Chapter 6 Catching Fish

Xue Yucheng was less than 30 years old and was the youngest third-rank general in Dayu's history. He led his troops to garrison the northwest for more than ten years.

Everyone knows that Dayu is good at expanding territory and defending against foreign enemies.

Hao Ren: "You are in the Xue Mansion in Chang'an. There must be someone guarding you strictly. How did you end up here?"

Xue Che put the jade pendant back on his neck:

"I was framed by a traitor when I went to the Duke of Ming's mansion to celebrate his birthday. When I woke up, I found myself being abducted and taken away from Chang'an."

Although Chang'an is prosperous, it is a place full of tigers and wolves.

Hao Ren lowered his eyes, his eyelashes casting a shadow on his eyelids: "Are your elders safe?"

Xue Che shook his head: "There are only me and my servants in the mansion."

The Xue family is a family of military generals. Although they are glorious, their family members are also declining. Except for Xue Yucheng, all the men in the Xue family died on the battlefield.

Xue Che's mother was ambushed by spies from the enemy country while she was pregnant, and gave birth to the child when she was on the verge of death.

Xue Che was born with congenital deficiencies and was born with a poison in his mother's womb, so he has always been weak.

Now, only Xue Yucheng and his son Xue Che are left in the Xue family.

Hao Ren frowned and let out an inaudible sigh.

A hand covered Xue Che's head:

"A Che, I will try to contact the Xue Mansion in Chang'an and the Northwest Military Camp as soon as possible to let your father know your news.

You can stay here for the time being, and I will ask Doctor Yu to take care of your health."

Hao Ren's palms were slender and warm.

Xue Che had a vague feeling that his father was standing beside him.

He didn't avoid Hao Ren's hand: "Thank you, Village Chief Hao."

Hao Ren looked at Xue Che's pretentious face, as if thinking of something, and slowly raised his lips:

"You look a lot like your father."

…

The scorching sun sets and the night is like a tide.

Inside the hut, there was a dim light.

Wu Yingniang sat at the door, the lines of her arms clearly outlined by the candlelight in the room, and beneath the lines lay the power that could explode at any time.

Wu Yingniang has practiced marksmanship for many years, and her hands seem to be born to hold weapons.

Now, she picked up the sewing needle for Su Zhizhi.

Wu Yingniang was mending Su Zhizhi's torn pants.

Su Zhizhi is lively and active. She does everything from climbing trees to digging holes, and her clothes are always torn.

"This child, no matter how many pieces of clothes he has, he will never have enough clothes."

Wu Yingniang was mending clothes, and a smile unconsciously appeared on her face.

"Yingniang, go to bed early. It's dark at night, don't hurt your eyes." Hao Ren took the needle and thread from Wu Yingniang.

Wu Yingniang turned to look at her handsome husband.

She never gets tired of looking at this face, no matter how many years she goes by, and can discern the subtle emotions in it at a glance.

"Aren, you're worried. Is it because of that kid Ache?"

Hao Ren put the needle and thread back into the cabinet, held Wu Yingniang's hand and sat down beside the bed.

"He is Zixuan's child."

Hao Ren's voice was very soft, as if in a dream.

In the dream, there was a young man in fine clothes and riding a horse, looking at Chang'an with a proud smile.

In the dream, there is also an imperial decree that breaks the proud character, a loyal man who kneels down and cries blood, and injustice and resentment that cannot be washed away by heavy rain.

Suddenly, the building collapsed, and the blue sky road beneath my feet turned into a blazing flame...

Hao Ren, who was calm and composed in front of others during the day, now had dark eyes, like the sea where stars fell at night, without a trace of light.

Wu Yingniang hugged her husband and gently patted his back with her right hand:

"Remember the past?"

Hao Ren did not answer, but hugged Wu Yingniang tightly.

"Yingniang, I'm a burden to you."

Wu Yingniang rubbed her husband's eyebrows:

"Aren, what nonsense are you talking about? Aren't we living a good life?"

Her hands were rough, with many calluses from years of martial arts practice.

But her eyes when she looked at Hao Ren were very gentle, as gentle as a spring filled with moonlight.

"Aren, look at me. What happened before is all in the past. This is Xunzhou, Black Bandit Mountain, our territory."

"We have enough food, a safe place to live, and good health."

"Aren, we are living well, and Zhizhi is doing well too."

The gloom in Hao Ren's eyes gradually dissipated, as if the clouds had parted and the moon had emerged. He held his wife's arm tightly.

"Yingniang, Yingniang, Yingniang..."

Wu Yingniang placed a kiss on Hao Ren's forehead, then on his eyebrows, nose, and lips...

A cloud of light appeared on Hao Ren's handsome face.

Wu Yingniang caught a glimpse of his red ears and couldn't help but smile.

They are an old married couple, but he is as shy as a young wife about this matter.

"I'm going to go check on the kids first. You wash yourself clean and wait in bed."

Wu Yingniang closed the door in a hurry.

Hao Ren: ...

Wu Yingniang went to Su Zhizhi's room and saw that the candle had gone out.

There was a bulge in the quilt on the bed.

"I can't sleep well either."

Wu Yingniang walked over and wanted to tuck in the corners of the quilt for Su Zhizhi.

Walking to the bed, she paused for a moment, her expression changed, and then she raised her hand and lifted the quilt -

Three round pillows rolled out, but where was Su Zhizhi?

In the silent mountains, a roar cut through the night:

"Su Zhizhi, where have you been this time?!"

…

Under the cover of night, by the stream.

The shadows of the trees are swaying and the water is gurgling.

Su Zhizhi walked in front carrying a large bamboo basket, and Xue Che followed closely behind, stepping on stones.

"Come this way, it's easier to catch him here." Su Zhizhi called Xue Che over.

The night was cool, the chill and dampness seeping through the clothes into the bones.

Xue Che tightened his collar and asked, "Why do we have to go fishing at night?"

Su Zhizhi took off the bamboo basket on her back:

"Because fish at night are dumber and easier to catch."

Xue Che: "Ah?"

Xue Che once read in a book that "a gentleman never regrets what he does", but now he feels that he is not a gentleman because he regrets it so much!

Tonight, as soon as Xue Che turned off the lights, Su Zhizhi came to knock on Xue Che's window mysteriously and asked Xue Che to go fishing together.

Xue Che didn't want to go, but Su Zhizhi asked:

"Ah Che, have you ever seen a fish walk into a trap?"

With just these one sentence, Xue Che was fooled.

Xue Che's hands and feet were cold from the wind, but Su Zhizhi didn't seem to feel cold at all. She took off her shoes, rolled up her trouser legs and stepped into the water.

The stream is not deep, only reaching the knees of the calves.

"Ache, please help me get my shoes to the shore."

This was the first time in Xue Che's life that he carried shoes for someone.

He took Su Zhizhi's little shoes stiffly and placed them neatly and carefully on the big rock on the shore.

From a distance in the night, it looks like two oval beans placed on the stone.

"The fish will come soon. Shh ...

Su Zhizhi put the bamboo basket into the water.

A trembling moon was reflected on the water.

The two children held their breath and waited, neither of them dared to speak.

Xue Che was very skeptical that his efforts would be in vain.

Although he never caught a fish, the book says that Jiang Taigong at least had a fishing rod when he fished.

Su Zhizhi just put out a basket and waited for the fish to come. What's the difference between this and waiting for the rabbit to come to her?

He was almost certain that Su Zhizhi couldn't catch any fish, but then he heard Su Zhizhi excitedly shout:

"Got it!"