Border Cook

Chapter 705 Good News, Bad News

"Of course." Cen Ying grinned, "But you probably won't be able to drink at this wedding. When you have time in the future, you can come to Jinqiu County to see me. But by then, I might have a few more children around me."

"Baby?" Xu Chong frowned even more, "Where did the baby come from? I've never heard of a person giving birth to a baby in my life!"

Seeing Cen Ying remained silent, Xu Chong curled his lips and said, "Your words are only meant to deceive His Highness. Can you really deceive me?"

"But didn't you help me cover up the lie?" Cen Ying raised her eyebrows.

Xu Chong was speechless for a moment, and after a long while he sighed, "After all, this is good for everyone."

Yes, it’s good for everyone.

Just when Xiao Luoan needed to consolidate his foundation, the marriage into the Qin family was of great help to him.

But the Qin family also has its own pride and cannot tolerate many things.

As a female guard who followed Xiao Luoan through life and death and accompanied him day and night, she would naturally be an eyesore and would be criticized, causing the Qin family to be talked about a lot behind their backs.

So, she had to disappear.

Disappeared from her side before Xiao Luoan officially started planning her wedding.

Xiao Luoan obviously realized this, so he planned to send her away for a few years under the pretext of taking care of the farm, and then arrange for her to be by his side after the situation was stable.

It's considered well-intentioned.

If it were another woman, she would definitely be moved by his sincerity, follow his arrangements, and wait for the reunion in the future.

But, she is Cen Ying.

The relationship she longed for was always one between two people.

There is no forced acting according to the circumstances, nor is there any forced consideration of the overall situation. Her heart and eyes should be filled with only her.

But, he is the third prince, and now he is His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

It was destined that he could not do so, and it was also destined that the two of them could not be together.

Rather than suffering and struggling for a lifetime, it is better not to speak at the beginning.

If there is no beginning, there will be no end.

There will be no heart-wrenching, helpless sadness.

It is better to suffer a short pain than a long one. It is the best choice for her to leave now.

But what Cen Ying didn't expect was that Xu Chong could see it so clearly.

Cen Ying didn't know when Xu Chong realized this, nor did she know how he understood it, but it was meaningless to pursue it now.

Cen Ying did not respond to Xu Chong's words, but handed the short dagger that she had used very well to Xu Chong, "This is for you."

Xu Chong paused, then reached out to take it.

This dagger is Cen Ying's personal weapon. Logically speaking, she shouldn't need something that is very useful to her when she is wandering around.

But since Cen Ying had already made up his mind to leave, he left this thing behind as a thought.

Watching and playing with it from time to time is like seeing a close friend from the past.

This is how seeing something reminds us of someone.

"I don't have anything to give you." Xu Chong searched in his pocket for a long time and took out a wrinkled banknote. "I have saved this hundred taels of silver for a long time. Please don't despise it."

Xu Chong was a greedy person. Whenever he had one tael of silver on him, he would use eight cents to buy food, and the remaining two cents would be used to buy food the next day.

It is really a rare thing that he can save money.

But the fact that he was willing to give her the silver he had saved with great difficulty showed how much she, as a friend, held in Xu Chong's heart.

Cen Ying rarely smiled at Xu Chong, "You can keep it. I have a lot here, enough for you."

As he spoke, Cen Ying patted his purse.

The silver coins collided with each other, making a clanging sound, and they were quite heavy.

"Are you dissatisfied with the fact that I have too little money?" Xu Chong curled his lips.

"Are you itching for a fight?" Cen Ying raised his eyebrows and reached out to grasp his sword.

Xu Chong subconsciously shrank his neck and curled his lips again, "Okay, okay, okay, you are good at martial arts and you have the final say. You might as well go to Jinqiu County. As long as this sausage stall is reopened, you will not lack money. You will be much richer than me in the future."

"But let me tell you first, I played a big role in the establishment of this sausage stall. You have to remember me. If I have the opportunity to go to Jinqiu County in the future, you have to treat me to a good meal."

"No problem!" Cen Ying agreed readily.

"That's a deal. I want to eat crispy roast duck, steamed pork with rice flour, glutinous rice balls, grass rings, braised lamb, rice noodles with meat..."

A series of dish names came out of Xu Chong's mouth at an extremely fast speed, crackling like beans pouring out of a bamboo tube, which gave Cen Ying a headache.

"So do you want to eat a dish now?" Cen Ying interrupted Xu Chong.

"What dish?" Xu Chong suddenly became interested, his eyes sparkling with light, "Is it delicious?"

"Stir-fried bamboo shoots with meat, of course it's delicious!" Cen Ying reached out to grab the bamboo pole that was usually used to support the window.

Xu Chong, "!!!"

Too much!
Xu Chong rushed out almost as fast as he could. Before he left, he did not forget to say, "You don't know how to appreciate kindness!"

Cen Ying held the bamboo pole and watched Xu Chong leave in embarrassment, and couldn't help laughing out loud.

The hearty laughter, with a hint of joy, all fell into Xiao Luoan's ears.

Xiao Luoan couldn't help but pursed his lips and clenched his fingers.

She was smiling like this when she was leaving, I think she must be happy about this.

Since you are happy, then...

Xiao Luoan turned and left.

As the night deepened, everyone blew out their candles except those on duty.

The candle in Cen Ying's room was also blown out and never lit again.

The next day, when Xiao Luoan was attending the morning court, he stopped and looked around when he reached Cen Ying's house.

After a moment's silence, Xiao Luoan raised his chin slightly and walked out.

The peace agreement with the imperial seal of the Great Zhou Kingdom was quickly delivered to the border, and then from the border to the hands of Li Juncheng, the ruler of the Jinwei Kingdom.

After personally stamping the Jin Wei Kingdom's jade seal, Li Juncheng breathed a sigh of relief and returned one of the copies to the Great Zhou Kingdom.

The peace agreement between the two countries finally returned to the hands of the Emperor of the Great Zhou Kingdom and was properly kept.

The peace talks were successfully concluded. From then on, there was no more war between the Great Zhou and the Jin Wei. The border was peaceful, trade was established, and marriages between the two countries were intermarried...

Relevant regulations were promulgated successively by the imperial court and handed over to local governments and the Western Frontier Army to implement in accordance with the regulations.

Return to hometown, rebuild homes, reduce taxes, support farming... new notices were posted at the gate of the government every day, making the people happier day by day.

Many people who had been away from their homes for many years knelt down in front of the government office excitedly to express their gratitude to the court. Some even sang loudly in the streets with joy and scattered the silver in their purses to show their excitement.

In order to take advantage of the good fortune and bring good luck, many shops on the street offer discounts, free gifts, and some even hand out free candies and snacks at the door.

Every household hung up festive red lanterns, put on new clothes, and lit up fireworks that they would only spend money on during the Chinese New Year...

For a while, the counties, prefectural capitals, and towns adjacent to the border were all filled with joy and excitement, comparable to the Chinese New Year.

The people were happy, and the troops in the western frontier were also extremely happy.

Firstly, it is because there will be peace and no war in the future, and they will no longer have to live on the edge of a knife as they did in the past. Before they close their eyes today, they have to pray to God to bless them so that they can open their eyes again tomorrow.

There is no need to experience the pain of watching a brother who has been through life and death with you fall down in front of you, but being unable to do anything.

Second, the imperial court issued an order to reward the entire Western Frontier Army according to its merits.

From the commander to the soldiers, and even the cooks in the kitchen, all received corresponding rewards based on their military achievements.

Promotion in position and reward in silver and money.

Needless to say, the former is highly respected, and the latter is even more pleasing.

The white silver and heavy copper coins were all put into the purse. He stretched out his hand to weigh it, and it hurt his hand and bent the corners of his lips. He felt that all the life and death experiences over the years were worth it.

The third is that the Western Frontier Army must undergo reforms.

There is no more war at the border, so the Western Frontier Army naturally does not need so many soldiers.

If there were still family members at home who wanted to return home to reunite with their families, the Western Frontier Army would give them a sum of resettlement expenses and then issue a document to the county government where their household registration was located, allowing the county government to make arrangements as appropriate to ensure that the soldiers would have a means of livelihood in the future.

If there is no one at home and you do not want to go home, or your home is nearby, you can consider staying in the army, reclaiming wasteland and farming for the Western Frontier Army to ensure that the Western Frontier Army can be self-sufficient.

During the slack season, they would conduct daily drills to maintain their combat capabilities in order to cope with any unexpected events that might arise in the future. They could also help government offices to suppress bandits and eliminate riots.

In short, the choice is entirely up to the individual, you can come and go freely without any burden, and you will have a good future.

This made all the soldiers cheer out loud.

Especially those soldiers who had been away from home for many years and missed their families very much, after hearing the news, they almost knelt on the spot to thank the commander-in-chief and the current emperor for their kindness.

Those soldiers who had no family and nowhere to go also breathed a sigh of relief at this time. They happily gathered together with other soldiers who were also alone that night, drank a few glasses of wine and had a good time.

Because of these events, the Western Frontier Army was extremely busy during this period.

It is also extremely busy.

After all, with so many rewards to distribute, so many soldiers to deploy, and the future daily arrangements for the Western Frontier Army to plan, no mistakes can be made in any link.

Moreover, several of the military commanders wanted to return to their hometowns and live a few peaceful lives, so the only ones who can still take on important responsibilities in the army now are Fan Honghui, Lu Qiyan, and Xia Yunji.

The three men were in the military camp all day long, so busy that they could almost be described as hitting their heads with their feet. They could not even get more than three hours of sleep every day.

As time went by, the three men all had dark circles under their eyes. Every morning when they met, they would yawn loudly as soon as they opened their mouths.

In order to maintain this state for the whole day, I had to drink a cup of strong tea before breakfast, do a set of powerful boxing and kicking exercises to stretch my muscles, and finally take a bucket of cold water shower to be fully awake.

After finishing this set of procedures, Lu Qiyan and Fan Honghui sat at the dinner table, but there was no sign of Xia Yunji.

Only after both of them had eaten all the biscuits and drank most of the soup in the bowl did Xia Yunji finally arrive and eat his breakfast leisurely.

While eating, there was still a big smile on his face.

Lu Qiyan glanced at him and said nothing.

On the contrary, Fan Honghui could not suppress his inner surprise and asked, "What happened to make Yun Jile look like this?"

"I received a letter from my sister last night." Xia Yunji couldn't suppress the smile on his face, and even his tone was full of joy.

"What's the big deal? I also received a letter from my wife." Lu Qiyan curled his lips unwillingly.

Fan Honghui, "..."

He didn't receive the letter from his younger sister.

Suddenly I felt inferior.

Fan Honghui straightened his back calmly, trying to make himself look taller, and coughed lightly, "But what's the matter with Madam Xia?"

"Commander-in-chief, do you want to hear good news or bad news?" Xia Yunji grinned.

"Well..." Fan Honghui thought for a moment, "It's probably a bad thing."

At least there will be a surprise later.

"I want to take a leave." Xia Yunji raised his chin.

Fan Honghui, "..."

What a bad news.

The military camp is so busy now. Although Xia Yunji is young and has a straightforward personality, he is very reliable and steady in his work. He is his right-hand man.

Now that he suddenly has to take a leave, the remaining tasks will have to be shared between him and Lu Qiyan, which means they will be even busier and more tired than they are now!

Fan Honghui couldn't help but sigh, "Then tell me the good news."

"I'm going to the capital to prepare for my wedding!" Xia Yunji raised his chin even higher.

Fan Honghui, "..."

This is not good news!

After all, Xia Yunji is about to set off for the capital, which means that his younger sister is getting closer to getting married.

I feel unhappy just thinking about it.

How is that good news?

It’s just good news for Xia Yunji!
Fan Honghui curled his lips and said, "There is still half a year before the wedding in March next year. Even if we want to prepare for the wedding, there is no need to set off to the capital so early!"

"I thought so at first, but then I thought again, time is like flowing water, passing by in a flash. It seems like there are still half a year, but in fact it has passed in the blink of an eye. It is impossible to count it at all."

Xia Yunji said, "Besides, after Lan'er and I get married, we will spend most of our time living at the border, and will have very little time to accompany the Duke and his wife. It would be better for her to spend more time with her family before getting married."

"As the future son-in-law of the Fan family, I should also fulfill my filial duties in advance and show my attitude to reassure the Duke and Madam."

"I have already reported this matter to the Emperor in advance. It is in accordance with the rules to go back now, so I have come to ask for leave from the commander of the wing."

Fan Honghui, "..."

This doesn't give him any reason to refuse!

But Xia Yunji said something right.

Although there will be basically no more wars at the border in the future, Xia Yunji still has to guard the Western Frontier Army, and my younger sister will indeed have to live at the border most of the time.

It is indeed a good thing to take advantage of this time to spend more time with your father and mother.