At night, Li Dan wore green cloth with arrow sleeves, a chainmail jacket, a waistband, and a belt with double penetrations. He ran up to the mansion to see the eldest lady. If he hadn't been young and familiar with the Xu family, he would have been frightened to death. !
But despite this, Xu Mansion still made a big fuss. Lamps were lit everywhere, and girls and boys were all busy.
Before the housekeeper came to invite her, Lian'er rushed into her sister's boudoir and called, "Sister, then Li Sanlang is here!"
"Nonsense, it's so late and the curfew is about to come. How can anyone come out to visit?" Xu Ying was frightened, and then with a straight face, he accused the girl of lying about military information.
"Really, the cook is being asked to start cooking outside, as if he hasn't had time to eat before he comes down from the city."
"Ah? Are you serious?" Xu Ying saw that the girl didn't seem to be joking, and suddenly stood up and walked downstairs.
"Sister, please slow down and fall carefully!" Alian hurriedly chased after her. The girls were so panicked that they also picked up their skirts and chased after her. One was Xu Ying's Yutong, and the other was Alian's autumn fan.
Xu Ying went outside and called a boy to ask. When she learned that the guests were in the flower hall, she trotted over and entered the courtyard a few steps ahead of Alian.
However, Yutong blocked Alian outside and refused to let her in. Alian was about to yell in a hurry. Just when she opened her mouth and saw her father coming, she quickly covered her mouth and backed away.
"Hey, why are you here?" Xu Bu was surprised.
"Needless to say? Your precious daughter is already inside!" Xu Tongle said cheerfully.
"How can this girl's family be... so unreasonable!" Xu Bu didn't know what to say.
Brothers Xu Tong and Xu Xian put their hands together and said nothing. Xu Bu had no choice but to call Yutong: "Stop standing here, go to the door and listen to the noise!"
Xu Tong asked teasingly: "Brother, won't you go in?"
"What am I going in for!" Xu Bu shook his head like a rattle, and after thinking about it, he pretended to be confident and said:
"I think Li Sanlang is a gentleman, and he will never do anything frivolous!" Xu Tong and Xu Xian looked at each other and smiled, and then asked people to bring in the coffee table and couch. It was a crisp autumn day, and the gentlemen were enjoying the moon and chatting outside the flower hall.
Li Dan entered the flower hall and saw that the Xu family had actually framed the poem he had written and hung it on the wall. He suddenly regretted his impulse, but turned around and was hesitating whether to leave. When he looked up, he saw Xu Ying standing at the door, panting.
"Did you run here?" he asked.
"Are you leaving?" Xu Ying asked.
The two were stunned for a moment, both finding it funny.
"Now that you're here, don't stand at the door. Please come in." Li Danfu turned around and entered the house again.
"Look what you said, this is my home!"
"Oh, yes, yes." Li Dan patted his forehead and cursed secretly that he was used to giving orders, why would he act like the boss here? "Uh, nothing's wrong. The battle is over. I'm here to see my sister. How is your sister?"
Seeing him salute, Xu Ying hurriedly returned the favor with a blessing solemnly, saying: "During the day, I heard the sound of war drums in the city, and later the cheers shook the ground. I think it's you, Sanlang, who has won the battle, and I am filled with endless joy."
"Thanks to the hard work of the military and civilians, we finally got through this dangerous day."
"Is it dangerous?" Xu Ying looked at him carefully.
Li Dan nodded heavily: "There were quite a few casualties, but fortunately, the enemy's losses were far greater than mine." Seeing her paying attention to him, he smiled and pointed to a few bloodstains on his armor and said, "It's the enemy's, I'm fine with it."
Xu Yingsong said, "It's okay, but in my heart..." She suddenly turned red and couldn't continue, and turned away hastily.
Li Dan looked at the graceful figure and said, "Actually... I came here today because I have a few words to say to my sister."
"Saburo, please speak."
"I..." Li Dan didn't know where to start. "Dan lost his temper when he was young. His biological parents died one after another. Fortunately, he was raised by his aunt, and he has grown up to this day..."
He slowly talked about his vague impressions of his parents, his aunt's love for him, his brothers and sisters at home, and how he learned martial arts and literature, and worshiped Han An as his teacher.
The more he talked, the smoother he became. He told the relationship between the Li family and the Chen family, and the story that happened after he was sent to Geyang.
perhaps. He did not hide his admiration for Chen Meng, and even told her that he planned to seek pardon for the Chen family.
"I also know that this is a bit wishful thinking, but if I try, maybe I can be ordinary? Meng'er is the reason, but I also think that Mr. Chen is really wronged. God can't always accept good people, right?" He said.
"Sanlang told me this, I know that you regard me as a confidant. But... if you have Meng'er, where will you put me?" The girl felt ashamed when she said this, but she didn't say it. No, it’s not easy for others to ask this.
"Dan and Meng'er were childhood sweethearts, and Dan and his sister fell in love at first sight." Li Dan seemed to be saying to himself:
"Ever since I met my sister that day, my beautiful shadow has always been with me. I think about her all the time and weigh it day and night, but there is nothing I can do. I don't want to be a dishonest person, and it is difficult to be a heartless person. This is the truth, and I dare not deceive each other."
He was telling the truth here, but Xu Ying was already embarrassed and annoyed. "Bah! You still call me a gentleman, but..." She didn't know how to continue, so she just stamped her feet and turned around.
"If my sister is angry, Dan will be careful to apologize. But Dan is telling the truth. If you don't tell your sister before the three matchmaking and six rituals, you are deceiving others. Dan is not ashamed."
Xu Ying saw that he was serious and thought that this was the right thing to do. If he kept it secret, there would be a lot of drama in the future, which would not be good-looking, but now Mo Ruo has revealed it all. It's just... the key is whether he recognizes this girl from the Chen family.
She slowly turned around and looked at Li Dan again. When she saw that he was still standing with his hands folded, her heart softened and she said softly: "My home is not a battlefield. You'd better take off your armor and weapons first." Just speak."
"Oh! Okay, okay!" Li Dan realized that he was still wearing a double penetration and quickly took it off.
Yu Tong, who was outside, caught sight of her and quickly seized the opportunity to come in and said, "Sir, let me help you." He told Xu Ying, "Miss, the meal has been prepared. Someone from the kitchen asked if it would be served in the flower hall. ?」
"Tell them to bring it in. Saburo can use it here." After Xu Ying ordered, he suddenly noticed something strange in Yutong's smile and glared at her.
Looking further into the yard, I saw that my father and uncles were sitting in the yard across from the pond. When they saw her looking at her, they hurriedly pointed to the sky and the earth, pretending not to see her, which was both funny and annoying.
After the food was set, Li Dan simply asked Yutong to help him take off his chainmail. He sat down with a smile and said, "People are iron and rice is the foundation. If you don't eat, you will be impermanent. It's better to take a few bites first to avoid talking confusingly. Make my sister angry with me!"
"Humph, it doesn't make sense for you to speak on your own." Xu Ying said, sitting down opposite him.
"Oh, sister, it is necessary to be cautious." Li Dan continued while devouring his food: "It is very dangerous for me and others to fight for our lives every day. In fact, it is better to find an elegant scholar to marry, and we can't say that we will be the wife of a county magistrate. It’s also pretty scenery.”
"You," Xu Ying said angrily, "if you expect me to marry that kind of person, why are you here tonight?"
"Aren't I afraid of delaying my sister? What if swords and guns don't have eyesight? One day..."
"You...you can't keep your mouth shut while eating!" Xu Ying pushed him under his forearm angrily, while Li Dan laughed while holding the bowl. Xu Ying knew that he had tricked her, so she turned around and ignored him with a pout.
Li Dan continued to eat, giggling while eating. Yutong looked at him eating and deliberately intervened to resolve the situation. He then sighed and said, "My young master, you are a man. If we girls were eating like this, we would have been scolded by the master!"
Li Dan looked at Yutong at the door and said with a smile: "This means I am very well-behaved in front of my sister. But don't think it's scary. In fact, it's much scarier when we eat in the military camp. Even if you take a breath later, you can make a profit." You can’t get enough food!”
"What's the point of this?"
"Don't you hear that the military situation is booming? Therefore, everyone eats very quickly. Sometimes the gang leader will prepare the meal and drive the carriage a mile ahead, setting up the steamer and soup bucket. The team will come over, grab and eat, and then leave after a few bites.
Or how can we often catch our opponents off guard? It’s just a quick word! There are many things in the world, but speed is the only thing that cannot be broken! "
Li Dan's words made Xu Ying sigh with emotion, and thought that it was not easy for a late magistrate to do such a thing.
Thinking about the topic just now, I also know that he is a man of trust and integrity.
A gentleman who also attaches great importance to friendship is unable to make a decision for a moment, biting his red lips, blushing and heartbeating. So he spoke softly and said: "I was just asking you, if Meng'er comes back, where will the master put his slave...?"
Li Dan heard this and knew that he must make a clear statement at this time. He inserted his chopsticks into the rice bowl, stood up and bowed, knelt on one leg, raised two fingers of his right hand, and said solemnly:
"The emperor and the empress are here, Dan swears today that he and Sister Xu Ying will stay together forever, share wealth and honor, and never forget each other. Sister will never give up, and Dan will have no regrets! Even if Meng'er is not allowed to return, no one dares to break this oath. Otherwise, heaven and earth will punish you!"
People at that time believed in this oath and believed that those who broke the oath would be punished. Seeing him like this, Xu Ying felt happy and knelt down and said:
"Slave, Aying of the Xu family swore to the Emperor and Empress today that she would never leave Li Sanlang and we would be united forever.
Regardless of whether he will be rich or noble in the future, regardless of whether he will be civilized or martial in the future, he will never regret it! Even if Meng'er's sister is exempted from returning, she should still be treated as an equal. No one dares to break this oath, otherwise he will be punished by both heaven and earth! "
Yutong listened from behind, quietly holding her heart, turning her back and wiping away the tears from the corners of her eyes.
After talking, the two of them got closer and looked at each other and smiled. Seeing the two of them acting stupidly, Yutong hurriedly stepped forward and said softly: "Master, please get up and finish the meal first."
The two of them were shocked. Li Dan stood up quickly, and Yu Tong also helped Xu Ying up and sat back down, watching him continue to devour. Xu Ying sighed and said to Yutong:
"These lake bandits are really hateful. Why bother provoking Yu Gan? I don't know how they can get away."
"Don't worry, sister, everything is safe with Saburo. If they don't retreat, sooner or later this group of people will lose their lives too!" Li Dan said inarticulately.
"Oh, by the way! In the afternoon, Ah Yi who was next to the master said that there was a notice posted outside, saying that we had a great victory in Huxi and cut off two canal heads. Is this true, sir?" Yutong asked quickly when he remembered it.
"It's true. However, the actual results are better than what was written in the announcement. I was afraid of frightening the Polygonum flower away, so I deliberately wrote it down!"
Li Dan puffed out his cheeks and pursed his lips, smiling, and told them: "Keep it a secret. We can't tell anyone about this. We won't be able to say it for another three to five days."
"Why is this? Wouldn't it be good if we could scare off the lake bandits and avoid the loss of life?" Xu Ying was a little puzzled.
"Sister, think about it, bandits always come out to harm people, just like the tiger in the mountains. If we lured the man-eating tiger and walked step by step into the trap, would we still scream to scare it away?"
"Of course not, I must wait for it to fall into the trap, and then beat it to death with a stick!" Yutong waved his little fist.
"That's right!" Li Dan was amused by her behavior and continued to say to Xu Ying:
"We are preparing a big trap for Polygonatum, so we don't dare to disturb him at this time. If we want to make him angry, angry, and confused, we can't ask him to escape back.
Otherwise, if you lick your wounds, he will definitely kill more people next time he comes out! "
"Oh!" Xu Ying suddenly understood and nodded slowly.
"So now we can only weaken it, consume this tiger's physical strength, and make it angry but helpless. Only in this way can we achieve our goal." Li Dan swallowed the last mouthful of rice, put down his chopsticks and said:
"The tiger just wants to knock people down, but I don't want to let it get its wish, so I have to take it in endless circles. When does it lose strength and breathe heavily, when does it give up? Flaw or lure it into a pit.
This is called 'he hits his, and I hit mine. Anyway, we can't let the initiative fall into his hands! "
"We just want him to follow our ideas and eventually fall into a trap."
Li Dan gave Yutong a thumbs up with appreciation: "If Yutong learns it, she can also be a female general!"
"Young master, this is a joke. In this world, there are only storytellers talking about Mu Guiying and Fan Lihua. How can there be any real women who become generals?" Yutong was embarrassed by his praise.
"Well, that's not right. In ancient times, the concubine of Shang King Wu Ding was called Fuhao. She once led troops to quell the invasion of Guifang Kingdom in the Western Regions. After three years of fighting, they finally forced Guifang to move westward. Later, she also conquered Qiang Fang and Ba Di cooperated with Wu Ding to ambush the Ba army.
Wu Ding therefore
He gave her her own fiefdom and buried her in Anyang with high courtesy after her death. "Li Dan nodded:
"So, women are not necessarily inferior to men, nor can they only be housewives. Look at Li Qingzhao in the Southern Song Dynasty and Zheng Zhenyi in the previous dynasty (see note 1). Which literary talent does not put men to shame?"
As he said this, he suddenly couldn't help but yawn. When Xu Ying saw it, she hurriedly asked Yu Tong to call someone in and remove the things from the table. Then Yu Tong lit the charcoal stove to boil water, and selected tea leaves to make a pot of good tea.
Unexpectedly, when Duan came in to take a look, Li Dan lay sprawled on the soft couch and had already fallen asleep.
The two of them looked angry and funny, but they didn't dare to disturb them, so they tiptoed out quietly. Brother Xu Bu stood up and asked, "What?"
Xu Ying's face turned red: "He was tired from the battle and fell asleep."
"Hey, how can this be done?" Mao Zaidi on the side felt embarrassed. He had already eaten and was muttering to himself that if you go home, there will be another meal over there. Should you eat or not?
Unexpectedly, Li Dan went to bed after eating and did not choose a place. At least you can support yourself. What's going on here? This girl has never passed the exam!
"I, my mistress must still be waiting for the young master, what should I do?" he said with a grin.
"It doesn't matter." Xu Tong smiled and looked at his elder brother:
"I think we should let him rest here. Let Ah Yi go to Xianrenli. Qian has met him and tell him that Sanlang rested in Xu Mansion. We will take good care of him. Please don't read it. .”
Xu Bu nodded and asked again: "Then here...?" He raised his head and glanced at the door, looking a little uneasy.
"Note 1: Zheng Yunduan, posthumous name Zhenyi, 1327-1356, courtesy name Zhengshu, was from Pingjiang Prefecture in Wuzhong, that is, Suzhou."
