Chapter 185
Yandu.
"I heard that the Northwest won a victory and destroyed the Xiongnu Chanyu. He will come to Yandu to present the captives in the next few days."
"That's right. Your Majesty sent three armies to attack the Xiongnu. Only General Wei's army defeated the army of the Xiongnu king, burned down the Xiongnu royal city, killed the Xiongnu Khan, and captured several Xiongnu clansmen and nobles."
"I heard that this General Wei is only a young man, yet he has achieved such great feats. He is truly a young hero."
"But I think General Wei is too young and has no foundation in the court. If he doesn't join that family, I'm afraid..."
"What are you afraid of? If that family has the ability, they can drive the Huns away by themselves."
"Keep your voice down, you are risking your life. But I heard that General Wei has a brother who is going to be a high-ranking official in Yandu. He is Lord Lin who invented Ganzhou paper, Ganzhou velvet and Qingquan cloth."
"Not only that, Lord Lin resisted the Xiongnu's attack for more than a month. Unlike that little someone from someone's family, he was frightened when the Xiongnu came and ran away without caring about the lives of the people."
"Oh, who said it wasn't true? Speak softly. The eldest son of that family dared to whip an official in the street some time ago. Who dares to offend that family?"
Lin Shuge naturally didn't know what the people were talking about. He came all the way from the northwest. When he was in Longxi County, he reminisced with his former boss, County Magistrate Li, and now Longxi County Magistrate Li Yi. He rode a horse and a carriage all the way to Yandu.
"Brother, Yandu is just ahead." Xie Chen said.
Lin Shuge got off the carriage and looked up. He saw the majestic city walls towering into the clouds. He was overwhelmed by the majesty and oppression. He had seen countless cities along the way, but they all pale in comparison to Yandu. It was worthy of being the capital of a country.
"Are we there yet?" Lin Qingyuan also got off the carriage and looked at the scene in front of him. He couldn't help but sigh several times.
Xie Chen asked the soldiers to come forward and give the seal to the soldiers at the door. When the soldiers saw the seal and the high-flying flag with the word "Wei" on it, they stepped forward and saluted, saying, "Greetings, Lord Lin, General Wei." He then instructed other soldiers to ask the Praetorian Guard to come over.
After a while, Lin Shuge saw a cavalry group coming over in a mighty force. The soldiers were wearing iron armor and holding halberds in their hands. They looked very imposing. Leading them was a middle-aged general with a serious and majestic face.
"Lord Lin, General Wei, I have heard that you will arrive in Yandu in the next few days. I have been waiting for a long time on the orders of His Majesty." Deng Ji said.
Lin Shuge and Xie Chen came forward to greet them. After the three of them exchanged a few pleasantries, Deng Ji looked at the Xiongnu nobles on the prisoner carts behind the teams and shouted, "Enter the city."
In the past, the city of Yandu must have been crowded with people, but because of the surrender today, Deng Ji had already cleared the road with his soldiers. However, the common people also heard the news and lined the streets to welcome them, and now the roads were blocked.
As soon as Lin Shuge entered the city gate, he was greeted by the enthusiastic cheers of the people of Yandu. He couldn't help but think to himself that they were worthy of being the citizens of the capital, their momentum was extraordinary.
The people were holding rice wine and freshly made wheat cakes in their hands, and they were pushing forward one by one. The soldiers could not stop them. "This is freshly made by my family. Why are you stopping me?" A man raised a basket full of wheat cakes high and said, "General Wei, General Wei."
Xie Chen glanced sideways, and the people could see Xie Chen's face clearly. The cheers in the crowd became louder, and if one listened carefully, there were many women's voices.
Lin Shuge was annoyed by the deafening sound and regretted riding out on horseback. If he had known earlier, he would have just sat in the carriage with the twins.
"Who is this gentleman?" someone asked.
"Look how stupid you are. The one wearing armor is General Wei, and this gentleman has a weak temperament. He must be Lord Lin." Another person replied.
"But these two adults are so beautiful." A woman exclaimed.
"Speaking of appearance, the people behind must be the Huns, right? They really do eat raw meat and drink blood, wear their hair loose and wear clothes with their backs on the left. They are barbarians."
"No matter what they look like, we will all take them to the Imperial Ancestral Temple and let them come and burn, kill, rob, and bully the people of Dayan."
"Lord Lin and General Wei have worked hard on this journey. Please stay at the inn for one night and then go to the palace to meet His Majesty tomorrow." Deng Ji said to Lin Shuge and Xie Chen.
Lin Shuge nodded and was about to talk to Xie Chen when a dark shadow came towards him. Lin Shuge subconsciously dodged, but Xie Chen was faster and reached out to grab it. It turned out to be a flying melon.
Lin Shuge patted his chest and looked in the direction of the culprit, only to see several young women with shy faces. When they saw Lin Shuge and Xie Chen looking over here, they became even more excited, and bouquets of melons fell towards them like rain.
When the others saw this, they also threw the things in their hands into the middle of the road. Xie Chen acted very quickly to protect Lin Shuge, but the others were not so lucky. He Xin and Lao Zhang were hit hard by some unknown fruit.
Old Zhang reached out to receive the "gift" from the people, rubbed it on his clothes for a few times, and then took a bite. He smiled and said, "Thanks to the two adults, I also felt the enthusiasm of the ladies of Yandu."
Lin Shuge held a cantaloupe in his hand and said to the ladies on the roadside, "Ladies, please be careful. I don't know martial arts. If I hit you, you will be disfigured."
One lady was brave enough to reply immediately: "I am willing to marry you even if you are disfigured."
Cheers and laughter rang out again. Xie Chen's face darkened, He Xin and Lao Zhang were overjoyed, and the other soldiers around them also laughed. Even Deng Ji couldn't help laughing. He waved his hand to let the team move quickly. He finally understood what it meant to judge a person by his appearance. He has been protecting the safety of Kyoto for several years, and no woman has ever hit him.
Lin Shuge didn't have time to care about these things, and hurriedly smiled at Xie Chen, whose face was dark, and said, "Zhongxuan, now you know whether throwing the fruit into the car will hit someone, right?"
Xie Chen's tense mouth corners slightly raised. This was an allusion that only he and his brother knew, but he still said: "Brother, be careful. I'm afraid someone has bad intentions. What if it's a hidden weapon that's thrown at me?"
Lin Shuge thought that was indeed the case, but Deng Ji said, "Don't worry, General Wei. My soldiers are not just for free, and we will never let anyone take advantage of the situation to assassinate you."
Xie Chen paused for a moment, "Master Deng is absolutely right."
The group quickly passed through the downtown area, where shops were lined up on both sides of the street. Yandu was the residence of the emperor and was rich in the world, so naturally, all the rare treasures from all over the world gathered here.
Lin Shuge took a quick look and saw Ganzhou paper and Qingquan cloth on a stall. It seemed that although these were produced in the northwest, they were sold by merchants and had been used by the people of Yandu for a long time.
“Zhongxuan, if we can open up the Western Regions, maybe we can also see the scene of all nations coming to the capital of the previous dynasty and the prosperity of the Western Regions.” Lin Shuge sighed.
Xie Chen also said: "Of course."
The two of them drove side by side and headed to the post station together.
Someone in a teahouse on the street was stunned, "Madam, madam, what's wrong with you?"
Wang Qiyun's fingers, as thin as peeled onions, sank deeply into the flesh. She must have been dreaming just now. Why did she seem to have seen Master Xie?
"Arong, was the person who just passed by General Wei?" she asked, grabbing the maid.
"Yes, my lady. Today, General Wei brought the surrendered Huns to offer captives. The one who just passed by was the one." The maid was frightened by her expression, but still said it.
Wang Qiyun was shocked. Yes, that's right. She must have seen it wrong. Master Xie had been dead for many years. How could it be General Wei? She must have seen it wrong.
…
Lin Shuge has settled down at the post station. He fed Xiaobai, who had been cooped up for quite a while, and let it play with the twins. He planned to find a real estate agent to ask about a house, but the housing prices in Yandu were prohibitive for him. He counted his savings and thought about renting a yard first.
It was getting late, and Xie Chen hadn't come back for a long time. After Lin Shuge settled the twins, he was ready to go out for a look, but he saw Xie Chen coming in a hurry and said to Lin Shuge, "Brother, change into casual clothes and go to a place with me."
"Where?" Why is he so mysterious? Lin Shuge wondered in his heart, but seeing his serious expression, he put away his teasing thoughts, went into the house, changed into casual clothes, and followed Xie Chen out.
He watched Xie Chen avoid the guards all the way to an alley. It was dark, and under the cover of darkness, the two of them came to an extremely secluded house.
"We're here." Xie Chen said, but he didn't move.
Lin Shuge's heart moved slightly, "What's wrong?"
"It's nothing, brother, let's go in." Xie Chen said softly.
Lin Shuge saw him knock on the gate very gently, and a servant led the two into the yard. There was a light on in a room in the yard, and there was obviously someone inside.
Lin Shuge understood what was going on and was about to speak when the door creaked open. A woman in gorgeous clothes came running over. After taking a look over here, tears welled up in her eyes.
"Come in and talk." A man's voice came, and Lin Shuge took a look and found that it was Ruan Qingyun.
He had a vague sense of something and was about to pay his respects, but Xie Chen took him into the room. As the sound of the door closing was heard, Lin Shuge saw Xie Chen beside him suddenly lift up his robe and kneel down, "Xie Chen, the unfilial descendant of the Xie family, greets my aunt. I haven't seen you for many years. Is my aunt in good health?" He leaned over and kowtowed several times.
Lin Shuge's pupils suddenly shrank as he looked at the scene in front of him in shock. This lady was actually the second wife of the Xie family that Zhongxuan had mentioned.
Xie Ning sobbed and cried. She came over and helped Xie Chen up. She looked at the grown-up Xie Chen and stroked his features as if to recognize his appearance as a child. Then she hugged Xie Chen into her arms and said after a moment, "It's good to be alive. It's good to be alive."
"Ayun brought the news that you were still alive, so I kept thinking about when I could see you. I didn't expect that we would meet today." Xie Ning wiped away her tears.
"The situation was critical back then, and I failed to tell my aunt the truth, causing her to worry and be concerned. It is Erlang's fault."
Xie Ning smiled through her tears and nodded, "I know, my Erlang has gone through so much suffering to be able to do this...how could he have committed such a crime?"
Ruan Qingyun smiled and said, "Okay, Second Lady, the young master is very capable. He has returned to Yandu with his own abilities. We should be happy to be reunited today."
Xie Ning then smiled and said, "It's my fault." She looked at Lin Shuge and said, "This must be Lord Lin." She lowered her skirt and prepared to salute, "Thank you Lord Lin for saving my life. The Xie family will never forget it."
Lin Shuge did not dare to accept the gift from his elders, and hurriedly stopped her before she could do so, saying, "Madam, you are embarrassing me. Zhongxuan and I are as close as brothers, and I really don't deserve your gift. Besides, it was by chance that I saved Zhongxuan that day. Now I think that maybe it was because Zhongxuan was very lucky."
Upon hearing this, Xie Ning said happily, "In that case, you don't have to call me Madam anymore. Just follow Erlang and call me Aunt."
Lin Shuge immediately said sweetly: "Meet my aunt."
Xie Ning not only saw Xie Chen who had "come back from the dead" today, but also got such an outstanding nephew out of nowhere. He was so happy that he took Lin Shuge's hand to ask about his well-being and asked about all the things happening in the northwest in detail.
Xie Chen looked at the smiling Xie Ning and the gentle and polite Lin Shuge in the dim candlelight, and a smile also appeared on his handsome face.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
