Chapter 90 Another one for my cousin

"By then, Chaozhou will fall, and the five passes of Luzhou will be wide open. The rebels will be able to move freely in Luzhou. After Luzhou, there will be no more difficult cities to attack, and we can march straight to Kyoto."

"We would have arrived earlier, but knowing that the bandits were related to the Luzhou prefect, we went around to Luzhou city and detained the prefect."

The old lady gasped, "What a wolfish ambition! He deserves death!"

Ming Zhouhe nodded and said, "If the magistrate of Yingnan County in Gaozhou had not heard the news and reported it back to the capital, I'm afraid the Great Zhou would have been in great trouble."

"Who is the magistrate of Yingnan County?"

"A distant relative of the Duke of Fuguo's mansion is called Ji Rangli. He ranked first in the second class of the last imperial examination and was sent to Gaozhou for training."

Qiao Ruoying asked, "When will your father and the others arrive?"

"Since there's been a conspiracy of treason, we can't even hold ancestral worship. Father hasn't been granted leave and is still performing his duties at court. Scouts report that uncle will be able to lead his army here tomorrow. Dongmeng Pass is easy to defend but difficult to attack, as the mountains are narrow. My eldest brother is still at Dongmeng Pass, fighting Prince Jing's 300,000-man army."

Qiao Ruoying sighed softly upon hearing this, "That's all we can do. You and Zhouqing should get some rest. You two have dark circles under your eyes. You haven't slept well in a while, have you? I'll call you when the meal is ready. We'll deliver food to the cavalrymen at the village entrance."

"good."

"Chun Tao and Xia Lian, take the two young masters to rest."

"Yes, ma'am." Chuntao and Xia Lian took the two away.

After sleeping for an hour, the servants woke them up. The two men came over with helmets in their arms. After entering the yard, they casually placed the helmets on a shelf nearby.

When Shi Jianli saw them come in, she called out, "Cousin, second cousin."

Ming Zhouhe nodded, "Did you go out to play this morning?"

Shi Jianli shook her head. "I was in the yard. I heard you were coming and wanted to come over, but my aunt said you went to rest, so my sister Lin and I are waiting here. Cousin, you and second cousin seem to have lost some weight."

Ming Zhouhe said with a smile on his face, "This is called pulling out a strip."

Qiao Ruoying patted him on the back and said, "You're almost twenty, and you're still skinny. Aren't you just starving yourself?"

"It's possible, Mother, I'm hungry."

"Come in and have dinner, your grandmother is waiting inside." Qiao Ruoying greeted him and then went to greet her nephew, "Zhouqing, come too."

"good."

Ming Zhouhe shrugged and pulled Ming Zhouqing away.

"Are you hungry, Li'er? Do you want to eat something with your cousin and the others?" Qiao Ruoying looked at Shi Jianli again.

Shi Jianli smiled and shook her head, "I'm not hungry."

"Then you can play by yourself for a while."

"Okay." Shi Jianli sat on the bench in the yard and reached out to poke the unknown wild flowers in the flowerpot.

Except for the clan leader's family who would occasionally send family members to clean the house, there was usually no one in the ancestral house, so there were no flowers or plants arranged there. The flowers in the flowerpots were wild flowers dug by the maids at the foot of the mountain.

"Miss Li, have some cakes." The maid beside the old lady brought cakes over and said with a smile.

"Hmm." Shi Jianli gently picked up a piece.

The June afternoon breeze blew, touching her cheeks, slightly warm, and lifting the ribbon behind her head.

Someone came in from the courtyard gate, accompanied by footsteps and voices. Shi Jianli looked up and nodded to them.

Ming Zhoushi, Ming Zhouqi and Ming Zhouheng asked her and then walked inside. They seemed to come to meet Ming Zhouhe and Ming Zhouqing.

"Cousin Li, aren't you going in to talk to your second and third brothers?" Ming Zhouqi asked.

"They are having dinner."

"Oh, let's go in first."

Shi Jianli sat outside alone for a while, then saw Mingyuelin and the others come in, "Are the second brother and the others awake?"

"Inside."

Mingyuelin pulled Mingyuesi in to take a look, then ran out to chat with Shi Jianli.

Shi Jianli pulled a few leaves of grass next to the wild flowers, carefully rolled them into a ball with her fingertips, and weaved them into a ring.

"Sister Li, what are you doing?"

"In Duzhou, if a relative or friend travels far away, family members will simply tie a knot of thatch from their hometown and give it to the person, asking them to carry it with them, hoping that they will be safe."

"I want to weave one too and give it to my second brother." Mingyuelin also pulled out two leaves of grass, and then he leaned in to imitate the movements of her hands.

Shi Jianli turned her hand towards her and made a second one.

After Ming Zhouhe and Ming Zhouqing finished their meal, they could hear occasional conversations coming from inside.

After finishing the weaving, Mingyuelin held it up and looked at it. He thought it was not too ugly and was quite satisfied.

When Ming Zhouhe and Ming Zhouqing came out, Ming Yuelin pulled Ming Zhouqing over and stuffed the woven straw ring into his hand, "Second brother, this is for you!"

"What is this?" Ming Zhouqing tossed it, but it didn't seem to weigh much. "Grass ring?"

Ming Yuelin put her hands on her hips and nodded, "It's the custom in Sister Li's hometown. You're going to war, and giving you a grass ring is a way of hoping you'll return safely. It's not worth much, but it's a thoughtful gesture."

Ming Zhouhe's eyes fell on Shi Jianli, and she handed him two.

Ming Zhouhe raised an eyebrow, "Should I take two?"

Shi Jianli looked at him and said, "The other one is for my eldest cousin."

This expression shows that he is asking a question even though he knows the answer.

"Oh, give it to him when you see him."

After talking for a while, Ming Zhou and Ming Zhouqing said goodbye. "Grandma, you've rested enough. We won't stay any longer. The war is urgent."

"Okay, swords have no eyes, so be careful in everything." The old lady held their hands and reminded them.

"We'll take care. You just wait for your grandson to come back after making a contribution. You don't have to see us off." The two brothers took their helmets and put them on.

Ming Zhouhe saw Qiao Ruoying staring at him nervously, so he leaned over and gently hugged her, "Mother, I will come back safely."

You would be so proud of your only son.

"Okay, when you come back, mother will make you your favorite food."

"Um."

The two brothers left the house and mounted their horses, "Let's take you here."

Watching them leave, the whole family was in a low mood and couldn't help feeling worried.

The next day, Ming Weisu led his army to Li Guang County, let the army rest for a while, and then went to Dongyu Village.

The old lady and Yuan Yuhe were naturally happy to see their son and husband, and asked for food to be prepared. Ming Weisu quickly ate a meal and left, leading the army to the pass ahead again.

Soon, hearing that the rebels were no longer outnumbered, the imperial army pushed Prince Jing's rebels back a hundred miles, and then pushed the rebels back to Gaozhou.

Gaozhou was difficult to attack. After a stalemate of nearly a month, the Changmen Pass of Gaozhou was breached. The imperial army marched forward and took the Gaozhou provincial capital directly, capturing Prince Jing and his supporters alive.

Less than half a month after Prince Jing's troops set out in Gaozhou, Mingzhao led his cavalry to Dongmeng Pass and stopped the rebels from advancing southward. Soon afterwards, reinforcements from the rear arrived and counterattacked the rebel stronghold.

In just two months, Prince Jing's five-year conspiracy to rebel was crushed, Prince Jing was captured, and Prince Jing and his relatives were taken to the capital to be convicted.

When the overall situation was settled, the imperial edict was sent out from the capital, and it just arrived at Dongyu Village after the rebellion was completely suppressed.

Along with the imperial edict arrived Ming Weishen and Ji Rangzhou, who was sent to take over the escort of Prince Jing.

After reading the imperial edict, Ji Rangzhou handed it to the old lady, "Grandmother Chen, I will leave Prince Jing and his followers to be escorted back to the capital by me. You and your two uncles can pay respects to your ancestors in Chaozhou before returning to the capital. We will then discuss your merits and rewards together."