36. Chapter 36 Soft-hearted

It was just noon when Xiaoxiao returned to Prince Yan's Mansion.

Today's sky was exceptionally bright, a clear blue, with only a few white clouds in the distance. Winter had passed before I knew it, and the willow trees in the palace had sprouted new buds.

Xiaoxiao went directly to Wuya Hall. She was a little disappointed when she learned that Brother Pei was not there. Her small face was only the size of a palm, but her eyes were black and seemed to be able to speak. Whenever she was in a bad mood, her eyes were particularly obvious.

Yang Hao thought for a moment and said, "The envoys will be arriving in Beijing soon. His Majesty has a lot to do and probably won't be back until tonight. If Miss Xiaoxiao has any urgent matters, you can write a letter to His Majesty and I'll have someone deliver it to him."

Xiaoxiao waved her hands quickly, "No, no, I'm fine. Go ahead and do your work. Don't worry about me."

Xiaoxiao asked Luzhu and learned that around March every year, the surrounding vassal states would come to pay tribute to the Great Zhou. This year, the Great Zhou had won another victory, so the Great Jin would also come. The envoys were expected to arrive in the capital in two weeks, and Pei Xiuhan would be very busy for the next month.

Xiaoxiao had a very bad impression of the Dajin people. They were responsible for countless deaths in this war. When she learned they were coming, she felt a bit uncomfortable. Her brother hadn't returned yet, and yet their people had arrived first. The thought that they had provoked the war in the first place made Xiaoxiao furious, and she wanted to beat them up.

Naturally, there are many people who think like Xiaoxiao.

At this time, soldiers from all over the country had returned home one after another. Most of these people were injured and recuperated on the spot before returning to their hometowns with the crowd. There were also some like Zhang Li who injured their legs and were still on their way home.

The people from Zhangjia Village have just arrived home.

This time, Zhangjia Village suffered particularly heavy losses. A total of 45 people died in the village. Except for Zhang Li, only three people survived. Among these three people, one was blinded in an eye, one had a broken arm, and only Li Laosan was not seriously injured.

When the three of them returned, supporting each other, the village suddenly exploded. Women from every household ran out. Some ran so fast that they didn't even notice that their cloth shoes had fallen away.

In fact, the death list had been posted by the village chief some time ago, and the families of those who died in the war had received compensation, but no one dared to believe that they were already dead.

Everyone held on to the last glimmer of hope, hoping that the government had made a mistake in the list. It was not until Li Laosan and the others returned that everyone began to frantically inquire about the news. When they learned that their men would never come back, several women sat on the ground and cried.

As the woman started crying, the child started crying too. Suddenly, there was a loud cry and the whole village was shrouded in crying. The headman was also feeling bad because his eldest son was gone. He lit a pipe and squatted on the ground to smoke. Zhang Ying also cried with tears running down her nose and looked completely undignified. She didn't know why God was so cruel to take her father away.

At this moment, a woman suddenly grabbed Li Laosan's arm and said, "Zhang Li hasn't come back either. Is he dead too? He's dead, why don't you give us compensation?"

The person who asked this question was Zhang Li's mother. A few days ago, the government came to distribute the compensation. She saw that the soldiers who died in the battle were given two taels of silver and 36 stone of rice.

Without waiting for Li Laosan to answer, Zhang Ming's mother pushed Zhang Li's mother away and said, "Even if Zhang Li is dead, he should have given silver and rice to my family. He went there to take my son's place. Why should he give it to your family? Li Laosan, what happened to Zhang Li? Is he dead?"

Li Laosan and Zhang Li stayed in the same military camp and knew a little about Zhang Li, so he briefly explained, "He's a lucky guy. Not only did he survive, but he was also appreciated by the officials and promoted to a small team leader with more than a dozen soldiers under him. Who knows, he might become a high-ranking official in the future."

As soon as he said this, the whole village was in an uproar. Several women who were still crying stopped crying and looked in disbelief.

Aunt Zhang's family had always disliked Zhang Li and immediately said, "How could a little monster cursed by the mountain god possibly be appreciated? Are you trying to frame us?"

The three people who survived all received more or less help from Zhang Li. Zhao Chun was nearly killed after being stabbed in the eye. It was Zhang Li who blocked the knife for him, so he was lucky enough to survive. At this moment, he couldn't listen to Aunt Zhang at all.

He immediately retorted, "What little freak? There are many people out there who are born with six fingers. When we were soldiers, we even saw people with seven fingers. There's no such thing as a mountain god's curse. He just has one more finger than us. Stop your nonsense. Zhang Li, this kid, has been very capable since he was young. I've always felt he had a promising future. Sure enough, he even made military achievements on the battlefield this time. He will definitely become a high-ranking official in the future."

No one wanted to believe it. Aunt Zhang even said, "What kind of merit could he have achieved? Even without the mountain god's curse, he was still a nemesis. He killed his grandmother. And Xiaoxiao, that girl was suddenly taken away. She might have offended someone and she might have died a long time ago."

Li Laosan quickly retorted, "Who said Xiaoxiao is dead? She saved the Regent's life. Word has spread throughout the military camp. Zhang Li's sister is the Regent's savior. Even Zhang Li is under the Regent's care, let alone Xiaoxiao. She's now well and truly settled in the capital. When Zhang Li returns, they will surely enjoy great blessings."

No one could believe it. In the village, Zhang Li's family was the poorest. Old lady Zhang was an old woman raising two children and often didn't have enough to eat. If they were really blessed, how could they have been so miserable when they were young?

These three people's statements were so convincing that everyone had to believe them.

Zhang Li's mother was so excited that she felt dizzy. She couldn't help but grab Zhang Li's father's arm and squeezed it hard. "Dad, did I hear correctly? Our son is going to be an official? Then won't I be the mother of an official in the future?"

She became more and more excited as she spoke. Her yellow face also emitted a radiance that was not usually there, and she was extremely proud for a moment.

When Aunt Li heard this, a hint of sarcasm flashed across her face. She is the mother of the official. How can she be considered as such?

Aunt Li was so embarrassed for her.

On the day Zhang Li was born, when she discovered that Zhang Li was born with six fingers, she was so scared that she threw Zhang Li to the ground, almost killing him. Is she qualified to be a mother?

Later, when everyone was calling Zhang Li a little monster, it was she who advocated throwing him into the mountains to starve to death. If Grandma Zhang hadn't desperately tried to stop him, Zhang Li would have died long ago. She even used Zhang Li as an excuse to kick Grandma Zhang out of the house. Zhang Li's father didn't even dare to fart.

Grandma Zhang was an old woman who didn't even own any land and had to support two children. You can imagine how difficult it was. Zhang Li's father and mother never helped her at all.

Now that he sees that Zhang Li might become an official, he admits that she is his mother. What a joke.

The villagers all remembered the good things Zhang Li's father and mother had done, and now they couldn't help but sneer at them, laughing at their wishful thinking.

Zhang Li's mother shrank her neck in embarrassment, then became tough again. "What are you looking at? Look, I'm his mother too. Without me, who would have given birth to him? Now that he's made it, he can't just ignore me! Who dares to look down on me? When my son comes to take me to enjoy happiness, be careful or I'll have him take you all to the dungeon!"

She cursed and pulled Zhang Li's father away.

*

Xiaoxiao thought that Brother Pei would be back in the evening, but unexpectedly, he still hadn't returned when it was late at night.

When Pei Xiu Han came back, it was almost midnight. Xiao Xiao didn't want to disturb his rest, so she didn't go to look for him. Because she went to bed late, she didn't wake up until noon in the morning. Pei Xiu Han had already gone to the morning court, and Xiao Xiao still didn't see him.

At noon, someone came to the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion. Mu Xi and Mu Wen both handed her a letter, inviting her to go for an outing during the Shangsi Festival. Before she knew it, it was already the end of February, and there were only three days left until the Shangsi Festival.

Xiaoxiao liked both of them very much. Mu Wen was cheerful, simple-minded, and easy to get along with. Although Mu Xi had a bad temper and sharp tongue, he was also very nice to her. When Xiaoxiao was with the two of them, she was always relaxed and she directly asked the maid to reply.

Pei Xiuhan went out early and came back late for the next two days. Xiaoxiao was unable to see him and could not say the thank you that was in her heart.

Soon the Shangsi Festival arrived.

The weather has gradually become warmer, and Xiaoxiao has changed out of her padded jacket. Today, she is wearing a lilac-colored dark satin double-breasted narrow-sleeved jacket and a skirt of the same color. She has beautiful facial features, and no matter what she wears, she looks youthful and beautiful.

After washing up, she learned that Brother Pei had not gone out. Xiaoxiao then remembered that he had a day off on the Shangsi Festival and did not need to attend the morning court.

Xiaoxiao ran to Wuya Hall happily like a bird that had just flown out of a cage. When she came over, Pei Xiu Han was practicing sword. The courtyard of Wuya Hall was very large. When Pei Xiu Han was occasionally too lazy to go to the training ground, he would practice directly in the courtyard.

His movements were as smooth as flowing water, chopping, slashing and stabbing, and each move was so powerful that Xiaoxiao held her breath unconsciously. When he finished his moves, Xiaoxiao took out her handkerchief and trotted to him.

Her eyes sparkled as she looked at him with admiration, "Brother, you are so amazing!"

The little girl spoke only compliments, and her words sounded incredibly sincere.

Pei Xiuhan flicked her head amusingly, handed the sword to Yang Hao, then took the handkerchief she handed him and wiped the sweat off his face.

Because he was practicing martial arts, he wore a moon-white uniform. At this moment, because he was sweating, Pei Xiuhan subconsciously pulled the collar of his clothes. Before he could wipe all the sweat off his forehead, a drop of sweat flowed down his chin and into his collar.

After accidentally seeing his strong chest, Xiaoxiao blushed and her heart beat fast again. She felt itchy in her nose, so she quickly turned her head away. Fortunately, she didn't bleed from her nose this time.

Her heart was beating wildly. She thought Brother Pei was too careless. His clothes were always loose. He was such an adult, but he couldn't even wear his clothes properly!

Just wiping the sweat off was not enough for Pei Xiuhan. He threw the handkerchief to Xiaoxiao again, "Is there something urgent?"

Xiaoxiao shook her head hurriedly.

Pei Xiuhan said, "Then I'll go take a shower first. If you're bored, go find a book on the bookshelf and read it yourself. We'll have breakfast together later."

Xiaoxiao nodded obediently.

Pei Xiuhan always takes a quick bath. Before Xiaoxiao could choose what book to read, he had already come out. Fortunately, he was dressed this time. Today, he was wearing a crimson robe with gold edges around it, which looked extremely luxurious.

Xiaoxiao didn't dare to look at him for too long. She had been feeling strange recently. When she didn't see him, she would miss him. But when she really came to him, she didn't dare to look at him. Occasionally, when their eyes met, she would blush and her heart would beat fast.

Xiaoxiao calmed herself down and finally thanked him, "I didn't even know you were collecting rare books."

How could such a small thing be worth her special thanks?

Pei Xiuhan didn't take it seriously at all. "It's just a small favor. Why are you being so polite to me?"

After he said that, he pulled the little hair on her head.

The little girl had not yet reached marriage age, and her black hair was not tied up, but only in two small buns. The rest of her black hair hung down to her waist. When he pulled her hair, the small buns on her head instantly softened a little, which was quite cute.

Pei Xiuhan felt itchy and pinched his fingers again.

Xiaoxiao blinked, a little confused.

When he met her clear eyes, Pei Xiuhan felt guilty for a moment. He coughed and withdrew his hand.

He has been a little busy recently, and Xiaoxiao hasn't had a meal with him for a while. When she sat down next to him, a smile unconsciously appeared on her lips.

Thinking that today was the Shangsi Festival, Xiaoxiao curled her lips and asked, "Brother, today is a day for outings. It's a rare day for you to rest. Do you want to go for a walk in the suburbs?"

Pei Xiuhan was too lazy to go out. Even though it was a day off, he still had things to do, just a little more relaxed than usual. When he met the little girl's expectant eyes, his heart softened and he didn't refuse. "Then go for a walk."

Xiaoxiao just asked casually. Seeing that he really wanted to go, she was very happy and said with a smile: "I happen to be going to the Zhenguo Mansion. Then I will help you call Brother Hong. When Sister Wen and I go to the lake, you can go swimming with Brother Hong."

Pei Xiuhan's brows knitted together, "You also made appointments with Mu Xi and Mu Wen?"

Xiaoxiao nodded, "They told me about this a couple of days ago, saying they'd go for an outing together. I'll go find them after breakfast."

"No need to call Mu Hong, just go ahead."

Xiaoxiao exclaimed, "Brother isn't going?"

Pei Xiuhan was not interested. He did not like crowds to begin with. What fun would there be with Mu Hong? Just thinking about it was boring. "I'm too lazy to go."

Xiaoxiao puffed her cheeks, not understanding why he was so fickle! She couldn't help but feel a little discouraged, but still said obediently: "Okay, then brother, have a good rest at home."

She was so depressed that her head drooped. Pei Xiuhan couldn't bear to see her like this, "Do you really want me to go?"

Xiaoxiao nodded. She had never gone on an outing with Brother Pei before. Even if Mu Xi, Mu Wen and the others were there, she would be able to see him if he was willing to go.

Pei Xiuhan tutted his words and said "clingy" but a smile appeared in his eyes. He didn't say anything else until he finished his meal. Seeing the little girl lingering, as if she was reluctant to leave, he said, "Let's go. If you keep lingering, aren't you afraid of being late?"

After he finished speaking, he was the first to leave Wuya Hall.

Xiaoxiao's eyes lit up instantly, and she quickly chased after him, "Brother, are you going too?"

Pei Xiuhan was too lazy to answer and just tapped her head with his fingers.

Xiaoxiao curled her lips and didn't ask any more questions. Her eyes were filled with smiles and her heart was filled with joy. She even felt a little regretful for agreeing to Mu Xi and Mu Wen in advance. If she hadn't agreed, it would only be her and Brother Pei...

Just thinking about it, Xiaoxiao's heart started beating uncontrollably again. No, no, she would definitely make a fool of herself. She should just take them with her.

Xiaoxiao had originally agreed to go to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion to look for them, but unexpectedly, after leaving, she discovered that the Duke of Zhenguo's carriage had already arrived. ( ° °) Gently ( ° °) kiss ( ° °) the most ( ° °) handsome ( ° °) tallest ( ° °) ( ° °) Marquis ( ° °) brother ( ° °) tidy up ( ° °)

Mu Wen and Mu Xi each had a carriage, blocking the entrance to Prince Yan's Mansion.

Xiaoxiao jumped down from the carriage and asked the two, "Why are you here?"

The two of them quickly opened the curtain and waved to Xiaoxiao. Mu Xi said in advance, "We're here to pick you up. Get in the carriage quickly."

Mu Wen glared at Mu Xi unhappily and said angrily, "It's obvious that I arrived early, and you're trying to snatch it from me!"

Mu Xi angrily retorted, "Who told you to be so cunning! We clearly agreed to wait for Xiaoxiao to come find us, but you sneaked out of the house instead. I haven't even come to settle the score with you yet! But you're the first to complain!"

Mu Wen felt a little guilty. It was true that she had been scheming, but it hadn't worked. She watched Mu Xi jump off the carriage and grab Xiaoxiao's hand first.

Seeing that they were about to quarrel again, Xiaoxiao felt a little headache and quickly said, "You two should come with me to ride in the palace's carriage."

After she finished speaking, she pushed Mu Xi into her carriage. Mu Xi was quite considerate and sat in it obediently. After she got in, she realized that her cousin was also there!

Pei Xiuhan was holding a book in his hand and flipping through it nonchalantly. Noticing the little girl's shocked look, he glanced at her calmly and said in a neutral tone, "What? Are you not happy to see me?"

Mu Xi's heart trembled unconsciously. "How could it be? I was just so surprised. I didn't expect my cousin to be here too. Hahahaha, are you going for an outing too? Look at me, isn't this nonsense? My cousin is busy with all kinds of things, how could he possibly go for an outing! You always like to be quiet and hate going out. I've never seen you out during the Shangsi Festival in previous years. You must be just here to see Xiaoxiao off, right?"

"From what you're saying, I shouldn't go?"

His light words made Mu Xi's smile completely freeze on her face. He, he actually wanted to go too?

Mu Xi forced a smile, "That's great! The ladies will be very surprised. I'm sure my cousin will receive many confessions from young girls today."

Every year during the Shangsi Festival, many men and women express their feelings to each other. Given Pei Xiuhan's popularity, there will definitely be girls blocking his way.

Hearing this, Pei Xiu Han wanted to go home. He suspected that the little girl opposite him did it on purpose.

Pei Xiuhan opened his eyelids and glanced at Mu Xi.

Mu Xi's scalp tingled when he looked at her. Seeing that her cousin had no intention of going back, she smiled ingratiatingly and said, "The carriage isn't spacious, so I won't squeeze in with you."

After she said that, she slipped away quickly.

Mu Wen was originally planning to get on the carriage, but after hearing Mu Xi's words, she disappeared in an instant. Both of them got back into their own carriages.

Xiaoxiao was a little confused. The carriages in the palace were obviously very spacious. Just as she was struggling to decide which one to get on, she heard Pei Xiu's cold voice, "Why aren't you getting on yet?"

Seeing that there was impatience in his tone, Xiaoxiao hurriedly got on the carriage.

Pei Xiuhan had already dropped the book in his hand, and a hint of impatience did appear on his handsome face. Xiaoxiao quickly sat down in front of him and called him softly, "Brother."

Seeing her, the impatience on Pei Xiuhan's face subsided a little.

The carriage swayed towards the suburbs.

At the Li Mansion, when Li Sisi was about to leave, Tao Hong came running over in a panic, "Master, this is bad. The Regent has also left the mansion today and is sitting in the same carriage with Zhang Xiaoxiao."

Li Sisi's expression suddenly changed when she heard this. "Has the person who arranged it already gone?"

Taohong nodded timidly, looking like she was about to cry, and said anxiously, "They also brought aphrodisiacs, saying they wanted to have some fun."