Before Wei Shuyi could calmly drink the glass of water, several officials came forward. After thanking Chang Suining, they bowed to him shyly and apologized.
"Just now, I didn't understand the good intentions of Minister Wei and spoke rudely. I am really ashamed..." The official who cursed the most was also the most guilty at this moment: "Please forgive me, Minister Wei."
Some officials also smiled and said: "I really didn't know that Minister Wei had asked for reinforcements in advance... If we knew a little, we would be able to guess that Minister Wei was just pretending to delay time..."
This statement has a bit of the meaning of shirking responsibility, implying that Wei Shuyi did not inform them in advance, which led to their misunderstanding.
Wei Shuyi smiled and said, "If I had told you in advance, you wouldn't have dared to yell and let the rebels see that I was putting on a show. Wouldn't that have ruined our plan?"
The official could only smile awkwardly and said, "That's true..."
Seeing them talking here, Song Xian and Tan Li also came over.
Several officials left, and Song Xian and Tan Li sat by the fire, talking about today's events and what they had seen along the way.
Most of the time it was Tan Li who did the talking, with Song Xian occasionally adding a sentence or two, talking about the current people's livelihood, with a look of desolation and self-reflection in his eyes.
Chang Suining looked at them and felt that both of them had changed, but their original nature had not been lost.
After entering the officialdom, the "nature" of the two was magnified more clearly. In comparison, Tan Li was more flexible and more open-minded and optimistic. Song Xian had a clear bottom line for order and a heavier sense of responsibility. He was destined to be a loyal minister who was concerned about the country and the people.
Each of them has their own strengths, and they have also experienced growth and changes.
As Tan Li was talking, he suddenly felt confused. Why did Governor Chang look at him and Yang Zhi with such satisfaction as if they were "young saplings"? But when he thought about it, it was indeed rare to be able to grow into a towering tree as quickly as Governor Chang.
It is like this when a big tree sees a small seedling.
Wu Siqing was waiting outside a carriage not far away. When he saw the doctor coming down, he asked in a low voice, "Is my daughter in serious condition?"
Anyway, he had just revealed his daughter's identity, and the doctor must have noticed it after taking her pulse.
Sure enough, the doctor lowered his voice and said, "Your daughter only has a scratch on her palm, but the rest is fine... She is just seriously frightened. Wait for me to have someone boil some soothing medicine for her."
The girl from the Wu family is not the only one who needs this medicine.
Wu Siqing raised his hand: "Thank you very much."
After the doctor left, an official who was on good terms with Wu Siqing said, "Master Wu, you are so confused... It would be fine if it was a peaceful time, but in this world, you dare to bring your only daughter with you. If something goes wrong, go and cry!"
Wu Siqing sighed repeatedly, with a look of regret on his face.
He had not expected it to be so dangerous, otherwise, even if his father broke his legs and slapped his face that day, he would never agree to bring Chun Bai with him! "Don't blame father, it was my daughter who insisted on coming."
At this time, Wu Chunbai got out of the car, and Wu Siqing hurriedly stepped forward to help him.
"I'm sorry to have made my father worry, but my daughter is fine." Wu Chunbai said in a hoarse voice, looking forward.
Because of the direction he was facing, Song Xian was the first to notice Wu Chunbai walking towards him.
In his impression, the girl who had a dignified, bright, graceful and bookish temperament was now dressed like a commoner, wearing a bulky dark gray quilted robe and jacket, with her long black hair hidden under a wool felt hat. She seemed to have deliberately darkened her skin color and thickened her eyebrows.
Song Xian and Wu Chunbai looked at each other for a moment, then looked away, and got up and left with Tan Li on the pretext of something.
Wu Chunbai stepped forward and saluted: "Greetings to Governor Chang, Minister Wei, and all the gentlemen."
Wei Shuyi, who had recognized Wu Chunbai on the first day of the journey, nodded slightly, stood up, and said to the other officials: "My Lords, please follow me and talk."
It is not appropriate for "two" girls to talk with a group of middle-aged officials around.
After everyone left, Wu Chunbai bowed to Chang Suining alone: "Chang Governor..."
"Sister Wu, please sit down and talk." Chang Suining still retained the address he used in the capital.
Wu Chunbai sat down as he was told, put his hands on his knees, clutched his robe tightly, looked at Chang Suining, but seemed to not know what to say.
After a while, she finally said in a hoarse voice: "Chang Governor, I just... killed a man."
"It was the rebels." Chang Suining said to her, "You killed a rebel who wanted to kill you. This is a merit, a courage, and a blessing, but it is not an exaggeration."
Wu Chunbai's somewhat dazed eyes trembled, his eyelashes broke like a taut string, and suddenly big tears splashed out.
She quickly lowered her head and raised her hands to wipe away the tears on her face, but for some reason her tears kept flowing more and more.
She was afraid at first, then she felt an unknown shock, then she was relieved, and finally she inexplicably recalled everything that had happened in the past nineteen years.
She seemed to be talking nonsense, wiping her tears and whispering, "Before I came here, I could never have imagined that the situation outside the capital would be like this..."
"Today I almost thought I was going to die, so I wondered, do I have any regrets in this life?"
"At that moment, I felt that I had too many regrets..."
At that moment, her fear of regret was even greater than her fear of death.
"I regret that I came here to gain knowledge, but I have not been able to do anything and will die in this desolate place. I regret even more that I have not been able to prove to the world as a woman that I am no worse than anyone else and that I deserve the best..."
She seemed to be out of control, sobbing and speaking: "Chang Shishi must not know that I am not as dignified and open-minded as I appear on the surface. I am a very greedy person, and have been since I was a child."
"I was jealous that my brother had better things than me, and I thought I shouldn't be inferior to him, so I studied hard and pretended to be generous and sensible..."
"My grandfather, father, and mother didn't treat me with such tolerance and respect from the beginning. I fought and calculated for all of this little by little..."
"My brother is inferior to me in every way, but he said one thing that was right. I always like to pretend and deceive everyone..."
This was the first time she had revealed such feelings to others. She had originally planned to keep it buried in her heart for the rest of her life and only show the world her decent appearance as the most talented woman in the capital.
After saying all this in one breath, Wu Chunbai herself was stunned. She didn't know why she said these words and exposed such an "unbearable" side of herself.
Perhaps she has never truly reconciled with this "unbearable" self, so in this situation, she chooses to reveal it, as if confessing her own guilt.
She kept her head down, not even having the courage to look up to see how surprised and disappointed the girl in front of her was.
But the next moment, she heard a voice that suddenly dawned on her: "So that's how it is."
Chang Suining suddenly realized, "I was confused as to why the Wu family was so open-minded. It turns out that this openness was not something that came naturally, but something that the Wu family's elder sister had fought for bit by bit."
She admired it sincerely and said, "It's amazing."
Wu Chunbai raised his head in a daze, his red, tearful eyes filled with confusion.
Chang Suining looked at her with a smile: "When I first met my sister, I felt that she was very talented, well-mannered, and had a pair of bright eyes. When she got along with the ladies, she was always able to take care of everything and would not make anyone dissatisfied. It can be seen that she is good at making decisions and commanding people's hearts-"
Wu Chunbai subconsciously asked in a low voice: "So...what about now?"
"At that time, I was thinking that it was not surprising that this lady from the Wu family had talent in such an open-minded family, but where did she get all these skills to handle things? Because I never figured it out, there was always something missing in my impression of my sister -"
Chang Suining said this with a smile of surprise in his eyes: "Until now I know that the finishing touch is actually here."
This touch makes the girl, who seemed unrealistically perfect, even more radiant, more vivid and real. Because of the intelligence and ability revealed in it, she is more worthy of others' trust.
Chang Suining finally said, "What you have is earned through your own efforts, not just something you were born with. Doesn't that better illustrate how extraordinary Sister is?"
At this point, she handed the hand warmer that Qinghua had just brought to Wu Chunbai: "Give this to my sister to warm her hands."
The hand warmer was not of much use, but at this moment, she really wanted to give something to the Wu family's elder sister.
Wu Chunbai took it and said with a smile that sounded like crying, "But... I have nothing to give to Sister Chang."
Chang Suining smiled and said, "Sister Chunbai has given me a big surprise and very important trust."
The corners of Wu Chunbai's mouth, stained with tears, trembled. He held the hand warmer and smiled with a look of relief.
As it was getting dark, everything was finally settled.
The Dongluo guards who followed Chang Suining had already arrived. When Chang Suining returned the cup to Wei Shuyi, he said, "They will escort you to Dongluo. I will leave another 500 men for you to command. You don't have to worry about traveling at night."
Wei Shuyi took the cup that seemed to still have some warmth from her fingertips, and looked at her in surprise: "...Aren't you going back to Dongluo with us?"
Chang Suining nodded: "I have more important things to do."
Wei Shuyi held the cup in his hand - is there anything more important than watching the new king of Dongluo ascend the throne?
So, he seemed to know what was going on.
After a moment, he said, "Be careful on the road."
Chang Suining smiled and nodded: "You too."
Seeing her turn around, Wei Shuyi suddenly said: "The year is coming to an end, I wish you a happy New Year--"
Chang Suining did not turn around, but raised one hand and responded: "Well, Happy New Year, see you after the New Year."
Looking at the figure waving with his back turned, Wei Shuyi's eyes suddenly flashed back to the scene when he first met him in Hezhou.
That's how she waved back with her back to him.
So, he remembered it so clearly.
Wei Shuyi looked at the cup in his hand and stood still until he saw Chang Suining mount his horse in the twilight and ride away in the opposite direction.
…
On the night of New Year's Eve, a bright bonfire was lit in the Xuan Ce military camp stationed outside Youzhou.
"General, Lieutenant General Yu is back!" A soldier entered the tent and reported.
Cui Jing stood with his back to him, having just put a few military newspapers he had just read into a simple bookshelf, and was looking for a map. Hearing this, he just said, "Let him in."
The soldier responded "yes" and quickly retreated.
Soon, footsteps were heard behind him. Cui Jing unfolded a map and asked, "How is the matter going?"
"Not bad." The girl's clear and casual voice answered him. After the voice answered, she asked, "But I'm not a Tibetan rat, why do you let me hibernate?"
Extra chapter dropped late at night, is there anyone else? The chapter title is the first sentence Ning Ning said when she saw Xiao Cui.
Tibetan rat = groundhog (as it was called at the time) This rat hibernates.
At the beginning of the book, it was agreed that if the reward was 10,000, I would add 2,000 words, but my writing speed is terrible, and I have been making up for the updates I took for leave, so I haven't been able to add a few more words. Please forgive me, I will try to add a few more words. (This chapter has 3,200 words, and there will be at least 3,000 words updated in the evening. Good night!)
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