On the day of the Laba Festival, there was a rare bustle in the house. Zhong Yuqing ordered people to cook Laba porridge and distributed it to each room, and she also ate some. Unexpectedly, at night, she suddenly suffered from unbearable abdominal pain and her amniotic fluid broke. The situation was very critical.
Zhong Yuqing's delivery date was originally in the middle of the first month of the next year, and she had already arranged for Wen Po and the nanny to live in the mansion. However, because it was the Laba Festival that day, Zhong Yuqing thought that there were still some days before the delivery date, and there was a war at the border, so Beijing
Supplies were also extremely scarce, so they gave Wenpo and wet nurse food and cold clothes, and allowed them to go home for the holidays and reunite with their families. They hoped that she would give birth to children in the future, and they would work harder.
There was no one in the house who knew how to produce.
Zhong Yuqing had given birth to two children. Seeing that her condition was not good, she did not panic. Instead, she forced herself to call her personal nanny Fu Pei, housekeeper Li, second wife Zhang and the unmarried Xia Houze.
, and gave instructions one by one to explain the follow-up matters.
In the desperation, everyone forgot about the ugly and vicious rumors in the house, twisted into a tight rope, and took action one after another.
After receiving the order, Housekeeper Li sent three teams out. One team went to fetch the doctor, the other team went to pick up Wen Po, and the third team went to pick up the wet nurse. Aunt Fu Pei was responsible for mobilizing the people in the inner house and preparing the necessary materials for the birth in advance.
Hot water, scissors, ginseng soup, clothing materials and other items were provided to ensure Zhong Yuqing's safe delivery; Mrs. Zhang summoned all the children in the mansion to the Yihe Hall where Mrs. Lin lived, and personally took care of them; Xia Houze led all the guards in the mansion to guard every
The exit does not give any opportunity to those who are interested, ensuring the peace of the home.
It was already midnight when Butler Li brought Po Wen back. Zhong Yuqing had been in pain for a long time and had already lost consciousness. However, when she was still a little conscious, she told Aunt Fu Pei to save the child in case of a critical situation.
That night, the entire Yue Kingdom Palace was brightly lit. Everyone was praying, hoping, and worrying, and their hearts were pulled into a crumpled rag.
With the concerted efforts of everyone, at dawn, a baby's cry finally came from the Songya Hall, breaking the tranquility of the night and bringing the dawn.
Although Zhong Yuqing fell asleep due to the prolonged labor and exhaustion of energy, there was no fear for her life.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
It was also on this day that the capital city of Nanqi, which had been covered in heavy snow for three months, ushered in its first sunny day, and the people in the city called it auspicious.
On the battlefield of Beiyuan, Xia Houyuan led his soldiers to achieve their first victory, captured the enemy's leader, and captured 2,000 enemy soldiers, forcing Beiyuan to surrender and sue for peace.
After the Beiyuan Kingdom withdrew, the Xiyue Kingdom also sent a letter of surrender due to insufficient food and grass supplies in the rear.
When Xiahou Yuan and Xiahou Tan led their troops back to the court, it happened to be the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty. Emperor Qi Jing, Duguji, worshiped heaven and earth, prayed to the ancestral temple, and held a banquet in the palace. First, he prayed that the cold disaster would pass as soon as possible, that the new year would be smooth, and that the people would live and work in peace and contentment.
The second is to celebrate the triumphant return of the soldiers who put down the rebellion and their meritorious service in defending the territory.
After returning the military talisman, Xia Houyuan drank three glasses of wine at the palace banquet. Before the banquet was over, he informed the old emperor and hurried back to the Yue Kingdom Palace without stopping.
Seeing that everyone in the house was safe and sound, and that Zhong Yuqing was gradually recovering under the doctor's care, Xia Houyuan breathed a sigh of relief. Looking at his infant daughter, who was thin and immature and breathing weakly, he felt both distressed and happy, so he
Its name is Shu, which means relieving danger and resolving difficulties, turning misfortune into good fortune.
However, Xiahou Shu's name did not bring her good luck as her father expected.
Xia Houshu was a premature baby and was born thinner than his brothers and sisters. There is a folk saying that seven live and eight are not alive. Xia Houshu was less than nine months old when he was born, and he was born in such a cold season.
During the delivery process, she choked on her amniotic fluid, and she suffered from serious and minor illnesses. Xia Houyuan and his wife invited all the famous doctors in the capital to come for treatment, but they did not get better for a long time.
Later, a Taoist priest passed by the Yue Kingdom Palace and stood in front of the door muttering to himself.
The concierge immediately recognized him as the mad Taoist priest who had stopped Princess Xuanhe's carriage and said that the child in her belly was destined to be evil. He also heard him muttering words such as "fate" and "big evil", and couldn't help but
Thinking of all the strange things and rumors in the house in the past six months, he was horrified. He was not only worried that the crazy Taoist priest would ruin the reputation of the newly born third girl by talking about it, but he was also afraid that there was really something evil in the house, and he didn't know about it.
He reported harm to everyone. He couldn't make up his mind for a moment, so he invited the crazy Taoist priest in and asked him to take care of him, while he quickly reported it to the supervisor above.
The manager didn't dare to make a decision privately, so he continued to report it to Xia Houyuan.
As a military general, Xia Houyuan had countless enemy soldiers who fell under his sword. He never believed the lies of the charlatans. However, when he saw the crazy Taoist priest, he told the strange things that had happened in the mansion in the past year without asking any more questions.
After learning the birth date of Xia Houshu, I couldn't help but start to wonder.
The crazy Taoist priest didn't care at all about Xia Houyuan's attitude or other people's doubts, and didn't say much else. He only said that Xia Houshu's fate could not bear such overwhelming wealth, and he had to be sent to a Taoist temple to cultivate in order to save his bad luck forever.
Stay safe.
After saying that, he turned around and left without taking any money.
After the mad Taoist priest left, Xia Houshu remained ill for more than half a month, crying day and night. Zhong Yuqing had just given birth and was suffering from heavy losses. She had to take care of a sick child, and she was so thin that she lost her human shape.
Xia Houyuan couldn't bear the suffering of his wife and didn't want the rumors to continue to spread, so he had to shed tears and let people send Xia Houshu away.
So Xia Houshu, who was less than half a year old, was sent to Boyun Temple not far from the capital.
Miraculously, after Xiahou went to Boyun Temple, she found no trouble and became energetic day by day. When she was two years old, she became a white and round glutinous rice dumpling. Until she was eight years old, Xiahou was in
Unfortunately, he died on the battlefield in Beiyuan. The Xiahou clan suffered many attacks and assassinations. Only then did Xiahou Yuan suddenly think of his little daughter who was far away in Boyunguan. He did not want his daughter to be homeless and unable to return home, so he ordered to bring Xia Houshu back despite the rumors.
The Duke's Mansion of the State of Yue.
On the way back to Beijing, Xia Houshu was filled with joy, but unexpectedly he was ambushed by assassins on the way.
The leader of the escort who went to pick her up was Zhuang Hua. He was a very handsome and alert man. Xia Houshu had an inexplicable trust in him as soon as he saw him.
Zhuang Hua indeed deserved her trust and tried his best to protect her.
However, there were many assassins, and most of them were quickly knocked down. Zhuang Hua was also hit by an arrow. Blood flowed out from the wound and dyed the clothes on his chest red, but he did not say a word.
.
That was the first time Xia Houshu saw real killing, and he was in a state of shock and confusion.
The assassins rushed up one after another. Zhuang Hua was worried that he could not protect Xia Houshu, so he took her off the carriage and hid her in a bush, while he drove the carriage into the cliff...
Half asleep and half awake, Xia Houshu seemed to have memories and dreams clutching his throat. He was in pain and struggling, but he couldn't escape.
It took a long time for her to realize that this was the Duke's Mansion of the Yue Kingdom. She was in her room. There was no ghost-faced man, no arrow of unknown origin, and no blood dripping on her face.
And she is no longer the helpless little girl she once was.
The Qingfeng Pavilion where Xia Houshu lived was the rearmost courtyard inside the east side gate. It was separated from the school by a corridor and a bamboo forest. After entering from the gate, the first thing you see is a huge water tank with water lilies planted in it.
There are several colorful koi carps raised under the water lilies. There is a wooden frame along the wall, and purple wisteria vines climb up the wooden frame, with leaves stacked up in layers. When the flowers bloom, the flower curtains are filled with curtains, filling the entire courtyard.
delicate fragrance.
There are three upper rooms in the main room of Qingfeng Pavilion, all of which are occupied by Xia Houshu alone.
In the center of the main room is a round wooden table with four wooden benches carved with images of magpies ascending plum blossoms; on the guest table on the left is a light blue crooked-neck vase with flowers, and on the right is a chessboard with chess pieces still on it.
Not finished yet. The east room is the study room, with a set of carved sandalwood desks. On the table are neatly placed fine pens, inks, paper and inkstones. Behind the desk is a carved ash wood chair, with hangings on the wall behind it.
Several paintings depict simple flowers and plants. Although they are not works by famous artists, they are elegant and appropriate. There is a guqin by the window, which is covered with a thin white silk cover. There is a row of white wax standing against the wall.
There are not many books on the wooden bookshelf and ancient bookshelf, most of which are piano scores. There are only a few unique porcelain vases and carvings on the ancient book shelf. The west room is Xia Houshu's boudoir, and there is a
A folding screen made of white sandalwood. The white flowers decorating the screen are embroidered with light pink flowers. They complement each other with the bead curtains hanging from the roof. They are gentle and smart. To the north, there is a carved yellow pear wood embroidered bed hanging.
It is covered with a soft gauze curtain, and a moon-white embroidered sachet filled with petals and soothing incense is tied to each corner. Light pink embroidered quilts and pillows are neatly placed at the head of the bed; on the dressing table in the southwest corner
There are several boxes of powder and a large and exquisite jewelry box, the decoration is simple and elegant without losing the femininity of a woman.
There is a wing on each side of the main house for the maid and mother-in-law to live on duty. Yunxi lives in the east wing.
It's quiet outside and the temperature inside is just right. It's the perfect time to sleep well late at night.
Xia Houshu originally chose to live here because he hoped to be closer to the school and to sleep a little longer before going to school in the morning. Who would have thought that after living there for so many years, he discovered that at night, this place had become the quietest place in the house, except for patrols
Of guards, almost no one will come here.
About a quarter of an hour later, there was still no movement outside. I guess Yun Xi was sleeping so deeply that he didn't even hear her shouting so loudly in the main room.
For a moment, Xia Houshu felt a sense of loneliness and melancholy of a long night without anyone to accompany him.
However, this thought only passed by for a moment, and was soon lost in the darkness.
She sighed silently and gently rubbed her forehead with her fingers. In this situation, she couldn't sleep anyway, so she simply took her coat from the side and put it on casually, lit a lamp in the dark, and then walked to the window.
I opened the window in front of me, wanting to relieve my depression.
The window was opened, the moonlight was cold and the bamboo shadows were dancing in front of the window. Across the corridor was a row of tall cypress trees, like loyal guards, standing motionless around the yard.
A breeze blew through the open window and entered the room, instantly making the room cool.
Xia Houshu closed his eyes and quietly felt the softness of the breeze, but he vaguely felt that the wind carried a strange aroma of wine.
Where did the smell of wine come from so late at night?
The only thing separated from here is the Xiahou Family School, which should be deserted at this time.
Xia Houshu squinted his eyes and subconsciously looked in the direction of the wind. He saw a familiar figure sitting on the rockery behind the bamboo forest. He put one hand behind his head and held the wine bottle in the other. He had not taken a sip.
It's very satisfying to drink it in one sip.
"Are you having nightmares again?" Xia Houyi said with a smile, raising the wine bottle in his hand from a distance, "Are you interested in taking a sip?" This chapter has been completed!