Since the war with Beiyuan and Xiyue in the 17th year of the late Emperor Jingtai, Nanqi has not had a large-scale war for nearly seven years, and small frictions have occurred from time to time. When the country is peaceful and the people are safe, the limelight of military generals is suppressed by civilian officials.
But the troops stationed in various places were not idle either.
As the saying goes, it takes a thousand days to raise an army but it takes only a short time to deploy it, but it must be reviewed frequently. Therefore, the emperor decided to go to the western suburbs camp of the Red Feather Army to review the army before the Dragon Boat Festival.
The residence of the western suburbs camp of the Akabane Army is located on a plain surrounded by mountains on both sides to the west of the capital, about fifteen miles away from the capital. There are a total of 200,000 defenders. They are mainly responsible for guarding the capital, which is related to the stability of the imperial power and has a heavy responsibility. Therefore, all dynasties
The emperor paid great attention to the daily drills and actual combat capabilities of the western suburbs camp, and the generals stationed there were all close to the emperor.
Xia Houyuan, as the commander-in-chief of the western suburbs camp of the Red Feather Army, has been very busy recently because of the emperor's military parade, and has not been able to go home for five or six days in a row. It is rare to have a holiday, and the emperor's military parade has basically been arranged.
Finally went home to rest for a day.
Xia Houyuan was a restless person. On holidays, he would mostly chat with Zhong Yuqing. Occasionally, he would meet up with Zhong Yuqing to chat, and his life was very leisurely. Therefore, a scene that often appeared in the mansion was Xia Houyuan's.
Concentrating on practicing his marksmanship in the yard, Zhong Yuqing sat in the deck chair on the porch reading a book or doing needlework, calm and warm, just like a couple of gods and goddesses.
But on this day, Xia Houyuan had no intention of practicing his spear. He even didn't want to move because of the continuous rotation during this period. He sat alone in the study and read a book on the art of war left by the ancients.
After Zhong Yuqing arranged the affairs of the house, she hurried to the study. She had too many things to discuss with her husband, and the most important thing at the moment was her daughter's matter.
"This child Shu'er looks like a big girl now, but her temperament is still unstable. She is well-behaved and sensible in front of us, but when she is carrying us, she is like a wild horse that has escaped the reins, running amok all day long. I'm afraid
You will suffer losses if this continues." Zhong Yuqing's face was full of worry when she mentioned her daughter.
Xia Houyuan immediately focused his attention entirely on his wife and comforted him: "Although I am not as thoughtful as Madam, I still have a good eye for seeing people. This kid Shu'er is a bit out-of-the-box, but he is decisive and knows right from wrong.
My good boy, this is up to you. Madam, don’t worry too much, you can teach her slowly. As she gets older, she will also understand your and my painstaking efforts."
Zhong Yuqing did not dare to fully agree. She admitted that her daughter was not bad in nature, had her own opinions, and knew right from wrong, but she was too determined and would cause trouble every now and then, which was always unsettling. She also knew that this matter needed to be solved
Xu Xu studied it, but it had been almost six or seven years since her daughter came back from Boyunguan. Although her temperament had become somewhat restrained, there was still a certain gap between her and the noble girls of the same age in the capital.
Thinking of these, Zhong Yuqing felt tired. She sighed helplessly, and her tone became quite self-blaming: "It's my fault too. If I could have persisted a little longer and kept her by my side to educate her, I wouldn't have become what I am today."
This is what it looks like.”
After listening to his wife's words, Xia Houyuan no longer had the intention to read. He walked over and helped his wife to sit on the chair by the window. Fang said, "Why did you mention this matter again? What the crazy Taoist priest said back then was really bluffing."
, which caused a lot of rumors. But Shu'er was born prematurely, and she was so sick at the time. If she hadn't been cruel enough to send her to Boyun Temple to practice cultivation, I'm afraid she wouldn't have grown so big. I look at her now,
I don’t expect her to be well-educated, well-behaved, and sensible. I just hope that she will be safe, healthy, and carefree. You are her mother, and after going through all these things, I think you are of the same mind as me."
Zhong Yuqing glanced at her husband and said melancholy: "I have the same idea as you. It's just that this child is always troublesome. I thought it would be better to wait until she is older, but the older she is, the more capable she is.
Tossing. Now that she is still at home, we turn a blind eye to her mischief no matter what, and punish her with small punishments. But if she is promised to someone in the future, how can she be allowed to do so?"
Xia Houyuan was startled when he heard this. He recalled that when his daughter got her hairpin a few years ago, he was filled with joy and excitement, but he didn't think so long term. After the girl got her hairpin, she had to discuss the matter of getting married. Speaking of which, although his little daughter could not
She had grown up under his knees, but now she was able to grow up to be so lively and lively. He felt very happy. The thought of marrying her to someone else made him extremely unhappy.
Zhong Yuqing was also unhappy in her heart, but she didn't care about her daughter. Just because her daughter didn't have any thoughts about her marriage now didn't mean she wouldn't in the future. As a mother, she couldn't pretend to be deaf and mute and let things go. Then she thought of her eldest sister Xiahou Meiqian.
She had to think more about what she said when she came to visit a while ago, so she said: "The eldest sister came to the house a few days ago and said a lot of things. I saw that she meant to have an idea of our Shu'er."
As soon as he mentioned his eldest sister, Xia Houyuan frowned involuntarily and asked: "What did the eldest sister say? What did you say about her attention to relieve the child?"
Zhong Yuqing did not intend to conceal this matter, so she said: "The eldest sister looks majestic, but she is actually a paper tiger. Especially after what happened to the eldest uncle, she seemed to be a different person. On the contrary, she was a different person."
She put her thoughts on her children. Previously when Hao'er was still alive, she wanted to promise Ruoshui to Hao'er, but later..."
At this point Zhong Yuqing paused, then silently glanced at her husband's expression, deliberately avoiding the fact that her eldest son was dead, and continued to murmur: "Fortunately, Ruoshui may have married a good family later, so the matter was over.
But the eldest sister turned around and set her sights on Yi'er. First she said that she would marry the fifth girl born in the second room of the Marquis of Rong'an, and then she said that she would marry the sixth girl from her family's concubine to Yi'er as a concubine.
She couldn't refuse directly, so she had to say that Yi'er hadn't gotten married yet and she wasn't in a hurry about marriage before she was willing to give up. Unexpectedly, now that Shu'er has just married Ji, she has fallen in love with Shu'er again."
The more Xia Houyuan listened, the darker his face became, but he kept silent.
They are siblings of the same mother. They grew up together and know each other's character very well. He respects Xiahou Mei as his eldest sister and has not blushed with her in person for decades, even when Zhong Yuqing first married her, she was always in love with her.
Even though he was frustrated, he endured it and only comforted his wife while asking his mother to persuade his eldest sister. But now that everyone is a parent or even a grandparent, if she doesn't correct her position, he doesn't want to continue to be polite.
.
Zhong Yuqing didn't pay attention to her husband's expression and said: "Ruo Qian's child is only less than half a year younger than Yi'er, but when she was pregnant, the old lady said that the two children were destined to be together. Unexpectedly, the two children's personalities
We are so different that we can't play together at all. To be honest, Ruo Qian is an honest person, has a gentle temper, and there is nothing wrong with his behavior. But Shu'er just doesn't have the right temperament with him.
I haven't said a few words to him. Isn't this a bit of a mess, eldest sister?"
Xia Houyuan finally couldn't bear it any longer and was so angry that he punched the table and said angrily: "Sister, I'm getting more and more confused as I get older! Shu'er is the apple of my eye. Her parents and brothers are both here. How can she be my aunt in the marriage?"
Come and arrange it? I have nothing to say if Ruoqian's child becomes my nephew. After all, children and grandchildren will have their own blessings, and I can't care about him. But if he wants to be my son-in-law, that is absolutely impossible! He is so weak
With his temperament and the domineering eldest sister, which family’s daughter can live comfortably in his family?”
People who have been crawling around in the military camp for decades will definitely look down on Xu Ruoqian's weakness.
Zhong Yuqing is very satisfied with her husband's attitude in her heart. After all, the words coming out of her mouth are different from those coming out of Xia Houyuan's mouth. She has been married to Xia Houyuan for nearly thirty years, even though she is not satisfied with this big family.
She was not very satisfied with her behavior, and she swallowed a lot of grievances, but she never said a bad word about her brothers, sisters-in-law or aunt in front of Xia Houyuan, just because she didn't want her husband to think that she was a talkative woman with no sense. But this Xia Houyuan
Being able to see it so clearly and saying it herself made her feel relieved.
Xia Houyuan was still angry and obviously didn't notice his wife's little thoughts. He thought for a moment and said very seriously: "If my eldest sister mentions Shu'er's marriage to you in the future, just say that I haven't planned to marry Shu'er yet."
, let her give up as soon as possible. If she still insists on it, let her come to me directly, and I will talk to her. "
After understanding her husband's attitude, Zhong Yuqing achieved her goal and said nothing more.
Xia Houyuan was not happy. After dinner, he went to his study to meet a subordinate who had come to discuss military affairs in a hurry. Then he sent someone to summon Xia Houshu to his study for questioning.
The maid sent out soon came back, but it was not Xia Houshu who followed, but Xia Houyi.
Xia Houyuan looked at his son. He was still a little confused at first, but when he saw the faint smile on his face, he immediately realized that he had something important to discuss with him, so he waved the people who were serving him to go down, and then
Pointing to the chessboard on the table by the window, he said: "You and I haven't played chess for a long time. Come, let's play a game with my father."
The smile on Xia Houyi's face became a little brighter. He walked over to his father and sat down cross-legged. He said seriously: "If father loses, you are not allowed to lie."
Xia Houyuan rolled his eyes at his son and said displeasedly: "You win first and then I'll talk."
"It's not like I haven't won before." Xia Houyi responded unceremoniously and took the white piece very consciously.
Xia Houyuan snorted, sat down, picked up a sunspot between his fingers and landed on the center of the chessboard.
The father and son just competed on the chessboard, and no one said any unnecessary words.
After a while, Xia Houyuan glanced at his son, thinking that this brat was really calm. It was obviously him who came to the door, but he didn't say anything, just waiting for him, the father, to take the initiative to ask.
!In this case, he really won’t ask anymore, let’s see how long he can hold it in.
After about an hour of burning incense, Xia Houyi did not wait for his father's inquiry, so he had to compromise and said: "Father, I met someone a few days ago."