Zhurou

Chapter 275 Extra Self-Recommendation

The sky had been gloomy for several days in a row, but the snow had not fallen.

At noon that day, Zhao Mingzhi took a short nap. When he woke up, he heard the sound of wind outside. He lifted the curtain and saw that the room was still dark, with only a faint light in the corner.

Mo Xiang was sitting by the lamp looking at the account book. When he heard the noise, he quickly put down what he was doing and brought the candle over.

Zhao Mingzhi leaned on the bed and asked her, "Why is it so dark outside? Is it snowing?"

Mo Xiang replied, "It has been raining for a while. It's not heavy now, but the wind is blowing loudly and the sky is very dark."

Hearing that it was snowing, Zhao Mingzhi stopped lying down and slowly got up and put on his shoes.

Mo Xiang went forward and lit the candle beside the bed, then turned to the door to urge for tea, and finally said: "The weather is bad now. If there is a heavy snow, I am afraid that everything will be expensive for several days. If Your Highness wants to eat anything, you might as well tell him, and I will ask them to prepare it early to avoid delays."

Since the topic of food came up, Zhao Mingzhi thought of the urgent report he received from the court a few days ago.

Because the scattered soldiers of Qian Weiwu's former subordinates in Qianzhou were in rebellion and colluding with bandits, the local officers and soldiers were few in number and weak in strength, so they tried to pacify them at first, but failed and the envoys were killed instead. They had no choice but to send troops to suppress them, but failed, which made the bandits even stronger.

The Privy Council discussed the matter for a long time, but it was inconvenient to mobilize troops because it was midwinter. Even though the Di people in the north had been badly defeated, they still had to be on guard. There were also several other places where rebellions broke out. In this difficult time, Wei Chengyan wrote a letter to recommend himself, saying that he had an old acquaintance with the leader of one of the teams, and he wanted to go and recruit them.

After weighing the pros and cons, the Privy Council had no reason to object, so Zhao Hong agreed immediately. He just had to wait for the troops to be counted and he would lead his men to the southwest in a few days.

It was precisely because of this that Pei Yong and Wei Chengyan had been in the West Camp for several days in a row. They finally sent a letter back in the morning, saying that they would set out the day after tomorrow, and wanted to come back tonight for a meal and a drink while taking advantage of the day off tomorrow.

Looking at the current weather, Zhao Mingzhi was a little worried. He was afraid that Wei Chengyan would encounter windy and snowy weather when he was traveling, which would make the road even more difficult to travel.

But the mission was at hand and time waited for no one. There was no point in worrying at this moment. She put those thoughts aside and ordered a few meat dishes that Wei Chengyan liked to eat, and selected a few wines. Just as she had distributed them, she heard a message coming from outside. It turned out that the gatehouse had received a letter sent back from Jiangnan West Road, which was a report from Minzhou on the harvest of the newly planted rice seeds, and a lot of rice from the autumn harvest had been sent back.

Zhao Mingzhi asked the messenger to come in and asked him about various situations in detail. He then asked him to record them one by one and prepare to compile them into a document to be sent to the Ministry of Agriculture for careful study.

Mo Xiang listened for a while, and when the others left, he saw Zhao Mingzhi was only looking down at the report sent from the field. After hesitating for a moment, he stepped forward and said, "Your Highness, when the spring thaws, I think Yu Shuang will be able to come back soon. I will go to Minzhou then."

Zhao Mingzhi was a little surprised and asked, "What does this mean?"

Mo Xiang said, "Last year, your highness ordered people to plant new rice seeds in several places in Minzhou. There are many varieties and the area is large. Although there are agricultural officials sent by the court and local people, after all, the mountains are high and the waters are far away. What is going on here cannot necessarily be understood by just relying on these written exchanges."

"It has been several months since the autumn harvest. No matter how much you say that the journey is long, nothing should be delivered until now. Even if the rice harvest is slow, half a year has passed. Can't a few documents be delivered? Your Highness has sent people to urge them repeatedly, but only a few pages of documents have been delivered before. The explanation is unclear and I don't know why."

At this point, she raised her head and continued, "Although others are capable, they may not be as meticulous as me. Moreover, I have personally watched Your Highness arrange this matter from beginning to end. I know Your Highness's thoughts best. I have also been farming outside the city for several months. Although I cannot say that I am very good at it, I have a rough idea of ​​it. If there are no one or two trustworthy people watching over such an important task, how can I feel at ease?"

"Yu Shuang is seriously injured. Even if she recovers, she can't travel long distances again. Besides, His Highness can't be away from anyone for a long time. But I am different. Although I don't have any martial arts skills, I can always speak better than her. When I go to Minzhou, even if there are many things I don't know, I can always ask others, right? Those agricultural officials fooled me. I asked the old farmers in the fields, but they couldn't explain clearly. I followed them to plant from morning to night. Even if my writing skills are ordinary, can't I write it down in plain words?"

"It doesn't have to be this day next year. In just seven or eight months, with me watching from the south, I can pick out some good rice seeds for Your Highness. By then, I can really find rice seeds that can be harvested two or three times a year. No matter what kind of rice it is, it can fill your stomach and you won't starve to death, right?"

As she spoke, she straightened her back even more, and looked like she was eager to try.

Zhao Mingzhi was already worried about the farmland in Minzhou, and he knew that food was the most important thing for the people. Now that the Di people had retreated, although there were occasional chaos in other places, they were nothing more than minor problems. The new rice seeds were what was really important. When he heard Mo Xiang recommend himself, he really felt like a sleepy person hitting the pillow.

But farming has never been an easy thing, especially after I found a field in the west of the city. I worked hard for several months and had someone help me take care of it, but I only got a little millet. Now I am going to the distant place of Minzhou, and the hardships will surely be even greater.

She was still hesitating when Mo Xiang came over and half sat on the small table next to Zhao Mingzhi. She said seriously, "I know Your Highness feels that Minzhou is far away and the farm work is hard. He must feel sorry for me because I am unfamiliar with the place. But I also want to help Your Highness. Someone has to do this kind of thing. Does Your Highness think that others can be more capable than me?"

When she said the last sentence, her mouth was a little deflated.

Zhao Mingzhi was amused by what she said. He could not help but hold her arm and approach her to chat with her. He said, "With your usual behavior and talents, I will not worry about you as long as you go to Minzhou. However, it is a long way from home and I don't know what the situation is like there. If you really can't adapt to the climate or encounter any difficulties, you should not be stubborn and go back to Beijing or ask for help. Your face is not as important as your own safety. Do you know that?"

Mo Xiang leaned against her for a while and hummed softly, thinking in his heart: Your Highness is always thinking about those rice seeds. Even though he is a royal family, he still has to go to the fields every day. When he has free time, he can find agricultural books to read, or find old farmers to teach him. Yu Shuang and I have followed Your Highness for many years. She was able to risk her life to accompany him to Jingzhao Prefecture. Although I don’t have that ability, can’t I help do something in Minzhou?

The thought of being away from the capital again and being alone made him feel a little uncomfortable, and he felt that the future was unpredictable. So he leaned on Zhao Mingzhi's arm and stayed close to her.

Zhao Mingzhi added, "Minzhou is a national affair after all. I will go to the palace tomorrow to discuss it with Hong'er, and I will send one or two trusted men from his side to go with him. You should also go back and think about it in the next two days, and see who in the palace is suitable to help you."

When it came to business, Mo Xiang perked up. He thought about several eunuchs he was familiar with, evaluating which one was more reliable and down-to-earth, and then discussed them with Zhao Mingzhi one by one.

As the two were discussing, the sky was getting darker, and then they heard someone outside report that Pei Yong and Wei Chengyan had returned.

After Zhao Mingzhi finished packing, she went to the side hall. As soon as she entered, she saw Wei Chengyan, who was still wearing his clothes and standing by the table picking at a bowl of fruit.

He picked and chose from them, choosing those that did not need to be peeled, and regardless of what they were, he picked them up and put them into his mouth one after another.

Zhao Mingzhi called him hurriedly and said, "The kumquat is sour."

But it was too late.

Wei Chengyan took a bite of the fruit and couldn't tell what was inside. Just as he was about to swallow it, he heard Zhao Mingzhi talking. In fact, his voice entered his ears first. However, before he could react, the sour taste had already entered his throat. It was useless to spit it out, so he had to swallow it with a frown. It was so sour that tears came out. He cried and said, "Why is it so sour!"

Zhao Mingzhi hurriedly sent someone to urge the food to be served and brought him tea.

Wei Chengyan took the tea, gulped down a few big mouthfuls, then sat there eagerly waiting for the meat to be served. He also talked to Zhao Mingzhi about the weather outside: "It's snowing hard outside the city. Old Xue and the others said that we have a day off tomorrow, so they let us stay in the camp to ride out the snow. But I missed your delicious food and wine, and my second brother missed you too, so we both wanted to come back. We left the camp before dawn and have only just got home now - I'm so hungry that my hands are shaking!"

He complained again, "I haven't even set out yet, but a few of my brothers heard that I was going to Qianzhou to persuade them to surrender. I don't know who told them that there was a gold mine somewhere, and they all urged me to bring back local specialties. They don't want anything else but gold. Am I going to dig for the mine? Or do they think I look like a mine?"

Ever since Wei Chengyan decided to go to Qianzhou to pacify the rebels, Zhao Mingzhi had been a little worried about him, but he didn't take it seriously. From what he said, it seemed as if his brothers in the camp didn't think there was anything wrong.

But he was alone in a chaotic army camp with many bandits inside, so he knew the danger.

However, since he was full of confidence and had successfully pacified several rebels not long ago, Zhao Mingzhi did not want to comment, and was even more unwilling to say anything unlucky before leaving. He just smiled, took the wine brought by the servant, poured a glass for Wei Chengyan first, and then said with a smile: "Brother Chengyan, if others have it, then I also want the gold you dug!"

Wei Chengyan's eyes widened: "You actually come to join in the fun! Where can I get so much gold? There is no gold, only this hundred pounds of meat, mostly lean and not fat, do you want it?"

As he said this, he raised his elbow and extended it to Zhao Mingzhi.

Zhao Mingzhi couldn't help laughing, his worries were wiped away by these words, he said with a smile: "You only weigh about 100 pounds in total, I want all of them, what about the brothers in the camp?" "You and my second brother should fatten me up, and the extra meat should be given to them!" Wei Chengyan said bluntly, "I will be eating and drinking here for a long time anyway, I really don't have much meat, I'll be sorry for them!"

They were chatting and laughing here, and when Pei Yong came in, the dishes had already been served.

The three of them toasted each other and enjoyed themselves till nearly midnight.

Because it was to see Wei Chengyan off, Zhao Mingzhi had to drink a few more cups. He was drunk and finally couldn't suppress his worry. He asked, "Brother Wei San, you are going to Qianzhou with only a team of people. Is it really okay?"

Wei Chengyan drank and laughed, "If I wasn't sure, I wouldn't have taken this job. Qianzhou has been in contact with them, but I can't persuade them, and I can't destroy them. If I fail again, my second brother will have to go there himself. He is very close to you, and he will help you to look after the situation in the capital. If I really do this, I'm afraid I will be killed by you three!"

Zhao Mingzhi listened carefully at first, but after hearing the last few sentences, he couldn't wait until later and wanted to use chopsticks to shut the man in front of him up.

She reached out and pressed the wine pot in Wei Chengyan's hand, saying, "Brother Chengyan has drunk too much and is talking nonsense. Forget about the remaining pot - I'll keep it for you and drink it when you return victorious."

Wei Chengyan was so frightened that he quickly took back the wine, and said with a smile: "I was wrong, I was wrong, and it's not okay! Such good wine cannot be bought with gold and silver outside, and it can only be drunk in my own house. Second brother is always in charge of me, and it's not easy for me to indulge myself this time. Dear sister-in-law, please forgive me!"

Hearing him calling her sister-in-law nonsense, Zhao Mingzhi was even more unwilling to let go. She laughed and scolded, "If you keep talking nonsense, don't even think about drinking this little wine!" Then she took the cup lid and covered the wine bowl in front of him.

The two of them quarreled loudly, and Pei Yong just watched from the side without intervening.

Wei Chengyan laughed for a while, then said seriously: "The besieged city of Kuizhou is just to the north, and below it is Yuanzhou. The commander of Yuanzhou is an old subordinate of my second brother, and he is very familiar with me. His Majesty has sent a close attendant to accompany me. If there is anything wrong, it won't be too late to ask him to help transfer troops from Yuanzhou - anyway, it won't be necessary for my second brother to come to rescue me!"

He chuckled again, "But if you have time, why not wait until things are settled and come to Qianzhou to play with me? I heard there is a big gold mine in Qianzhou. I will take you to dig for gold!"

As he was talking, he suddenly felt something was wrong. He turned around and saw Pei Yong looking at him with a half-smile on his face.

Wei Chengyan was originally drunk, but most of it was scared away in an instant. He sat up straight and said, "I am drunk and talking nonsense! There are many things in the capital that cannot be done without you. How can you run around outside! Second brother, second brother, I think Xiao Zhao is also sleepy. Why don't we stop eating here? I will discuss with you how to arrange it if we really need to transfer troops from Kuizhou and Yuanzhou!"

As he spoke, he winked at Zhao Mingzhi.

When Zhao Mingzhi saw him secretly hiding the remaining pot of wine behind his back, he pretended not to see it, responded with a few words, said he was sleepy, and went back without mentioning it.

She has a very low alcohol tolerance and gets drunk easily. She drank a few too many glasses tonight and even had difficulty walking straight. As it was too late, she didn't dare to drink tea. She only took two sips of hangover drink and washed up before she heard Mo Xiang asking her if she wanted to take a warm bath tonight.

Since the beginning of winter, Zhao Mingzhi always had cold hands and feet. Last time, she went to the village west of the city and took a bath in the warm water. She felt it was very useful. After coming back, she often took a bath. After thinking about it, she agreed. Who knew that she was a little drunk after just a quarter of an hour. She was not really drunk, but her brain was dull and could not think at all. She simply slowly curled up in the quilt. She wanted to ask Pei Yong, but as soon as she lay down, she forgot everything.

***

Perhaps it was midnight, or perhaps even earlier. Zhao Mingzhi was half asleep when he heard some noise beside him. He tried to open his eyes and saw Pei Yong sitting beside the bed, leaning over to look at his head.

She felt hot all over, so she rolled out of the quilt, leaned on him and called him "Second Brother".

Pei Yong responded in a low voice, hugged her and tested the temperature, and advised softly: "Next time you drink alcohol, don't take a warm bath. Alcohol and blood are hot. If you stay for a long time, the blood will inevitably surge up. I'm afraid you'll have a headache tomorrow."

Zhao Mingzhi felt tired after listening to this. He said "hmm" and closed his eyes again.

Pei Yong lowered his head and tucked the quilt for her, then stood up again and said something to Mo Xiang in the outer room. He went out of the door, and after a long while, he came back with a drink.

The drink was warm and cool, and tasted sour at first and then bitter, with a very strong astringent taste. Zhao Mingzhi tasted the flavor and refused to touch it again. He tried to push the bowl away several times, but couldn't, so he tried to push Pei Yong's hand away again.

Pei Yong put his hand back for a moment, then moved closer to her and advised her softly, "It can sober you up and dispel the wind. Drink some more."

Zhao Mingzhi had no choice but to drink two more sips, and then said, "It's sour and bitter, second brother, I don't want to drink it anymore."

As she spoke, she stretched out her hand to push it away again, but when it touched Pei Yong's palm, she felt it was unusually cold and murmured, "Why is my second brother's hand so cold?"

Pei Yong was about to persuade her again, but she was so dizzy and spoke so slowly that she could barely open her eyes. She even tried to pull his hand and put it in her arms to keep warm. Her heart felt like it was soaked in sugar water, so he could not persuade her. He could only put the bowl aside and whispered, "I just came in from outside and was blown by the wind and snow. I will warm myself up in a while. Go to sleep."

Zhao Mingzhi refused to sleep, and half-closed his eyes as he moved in. He grabbed Pei Yong and said, "I'll warm your hands, second brother."

She was a little drunk and was talking nonsense. Because she couldn't pull Pei Yong's hand away, she simply pushed it out and put her face in his palm. She was so cold that she shivered, but still refused to move away, muttering to herself, "It's so cold."

Pei Yong wanted to pull out several times, but was afraid of hurting her, so he could only say: "Please let go. I just went through the snow and I feel cold all over..."

When Zhao Mingzhi heard the word "cold and yin", he slowly stood up, came close to him, kissed him randomly, and said, "I'm not afraid of cold and yin. I just took a warm bath and my body is full of yang energy..."

The wine she drank in the evening was called Qingquan, which was a fruit wine. When she got close to him, she brought a sweet fruit aroma with her, and the refreshing fragrance of her body. When she kissed him, her lips were very soft, like a light cloud, and like a very gentle breeze, blowing across Pei Yong's face.

Pei Yong had no strength to dodge, and he even moved away a little at first, fearing that his face would be too cold. However, after being kissed a few times by Zhao Mingzhi, he unconsciously stopped moving.

Zhao Mingzhi was frozen twice, but gradually got used to it. Since she was feeling hot all over, she found the coolness strangely comfortable and clung to him, refusing to let go.

Pei Yong was too fond of this and simply stopped dodging. He couldn't help but put his hands on her neck and kissed her back vigorously.

Zhao Mingzhi was kissed until he was dizzy and could hardly breathe. He was drunk and refused to give in. He was even more unwilling to be inferior to others. He tried to turn over several times, but because he was too weak, he made a humming sound and called for "Second Brother" in a vague way.

She screamed anxiously and kissed him wildly, so Pei Yong had to let go, hastily pulled off his outer garment, and let her fall on top of him.

Zhao Mingzhi clearly had the upper hand, but she always felt something was wrong. Apart from hugging him closely and kissing him randomly, she had no other ideas. She just felt hot in the quilt, so hot that her fingers and toes were damp.

The hands and face of the man under her were originally very comfortable due to the coolness, but once his clothes were undressed, his body was like a stove, especially his chest, which was so hot that she could not stand it at all. After sticking to him for a while, she wanted to turn over again, but when she turned over halfway, she felt sleepy, hot, drunk and tired, and muttered "Second Brother" in her mouth. Her eyes were closed, and her mind gradually went blank. She actually fell asleep like this.

Pei Yong was the only one left, and he held the person in his arms, still waiting with his head down. As he waited, he saw the person's voice gradually become softer, his breathing becoming more even, and the arms around him slowly loosening. Only then did he react and burst out laughing.

It was snowing hard outside, and one could faintly hear the cold wind whistling through the corridors, branches, or open spaces, but there was a little light inside the house.

Pei Yong held Zhao Mingzhi, who was sleeping soundly, in his arms. It was hard to describe the strange feeling in his heart, only comfort and security.

With the help of a candlelight beside the bed, he looked at Zhao Mingzhi's sleeping face for a while, then slowly turned his head, put his head against hers, and kissed her cheek very lightly.