After the box was opened, a neatly folded object came into view.
Chang Suining took the thing out curiously, his eyes following it, and after unfolding it with both hands, he discovered that it was actually a piece of armor.
But ordinary armor could not be folded like this. This thing was light and soft yet extremely dense. Chang Suining took a closer look, her eyes slightly brightening. The armor was made in an extremely delicate way. Both the material and the weaving method were things she had never seen before.
She looked at it carefully for a while and felt more and more reluctant to let it go. After a while, she sat down, put the armor aside temporarily, and opened the letter.
The handwriting of the letter was Cui Jing's. It was like the person himself, not only in the handwriting but also in the content of the letter - what was said was very concise, and it only took up half a page of paper.
He first summarized the affairs of Bingzhou in two sentences, and explained that he would rush to the northern border after dealing with the affairs of Bingzhou.
Then he asked about Chang Sui'an's recovery from his injuries.
He thanked her again in a few words, saying that it was a blessing that she had written to remind him.
Then he told her that this armor was indestructible by ordinary swords, guns, arrows, but it was also lightweight and could be worn next to the body when outdoors to avoid danger to vital parts.
Finally, he told her that there was another name list in the envelope. It contained the names of people he knew in the Yangzhou anti-rebelion army. They were all trustworthy people. Chang Kuo also knew this, but just in case, he still made a list with her in case of emergency.
The concise letter ended here. Chang Suining checked the envelope again and saw a list of names inside.
While she was looking at the list, Adian came in from outside, followed by a few cats, and came to ask Xier for water.
Xier laughed and teased him: "It seems that the little raccoons are not that easy to teach. They have exhausted the teacher."
As he spoke, he handed the tea over: "General Dian, drink slowly, be careful not to choke."
Adian thanked her, took the tea and gulped it down.
When he put down the teacup, he saw the armor and exclaimed, "Isn't this a goose-feather chain mail? How did it get here?"
Chang Suining looked at him and said, "Do you recognize this armor?"
"Of course, this is Xiaojing's goose feather armor." Ah Dian said, picking it up and telling her, "I heard that a very skilled craftsman killed 500 geese and stripped off their hardest feathers, and also killed two cows and took out their strongest tendons to make this armor!"
Chang Suining was stunned.
It sounds really cruel.
But to be honest, he is definitely her dream lover.
Ah Dian continued, "I wanted one before, but I heard that the craftsman is no longer around and no one else can match his craftsmanship. So this goose feather armor is the only one in the world!"
Chang Suining was a little surprised. Is there only one? Indeed, this armor is not only made of special materials, but also has copper and iron hooks. Each piece is very fine and thin, and the weaving technique is also very rare. If there is no armor maker to teach the method, it is indeed difficult to imitate.
As Ah Dian spoke, he compared the armor in front of his body and wondered, "Why does it look so much smaller?" When he compared it in front of his body, it was like a big strong baby wearing a small bag in front of him that could only be worn when he was just one month old.
After hearing this, Chang Suining had no doubts.
Lian Adian also reacted quickly and suddenly realized: "Oh! I see, it was Xiaojing who made it smaller and now gave it to you to wear, right?"
He opened his eyes wide and exclaimed: "Little Ah Li, Xiao Jing likes you too much! He even gave you the Goose Feather Armor!"
The word "like" he said was so simple and pure, but Chang Suining was stunned.
There was only one goose feather armor, but he gave it to her and had already made it smaller in advance so as not to give her a chance to return it.
"Put it on and see if you feel impressive!"
While Chang Suining was distracted, Adian had already come to her. He couldn't wait to put the goose feather armor on her, then pulled her up, held her shoulders and asked her to turn around.
"It's really impressive!" Ah Dian said with bright eyes: "Little Ah Li, put on this goose feather armor, you may be able to become a general!"
Chang Suining subconsciously raised her eyes and looked at the bronze mirror placed in front of the dressing table.
The girl in the mirror had her hair in a bun, a pearl flower in her hair, and wore a skirt, with a silver and copper armor on the outside. She looked a bit out of place, not majestic at all, but rather funny.
The girl in the mirror couldn't help but smile at herself.
Chang Suining put one hand on the slightly cool armor and lowered his eyes to look at the list in his other hand.
He didn't say much or ask many questions, but he knew what was in her heart and understood what she wanted to do next.
"Girl, there are still many letters in this box!"
Xier's voice sounded, and Chang Suining turned around to look.
There is also a letter? Xier took out the stack of letter papers under the armor and handed it to her daughter.
Chang Suining was attracted by the goose feather armor at first sight, and did not notice that there were other pieces of letter paper at the bottom of the box.
But when I saw it now, I found it very strange. These pieces of letter paper were stacked together and not put into envelopes. There were wrinkles on the surface, as if someone had crumpled them into a ball and then unfolded and flattened them.
What's even more strange is that... although the handwriting is also Cui Jing's, the content of each letter is similar, and the beginning is almost the same, all written to her.
Chang Suining was confused and did not even bother to take off his armor. He sat down and looked at the pictures carefully.
It is not difficult to find out after reading it that none of these letters were completed. They were all abandoned by the writers halfway through.
So, these are all discarded letters written by Cui Jing?
There are more than ten of them?
The first letter she read detailed the causes and consequences of the Bingzhou Rebellion, and his suspicion that what Xiao Chuan said might not be entirely true.
The second letter asked her whether she had adapted to Xuanzhou, whether the journey was hard, whether she had taken more boats or carriages, whether the wound on her arm had healed, and whether Senior Adian was well-behaved and sensible when he was away from home...
The third one elaborated that although this goose feather armor was worn by him, he had asked Yuanxiang to clean it repeatedly, and he personally modified it overnight, thinking that it should fit her well, so she could wear it with peace of mind...
The fourth one, the fifth one...
The tenth one, I replied very late, please don't blame me, the war has just ended, all the previous letters were intercepted by Xiao Chuan's subordinates, and I just saw the letter today...
When Chang Suining read this sentence, he realized that this guy actually lied... Didn’t the "serious" letter at the beginning say, "Fortunately, she wrote to remind me"?
But when he saw her letter, the battle was clearly over! How could there be such a strange thing in the world that someone would rather make up a story than thank someone?
Chang Suining finally turned over the last one.
This piece of letter paper was a little different. The previous ones at most stopped halfway through writing, but this one was not enough to stop, and the writer used a pen to cross out the last two lines. It was probably because the writer felt that these two sentences were inappropriate.
But the two sentences that were crossed out were not difficult to read. They said: I will be heading to the northern border soon. From now on, the distance between the north and the south will be even greater. I hope we can meet again soon. Please take care of yourself and wait for the day we meet again. Winter is here. You need to keep warm, drink more hot food, and wish you a happy winter. I hope you will be in good health.
After reading it in his mind, Chang Suining blinked slowly.
Isn’t this...well-written? Why do you have to cross it out and throw it away?
"...General Cui actually sent so many letters to the girl?" Xier was amazed.
Chang Suining, who had been reading for nearly half an hour, subconsciously looked at the first letter.
It is true that they were all written by him, but as for giving it as a gift... it probably wasn't his intention.
She had just thought that he was as concise as he was.
so……
Simple, right? Yes, after all, it was obtained at the cost of more than ten pieces of waste letters.
Chang Suining tapped the stack of letter papers with his fingers and asked Adian curiously, "Does Grand Commander Cui always draft letters over and over again when he writes to others?"
Ah Dian was squatting nearby, stroking the fur of several cats in turn. He looked up after hearing this, and after a moment’s reaction, he shook his head: “I’ve never seen that!”
Chang Suining also felt that it was not right. If he had to be so conflicted every time he wrote a letter to someone, there was no point in him doing anything else.
When he was formulating the strategy to lure the snake out of its hole in Bingzhou, I'm afraid he might not have spent as much time as he did on these letters.
At this time, Ah Dian said as a matter of course: "Xiao Jing wrote so many letters to you at once because she likes you!"
Chang Suining paused as he tapped the letter paper.
If Ah Dian's reasoning was correct, he wrote so many letters to her because he "liked" her, but then threw them away and didn't want her to see them, then it was because... he didn't want her to know that he "liked" her? Or was it because he knew that she was Li Shang that he considered every word so carefully and didn't know how to get along with her?
And you have to know that there are many kinds of "liking". "Liking" her has always been a common thing. Even she herself likes herself. But what kind of liking does he have?
Chang Suining was tired of reading the letter, and now he put his chin in his hand and began to think.
The kind of love that “a close friend would stand by you through thick and thin”?
The kind of love that “shed blood on the battlefield together and cherish each other”?
Or is it the kind of love that goes, “You little bastard Cui Jing, do you want to disrupt my ambitions?”
She dared to think more about the last point, but she felt that it was not appropriate to jump to conclusions, so as not to end up in an embarrassing situation.
The human heart is unpredictable, and only the person who wrote the letter knows the answer best. Chang Suining no longer insisted on pondering it, and simply put the letters back into the box.
"Ningning, I heard that Commander Cui sent a letter?"
Chang Sui'an's voice came from outside through the bamboo curtain.
After hearing Chang Suining's voice respond, Jian Tong pushed Chang Sui'an in.
"Ningning, what did Commander Cui say in the letter?"
"..." Chang Suining glanced at the small box and felt that if he recounted everything one by one, he would not be able to finish before dark.
She picked out the serious and concise content of the letter and told Chang Sui'an.
"General Cui, despite his busy schedule, actually still cares about my injury..." Chang Sui'an felt quite regretful: "Now the news about Bingzhou is everywhere... It would have been great if I could have set off with the Xuan Ce Army at the beginning."
"Brother, if you can take good care of your muscles and bones, you will have many opportunities in the future."
Chang Sui'an: "I am now following the doctor's advice as if it were a military order!"
"But Ningning...what are you wearing?" Chang Sui'an took a closer look: "Armor?"
Chang Suining was about to answer him when she suddenly heard Chang Ren's voice outside: "Girl, Lao Kang is here!"
Chang Suining's expression became serious: "Please invite him in."
The "Lao Kang" mentioned by Chang Ren is one of the old soldiers of the Chang family, and he is also the leader of delivering money and food to the barracks this time.
Old Kang, who was nearly sixty years old, was still very agile. He walked in quickly and saluted with his fists: "Girl, gentleman!"
"Why did Uncle Kang come here in person?" Chang Suining asked immediately, "But is there something wrong with my father's situation?"
She had previously agreed with Lao Kang and the others that they would send a message to her after they met Chang Kuo, but there was no letter and the person showed up instead, which clearly indicated that something was not right.
"Yes." Old Kang's dusty face was tense, "We were unable to see the general on this trip."
"I haven't seen Dad?" Chang Sui'an suddenly stood up from the wheelchair: "What happened to Dad?"
"We followed the girl's instructions, brought the documents from the Ministry of Revenue, and escorted the money and grain to the military camp. We asked to see the general, but the people in the military camp refused to allow us to meet because they said the general was recovering from his injuries and no one was allowed to disturb him!"
They tried to negotiate with the people in the military camp for a long time, but the other party refused to give in no matter what. In the end, they even brought out military rules and said that if they continued to be stubborn, they would be punished according to military rules.
Lao Kang and others had no intention of starting a dispute at this juncture, so they could only take a step back and let them help convey a message to Chang Kuo.
The other party agreed perfunctorily, and it was still unknown whether he would do so in the future. Lao Kang sensed something was wrong, so he left someone nearby to continue to gather information, and he rode quickly to Xuanzhou to tell the girl about it.
Chang Suining frowned: "What about Uncle Chu and the others? Haven't seen them either?"
Old Chang also brought a team of personal soldiers, with Chu Xing as the leader and nearly a hundred people. It's impossible that they are all "recuperating", right?
Lao Kang: "We have privately found a familiar captain to ask about it. Lao Chu and his men were ordered to fight against Xu's rebels in the Sizhou area. They have been fighting for many days and have not returned yet."
"Does this captain know the specific situation of my father?"
She had heard from Li Lu before that during the battle at Liangshan, her father was wounded by an arrow while trying to save Li Yi from the siege, but it was not serious. How come he had to be so injured that he couldn't even see anyone?
"This person said that he had not seen the general for several days. He only knew that Li Yi had people guarding outside the general's tent, claiming that no one was allowed to disturb the general's recovery. Only doctors and soldiers who delivered meals came in and out every day."
Chang Suining's brows furrowed more and more tightly: "I'm afraid Li Yi is keeping my father under house arrest in the name of recuperation..."
House arrest is still the best possibility.
"Li Yi is the commander-in-chief, and my father is the deputy commander-in-chief. Why did he do this?" Chang Sui'an was confused and uncertain: "Is it because of a disagreement, or is he resentful of my father for preventing him from returning to the Huainan Palace?"
Chang Suining also told him some of these things on the way to Xuanzhou.
Chang Suining didn't waste any more time guessing. She stood up and walked out, taking off her armor and holding it in her hand: "Uncle Ren, quickly have someone prepare horses and dry food. After I say goodbye to Her Royal Highness the Grand Princess, you will immediately follow me to Shouzhou."
Shouzhou closely guards the Huai River, which is where the anti-rebel army is now camped.
"Ningning...!" Chang Sui'an hurried to follow.
Hearing Chang Suining coming to say goodbye, the salted plum in Princess Xuan'an's hand fell with a "pop" behind the pearl curtain.
Her "happy and forgetful" plan failed so quickly? Today's 4,000-word update is delivered, please give me a monthly ticket~
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