The power of the Fengjing family was on full display at this moment. The methods unique to a powerful family made Jiang Sheng feel terrified and also weighed heavily on Xu Mo's heart.
Zhu Zhi's marriage was called off, and his reputation was ruined; it was a foregone conclusion.
But with the Zhu family protecting him, he remained a successful candidate in the imperial examinations and was even able to be sent to serve as a minor official in other regions, living a carefree life.
That's so unfair!
The Xu couple, the magistrates of Xieyang County, were honest and incorruptible and had no powerful backers. After being wronged, they could only prove their innocence by committing suicide.
Xu Mo truly hated it.
He suppressed his emotions, his heart churning with love and hate, which made him feel listless even during his time at the Imperial Academy.
Zhao Yuan, who admired Xu Mo the most, was the first to come over and ask with concern, "Brother Xu, are you alright? Has something serious happened at home? Or are you short of money?"
Xu Mo waved his hand.
Qi Huai asked curiously, "What could be so important that our diligent students from Xu University are holding their books upside down?"
Xu Mo quickly turned the book upside down, only to realize that he hadn't actually held it upside down; now it was truly upside down.
Qi Huai and Zhao Yuan laughed so hard they almost fell over.
Only Zhu Sihuan sat in the corner, his face gloomy and silent.
After Xu Mo straightened the book, he decided to shift the blame eastward, asking, "Why is Brother Zhu silent?"
Zhu Sihuan hadn't even had a chance to speak.
Zhao Yuan gestured wildly, "I know, something really interesting happened in the Zhu family. Your cousin was keeping a mistress outside, and his son is already quite old, yet he still wanted to marry a girl from the Tao family. Now the Tao family girl has broken off the engagement, and he has become the laughing stock of the entire Fengjing."
After saying that, he threw his head back and burst into laughter.
Xu Mo also raised the corners of his lips, but it was a forced smile.
In the eyes of the Fengjing aristocratic family, becoming a laughing stock in Fengjing was a very serious matter, but in the eyes of this small-town person, losing his life was the most regrettable and saddening thing.
"So it's the Tao family." Qi Huai also remembered something. "The marriage between the Zhu family and the Tao family is probably inevitable. The most aggrieved thing for the Tao family's daughter is that after breaking off the engagement with Zhu Zhi, she still has to go through other Zhu family members to arrange marriages."
Xu Mo was taken aback.
This was something he didn't understand. The marriage alliance between the Fengjing aristocratic families was not simply about discussing marriage, but rather a joint effort, or even a collaboration, between the two families. They arranged the marriage between their younger generations to show their sincerity and to ensure that the relationship would remain strong and unbroken.
“If we break off the engagement with Zhu Zhi, we can only settle for a younger generation.” Zhao Yuan widened his eyes and nudged Zhu Sihuan. “Brother Zhu, you also have a chance.”
This was originally a joke, and others just laughed it off.
Zhu Sihuan forced a smile and hissed, "No, the Tao family requires at least a degree in the imperial examinations."
The Zhu family had many descendants, but most of the younger generation were only scholars or students who had passed the imperial examinations. There wasn't a single person who had passed the provincial examinations. Otherwise, the Tao family wouldn't have chosen Zhu Zhi, who was already in his thirties.
But what's most surprising is Zhu Sihuan, who said those words.
After some speculation, Xu Mo felt a surge of emotions.
October, Northern Xinjiang.
Just as Jiang Sheng had guessed, this place was indeed bitter and cold.
While it's still warm enough to wear light clothing in Anshui County, people in the northern frontier have to put on thick clothes and padded jackets much earlier.
It was also during this time of year that nomadic tribes, lacking food and clothing, would rush into border villages in order to survive, plundering villagers' food and abusing innocent women.
As the captain of the tenth detachment of the fifth squad of the third brigade, Fang Heng often led his men on horseback to roam the border, protecting the people while deterring nomadic tribes.
The area he was responsible for protecting was called "Laigu Village," where there were a dozen or so children around seven or eight years old who would often ride brooms behind them, ostensibly to "patrol."
Fang Heng didn't dislike the group of children, especially one girl with braids who looked just like his sister Jiang Sheng. So much so that he would always save a pancake for her during meals and give it to her when no one was around.
Today, the fifth team was eating mutton. Fang Heng specially set aside a fist-sized piece of meat, wrapped it in oil paper, and put it in his pocket. When he rode his horse to Laigu Village, more than a dozen children rushed out on brooms.
"Aga," the girl with braids called him affectionately, "You're here again."
There are also nomadic peoples in the border regions, and they don't all speak the Mandarin dialect of the Central Plains.
Fortunately, Fang Heng could understand after staying for a while, and he waved his hand with a smile.
This was their secret code; every time he waved his hand, it meant there was good food coming.
The girl with the braids happily broke away from the group and waited in a corner. After a short while, Fang Heng came over, handed her the piece of meat, and patted her head.
It felt as if he were touching his younger sister Jiang Sheng's head across time and space.
"It's meat!" the little girl exclaimed with delight. "We're saving it for Dad and Mom to eat together."
Fang Heng has always been indifferent to such matters; what is given away belongs to others, and he has no right to interfere.
The young man mounted his horse and signaled his men to disperse and keep watch, paying close attention to any activity to the north.
Jiang and the others accepted their orders and left.
He continued to wander around the vicinity of Laigu Village, watching the girl with braids riding a broom in the crowd, and couldn't help but smile until his eyes crinkled.
Until a signal flare rose in the east, a specially made signal for the entire military camp to indicate an urgent need for assistance when encountering nomadic tribes.
Fang Heng immediately spurred his horse and galloped eastward.
But after running for about half a cup of tea's time, there was no movement, no voices, no shouting, and no earth-shaking fight.
The nomads ride horses, and so does the fifth squad. Every time they meet, the noise can be heard from two kilometers away. They would want to trample the ground into a hole, as it would never be quiet.
Fang Heng stopped his horse; his intuition told him that something was wrong, a big problem.
But the problem is... we don't know what it is.
Just as he was getting anxious and frustrated, his father's teachings flashed through his mind, and he immediately jumped off his horse and lay down on the ground to listen.
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