This incident naturally caused laughter in the court of Daxia. The officials of Daxia laughed at Yanbei for being so poor that they actually thought of doing business with Daxia. Although they also lack war horses and iron ore, they can still trade with Bian Tang and Huai Song. Unlike Yanbei, as long as Bian Tang blocks the checkpoint, they will only have Daxia as their route.
Daxia would naturally not pay any attention to Yanbei. Instead, the Censorate and the Minister of the Central Secretariat joined forces for the first time and wrote a long and sarcastic article, scolding Yan Xun for his wild imagination and ignorance of the immensity of heaven and earth.
This incident was not a big deal for the two countries, but it clearly showed the decline and embarrassment of Yanbei. Although Da Xia was not much better, the officials of Da Xia became arrogant again when they saw that their enemy looked even worse than themselves. A group of fanatical scholars in the literati circle shouted all day long that they wanted to destroy Yanbei. They looked so arrogant that it seemed that Yanbei would disappear as long as they waved their hands. Even some royal relatives and nobles who lived far away in their territories wrote to Zhuge Yue, asking him to lead his troops into Yanbei immediately and completely eradicate the beggars in Yanbei.
Zhuge Yue looked at the chaos in the government and the people with cold eyes, and could not help but sneer, mocking privately: "Yan Xun's method is not brilliant, but it is really the right medicine. Just a few words have made the whole government of Zhenhuang go crazy."
When he said this, Chu Qiao felt her heart pounding with fear. Zhuge Yue had thought deeper than most people and realized that Yan Xun was deliberately showing weakness in order to lure the Xia army out to fight. However, Chu Qiao and Yan Xun have lived together for many years and know his character very well. Even if he dies in battle, he will never show weakness to the enemy. Is it really worth it for him to make such a big sacrifice just to paralyze the enemy and try to fight?
Winter has gone and spring has come, and it is another year of spring flowers blooming. However, the chilly wind is still lingering. When you open the window, you can still see unmelted icicles.
This winter seems particularly long.
Chu Qiao subconsciously knew that some things were not far away.
Zhuge Yue had been in Yecheng on business for half a month. Three days ago, Chu Qiao received news that another battle broke out outside Yanming Pass. However, it was just that more than 30 drunk soldiers rushed out of the pass and provoked Yanbei Longyin Pass. They shot a round of arrows, killing one and injuring three in the Yanbei army, but they did not fight back.
When this news reached Zhenhuang City, it had been ten days ago. The border guards submitted a memorial requesting the court to issue a manifesto to attack Yanbei. They vowed that according to reliable information, Yanbei was now exhausted, short of food and fodder, and all kinds of military supplies had been exhausted. There was also large-scale civil unrest in the country, and it was the best time to march north. If we miss this opportunity, it will be extremely difficult to confront Yanbei in the future.
Long before this, the voices advocating war in the court and the country were already loud and noisy. This memorial added fuel to the fire, instantly arousing Daxia's desire to fight. From the government to the people, there was a wave of enthusiasm responding to the war everywhere. The people of Daxia originated from outside the Great Wall and were originally a warlike nation. Now, under the instigation of some people with ulterior motives, they were even more tumultuous. At night, the sound of sharpening knives could be heard in every household in Zhenhuang City. The civil officials of the Censorate even set up a battle platform in Ziwei Square to receive ordinary people who volunteered to join the army. A long list of names was densely written on the imperial edict, which was posted in front of the Ziwei Gate with great fanfare. There was a bloody fingerprint behind each name, which looked chilling.
The people's enthusiasm for fighting was unprecedentedly high, and the Shengjin Palace was reluctant to issue an edict. The emperor's old illness has relapsed in recent days and he has not been able to attend court for seven or eight days. With the deliberate connivance of the Presbyterian Church, various activities among the people were launched vigorously. There were even guards spontaneously organized from all over the country, carrying swords all the way to the capital.
Chu Qiao sent four letters to Zhuge Yue in a row, but before she could receive his reply, Zhuge Huai, whom she had not seen for a long time, came to visit her, leaving Chu Qiao at a loss for a moment.
Zhuge Huai came here specifically from the Zhuge family’s hometown. Although Zhuge Muqing had expelled his son from the family when Zhuge Yue was in trouble, after he returned in glory, the Zhuge clan collectively had selective amnesia and put this discordant past behind them. Zhuge Huai, the elder brother who had repeatedly opposed Zhuge Yue, was also abandoned by his family and exiled to his homeland. It had been three years since he left the imperial capital.
And the reason he came back this time was actually for Chu Qiao and Zhuge Yue's wedding.
A month ago, Chu Qiao's dowry entered the Zhenhuang city gate in a grand procession, with carriages and horses stretching all the way as far as the eye could see. A rough calculation showed that the Zhenhuang defenders had more than 400 vehicles and 50,000 escort personnel. The ceremonial officers of Bian Tang were dressed in brocade robes, looking completely like a royal guard of honor.
There was joy everywhere along the way. The road was paved with vermilion brocade, and the sky was covered with golden silk flowers, red gauze curtains, and gilded canopies. Three thousand palace maids in gorgeous costumes led the way, and twenty thousand beautiful soldiers were fully armored, and twenty thousand wolf soldiers followed for guarding. It was so magnificent that even the emperor's marriage and the empress's enthronement were not as luxurious as this.
The people of Zhenhuang City were all stunned, and even the officials of Daxia were dumbfounded. Li Ce spent two years preparing her dowry, which was extremely luxurious and gave her supreme honor and glory. Even though he was no longer with us, he still supported her in this way and prevented her from being looked down upon.
The status of the Zhuge family suddenly rose because of its marriage relationship with Bian Tang. Zhuge Muqing, who had been suffering from a long illness, also returned from his territory and exchanged cordial greetings with Bian Tang's wedding officials. Zhuge Yue even had no idea what method he used to summon all the distant relatives of the Jing family. Although Chu Qiao had never seen them, these white-haired old masters and ladies burst into tears upon seeing her, deeply expressing their longing and yearning for her after not seeing her for many years.
Some old ladies from the Jing clan moved into the Sima Mansion. Although Chu Qiao did not have a good impression of them, Zhuge Yue still seriously instructed the servants to entertain them well. For the past few days, Chu Qiao didn't have to go anywhere. She just sat upright in her room every day, listening to them teaching her about wedding rituals, the responsibilities of a wife, and what she should and shouldn't do.
As her wedding was approaching, she became increasingly uneasy, as if all eyes in the world were focused on her, and she was the only one who could not feel at ease. She always felt that beneath the luxury, there was an invisible edge hidden, which made her unable to sleep or eat.
Zhuge Yue comforted her, saying that she was so happy that she was stupid. She could only comfort herself in this way. She hoped that it was just pre-wedding nervousness and not some unlucky sixth sense.
However, after Zhuge Yue left, her uneasiness became more and more obvious. Immediately afterwards, the strange battle reports from Yanbei and the fierce war frenzy in the government and the country made her even more uneasy. However, she knew nothing and could only be cautious and wait quietly for Zhuge Yue to come back and for their grand wedding.
The red railings are carved, the colorful tiles are clear and green, and the sunlight shines through the gaps between the branches and leaves, giving it an old and simple light golden glow. The shadows of the flowers were sparse and slanted, and the spring sun lingered slightly on the branches of the willows outside the bedroom, passing through the dim window lattices and flowing in her eyes, flickering.
A piece of letter was pinched between fingers, with a faint smell of weapons and beacon fire on it. The ink was dripping and penetrated through the back of the paper. Just a few words, like a wave of lake water, flowed quietly in the bedroom in this warm March.
Chu Qiao was wearing a moon-white gauze dress, leaning on a soft couch. There was a birdcage hanging in front of the window, the door of the cage was open, and a snow-white bird was sleeping lazily inside, with three red feathers drooping on its tail, and it didn't look as majestic as usual.
Yue Qi said that this was the snowy owl that Zhuge Yue had raised. It was the most ferocious bird in Qinghai, extremely fast, with sharp claws and teeth, and was also very smart.
Chu Qiao picked up a piece of marinated meat with chopsticks. The bird snatched it away without even opening its eyes, chewed it twice, swallowed it, and continued to sleep with its head tilted.
What a lazy bird it is. It doesn't even chirp once all day.
Chu Qiao looked up at it, stroking the letter with her fingers, feeling a slight warm joy in her heart.
Although lazy, it is still very useful.
This letter was once called a letter, but now it is called a family letter.
The wedding date is approaching, and he will be back in two days.
After that, she would put on the phoenix coronet and bridal robe, sit in a sedan chair carried by eight people, and marry into his family amidst the joyous atmosphere of drums, music and flutes. From then on, she was his legitimate wife. The square gold-plated anniversary gift is still placed under her pillow. On it, there are gold-powder paintings of mandarin ducks playing in the water, birds flying side by side, and flowers blooming in harmony. Their two names are written on the left and right inside.
Chu Qiao thought that maybe she was the Qinghai Snowy Owl, having lost her fierceness and stopped killing, living peacefully in the golden house, unwilling to go out even if the cage door was wide open.
There are tens of millions of doors in this world, but the ones that can truly stop people are always invisible.
He was the Sima of Daxia, but also a vassal king with a title, and she was also going to marry with the ceremony of a princess. The dowry and betrothal gifts were piled up in a yard, and all kinds of pearls, jades and rare treasures formed mountains and seas. The palace clothing bureau made her wedding dress and court robes, and rewards from the royal family also came down. The gift lists from various wealthy families were so long that they filled an entire palace.
She also showed a rare interest and occasionally took Jingjing, Meixiang and Huaner to look through the gifts together. Occasionally, when they see some rare treasures, these women who have not seen much of the world will exclaim exaggeratedly, like a group of country bumpkins coming to the city.
She will move into Zhuge's main residence tonight, and the mistress of the Zhuge family will prepare the pre-wedding ceremonies for her. She had no parents' home, so she could only live in Zhuge Mansion before marriage. Then she moved from the courtyard where she lived in her childhood to marry into the magnificent Sima Mansion.
Morning and evening, time is like ripples in the water, spreading out in circles.
After moving into the Zhuge family, she did not meet the mistress of the eldest house, but was only accompanied by the Jing family. Chu Qiao brought the girl named Yu Xiaohe with her side. Occasionally, when she was distracted, this girl from a humble family would quietly light a handful of Suhe incense. The fragrance was very familiar, vaguely reminiscent of the one she learned how to mix in the Imperial Pharmacy when she was young many years ago.
One qian of perilla seeds, one qian of lily bulbs, one qian of cinnamon, one qian of gold powder, two qian of lotus stamens, two qian of rose powder, two qian of banana oil, two qian...
None of them are precious medicinal ingredients, but the flavors they combine are soothing and nourishing, and are best for helping those who are troubled by nightmares to have a good night's sleep.
Two days later, a servant came in to say that Zhuge Yue had returned to the city and had gone to the eldest house to pay his respects to his parents, but according to etiquette he could not come to see her. She was taking a bath when she heard the news, and the hot steam climbed up her smooth shoulders, bringing hot warmth. A maid handed her a letter from home. Her fingers were still wet and dripping with water. The water stains soaked the letter paper, leaving a smudge of ink. In the misty water vapor, there was only a line of words. The writing was clear and the handwriting was elegant.
"I'm back. I'll pick you up in five days."
Five days later, it will be their wedding day.
At night, Chu Qiao reached out and held a vine that was a little dried up by the sun during the day. There was a hint of bright white salt powder on her fingers, and water stains flowed down. Some latent emotions climbed up the layers of green vines.
A basin of salt water was emitting a pale golden light, with a piece of letter floating at the bottom. Faint handwriting was vaguely floating up, with densely packed tiny characters, slowly writing out the grooves in the belly.