Chapter 209: Welcoming Party
Chen Zhao's expression was serious. "I have never been in contact with any women, so I don't understand their minds. If my brother has done something wrong or ignored you because of others, please tell me."
"Got it." Chen Yu winked at her, "Just don't forget to buy me a drink."
Shen Zhao nodded and left. When he reached the moon cave door, he looked back and saw only Shen Yu's straight back.
He suddenly felt a little sad.
The little girl who used to follow him around grew up to be a big girl. She no longer needed her brother to take care of her and could fly high.
Chen Yu walked towards her own yard, thinking that Chen Zhao had indeed never come into contact with any women, so it was normal for him not to understand.
wrong.
She paused. Why did Xie Tingzhou know so much?
Could it be that...
"Hongqiao!" Chen Yu shouted, "Please prepare the writing brush and ink. I want to write a letter."
The guards received Xie Tingzhou's order and escorted him almost every step of the way. When they arrived at Lu's mansion, they took turns to guard the courtyard.
Hongqiao and the maid prepared water, and Chen Yu washed herself thoroughly. She saw women's clothing lying aside, so she picked it up and put it back down.
"Put it away." Chen Yu ordered, "Change into men's clothes."
Hongqiao was stunned. Although the young lady often wore men's clothes in the past, she would change back into women's clothes once she returned to Hezhou.
Chen Yu sat in front of the mirror, and Hong Qiao was behind her, using a handkerchief to wipe the water off her hair.
"How have you been in the past year?" Chen Yu looked at Hong Qiao in the mirror.
Hongqiao's eyes were red. "Okay, the old lady loves the whole family and treats me very well. The young lady and Luyao are suffering outside."
Chen Yu said: "I left in a hurry and didn't have time to take her with me, but I had informed her in advance, and she should be on her way to Hezhou now."
The Lu residence had not been this lively for a long time, and they were busy arranging a welcome party for them.
Before the old lady even stepped into the room, she noticed that the atmosphere was unusual. The servants all kept their heads down and remained silent, and there was no sound of greeting in the hall.
There were five tables in the hall, but when Mrs. Lu came in, less than three of them were occupied.
Mrs. Lu's face suddenly darkened.
Shen Yu understood instantly and helped the old lady to sit down.
"Have the third and fifth rooms gone to call them?" asked Mrs. Lu.
The maid hurried back, "Please come in."
The third wife said she had a headache, and the fifth wife also said she had a headache."
Old Madam Lu sneered, "Then it hurts all at once."
Zhang said, "Mother, I heard that the third wife had a headache, so I went to see her, but..."
"Just say what you want to say."
"Yes." Zhang said, "My sister's affairs in the capital have now spread to Hezhou. I think they are afraid of being implicated if there is trouble in the capital..."
Snap——
Old Mrs. Lu slapped the table. The sound was not loud, but it scared no one below and made them dare to speak.
"I got a lot of money, and now I'm afraid I'll be implicated."
“Don’t be angry, grandma.” Shen Yu stroked Mrs. Lu’s back.
A wonderful welcoming banquet was ruined like this. Everyone in the room was silent and just focused on eating, not even daring to touch the bowl with their chopsticks.
The moon had risen, and Chen Yu coaxed Old Lady Lu to sleep.
Chen Zhao was waiting for her by the corridor, and when he saw Chen Yu coming out, he raised the whip in his hand.
"It's still early, why don't we go out for a run?"
"Okay." Chen Yu said.
The two men rode out of Hezhou City on horseback. Once out of the city, they sped up, leaving all the dim lights behind.
The horses' hooves faced the wind and galloped wildly under the moonlight.
Under Chen Yu's crotch is her Ben Xiao, who has stayed in Hezhou ever since he asked Hong Qiao to ride as fast as possible to transfer grain to Hezhou.
The night was getting cooler, but the brother and sister were sweating profusely. It had been a long time since they had such an exhilarating race.
Chen Yu reined in her horse at the finish line of the horse race and looked back at Chen Zhao, who was one step behind. "Your horse is not as good as mine, so I lose this round."
Chen Zhao laughed and said, "You need to pull your horse out for a run. It only surpassed me by half a body length."
Chen Yu got off the horse and touched Ben Xiao, "You are so fat."
Shen Zhao first went up the hill, sat down on a rock, and threw her a wine bag.
“You saw it today.”
"Yeah." Chen Yu nodded: "Our arrival seems to make this place less peaceful."
Shen Zhao turned his head to look at her, "So what are you going to do next?"
Chen Yu did not respond, but looked at the two horses pacing under the moon.
She thought of Xie Tingzhou. It had been a month since they last saw each other. She wondered if he had arrived in Beilin now, and whether he had encountered any danger along the way.
“Hey, girl.
” Shen Zhao nudged her with his elbow.
Chen Yu came back to her senses and said, "Why should I care about them? I came to visit my grandmother, not to visit them. I can't stay for too long. If they don't bother me during this period, I can live my life as usual. If they dare to have any crooked thoughts, don't blame me for not caring about that little bit of shallow family affection."
Shen Zhao rubbed her head and said, “My sister is so capable.”
"Don't rub it." Chen Yu adjusted her hair, "My hair is all messy."
"It's already like a chicken coop because of the wind, and you're still dissatisfied when I tidy it up for you." Chen Zhao smiled and withdrew his hand, looking into the distance, the smile on his face gradually faded.
"It's cold," he said.
Shen Yu knew that Shen Zhao must have had his own intentions when he suddenly asked her to go out of the city to compete.
"What do you want to say?"
Shen Zhao thought for a moment, “I want to give you my back.”
Without waiting for Chen Yu to speak, he continued, "When the weather gets colder, the Western Jue people are likely to launch an attack on the border. Yanliang Pass, Jingmen Pass, and Yecheng along the route may all become their targets."
Shen Yu vaguely guessed what Shen Zhao wanted to do, but she didn't say anything.
"I lost miserably there, and I want to pick myself up from where I fell."
"But you have no soldiers." Shen Yu said.
"I don't have it." Shen Zhao confirmed, "But Yanliang Pass has it. There are now 40,000 garrison troops there."
Chen Yu pursed her lips tightly, "I hate that place. I lost my father there, and I lost the soldiers who fought alongside me. Why should we still defend the city for them?"
Chen Zhao's voice was very calm. "After I recovered from my injury this year, I went to Yanliang Pass. The common people built a tomb for my father outside the city. What you don't know is that next to my father's tomb, there are more than 60 tombs built together."
Chen Yu looked at him with confusion, waiting quietly for what to say next.
Shen Zhao said: "Those were the garrison troops and common people who wanted to open the city gate for us during that battle. I heard about their deeds there. They went in with hoes and carrying poles. When one group died, another group came in to replace them. They still couldn't open the gate until more than 60 bodies blocked the passage."
"The common people are not ignorant. They can distinguish right from wrong, good from evil. The city guard is dead, Liang Jianfang is dead, Ge Liangji, Li Yanchang, and other officials involved in this case have also been removed from office. The only one left is the Marquis of Xuanping."
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