Golden Stage

In the capital city, it's time to hold the lanterns at night.

The case was piled up with a whole table full of official documents, and Yan Xiaohan buried his head in it, he was so busy.The porridge on the tray had long been cold, the old butler hesitated outside the door for a long time, and finally bit the bullet and tiptoed in.

"Master, you've been looking at it all day, take a rest and use something."

Yan Xiaohan remained unmoved, and after finishing the last few lines, he threw the pen away and rubbed his wrist.He lazily leaned back on the back of the chair, his slender upper body bent in an arc.He took a long breath: "Okay, it's finally finished."

Before he finished speaking, he suddenly turned his head and sneezed.The butler panicked: "Oh, what's the matter? Don't catch a cold...I'll ask someone to cook you a bowl of ginger soup?"

Yan Xiaohan wrinkled his nose, waved his hands and said, "It's nothing to make a fuss about."

The butler laughed and said, "Everyone says 'think about it, scold you, complain about it', that means someone is thinking about you."

Right after he finished speaking, Yan Xiaohan sneezed again.

Old servant: "...I'd better cook ginger soup for you."

Yan Xiaohan chuckled: "Forget it, come back. Isn't this normal."

The housekeeper wondered why he was "normal" at first, but after a while he understood the meaning of his words, looked at his expression, and said jokingly: "Master Hou may have arrived in Yanzhou at this time, and he is thinking of your lord."

He also said: "Master, forgive me for talking too much, you are so busy, lighting a lamp to boil oil is really hurting your body. If Lord Hou is here, I will never let you work so hard."

"Huh?" Yan Xiaohan raised his eyebrows and scoffed, "What are you talking about... Madam hasn't even passed the door yet, so you used him to suppress me first?"

The butler saw that he didn't look angry, nor did he sneer, but seemed rather happy, so he boldly said: "You and Lord Hou will be on the same page in the future, supporting each other for a lifetime, there is someone who knows the cold and the hot, and is considerate of you—— How can this be called oppression?"

Yan Xiaohan smiled flatteringly at his flattering words, and after laughing, he continued: "The New Year is approaching, and I see that farmers are coming one after another to give New Year's gifts. The Marquis of Jingning is celebrating the New Year in the north this year, and it's even colder there. Pick some thick fur and satin and send it to him. Besides, how about the craftsman I asked you to find?"

He had been away for a few days, and he probably hadn't finished eating the dry food he brought from Beijing, so he was thinking about sending something new.The housekeeper thought to himself that although their master is usually very dignified, when he really loves someone, he is also tender, tender and considerate, and he can't let go of him.

While beautifying Yan Xiaohan in his heart, the steward replied, "Yes. The craftsmen have all been found, because there is no need to go to great lengths of construction, only two or three craftsmen can make it. Only the pool you mentioned needs to be drawn first. When buying stone materials, you have read the drawings and they are correct, so they can start construction, and they have to be slower."

"It doesn't matter if it's slow, just finish it before February [-]th," Yan Xiaohan said, "You guys have to work hard these days, just pay for whatever you need to buy. If no one comes forward from Duke Ying's mansion, you can follow People from the Ministry of Rites are discussing how to do it."

After Fu Shen left, Yan Xiaohan suddenly had more things to deal with.In fact, before Fu Shen moved in, he lived like this.It was only later that there was an additional patient in the family who needed to be taken care of, and Yan Xiaohan was afraid that he would not be able to take care of him, and he did not want to disturb Fu Shen's recuperation with mundane affairs, so he postponed many things until now.

When Fu Shen lived in Yan's Mansion, Yan Xiaohan basically didn't stay outside except for summons from the palace, and he didn't socialize with others. He went home immediately after work, accompanied him to eat and take medicine, and supported him to exercise his legs and feet in the yard. Even though they live in separate rooms, he must go to Fu Shen's bedroom to take a look before going to sleep, and leave after he falls asleep... Some of these things can actually be done by the servants, and some can not be done. Do, but Yan Xiaohan has seen with his own eyes what kind of life Fu Shen lived in the Jingning Hou Mansion, and since it fell into his hands, Fu Shen will not be allowed to suffer any more that he should not have to suffer.

He watched this person go away again and again, knowing clearly that he couldn't keep him.Now that Fu Shen can't move anymore, can he try to keep him from leaving?

Apart from official business, he is dealing with some personal matters recently, one is the rumor of broken sleeve that Wei Xuzhou has long been investigating, and the other is the truth about Fu Shen's assassination.The latter matter was ordered by the emperor to be strictly investigated by the three courts. Two months later, the three courts closed the case yesterday.Yan Xiaohan also read that excerpt, it was all nonsense.The Dali Temple of the Ministry of Punishment is nothing more than taking in the generals of the local garrison on the grounds of "ineffective guards", finding out several Tatar spies, interrogating the confessions, and then pushing all the crimes to the Eastern Tatars. Check it out.

As for who ordered the assassination mission, where did the gunpowder that caused the landslide come from, and whether the target of the assassination was the little prince of Dongtar or Fu Shen, these issues are still behind a lot of fog.

The chief officials of the Sanfa Division had a tacit understanding that they were unwilling to make a big fuss about this case, and they probably had seen the emperor's fear of Fu Shen from the gift of marriage.Only a right-handed censor named Gu Shanlu from the Metropolitan Procuratorate insisted that the case was suspicious and asked for further investigation, but his memorial was never handed to the Holy Majesty, and the eunuch Bingbi had long since suppressed the case.

Yan Xiaohan couldn't use the Flying Dragon Guards to investigate openly, and spent more time secretly, but the results were minimal.Because it was related to the secrets of the Northern Yan Army, and Fu Shen had always guarded Feilongwei strictly, it was difficult for his people to find out any useful news.The only harvest in the past two months is to dig out a "grass road" for the private communication between the Tongzhou Army and the border horse bandits.

"Grass Road" corresponds to "Official Road". As the name suggests, it refers to the secret transaction between officers and soldiers and private merchants.Merchants traveled from place to place, and the army could buy food and medicine, foreign firearms and swords from these people.Some people even connected the Eastern Tatars and the Han army, exchanging food, tea, salt, etc. for war horses.

In the early years, the official roads opened and stopped, and the tax was extremely high, so the grass road came into being, and it was repeatedly prohibited.It is no exaggeration to say that every border guard in Dazhou has at least one "grass road".

If the gunpowder really flowed from the "grass road", Qingsha Pass is located at the northernmost tip of Tongzhou, and the ones who have the conditions to set up an ambush and are most suspected are the defenders of Tongzhou.

According to Fu Shen, the Emperor's eyeliner is the middle and senior generals of the Northern Yan Army. The Tongzhou Army had separated from the Northern Yan Cavalry in the early years, and it was the Northern Yan Army's western defense line and Yuanzhou area that were closely connected with it.

Who is that person, maybe Fu Shen already has an idea in his mind.But Yan Xiaohan didn't need to know too much, and he couldn't intervene in the Beiyan Army's affairs.

But if Fu Shen couldn't get rid of that person, whether it was for Fu Shen or for himself, whether it was for public or private, Yan Xiaohan would have to go up and make up for it.

As for the other thing, it was beyond his expectation.Rumors of broken sleeves first came from Fu Shen's stepmother, Qin Shi.Her daughter was a good concubine in the East Palace, and she gave the prince a pillow wind, so the prince could come up with such a bad move of bestowing a marriage to "share the worries" for Emperor Yuantai.

There is no need to search for the redundant ones, and I know that Qin's painstaking efforts to assassinate Fu Shen are nothing more than wanting her own son to become the prince, fearing that Fu Shen would obstruct it, so she took the first step and wanted Fu Shen to "kill off all children and grandchildren".

A selfish and vicious woman played a trick in the back house, but it almost became the beginning of Beiyan's military power change and stirred up the situation in the court.

How ironic, how stupid.

But when Yan Xiaohan first heard the news, what made her most angry was not that she spread rumors that Fu Shen had lost his sleeve, which caused today's disaster, but that she remembered the phrase "I don't have a mother either" that Fu Shen said in the cave back then.

It's fine if he doesn't have a mother, but he still has to be rubbed by his unkind and vicious stepmother. How did he get here all these years?

Yan Xiaohan calmed down for a while in the Flying Dragon Guard Courtyard, found a subordinate, and gave orders: "The Marquis of Jingning has a brother named Fu Ya, who is said to often fight cocks and dogs outside, and is already a romantic man at a young age. Your Majesty does not like Yingguo's mansion to be too flamboyant, since the Marquis of Jingning has promised me, don't treat him badly."

The subordinate is a fine person, so he can tell a little bit: "The subordinate understands. Dare I ask if the lord wants him to be useless immediately, or to take medicine to slowly empty his body?"

"No hurry," Yan Xiaohan laughed, "take it easy. It's best to wait until the invitation is sealed before it explodes. I want to see who else in the Fu family can afford the three "Gong Ying" Character."

Doesn't the Qin family like to kill people and cut off their children and grandchildren, so let her precious son have a taste of it first.

As for Fu Liangdi, Yan Xiaohan originally planned to clean up with Fu Ya.Unexpectedly, news came from the Crown Prince's East Palace that Fu Ting practiced witchcraft and nightmare techniques in the palace, trying to murder the Crown Princess, but was exposed by his confidant maid, and the matter was brought to light.The Crown Princess Nian spared her life because she was born in the Fu family, took away her position, and fined her to be a housekeeper.

The prince is confused, but the concubine Cen is a smart person.

I don't know how Qin will feel when he sees the fate of her two children?

Yanzhou City.

Although Fu Shen returned to northern Xinjiang in the name of offering sacrifices to his ancestors, he still hadn't resigned from his position as the commander of the Northern Yan Army. As soon as he entered the city, he was welcomed back to the Yanzhou Admiral's Mansion by his subordinates who had been waiting early.Except for the few generals who were patrolling outside, the rest of the generals, big and small, rushed back to Yanzhou City in groups, wishing him a long life together and having a son early, and Jing Ninghou was almost so angry that he stood up from his wheelchair.

The group of big monkeys quarreled for a long time, and finally was kicked out of the door by General Fu, who became angry from embarrassment, and asked Xiao Xun to take someone out for half a mile.

In the afternoon, Beiyan military doctor Du Leng checked his leg injury. After reading it, he said with a smile, "Congratulations——"

Fu Shen had formed a conditioned reflex, and said indifferently: "Happy together."

Du Leng: "..."

The two stared at each other for a moment, Du Leng coughed in embarrassment, suppressed a smile and said, "I mean, congratulations, Lord Hou, the wound has recovered well. The person who treated you must be a famous doctor, most of your bones have grown back , the muscles are strong, and after half a year of raising her, she will be able to leave the wheelchair and walk like a normal person."

Fu Shen: "..."

He pretended nothing happened: "How long will it take to recover?"

"Complete recovery is impossible," Du Leng said patiently. "It depends on your recovery. According to the method I mentioned at the beginning, recovery of six to seven achievements is the limit."

Fu Shen pondered, noncommittal, and only said: "Thank you, Mr. Du."

After Du Leng went out, not long after, another young man came in through the door.That man was slightly older than Fu Shen, with a handsome and clear face, and a gentle and amiable expression—not Yan Xiaohan's mask-like gentleness, but a natural gentleman's demeanor.Seeing that it was him, Fu Shen was relieved halfway through the mention, pointed to the chair and said, "Qingheng is here, sit down. I have worked hard for you during this time."

The man's name is Yu Qiaoting, and his style name is Qingheng. He is Fu Shen's close friend and capable general.During Fu Shen's absence, Beiyan's military affairs were in charge of him alone, so that there would be no chaos.

Yu Qiaoting didn't have the mood to sit still, she wished she could stretch out her hand to grab Fu Shen's collar: "What's the situation in Beijing now, what's going on with the marriage?"

Fu Shencai told him the general situation. After hearing this, Yu Qiaoting's face turned ugly, and he said in a low voice, "The emperor is really... a dead dog, self-destructing the Great Wall, what good will it do him?"

"He is the king of a country, and he sees things differently from us," Fu Shen said. "Fortunately, he only thinks I'm eye-catching. If one day he sees the Beiyan army, it's really over."

Yu Qiaoting shook his head and asked, "Then what are you going to do?"

"Me?" Fu Shen said inexplicably, "I'm getting married, can I still resist the decree not to marry?"

Yu Qiaoting: "...Knowing that you are going to get married, don't show off. I mean, are you going to hand over the Northern Yan army to the imperial court just like this, and let the emperor do as he pleases?"

Seeing that Fu Shen did not answer for a long time, he hinted again: "The emperor is old...Jing Yuan, you should think about the future."

Chapter 25: Li┃The blind cat bumped into the dead mouse, don't brag about it like a godsend

"It's thanks to the fact that we both know the basics, or we would have kicked you out by now." Fu Shen said, "Interfering in abolishing the establishment, this kind of talk is what you should say, General Zhengbei?"

Yu Qiaoting said: "The knife is on your neck, what else can you say? I have never found that you are such a pedantic person. Did you accept your fate, or did you have a plan?"

Fu Shen was hit by his words and smiled: "What do you mean?"

Yu Qiaoting: "The crown prince loses his morals, the king of Jin has no talent, and the rest are mediocre, only—"

"Prince Qi." Fu Shen snatched his words, and said, "Gong Yu, His Royal Highness King Qi is well-known, and privately, my sister is his concubine, so you think he is suitable to inherit the great line, and he can be a prince in the future." Good emperor?"

Yu Qiaoting nodded.

Fu Shen: "Qingheng, please be sober. If His Royal Highness King Qi finally ascends to the throne, I will be a relative. How many relatives have a good end since ancient times?"

"Don't look at him being polite to me now, but when he takes that position, I'm afraid it will be a different look," he said, "As generals of an army, you and I have many worries, but he is the lord of all people." , thinking a lot more than the two of us. In the past, the emperor and Xian Kao were known as "the emperor and his ministers get along well", but now that he is harming his son, he still doesn't hold back?"

Yu Qiaoting was getting more and more worried by what he said, and his hair was turning white: "According to what you said, King Qi is not good, who else is suitable within the orthodoxy?" You don't want His Royal Highness to..."

Fu Shen frankly admitted: "I have thought about it."

Yu Qiaoting: "General, you really dare to think."

"But it's impossible," Fu Shen said, "Birth experience alone is a big problem."

Yu Qiaoting: "Then you..."

Fu Shen: "I often think, whether it's the emperor, the crown prince, or the king of Qi, no matter who sits on the dragon chair, whether it's a wise king or a foolish king, why does Beiyan's iron horse root always turn into a swallowing stick in the end? Fish bones that won’t go down? To tell you the truth, I even wavered, thinking that maybe it wasn’t the emperor’s fault, but the existence of Beiyan’s iron cavalry, which was a mistake in the first place.”

Yu Qiaoting felt the same way and sighed.

"But Beiyan cavalry has been stationed in northern Xinjiang for so many years, working hard, defending the country, what's wrong with that?" Fu Shen said, "Beiyan cavalry is the sharp edge of the country. There is nothing wrong with the sword. It is the person who wields the sword that is wrong. The handle is as long as One day in the hands of others, we will have to live in suspicion forever."

Yu Qiaoting was stunned by General Fu's rebellious words, and said tremblingly, "Jingyuan, you...you are going to rebel..."

"Why panic, haven't I done anything yet?" Fu Shen smiled lightly, "Besides, I'm about to get married, so I can live a good life, so why can't I think about being a loner."

Yu Qiaoting really couldn't hold it back, and said sarcastically, "General, put it away quickly, don't brag about the blind cat bumping into the dead mouse, like a good match from heaven."

Fu Shen: "..."

After talking a lot of nonsense, the conclusion is that you can't rebel, you can't force the palace, what can't be solved still can't be solved, and what should be worried should continue to worry.Fu Shen actually had a hazy idea, but it was too shocking to the world. When he said it, he was afraid that Yu Qiaoting would ask Doctor Du to treat his brain. After thinking about it, he shut up in time.

New Year's Eve is approaching, and the atmosphere in Yanzhou City is festive. The soldiers are tired all year round, and only during the New Year's Eve can they relax a little.The residents of the city have always been close to Beiyan cavalry, sending things outside Fu Shen's residence all day long.When the servants of the Yan Mansion drove into the city and found the Admiral's Mansion, they were almost drowned by a large pile of chickens, ducks and geese at the door.

Fu Shen was in the courtyard drinking and chatting with Yu Qiaoting, Xiao Xun and the others over the croquettes secretly made by the cook. Hearing that someone from the capital had come to give presents, the wine he just drank hit his head with a "boom".

He forgot that he was still sitting in a wheelchair, leaning on the table, subconsciously wanted to stand up, but Xiao Xun quickly pushed him down: "General, I will push you out."

Yu Qiaoting asked suspiciously, "What are you doing out there? Call me in."

The person who came was Yan Xiaohan's long-term follower who often followed Yan Xiaohan. When he came up, he first kowtowed to Fu Shen, called him Lord Marquis, and said a lot of auspicious words. Lord Hou sent some for early adopters. Even though Lord Hou is not in Beijing, he can still taste the flavors of his hometown. This is the gift list, please have a look at it."

The word "our family" instantly flattened Fu Shen's chest.Yu Qiaoting laughed and said teasingly: "Look at what you said, closeness and estrangement can be seen immediately. The general also said every day that Yanzhou was the place where he was born and raised. See now, hey, Jingyuan, where is yours?" hometown?"

Fu Shen suppressed the corner of his mouth, kicked him out with a crutch, took the gift list without being surprised, rewarded the long entourage, and ordered him to go down to rest, while he opened the box under the watchful eyes of a large group of live geese who did not mind the trouble. Review what Yan Xiaohan gave away.

Yan Xiaohan is a prudent person, the relationship between the two should not develop too fast, and the surface must be done well, so this etiquette is well-behaved, it is all common game, fur, nothing out of the ordinary, which makes people feel Can't fault it at all.

Fu Shen heaved a sigh of relief, feeling a little inexplicably disappointed, and secretly laughed at himself for being too idle.When he was distracted, he suddenly heard Yu Qiaoting say "Yo", "Strange, there are wild geese in this season?"

There was a pair of frozen wild geese in the first box of wild game. Xiao Xun and Yu Qiaoting each carried one, and tsk-tsk as they looked at it: "We have a lot of deep mountains and old forests here. Do you want any game? I wonder why this delicate-minded Lord Yan is so picky." Sending wild game here, I have been making a fuss for a long time because of these two wild geese! Isn’t it, Chongshan?”

Xiao Xun nodded fiercely beside him: "Yes, for the wild geese."

Fu Shen said coldly: "Why are you yelling, don't act like you've never seen a wild goose? Promise."

Yu Qiaoting was about to yell, "Is this an ordinary wild goose? This is the wild goose used for the Six Rites, Lord Hou!"

"Shut up, you still need to say, I don't know that there are wild geese in Liuli?" Fu Shen pulled up the big fur cloak as if nothing happened, letting the fur collar cover the ears, and said, "There are coming and going, Chong Shan went to find two pieces of deerskins, and brought them back together when Fifteen gave him a gift in return."

Fu Shen and Yan Xiaohan flirted with each other, but in the end it was Xiao Xun who was unlucky.General Xiao Xiao was not reconciled, and wanted to take a back seat in death, so he dragged the provocateur Yu Qiaoting away together.

Fu Shen finally calmed down, and slowly let out a mouthful of hot air from his throat, feeling that his internal organs were about to be burned by alcohol.

He leaned down to look at the other box, and sure enough, under the tanned furs, he found another gift: a pair of hand-sewn fur knee pads.

A pair of wild geese and a pair of knee pads are worth only a few taels of silver, and the other two big boxes are the foil of these two gifts.

Fu Shen didn't know whether to lament his good intentions or call him a prodigal.Thinking about it carefully, Yan Xiaohan has always been this kind of person, being gentle and considerate is like a waste, he is not stingy in giving sweets, but his sincerity is only a little bit, not very sweet, and it is hidden in a deep and dark corner .

However, this kind of sincerity is like jade under the stone skin. Once it sees the light, it will turn everything around it into stone.

On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, Yan Xiaohan received a gift in return from Yanzhou. The real gift was also mixed with a pile of specialties from the Northland: two pieces of deerskins, and one... Lingxiaohua jade pendant.

Fu Shen's ingenious gift scared Mr. Yan almost to sleep, and at night he looked through the jade pendant in amazement.For a while, I suspected that he knew something, and for a while, I felt that Fu Shen might want to use this to express his wish to "restore the old relationship".Thinking about it again, I started thinking wildly again, remembering the decisive look on Fu Shen's face when he threw the jade back then--wouldn't he plan to make a clean break again?

Yan Xiaohan turned his back to the bedside cabinet, found a small sandalwood box from inside, opened it, and found an old jade pendant wrapped in crimson satin.That piece of jade pendant was so thoroughly broken back then that even if Yan Xiaohan found the best craftsman, he couldn't save it by repairing it with gold.The jade pendant looked bumpy and uneven, compared to the one Fu Shenxin gave, it was more than 01:30, but Yan Xiaohan kept it as if it was a treasure.

He can still recall the remorse he felt when he squatted on the ground and picked up pieces of broken jade piece by piece, and the despair when he found that he could no longer put together the complete shape with a handful of pieces lying in his palm.If it weren't for the repairer's superb memory, Yan Xiaohan would regret it for the rest of his life.

Seven years ago, he had just joined the Flying Dragon Guard. He was still young, and he was criticized and ridiculed by the Qingliu every day.Because of this, he was rebellious and had no bottom line.Fei Longwei has always done things unscrupulously, Yan Xiaohan also followed suit.I don't know whether it was luck or misfortune, but the first case he handled was the Jin Yunfeng case.

The first time he "unscrupulously" kicked the iron plate of Fu Shen.

In the past seven years, the past has been like a shackle tied to his feet, and also like a spider's thread that hangs his life. It has drawn a clear and profound bottom line for him, so that Yan Xiaohan will not completely step into the quagmire and sink into a deep hole. .

This piece of jade pendant, which was almost broken into slag and was barely put together, seemed to entrust his humble wish that was buried deep in his heart but could not be uttered.That was an apology he owed Fu Shen.

I am sorry.

I don't want to... break up with you.

Two pieces of jade pendants are placed side by side in the box, no matter whether they are broken or intact, they all look extremely shiny and beautiful under the light, as if they came from the far north, from old memories, and the silent comfort from someone who is always stubborn .

Fortunately, he is coming back.

The author has something to say: The wild goose that Yan Xiaohan gave was a gift that Na Cai needed, and it was almost equivalent to going to the door to propose a marriage proposal.Fu Shenhui's deerskin, also known as "Lipi", is a gift for Nazheng, which means that the marriage contract has been established, and the man will hire the woman to prepare for marriage.

Both of them felt that they were marrying each other, tsk tsk tsk.

No change tomorrow, they will get married the day after tomorrow~