Chapter 70: The Su Family Discusses Marriage
The founding monarch of Nanling State was a military general who had experienced many battles.
Since he ascended the throne, he has always been wary of other generals who command large armies, fearing that they might declare themselves kings.
Therefore, since the founding of Nanling State, a trend of suppressing military generals and emphasizing civil officials over military officials has been formed.
Thus, the war with the Northern Rong laid the seeds of destruction, just like a double-edged sword.
It can be said that water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it.
In the study
Old Master Su slowly put down the letter in his hand, his eyes full of loneliness and worry.
"Wang Gaoyi and Qin Qi are abusing their power and harming the country. Your Majesty is close to such treacherous people. Sooner or later, Nanling Kingdom will be destroyed in their hands."
This letter was a family letter sent by Ji Yanli's grandfather, who had taken up the post of ambassador of the Liuzhou Taxation Bureau.
Because he was honest and upright and not good at scheming, he offended the local dignitaries and was demoted to a remote area in Liuzhou, where he served as a ninth-rank official.
Fortunately, the Ji family has always been indifferent to fame and fortune and did not care too much about this external appointment.
Between the lines of the letter, there was deep concern about the court's submission to the Northern Rong and the removal of the military power of several generals who were in charge of the war in the northern border.
In order to promote this peace negotiation, the imperial court did not even mention the fact that the Northern Rong supported Yu Chang, the former prime minister of Nanling, to become emperor.
At the end of the letter, it was mentioned that Ji Yanli married Su Shengsheng.
Because it is inconvenient for the men of the Su family to send the bride, they hope that Ji Yanli can marry Su Shengsheng at Tianqian Pass, and then escort her to Liuzhou, and then to the imperial capital to take the imperial examination.
Judging from the time, this marriage has to be accelerated.
Just as Old Master Su was about to discuss this matter with Ji Yanli, who seemed a little dazed, Old Madam Su walked in.
"Sheng'er's aunt is so thoughtful. I remember that the third daughter-in-law mentioned that Sheng'er loved sweet-scented osmanthus candy. This time, she specially sent sweet-scented osmanthus flowers. The third daughter-in-law has already made sweet-scented osmanthus candy. We haven't tasted it for a long time, so we are waiting for Sheng'er to come back and taste it together."
After she finished speaking, she looked at Ji Yanli with a smile and said, "Sheng girl forgot the time when she went out. I have to trouble Master Ji to help find her."
Ji Yanli understood that the Su family had something to discuss, so he respectfully agreed.
…
Under the ice, cracks suddenly appeared, and Su Shengsheng couldn't help but gasp.
She held on to the rope tightly and moved forward carefully, while at the same time comforting her cousin behind her: "Don't panic, hold on."
However, how could Li Xiang not panic?
The more he moved, the more cracks appeared on the ice, and his hands on the ice began to go numb.
Su Shengsheng was walking on thin ice, but she felt Xie Xuan's cold gaze, which made her dare not ask for help easily.
She muttered to herself: This is not a military restricted area, is it necessary to stare at me like that?
Besides, this is her territory now, right?
Thinking of this, Su Shengsheng's confidence returned. She no longer paid attention to Xie Xuan's cold face, but only stared intently at the ice under her feet.
She has a slim figure, so losing weight is the most important thing at this moment.
When she finally stepped on the edge of the crack, she was ready to let Li Xiang, who had taken off his roller skates, slide over here.
At this moment, Ji Yanli, who knew that Shixianglou would deliver meals to the Su family at noon, also learned that Su Shengsheng was here.
As soon as he and Zai Qing, who was leading the way with a lunch box, arrived, they were shocked by the scene before them.
The ice under Li Xiang's feet seemed to be shaking, and the cracks spread all the way to Su Shengsheng who was not far away.
Seeing the cracks coming again, Su Shengsheng knew that he had made a big mistake this time.
She didn't dare to act rashly and just let Li Xiang crawl to the other side first.
After all, she can swim, so even if she falls, she will only catch a cold, but Li Xiang will probably flounder around if he falls.
Just as she was hesitating whether to ask the King Xuanming, who was watching coldly from the sidelines, for help, she heard Ji Yanli arriving.
"Miss Su, be careful." Ji Yanli hurried forward, but suddenly heard the sound of ice cracking under his feet, and hurriedly stopped.
He didn't dare to speak loudly, for fear of making Su Shengsheng panic.
When Su Shengsheng saw Zai Qing coming, she felt relieved: "Master Ji, please help pull the rope."
She turned her head and asked Li Xiang to lie down on the ice, and then asked Zai Qing and Ji Yanli to pull him out of the ice together.
The ice surface chosen by Su Shengsheng was not large, at most a small square of one kilometer square.
While Qing and Ji Yanli nervously began to help pull the rope, Su Shengsheng carefully explored the way forward, and finally stepped onto solid ground without any danger.
Li Xiang, who was being pulled across the ice, burst into tears.
Su Shengsheng looked at him speechlessly.
She, a woman, didn't cry, but he, a grown man, was so tearful?
Even if you really fall, at most you'll just have to drink a few sips of ice water. What's the big deal?
Just when she was about to lose patience, she heard Ji Yanli ask, "It's only October, and the ice has only just frozen over. Why is Miss Su here?"
Su Shengsheng quickly changed the subject: "It was my cousin who insisted on playing. I warned him."
As soon as these words were spoken, Li Xiang, who was still crying, opened his mouth wide enough to swallow an egg.
Su Shengsheng's headache subsided when she saw that he had stopped crying. "Did grandpa call us back? The food won't taste good if it gets cold."
As she spoke, she threw the rope used in the crime to Zai Qing, and did not forget to greet Xie Xuan, who had always had a cold face: "General, you haven't had lunch yet, right? Why not go to the Su family for a simple meal."
"Inconvenience." His tone was somewhat cold and hard.
Why is she so angry again? She mentioned her grandfather specifically!
Seeing this, Su Shengsheng didn't want to try to get close to him anymore, so she bowed and left: "I won't bother you any more, General."
After saying that, she led the other three people who had not yet recovered and quickly evacuated the crime scene.
…
Su family
When everyone saw Li Xiang's messy hair and dusty face, they were all surprised.
Su Shengsheng completely ignored Li Xiang's inner depression and frustration, and directly put a naughty hat on his head.
"My cousin saw the ice in the south and insisted on skating on it. Sheng'er told him it was dangerous, but he refused to believe her. Fortunately, Master Ji arrived in time, otherwise my cousin and I would have been in real danger."
Li Xiang, who had been dragged all the way like a pancake, was knocked unconscious by the stick before he could recover from the embarrassment of crying loudly.
Li Xiang blinked his eyes and looked at his little cousin who remained calm while lying, and he couldn't say a word.
When Li heard this, she was really shocked.
She hurried forward and carefully checked Su Shengsheng. Seeing that she was not injured, she breathed a sigh of relief.
However, the feeling of blame was hard to suppress, "Sheng'er is only a little girl, why did you take her to such a dangerous place?"
Su Shengsheng used to be a well-behaved, sensible child who never caused trouble.
Who would have thought that she would have the audacity to bring her cousin, whom she had just met, to the ice to "deal with him" on the first day?
Even Ji Yanli thought that Li Xiang was just playing around this time.
It is because Li Xiang's childish appearance, which is a bit naive and extremely damaging to his image, is so deeply rooted in people's minds that people can't help but classify him as a playful person.
Li Xiang blushed and tried to explain: "Aunt, nephew..."
But would Su Shengsheng give him a chance to clear his name?
"But cousin is quite brave this time. Let me go first."
After all, Li Xiang was a guest, so the Su family couldn't blame him too much.
Since Ji Yanli was present, everyone had no choice but to stop and invite a few people to take a seat.
When the table was full of food and wine, Su Shengsheng found that her grandfather had not yet picked up his chopsticks, and she couldn't help feeling a little confused.
I haven't seen him for a while, but why do I feel that my grandfather's eyes have become so dark and lifeless, as if the flame in them has been extinguished?
After learning the news that Nanling had surrendered and paid tribute, how could Old Master Su eat in peace even though he was now far away from the court?
If it wasn't about Su Shengsheng's lifelong event, he probably wouldn't have been able to sit at this table and watch Nan Ling surrender as if nothing had happened.
But human nature is so complicated, and what can he do when the government is controlled by a group of treacherous ministers?
Only after Old Master Su started to pick up his chopsticks did the others dare to follow suit.
Su Shengsheng glanced around at the table of people with strange expressions in some confusion. When her eyes met Li Xiang's gaze, which he couldn't avoid, she raised her eyebrows slightly and a leisurely smile slowly spread across her lips.
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