While He Yan was tossing and turning over this doubt, Xiao Jue, who had returned to the Xiao family, ran into Xiao Jing and his wife, who had been waiting at the gate for questioning.

Bai Rongwei didn't even have time to change her clothes, and she and Xiao Jue sat in the hall, and finally waited for Xiao Jue to come back. Xiao Jing asked bluntly: "Huai Jin, what's going on? Mr. He...how can the girl be a girl?"

The Xiao family is in chaos right now.

It was shocking enough to learn at the banquet that the young man living in their house was a girl. The emperor even granted the marriage, letting their family off. No matter how generous they were, they could not change the matter of Xiao Jue's friend becoming his wife. The only thing that was certain was that Xiao Jue must like that Miss He. Otherwise, he would not have said such disgusting words in front of all the civil and military officials in the palace. Now that he thought about it, every little thing, such as asking He Yan to live in his yard, and the vague protection he always gave her... were now explained.

The same thing had just been explained to He Sui at the He family, and now he had to explain it to Xiao Jing. Fortunately, they were his family, so Xiao Jue did not explain it in detail, and just gave a rough outline so that the couple could understand it.

Xiao Jing and Bai Rongwei barely understood and looked at each other.

Bai Rongwei asked tentatively: "Huai Jin, do you really like Miss He?"

Xiao Jue said calmly: "If it is fake, can the Xiao family disobey the order?"

Bai Rongwei was speechless, this was of course impossible.

The corners of his lips curled slightly, "If it was fake, there wouldn't be this marriage offer."

Several people were stunned, thinking that it was true. Xiao Jue seemed to be indifferent to the affairs of the court, but he was not really without connections. He had pushed for this marriage to achieve his goal. If he didn't like He Yan, he wouldn't have to do this. Even if Emperor Wenxuan wanted to do this, he could still do something else to mess things up.

"But," Bai Rongwei complained, "You kid, even if you are happy in your heart, why couldn't you just take the girl home? Although there is nothing between your brother and I, if outsiders knew about it, they would inevitably say something bad, which would damage Miss He's reputation."

"Her identity was unknown before, so it was inappropriate for her to go home without warning. If we bring her back home, no one else will know about it." Xiao Jue said, "That won't happen in the future.

The couple breathed a sigh of relief. They used to worry that Xiao Jue would never get married in his lifetime, but now he finally knew that he liked girls, which was a good thing. But they were afraid that young people would be greedy for temporary pleasure and cause trouble. Now that they saw that he knew his limits, they were relieved.

"Where is Miss He from? Where does she live? Is there anyone else at home?" Bai Rongwei asked him. "When the young master of the Lin family left, he mentioned that Miss He's father was a captain. Since we are already in-laws and both her parents are gone, your eldest brother and I should pay a visit. We can't let others think that we don't know etiquette."

"That's right," Xiao Jing also said, "We should go and discuss the details of the marriage with Mr. He. And your betrothal gift should also be prepared now."

This gift marriage came suddenly, and the family was not prepared for anything. In recent years, the emperor has given a lot of gifts, but Xiao Jue was too lazy to take care of them, so Bai Rongwei kept them in the warehouse for him. He thought that they would be useful in three to five years, but he never thought that the surprise would come so suddenly.

The couple, however, never cared about He Yan's family background. Even if they asked He Yan's family, they only wanted to understand the situation. The elders above them had all passed away. The eldest brother was the father, and the eldest sister-in-law was the mother. Xiao Jing and Bai Rongwei were not people who coveted fame and fortune. When Xiao Jing married Bai Rongwei, rumors in Shuojing City were rampant, and the relatives of the Xiao family strongly opposed it. But in the end, Bai Rongwei, the concubine, still became the grandmother of the Xiao family. Therefore, for He Yan, they thought that as long as she had a clean family background and good character, it was enough.

"What does Miss He like on a daily basis?" With something to do, Bai Rongwei felt the burden on her shoulders became heavier. The Xiao family is simple and easy to be the head of. She and Xiao Jing have never had any disputes. Now that Xiao Jue's marriage has finally been settled, she feels that she must make this matter beautiful. "How about I buy some beautiful silk fabrics tomorrow? And some jewelry, but don't buy them too expensive, otherwise it will show disrespect. How old is Mr. He? Since he is a captain, he will inevitably have to gossip. Buy some supplements..."

She was so absorbed in discussing with Xiao Jing that she didn't even notice when Xiao Jue slipped away. When she came to her senses and was about to ask Xiao Jue for his opinion, she realized that the chair in front of her was already empty.

Xiao Jue returned to his room, took off his court robes, put them on a chair, and sat down beside the couch.

There were dim lights on in the room and noisy sounds could be vaguely heard outside. It was probably Bai Rongwei instructing the servants to get the key and open the warehouse. Everyone must have been quite shocked tonight and there was no way they could sleep tonight.

But... after all, it wasn't a complete failure.

Emperor Wenxuan's marriage came at the perfect time. It not only swept out Chu Zhao's troublesome family, but also put an end to his relationship with He Yan. The emperor had been confused for all these years, but he finally did the right thing.

Before, he thought that He Yan was infatuated with Chu Zhao, and even though he had many things on his mind, he didn't want to mention them to He Yan. There are people in the world who will do anything to take someone they like, but people like him hate being forced the most.

But...it's not forced.

He lowered his eyes and took out a sachet from his pocket. The sachet was turned inside out, with the delicate embroidery on the outside turned inside out, and the rough lining turned outside out. Inside the lining, the crooked and uneven "moon" embroidered in the corners was shining brightly under the dim light.

It's a bit ugly, but...

Even added some gold thread.

The handsome young man lowered his head and couldn't help laughing.

In the small room outside, Chiwu threw a punch, but Feinu caught it steadily and turned it aside, "Calm down."

"Have you known this all along?" Chi Wu's nose was crooked with anger. "I was wondering why you always looked like you wanted to say something but hesitated every time I didn't like him. Why was it that every time I was sweating profusely because of the young master's life-long affairs, you could be calm and unconcerned? It turns out that it's not that you are careless, but that you knew this all along!"

"You and I have worked together for the young master and have been brothers for so many years. You kept it a secret from me. Doesn't your conscience hurt?"

Fei Nu dodged his punch and was speechless. "How could I deceive you? Didn't you see her wearing women's clothes in Jiyang City? How could you think Miss He was a man?"

Chiwu was stunned.

That's true. It's not like He Yan has never worn women's clothes before. When she wore a skirt in Jiyang City, Cui Yuezhi and his concubine, Jiyang Princess Mu Hongjin, the common people, the street vendors... no one doubted that He Yan was a woman. With beautiful eyebrows and eyes and a slim figure, if she wasn't really a girl, how could she not be discovered?

"I thought she was a man with feminine appearance." Chi Wu said in despair, "Besides, how could I believe that a woman would go to Liangzhou Guard? She could throw 20 stone chains at a time, and even a strong man couldn't beat her."

And you eat so much!

He never doubted He Yan's identity as a woman, not because He Yan was not good at pretending to be a woman, but because she was too good at pretending to be a man! Which young girl could sit among a group of old men and listen to their dirty talk without changing her expression?

Sometimes I can even name two.

Fei Nu patted his friend's shoulder and said, "Think positively. Haven't you always been worried that the young master would be scolded and have his sleeves cut off by the people of Shuojing City? Miss He is a woman. Now the thing you are worried about will not happen."

"That's what I said," Chiwu sat down gloomily, "but now that I think about it, I feel stupid."

"It's not that you're stupid," Fei Nu said from his heart, "it's because Miss He does many things much better than men do."

Fei Nu asked himself, if Xiao Jue hadn't asked Luanying to find out about He Yan's background and accidentally found out that He Yan was a woman, he would have probably had the same reaction as Fei Nu, thinking that this person wearing women's clothes was so outstanding.

However, it is useless to think about these things now. Now the young master has got what he wanted, and this young lady is also capable and brave. If this incident tonight gets out, I am afraid that Shuojing will stir up a big wave tomorrow.

…

In fact, Fei Nu was right. Even before tomorrow, people who had dealt with He Yan in the past could not believe their ears when they learned that He Yan was a girl and was betrothed to Xiao Jue.

In the military camp, Hongshan and his companions were lying on the big mat, touching their toes and chatting.

After returning to Beijing, all the soldiers were stationed at the foot of the mountain outside the city. They still trained every day, but it was much better than Liangzhou. At least there were fields outside the mountain, and when they were not training, the soldiers in the barracks would help the farmers and get some fresh vegetables and fruits. Shuojing was not as windy and sandy as Liangzhou, so they had grown fat in just one month after returning to Beijing.

Living in Shuojing, they can leave the camp one day a month to visit their families. Jiang Jiaocai went to the coach to arrange to go home in a few days. As he was walking towards the house, he saw a small man hurriedly running towards his room, moving as fast as the wind.

Jiang Jiao remembered the short guy. His last name was Bao. Because he always liked to pry into trivial matters and was well-informed, people called him Bao Da Ting. After a long time, no one remembered his original name and only remembered Bao Da Ting.

Judging from his posture, what big news has he gotten? Jiang Jiao followed him slowly. They had been in Shuojing these days and it was very boring. He Yan now had an official title and did not live here. He missed him.

Bao Da Ting ran into Hongshan and his friends' room. Everyone was chatting. He jumped onto the table in the middle of the room and was scolded by everyone.

"Your feet are covered in mud, why don't you get off!"

"That's where I eat. Are you planning a rebellion?"

"Just talk, why move your feet!"

There are also Wang Ba and Huang Xiong in this room who are not easy to mess with. Normally, after hearing this, Bao Da Ting would have jumped down obediently, but today is different. Not only did he not move, but he seemed to be even more excited, his face flushed and his neck thick, "Big news, big news! I just came back from the coach, big news, there is no bigger news than this!"

People passing by other houses gathered around the door. It was rare to see him talking so incoherently. They thought the news must be really big. Someone asked, "What's the matter? Is Commander Xiao going to get married?"

This was just a casual remark, because there are ten impossibilities in Liangzhou Wei, for example, Shen Han cannot be soft-hearted, Liang Ping cannot not swear, Ma Damei cannot not gamble... The biggest impossibility, and the one that everyone believes is absolutely unshakable, is that Xiao Jue cannot get married.

If this line were to break, it would be big news, but that should be impossible.

As they were thinking this, they saw Bao Da Ting nodded: "Yes, yes! That's right, Commander Xiao is going to get married!"

No one reacted at first, but when they realized what was happening, they became very excited and crowded around the table, asking questions and making inquiries.

"Who? Who? Who is Governor Xiao going to marry?"

"Are you sure it was Governor Xiao who got married and not someone else? I want to know if your information is accurate. Why do I feel it is so unreliable?"

"Does Commander Xiao look like someone who would marry? I think it's fake. Let's just break up and don't be fooled."

When Bao Da Ting heard this, he was furious. Veins popped out on his neck. He clenched his fists and stamped his feet, saying, "How could I lie... I heard it clearly. The coaches were all terrified... That was a marriage arranged by His Majesty himself!"

As soon as the word "given marriage" came out, everyone in and outside the house believed it 50%. It was impossible for Governor Xiao to take the initiative to marry a wife, but the matter of given marriage was His Majesty's golden words, how could he disobey the order? It was not impossible.

Xiao Mai asked: "Is it really a marriage offer? Then whose daughter did His Majesty offer to Governor Xiao in marriage?"

A man outside was eavesdropping through the window. Hearing this, he answered without thinking, "Of course it's Miss Shen from Shen Yushi's house!"

Shen Muxue had been in Liangzhou Guard for such a long time and had helped many wounded soldiers. Such a young lady did not despise them and even gave them medicine. The soldiers liked her very much and spoke up for her a lot.

"Yes, Miss Shen is a perfect match for the governor!"

"They are a perfect match, talented and beautiful. They must be the most suitable couple in Wei."

But the gossiper's answer disappointed them, "No, it's not Dr. Shen!"

Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.

It's not Shen Muxue? Miss Shen is such a kind-hearted fairy, but she can't even be Xiao Jue's wife. Which lady did His Majesty marry?

"If it's not Doctor Shen, then who is it?"

Bao Da Ting: "It's He Yan!"

As soon as the word "He Yan" came out, the room became quieter. Wang Ba, who was dozing off lazily, sat up. Jiang Jiao heard this sentence as soon as he entered the room, and thought there was something wrong with his ears.

"Which He Yan?" Shitou asked, the most patient one.

"It's He Yan from our Liangzhou Guard!"

Someone laughed, "Bao Gossip, are you drunk? You are falsely conveying the emperor's order. If you are not careful, you will be sued. He Yan is a man. How could the emperor marry two men? Are you crazy? Or is this just a He Yan with the same name and surname?"

At this time, Bao Gossip is not in a hurry anymore.

He knew that what he said would become a thunderclap among the new soldiers of Liangzhou Guards, no, including the soldiers of Nanfu. Who could blame him for having good ears and being the first to hear such great news?

"Who said that His Majesty can't give marriage to two men?" He looked around at everyone in the room, and after taking in everyone's expressions, he said slowly, "Besides, He Yan is a woman, so of course she can be Governor Xiao's wife."

“Bang—”

Liang Ping slipped and fell flat on his face. However, he did not grit his teeth and cry out in pain. Instead, he looked at Shen Han with a look of doubt in his eyes. "What did you say?"

"He Yan is a girl." Shen Han said with a cold face.

Even though he looks calm now, God knows how unbelievable he was when Tian Lang, the deputy soldier of the Southern Army, came to tell him the news.

He Yan is a girl?

How is this possible!

How could there be a woman in the world who could eat more, fight better, and adapt to the harsh climate and training of Liangzhou Guards better than men? Since hearing the news, the coaches have collectively fallen into a silence of doubt. No matter what, it is impossible to imagine that the person who sweated profusely in the martial arts arena, but was cheerful and cheerful, and personally went into battle to chop off the heads of two of Ridamuzi's personal soldiers, was a woman.

This is clearly a young man with outstanding talent, how could it be a girl? A girl could do this, they were easily defeated by He Yan, there was no one in Liangzhou Guards who could compare to He Yan, doesn't it mean that these grown men can't compare to a girl of sixteen or seventeen years old?

If they were just shocked and stunned by the fact that He Yan was a girl, then His Majesty's marriage to Xiao Jue and He Yan made these coaches shudder.

Before Tian Lang left, he kindly and obliquely reminded Shen Han, "The governor thinks highly of Miss He."

What a joke, isn't it just that he values ​​her? The first time this iron tree, which had never bloomed for thousands of years, bloomed was for the civil and military officials in the court, in front of the emperor and empress. As soon as the celebration banquet was over, rumors spread everywhere, and everyone was talking about how tenderly the right army commander treated his "dear one".

So the question is, Governor Xiao is so considerate to his beloved, but these devil coaches who tortured and trained his beloved, often made the little girl run with heavy loads, and stayed up for several hours at dawn, how much is Governor Xiao's dissatisfaction with them worth?

Hard to say.

Ma Damei's face turned pale. "I once took a hot spring bath with Miss He in Liangzhou during the winter..."

Everyone looked ashen, especially the coach who was the happiest at the time, who was almost crying. They now understood why He Yan refused to go into the water and said that she had a hidden illness. It turned out that she was actually a girl. Fortunately, Xiao Jue showed up at that time, otherwise, if things had continued, maybe all the coaches in their room would have hidden illnesses.

"Well...what should we do now?" someone asked tremblingly.

"What should I do?" Shen Han said, "Just do your own thing. What does it have to do with you?"

Although it seems now that he was so foolish to believe that He Yan and Xiao Jue were splitting up, Shen Han felt that he was quite farsighted. At least he could see the unusual atmosphere between the two at a glance, right? On the road to stopping these two people, Shen Han had not gone astray. Now it was just a change from a man to a woman, so what was the problem?

Anyway, he has always stood firmly on the side of Xiao Jue and He Yan. He Yan is a man of temperament, he should... not repay kindness with enmity.

…

Chu Linfeng's mansion is also very happy today.

Shi Jinbo is an official in Shuojing City, but his family has lost their glory in recent years. Among Chu Linfeng's three legitimate sons, except for the eldest son who got a small official position in Shuojing City, which was bought by Mrs. Chu, the other two legitimate sons were unable to enter the officialdom. On the contrary, the illegitimate son who was brought back from outside has become the most promising one. Not only is he the favorite student of the current prime minister, but he has also become the prime minister's son-in-law. With this relationship, why should the Chu family not prosper in the future?

Thinking of this, Chu Linfeng was very proud. When he returned home after the celebration banquet, he immediately sent people to make a big announcement and prepare things. He also said that he would renovate Chu Zhao's courtyard so that after Xu Pingting married into the Chu family, she would not think their courtyard was shabby.

Madam Chu looked at Chu Linfeng's undisguised joy coldly without saying anything. Her three biological sons, however, were somewhat upset and showed anger on their faces. After Chu Linfeng left, they complained to Madam Chu, "Dad is too biased! He is just the son of a prostitute, and he is like this because he has gained a little bit of influence. When the three of us brothers got married, Dad was not as happy as he is today."

This is true. Chu Linfeng treated his three sons badly, but he also disliked them for being too mediocre. In comparison, he preferred Chu Zhao, who could make him look good in front of his colleagues. When Chu Zhao first came to the Chu family, the three brothers bullied him a lot. Mrs. Chu also wanted to get rid of him when he was older, just like the concubines. The evil thing was that this kid had learned how to be cunning, which made Chu Linfeng very happy. She took him with her everywhere, so that Mrs. Chu could not find an opportunity to take action. Later, he even got close to Xu Xiang. Mrs. Chu did not dare to take action against Xu Xiang's people.

"His mother lives on her face, and she gave birth to a son who is also the same," said the third son of the Chu family, who was particularly harsh. "The fourth son of the Chu family is more powerful than his mother. At least he sold his body to the Xu family in the capital, and he got a good price for it."

Mrs. Chu frowned.

Although she didn't like Chu Zhao either, and wished that Chu Zhao would suddenly meet with an accident and be found dead outside the city tomorrow, she didn't want her sons to become as mean and sarcastic as she was. Sometimes she thought that it was no wonder that Chu Linfeng loved Chu Zhao. Her three sons were probably spoiled since childhood, and they were indeed much worse than Chu Zhao.

"Are we going to let that kid rise to prominence?" Young Master Chu said unwillingly, "If we do that, we won't have a say in the Chu family in the future!"

"Don't worry." Madam Chu laughed, her tone gloomy, "Do you really think that the Prime Minister's daughter is so easy to marry? Don't forget that by Chu Zilan's side, there is Ying Xiang, a beauty who brings disaster."