Chapter 87
Fan Changyu had not expected Xie Zheng to say such a thing. It was impossible for her to say that she was not touched in her heart, but she also clearly realized that once she nodded, her future life might not be decided by herself.
Just as he, as the Marquis of Wu'an, had to shoulder those responsibilities and missions, as his wife, she also had to shoulder the burden of being a woman of noble birth.
What he needs is a wife who can walk with him, not one who requires him to compromise in every way.
Even if a sparrow is fitted with phoenix feathers, it will not become a phoenix. Only after it attains Nirvana can it grow true phoenix feathers.
The sound of rain outside the tent seemed to have subsided. The rainwater that had accumulated on the top of the tent made a "tick-tick" sound as it fell into the water holes from the corners. The sound was particularly clear in the silence.
Fan Changyu clenched his hands that were hanging on his knees, and finally raised his head to look at Xie Zheng.
With just one look, Xie Zheng understood the answer she was going to give. He couldn't tell whether it was because of his pride or because he didn't want to hear her say no in person, so he suddenly said, "You don't have to answer me."
At this time, Xie Qi's voice was heard from outside the tent: "My Lord, Mr. Gongsun is urging you to come over."
Xie Zheng said "goodbye", then stood up, opened the curtain and left.
After he left, Fan Changyu stared at the swaying curtains in a daze for a long time.
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After Xie Zheng entered the tent, Xie Qi hid far away. Just now, when he came to deliver the message, he found that the lights in the tent were off. He was a little nervous, fearing that he had messed up something.
But Xie Zheng opened the curtain and came out in a moment. He didn't look too happy, and it seemed that he was not what he guessed. Xie Qi didn't dare to ask more questions, but just followed Xie Zheng with holding his breath.
Unexpectedly, Xie Zheng, who was walking in front of him, suddenly stopped and said to him, "I remember you have a sister?"
Xie Qi didn't know why his master suddenly asked this question, his face darkened, and he replied, "Yes."
His parents died when he was young, and he and his sister were sold to human traffickers. In order to get a good price, human traffickers usually sold good-looking girls to brothels and sent boys to the palace.
Some big families who train assassins would also choose people from human traffickers. He was bought by Wei Yan. Among ten children of the same age, only one could eventually become a assassin. The rest, those with less luck, died, and those who were lucky enough to survive became house slaves.
In the final chaotic fight, he was stabbed multiple times and there was no hope of recovery. He should have been wrapped in a straw mat and thrown into the wilderness to feed the wolves, but he wanted to live, and he endured his untreated wounds until the next day, and still lived.
At that time, the master was just a teenager, but he had already started working for Wei Yan. However, from objects to servants around him, he could only choose what Wei Xuan had left over.
Wei Xuan selected the final victorious death warrior as his personal attendant. The Marquis looked at them one by one in the dark dungeon and did not choose those who were only slightly injured and could become Wei's servants. Instead, he took a fancy to him.
The manager said he might not survive, as it was rare for someone to survive all night with such serious injuries.
Lord Hou said that he tried so hard to stay alive, it would be a pity if he died.
So he was taken out and treated by the doctor. After he recovered from his injury, he became the marquis's personal attendant and was given the name Xie Qi.
From that time on, he was only loyal to Xie Zheng, and later killed the former death warrior who was close to Wei Xuan for Xie Zheng.
As for his sister, by the time he found her, she had already become a well-known girl in a brothel in a small place.
With his current status, he did not dare to recognize his sister rashly, for fear that he might accidentally put his sister in danger. After all, he had seen many cases of kidnapping and forcing someone's family.
He secretly gave his sister money and put pressure on the brothel owner to redeem his sister. Now he runs an embroidery shop.
Xie Zheng asked: "When your sister got married, a rich young man fell in love with her. Why did she still marry a blacksmith?"
That happened after Xie Qi's sister redeemed herself. When Xie Qi learned that her sister was getting married, she did not dare to attend the wedding openly. She just asked Xie Zheng for leave and went to watch the wedding secretly.
The rich young man was also there that day. He and a few of his good friends, Xie Wu, had been watching him in the dark, thinking that if he dared to cause trouble at the wedding, they would drag him into the alley and beat him up.
Who knew that the rich young man just got himself drunk at the banquet.
They had talked about this matter after they came back, and Xie Zheng had probably heard about it. When he suddenly brought it up, Xie Qi was a little confused, and he just said, "As a brother, I think there is nothing wrong with my sister marrying a blacksmith."
Xie Zheng stopped in his tracks, looked sideways and asked, "Why?"
Xie Qi answered: "My sister-in-law doesn't know that I am still alive, nor does she know that I have found her. She is married to a blacksmith. If the blacksmith treats her badly in the future, she will not worry about being able to support herself by guarding the embroidery shop. She can make peace with her and divorce him. If trouble breaks out, there will be neighbors who can help her. If she marries that rich young man, she will be alone to deal with the whole family. If something happens, it will be difficult for her to seek justice because his family has a big business."
This is another story about a tofu lady, but in this story, the tofu lady did not choose the noble young man.
Xie Zheng looked thoughtful, and without saying anything else, he walked towards the central military tent.
The guards at the door saw him and called out, "Master Hou."
When Xie Zheng approached, the curtain was raised, and the tent was brightly lit. Xie Zheng saw the old man sitting below the main seat at a glance. His expression was slightly depressed, and he called out in surprise, "Teacher."
Master Tao looked at his favorite student, stroked his beard and said, "I heard you went after the enemy, how is it?"
He thought the bruise at the corner of Xie Zheng's eye was caused by an injury on the battlefield, and thought that the angle of the attack was quite tricky.
The fist could hit my face, and if it was a knife, I'm afraid my eye would be disabled. Thinking of this, it's a blessing in disguise.
Gongsun Yin also saw it. It was the first time he saw Xie Zheng with a bruise on the corner of his eye after returning from the battlefield. Somehow, he suddenly thought of the bruise on his face when he saw him in Lucheng before.
The more he looked at it, the more they looked alike. For a moment, Gongsun Yin looked quite strange.
Could it be that it was Fan Changyu who beat him again?
But he just came down from the battlefield, so he shouldn't...
Xie Zheng seemed not to notice the two people's gazes. He lifted his clothes and sat down on the main seat. He said calmly, "I have chopped off Shi Yue's head."
Tao Taifu nodded with satisfaction, and asked with great satisfaction: "There is a fierce general under Shi Yue's command. It is said that he is his brother, named Shi Hu. He is tall and strong. When I was at the foot of the mountain, I saw him fighting with the Jizhou army. He was a tough opponent. You killed them both with one enemy and two?"
Xie Zheng immediately frowned and said, "I led five hundred personal cavalrymen and took a shortcut through the mountains to chase them. We only killed Shi Yue, but did not see his brothers."
Gongsun Yin was surprised and said, "The vanguard Ge Daqing is one of the most powerful generals under the Marquis, and he was seriously injured by Shi Hu. The Marquis did not fight with Shi Hu, so who else in the army can subdue this villain?"
The vanguard army and the left guard battalion suffered heavy casualties in this battle. Almost all the generals were so injured that they could not get out of bed, and military doctors had to bandage them one by one.
Xie Zheng asked: "The battle report does not mention how many enemies the Left Guard Battalion killed? How many enemy generals were killed?"
Gongsun Yin picked up the battle report beside him and handed it over, saying, "Neither the Vanguard Army nor the Left Guard Battalion mentioned killing Shi Hu, but Shi Hu was indeed dead. The Grand Tutor and I thought you killed him."
Xie Zheng said: "Shi Hu was not killed by me."
Xie Wu, who had just come in with tea, was hesitant to speak after hearing this conversation, but finally said, "Shi Hu was killed by my wife."
As soon as these words were spoken, the three people in the tent all looked at Xie Wu.
Gongsun Yin didn't know that Fan Changyu had secretly gone to the battlefield. He was shocked and asked in confusion, "How did she kill Shi Hu in the mountains?"
Xie Wu stole a glance at Xie Zheng and said, "Madam didn't know the identity of the Marquis before, and was afraid that something might happen to the Marquis during the expedition. After drugging the Marquis, she sneaked into the Zuowei Camp. I couldn't stop you, and I was afraid that something might happen to you, so I followed you. The generals of the Zuowei Camp fought with Shi Hu, but they were all defeated and their morale was broken. When Madam faced Shi Hu, she didn't have a weapon to use, and it took several fierce battles for her to take the hammer from Shi Hu's hand. Three hammers took Shi Hu's life."
Xie Wu was afraid that Xie Zheng would be angry about Fan Changyu going to the battlefield without permission, so he wanted to tell Xie Zheng about the battle on the way, but he never found the opportunity.
Gongsun Yin was so astonished by Fan Changyu's military exploits that he remained silent for a long time. He didn't even care about such a rare embarrassment as Xie Zheng being drugged.
After a long while, he murmured, "If you hunt a black bear, you can say that the black bear is not smart enough, but it has brute force. But Shi Hu... is not only brute force, the vanguard Ge Daqing also has the courage to hunt tigers and bears, and has a lot of experience in the battlefield, but he still couldn't defeat him. Miss Fan was able to seize his weapon and kill him with three hammers?"
Gongsun Yin took a deep breath and looked at Xie Zheng: "In the whole world, I think only the Marquis has such courage."
Xie Zheng sat back in his chair, frowning and saying nothing, not knowing what he was thinking about.
When Master Tao heard Xie Wu say that his wife had killed Shi Hu, he began to wonder if this brat really had forgotten his teacher at all and had not even informed him of such a big thing as getting married.
Later, he heard Xie Wu say that his wife did not know Xie Zheng's identity and went to the battlefield on his behalf. He felt more confused. Now when he heard Gongsun Yin say that the woman's surname was Fan, he thought to himself that it couldn't be such a coincidence. Could it be Fan Changyu?
He raised his old eyes and looked at Xie Zheng: "When did you get married? You didn't even write to tell me about it."
Gongsun Yin had deliberately kept things a secret before and had not told Master Tao about the relationship between Fan Changyu and Xie Zheng. Although he was surprised, he still looked at the two of them with a smile, waiting for Xie Zheng to tell Doctor Tao the whole story.
Xie Zheng said, "It's a long story. I was in trouble that day, and the wedding was simple. If I do it again in the future, I will definitely ask the teacher to be the witness."
Master Tao knew that Xie Zheng's marriage might even affect the reshuffle of the major forces in the court. Thinking of the woman Xie Wu mentioned who killed Shi Hu, he narrowed his eyes and asked, "Is she a child from a military family?"
Xie Zheng was silent for a moment, then said, "No."
Master Tao said, "After all, he is a good child. You should treat him well."
Xie Zheng felt heavy in his heart when he thought of Fan Changyu's words that rejected him, and he just said "OK".
Tao Taifu talked about the current situation again: "Once Shi Yue died, Prince Changxin was like losing an arm. The Chongzhou army at the foot of the mountain, some died, some escaped. After the captured troops were reintegrated into the army, you can go directly south to besiege Chongzhou, and join forces with He Jingyuan's troops to attack the city. But will the court let you finish this battle so quickly?"
The stalemate in the Chongzhou battle has persisted until now, and this is due to disputes within the imperial court.
At first, Wei Yan wanted to kill him on the battlefield of Chongzhou. But now, the court's military pay and rations have not been paid for several months, which shows that someone does not want to finish the war quickly.
Weapons, food, and military pay all cost money. As the war drags on at the front, the people in the court have the most legitimate reason to ask the Ministry of Revenue for money.
As for how much of the allocated money will actually be put to good use, it depends on whether the corrupt officials at all levels still have a conscience.
The Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue were all Wei Yan's people. Even if the emperor ordered people to check the accounts, all they would find out would be that the money, food, and weapons were all delivered to him. The money, food, and military supplies were all provided, but the rebels were not wiped out. This meant that Xie Zheng was incompetent.
Xie Zheng mocked, "Wei Yan wants to cover up the trouble Wei Xuan has caused in the northwest. Now he probably wants me to give up the military merit I won after destroying the rebels in Chongzhou."
Master Tao's eyelids drooped slightly and he said, "In my opinion, this is not a bad thing."
Gongsun Yin was puzzled and asked, "Why did the Grand Tutor say that?"
Tao Taifu asked, "In the Great Yin Dynasty, is there anyone who was granted a title of nobility at the age of twenty? When the moon is full, it will be short; when the water is full, it will overflow. With your grandfather's military exploits in suppressing the rebels, what do you think the emperor will reward him with after he returns to the capital? The Wei Party is now in its heyday, and the emperor is naturally looking forward to a life-and-death battle between him and Wei Yan. Once Wei Yan falls, who will be the next?"
Gongsun Yin said, "I know what the Grand Master said, but even if the Marquis wants to withdraw now, he is entangled in the situation in the capital and cannot withdraw."
Master Tao smiled and said, "Young man..."
Gongsun Yin sensed that there was something else behind Doctor Tao's words and said, "I would like to hear your advice, Grand Master."
Tao Taifu said: "How far should we retreat? After Wei Yan falls, the next person the emperor wants to overthrow is not your son."
Gongsun Yin immediately understood what Master Tao meant. "You mean, let the Li family fight Wei Yan first?"
He thought of Li Huaian, the grandson of Li Taifu, who was currently serving in Jizhou as He Jingyuan's replacement. He was shocked and looked up at Tao Taifu.
Master Tao knew what he was thinking and said, "Even if your master is gone, Wei Yan still has the Ministry of War and He Jingyuan. Master Li has no military power, so he has not dared to confront Wei Yan head-on for so many years."
The Li family set foot in the northwest, obviously to fight for military power.
As long as Xie Zheng throws out the fat piece of meat of military merit in suppressing the counter-insurgency, both the Li Party and the Wei Party will rush over like hyenas grabbing food.
Wei Yan wanted to fight because he had been forced into a desperate situation. If he did not fight, these rights would fall into the hands of others and become a weapon against him.
Xie Zheng could hold on to the military achievement and not give it, but if he won the battle when Wei Yan cut off all military supplies, he would definitely suffer a great loss of vitality. In exchange for a trivial reward from the emperor, he would also put himself in the spotlight. It was not a good deal no matter how you looked at it.
The Li family wanted military power, but after arriving in the northwest, they did not move their troops, as if they had calculated that Xie Zheng would throw away his military achievements after weighing the pros and cons.
If Wei Yan wants to get this military achievement, he can only rely on He Jingyuan. But now Li Huaian is managing Hezhou on behalf of He Jingyuan. He can thoroughly check all the accounts and files of Hezhou. As long as he finds a mistake, it will not be difficult to seize power from He Jingyuan given the young emperor's current reliance on the Li family.
Xie Zheng, who had been silent all this time, suddenly said, "In that case, it seems that Prince Changxin was plotting a rebellion specifically to give military power to the Li family."
When these words were spoken, Gongsun Yin and Taifu Tao were both shocked.
Tao Taifu said: "The Li family has never thought that Prince Changxin would go to such an extent."
Gongsun Yin also said: "I heard that the Princess of Changxin was also burned to death in the East Palace, and the eldest son of the Prince of Changxin was burned to the point where he could not be seen by the public. The Prince of Changxin has been keeping a low profile for many years, and it is true that he hates the court."
However, Xie Zheng's eyes changed slightly. The emperor's grandson's people had contacts with the Changxin Palace. Yu Qianqian's son looked a bit like the late emperor, and the Crown Prince Chengde looked even more like the late emperor. When Changning was captured by Sui Yuanqing, he met Yu Baoer at the Changxin Palace.
Something had become clear to him. He looked at Gongsun Yin and said, "After you go down the mountain, send a message back to the capital to secretly investigate the case of the fire in the East Palace that year."
Gongsun Yin was confused and asked, "Why are we suddenly investigating the fire in the East Palace again?"
Xie Zheng curled his lips and said, "I suspect the emperor's grandson is in the Prince Changxin's mansion."
This statement made Gongsun Yin and Tao Taifu even more shocked, but no matter what, it was just a guess and needed evidence to confirm it.
From outside the camp came the sound of patrolling soldiers beating night watches. It was already past midnight, so Xie Zheng asked Taifu Tao and Gongsun Yin to go back and rest first.
However, Master Tao was slow to get up, so Gongsun Yin thought that they had some private conversation between teacher and student, and yawned as he went back to his own residence.
Xie Zheng and Master Tao had been teachers and students for many years, and they could understand each other's intentions with just one look. He said, "Teacher, do you want to ask me something?"
Master Tao said, "My dear Gongsun was here just now, so I can't ask you too many private questions. Are you getting married this time, taking a wife or a concubine?"
Xie Zheng replied: "To get married."
Master Tao was slightly startled, then said, "You are already twenty-one years old. At your age, most men would have children who can walk around. But you are still single. It is a good thing that you can marry according to your own wishes. But I see that you look depressed. Why?"
The reason why Xie Zheng did not get married for a long time was that he was a member of the Xie family but was raised by Wei Yan.
Although the Xie family is a century-old family, the larger the family, the more idle people it has. By the time of his father's generation, the entire Xie family had already declined. In their lineage, only his father was the backbone of the Xie family, and the side branches had no descendants who could take on the responsibility.
The biggest fear of a big family is the lack of successors, so after his father died in battle and his mother committed suicide for love, he was taken away by Wei Yan, and none of his relatives from the side branches dared to speak out.
In a way, it was a good thing that Xie Zheng was taken away by Wei Yan. If he had stayed in the Xie family, he would probably have been abandoned.
Although Wei Yan treated him harshly, for the sake of his father's prestige in the army and his old subordinates, he spared no effort to train him and made him the sharpest knife in the entire Dayin Dynasty.
Normally, when a man reaches marriageable age, the female elders in his family will help him find a girl of equal status. However, Xie Zheng was raised in the Wei family, and Wei Yan did not make the decision to arrange a marriage for him. Xie's family members did not dare to bypass Wei Yan and directly find a marriage for him.
He did think of a stupid move, trying to force some cousin or some distant relative's daughter to be with him. This behavior of bringing disgrace upon the family made Wei Xuan ridicule Xie Zheng for a long time, and even Wei Yan looked down on the Xie family.
Later, Xie Zheng went to the army, and the marriage was postponed further.
When he has made great achievements, his marriage will become a marriage between two tribes instead of marrying a single person.
The Qingliu faction did not dare to marry their daughter to him, and Wei Yan's faction was jealous that he would become more difficult to control with the help of his wife's family. Naturally, his subordinates did not dare to offend Wei Yan, and the neutral ministers did not dare to get involved in this mess.
His higher status made it more difficult for him to get married.
Xie Zheng told Master Tao about his relationship with Fan Changyu: "She saved me when I was in poverty, and I had to hide my identity from her. Now that she knows everything, she is bothered by my identity and has no intention of marrying into a royal family."
After hearing this, Master Tao praised her, saying, "She is a very insightful woman."
Xie Zheng lifted his robe and knelt down in front of Master Tao and said, "I want to ask you a favor."
Master Tao looked over and asked, "Is it related to that woman?"
Xie Zheng replied: “Yes.”
Master Tao said, "She doesn't want to marry you. What can an old man like me do?"
Xie Zheng raised his head: "The student begged the teacher to adopt her as his goddaughter."
Tao Taifu immediately understood what Xie Zheng meant: "Do you want to give her a glorious identity as a member of her family? To silence the public?"
Xie Zheng remained silent, which was considered as his tacit agreement.
Tao Taifu changed the subject and asked, "What if the girl still doesn't want to and just wants to live an ordinary life?"
The young man kneeling on the ground pursed his lips tightly, and after a while he said, "I have paved all the roads. If she is willing to follow me, I will not let her fall. If she is still unwilling, just regard this as the end of fate."
Master Tao sighed, "Get up. It just so happens that I don't have any children. If I adopt a daughter, I'll have a place to live in the rest of my life. But you should also do me a favor."
Xie Zheng said, "Teacher, just keep talking."
Master Tao was thinking about Fan Changyu, and asked, "Do you have any promising young men under your command? I met a divorced girl on my way to teach her, and I promised her an elder that I would find a good husband for her."
Master Tao paused at this point and added, "She must be kind and open-minded. The girl has been divorced, so I hope the young man doesn't mind this. She is honest and sincere. If she meets someone who is scheming, I'm afraid she will be taken advantage of. She doesn't need to be a high-ranking military officer, because she doesn't know how to deal with noble ladies."
Xie Zheng felt that these characteristics were a bit familiar, but when he thought about what Master Tao said about the girl being divorced, and that he was asked by the girl's elders to find a husband for her, how could Fan Changyu know Master Tao's elders? So he stopped thinking about Fan Changyu and agreed to everything.
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Carpenter Zhao: ? I am not an elder? ?
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