Do you know: I am Xu Jiazi

Chapter 557: Surname Hu, Name Delu [Thank you! Thank you again! 43k more to go]

One thousand eight hundred miles northwest of Bianjing,
Yunnei State,
Jiuyuan City,
The sparse snow that fell a few days ago made the city inside and outside a gray and white patchwork.

Although the sky was clear, the wind was bitingly cold.

Not far from the city wall, there is a large and sprawling military camp of the Great Zhou Dynasty. The chimneys on the roofs of the barracks emit green smoke from burning charcoal for heating.

It was cold in winter, and most soldiers hid in the barracks to hibernate. Moreover, if they caught a cold or frostbite, they would lose troops, so there was not much call for training in the camp.

In front of the central army tent surrounded by barracks, a large flag with the word "Xu" fluttered in the north wind.

Not far from the big flagpole,
On the road leading to the main gate of the military camp,
A team of patrolling soldiers walked by with fairly orderly steps, breathing out white air.

After walking for a while,
"drive!"

A voice came from far away.

It turned out to be a postman at the distant gate, with a flag on his back to verify his identity, whipping his horse and rushing towards the central army tent.

The postman was dressed quite warmly, wrapped up like a ball in a warm leather and cotton coat.

At the gate of the central army tent, several Xu family soldiers stood solemnly, looked at the running postman, and hurriedly took two steps forward.

"唏伦~"

The panting horse was reined in.

Xu's personal soldiers hurried forward and helped the dusty and clumsy postman to dismount from his horse.

"Thank you very much! Thank you very much!"

The postman's legs were weak as he landed on the ground. He thanked the postman while shakily unbuttoning his leather coat. He took out a bamboo tube from his bosom and said, "Military reports from Bianjing!"

A personal soldier of the Xu family took the bamboo tube, turned around and walked quickly into the barracks.

The guards outside the door patted the dust off the postman, looked at the middle-aged postman, and said with a smile: "You have had a hard time on the journey! Go and warm up, and drink some hot soup to drive away the cold!"

The postman smiled and nodded repeatedly, stamped his feet, and said with white breath: "Okay! Every time I come to deliver a letter, I miss this hot meat soup in our camp."

The Xu family soldier smiled and said, "You are not the only one who is concerned about us. We are the same. It's a pity that ordinary people can't drink this broth."

Hearing this, the postman smiled again and nodded, saying, "It's because I deliver so many messages that I know General Xu is in the camp outside the city. Otherwise, I would have to travel a lot more distance to get into the city."

The Xu family's personal soldiers smiled and nodded, while the postman bowed, led the horse and walked towards the barracks nearby.

The barracks of the central army tent are made of earth and wood.
It was built very tall.

Its shape is just like the main house in the north wing of a wealthy family in Bian Jing, but the materials used are very simple.

Because there are no partitions in the house, only wooden pillars supporting the roof.
Therefore, one can see from the east wall to the west wall at a glance, and the house is extremely spacious.

In the barracks, a huge map is hung on the north wall of the central gate, and in front of the map is a waist-high, oversized sand table with very fine proportions.

If you look closely at the terrain on the sand table, you can see that it includes not only the terrain of the nearby Great Zhou territory, but more of the Northern Liao to the east.

Next to the sand table,
Xu Zaidan, the son of the Yongyi Marquis, stood there in a brocade cotton coat, holding a hand warmer that showed signs of use. He smiled at the captain beside him and said:
"Junyi, it's not a good idea for you to hide in the camp all the time! You should find some time to go back to Daming Mansion and meet the woman your parents told you about!"

Lu Junyi looked at the sand table in front of him with an irritated look on his face and said, "Hurry, hurry, hurry! They're urging me to see you at the end of the year, and they're still urging me to see you after the New Year! I'm so annoyed!"

Zhang Fangsong, the third son of Duke Ying, who was standing next to Zaiduan, said with a smile, "Brother Yi, the ancients said there are three types of unfilial behavior: having no descendants and no great-grandparents. You should listen to Brother Xu and go home to see his parents."

Several older lieutenants looked at the handsome Lu Junyi and said with a smile: "Brother Yi, I heard that you are still a virgin? You have to try this woman to know how good she is."

Hearing this, Lu Junyi glared at Xu Dalang. Xu Zaiduan quickly shook his head and said with a smile: "I didn't say that!"

Lu Junyi then turned to look at his fellow apprentice Wu Song.

Seeing that his junior fellow didn't dare to look him in the eye, Lu Junyi clenched his fists and said, "Erlang, we haven't exercised for a long time! Let's warm up later, you can choose between the cavalry and the infantry!"

I don’t know if it was because of the news that Lu Junyi was a rookie, or because the usually powerful Wu Song was going to be trained, but in any case, a burst of suppressed laughter was heard in the barracks.

When Wu Song was about to beg for mercy with an embarrassed look on his face, Xu's personal soldier lifted the cotton curtain, walked in quickly with a bamboo tube in his hand, bowed and said to Xu Zaiduan: "General, military report from Bianjing."

As soon as these words were spoken, the huge room quickly became quiet.

Xu Zaiduan put down the hand warmer, took the bamboo tube, looked at Zhang Fangsong, and walked behind the screen.

Looking at the two generals walking away, the commanders and lieutenants standing by the sand table began to discuss in a low voice.

Sitting down at the table behind the screen, Xu Zaiduan checked the seal mark, took out the military report written in secret code from the bamboo tube, and handed it to the military clerk beside him.

Zhang Fangsong, the third son of the Zhang family, whose mouth was dry from talking just now, brought a small copper kettle with warm water and filled a bowl with water for Zai, and said, "Brother Xu, what do you think is going to happen?"

Zaiduan thought for a moment and said, "Years ago, my little Wu caused such a commotion at the Bei Liao Posthouse and even arrested people from the diplomatic corps! I'm sure Bei Liao will not let this go."

Zhang Fangsong filled his bowl with water again and nodded, "The man that Jing'er caught must be someone extraordinary, as the Imperial City Division is holding on to him and won't let him go!"

Zaiduan picked up the water bowl and took a sip, saying, "I don't know what big shot he is."

Zhang Fangsong glanced at the clerk who was still translating the military report, and whispered to Zaiduan, "Brother Xu, I see that there are several lieutenants and colonels in your army who are quite powerful! Can you give them up and transfer them to my army?"

Looking at Xu Zaiduan's eyes, Zhang Fangsong said, "Brother, I promise that he will be by my side when he is transferred here! I will guarantee him a future and will not treat him unfairly!"

Xu Zaiduan glanced at the clerk who was looking puzzled not far away, and said with a smile: "Okay!"

After a while, the clerk walked over here while blowing the wet ink on the paper: "General."

Zaiduan glanced at the clerk's somewhat awkward expression again, then reached out and took the paper with few words on it.

"Brother Xu, drink some water."

Zhang Jiasanlang said with a smile.

Xu Zaidu nodded, picked up the bowl of water, took a deep breath, and began to drink water while reading the contents on the paper.

The first sentence is normal, which means that my father, Marquis Yongyi, will return to the north at the end of the month.

However, although he knew the following few words, he still couldn't understand how the sentence was put together!

"Hello~"

Water got into the trachea.

"puff!!!"

Xu Zaiduan, who was reading the military newspaper, quickly turned his head, and the water he had just drunk sprayed out of his nose and mouth as mist.

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Xu Zaiduan coughed violently.

Hearing the noise, the military commanders and captains outside the screen all turned their heads to look.

Zhang Fangsong on the side hurried forward to help Xu Zaiduan pat his back.

"Cough cough!"

"Brother Xu, what's wrong? Is there something serious?" Zhang Fangsong asked Zaiduan with concern.

"cough!"

Zaiduan cleared his throat and waved his hand, "It's nothing, I just got a stitch in the side by accident."

After saying that, Zaiduan stood up straight, wiped the water stains from the corners of his mouth, and after thinking for a moment, he looked at Zhang Fangsong and said, "Sanlang, how old was the Duke of Ying when she was pregnant with Wu Niang?"

Zhang Fangsong blinked his eyes and said, "My mother was in her forties at the time! Brother Xu, why are you asking this?"

Zhang Fangsong's mind raced, and he said in astonishment, "It can't be Madam Sun."

Xu Zaidan forced a smile and nodded helplessly.

The fourteenth day of the first lunar month,

The last hour of the morning (after 9:00 a.m.)
The Lantern Festival is approaching.

The city of Bianjing was bustling with activity.
Colorful lights have been hung on the doors of many houses in the streets and alleys.

Outside the Yongtai Gate of the Outer City,

In the corridor on the second floor of a wooden building with a banner in front of the door that read "Wang Family Long-term Residence", a girl in plain clothes was walking with folded clothes in her arms.

Standing in front of a guest room, the girl holding the clothes said, "Brother, open the door!"

"it is good!"

After a moment's response, Hua Rong, who was previously in Bozhou, opened the door.

The girl stepped into the house, put the clothes in her hands on the table, turned around and said with a smile: "Brother, if you stay in the Wang family for a long time, you can not only borrow the copper bucket, but I heard from the shopkeeper that the old man of the hair cleaning society is also here."

"We came a little late yesterday, and the father-in-law of the hair salon went home after dark! Brother, the Rong family is a marquisate, I think you should let the father-in-law help you take care of your hair and beard!" "You are neat and tidy, and the young master of the Rong family will feel comfortable when he sees you."

Listening to his sister's words, Hua Rong touched his hair, pondered for a moment and nodded: "Okay!"

Seeing her brother agreed, Hua Yan smiled and said, "Let's go!"

After saying that, the brother and sister closed the door and walked downstairs.

When the brother and sister arrived on the first floor,
There was a girl about the same age as Hua Yan, talking to her father behind the counter.

Seeing the strong and handsome Hua Rong, the girl couldn't help but look up. When she saw Hua Yan, the girl's eyes darkened, but when she heard Hua Yan calling her "brother", the girl's eyes lit up again.

When the brother and sister passed by the counter, Hua Rong smiled and nodded to the shopkeeper.

The shop girl immediately lowered her head shyly.

Watching the brother and sister walking towards their father-in-law who was doing hair treatments not far away on the first floor, the shop girl tugged at her father's clothes and said, "Dad~"

The shopkeeper was also satisfied with the handsome Hua Rong. Looking at his daughter's appearance, he smiled and said, "Okay, okay, I'll ask someone."

"Thank you dad!"

"If they are engaged and married, forget it."

"Ah."

"Keep an eye on the counter."

As he spoke, the shopkeeper walked out of the counter and headed towards the Hua siblings.

Here

The old man, who was just loosening his hair bun, asked with a smile, "Sir, you are really handsome. Where are you going today?"

Before Hua Rong could speak, Hua Yan smiled at the old woman who was helping out and said, "We are going to visit the Fuchang Marquis's Mansion!"

"Oh! Fuchang Marquis Mansion? That's a rich and powerful family!" The old man said with a smile. When he walked nearby, the shopkeeper who heard this conversation stopped.

After looking at Hua Rong and then back at his girl, the shopkeeper shook his head and walked back to the counter.

Hua Rong looked at the strands of hair that occasionally fell in front of him, and felt the thin blade in the old man's hand cutting his hair, and said, "Old man, your craftsmanship is really exquisite!"

"Haha, thank you for the compliment, I have been doing this business for decades."

"No wonder! Is this your wife?"

Smiling and glancing at the old woman beside him, the old man said, "Yes!"

The old woman looked at Hua Yan and said, "Sir, I am also good at braiding hair. How about you try it, young lady?"

Hua Rong glanced at his sister and said with a smile, "Okay! Thank you, Grandma!"

The old woman smiled and said to Hua Yan, "Miss, please sit here." After that, she turned around and took out a bronze mirror from the side.

Feeling the thin blade on his temple, Hua Rong asked for conversation: "May I know your name, father-in-law?"

The old man looked at Hua Rong's hair intently and said, "Sir, my surname is Hu and my name is Delu."

"Oh! It's Mr. Hu!"

Mr. Hu smiled and nodded, put the thin blade in his hand aside, and began to tie Hua Rong's hair into a bun again.

Soon, looking at himself in the bronze mirror, Hua Rong nodded with satisfaction.

At this time, the old woman at the side said, "Sir! How do you do the most popular bun hairstyle for girls in Bianjing?"

Mr. Hu glanced at Hua Rong, and Hua Rong, understanding what he meant, smiled and nodded.

Only then did Mr. Hu go to the side to wash his hands, walk to Hua Yan and start to tie up her hair.

While combing her hair, he explained the key points of the movements to his wife in a scolding tone.

The old woman smiled at Hua Rong embarrassedly and said, "Please forgive me, sir. I am clumsy and cannot compare with my husband."

after awhile,

After Mr. Hu found a light yellow headband and tied it on Huayan, he was very satisfied. He kept looking at Huayan in the bronze mirror and said, "What a coincidence."

Glancing at Hua Rong, Hu Laozhang continued, "I heard that the hairstyle that is popular among the girls in the boudoir was learned from the daughter of Fuchang Hou Rong's family!"

"Oh?"

Hua Rong was a little surprised.

Mr. Hu smiled and nodded, saying, "Most of the things that are popular among the girls in the boudoirs of Bianjing first became popular among the noble ladies of the dukes and marquises, and then slowly spread to the people in the market."

"Before, there was acupuncture, and later there was burning incense with lychee shells, and so on."

Looking at Hua Yan, who was smiling and listening, Mr. Hu continued, "I remember when I first followed my master into the industry, 90% of the things that girls liked the most were first started by the only daughter of the Yongyi Marquis's family!"

"They change the moves every four or five days. I'm a clumsy woman and it's hard to learn. But I got scolded by the master!"

"Hey! I don't know how the mother next to that noble lady came up with all those tricks!"

"What happens next?" Hua Yan asked with a blink.

"After that? After that, the noble lady from the Yongyi Marquis family married a scholar who won the third place in the imperial examination, and gradually there was no news about her in the capital!"

After Mr. Hu finished speaking, Hua Rong pointed to the light yellow headband on his sister's head and said, "What does this color of headband mean?"

Mr. Hu and his wife looked at each other and shook their heads, saying, "I really can't explain why. I just suddenly got into the mood!"

The old woman nodded and said, "I heard that without this color of material, many mothers who do business can't enter the house!"

Hearing this, Hua Yan touched the headband on her head and asked, "Well, how much is this headband?"

Rong family,

Back to the snowy courtyard,
Rong Feiyan, wearing a crimson furry cloak, walked out with her maid.

After walking through the corridor and passing through the door, we soon arrived at the main hall in the front yard.

Before she even entered the house, Rong Feiyan heard her brother Rong Xian's laughter: "Hahahaha, Dalang, you even fixed your hair? I've seen you at your most miserable! Why bother? Hahaha!"

At the door, seeing Rong Feiyan and her group, the maid announced, "The third young lady is here!"

Rong Feiyan, wearing a cloak, lowered her head and walked through the cotton curtain. She walked around a light-colored screen and saw a brother and sister who were sitting on chairs at one side of the hall and were getting up.

"I have met the third lady!"

Hua Rong bowed and Hua Yan bowed somewhat stiffly.

"You are very polite. You must have had a hard time coming to Beijing in winter. Please take a seat."

"It's not hard, it's not hard!" Hua Yan looked up at Rong Feiyan, then waved her hands stupidly and said.

Xibu and Ningxiang, who were standing behind Rong Feiyan, smiled at each other with ambiguous meanings after seeing Hua Erniang's hairstyle and the light yellow headband.

Rong Feiyan walked towards her seat and asked, "Brother, where is mother?"

Rong Xian curled his lips and said, "Mother is here, her nose is not a nose, her mouth is not a mouth, I will ask her to go back first."

Looking at the Hua brothers and sisters, Rong Feiyan nodded.

"Da Lang, you didn't bring Second Mother with you last time you came. Now I see that Second Mother seems to have some Kung Fu skills?" Rong Xian said to Hua Rong after she sat down.

"Yes! Second Mother has practiced martial arts with me since she was a child, so her skills are pretty good."

Rong Xian smiled and nodded. After looking at Rong Feiyan, he said, "It's urgent. Xu Hou will go to the north in the next two days! Let's go to Xu's house first and ask Wu Lang to take a look at you! I hope to find a good future for you!"

"Yong, Marquis Yongyi?" Hua Rong asked in surprise.

Rong Xian smiled and nodded: "Yes!"

Hua Rong stood up, bowed deeply and said, "Thank you, Second Young Master!"

"Why are you telling me this! Come on! Sister, have fun with Second Mother!"

Rong Feiyan smiled and said, "I know, brother."

"Brother," Hua Er Niang called out hesitantly.

Rong Xian glanced at his sister, then at Hua Er Niang, and said with a change of eyes: "Sister, it makes sense for you to accompany Er Niang to Xu's house. Together?"

"Yes!" Rong Feiyan nodded heavily.

(End of this chapter)