Outside the guardhouse, there was a group of people standing.

The servants beside the carriage were busy unloading boxes from the carriage. In the rest area at the entrance of the guardhouse, guests were sitting and drinking tea.

As soon as Xiao Jue entered the room, the first thing he saw was Liang Ping pouring tea for someone.

"Mr. Chu Si." Lin Shuanghe was the first to greet him. He walked forward, fanning himself, and said with a familiar smile, as if a host was entertaining a guest: "I wonder if the tea is to your taste?"

Chu Zilan stood up and bowed to Lin Shuanghe and Xiao Jue: "Commander Xiao, Master Lin." He smiled and said: "Liangzhouwei's Yunwu tea is mellow and bright, and the fragrance lingers on the cheeks. The commander is in luck."

Xiao Jue casually pulled over a chair, sat down, stared at him and said, "It's just a simple cup of tea, no need to be polite."

Chu Zhao was not annoyed, he just smiled and said: "The governor is joking."

The fourth son of Shi Jinbo's mansion is the same age as Xiao Jue this year. Compared with Xiao Jue's often indifferent and lazy expression, he seems much gentler. He is also very beautiful, with delicate features and fair skin. He is wearing a wide jade-colored robe, which makes him look even thinner like an immortal. He has narrow eyes and always smiles. He is really a gentleman, gentle as jade.

The two of them together, one as cold and desolate as autumn water, the other as bright and pure as a distant orchid, were very pleasing to the eye.

Next to Chu Zhao stood a maid-like girl. Although she was wearing maid-like clothes, she was extremely beautiful, with deep and bright features. Even though she was wearing simple and plain clothes, it was difficult to conceal her brilliance. Lin Shuanghe, who was used to seeing beautiful women, couldn't help but look at this girl's face for a while. He secretly sighed in his heart that this master and servant standing together didn't look like people from the world. Among Shi Jinbo's four sons, the first three were ordinary-looking, but this one grew up to look like this. It seems that the mother's appearance is really important.

"Why did the Fourth Master Chu come to Liangzhou Guard?" Xiao Jue asked.

Chu Zhao smiled and said, "Your Majesty heard that Commander Xiao had annihilated tens of thousands of enemy troops in Liangzhouwei and wiped out the remaining Qiang people. He was very pleased and asked me to bring the reward and take a look at the morale of the Liangzhouwei soldiers."

"A gift?" Xiao Jue looked at him with interest, and said nonchalantly, "Liangzhou is a bitterly cold place, but it is so cold that the fourth master Chu would condescend to come and see it." He smiled slightly, "It's not easy."

Chu Zhao said: "It is Zilan's luck to see the mighty army led by Commander Xiao with her own eyes."

Xiao Jue smiled and said nothing.

"Your Majesty has ordered me to hold a banquet here to celebrate the great victory in Liangzhou." Chu Zhao said, "But I don't know how the Liangzhou Guards usually celebrate their victories, so I'll just have to trouble the governor."

"The new soldiers who died in the battle have just been buried," Xiao Jue said, "I'm afraid it's not appropriate to celebrate now."

Chu Zhao smiled gently, but his tone was firm, "How can there be no bloodshed in war? Besides, destroying the enemy is a happy event, and we should reward them when they are due. This is also what your majesty meant."

Is this the promotion of Emperor Wenxuan?

Xiao Jue stared at him for a while, nodded and smiled: "Okay." He stood up and said meaningfully: "We can have a celebration banquet tomorrow, please invite Mr. Chu to come and participate."

Chu Zhao stood up and returned the greeting: "Obedience is worse than respect."

Xiao Jue left the room and told Fei Nu, "Arrange a room for Mr. Chu Si's people."

Fei Nu took the order and left.

Lin Shuanghe followed him out, approached him, and asked in a low voice: "What is Chu Zhao doing here? It seems that he will stay in Liangzhou for a while?"

"The man is gone, Xu Jingfu is anxious," Xiao Jue said calmly, "Send his dog over to take a look, is there anything wrong?"

Lin Shuanghe looked back at the house and saw Chu Zhao drinking tea with his head down, so he asked, "Isn't it a bit unsafe to let him stay here? After all, this guy is Xu Jingfu's man."

"Unsafe?" Xiao Jue said, "That depends on his ability. Let's go."

"Where are you going?"

"Since it's a reward, you should also take a look at what's in it." Xiao Jue said playfully, "It's a bit unreasonable to come to my Liangzhouwei with such a big fanfare and only bring a few boxes of rewards."

"Are you going to plunder the geese again?"

Xiao Jue glanced at him.

Lin Shuanghe said, "I don't mean anything else, I just asked, don't be angry. Let's go, let's go see the baby!"

…

He Yan came back from the martial arts arena and returned to his idle state. He lay on the bed and read a few travel notes, waiting for Song Taotao to bring him food. After dinner, when Song Taotao was leaving, he heard some noise outside the door, as if Song Taotao was talking to someone. He thought it was Xiao Jue who came back, so he got out of bed with a stick and opened the door, and saw Lin Shuanghe at a glance.

"Doctor Lin?" He Yan looked around and didn't see Xiao Jue, so he asked, "Is the governor not here?"

"He went to discuss the celebration banquet with the coach." Lin Shuanghe smiled and said, "I will wait for him in the house first. I have something else to tell him."

"Celebration banquet?" He Yan was stunned for a moment, "What celebration banquet?"

"Liangzhou Wei celebration banquet." Lin Shuanghe waved at Song Taotao, and after seeing Song Taotao leave, he walked towards He Yan. When he reached the door, he suddenly stopped and refused to move forward.

He Yan was puzzled: "What's wrong?"

Lin Shuanghe retracted his hand and said sternly, "It is not good for a man and a woman to be in the same room. If it gets out, it will damage your reputation."

He Yan: “…”

She said, "No one here knows my identity. Doctor Lin can just treat me as an ordinary recruit. Besides, haven't you been here before?"

Lin Shuanghe waved his hand modestly: "There were other people in the room before, but now it's just you and me. I'm afraid it will cause misunderstanding."

"What misunderstanding?" He Yan said helplessly, "The governor and I are often in the same room together, and there is nothing wrong with that."

Hearing this, Lin Shuanghe took a step back: "That's even more unacceptable. You can't tease your friend's wife. Am I the kind of person who would betray my friend?"

He Yan: “…”

What kind of nonsense is this person talking about?

She thought about it and finally came up with a good idea: "How about this, Mr. Lin, you go to the governor's room, and I'll be in my own room. I'll open the middle door, and we can talk through the middle door. In this way, we won't be in the same room, but in two separate rooms. Is that feasible?"

Lin Shuanghe didn't expect He Yan to be able to do this. He was stunned for a moment and slapped his fan: "Let's do it this way!"

So when He Yan returned to the house, he used Cheng Lisu's silver thread to pry open the lock, and with great effort pushed the stool to the other side of the middle door. Lin Shuanghe was already waiting there.

He looked at the middle door and asked He Yan: "Do you guys usually play like this?"

"How do you play?"

"That's right..." Lin Shuanghe seemed to feel embarrassed when he said this. He shook his head and smiled, "I didn't expect Huai Jin to be like this..."

He Yan was confused by what he said, but was still thinking about the celebration banquet he just mentioned, so he asked, "Doctor Lin, what is the Liangzhou Wei celebration banquet you just mentioned?"

"Didn't you defeat Ridamuzi's men before and wiped out tens of thousands of enemy troops?" Lin Shuanghe said, "When His Majesty heard about this, he was very pleased and sent someone to bring rewards to reward you. He also planned to hold a banquet in Liangzhouwei to celebrate the victory and reward the three armies."

He Yan was stunned when he heard this: "Now? It's not a good idea to celebrate now."

It is not a good time to celebrate the victory in Liangzhou. Although the battle was won, it was too hasty. Dozens of sentinels died without knowing the situation. Even though they won the battle later, it was mostly due to the support of the Southern Army. The new recruits are probably more sad about the death of their comrades and afraid of the war than the joy of winning the battle. How can it be a good time to celebrate the victory?

"What can we do about your majesty's intention?" Lin Shuanghe sighed, "How can we not know how to behave?"

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

After a while, He Yan asked, "The person who came to convey His Majesty's will is the Chu Zilan you mentioned today, right?" He Yan asked, "Who is Chu Zilan?"

"You've never heard of Chu Zilan?" This time, Lin Shuanghe was surprised.

He Yan shook his head.

"Among the dream lovers of the girls in the capital, Xiao Rubi ranks first, Xiao Huaijin ranks second, and Chu Zilan ranks third." Lin Shuanghe sighed, "But since Xiao Rubi got married, there are only Xiao Huaijin and Chu Zilan. Our Huaijin has a cold personality and doesn't like to talk to girls. In recent years, he has been inferior to Chu Zilan. Although Chu Zilan is of a lower family, she is beautiful, kind and gentle, and she is not engaged yet. If you ask the girls in the capital who they would like to marry the most, nine out of ten times, they will mention Chu Zilan. Why," he looked at He Yan, "didn't you hear his name when you were in the capital? Impossible!"

Of course He Yan didn't know. She had been leading troops in battles before, so she had no time to care about romance or the handsome men in the capital. After returning to the capital, she got married quickly, and there was no news about the man outside. I have never heard of this Chu Zilan.

"My father has kept me in seclusion since I was a child. I never leave the house and rarely talk to men outside the family," He Yan said seriously, "I really don't know anything about what's going on outside."

"Really?" Lin Shuanghe said, "Then your father is really strict with you."

He Yan nodded: "Indeed." She asked: "What is the relationship between Chu Zilan and Governor Xiao?"

Although Xiao Jue is not very friendly, and I haven't seen him particularly like anyone, I haven't seen him particularly dislike anyone either. Xu Jingfu is one of them, and I haven't met Chu Zilan yet, but Xiao Jue is unhappy just by hearing his name.

Was there a festival in the past?

"This is a long story." Lin Shuanghe stood up and went to the small desk to pour himself a cup of tea. He drank a sip of tea to moisten his throat before sitting down again and said to He Yan, "You haven't heard of Chu Zilan, but you have heard of his father, Chu Linfeng, the Earl of Shi Jin."

He Yan thought the name sounded familiar, and after thinking for a moment, he said, "Is it the one who married nineteen concubines, all of whom were extremely beautiful?"

"Exactly!"

He Yan remembered the name Chu Linfeng. When he was in the army, the deputy generals and their subordinates gathered together to chat. They didn't envy the emperor, but envied Shi Jinbo the most. Yu Shulinfeng, the son of Shi Jinbo, was a famous handsome man in Wei. However, the wife he married was a few years older than him, and her child was ugly and fierce.

A playboy like Chu Linfeng would never stop like this. He spent every day in brothels before he got married, and it became even worse after he got married. The wife he married was virtuous and seemed to know that she was not favored by her husband because of her ordinary appearance, so she never stopped him from taking concubines. Over the years, he actually took 19 concubines, each of whom was beautiful and charming, and each had her own charm.

He took concubines many times, but over the years, except for the three young masters who came out of his wife's belly, no concubine had ever given birth to Shi Jinbo's child.

I heard that these concubines were fed sterilizing drugs before entering the Chu family. No matter how favored they were, without offspring, they could only please their master or mistress. Shi Jinbo's wife controlled these concubines so well that no one dared to mess with them under her nose. Shi Jinbo still made love with his concubines every day, and Shi Jinbo's wife pretended not to see it and raised her three sons well.

Chu Zilan was the fourth son of Shi Jinbo, but not the son of Shi Jinbo's wife.

"Is he a bastard son of a concubine?" He Yan asked.

"That's not true," Lin Shuanghe said, "Mrs. Chu is even stricter with her concubine than your father is with you. How could a concubine possibly give birth to a son?"

"That is..."

"I don't know exactly what happened, but one day, during the Chu family banquet, a four-year-old son named Chu Zhao appeared." Lin Shuanghe took another sip of tea. "Although no one said it, everyone knew that Chu Zhao was most likely the illegitimate son of Chu Linfeng's concubine."

He Yan's eyes widened.

"Mrs. Chu was on high alert, but she didn't expect Lord Shi Jin to have such a trick up his sleeve. The child is already four years old, and he has been recognized in front of everyone. What else can he do?" Lin Shuanghe spread his hands. "If that were the case, Chu Zilan would be nothing more than Chu Linfeng's illegitimate son, but when Chu Zilan was ten years old, he was registered under Mrs. Chu's name. Therefore, his current status is that he is the fourth legitimate son of Lord Shi Jin's mansion. Do you know why?"

"Why?"

"Because he was the most proud student of the then Prime Minister Xu Jingfu."

He Yan was startled. It was Xu Jingfu again?

"Although Shi Jinbo was a playboy, he was not a kind father. I think Chu Zilan had a hard time under Madam Chu. I don't know how he managed to live to the age of ten and then hook up with Xu Jingfu. How could Shi Jinbo dare to ignore Prime Minister Xu's face? Later, it was probably Xu Jingfu's idea to register Chu Zhao under Madam Chu's name."

"Then this Fourth Master Chu is very powerful."

Lin Shuanghe looked at He Yan: "Do you think he is very powerful?"

"Amazing! As you said, he has no outside help in the mansion, his father doesn't love him, and his biological mother is not around. Now he has become a legitimate young master, and he can even get the emperor to order him to come to Liangzhou Guard to convey the emperor's order. He can reach this point by himself. It is really amazing."

"If I wasn't good, how could I become Xu Jingfu's favorite student?" Lin Shuanghe shook his head and sighed.

"What about his biological mother?" He Yan asked, "Wasn't she taken into the Shi Jinbo residence?"

"I don't know." Lin Shuanghe shook his head. "I heard that she died of illness after giving birth to him. If not, with Chu Zilan's current abilities, she should be able to live a better life."

He Yan nodded thoughtfully, "So that's how it is. It's a pity that Governor Xiao doesn't like the Fourth Master Chu."

Xiao Jue and Xu Jingfu are enemies rather than friends. Chu Zilan is Xu Jingfu's student, so she is naturally Xiao Jue's enemy as well.

"Brother He..." Lin Shuanghe said, "If you were asked to choose between Huai Jin and Chu Zilan, who would you help?"

He Yan thought this question was simply unbelievable, "Why do you ask that?"

"I'm just curious about what choice the girl from Dawei will make."

"I don't know Chu Zilan at all." He Yan said, "Of course I'm on the side of the governor."

Lin Shuanghe smiled meaningfully, "It's better not to ask so early. You will be able to meet Chu Zilan at the celebration banquet tomorrow."

He Yan: “…”

So what if I saw it? Is there anything strange about it?

He Yan had not expected that, just as Lin Shuanghe said, she would meet the legendary dream lover of the Wei girls, the fourth son of the Chu family, Chu Zilan, who could compete with Xiao Jue, on the second day.

…

It didn't snow that night, which was rare. The next day was also sunny.

Although the weather was cold, the sun was shining on people and they felt warm. He Yan got up and ate porridge. He felt that the wound on his waist healed faster after being exposed to the sun. Liangzhou Wei was really strange. In the summer, it was so hot that people would cry and scream when they saw the sun. In the winter, they were very happy when there was half a day of sunshine.

Now she couldn't go to the martial arts arena for daily training, but she thought the sun was very good, so she simply leaned on her stick and wanted to walk in the yard. When she reached the door, she heard Song Taotao's voice, "I saw this golden cake roll first, it's mine!"

Then came a woman's good-tempered voice: "Miss, this was specially made by the chef our master brought with him. It was not made by the bathroom kitchen, so it is not yours."

"You said it was your master's, so it was your master's?" The little girl said angrily, "It's all in the kitchen, how do I know if it was made by your chef? Since you have a chef, can't you just make another dish?"

"The process of making golden cake rolls is complicated. If I make another one, it will delay the young master's meal time."

"Then don't eat it!"

"girl……"

He Yan couldn't listen any longer, so he walked out and said, "Miss Song."

Song Taotao turned her head and looked over with the woman she was arguing with, and said happily, "Brother He! This is a golden cake roll, do you want to try it?"

He Yan: “…”

The woman also said: "That is the young master's..."

He Yan took the golden cake roll and returned it to the woman, saying, "Children are ignorant, please don't make a fuss about it."

"Brother He!" Song Taotao stamped her feet in anger, "Why did you give it back to her?"

"It's someone else's." He Yan shook her head. She guessed that the young master the other person was talking about should be Chu Zilan, the fourth young master of Shi Jinbo's mansion. Chu Zilan and Xiao Jue had such a delicate relationship. If Chu Zilan caused any trouble for Xiao Jue, it would be a loss.

"Thank you, sir." The woman smiled brightly at He Yan.

He Yan was also startled, and for a moment, he was amazed by the girl's appearance. There were not many girls in Liangzhou Guard, and apart from this fake one, there were only Shen Muxue and Song Taotao. One was beautiful, the other was lovely, and now there was a girl as beautiful as a peony, which was particularly eye-catching.

Chu Zilan's maids are so beautiful? He Yan thought to herself, the Wei woman Lin Shuanghe mentioned before puts her husband first in her heart. Only a fool would choose Chu Zilan. Even the maids are so beautiful, how can ordinary women catch his eye? It's better to choose Xiao Jue. Xiao Jue is surrounded by men. Maybe because men have seen too many of them, their requirements will be much lower when they see a woman. There is still some chance.

Seeing He Yan staring at the other person's face without saying anything, Song Taotao became even more anxious. She pulled He Yan's sleeve and said, "What are you looking at her for? What's so good about it!"

The woman holding the golden cake roll saw this and burst out laughing, her smile was so charming.

"Yingxiang." Someone said.

The maid named Ying Xiang immediately put away her smile and bowed to the front, "Fourth Young Master."

The Fourth Young Master? Chu Zilan? He Yan turned around and his eyes fell on the person in front of him.

This was a young man, wearing a pale jade robe with very wide sleeves and a jade crown. He was as elegant as an orchid and as handsome as a banished immortal. He had a faint smile on his face and nodded to He Yan.

He Yan frowned. This man looked so familiar.

When he saw He Yan, he was also startled, but after a moment he smiled, as if he saw what He Yan was thinking. He stretched out his hand, palm facing up, and said softly, "Little brother, you dropped something."

This sentence brought He Yan back to her senses. She remembered where she had seen this man before! On that day, she was still in Shuojing, racking her brains for He Yunsheng's tuition for admission to school. She had no choice but to go to Le Tong Manor to gamble, but was chased and beaten by the losers. After finally beating them all down, someone suddenly appeared and told her that she had lost the money.

The man's good looks were so impressive that anyone who had seen him would have a hard time forgetting them. Now that he suddenly saw him here, because it was daytime, He Yan didn't recognize him for a moment, but he was the one who recognized He Yan first.

"You... Fourth Young Master Chu?" He Yan asked.

Chu Zilan nodded: "It's me."

He Yan was speechless for a moment. What kind of luck was this for her? Just climbing over the wall to fight at night, she could meet the man of the girl's dreams. What kind of coincidence was this?

"My name is Chu Zhao," Chu Zilan smiled and looked at He Yan, "Brother and I are old acquaintances, but I don't know your name. May I ask your full name?"

Seeing such a gentle and polite manner, He Yan began to understand why he could be on par with Xiao Jue, and quickly returned the greeting, "I don't deserve it. I'm He Yan. He means grass and trees, and Yan means peaceful rivers and seas."

Chu Zhao smiled, "What a nice name. But," he looked around and asked in confusion, "Why is Brother He here?"

"Me?" He Yan said, "I'm a new recruit of Liangzhou Guards, but I was injured a few days ago, so I didn't go to the martial arts field for daily training."

"so it is."

At this time, Song Taotao, who had been silent the whole time, finally came to her senses. She carefully pulled He Yan's hand. Perhaps because she saw that Chu Zilan was so beautiful, her aggression towards Ying Xiang disappeared instantly. She even felt a little embarrassed. She whispered, "Brother He, who is this person? Do you know him?"

This question was difficult to answer. She knew Chu Zhao, but not as familiar as Song Taotao thought. It was just that she suddenly saw a familiar face in Liangzhouwei and was subconsciously a little excited.

He Yan said, "This is the fourth young master of Shi Jinbo's mansion. I met him once before when I was in Shuojing."

Chu Zhao smiled and said, "We are old friends."