Upon returning to the manor, Ye Zhen told Yin Jiu Niang about his encounter with Huo Zhan.
"Master, would he really break into the Marquis of Zhongyong's residence at night?"
Yin Jiuniang nodded, "Yes."
That person seems refined, but is actually the most unruly.
"Master, don't be afraid, I will never let him bully you."
The master held Yin Jiu Niang's arm.
Yin Jiuniang smiled, "Zhen'er has grown up and can protect his master now. But don't worry, since he's here to negotiate, he won't dare to go too far."
Ye Zhen was not at all at ease.
Because Huo Zhan gave her the feeling that he was dangerous.
Moreover, he was talking about finding his wife, and although his expression was gentle, his tone was one of certainty.
After leaving Yin Jiuniang's place, she summoned Fu Guang and Xing Ze to reorganize the defenses of the Marquis's residence.
The two naturally did their best, but Fu Guang said, "Princess, we have heard that Emperor Dongwu will stay in Dayuan for at least two months."
We can't expect Senior Yin to stay indoors for the next two months.
Ye Zhen naturally knew this wasn't the best solution, but at least while her master was in the manor, she couldn't let Huo Zhan bother him.
But she never expected that Huo Zhan would actually come to her door with two jugs of wine.
He came to pay his respects to the Marquis of Loyalty and Valor.
During the peace talks between the two countries, the Emperor of Dongwu came to pay his respects to the Marquis of Zhongyong, who had no choice but to let him in.
He could no longer pretend he wasn't at home.
Since tomorrow is the day when Marquis Zhongyong and his entourage will travel to the border city, he returned to his residence early today to make preparations.
"Lord Xie, it's been a long time."
Huo Zhan raised the wine jar in his hand, "Many years ago, I thought that one day I would have a good drink with Lord Xie."
At that time, we were fighting for our respective masters and had no choice but to fight. Now that we have an opportunity, would Lord Xie do us the honor of joining us?
Marquis Zhongyong had no objection to Prince Ding'an; as fellow military officers, they even shared a sense of mutual respect.
But that's all.
He knew something about Yin Jiuniang being a concubine in Dongwu, and when the other party came to his door today, he guessed that it was related to Yin Jiuniang.
Otherwise, since he had no connection with Huo Zhan, why would he personally visit him?
"Your Majesty has invited me, and I dare not refuse. However, the timing is indeed inconvenient today, and I still need to make preparations for my trip."
"How about we wait until I return from this battle, then I'll bring wine to Your Majesty's door and we'll have a good drink together?"
Huo Zhan is now the ruler of a country and cannot stay in another country for long. By the time he returns, Huo Zhan will have already left.
Yin Jiuniang's mission to another country as a spy was a service to the nation, but being a concubine was not a glorious thing. Marquis Zhongyong was unwilling to drink this wine and wanted to protect Yin Jiuniang's dignity.
Unexpectedly, Huo Zhan threw a wine jar at him and leaped onto the roof. "I'm craving this wine today. If Lord Xie is unavailable, I'll have to find someone else."
This old friend is none other than Yin Jiuniang.
Instead of going directly to the person, he used courtesy first and then force, giving face to the Marquis of Zhongyong.
Marquis Zhongyong understood his meaning, but had no choice but to lightly step onto the roof, remove the wine cork, and raise the jar towards Huo Zhan.
"As Your Majesty said, we were each serving our own masters in the past. Now that our two countries are on good terms, let bygones be bygones. I'll drink this first as a sign of my respect."
Every country has spies from other countries, and Marquis Zhongyong hopes that Huo Zhan will stop dwelling on Yin Jiuniang's matter.
Huo Zhan naturally understood what he meant, and took a sip as well, but instead of responding to what Marquis Zhongyong had said, he changed the subject.
"I've heard some things about the Xie family. It's said that the children your wife gave birth to weren't yours."
He also raised a wine jar towards the Marquis of Zhongyong, saying, "Please accept my condolences!"
Marquis Zhongyong, "..."
He can make fun of himself, but he doesn't like having his scars reopened.
That person is really annoying.
Huo Zhan took a sip of his drink and continued, "I, Huo, have also had a similar experience. She was the wife chosen by my elders."
After marriage, they had a son. One day, Huo returned secretly from a military campaign and caught the two of them in bed. Only then did he realize that the child he cherished was not his own.
He had no intention of remarrying after that, but he found a dying woman, kindly took care of her injuries, and took her in as a concubine.
Unexpectedly, she approached him with ulterior motives, nearly causing Huo's entire clan to be exterminated. To save the lives of his entire clan, Huo had no choice but to rebel.
But she abandoned Huo without a second thought, even discarding his only child. Lord Xie, don't you think Huo is in a worse situation than you?
Marquis Zhongyong, "..."
What kind of tactic is this?
A policy of appeasement?
But after he said that, it really did seem a bit tragic.
However, the Marquis of Zhongyong was protective of his own.
"Your Majesty, as the art of war says, the essence of war is what the three armies rely on to move. Your Majesty's use of troops is divine, and your mastery of military strategy is even greater than mine."
Over the years, they must have planted quite a few spies in Da Yuan. Of course, all's fair in war, and this is commonplace between hostile nations.
Marquis Zhongyong laughed and said, "I am slightly luckier than His Majesty, as I did not take anyone back with me."
It's practically stating that during wartime, it's perfectly normal for both sides to send spies to each other; the problem is that you're not thinking straight.
Although Marquis Zhongyong was unclear about the relationship between the two, he felt that if Huo Zhan truly treated Yin Jiuniang well, then Yin Jiuniang was definitely not a heartless person.
Don't think he didn't know how many people hunted down Yin Jiuniang after she escaped back to Dayuan.
"Speaking of offspring, Xie also recalls something. Xie has a friend who has been hunted down since she became pregnant."
Her belly, several months along, was pierced by a sword, and the fetus was already formed. Ordinary abortion medicines were completely ineffective, and she also had to deal with endless pursuit.
In the end, my friend managed to escape back to the capital, but he developed a chronic illness and didn't have long to live.
No one told him the details of Yin Jiuniang's miscarriage, but he could guess.
They invited Physician Su, gave her the Blood Lotus Rejuvenating Pill, and even had Ye Zhen order people to brew the dregs of medicine for Yin Jiu Niang during that period.
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