Zhou Xu pulled his wife to sit down, looked at her beautiful face, and said, "The smile is as beautiful as a flower, and it touches my heart."
Xiao Luolan couldn't help laughing. She looked at the letters and military newspapers piled up on the table, and took out one in her hand: "What a coincidence, Shen Zhi also wrote a letter."
Zhou Xu caught a glimpse of his mother's seal on the envelope and cursed with a smile: "This little bastard finally remembered you and knew how to write you a letter to say hello."
Since the Holy Emperor issued the decree to conquer Youzhou, Shen Zhi has also sent a few letters, but most of them are official. There have been changes in Taiyuan recently, and frictions with Youzhou have occurred from time to time. Recently, there have been signs of large-scale mobilization of the Shenwu Army. He will raise a large army to deal with it. , Zhou Xu also had business matters, so he asked Cui Shizi, some veteran generals, his second uncle and others for advice when he encountered problems.
"Why do you say that to Shen Zhi? He naturally has his own important things to do in Langge." Xiao Luolan opened the envelope and said while reading: "The letter was sent by Shen Zhi's Lei Hu, and he also sent some grapes. Come here, I'll wash it, and you can taste it and see if it tastes good."
Zhou Xu stretched out his arms and picked out a bunch of purple-red grapes. After eating one, it was a bit sour.
Xiao Luolan read it over and said, "Shen Zhi said that the grapes have already borne fruit, and asked us about when we will go back?"
"You can't tell the time. If we don't push back Wei Yanshan, the two cities we finally won may very well change hands. If we wait a little longer, let him not be anxious and just keep his home safe." Zhou Xu said to I don't care about my son's urging. This kid is good at everything, but he is a little too cautious. I don't know if it's because of his name.
Zhou Xu picked off the largest and reddest grape and handed it to his wife's lips. He saw her gently bite the grape with the tips of her teeth, then pursed her lips and held it in her mouth. Her spring-like eyes sparkled with light and warmth. She was gentle, with a shallow smile, and there were faint traces of maturity at the end of her eyes, but Zhou Xu didn't care at all. He stroked the end of his wife's eyes and narrowed his eyes with a smile: "Is it delicious?"
"No wonder Shenzhen urged us to go back. Such delicious grapes should be enjoyed as early as possible." Xiao Luolan said.
"I want to eat too." Zhou Xu sat down on the couch.
"You eat." Xiao Luolan pointed to the washed grapes. There was a full plate. As soon as he finished speaking, Zhou Xu held up the lady's face with his hands. He narrowed his narrow eyes and slowly approached the lady. Xiao Luolan Lan looked at Sect Leader Zhou who was so close, still a little unaccustomed to this man's hot eyes, and the tips of her ears were slightly red.
Zhou Xu leaned over and tasted the soft grape-flavored lips. His heart was filled with anger. The fingertips in Xiao Luolan's sleeves were tightly grasped together, and her spring shirt was wet with fragrant sweat.
After waiting for a while, Zhou Xu finished tasting the grapes.
After the lady's breath stabilized, he kissed the corner of her lips again. He chuckled and said meaningfully: "It's delicious."
Xiao Luolan touched the round fan that had fallen on the couch and fanned herself gently to cover up her shame. Zhou Xu saw the peach blossoms blooming on the lady's face, and the color was thick. noodle.
After the two of them finished eating the grapes, Zhou Xu hugged his wife and sat on the couch, showing her the recent correspondence. Xiao Luolan gave the family letter written by Shen Zhi to her to Sect Leader Zhou.
Xiao Luolan looked at the letters between Qi Nanhua and Xie Gong.
"Min Ting can't stay." Zhou Xu frowned: "I'll write a letter later and ask Qi Nanhua to kill him." He added, "Old man Xie specially wrote a letter to me to complain that Mr. Duan was bullying his family. He even gave me a helpless sentence, if he keeps shrinking back, he will really become a golden man."
Xiao Luolan was amused by Sect Master Zhou's adjective, "Jin Bao Zi", luckily he thought of it.
Zhou Xu looked at the four words filled with loneliness and helplessness in the letter and touched his chin: "Sure enough, it doesn't hurt unless the knife cuts me. It's only when the knife hurts them really badly that the Xie family remembers my usefulness."
"Which high-ranking official in the court does not have the shadow of Dazhou Jiedu Envoy behind him? The Xie family wants profits, power and fame. How come I, Zhou Xu, can't be seen?" Zhou Xu followed his wife and complained verbally, and said to Xie The Xie family was not too annoying. Back then in Chang'an, the Xie family treated him quite well.
"But with Xie Lingfu, Xie Jize, Qi Nanhua, Chen Qing and the others in the court, they should be able to compete with Duan Shoucheng's faction in Wei Yanshan." Zhou Xu planned to reply to the Xie family in the evening, asking them to fight back and make sure to undermine the Duan family's prestige. Wei Yanshan is Duan's confidence, he is Xie's backbone, no one is worse than the other.
After hearing this, Xiao Luolan said, "You can make your own decision. The envoy from Duke Wei will be coming soon. Do you want to see him?"
"It doesn't hurt to meet them. After all, the gifts are real money." Zhou Xu said: "After we meet them, how about I accompany my wife to Guangling Avenue to watch the match between Qingxue and Shiliu?"
"That's very good." Xiao Luolan smiled.
Before noon arrived, Xiao Qingxue and Zhou Shiliu couldn't wait to go out.
Xiao Luolan saw that both of them were wearing round-neck robes that were convenient for riding and shooting, and they had swords on their waists. They were obviously well prepared and asked his disciples He Jin and Zheng Yuxin to follow them. Xiao Qingxue got on her horse and faced her mother-in-law. Dad waved goodbye and went out with the diners and guards.
Stay until afternoon.
Xiao Luolan just met the Liu Pu brothers and sisters, who were led by Gao Chongying. This time, the ransom demanded by Zong Zong was really scary. At a glance, there were dozens of vehicles in the convoy.
Xiao Luolan took the opportunity to take a closer look at the Liu Pu brothers and sisters who asked Ge Shenxian to remove both the inner and outer parts of their words. Liu Pu was an ordinary lean man, and behind him was a delicate girl with a white cloth covering her eyes. The girl has a beautiful appearance, holding a path-finding stick in her hand, and is quietly behind her brother.
Xiao Luolan guessed that maybe the Liu Pu brothers and sisters also had a grudge against Ge Shenxian.
Liu Pu himself bowed to Zhou Youzhou and the mistress of Youzhou: "The common man Liu Pu pays his respects to the prince and princess. A certain family came to ransom Guo Kui and his son on the order of the lord Wei Jiedu. Please count the ransom."
"No need to order, I believe in the character of Duke Wei." Zhou Xu asked with a smile: "But your lord will only redeem two people? The others are quite cheap. Let your lord consider whether you should go back."
Liu Pu said: "The master of a certain family is short of money and cannot rescue the others for the time being. I hope the prince will treat him well and will redeem them one by one in the future."
"It's easy to say, I'll keep it for Duke Wei." Zhou Xu was very generous.
The soldiers brought Guo Bi, Guo Kui and his son.
Zhou Xu saw that they had learned well and stopped uttering wild words, so he asked the soldiers to loosen their shackles on their feet and hands.
The Guo family's father and son, who had been tortured for an unknown amount of time, were reunited. They hugged each other and cried. Liu Pu stepped forward to comfort him, which made the father and son even more sad.
After the handover was completed, it was logical for Liu Pu to go back. However, he saluted and asked if he could stay in Guangling for one more day, but Zhou Xu refused.
Liu Pu was not annoyed, and still smiled and retreated with the Guo family and his son.
Xiao Luolan looked at this man's moves of advancing and retreating appropriately, and felt that he was a bit different from the rumors. After all, he was a ruthless businessman who had been killing people since he was eleven or twelve years old.
Zhou Xu didn't think that the boy named Liu Pu was so powerful, but he was just killing people. The simplest thing in the world was to kill people. And since he could hold the knife, he was already rampaging Langge without any scruples, like this The street thugs are also famous here in Jiangnan.
Zhou Xu thought to himself that if his wife met him when he was young, she would probably pick up her skirt and run away.
Thinking of this, he suddenly laughed.
"What are you laughing at?" Xiao Luolan stopped talking and asked in confusion.
Zhou Xu couldn't help but smile: "I was thinking, what would happen if Madam met me when I was young?"
What kind of strange question is this? Xiao Luolan said, "How could I know that?" After all, she couldn't go back to the past.
However, Xiao Luolan still became curious and asked, "So, Zhou Lang, what kind of person were you when you were young?"
"Before I joined the army, I was the number one ranger in the North." Zhou Xu said without blinking.
"It sounds very powerful." Xiao Luolan said.
Zhou Xu nodded calmly.
Chapter 239 A dream within a dream, it can be regarded as a small extra (don’t jump if you don’t like it) Dream
After the Liu Pu brothers and sisters left, Xiao Luolan had a dream within a dream in the study.
"Since you have admitted defeat, the title of Northland's First Ranger will belong to me after tonight!"
"You may have objections."
As the sword was sheathed, a crackling and hoarse voice reached Xiao Luolan's ears. It was vaguely familiar, but she just couldn't remember who it was.
Xiao Luolan stood outside the fence, wondering if she was dreaming. She looked up confusedly at the full moon in the sky. The moon was as bright as silver, falling all over the earth, illuminating everything brightly, including the outline of the thatched house in the distance. It was very low, a bit like the old house in Xiao Luolan's memory in the countryside, but much more dilapidated than the old house. At the foot of the village, Xiao Luolan saw the mountains stretching in the distance, and the mountains rising from the moon.
There were only sporadic lights on in the village, and occasionally dogs barking could be heard.
But what she heard most clearly was the young man's voice coming from the room behind her. His voice was really clear and loud in the quiet night. He sounded young, probably still a teenager, but he didn't learn Mandarin well. Xiao Luo Lan listened with some difficulty.
It's really strange that you can dream up the accent of a strange place, Xiao Luolan thought, and felt a little strange. She looked down at the light white nightgown she was wearing. She washed it tonight after her daughter fell asleep. She had just changed into the bath, and the night breeze blew, and the hem of her long nightgown swayed slightly, but she didn't feel the slightest chill.
Xiao Luolan must be dreaming now.
There were three or five horses tied under the big banyan tree. One of the black horses was extremely handsome and seemed to be able to understand human nature. When Xiao Luolan looked over, he neighed for a long time, and the cloth package hanging on the saddle also followed. Shaking, Xiao Luolan took a step back and stopped observing it. Just when he was about to walk around along the path, the rough and unfamiliar accent of a big man came from behind the house. The door was also opened, and the bright candlelight aroused Xiao's attention. Loren's attention.
It turned out to be a very retro oil lamp, the lamp was like a bean, and the clothes worn by the people in the room also looked like ancient times. Xiao Luolan looked at all this strangely.
"No, the young man is said to be able to fight tigers with his strength, how can I be able to match him? The name of the first ranger is just a name given to people by the folks. It should not be taken seriously. The young man is the one who truly deserves the title." The face of the middle-aged man said. There was a scar, and his smile revealed a bit of ferocity. However, facing the young man of the Zhou family who had not yet grown in stature, he did not dare to be careless at all. He spoke in a very humble manner, even a little cautious.
This young man of the Zhou family, who had just turned thirteen, was extremely powerful, had a violent temper, and was cruel in his methods. Facing him, many people tended to ignore his age.
And a child who chops people like vegetables will only make people fearful. Cai Ying is like this now. In his early years, he left home and wandered around. He thought he had seen a lot of people. He even lurked in the enemy's house for several years to avenge his friends, and finally killed the enemy's head. After becoming famous, when he returned to his hometown, a small village under the rule of Langge, he did not expect that such a devil-like figure would appear in the north.
The young master of the Zhou family is only thirteen years old now.
Cai Zhi followed the young man's gaze and looked under the big banyan tree outside the door, but found nothing unusual.
The young master of the Zhou family has been watching for a long time, and even the several Lei family members behind him were looking around with their eyes, but found nothing.
Cai Zhi relieved his numb wrist, picked up the knife beside him, and shouted: "Which rat dares to peek?"
A deep and sharp shout sounded like thunder, startling Xiao Luolan, and she was chilled by the young man staring at her in the room. For a moment, she forgot that this was her dream, and Xiao Luolan hurriedly walked behind the big banyan tree. Avoid them.
Remembering that she was standing under the banyan tree just now, but the middle-aged man in the room seemed to not see her, and only the young man's eyes followed her. Xiao Luolan recalled this scene, and her heart felt hairy. She didn't want to have such a dream again, but... Unable to wake up, no matter whether he opens or closes his eyes, he is still here, Xiao Luolan feels anxious in his heart.
Her daughter is going to kindergarten recently. She has been busy choosing a good kindergarten near her home these days and has no time to watch costume TV series. She never expected to dream of such a weird scene.
"What are you looking at, young man?" Cai Zhi couldn't help but ask when he saw Mr. Zhou still looking at the banyan tree.
His hearing was so good that he didn't hear anyone approaching his house. There was no one outside the door. The Lei family sent two people out and looked around without noticing anyone. So what on earth was Zhou Xiaolangjun looking at? .
The dark boy named Zhou Mingxu slowly turned his head. Under his thick eyebrows, a pair of eyes stared at him, as if to determine something. The cheeks of the young man who was drawing strips, his brow bones gradually took shape, and his facial features were gradually revealed.
His gaze made Cai Zhi feel a little uncomfortable, as if there was a sharp sword wandering around his body.
It seemed that after a moment, the young man's casual and perfunctory voice was heard.
"It's nothing." Zhou Xu said, and at the same time he picked up the knife on the table. The knife was very big and heavy, but the young man used it like a finger. His every move was as light as nothing, and he walked like a breeze.
Zhou Xu said goodbye without saying a word.
Cai Zhi watched them leave, then walked under the banyan tree and checked around, but found no one.
Maybe he was overthinking, maybe Zhou Dalang was just in a daze just now.
After walking out of the small village, Zhou Xu threw the package to Lei's tribe, and at the same time ordered: "You take Alu Tuo's head back and keep it well. I will be of great use."
After finishing speaking, he rode away.
By the moonlight, Xiao Luolan walked along the village path to a shallow stream. The stream gushes out from the front. Xiao Luolan listened to the gurgling water and hesitated for a moment, but continued walking forward. After a few steps, Then a hoarse voice was heard.
"Hello!"
Xiao Luolan knew this kind of sound very well. The neighbor's boy had entered the period of voice change, and his voice would always be special. But when she heard it now, she didn't feel happy. Instead, she felt an unspeakable feeling of confusion.
The person in the dream has independent thoughts and actions. Can I still talk to her?
Xiao Luolan turned around and saw the young man riding on the horse. He was wearing a black round-neck robe. He was tall and thin. Xiao Luolan couldn't see his face clearly because of the moonlight behind him.
"Are you a fairy?" Zhou Xu also looked at the girl in a white dress. She was very dazzling, even the dress was shining, and her face was shrouded in a layer of light. She felt very gentle. No one could see her, only He could see that they looked like immortals and ghosts in storybooks.
Xiao Luolan asked subconsciously: "What did you say?"
Zhou Xu muttered lightly: "...It turns out I'm from Chang'an." Under the war and displacement, wouldn't even the girls of Chang'an be immune to the disaster? The young man thought of those people who were kidnapped by the Turks, including men and women, old and young, nobles and civilians. Under the iron heel of the Turks, men could not protect themselves, let alone girls. The young man tightened his grip on the knife. His voice had changed a lot this year. He rarely spoke unless necessary, but when faced with a strange girl in a white dress who looked like a fairy, he couldn't help but talk more.
"Are you a god?" Zhou Xu asked this time in Chang'an dialect.
Xiao Luolan was stunned for a moment, then shook his head and said, "No."
Zhou Xu dismounted his horse and came directly to the water. He didn't care if the corners of his boots and robe were wet. He walked to the girl and smelled the pleasant fragrance. He looked up at the girl and found that he couldn't see clearly. His face was always shrouded in light.
"Then what are you?"
