On the other hand, the Zhuge family is difficult to see clearly, and many people are willing to compare the Zhuge lineage with the Mu family of Lingnan and the Helian family of Huaiyin. Chu Qiao knew, however, that the Zhuge family would never be so simple. Hidden beneath Zhuge Muqing's ordinary and gentle face, was an unfathomable mind and unpredictable plot. A wealthy family that has been prosperous for three hundred years is definitely not as docile as it appears on the surface. This can be seen from the brothers Zhuge Yue and Zhuge Huai.
However, most of the generals in the army, such as Meng Tian and General Le Xing, chose to rely on the aristocratic families and get close to the imperial power, and were unable to form their own system.
Secondly, there are the princes scattered across the country.
Twenty years ago, the princes in the Jiangnan region rose up in rebellion and attacked the imperial clans, but were suppressed by the clans themselves. King Ling of Lingxi, King Jingjun, and King Yan Shicheng were all survivors of that battle. The powerful kings at that time had long since vanished, and the royal family members were slaughtered, with only two or three out of ten left.
When the royal family was massacred, Prince of Yan, Yan Shicheng, tried his best to plead for mercy on behalf of the vassal kings. However, because of this incident, he, a vassal king who had nothing to do with it, was stripped of his fiefdom and expelled, his name removed from the Zhao ancestral temple, his surname changed to Yan, and he was exiled to the bitter and cold place in the north of Yan, and was not allowed to return to the capital.
To this day, how many people still remember that King Yanbei of Yan is also from the royal family of Daxia and grew up drinking the same mother's milk as Zhao Zhengde?
Chu Qiao smiled indifferently. It was really hard for Zhao Zhengde to be the emperor. Since the founding of Daxia, the imperial power had always been lost. Compared with the emperors of China who had held both military and political power in their hands for thousands of years, it was really too frustrating.
At this moment, the sound of a door opening was heard in the front yard. The girl glanced towards the window, her ears pricked up, and she was lost in thought.
"Girl, are you asleep?"
Lvliu's voice sounded outside the door. Chu Qiao answered and the little maid walked in cautiously.
"Miss, it's cold at night. I'll change the brazier for you."
Chu Qiao nodded and asked in a deep voice, "But the prince is back?"
"Yes," the maid replied crisply, "I heard from Little Li who opened the door that the prince went to Jinxiao Tower to entertain several generals of the Cavalry Battalion for dinner, and gave them all the dancers that Lord Ji sent yesterday."
Chu Qiao was stunned when she heard this, and stopped talking just by looking at the red brazier.
"Young lady?" the little maid frowned and called out, "Young lady?"
"Hmm?" Chu Qiao raised her head. "What's the matter?"
"If everything is alright, I'll go down first?"
Chu Qiao nodded, "Go down."
"Then go to bed early, young lady." The little maid closed the door. The sound of the wind outside suddenly became louder, whistling through the window lattice. The sound in the front yard gradually became smaller and returned to silence.
In five days, she will take up her post in the Cavalry Battalion. Yan Xun's intention in hosting a banquet for the general of the Cavalry Battalion tonight is obvious.
They always told each other that they must be honest with each other, never hide anything, trust each other throughout their lives, and never harbor any grudges against each other. But as they grow older, there are still some things that they cannot express to each other honestly. For example, the grudge between her and Zhuge Yue, her disgust and disapproval of the nobles' manners, and his other appearance outside, the playboy face that was unrestrained and misleading to others.
However, some things will never change. The tacit understanding that runs deep into their hearts and the friendship that they share hand in hand make them always silently make the best arrangements for each other. Even though they don't say it, facing the strange world outside, they will always be close comrades-in-arms and family members who stick together through thick and thin.
It was just like that snowy night many years ago when she was beaten while looking for medicine, her body covered with scars. She staggered in the snow, holding his life-saving herbs in her arms, trying to rush back with her last bit of strength. However, in the cold and gloomy bamboo garden, she saw him, who was seriously ill and dying, but was anxiously holding on, whispering her name, looking for him.
That day, the thin boy was sick all over, but he resolutely carried the scarred girl on his back. With blue lips and pale face, he walked alone in the dark night. Even though he was staggering, his expression was extremely determined.
That day, he knelt in front of her bed, held her hand, and whispered word by word in front of the girl's eyes that she was about to faint, that he would never let her be bullied again in this life.
At that time, they didn't even dare to speak loudly at night. But it was this unimpressive promise that deeply shook her mind and made her tie this lucky life to the edge of his grand ambitions.
On the second day, when Wei Jing once again brought people to force the enemy, the powerless young man Yan Xun had a part of his little finger chopped off. If Zhao Song had not arrived in time, his entire hand might have been cut off by the Wei clan's knife.
That night was the first and only time Chu Qiao cried after entering Shengjin Palace.
When she was short of food and clothing, she did not shed tears; when she was bullied, she did not shed tears; when she was whipped and covered with bruises, she just opened her eyes wide, remembered the appearance of her enemy firmly, and did not show a trace of cowardice. But on that day, when Yan Xun had a piece of his little finger cut off and he stubbornly refused to show her the wound at night, she could no longer bear it and burst into tears.
She could endure hunger, pain, humiliation, and suffering, because she knew that she would grow up, escape from the predicament, and take revenge with her own hands. She had patience and time.
But she couldn't bear to see people around her get hurt. Yan Xun's finger was broken, who would heal him?
That night, she cried for a long time. Yan Xun was at a loss. In the end, he could only hold her awkwardly, pat her sobbing back, and raise his right hand and say, "Look, it's only a small section that is broken. It won't affect your holding the sword, practicing with the sword, eating, or writing. It's okay."
This was the first time Chu Qiao cried so hard since she came to this era, and she shed more tears than the time in Zhuge's woodshed. It was a long time before she realized that it was because she had always been alone, and even with those children, she still had no sense of belonging. But on the day when Yan Xun lost his finger, she suddenly discovered that she also had relatives.
Then she could indulge herself in a brief moment of emotional weakness.
They were both alone, and there was no one else in the world except each other.
The firelight shone on the woman's face, the night became more hazy, the sound outside the window became longer and longer, and the dew was heavy as the night deepened. Chu Qiao raised her head, looked at the swaying shadows of the trees outside, and slowly curled up on the couch. She had not eaten dinner that night, and was now quietly waiting for someone to knock on the door.
"Ah Chu," Sure enough, after a while, a mellow and gentle voice sounded outside, "Are you asleep?"
The girl's lips twitched slightly, and she smiled softly, which was rare. There was no more sound outside. After a while, she jumped off the couch and ran to the door barefoot.
The door creaked open, and there was no one outside. There was only a carved nanmu food box quietly placed on the ground with a note on it. I picked it up, and it was written in an elegant and graceful handwriting, which was very familiar.
"I know you sleep late. If you are hungry, eat something. This is the duck from Xiguifang. It is fat-free, so you don't have to worry about getting fat."
Chu Qiao raised her head, and saw a green bamboo umbrella propped up above her head amidst the drifting white snow. Under the white fox fur cloak, a man in a green shirt was standing alone, with a handsome figure, and he gradually disappeared into the dark corridors. The white snow fluttered down, and for a moment she almost saw the young man who had stood by the Chishui Lake many years ago and shouted that if he helped her again he would not be named Yan, instead of the man who hid in the darkness all day long, wearing a black robe and with a gloomy look in his eyes.
Perhaps, only in front of her would he occasionally reveal his former self.
It's not that he hasn't changed, but because of her existence, there is a soft area in his heart where no one else is allowed to set foot. It is surrounded by high walls and the gates are closed, but it is open only for her.
Chu Qiao stood there in a daze, holding the food box, as the wind and snow fell all over the ground.
Two days later, it was the eighth princess Zhao Chun'er's coming-of-age ceremony. The Eighth Princess and Zhao Che were born to the same mother. She was the most respected princess in the royal family at that time, so her coming-of-age ceremony naturally had to be held in a grand manner.
Because of the dispute during the hunting trip that day, Yan Xun's patience with this unruly woman gradually ran out, so he just sent Ah Jing to deliver a gift and ended the matter hastily.
When Chu Qiao was looking through the gift list, Yan Xun was drinking tea in the hall. She saw a few auspicious words written respectfully on it, and below it was a row of gifts: two pairs of Hetian Ruyi, four gold and jade lions, and eight pieces of Huaisong jade brocade.
It is neither expensive nor shabby, and is very polite.
Chu Qiao shook her head, wondering how Zhao Chun'er would feel when she received the gift. Over the years, the fact that Princess Chun loved Prince Yanbei had already spread among the upper class circles in the capital. Empress Muhena Yun had intervened in the matter, but Zhao Chun'er was willful by nature and would not listen to anyone except Yan Xun. In addition, Emperor Xia's policy of "no man's land" made the little princess even more unscrupulous.
"Guizhi Jiayuan, Yueding Zhushan, Ah Chu, if we have a chance we really have to go to Bian Tang to take a look and taste the Zhushan wine."
Chu Qiao raised her head. The sun was shining brightly today, and it was rare that it wasn't snowing. Yan Xun called her to the greenhouse early in the morning. The two of them sat opposite each other for the entire morning without saying a word. She read a book while he drank tea, and they seemed quite content. Suddenly hearing him say this, Chu Qiao nodded and smiled, "Okay, let's go together if there's a chance."
Seeing her happy, Yan Xun also smiled, "When Ah Chu grows up, she will definitely be a great beauty."
Chu Qiao sneered, "What did you eat today that made you so sweet? Or are you used to being so slick outside that you can't get rid of your dissolute and unruly appearance when you come back?"
Yan Xun shook his head calmly, "You still don't understand. No matter how gorgeous the flowers and willows are outside, they are just forced to act according to circumstances. My Ah Chu is the most beautiful woman in the world, no one can compare to her."
He said this very naturally, as if he was saying that today's meal was delicious. Chu Qiao was slightly stunned when she heard this, her cheeks slightly reddened, and she even revealed a rare hint of girlish charm.
Despite their intimacy, they have never revealed their true feelings to each other. Over the years, they have been like comrades-in-arms or family members, but there is no mention of love between men and women. Hearing Yan Xun say this, the girl, who had experienced two lives, couldn't help but feel a little flustered.
"Ah Chu," Yan Xun suddenly became serious and looked at her seriously, "You and I have known each other for eight years. During this time, we have shared joys and sorrows. Now, everything will be over. Once things here are settled, when we return to Yanbei, we will..."
Before he could finish his words, Ah Jing's slightly panicked voice suddenly rang out from outside the door, "Prince, the Emperor has summoned you."
All lingering emotions suddenly vanished. Chu Qiao stood up suddenly, and the scroll in her hand fell to the ground with a swish.