On the tenth day of July, Zhang Yanling and Zhu Lin finally returned to the capital. They were only delayed for three or four days in Dushi City. After the Longmen guards of Xuanfu Town arrived and completed the handover of defense, Zhang Yanling and others immediately set off back.
Beijing.
Along the way, Zhang Yanling was eager to return home and did not delay for a moment. On the afternoon of the 10th day of July, when Zhang Yanling and others arrived outside the north gate of the capital and saw the towering and tall city walls of the capital from a distance, Zhang Yanling let out a long sigh.
After nearly two months of hardship, I finally came back.
Under the shade of the willows beside the official road outside the North City Gate, the Zhang family's wives and concubines were already waiting eagerly after receiving the news. Xu Wanyi, Tan Ruqing and Axiu, along with several maids and Ma Quanhuang Si
Several servants had been waiting from noon to afternoon. They were really anxious and anxious to wait.
"It seems to be coming. The dusty things ahead should be cavalry soldiers and horses." A boy standing on the roof of the car looking out shouted loudly.
Everyone hurriedly looked in the direction of the official road. In the distance, they saw dust rising in the sky, people screaming and horses neighing, and a large group of cavalry slowly coming from the official road.
"It should be...yes." Xu Wanyi took a breath, brushed her hair, and said while suppressing her excitement.
"Definitely, I'm finally back. Thank God." Tan Ruqing said softly from the side, her eyes already a little moist.
Zhang Yanling saw the figure standing on the official road outside the city gate from a distance. Although the distance was far away, he intuitively knew that it was everyone in the family, so he greeted Zhu Lin and galloped over.
"I'm back, hahaha." Zhang Yanling laughed and galloped over, came to the carriage and turned over to dismount.
Everyone in the Zhang family stared blankly at Zhang Yanling. Zhang Yanling smiled and said, "What's wrong with you? You don't recognize me anymore?"
Xu Wanyi looked at Tan Ruqing and said, "Is it him?"
Tan Ruqing nodded and said, "It's him."
Zhang Yanling said in shock: "What are you doing? Do you really not recognize me anymore?"
With tears in Axiu's eyes, she slowly stepped forward and looked at Zhang Yanling and said softly: "Mr. sir, how did you become like this? How much hardship have you suffered and how much sin have you suffered?"
Zhang Yanling was stunned for a moment, and then realized it. He was now unkempt, unkempt, unkempt, sallow, and skinny. He had come all the way and was dusty all over his body. His voice was also very hoarse. Don't talk about them, he didn't even recognize himself. No wonder they were so confused for a while.
Not recognized.
"Axiu, am I back? I miss you so much." Zhang Yanling said with a smile.
Axiu burst into tears and said, "We also miss our husband, but he is back."
Zhang Yanling held Axiu in his arms and whispered: "I'm back, I'm back. Don't cry."
Xu Wanyi stood aside, her eye circles were red, she took out her handkerchief and gently wiped the corners of her eyes.
"Master Hou must have suffered a lot." Xu Wanyi said softly.
Zhang Yanling smiled and said: "It's nothing, I can endure hardship. Only the pain of missing you makes me suffer."
Tan Ruqing was wiping her tears, but when she heard the words, she laughed out loud and said angrily: "It is undoubtedly the Marquis. Who can say such things in public?"
Xu Wanyi burst into tears and laughed when she heard this.
Zhang Yanling looked at Xu Wanyi and Tan Ruqing. Both women had lost a lot of weight. They were already very beautiful, and today they dressed up deliberately, put on makeup, and wore new clothes, making them look even more elegant. This time
At this moment, Zhang Yanling felt extremely satisfied. Seeing their beautiful faces and hearing their beautiful voices again, everything before seemed like a nightmare. When she woke up from the nightmare, it was a scene of bright sunshine and the fragrance of birds and flowers.
After saying goodbye to Zhu Lin and meeting again in a few days, and arranging for Chen Shiyi to go back with his bodyguard to rest, Zhang Yanling, accompanied by his wife and concubines, got on the carriage and returned home.
Cars and horses were walking in the streets of Beijing. The usually noisy and annoying street scenes became very friendly in Zhang Yanling's eyes. Zhang Yanling was like a countryman who came to the city for the first time. He looked at the street scenes with interest and eyes wide.
Shining light. After experiencing the desperate battle in Dushi City, these are all considered.
It must be something that bothers me. This hustle and bustle, even the sound of people quarreling with each other over trivial matters, is compared to the howling of the night wind in the Monolith City, the howling of tigers and leopards in the mountains and forests, and the tsunami of Tatar soldiers and horses shouting to kill.
The screams of countless soldiers before their deaths were heard many times better.
What is the purpose of the loneliness and bloody battles of the soldiers in the border towns? Shouldn't it allow these ordinary people of the Ming Dynasty to be free to make noises and noises on the streets? To eat, drink and laugh freely? That may be the meaning.
Zhang Yanling knew that major changes had taken place in her. Her perspective on things and her state of mind were completely different from before. Her state of mind became calmer, deeper, and more stable.
In the bathroom of the main house at the back of Jianchang Houfu, Zhang Yanling carried out a thorough cleaning. Hot water filled the large wooden tub for bathing. Zhang Yanling jumped in and washed for a while, and the water in the entire tub became the color of ink.
Mr. Zhang was so dirty that he looked like he was fished out of a cesspool.
After changing the water three times in a row, she washed herself clean. After putting on clean and soft summer clothes, Zhang Yanling felt as if she was as relaxed as a bastard shedding a heavy shell.
The next step was to tidy up Zhang Yanling's beard and hair. Tan Ruqing was very handy, so she took charge of this matter. Tan Ruqing used the Tan family's original lancet to carefully tidy up Zhang Yanling's messy beard and hair.
Her hair was clean and neat. After her bun was combed, Zhang Yanling finally regained some of her former appearance.
Although Zhang Yanling's cheeks are now dark and thin compared to the round and white face of the past, he seems to have a bit more masculine temperament.
When the Marquis returned, everyone in the Jianchang Hou Mansion was devastated. Especially after the news spread throughout the capital some time ago that the Emperor was besieged by the Tatar army in Xuanfu Town and was in danger, everyone in the Hou Mansion knew that their Marquis
I was accompanying the emperor on his tour. Everyone was panic-stricken.
The faces of the mistress, Mrs. Xiu'er and the housekeepers were filled with sorrow, and the servants and maids below were naturally worried. Although they were just servants, they did not have any particularly close feelings with the Marquis. But the Marquis
He is generous and easy-going, and it is becoming more and more comfortable to work in the Marquis's mansion, and the rewards are getting more and more generous. Naturally, he does not want anything untoward to happen to the Marquis.
Now that the Marquis is back safely, how can people not be happy?
A group of people lined up to say hello and say hello, as if they were kowtowing to celebrate the New Year.
After Axiu had served Zhang Yanling to take a bath, she went to cook and prepare a table of wine and food for Zhang Yanling. Chicken, duck, fish, meat and various seasonal vegetables were spread under the kitchen, and several cooks were chatting and laughing as they cleaned and slaughtered the food in the pot.
The hot oil made a sizzling sound, the aroma was fragrant, everyone was in a happy mood, and it was extremely lively.
Zhang Yanling was sitting in the hall drinking tea, with Xu Wanyi and Tan Ruqing sitting next to him. The three of them seemed to have countless things to say, but all they could do was look at each other and smile, as if there were not a thousand words to say.
, all in the comfort of each other's warm eyes.
"Husband, is the news circulating outside true? It says that you are besieged by the Tatar army in Dushi City. Isn't it very dangerous?" Xu Wanyi finally found the topic. This is what she has always wanted to confirm.
Zhang Yanling nodded and smiled: "Yes. More than 20,000 Tatar soldiers and horses trapped us in the small Monolith City Fortress. Although Monolith City is strong, there are two to three thousand defenders. But that is more than 20,000 Tatars.
Our army. We fought several bloody battles, and out of more than 3,000 soldiers and horses, only forty or fifty were left alive in the end. Wanyi, Ruqing, you almost lost sight of me."
Zhang Yanling's tone was very relaxed, but Xu Wanyi and Tan Ruqing turned pale with fright. They did hear the news that the emperor was under siege, but it was not as dangerous as Zhang Yanling said. Because when the news spread in the capital, everyone
Everyone said, Xuan
There are 100,000 troops in the town, and they are not afraid of the Tatars at all. So although they were worried at the time, they felt that the situation was not that serious. When Zhang Yanling said this, the hair on both of them stood up. Unexpectedly, so many people died, thousands.
Only a few dozen people survived.
"Didn't you say that there are 100,000 troops in Xuanfu Town? They won't go to the rescue?" Xu Wanyi asked in a trembling voice.
Zhang Yanling said with a wry smile: "The Tatars used the tactic of diverting the tigers away from the mountains, attracting the army from Xuanfu Town to encircle and suppress us in the west. But we were besieged at the border fortress on the Shangbei Road. The reinforcements could not arrive at all. Fortunately, I was worried about something happening before,
Ask Zhu Lin to send troops here
Standing at the south entrance of Yongguan, Zhu Lin then led the troops to rescue. Even so, it would take eight days to go back and forth. Those eight days were simply a nightmarish eight days. Hey, forget it, don't tell me. I don't want to scare you.
There’s no need to mention that.”
Xu Wanyi fell silent, and Tan Ruqing was speechless for a while.
Zhang Yanling smiled and said: "The matter has passed. There is no need to mention it. In short, I came back alive. The emperor also came back alive. Tens of thousands of Tatars were annihilated by us. Their attempt to capture the emperor failed. This is already
A great victory. It's a pity that many brothers died. All this could have been avoided."
Tan Ruqing nodded lightly and said: "Yes, it is the greatest blessing among misfortunes. I don't know why the emperor went to patrol the border and caused such a disaster."
Zhang Yanling said with a smile: "The emperor also regretted it, but it was too late. This time can be regarded as a big lesson for him. I hope that such a thing will not happen again in the future."
Tan Ruqing nodded. Xu Wanyi suddenly frowned and said, "Husband, there is something I don't know whether I should tell you or not."
Zhang Yanling smiled and said, "You can do whatever you want."
Xu Wanyi frowned and said: "It's about my brother. Seven or eight days ago, he came to the house after drinking and lost his temper. He said that you treat him as an outsider and have no respect for my mother's family. What do you mean by merit?
But you gave it to someone else, hiding it from him and dad. The scolding was very unpleasant. I didn’t know it happened at the time.
What. I thought to myself, you are not in the capital at all, how can you offend him? When I saw him scolding him, I kicked him out of the house. Yesterday, my father sent someone to send a message, saying that he would ask us when you come back.
Go meet them at home. I don’t know what happened. I don’t know what to do.”
Zhang Yanling frowned after hearing Xu Wanyi's words. Xu Yande came to scold him. It must be because he notified Zhu Lin to rescue him and allowed Zhu Lin to perform meritorious service. However, he ignored the Dingguo Palace and ignored his brother-in-law. No.
Let him get the credit for this, so he came here to drink and go crazy.
Xu Guangzuo wanted to go to Dingguo Duke's Mansion to meet him after he came back, naturally for this reason. The father and son were probably extremely dissatisfied with him now.
Zhang Yanling did not hide anything, and told Zhu Lin that he had informed Zhu Lin to rescue him, but did not tell anyone else. Xu Wanyi suddenly understood.
"Wanyi, it's not that I don't want to inform your brother, but..."
"No need to say anything, husband. I understand everything. Even if you inform them, they will ignore it because they are absolutely unwilling to listen to your advice. When we were attacked in Xishan, they were indifferent. I have already seen through them. Now.
see Zhu
After Lin got the credit, they became mentally unbalanced and came here to drink and curse. They had no sense of shame. I really don’t know what to say. Husband, we don’t need to see them. We don’t have to listen to the unpleasant things they say.
If so." Xu Wanyi said angrily.
Zhang Yanling laughed, shook his head and said: "It is human nature to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages, so why should you be angry. That is your mother's family. I will naturally explain it. Don't worry about it."
Tan Ruqing also said: "Yes, Princess. Let's not talk about these things. Today, the Marquis has returned safely, let's not talk about these unhappy things. There are some misunderstandings, and they will be eliminated if we explain them later. They are all close relatives.
There’s nothing unspeakable.”
Xu Wanyi sighed, nodded and said: "Forget it, let's not mention them. I'm in a bad mood. I shouldn't have told my husband about this. I'm going to see how Axiu is doing. I want good wine and good food for you tonight.
Husband, Jie Feng, don’t be too shabby. Husband, Ru Qing, sit down for a moment and I’ll go take a look.”