"Brother Xiang Xian! You're faster than me! Hahaha... I'm late for my brother's sake! Forgive me!"
Zhao Wu Zhengqing, the "real dad" in Cong'er's heart who always liked to poke his butt, rushed back at this time.
"Today is such a good day! Are you all ready?" Cong'er thought to himself.
Seeing Zhao Zhengqing also entering the door, the two people above the main hall hurriedly walked down, greeted him, saluted side by side, and said to Master Zuo: "Brother Zhao is back! It's not too late, it's not too late, my foolish brother Zhong Weizi Sit down. Brother Zhao, please!"
Returning to the main seats, the two male heads of the family were on the left and the right respectively, while Mrs. Xiang retreated to the side seat and sat with Cong'er.
Shang Wu, who was suddenly stopped from appearing twice and stayed in the middle of the main hall, was obviously used to being "surprised" again and again, so he decided not to return to his seat and simply stood in the middle of the hall. Standing side by side with the servants, waiting for the possible third "performance".
Fortunately, Zhao Zhengqing has business, and he is not a man who lacks the opportunity to watch "cabaret performances". When he came back, he was invited to discuss the second "troop-killing" plan with Xiang Xu, so naturally he would not treat this group of brats beside him. Children take it seriously.
Seeing that the two adults were about to discuss business, Mrs. Xiang winked at the young guests present, took the lead in getting up, and all came to the hall. Facing the two chief officials, she saluted and said: "It's rare today. You two can get together here, and I will lead the juniors to the study. Please excuse me and leave first!"
"Ah! That's fine. But before I leave, can you introduce me to the two young guests, Xia Li, without asking for advice?" Although there was a room full of little kids, Zhao Wu glanced around and found two strange little faces.
"I am Shang You, my father is Shang Rong; I am my cousin, Shang Wu. I have met Mr. Zhao!" Shang You and his sister took a step forward together, bowed their hands and bowed their heads, and both saluted.
"I never thought that Mr. Shang's son and daughter could come to my house as guests. It's really rare! My dear madam, I'd like to ask you to take good care of me so as not to neglect me!"
"Brother Zhao, don't worry, I will obey you!" Mrs. Xiang understood that she was being told not to act carelessly in terms of etiquette, so that the children of two nobles were here, and she felt that she had been mistreated and insulted. She turned to the group of children and said in unison, "Young Master Shang, Miss Shang, all of you, please follow me!"
After finishing speaking, Mrs. Xiang kept facing the direction of the two hall masters and backed away, until she took more than ten steps and almost reached the threshold before turning around and leaving.
Seeing Madam like this, the group of children followed the same example and backed up together. However, because they didn't know how many steps they had to take back, they retreated while secretly turning their heads from time to time to see if Mrs. Xiang had turned around. A bunch of children didn't turn their heads at the same time, and the formation was uneven and the rhythm was different. The way their bodies couldn't turn was very ridiculous, especially the "little tail", who almost had to retreat after turning his head several times. They tripped and fell, but their staggering and crumbling looks were so cute that they made the two heads of the family laugh. They looked at each other and Zhao Wu commented: "Brother Xiang Xian, your little lady, this Well done sir!"
Among them, Cong'er was the youngest and not very physically strong, so he simply refused to retreat and turned around. He didn't care whether his butt was directed at the two family heads. He was like chasing ducks with this group of uncooperative people. The "square formation" practiced, facing each other, "exiting" the main hall together, echoing the little lady Xiang one behind the other, is very similar to the standard position of two shepherd dogs when herding sheep: one behind the other, managing this An untrained "band of stragglers."
After this group of "old, weak women and children" troops withdrew, Zhao Wu said seriously to Xiang Xu: "Shang Rong, an old minister, a master of great etiquette, a wise man for a lifetime, but the three princes did not accept him, and he was begged by several countries, but he has never been able to shake his loyalty to his old master. , I only knew that he went into seclusion, but I didn’t know that his descendants would appear in my home! Although I know that even if I treat his family well, I can’t ask him to come out and help his family.”
Of course Master Xiang Zuo knew this, so he could only add: "Well, I have the honor to sing and dance to Miss Shang's song "A Good Woman". It's so beautiful! It was truly passed down by Dr. Shang Rong. It's neither humble nor arrogant, heroic and tragic." , while being high-spirited, it can’t help but make people moved and sad.”
"Who's injured? I think I'm your junior sister Qu Ye? It's been more than two years, Brother Zimu doesn't blame you, what are you doing that makes it difficult for you?" Zhao Wu guessed it, and in Master Xiang Zuo's heart, Chu The sister of the imperial magistrate Yin Qujian, his fellow junior sister, died tragically in front of him in the recent battle. I am afraid that only Zhao Wu could bring up this sadness that cannot be shared by outsiders and comfort him.
Yin Qujian, the magistrate of Chu State, had been friends with Zhao Wu and Xiangxu in private for many years. In addition, Xiangxu and Zijian, brothers and sisters, had studied under the same master together when they were young. They had been classmates for three years and had a very good relationship.
Just two years ago, Jin attacked Qi, and King Chu Kang sent troops to attack Zheng, forcing Jin to abandon Qi and rescue Zheng. King Kang of Chu, with his ambitions in the north, believed that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to focus on the Central Plains, dominate the Central Plains, and help the country. So, Chu soldiers marched north, and Ling Yin obeyed his orders and acted according to the plan. The troops were directed towards the capital of Zheng State, and they paid a heavy price for victory in this war.
Junior sister Qu Ye, who asked to accompany her brother into battle, died in the battle. When the rescue team from Xiang Zuo Division arrived, they saw the tragic scene on the ground. Junior sister was already dead. During those days, there was a blizzard. The Chu soldiers had been living in the south for a long time. They were not accustomed to the acclimatization and climate, and many froze to death. They were unable to fight. On the vast white land, the white snow, corpses that had not yet changed color, and the blood stained it, making it look like heaven and hell were fighting together. appearance.
Xiang Xu, who arrived too late, waited until his junior sister was dying, and was unable to express his love for him. He also had no chance to explain to her why the senior brother she regarded as a "bear bag" was so war-weary and insisted on annihilating troops. , not because of one's own weakness, but because of the long-term overall situation and the well-being of the people around the world.
"One battle may be a small victory, and a city may be temporarily gained, but the world will have to fight countless battles in the future, and the people will never have peace. How can we solve it? The only way to solve the problem is to eliminate the army." Xiang Xu certainly did not By chance, the junior sister could hear this sentence. Only in front of her grave, while spilling sake on the snow, muttered this sentence, hoping that if there was a spirit in heaven, she could hear him and forgive him.
In fact, in Qu Ye's heart, the "cowardice" she said had another meaning, because in the year when Xiang Xu married his first wife, he could have expressed his feelings to her and refused the marriage arranged by the Xiang family. However, she waited hard, but in the end she could not wait for any news from him. Even his wedding and concubinage were only heard about through his brother Qu Jian. She never believed that during the three years they were classmates, his various harassments and various overtures to her were all just "brother-sister love" in the end.
"He said that he wanted a woman who was like a 'good wife' as his wife, and I would be such a person, but... it ended up being the wrong payment!" Regarding Qu Ye's last words to Xiang Xu, this was it, Qu Jian later conveyed it to Brother Xiang. After listening to it, Xiang Xu felt ashamed. In this regard, he did have selfish motives. He was quite "Ye Gong loves dragons". His words and deeds were inconsistent, and he missed others' original intention of pure love. !
