After Xiao Qiao left the house, the envoy's mansion, which had just been silenced, gradually became quiet. The guests dispersed. Seeing that Qiao Ping was still moving towards the gate for a long time, Qiao Yue stepped forward and persuaded him to enter, saying, "Second brother, niece has gone far away. You have seen the grand occasion in the city with your own eyes. I am really pleased for my brother."

Qiao Ping turned slowly and said, "Brother, I have a word that I shouldn't have asked, but I've been bothering me for a long time. I took this opportunity to ask boldly. Ten years ago, my father sent troops to fight against Li Su, but he still stopped moving in the battle, which led to the death of Wei Jing and his son, which made a grudge with the Wei family. Did my father send a messenger to report to Wei Jing at that time? It should be clear to me that my brother and my father followed the army together."

Qiao Yue was stunned, then looked unhappy, waved his hand, and said, "It's all over. Now, why do you suddenly mention this? No matter how you deal with it back then, there was always a reason for him. How could we sons interfere?"

Qiao Yue replied this, and Qiao Ping felt confident in his guess.

Ten years ago, after Chen County, the Wei family was mourning, and Qiao Ping was sent to Yuyang by his father Qiao Gui to pay his respects. In the mourning hall, the generals of the Wei family drew their swords and angrily attacked Qiao Ping, accusing Qiao Gui of being cunning and untrustworthy. At that time, he did not send a letter at all and just watched the tiger fight. Qiao Ping was very frightened and thought that he would not be able to get out of the Wei family gate. Unexpectedly, Mrs. Xu not only scolded the generals in front of him, but also comforted Qiao Ping with gentle words. Qiao Ping returned to Yanzhou after the disaster and explained the scene in detail to his father Qiao Gui.

He still remembers clearly that his father frowned for a long time and finally sighed: "There is a mother in the Wei family like this, I am afraid that it will be a disaster for my Qiao family in the future!"

During the past ten years, Qiao Yue had always suspected that his father had never reported the news. His father was scheming and ambitious. Although the Wei family was still in the Yanyou area in the north and had no conflict with Yanzhou, Wei Jing was strict in his army, and was named a marquis for his merits and was also known as a wise man. The famous scholars in the world fled one after another, and there was a vague appearance of a hero.

Perhaps my father considered that once the Wei family rose in the future, it would be unfavorable to expand its power in Yanzhou, so he went with the flow and wanted to use Li Su's hands to remove a hidden danger.

"Second brother, the marriage between the two families has not only resolved the discord, but also solved the current difficulties in Yanzhou. How could it be wrong? Don't think about it anymore."

Qiao Ping smiled bitterly: "Brother, Manman has gotten married as you wish, and the trouble in Yanzhou will be temporarily resolved. From now on, I hope that Brother will work hard to restore the momentum of my Qiao family. In this way, not only will he benefit the county people, Manman has a strong support to the Wei family, but also to the Wei family."

Qiao Yue looked embarrassed and said, "Natural, natural, don't worry, second brother."

...

Wei Liang led a team of Wei's personal soldiers to escort Xiao Qiao north, traveling day and night, and starting to have nothing to do. When he was about to enter the territory of Jizhou, one day, the sky was about to dark, and a group of carriages and horses had not yet arrived at the court to settle down. He happened to pass a deserted and winding road. He realized that someone seemed to be following him, so he immediately ordered to turn back to observe, but the personal soldiers came back and said nothing was abnormal.

Wei Liang seemed rude, but in fact he was as careful as he was, and he was silent. After joining the post house that night, he personally guarded Xiao Qiao's room with a knife. From the next day, he strengthened his guard and rushed to the road. Finally, before the end of the year, he sent Xiao Qiao to Xindu in Jizhou successfully.

...

Gao Tang, the former governor of Jizhou, took Xun to control the government and harmed loyal and kindness. The Han Dynasty was in name only, but he turned his back to the court, killing those who refused to follow him, and proclaimed himself emperor. The court sent many troops to encircle and suppress him, but Gao Tang had been in charge for many years, and he also took advantage of Jizhou's territory. He could not capture him for a long time, so he had no choice but to attack Wei Shao. Last autumn, Wei Shao personally raised his troops to Jizhou.

When another group of troops came to attack, a group of people in Jizhou went to a layer of skin. Even the official army surrounded the village, slaughtered the villagers, cut off their heads and hung them on horseback to take the rewards. It was already very miserable. When Wei Shao arrived in Youzhou, he was frightened and threw the wheat that was waiting to be harvested in the fields to scatter. There was even a place where the whole village ran away. After the arrival of Wei Shao's army, he not only did not violate the situation, but saw that no one was harvested and lying on the ground, but the soldiers unarmed the wheat in the fields, and then piled up to the entrance of the village to leave, and captured the soldiers who fell into the road who made a living by robbing. The news spread ten times, and ten times spread a hundred times. Not long after, the people who had originally escaped from home to take refuge came back one after another, and even the young and strong voluntarily joined the army. The people along the way were abnormal and beat gongs and drums to welcome Wei Shao's army into Hebei.

Wei Shao won the hearts of the people, like a tiger adding wings. During several wars, Gao Tang threw away several cities, and finally hid in Xindu and closed his doors. Wei Shao was not in a hurry to attack and stationed his troops. At the beginning of the year, after besieging the city for several months, he captured Xindu. Gao Tang was desperate and died. The people of Jizhou ran around and told him, proclaiming the elderly and respected letters of the people, and begged Wei Shao to stay. Wei Shao submitted a letter to him, saying that there were still Gao Tang's remnants outside Xindu to abuse the countryside, and there were many.

Therefore, he followed the people's conditions and continued to station troops to wipe out the rebellion of rebellion. The court was afraid of his expansion of power, so he refused to allow it at first and ordered the withdrawal of troops from Ji, so Wei Shao obeyed the order to withdraw his troops. Unexpectedly, the several Jizhou maids sent by the court were blocked outside the city gate by the people. The emotions were surging. After several times, no one dared to take the Jizhou maids again. The court was out of reach, and there was no way to do so, so he had to follow the public's wishes and ordered Wei Shao to temporarily lead the troops. Wei Shao entered Ji again, and the people were welcomed by the people at that time, and it has been nearly a year now.

Recently, Wei Shao has been in Xindu. Compared to Yuyang, Xindu is closer, so the marriage place is located here.

...

The ancient city of Xindu is not very large, but it is well known to everyone in Hebei.

During the Warring States Period, Zhao and Wei Dynasty, Zhao State lost Handan for three years, and accompanied by Xindu, the Xin Palace was built in the city. There was a first floor called Sandal Tower. It was built with a hundred years of sandalwood and was more than ten feet high. You can see the whole city by climbing the tower. After hundreds of years, it still exists. After several renovations, the palace in the "Xin Palace" was removed and changed to the residence, and it became the current official residence of the envoy.

When Wei Shao was in Xindu, he settled in the Xin Palace in the old days.

Xiao Qiao's wedding car slowly entered through the city gate.

Through the carriage window, she saw that the moat was unilluminated. The main road paved with green stones in the city was wide and flat, allowing ten horses to walk side by side. There were houses on both sides, and the street scene of the city was different from the Dongjun she was used to. The ancient style of Yanzhao came to her face. The men, women, and young people walking on the street found the big carriage she was riding. They stopped and looked at it without stopping, with curiosity on their faces, as if they didn't know that Wei Shao was about to marry.

With curious eyes all the way, the carriage finally stopped in front of the Xingong Gate. The armored guards at the door stood up, recognized Wei Liang, and opened the door and let it go.

Xiao Qiao was helped down and finally got out of the bumpy carriage for many days. She entered the Xin Palace with Chunniang who was dowry and several maids.

When I was on the road, the journey was boring. In order to pass the time, Chunniang could not help but imagined many scenes after she arrived at the wedding place.

Now I saw with my own eyes that although Xin Palace is large, the palace is so beautiful, it is deserted inside. Not to mention the joy of Chunniang's original imagination of marriage, even if she didn't even see a few people, a woman came soon. She was about forty years old, dressed up in a celebrant face, and showed a bit of sternness. The woman led several servants behind her, claiming to be surnamed Zhong, and was ordered to welcome the bride of Qiao's family here. Although her tone was not without respect, looking at Xiao Qiao's gaze always made people feel a little cold.

Xiao Qiao speculated that although this woman was a servant, she should have a certain status in the Wei family, so she called her "Zhong Niang" as usual.

"I dare not, the maid is just a little bit of a man. I am ordered to listen to the order. The lady calls the maid and says "

Zhong Mama took Xiao Qiao to the place where she was sitting, named "Yuyang". She faced west and south, and had excellent lighting.

Zhong Ma left two servants for Xiao Qiao to send, saying that she would find herself even if she had something to do. After saying that, she bowed to Xiao Qiao, turned around and left.

As soon as Zhong Mama left, Chun Niang was disappointed and felt even more distressed. She helped Xiao Qiao away the two maids left by Zhong Mama. While busy setting up a seat with the maid, she complained in a low voice, and finally said, "Will the Marquis of Wei be in the city now? When is the wedding date?"

Chunniang was puzzled, and Xiao Qiao was also confused. She beat her calves, which had become a little sore due to sitting in the carriage for a long time. She got up and came to the window, pushed it open and looked out.

The courtyard is sparse and wide. Near the Yuyang where she lives, the ancient high-rise building rose from the ground, and a beam of sunlight just passed through the gap between the corners of the eaves and corners, casting a circle of bright spots, shaking the eyes slightly.

...

Every day, servants regularly send hot food soup, which is thoughtful to support them, but Xiao Qiao seems to be unable to leave the door of Xingong, and she seems to have been forgotten.

Zhong Ma said that she did not show up after that day. As for her husband, she would call her husband for now, the man named Wei Shao was not even showing her shadow.

In this blink of an eye, it was almost the end of the year. Chunniang began to get anxious and grabbed the two servants and inquired countless times. However, the servant seemed to follow Zhongniang. No matter what he asked, he would shake his head and force him to ask again. He knelt down and kowtowed to apologize. Chunniang was so angry that he wanted to go to Zhongniang to ask clearly, but Xiao Qiao stopped him.

It’s just the beginning. He is not in a hurry, and she is not in a hurry.

The Spring Festival of the seventh year of Dingkang is coming soon. When it is sunny, Xiao Qiao climbed onto the Sandal Tower and saw the people in nearby residences busy cleaning their houses, cleaning clothes and drying quilts, and preparing for the Spring Festival.

It was also after coming here that Xiao Qiao realized that the Spring Festival, the most important festival of the year that was regarded as auspicious reunion by later generations, does not mean auspiciousness in the simple understanding that has continued from ancient times to the present. Just like bamboo joints, bamboo is smooth, but only "festivals" are the knots. This day is called a festival. The so-called Spring Festival is the most unlucky day in spring. It is to ward off evil spirits and pray for blessings that people spend the Spring Festival in a way that cleanses dust and reunion. The level of liveliness is far less than that of later generations.

Xiao Qiao couldn't go out. Of course, she didn't think about going out, but no one stopped her from climbing to the sandal terrace next to her residence and looking out.

The terrace is really high, even higher than the city wall. Standing on the observation deck on the top floor, you can see a wilderness outside the city wall within your eyes.

...

There were still snowing days left before the end of the year.

At noon, the snow stopped and the sun came out, and it was particularly bright.

Xiao Qiao stayed in the room and drowsy for an afternoon. In the evening, she climbed onto the Sandal Tower.

In the past few days, she will climb to the Sandal Platform at this time to wait for the sunset.

Outside the city wall is an endless field. When she watched the sunset collect the last ray of light at the end of the field and was finally swallowed up into the horizon, if she was a poet, she might be able to write a song that could be passed down from generation to generation to watch the sun.

This dusk is not much different from before, except that the roof is covered with a layer of snow like cotton, and the streets are scattered in black and white, mottled. The white is snow, and the black is the true nature of the road exposed after being trampled by pedestrians. As usual, people took advantage of the last moment before the sky was shining, carrying loads, pushing carts, and walking... Several children were happily piled with snow in the corners of the alley, and the laughter seemed to be able to reach this tall building.

"It's going to be dark! It's too dry and cold! The wind is like a knife! There is a brazier in the house, so let's go down!"

Chunniang was fat and climbed dozens of stairs. She was a little panting and persuaded Xiao Qiao to add a fox fur cloak to her.

Chunniang never left Dongjun, which had a warm climate in the first half of her life. She was a little unaccustomed to the climate here and wanted to stay in the room from morning to night and not come out.

The wind on the roof of Tantai Tower was really strong. Xiao Qiao closed his hands and put them to his mouth, sniffed a few sips of heat, pressed his cold cheeks with the remaining warm palms, and turned around and was about to follow Chunniang, suddenly, a faint sound came from the direction of sunset in the distance.

The sound was faint and dull at first. Xiao Qiao thought he was hallucinating his hearing. But soon, the sound became clear, and it was a bit unexpected, like a muffled thunder rising from the ground.

Xiao Qiao couldn't help but stop and turned to look into the distance again.

Outside the city wall, the originally dead white wilderness that was sleeping suddenly seemed to wake up. At the end of my eyes, a snow mist seemed to be rolled up from the ground by the strong wind, covering the sky, blocking half of the sunset on the horizon, as if there were flags, they appeared in it.

"What is that?"

Chunniang looked along her gaze, opened her eyes wide, and her voice became frightened.

Xiao Qiao continued to look.

The muffled thunder is getting clearer and clearer.

She finally saw clearly that it was a large group of cavalry, with a large number of thousands of people, and was rushing towards the city. When she was moving closer, the momentum was as loud as thunder.

"The Lord and the Lord are back--"

"The Lord and the Lord are back--"

Just as the sound of horse hooves that seemed to shake the ground, a moment later, a loud cry at the foot of the city wall at the gate suddenly shook. The cry swelled with the wind, one louder than another, and sent to the dusk sky of Xindu Ancient City, and also reached Xiao Qiao's ear drum.

People on the street also heard it and stopped. After a brief stagnation, they rushed towards the city gate.

"Your Majesty is back! You are back!"

The entire ancient city was in agitation, and more people began to run out of the house and ran around to tell each other.

...
Chapter completed!