Xu Sijin nodded and said with a smile: "Mom, you didn't expect it, did you? I didn't expect it either!"

Eleventh Lady couldn't help but ask with concern: "What on earth is going on? Isn't the Wang family in Liaodong? Why did they suddenly run to Yulinwei?"

"After the Wang family arrived in Liaodong, they have been doing business with the Mongols and the Tartars. When Xuantong City was broken, dad was afraid that the Mongols would take the opportunity to move south and cooperate with the Tartars in the north and west, which would be detrimental to the court. So he asked the Wang family to help inquire about the news of the Mongols. Master Wang Liu, Changshun's uncle, received dad's letter, selected capable people, and personally led the Wang family's caravan into the grassland." As he spoke, he laughed, "Mom, dad is so awesome. If it weren't for his letter, let alone catching Duoyan, even I would have found it difficult to get out of the grassland. No wonder Lord Gong said that the person he admired most in his life was dad. He was not only brave and good at fighting, but also far-sighted and never missed anything. There is so much I need to learn!" At the end, his voice was full of admiration.

Xu Lingyi had never told her about these arrangements.

Eleventh Lady thought about how he had tried to talk to her several times, but she pretended not to notice his gloomy expression, and was a little dazed for a moment.

With Xu Lingyi's personality, he would never talk about things that he hadn't accomplished. She knew that he was such a person, but she took her anger out on him because of the unhappiness in her life... He must feel very bad, right?

Thinking back to the time when he had always spoken softly to her and never revealed the slightest bit of displeasure, she suddenly felt heavy in her heart and very uncomfortable.

She could express her emotions openly because in her heart, he was someone she could trust, someone who could share her joys and sorrows... He had been wronged, so why couldn't he express his unhappiness in front of her? Was it because he felt that she and he didn't have such a relationship?

"Your father is really a good man." Her voice couldn't help but be a little cold. "If it were someone else, how could they think of the Wang family!"

"Yes, yes!" Xu Sijin didn't think his father was anything special when he was at home before. After he went out and experienced a life-and-death test, he realized his father's extraordinaryness. His admiration for his father was like the grass in spring, growing wildly. He never thought that his mother, who usually admired his father, would criticize him in secret, and he didn't feel the coldness in his mother's words. He smiled and said, "It's a pity that I didn't meet Changshun. Uncle Wang said that Changshun was learning to use an abacus with an elder of the Wang family in Tieling. From Uncle Wang's tone, Changshun worked as an accountant before he came of age." Perhaps such Changshun made him feel very interesting, and he laughed.

"Didn't you say you came back secretly?" Xu Lingyi's voice suddenly rang out in the room, "I saw you were laughing quite loudly!"

Shiyi Niang and Xu Sijin couldn't help but look in the direction of the voice.

Xu Lingyi stood at the door with his hands behind his back, his expression looking a little grim.

"Dad!" Xu Sijin was never afraid of Xu Lingyi's cold face. He jumped off the kang excitedly and hugged Xu Lingyi with open arms. "When did you come? You didn't even make a sound. You scared us."

It has been many years since anyone dared to hold him like this.

Xu Lingyi was a little uncomfortable, coughed lightly, and said, "Did Gong Dongning ask you to come back?" His tone was very gentle. As he spoke, he sat on the armchair next to him.

Xu Sijin smiled and nodded, then hurried over and sat on Xu Lingyi's right hand side: "How did you know that?"

"The prisoners will be surrendered soon. You will have received all that is due to you. You can only be rewarded with other things at that time." Xu Lingyi looked calm and unperturbed. "The position is vacant, and someone must be plotting against it. And you are determined to win the private mine. Rather than trying to balance the relationship between the parties at that time, it is better to act early while everyone is just guessing about the emperor's intentions."

Xu Sijin gave Xu Lingyi a thumbs up and said, "Dad, you are really awesome! You hit the nail on the head!"

Looking at his son's servile appearance, Xu Lingyi asked solemnly, "Do you talk to Lord Gong like this?"

Xu Sijin said with a smile: "Our Lord Gong likes me talking to him like this, especially when I say 'If my father were here, I'm afraid he wouldn't think of this', he gets even more proud." There was a hint of cunning in his eyes, "If I ask him for something, as long as I say this, he will definitely agree."

Xu Lingyi couldn't help laughing.

Xu Sijin took the opportunity to say, "Dad, since you know the situation clearly, please help us! Putting aside the relationship between our family and Lord Gong, even if you consider that Lord Gong is my immediate superior, you cannot stand idly by for my future! What's more, Prince Yong is also involved in this. Moreover, the Guizhou Military Command has made great achievements in this war, and Lord Gong relied on them to achieve his immortal achievements. It will be beneficial to promote someone from the Guizhou Military Command to be the general of Guizhou, which will stabilize people's hearts. After all, Lord Gong will guard the northwest in the future. If the Tartars invade again, even if Lord Gong is like Wei Qing's reincarnation, he will need someone to use - who will bow down to a general who has fought with him but has no future?"

"You are quite eloquent!" Xu Lingyi smiled at his son, "It seems that you have learned a lot from following Lord Gong!"

"Dad, I feel so guilty when you say that!" Xu Sijin looked at his father pitifully, "It sounds like the tone of those military supervisors when they rejected Lord Gong!"

"You brat!" Xu Lingyi couldn't hold back any longer and slapped his son. "You compared me to a military supervisor."

The military supervisors in the army are all eunuchs.

Xu Sijin covered his head and rushed to Shiyi Niang's side: "Mom, Dad hit me!"

Xu Lingyi looked in the direction Xu Sijin was looking.

But Eleventh Lady turned her head away.

He ignored her the moment he entered the door. If it wasn't for Xu Sijin, he probably wouldn't even glance at her!

"Well done!" She looked at her son straight in the eye, "Who told you to talk nonsense? If you do that again next time, be careful and I'll hit you twice!"

Xu Sijin pretended to look sad.

Xu Lingyi looked at Shiyi Niang's cold face, sighed deeply in his heart, and said, "Okay, you stay with your mother for the next two days, don't wander around, it won't be too late for you to show up after the army enters the capital." Then he stood up and said, "I won't be back for dinner tonight, I'll meet with Chen Ge Lao first."

Xu Sijin was overjoyed.

Judging from the tone of my father's voice, he wanted to help him do this.

He immediately stepped forward and took Xu Lingyi's arm: "Dad, I'll take you out!"

"You should stay at home with your mother!" Xu Lingyi didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "Don't run around saying you're bored when the time comes."

Xu Sijin responded "yes" repeatedly and insisted on sending Xu Lingyi to the hall before returning to the inner room.

"Mom," he ran to Eleventh Lady, "did you have a quarrel with Dad?"

Eleventh Lady's heart skipped a beat and she said angrily, "You are talking nonsense again!"

"I'm not talking nonsense!" Xu Sijin said unconvincedly, "Usually when Daddy comes into the house, you always pour tea for him with a smile, but today you ignored him..."

"I just saw you guys were talking about serious matters." It was rare for her son to come back, and Eleventh Lady didn't want him to return to the barracks with a grudge in his heart. She whitewashed the situation and changed the subject, "You are sixteen this year, and you are old enough to talk about a wife. Have you thought about what kind of wife you want to marry?"

Although Xu Sijin was generous, he still blushed when talking about this kind of thing: "I, I won't marry a wife, I will stay with my mother!"

"You can stay with me forever!" Eleventh Lady looked at him jokingly, "I asked you before, but if you didn't tell me, I would just pick one for you at random. You must live well with that person when the time comes, and don't get angry with others over a small matter..."

"Ouch!" Xu Sijin stood up shyly, "I rushed back day and night and didn't even have a good night's sleep - I'm going to sleep!"

Xu Sijin also has his shy moments. This is really like the sun rising from the west!

Eleventh Lady couldn't help but cover her sleeves and laugh.

Xu Sijin ran into the warm room in a flash.

Eleventh Lady was afraid that the warm room was not tidied up yet, so she followed him in. She saw Xu Sijin lying on his back with his head resting on his arms, looking at the Chengchen above him with an expression that showed a little expectation and joy.

It must be my words that touched my son!

Eleventh Lady felt a little disappointed.

My son is growing up day by day, and his care, love and humor will all be left to another woman in the future!

She felt sad and leaned against the lattice fan in the warm room, looking at her son quietly for a long time before she tiptoed away.

* * * * * *

When Xu Lingyi came back, everyone had already gone to bed.

Hearing the noise, Eleventh Lady thought of her son sleeping in the warm room and got up.

"The Marquis is back!" Perhaps because of her pregnancy, the smell of alcohol on Xu Lingyi made Eleventh Lady very uncomfortable. She frowned and asked, "The Marquis drank alcohol?" Then she told Leng Xiang to prepare a sobering soup.

"You should go and rest!" Xu Lingyi was slightly stunned, then smiled, "You should rest more now. Let the maids do these trivial matters!" As he said that, he smiled at Eleventh Lady and turned to go to the purification room.

Eleventh Lady looked at the lonely sheep-horn palace lantern on the kang table for a while before going to bed.

The second watch drum struck, and Leng Xiang tiptoed in. Seeing Shiyi Niang leaning on the big pillow at the head of the bed, she was a little surprised and smiled softly, "Madam, the Marquis said he drank too much, so he rested on the kang by the window!" She added, "The Marquis must be afraid of choking Madam!" As she spoke, a bit of envy appeared in her eyes - the Marquis was really considerate to Madam.

Eleventh Lady nodded.

Leng Xiang took out the bedding from the tall black lacquered cabinet beside her.

After a while, Eleventh Lady heard the sound of a door closing, and the room fell into silent silence.

Eleventh Lady turned over and fell into sleep after a while, but she heard several loud noises of phone calls and Xu Lingyi's low mumbling coming from outside the tent.

What happened?

Eleventh Lady woke up immediately, put on her slippers and walked out of the bed.

The colorful porcelain teacup with the picture of a magpie on a branch rolled over on the kang table, spilling the tea all over the table and dripping onto the bedding next to it.

It was obvious that Xu Lingyi was thirsty after drinking and wanted to drink tea, but he accidentally knocked over the teacup.

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