Chapter 150

Chapter 150

Dingwu Pass was eighty miles away from the city of Shuozhou. General Han Zongping's ten-thousand-strong army could not possibly arrive tonight, so he only took his son Han Bao, two advisors, Fan Zhao, General Luo Xiao, and five thousand cavalry to advance with Xiao Mu and others to Shuozhou City.

The wheat fields along the road were golden, the grains plump and ripe, and the people were enthusiastically harvesting the wheat. A few days ago, when the Xiao family marched into Shuozhou City, the people were somewhat anxious, but now, learning that it was the venerable General Xiao who had welcomed the renowned General Han Zongping, the people were incredibly excited. Some of the bolder ones even ran to the edge of the field to greet Han Zongping.

General Han Zongping was known for his firm character and strict military discipline, yet he always treated the people kindly. When he encountered elderly farmers, he would specially dismount to converse with them.

One old farmer was particularly regretful: "They all said you couldn't be trusted, and advised me to harvest the wheat early. I panicked and listened. If I had waited until now, I could have harvested at least dozens of pounds more per acre."

He was truly regretful, tears streaming down his face, and the other farmers who had rushed to gather the wheat also sighed deeply.

Han Zongping comforted everyone, saying, "Don't worry, it's just one crop of wheat. There's still the autumn harvest. As long as we have the land, there will be countless more bountiful years ahead."

"But it must be a peaceful world, General Han. You must arrest those corrupt officials with black hearts. Otherwise, even if the land yields a good harvest, they will find ways to snatch it from us, and we will still have no good life."

"Yes, General Han, we all depend on you!"

Han Zongping responded verbally, but he felt very distressed inside. These were the people, who merely wished for a stable life, enough food, and warm clothing, yet because of the corruption in the court, even these basic needs could not be met.

After bidding farewell to the people, Han Zongping said to Xiao Mu, "Your previous distribution of land to the people of the seven counties was well done. During the army's rest period, the distribution of land in Shuozhou and the surrounding counties will also be entrusted to you. How long do you think it will take?"

Xiao Mu thought for a moment and replied, "Qi Heng and his son are familiar with Ping County and its surroundings. Although Shi Yi's advisor Deng Ji has been complicit, he is well-versed in the civil and military officials of Shuozhou and its counties. With their assistance, ten days should suffice."

Han Zongping: "Qi Yun made great contributions in the battle of Shuozhou, and Qi Heng and his son are not evil men. If they are willing to serve us, they can continue to hold office. If Deng Ji can atone for his sins, his clan's death sentence can be pardoned."

Xiao Mu: "General's great kindness, they will be deeply grateful."

When the group arrived at Shuozhou City, it was nearly dusk.

Rewarding the troops and punishing the leaders of the rebels would happen the next day. Han Zongping ordered Xiao Zhen and Luo Xiao to inventory the available military funds, grain, weapons, and other supplies in Shuozhou City, and asked Qi Yun to personally bring Qi Heng and his son over.

Qi Heng and Qi Ling, this formidable father-son duo, still harbored a degree of skepticism towards Xiao Mu, convinced that their triumph was a result of Qi Yun's betrayal. Yet, upon encountering Han Zongping and discovering that not only would they not face retribution, but Han also desired to retain them in their positions, their gratitude was genuine, and they knelt down to profess their readiness to serve Han Zongping.

Han Zongping said, "You don't need to thank me. If it weren't for the Right General's repeated praise of you, I would have at most spared your lives because of Qi Yun's contributions and sent you back to your hometown as commoners."

The father and son looked at Xiao Mu with much warmer eyes, like two lions whose fur had been stroked smooth.

---

With the Qi family father and son regaining their freedom and about to reunite with their families, Tong Sui and her sister Zhou Gui were also taken to the temporary residence of the Xiao family in Shuozhou by Xiao Mu's men.

The new residence consisted of two adjacent two-courtyard houses.

The eastern courtyard was assigned to the four Zhou family men, with guest rooms for Tong Gui and Zhang Wengong also arranged there.

The Xiao family lived in the western courtyard.

The front courtyard's side rooms were prepared for Xiao Yan and his two brothers, the Jiao brothers, the Sun brothers, and other young men who did not bring their wives or were not married. Two or three could comfortably share a bed, and since they sometimes stayed in the camp, they might not always rest in the city.

The rear courtyard was the main courtyard, where Xiao Mu lived in the main house, Xiao Shouyi and Xiao's father-in-law in the east wing, and Tong Sui and her husband in the west wing, with maids and servants in the side rooms.

Since they would be staying for about ten days, Tong Sui oversaw the cleaning of the entire place. The furniture was already in the house, but the old man had new bedding added to each room.

In the evening, the Xiao family would definitely accompany General Han for social engagements, so after finishing the preparations, Tong Sui went to the eastern courtyard.

Apart from Zhou Gui and the maid, only her cousin Zhou Xian was in the eastern courtyard. Upon inquiry, she learned that Zhou Jingchun, Zhou Yuanbai, Tong Gui, and Zhang Wengong had been invited to a banquet, while Zhou Xian, who disliked drinking and was concerned about his sister being alone, had not gone.

Zhou Gui: "Tomorrow is Sister's birthday. Let's make noodles for dinner."

Tong Sui: "...I had forgotten. Thank you for remembering."

Zhou Xian: "Grandfather also remembers. If it weren't for General Han's arrival today, they would have returned to celebrate your birthday with you."

Tong Sui: "Yes, entertaining General Han is more important. Family can gather anytime."

Because the longevity noodles held special significance, the three siblings personally went to the kitchen. The sisters kneaded and cut the noodles, while Zhou Xian sat by the stove, burning the fire and chatting quietly. They discussed topics such as how the rebel leader Shi Yi would be executed tomorrow, whether Qi Heng would regret his decision to marry his daughter, and what rewards their group might receive during the merit awards ceremony the next day.

The Zhou family, being military doctors, received fixed military salaries, and at most, they might receive some extra money when treating officers who were pleased with their service.

However, the Zhou family accompanied the army more to support the Xiao family than for the salary.

Zhou Gui: "This time, there wasn't much fighting. How will Sister's military merit be calculated?"

Tong Sui: "Archers are difficult to evaluate based on enemy kills on the battlefield, so their performance is assessed based on regular training scores. We intervened twice at Yanmen Pass, and our contributions will be recorded collectively during the merit awards, then distributed according to individual training scores within the archery unit."

Although Tong Sui worked under the old man, whenever she participated in an arrow attack, she always received the highest military merit in the archery unit, which the other archers respected.

Zhou Gui smiled, "If I had known, I would have learned archery from you. It earns more than treating patients."

Tong Sui: "Medical skills can be useful anywhere, while archery is only useful on the battlefield or for hunting in the mountains."

Zhou Gui: "In that case, our physicians are still more capable."

Zhou Xian: "I've never seen anyone as fond of self-praise as you."

The three siblings laughed and chatted, enjoying a fragrant bowl of longevity noodles together.

After eating, Tong Sui returned to the western courtyard, took a bath, changed into clean clothes, dried and combed her hair. After the first watch, the loud voices of Xiao Yan and his companions were heard from the street.

Tong Sui thought for a moment and stood by the latticed gate, waiting to greet the old man, Xiao Shouyi, and Xiao's father-in-law, and also Xiao Zhen.

Sure enough, the three elders entered one after another.

Tong Sui, holding a lantern, noticed that the old man was energetic and walked steadily, seemingly not having drunk much, while Xiao Shouyi was quite drunk, supported by Xiao's father-in-law. Xiao Zhen was still outside, being urged by a group to sleep in the front courtyard.

The old man said to Tong Sui, "Go inside, lest they bother you too."

Tong Sui, concerned, asked, "Are you alright?"

Xiao Mu: "General Han doesn’t like drinking, and those young people are too embarrassed to force me, so they all went to get your Second Uncle and the others drunk."

After saying this, the three elders left first.

Tong Sui was hesitating whether to wait for Xiao Zhen or go back to her room when she suddenly heard Xiao Yan shout, "Fourth Younger Brother, why are you running inside?"

Xiao Ye: "Tomorrow is Second Sister-in-law’s birthday. I have a gift to offer her. What about you? Let’s go together."

Qiao Changshun: "He has nothing. He saves his military pay for his own wife, he wouldn’t spend it on gifts for his sister-in-law."

Qiao Changan: "That’s right. Third Brother has already planned it out. Tomorrow, after receiving his reward money, he will rush to Wei County, changing horses in Yin County, Ying County, Cheng County, and Ding County along the way. He can ride for four hours straight and make it home, stay for three nights, then return for another three nights, without missing anything on either side."

Xiao Ye: "How filial! Second Aunt will surely be moved to tears. Second Uncle hasn’t even mentioned going back to visit."

Everyone laughed.

Tong Sui: "..."

Xiao Ye suddenly darted in, almost startling her when he saw Second Sister-in-law hiding behind the hanging flower gate.

Tong Sui raised the lantern, seeing his face flushed from drinking, and asked, "Did you throw up?"

Xiao Ye said, "This time everyone held back, didn’t drink that much. Only Qi Yun’s father insisted on getting Second Uncle drunk, and he did."

Just as Tong Sui was about to speak, Xiao Ye suddenly pulled at his collar and leaned closer with a mischievous smile, "Don’t believe me? Smell for yourself?"

Tong Sui quickly took two steps back, her ears turning red uncontrollably.

Xiao Ye teased her for a moment, then stopped. He took out a palm-sized brocade box from his chest and handed it to Tong Sui, "Last year I gave Second Sister-in-law a fake bracelet. This year, since I have some money, I’m giving you a real one."

Tong Sui, shocked, opened the brocade box to find a gold bracelet inside, quite heavy.

She felt unworthy, how could a younger brother give such an expensive gift to his sister-in-law?

Xiao Ye, as if reading her thoughts, said nonchalantly, "I’m not married yet, and the silver just won’t stay in my hands. If I don’t buy gifts for my sisters-in-law, I’ll end up spending it on drinks with others. So I’ve decided, before I get married, I should show respect to my sisters-in-law. After marriage, I’ll hand over the money to my wife to manage."

As he spoke, he took out another brocade box and handed it to Tong Sui, "This is for Elder Sister-in-law. I bought it in advance, Second Sister-in-law, please keep it for me. When the time comes, give it to her. Whatever Second Sister-in-law gets, Elder Sister-in-law gets too, so neither of you will misunderstand. As for Third Sister-in-law, forget it. She doesn’t make clothes or shoes for me or help me with my worries. If I give her a bracelet, Third Brother will get upset."

Tong Sui smiled, "Alright, we’ll take them. If you ever need money, just ask us."

Xiao Ye glanced outside, "Second Brother is coming, I’m going to sleep!"

He ran off immediately. Tong Sui instinctively looked over and saw Xiao Zhen only a few steps away, followed by a few figures leaning on each other.

Tong Sui quickly retreated behind the door.

Xiao Zhen stepped over the threshold, glanced at her, closed the door to prevent the others from peeking.

"Fourth Younger Brother’s offering?" Xiao Zhen asked, looking at the two brocade boxes she was holding with one hand.

Tong Sui nodded, "One for me and one for Elder Sister-in-law. Can you help me carry them?"

She still had the lantern in her other hand. How odd, usually so considerate, now he needed her to remind him.

Xiao Zhen ignored her.

Tong Sui: "..."

At the door of the west wing, Xiao Zhen helped her open it, waited for Tong Sui to enter, then closed the door and stood in front of her.

Tong Sui looked up, puzzled.

Xiao Zhen leaned down and kissed her.

Tong Sui’s face heated up.

It had been over half a month, and the couple finally had this chance. She didn’t want to pull back, wanting to hold onto his clothes or hug his waist as before, but both her hands were occupied.

Xiao Ye was too tall, and Tong Sui’s neck ached from looking up, nearly losing her balance.

He seemed to be doing it on purpose, refusing to support her.

Only when Tong Sui was about to fall backward did Xiao Zhen finally grab her waist, and they collided. The brocade box in Tong Sui’s right hand fell to the ground.

Tong Sui looked down anxiously, but Xiao Zhen cupped her face and asked, "What’s so precious that you can’t let go even now?"

Tong Sui couldn’t hide her smile, "A bracelet the color of wheat stalks."

Xiao Zhen: "More important than me?"

Tong Sui: "Both are important."

Xiao Zhen gently bit her lip and guided her free hand to his body.

Tong Sui almost lost her grip on the lantern pole, realizing for the first time how thin it was.

"Is there water in the room?" Xiao Zhen asked in her ear.

Tong Sui blushed and nodded.