Chapter 161 Home Cooking

The dishes were simple, home-style fare.

Scallions with tofu, braised pork with potatoes, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, small fried fish, and pickled mustard tuber with shredded pork soup.

In addition,

Fan Li had a large basin of naan placed in front of him.

It wasn't a huge amount.

The reason was that two people at the table didn't really eat human food.

Liang Cheng could eat a little,

But Ah Ming, now that his life had improved, and he no longer had to force himself to eat blood curd, now refused to eat anything "tainted by humanity."

Everyone sat down.

Fan Li wasn't interested in the dishes anyway, so he started gnawing on the naan.

There were no more battles, and they were focused on construction,

So, Fan Li had naturally become the captain of the construction team again.

Carrying stone, lifting logs; he was like a small crane.

His energy went into it, so his appetite followed.

Xue San held a handful of melon seeds and cracked them one by one.

Ah Ming sipped his wine, while Liang Cheng sat quietly beside him.

The Prince and Si Niang arrived together; Si Niang sat down first.

Zheng Fan took out sugar candies wrapped in red paper from his pocket and placed one in front of each person.

The reason he was late,

Was that he had first gone to place one by Sha Tuo Que Shi’s reserved new coffin.

Whether he ate it or not didn’t matter; Sha Tuo Que Shi wasn’t likely to suddenly wake up and eat a few pieces of candy, but it was the thought that counted.

As for others,

Like the Sword Saint, Lao Tian, and other generals under his command,

They were indeed close,

But going to give them wedding candy at this time,

Would inevitably make them overthink things,

They might mistakenly think that Marquis Zheng had finally cured his problem.

Once the wedding candy was distributed,

Everyone except Fan Li, who was busy eating naan,

Was stunned.

Then,

Xue San stood up

And said,

"Congratulations."

Ah Ming and Liang Cheng also stood up, but they really weren't comfortable with this atmosphere.

Although everyone had known for a long time that Si Niang and their lord were sleeping in the same bed, it was more like a makeshift arrangement.

So this sudden formality caught them off guard.

Ah Ming said, "May you have a harmonious union for a hundred years."

Liang Cheng said, "May you grow old together."

Then,

Ah Ming and Liang Cheng sat down.

The atmosphere at the table was extremely strange.

Only Fan Li continued to chew on his naan, thoroughly enjoying himself.

Zheng Fan had anticipated this scene, so he took out the leftover wine from last night and started pouring it for everyone.

"........" Ah Ming.

After pouring the wine,

Zheng Fan sat down

And said,

"Si Niang and I want to have a child."

Xue San smiled,

Ah Ming smiled,

Liang Cheng tried to smile, but he looked serious, so he forced himself to smile.

Si Niang gave a rare shy smile.

"So..."

"Pfft!"

Fan Li suddenly choked, coughing violently on the ground.

After Fan Li finished coughing,

He looked like a naughty student who had been caught, shrank his neck, and continued to pick up his naan.

"So, well, that's that."

Xue San wanted to lighten the mood

And said,

"Does that mean we have to start calling Si Niang 'Madam' from now on?"

Zheng Fan replied, "As if you ever called Xiong Liqing 'Madam'."

Xue San shook his head and said, "She wasn't worthy."

The implication was,

Si Niang was worthy.

In the end,

The pride in the hearts of the devils had always been there.

Over the past few years, they had come to accept their lord, but they still looked down on outsiders.

Tian Wujing and the Sword Saint were exceptions,

But a princess,

Wanting them to willingly submit?

Naive.

"Just keep it the same. I just thought I should announce it, so, life will continue as usual."

Everyone nodded.

Actually,

The strangeness of the atmosphere lay in the fact that,

Zheng Fan, as their lord, whether it was because he was in a privileged position or because of "workplace" rules, had long been sleeping with Si Niang, and everyone had become accustomed to and accepted this relationship.

But then he suddenly made it "official," leaving everyone confused.

After making it "official,"

He then said, "Everything will continue as usual."

Oh,

So,

It was just to inform everyone that

Their lord had finally scored?

At this moment,

Liang Cheng picked up a piece of naan from in front of Fan Li.

Fan Li had just swallowed the food in his mouth,

And opened his mouth to say:

"The thing is..."

Liang Cheng skillfully shoved the naan into Fan Li's mouth.

Truly a great general, anticipating the enemy's move.

Zheng Fan picked up his chopsticks

And said,

"Everyone, eat your food."

………

"We're moving to a new place. How do you feel?"

Inside the carriage,

Xiong Liqing smiled at Liu Ruqing.

The size of the group wasn't small. Besides the two of them and the servants of the old residence, there were also Liu Ruqing's younger brother, Liu Zhong, and the Sword Saint's family.

In addition, many officials who had originally been stationed at Xue Hai Pass were now moving with their families.

Xue Hai Pass would continue to prosper, because the foundation was there, and it was still a trade hub between the Snowy Plains and Jin.

As long as there were no wars, it would be difficult for it to become deserted.

However, from now on, everyone's focus, or center of gravity, would inevitably shift to Feng Xin City.

On the Blind Man's advice,

The commanding general left behind at Xue Hai Pass was Ke Yan Dong Ge.

Back then, when the Ke Yan tribe came to surrender as a whole, Jing Nan Wang first extracted their thorns, and then Zheng Fan split them into three parts. Ke Yan Dong Ge led one part, Jin Shu Ke led another, and the other part was turned into scouts scattered among the various tribes.

From beginning to end, Ke Yan Dong Ge, the young master of the Ke Yan tribe, had been very sensible.

Most importantly,

As a barbarian, he guarded Xue Hai Pass, facing the wild men of the Snowy Plains; with different ethnic groups, there was no condition for them to mix together.

Marquis Zheng had started his career by taking the "warlord" route,

How could he allow new, disobedient warlords to emerge under his command?

As for Zhen Nan Pass, after discussing it with his lord, the Blind Man planned to use Jin Shu Ke as the commanding general of Zhen Nan Pass.

Originally, Jing Nan Wang had suggested that either Gong Wang or Gongsun Zhi could be sent to guard Zhen Nan Pass.

But Marquis Zheng didn't care about appearances at all.

He had to use his own direct subordinates to guard the two important northern and southern passes.

This would make smuggling and trading with foreign countries easier.

As for Gong Wang and Gongsun Zhi, their garrisons would be assigned to the two cities southwest and northwest of Feng Xin City.

The cities were currently deserted, with few people, but they would gradually develop in the future.

He would petition to have them both "ennobled as Earls."

What they wanted was actually just empty titles.

Gong Wang was a Jin native who needed to integrate into the current ruling group, so he had to choose a faction; Gongsun Zhi was a Yan native, but he had the stigma of betraying his lord and separating from his family, so he couldn't go anywhere within the Yan army except for the Marquis of Pingxi's faction.

Therefore, these two were best suited to be settled with "titles and fame."

As for the future division of military garrisons,

The plan was to divide them into eight garrisons.

Xue Hai Pass would be one garrison;

Zhen Nan Pass would be one garrison;

Gong Wang and Gongsun Zhi would each have a garrison;

Liang Cheng would lead a field army, forming one garrison. This garrison would inevitably have the most soldiers, the best armor, and the strongest combat power.

Gou Moli would command one garrison, located to the left of Feng Xin City;

Ding Hao would command one garrison, located to the right of Feng Xin City;

These two garrisons would be equivalent to the garrison troops.

And in Feng Xin City, there would be one garrison stationed, equivalent to the capital garrison, jointly responsible by Xue San and Fan Li. This would be the most important security force around the Marquis of Pingxi.

A total of eight garrisons.

This was a game of power distribution, and also a game of future planning.

In this game, Marquis Pingxi, the newly promoted marquis, completely revealed his gluttonous appetite.

Now was the best time to strike while the iron was hot and get it all done in one go. Trying to do it later would involve much more trouble and resistance.

The role of Ding Hao was actually to offset Gou Moli.

This small military leader from Beifeng County had benefited from being Marquis Zheng's first teacher, and had since risen rapidly.

His abilities had actually reached their peak at this point, but he was loyal, without children, so he had no weaknesses, and his loyalty score was perfect.

Below the eight garrisons,

It would still follow the old rules,

Five men would form a squad, ten men would form a company, and a hundred men would form a centurion. Further up, three companies would form a standard.

The standard system was a reference to the Eight Banners system.

However, in the future, it would be necessary to strengthen the activities of the standards under each department, such as Gong Wang and Gongsun Zhi. It would be necessary to reduce their influence over their subordinates and tighten the reins from time to time to ensure absolute loyalty.

The main reason for placing them in the front, rather than in the back, was that, whether it was Ke Yan Dong Ge or Jin Shu Ke, they would be able to overturn the table without hesitation when Marquis Pingxi needed to do so.

But Gong Wang and Gongsun Zhi,

Once they were influenced by external forces,

They were unlikely to rebel, but they might stand by and watch from the sidelines.

If they were going to stand by and watch, it was better to throw them to the front and watch them perform first.

The Blind Man's control over the overall situation and his planning for the future were truly masterful.

After all,

He was a man born to "rebel."

In another carriage,

The Blind Man closed the booklet in his hand,

Rubbed his eyes,

Pretending that he could also overwork his eyes.

The scenery outside the carriage was very desolate.

This was the true appearance of winter,

But after spring arrived,

A larger-scale self-rescue production campaign would begin.

Eastern Jin was indeed devastated,

But this feeling of being completely devastated and then redrawing the development plan was actually excellent.

In the Blind Man's view, many local officials in later generations probably wished they could blow up all the old districts and re-plan the roads and areas. Patching and repairing on the old foundations, limiting numbers, traffic jams, noise, and pollution, even though they had exhausted their efforts, the troublemakers were still not satisfied.

The devastation of Eastern Jin was due to its vast land and sparse population. If production was done well in the spring, the total production would completely exceed consumption.

Without the constraints of old forces, it was simply too comfortable.

The Blind Man would rather have this blank slate than let his lord run off to Ying Du to be a prefect.

"Mr. Bei, we're about to reach Tan Tou Town. Should we take a break?"

"Let's take a break."

"Yes."

The group stopped outside the town and began to build a fire and cook food.

Because there were many family members in the group, it wasn't suitable to force a march. Besides, there was nothing urgent anyway, so they took it easy. They stopped for lunch to cook and eat something hot.

After all, it was the middle of winter, and the old people's bodies weren't good to begin with, so they had to take care of them. For no other reason than if you let the Sword Saint's mother-in-law catch a cold, you'd see how you'd clean up the mess.

The Princess and Liu Ruqing also got out.

"You two madams can come out and get some fresh air. There will be fish soup to drink later."

"Thank you, Mr. Bei," said the Princess.

Liu Ruqing bowed slightly

And said,

"Thank you, Mr. Bei."

"You're welcome."

Then,

The Blind Man ran to the carriage carrying the coffin, lifted the curtain, and took Tian Tian out.

Along with Tian Tian came a black cat and a fox.

Tian Tian was wearing a white sheepskin coat, which Si Niang had knitted herself. It was very delicate, and because the little darling had a good physique and could withstand the cold, he still had a rosy complexion even in the middle of winter.

This rosiness wasn’t from being cold, but was his natural color.

"Do you need to pee?"

The Blind Man asked Tian Tian.

Tian Tian shook his head and said,

"No pee."

"Are you hungry?"

Tian Tian nodded. "Hungry."

"Did you drink your goat's milk this morning?"

"Drank."

"Good boy."

The Blind Man reached out and touched Tian Tian's head, pointed around, and instructed,

"Play here, don't run far, understand?"

"Understand."

Then,

The Blind Man pointed to the black cat and the fox

And said,

"Watch the young master."

"Meow."

"Woof!"

"........" The Blind Man.

The fox reached out and tugged at Tian Tian's trouser leg with a somewhat resentful look; he had taught it that.

The Blind Man sighed

And went to take care of the other family members.

The Princess and Liu Ruqing sat on a mat. In front of them was a frozen pool. The colors of winter were inevitably monotonous, but there was still a kind of vast beauty.

At this time, Liu Ruqing's younger brother, Liu Zhong, came over. He was considered "royal relatives," and the surrounding guards knew his and Liu Ruqing's identities, so they didn't stop him.

Usually, Liu Zhong would occasionally go to the mansion to see his sister. He now worked in the yamen and was considered a person of status.

"Brother," Liu Ruqing called.

"Sister."

Liu Zhong sat down next to Liu Ruqing, took out two tangerines from his pocket, and began to peel them.

While peeling them, he secretly sized up Xiong Liqing, who was sitting over there.

He was from Chu,

And Xiong Liqing was a noble princess of Chu,

It would be a lie to say he wasn't curious.

When he went to see his sister at Xue Hai Pass, even though the Earl's mansion was very empty, he was always led directly to his sister's courtyard, and he wasn't given the opportunity to walk around. So this was the first time he had seen the princess up close.

Liu Zhong peeled a tangerine, broke it in half, and gave it to his sister.

Then,

He smiled

And leaned in front of his sister, handing the tangerine to Xiong Liqing.

He said,

"Princess, have a tangerine."

Liu Ruqing's expression changed instantly.

Xiong Liqing didn't take the tangerine,

But glanced at Liu Zhong,

A smile playing on her lips.

When Liu Zhong saw the Princess smile at him, he smiled too.

Liu Ruqing's face began to turn pale.

Xiong Liqing said,

"Are you all dead!"

Immediately, the surrounding guards knelt down.

"Take him down, twenty lashes. Don't kill him, but crippling him is fine."

Immediately, two guards stepped forward and held Liu Zhong down.

Liu Zhong was shocked when he saw this

And shouted,

"Sister, save me! Sister, save me!"

Liu Ruqing wanted to look at Xiong Liqing, but after glancing at her, she looked away again.

Xiong Liqing smiled coldly

And said,

"To put it bluntly, your sister is just a concubine of my Lord Marquis, so what kind of thing do you think you are, daring to consider yourself family!"

At this, cold sweat broke out on Liu Zhong's forehead.

Liu Ruqing also knelt down immediately and begged,

"Ruqing knows her mistake. It's my fault for not disciplining my brother. I was wrong."

"If you don't know how to discipline him yourself, this palace will discipline him for you. Yes, the Marquis likes you, but don't ever think that the Marquis is the kind of person who would be without principles and bottom lines because of a woman."

"Ruqing wouldn't dare, Ruqing wouldn't dare."

"Our Marquis's mansion is peaceful in the back, but it's not without rules. What are you standing there for? Drag him down and beat him!"

"Yes!"

"Yes!"

"Sister, save me! Sister, save me..."

"Ah... ah... Sister, save me... I was wrong... Princess... I was wrong... Ah..."

Liu Ruqing knelt in front of Xiong Liqing, tears streaming down her face.

Xiong Liqing took out a handkerchief and handed it to Liu Ruqing.

Liu Ruqing didn't dare to delay, so she quickly took the handkerchief and wiped the tears from her eyes. At the same time, she showed a smile, though it was a bit forced.

The Marquis wasn't here,

She didn't dare to act spoiled.

But,

Even if the Marquis were here,

She wouldn't dare anyway.

You had to know,

That even now,

The Marquis had never taken her.

"I'm not targeting you personally, don't hate me."

"He offended the princess, so he should be punished. He deserved it. Ruqing wouldn't dare to resent you."

"You should be glad Sister isn't here. If Sister were here, his eyes would be moving house today.

Heh heh,

Tell me,

Would you dare kneel down and beg Sister for mercy?"

"No... I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare."

The back of the old Earl of Pingye's mansion was very quiet, not because there were only women who liked to be quiet inside, but because there was a real tiger sitting in the mountains, with inherent authority.

"After a beating, he'll be honest and disciplined. As long as he's disciplined, you can whisper a few words in the Marquis's ear, ha ha. If whispering in his ear doesn't work, you can go down and blow;

Blow more, and you might be able to blow him a future.

But first of all, people have to be disciplined. You're older than me, but I still have to call you sister.

Sister,

Don't think that our mansion is more free and unrestrained than your Fan family.

Don't think that these gentlemen are all easy to talk to, but they are actually the most difficult people to talk to in this world.

The Marquis can ignore many things, because he has outside things to be busy with, but we,"

Xiong Liqing pointed into the distance,

And said,

"Wipe away your tears and join this palace in drinking fish soup with this scenery."

"Yes, Princess."

Xiong Liqing sighed

And said,

"This Marquis of Da Yan is actually a Pillar of the State in Chu, and a Duke in Qian, so the rules of our family aren't any worse than those in the palace."

"Yes, Ruqing has learned."

At this time,

Tian Tian came running over with a little fox and a black cat, smiling.

When the Princess saw him,

She immediately got up,

And hugged Tian Tian tightly

And said,

"Oh my darling, you can't run around, what if you fell somewhere and got hurt? It would break your godmother's heart."

The Princess then glared at the black cat and fox following behind Tian Tian

And scolded,

"Daring to let the young master run like this, if something really happened, watch your skins, do you believe I'll take you to feed the pythons!"

Then,

The Princess took out a handkerchief to wipe Tian Tian's sweat

And said,

"Good, good, sit here with godmother, godmother will feed you fish soup. Our darling is the best."