Guo Sheng: "...This is a misunderstanding..."
Chapter 65 Everyday Life
"You're still laughing? What's so funny!"
Guo Sheng looked at Cui Hao, who was bent over and clutching his stomach, and said angrily.
Cui Hao couldn't hold back any longer and burst into laughter, collapsing onto the table.
"Why...why did you throw the princess's dog away for no reason?"
While he was out exchanging some things with someone, he returned to find out that Guo Sheng had gotten into trouble again.
When asked what he had done, he said he had thrown the princess's dog into the river, and was therefore fined half a year's salary.
Thankfully, the little cutie was alright. After we picked him up, dried his fur, and he was back to being a lively and energetic dog, not sick at all. Otherwise, Guo Sheng might have faced some other punishment.
"I was trying to help it cross the river!"
Guo Shengdao.
"It insisted on chasing the princess's horse, and I saw it couldn't get through, so I kindly helped it!"
Cui Hao laughed until tears streamed down his face: "Is this how you explained it to the Prince and Princess?"
Guo Sheng nodded: "They don't believe me!"
It would have been better if he hadn't said that, because after he did, Cui Hao laughed even louder.
"Even if it's to help it, don't you think about it? It's easy for you to throw it there, but how is it going to get back on its own?"
Guo Sheng was slightly taken aback, his expression somewhat bewildered.
He didn't think that much about it.
Cui Hao shook his head with a smile: "So, how could the prince and princess believe you? Let alone them, even I find it unbelievable."
Especially after hearing that he threw the dog into the river and then stood on the riverbank laughing, which was seen by the prince and princess, the prince would definitely punish him, even if it was just to avenge the princess.
Cui Hao was absent at the time due to other commitments, but that did not prevent him from imagining the scene. The more he thought about it, the more he couldn't help but laugh.
Stop laughing!
Guo Sheng's face turned red with anger. After he finished speaking, seeing that Guo Sheng was still smiling, he suddenly stood up, looked around, and then walked to the display cabinet and pushed the items on it over one by one.
Cui Hao quickly stood up to stop him: "Ziyi! Don't touch my things!"
As she spoke, she put the things that Guo Sheng had messed up back in their original places.
But he couldn't keep up with Guo Sheng's pace. He watched as Guo Sheng messed up his neatly arranged display, then turned and left angrily.
Cui Hao shook his head and laughed, cursing, "You scoundrel!" He then rearranged the items that he had messed up one by one, sometimes taking a few steps back and sometimes adjusting them carefully from a different angle. It took him a full half hour to restore the Treasure Pavilion to its original state.
...
Because the Jin dynasty was surrounded by the Southern Yan and the Great Liang, it was overwhelmed and suffered repeated defeats in the battle. In the end, it could only retreat to the Yujiang Pass and watch helplessly as large swathes of its territory fell into the hands of others.
As Wei Hong had requested, the Zhen'an Army halted its advance west of the Heng River and did not advance any further.
The court officials accompanying them, however, grew increasingly ambitious, wanting them to cross the Heng River and seize the land east of it as well.
However, when the Zhen'an Army arrived at Hengshui West, Hengshui East had already been occupied by the Southern Yan. If they attacked, they would no longer be facing the Jin army, but the Southern Yan army.
"My lords, you should first discuss with the court whether our Great Liang is prepared to fight against both Southern Yan and Great Jin at the same time. Otherwise, you will not only be greedy for merit and act rashly, but also lose both your wife and your army."
The reason they are able to do so smoothly now is because they have formed an encirclement with Southern Yan.
Although the two countries have not formally sent envoys to discuss anything, their cooperation has been very smooth so far.
Once this tacit understanding is broken, it will no longer be a joint siege of the Great Jin by the two countries, but a chaotic war between the three countries. At that time, no one knows what will happen, and no one knows whether the Southern Yan and the Great Jin, who are now enemies, will turn their spears to attack their Great Liang.
The pro-war official wanted to say something more, but Ji Huai'an stopped him.
"Let's ask His Majesty first. If we rashly send troops and cause any trouble, we can't afford the consequences."
Seeing that he was about to speak, the man swallowed back his words, nodded, and wrote a memorial to Wei Chi in the capital.
Fortunately, Wei Chi did not let the temporary victory go to his head. He quickly sent a message back, telling them not to antagonize Southern Yan, but to stay where they were and not to interfere with Southern Yan, with the Heng River as the boundary.
This "stationing" naturally refers to the imperial army stationing troops, not the Zhen'an Army.
The Zhen'an Army was ordered to immediately withdraw to Shuozhou as soon as the battle ended, and they were not allowed to delay on the way, otherwise they would be punished according to military law.
"They're already in a hurry to kill the donkey before they've even taken the millstone off its surface."
Some people laughed privately.
"Pah! You're a donkey, but I'm not!"
His comrades nearby laughed and cursed.
But despite their words, they returned to Shuozhou as quickly as possible.
It wasn't because of an order from the imperial court, but because that's what Wei Hong instructed.
...
While the Zhen'an Army was advancing swiftly against the Jin Dynasty, and the court was both excited by their bravery and wary of them turning against the court at the instigation of the Prince of Qin, Wei Hong was leisurely teaching Yao Youqing how to swim at the manor.
He originally planned to teach Yao Youqing directly in the river, but because Yao Youqing had asked him if they would be seen, he thought it over and decided to have a pond dug on the estate.
The pool is over ten zhang wide, filled with fresh water from the mountain, and is surrounded by walls, with only one arched gate on one side.
Yao Youqing can swim here without worrying about being seen.
After the pond was dug, the weather warmed up, so he took Yao Youqing to stay at the estate for a while.
Yao Youqing was very excited when she first saw the pool, but she wasn't so happy when she actually went into the water.
No one learning to swim can avoid choking on water. Even with Wei Hong's careful protection, she still choked several times.
When she choked again, Wei Hong patted her back and frowned, saying, "Don't bother learning it, it's useless anyway."
These days, people who learn to swim are either people who live by rivers or people like them who go to war. Yao Youqing is neither of those people; it's just something she became interested in out of curiosity.
Since it's just a hobby, it doesn't matter whether she learns it or not. Anyway, she always has someone with her, so there's no chance of her accidentally falling into the water. Even if it does happen, there are servants who can swim to rescue her immediately, so nothing bad will happen.
Yao Youqing shook her head: "I want to learn. Back then... my older brother drowned by accident. Although I know I may not encounter such a thing, it can't hurt to learn it."
"Besides, the prince specially built this pool for me. Wouldn't it be a waste if I didn't learn it?"
Wei Hong knew a little about the deaths of her two elder brothers. Hearing this, he nodded and gently stroked her head.
"If you can't keep going, take a break. Take it slow. We'll stay here for a few months, and we'll learn eventually."
However, Yao Youqing did not take that long to learn. She mastered the technique in just a few days and was able to let Wei Hong let go and swim a section on her own.
Half a month later, they were as free as fish in water, able to swim from one end to the other in one breath.
Wei Hong stayed with her on the estate for about a month before returning to the palace a few days before her birthday.
The reason for their return was that Li Tai and his wife sent a message saying they were coming from Cangcheng to celebrate Yao Youqing's birthday.
"This is too much trouble for Uncle and Aunt."
Yao Youqing sat on the swing, leaning against Wei Hong, and said.
Wei Hong pulled her into his arms, holding a palm-leaf fan she had bought from the street, and gently swayed it.
"The distance between Hucheng and Cangcheng is not far, so it's fine. They can just stop by to see Douzi."
Yao Youqing nodded: "Then why don't we let Uncle and Aunt stay for a while? It would be great if we could go back to Cangcheng together in the winter."
“I previously suggested that they live directly in the Prince’s Mansion, but my aunt was reluctant. If you can persuade her this time, that would be good. Douzi always has to run around with me, and I feel more at ease having a trustworthy doctor in the mansion.”
Mr. and Mrs. Li Tai both liked Yao Youqing very much. If he was not around, they would definitely take care of her as if she were their own daughter.
With Yao Youqing by their side, the elderly couple doesn't have to worry about Douzi all the time.
“Okay,” Yao Youqing smiled, “I’ll ask Auntie when she arrives!”
The two chatted about these trivial matters, and Yao Youqing gradually became sleepy, her voice grew softer and softer, and finally she fell asleep in Wei Hong's arms.
A messenger from the front yard came to deliver a message, saying that when Young Master Lian asked to meet him, he was fanning the girl half-heartedly. Upon hearing this, he frowned, glanced at the girl who was sleeping soundly on his lap, and whispered, "Tell him to wait."
The servant left upon hearing the sound, and the palm-leaf fan he had stopped fanning began to move again, creating a gentle breeze that dispelled the summer heat from the sleeping girl.
Chapter 66: Revealed
"Taking a nap?"
Liancheng raised an eyebrow, looked at the servant from the Prince's mansion who came to report, and said without any politeness, "Call out! Just say I'm looking for him, your Prince certainly won't blame you!"
The servant smiled but remained silent, not responding to his words.
Liancheng looked at his enigmatic expression and nodded in realization.
"You weren't taking a nap by yourself, were you?"
The servant just smiled and didn't answer him: "If you're not in a hurry, you can wait here for a while. The prince will come over when he wakes up. I'll take my leave now."
Liancheng scoffed, "There's no use in me being anxious; he's not coming anyway."
The servant laughed and withdrew, pretending not to have heard.
Liancheng sat on the terrace, looking at the fine wine he had specially brought on the table, and shook his head and sighed.
"Married men are boring!"
The attendant beside him nodded and asked, "Young master, shall I go and summon the spring blossoms, willows, peach blossoms, and ginkgo trees for you, so they can play music and sing for you?"
Liancheng was about to nod in agreement, but then smacked his lips and waved his hand.
"Never mind, I'll just take a nap here. Just let me know when the prince arrives."
He lay down on the soft blanket with a cool mat on it, and soon fell into a deep sleep.
...
"stand up."