Chapter 151

Chapter 151

Ever since they got married, Xiao Zhen had come to love summer the most, even without a blanket at night, he didn’t have to worry about Tong Sui catching a chill.

There were no small cushions here, and Xiao Zhen no longer cared for them anyway. After taking a shower, he placed the candle on the windowsill, then lifted the girl from under the covers, making her kneel by the window’s edge, facing it, while he stood behind her, reducing the height difference between them.

The warm, soft candlelight streamed in from the window, casting their shadows on the walls and cabinets behind them, with no one to see.

"It seems to have grown a bit more," Xiao Zhen said, his voice hoarse as if it belonged to someone else, as he tightly embraced Tong Sui.

Tong Sui leaned against his shoulder, her closed eyelashes trembling slightly. "Don’t say such things."

Let him do whatever he wanted, but don’t say it out loud.

Xiao Zhen knew she was shy, and it took a lot of coaxing to get her to this point. If not for the life-and-death threats on the battlefield, each reunion might be their last, perhaps it would take another two or three years to persuade her to agree to this.

How much he desired her, Xiao Zhen found it hard to express in words. Saying it too bluntly might not please her, and he wasn’t skilled at being eloquent.

Fortunately, there was no need to say it; just showing her was enough.

Once it was over, Tong Sui urged him, "Quick, put out the light."

After so long, the old man upstairs and the second uncle in the east wing must have fallen asleep. Only their room was lit, wouldn’t that clearly tell others that the couple was still “busy”?

Xiao Zhen extinguished the light. In the darkness, he wiped the sweat off Tong Sui with a damp cloth and said, "This time we’ll make do. Once we capture Tai Yuan, we’ll definitely find a separate courtyard to live in."

Tong Sui replied, "You can live wherever you want, but I’ll stay with the family."

Xiao Zhen said, "Then let’s find one with a side yard. We can keep the lights on all night without worrying about who might see."

Tong Sui whispered, "We have things to do tomorrow. Be gentle; it’s not like we’re parting immediately."

Xiao Zhen certainly knew his limits.

The couple lay in the same bed, cuddling and talking about matters at home and outside.

As they talked, Xiao Zhen pressed down on her again.

Fortunately, Tong Sui had rested well for two nights in the city; otherwise, she wouldn’t dare indulge this wolf.

The next morning, Tong Sui woke up feeling an itch in her ear. Opening her eyes, she saw Xiao Er kneeling beside her, the big man pinching her earlobe, fiddling with something.

When Xiao Zhen moved to the other side and continued fiddling with her left earlobe, the fully awake Tong Sui understood: "Earrings?"

Xiao Zhen stared intently at the tiny hole in her pale earlobe and said, "Yes, Fourth Younger Brother has gifts for you, and I, your husband, can’t be outdone."

Tong Sui bit her lip and teased, "Fourth Younger Brother gave a large gold bracelet. What kind of precious earrings are these?"

Xiao Zhen finally finished putting them on, sighed with relief, and pinched her rosy cheeks, "Go and look yourself."

Tong Sui was genuinely curious. She got out of bed in her middle robe, sat in front of the dressing table, and in the bright light of the summer morning, saw two red dots in the mirror.

Tong Sui tilted her head, took off one earring, and examined it closely. It was a thin gold chain with a red gemstone set in a gold border. The red gemstone, though only the size of a bean, was vivid and lustrous, making her palm appear even whiter.

Xiao Zhen leaned against the head of the bed, watching her fixated gaze, and explained, "These gems are more expensive than gold. Just this pair of earrings has drained my savings, and I still owe the jewelry shop several dozen taels. If today’s military rewards aren’t enough, I’ll have to borrow from Grandfather."

Tong Sui asked, "... How many taels in total?"

Xiao Zhen held up eight fingers.

Tong Sui began to feel the small red gemstone in her hand was burning hot.

Xiao Zhen said, "The owner of the jewelry shop was afraid of me and wanted to give them away, but I couldn’t bully him. I made him quote the market price, and I paid what was due."

Although Tong Sui felt the pain of spending money, she agreed with his approach; bullying people was what bullies did.

Xiao Zhen patted the space beside him.

Tong Sui, holding one earring, returned to the bed, sitting face-to-face with him, and took off the other one. "They are beautiful, but I have no chance to wear them."

Wearing such earrings on the battlefield, not to mention enemy soldiers, even her own soldiers might be tempted by the wealth and kill her for it.

Xiao Zhen smiled, "Wear them after the battle. You already have gold hairpins, gold bracelets, and jade hairpins. I have to give you something new."

Tong Sui said, "Every year is a birthday, and if you want something new every year, how many military achievements will you need to afford it?"

Xiao Zhen lifted her onto his lap. "I’ll give you good ones when I have military achievements, and if not, I’ll give you something cheap to make up for it."

Tong Sui leaned against his broad chest and whispered, "Even without them, I won’t feel wronged. As long as we are all safe and sound."

After a moment of tenderness, Xiao Zhen washed up and went out first.

Tong Sui took longer to comb her hair. When she was dressed and stepped out of the west wing, she saw Xiao She and the Qiao brothers standing in the courtyard, while Xiao Zhen, Xiao Yan, and Xiao Ye stood in a row under the eaves of the main house, as if there was something interesting to watch.

Tong Sui was a bit surprised and her gaze fell on the blue porcelain vase in Xiao She’s hand, filled with a cluster of peonies.

Qiao Changshun nudged Xiao She.

Xiao She then approached on behalf of the three brothers, holding the vase and offering it to Tong Sui, "Second Sister-in-Law, today is your birthday. Fourth Brother prepared a gift without telling us, and we didn’t have time to buy anything. So we picked some wildflowers for you to make you smile, as a token of our affection."

It was clear that the Qiao brothers had coached him on what to say.

Tong Sui, torn between laughter and tears, looked at the lush and elegant peonies and asked, "Where did you find these ‘wildflowers’?"

Xiao She replied, "Shi Lin’s house has many of these. Brother Changshun said that since no one lives there now, these flowers without owners are wildflowers. The vase is the prettiest one we picked from that house."

Qiao Changan quickly added, "The Shi family’s gold and jewels have already been collected. These vases are easily broken and could shatter, so General Han didn’t have them taken away. Second Sister-in-Law, you don’t need to worry."

Tong Sui smiled, "Thank you for your efforts this early morning."

The peony was beautiful, its fragrance wafting through the air. Tong Sui thanked her three younger brothers and turned to put the flower inside.

In the courtyard, Xiao She chuckled and said to the Qiao brothers, "Second Sister-in-law seems to like it. We should go pick more tomorrow."

Qiao Changshun replied, "Then you'll have to ask Second Brother if he agrees."

Sending once is for Second Sister-in-law's birthday, but sending every day might make Second Brother’s face turn green.

Xiao She looked at Xiao Zhen.

Xiao Zhen said sternly, "This time we'll let it slide, but if you dare to climb over the wall again, even taking a single stone will be treated as trespassing."

Xiao She: "..."

Xiao Yan recalled the large vase of peonies and remarked, "Shi Lin, that big rough man, sure knows how to enjoy life."

Xiao Ye said, "It's not that he enjoys it; the previous owner of that house was a refined person. Corrupt officials are one thing; they deserve what they get when they're robbed. But what if the original owner was a good person... Forget it, better not say anything, or Second Sister-in-law might think the flowers are unlucky."

The Li brothers were brutal, and the Shi family uncles and nephews weren't any better. Except for Shi Yi, who didn't indulge in women, perhaps to maintain his reputation as a prince, the other Shi men kept at least three or four concubines in their courtyards. It wasn't until General Han arrived that these concubines were sent back home, dealing only with the crimes of the Shi family itself.

—

In the morning, Han Zongping stood on the southern city wall of Shuozhou and addressed the troops, rewarding them for their service. Before the rewards, he had Shi Yi and others executed as a warning to others.

Han Zongping's army had its own set of rules for evaluating military achievements. In this battle of Shuozhou, only the main general, Xiao Mu, received first-class merit. The deputy general, Xiao Zhen, and the surrendered general, Qi Yun, received second-class merit. The archery unit that killed ten thousand of Shi Guanglei's troops and four thousand of Shi Lin's cavalry at Yanmen Pass received third-class merit.

Earning military merit was harder than before when the Xiao family defended the city, and the rewards for each level of merit were also greater. After all, Shuozhou was a major state-level city, while the garrison city was just a small county.

Just for Xiao Zhen's second-class merit, he was rewarded with ten taels of gold and ten bolts of silk.

When the clerk announced this, Tong Sui, standing behind the old man, instinctively glanced at Xiao Zhen on the other side.

Xiao Zhen also looked at her, and the couple exchanged glances before looking away.

Tong Sui knew they were both thinking the same thing: the debt of several dozen taels owed to the jewelry shop could now be paid off without borrowing from the old man!

After the rewards were distributed, Han Zongping dismissed nearly thirty thousand elderly, weak, young, and injured soldiers, keeping the remaining eleven thousand able-bodied surrendered soldiers.

After discussing these matters, Tong Sui followed the old man back to the right-wing army camp.

As an outstanding archer, Tong Sui received twenty taels of silver, similar to the rewards given to Xiao Yan, Xiao Ye, Qiao Changshun, and Sun Dian.

Xiao She and Tong Gui, under Zhang Wengong's command, only managed to kill a few enemies after breaking into Shuozhou City. Because too many defenders surrendered, they couldn't fully display their skills and only received two or three taels of silver.

Xiao She said to the old man, "Grandfather, give us the tough battles next time. This was too easy."

He was scolded by the old man.

Xiao Yan coughed and asked, "Grandfather, there's nothing for me to do here. Can I go home and report our safety to my mother?"

The bachelors started teasing him.

Xiao Mu glared at each of them and asked, "Who else wants to go home?"

Xiao Zhen couldn't leave, and Tong Sui had to stay with the old man to handle land distribution. Xiao Ye, Xiao She, the Sun brothers, the Qiao brothers, and Zhang Wengong preferred to stay in the camp, partly because they enjoyed serving and partly because they found the 400-mile journey too arduous. After all, they had only been away for half a month, so there was no need to rush home.

Only Tong Gui stepped forward. He hadn't bid farewell to his uncle and aunt before leaving, and now that they had won the battle, he should return home.

Xiao Mu said, "You two should go together and look out for each other. No causing trouble."

Xiao Yan looked at Tong Gui with disdain, "You always watch me in the camp, and now you want to watch me at home too?"

Tong Gui thought, "Do you think I like this job?"

After discussing with Xiao Zhen, Tong Sui gave her twenty taels of silver to Tong Gui, asking him to take it home and have her mother keep it safe. The remaining gold ingots and bracelets could be stored in a box and carried with the army. The silk was too bulky to send home, as it would seem like the Xiao family was eager to send their rewards. They decided to store it in a house here and send someone to retrieve it later. The old man's silk reward was also handled this way.

At night, Xiao Zhen took out a bolt of colorful silk and laid it on the bed, saying it would serve as a mattress for the couple.

Tong Sui said, "Got money, huh? Wasting such good stuff."

Xiao Zhen replied, "Who knows if we'll have the chance to enjoy it in the future. Making clothes takes too long, so we can only use it like this for now."

Without further ado, he pulled Tong Sui onto the bed, and the couple "wasted" it together.