attack
Chapter 120
People like Pei Qing who had given up all thoughts of living no longer had worldly obsessions when they were alive again, and what they wanted was different from others. Compared to power, what he needed more was spiritual companionship.
Therefore, compared to the girl from a noble family, the mute girl with a similar background to his can enter his heart more easily.
Thinking of the scars on his wrists, I wonder if his self-harm has healed.
If Pei Qing wants to see the child, he should see His Royal Highness the Crown Prince first.
The baby in Ming Wanrou's belly is more than three months older than her. Once spring is over, she will be due to give birth.
Taking advantage of the fact that her body was still relaxed after more than six months of pregnancy, Wen Shuse, with her big belly, went to the East Palace to see Ming Wanrou.
With a baby in her belly, Ming Wanrou's face, which had finally become thin, became fuller again. She looked energetic and her face was glowing. It was obvious that she had taken good care of herself during the pregnancy.
After a new year, seeing that Xie Shao had not returned yet, Ming Wanrou knew that she was lonely and was afraid that she would feel bad, so she did not dare to show the slightest bit of pride, "Gaoxian, I envy you."
She is the Crown Princess, she has everything she wants, why should you envy her? Wen Shu looked at her suspiciously, "Why are you envious of me? Envy that my husband is not around, I am pregnant alone, and I give birth alone?"
When the two of them are proud of themselves, they compete with each other and try every means to overwhelm the other. When one of them encounters difficulties, she would like to make herself look more miserable so that she can balance herself psychologically.
Ming Wanrou disagreed with her and argued with her, "You call that being alone? Everyone in the Xie and Wen families holds you in the palm of their hands. The Second Madam treats you like a bodhisattva. When you entered the palace a few days ago, the Second Madam asked the Queen Mother about midwives. If you scream in pain right now, the roof of the Xie family will be blown off. Although the Third Young Master Xie is not here, you can still have some peace and quiet..."
What peace do you seek?
Wen Shuse looked puzzled.
When Ming Wanrou was looked at like this, she could no longer hide what was in her heart and her face suddenly turned red.
Seeing her expression, Wen Shuse knew what she meant, and said in astonishment: "You are not afraid of children either..."
Before she could finish her words, Ming Wanrou covered her mouth with her hand and said, "It's not what you think."
"What do I think?"
"Really not." Ming Wanrou became anxious, "The late emperor's mourning period is still for one year, and we can't..." They didn't sleep together, but the two of them were lying together. Zhou Kuang, being a hot-blooded man, couldn't help it, and it was inevitable that they would accidentally discharge the gun. Every time, Zhou Kuang would end up gasping for breath and going to the toilet.
"You wouldn't understand even if I told you."
She was looking down on her for being ignorant. Wen Shu was about to explode when Ming Wanrou's expression darkened. She sighed and suddenly said, "Gaoxian, do you think I should give in and let him take a concubine or a concubine?"
She really has no peace.
During her pregnancy, she would either see ministers from the previous dynasty trying to get girls into Zhou Kuang's arms, or be entangled by the imperial concubines in Dongdu, who would openly or secretly want to send their own girls to be her sisters.
Including the Ming family.
When my grandmother entered the palace that day, everything was said openly. Instead of letting other families share the pie, why not choose another girl from the Ming family?
The original words of the Ming family's ancestor, "Only if we have someone of our own coming in can we be of one mind with the Crown Princess. When the Crown Princess gives birth to a prince in the future, there will be someone who can be used by her side. You can help her out a little."
Being in the royal family, she was aware that she and Zhou Kuang could not be together for the rest of her life.
But she needs to think carefully about who will come in from now on.
She has never been smart. Although she has only been in the palace for a year and has not yet been involved in the open and secret struggles in the palace, that day will come sooner or later.
Compared with other families, the Ming family did make her feel more at ease. However, when Old Madam Ming asked her to pick a candidate from among the younger generations in the family, she couldn't make up her mind.
Wen Shuse came today, so she just wanted to ask who would be more suitable.
Wen Shuse didn't answer, but asked her: "Do you want to?"
"ah?"
Wen Shuse asked her again: "Do you want the prince to take a concubine?"
Is this a question she wants to ask or not? After Prince Jing was named the Crown Prince, her fate completely changed. Everyone told her about the responsibilities she had on her shoulders.
If she thought about the world and the Zhou family, she naturally hoped that the Eastern Palace would have many children and a prosperous family. But if she thought only about herself, which young lady in the world would be willing to be pregnant and listen to others choose other girls for her husband?
She felt sad, but the voices around her told her that she shouldn't feel sad.
In front of Wen Shuse, Ming Wanrou shook her head without any hesitation and said the truth, "I don't want to."
"Then don't think about it." Wen Shuse has always been her counselor, and this time is no exception. "No matter how many children you have, if they are not your own, how can you kiss them? Within the deep palace walls, from ancient times to the present, how many cruel people are not family members? Brothers can kill each other, let alone separated by the belly. If the prince wants to take a concubine, he should agree to it himself. What are you going to agree to? It's really a joke to pick a girl for your husband."
Seeing her blank expression, Wen Shuse asked again, "Do you like the prince?"
Ming Wanrou blushed. She had only met Zhou Kuang in her life, and he was her husband, so naturally she liked him.
"If you really like someone, you will feel uncomfortable if he looks at another girl for a second. How can you tolerate a third person? Don't do such a foolish thing. It will only make things difficult for yourself and chill the prince's heart."
Ming Wanrou always listens to Wen Shuse, not because she obeys her every word, but because Wen Shuse always speaks to her heart.
This time, the words were the same, and I took them to heart.
When the concubine brought Madam Yang to the palace to see her again, Ming Wanrou fainted, and the prince was frightened, and the emperor and the queen were also alarmed. That day, the queen issued an order that no one could step into the East Palace, and anyone who disturbed the baby in the belly of the princess would be sentenced to death.
When she was about to give birth, no one from the Ming family was able to come in.
The Queen and the Crown Prince were guarding outside the delivery room. The baby was born from the evening of the first day until the morning of the second day. Then a particularly loud cry came from inside the house.
The prince was the first to run in, squatting beside the bed, tightly holding Ming Wanrou's hand, sweating profusely, as if he had also experienced a disaster, "Thank you for your hard work, Crown Princess."
He is a prince.
The nanny wrapped the little prince up and handed him to the prince, "Congratulations, Your Highness. The little prince is in good health."
Zhou Kuang turned around and saw a small face with a wide-open mouth, howling non-stop. He couldn't make out its appearance, but that one glance touched his heart.
That's his son.
A warm current flowed into her heart, tears welled up in her eyes, she reached out carefully, not knowing how to hold her, she followed the instructions of the nanny and held her stiffly in her arms, staring blankly for a while, then raised her head to look at the weak Ming Wanrou on the bed, raised her lips and smiled, "Ayuan, we have a child."
That smile was pure, overshadowing the majesty of the four-clawed dragon pattern on his body, as if he had returned to his simple appearance in Fengcheng, simply filled with the joy of being a father.
The royal family was already dwindling, with the former crown prince's rebellion and the death of the late emperor, the family became even smaller. Now, a young prince has finally been added, and everyone in the palace is happy.
When the news reached outside the hall, the ministers who were waiting outside the hall knelt down in worship.
When Wen Shuse found out, it was already afternoon. Aunt Qing was walking with her in the courtyard. Xiangyun hurried in from outside. She was still in the corridor and couldn't help but speak to her, "Madam, madam... The Crown Princess has given birth to a prince. Both mother and child are safe."
Xiangyun was afraid that Wen Shuse would worry, so he reported everything in one breath.
"really?"
After ten months of pregnancy, she finally made it through this stage. Wen Shuse was very excited. If it was a prince, A Yuan would be much more relaxed. At least in the near future, no one would be in a hurry to send women to the East Palace.
Wen Shuse had just breathed a sigh of relief, but then became nervous again. She was relieved, but he was not.
I don’t know if Ah Yuan is doing well or not, “When was she born?”
Xiangyun noticed her nervousness and said hurriedly, "She had an attack last night and gave birth this morning. Everything went smoothly, and my wife will be fine too."
It's easy to say, but it's been painful all night.
The Crown Princess unloaded the goods first, and Wen Shuse's days became even longer.
Every day felt like a year, not knowing whether the baby in her belly was a boy or a girl. Every day the maids in the same courtyard speculated. Today they hoped it was a boy, and tomorrow they hoped it was a girl.
She likes both men and women.
I don’t know when my husband will come back, and whether he can make it in time for the baby’s birth.
Everyone knew what she was looking forward to, and no one dared to mention the Third Young Master in front of her. As the due date was getting closer, Pushe Xie and the Second Madam were also getting anxious.
The Second Lady became anxious and started to criticize Xie Pushe, "Like father, like son. You have it so easy being a father. You just leave and when you come back, you'll have a baby."
"If you say son, then say son. Don't lie with your eyes open. I'm not like him. When you were pregnant, I accompanied you every day. But when you gave birth, I didn't know the situation and rushed out of the palace, so I was half an hour late."
In that half hour, Xie Shao fell to the ground, having already been talked about by the Second Madam for most of his life.
If that bastard doesn't come back, he will never be able to hold his head up in his life.
On the day of the beginning of summer, military information from Hexi and Hebei was finally reported back to the court.
Half a year ago at the Hexi border in Hebei.
After the Liao Kingdom fought several fake wars with Hexi and Hebei, it tasted the sweetness and became addicted to it, and would harass the enemy at any time.
The two generals in charge of Hexi and Hebei gradually realized the problem, but because the imperial court was still behind them, no matter how high the price offered by the Liao Dynasty was, they did not really fight a war and suffered heavy casualties. They could only bargain with the Liao Dynasty while dealing with Xie Shao sent by the imperial court.
When the two generals learned that Xie Shao was not on the official ship, they decided to kill him.
But I never found anyone.
Unfortunately, at this time, the Liao Kingdom did not keep its word and fought a real war. Two generals went to negotiate overnight. The Liao army wanted to give the new emperor of Dafeng a warning, but he did not buy it and launched a fierce attack. In addition, the generals of the two places were used to fake wars and did not react for a while, so they lost a city within two days.
The two generals were extremely worried and raised the terms of the negotiations, allowing the Liao Kingdom to accept the benefits and temporarily withdraw its troops.
After the money was collected, it was secretly transported to the Liao Kingdom.
On the way, the army was hijacked by a gang that made a living by stealing between the two places, called Bodhisattva Lady by the locals, and all the property sent to the Liao Kingdom for "peace talks" was looted.
The Liao Kingdom did not receive any money or property, so its soldiers approached again and shouted outside the city gate.
Although Xie Shao was not on the official ship, there were other court officials accompanying him. Even though the two generals were furious, they did not dare to send people to arrest him on the basis of real crimes.
Finally, they sent troops to attack the mountain under the pretext of clearing out bandits.
When they got there, not to mention people, they didn't see even a single copper coin. The place was deserted. From then on, the generals in Hexi and Hebei not only had to deal with harassment from the Liao Kingdom and search for the whereabouts of Xie Shao, but also had to engage in a tug-of-war of cat and mouse with the martial arts sects.
This situation remained deadlocked until the spring, when an unknown young general in the Dafeng army accidentally killed a Liao general and burned the Liao granary. As a result, the Liao officially launched a war against Hexi and Hebei.
The battle lasted for more than a month, and the territories in Hebei and Hexi were gradually swallowed up.
The general finally realized the seriousness of the situation and sent an urgent report back to the Eastern Capital, requesting additional reinforcements. However, the Liao Kingdom was well prepared and had growing ambitions, so its army attacked all the way to Hejian Prefecture.
Seeing that the situation was hopeless and the Liao Kingdom was cheering, 50,000 soldiers suddenly rushed out from Taiyuan Prefecture, like a god, and repelled the Liao Kingdom.
A few days later, the Liao Kingdom was defeated and withdrew from Hejian.
The 50,000 soldiers did not stop for a moment and chased the Liao Kingdom out. All the food and equipment followed behind the army. Without any worries, the 50,000-strong army had recaptured all the lost cities in the two major cities in Hebei and Hexi within a month, and forced the Liao army ten miles away from the original border, destroying the watchtower built by the Liao Kingdom on the border.
After the new emperor ascended the throne, the first battle against the Liao Kingdom was led by Xie Shao, assisted by Ning Wang Zhou An, the governor of Dongzhou.
The emperor ordered Prince Ning to station 50,000 troops in Taiyuan Prefecture. The court's food and fodder went around in a big circle and were not handed over to the two generals in Hexi and Hebei, but to Prince Ning of Hedong, Zhou An.
This battle completely sidelined the two generals in Hexi and Hebei.
The means that the two men used in the past with such brazenness to threaten the imperial court by using the safety of the border as bargaining chips have now become a slap in their own faces.
Knowing that the deadline had come, the two generals tried to cross the river, but were blocked on the river bank by Xie Shao's troops and were all captured.
The evidence of treason is there, and we just have to take him back to Dongdu to be charged.
When the good news was reported back to Dongdu, the weather had turned warmer, and the pomegranate trees in the yard had shed their petals and started to bear fruit.
Everyone in the room finally breathed a sigh of relief. It would take about ten days by express horse from the border city to the Eastern Capital, just in time to catch up with Wen Shuse when she was about to give birth.
It depends on whether the baby in Wen Shuse’s belly can wait for his father.
In the past, when there was no news from the border, Aunt Qing and Xiangyun did not dare to mention Xie Shao in front of Wen Shuse. Now that there was news, Xiangyun dared to mention it, "Madam, hold on for a while, and the uncle will be back soon."
But compared to waiting for Xie Shao, Wen Shuse was more nervous about the unborn little baby in her belly.
The Crown Princess had also finished her confinement. After hearing the good news from Xie Shao, she pestered Zhou Kuang to accompany her to Xie's house to see Wen Shuse.
With only a few days left before the due date, Wen Shuse was becoming more and more nervous. The midwife hired by the Second Madam was already living in the mansion, ready to deliver the baby at any time.
The Crown Princess told her with a happy face, "The pain will pass, and now that the child is born, looking at his appearance, everything is worth it."
But Wen Shuse hadn't seen the child yet, so he didn't understand that feeling.
Hearing the Crown Princess say that she had abdominal pain from the first night to the next morning, my heart was in turmoil, I was afraid and excited at the same time. I tightly grasped the Crown Princess's hand and said with a bitter face: "Ayuan, you have survived, what should I do?"
Ming Wanrou had never seen Wen Shuse afraid of anything since they were young, but this time she saw fear on her face. The desire to protect her that was buried deep in her heart was instantly aroused. She hugged her and comforted her, "Don't be afraid, Gaoxian. I'm here."
"Jiaoxian, do you know when the baby will open his eyes after he is born?" In order to relieve her nervousness, Ming Wanrou tried to divert her attention.
"when?"
"They were born with their eyes open."
Wen Shu was stunned. "Didn't the midwife say that he would open his eyes in a few hours?"
"The little prince is different. His eyes are very bright. He looks here and there, very cleverly, and cries loudly. The midwife said that such a strong baby is rare, and he will definitely be strong in the future."
"Those supplements you took were not in vain."
"We have agreed that if your baby is a girl, she will be my daughter-in-law." Ming Wanrou was afraid that she would not agree, so she cut off her worries. "When she enters the palace in the future, I will protect her. Who dares to bully her?" She looked back at Zhou Kuang outside the house, leaned close to Wen Shuse's ear and whispered, "The Zhou family has been a single-line family for generations. When we were young, we swore to share the hardships and happiness. In this world, only my son is worthy of the niece in your belly."
"You're just kidding." Wen Shuse's abdomen suddenly tightened, and she took a breath, "How do you know I'm pregnant with a girl?"
"It doesn't matter. Any one will do."
Wen Shuse was amused by her persistence, but before he could retract the smile on his lips, he felt a sudden pain in his abdomen and frowned in pain.
The second lady would send people to the city gate every day.
After seven or eight days, I hadn't seen anyone, so I continued to wait today. When the sun was setting, I finally heard some movement. I stretched my neck to look forward, and saw a cloud of dust rising from the winding official road. A moment later, several horses came galloping from outside the city.
The servant perked up and stared at the person who came.
Soon, several fast horses arrived at the city gate, and their speed did not slow down. One of them shouted, "Thank you, commander in chief, for your triumph. We have been ordered to return to the capital."
The guards at the city gate immediately made way.
Before the servant could intercept the horse, it had already rushed into the city gate. The servant came to his senses and quickly caught up, "Thank you, sir, Third Young Master, Third Young Master..."
The voice reached his ears, and the man on horseback in front turned around and said hurriedly, "Go to the palace to report, and return home immediately."
Hearing the familiar voice, the servant confirmed that it was the Third Young Master. He then quickly reined in his horse and hurried back to Xie's house.
The mansion was extremely busy, with maids and old women constantly coming in and out, delivering food and water. The midwife had also been gone for more than an hour.
The Crown Prince and the Crown Princess came to visit, but they happened to arrive at the right time, so they were in no rush to return to the palace.
When the attack first occurred, the Second Madam sent a letter to the Wen family, and now the Old Madam and Wen Huai have rushed over. Now a bunch of people are waiting outside the yard for any movement, but the person who should have returned has not shown up.
The Second Madam sent people to check the door several times, and finally saw the servant rushing back with a happy face. Before he could open his mouth to report, the Second Madam asked, "Where is the person?"
"The third young master has gone to the palace."
The Second Madam was stunned, and gritted her teeth and said, "It's already this late, why are you still going into the palace? Go and call them back."
The servant turned back again.
Those who are rushing on the road don’t feel it, but those who are waiting are tormented.
At dusk, Wen Shuse's abdominal pain became more and more frequent. He couldn't help groaning in pain, and the sound could be heard outside the house. The Second Lady's heart felt like it was being fried in a pan.
Xie Shao had never been so nervous since he was born. He paced back and forth with his fists clenched, and asked the maid beside him: "Is the person back yet?"
The maid went to the door again.
Ming Wanrou and the Second Madam were the only ones guarding the inner courtyard. It was not convenient for the Crown Prince and Wen Huai to come in. Madam Wen was old and the Second Madam was worried that she could not bear it, so she did not let her come and waited outside with Madam Xie.
It quickly got dark, and after another hour, the midwife's voice came from inside, "Madam, it will be over soon, just hold on a little longer."
It's time to give birth.
The Second Madam no longer hoped that he would come back. She stood outside the door with her hands clasped together, her eyes closed, and chanted, "Buddha bless you..."
The sound of horse hooves came from the alley outside the mansion gate, and the horse galloped to the gate. The person on the horse turned over and jumped off the horse, rushing straight into the mansion gate.
Before the lantern in the hand of the servant behind him could be seen, a man ran out from the dimly lit corridor. The people guarding outside the yard heard the noise and turned around before they could see who was coming, they heard a familiar voice, "Grandma, your grandson will go in first."
Everyone was stunned.
Back.
The footsteps reached the door, and Ming Wanrou called out in surprise, "Thank you, Young Master." The second lady opened her eyes.
Haven't seen you for almost a year.
The second lady's eyes fell gently on him.
As soon as the battle was over, Xie Shao rushed back, leaving his deputy Zhao Huai behind to organize the troops. He rode non-stop all the way and went to the palace to report as soon as he returned to the city. He had not had time to change his clothes. He was wearing a navy blue round-necked robe with sword sleeves and a curved sword on his waist, which was neat and tidy. Perhaps he had been tempered on the battlefield, and his posture was more upright and strong than before. His face was also engraved with the vicissitudes of the year, and he had grown a light stubble. Under the night light, his eyes were calm and deep, revealing a hidden eagerness.
He looks like a real military general.
The changes are quite big.
"Mother." Xie Shao bowed to the Second Madam, walked past her, and stopped outside the door, holding a scroll tightly in his hand.
I want to save 12,000 yuan, but it’s too difficult. I think I’ll have to do it tomorrow, so I’ve divided it into two chapters. See you tomorrow, my darlings!
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