When Xiao Jue led the Southern Army to Jingzhou, although everyone knew that the second son of Xiao was a man of both civil and military talents, he was still too young to take on such an important task. Zhao Nuo was the governor of Jingzhou, who was lustful, greedy, and uneducated. When Xiao Jue first arrived in Jingzhou, he did not take Xiao Jue seriously. He often made fun of him and was very rude. That was it. In the battle of Jingzhou, Xiao Jue led his troops to the battlefield, while Zhao Nuo was greedy and afraid of death in the rear. He made mistakes in command, delayed the opportunity to fight, and caused many innocent soldiers to die. Seeing that he was so arrogant, Xiao Jue had him tied up and taken down.
Zhao Nuo's father was the Minister of War, and he himself had stayed in Jingzhou for many years. Naturally, there were countless people who came to plead for him, including high-ranking officials and nobles. They used coercion, bribery and inducement, but they took advantage of Xiao Jue's young age and the fact that he had no relatives here.
"He is the governor of Jingzhou, and his father is the Minister of Finance. Many people in the court are on good terms with the Zhao family. If you offend him, you will have trouble taking any step forward in the future!"
Xiao Jue was unmoved, and only smiled contemptuously, saying, "But the Shangshu is so arrogant, even if he is appointed as the prime minister, I will still kill him."
Three days later, Xiao Jue led his troops to surround Zhao Nuo's mansion and pushed Zhao Nuo to the monument hall for the fallen soldiers and beheaded him.
"The Zhao family is actually somewhat related to the Xiao family and the Cheng family," Cheng Lisu recalled. "That Zhao Nuo, logically speaking, should have some relationship with us. My mother even wrote a letter to my uncle asking him to show some leniency and leave some room for him."
"But my uncle didn't listen." He smiled, looking a little helpless and a little proud.
"Governor Xiao, aren't you afraid that someone will instigate him in front of His Majesty if he acts this way?" He Yan thought for a moment, "Isn't His Majesty going to be unhappy about this?"
"As expected of my elder brother, you asked the same question as me." Cheng Lisu said happily, "I also think my uncle's action was a bit rash."
After a long time, the young man had put away his romantic and frivolous personality, and became introverted and steady, becoming the high and mighty commander of the Right Army. Cheng Lisu asked, "Uncle, aren't you afraid that His Majesty will be alienated from you because of this?"
The young man was reading a book. Hearing this, he just smiled and said calmly, "He doesn't dare."
It's not that the emperor dares not, but that his ministers are not afraid.
In fact, it was true. Even though the powerful officials in the court said all kinds of bad things about him, and the Minister of Finance wrote one letter after another to the Jinluan Palace to request punishment, in the end nothing happened. It was because Xiao Jue led the Southern Palace soldiers and defeated the Southern Barbarians step by step.
It was a time to recruit people, a dead governor and a rare general. Emperor Xuanwen was not blind and naturally knew how to choose.
However, Emperor Wenxuan did not dare to punish Xiao Jue, but that did not mean that there were no rumors in the capital. The grudge between the Minister of Revenue Zhao Tong and Xiao Jue was formed, and the people who were on good terms with Zhao Tong naturally did not want to see Xiao Jue doing well. And the people who had a good relationship with the Xiao family also distanced themselves from Xiao Jue.
Firstly, he was cold and harsh, and could order the beheading of his own relatives without mercy. Secondly, he was arrogant and did not even take His Majesty seriously. It was inevitable that he would offend others in the future, and who knows if he would implicate his relatives and friends one day.
Since the Cheng family and the Xiao family are close relatives, they don't break off contact. However, they prefer to associate with Xiao Jing than Xiao Jue.
"My mother told me not to get too close to my uncle," Cheng Lisu said, "She said he doesn't care about family affection."
He Yan thought for a moment and said, "Commander Xiao is not that kind of person, right?"
"I know." Cheng Lisu smiled, "I have always known it."
The Xiao family has two sons. The eldest son is gentle and kind, and everyone likes him. He is also friendly and enthusiastic, and everyone loves him. The second son is outstanding in appearance and talent, but perhaps because he wants to be fair, his personality is not very likable.
Moreover, after the incident of beheading Zhao Nuo in anger, Xiao Jue's reputation as "Jade-faced Governor, Young Killer General" spread, and others dared not look up to him. Of course, Zhao Tong helped to instigate this, but Xiao Jue himself also left a lot of rumors, such as that he did not shed a single tear when his parents were buried, and was busy going to the Golden Palace to explain the situation and fight for military power, and left before the seventh day, leaving the eldest son Xiao to clean up this mess alone.
Every time relatives got together during festivals, he didn't like to talk to anyone and would just quickly meet them and leave.
Cheng Lisu still remembered that it was a summer day when his aunt Bai Rongwei hosted relatives from the Cheng family at the mansion for a summer banquet. The Xiao family was now sparsely populated, so it was rare for it to be so lively.
Cheng Lisu also went with him. At that time, Xiao Jue had already been appointed General Fengyun and received rewards. He returned to Shuojing shortly after his eighteenth birthday.
The women were eating snacks and drinking tea in the main hall, while the men were discussing current affairs with Xiao Jing. Cheng Lisu looked around but didn't see Xiao Jue.
When he was a child, he was very naughty and hateful. The teenagers of his age didn't like to play with him. Cheng Lisu found his own entertainment. He ran to the backyard of the Xiao family and saw a spotted orange cat at the entrance of the ancestral hall. He chased the cat and ran all the way behind the screen inside the ancestral hall.
It was summer and the weather changed suddenly. By evening, dark clouds had already covered the city walls, thunder rumbled, and suddenly heavy rain poured down.
He was holding an orange cat in his arms and wanted to go out. Suddenly, he heard footsteps and someone came in.
Cheng Lisu secretly poked his head out from behind the screen and saw his mysterious uncle, who was often not seen from the beginning to the end, walking in.
The young man wore a round-necked robe with a blue cloud pattern and a golden crown on his head. He looked as beautiful as a piece of jade. When he was young, he liked to wear white robes, which made him look elegant and bright. But now that he has grown up, he only likes to wear dark clothes, which makes him look even colder and more unpredictable.
Xiao Jue walked into the ancestral hall, picked up three incense sticks from the side, lit them, and slowly burned incense.
Cheng Lisu’s eyes widened.
Maybe people outside had all kinds of rumors about Xiao Jue. Cheng Lisu had heard that Xiao Jue never went to burn incense for his parents and was a heartless person. But now it seemed that the rumors were not entirely true.
He moved slowly but carefully. He first carefully brushed away the dust next to the incense burner, wiped it clean with a cloth, then lit the incense and inserted it into the burner. Green smoke rose from the burner and dispersed in the air. He did not leave or speak. He just stood there with his eyes downcast, wondering what he was thinking.
It was a hot and humid summer day. The moisture from outside was steaming in, sticky and greasy. The thunder was getting louder. The young man closed his eyes, his expression calm. The heavy rain outside was washing the eaves, but the house was incredibly quiet. Cheng Lisu didn't understand what was happening, but he felt that the atmosphere was strange. He didn't dare to say anything. He held the cat and sat behind the screen with his cold uncle for more than half an hour.
After a long time, the rain stopped and Xiao Jue left the ancestral hall.
From the time he entered the ancestral hall to the time he left, he only lit three incense sticks, said nothing, did nothing, just stayed there quietly. But it was these three incense sticks that made Cheng Lisu realize that under his uncle's cold appearance, there was a completely different gentleness.
He is not the ruthless person that others say he is.
There are many people in this world who always hide their sincerity beneath a cold appearance. It’s not that they don’t have true feelings, they’re just not good at expressing them, so they just brush it off lightly.
Others always say that Cheng Lisu is still like a child, naive and ignorant, but children can actually distinguish between good and evil. He does not think that this uncle is as mean as his mother said. He likes this uncle even more than Mr. Xiao.
"My uncle is very powerful," Cheng Lisu looked into her eyes seriously and said, "If you spend more time with him, you will like him too."
He Yan laughed and couldn't help rubbing his head, "I know, I knew it a long time ago."
…
Thousands of miles away in Shuojing, the Chunlai River is also ablaze with sparks today.
The water lanterns cast a bright light on the water and below, and it was impossible to distinguish between the human world and the sky. It was drizzling today, so a small paper cover was made over the water lanterns to prevent them from being extinguished by the rain.
In the ancestral hall of the Xiao family, someone was burning incense.
Since the death of Xiao Zhongwu and his wife, the number of servants in the general's mansion has decreased a lot. There are only two young masters, and Xiao Jue has been away from home for many years. In the end, there are only Xiao Jing and his wife, so there is no need for so many servants. It is quiet on weekdays, but occasionally, it seems a bit deserted.
Xiao Jing was wearing a jade-colored robe. He was as tall and gentle as a green bamboo. Standing next to Bai Rongwei, anyone would praise them as a couple of gods. Incense was wafting in the air. Outside, the autumn rain was drizzling and the cool breeze was blowing. He took off his cloak and covered Bai Rongwei with it, saying softly, "It's cold, be careful not to catch a cold."
"I'm not cold." Bai Rong smiled at him and said worriedly, "I wonder what the weather is like in Liangzhou."
"Tonight is the Ghost Festival," Xiao Jing looked at the drizzle in the yard and said, "It would be nice if Huai Jin was at home."
"He won't come to the ancestral hall," Bai Rong shook his head slightly, "He won't go into the ancestral hall."
"He will get in." Xiao Jing answered with certainty.
Bai Rong looked at him in surprise, "But I've never seen him..."
"It's raining today and there's thunder," Xiao Jing smiled, "He will get in."
"Rubi, I don't understand." Bai Rong was puzzled.
"When Huai Jin was very young, he was taken to the mountains by his father and taught by a great scholar." Xiao Jing held her hand and said softly, "We rarely saw him throughout the year. He was arrogant and his mother didn't like him to wield swords and sticks. In fact, the relationship between Huai Jin and his mother has never been good."
Madam Xiao was the niece of the Queen Mother. It was the Queen Mother who arranged this marriage for her. Xiao Zhongwu was handsome and powerful, and Madam Xiao liked him very much. But after the marriage, the contradictions between the two gradually emerged. Madam Xiao was a delicate flower raised in the house, and she could not stand the slightest grievance. Xiao Zhongwu was a military commander after all, and was not as careful and thoughtful as the sons of noble families. Although he never took wives or concubines, it was inevitable that Madam Xiao would be dissatisfied.
The years when they had the most intense quarrels were probably because of Xiao Jue.
Mrs. Xiao did not want her two sons to learn martial arts. The swords and arrows on the battlefield were blind, and she herself did not like bloodshed and believed in Buddhism. At first, Xiao Jing missed the best time to learn martial arts due to health reasons, so she had to do so. Xiao Jue was regarded as the future successor by Xiao Zhongwu since he was a child.
Mrs. Xiao didn't want her son to follow Xiao Zhongwu's old path, but Xiao Zhongwu, who had always been obedient to Mrs. Xiao, did not listen to his wife's advice for the first time.
The son and his mother had been separated for too long, and even though they were blood relatives, they had become a little distant. Moreover, Xiao Jue was not as well-behaved and docile as Xiao Jing when he was young, and occasionally showed his rebellious side. Facing this cold and arrogant son, Mrs. Xiao did not know how to get along with him.
Mrs. Xiao tried to make peace with Xiao Jue, but Xiao Jue was indifferent. Mrs. Xiao liked to drink tea and discuss poetry, but Xiao Jue liked to practice swordplay and horse riding. Although Xiao Jue was also good at poetry, it was Xiao Jing who accompanied Mrs. Xiao in the end.
"My mother told me privately that she was actually a little afraid of Huai Jin." Xiao Jing seemed to be amused when he said this, "She later stopped talking to Huai Jin on purpose. They were always very polite to each other."
"Huai Jin is actually very pitiful." Xiao Jing's smile became sad.
"My father had a cold and hard temper. He showed no leniency towards Huai Jin. I later found out that he suffered a lot in the mountains. If he didn't say it, we all thought he was living a good life. If it were me, I probably wouldn't have lasted long and would have run away." He laughed at himself.
Bai Rong patted his hand soothingly, "Nonsense, you can do it well too."
Xiao Jing recalled the year when Xiao Jue first came down from the mountain. He asked his younger brother, "How is life on the mountain?"
The boy stretched his back and smiled casually, "Not bad."
The three words "not bad" concealed all the suffering he had endured, and what was left to the outside world was just a high-spirited Young Master Xiao.
"People say that he has a strict father and a kind mother. My father treated him harshly, but my mother was not always around him. When she finally came back, she was overly polite to him because she was afraid of him. My mother thought he liked sweets, so she often made sweets for him. Huai Jin always ate them up, and even I was fooled. Later, his close followers said that Huai Jin never ate sweets before."
"Because this is the way my mother can express her love for him, he eats it, even though he doesn't like it and even though no one has ever asked him what he likes to eat."
Bai Rong sighed slightly and said nothing.
"Although I am his elder brother, it seems that I have never helped him in any way. Others always say that he is heartless and ungrateful, and is no better than me, but they don't know that the reason why I can be the glorious and bright Young Master Xiao today is because he has shouldered a lot for me. I understand this truth, and he also understands it." He smiled bitterly, "Now, I really regret that my father didn't let me join the military. If I hadn't been a civil servant, perhaps I would be the one shouldering the burden of the Xiao family today. Huai Jin doesn't need to be misunderstood by outsiders."
"We all know Huai Jin's painstaking efforts." Bai Rongwei said softly, "Father and mother will also know."
Xiao Jing looked at the tablet in the ancestral hall and said, "When Huai Jin was young, he was not very close to his mother. He would go out every other day. In fact, he cared about his mother."
"My mother is timid by nature, easily frightened, and most afraid of thunder. Whenever there is thunder, if Huai Jin is at home, she will find an excuse to sit in my mother's room. Every time my mother sees Huai Jin, she thinks about how to get along with Huai Jin and forgets about the thunder. Huai Jin will leave only when the rain stops."
"I didn't understand it at first. One time, it was thundering and raining. He and I were both outside, but he suddenly said he had something important to do and had to go home. When we got home, he said he wanted to eat sweet-scented osmanthus candy. My mother was busy cooking for him. I suddenly understood that Huai Jin was just afraid that my mother would be frightened by the thunder, so he deliberately found an excuse to come back."
Bai Rongwei also laughed when he heard this, and shook his head and said, "Huai Jin is really..."
"It's a pity that my mother didn't know how Huai Jin felt about her until she died." Xiao Jing said sadly, "If she had known, perhaps today would not have ended like this."
Bai Rongwei held his hand tightly: "My mother's spirit in heaven will understand."
"He accompanied my mother when she was alive, and he also accompanied her after her death. As long as he was at home, he would come to the ancestral hall to accompany my mother whenever it was thundering or raining." Xiao Jing smiled slightly, "This is a secret. I didn't tell anyone. I miss him, but I don't want others to know."
Xiao Jue was too proud. He did these things like the gentle spring rain, wetting everything silently, and he didn't demand any results. But in the end, when he thought about it seriously, he felt that he was the one who was owed the most.
"That's why you said that if he were in Shuojing today, he would also come to the ancestral hall to accompany his mother." Bai Rongwei suddenly realized.
"That's just the kind of person he is." Xiao Jing said with a smile.
The smoke from the incense burner floated up to the sky and slowly dispersed, leaving no trace. The past has become the past, and the unexpressed care and companionship will never be explained again.
"Rubi, you have to know," Bai Rongwei took Xiao Jing's hand and said softly, "Huai Jin did all these things to protect the Xiao family. Now Huai Jin is far away in Liangzhou, and Xu Xiang and his party still regard the Xiao family as a thorn in their eyes. You must cheer up and not let Huai Jin's efforts go to waste."
Xiao Jing was slightly startled, then he smiled and said, "Of course I know."
"I know you feel sorry for Huai Jin," Bai Rong said in a softer voice, "but I feel sorry for you too. Huai Jin has to bear a lot, and so have you. Prime Minister Xu is suppressing the Xiao family openly and secretly, looking for your faults. You are so cautious in every step of the court, how can you relax?"
"Don't worry," Xiao Jing said with a smile, "the hardest time is over."
Bai Rong was stunned for a moment, then he started laughing, "You're right."
The rain kept falling, soaking the ground in the courtyard of Shuojing. Thousands of miles away in Liangzhou, there was also someone leaning against the window in a trance. His black hair hung on his shoulders, smooth and cool like satin, and his expression was indifferent. In the distance, the sound of a flute came from somewhere, and he didn't know who was playing the tune of his hometown. As he listened, he smiled softly.
This smile contained some self-mockery and loneliness. After a moment, he closed the window, blocking out the night outside.
The lights in the room flickered slowly, reflecting his star-like pupils. On the table stood a long wooden tray with some rice grains scattered inside. Small flags made of red kerchiefs were inserted in different places on the rice grains.
Shen Han, Liang Ping and other coaches were in the room, gathered around the table, watching Xiao Jue's movements.
"Governor, are these the places to plant the flags? Aren't there too many?"
"Not much." The young man, with a jade-like figure, held a chess piece in his hand and pointed at the red flag on top. "In seven days, we will compete for the flag on Baiyue Mountain."
——Digression——
My uncle is so miserable.