When he woke up, the sky was slightly bright, and it was drizzling outside.
The woman who was his wife was sleeping in his arms. The woman who usually gave people a sense of sharpness was now as docile as a child. Her body was full of vitality, soft and warm, and it was very comfortable to hold. Ning Yi rarely had such a feeling. He felt that hugging someone would make him feel warm on a psychological level, or it could be said that he almost never had such a feeling.
In the past … it seemed to be a long, long time ago in his life, he had never lacked women. When he was young, he might have crazily sought pleasure and excitement in this aspect, and there were years when he was very interested in it. That period of time was already very vague, but he did not have such a feeling at that time. It seemed that he was too busy, and later he just wanted to solve his physiological needs.
Among his friends, there were also very reckless people who fooled around with four or five or more women at the same time, like this and that. It was very troublesome and boring. If he hugged three or four naked women at the same time, he would probably only feel that they were very heavy. It was enough to have one to solve his physiological needs, and it was meaningless to have more. Unrestrained * * would only make people feel tired, and even distract them from their work. Although one of the bad habits of men was that they constantly flaunted their ability in this aspect, they would still be tired.
There was almost no such thing as love, except for the occasional memories of some of the feelings of youth, but the accounts were actually very clear. Whether it was a * * or a high-class call girl, they could give you anything you wanted in one night, but to really pursue a woman required a lot of effort, which would be distracted, and sometimes even painful. Later on, when it came to business, it involved hundreds of millions of dollars, which was relatively not worth it and had little chance of winning. So in the end, he did not even look for a prostitute, because it was inevitable that the other party would have further thoughts. After encountering such a situation several times and seeing those women cry and pester him, he only chose to settle the transaction with money and goods.
Some people said that the desire for power or the desire for control would often override feelings such as * *, because after the material conditions were met, the latter was too easy to be satisfied. Perhaps it was reasonable, and he was too lazy to think about it, but he rarely felt that there was much meaning in hugging someone like this. But now, he really felt that the feeling of hugging his wife was very good.
In this ancient and simple world, it could indeed make him forget many things of the past. That world existed a thousand years later, even if he hugged the other party, he could only feel his own temperature, although part of it was caused by himself, but … was this a good start?
With such thoughts floating in his mind, he hugged his wife and slept for a while before he decided to get up. In theory, he should be sleeping outside, but for some reason, he was inside, so he tried to sneak out. When he saw the clothes by the bed, he couldn't help but smile.
It was time to take a bath in the courtyard next door. As for Tan 'er, Chan' er and the others would take care of everything outside. Now the situation was special. They lived together for the first time, and the wife was a little shy in this regard. Therefore, the blood-stained white cloth on the bed and the sheets that needed to be changed were left to them. There was no need for her to get involved.
Actually, thinking about last night, it was quite tiring. After all, it was his wife's first time. She closed her eyes and looked like she was ready to be slaughtered. He tried his best to make her relax. Later on, when he went in, she was probably still in pain. He paid attention to her emotions and naturally couldn't care too much about himself. Virgins were really troublesome. However, she was in pain, and he was tired, so the relationship between husband and wife was even. He had spent so much effort, and his wife should not have any trauma in the future.
He had thought that his wife would be shy, and if he went out like this, she would either pretend to be asleep or really fall asleep, and there would not be too much trouble. However, when he was about to leave, he heard a soft voice from the other side, "Husband."
He turned his head and saw that Su Tan'er had also woken up. Her hand was holding the edge of the quilt, and she was lying there looking at him. She smiled and said softly, "Good morning."
This was the way Ning Yi often greeted her in the past. Hearing her say this, Ning Yi could not help but be stunned, then he smiled and nodded.
"Good morning …"
This day was the sixth day of the eleventh month of the eighth year of the Wu Dynasty's Jinghan. It had been a year and a half since Ning Yi and Su Tan 'er got married. The feeling of family between the husband and wife had finally been restored. It had been winter for a long time, and the weather was falling fast. In a few days, the first snow would fall, and Jiangning City would truly enter the long winter period.
On the other side of the courtyard, the charred remains of the small building stood there. It was not easy to move for the time being. In the bedroom on this side, Ning Yi's things had finally been mixed with Su Tan'er's things. For the time being, the room was already a little crowded, but at least for this winter, no one considered changing rooms.
At the beginning of the next spring, they planned to do a large scale construction in the courtyard. With the addition of this small building, it would be a completely new layout. Recently, Ning Yi and Su Tan'er had also discussed this matter, and they also asked Chan'er, Juan'er, and Xing'er to come up with some ideas. At night, the five of them lit a fireplace in the living room. The warm atmosphere was the same as before. Of course, Chan 'er and the others already knew that the relationship between the young miss and the son-in-law had progressed. When they were together, they would naturally joke around more intimately with each other. It was not a problem.
Occasionally, Xiaochan felt a little lonely and envious, but more than that, she was happy for the two most important relatives. Ning Yi and Su Tan'er treated her the same as usual. Of course, she also understood that the young miss and the son-in-law had just progressed, and it was impossible for the son-in-law to take her in now. Occasionally, she felt envious. In front of the dressing table in the room, she secretly said to the bronze mirror, "Xiaochan, don't worry, it's a lifetime thing …" Then she pursed her lips to encourage herself.
She already knew what kind of person the son-in-law was, and he would not leave her behind.
*****
The clouds in the sky were still very thick, but the world had become clear. It was already the middle of November, and it had also snowed in Tokyo these days. Today was the first clear of the winter snow, and the white seemed to precipitate on the ground. The city was like a cushion outlined in the white snow, and the white of the streets was slightly lighter, drawing lines in the city.
Coming down from the teahouse by the Imperial Street, Li Pin looked back at the towering palace wall in the distance, and let out a breath of hot air.
For the past two months, he had been running around all over Tokyo, and two days ago, he finally received the document from the Ministry of Personnel's Inquiry Court. It also meant that the shadow of offending the Ministry of Personnel's Assistant Minister Fu Ying had disappeared. He finally had his first real vacancy, and officially entered the official career, and could start to show his abilities.
He would take office in February next year, and he would go north to Xingzhou to be the county magistrate of Nanhe County. Speaking of which, Nanhe County was a good place, and even had the reputation of "the granary of Guangxi". It was an important place in Xingzhou, and it was easy to make achievements. It was not easy for a new official to fill this vacancy. It seemed that the letter that Qin Siyuan Elder Qin wrote for him when he came over had an effect.
Thinking of Elder Qin, he couldn't help but think of the trouble that Ning Yi encountered when he left Jiangning. When he left Jiangning, the imperial business had just decided who to belong to. The Su family had been set up by the Wu Family, and they didn't know how to solve the crisis. Liheng was originally a son-in-law, and after this incident, it would be even more difficult for him to live in the Su family. However, it was difficult to travel in winter, and he would take office in February next year, so he couldn't go back to Jiangning in such weather.
Thinking of this, he always felt that he owed him a favor. Now that he was in trouble, but he couldn't help, he actually felt a little guilty. Now that he was a county magistrate and an official, if he could go back and help, he could at least be of some use. Although he subconsciously felt that there was something fishy about this matter, and maybe Ning Yi didn't need much help, he was at least a friend.
Being able to become the county magistrate of Nanhe, Qin Siyuan, played a big role because of Ning Yi's introduction. However, some of the details made him feel very strange.
Qin Siyuan was a big figure. Although Ning Yi downplayed the introduction, he already understood at that time, and also remembered the name of this great scholar who was once the Minister of Personnel. After all, for many students, among the three provinces and six ministries, only the Ministry of Personnel was the most important. Among the six ministries, only the Ministry of Personnel was important. The old man who lived in seclusion at the head of the six ministries, could be said to be under one person in the imperial court years ago, and only a few people could be on par with him.
However, the reason for his retirement was quite complicated. If it wasn't for Ning Yi's introduction, Li Pin wouldn't have known that there was such a big figure living in seclusion in Jiangning. After the Black Water Alliance, Qin Si Yuan silently retreated from the Imperial Court, and in the next few years, the old man bore the infamy of being a "traitor" and so on. When she received the recommendation letter, Li Pin actually doubted whether the old man still had any influence. Or, even if there were some people in the imperial court who cared about old friendships, because of the Blackwater Alliance, there might be more enemies. She didn't know if she came with Qin Siyuan's recommendation letter, but she didn't know if it would have the opposite effect.
But the subsequent reaction was very thought-provoking.
He felt that many of the processes were convenient for him. They had opened the back door and spent more than two months to arrange a good position like Nan He for him. In the past two months that he had been active in the capital, he had always felt that all the results were not due to his own activities. The smiles of those high-ranking officials were rather amusing. He had even faintly heard that the Emperor had once had the intention of meeting him, but later on he had given up on the idea. This was somewhat frightening.
He only had the title of Jinshi several years ago, and he wasn't in the top three, and he didn't have any merits. He would rather believe it was fake.
But sometimes, he couldn't help but connect this information with some of the things he heard recently.
The north was not peaceful, and everyone was preparing for war. This was something that had already been felt in Jiangning. But when the officials gathered in Tokyo, it seemed that the similar feeling made their nerves more tense. In addition to this, some people dug up the matter of the Blackwater Alliance. They said that the imperial court had a deep meaning and had already laid the groundwork six or seven years ago. The dispute between the Jin and Liao in recent years was admittedly caused by Wanyan Aguda's great talent and bold vision, and his unwillingness to submit to others. But at the same time, the Wu dynasty was operating from the inside, secretly trading all kinds of materials with the Jins to arouse their greed. It was almost an open conspiracy. These things were said to be like a story.
However … the atmosphere he had been feeling in Tokyo recently made him want to speculate. This kind of fantastical story might actually be true. The officials in the capital were much more sensitive than those outside. Recently, the outside world had been talking about the conspiracy between the Wu dynasty and the Jins, and the Liao people had constantly sent envoys to the Wu dynasty for help. If this foreshadowing had really been laid seven years ago when Qin Siyuan hung up his crown and left, then it could really be explained why he was treated like this when he came to the capital with his recommendation letter.
In fact, last year in Jiangning, there had been people secretly spreading this matter. The Blackwater Alliance seemed to be humiliating, but it was actually sowing discord and using the confrontation between the two powers to take back the sixteen provinces of Yan Yun. Of course, at that time, no one would believe such nonsense. After all, the matter was too big, and Li Pin couldn't believe it now. But there would definitely be a war between the Jin and Liao. If the Wu dynasty joined in, Xingzhou would be on the way to the north, and the south would be rich and populous. When the time came, it would be a strategic location. If he went there and managed it well, he would be able to make a name for himself.
Thinking about it these two days, he couldn't help but feel his blood boiling. If the rumor was true, maybe … Qin Siyuan, who had lived in seclusion in Jiangning for seven years, would also be cleared of all crimes and come back to power. If this smart and capable Minister of the Ministry of Personnel came back to power, he would probably be the Prime Minister. The only question was whether it was the Left Minister or the Right Minister. At that time, perhaps Liheng would also take advantage of the situation to enter the court, which couldn't be better.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but smile. On this rare sunny day in the winter of the eighth year of Jinghan, Li Pin looked up at the sunlight on the Imperial Street and slightly narrowed her eyes.
Drive away the strong enemy, conquer the Yan Yun, restore the Han Dynasty, and wash away the shame of a hundred years. The situation in the world had been chaotic, and next might be a magnificent era.
He always felt that … he could achieve great things in this era …
On this day, this young county magistrate who had not yet taken office thought so in his heart …
*****
Recently, Ning Yi had also noticed something. It seemed that there were more and more guests in Elder Qin's house recently.
It was close to the end of November, and Ning Yi had been busy recently. Like last year, he mainly accompanied Su Tan'er to visit all kinds of merchants, old and new. Last year was just a formality. At that time, his identity was only the son-in-law of the Su family. This year, he already had the reputation or notoriety of "Ten Steps to Calculate", so no one dared to despise him. In this way, it was troublesome. However, it was a matter of course to accompany his "newly married" wife to do these things. Anyway, she had already slept with him, so there was nothing to complain about.
It had been less than a month since they slept together, and now they were in the honeymoon period. Like all newly married men and women, the most favorite place for them now should be the bed. Su Tan'er had her own modesty and manners. But with her personality, she was willing to burn down an entire building just to further their relationship. When certain relationships were normalized, she was actually not so bashful anymore.
In the afternoon and evening, she dealt with business affairs in the room, which made her feel like a strong woman. After that, she pulled Ning Yi to talk about something more feminine, which was similar to the date with Ning Yi a few days before. But this time, the conversation was more personal, including the layout of the place where they would live in the future, the name of the baby they were going to have, and so on. They talked about family affairs and business affairs. As they talked, they went to the bed, and Ning Yi took off her clothes. It was winter, and rolling in the sheets was good for physical and mental health. What happened next could be imagined.
On the one hand, she had been able to adapt to these things. In front of Ning Yi, she was not shy and even liked him. On the other hand, her body was actually quite sensitive. When the stimulation was strong, she frowned and clenched her teeth as if she was being tortured, but in any case, she held back and refused to make a sound. The feeling of torturing a strong woman was very interesting. Sometimes, when Ning Yi deliberately stopped, she would look at Ning Yi for a long time, and then give Ning Yi a little punch. She pursed her lips in annoyance, then closed her eyes and tilted her head. She grabbed the sheets with both hands and continued to be tortured. "Hurry up, hurry up …"
She would take a little initiative, then become extremely shy, as if she had done something big. Ning Yi also liked this feeling.
There were many interesting things in the boudoir. After all, Su Tan'er's embroidered bed had been used for many years. The two of them slept on it for about half a month. One night, it suddenly began to make some small sounds. The next day, when Ning Yi returned home, he found that the bed had been completely dismantled. A few servants quietly carried in a new bed that looked very sturdy and would definitely not move, and then they quietly assembled it. The reason why they were so gentle was because Su Tan'er was sitting at the desk next to her, dealing with her work. She had probably ordered this group of people not to disturb her, so these people could only move as slowly as possible.
In this way, it was obviously Su Tan'er who ordered to change the bed, but she pretended to not see it at all. This group of servants had no choice but to painfully assemble the bed. Ning Yi looked at it and found it funny. He moved a stool to the side and then found that he was a little blocking the way, so he moved to Su Tan'er's side and did not say anything. Su Tan'er's face was completely red, but she still dealt with her work. Come to think of it, the two of them had their first time in this kind of pretense.
In addition to spending time with Su Tan'er and visiting everywhere, the rest of the time was actually quite a lot. During this time, Ning Yi and Kang Xian asked for a group of craftsmen, preparing to research in the direction of cement, mainly to prepare for his own house.
He did not spend too much time on this matter, but only gave a general direction, such as the mixing of lime and clay, and so on, using different raw materials to do more experiments, and the rest would be left to the group of craftsmen to slowly do.
The difficulty of this matter could not be said to be small, but it could not be said to be difficult. Nowadays, there was a batch of replacement plans for building houses and building walls. As long as the direction was determined, it would not be difficult to get a batch of cement. However, there was no very special production line, and the cost of research and production would definitely be very high. But it did not matter, as long as he spent money on building a small villa. This did not matter to benefit the people, but to benefit himself first. As for the rest, if Elder Kang or the group of craftsmen were interested, he would let them develop it.
During this time, Ning Yi went to Elder Qin's house twice. Both times, there were guests at Elder Qin's house. It seemed that they were officials from other places in Jiangning. They were either passing by or returning to Jiangning to visit their relatives, so they came to visit Elder Qin. This situation was very different from the situation last year, which meant that some things had begun to change significantly.
The second time he went was on November 21st, and it was still snowing. This time, he met Qin Hui.
At this time, the alcohol ban in Jiangning had been lifted. Yun Zhu's small workshop had begun to brew the first batch of high alcohol, and there were results. At this time, he came over from Yun Zhu's small building and picked up a jar of alcohol to give to Elder Qin. When he arrived, there was a guest inside. He handed the wine to Mrs. Qin and specifically told her that the alcohol had a high alcohol content. Then, he was ready to leave. However, Mrs. Qin had long regarded him as a trustworthy nephew, so she asked him to stay. "Wait a moment, I will go get something for you."
The old lady knew Ning Yi's character very well, so she didn't ask Ning Yi to meet Qin Siyuan. Then, she secretly went to inform Elder Qin and dragged him in to meet the guests. Elder Qin was a high-ranking official, so the old lady knew a little about official affairs. She knew that it would be good for Ning Yi to meet these officials. With Elder Qin around, Ning Yi wouldn't be at a disadvantage. Using this method to invite him over was actually a very intimate gesture. Ning Yi had no choice but to accept it. Under the introduction of Elder Qin, he exchanged names with the two middle-aged men inside.
One of them was Qin Hui, whose courtesy name was Huizhi. He was the Deputy Prime Minister of the Imperial Censor. Elder Qin didn't say this, but Ning Yi had a rough idea of who he was. He was tall and had a square face. His eyes looked quite wise, and his temperament and manner of speaking were very calm. He gave people a good and reliable impression. Both of them were high-ranking officials, so they probably thought that Ning Yi was Elder Qin's nephew. After a few words, they chatted cordially. Then, they poured a few glasses of wine and tasted it. They expressed a few opinions about the high alcohol content of the wine and chatted happily.
This was the general situation of the meeting, so Ning Yi didn't have much to say.
On the other hand. When the school was preparing for the holidays, Zhou Pei mentioned the apprenticeship ceremony to Ning Yi. Prince Kang's original plan was to do it with great fanfare. In other words, he wanted to bring a large group of people to visit the Su family in the name of Prince Kang. He wanted to make the apprenticeship ceremony very grand and give face to the Su family and Ning Yi. From then on, the Su family would have a big backer in Jiangning. Regarding this, Ning Yi seriously refused.
A person's social network was sometimes very interesting. When you were at a certain low level, people at a higher level would not take the initiative to look at you. However, if you suddenly appeared to be at a very high level, people would take the initiative to look at you. Just like how people's attitude toward Ning Yi last year was different from this year's. With this kind of initiative, gratitude and resentment would slowly arise. Although hatred was a probability, since there was such a high-level relationship, Ning Yi didn't want to take the initiative to show off. It was meaningless. After all, these things could be saved as bargaining chips. Now, if the Su family encountered any trouble, they could use the relationship of Prince Kang's Mansion to sweep it away. But if the relationship of Prince Kang's Mansion was exposed, the problems they would encounter in the future would only be at this level.
However, although he refused such a grand apprenticeship ceremony, at the end of this year, Ning Yi planned to visit the Prince Consort's Mansion and Elder Qin's Mansion with his wife. Su Tan'er was very nervous about this and prepared for a long time. But in fact, the subsequent meeting was just an ordinary family chat. The Prince Consort's Mansion was a very high-class place for Su Tan'er. Later, when she asked Ning Yi why he was friends with the Prince Consort, Ning Yi smiled and said, "Because we both married into his family." Su Tan'er gently punched him.
Although Ning Yi didn't mind, Su Tan'er didn't like him to talk about his status as a son-in-law.
The wind and snow didn't seem to stop. In the white snow, the fire in the room in the small courtyard was always warm and yellow. The five of them seemed to be snuggling there, spending the winter. On the other side of the city, the small building by the Qinhuai River was always warm. Ning Yi often went there in the morning. The woman waiting by the stairs was wearing a cloak. Her face was red from the cold, and she rubbed her hands together, exhaling hot air. She refused to go in and wait for him. Sometimes, there would be another energetic woman jumping around the stairs. They built snowmen by the small building. The energetic woman would be busy provoking and quarreling with Ning Yi when she saw him.
The Qinhuai River was frozen. Occasionally, the energetic woman could be seen sliding on it. But it was a very cold winter after all. Most of the time, Yunzhu and Jin'er would stay in the room, snuggling by the fire. No one knew what they were talking about, but it felt like they were relying on each other for survival.
It would be better if that man didn't come … Jin'er, who wanted to monopolize Sister Yunzhu, would think like this …
December passed in the blink of an eye. It was the end of the year. When the firecrackers were heard, the eighth year of the Wu dynasty finally passed. It was replaced by the ninth year of the Wu Jinghan dynasty.
This year, the rich areas remained peaceful, while the poor areas became even more destitute.
In this year, the world was in turmoil, and natural and man-made disasters were frequent.
This year, uprisings broke out everywhere, but they were immediately suppressed.
This year, war broke out.
*****
North, North, North.
The sky was dark, and the wind and snow were howling. The strong wind and heavy snow drowned everything on the grassland. In the bad weather where visibility was less than three meters, there were some indistinct and discordant sounds that seemed like an illusion.
Our line of sight moved forward. As we got closer to the ground, we saw corpses and fresh blood. The people hadn't died long ago, but the blood was cold and had started to coagulate in the snow.
It wasn't just one corpse. The corpses in front of us were in all kinds of horrible states. Some had their limbs chopped off, some had their bodies pierced, and some had their heads pierced by arrows. Blood and minced meat were mixed together. There were two carriages in the middle of the battlefield. The people around them were all dead. One of the corpses had even been pierced through the chest by a spear. He was nailed to the carriage, his feet off the ground.
Our line of sight continued to expand. In the snow, three people were running for their lives. They were wearing Liao clothes. Their footsteps stirred up the snow on the ground, but they couldn't see anything in front of them. Suddenly, an arrow flew out of the snow. With a puff, the arrow pierced through the chest of the person running on the side. His body flew up and fell to the ground with a thud.
In our line of sight, we could vaguely see a huge silhouette in the snow. The two of them had already run over, but there was nowhere to run. They knew that there were more people coming to surround them.
The person running at the back waved the blade in his hand and looked behind him. He looked like a Liao general. "Who are you? Which tribe are you from? You dare to kill … an angel? "
Suddenly, the snow and wind swept over. The warhorse neighed and there seemed to be a clap of thunder behind him. At the same time, there were the screams of his companion and the sound of his body being crushed into meat paste. The moment he turned his head, he saw a huge black warhorse raise its legs and stomp down, crushing his companion's body. Before he could finish speaking, something pierced through his body!
He felt the snow and wind stop. However, that wasn't the case. The figure on the black warhorse was like a mountain. In an instant, he blocked the howling snowstorm. However, he felt his body rising up. His chest hurt. A spear had pierced through his chest and came out from his back. The person on the horse had lifted him up with one hand.
"Your Liao is finished."
He heard the figure on the warhorse say this. More figures gathered here, as if they were the followers of the demon.
"Who, who are you …" He spat out blood and wanted to grab the spear with both hands. He only repeated subconsciously, "Which … tribe are you from? You dare to kill … an angel …" The demon on the warhorse looked at him coldly.
"Bei 'er is only a kilogram …" Blood was really cold. This was the last thing Liao Jiang heard. The snow and wind howled. His pupils were dilated. He couldn't hear the last three words in the snow and wind.
"… Tie! Mu! Zhen! "
Darkness descended.
*****
Lu Liang.
The heavy snow covered the mountain, but it had stopped. Lu Hongti sat on a big rock beside the stockade village. The snow had been swept away, and he looked at the white stretch of land far and near. There were mountains everywhere, and it looked too wild. He wondered what the winter of Jiangning would be like.
However, there were some things in the mountains. She heard the sound of children playing. A snowball flew over her head. Heh, it missed. Yesterday, Er Hong and Liu Zi got married. Today, it was still very lively. She could feel it everywhere.
Recently, she rejected the imperial court's offer of amnesty. She also rejected the recruitment of Tian Hu, the "Tiger King of Hebei", who occupied the Mianshan area. The people in the village didn't quite understand what she wanted. It was understandable to reject the offer of amnesty because there would be no good results. But why did she reject the offer of amnesty? They really didn't understand. Everyone was rebelling.
A leader should have a sense of mystery.
The setting sun shone on the foothills. She thought of the scholar in Jiangning. She should have tied him up and brought him up the mountain. She narrowed her eyes slightly.
Snow promised a good harvest. This year was a good year.
As long as there was no war, every year was a good year.
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