Chapter 1270

A maid walked quietly to Lady Ding's side and whispered, bowing: "Lady Dong has come to visit."

Upon hearing this, Lady Ding glanced toward the entrance of the secluded courtyard.

Then she stood up lightly from the stone stool and handed little Cao Qing to the maid: "Take Qing'er to the room for a nap."

The maid took little Cao Qing and walked toward the room in the secluded courtyard.

Lady Ding then came to the courtyard entrance.

"Sister Ding."

Seeing Lady Ding, Dong Yi bowed to her first.

"Sister, why do this?" Lady Ding quickly reached out to help Dong Yi up: "I and?'er and Qing'er are staying here as guests; how can I deserve Sister's bow?"

As a young lady from a prominent family, Lady Ding lacked neither upbringing, etiquette, nor emotional intelligence.

"It is only right," Dong Yi said with a smile: "My husband often mentions General Cao, saying that he and General Cao were inseparable friends. Although they called each other brothers in daily life, General Cao was older, and in reality, he was my husband's elder brother."

"It is only right for me to call you Sister."

"Now that my husband has accepted?'er and Qing'er as his adopted son and daughter, the relationship between our two families is even closer."

Lady Ding held Dong Yi's hand and replied with a smile: "Since we are one family, Sister should not be so formal. Wouldn't it be better for us to address each other as sisters and interact as sisters?"

"Sister is right; it was my lack of consideration."

After exchanging pleasantries, Lady Ding pulled Dong Yi into the secluded courtyard.

Then she personally poured a cup of cold honey water for Dong Yi.

"Sister, is there something the matter?"

Lady Ding asked while pouring water for Dong Yi.

Dong Yi nodded and said: "Since Sister has seen it, I won't hide it anymore."

"There is indeed a matter."

As she spoke, Dong Yi told Lady Ding about the Emperor's passing, as well as the matters concerning Tie Shitou and Wang Hunu, selecting parts that could be told.

"Sister also knows that my husband is leading troops in the Western Regions, and most of his generals have followed him, while the rest need to guard various places in Liangzhou."

"Therefore, Mr. Li says that now there are troops but no generals."

"Mr. Li says that General Cao's clansmen and brothers are all capable of fighting."

"They have also fought side by side with my husband many times before, so..." Dong Yi looked at Lady Ding and said: "So I want to ask for Sister's opinion."

"After all, these are General Cao's clansmen."

"Sister's words will outweigh everything."

Dong Yi coming to find Lady Ding was naturally under Li Ru's guidance.

Cao Cao was dead, leaving behind a son and a daughter. Now that they were staying in Liangzhou, it was very likely that they would be people of Liangzhou for the rest of their lives.

However, Cao Ang was still young and naturally could not take on major responsibilities.

And Lady Ding had two identities: one was Cao Cao's legitimate wife, the sister-in-law of Cao Cao's clansmen and relatives.

The other identity was the legitimate daughter of the Ding clan.

The Ding clan and the Xiahou clan also had many intermarriages, so Lady Ding's word was crucial.

After Dong Yi's words fell, Lady Ding held Dong Yi's hand and said: "Sister, why be so formal?"

"Before my husband died, he entrusted all major matters to the Marquis of Ji, which was naturally a great trust in the Marquis of Ji."

"My husband also often said that the Marquis of Ji had helped him a lot."

"Now that my husband is unfortunate, but fortunately has a brother as righteous as the Marquis of Ji to take us in."

"Now that the Marquis of Ji needs help, how can I stand by and watch?"

"Sister, rest assured, I will call them over right now, and Sister can drive them as she pleases."

Dong Yi excitedly held Lady Ding's hand tightly and said: "Then thank you, Sister."

"By the way, Sister, is Qing'er three years old this year?" Dong Yi asked suddenly.

Lady Ding did not know why Dong Yi suddenly brought this up, but she nodded: "Yes, Qing'er is a bitter child."

"?'er, regardless of anything else, was by his mother's side for several years, but Qing'er's mother passed away as soon as she was born."

"With a mother like Sister, how could she be bitter?" Dong Yi held Lady Ding's hand and said with a smile: "My Mu'er is the same age as Qing'er this year. It just so happens that when you are free, Sister can bring Qing'er to sit with me more often. There are not many children in this Provincial Governor's mansion, so it would be nice to have some company."

How clever Lady Ding was.

As soon as Dong Yi's words came out, Lady Ding had already guessed the meaning behind them.

So she smiled and nodded in agreement, understanding the implication.

"Then I will have to trouble Sister a lot in the future, and I hope Sister won't find it annoying."

Western Regions, Southern Route, Jingjue Kingdom.

The Jingjue Kingdom, located on the southern route of the Western Regions, was in the middle of the entire southern route of the Western Regions.

It had less than a thousand households and less than five hundred soldiers.

As early as last year, when Duan Yu conquered Loulan and left behind Lu Bu and over a thousand troops, the Jingjue Kingdom had already submitted a letter of surrender.

The Jingjue Kingdom was not on the traditional main road of the southern route.

Instead, it was built in the desert.

At first, it was just a group of people who ran to this location to avoid war.

But unexpectedly, they discovered a river that surged from underground to the surface, so this group of people lived by relying on this river.

They multiplied and lived here.

Because they could farm by relying on the river and were located in the middle of the southern route of the Western Regions, most merchants would stop for supplies after passing through here, which created the growing prosperity of the Jingjue Kingdom.

"Book of Han: Western Regions Biography" records: "Jingjue Kingdom, the seat of government is Jingjue City, 8,820 li away, 500 households, a population of over 3,000, and hundreds of soldiers."

Last year, when Duan Yu killed the general of Yutian in Loulan Kingdom, this news quickly reached Jingjue Kingdom.

Coupled with Lu Bu's frequent showing off of his power on the southern route of the Western Regions after obtaining a thousand cavalry, Jingjue Kingdom submitted a letter of surrender early on.

When Lu Bu was in Jiuyuan Commandery, he often took cavalry to stroll on the grasslands north of the Yin Mountains.

If he encountered Xiongnu or Xianbei, he would definitely fight them.

It was precisely because of this that he earned the reputation of the "Fierce Tiger of Jiuyuan."

And since Duan Yu began his campaign against the Western Regions in early spring, Lu Bu had not been idle on the southern route of the Western Regions.

Although he only had a thousand cavalry.

But compared to the large and powerful countries on the northern route of the Western Regions, the southern route was mostly small countries and small cities with populations of only a few thousand.

Lu Bu had never captured a city, but his show of power scared the small countries on the southern route of the Western Regions quite a bit.

Especially after a few who didn't know better were challenged to a duel outside the city and were knocked off their horses in one move, Lu Bu's fame began to spread on the southern route of the Western Regions.

Lu Bu was handsome, tall, and rode his horse at a very fast speed.

Therefore, these small countries on the southern route of the Western Regions gave Lu Bu a name, called the "Flying General."

Originally, Duan Yu did not intend to go to Jingjue when he was returning from the southern route.

After all, it would mean walking a longer distance.

Since the campaign against the Western Regions began in early spring, nearly seven months had passed, and Duan Yu also missed home.

But after receiving Lu Bu's letter and seeing the contents, Duan Yu decided to make the trip.

Because this trip really had to be made.

The reason is...

Lu Bu was getting married.

Of course, if one insisted, this was not a very big deal.

After all, Duan Yu had many generals under his command, and although Lu Bu was one of the best fighters, he was definitely not the most important one.

But this time it was different, because the person Lu Bu was going to marry was somewhat extraordinary.

This person was the Queen of Jingjue Kingdom.

The Queen of Jingjue.

That's right, the Queen of Jingjue Kingdom.

When Duan Yu saw Lu Bu's letter and saw the contents, he felt a bit surprised.

Therefore, Duan Yu decided to go and see for himself. ===== CHAPTER 1272 =====