Chapter 323 Triumph
Wengzhou City was broken, Xuanyuan Lang was beheaded, and nearly half of the 30,000 enemy troops of Yuexi were killed, and the remaining half were taken prisoner. The royal family of Yuexi immediately asked for peace and was willing to redeem the prisoners of war under any conditions.
The Duke of Zhenguo wants the antidote to the incense, but the Yuexi royal family is helpless.
This forget-me-not grows in Yuexi, and the Yuexi royal family was once deeply harmed by it. After the new king ascended the throne, he ordered people to list the forget-me-not as a highly poisonous substance, and anyone who saw it must eradicate it as soon as possible.
There is really no solution to the intoxicating fragrance.
When the news came back, His Majesty was furious and finally cancelled the trade with Yuexi. He used all the remaining incense of Xuanyuan Lang on the Yuexi prisoners of war, and then released them all back to Yuexi.
The matter ended here. In early October, the Duke of Zhenguo led his troops back to the capital in triumph.
When the people in the city heard the news, they spontaneously came out of their homes and lined the streets to welcome them.
Chunxi and Princess Hengyang had both finished their confinement and invited Xiao Qinghe to go out and watch the fun together.
Chunxi had booked a private room on the second floor of the teahouse facing the street in advance, which had an excellent view.
Listening to the people's discussions and praises below, Princess Hengyang said happily, "Although there's no cure for this incense, the methods we've developed to combat addiction are very effective. Combined with the Imperial Hospital's prescriptions, they can greatly alleviate the suffering of those addicted to it. When the Duke of Zhenguo holds his celebration banquet, the Queen Mother and the Empress will also commend us."
Chunxi and Xiao Qinghe thanked him together. At this time, the crowd became noisy and the three of them looked out the window with their minds focused.
At the end of the long, crowded street, the Duke of Zhenguo appeared before everyone with his well-organized soldiers.
The Duke of Zhenguo was nearly fifty years old and his hair was already gray, but he was still majestic in his armor. As soon as he appeared, everyone cheered in unison.
Following closely behind the Duke of Zhenguo were several of his deputy generals, all of whom were of burly build, like the arhats enshrined in Buddhist temples.
Following several lieutenant generals was a young general wearing silver armor.
The man's figure was not as burly as the previous deputy generals, but he had broad shoulders and a distinguished appearance, and looked very young.
When a girl in the crowd saw him, she couldn't help but feel longing and bravely threw a sachet at him.
One person did this, and the others followed suit. However, the young general remained indifferent. Not only did he refuse to accept the sachets, he also drew his sword and made a sword flower to ruthlessly block the sachets.
The people around him couldn't help but tease: "Captain Xiao, this is the kindness of the girl. You are being too unkind to her. You can't just like us old men and not like the sweet and soft girls, right?"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone laughed out loud.
In the private room, Princess Hengyang also said, "This young general is quite interesting. He didn't even accept a single sachet. Could he have a crush on someone? Besides, I feel like I've seen him somewhere before."
Chunxi and Xiao Qinghe had both recognized Xiao Yechen.
After the incident at the Taifu Mansion, Wuyou Pavilion suddenly closed its doors and refused to receive visitors. Xiao Yechen and Lan Shu also disappeared. Chunxi thought something had happened to them, but she didn't expect that Xiao Yechen had actually joined the army. Looking at him, he must have made some meritorious service.
Just as he was thinking about it, the Duke of Zhenguo brought everyone to the bottom of the teahouse. Xiao Yechen raised his head and looked straight towards the private room on the second floor.
The sun was shining brightly today, and at such a close distance, when Xiao Yechen looked up, the scar on his face was exposed.
Scar looked a little ferocious, but his eyes were extremely gentle.
Xiao Qinghe clenched the silk handkerchief tightly, her heart seemed to be tightened by something, but after a moment, she still curled her lips and revealed a smile.
Today, like the people downstairs, she came to welcome these soldiers back home in triumph.
They hadn't seen each other for a long time, and Xiao Yechen couldn't help but look up at Xiao Qinghe.
In full view of the public, at such a long distance, the eldest lady was accompanied by Princess Hengyang and Madam Shen, so his glance was not considered an offense.
But he didn't expect the eldest lady to smile at him.
Xiao Yechen was obviously stunned. After a moment, the corners of his lips couldn't help but rise up and he smiled.
Having just come down from the battlefield, he exuded a murderous aura, and was even more frightening when he wasn't smiling. But when he smiled, all the ice and snow melted away, and he looked inexplicably a little silly.
Princess Hengyang was amazed: "He'er, he seems to be smiling at you. Could he be attracted to you?"
"Princess, he's not just smiling at He'er, he's smiling at us too," Chunxi stepped in first to smooth things over. "Besides, he's the adopted son of the Xiao family. I've seen him at the Xiao family before."
Princess Hengyang still felt that there was something wrong with Xiao Yechen's smile, but she felt relieved when she heard that he was the adopted son of the Xiao family.
Even if this person is not of the Xiao family bloodline, he is not much different from the others as he was raised by the Xiao family.
But this family background is far inferior to He'er's.
What's more, the Xiao family had already learned a painful lesson from Qingyuan Hou, and He'er was heartbroken by Wei Lingze. Even if she married again, she would probably not consider marrying such a warrior.
The team passed by quickly, and the Duke of Zhenguo was still going to bring a group of soldiers into the palace to meet the emperor. However, the crowd was so excited that they refused to disperse for a long time. Everyone was enthusiastically discussing the news they had heard about the war.
But most of them are just hearsay and nonsense.
Princess Hengyang felt bored after listening for a while. She was about to invite Chunxi and Xiao Qinghe back to the princess's residence when a sudden cry of surprise came from the crowd: "Is Master Wei really dead? He sacrificed his life for his country. His body should be brought back for a grand funeral. Why didn't I see a coffin just now?"
"You're stupid! Wengzhou is so far from Hanjing, and the Duke of Zhenguo still has to negotiate with the Yuexi royal family. How could the body be preserved for so long? The Wei family is now hanging white banners everywhere, so it must be true."
"Even if the body couldn't wait until the army returned, the advance return should have been announced to the world. How could it be sent back secretly? Could it be that Master Wei had committed some crime?"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone immediately began to use their imagination to speculate.
Princess Hengyang glanced at Xiao Qinghe and spoke in a serious tone, "Wei Lingze can indeed be considered to have sacrificed his life for his country, but his aunt and uncle, out of selfish selfishness, harmed so many people and nearly caused the destruction of Zhaoling. It's impossible for the emperor to posthumously confer a title on him. Even the children of the Wei family will probably find it difficult to be promoted in the future."
All nine clans of the Taifu family were beheaded, but the Wei family was not implicated. It was considered a pardon from His Majesty that they were not reused for a short period of time.
Princess Hengyang finished speaking and looked at Xiao Qinghe with some concern: "I heard that you and your family went to pay your respects, but were kicked out by the Wei family. They also said a lot of unpleasant things. Are you okay?"
Xiao Qinghe shook his head, his face calm. "Although I have severed all ties with him, the Xiao and Wei families are old friends after all. After all, something like this happened, it's only natural for the Xiao family to offer condolences. Whether the Wei family accepts or not is up to them."
Xiao Qinghe saw everything clearly, but after the news of Wei Lingze's death spread, all kinds of rumors still spread, and even Chunxi was inevitably involved.
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