When Master Yuanjing received his wife's letter and learned that his son-in-law had been abducted by Huang Song, his heart skipped a beat.
Tang Yao saw his teacher's expression and thought that something had happened in Langya.
He asked with concern, but Master Yuanjing waved his hand. Although he said that he was fine, he could not hide his worried expression.
After another month, Wei Ci, who was far away in Shangjing, received the news that Nie Xun had returned to Huang Song's camp.
At the same time, he received a private letter from his teacher, Master Yuanjing.
Wei Ci read the letter quickly and flipped it over. A person's birth date was written on the back.
The birth date was Nie Xun's.
He used the person's birth date to make a divination.
Wei Ci made a copy of the divinatory signs and the contents of his divination and sent someone to deliver it to Yuan Jing.
Master Yuanjing received the secret letter and quickly opened it.
After a while, he could only sigh.
"What a sin!"
Everyone knew that Nie Xun left Zhongzhao's Nie family to study in Langya to find his roots.
Nie Xun had been abducted and sold when he was a baby. After passing through the hands of several human traffickers, he ended up in Zhongzhao.
He did not know where he came from or who his birth parents were.
He also did not know if he was abandoned or if he was forced to separate from his birth parents.
Nie Xun followed the clues of the human traffickers who had abducted him and traveled all the way, but the clues ended at the border of Dongqing.
He heard that Master Yuanjing's divination was very accurate, so he went to Langya County with the mentality of giving it a try.
Master Yuanjing did a divination for him, and it showed that Nie Xun would meet his blood relatives in a few years.
It seemed like a good divination, but it was actually a bad one.
The divination showed that Nie Xun and his family would be killed.
Either Nie Xun would die, or his family would die in Nie Xun's hands.
Master Yuanjing asked Wei Ci to do a divination so that he could find out who Nie Xun's family member was.
Wei Ci did the divination a few times and the conclusion was the same.
The divination showed "Qian," which meant that the person who killed or was killed by Nie Xun would be Nie Xun's biological father.
If Nie Xun had been a famous scholar, the possibility of him going against his biological father would be very low. He could even avoid the bad reputation of killing his own father.
But now, he was instigated by Huang Song to become an official. He would inevitably follow Huang Song to war in the future.
Who knew when he would kill his own father with his own hands.
It was fine if this news was kept a secret for a lifetime, but if it was accidentally leaked, Nie Xun's reputation would be ruined.
That was why Master Yuanjing said that it was an ill-fated relationship.
Cheng Zong Second Year, June.
Jiang Pengji was 19.
"Sister! Sis, wait for little brother! "
Liu Zhao rode on the maroon horse. He grabbed the reins in a panic and tried to catch up with Jiang Pengji.
As it turned out, he really did not have the talent to ride a horse. Even after learning horsemanship for two years, he was still stuck at the level where he could only rely on the reins.
Right at this moment, the maroon horse he was riding missed its footing and fell forward.
Liu Zhao's heart was beating rapidly due to the sudden incident. He had no time to defend himself and could only close his eyes, hoping that he wouldn't fall and become a cripple.
"Ya —"
The pain he expected didn't come. Instead, he felt his waist tighten, and his falling motion came to an abrupt halt. He was forcefully carried onto the horse.
"Sister —"
Liu Zhao opened his eyes and sat diagonally on the horse's back, looking like he was still in a state of shock.
Jiang Pengji's expression turned solemn. She flipped over and got off the horse. Liu Zhao, who had just escaped, also climbed off the horse's back shakily.
"This horse —"
"It's probably crippled. The horse's hoof is completely broken."
Jiang Pengji squatted down. The maroon horse's large, moist eyes were wide open. Its body was twitching because of the severe pain.
Liu Zhao went forward to take a closer look and found that the front hoof of the maroon horse was indeed bent at a twisted angle. It was quickly bleeding and swollen.
"Who on earth dug such a hole here?!"
Liu Zhao's heart ached so much that he wanted to cry. He had pestered Jiang Pengji for a long time to get this maroon horse. For this, he had even agreed to many unfair terms. He had to practice hard for more than two months before he could barely reach the standard of the other party.
He had put in so much effort to get such a good horse, but it was crippled by the hole in the ground after only a few days of riding.
Jiang Pengji's expression turned solemn. She asked the guards to send the maroon horse back to the stable to see if it could be treated.
"This is not a hole dug by someone."
Liu Zhao's expression became even more dejected. If it was not man-made, then it was naturally formed. Was his horse unlucky enough to step on it and break its hoof?
"Have you heard of the saying that a cunning rabbit has three burrows?" Jiang Pengji asked Liu Zhao.
"Sister, although I'm a little ignorant and incompetent, it's not to the extent that I don't even know that a cunning rabbit has three burrows." Liu Zhao swung the jade tassels hanging on his waist. "Wait — sister, do you mean that this hole is not man-made? It was dug by a wild rabbit?"
"It should be. Ask the people to stop racing horses nearby. Check how many rabbit burrows there are."
Liu Zhao said, "Today, I want to have an all-rabbit feast. I want to eat all these beasts that dig holes randomly."
His heart bled at the thought of his beloved horse.
Jiang Pengji's lips curled into a slight smile. She said, "Okay, I'll deduct Zixiao's salary and prepare an all-rabbit feast for you."
Liu Zhao did not understand. What did wanting to have an all-rabbit feast have to do with deducting Wei Ci's salary?
It was June now. The pasture was abundant. Wild rabbits were hopping around everywhere.
After searching carefully, even Liu Zhao, who was a loser in archery, accidentally shot one.
Two hundred guards went to catch them together. In less than an hour, they caught more than 50 wild rabbits.
Liu Zhao muttered. He said, "Even if I eat until my stomach explodes, I won't be able to finish so many …"
Jiang Pengji ordered the people to roast the wild rabbits. She and Liu Zhao kept five and distributed the rest.
"There are so many wild rabbits in the grasslands at the border of Chongzhou. There should be more in the northern borderline."
Jiang Pengji chewed on a rabbit leg and looked in the direction of the northern borderline. She smiled and squinted her eyes.
"Of course. The rich pasture is all in the northern borderline. It's more attractive to these little brats."
Liu Zhao was still dressed like a rich young master. Even when eating rabbit meat, he had to take out the exquisite silverware that he brought along with him. The plate he used was even made of transparent jade. Liu She had scolded him for being extravagant more than once. He was glad that he had a sister to protect him. His life was very comfortable.
"Is that so …"
Jiang Pengji smiled meaningfully.
Liu Zhao shook his hands and used a knife to cut a few pieces of rabbit meat. He smeared seasoning on them evenly and skewered them to roast. The aroma filled the air.
"Sister, rabbit meat to show my respect to you."
"I didn't dote on you for nothing."
After eating the roasted rabbit, Jiang Pengji and the others returned to the military camp.
After three to four years of development, the northern borderline gradually recovered from the blow of the horse plague. The major horse farms also began to produce war horses.
In less than three years, they would have the capital to command the Central Plains.
Jiang Pengji wanted to take advantage of the golden opportunity before the northern borderline could catch its breath. She wanted to be the first to crush them on the grasslands.
Dongqing was already divided. Each feudal lord had their own army. It was not that the northern borderline did not have the power to dominate the Central Plains.
However, as long as Jiang Pengji was around, they could only dream.
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