Chapter 1 The Little Cart

The rented pony cart was tied with red ropes but dared not wear flowers, for fear of appearing ostentatious. However, a red needlepoint embroidery hung on the curtain, made by the woman inside the cart.

The driver was He Chu.

In recent days, He Chu had been feeling very baffled.

Baffling wind, baffling rain, baffling sky.

His own younger sister, whom he had painstakingly protected,

The treasure in his and his father's eyes,

Just because of that kid's extremely presumptuous remark,

Had taken the initiative to throw herself onto his bed!

And yet, he couldn't even lash out, because he knew the stubbornness in his younger sister's bones. She really dared to stab that hairpin into her own neck.

Well,

The rice was cooked;

And yet, he couldn't do anything about it.

What could he do?

Your daughter, your sister, had practically begged for it.

It was like doing business;

You had already invested your capital.

Would you continue with this business or not?

If you didn't, your capital was already lost; you wouldn't get anything back.

If you did, then you had to keep going.

He wasn't even hoping to make a profit anymore.

He wasn't even hoping to break even anymore.

What the He family father and son sought now

Was just one thing:

To lose,

He wanted to lose clearly and understand why!

The Old He family was nothing significant in Nanan County, but they were definitely not impoverished.

The two of them running a pork stall together actually brought in quite a bit of income.

He Chu was big, good-looking, and not short on savings. Matchmakers had come to propose marriage long ago. Those girls knew that marrying into his family meant meat at every meal, which was attractive enough!

So,

His Old He family really didn't need to "sell" their daughter to help their son get married!

After that day,

The two of them closed their stall for the day and didn't open for business. They just drank in silence at the small table at home.

The cabbage had been carefully watched,

The fence was tight,

How did she grow legs and run away just because of someone's words?

The first half of the night, the two of them drank in silence;

They couldn't figure it out!

In the second half of the night, the two of them became more and more sober as they drank, and began to discuss remedies.

Old He said,

"How about recruiting a live-in son-in-law?"

He Chu immediately waved his hand:

"Sister wouldn't agree."

Old He immediately wilted. Not to mention the catcher's status, if they really recruited a live-in son-in-law, Yan Bu Tou wouldn't be able to walk straight while patrolling the streets of Nanan County anymore.

A man who marries into his wife's family will always be a head shorter in everything.

A hundred years ago,

A son-in-law was treated like a prisoner.

When the imperial decree came down,

The son-in-law would definitely be on the list to be conscripted to guard the frontier.

Old He had no choice but to take out a small wooden box from under the bed and put it on the table.

Inside the wooden box was the Old He family's savings.

He Chu watched his father open the box, watched the jewelry and deeds inside, and the rows of silver ingots!

Old He sighed

And said:

"Ever since your mother passed away, the biggest business your father has done in his life has been to earn betrothal gifts for you and dowry for Sisi."

Betrothal gifts and dowries have never had a fixed amount.

More betrothal gifts can give a son more choices to marry a good wife;

A thicker dowry can make their daughter stand tall in her husband's family and not be bullied!

This is the heart of a parent planning for their children,

Not a business transaction.

"Huff..."

He Chu took a long breath.

Even as the eldest son in the family, having worked at the stall with his father for so long, he didn't know that his father had accumulated so much wealth.

Not to mention the silver and jewelry, he didn't even know that his family had land, those few deeds outside the city!

Old He pointed at the box, seemingly feeling guilty towards his son, and said in a tone of discussion:

"How about we split it in half?"

As the saying goes, siblings are close depending on whether their parents can be fair.

But according to the customs of this time, a married-out daughter is like spilled water. In other words, the family property will ultimately belong to the son.

He Chu shook his head.

Old He's face darkened, and he was about to start cursing the unfilial son!

Who knew that

He Chu directly picked up the wine bowl, swirled it around,

And said:

"That Yan Bu Tou isn't a local, and he doesn't know the rich from the poor. If his family is well-off, and Sister's dowry is small, she won't be able to hold her head up high and speak firmly to her in-laws;

Wealthy families pay the most attention to etiquette, which is just a habit formed from having a solid foundation.

If his family is average, or even half-impoverished, a small dowry won't help either. She'll still have to suffer poverty with him, serve her in-laws and her husband, and then her children.

Although Sister helps out by chopping meat and doing chores at home, we never let her do any heavy work.

Give it all to Sister!"

Old He was stunned for a moment

And said:

"You brat, you don't want it?"

He Chu patted his chest

And said:

"There aren't a few girls who want to marry me, He Chu. If the money is gone, we can earn it again. Even if your son is useless, he won't be unable to find a wife."

Old He hesitated, thinking that was true.

After all, his daughter was his personal little cotton-padded jacket. Every day, no matter how tired he was, when he saw his daughter mending clothes for him under the oil lamp, he could think of her mother, and it seemed like all the fatigue in his body disappeared.

He couldn't bear to see his daughter suffer, not even a little bit.

In the end,

Old He slapped the table

And shouted:

"Alright!"

...

Compared to the Old He family's "facing a formidable enemy" and making various preparations,

Yan Bu Tou acted as if nothing had happened.

You slept with her,

So what?

Did you think you could eat her up and not take any responsibility?

He Chu waited in front of Yan Bu Tou's door every morning and evening.

Urging him,

He was too embarrassed to urge him,

He couldn't say it!

But he just glared at him, glared at him, kept glaring at him!

Yan Bu Tou had a thick face and always laughed it off.

Just as He Chu was about to take his butcher knife to reason with him again,

Yan Bu Tou came over with a grin.

What for?

To borrow money from his brother-in-law.

Borrow money for what?

To rent a cart?

Rent a cart for what?

To go home.

The Old He family had waited anxiously, father and son, waiting until their eyebrows were almost smoking, and finally got a definite answer from their soon-to-be son-in-law.

An ugly daughter-in-law must always meet her parents-in-law.

This is etiquette, and etiquette must not be abandoned!

They might be a small family, but the Old He family also had standards.

If the son-in-law didn't have money,

Borrow it!

A big cart, decorated with carvings, drawn by three horses, with a groom and a maid - Old He gave an order to rent it, even if it meant butchering a pig for nothing!

He had guarded the greasy stall his whole life for the sake of straightening his back and having confidence today!

But Yan Bu Tou still stopped him, saying there was no need for such extravagance.

Old He was dissatisfied.

What was extravagance?

Your Yan Xiao Liu's face might not be worth anything, but the Old He family still cared about face!

Old He directly pointed at Yan Bu Tou's face and spat:

"I just want to let my in-laws see that while the Old He family isn't a wealthy clan, if they bully my daughter, my daughter still has a maiden family that can take her back and continue to care for her!"

When Old He said this, it was truly like Mount Tai pressing down!

Of course,

If he knew which family his in-laws were that he wanted to compare with,

He might not have had such full of vigor today.

Yan Bu Tou was very shameless and directly said that his salary in the past had been spent on eating and drinking, and the offerings from the shops had been used for revelry. He really didn't have any savings. He would have to live a good life in the future, and the money would naturally be managed by his wife. But unfortunately, the family was poor. The father-in-law should please save the money for renting the big cart first, and he might have to come and sponge off him in the future.

These words choked Old He half to death!

Damn it,

He had never seen such a shameless son-in-law!

However, in the end,

The big cart became a small cart, three horses became one horse, the maid was gone, and He Chu became the driver.

The brother-in-law personally escorted his younger sister to her husband's family.

In fact,

He also intended to survey Yan Bu Tou's family situation.

The maiden family had to send someone

To inform them not to bully his daughter!

Yan Bu Tou sat in the carriage, opening his mouth from time to time to eat the dried fruit and shelled peanuts that his young wife handed him.

The brother-in-law driving the cart looked back from time to time, and when he saw this scene, he felt a little jealous

And said:

"Sister, you're spoiling him!"

Even if you don't learn from our late mother, who was like a shrew, you should at least learn from the scholars who like to say, "Raise the tray to eyebrow level," right?

The woman was also tough

And said directly:

"He's my man, and I'll spoil him if I want to!

Are you jealous? Then hurry up and find me a sister-in-law so she can serve you like this!"

These words made Yan Bu Tou so happy that he couldn't help but lean over and kiss his wife's flawless face.

"Slap!"

"Slap!"

One sound was from the kiss,

The other was from the brother-in-law's anger as he lashed the horse in front!

In fact, the brother-in-law had someone he liked.

There were actually many women who wanted to marry him, but he had turned down the matchmakers.

The one he had his eye on was the bookkeeper's daughter.

Every time he went to the bookkeeper's house to deliver pork,

She would wait there to see him.

He would also linger a little longer to look at her.

On weekdays, the brother-in-law was covered in the smell of pork, but he always wore the sachet that the young lady had personally embroidered around his waist.

But some things,

Could only be buried in his heart.

Matching social status,

This damn matching social status!

He Chu had knelt in front of Old He, saying that he wanted to join the army, to fight for merit on the battlefield, to bring honor to his ancestors.

He wanted to be qualified to come back and marry her!

But Old He said:

"If His Majesty issues a conscription order, if Great Yan really reaches that point, your father won't stop you. Your father will even pawn off the family property and have a knife made at the blacksmith's shop in the city, and go with you!

But now, hasn't that time come yet? Your father is old, and this stall, this family, still needs you to support it."

Yan Bu Tou, sitting in the carriage, heard his wife say this

And laughed:

"What does that matter?"

He Chu felt inexplicably angry,

And wanted to retort:

"Are you saying I should let a girl throw herself at me?"

But the one who threw herself at him was his own sister, so he couldn't say that!

Really, so angry!

He could only whip the horse again!

Nanan County wasn't far from Yanjing City, so there was no need to travel for days and nights. Because they had left at noon that day, they found an inn to rest for the night, and set off again the next morning. At noon, they arrived at Yanjing City.

Yan Bu Tou took out the document he had obtained from the county magistrate, made up an excuse, and claimed it was official business, so he quickly dealt with entering the city and was able to enter the capital.

The capital,

Was really big.

He Chu carefully drove the carriage, afraid of overstepping or colliding with anything.

"Where is your home?"

He Chu asked.

Yan Bu Tou didn't rush to answer, but looked at the sky and said:

"Have you heard of Quande Lou roast duck in the capital?"

He Chu nodded. It was very famous!

"Let's go, let's eat!"

Yan Bu Tou decided to treat his brother-in-law well. It was his duty as a host.

Besides, a few years ago, Quande Lou was still his own business.

"Is it expensive?"

He Chu asked.

Yan Bu Tou was stunned. A duck from Quande Lou was worth a month's expenses for an ordinary family.

He turned to look at his wife.

The woman was considerate

And said:

"Husband, I want to eat Tangbing (soup noodles). I heard that the Tangbing in the capital is different from ours."

Good women know how to maintain their husband's self-esteem.

Yan Bu Tou blankly said to his brother-in-law:

"Brother-in-law."

"What?"

"Lend me money."

"..." He Chu.

"I'll pay you back, I really will. I'll give it to you when my salary comes in next month. No matter what, it's not easy to come to the capital once, I have to treat my wife to a duck!"

Was Quande Lou's duck really that delicious?

How could Yan Bu Tou, who had hyped up this duck, not know!

But this was a sense of ritual.

When you come to the capital,

You have to eat a Quande Lou duck.

Only then is the ritual complete.

Years later,

Even when you're old,

You won't remember if the duck was delicious or what it tasted like, you'll only remember that you entered the capital for the first time and ate that duck, and who you ate it with.

He Chu looked at Yan Bu Tou and then at his sister

And nodded vigorously

And said:

"My treat!"

"Nonsense, I'll pay. This is the rule, it can't be messed up."

Yan Bu Tou was very serious about this.

People who grow up in Yanjing City are like this.

I may not have money,

But I can't lack face!

The carriage arrived at the entrance of Quande Lou. A waiter naturally helped to arrange it, and the three entered the roast duck restaurant.

This wasn't the main store of Quande Lou in the capital, but a branch. Moreover, the original manager had long since left and gone to Shengle. Therefore, no one here recognized Yan Bu Tou as their former owner.

"Class A room, two front ducks, full ingredients, and a pot of peach blossom wine!"

Yan Bu Tou ordered the dishes in a very grand manner.

Expensive,

It was really damn expensive!

"Front duck" was just a gimmick, and the peach blossom wine was also diluted with water.

The sins he had committed in the past,

Now he could only fill the pit himself.

For a time,

Yan Bu Tou regretted not having been a good person.

After entering the private room,

He Chu felt a little uncomfortable. He couldn't lean on his brother-in-law like his sister could.

But his brother-in-law seemed very skilled, directing the waiter to pour tea.

As soon as the tea was poured,

Before he could even take the cup,

His brother-in-law lowered his head and smelled it,

And directly overturned the teacup

And cursed:

"Who are you fooling!"

The waiter immediately apologized, wiped it clean, and went to prepare new tea.

Then,

Yan Bu Tou said to his brother-in-law:

"The people here are all like this, they always think they're superior and judge people by their appearance. Heh, they even judge people by the tea, how pathetic!"

He Chu was only busy calculating in his heart how many more pigs he would have to butcher for this meal.

Hearing what his brother-in-law said,

He immediately said:

"This is the capital, we still have to be careful."

It was said that if a memorial archway in the capital fell down and hit someone, five out of ten people would be high-ranking officials.

Yan Bu Tou shook his head

And sighed

And said:

"I've been careful for so many years..."

Saying this,

Yan Bu Tou lowered his head and looked at the woman who had thrown herself at him sitting beside him.

He smiled

And said:

"Now, I don't want to be careful anymore."

...

His Majesty's imperial carriage appeared at the prince's residence.

The prince's residence was the residence of the princes. In the past, because the late emperor liked "seeking immortality and asking questions," many temples were built in the palace. After the current Yan emperor ascended the throne, he changed the atmosphere, and monks and warlocks were either had their families confiscated and exiled or were assigned to criminals. These temples were then converted into offices for the court.

Therefore, the Yan Kingdom's palace wasn't as neat as the imperial palaces of other countries. It wasn't square.

It wasn't that no one had written a letter to rebuild the imperial palace, but they were all rejected by the Yan Emperor.

Good news was frequently reported, and the memorial from the Jingnan Marquis was also sent up.

The rewards after the war were actually also inside, but how to operate it specifically still needed to be handed over to Li Jiulang and the others for further discussion.

An unexpected wave was finally quelled, and the pressure on the Yan Emperor was greatly reduced.

In fact, for the Situ family, he had originally only wanted to make them submit.

But the mess of the barbarian affairs, coupled with the later participation of the Chu people, forced Great Yan to dispatch troops and money to fight this great battle.

These expenditures weren't what the Yan Emperor had originally expected.

Compared to the devastated land of the Three Jin Dynasties,

What he really wanted to do,

Was to attack Qian!

Qian was too rich, but it was weak. In the last war between the three kingdoms, although it had obtained the state of Cheng, which split off most of the Three Jin Dynasties, it hadn't really hit Qian. It had only made it lose face.

However,

You couldn't kill such a big and wealthy country all at once. You had to let it recover. If you waited until it had strengthened its army and prepared its horses, it would be difficult to deal with it later.

The war against the barbarians had greatly hindered the Yan Emperor's original plan. The war against Qian could only be temporarily shelved, and had to be shelved.

And just last night, a message came from the Qian Kingdom's secret spy agency, delivered to the imperial desk by Wei Zhonghe himself.

The Qian Kingdom's official was preparing to confer the titles of Duke to the Zu and Zhong families, and also to grant titles to a group of generals.

Most importantly,

He wanted to redress the case of the "tattooed-face prime minister" of that year.

This matter hadn't been announced yet, it was just a plan.

But this showed that his neighbor had taken advantage of the last war to clear out the influence of those prime ministers in the court, especially since Prime Minister Han had just retired and returned home, and then he was going to redress the tattooed-face prime minister case that he had personally made, without leaving Prime Minister Han any face at all.

This also meant that the influence of the scholar-official class on the Qian Kingdom was being weakened unprecedentedly, and the status of the generals was constantly rising.

This news showed that

That neighboring emperor

Wasn't just strengthening his army and preparing his horses,

But was sharpening his knife.

He had borrowed his knife to remove his obstacles.

Because of this news, the Yan Emperor wasn't in a good mood today. He already felt that in a few years, when the Yan Kingdom was ready to attack Qian again, the difficulty would definitely be much greater than it had been the year before.

Even the news of the victory in the Three Jin Dynasties was diluted a lot because of this.

At the same time, at noon today, the Seventh Prince accidentally fell into the pond while flying a kite in the prince's residence and was frightened.

The Yan Emperor, who was already feeling a little upset, simply went to the prince's residence to see his youngest son.

The Yan Emperor was an emperor, but he was also a father.

However, unlike other fathers in the world, other fathers could spare no expense to give to their children;

As for him, the meaning of his children was first, the inheritance of the country, and second, to satisfy his occasional need to enjoy family happiness.

He still had a lot of love for his youngest son.

Because the other children had grown up and were no longer cute.

The eunuchs and maids in the Seventh Prince's residence knelt on the ground in panic,

But for this matter,

The Yan Emperor didn't punish them heavily.

He looked at his youngest son by the bed and saw that he had no other discomfort and didn't seem to be developing a cold, so he was relieved.

Beside the youngest son's bed

Was the whistle kite,

The kite that would make a crisp whistling sound when it was flown into the sky.

It was beautifully made, cleverly designed, and looked very interesting.

The Seventh Prince leaned against the Yan Emperor's chest, a little uneasy, as if he knew he had done something wrong.

"Who gave you this kite?" the Yan Emperor asked.

This kite wasn't an ordinary object. It looked like it had been carefully crafted, and it was difficult to buy on the market.

"Replying to Father Emperor, Sixth Brother gave it to me half a year ago. Sixth Brother knows I like to play with these things, so he often makes toys for me.

Father Emperor, has Sixth Brother's illness recovered yet? I, I want to see Sixth Brother. I miss Sixth Brother."

"Good boy, rest well. Drink a bowl of ginger soup later. If your Sixth Brother's illness is cured, he will come out."

"Yes, Father Emperor, I will definitely listen and drink the ginger soup."

The Seventh Prince said with a bitter face. Obviously, he didn't like that taste.

The Yan Emperor stayed with the Seventh Prince for a while before leaving the room.

Wei Zhonghe was waiting at the door, not entering, for fear of disturbing the imperial family's affection.

The Yan Emperor reached out and rubbed his eyebrows

And casually asked:

"What has Cheng Jue been doing recently?"

The Sixth Prince was assigned to Nanan County as a catcher, and the Yan Emperor personally demoted him. His every move naturally couldn't escape the eyes of the Secret Intelligence Division.

Of course, the Yan Emperor wouldn't check what he did every day. He had many things to do and many sons, and he really couldn't take care of it.

Sometimes when he remembered it, he would casually ask Wei Zhonghe.

"Replying to Your Majesty, the Sixth Prince just took a woman."

"Took a concubine? Heh, he's living a carefree life. He can't suffer anywhere."

Wei Zhonghe hesitated a little.

"Not taking a concubine?"

"Replying to Your Majesty, it doesn't seem like it."

"Explain clearly."

"Yes, Your Majesty, the woman's surname is He. She's not a woman of the streets, she's a woman from a decent family."

"The He family?"

"Yes, it's a family that sells pork in Nanan City."

"He, married the daughter of a butcher?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. Moreover, that family seems to be urging the Sixth Prince to take their daughter to meet his parents, to discuss the marriage."

"In-laws?"

"Yes."

"Heh."

The Yan Emperor chuckled.

After a while,

The Yan Emperor chuckled again.

"Your Majesty, it was the daughter of the butcher's family who took the initiative to offer herself to the Sixth Prince. The He family was originally unwilling, but now that the rice is cooked, the He family is anxious."

Wei Zhonghe couldn't bring himself to say the words "thrown herself at him," but the meaning was very clear.

Hearing this,

A smile appeared on the corner of the Yan Emperor's mouth,

Not the coldness from before.

This was the benefit of having sons.

You could casually hook up with someone else's cabbage, anyway, your own pig didn't lose anything.

Even if the woman's family was a butcher.

Even if an emperor was talented and ambitious, he was still just a person. He could deliberately abandon many things, but how could he completely eradicate everything?

The Yan Emperor asked:

"That He family?"

"Replying to Your Majesty, it has been investigated clearly. The He family has a clean family background and no problems."

The Yan Emperor nodded.

"They're forcing him to meet his in-laws, what about him?"

"Your Majesty, the Sixth Prince left Nanan County yesterday to enter the capital. Last night, this servant already reported it to you."

Obviously,

The Yan Emperor had forgotten about this.

"Entering the capital?"

"Yes, taking that woman and the He family's eldest son."

"Heh, he wants to bring his unmarried wife to see me? To especially tell me that he, Ji Cheng Jue, is amazing, that even if he's a catcher, a girl will take the initiative to want to be with him?

Or is he showing off to me that he's found me a butcher's family to be in-laws, so that I can benefit from him in the future and not lack meat to eat?"

Wei Zhonghe's mouth twitched, trying hard to hold back his laughter.

The Yan Emperor sighed

And said:

"Where is he?"

"The news we received earlier was that he entered the capital at noon."

"Did he submit a memorial tablet?"

"Not yet."

When princes enter the palace to request an audience, they need to submit a memorial tablet in advance.

Father and son are father and son, but imperial fathers and sons are even more ruler and minister.

At present, only the Crown Prince has the right to request an audience at any time.

"Not yet?"

Wei Zhonghe took half a step back

And said:

"Your Majesty, this servant dares to report one thing."

"Speak."

"The attendant Zhang, who is by the Sixth Prince's side, had someone clean his private residence outside the palace a few days ago, added things, and sent the woman he was having an affair with to the private residence, and also bought slaves and servants from the brokerage firm.

This morning, Zhang left the palace."

What did this mean?

It was very clear.

The Sixth Prince, with his newly married wife,

Didn't plan to bring her into the palace to see his emperor father,

But planned to let an old eunuch and the old eunuch's lover

Be his parents in the private residence

To fool the He family!

Anger was clearly revealed in the Yan Emperor's eyes.

He was the Son of Heaven,

He was the emperor of Great Yan,

But today, he learned that he was going to be replaced by an eunuch to play his role!

How could he not be angry, how could he not care!

"Bastard!"

Wei Zhonghe immediately bowed down.

"The He family's daughter took the initiative to commit herself to him, but he's playing with them like this. What does he think he is!"

Of course, the emperor couldn't explicitly say that he was jealous of an eunuch.

Turning around,

The Yan Emperor faced the pool in front of him.

Because it was winter,

The pool was very desolate.

After a long time,

The Yan Emperor said:

"Let that kid enter the palace."

...

He Chu ate a whole duck by himself. While eating, his heart was bleeding. What he was thinking in his head was that a pig could be eaten by a family of several people for a long time, but this duck was only enough for him to eat one meal, and he wasn't even full!

But this taste

Really seemed so delicious.

Yan Bu Tou leisurely rolled pancakes, wrapped duck meat, and dipped them in sauce for his wife. The woman also ate very sweetly and happily.

At this time,

There was a commotion downstairs.

Yan Bu Tou leaned back,

Opened the window of the private room.

From here, he could see the position of the main entrance.

He found that several palace guards and an eunuch in blue official robes were riding over.

"What's going on downstairs?"

He Chu asked.

Having just arrived in the capital, this butcher always seemed overly cautious.

Yan Bu Tou didn't answer,

But turned around,

Picked up the remaining half pot of so-called peach blossom wine diluted with water on the table

And took two big mouthfuls directly

And then wiped his mouth with his sleeve

And said:

"In the past, the Sword Saint opened his realm and entered the Second Rank outside Xuehai Pass!" (martial arts realm)

"Pa!"

The wine pot was slammed heavily on the table,

The Sixth Prince stood up

Adjusted his clothes,

And said in a deep voice:

"Today, I, Ji Cheng Jue, in Yanjing City, will enter the game again!"