[Red House] The First Imperial Merchant

Chapter 90 The prince is back

In the mansion of Marshal Xining Wei.

Xue Pan changed into a suit of armor, and his face was full of cold air. Li Qi ironed the handkerchief, but he didn't care about the redness of his hands. When the temperature dropped a little, he respectfully handed it to Xue Pan, "Master, wipe your face to get rid of the cold." After wiping his face, Li Qi was already waiting for Xue Pan with his outer robe. Xue Pan waved his hand and said seriously: "You don't need to do the work of these servants in the future. It is the right way to practice martial arts." Seeing Li Qi still Nodding obediently, he knew that this guy didn't listen to his heart, and he did what he should do, so he stopped talking, "Go ask the cook to prepare some sliced ​​meat, and eat the pot at night."

Li Qi should be, and told the cook to go.Xue Pan put on his robe by himself, opened the door and went to the back yard.The Marshal's Mansion sounds grand, but it's actually just a courtyard with two entrances and two exits. Xue Pan stays with the army in Lushawan on weekdays, and there is only an old man who does rough work at the gate and an old woman who cooks and cleans up in the Marshal's Mansion. .Not to mention the rockery fountains and other scenery in the yard, it is winter now and the scenery is very bleak, and even the house is covered with yellow sand. How can there be any beauty?Fortunately, the visitors were not curious to appreciate the beautiful scenery. A charcoal fire had just been lit in the living room. Even so, the visitors were shivering and pale.

Xue Pan entered the living room and watched the two of them nestled by the brazier warming the fire. The fire in his heart dissipated when he saw this scene, leaving only distressed, "Aunt Li serves hot tea." Aunt Li answered outside and went down to pour tea .

"Brother, are you still angry?" The visitor said coquettishly.

When Xue Pan heard this, he was angry and distressed for the two of them, and said helplessly, "Why are you bothering? The capital is half a month away from Xining, and it's winter again. You have suffered a lot while escorting food, grass and money?" Suddenly, Thinking of Baoqin's previous convictions, "Did you guys sneak out and tell mom?"

"Mom also agreed." Baochai, dressed as a man, said, "Brother, you have been gone for three years. How can we eat and sleep well in the capital? Especially Mom, every time I see someone from outside the city riding a horse galloping into the city All the soldiers are in such a hurry that they can't eat well, and they must inquire about her brother, but it's safe---" She stopped talking, she didn't want to put pressure on her brother, and changed the subject, "This time to escort food, grass and money, He Lao sent people to escort him without any problems. Yes, Baoqin and I were worried about my brother, and so was my mother, so we agreed to come and we didn't suffer much along the way. It's good to see my brother safe now."

It's not that Xue Pan didn't feel guilty. He was so busy in the past three years that he rarely sent family letters back. He was fighting in the front but forgot that anyone would worry about him.His face became softer, "I'm fine, go back and let my mother feel at ease, this battle won't be long, we'll see you in Beijing then. You and Baoqin shouldn't mess around like this in the future, you are the elder sister, you have to protect me The one with the Baoqin."

Baoqin is wild in her bones. Back then, she followed Xue Biao to the south to do business. This time she came out because of Baoqin's idea. It was my idea to come out this time, I have traveled far away with my brother before, and I have experience." Seeing that Xue Pan wanted to reprimand others, he hurried up, smiled mysteriously, and said: "We are here this time to let the elder brother take it. You are not at home, the Holy One is good to our Xue family, the aristocratic families in the capital have sent people to ask my sister, my mother can't make up her mind, but she is tempted, originally Shang Dangdang sent a letter for you to see, I Stopped by my sister..."

Xue Baochai is nineteen years old this year. Three years ago, before Xue Pan went to the battlefield, he was thinking about her sister's marriage. However, Emperor Pingkang's order was too sudden, and Xue Pan left in a hurry. He just forgot about it, or To be more precise, Xue Pan always felt that his sister was still a little girl in junior high school, and felt that there was no need to wait to get married. As a result, after he left for three years, Xue Wang could not make up her mind, so she delayed it, causing Bao Chai Nineteen has not yet left the pavilion to engage in marriage.

It is rare for a lady who is nineteen years old to be married. Xue Wang originally wanted to wait for her son to come back to make up her mind, but she was afraid when she saw that Baochai would soon be [-]. In the past year, there were obviously fewer aristocratic families who came to ask for marriage, and the conditions were poor. Mrs. Wang was in a hurry. She wanted to show her son the conditions for the portraits of the candidates by taking advantage of this delivery of food and grass, but in the end the Xue family sisters came in person.

Xue Baochai looked a little bit ashamed, she herself was ashamed and afraid of the marriage and still had some expectations.When Xue Pan heard this, he couldn't help but blame himself for not caring about his family. If Bao Qin hadn't mentioned such an important matter, he would have forgotten it.

Baoqin has a good memory, and has reported all the candidates for marriage proposals one by one. Although Xue Pan has been away from Beijing for three years, he has been an official in the capital for more than five years. Wrinkle, "This man surnamed Sun is romantic by nature. If I remember correctly, he has two concubines, right? I didn't have any children when I left, so this one won't work. Mommy's side? No way." Listening to the surname Wang, Xue Pan If you directly reject it, you won't be able to deal with the Wang family even if it's three thousand miles away. "The concubine of the Hou family? The sick man? Regardless of his health, how can Baochai marry such a person who is just a brother Qi who has a lot of children outside?"

After talking for a long time, Xue Pan objected one by one, but he couldn't pick a good one.The more Xue Baochai heard it, the more startled she became. When the matchmaker came, her mother let her hide behind the screen in order to give her a foundation. !She and her mother stayed in the back house all day, these people actually bullied them like this?

"...Which Pan family are you talking about?" Xue Pan asked in surprise.

"How many other Pan families are there in the capital? They are the natal family of the third prince, mother and concubine. Pan Jiashi is the youngest brother of Concubine Rui. This year, he is 25---" This person's conditions are too good, so the three members of the family can't make up their minds. , I am afraid that it will be related to Xue Pan's future, so Baoqin remembers this person in the most detail.

Xue Pan looked suspicious, "Who came and said it? Is it settled?"

"Concubine Rui's sister-in-law came to the door, she didn't make a decision, she just gave her mother frequent hints, but she couldn't make up her mind." Baoqin hesitated, and said: "Brother, isn't this Pan Jiashi not good?"

Xue Pan didn't say whether it was okay, but looked at Baochai, and asked seriously: "Don't be shy, this is a lifetime thing, brother doesn't want to delay you rashly, what do you think of this person?"

"The family background is good." Baochai said bluntly.

Xue Pan knocked on the table and said bluntly: "The Pan family has a strict family style. I have heard of this person. He has outstanding literary talents since he was a child, but his health is not good. He was sent to learn martial arts by the Pan family. He is considered a versatile man. The most important thing is The reputation of people is good. However, you also know that our Xue family belongs to the third prince's faction, and now the Pan family is asking for marriage, and the third prince has not returned after three years at sea. I am afraid that the empress in the palace is thinking too much, and I will use your marriage to tie you up. We are from the Xue family." Xue Pan's face was cold and hard, he didn't want to marry this family, and looked at Baochai, "You are careful and thoughtful, and you can definitely see the entanglement in the relationship. If you think this person is good, you will move your mind , so I agreed with my mother that the Pan family will also succeed, and there will be elder brothers on the left and right."

Xue Baochai frowned and bit her lips for a long time, and looked at Xue Pan with tenacity in her eyes, "Brother, Baochai can afford to wait another three years." Brother, you are not in Beijing, the Xue family has not been neglected by others, and there are quite a lot of people who are involved in the door, the brother is glorious, the Xue family will not be underestimated, and even if I am 25 six, I don’t have to worry about not getting married, if I really marry So what if I'm lazy for the rest of my life? Brother, you won't dislike me, right?"

Xue Pan knew that Xue Baochai had a clear view of things and was cold and resolute.Nodded, "Don't worry, brother won't let you waste three years of youth, within a year, you will definitely win and return to Beijing." Rubbing Baochai's hair, "Don't think about anything, go back and be happy with Baoqin That is, the future of the marriage between the two of you is something my brothers have to worry about."

The Xue family sisters nodded, and felt relieved, feeling much more relaxed.In the evening, I ate hot pot. This time, Xue’s family paid for food and grass out of their own pockets. Xue Wang felt sorry for his son, so he added a lot of new year’s goods. Mind!The two sisters of the Xue family lived in Xiningwei for two days before they were sent to Beijing by Xue Pan's personal guards. When the 30 soldiers finally had enough to eat, Ximan became restless again and sent envoys to beg for things.In Xue Pan's eyes, this envoy came to beg for food, but he relied on Zhao Hongzhi's hand!

Twenty cannons, ten thousand Jingyi guns.

Money and food are not needed at all, but the above can already show his ambition. Xue Pan is a fool if he can give it. These hot weapons are Daqing's magic weapon. Otherwise, why can't Ximan get half of it every time?With a livid face, he sent the barbarian's envoy out, rolling his legs as far as he could, and brought back the words of his second prince, "If Daqing offers these, I, Ximan, will not break my promise. Prince Daqing will be returned."

Xue Pan really wanted to tell the envoys that he didn't want the prince anymore, but he endured it, almost causing internal injuries.Zhou Qin also turned blue, but this time he was a bit bloody, and he yelled at the case, "I can't give it! I can't give it! Otherwise, the Western Barbarians will invade, and the people of Daqing will be displaced—"

"The envoys are all gone." Xue Pan held his forehead, as if he didn't see the embarrassment on Zhou Qin's face. He was also so angry that he hurt Zhou Qin's face by speaking out for a while, although this person is indeed an afterthought and doesn't do anything. He eats a lot , but anyway, a civil servant wants to save face. "This matter is very important, I want to write a letter to the Holy Spirit."

Eight hundred miles is urgent.When the excerpts were delivered to Emperor Pingkang, Xue Pan was changing into tights. When Emperor Pingkang was browsing the contents of the excerpts, Xue Pan went straight to Ximan without disturbing the 30 troops with his lightness.

Xue Pan came three days, and it was the end of each day, so Xue Pan sent Qing Gong to go to Ximan alone to survey the terrain and find the imprisoned prince.For three consecutive days, Xue Pan finally discovered something was wrong in the courtyard of the favorite concubine of the second prince of Ximan. And the second prince would go to this courtyard every day no matter how late he was to take a look before going to rest in Chong Ji's room.

This night, the moon is dark and the wind is high, and the cold wind is blowing. It is a good time to kill.

Emperor Pingkang in the capital was so angry that he vomited blood after reading the excerpts. The imperial doctor was on guard every night during this period. Hearing the movement inside, he hurried into the bedroom. The doctor turned pale with fright and pretended not to hear.And in the second prince's mansion in the capital of Ximan, thousands of miles away, the cold wind howled past, and the guard guarding the gate shuddered, "The wind seems to be getting stronger?"

"It's been such a horrible weather for the past few days, and we have to stand guard every night, but it won't be long before we can enter the Central Plains. I heard that the temperature there is pleasant, and the women are very beautiful..."

"Do you also like Han women? Blood is dirty..."

"It's okay to play around."

The room was pitch black, but Xue Pan could clearly see what color clothes Zhao Hongzhi was wearing and the small ornaments in the room.Seeing that Zhao Hongzhi was sleeping soundly, he seemed to be much fatter than a few months ago?Xue Pan's eyes were cold, Zhao Hongzhi couldn't stay, no matter what Emperor Pingkang decided, Xue Pan couldn't keep Zhao Hongyi anymore.The Xue family and the prince are bound to be unable to get along. Instead of trying to get rid of the prince who has greatly increased in strength in the future, it is better to take this opportunity to destroy the prince and arouse the momentum of the soldiers to take down Ximan in one fell swoop.

That night, the prince never woke up again.In order to prevent Ximan from extorting under the guise of the prince, Xue Pan carried the prince's body and walked out the door, while the Ximan soldiers guarding the door had already lost their vitality.When they arrived at the battlefield where the two armies fought, it was already dawn. Xue Pan hung the frozen body of Zhao Hongzhi on the flagpole of the truce between the two armies, and hurried back.

Except for his clothes, Xue Pan's face was bloodless, and his face was very cold.When Li Qi entered the tent with hot water, he saw Xue Pan who was wearing only a pair of obscene trousers, he was taken aback, and said: "Master, you---" He immediately stopped the words of concern.He has never seen such a master. The master has always been calm and composed. Although he is cold, his eyes are soft and kind. Now the master's face and eyes are cold, as if he came back from the battlefield. The appearance of the enemy is even more terrifying.

Xue Pan felt cold all over his body, and Zhao Hongyi's last warmth remained on his fingertips. He was a little annoyed for a while, but he didn't regret it at all. If he had never done this once, he would have known about Zhao Hongyi's life with his own hands.

"The clothes are burned, don't let the outside world know about today's affairs." Xue Pan ordered in a cold voice.

Li Qi nodded, put down the hot water, and went out holding the clothes on the ground.No matter what happens to the master, as long as he is asked to do it, he will finish it.Avoiding the soldiers burning the clothes, and burying the ashes, Li Qi went to the logistics to change a pot of hot water. The master is so cold that a pot of hot water might not be enough...

The fog in the winter morning gradually dissipated, and the dark sky was dispersed by the first rays of sunlight. Xue Pan changed into a suit of armor and sat in the tent, staring quietly into the distance, waiting.

When the soldiers patrolling outside the barracks every day saw the truce flag, it seemed that something was wrong today. They formed a small team and went up to check. When they saw the captive prince who was frozen hard, the soldiers immediately He was stunned, but he quickly realized that he let go, and the prince returned to the camp with the body on his shoulders.

"Military doctor! Military doctor! No, no, Marshal! Marshal! Tai, Tai, the crown prince came back, found, found it!!!" The soldier who was carrying the corpse was out of his mind. He originally wanted to call the military doctor to take a look, but The hardness on his back told him that it was useless to seek a military doctor, so he hurriedly changed to a marshal.