Жизнь сельских жителей в городе во времена династии Сун

Глава 74

"Left Wise King! Someone here is looking for you, saying they are a relative of yours!"

Wei Zijun was somewhat surprised and looked at the guards who had brought him.

"Zijun—" Two joyful calls came from their mouths.

"Ah! Dieyun! Huh? Liu Yunde! What brings you here too?" Wei Zijun dismounted and ran up to Dieyun, embracing her.

"You heartless bastard, you just ran off without a sound, were you trying to drive me crazy?" Dieyun withdrew her surprise and glared at Wei Zijun with resentment.

"You've seen me now!" Wei Zijun gathered her inner strength, picked up Dieyun, and swung her around. She instructed the guards not to tell them that she had been abducted, lest they worry.

"You...you...you're still not serious." Dieyun blushed.

The person next to her couldn't stand it anymore and became jealous. "Aren't you going to hug me?" Her longing eyes were fixed on the person in front of her.

"You're a grown man, why do you need to be carried!" Despite saying that, Wei Zijun still went up and hugged Liu Yunde. She was deeply moved that he had come all this way to see her.

“He’s a grown man, so what am I?” Dieyun protested.

“You’re a child!” Wei Zijun pinched Dieyun’s nose.

He stays in the valley all day, untouched by the outside world, his mind is pure, and even his behavior is so childish, he throws tantrums and acts petty all the time, what else could he be but a child?

"You...you say I'm a child again! Humph!" Dieyun turned and walked out, looking like she was about to go back.

Wei Zijun helplessly reached out and pulled Dieyun back, "Alright—Dieyun is a man—a very, very big man!"

He Lu, who had been standing to the side, watched all of this with a cold eye, snorted, and strode away.

The tall, thin man who had been standing nearby saw that the group had finished speaking and came over to bow, saying, "Your Majesty, I have conveyed your message as you wished, but these two insist on coming along, so I have no choice but to let them come."

"Hmm! You did a good job. I will reward you accordingly. You may leave now!"

Wei Zijun waved away the officials and led the two men into her tent.

"Yun De! You're not staying at Juyunlou, but running off here. What will happen to the business there?" Wei Zijun said worriedly.

"If you don't care, why should I?" Seeing Wei Zijun raise an eyebrow, she quickly added, "It's all been arranged, and there's still Liu Lang! Business is even better than when you were here!"

“But it’s not good to have no one to manage the money. You’ll have to go back in two days, and there’ll be no one to collect all that money. That won’t do!”

"Don't worry, you money-grubber. Duan Xin is very shrewd. He will definitely manage your money well. Besides, Old Man Juyun will often visit the shop," Liu Yunde said with a smile.

"You even brought out Master? Master doesn't like such noisy places, how could you be so heartless!" He paused, then added, "I'm relieved to have Duan Xin managing things!"

"That kid Duan Xin insisted on coming along, and when he saw that we weren't taking him, he cried all night!"

"Sigh! It's so hard on him. He's so young and no one cares for him. He's still just a child! How is Master's health? How are Die'er and Liu Lang?" Wei Zijun sighed softly. She really missed them and the days in Lucheng.

Having come into this world, she calmed her heart, only wanting to live a carefree and comfortable life, just to protect her loved ones, without wanting to get involved in too many things in this world. However, she was still drawn into this chaotic world, and she didn't know when she would be able to get out.

In the evening, Ashina Yugu hosted a banquet to entertain Wei Zijun's two so-called relatives, and also invited the ministers to join in the festivities.

During the banquet, the ministers devoured the rare vegetables in no time.

These vegetables were exclusively for Wei Zijun, so no one else had the right to enjoy them. Therefore, the ministers harbored various feelings towards Wei Zijun: some envied her, some were jealous, some resentful, and some despised her. Those who despised her naturally believed that she had won the Khan's favor through her seductive charm. Even the concubines were filled with resentment towards her; of course, while resenting her, they couldn't help but glance at her extraordinary and elegant figure, then sigh that they were inferior to a man.

He Lu, sitting opposite her, stared intently at Wei Zijun, who was beaming with smiles.

That person disturbed his peace of mind. He had suffered humiliation from that person during the day, and he couldn't describe the feeling in his heart. Looking at the smiling lips on that face, his hand involuntarily touched his own lips. The petal-like touch was still there, and the burning breath and the orchid fragrance in his mouth seemed to still be there.

That person took his virginity. He had never experienced such intimate contact before, and the thought still made him blush and his heart race. He hated the smell of others, whether men or women; he was a germaphobe. But the man's elegant, subtle fragrance intoxicated him, and the sweet taste in his mouth captivated him. This feeling terrified him; he was terrified that he had become so infatuated with a man's scent.

He stood there, stroking his lips, lost in thought for a long while. When he came to his senses and looked at the two people sitting next to him, he saw that their eyes were full of admiration for that person. He felt a pang of jealousy and a strange sourness rose in his heart. He snorted angrily.

Hmph! The number one male favorite of the Turks, he certainly has the qualities to be a male favorite.

After the banquet, Ashina Yugu Team member Wei Zijun said, "Since your family is here today, you should go with them. You don't need to come over."

"This...can you do it?" Wei Zijun asked tentatively.

Seeing his shifty gaze, she knew he didn't mean it, so she chuckled and said, "I'll come over after I've settled them in."

As night fell, Wei Zijun saw that Ashina Yugu was already fast asleep, so she quietly stepped out of the tent.

Just as I rounded a row of sidings, I bumped into the three people standing there.

"Why aren't you going to sleep? What are you all doing standing here?" Wei Zijun asked the two of them, then looked at He Lu, "What are you doing here too?"

He Lu turned her head away with a cold face, but Die Yun wouldn't let it go and tugged at her sleeve, "Why did you sleep with someone? Tell me!"

Wei Zijun covered Dieyun's mouth with her hand, "If you have something to say, we'll talk about it when we get back!" She then glared at Liu Yunde, thinking, "How can such a grown man be so insensible?"

He dragged Dieyun back into the tent before letting go of his mouth. "You still call yourself an adult? Stop shouting without regard for the occasion. If you say another word, you'll be going to jail!"

"Don't you talk about yourself? You're so promiscuous! Why did you sleep with other people? Huh? Tell me! Tell me!" Dieyun grabbed Wei Zijun's wrist hard and shook it urgently.

"Dieyun! You'll hurt her. Let go first, and let's see how she explains herself!" Liu Yunde stepped forward and pried Dieyun's hands off.

Wei Zijun laughed in anger, "Who am I sleeping with? I'm just standing here, who am I sleeping with?"

“You…” Dieyun thought for a moment, and realized that she was right, wasn’t she out already? She looked at Helu with a questioning gaze.

Wei Zijun followed Dieyun's gaze and saw He Lu's gloating expression. She couldn't help but say angrily, "Why did you come in here too? It's your slander again! I don't know why a grown man like you likes to gossip so much!"

“Isn’t that so? Almost the entire Western Turkic Khaganate knows that you spend every night by the emperor’s side. Go outside the tent and grab anyone at random, and see who doesn’t know!” Helu said coldly.

"But you should also ask Fu Li, who is guarding outside the tent! Do I go back to my own tent to sleep every night?" Wei Zijun's voice carried a hint of anger; she was so humiliated by being blamed for this.

Normally, she wouldn't explain; she hadn't offered any explanation for many days. But in front of Dieyun, she had to explain.

After hearing what she said, the group fell silent.

But He Lu's voice suddenly rang out again: "So what? After doing what needs to be done, it doesn't matter where you sleep."

"You..." Wei Zijun suppressed her anger, narrowed her eyes, and said coldly, "Do you know what will happen if the Khan finds out what you said today?"

“I know that the Left Wise King is not the kind of person to inform on others! So I am not worried.”

"How much do you really know about me? If you truly knew me, you wouldn't have said those things today."

He Lu was stunned when he heard this. He could tell that the slightly angry tone was full of helplessness. Could it be that he really misunderstood him?

Although He Lu was just talking nonsense, some people took it seriously, at least Dieyun, who was completely unaware of the truth, was one of them.

"Tell me! What have you done?" Dieyun grabbed Wei Zijun's wrist again, her posture like that of a jealous husband catching his wife in the act, yet her face still held a heartbreakingly youthful innocence.

Wei Zijun really wanted to get angry and throw him away, but how could she hurt his feelings? So she said softly, "What can I do? If I did something, how could I still be the Left Wise King, or a man?"

Surely he'd understand such a blatant hint.

She wasn't afraid of what others said, but she absolutely couldn't let Dieyun, whom she considered family, misunderstand her. She cared for him so much that she couldn't bear to see him suffer even the slightest harm.

Finally, Dieyun seemed to have figured something out, revealing two rows of small teeth, "Then why don't you explain it to the outside world, and let people misunderstand like this?"

"What's the use of explaining? Who would believe it? It only makes things worse, so it's better not to say anything at all."

"Then why do you go to his place every night?" Liu Yunde asked, suppressing the resentment in his heart.

"Ah! This... it's a long story... it's all because of my mother..." Wei Zijun sighed.

"Your mother?"

“Yes! Back then…” Wei Zijun suddenly stopped and said to He Lu, “Get out!”

Upon hearing this, He Lu did not leave, but instead sat down. "I know the Left Wise King's character, and the Left Wise King should also know the character of me, He Lu!"

Wei Zijun glanced at him and then ignored him. "The Turkic Khan loves my mother but is unable to be with her. He misses her dearly and, seeing that I look just like her, he keeps me by his side. Whenever he sees me, it is as if he sees my mother. He can only fall asleep if I am by his side every night. I cannot bear to see him suffer, so I stay with him every night until he falls asleep before returning to my own tent."

"So you mean you're going to coax him to sleep? That won't do!" Dieyun said domineeringly.

"Okay! I'll listen to Dieyun. From now on, I'll put Dieyun to sleep first, and then I'll go and coax him, okay?" Wei Zijun coaxed Dieyun softly.

"What about me!" Liu Yunde was clearly dissatisfied with her gentleness towards Dieyun.

"Put them to sleep! Of course I'll put them to sleep, okay?" Wei Zijun sighed, put her hand to her forehead, and slumped helplessly into the chair.

"Hmph—" Seeing this scene, He Lu snorted and stood up. "You really have a lot of energy! Aren't you afraid of ruining your health!"

She glanced coldly at Wei Zijun, then turned and strode out.

Volume Two, Turkic Chapter Sixty-Six: Bathing

Outside the cold tent, snowflakes began to fall again, once more enveloping the boundless earth.

"Cough...cough cough..." The heart-wrenching coughing sounds from inside the tent grew louder and louder.

"Khan...are you feeling better?" she asked anxiously in a low voice, gently patting Ashina Yugu's back.

The sudden cold left him bedridden. His already weak body was further weakened by the cold, and Wei Zijun was very worried about his increasingly pale and haggard face.

Since her arrival in the Western Turkic Khaganate, his health had been improving day by day. He thought he would defy the imperial physician's prediction and live a healthy life, but this sudden severe cold has once again defeated him.

“Wind—” Ashina Yugu called out hoarsely.

"Khan!" Wei Zijun bent down and tucked the blanket around Ashina Yugu.

"Feng, I'm afraid I can't hold on much longer. I'm planning to..."

"Khan!" Wei Zijun interrupted him, "Don't worry too much, this cold is a minor ailment, Khan will recover soon."

"No, let me finish." Ashina Yugu took a deep breath and continued, "I am entrusting the Western Turkic Khaganate to you. You must protect the Western Turkic Khaganate and its people for me..."

Wei Zijun was startled upon hearing this and refused, saying, "Khan, Wei Feng cannot agree to this. The one who should inherit the Khan's throne is Yehu. Even if it is not Yehu, there is Jiexin Dadushe and Teqin. How could it be Wei Feng's turn? Such a succession is unreasonable and will not be believed by anyone."

“Alas! As you know, although Helu is a talented general, he lacks your foresight. Jiexin Dadushe is too honest and doesn't know how to plan. Teqin is cowardly and unfit for the task. Only you can shoulder the responsibility of protecting the Western Turks. I would not feel at ease entrusting it to any of them.”

"Khan, how can Wei Feng, a Han Chinese from Dayu, inherit the Khanate? The generals will surely be dissatisfied. Rather than start a war, it would be better not to..."

Ashina Yugu raised his hand to interrupt Wei Zijun, "I know some people will be dissatisfied, but for you, subduing them is not a problem. However, if Helu succeeds to the throne, he will only suppress those who are dissatisfied. If this continues, internal strife will arise, and the country will probably fall apart again like before."

“But…” Wei Zijun lowered her head, unsure how to refuse, “Wei Feng is truly incapable of shouldering such a heavy responsibility. Wei Feng still wishes to return to Dayu one day…”

Ashina Yugu looked disappointed upon hearing this. "Feng, is it really that difficult for you to help me guard the Western Turks?"

"......"

"Sigh..." Ashina Yugu sighed and turned away.

Wei Zijun sat there all morning, frowning and deep in thought.

It wasn't that she wanted to betray Ashina Yugu, but if she agreed to his request, she would be unable to return to Dayu, and there might even be a day when they turned against each other. Her heart, all her concerns, were with Dayu.

Seeing Ashina Yugu's disappointed eyes, she felt a pang of sadness in her heart, saddened that she couldn't help him. It was all because she was too soft-hearted, making this rejection so heavy.