As Xiao Lanyi and Ruyi have been married for some time, and Huo Xiaolong has grown up, the general, who has been at the center of politics since childhood, has gradually noticed something amiss.
He originally thought that the child was just kind-hearted. Building roads and high walls, drawing maps to benefit agriculture, and sending people to run schools were all things that a little girl did to help those who couldn't bear to see the suffering of the world.
But later, General Xiao gradually sensed something was wrong; she was trying to win over the people.
Not only in Pingyang County, but throughout the entire Beining border town, everyone now knows about the Huo family's daughter and the Fengyue Tower.
The term "Fengyuelou" is no longer associated with women as a place of prostitution and seduction, nor with men as a place of pleasure and amusement. Instead, it refers to a place that can nurture a child with a heart for their country and its people.
Such noble principles should not be found in such a filthy place.
It's just for making money. If that's the case, Xiao Lanyi would accept it. As for public opinion, this child has the ability to earn respect from others. But something is getting increasingly wrong. General Xiao noticed this two years ago.
Huo Xiaolong is amassing a private army.
This group of private soldiers is different from others. Although they are all hidden deep in the mountains, Huo Xiaolong's group even takes some of them home to sleep at night. Some are businessmen from the county, some are farmers in the village, and some are the beggar children she adopted a few years ago.
Anyway, they go to train during the day and go home to sleep at night.
Wang Zheng pretended not to see it, and Xiao Lanyi also pretended not to see it.
So what if I saw it?
It's a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of one's family, so how could it not result in death?
General Xiao doesn't have the ability to defeat Huo Xiaolong and make her obey, nor does he have the ability to say anything to his wife who just finished her postpartum period, like, "Oh dear, is my sister-in-law trying to rebel? Wife, let's talk it over and not let her rebel."
The moment those words were uttered, Ruyi slapped him hard and sent him a letter of divorce.
So, when the General led his men back to Pingyang County, it was quite awkward. They were at the foot of the deep mountains, on the only road home, and Huo Xiaolong's brother was following behind the General.
"Going out to play again...?" Xiao Lanyi really didn't know what to say, so he just blurted out.
What kind of good family's daughter, fifteen or sixteen years old, runs off to the deep mountains every day? She keeps saying, "The three of us are going to play!"
No normal person would believe that.
"Um...um, I'm going with...um...Xiangxiang and Dani'er to...go gather some medicinal herbs, yes! Gather herbs!"
"Okay... then go home early, don't let your family worry about you."
The voice sounded extremely strained, but there was no other way.
"Okay, brother-in-law!"
Tsk, calling her "brother-in-law" made Xiao Lanyi feel incredibly good. She's his sister-in-law, right? If I don't help her, who will? If I don't care for her, who will?
Brother-in-law, do you understand?!
Brother-in-law!
Hehehe~
"Does your brother-in-law not know that you're training troops in the mountains?" Wang Dani raised her head towards the training ground deep in the mountains.
"I probably... don't know," Huo Xiaolong said hesitantly.
"What can we do if we know?" Hou Xiangxiang said, looking at her two girlfriends.
“Let him know that even if we say it to his face, General Xiao will choose to be selectively deaf. If he dares to scold Long’er once, Sister Ruyi will scold him ten times. If he dares to bring troops to destroy Long’er’s lair, Sister Ruyi will dare to divorce him while holding the child.”
"Besides, even if he hadn't married Sister Ruyi, he wouldn't have cared."
Huo Xiaolong nodded, thought of Xiao Lanhua far away in the capital, and the incident of the Emperor bullying his sister's childhood sweetheart back then, and nodded.
"It's already a miracle that he himself didn't rebel."
"Your emperor is just as much of a failure as my own father."
Over the years, both Xiaohai'er and Huo Xiaolong have come to know about Da Ni'er's background, and they have also thoroughly investigated the situation on the grassland.
In late autumn, the mountains are bathed in a soft golden light. The morning mist has not yet completely dissipated, lingering around the mountainside like a misty ribbon, capable of concealing the deepest secrets.
As you walk up the winding mountain road, the surrounding trees are no longer just green. The larch trees stand tall, their needles having turned from emerald green to golden yellow, like golden arrows pointing towards the sky.
"Miss Huo."
The girl who had been joking around with her friends was gone. Looking at Huo Panlijian, who was just as stern and unsmiling as she was, Long'er finally couldn't hold back any longer.
Why are you wearing a long face too?
"The master said that one should not let others understand one's inner emotions, otherwise one will fall into a passive position."
Li Jian, dressed in black, stood before the uniformly dressed army. She didn't understand military training, but she knew how to make people obey. The young lady would come to check on her every few days.
If someone harbors rebellious and disloyal intentions, the current shrewd strategist has many ways in mind to torment them.
The girl in red stood before the sword and spoke to her expressionlessly.
"Aren't you tired of pretending like this?"
The voice behind him was cold and suppressed. Huo Xiaolong didn't turn around, but he could already picture her icy face in his mind.
"It's not tiring, you'll get used to it."
Among the soldiers following An Dou and Shi Liu, wielding swords and shooting arrows, were Li Xiaocao from the village and the beggar boy whom Huo Panli had rescued years ago.
Huo Xiaolong smiled and nodded to the simple-looking girl standing in front, wielding her sword, signaling her to step forward and speak.
"Miss Huo."
Li Xiaocao achieved her dream, but she wasn't stupid; how could she not know that this was a capital offense?
But my parents and the village elders said...
Miss Huo was the one who repaired the road for us.
Miss Huo also drew the diagrams for us.
The emperor is far away, and no matter what this young lady of the house wants to do, we have to go with her. It's just that they are too old to go, and the other young people in the village are not as promising or hardworking as Xiaocao.
So she was the only one standing in the first row.
The girl grinned, revealing two rows of small white teeth.
"Is it bitter?" Huo Xiaolong asked.
Li Xiaocao remembered that Miss Huo had told her back then that it would be very tough for girls to join the army, that they would have to endure much more hardship than men.
The simple-minded girl shook her head and said
"It's not bitter."
In order to stand by your side, in order to fulfill the wish of that year.
Even bitterness is sweet.
The wind blows through the mountains and forests, stirring up dust that blinds the eyes but cannot cloud the heart.
We came for one person, simply because following her would give us hope.
Right?
Miss Huo.
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