After the Little Lunar New Year, every family cleaned the courtyard and put up new New Year pictures and window decorations. When the lanterns were first lit, the carriage passed through the street, and firecrackers could be heard occasionally. Tan'Er lifted the curtain and watched the carriage pass through the pedestrians on the street. Soon after passing the Street of Big Goods, it was Yanhe Li.
The snow had been swept straight on both sides of the street. There were not many pedestrians on the road. On both sides of the street, there were mostly blue-walled courtyards. Lanterns were hung beside the open or closed gates, and stone lions were erected. Some of these courtyards were lively, and some were deserted. No one could see what was inside from the outside. There were couplets on both sides of the gate, and the one closest to Shao Tianze's family was pasted with the words "The country and the family celebrate, and the year is abundant". When the carriage passed by, there was a lot of noise coming out of the house, accompanied by the sound of women crying.
In the Ning's Mansion, several figures were also looking at the lively scene here. After the carriage passed by, Chan'Er, Su Yanping, and others trotted over. Tan'Er also took a look and saw that two women, one big and one small, were thrown out of the gate. The big one's head was bleeding.
"I heard that the fourth concubine of that family was not very decent. She stole money from home and didn't filial to her parents-in-law, so she was beaten out …" Xiaochan leaned close to Tan'Er and whispered, "It is also said that the fourth concubine had an affair with the servants of her family. Her husband didn't want to drown her in the pig cage or report her to the government, so he just drove the mother and daughter away …"
Sometimes such things happened in the rich and powerful families. There was no need for detailed reasons, and it was hard to tell whether the information was true or false. Tan'Er shook her head and looked at the mother and daughter kneeling on the ground, crying and kowtowing on the street over there. But someone threw a small bundle out. Under the light of the door, a man stood there, looked at all this coldly, and turned to go in. After the servants closed the door, the woman cried and rushed up to beat the door.
"It's the New Year, where can he go …"
With a sigh, Tan'Er, Xiaochan, and the others entered through the door. Su Yanping, who was keen on gossiping, was still leaning against the door, watching. After being stared at by Tan'Er for a while, she raised her hand and followed them in. Many things in this house were now imprinted by Ning Yi, such as tilting his head, shrugging his shoulders, snapping his fingers, and so on, including some of the neuroticism that Ning Yi showed when facing enemies, these guys all took it as a trend to learn.
Of course, the only thing that could be used as a joke was that this second brother-in-law didn't seem to know how to pick up girls. Similar rumors would occasionally reach Tan'Er's ears, but when she asked them, no one dared to say anything. Actually, even if they didn't say it, Tan'Er probably knew that it had a lot to do with Nie Yunzhu.
After entering through the door, it was the main courtyard for receiving guests. Beside the main hall was a large lounge, and many of the decorations in the room were made by Ning Yi. There were all kinds of interesting chairs, carpets, furs, and a stove in the winter, which was quite warm. It was a place for the family to rest and gather at night. At this time, Wen Fang, Wen Ding, and the others were already inside. They were quite lively talking about the things in the courtyard outside the city, some interesting but useless new things, or some ideas on how to use new things to make money.
Under Ning Yi's leadership, this family didn't have estrangement like the aristocratic families, or rather, it wasn't the time for estrangement yet. Every time she saw a group of brothers happily together, Tan'Er sincerely hoped that this scene could last longer.
She was the mistress of the house, but after all, she was also a woman. She came to say hello, left two snacks, and then went back. Not long after, Ning Yi also came back from the Prime Minister's Mansion, carrying some intelligence files. When he returned to the room, he said to Xiaochan, "On the way back, I saw a woman with a child at the door of the house next door, crying and banging on the door desperately. It was so tragic …"
"It's the fourth concubine of the master of that house. I heard that she was old and unlikeable, so she was chased out …" Xiaochan's gossip changed again. "That's how Xiaochan will be chased out in the future."
"You've wronged me. At most, I'll hit your butt until it's swollen … "
"Oh, at that time, son-in-law, you'll hit my head …"
Tan'Er smiled as she watched the two of them come in. Not long after, Ning Yi put down the intelligence files he brought back. The family talked and chatted. After dinner, they went outside to gather with Su Wending and the others for a while. When they went out for a stroll, the concubine and child who were chased out of the house next door were already gone. On this snowy day, where did they go?
Life could be passed slowly, and emotional problems could be suppressed in the bottom of his heart. In fact, there were many important matters around Ning Yi. For example, he would occasionally read through these files about the situation in the country and in the north. Tan'Er could understand what he wanted to do. Although she was a woman, she could often understand Ning Yi's worries. As for the current decline of Liao and the specific situation in the country and abroad, Ning Yi did not pay much attention to it. He only collected and sorted out the attitude of the Jin Kingdom in the gaps of some intelligence.
"In fact, from the intelligence I collected two years ago, it can be seen that this group of Female Zhenrens are actually in awe of the Wu dynasty. When they allied with Wu to attack Liao, Wanyan Xiyin actually came in person. I've asked about him. He's very powerful, skilled in both the pen and the sword, and he can be considered to be on the side of the Wu dynasty. But in the past year, some of his words and deeds have become somewhat disappointed with the Wu dynasty … The fighting was too ugly. As for Wanyan Zongbi, Wanyan Zonggan, and the others, the change in attitude towards the Wu dynasty in the past two years is actually very frightening. It's a pity that the Office of Secret Investigations didn't collect much of this information … "
As he flipped through the various intelligence reports of the Office of Secret Investigations on the north, Ning Yi summarized many details that others did not care about and copied them with a pen. As he spoke in low voices, Tan'Er also joined in.
"Will these things be useful if you copy them?"
"It's actually not easy to make the higher-ups prepare to guard against the Jin Kingdom. On one hand, they allied with the Jin to attack Liao because there were few Jin people, and they were certain that they would not attack the Wu dynasty. On the other hand, the Jin people are more friendly. After taking back the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan Yun, they have already started spreading the word that everyone is a brotherly country. If the Jin really wants to attack us, many people will have to take the blame. "
"Because they will have to take the blame, so they have to make preparations first, right?"
"The problem is that no one is willing to say inauspicious things. The Liao is still fighting, and the Jin Kingdom is still righteous. If someone comes out and says that the Jin people are likely to continue attacking the Wu dynasty, even if it's just a possibility, it will make the people below panic. I can only talk to Qin Siyuan about these things … Actually, there are people in the Office of Secret Investigations who are worried about this. Look at the intelligence reports I copied. After describing the attitude of Wanyan Zongbi and the others, the handwriting is similar, and it seems to be a woman … Although I don't know who it is, I'm afraid that the Liaodong Division of the Office of Secret Investigations is the one who understands the temperament of the Female Zhenrens the best … "
"A woman?" Tan'Er's interest was piqued. She took the intelligence reports and looked at them. Ning Yi shook his head.
"In this world, it's better if it's a man, but if it's a woman … I've looked at the date these intelligence reports were sent and calculated. This person should have entered the upper echelons of the Female Zhenren, and is probably already someone's slave or favored concubine. It's not easy for a woman from the Southern Dynasty to be willing to do these things … "
Ning Yi shook his head and continued to record. "These intelligence reports are actually not systematic, so it's meaningless to make a threat report. I just want to analyze the temperament of each person in the upper echelons of the Female Zhenren. It may be useful in the future, and I can use some tricks … Ha, I always say that those people only know how to use tricks and can't fight a war head-on. Actually, it's the same for me. "
"You just said that you're here to help. This isn't just your problem … Moreover, there are indeed few Jin people. Maybe they won't be able to defeat us." Tan'Er comforted him.
Ning Yi nodded and smiled. "That's true. It's an old habit again …"
In the warm room with the lights on, the couple chatted urgently and casually. The baby had already been taken away by the wet nurse. When it was late at night, the couple blew out the lights and went to bed. Their bodies were intertwined in the warm bedding. Not long after, Ning Yi got out of bed and went to the hot water in the coal stove. He soaked a towel in it and wiped Tan'Er's body. Tan'Er always felt a little shy about this kind of thing. In the era when intimacy between husband and wife was mostly a routine, at least this kind of serving a woman was not something that a man should do. It was more or less obscene. However, when the weather turned cold, Ning Yi no longer allowed her to toss about and get out of bed. In such an era, many diseases were actually equivalent to waiting for death.
In the early morning of the next day, Ning Yi would get up, either to participate in morning exercises or to light the candles and deal with the unfinished work in the room. Tan'Er poked her head out of the quilt and looked at him. It was also in the early morning of this day that Ning Yi saw a piece of intelligence and frowned slightly. It was news about several Jie forces besides the Female Zhenren in the vicinity after the chaos in Liao. Among the Mongolian tribes, there was a force that rose in the northwest grasslands and was one of the forces that developed rapidly. Of course, compared to the speed of the Golden Men, this force was only briefly mentioned in the intelligence.
Begging Beauty Tribe … Did he hear this name somewhere …
Ning Yi recalled for a while but did not find a suitable answer from the clues in his mind. He put this simple information aside and did not record it.
At the same time, in the snowstorm in the north, a group of dozens of riders were about to set off for the south. Guo Yaoshi, who was in the lead, drank a bowl of wine and said goodbye to several generals of the Victorious Army in front of him. "I'm going south this time to see the current Emperor! Brothers, wait for me to come back. I'll give you all a rich life! "
"Such a heavy snowstorm, big brother …"
"Haha, we, the men of Liaodong, are not afraid of the wind and snow. It will be warm after we pass Yanmen Pass!" Guo Yaoshi took it seriously. After a while, he let the horse approach and patted the general on the shoulder. "The Victorious Army depends on you. Remember what I said, as soon as the snow gets lighter, go and catch the soldiers. I've seen it clearly. Now we don't care who starves to death. The Wu dynasty's troops are weak. We must have people on our hands. We must be able to fight on our own. If we have people, we will have money, food, and wealth. If we don't have people, we can only rely on the few armies of the Wu dynasty. They only care about scheming against each other and competing to escape first. They can't fight. Remember … I'm leaving first … "
Guo Yaoshi turned his horse around and led his men, gradually disappearing into the south wind and snow. They passed through Yanmen Pass and went all the way south to Bianliang.
Not long after, the fireworks of the New Year's Eve rose in the capital. Yunzhu's body finally recovered completely. One day after the New Year's Eve, she sent a letter to invite Ning Yi over for dinner. In the past few months, most of the messages between the two could be passed on by word of mouth. But this time it was different. In the letter, she said that she wanted to go home.
She wanted to go back … to the hometown where her parents used to live …
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