities, and the men and horses entered the Tianwu Army garrison.

Marquis Yongyi Xu Minghua had been in charge of the Tianwu Army for some time.

He did not make a big fuss about replacing people with his own upon taking office,

But instead used a slow, steady approach.

The Xu family did not refuse the benefits sent their way, making everyone think he was also here in the Imperial Guard to rake in money.

But they did not know that Xu Minghua turned around and handed the bribes he received to the Emperor.

While busy with the two marriages of his eldest daughter and nephew, he gradually figured out the connections behind the military officers through the banquets hosted by his personal guards and disciples.

He even learned of crimes such as embezzling military pay, drinking the soldiers' blood, occupying civilian land, and using soldiers for private purposes.

At the same time, he arranged for disciples from the Cao, Sun, Xu, and Zhu families to enter the Tianwu Army, but most of their positions carried the title of "deputy."

The high-ranking officers were not changed much either; after all, most of the Upper Four Armies were children of noble and military families, and there was no excuse to change them, as it involved too much.

On weekdays, the roll call of officers was still led by the deputy generals in the army, and some matters were still handled by turning a blind eye as before.

Now that the slow fire had heated the pot, Xu Minghua prepared to add some firewood to bring it to a boil.

Today, Xu Minghua submitted the leave-finished slip to the Yamen and invited a high-ranking official in charge of military discipline to ride with him to the Tianwu Army garrison.

Boom, boom, boom, boom!

The commander's drum for gathering generals in the Tianwu Army garrison sounded.

Xu Zaijing stood behind his father, watching the assembly speed of the officers of the Tianwu Army, one of the Upper Four Armies.

In his previous life, he was accustomed to his country's super-handsome military parades and emergency assemblies, knowing that nothing on Earth at that time could compare.

Now in the Great Zhou, he naturally would not use the requirements of his previous country's modern military to look at it.

But even if he lowered his requirements, the speed of the Tianwu Army, which had stayed in the comfort zone of Bianjing for too long, gathering generals was still shockingly slow.

The disciples of the families who followed Xu Zaijing's father back were better off due to the tempering on the front lines; during this time, they naturally tried every means to control the soldiers under them, and their speed was still okay.

But those who had stayed in the capital for a long time might still be in some brothel in Bianjing, not yet awake.

Xu Zaijing saw the six army commanders standing in the front. One of them was wiping sweat, and his legs were trembling while standing there. He entered the main tent a few breaths before the drum stopped.

During the roll call, he learned that this person's surname was Bao.

The late and absent officers were dealt with by Xu Minghua, and the vacant positions allowed the disciples who had good relations with the Xu family to have the "deputy" title removed from their official positions, becoming the primary ones.

As for the previous primary ones, some were promoted, and some were directly demoted to the lower armies.

Those who committed crimes were taken away by the military discipline officers; whether they lived or died depended on whether the people behind them were tough enough.

This series of actions by the Tianwu Army, besides letting their own disciples take power, also screened out several captains who were good at leading troops and supplemented them into the Xu family's camp.

Xu Zaijing and his elder brother also made an appearance before the army.

They got to know the captains of the Tianwu Army.

Xu Zaijing had previously heard Gu Tingye talk about the scenes he witnessed when he followed his father to the Gu family army, and now it was finally his turn to witness it.

This kind of scene was something the military captains were happy to see, because getting to know these noble and military disciples early was beneficial for the future.

However, combining what he saw now with what Gu Tingye said before, the gap between the two armies was still quite large.

But since the time of taking over was different, there was no need to compare them rigidly.

Xu Minghua had to arrange matters of promotion, dismissal, and punishment in the army, which would not end for a while, so Xu Zaijing chatted with several cousins about his feelings.

At noon, Xu Minghua had lunch with the Tianwu Army officers and the soldiers in the camp, accompanied by the two Xu brothers.

After eating, Xu Minghua still had to deal with the officers who had just arrived, so he ordered the two brothers to go back first.

On the way out of the camp.

Xu Zaijing rode his horse, watching the soldiers returning to the camp with smiles; most of them had just finished working for the officers in Bianjing, and he sighed in his heart:

"Imperial Guard! Just this?"

A few soldiers passed by them, walked a few steps faster, and said: I heard from others that the lunch was several times more sumptuous than usual!

Saying this, these soldiers quickened their pace toward the tent where they ate.

"Elder brother, do you think Father needs to hold a military exercise to screen them again?"

Xu Zaiduan also frowned, obviously not very satisfied with the situation of the Tianwu Army:

"Military exercises require silver rewards. Now Father still needs to grasp it more firmly before it's easy to handle."

"Hmm, elder brother is right."

The two of them took their servants and rode into Bianjing from Chaoyang Gate. The flow of people became dense, and they could only reduce their speed.

The passersby were also very sensible; seeing these tall horses, they gave way one after another.

After passing the most crowded place at the city gate, the horse speed increased slightly.

But when they reached the vicinity of Pan Lou,

There were many people again.

It was the end of the year, and the business in the Pan Lou area in the southeast of the Imperial City was becoming more and more prosperous.

Many officials, nobles, or wealthy households returning to Bianjing from other places were playing here, listening to plays in the brothels, and watching dances in the brothels.

Some buildings had four or five opera troupes performing.

One could hear the sound of gongs and drums coming from the roadside.

There were even more people setting up stalls to perform or sell things on the roadside, and the sounds of applause and hawking were endless.

The Xu family naturally slowed down their horses to avoid bumping into people.

At this moment, sounds of struggle and screaming came from the alley on the roadside.

【Thank you to the big bosses for the tips!】

【Thank you for your support, readers!】

【Once more!】

【Just added a few strokes in the front, because it seems the author didn't write it clearly.】

【Some readers misunderstood that the Zhu family sister-in-law had an accident. No, not even a scratch!】

【She was saved just before being punished.】

【If there are typos or incoherent parts, please point them out, respected readers.】

【Tip balance: 1100 points.】

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(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 92 =====