Los bandidos de montaña están en movimiento

Capítulo 66

Xiao Chen bowed and said, "Lord Zhan, thank you for taking care of Xiao Wu and Xiao Qi these past few days. We'll take our leave now."

"Farewell, Brother Xiao." Zhan Zhao returned the greeting with a cupped hand.

Mo Yan gently tugged at his sleeve and said with a smile, "Don't forget to come to Sichuan to see me. If you come, I'll cook for you."

“Miss Mo…” He didn’t know what to say for a moment.

"Just call me Xiao Qi. From now on, I won't call you Lord Zhan anymore, I'll just call you Brother Zhan, okay?"

Zhan Zhao smiled slightly and said, "Of course." Although he answered like this, he didn't know when "later" would be. After saying this, he couldn't help but feel a sense of loss.

Completely unaware of his thoughts, Mo Yan slung the bundle over her shoulder, cupped her hands in a gesture of great pride, and said, "May the green hills remain unchanged and the clear waters flow forever. Farewell, and may we meet again."

"Have a safe journey," Zhan Zhao said sincerely, cupping his hands in greeting.

With a bright smile, Mo Yan said no more and turned to leave with her two senior brothers.

Li Xu lightly tapped her head: "What green hills and clear waters, all that rambling on and on, you little brat!"

"What do you mean by 'not learning good things'? That's how people in the martial arts world talk. I've been practicing this phrase for a long time, and it's finally come in handy," Mo Yan said proudly.

The sound drifted over from afar, and Zhan Zhao, who was still standing there watching them go, couldn't help but smile when he heard it. Watching that familiar, slender figure turn the corner and disappear from sight, he took a deep breath before leaving.

The epilogue: More than a month had passed in the blink of an eye. One day, Zhan Zhao got up early and practiced his sword in the courtyard. He wiped away his sweat and saw snowflakes falling, tiny and fine, swirling around him...

It's already winter, how fast time flies, he thought. This must be the first snowfall in the capital this year.

Snowflakes got into his collar, icy cold. He chuckled self-deprecatingly, but didn't brush them off. He picked up his sword and went back into the house, only to see Ma Han walking towards him from a distance, his head covered in snow.

"Brother Zhan, my family said that today is Minor Snow, and they want you to come over early and have a bowl of mutton soup." Ma Hanren hadn't even arrived yet, but they had already called him over.

Zhan Zhao smiled and said, "Please thank your wife for me. I'll be there shortly."

Zhan Zhao was single and had no relatives in the capital. He usually addressed Wang Chao, Ma Han, and others as brothers. Ma Han was married, and his wife was a cook in Kaifeng Prefecture, with excellent culinary skills. Therefore, during festivals, Ma Han often invited Zhan Zhao, Wang Chao, and others to his home. Today was Minor Snow, and Ma Han's wife specially cooked a nourishing and warming mutton soup, which was quite fitting for the occasion.

As soon as Zhan Zhao entered Ma Han's courtyard, the aroma of meat soup, mingled with the scent of angelica, filled the air. Wisps of steam dissipated amidst the falling snow, bringing a comforting warmth. Wang Chao and Zhao Hu were already inside. Upon Zhan Zhao's arrival, they quickly moved aside to let him sit down.

Aunt Ma deftly served everyone bowls of soup, her skills were superb. The mutton soup was milky white, without any gamey smell, and sprinkled with bright green scallions, its aroma filling the air. Wang Chao, impatient as ever, didn't care that it was hot, picked up the bowl and took a sip right away, smacking his lips repeatedly, finding it incredibly delicious.

He picked up the soup ladle and gently stirred the soup to dissipate the heat. Looking at the scallions in the bowl, Zhan Zhao couldn't help but recall someone happily sprinkling scallions on noodles... He wondered if it was snowing in Shu at this time.

"Lord Zhan, drink up! This mutton soup should be drunk while it's hot."

Mrs. Ma brought out another large plate of steamed buns, smiling as she watched everyone enjoying their meal. She said proudly, "I added angelica root and almonds to this soup. You can't taste any gamey smell at all, can you?"

"Sister-in-law, you have excellent cooking skills," Zhao Hu said, holding the steamed bun in his hand.

Before Wang Chao could even swallow, he repeatedly agreed, "Delicious...delicious."

Hearing their repeated praises, Ma's wife smiled and sighed to herself, "You all only know the word 'delicious,' you have no idea how much skill is involved... If that little girl hadn't left, maybe she could have tasted it."

Upon hearing this, Zhan Zhao paused briefly before resuming his normal actions.

After finishing his meal, Zhan Zhao thanked Ma Da Sao and left Ma Han's house. He strolled towards Bao Zheng's study and happened to run into the bailiffs who had escorted Bai Yingyu. After reporting what had happened to Bao Zheng, he withdrew.

When Bao Zheng saw Zhan Zhao enter, he gestured for him to sit down and then said in a low voice, "Bai Yingyu drowned herself in the Fen River."

This was something Zhan Zhao had expected, but at this moment he couldn't be sure whether Mo Yan had tampered with it, or whether Bai Yingyu had really drowned herself.

Seeing Bao Zheng's sad expression, Zhan Zhao felt a pang of guilt and vaguely advised, "This is her own choice; perhaps she feels it's better this way."

Bao Zheng sighed heavily, his gaze falling on the numerous and complex files on the table. He had to put aside his emotions for now and focus on state affairs. Yesterday, a villa in the southern suburbs of the city caught fire, suspected to be arson. Zhan Zhao, being meticulous, decided to send him to investigate the matter.

Zhan Zhao accepted the order and headed to the southern outskirts of the city, riding away on horseback.

The snow seemed to fall even more heavily in the suburbs than in the city, swirling and turning the world into a vast expanse of white. It was freezing cold, and there were only a few pedestrians on the road. The roadside tea shops were also quiet. Having just eaten mutton soup, his stomach was warm, so he didn't want any tea and didn't stop, urging his horse forward.

"Boss, why don't you add some cinnamon leaves to your tea..." a voice drifted over from inside the tea shop.

Zhan Zhao suddenly pulled on the reins.

"At this time of year, it's good to add some cinnamon leaves." The voice was still as cheerful as I remembered.

He could almost see her speaking, and a slight smile appeared on his face. He dismounted, and as if afraid of disturbing something, he led his horse slowly over.

Inside the tea stall, a pretty figure stood beside the tea stove, tilting her head to watch the tea bubbles...

She caught a glimpse of someone approaching out of the corner of her eye, and as she looked up, her eyes met Zhan Zhao's. She immediately exclaimed with delight, "Brother Zhan!"

Zhan Zhao smiled: "Little Seven."

Author's Note: Volume 1 is finally finished! What a relief...

As usual, everyone come and give a shout-out! Even those who are diving, come up for some fresh air! The lion shakes hands with everyone, then shakes hands again, and then shakes hands again...

I'll take a break for one to two weeks, then start writing the second volume. The relationship in the second volume will become clearer, and I'll finally stop them from being ambiguous anymore. I'm exhausted.

P.S.: I almost forgot to mention, I'm officially asking for a long review, whether it's positive or negative, and I welcome everyone's criticism and corrections!

Volume Two

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Inside the palace, in the Zichen Hall.

"Mother, please beg Father, don't marry me off to a foreign land, I don't want to marry Yelü Hongji..."

Princess Zhao Yu of Yu Kingdom knelt before Empress Cao Ying, tears streaming down her face, sobbing uncontrollably.