A light millet porridge, green vegetables, and sweet potato vines.
Seeing that even Her Highness the Princess ate so simply, the common people naturally had no complaints, and the scholars caught in the middle dared not cause trouble. The previous rebellion of the Right Chancellor had already implicated them, and now that even the nobles were eating so simply, they still wanted to eat; they would probably be remembered with infamy for eternity.
When Xie Lanzhi learned of this, she almost chuckled to herself. If these blockheads didn't change their ways soon, Little Phoenix had plenty of ways to wear them down.
She's been eating bland food for a few days now. There's no oil in her stomach.
Si Xitong was used to light food. After she finished eating, she went out to run errands. Just then, Yelü Qiqi was lingering outside the palace, hesitating whether to go in or not. At the moment, she was in a hurry to kick stones.
Si Xitong stopped in her tracks, thinking that she had kept someone in the Ziguang Palace for the past few days, and Yelü Qiqi hadn't gone out either.
She raised an eyebrow and beckoned to Yelü Qiqi: "Qiqi, come here."
Yelü Qiqi was still hesitating about what excuse to use to stay by the marshal's side and chat with her more today when suddenly the princess called her.
She walked up to her and asked, "What do you need me for, sister?"
"I've been busy lately and forgot to take you on an inspection tour of Jiujin. Let's make up for it today." Si Xitong pulled her hand and walked out, leaving Yelü Qiqi no time to make an excuse.
With Xie Shangguang busy protecting them, the two went to the government office.
After Yelü Qiqi dismounted, she followed Si Xitong into the government office, and then came out again, bored out of her mind. Xie Shangguang had been secretly watching her the whole time.
Seeing that Yelü Qiqi was bored, he bought a chick nearby and gave it to her.
Yelü Qiqi saw the chicks and said, "They're so cute, they'd taste delicious roasted."
Xie Shangguang secretly returned the chicks.
Inside the government office, Si Xitong listened to the reports from Li Jin and other minor officials. She then set about making another plan for them to carry out, this time starting with the Jin soldiers.
Following the Xie family's recruitment system, Si Xitong raised the bar for recruiting soldiers from Jin. Anyone who did not meet the requirements was relegated to reserve duty, but their rations were not reduced. However, those who passed the martial arts test received additional rations.
In times of chaos, food is extremely precious, and even the powerful Northern Region has to bow down to the food-abundant Southern Region.
The Jin soldiers heard that this recruitment system could lead to promotions and titles, and that everyone had a chance, but most of the Jin soldiers were from commoner families and had few opportunities to rise in rank.
The fact that Her Highness the Princess was now giving a chance to commoners excited the Jin soldiers.
The martial arts test was scheduled for the afternoon.
Si Xitong also sent a message to Xie Lanzhi, who had been idle: "Come to the yamen."
Xie Lanzhi, carrying a bottle of baijiu, excitedly stormed into the yamen.
As the saying goes, soldiers follow their generals. Xie Lanzhi was so happy that she pushed down the gate of the government office. The soldiers behind her thought that the place was going to be destroyed, so they rushed into the government office and arrested everyone they saw.
When Xie Bing saw the mistress appear, Si Xitong's face turned cold, and she shouted, "Who gave you permission to arrest people?"
Xie Bing and his men panicked: "Mistress...we..."
Xie Lanzhi was now in an awkward situation.
She said, "You may all leave. I will explain to my wife."
Xie Bing and his men slunk out of the mansion, behaving as docilely as chicks. Yelü Qiqi had witnessed his savior storm into the government office in such a violent manner.
She looked hesitant, as if she was struggling with a decision.
Xie Shangguang thought she was going to change her opinion of the marshal and no longer have a good impression of him, so he decided to resolve the trouble he had caused.
He immediately said to Yelü Qiqi, "This is a minor matter; the Marshal has done far more brutal things!"
Yelü Qiqi's expression immediately hardened: "What else? What else?"
Xie Shangguang began to embellish and, against his conscience, describe Xie Lanzhi's character, focusing specifically on the first half of the sentence.
"The marshal's favorite food is meat, and then she won't poop for three days straight. When she's fighting, she likes to hit people on the head, and when she punishes people, she likes to beat them so badly they can't get out of bed [Xie Guang did something wrong]."
"Sometimes he even..." Xie Shangguang hesitated, wondering if he should embellish the story. After all, the Marshal's love for his mistress was deeply ingrained.
Yelü Qiqi's expression immediately tightened: "What...what did she do to my sister?"
She suddenly moved closer, her enlarged face so beautiful and lovely that Xie Shangguang was instantly mesmerized. Without thinking, he blurted out, "She...she hit the mistress." Actually, it was the mistress who pinched the marshal. He spoke ironically.
"When the mistress was in the cage..." He was about to repeat the story of the marshal rescuing the mistress.
Before Xie Shangguang could finish speaking, Yelü Qiqi suddenly pushed him away. The leather whip on her right arm suddenly trembled, coiling around her hand like a water snake. At this moment, Yelü Qiqi had already forgotten about any goodwill or the life-saving grace. She looked at the overturned government office gate, so crude and violent, as if to prove Xie Lanzhi's cruelty.
What else wouldn't she do, lock her sister in a cage?!
Yelü Qiqi's mind went completely blank for a moment, and she screamed at the top of her lungs, "Xie Ying!"
With a loud shout, Yelü Qiqi's red figure rushed into the government office. Right under the plaque of "Upright and Bright," Xie Lanzhi was sitting next to Si Xitong, watching her work.
Si Xitong was smiling slightly when suddenly they heard Yelü Qiqi's voice, which sounded like she was eating gunpowder.
"Xie Ying, you beast, this princess is going to fight you to the death!!"
Xie Lanzhi was completely bewildered by the yelling: ? ? ?
Si Xitong, however, saw that the little princess's eyes were full of hostility, and she did not seem to be joking.
Her expression immediately turned serious: "Qiqi?!"
Xie Lanzhi hurriedly got up, and her right hand just happened to be on Si Xitong's shoulder. In Yelü Qiqi's eyes, this move was like an eagle using its sharp claws to grab a chick, and Si Xitong was at her mercy.
Yelü Qiqi lashed out with his whip, and within four feet, the whip flew like a python, wrapping around Xie Lanzhi's left hand and abruptly pulling her out of the courtroom.
Xie Lanzhi hadn't considered the little girl an enemy, but now, caught off guard, she was pulled away and fell to the ground, bottom and all.
She felt a "crack" in her tailbone, and immediately screamed in pain, "My back!!!"
"Lanzhi!!" Si Xitong's pupils constricted, and she stood up and rushed towards her.
Xie Shangguang, who witnessed everything at the gate of the mansion, stood there dumbfounded. He was so frightened that his eyes almost rolled back, and he seemed to have been dragged away by death, his soul still stuck in place. A trace of drool remained at the corner of his mouth, making him look like a complete idiot.
An hour later, Xie Shangguang was carried on a stretcher by Xie Bing to find a doctor.
The yamen runners had never been so powerful as they were today. They were actually able to beat Xie's young general, and Xie's soldiers had to beg and plead with them to reduce the force of the eighty strokes.
In the backyard, Xie Lanzhi lay on the bed, her eyes brimming with tears. It wasn't that she wanted to cry; it was that her body was filled with saline solution.
She was in so much pain she couldn't breathe, but fortunately, a pair of gentle hands massaged her waist.
Si Xitong had never seen her in so much pain. Her eyes reddened, and she comforted her, "It won't hurt after you apply the medicine."
"Whatever you want to eat today, I'll have it made."
"No, you just issued a new order to conserve food, how can I go against the tide?" Xie Lanzhi said, her face pale.
Si Xitong: "I don't care about all that. Whatever you want to eat, I'll have it made."
Xie Lanzhi didn't want Xiao Fenghuang to feel pressured, so she said, "I want to drink old hen soup, eat braised pig's trotters, and charcoal-grilled ribs."
"Okay." The beautiful woman inside the room spoke gently, soothing her with a kind voice.
Yelü Qiqi had been squatting at the door for a long time, her face buried in her knees, overwhelmed by feelings of self-reproach and shame. The men accompanying her were flustered and trying to comfort her: "Princess, this is not your fault, it's all the fault of General Xie."
"I never expected that the boy from the Central Plains to be so despicable. In order to pursue the princess, he dared to slander his own family head."
"It's all that kid's fault for his bad behavior, not yours."
"Thank you, Lord, you won't blame me."
"It's all my fault. I shouldn't have rushed in after hearing only half a sentence." Yelü Qiqi wiped away her tears on the left side, but more flowed on the right, crying her eyes out.
She never imagined that such an honest-looking young man would cause her so much trouble.
At this moment, Si Xitong finished dressing Xie Lanzhi, then gently covered her with the quilt before she went out.
Xie Lanzhi quietly tugged at her sleeve: "Just teach that brat Shang Guang a lesson, that's enough. The little princess didn't do it on purpose. I can tell she was worried about you, that's why she hit me."
"That's exactly why I need to take care of it." Si Xitong had been too busy with official duties to deal with these minor matters.
Now, she never expected that the hidden dangers she had created would cause Lanzhi to get injured. She can no longer put it aside for the time being and just wants to resolve it now.
After Si Xitong left the house, the burly men from the Northern Regions all stood in front of Yelü Qiqi as if protecting their own child.
Yelü Qiqi pushed them away, her eyes red, and bowed deeply to her: "Sister, I'm sorry, Marshal Sister, I'm sorry, it's all my fault."
"You must punish me, otherwise I won't be able to live with myself."
"Of course he must be punished!" Si Xitong said coldly, "Come here."
She grabbed Yelü Qiqi's hand and walked towards the side courtyard. Yelü Qiqi obediently let her pull her along, sobbing softly as they walked.
In the side courtyard, Si Xitong told Yelü Qiqi the truth about who had saved her.
Yelü Qiqi originally wanted to blame Xie Shangguang, but after hearing her sister tell the truth, she realized that the benefactor who had given her life-saving breath was not the marshal, but that brat Xie Shangguang!
Yelü Qiqi was so angry that she trembled all over. Xie Shangguang was her benefactor, and she was so conflicted that she almost fainted.
"That wretched brat!"
A note from the author:
Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 18:50:18 on December 6, 2021 and 11:43:48 on December 7, 2021!
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Bai Cha Qing Huan Wu Bie Shi (20 bottles); Mi (10 bottles); Xin Xin (1 bottle);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter 52 Her archery skills were extraordinary
When news of Xie Shangguang being flogged eighty times reached Tianjing, the Xie family didn't seem to care. However, when news of Xie Lanzhi recovering from her injuries for seven days also reached Tianjing, the Xie family was instantly furious.
Xie Lanzhi lay in bed enjoying Little Phoenix's massage at night, and ate and slept all day. That day, she heard a cracking sound from her back and thought it had broken, but it turned out to be a false alarm. Fortunately, she was in good health and recovered in a few days.
She chose a spacious place to stretch her muscles and practice swordsmanship, but felt that swordsmanship was not exciting enough.
She suddenly missed Chang Jian and asked Xie Bing beside her, "How is my weapon being maintained?"
Xie Bing said, "Since you personally killed the traitor, Changjian has been maintained by a special person. Because we lack some fine iron to replace the hilt for you, we sent Changjian back to the Southern Region."
"It will take about half a month to get to Beijing."
Fine weapons do indeed require better maintenance.
Xie Lanzhi urged, "Tell them to hurry up, because I'm afraid I'll have to reinstate them in a while."
This statement is clearly implying something.
She sheathed her sword, glanced at the sky, and saw that the sun was directly overhead; it was almost lunchtime.