Everyone loves Huo Qubing

I woke up on a strange bed with the sound of birds chirping in the early morning, with a splitting headache.The warmth of last night has already left, and the red silk jacket that was used to welcome the bride yesterday is scattered on the body, and the person standing by the bed is waiting for the wash. I vaguely remember that it is the waiter who served the wine last night.

When I got up, I was embarrassed to find that I had left some map traces on the couch.It's been many years since I drew a map. I laughed at Cao Xiang before. If he found out, it would be a good joke. I drank too much last night, so I can't drink so much next time.

Forced by the servants to scrub in the bathtub in the backyard of the emperor's bedroom, when he got out of the water, the weather in October was already quite chilly.I drank the hangover soup in one gulp, tore off the bath towel, and quickly put on the Hu suit handed to me.The archery class will not be rescheduled because the students are drunk, but today I was really late for a long time.

"Huo Shizhong, your hair is still wet."

"It's too late, bring me the hair, and I'll do it myself." Anyway, no matter how carefully the servant combs it, the double bun will fall off in the bumpy running in a short while.

"What about breakfast?"

"Take it with you to eat on the road." I picked up two delicious meatloaf on the table and put them into my arms, and fled the scene in a hurry, not forgetting to turn around to leave behind me a waiter holding a bath towel in one hand and a toothbrush in the other. smiley.

Martial law was lifted at Weiyang Palace, and all classes reopened.The difference from half a year ago is that the shooting range without Li Gan is now very quiet, and no one calls me "Huo Meiren" any more.However, there is still a noisy guy around me—the curious baby Su Wu who always comes over like a little tail.

"Why is my cousin so popular here?" As soon as we met, his fingers quickly pressed on one side of my collarbone.

"I stayed in the yard for a long time, and the mosquitoes bit me." I waved him away, put my hand over my neck, and didn't touch anything, "Look, you were quite drunk last night, did you arrive early enough today?"

"It's just a moment before you." Su Wu yawned as he said, "We're not too late, so-and-so hasn't been seen yet."

"Who?"

"Here," he raised his finger not far away, "the person came just after talking."

It was three poles high in the sun, and Cao Xiang, Marquis of Pingyang, rubbed his sleepy eyes, and led his newly purchased white horse with a black mane to arrive late.Last night, Princess Pingyang and Marquis of Ruyin Xiahou Po had a big wedding, and as a young prince, he had to socialize a lot.It is said that this guy happened to be squatting at home in confinement during the Wuwu Rebellion, so he escaped the fate of being led by Zhang Tang to the mansion to investigate.

I'm used to Su Wu's fuss, but Cao Xiang frowned slightly when she saw me, wondering where she was bitten by some insects last night.

"Mr. Huo, come here." Grand Master Li put down the arrow barrel in his hand, and pulled my neckline up, but the neckline of Hufu was too low. Seeing that he couldn't cover the red marks, he looked around and grabbed a handful Archery lime powder was rubbed on the side of my neck.

"That's right, you won't be able to see it this way." Li Jiao clapped his hands, obviously quite satisfied with his clever masterpiece.

***

Tianliang Palace, which is adjacent to the majestic front hall of Jianzhang Palace, is backed by the red leaves all over the mountains and plains in autumn, standing tall and shining in the sunset.After the guards routinely checked the stamp, they led me to the main hall.

The uncle's voice came from inside the hall: "The Chancellor Han Anguo fell from the carriage yesterday and broke his leg. I just came back from the Han Mansion to give condolences. When I saw Daixiang Han himself, he was indeed seriously injured."

"Your Majesty, Huo Shizhong has arrived." Inside the door, a group of people were concentrating on discussing matters in front of the sand table.

"Han Changru, this useless thing, called him the prime minister, and he shirked it. Now it's better to use this method to hide from me, knowing that I'm short of generals here." The emperor took a stone horse from the sand table casually. Flipping through it patiently, "What can a cripple do? Do you really want me to send him to guard Yanmen?"

"Your Majesty, although Prime Minister Tian has passed away, as the saying goes, 'a centipede is dead but not stiff', the forces in the counties and states are still thriving and stalking. The Prime Minister of Han was originally promoted by Prime Minister Tian, ​​and this year The matter is too high, and it is reasonable to choose to be wise and protect yourself." The uncle defended Han Anguo.

But for those who are angry, excuses are obviously not as good as silence.The Son of Heaven snorted, and pressed the stone horse in his hand back to the sand table heavily, splashing a burst of smoke and dust.

"Han Changru, who said in the past that 'the ashes of death will never be rekindled', has now learned the officialdom trick of 'being timid and wise and safe'!" His voice suddenly rose an octave, "I am a big man, there is no other than Han Changru Are you a general?"

The uncle scratched the curly hair around his head, cupped his hands and replied: "Apart from Han Daixiang among the military officers of the Outer Dynasty, there are also Donggong Wei Wei Cheng Buzhi and Caiguan General Li Xi. Please consider your majesty's resume."

"I don't know Cheng? He has always been a member of the East Palace. Besides, he was taken away by the Tiger Talisman less than a year after he returned to Beijing. I am afraid that he will be dissatisfied at this time and the morale of the army will be unstable. Wang Hui Mayi lost his promise and sent troops to Daijun together." Li Xi cannot escape the responsibility." The Son of Heaven counted the military officers of the outer court one by one, pondered for a moment, then turned to his uncle, half condolences and half worried, "Even you, Uncle Zi, I am always worried about your shoulder injury."

The uncle waved his arms twice in the air, and replied with a smile: "It's been more than half a year, and the minister's shoulder injury has long since healed, so it's absolutely no problem to play." Then he urged Gongsun Ao in a low voice: "Your Majesty is employing people. Do you have any recommended candidates for cavalry generals, report them as soon as possible."

Gongsun Ao showed embarrassment: "In my view, the three lieutenants Su Jian, Xun Yu and Zhao Xin are all available talents with excellent riding and archery skills, but Su Jian has always been the infantry captain, and Xun Yu and Zhao Xin are newcomers. , lack of experience in fighting the enemy, whether these three people are qualified to be generals depends on His Majesty's decision."

"Your Majesty, I have the courage to go forward, and I have a candidate here who I would like to recommend to Your Majesty." Seeing that everyone was uncertain, I decided to share your worries.

"Huh? You?" The emperor's eyes finally landed on me in the corner, and he immediately threw himself back and forth with joy, "Qu Bing, have you just rolled in the mud? You're covered in ashes, like a dirty pig."

"I came here in a hurry just after finishing archery class." I frowned, I had already been laughed at by Taishi Li for a handful of lime all day long.

"Yeah," the emperor put away his smile, cleared his throat, "tell me, who is the person you see for me?"

"Grand Master Li Jiao." Ignoring the surprised eyes around me, I said confidently, "Grand Master Li is the minister's archery teacher. He served as a Dai Weiwei during the Battle of Mayi, and he is quite accomplished in riding and archery. , Archery is comparable to the former Grand Master Han. I feel that he is brave and resourceful, so I have the courage to recommend him."

As soon as the words fell, everyone looked at each other in blank dismay.

"This man is diligent in his work, takes the lead and treats soldiers like a son. He should still be in the shooting range to count the arrows." I was afraid that they would not understand Li Jiao, so I added more details and boasted a few more words.

"My nephew is really a talented person regardless of previous suspicions." Finally someone broke the awkward silence.

I knew what he was referring to was Li Gan's bullying of me before, so I replied respectfully: "I know that your majesty needs generals, and I will not deny a person's ability because of my own grievances."

"Okay." The emperor smiled, and told the guards around him, "Go and call Li Jiao."

"promise."

The guard turned and left.Gongsun Aola closed the curtain, leaned over to me and sighed softly: "Nephew Huo Xian didn't know something. According to the military law of the Han Dynasty, generals in battle cannot be promoted by leapfrogging. Li Jiao is now just a Lang Guan. This level can be promoted to a school lieutenant or a local county at most. Shou."

"I see." I digested the information provided by Gongsun Ao in my heart.After my uncle passed away, I never heard them discuss the issue of electing generals until Daixiang Han was injured.I made a joke in front of everyone today, it seems that I have to read the military regulations carefully in the future.

***

"Qubing, come to me." After announcing the end of the meeting, the emperor waved towards me.When he raised his hand to wipe off the lime on my neck, he was stunned for a moment, with an embarrassed smile on his face, "Next time, don't rush over here, go and change your clothes first."

"Your Majesty, I have something to ask." Just now, I didn't know the rules and casually interrupted important military matters. This time I have to be more careful.

"What's the matter?" The emperor took the silk handed over by the eunuch, dipped it in water, and wiped the dust off my face.

"I want to go back to Wei Mansion to live." I said.

The hand holding the silk handkerchief paused, the emperor smiled and said, "Isn't this Weiyang Palace well-lived, why do you want to move out all of a sudden?"

"The war is about to start, I want to go home to be with my uncle, I miss him very much." I swear every word in this sentence is true.

"Isn't my nephew unwilling to live with my wife and son?"

"Blood is thicker than water. After all, he is my cousin." Since he is going back to the Wei Mansion and has his second uncle, it should be fine to live with Mrs. Wei.

The person next to him looked sullen.

After staring at me for a long time in silence, he sighed and gently wrapped me in his arms.

Warm and firm arms surround me, giving me an illusion: In fact, no matter what I do, His Majesty will choose to forgive me and follow me.But how could I have the nerve to tell His Majesty that the sudden thought of fleeing was because I was drunk on his couch and soiled the mattress?

It's so embarrassing!

"Alright, go back and cultivate a relationship with your husband and wife." Gently bowing his head and kissing the broken hair on my forehead, he whispered in my ear, "I also think you've been in the palace for too long, and you're bound to get bored Now that the turmoil has passed and the threat from the East Palace has been lifted, from today onwards, I allow you to freely enter and leave Weiyang Palace."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." The Son of Heaven is so generous, I guess he must have something to say.

"Here is another task for you." He looked up at Gongsun Ao, who was lying in front of the book case, and said, "During the period when Zhongqing is not in court, you come to Tianliang Palace every night after school, Mr. Ao’s military report here, you copy it and bring it back to Wei Mansion and hand it over to Zhong Qing, so as to save the people from Jianzhang Palace from running back and forth.”

Hearing this, Gongsun Ao put down his pen and frowned, cupped his fists to persuade him, "Your Majesty, this is related to our military secrets, I am worried..."

"A child, what are you afraid of?" The emperor smiled and made a silence gesture to his uncle and Gongsun Ao, "As long as you two don't leak the news, others won't stare at him. He is safer and more reliable than your messengers." .”

"Your Majesty attaches so much importance to Nephew Huo Xian. Do you think he is raising a son?" After the emperor left, Gongsun Ao patted my shoulder and asked my uncle.

"General Gongsun doesn't know something. His Majesty intends to betroth Princess Wei to Qu Bing. This is to cultivate a future son-in-law." The uncle who was present at the picnic night in Ganquan Palace recalled the baby couple who was blocked by his aunt, and corrected Gongsun. Ao.

Gongsun Ao smiled, and his tone was quite firm: "The last general dares to bet with the servant, that His Majesty will have a prince soon."

"I hope." The uncle looked at me and sighed.

***

Holding the bamboo slips, leading the fire cloud, and stepping on the firecracker skins all over the floor, I stepped into the threshold of the Wei Mansion again, and the servants in front of me were cleaning the courtyard profusely with sweat.The second lady, Su Jia, relied on her skills, and promptly dismissed the cook and gardener that the eldest uncle had hired for the eldest lady, leaving only the nanny hired by Aunt Su to take care of Mrs. Wei.

The bright red silk ribbons were still hanging on the beams, but the atmosphere in the hall was indescribably weird.The second uncle should have just taken a bath, with wet hair wrapped in a towel, sitting at the dining table.Su Jia knelt on the mat opposite him, still wearing yesterday's wedding dress, the bridal make-up was not removed, the glaze was a bit flowery, and the rouge was scattered, making her complexion as dark as earth.

The autumn wind blows, the red curtain flutters, and the two sit across the table, but they are speechless.I still remember that when they first met in the Wei Mansion, they didn't say a word, and there was affection between Gu Pan, but it was a different scene.

"I didn't know that my nephew was coming, I didn't cook for him." Hearing my footsteps, Su Jia raised her head and glanced at the dirty me.

"No change of clothes for him either," she added.

"Qubing, you can eat this, I haven't touched the chopsticks." The second uncle pointed to the bowl in front of him, "There is still porridge and soup left over from the banquet in the kitchen, I can just eat those."

"Don't bother uncle, I'm tired of the meals in the palace, just deal with it casually." I pushed the second uncle who had stood up back to the table, and trotted into the kitchen clutching his growling stomach.I only ate those two meatloaf today, and the chest was already attached to the back. I was actually looking forward to finding a lot of leftover chicken legs, leftover bacon and so on in the kitchen.

"Young master is back?" Mrs. Wei's nanny happened to be working in the kitchen. Seeing me looking around for food, she handed me a plate of pastries. It will be fine soon."

"Thank you." I looked at the nurse's busy figure, and looked at Su Jia who was sitting at the table outside the door, and I still couldn't hold back my curiosity to ask, "What's wrong with Jin Niang? You were still happy when you walked in yesterday? "

Yesterday when I went to pick up someone at the Su Mansion, my nephew, who called the door, hadn't even touched the copper handle of the Su Mansion. The bride opened the door and ran out, happily running onto the sedan chair.

"Oh, you don't understand," the nanny whispered, "the general and his wife slept in separate rooms last night. During the bridal chamber, the general said something that annoyed his wife, and his wife moved to the guest room in a fit of anger and spent the night. Didn't sleep well, lost my temper."

Looking back, I saw Su Jia who was still angry, and the second uncle who had already used his chopsticks to eat hard. I never knew that Er Jinniang had such a temper. Didn't the congratulations say "a man with a talent and a woman with a beautiful appearance are a match made in heaven".

The author has something to say:

Jinjiang is even slower here. If you are interested, please move to Changpei.