Ten years without a return

Said: "But I care." I watched the light in her eyes dim a little bit, and although I couldn't bear it, I still said seriously: "Please tell me, girl, if you can't wait, you don't have to wait any longer. She found a good match early on."

The days of peace are always short, the old man is very skilled in medicine, we got better, and then we bid farewell to the farm.

I was riding on the horse, and felt that Youdao's eyes were fixed on my back, and I sighed softly in my heart, my fate is short-lived, and my daughter's thoughts are the most delicate, I only hope that she can meet someone worthy of entrustment.

*****

"General, here we are."

I looked at the tower in front of me, like the legendary capital, gorgeous and noble, but vulnerable.

We had already put on our military uniforms, and before we could step in, a group of people greeted us.

"Welcome General Zhen Guo to return to the capital—" Someone shouted.

The overwhelming red silk came down from the tower, and a long red carpet was spread in front of us. An official led a group of stewards to greet me in a hurry, stood under his horse and saluted me, saying: "Congratulations, General, Xiaguan Huan, The emperor ordered me to come and greet him, and the general please come with me."

I nodded: "Thank you."

I followed him and looked at the crowds of people on both sides of the street. All eyes were on me, curious, admiring, and disapproving. I saw a woman poking her head out of the attic on the side of the road. After touching each other, they shrank back, but covered their faces with a round fan, stared half-covered, and occasionally whispered to others.

Fang Huan's etiquette was very thoughtful, and he didn't show any disdain when he knew that it was my first time returning to Beijing. He introduced the scenery of the capital to me in detail along the way.

He took me to the general's mansion bestowed by the emperor. Everything in the mansion has been arranged. Before leaving, he asked me to rest for a day. Tomorrow he will pick me up and enter the palace. The emperor prepared a banquet to welcome me.

This general's mansion was probably relocated temporarily, and there are still traces of the former owner in the mansion. I wandered around casually and ordered everyone to rest well. Everyone is exhausted from the days of running around, and tomorrow is when the dust will really settle. .

Before going to sleep, I put Xuanqing and Dongzi's spirit tablets into the study, wiped them carefully, and said: "The capital is really lively, I am used to seeing big scenes, but today's battle actually surprised me, but General Ben has always been calm, but at least he is tense."

"But you don't have to, Dongzi. The last time we went to Nanling, the number of people was less than [-]% of what it is today, so you pulled my sleeves with a silly face and said, 'Mother, it's terrible, I haven't been caught so much yet. people welcome.'”

Recalling that scene, I couldn't help but chuckled twice. At the end of the laugh, I felt sour and dizzy, and said in an inaudible voice, "Today, I brought you back."

Fang Huan came on time, with a smile on his face, and told me the things that need to be paid attention to when entering the palace.

Going around the winding and complicated palace road, the luxurious buildings of gold bricks and jade tiles swayed in front of me. After nine twists and eighteen bends, I finally arrived at the banquet hall.

As soon as I entered, the noisy hall fell silent, scrutinizing gazes and voices of discussion came from all directions, I walked to my seat and sat down without any waves, and immediately a palace official came up to greet me and offered me a glass of wine. Fill up.

Everyone's discussion was interrupted by a clear voice: "General Zhen Guo has arrived, what are you all doing?"

I looked around where the sound came from. The man was very young, wearing a purple official robe, holding his chin in one hand and playing with a wine glass in the other. After meeting my eyes, he raised the glass and toasted me from afar.

When other people saw this scene, they toasted to congratulate me as if they had just woken up from a dream. Praises and compliments poured in like water, and I talked one by one, with a just right smile on my lips.

"The emperor is here—" the eunuch's sharp voice sounded outside the hall.

Everyone left the table and knelt to greet them, with their foreheads pressed to the ground, only to hear a series of procrastinated steps slowly walking towards the main seat, and it took a full half a cup of tea before they heard an old voice coming from above.

"Be flat."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

When I returned to my seat, the emperor asked, "Tao Aiqing, are you used to returning to Beijing?"

I raised my head, then lowered it quickly, and replied, "It's okay."

What followed were general questions and answers, meaningless and distant.

The person on the seat was dressed in a bright yellow dragon robe, but the brows were even more gloomy. The emperor was nearing old age, and his pampering made him staggering. His gray beard had been well groomed, but it was as haggard as his eyes. He seemed to be out of breath. Shangqi, every time I ask me a sentence, it takes a long time before I can answer the next sentence. The turbid breathing is accompanied by slight panting, like an old man who is dying.

"Does the general know about the peace talks between me and Yu Qiu?" he asked.

I didn't expect that the emperor would take the initiative to bring up this matter, so I was silent for a while, and replied: "King Yuqiu is deceitful and smart, I'm afraid he won't keep the promise easily."

The person in the seat actually laughed lightly, he shook his head while waving his hands, his words were full of confidence: "No, they signed a contract with me, if they go against their word, even if they win, it will be difficult for them to be trusted by the world in the future, The general is overthinking."

Hearing the words, I was speechless for a while, and I wondered why the emperor would have such childish thoughts. I hurriedly said: "Your majesty, Wumo is ambitious, talking with him is tantamount to seeking skin with a tiger..."

He raised his hand to interrupt me, and I wanted to argue again, but the emperor smiled even more, his hands and feet began to twitch slightly, an abnormal blush appeared on his face, and he coughed again.

I was shocked, but the others were not surprised. The purple-clothed official robe, that is, the prime minister He Qinzhi waved his hands to the palace servants and said, "Quickly take the elixir for the emperor."

I watched the emperor take that strange pill, his face returned to normal, he repeated to me over and over again: "No, no, Daxuan will not perish..." His voice became lower and lower until In the end, he started snoring, and was immediately sent back by the palace guards.

The banquet became lively because of the emperor's departure. There were endless dances and dances. He drank it all in one gulp, a sneer overflowing from the corner of his mouth.

I felt that someone was looking at me, and when I looked back, He Qinzhi was looking at me with interest.

From the moment I saw him, I knew that this person was not simple. Everything just now was like a drama written by him, and every scene was under his control, exactly.

I imitated his appearance and toasted him from a distance. He raised his eyebrows, and the interest on his face dissipated and turned into a bottomless thick ink.

07

When I returned to the mansion, I felt exhausted physically and mentally. Feng Lin came up to meet me, and was startled when he saw my face.

"General?"

I recalled He Qinzhi's words after the banquet, and I felt a bitterness in my throat, and when Fang opened his mouth, it flooded to the tip of his tongue, and he shook his head with a wry smile and said, "There is no way to turn around."

He opened his eyes slightly and said, "Why?"

"Marriage is an inevitable move. The marriage team has already set off before we arrived in the capital. We only randomly selected an unfavored princess, and randomly named Princess Anping and sent it out."

Feng Lin frowned and said, "So fast?" He reluctantly added, "Since she is not favored, it would be a good thing for the princess if she pleases King Yuqiu after arriving in Yuqiu?"

I couldn't help laughing, and said, "Do you know who Yuqiu and his relatives are?"

Feng Lin asked in confusion, "Isn't it King Yuqiu?"

"It's King Yuqiu, but it's Wu Mo's father, who was imprisoned in the west of Yuqiu, the old King Yuqiu who is as old as the emperor."

"What!" He couldn't believe it, "They actually..."

I laughed, laughing so hard that my heart hurts, "It's so sad and ridiculous that I want to protect Anping with the strength of a weak woman."

At the court meeting on the second day, the emperor accepted my military power as expected. I looked coldly at the expressions of the people next to me, whether they couldn't bear it or were fortunate, and replied in a deep voice: "My minister, obey the order."

Feng Lin and the others were very angry when they heard about it, but I looked away. Perhaps it can also be said that I was extremely disappointed, so I would not expect anything more.

Forget it, since they want me to be that general in name only, I have fulfilled their wish, and being an idler is not out of the question.

In the days that followed, I wandered around with nothing to do, the capital was bustling, and there were many things on the streets that I had never seen before.

Today I came to a tea shop, found an inconspicuous corner and sat down, just took a sip of tea when I heard the gavel slap, the storyteller was standing on the high platform of the tea shop to tell the story .

"...The Yuqiu thieves all have big arms, round waists, three eyes on the forehead, wide fangs, invulnerable to swords and guns, and they are about to tear people to pieces and eat them. So a pick, huh! Guess what?"

"What's the matter?"

"The thief was stabbed in the opposite direction, his eyes widened with anger, and he was unwilling to resist. General Tao stabbed him in the forehead again, and then he killed the thief!"

"Good!" Everyone applauded.

Some people also wondered: "Isn't it invulnerable? Why was it so easy to be stabbed to death?"

"Hey!" The storyteller smiled, and then said inscrutablely: "You don't know, that General Tao is born with supernatural powers, he can kill a cow with his bare hands when he is less than ten years old..."

Listening to everyone's impassioned admiration, I rubbed the tip of my nose a little uncomfortably. People are always willing to demonize what they fear, and those who oppose demons become so-called heroes, but what the rulers want is never Heroes, and heroes will go to the end.

I got up and was about to leave when I heard a voice not far away.

"Did you go to see General Tao when he entered the city?"

"Go, it's called a handsome, unrestrained and brave man!"

"Hey, if you want me to tell you, there is bravery, but if you want to talk about handsomeness, you have to count General Tao back then."

"Tao Xiao