Chapter Fifteen: Following the White Horse, Leading the Colored Kite
When we arrived in the Central Plains, it was already the end of mid-autumn.
The north wind is bleak, coming towards you. The rustling fallen leaves have begun to slowly float into the cold Luoshui. In the distance, at the end of the avenue, you can vaguely see the twelve gates of Luoyang City, Jinyang, and Xuanyang.
Yang, Pingchang, Kaiyang, Nansimen.
The cold wind ruffled Yu Jin's white hair and made his eyes sore to tears. Three years were like three lifetimes, and he finally returned to his homeland in the Central Plains.
However, new cities have been built and old friends have passed away. Everything is no longer the same.
―――
Pingling Township Marquis, Xiahou Mansion.
East Hall, Heming Pavilion.
Young Master Xia Houxuan is carefully studying an exquisite map.
This is the entire map of the Western Regions that he specially obtained from his uncle last year.
As the son of a general, he is very familiar with military strategies and tactics.
"Axuan Axuan!"
Cao Xi, who had always been calm and quiet, had never been so nervous as he was today. He didn't even knock on the door and just broke into Xia Houxuan's Hemingxuan.
"Axuan, what should I do? The military report from the Western Regions this morning said that the Western Regions' miscreants Zhiyuanduo, Lu Shui, Fengshang and others rebelled and even flooded Xianmei City!"
Xia Houxuan naturally knew about this matter. And he had already made a preliminary plan.
He also understood that what Cao Xi was worried about was not that his uncle could not defeat these Zahu. What he was worried about was that the Zahu rebels actually flooded Xianmei City. You must know that Xianmei City is a battleground in the Western Regions.
Now that it is occupied by Zhiyuan Duo and others, it may be a bit tricky.
But Xia Houxuan just smiled and said nothing. Cao Xi was so anxious that he continued to ask:
"Axuan, cousin, I know you always have many ideas, please help me think of a way. I, I can't let anything happen to my father and eldest brother!"
Xia Houxuan couldn't help laughing when he saw Cao Xi's angry look. He smiled and said:
"Okay, don't worry, come and see!"
Xia Houxuan unfolded the map in front of him and drew it with his fingers:
"Brother Xi, come and see, this is Xianmei City. The barbarians flooded the city and seemed to occupy this favorable terrain, but in fact, they just wasted their energy in vain. After a duel,
, no matter how effective the army is, it still needs to be repaired, and no matter how favorable the location is, it still needs people to guard it. Now that they have sacrificed their physical strength, facing the elite of the great Wei Dynasty of my uncle, what do you think will be the outcome? "
After hearing this, Cao Xi felt relieved.
——
The emperor read the newspaper with a smile on his lips.
He smiled at Xun Wei, the regular attendant of Sanqi, and Bian Lan, the nephew of Empress Dowager Bian, who were standing aside:
"In the past, the former dynasty Kuaihuo rebelled against the Han Dynasty and diverted water to flood Lueyang. However, Guangwu was exhausted and sent troops to destroy it. Today, the Hu Jue flood irrigation in the Western Regions shows its beauty. The story is similar. It has not been long since the Hu incident was overthrown."
"I congratulate Your Majesty on your continued blessings, and wish General Zhenxi an early triumph!"
In the inner city of Luoyang, Pinglinghou Mansion. Dusk has passed, the sky has turned slightly blue, and the bright crescent moon has gradually become clear.
Next to the stone lion outside the door, Xia Houxuan and Cao Xi were both looking at the blue night sky and the sparse cold stars, and they were in a daze at this moment.
"Ah Xuan, there are still two or three months before the Chinese New Year."
"Yeah, why are you thinking about the delicacies at the New Year's banquet so quickly?"
"No." Cao Xi frowned: "I miss my brother and my father."
"Yes, the new year is approaching, they will be back soon, soon, soon..." Xia Houxuan reached out and touched the cold 'quality' on his waist. He still remembered the day when his father went south, and the cold was overwhelming.
The sharp tools seemed to be soaked by the warmth of his father's palms.
"By the way, where did Hui'er go? She's not back so late." Cao Xi couldn't help but look into the distance.
"Guanshi Gu said that she went to Nanshi in the afternoon. This girl must have spent a lot of money in the past few months." Xia Houxuan suddenly smiled sideways at Cao Xi and said, "Why do you care so much about my sister?
"
"Don't talk nonsense..." Cao Xi blushed and defended in a low voice: "I..."
Before Cao Xi finished speaking, a shout came from the distance: "Second Miss...slow down a little."
I saw more than a dozen servants from Xiahou's house carrying various packages, chasing Xiahou Hui quickly, while Xiahou Hui rushed along the street towards the house like a gust of wind, and soon his brother and his wife arrived.
In front of my cousin.
"You crazy girl." Xia Houxuan looked at the panting Xia Houhui, and couldn't help laughing and scolding: "You don't go out in a chariot sedan, but you still run around the streets. How can there be a young lady like you?"
"The chariot is so troublesome, it's better for me to run fast!" The little girl said with a smile: "Besides, it's so tiring for the servants to carry such a heavy sedan."
Gu Guanshi had long heard the laughter outside the house. At this time, he slowly walked out of the house. As expected, he saw several children talking and laughing outside. He couldn't help but smile with relief. This Gu Guanshi, named
Gu Ting is about the same age as the head of the family, Xia Houshang. He is modest, prudent, gentle and modest. He is very easy-going whether he is dealing with superiors or subordinates. Therefore, the children affectionately call him "Uncle Gu", and even the head of the family also calls him "Uncle Gu".
Address him as 'Brother Gu'.
"Young Master, Miss, dinner is ready. Go back and eat quickly, otherwise the food will get cold."
"Thank you, Uncle Gu." Xia Houxuan said with a smile while flicking Cao Xi's forehead.
"Okay, okay!" Xia Houhui, who had been playing all day long, was already hungry. She smiled and said, "Brother Xi, why don't you stay and eat together? We haven't chatted together for a long time."
"Yeah." Cao Xi smiled shyly: "Okay."
"You brat, you won't listen to me as a brother, but you like to listen to Hui'er!" Xia Houxuan smiled and flicked Cao Xi's head again.
"Where is..." Cao Xi lowered his head in embarrassment, with a hint of blush on his face.
Butler Gu looked at the three lovely children with a warm smile on his face.
The courtyard wall of Pinglinghou Mansion seems to have some magical power. The cold autumn wind becomes warmer after passing through this wall.
―――
The grass in the garden is fresh and clear, and there is a cool moon and bright stars in the sky.
"Brother." Xia Houhui held his chin and looked at the beautiful moonlight: "Do you remember that when we were three children, we liked to count the stars and the moon here."
"When I was a kid..." Xia Houxuan couldn't help laughing: "Have you grown up? Besides, if it's still possible to count the stars, count the moon... Hahahaha!"
"Brother, you bullied me again!" Xia Houhui said, pretending to be angry.
"I remember it too." Cao Xi also looked up and looked at the stars in trance: "Every spring, the three of us always fly kites together, do you remember?"
"Of course." Xia Houhui looked at a tall locust tree in the distance: "My little Suzaku Kite hung on that tree the year before last and couldn't get down."
"How about." Xia Houxuan shouted and jumped down from the stone bench. He suggested on a whim: "How about we go fly the kites tonight?"
"Okay, okay!" Xia Houhui shouted very excitedly: "I just happened to buy one in Nanshi today!"
The three of them left as soon as they could, cheering all the way to Xuanyangmen Street.
Xia Houxuan even brought his other two friends: Baique and Amo.
On Luoyang Long Street, tourists have already returned home. The bluestone avenue is filled with moonlight like snow, cool breeze like water, and carefree laughter.
In Luoyang that year, white horses and gray dogs were seen, and colorful kites were attracted by strings. Looking back many years later, it was so beautiful, like a dream...
―――
Autumn is gone and winter is coming.
The stone street is full of dead leaves blown off by the cold wind, and from time to time, there are remaining leaves on the branches, like lost butterflies, falling gracefully.
In winter in Luoyang City, the cold is still the same, but the prosperity is still the same.
"It's snowing, it's snowing..." A child from an unknown family in the distance was chasing snowflakes all over the sky, but the snowflakes had already melted before they even landed on the palms of their hands.
The white snow after dusk reflects the color of the sky, giving off a thin blue color. On the first New Year's Eve in the new capital of Luoyang, the atmosphere of people's celebration obviously overshadowed the vague feeling during the national mourning period.
of sadness.
The Nan Market in the north of Luoshui River is actually more prosperous than usual at this moment. The merchants from other countries living in Luoyang are also shouting as much as possible, hoping to sell more Wu Ling Shu Brocade and buy some good food and clothing for their wives and children at home.
The boy holding the puppy was currently walking through the crowd. He was afraid that it would be inconvenient to take Amo with him, so he locked it up in his room. However, it accidentally slipped out. Xia Houxuan had no choice but to hold it in his arms.
Went to the market together.
"Xuan'er... walk slowly..." Yu Gui, whose body has not yet recovered, naturally cannot catch up with the boy's pace. He can only call the boy's name at any time to avoid completely
They were separated, but on second thought, Xia Houxuan was probably more familiar with Luoyang City than he was, so there was no need to worry too much.
Not far away, there seemed to be a sound of scolding: "Get out of the way! Get out of the way quickly, don't damage my Junhou's new year's goods!"
As soon as they saw that the other party was a noble servant, the pedestrians on the street had to dodge and retreat. This retreat did not matter, but the people who were walking naturally suddenly surged like a wave, frightening the little dog in Xia Houxuan's arms.
Amo just flew out of the young man's arms and disappeared into the crowd.
"Amo!" Seeing that Amo was missing, Xia Houxuan hurriedly squeezed forward from the crowd. Unexpectedly, he bumped into a servant of the noble family during the squeeze, and the new year's gift suddenly fell to the floor.
"Are you deaf or blind? Didn't you hear me ask you to get out of the way?!" The aristocratic servant immediately roared at Xia Houxuan: "Can you bear the consequences of breaking my Marquis's new year's goods?"
"I'm sorry!" Xia Houxuan was anxious to find the puppy and didn't want to explain more. After apologizing, he was about to run out of the circle, but he was grabbed by a family member.
"Is that all you need to say sorry?" the servant yelled viciously, and soon Xia Houxuan and the servant were surrounded by pedestrians.
"Forget it." Seeing the reluctance of the servants, an old farmer persuaded him: "It's just a child..."
"Go away!" Before the old man finished speaking, he was pushed to the ground by the servant: "Old man, can you take care of it? You, I want you to take care of it!"
"Stop!" Before Xia Houxuan could get angry, an eight or nine-year-old boy in gorgeous clothes squeezed into the crowd, shouted at the servant angrily, and immediately helped the old man up.
"Young Master..." When the servants saw their young master, they looked at each other and hurriedly defended themselves: "This wild boy ruined our New Year's goods, we just want to teach him a lesson..."
"
The boy ignored him, just turned his head to look at Xia Houxuan, and suddenly exclaimed: "Brother Xia Hou, it's you. I didn't expect to see you until we saw you last time!"
"You are..." Xia Houxuan didn't recognize it for a while. After a while, he suddenly realized that you were the second son of Cao Zhi, the Marquis of Zhencheng: "You are Xiao Cao Zhi [Note 1]! You
You’ve grown so big!” [Note 1: Cao Zhi (?~288), named Yungong, the second son of Cao Zhi. 】
"It turns out...it turns out to be...Mr.
.....I can’t see Mount Tai even if I’m blind..."
"Go away!" Xia Houxuan hated the looks of such villains the most. At this moment, he didn't want to listen to a word from them anymore. He cursed coldly, and the servants immediately left the place as if they were receiving an amnesty.
Marquis Zhencheng was a handsome and generous man, but Xia Houxuan really didn't expect that the servants in the mansion would have such an expression.
"By the way, Xiao Caozhi, why are you here in the capital? I haven't seen you for several years." Xia Houxuan touched the child's head and found that the child had indeed grown a lot taller.
"In a few days, the Beginning of Spring Festival will be held. My father is coming to observe the solar terms and participate in the welcoming ceremony [Note 2], so I will follow him." Cao Zhizheng was talking when he heard a cry from one side.
He shouted: "Oh, no, my father has sent someone to look for me. It's time for me to go back, Brother Xiahou."
[Note 2: Meeting the solar terms, the Wei Dynasty has a festival system for princes and vassals. Every year before the four solar terms of Beginning of Spring, Beginning of Summer, Beginning of Autumn, and Beginning of Winter, the vassal kings will gather in the capital to participate in the ceremony of welcoming the energy and hold a court meeting. 】
Xia Houxuan nodded and watched Cao Zhi leave.
"Xuan'er..." Yu Gui searched for a long time and finally found Xia Houxuan's whereabouts: "Good boy, I finally found you. What's the matter?" Yu Gui noticed that the young man looked lost and couldn't help asking.
"Amo is missing..."
The number of people buying New Year's goods on the street gradually became sparse, and the puppy was nowhere to be found. Yu Gui patted the boy on the shoulder: "Go back, maybe tomorrow, it will be back."