Following Hong Ming into the medicine warehouse, I saw Li Zhiying and Xue Yujin sitting at a table with a pile of medicinal materials and a small scale.
Su Dingjie saluted Li Zhiying: "Your Highness, Princess, be well."
Li Zhiying smiled and said: "Master Su, there is no need to be formal."
Xue Yujin glanced at him, chuckled and said, "Why are you dressed like this again? I find it funny every time I see you."
"Hongwen Hall has a half-day holiday today, and I just came over there." Su Dingjie spread his hands helplessly.
Xue Yujin said: "By the way, you haven't said yet, why did your grandfather send you to Hongwen Hall in the first place? Don't think about changing the topic this time."
Su Dingjie held up his hands, sat down at a table opposite the two of them, and said helplessly: "The old man suddenly felt that in order to become an excellent general, it is not enough to just read military books. You also need to read other books."
Xue Yujin smiled and said: "He probably wants to train you to become a general with both civil and military skills like Brother Wu and General Pei, right?"
Su Dingjie curled his lips and said: "Let's not talk about this anymore. Do you know that today's concubine selection ceremony in the East Palace is really incredible. Even the Marquis of Guiyi sent his own daughter there."
Xue Yujin hummed: "What happened to Marquis Guiyi's daughter? Do you look down on her?"
Su Dingjie said: "That's not what I meant. It's just that Marquis Guiyi is from Tiele after all. His daughter..."
Xue Yujin hummed: "Don't forget, the prince's favorite concubine is a Turkic woman. Maybe he likes barbarian women?"
Su Dingjie was stunned for a moment and said, "What you said does make some sense. Maybe Marquis Guiyi thinks the same way."
Mentioning the Turkic woman, Xue Yujin's mood suddenly deteriorated and she didn't speak again. The room fell into silence.
Su Dingjie looked at Xue Yujin and saw her concentrating on weighing the medicinal materials with a small scale, and finally couldn't help but said:
"Yu Jin, I'm sorry. During the days when your family had the accident, I had been living and studying in Hongwen Hall, so..."
Xue Yujin smiled and said: "Didn't you explain it all last time? I don't blame you. And I think life is happier now than when I was the county leader, so don't look like this!"
Su Dingjie was stunned, secretly admiring her open-mindedness.
He stopped mentioning the matter and changed the subject: "By the way, have you heard about the Cheng family?"
Xue Yujin raised his head and said, "What's wrong? What happened to Caiyi?"
Su Dingjie looked very solemn and said:
"It's Cheng Boxian. He went to attend Liu Shizhong's banquet yesterday. When he met the second lady of the Liu family in the corridor, he intended to humiliate her. He was beaten up by the Liu family and thrown out."
"Isn't this...impossible?" Xue Yujin opened her mouth wide.
Su Dingjie sighed and said: "I didn't believe it at first, but then I went to inquire about it. It is said that many people have witnessed it with their own eyes, so I can't help but believe it."
Xue Yujin was stunned for a while, shook his head and said: "How could this happen? If Caiyi knew it, he wouldn't be angry to death!"
She turned to her friend and said, "Zhiying, do you believe Cheng Boxian would do such a thing?"
Li Zhiying stopped the shovel in her hand and was about to answer. Suddenly, her face suddenly changed, she covered her mouth, got up and ran out of the door quickly.
Xue Yujin was shocked, jumped up from the chair, and followed outside the door. He saw Li Zhiying bending down by the corridor, looking like she was about to vomit.
When Xue Yujin came to her, she had already stood up straight, her face flushed, and her eyes full of joy.
"Zhiying, are you..." Xue Yujin was surprised and happy.
Li Zhiying nodded slightly, looked at the sky, clasped her hands together and said, "Thank you Bodhisattva for your blessing!"
…
In the western military camp, after Wu Chengsi heard the news from his guards that his wife was pregnant, he stayed in the tent for a long time, motionless.
You actually have a child?
Suddenly there was an unreal feeling in his head.
Suddenly, something seemed to turn on in his mind, and he rushed out of the tent in an instant, mounted a horse, and galloped back home.
He kept tightening the horse's belly, wishing he could fly to Li Zhiying, touch her belly and listen to the sounds in her belly, so that his anxious heart could fall back.
Having said that, when did it blossom and bear fruit?
In later generations, medical equipment could be used to determine pregnancy within 20 days, but in ancient times there were no equipment and it was all based on pulse diagnosis.
Generally, pregnancy can only be determined through pulse diagnosis after two months of pregnancy.
Two months ago, I was still in Yangzhou.
Could it be that time in the cave...
Not long after, Wu Chengsi entered Chang'an City. His riding skills at this time were no longer what they used to be. All the guards were left behind by him. Only Feng Wu could barely see a shadow.
When passing by the Western Market, he didn't notice that a man in a bamboo hat wearing a ge robe was standing by the window of a private room on the second floor of a restaurant.
The man was holding a strong bow. After seeing him, he picked up the bow and arrow, and aimed the arrow tip at Wu Chengsi.
Suddenly, he felt a sound breaking through the air behind him and hurriedly rolled to the side.
After landing, he put one palm on the ground, turned somersault, and stood firmly on the ground with both feet.
I saw that where he was standing, there was a man in green wearing a wolf mask.
"There are no more than ten people in the world who can escape my attack just now. Who are you?" Yang Xuan said coldly.
The man in the bamboo hat did not answer, he picked up his bow and arrow, and shot an arrow towards Yang Xuan like a shooting star chasing the moon.
Yang Xuan was secretly frightened. The arrow was so fast that even he was not sure to dodge it, so he could only use his two guns to block it.
A huge thrust came, and Yang Xuan was pushed by the arrow and slid a foot away on the ground.
The man in the hat took the opportunity to get out of the window. When Yang Xuan came to the window, the figure of the man had already disappeared.
Wu Chengsi did not notice all this and continued to rush home.
When Feng Wu passed by, she raised her head and glanced at the window of the restaurant. She happened to see Yang Xuan chasing him out, and she couldn't help but tremble in her heart.
A few days ago, Yang Xuan noticed someone wandering around here.
This is the place where the Zhou Palace and the Xidian Camp must pass. If someone wants to assassinate Wu Chengsi, this is an excellent place to do so.
Therefore, Yang Xuan also reminded Feng Wu and asked her to pay more attention recently.
Yang Xuan appeared in the restaurant, indicating that someone was really planning to assassinate him just now, and he also escaped from Yang Xuan.
Thinking of this, Feng Wu jumped up from the horse, with her toes just above the horse's head, and chased Wu Chengsi.
After landing, she waved her riding crop, wrapped it around Wu Chengsi's waist, and pulled him over.
After Wu Chengsi soared in the clouds for a while, he was supported by Feng Wu on his waist and landed safely on the ground.
He immediately stared at Feng Wu, waiting for her explanation.
Feng Wu only used three words to put him at ease.
"There are assassins."
Wu Chengsi glanced around. Although he didn't find anyone suspicious, out of trust in Feng Wu, he stayed where he was and waited for his guards.
After he returned to Chang'an this time, he had been assassinated three times, but the first three times, the assassin was captured by Yang Xuan before he could take action, and he was not aware of it at all.
These assassins were all charlatan killers who were paid to take jobs. With a single line of contact, it was impossible to find out who was behind the scenes to kill him.
However, this is the first time that Feng Wu has encountered such a situation. It shows that Yang Xuan has not settled the matter.
Wu Chengsi's horse was a good horse. After running for a while, he found that his owner was missing, so he turned around and came back to look for him.
Soon, the guards finally caught up, and Wu Chengsi mounted his horse, surrounded by the guards, and returned to the palace.
Returning to the mansion, Wu Chengsi put aside the assassination matter and quickly ran towards the back house.
Entering the back hall, I saw three girls, Li Zhiying, Xu Wenqing and Xue Yujin, sitting together and laughing.
Xue Yujin said with a smile: "Ah, Brother Wu is back!"
After Wu Chengsi saw Li Zhiying, his mood calmed down and he slowly walked to her side.
"My beloved concubine, are you really... pregnant?" His voice trembled slightly.
Li Zhiying's cheeks turned red and she nodded slightly.
Just as she was about to stand up, Wu Chengsi held her shoulders and said seriously: "If you are pregnant in the future, you can't work half hard. You must pay more attention to rest on weekdays."
Li Zhiying laughed and said: "Husband, I am only two months pregnant."
Wu Chengsi said seriously: "Then you should pay more attention and don't go to the medical clinic recently."
Li Zhiying agreed, and Xu Wenqing on the side smiled and said: "Your Highness, please give the child a name."
Xue Yujin rushed to say: "We were thinking of a name for the child before you came. The three of us all thought of a name. Do you want to listen?"
Wu Chengsi sat down next to Li Zhiying and said with a smile: "Okay, what good names have you guys thought of?"
Xue Yujin said: "Zhiying said my name is Zongxiu, do you think it's okay?"
Li Zhiying hurriedly said: "Husband, we were just playing with the child, so of course it's up to you to pick the child's name."
Wu Chengsi smiled and said: "It's okay, I'll listen to your opinions first."
Xue Yujin glanced sideways at Xu Wenqing and said calmly: "Miss Wenqing said her name is Yunchen. Brother Wu, what do you think?"
Wu Chengsi looked at Xu Wenqing and saw her looking expectantly. He nodded and said, "It's not bad."
Xu Wenqing immediately smiled, with two dimples appearing on his round face.
She didn't expect the name to be used, as long as she could get a compliment from Wu Chengsi, she would be satisfied.
"What about you, what's your name?" Wu Chengsi looked at Xue Yujin.
Xue Yujin blushed and said, "The name I chose is Xiao, Xiaobao. I chose it casually. You just have to hear it."
She also seemed to feel that this name was not as good as the other two, so she hurriedly changed the subject and said: "Brother Wu, come and pick one!"
Wu Chengsi held his chin, thinking intently.
What should I call it?
Wu Song? Wu Wudi?
After thinking about it, Wu Chengsi thought: "My thinking is influenced by later generations, so it is difficult to choose a name suitable for this era."
The name will accompany the child throughout his life. For the sake of the child's future, it is better to be cautious.
He felt that the names given by Li Zhiying and Xu Wenqing were both good, so he wanted to choose one of them.
Considering that it was Li Zhiying's child, he made a decision in his heart.
Just as he was about to say: "Just call Wu Zongxiu." Suddenly he was startled and blurted out:
"Why are the names you all named boys? Have you confirmed that it's a boy?"
The three women seemed stunned for a moment.
Xue Yujin said with a serious face: "When Zhiying went to worship the Bodhisattva, she asked for a son. The one she will give birth to in the future will definitely be a son. That's right!"
Xu Wenqing lowered her head and said nothing. She actually felt that it was okay to have a daughter, but with her current status, she could not say such words casually.
Otherwise, people would think that she was deliberately cursing the princess.
Seeing that Li Zhiying was a little nervous, Wu Chengsi smiled slightly and said, "Whether it's a son or a daughter, I like them both."
Li Zhiying didn't know that Wu Chengsi was telling the truth, she just thought he was trying to comfort her, fearing that she would be worried about the gender of her children, so she smiled sweetly at him.
Xue Yujin smiled and said: "That doesn't matter. If Zhiying gives birth to a daughter, we can just choose another name when the time comes."
Wu Chengsi nodded and said: "Then let's call her Wu Zongxiu after my beloved concubine."
After chatting and laughing with the three girls for a while, Li Zhiying took Xu Wenqing to the medical building for acupuncture.
Two days ago, Li Zhiying started officially treating Xu Wenqing's eyes.
Originally, Li Zhiying planned to allow Xu Wenqing to recuperate for a while and then perform acupuncture treatment.
However, Xu Wenqing's emotional state was extremely good due to the recent incident of taking in his concubine, which was a good time for treatment, so Li Zhiying decided to perform acupuncture in advance.
There are three treatment periods in total, each lasting five days. If all goes well, Xu Wenqing’s eyes will be cured in half a month.
Wu Chengsi and Xue Yujin were waiting outside the hospital building.
Xue Yujin looked leisurely at the white dog being chased by the black cat in the distance, while Wu Chengsi looked at the hospital building nervously.
At this moment, the steward Wen Rong suddenly came over, cupped his hands and said: "Your Highness, the Prince of Piao is waiting outside the door to see you."
Wu Chengsi nodded, greeted Xue Yujin, and asked Wen Rong to ask Sha Tuotuo to wait in the lobby, and then returned to the dormitory to change clothes.
When I came to the lobby, I not only saw Sha Tuo Tuo, but also Ye Yeluo and Lan Ma.
Wu Chengsi smiled and said: "Three friends have come from afar. I am overjoyed. Please take a seat!"
Sha Tuo Tuo and Ye Ye Luo also had smiles on their faces, but Ranma was the only one who was expressionless.
Wu Chengsi remembered that this woman was a bit unique, so he didn't care.
Sha Tuo Tuo smiled and said: "General Wu, I heard that you have become a prince. Xiao Wang would like to congratulate you and offer you a small gift. Please do not refuse."
As he spoke, he clapped his hands, and a follower behind him took out an exquisite gift box and presented it to him.
Wu Chengsi smiled slightly, ordered Wen Rong to accept the gift, and said: "I regard the three of you as good friends, so I won't be polite to you."
Sha Tuo Tuo's face was full of joy and she said: "Your Majesty is right, there is no need for politeness between good friends."
At this moment, Ranma's cold voice suddenly sounded.
"Your Highness King Zhou, since I came to your country last time, my little girl has been full of infinite admiration for your country's strength and etiquette. However, your country's treatment of the surrounding small countries is really chilling."
Ye Yeluo was taken aback and hurriedly pulled Lanma and whispered: "You are crazy!"
Sha Tuo Tuo also looked at her in horror, her mouth couldn't help trembling, and her eyes were pleading, hoping she would stop talking!
Ranma was unmoved, came to the center of the hall, performed a Piaoguo etiquette towards Wu Chengsi, and said:
"I came here today just to tell you that no matter how powerful a country is, if it only knows how to bully others, it will perish sooner or later!"
After speaking, she raised her hands and said: "I've finished what I want to say, please kill me!"
Wu Chengsi touched his forehead and said: "Miss Ranma, do you have any misunderstandings about our court? What you said is right. Power cannot last. Why should I kill you?"
Ranma's eyes lit up and she said happily:
"I knew you were an upright person and would not get involved in that matter. Dear Prince of the Tang Dynasty, please stop your country's behavior of bullying other countries!"
Wu Chengsi sat up straighter and frowned: "I still don't understand what you are talking about!"
Sha Tuo Tuo hurriedly came to Ranma's side and whispered: "This matter has nothing to do with us, so don't make any more trouble! Go back!" He showed a rare tough attitude.
Lanma said solemnly: "Your Highness, if we are indifferent to this matter, then sooner or later this kind of thing will happen to our country, Piao."
"How...how could it be!"
Ye Yeluo crossed his arms and said, "Hey, Ah Tuo, I think Ranma is right this time. Since General Wu is not involved in this matter, we might as well tell him."
Sha Tuo Tuo hesitated for a moment and got out of the way.
Ranma spoke again: "Prince of the Tang Dynasty, do you know the country of Khurasan?"
Wu Chengsi shook his head and looked at Wen Rong down the stairs.
Wen Rong immediately said: "Your Highness, Khurasan is a small country that came to our country to worship this time. It wants to join our country."
"Did something happen to this country's envoy?" Wu Chengsi looked at Ranma again.
Lanma said solemnly: "This morning, when we entered the city, we met the Hulashan envoys. They were preparing to leave Chang'an City..."
With that, he explained in detail how he met Khurasan envoy Kuro.
After hearing this, Wu Chengsi raised his eyebrows and said, "There is such a thing!"
Wen Rong frowned and said: "Our court's rules for foreign envoys have never changed in the past ten years. If the Khorasan envoy was not deceived, it should be the problem of certain officials of our court."
Wu Chengsi was silent for a while and said: "I will have people investigate this matter and give you an explanation."
Sha Tuo Tuo said hurriedly: "Your Highness, King Zhou, that's not what happened!"
Ye Yeluo followed: "General Wu, if it was just this matter, Ranma wouldn't have reacted so violently."
Wu Chengsi stared at Ranma, saw her chest rising and falling slightly, and clenched her fists, and asked: "Miss Ranma, what's going on? Just speak out."
Ranma took a deep breath and said slowly: "Later, when we came to Guanyi, we wanted to find the envoys of Khurasan to ask about the follow-up to the matter, but unexpectedly we could never find them again!"
"Can't find it?" Wu Chengsi was stunned.
Ranma bit her lip and said, "We found the Khurasan envoy's post, but the guards there said that they left early in the morning and did not come back."
Wen Rong frowned and said, "Could it be that after they separated from you, they turned around again and never returned to Chang'an?"
"Won't."
Ye Yeluo said with certainty: "We will follow their lead and keep walking on the official road. There are dozens of them. If they turn around, we will definitely see them."
Wen Rong held his chin with his thumb and index finger and said, "Could it be that they changed their minds and left again soon after entering the city?"
Sha Tuo Tuo said: "We asked the gatekeepers at Mingde Gate, and they said they did see the Khurasan envoys coming back, but they never saw them leave the city again!"
"Where are the other city gates?"
Sha Tuo Tuo said: "We have also sent people to ask, but no one saw the Khurasan envoy going out!"
"We also went to Honglu Temple, and the guards and officials there said they had not seen the Khorasan envoy." Lanma added.
Wu Chengsi's heart sank. Since he could only go in and out, it meant that the Hulashan envoy was still in the city but had not gone to the hotel.
Thinking of their purpose of returning to the city, they must want to ask officials from the Tang Dynasty about their surrender, so they naturally went straight to Honglu Temple.
However, the officials of Honglu Temple said that they had not seen them, and they were not in Guanyi.
"So you suspect that it was me who arrested the officials?"
Ranma didn't deny it.
Sha Tuotuo said cautiously: "Your Highness, we asked passers-by and found out that some people have seen people like them entering Honglu Temple."
Wu Chengsi raised his eyebrows and said: "Even if the officials of Honglu Temple failed in their duties, they would not be arrested just because they came to question them, right?"
Ye Yeluo reminded: "His Royal Highness the King of Zhou, envoy Hulashan said that the tribute they brought was accepted by your court."
Wu Chengsi immediately understood the meaning of her words.
The three of them suspected that the Tang Dynasty deliberately used this method to defraud tributes from small countries in order to obtain tributes from small countries. After being exposed, they were arrested.
No wonder Ranma looked like he was going to attack the enemy.
Wu Chengsi snorted and said nothing.
Wen Rong's face was stern and he said in a deep voice: "Do you think our Imperial Court of the Tang Dynasty would do such a despicable thing?"
Sha Tuo Tuo said with a smile on his face: "Of course not. I have always felt that there must be a misunderstanding. How could the Tang Dynasty do such a thing if it was so rich and powerful? Right?"
The last question was addressed to Ranma and he winked at her.
Ranma bit her lip and said, "When we inquired about the envoy from Khurasan, we heard a rumor."
"What rumors?" Wu Chengsi asked coldly.
Sha Tuo Tuo hurriedly grabbed her, winked wildly, and signaled her to stop talking.
Ranma said: "Your Highness, I am willing to believe in this prince of the Tang Dynasty."
Ye Yeluo also said: "Ah Tuo, General Wu saved us once, I think it doesn't matter if we tell him."
Sha Tuo Tuo sighed and let go of his hand.
Ranma stared at Wu Chengsi and said slowly: "We heard that your country's treasury is empty, and you don't even have the money to fight the Tibetans."
Wu Chengsi was furious, and was about to ask the other party loudly where he got the news, when an idea suddenly occurred to him.
If you overreact, it will only make people think the news is true.
He calmed down and sneered: "Do you also believe this kind of news?"
Sha Tuo Tuo said loudly: "Of course we don't believe it!" He glanced at Ranma complainingly, as if to say: "You are usually a very smart person, why are you so confused this time?"
Ranma bit her lip and said, "How dare I ask the prince of the Tang Dynasty, where is the envoy of Hulasan now?"
Wen Rong said lightly: "Miss Ranma, have you ever thought that maybe they encountered other emergencies?"
Ranma said in a daze: "What's the emergency?"
"Maybe they were kidnapped by envoys from the enemy country; maybe they had a dispute with someone and were taken to Jingzhao Mansion; maybe they didn't want others to know that they returned to Chang'an and chose to stay in an inn!"
Ranma said anxiously: "But someone saw them entering Honglu Temple!"
Wen Rong said coldly: "You also said it, but some people saw people who looked like them. There are so many foreign envoys in Chang'an City now, and there are many foreign envoys wearing similar clothes. Isn't it possible that they are wrong?"
Ranma was slightly stunned and thought to herself, "Could it be that I really made a mistake?"
Wen Rong said in a deep voice: "You said you only entered the city this morning, but now it's just around the time of You hour, so you have only been searching in the city for three or four hours. Are you sure you are searching carefully?"
Ranma was speechless, and Sha Tuo Tuo lowered his head, looking like he was being trained obediently.
Wen Rong hummed: "Our prince saved your life last time, but you came to question my prince just because of an unconfirmed matter. Is this your attitude towards your benefactor?"
At this time, even Ye Yeluo and Ranma lowered their heads.