Wedding
As Han Shizhong and Liang Hongyu rode side by side into the city, the autumn wind of Chuzhou swirled with withered leaves. The flag with the Chinese character "Han" on it fluttered on the city wall, and the armor of the defenders gleamed coldly in the twilight.
"The general is back!" the captain at the city gate shouted, and the iron gate slowly rose. Liang Hongyu noticed a flicker of hesitation in the captain's eyes, and she exchanged a glance with Han Shizhong. She feared that the news of the peace talks had already spread.
In Han's mansion, all the generals came to inquire about the peace talks. Han Shizhong took off his sword and threw it on the table.
"Is the rumor that the emperor knelt to receive the golden edict true?" Hu Yantong stepped forward and asked.
Han Shizhong took a sip of the tea on the table, then frowned and nodded, "Yeah."
"More than just kneeling to receive the Jin edict," Liang Hongyu sneered, "the Great Song Dynasty must also pay tribute to the Jin people and pay an annual tribute of 500,000 taels of silver and silk."
All the generals sighed upon hearing this. Hu Yantong slammed his fist on the table, "Damn it! Has the imperial court become spineless? They're actually bowing down to the golden dog."
A sudden commotion erupted outside the tent. A personal guard arrived to report that soldiers in the camp were gathering and crying and cursing. Han Shizhong's brows twitched, but Liang Hongyu had already pulled back the curtain and emerged.
"General Han!" An old soldier with his right ear missing rushed over. "We've defended Chuzhou with you for three years. When the golden dog came, we chopped it down. If we couldn't chop it down, we bit it..." A trace of anger flashed in his cloudy eyes. "Now the court wants us to be the dog wagging the tail?"
"No matter what the court says, as long as I, Han Shizhong, stay in Chuzhou City, I will fight to the death with Jin Gou."
"I think the Golden Dog is really trying to negotiate peace. He's probably using this to paralyze the Song Dynasty. He'll come again. We must not let our guard down," Liang Hongyu agreed. "Tomorrow's training will proceed as usual."
Only then did everyone disperse.
After leaving Han's house, Han Shizhong followed Liang Hongyu to Liang's house, and Liang Hongyu dismissed the maids on both sides.
Liang Hongyu looked at Han Shizhong sitting upright on the chair and asked, "General, what are you doing here in broad daylight?"
Han Shizhong touched his left shoulder and grimaced, "Madam, is this hidden weapon poisoned with lovesickness? Why does it hurt every day?"
"You're so nice." Liang Hongyu threw the medicine bottle over, and he caught it mid-air. As the man undressed, his back muscles tugged, leaving scars crisscrossing his entire back.
As the powder touched the wound, there was a sudden "click" sound outside the window.
Liang Hongyu looked up and saw a figure flash past the carved wooden window. When she kicked open the door and chased after him, she only caught a glimpse of the hem of a lilac skirt fluttering at the moon-shaped door. It was the dress of her maid.
Han Shizhong played with the medicine bottle, but there was no smile in his eyes. "Did you see who it was?"
Liang Hongyu nodded, took the medicine bottle from him, and continued to apply the medicine. "Come to the Liang Mansion tomorrow evening, and we will set a trap for her."
The next evening, Jinxiu spread the news that Han Shizhong was coming to Liang Mansion. The maids doing laundry in the west yard soon heard that General Han would come to discuss "important military affairs" tonight.
"Miss, I've done everything you instructed." Jinxiu whispered as she helped her tie her hair.
The person in the mirror has slightly curled red lips.
The second watch clapper rang, and Han Shizhong walked in through the main gate. Liang Hongyu deliberately raised her voice: "General, please take a look at this defense map..."
Before he could finish his words, a figure, shadowed by the candlelight, appeared in the window. A dart flew from Liang Hongyu's sleeve, while Han Shizhong's teacup hurled a precise strike against the window bolt. The wooden window suddenly flew open, moonlight pouring in. Chuntao's figure, slung from the tree by the force of the dart, the tail lodged in her throat, her eyes frozen in surprise.
Han Shizhong pried open Chuntao's tightly clenched hands, and a gilded token clanged to the ground. This token was a hundred times more exquisite than the bronze one, with a coiled dragon on the front and the word "Ling" engraved on the back.
Liang Hongyu recognized this token as it was exclusively used by the government's secret guards.
On the bed, Han Shizhong was lying on his back with a pillow.
Liang Hongyu's eyes swept over him, "General, why are you still lingering here? I'm sure everyone will know about your stay here late at night tomorrow morning."
Han Shizhong stood up upon hearing this, and carried Liang Hongyu by the waist onto the bed. "What are you afraid of? Tomorrow I will carry your wife to the Liang residence in a sedan chair carried by eight men."
Han Shizhong was about to lean over and kiss her when Liang Hongyu put a finger to his lips and asked, "Where is your Excellency?"
Han Shizhong smiled faintly and said, "The man who was watching us is dead. Chuzhou City is far from Lin'an, and the emperor is far away. How did the emperor know that I married you? Tomorrow I will order the people of the city not to spread this matter."
Liang Hongyu closed her eyes. It didn't matter. She was already dying in the deep military camp. Being his before she died was enough for her in this life.
Han Shizhong ordered martial law throughout the city, and the people were not allowed to pass on any information. But even so, the soldiers in Chuzhou City quietly hung red silk outside their tents, and even the sentries on the city walls changed into brand new uniforms.
In Liang Hongyu's mansion, Jinxiu was dressing her. The woman in the bronze mirror was dressed in red, with beautiful eyebrows and eyes, but she looked more gentle than before.
"The girl looks really pretty today." Jinxiu's eyes were slightly red, and her fingers gently brushed Liang Hongyu's hair. "What a pity..."
"What's a pity?" Liang Hongyu raised her eyes, the corners of her lips slightly raised, "What a pity that there is no parental consent or matchmaker's words?"
Liang Hongyu chuckled: "Both his and my parents have perished in this chaotic world, not to mention..." She paused, a trace of tenderness flashing in her eyes, "not to mention that I'm marrying him."
Han Shizhong stood on the high platform in the parade ground, wearing a bright red brocade robe.
"Today is my wedding day..." Han Shizhong began, but was interrupted by a series of coughs. The old soldier suddenly took the lead and knelt down: "Congratulations, General!" Three thousand soldiers knelt on one knee in unison, and the sound of armor clashing like thunder.
Sixteen strong personal soldiers were already standing in two rows in front of the Liang Mansion. They had taken off their armor and were all wearing brand new crimson shorts with golden sashes around their waists.
"Lift the sedan!" Hu Yantong shouted at the top of his voice.
Jinxiu held her arm and led her into the sedan chair. The moment the curtain was opened, Liang Hongyu's fingertips trembled.
"This general and others respectfully welcome the Madam to the sedan chair!"
The eight bearers of the sedan chair were actually the commanders of the various battalions. The bearded man in the front left had fought bloody battles on the city walls with a knife wound three days earlier; the one-eyed man in the back right was the man Han Shizhong had carried back from the pile of dead bodies at Caishiji. They knelt on one knee, the sedan pole resting on the scabby spot where an old injury had formed on their shoulder, their backs straighter than a flagpole.
The sedan chair went around Chuzhou City, and the people in the city crowded around to congratulate.
Han Shizhong's residence was guarded by several trusted generals. Han Shizhong, dressed in a bright red wedding gown, a jade belt cinched tightly around his waist, stood tall and straight like a pine tree. He stood in the courtyard, gazing up at the moonlight, his lips curled slightly.
The sedan stopped at the gate of Han's mansion.
"General, the time has come." Hu Yantong whispered.
Han Shizhong nodded, strode towards the big red sedan, and picked up the bride who got out of the sedan and carried her horizontally.
"Wedding wine! Wedding wine!"
Amidst the booing, Han Shizhong took a sip from the bowl and spat it out: "Did you put gunpowder in the wine?" Amidst the laughter of the whole audience, Liang Hongyu snatched the bowl and drank it all in one gulp. Her eyes were red from the spiciness, but she smiled carefreely: "It's much better than the Jin army's horse urine!"
Suddenly, there was a burst of rapid drumbeats. A dozen bare-chested soldiers jumped into the arena, clapping their shields with the backs of their swords and beginning a battle dance.
When night fell, people all over the city received wedding cakes.
Hu Yantong and his personal guards stood guard in front of Han Shizhong's residence. The old soldiers squatted at the foot of the wall to eavesdrop, but were driven away by the night watchman with guns: "Go away, go away, what are you listening to!"
In the new house, Liang Hongyu was taking off her hairpin in front of the bronze mirror.
The candlelight flickered suddenly, and Han Shizhong, reeking of alcohol, hugged her from behind. "Madam," he bit her earlobe and whispered, his fingers deftly untying the sash of her wedding dress. "Do you know how long I have been waiting for this day?"
Liang Hongyu pressed the painful spot on his wrist with her backhand, and while he was in pain, she rolled over and pushed him down on the couch. "General, think carefully. If you marry me, there will always be darts hidden under your pillow."
Han Shizhong laughed and suddenly hugged her and rolled to the side of the bed.
"My lady, you are incredibly beautiful today," he said in a low voice, his fingertips gently stroking her cheek.
Liang Hongyu raised the corners of her lips slightly: "General, you can speak human language today."
Han Shizhong laughed, pulled her into his arms, bent down and kissed her.
The red candle burned out, and only the breathing of each other remained in the tent.
Liang Hongyu leaned in his arms, her fingertips circling his heart, and whispered, "If the government blames me..."
Han Shizhong closed his eyes, his lips curled slightly: "Don't worry, Madam, I have my own plans."
Liang Hongyu smiled and stroked his brow with her hand: "Okay, whether you live or die, I will be with you."
The night was deep and the red candles had gone out, but the sky over Chuzhou City was faintly blood-red.
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