There were boxes in the room, and the man picked them one by one. He squatted for half an hour before getting up.
Zhou Xu walked to the bedside with a golden nanmu box produced in Bashu, lifted up the brightly colored curtains, and saw the lady lying on the bed. He also took off his clothes and got into bed, and then smiled.
"I chose some myself. Madam, let's see if there is anything you like."
"What do you think of this gold and ruby tourmaline hairpin, Madam?" Zhou Xu said to himself. He took out the carefully selected jewelry from the golden nanmu box and handed it to Madam.
Several pearls were dotted around the plum blossom-shaped ruby, the tourmaline was the cloud pattern center, and the gold was the tail hairpin. Seeing the hairpin, Xiao Luolan eagerly put it on her head and had no choice but to sit up straight.
"I've let my hair down."
Xiao Luolan didn't have the habit of leaving her hair style overnight. She always wore her long hair loose every time she went to bed, so she liked to tie her hair with ribbons on weekdays. As long as it was a simple bundle, it was not only easy to take off, but also she didn't have to wear those clothes. A beautiful but heavy headpiece.
"What about this gemstone flower crown? Do you like it?" Zhou Xu finally heard his wife talking to him and took out another flower crown.
Xiao Luolan looked at the corolla made of gold and crowned with various precious stones. Before she could speak, she felt her head sink.
Zhou Xu placed the corolla on the lady's head and saw the flowers scorching brightly. He then smiled and said, "This corolla is perfect for the lady."
Xiao Luolan took off the heavy flower crown and put it aside, then closed the golden nanmu box: "It's very late, let's rest."
Zhou Xu was silent for a while, then packed up everything, then got on the bed, holding his wife in his arms as a habit.
The candles in Jiao Feng Hall are always bright.
Zhou Xu stroked Madam's hair, smelled the fragrance on her body, and suddenly said: "I hope Madam will plead with me."
Xiao Luolan was stunned after hearing this. She turned to look at Sect Leader Zhou, wondering what he meant by this.
"Will Madam plead for mercy?" Zhou Xu's rough hand touched Madam's face.
Xiao Luolan frowned and shook her head again. She would not do that. If she spoke, how could she be worthy of the Youzhou Army who had been killed and wounded in this battle.
Moreover, she cannot speak on behalf of those who have been hurt. This kind of generosity to others is wrong. Xiao Luolan cannot do it. Just like Jin Ben Aniang who was hurt before, she is not a victim, but There were tens of thousands of them, both men and women, old and young, those poor sons and daughters of the Central Plains whose homes had been destroyed, and she was not qualified to replace them.
She would definitely not do that.
Xiao Luolan knew very well that she could not fulfill the request made by the third prince to her.
In the eyes of the world, Sect Master Zhou's approach was correct for this era.
Zhou Xu said seriously: "Actually, Madam, you can try to beg for mercy."
Xiao Luolan's frown deepened. She had already shaken her head and refused. Logically speaking, Sect Leader Zhou shouldn't say this. Could it be that if she said this, this person would be lenient? Thinking about it, it was impossible. Sect Master Zhou had already sent out the Ghost Slaughter Heavy Armored Cavalry. At first glance, he showed a ruthless style that left no room for error.
"Will you agree?" Xiao Luolan couldn't understand. In her opinion, this was absolutely impossible. For example, she would not interfere in this matter, and Sect Leader Zhou would never take back his decision.
"Of course not." Zhou Xu replied firmly.
"If Madam pleads for mercy, I will not only scold Madam severely." Zhou Xu pondered for a moment: "I will also punish Madam and make Madam stay in the house for a whole day and not allowed to come out."
When Xiao Luolan heard this, she couldn't help but glared at Sect Master Zhou. What was wrong with this man? She didn't do anything at all.
"Does this make Madam feel better?" Zhou Xu lowered his head and kissed Madam on the forehead, smiling warmly.
Xiao Luolan was startled.
"If you help as much as you can, Madam won't have to feel bad about the bullshit the third prince said." Zhou Xu said carelessly: "In short, I gave the order, and I will not withdraw it. No matter how many people die, this I must do it.”
"I am responsible for everything." Zhou Xu kissed his wife's hand, hoping that she would not be depressed. This was none of her business.
She was not from this place, and Zhou Xu did not expect that his wife would immediately understand the cruelty of war. In the early years, the Turks often went south to plunder in the autumn, taking advantage of the busy autumn harvest in the Central Plains to plunder food, and then when winter came They found a large valley or a leeward hillside to stop and place their livestock in order to avoid heavy snowstorms, which would cause the livestock to freeze to death or starve to death.
Zhou Xu was so familiar with the winter migration habits of grassland tribes. It must have been easier for Jin Ben, who had lived in the grassland since he was a child, to find the habitat of their livestock.
This is why it is easier for Jinben to obtain large numbers of livestock.
Zhou Xu thought of what happened in the past. He would lead his people to counterattack in the spring, because spring is when the Turks are weak. In order to withstand the cold of the whole winter, the fat of the horses has long been exhausted, and the thin horses are rugged. The Turks and other grasslands Tribal people will also move their residences carefully. They want to find a place with abundant water and grass so that their livestock can eat well for a few months.
This shortcoming allowed Zhou Xu and his men to kill many Turks, taking advantage of their weakness and killing them of course.
There was something even more cruel among them, and Zhou Xu didn't want his wife to know about it.
When Xiao Luolan heard the last words of Sect Master Zhou, she felt inexplicably angry and turned over without looking at him.
Zhou Xu held his wife's waist, turned her towards him, and coaxed in a low voice: "Good madam, don't ignore me."
"In short, all the mistakes are my fault." Zhou Xu admitted his mistake easily and opened his mouth.
Xiao Luolan was holding her breath and had a sullen face. She couldn't stand the stickiness of Clan Master Zhou when he pestered her. Seeing that he kept calling her "good madam", it seemed that he was being unreasonable, so she couldn't help but said in a depressed voice: "I didn't say that. you are wrong."
Zhou Xu smiled and said, "It's my fault for making Madam unhappy."
Xiao Luolan pursed her lips as she listened to Sect Leader Zhou's sweet words.
Zhou Xu kissed his wife on the forehead and asked her to divert her attention by talking about another topic: "Ling Zhi came to see me tonight, does your wife know?"
Xiao Luolan said after a while: "I know."
Zhou Xu then told what Zhou Lingzhi found out.
Xiao Luolan was very surprised: "You said fourteen years ago."
It's too early, who arranged it, and how the large bed/crossbow was delivered to the old king.
Zhou Xu hugged his wife and said nonchalantly: "It was fifteen years ago when I defeated the Turkic Royal Court. The late emperor heard that Long Xin was very happy and rewarded him with many things. Pang Baochang, the eunuch who oversees the army, brought many gifts. We set out and arrived in Langge the next year to reward the three armies on behalf of the late emperor."
"Could that batch of beds/crossbows be in that batch of gifts?" Xiao Luolan felt incredible.
"Who knows, maybe." Zhou Xu said with a smile: "As soon as Pang Baochang, the great eunuch of the Supervisory Army, arrived in Langge, he first went to see the current emperor's uncle, Prince Bao. It is said that he drank wine and talked happily until dawn, because Longyan was very happy and gave Prince Bao three thousand food."
"It's such a brotherly bond."
Xiao Luolan always felt that Sect Leader Zhou was cool when he said this.
"Do you suspect that the late emperor and Prince Bao did it together?" The more Xiao Luolan thought about it, the more likely it became.
Zhou Xu kissed his wife on the face: "It must be related to him. The late emperor is dead, and Prince Bao is an immortal with one foot in the coffin. When I return to Langge, I will visit him when I have time."
Xiao Luolan pretended to be disobedient to Sect Leader Zhou. She always felt that Sect Master Zhou was not like a real ancient person. She remembered that in ancient times, there was a crime called disrespect, but Sect Leader Zhou didn't care about it at all.
Seeing that Sect Master Zhou is still alive and well, Xiao Luolan can imagine how frustrated the previous emperor was when he was here, and it is estimated that the current emperor will not be much better.
Because Sect Leader Zhou sometimes speaks in a manner that hurts others and is very immoral. For someone like him, he can only be angry with others.
This thought just crossed Xiao Luolan's mind.
"Good madam, smile." Zhou Xu kissed his madam on the ear, his voice was hoarse and full of doting love.
Xiao Luolan looked at Sect Master Zhou's face. He was no longer young. Why was he still so shameless and impetuous?
Xiao Luolan closed her eyes and prepared to sleep.
"Good madam." Zhou Xu called out, but received no response from the madam.
After a while.
"darling."
Xiao Luolan opened her eyes and blushed at the disgusting name.
But Zhou Xu smiled. He hugged his wife and whispered love words, and his exaggerated love words were spoken extremely seriously.
"My lady is my life."
Chapter 99
The third day when Xiao Luolan arrived at Huiyi was October 14th, the beginning of winter.
There was a light snowfall yesterday, and today it happened to be sunny and snowy.
The ice under the eaves showed no sign of melting, and the wind outside the wall hurt people's faces and eyes. Dongxue asked her early in the morning what kind of Lao Wan she wanted to eat, and whether she wanted to eat Lao Wan in Tangzhong Lao Wan, or steamed Lao Wan. Wan, Xiao Luolan didn't understand it at first, but when she went to the kitchen, she saw that the Lao Wan here is dumplings, the Tang Zhong Lao Wan is boiled dumplings, and the Steamed Shang Lao Wan is steamed dumplings.
Xiao Luolan looked at the things for making dumplings and felt a little excited. She wanted to make dumplings with Dongxue, Zheng Yuxin and the others.
Dongxue saw the mistress entering the kitchen. She hesitated to speak and finally went in with the mistress. Because it was the winter solstice, there were many people in the kitchen. The kitchen manager was the fireman from Xuanjia Camp in Youzhou. When she saw the general's The lady came and hurriedly allocated a small kitchen to them.
The firemen in the military camp outside are busy in full swing. The Beginning of Winter is a big festival in the eyes of the Youzhou people in the north, but they must live it well.
Dongxue and Zheng Yuxin were making pills with their mistress in the small kitchen.
Xiao Luolan was sitting on a stool, and the morning sunlight shone on the table through the window. She picked up a dumpling wrapper, scooped a little mutton and celery stuffing into the dumpling wrapper, and then shaped it into a beautiful arc. , also with lace.
Zheng Yuxin, who was watching from the side, immediately let out an exclamation: "Mother, the prison balls you wrapped are so beautiful."
Dongxue also made one. The one she made was stuffed with white rice and eggs, which was a bit plainer. She looked at the buns made by the mistress and asked: "What kind of stuffing do you want to eat later? Today is the beginning of winter, and mutton is also available." It’s warm and nourishing, so why not eat mutton stuffing?”
Xiao Luolan said: "Anything is fine." She arranged the dumplings one by one. Seeing that the dumplings in Zheng Yuxin's hands were crooked, she taught her how to make a lace.
Zheng Yuxin immediately laughed: "Mistress, I really can't believe that you are so skillful with your hands."
When Xiao Luolan heard this, she smiled and said, "Qingxue likes to eat dumplings. I used to make dumplings for her, so practice makes perfect." After saying this, Xiao Luolan was stunned for a while, then lowered her head and continued to make dumplings. , but the longing for her daughter became more and more intense. She really missed her daughter so much, and Xue Ying didn't send a letter back for a long time.
The big pot on the stove was gurgling with white steam. As the dumplings were put into the pot one by one, the fat and white dumplings rolled in the boiling soup, and the aroma filled the room.
Dongxue mixed the dipping sauce, and then followed the lady out with the food plate. It took some time to pack the pills, and by the time they had their breakfast, the sun had already risen.
Zhou Xu knew that Madam had gone to the kitchen to make the prison pills and stopped working. He quickly asked Dongxue to take out all the prison pills that Madam had packed. He kept saying that Madam had worked hard, and the smile on his face never broke.
There were only his wife and him in the spacious and bright room. Zhou Xu didn't want anyone to wait around, so he let Dongxue go down. Then he didn't pay attention to one person, one table and one meal, and directly put his own food table together with his wife's. , even the seat cushions are close together.
Two small food tables are combined into one large food table.
"Madam, happy winter solstice." Zhou Xu said to his wife with a smile.
Xiao Luolan turned her head and glanced at the smile on the man's solemn face, and said, "Mr. Zhou, happy winter solstice."
When Zhou Xu saw his wife replying seriously, he stroked his beard and sat down next to her: "When there is no one around, you can call me husband, or Xu Lang." Zhou Lang listened to the two words. It's not close enough. Zhou Xu wants to be closer to his wife.
Xiao Luolan took a sip of the dumpling soup with a spoon. The slightly mellow dumpling soup had the aroma of wheat. When she drank it, it felt warm in her stomach. She thought of what she wanted to say to Sect Master Zhou.
Xiao Luolan looked at Sect Master Zhou who was eating steamed dumplings.
Zhou Xu took a mouthful of Lao Wan and was about to dip it in the sauce when he suddenly heard his wife's voice.
Gently, softly, like a spring breeze blowing through his heart.
The pills on the jade chopsticks fell on the food table in an instant. Zhou Xu turned his head, wondering if there was something wrong with his ears. He just said it casually, especially Xu Lang at the end, who only dared to think about it in his dreams.
After Xiao Luolan finished speaking, her ears instantly turned red when she saw Sect Leader Zhou looking straight at her.
Zhou Xu reacted and was immediately overwhelmed with joy. What a good day it was today. Not only did his wife personally cook and give him the pills, but she also called him Xu Lang in a gentle and carefree manner.
