Chapter 16: Looking for Dogs in Shidong, Offering Sheep in Hexi
Ten days later, good news came from the Western Regions. General Cao Zhen, the general of Zhenxi, and his army of prefectures and counties defeated Hu Zhiyuanduo, Lu Shui, Feng Shuang, etc., beheading more than 50,000 people, and gained 100,000 lives and 1.11 million sheep. , 80,000 cattle, and the Hexi area was completely pacified.
The emperor was extremely excited when he saw the battle reports sent from the front line.
Since the time of Huan Ling in the previous dynasty, due to the weakening of the country, the Western Regions have no longer been connected. But today, Zidan defeated the rebels and showed his power in the Western Regions. It seems that opening up the Western Regions again is just around the corner!
Cao Pi smiled and said:
"In this battle, I made plans within the curtain, while the Zidan generals attacked thousands of miles away. They fought front and back to defeat the captives, and they were as skillful as arms and fingers. I am afraid that no monarch or minister has ever been like this since ancient times."
——
It snowed for several days in a row, and before I knew it, it was the 29th, and one day later it would be New Year's Eve.
Gu Ting, the housekeeper, started busy early in the morning. First, he replenished various New Year's goods that were not yet complete. Then, the head of the family was about to come back from Jingzhou. He also had to take care of the reception affairs in the house. Finally, there were also the things that the young master gave him. The mission is to find 'Amo'.
Xia Houxuan was naturally a little afraid of the cold, so every time in the middle of winter, Gu Ting would add more braziers to the young master's room.
"Young Master, I have been helping you search for Amo these past few days. However, there are really many affairs in the house these two days, and there are not many people sent there... But don't worry, Young Master, we will find him sooner or later." Gu Ting placed a plate of animal charcoal next to the brazier to comfort the depressed Xia Houxuan. [Note 1: Beast charcoal is charcoal carved into animal shapes in ancient times.]
"Thank you, Uncle Gu." Xia Houxuan picked up a piece of animal charcoal and put it into the brazier. After looking at the flames in the charcoal basin for a while, he stood up and said, "I don't know when father will come back."
"Master, I hope we will go to the pavilion in the suburbs tomorrow evening." Seeing Xia Houxuan stand up and look outside, Gu Ting understood that the young master was about to go out. He hurriedly took the white fur hanging on the wall and handed it to Xia Houxuan. He said: "It's freezing outside. If you want to go out, young master, remember to put this on."
"Thank you, Uncle Gu." Xia Houxuan smiled warmly at Gu Ting, put on his fur, and strode out: "I'm leaving."
The thick snow on the ground made a "squeaking" sound from time to time when pedestrians stepped on it.
The water surface of Yangqu near Dongshi has long been frozen like a glass of ice.
Xia Houxuan was afraid that the weather would freeze the horse's hooves, so he did not go out on the "White Que". He had already lost his "Amo" and did not want to let the "White Que" get into trouble again.
He originally called Cao Xi to come out, but happened to meet his servant, Sima Zhao, the eight-year-old second son of Hou Sima Yi's family in Anguo Township on the way. So Xia Houxuan came to Dongshi with his two children. [Note 2: In the second year of Huangchu, Sima Yi was appointed as a minister and was given the title of Marquis of Anguo Township.]
"Axuan, why did you bring us to the East Market? Tomorrow is New Year's Eve, the vendors have all gone home, and there is no market to visit." Cao Xi saw that the entire East Market was empty, except for some people playing in the snow. There was no one else except the children, so they couldn't help but start to complain. Sima Zhao also looked at Xia Houxuan with a puzzled look.
"Why don't you let me play a game with you?" How about the rules of the game?"
Cao Xi and Sima Zhao looked confused. They didn't know what game Xia Houxuan wanted to play. They nodded and expressed no objection.
"Listen up, everyone. We will start from this place later. Xidi will go to the south, Zhao'er will go to the west, and I will go to the east. Within two hours, among the three of us, who will be within the east city first?
, if you find my Amo, then you will win this game."
"What is Amo..." Sima Zhao was confused and asked in a low voice.
"Amo is a black, chubby puppy." Seeing that Sima Zhao didn't know, Cao Xi immediately explained patiently to Sima Zhao.
"Oh, I know, puppy." Sima Zhao nodded thoughtfully: "It turns out that brother Xiahou lost his playful dog. A playful dog is now worth tens of thousands of dollars.
Horses are still expensive."
He didn't know that what Xia Houxuan lost was not the playful dog worth ten thousand dollars, but just a chubby little black wild dog brought from the Jingxiangchu area.
"Then, it's decided." Xia Houxuan said with a smile: "Whoever finds 'Amo' first, I will buy Luoyang Restaurant's most delicious candied haws and bait [Note 3] for him to eat, this is the reward.
"[Note 3: Bait is a kind of food that is ground into powder from rice, mixed with minced meat, and steamed. Because of its delicious taste, everyone loves it, and it is attractive, so it is called "bait"."
Cao Xi and Sima Zhao swallowed unconsciously. Although they usually had no shortage of delicious food, when they heard about the most delicious candied haws and rice bait in Luoyang City, they instantly became very curious and greedy.
"Let's begin!" Xia Houxuan shouted and ran towards the east direction he chose. The two children also hurriedly started searching towards their south and west.
"Amo..." Xia Houxuan wrapped his white fox fur tightly around his body, trembling while shouting: "Amo..."
Not only did he rummage through the city to the east, but he also didn't find any trace of the nearby streets, but there was still no sign of 'Amo'.
More than half an hour had passed, but he didn't even see the shadow of the puppy. Xia Houxuan gradually became a little anxious. The two hours were almost up, and when he was returning to the original place, suddenly, in the distance,
There seemed to be a scream.
It's a child's scream!
Something happened!
Xia Houxuan was startled and hurriedly ran in the direction of the sound.
That seems to be the west direction of Dongshi.
When Xia Houxuan arrived, he saw Sima Zhao sitting in the snow, crying, and four eye-catching tooth marks were left on his forearm!
"What's wrong!" Xia Houxuan hurriedly knelt down to check Sima Zhao's wounds. However, he inadvertently caught a glimpse of a limping puppy in the snow. It seemed that his leg was injured. It was Amo!
He hurriedly tried to pick up the puppy, but he heard Sima Zhao yell: "Be careful of it biting!"
Xia Houxuan was startled for a moment before he realized that Amo had bitten Sima Zhao. He glanced at the puppy and then looked back at Sima Zhao's wound. There was no bleeding, but the wound looked quite deep. He could not delay it.
, I heard that dog injuries can also kill people. He hesitated for a moment and then said: "Brother Xi, let's take Zhao'er to see the doctor quickly."
"Okay." Cao Xi said and hurriedly helped Sima Zhao onto Xia Houxuan's back.
Xia Houxuan turned around and glanced at Amo limping towards him with his peripheral vision. He felt cruel and finally walked faster towards the nearby medical center.
"Woo...Woo..." The puppy was injured on one leg and limped very slowly. It watched the back of its little master gradually disappearing at the corner of the street in the distance, so
It could only follow the footprints in the snow, and the wind blew into its eyes, causing tears...
"Woo... Wu..." The sound of the wind seemed to be mixed with a hint of whimpering. Xia Houxuan paused for a moment, feeling sour in his heart. However, he only paused briefly and then hurried forward again.
The cold wind blew into his eyes, making him want to cry.
Not long after, Xia Houxuan and Cao Xi took Sima Zhao to a nearby medical clinic.
The old doctor took Sima Zhao's pulse for a while, shook his head and sighed.
Sima Zhao was immediately frightened.
"Mr...Mr. Zhong, what...what's wrong..." Cao Xi was frightened when he saw the doctor shaking his head and sighing. He cried and asked: "Zhao'er, what's wrong with him? Please tell me quickly!"
"Alas..." The old doctor shook his head and sighed: "How could you kids let such a young child play with wild dogs? Fortunately, there is no big problem. Otherwise, let's see how you explain to their parents!"
"Then, what happened to my brother Zhao..." Xia Houxuan asked softly.
"Fortunately, this dog is still young and has not been bitten by rats, so the tooth poison is not serious and it is not serious." The old man took Sima Zhao's hand veins and checked the wound again. After making a judgment, he stood up.
He took out a bamboo slip from the medicine cabinet and said: "This is the prescription. According to the prescription above, go to the nearby drugstore to grab two doses of the medicine. Decoction it and take it every day. Once the fever occurs, it will be fine."
"Huh, that's good, that's good..." Cao Xi, Xia Houxuan, and Sima Zhao breathed a sigh of relief. It's just that this old doctor has nothing to do, why would he scare people? Really.
Xia Houxuan felt at ease. He had long heard that dog poison was very powerful. If something really happened, he would not be able to forgive himself.
As soon as he returned home, Xia Houxuan saw Amo in his sister's arms.
"Be careful! Give it to me quickly." Xia Houxuan was startled and immediately rushed forward and shouted.
"Oh my God, bro, please keep your voice down, you scared me. Don't worry, bro. What can happen to Amo in my arms?"
"I'm afraid it will bite you." Xia Houxuan took the puppy from his sister's hand. The puppy licked the palm of its little owner's hand affectionately. Xia Houxuan sighed and touched the puppy's cold little head.
"I have been taking care of Amo for more than a month, and he still bites me." Xia Houhui said with a smile: "Besides, if I am so good to him, he must also be very happy and treat me well."
In the dusk of New Year's Eve, snowflakes were still flying all over the sky, and the heavy snowfall for three consecutive days became more and more beautiful. On New Year's Eve during the period of national mourning, without the silk and bamboo vomit, it was actually a bit more quiet and peaceful.
In Changting in the southern suburbs, Xia Houxuan's brother and sister, Gu Ting and the whole family are waiting for Xia Houshang's return.
The sound of horse hoofbeats and neighing in the distance, as well as the clang of the guards' ceremonial weapons, gradually became clearer, like the music of a reunion.
"Father, mother!" As soon as he saw the chariot and honor guard vaguely visible in the distance, Xia Houhui became extremely excited and ran towards the honor guard.
"Hui'er, be careful and fall down." Xia Houxuan shouted and chased after her.
Xiahou Shang heard the shouts in the distance, got off the chariot, and saw Xiahou Hui running towards him.
"Oh, we haven't seen each other for a year, Hui'er has sunk a lot!" Xia Houshang picked up Xia Houhui and let his daughter sit on his arm.
"Husband, take the children into the city quickly. They must have been frozen after waiting for a long time." Ms. Cao said as she raised the curtain of the chariot.
"Okay." Xia Houshang pinched his son's cold cheek and said with a smile, "Madam, close the curtains and be careful of catching a cold."
"Welcome to you, Your Majesty!" Gu Ting and everyone in the house shouted together.
"Brother Gu, please take everyone back to the city quickly. Thank you for your hard work." Xia Houshang put down Xia Houhui and helped Gu Ting up.
"Okay, sir." Gu Ting, who had always been calm, was smiling from ear to ear at this moment.