Chapter 499: The Maid Wants to Retire (End)
However, Shi Li was no pushover. He quarreled with several imperial censors alone and was not at all inferior. He debated with the scholars and made those old antiques so angry that smoke came out of their heads and their faces turned blue. They almost had a stroke. In the end, the emperor tried to smooth things over and said that Shi Li's behavior was just a romantic interest between husband and wife and there was no need to make a fuss about it. It was not against the law after all, he was not rampaging in the downtown area.
Shi Li won the verbal battle with the old men and left the palace feeling refreshed.
The news that Shi Li was reported by the Censor also spread. Naturally, those men despised Shi Li for being so infatuated with a woman that he actually did such a stupid thing as riding a horse in public. They also felt that it was shameful for a grown man like him to be controlled by a woman. Even though the woman was pretty, she was still just a woman, wasn't she?
And those women, especially the wives and young ladies of officials who had witnessed the couple playing around and riding the same horse intimately that day, without caring about the eyes of others, were jealous and sour in their hearts. They were jealous of the good relationship between Wen Shichu and Shi Li, and they were sour because they themselves were not so lucky. Their relationships with their husbands were either respectful or hostile.
Among them, there are many unmarried girls, and each of them dreams of marrying a husband who loves his wife as much as General Shi does.
Wen Shichu had no idea that her affair with Shi Li had stirred up waves in so many people's hearts. After she and Shi Li had had enough fun in the capital, they went to her hot spring villa to soak in the hot springs. In fact, she and Shi Li became acquainted because of the hot spring villa. She didn't expect that Shi Li would fall in love with her the first time they met, and even did a ridiculous thing of breaking into her boudoir at night.
Therefore, the two of them had a special affection for this hot spring villa. They played there for more than half a month until the emperor sent people to urge Shi Li to stop the barbarian invasion on the border. Only then did the two return.
As expected, the barbarians from the grassland came to the border town of the imperial court again this autumn to seek profit. They robbed food and fodder from many towns and massacred the people in several villages and towns. They came with great force. Obviously, this time they were not satisfied with just robbing food and fodder from a few villages and towns, but wanted to rob food and fodder all the way to the city, and even wanted to occupy a few cities.
The emperor could no longer sit still in the face of such an approach, so he ordered the garrisons stationed at the border to fight the enemy, vowing to drive the barbaric enemies out.
But the enemy came prepared, and General Li, the border guard, was too careless. Not only did he fail to drive the enemy out, but he also lost two cities and tens of thousands of soldiers. The matter became a big deal.
General Li is now over sixty years old and his health is not very good. However, none of his descendants can inherit his legacy, so he is the only old general holding on. This time he can't hold on any longer and has to ask the emperor for help.
The emperor actually did not want to send Shi Li, but now the court's military generals are old and young, and there is a lack of successors. Among the young and strong middle generation, only Shi Li is capable of handling things. He has not had time to train other young generals. Therefore, even if the emperor does not want Shi Li to make achievements, he has to hold his nose and let him take the field.
Because the war situation at the front was changing every day, and the battle reports received by the court were all about defeat, General Li suffered repeated defeats, and time waited for no one, so Shi Li had to lead his troops away not long after returning to the capital.
Wen Shichu prepared a lot of medicine for his wounds and also gave him a set of soft armor that was impervious to swords and wood, to ensure that he would not die on the battlefield and become a widow.
Shi Li looked at Wen Shichu, who was like a busy bee, busy preparing his luggage. His heart was so soft that he felt touched and reluctant to let her go.
He hugged her and kissed her: "Wait for me to come back at home."
"You have to come back with your life, otherwise I will not remain faithful to you. I will take your property and find other men to make you mad." Wen Shichu said provocatively.
Shi Li immediately pinched her mouth, kissed her fiercely, and said through gritted teeth: "Give up, you won't have this chance, I will definitely come back."
"That's better." Wen Shichu snorted.
Two days later, Shi Li led his troops away. Wen Shichu had already prepared everything for him, so he was not too worried. After all, this man was a brave warrior who could survive safely in the miasma-ridden southern Xinjiang and even recapture the city, so Wen Shichu had great confidence in him.
As soon as the man left, Wen Shichu became much more low-key. Although other officials' wives still invited her to banquets or visits, she only interacted with Madam Wang.
Madam Wang is the very interesting second wife of Censor Wang. It is said that among the several old men who scolded Shi Li for being shameless and taking his wife to ride in public, Censor Wang was one of them.
Censor Wang is over 40 years old, and he and Madam Wang are an old man and young wife. To outsiders, they are very loving, but in the eyes of Wen Shichu, who knows the inside story, Censor Wang seems to be quite hypocritical.
Mrs. Wang inexplicably became friends with Wen Shichu. Both of them had rebellious genes in their hearts. After Wen Shichu's guidance, Mrs. Wang thrived in the Wang family, causing Censor Wang to suffer a lot.
Wen Shichu often gave advice to Mrs. Wang, and seemed to enjoy watching the fun. She was indeed bored. After all, Shi Li was not at home, and she could not have enough fun when she went out to play.
Three months later, Shi Li had not returned from the border, but he won many battles as expected, so the gate of the general's mansion became busy again, and more invitations were sent to Wen Shichu, floating in like snowflakes, but Wen Shichu didn't care at all and made it impossible for those people to start.
Later, she got bored of staying in the capital, and actually ran to the border with a few guards. She planned to go through thick and thin with Shi Li.
After going to the frontier, she trained military doctors and participated in the rescue of disabled soldiers, and gradually she was regarded by the soldiers as the most respected general's wife.
The war lasted for half a year. After Shi Li won a great victory, he returned to the capital. After that, he was rewarded again. Shi Li handed over the military command directly and did not ask for any other rewards from the emperor. He only wanted one reward, which was to allow him the freedom to leave the capital.
Originally, a military general like him could not leave the capital at will, but he gave up his military power so easily, without any reluctance at all. He even looked like he wanted to throw this hot potato away immediately, so even if the emperor wanted to suspect him of rebellion, he could not. Moreover, he really did not cling to power, and he gave it up completely. Therefore, the emperor agreed to his request because he was so tactful.
Without any restraints, Shi Li started traveling around the world with Wen Shichu. Their whereabouts were unknown, but they left behind many interesting stories along the way.
They returned to Beijing when they were old. Because they had no children, the Shi family wanted to adopt a child to them, but they refused. A hundred years later, they returned everything to the court and asked the court to use the money to provide disaster relief to the people, which ultimately dashed the Shi family's hopes.
(End of this chapter)
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