The afternoon sun shines in through the window lattice, and the weather at the end of March is gradually getting a little warmer.
"You want to reject the eldest son of King Huainan, even if I come forward, have you ever thought about what might happen to you?" Huo Qubing said.
Zhuo Huai said solemnly: "Before coming to see Huo Shizhong, I thought about it repeatedly.
I just don’t know what exactly Huo Shizhong is referring to?”
Huo Qubing said: "Even if I promise you, if he can't accept your daughter, he must have other means to make you bow your head.
If you are not prepared and I help you, you may not be able to resist yourself in the end.
Have you ever thought about how much you can bear?"
Zhuo Huai's face changed slightly, he stood up and bowed: "I absolutely cannot bear to let my daughter get married, and I am worried all day long, even if I give everything I have for it, I will not hesitate.
In the royal capital of Chang'an, he never dares to openly commit murder. After all, I, the Zhuo family, are not ordinary people, so I can let him manipulate me quietly."
Huo Qubing thought for a while: "You don't want your daughter to marry into the Huainan palace, so why can you trust me and take the initiative to come?
You and I have never been in contact before."
Zhuo Huai seized the opportunity to greet him and said, "My family has been a merchant for generations, and I am the best at judging people. I believe I will not be wrong. Besides, Huo Shizhong is a young man with a young spirit, full of talents, and is determined to lead the army. No one knows."
In fact, he made a relatively accurate judgment after asking people to inquire in many ways.
Knowing the rise of the Wei family, the original clan aristocrats were dissatisfied with the new Wei family, and the two sides were obviously in opposition, so they dared to come to ask for help.
What's more important is that he has no other way to go. It's not that he doesn't want to ask others, but that most of the options he can find are shunned by him.
————
It was getting dark before Zhuo Huaicai returned to his home.
When he came to the door of his daughter's room, he felt a little happy that he had finally lived up to his daughter's expectations.
Knowing that his daughter was waiting for news, he immediately opened the door.
Not only is my daughter in the room, my daughter-in-law Bai Nanyu is also there.
The two women were sitting on the couch talking. Bai Nanyu was leaning sideways, with a graceful waist and slender legs. She stuck one foot out of the couch, stepped on the top of the shoe with her toes, and took something from the low mat beside her. The moment Zhuo Huai came in, he caught sight of Bai Nanyu's round and delicate complexion on her feet, and quickly turned his head, "So you two are here."
Bai Nanyu got down from the couch, lowered herself to salute, and lowered her watery peach blossom eyes.
Zhuo Qingke also came down from the couch and asked eagerly: "Has Shizhong Huo agreed?"
Zhuo Huai responded: "Shizhong Huo has agreed to help us, but... he is not ready to get married yet."
Zhuo Qingke was happy at first, and then his face darkened.
It turns out that I just agreed to help, not to get married.
————
Huo Qubing agreed to Zhuo Huai not only because of Bai Qi's military scroll, but mainly because the person who wanted to forcefully marry Zhuo Qingke was Liu Qian.
His father was Liu An, who was famous in history, and his sister Liu Ling was the author of Huainanzi.
After a series of recent events in this family, the emperor should also want to test their thoughts.
After the Seven Kingdoms Rebellion during the reign of the late Emperor, Emperor Liu Che treated these royal relatives with superficial courtesy and even increased their expenses appropriately, but Huo Qubing was very aware of his precautions.
He told Liu Che before that he voluntarily accepted a heavy punishment and had this consideration in mind for what he wanted to do.
So when Zhuo Huai revealed that the other party was Liu Qian, Huo Qubing was greatly moved. It was a coincidence that he took the opportunity to act.
Liu Qian's father, Liu An, King of Huainan, is currently far away in the feudal country, while his son Liu Qian and his daughter Liu Ling are in Chang'an.
Liu Ling is the woman who was reported by Song Ran a few days ago to have an affair with the newly promoted Northern Army Lieutenant Zhang Cigong.
It was that time that Huo Qubing had an idea in his mind.
Liu Ling's behavior... seems a little unusual.
The Northern Army Lieutenant Liu Huai died, and she had an affair with the new Northern Army Lieutenant Zhang Cigong... This made Huo Qubing unable to keep an eye on this family.
After Zhuo Huai left, Huo Qubing glanced at Xiong San behind him.
This big girl, as soon as the guest left, she quickly took a bottle and hid it in her hand.
Nai is the name given to apples or sand fruits in the Han Dynasty. It became popular in Chang'an in the past two years after Zhang Qian was sent to the Western Regions. It was grown indoors in the early days, so it is also available in off-season. However, it is rare in quantity and has a sweet and crisp taste. Xiong San likes to eat it very much. I can eat two kilograms a day.
The housekeeper Yan Qi once said that she had no rules, and she responded plausibly, saying that Huo Qubing was never at home and it would be a pity to throw them away if no one ate them.
At this time, Yan Qi came up and handed Huo Qubing a greeting card. It was sent by Liu Qian. The wording was quite polite, but the meaning was straightforward, indicating that he wanted to accept Zhuo Qingke as his concubine and let Huo Qubing make his own decision.
It doesn’t matter whether you offend Zhuo Qingke, the eldest son of King Huainan.
Huo Qubing smiled and someone gave him a pillow when he felt sleepy.
He said to Yan Qi: "I have heard some rumors before, saying that relying on your majesty's favor, I have always been domineering and do not take anyone seriously.
It just so happens that you also sent a reply to the eldest son of the King of Huainan. You might as well use stronger words to stop him from thinking about taking Zhuo Qingke as his concubine."
Yan Qi hesitated to speak, but finally bowed and retreated.
If the judgment is correct, Liu Qian's marriage to Zhuo Qingke may not be as simple as it seems. He neither wants to treat her as a plaything nor simply covets her beauty, but has other considerations, such as the huge wealth of the Zhuo family.
The iron ore industry he operates can be put to good use...
Huo Qubing had ups and downs in his thoughts, and immediately gave a few instructions to Yao Zhao, who was following the whole process.
After Yao Zhao heard this, he left in a hurry, while Huo Qubing came to the study alone, pulled out a bamboo slip from the bookshelf, and read it silently.
This simple book was something that the Han Dynasty inherited from Qin after the decline of the previous dynasty. It tells some things about the First Emperor Ying Zheng.
In the Western Han Dynasty, this was a forbidden book, but Huo Qubing obtained Liu Che's permission and was eligible to borrow various classics collected in the palace.
The First Emperor was also a historical precedent in this world, the first person to establish the Chinese imperial regime.
There is another reason why Huo Qubing read books about Emperor Qin.
In this world, it was the First Emperor who joined forces with the miscellaneous scholar Lu Buwei, the Yin-Yang scholar Zou Yan, the military strategist Wei Liaozi, the general Wang Jian, the Legalist Han Fei, Li Si, and the Confucianist Xunzi to jointly formulate the current levels of practice for various categories including the three religions and nine streams. p>
Emperor Qin brought more changes than these, ranging from running the country to setting a hierarchy for practitioners in the world, to people's livelihood and food. Because of him, the changes were more or less different from the historical trajectory.
Huo Qubing judged from these signs that the origin of the First Emperor was very questionable.
I just don’t know why Qin still died after two generations if it was true as speculated. The late tyranny directly led to the collapse of a dynasty.
Are there any special internal reasons or changes?
After Huo Qubing read the brief book, he put it aside and took a map of the Xiongnu to study.
This has become his habit. Over the years, he has frequently checked the terrain of the Xiongnu and surrounding barbarians.
The light outside the window gradually dimmed. Huo Qubing put away the map and took out another ancient simple book and a white jade tablet.
These two items were looted from Zonghengdao.
The simple book records some techniques and techniques of Zonghengshu, which Huo Qubing has briefly read in the past few days.
The white jade board is engraved with many incantations and symbols, which are very complex and have unknown uses.
The surface of the jade plate has been fumbled and played with for a long time, and it looks extremely moist and smooth.
It is initially estimated that Huo Qubing is from the Spring and Autumn Period, and may be an ancient artifact inherited from Zonghengdao.
He still remembered seeing a woman's figure in the consciousness of Ji Ran, Tang Maoshan and others.
That is Ghost Mother, the deputy sect leader of Zonghengdao, who may also be hiding in Chang'an.
Through Ji Ran and Tang Maoshan, Huo Qubing also learned about the Seven Yin Fu Techniques of the Classic, which was regarded as a heavenly book by his people. It was rumored that it contained the secret of immortality.
And they themselves have only practiced Yin Talisman, and the transformation of the soul in the seven techniques of this scripture has long been lost, so the sect's power has seriously declined.
Huo Qubing studied the two things in his hand for a while and then put them away.
It was getting late, and after having dinner, he began to practice.
As his own strength grows stronger, the ancient well in the sea of consciousness that has not seen any movement for a long time has recently undergone some wonderful changes.