Chapter 348 Duke Xuan

The person who walked out from behind the screen was not the head of the Zhu family, but Duke Xuan Guo Zhu Guanlin.

Duke Xuan Zhu Guanlin was a gentle and elegant man, in his forties but looked no more than thirty. He seldom appeared in public, so this was the third time Su Qianqian had seen him, once at a palace banquet and once during a hunting trip.

Zhu Guanlin came out laughing and walked in front of Su Qianqian and Qin Hanzhang. Seeing that the two did not answer, he continued to say to Su Qianqian:

"When I first saw you at the hunting ground, I felt that Master Su had a promising future. I didn't expect you to be so outstanding. I admire you very much. Han Zhang, I am very pleased to have such help."

After hearing what Duke Xuan said, Su Qianqian felt relieved and said, "Duke Xuan, thank you for your compliment. Sure thing, sure thing!"

Qin Hanzhang also bowed: "I didn't know the Duke was here. I'm sorry."

Duke Xuan asked them to sit down. There was no tea or snacks on the table, and they all understood each other tacitly.

"My dear nephew, I heard that you were out on a business trip. Why did you disguise yourself and come to Jinning? You are the Marquis of Wuning. Why do you need to hide your identity when you are on a business trip?"

Duke Xuan said with a smile.

"I didn't mean to hide my identity. I've almost finished my job. I'm here with my brother-in-law to take a trip to Jinning. It's a rare opportunity to have a little leisure time. Why should I bother with my identity?"

Qin Hanzhang responded with a faint smile.

“When Master Su first arrived in Jinning, he imprisoned the county magistrate. This was indeed a thunderous move.

County Magistrate Gu committed illegal acts within my fiefdom and deserved to be put to death. Lord Su eliminated the harm for the people and relieved my worries. I am very grateful to him. ”

Duke Xuan turned to Su Qianqian again and expressed his opinion with hidden meaning in his words.

Su Qianqian smiled again and said, "Okay, okay."

"I don't know why the Duke left the capital and returned to his fiefdom in Jinning. He didn't come to worship his ancestors, nor did he need to personally collect the fiefdom. Could it be that he knew we were here and came here on purpose?"

Qin Hanzhang was joking.

"My dear nephew, what you said is quite right. I did not come here on purpose, but I have a purpose today to invite you. I have something to say from the bottom of my heart."

Duke Xuan glanced at Su Qianqian, then observed Qin Hanzhang's reaction. Seeing that Qin Hanzhang had no intention of asking Su Qianqian to avoid the situation, he gained a new understanding of Su Qianqian's status.

"My dear nephew, you have been on the expedition for five years and have made great contributions. You have reduced the border of Daliang by a hundred miles and forced Daliang to raise its flag and ask for peace. The hardships you have experienced are too numerous to count. Have you ever thought about why Daliang has been able to bully my Great Qi for decades?"

"During the time when my nephew was leading the army, were the food and fodder delivered in time? What was the quality of the food and fodder? Were the supplies inferior? I once went to the northern border to escort food and fodder, so I naturally know the difficulties involved."

Duke Xuan acted as if he was expressing sympathy.

"It's always been like this with food and fodder. It's common in the army and there's no reason to complain. As long as it's not moldy or mixed with sand, it's good food. As for old food and brown rice, they can't be considered bad."

Qin Hanzhang had no expression and replied lightly, and Duke Xuan's expression changed slightly.

"My dear nephew, you are indeed a broad-minded person. You can let all these things go... But if you knew that there might be other reasons behind the death of your father and brother in battle nine years ago, would you still say so?"

Duke Xuan's words were like a bolt from the blue, making it impossible for Qin Hanzhang and Su Qianqian to remain calm. Qin Hanzhang unconsciously clenched his fists and asked in a deep voice, "What's going on?"

"Alas, nephew, I have kept this secret in my heart for ten years. I cannot bear to see you make the same mistake again, so I am waiting here on purpose. I just want to comfort your father, my old friend."

Duke Xuan's eyes actually turned red, but it was unclear whether it was true or not.

"Ten years ago, I escorted food and grass to this place. At that time, I was full of ambition and ambition to achieve great things. However, I unexpectedly discovered that most of the food and grass I escorted were moldy, the weapons and supplies I transported were all rusty, and the soldiers' winter clothes were moth-eaten and rat-gnawed.

I was extremely frightened and didn't know what to do. In desperation, I had to resort to a false pretense that the soldiers had eaten something wrong, so that I could collect food and winter clothes, and polish the weapons. After six days, I had finally repaired half of the weapons, and I had no choice but to send them over.

I didn't dare to hide it at that time and told your father about it. Your father actually knew everything about it and comforted me not to worry about it, saying that he would have his own way to deal with it.

After this incident, I became disheartened. It turned out that all I had to do to achieve success was to step on the corpses of my comrades and use their bones piled up in bloody battles. So I returned to the capital and resigned from my official position, just wasting my time with this empty title. ”

Su Qianqian blinked when she heard this: [This statement is half true and half false. I wonder what happened in the part he omitted? 】

[The system is trying to query...]

Su Qianqian couldn't help but roll her eyes secretly.

Duke Xuan Guo didn't know this and continued to tell the story.

"The following year, your brother rushed to reinforce us, and your father received frequent reports of victory. I was very pleased to hear the news in the capital.

But just when they were about to return triumphantly, I suddenly received news that your father, greedy for merit, advanced recklessly and marched straight to the border town of Daliang, but was ambushed and wiped out. Naturally, I couldn't believe it!

That year, Jinning sent its fief to Xijing, and I learned the news when the head of the family sent me a letter.

Just before the battle of Mount Xumi, someone had sent a message to the northern border. Although he had not seen the person who sent the message, according to the city gate keeper, it was an imperial decree, ordering Marquis Wuning to go to Mount Xumi to search for the captured Prince Mu and bring him back at all costs. ”

Prince Mu! Why would that pot-bellied, idle prince who only knew how to eat, drink and have fun be involved? Su Qianqian couldn't keep up with the pace.

"But it was impossible for Prince Mu to be captured at that time. He was staying in Jinning in plain clothes. The master of the family knew about it. Unexpectedly, the city gate guards accidentally learned about it and almost caused a disaster."

"So, the head of the Zhu family, who was the county magistrate at the time, killed innocent city gate officials?" There was no warmth in Su Qianqian's voice.

"Although the gatekeeper is innocent, compared to the turmoil in the court, what does the life of a minor official mean?"

Duke Xuan's tone was light and flirtatious.

"If that's the case, and the head of the Zhu family also knows about this, why doesn't he sacrifice himself for the court together?" Su Qianqian asked.

Duke Xuan was stunned, but his expression was telling one thing: How could a mere city gate keeper be compared with the head of the Zhu family!

"This matter... is indeed something I owe to the gatekeeper's wife and children, so I let them live a stable life in Jinning for so many years, which can be regarded as compensation for the gatekeeper."

[God’s damn compensation, don’t worry, I will definitely give it to your master and let him have a taste as well. ”

Seeing that Su Qianqian said no more, Duke Xuan Guo thought that she accepted his statement, so he continued.

"Since Prince Mu has never been captured, His Majesty has issued such an order. Isn't it clear to me, my nephew, what it means?

It's simply that your Wuning Marquisate's achievements are greater than yours, and the emperor has done this for the sake of the stability of the country! ”

Duke Xuan was heartbroken: "My dear nephew, what happened back then has kept me awake all night and caused me so much pain. Do you want to follow in your father and brother's footsteps now?"