It turned out that the so-called vulgarity was simply because she was not in that mood at the time.
Meixiang stood beside her, looking at her with a smile on her face, a happy look on her face. Zhuge Yue lazily walked forward, smiled at the mirror, and said, “She is truly stunningly beautiful.”
Chu Qiao pushed him away embarrassedly, her ears turning red, and said, "It's not that exaggerated, don't talk nonsense."
Zhuge Yue looked at her with a smile and said, “I’m talking about myself. Are you overthinking this?”
Chu Qiao was furious and reached out to strangle him. Zhuge Yue dodged and said to Mei Xiang, “Look at your young lady. She got angry when I didn’t praise her.”
Meixiang smiled and didn't say anything back. The sun outside was warm, and in the distance, the sound of firecrackers could be heard.
This was the most comfortable New Year Chu Qiao had ever had in all these years. She also cooked herself and taught her servants how to make dumplings. She wanted to drag Zhuge Yue along, but someone with a strong sense of male chauvinism looked down on her and walked away leisurely.
Everyone eats New Year’s Eve dinner together, sets off firecrackers and hangs lanterns. Zhuge Yue ate the dumplings stuffed with red dates, and the servants all came to congratulate him on the new year. He was in a very good mood, and gave out rewards like water all the way, and the whole house was filled with excited voices of gratitude. The door of Zhuge Mansion was tightly shut, and all the visitors were blocked outside. Only at midnight did Zhao Che send two cans of good wine. Chu Qiao and Zhuge Yue drank together. Chu Qiao felt dizzy and fell drunk into Zhuge Yue's arms.
The servants set off firecrackers outside, and the crackling sound came inside, filled with joy. In her daze, Chu Qiao seemed to see Li Ce's eyes smiling like a fox. She stretched out her hand to grab it, but caught nothing.
She was really drunk, but her mind was so clear. In a trance, she recalled these years, remembered Xiao Shi, remembered Mao'er, remembered Minrui, remembered Li Yang, remembered her colleagues in the Military Intelligence Department, remembered her gray-haired grandfather, remembered the running around and hard work of these years, remembered the dilemmas and crises that hovered between life and death, remembered Mr. Wu, remembered Miss Yu, remembered Huan Huan, remembered so many people who were dead or alive, remembered Li Ce, remembered Yan Xun...
Happiness came so quickly that she felt like it was all a dream.
She buried her head in Zhuge Yue’s arms, her nose filled with the pleasant aroma of his hibiscus. Her eyes were slightly moistened. She raised her head and looked at his handsome profile. Suddenly, her eyes brightened as she said, “Zhuge Yue, I love you.”
Zhuge Yue was stunned and lowered his head. He was surrounded by servants. Her voice was so loud that it even drowned out the crackling sound of firecrackers. Everyone turned to look at her in astonishment, but she ignored them all and just said loudly: "Zhuge Yue, I've fallen in love with you!"
The fragrant breeze blew through the hall. Someone was laughing quietly, and the laughter of Jingjing and Ping'an could be heard from afar. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were straight. In just over half a year, she seemed to have returned to the charming face of seventeen or eighteen years old. She just looked at him straight, smiling, and the only thing missing was the word "happiness" written on her face.
With a whoosh, the wind blew past her ears, and she was suddenly picked up by someone in mid-air. Then, in front of everyone's stunned eyes, Zhuge Yue put down the food on the table that he had just eaten a few bites of, and turned back to the bedroom.
The quilts on the bed were all brand new, all in a festive bright red color, embroidered with layers of brocade, including mandarin ducks playing in the water, the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, magpies building bridges, and Guanyin delivering a child. There was a warm sweetness everywhere.
His eyes were dark, revealing a hint of raging desire. He ripped open her collar, stared at her fiercely, and said in a hoarse voice, "Little devil, I will never give you alcohol to drink again." After that, he lowered his head and kissed her fiercely on the lips.
His breathing was rapid and hot, like a ball of intense flame, leaving people numb and sore wherever it went.
With a smile in her eyes, she hugged his waist and responded enthusiastically.
The curtains were low, revealing brocade everywhere. The night was noisy, and outside, there was another round of lively laughter.
There are too many unpredictable variables in life. You don’t know when the storm will come, how big the waves will be, and whether they will easily overturn everything you have in front of you. Those feelings that were once suppressed, those words that have been hidden for many years, and those emotions that have been suppressed, finally found an outlet for venting. Everything is unpredictable, and all we can do is cherish everything we have.
Covered in brocade and fluttering draperies, she lay amidst the layers of luxury, clinging to his body. Fine beads of sweat gushed out, her body and mind were filled with satisfaction and fatigue. She huddled in his arms, looking over his shoulder toward the window. Through a layer of window paper, she could vaguely see gorgeous fireworks in the faraway sky, wandering wildly across the entire horizon.
No matter what the future holds, she is no longer afraid.
After the Spring Banquet, the weakness of the Great Xia Dynasty became increasingly apparent. The Longxi area was filled with disaster victims, and walking on the post roads, one could see people selling their wives and children, and even exchanging their own children for food. Although the imperial court had issued a disaster relief order and Emperor Xia had done his utmost to draw gold and silver from the national treasury, Great Xia was still not strong enough. War was like a man-eating beast with its bloody mouth opened wide. In just a few years, it had reduced the once prosperous empire to a skeleton.
Life in Yanbei was not easy either. Long before the snowstorm in Longxi, Yanbei had already fallen into a major disaster. The homes of the common people were destroyed. The snowstorm in the Lancheng area was particularly severe. Thousands of cattle and sheep in Shangshen and other places froze to death. The people were starving and the situation in northern Yan was in danger.
However, just as all the officials of Daxia were applauding and celebrating, Yanbei secretly mobilized 100,000 troops guarding Longyin Pass, crossed the Lanhe Plateau on foot, entered the territory of Datang from the Mulang Peak at an altitude of more than 6,000 meters, bypassed Tanghu Pass, suddenly attacked the Datang checkpoint, robbed more than 200,000 dan of grain, and then returned to Yanbei at lightning speed. The entire operation took less than four days. By the time the Tang Dynasty's border battle report reached the capital of Tang, the defenders of Longyin Pass had already returned to the pass and fought two battles with the Xia army who wanted to take advantage of the disaster in Yanbei to rob.
When this happened, it was like a drop of water falling into boiling oil, causing a huge and violent wave.
Daxia and Bian Tang were both furious, but they could do nothing about Yan Xun. The writers of Daxia's Censorate wrote furiously, cursing Yan Bei for being born a bandit, born to burn, kill and plunder, and violating the teachings of the saints. The old scholars in Bian Tang were even more furious, clamoring all over the world, cursing Yan Xun's ancestors for eight generations, and writing books to lash out at him, almost fainting from excitement.
But that's all they can do. Longyin Pass is impregnable and the Yanbei Army is as fierce as tigers and wolves. In the current situation, as long as they don’t come out to provoke us, we will be lucky. Who would dare to provoke them?
Chu Qiao couldn't help but sneer when she heard the news. As the saying goes, the soft are afraid of the hard, and the hard are afraid of those who don't care about their lives. This is probably true.
Zhuge Yue, however, still looked unconvinced, and ignored the unanimous voices in the government and the public who were calling for war. Everyone knows that Daxia is now unable to take care of itself, and the battle for the throne among several princes has reached a white-hot stage. Who has the time to declare war on another country at this time? It's just talk. If he really gathered his troops and marched towards Yanming, those old guys would probably do as they said in their memorials, spilling blood three feet away and dying to show their determination.
When he heard the news, he was just a little surprised and said that he didn't expect Yan Xun to do such a thing.
In fact, it's not just him. I'm afraid no one in the entire Simon Continent would think of this.
After all, once upon a time, he used the entire Yanbei as a stake and millions of soldiers and civilians as bait to lure the Xia army into the pass, and then he led his troops eastward. Not long after, he eliminated dissidents and completely destroyed the major guild that had supported him to power, even beheading his own teacher.
Faced with such a person, no one would have thought that he would take such a big risk for the people of Yanbei.
Even Chu Qiao didn't figure out the connection here.
Fortunately, the commander of Tanghu Pass was the adopted son of King Jing'an of the Tang Dynasty. Although he surrendered in time after King Jing'an's downfall, it was still difficult for him to fully convince people because he held military power and guarded an important checkpoint of the empire. Even though Yan Xun eliminated him this time, it was not a loss for the Tang Dynasty.
As for the food and grass lost by the Tang Dynasty... Chu Qiao frowned slightly, and once again thought of the Shangshen Plateau and Huihui Snow Mountain where she had lived for many years, as well as the simple herdsmen and people there.
Yan Xun's methods became more and more powerful. He hid for thousands of miles and moved swiftly. He mobilized tens of thousands of troops in a unified manner without leaking a single word. He attacked the enemy unexpectedly and hit the target with one strike. His accurate methods, sharp vision and great courage made him a first-class general in the world. As long as he is there, Daxia will never be able to break through Longyin Pass. Even if Zhao Che takes action himself, he has no chance of winning. He may be slightly better in tactics, manpower, intelligence, weapons, logistical supplies, etc., but in terms of ruthlessness of means and tenacity of mind, there is absolutely no possibility for him to defeat Yan Xun.
What makes Yan Xun so terrifying on the battlefield is that he can perfectly utilize everything around him to assist in winning the war. And his understanding of human nature has reached the pinnacle.
In this world, perhaps the only one who could compete with him was Zhuge Yue. Yan Xun's advantage lies in his ruthlessness, while Zhuge Yue's advantage lies in his cunning. If these two people could have a battlefield without any worries, they might really create a legend in the history of war.
She shook her head slightly. Although she was tired of that kind of life, when she had free time, her mind would still involuntarily think about these things. She would piece together the news she heard over and over again, copy the general situation bit by bit, and then deduce, calculate, and arrange it. She was like a chess player who loved playing chess. Even if she no longer played chess, she would still imagine various chess games in her mind.
But this time, she didn't know which side she wanted to win the game.
In fact, even if she and Yan Xun ended up not getting along, she still didn't want to see him fail.
Therefore, after learning that Tanghu Pass was successfully attacked by him, she was actually a little secretly happy, completely disregarding her identity as the Queen Xiu Li of the Tang Dynasty.
She laughed at herself, thinking that even she could not escape this fate. The so-called grudges and hatred, under the passage of time, only left a blurred back, a pair of cold black eyes, and a powerful hand.
Is it really possible to tell who has let whom down and who owes whom?
Even if they cannot join hands, they don't necessarily have to fight to the death.
However, although they were able to temporarily survive the cold winter with the food and supplies looted from Bian Tang, life is now difficult. Under such circumstances, there were no large-scale wars at the border at the beginning of the year. Both Yanbei's eastward advance and Daxia's northern expedition were slowed down by this natural disaster.
On the first day of March, Emperor Xia granted the area of Northern Hu to Zhao Che as a fief. Although everyone knew that Zhao Che was the lord of the north, there was no explicit canonization from the court. Now that Emperor Xia let Zhao Che lead the Hu people who had not suffered a major disaster at this critical juncture, there was a heated speculation among the court and the public.
On the seventh day of the third lunar month, Grand Marshal Zhuge Yue finally ended his days of reflection at home and returned to the Elders’ Council. The seventeenth prince Zhao Qi also showed goodwill to Zhao Che. For a while, the seventh prince Zhao Che's status in the court rose rapidly and his power grew. Zhao Yang stayed in the palace all day, claiming to be sick, and did not attend court for two months.
However, a message from Yanbei to the capital on March 13th made Chu Qiao worried.
In fact, the main content was nothing special. Yan Xun just wanted to trade with Daxia on the border, exchanging horses and iron ore for Daxia's grain, tea, salt and silk.