A rare guest visited the small village of Jingtu Mountain. As the owner, a man in white stood at the entrance of the village. When he saw the hunchbacked old man coming down from the carriage, he showed a rare smile of understanding. He quickly walked forward and respectfully called out, "Foster Father."
The old man nodded and looked around. He clicked his tongue and said, "I just found out that there is such a beautiful place on the border of Beiliang."
If the old man's eldest son was here, he would definitely refute him by saying, "What beautiful scenery? There isn't even half a stream. What kind of pretense is that?" In the eyes of outsiders, such a pair of tepid adopted father and son really couldn't be associated with the title of the Prince of Northern Liang and the little butcher. Those old people in the streets and alleys always mistakenly thought that once these two Kings of Hell met, they would always eat human flesh and drink human blood, shouting that they would kill tens of thousands of people the next day and so on. However, at this time, Xu Xiao only asked about whether the supply of meat and vegetables in the manor was troublesome or not, and how to avoid the heat in the hot summer. Chen Zhibao also smiled and answered one by one. This was the first time Xu Xiao set foot in the small village. The servants in the village were used to living a short, stable, and comfortable life under the protection of Chen Zhibao. Few people recognized Xu Xiao's identity. Fortunately, Xu Xiao was not the kind of person who liked to play with his identity. He did not care about the poor eyesight of the servants in the village. If it were a snobbish person like Li Gongde, the head of the new Beiliang Taoism, he would definitely want to cut out the eyes of the servants and feed them to the dogs. However, Chen Zhibao was indifferent and did not even deliberately say a word. From the moment he entered the village and sat down in the shade of a willow tree, he did not reveal Xu Xiao's identity.
Outside the village, there were no tall trees or high walls. Under the willow trees, the father and son could see the endless yellow sand. A well-behaved maidservant brought in a basin of iced lychee. The ice cubes were all hammered down from the icehouse. Lychee was a rare fruit that was said to only grow in the miasma of southern Xinjiang. Every once in a while, it would be sent to the village. However, Chen Zhibao rarely tasted it, so he distributed it to the servants. Imperceptibly, the young girls in the village had raised their small mouths to be extremely crafty. Their vision and speech were also arrogant. Occasionally, they would go out to the village to play, take a stroll in the spring, or enjoy the lanterns. Not to mention the daughters of small families in the nearby provinces and counties, even the daughters of noble families would feel ashamed of their inferiority when they bumped into these maidservants, who were supposed to have a lowly status. It was not as if the old steward of the village had never mentioned to the general that he had to worry about the trifles of the village. However, his good-natured master dismissed it with a laugh every time, so the matter was left unsettled. When the old steward privately chatted with the young men and girls in the village, he would never forget to remind them that their general was extremely strict in his management of the army. They had good fortune. If they had gone to the Beiliang army, they would have been skinned alive a long time ago. They had never seen the general angry, especially the young girls, who would always laugh and say that they were willing to be beaten to death by the general. The old steward, who had retired from the Beiliang army, felt helpless, but at the same time, he was gratified and happy. After lecturing them with a stern face, he turned around and smiled brightly, thinking that it was the great fortune of the servants.
Xu Xiao picked up a lychee, peeled it, and put it in his mouth. He asked the delicate servant girl who was unwilling to leave immediately, "Young girl, how old are you?"
The servant girl had been peeking at the general with all her might, but she was startled by the old man's question. The village rarely had guests, and she could not guess the identity of this old man. She could not guess whether he was a current general in the Beiliang army or a provincial official. She only felt that he looked amiable and amiable. Besides, no matter how high the official's hat was, he would not dare to behave atrociously in the village under the general's name. She did not have any stage fright, and quickly smiled and said, "In response to uncle's question, after the new year, I will be sixteen."
Xu Xiao swallowed the lychee and did not spit out the seed. He laughed loudly and said, "Then do you have a sweetheart? If you do, have your General Chen be the matchmaker."
The beautiful girl with an oval face was shy. She deliberately put on some light rouge and face powder and said shyly, "No."
Chen Zhibao was obviously in a very good mood. For the first time, he joked, "Lü Ci, if you have a sweetheart, I will be the matchmaker for you."
The young servant girl, whose heart was in the general's hands, did not know how to hide her emotions. She thought that the general was going to drive her out of the village, and her eyes suddenly became wet. She did not dare to show it in front of the guests, so she just looked like she was about to cry. Xu Xiao felt that his young girl was lively and lively, and laughed loudly. Chen Zhibao shook his head and smiled. The servant girl named Lü Ci did not know how to react to the two's laughter, but she was not embarrassed. Her eyebrows relaxed, and a smile reappeared. After Xu Xiao laughed, he seemed to want to test her. He picked up a plump lychee and asked, "Lü Ci, do you know what this is?"
The sixteen year old girl, Liu Xiangyi, who was standing under the willow tree, smiled and replied, "Lychees."
Xu Xiao nodded. "I heard that a lychee without a branch changes color one day, loses its fragrance two days, and loses its flavor three days later. After four or five days, it will lose its color, fragrance, and smell. After half a year, it will be even more disgusting. It is not even comparable to the watermelons that cost a few coins a catty in Beiliang. Lizhi, this is a good name. It is ironed well. Only a scholar can think of such a good name. "
The servant girl, who was afraid that the guests would look down on the village, quickly retorted, "Uncle, our lychees are very fresh!"
Chen Zhibao did not say a word. He waved his hand, and the servant girl did not dare to act rashly. She obediently retreated, but there was still some childish indignation on her face.
Chen Zhibao waited for her to leave before he slowly said, "Back in the day, Foster Father single-handedly built the southern courier road. Apart from the transportation of red sandalwood, yellow flower, and other tributes, such as lychees and exotic delicacies, it is still considered smooth and unimpeded. The rest is not worth mentioning. If it were not for Zhang Julu personally supervising the Fire of Peace, the Fire of Beacon would have been almost completely abandoned. "
Xu Xiao glanced at the fresh lychees in the ice tray and smiled. "Being prepared for danger in times of peace is as difficult as being content with what you have."
Chen Zhibao suddenly said, "Foster Father, this year on New Year's Eve, do you want to come to this little village with His Royal Highness for a New Year's Eve dinner? I will personally cook a few dishes that I specialize in. "
Xu Xiao mischievously said, "In the end, you just want Wei Xiong to eat your dishes, right?"
Chen Zhibao smiled helplessly.
The sunset in Beiliang was three hours later than in the south, but no matter how late it was, it would still set. Father and son gazed at the sunset in the west. Xu Xiao was touched by the scene and said softly, "It has been hard on you these past few years."
Chen Zhibao was about to speak when Xu Xiao smiled and asked, "How was it that you fought two rounds in a row with the founder of the Chess and Sword Music School and the martial prodigy Hong Jingyan?"
Chen Zhibao smiled and said, "Although the outside world says it is amazing, in reality, I did not fight to the death with them, so I did not have the opportunity to use that stick of plum wine."
The famous general in white frowned and said, "That Hong Jingyan is a character. That battle with me was just a method for him to build up his reputation. In the future, when he enters the army from the jianghu, he is destined to be a great enemy of Beiliang."
Xu Xiao rubbed his hands and said with emotion, "Beimang is full of talents."
It was inevitable that one would have supporters in the army when leading an army to war. However, Chen Zhibao had never heard of any cliques in Beiliang's political circle. Whether it was Li Gongde, an old glutton in the officialdom who took advantage of every opportunity, or Yan Jiexi, the governor of Beiliang who had a high reputation but later betrayed Beiliang, or even many scholars and refined scholars, Chen Zhibao ignored them all. When he left the army and came to the quiet and secluded village, he closed the door and refused to see anyone, let alone take the initiative to make friends with anyone. It could be said that not a single flaw could be found in Chen Zhibao, the adopted son of a butcher. In private, he was even more indifferent and had no desires. Such a person with a perfect personality was worthy of heartfelt admiration, but also made some people feel even more fearful.
Chen Zhibao looked at the sky and whispered, "Foster father, the weather is cold."
Xu Xiao nodded and stood up. He shook his head and said, "I'm really old."
Chen Zhibao had welcomed Xu Xiao at the entrance of the village and even walked him out of the village. When Xu Xiao sat in the carriage, the man in white still stood there and did not leave for a long time.
— —
After General Gu Jiantang took charge of the border, the entire army at the border suddenly became solemn.
However, there were wild rumors in the border army that the General, who was known for his meticulous management of the army, had taken in a sloppy person as his adopted son. In the Liyang Dynasty, Gu Jiantang, who had destroyed two countries, had a military merit that was second only to the infamous King of Beiliang. Furthermore, General Gu's reputation did not lose out to any famous scholar. He treated his soldiers like his own children and treated them with respect. He used the army like a god. Inside and outside of the court, there were many good things to say about him. Even Gu Jiantang's many wives and concubines, who were as beautiful as fairies, became a fairy-tale tale. His eldest son, Gu Donghai, and his second son, Gu Xishan, both joined the army at a young age, and did not bring disgrace to the Great General Gu's reputation. Their military exploits were outstanding, and their achievements far surpassed those of their peers. What was not easy was that they drew a clear line with the capital's playboys. They did not interact with each other and never once drank wine together.
Compared to the King of Beiliang, this General only had a disadvantage in terms of age. In the future, his advantage would also be age. How could he let a slut surnamed Yuan into his family? This puzzled many people.
Yuan Tingshan, who was used to being a stray dog and a rat crossing the street, believed more than anyone else that he would have a meteoric rise. Therefore, even though he had become the half-adopted son of Gu Jiantang, the head of the world's machetemen, he only felt that it was natural and had no awareness that he should be extremely lucky. He had almost lost his life in the Baoguo Temple in Gangnam-do. Under the sword qi of the young martial granduncle, he fled to the Northern Region in one breath. Although he still had some lingering fear when he thought about it, he often woke up from nightmares and was so scared that he was covered in cold sweat as if he had fallen into a water tank. He held the knife that was used as a pillow and was about to kill someone. However, this fear not only did not make this low-ranking foreign minister of Mount Hui discouraged, but he also became more and more desperate to practice martial arts. After receiving the secret manuals from the old immortals in Longhu Mountain, his realm skyrocketed. It was not an exaggeration to say that he had traveled a thousand miles a day.
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