Tomorrow is New Year's Eve, and the entire Xu Mansion is busy. Mo Lier, Kou Qiaoyi, and others are displaying New Year's goods, Shui Liuli, Wenxian, and the maids and servants are pasting red couplets on the window grilles, and Bao'er, Gao Chong, is hanging red lanterns.
Xu Zizhen went out of the city to drink with Wu Shu. The entire city watched nervously, but the Xu family was filled with a joyful and festive atmosphere and did not take it seriously. They believed that Wu Shu could not hurt Xu Zizhen yet.
It's probably time to come back.
But after waiting for a long time, Xu Zizhen was not there, but only Xu Shiqi came back, holding Xiaobaicai in his hand.
Mo Lier glanced behind him and asked: "Seventeen, why are you the only one back? Where is my husband?"
Xu Shiqi's face looked a little ugly, and he whispered: "Master said he was going on a long trip, so he left."
Mo Lier was startled: "Gone? Where did he go?"
Xu Shiqi said: "I don't know, little one."
The girls looked at each other, seeing that the Chinese New Year would be tomorrow, where would Xu Zizhen go now? To Xixia to see the princess of the Li family or the younger sister of the Yun family? Or to Taiyuan Mansion? But none of this made sense.
Xu Zizhen went missing again. This time, not to mention Gao Pujun, even Wen Xian and Kou Qiaoyi couldn't help but feel a little angry. The girls started discussing, denouncing Xu Zizhen's irresponsible behavior. After Xu Qiqi finished reporting the letter, he
He retreated, but no one seemed to see the deep sadness hidden in his eyes.
"Seventeen."
Suddenly a call came to his ears. Xu Shiqi raised his head suddenly and saw someone blocking his way. It was Gillian.
Xu Shiqi stood with his hands down and called out respectfully: "Miss."
Xu Zizhen took in two younger sisters. One was Gillian brought by Hu Sanniang, who was the eldest lady, and the other was Lin Zhi who was rescued from Tubo. That was the second lady. Xu Shiqi considered himself a servant of the Xu family, so he naturally called him that.
.
Gillian came to him, looked into his eyes, and suddenly asked: "What did Wu Shu and Xu Zizhen say? Don't say you didn't hear it, I know you can see it."
Xu Shiqi was speechless. Although Xu Zizhen and Wu Shu were drinking, he stood far away, but his eyes never left there. He knew clearly what Wu Shu said, but Xu Zizhen had given instructions before leaving, even if he saw
What Wu Shu said was not allowed to be revealed.
Seeing that he didn't speak, Gillian nodded and said, "Forget it if you don't tell me, but it's so far from here to Shangjing. Did he have to pay for it?"
Xu Shiqi subconsciously replied: "I brought it."
As soon as the words came out of his mouth, he realized that he had spilled the beans and looked at Gillian in shock, wondering how she knew.
A complicated look flashed in Gillian's eyes. It's not difficult to guess. Wu Shu had just made an appointment with Xu Zizhen for a drink, and then Xu Zizhen disappeared. Wu Shu must have used some reason to lure Xu Zizhen elsewhere, and if it was Bianjing or
It's Taiyuan and other places. Xu Zizhen will definitely come back and take others with him, but now he quietly leaves alone. There is only one explanation, and that is that Xu Zizhen's trip is extremely dangerous. With his temperament, he will never harm others, so Gillian used
I came to Beijing to test it out, but I didn't expect that I would win the first try.
Xu Shiqi was shocked and begged: "Miss, I hope you don't let all the ladies know that the master has ordered..."
Gillian glanced at him: "Is it useful to tell them? Could it make them rush to accompany Xu Zizhen to die?"
Xu Shiqi was silent again. Gillian was right. Xu Zizhen going here was no different from sending himself to death. Shangjing was the imperial city of the Kingdom of Jin. If he went to save the Emperor Rong Xi single-handedly, he might not even be able to see her.
Yes... He didn't dare to think about it anymore, and there was something even more urgent in front of him.
Before he could say anything, Gillian had already spoken out: "Wu is a talented man in both civil and military arts, but he is very afraid of Xu Zizhen. Now that he has been lured away from Yingtian Mansion, I'm afraid there will be a war next."
Xu Shiqi gritted his teeth and said: "Master has entrusted the family to me. Even if I die, I will not let anything happen to you ladies and the two young ladies."
Gillian didn't say anything anymore, turned around and went back in. She knew the combat effectiveness of the Jin Army best, especially the ability of Wushu. Under the leadership of Zhao Gou, the defenders of Yingtian Mansion were stronger than the officers and soldiers in many other places.
But we can only resist for a few more days. Now the whole city regards Xu Zizhen as the backbone. His departure will definitely greatly reduce the morale of the defenders in the city.
The news of Xu Zizhen's departure quickly reached the ears of Zhao Gou and other officials. As expected by Gillian, Zhao Gou immediately turned pale. He had become accustomed to relying on Xu Zizhen. Now that Xu Zizhen left suddenly, he
I actually don't know what to do.
In the next half day, Zhao Gou and other officials were anxiously waiting for the Jin army to launch a large-scale attack. The entire city was on alert, and every city gate and exit was heavily guarded.
Zhang Shuye returned to the city before even taking off his armor.
There was a solemn atmosphere above and below the city, and countless pairs of eyes were staring at the plain outside the city gate, wondering when the dark cloud-like army of the Jin Kingdom would appear on the horizon.
But to everyone's surprise, when the scouts came to report at dusk, the Jin people retreated.
"Retreating?" Zhao Gou was stunned for a long time, and then asked the scout, "Can you see clearly, where are you retreating or turning?"
The scout said with certainty: "Back to Your Highness, I can see clearly that the Jin army has risen and headed north."
"This... why is this?" Zhao Gou couldn't believe it. After waiting for a long time in the city, Jin Jun went back. Although the result was what he wanted, he really couldn't understand it.
Wu Shoubei on the side hesitated for a moment and said, "Could it be that Xu Zizhen made some agreement with the Jin people?"
Master Yong sneered: "Is Xu Zizhen the father of Jin Gou? They will retreat if you tell them to retreat?"
Wu Shoubei blushed, but did not dare to contradict Master Yong. He lowered his head and did not dare to say a word.
Zhang Shuye suddenly said: "Could it be that Xu Zizhen had guessed that the Jin people would retreat inexplicably, so he left with peace of mind?"
These words immediately aroused the approval of most of the people present. Although they may not all like Xu Zizhen, they all believed in Xu Zizhen's ability. Zhao Gou's expression did not change, but he felt a little panicked in his heart because he suddenly felt that his recent
The temptation has been a little too much.
…
Xu Zizhen didn't care whether Wu Shu retreated or not. He actually didn't know about it at all. He only believed in one thing, that is, the Yingtian Mansion in history would be destroyed, and Zhao Gou was forced to flee because of this. But then
All these things happened after Zhao Gou ascended the throne, which meant that Yingtian Mansion was safe at least in the past few months. In fact, when the Jin army set off, he was already on the official road to Qingzhou.
At the same time, something happened in the Xu family - after Xu Zizhen disappeared, Gillian also disappeared.