110. Incident

Two days before the beginning of winter, the first snow fell in Jinjing. While wine was being boiled in the stove in the hall, Liang Shenyu ordered the curtains to be rolled up, revealing the falling snow outside the teahouse, filling the courtyard with a white blanket.

Rong Se was dressed in a smoky black cloak, like the darkest stroke in a dense mass of ink. He hurriedly entered the room and then lowered his hood, revealing his beautiful eyebrows, his black hair tied up with black jade, and his hair adorned with orchids.

Liang Shenyu stepped forward to help him take off his cloak, and Rong Se let him do it, as if he was used to it. He was still holding a food box wrapped in a fur bag in his arms, sniffed and said with emotion: "Jinjing is very cold."

He used to live in the north, but the winters there were never this cold. It had only been a short while since the beginning of winter, but the wind was already blowing with a chill as sharp as a knife.

Liang Shenyu chuckled, "It is cold this year. I saw such heavy snow in Jinjing when I was young, but I haven't been back for many years. I am used to the sudden snow and wind in Qiangzhou. Looking at Jinjing now, it is not so bad."

Rong Se placed a few side dishes from the food box on the table and asked casually, "Prince Ning will be here soon, right?"

Rong Zhan, Prince of Ning County in Danzhou, is the only relative of the Rong family besides himself and Rong Jing.

Cao Lun wanted to invite the Qinchaying Camp more than a month ago, but after such a long time, the other party only replied slowly.

"We should arrive in Jinjing in the next two days." Liang Shenyu hung up his cloak and lowered the rolled-up curtain to block out the wind and snow. Then he sat back in front of the small table and said softly, "But the Qinchaying camp has not arrived."

In other words, Rong Zhan came here on his own.

Rong Se poured out the warm rice wine. Unlike the clear golden color of plum wine and lychee wine, the rice wine was white and paired with a sky-blue wine cup - this set of sky-blue porcelain came from the Yuanzhou kiln.

"The Qincha Camp didn't come, but doesn't there exist a Xuanji Camp in Jinjing?" Rong Se snorted coldly.

After the fall of the Xi family, Rong Se made a drastic reorganization in the court, but Liu Xu was dismissed and exiled. When he came, he brought half of the troops from Dianzhou. These Dianzhou troops did not return to Dianzhou, but were kept in Jinjing by Cao Lun, reorganized and named Xuanjiying.

The commander-in-chief of Xuanjiying was a son of the Cao family's Pang clan, named Cao Xun.

It was said that it was under the management of the Ministry of War, but in reality, they just provided Rong Jing with a personal army.

The purpose of the existence of this personal guard is naturally to contend with the Regent's Palace.

Liang Shenyu remained gentle and calm, and said with a smile: "It's not a big deal, but..." He paused and didn't say anything else.

Rong Se raised his eyes, probably guessed it, and asked softly: "Is the border relatively stable?"

"For now," Liang Shenyu gave a relatively conservative answer, and then said softly, "The northern desert is desolate, and most of the small countries on the border rely on cattle and sheep for survival. However, even horses will be frozen to death in winter. Once winter comes, it will be a turbulent time for Qiangzhou."

This was also the root cause of the conflict between the Xiongnu and the Jin Dynasty. Although the Xiongnu king had evil ambitions, he was able to gain the support of hundreds of people because his life was indeed difficult.

Rong Se did not go into details but brought up the topic lightly to avoid spoiling the fun.

The two of them chatted over drinks while eating small dishes. This was a rare experience for Yu Rongse. Outside, there was heavy snow, while inside, there was a warm tent with wine warming. He didn't want anything to disturb the peaceful time at this moment.

Rong Se's alcohol tolerance was a little low, but the alcohol content of the rice wine was low, so his face was only slightly flushed at the end. He ordered the servants to take the things away, and Rong Se held his chin with one hand, speaking slowly: "Go back and sleep for a while, and look at those memorials when you wake up."

Liang Shenyu didn't look like he had been drunk at all, and readily agreed.

As soon as he stood up, the curtain of the tea room was lifted. Yun Chu, covered in frost and snow, hurried in and said in a deep voice, "Your Highness, Prince Xiao was captured by the people of Xuanji Camp!"

Rong Se suddenly came to his senses and frowned, "Xuan Jiying? Cao Xun? What's the reason?"

"Prince Xiao beat up the son of the Cao family on the street. There are witnesses at the scene. It is absolutely true." Yun Chu said, "I'm afraid there is a reason for it. Cao Haoyun's injuries are not serious."

The conflict between the Xiao family and the Cao family has been going on for a long time, but since Xiao Mufeng beat Cao Haoyun in public, there is no way this matter can be resolved peacefully.

Rong Se lowered his eyes and thought for a moment, then asked, "Where is Yun Zhi?"

"He has already gone to Xuanji Camp." Yun Chu said, "The palace has issued an order to punish him with a cane."

"How many?"

"one hundred."

Rong Se's expression changed slightly, and he no longer hesitated. He immediately said, "Go and tell the king that Cao Haoyun is not dead or disabled, and Xiao Mufeng's crime is not so serious. Bring him back to the king!"

What is the difference between being beaten with the stick one hundred times and being beheaded?

.

Before Rong Se's oral order arrived, Yun Zhi had already led people to cause trouble in Xuan Ji Camp. Xiao Mufeng did not receive many punishments due to the stalemate, especially after Rong Se's oral order arrived, Yun Zhi directly took the people back to the mansion.

"You beat up the son of the governor of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the street." In the carriage, Yun Zhi's face was extremely ugly, "You are really capable."

Xiao Mufeng leaned on the other side, his face cold, and said softly: "He is looking for death."

"Even if he wants to die, you can't fight him in the street!" Yun Zhi couldn't help but scold him, and pinched his forehead, "If you really want to beat him up, at least stay away from people. What kind of place is that? It's a noisy city!"

Seeing that he was really angry, Xiao Mufeng was silent for a moment, then smiled as heartlessly as usual and said, "Xiao Yun, why are you so angry? Isn't it okay?"

Yun Zhi was speechless.

I even wanted to just throw this guy out.

Out of sight, out of mind.

When they got off the carriage at the mansion, Yun Chu came up to them and whispered in his brother's ear, "The prince and the marquis are here, waiting for you inside."

Yun Zhi paused, turned around and ordered that Prince Xiao be sent back to his room, then said, "I'll go see them."

Rong Se and Liang Shenyu were waiting in the house. When they saw Yun Zhi coming in and paying his respects, Rong Se waved his hand and said, "Forget it. How about Prince Xiao?"

Yun Zhi said: "I didn't get hit much, thanks to the timely oral instructions from the prince."

"Yeah." Rong Se nodded, "So what's going on? Even if I disagree with Cao Lun in the court and beat Cao Haoyun in the street, it sounds like we are the ones who are in the wrong."

Yun Zhi choked up, realizing that he had forgotten to ask, and said honestly, "I don't know either."

"Then I will go meet him." Rong Se frowned, "We have to find out the whole story."

Yun Zhi hesitated for a moment, then nodded and led the way personally.

As soon as I got outside the yard, I heard screams from inside.

"Hiss—it hurts, it hurts, it hurts! Wait, wait! I can do it myself. I can apply the medicine myself!"

Several people were silent.

After a moment, Rong Se nodded: "Okay, full of energy, it sounds like nothing is wrong."

Xiao Mufeng was shirtless, revealing large, shocking bruises on his back, some of which had even turned purple and bled. Perhaps he had not expected someone to suddenly come in, so he turned around in shock and wanted to chase the person away, but when he saw who the person was, he stopped talking and forced a smile through his complicated expression.

"My Lord, my Lord, I am sorry for the insolence."

Rong Se had just seen the injury on his back. After sitting down with Liang Shenyu, he said calmly, "It's okay. Let's apply the medicine to Prince Xiao first."

With the Regent speaking, Xiao Mufeng did not dare to act rashly this time. He lay back on the couch obediently and did not say anything else. However, after applying the medicine, his face turned much paler and beads of cold sweat rolled down his forehead.

A little more wolfish.

Just as Xiao Mufeng was about to think of something, Rong Se stopped him and said, "Lie down and answer."

Xiao Mufeng was stunned for a moment, then lay back down.

Even though he knew that the Regent was approachable, he initially thought that Rong Se was here to call him to account. However, without knowing the cause and effect, Rong Se chose to take care of his injuries first. His attitude was gentle, without any intention of a superior.

"This time... I was impulsive." Xiao Mufeng said after a moment's silence.

Cao Xun was born out of wedlock to a illegitimate family. He usually hung out with Cao Haoyun. He was also promoted by Cao Lun, so naturally he favored Cao Haoyun even more. Recently, there had been constant frictions between the Xuanji Camp and the Imperial Guards. Cao Xun mentioned it to Cao Haoyun. It happened that Cao Haoyun often heard his mother's dislike for the Xiao family, so he talked about it with Cao Xun in the street.

Xiao Mufeng's biological mother was of humble origin, and Xiao Shujing looked down on the couple, saying nothing good about them. Cao Haoyun even boasted of his noble birth, and even looked down on Rong Se, not to mention Xiao Mufeng's family, saying some bad things about them.

Coincidentally, Xiao Mufeng was on patrol with his men and overheard it.

Xiao Mufeng gritted his teeth and said, "How can I tolerate him insulting my deceased mother?"

Rong Se nodded, saying calmly: "Cao Haoyun and Rong Jing are both quite mean."

It was as if he was not talking about the emperor of the time.

But these two people really like to use family background as a flaw. Yan Shuang has been chased and scolded by them until now, and Rong Jing keeps calling her a slut and a whore.

But his frank words still caused some shock to Xiao Mufeng.

So there was no talking for a while.

Rong Se then said, "Prince Xiao, you are not a child anymore, so I will speak directly to you. First, tell me how heavy the blow was, and how about the two boys from the Cao family?"

Xiao Mufeng couldn't figure out Rong Se's intentions, so he said cautiously, "I didn't use much force, just two punches and two kicks."

Rong Se nodded, "No more?"

“…No more.”

"Okay then."

Rong Se looked at him calmly, "Prince Xiao, I know the grudge between you and Cao, and I also know what you want to do. We have the same goal. But you were reckless today. If you are not ready to fight to the death, you should not have started a fight in the street. If you really want to fight, you should at least do it secretly. Otherwise, today, you beat them to death and then paid the price, which is worth it. But what is this now? If you hit them twice, you will also be beaten with a stick. It is meaningless. It is either a life-and-death battle or a bloodless victory. Recklessness is the most undesirable."

He stated the facts calmly.

Xiao Mufeng pursed his lips and fell silent.

"That's it, this won't happen next time." Rong Se stood up and tugged at Liang Shenyu's sleeve, "Sanlang, let's go back."

"Okay." Liang Shenyu took his hand and glanced at Xiao Mufeng without any warmth between his eyebrows, and said meaningfully: "A momentary anger can be returned a hundredfold, provided that you can endure it."

Xiao Mufeng, who was waiting to be scolded, hadn't come back to his senses yet when the two men left. He was confused for a moment and looked at Yun Zhi: "...Is this the end?"

Yun Zhi: "Or not?"

Xiao Mufeng: “…”