Border Cook

My father and mother would be very happy too.

If you think about it this way...

Fan Honghui made up his mind to take on all the responsibilities and gritted his teeth. "Whatever, whatever, now that's come to this, if I don't agree, it would seem that I'm unkind. So go ahead."

"Thank you, Commander!" Xia Yunji bowed, threw the bowl in his hand onto the table, and disappeared without a trace.

Fan Honghui, "..."

After a moment, he shouted to Xia Yunji, "At least finish your breakfast before leaving!"

"If he leaves now, he must go home first. How can he miss this bite of food?" Lu Qiyan curled his lips. "I think he just doesn't want to eat this dry biscuit, so he asked you for it at this time."

"Qi Yan's words make a lot of sense." Fan Honghui nodded, patted Lu Qi Yan's shoulder, and said earnestly, "It will be hard for both of us during this period of time."

Lu Qiyan reached out and touched his nose. "Commander, I actually have good news and bad news. Which one do you want to hear?"

Fan Honghui, "!!!"

"Then..." Fan Honghui thought for a long time and decided to stick to his principles. "Listen to the bad news first?"

"This morning, two soldiers got into a fight over greed and broke several bowls and cups. They have been punished by military law, beaten with a stick, fined, and hung in the parade ground for a day as a warning."

Lu Qiyan's words made Fan Honghui feel relieved.

"This is a small matter, you can handle it as you see fit. What about the good news?"

Fan Honghui suddenly felt a little excited.

After all, bad news is just a small matter, so good news must be really good news.

"Yunji is going to Beijing to prepare for the wedding. As Yunji's elder sister, my wife will naturally go with him to prepare for the wedding to show her importance to the Fan family and this marriage."

Lu Qiyan said, "The commander of the wing also knows that my wife has never been far away, and my Lu family has no relatives in the capital. After my wife arrived in the capital, she was inevitably terrified, treading on thin ice, and at a loss."

"Therefore, I specially wrote to the emperor a few days ago, asking him to return to the capital and help my wife to make Yunji and Fan's wedding beautiful and not to bring shame to the Fan family and the royal family."

Fan Honghui, "..."

I also need to take leave!

What good news this is!

It really proves the saying that if you are not from the same family, you will not enter the same door!

Fan Honghui's face turned green, and his eyes were full of resentment when he looked at Lu Qiyan, "Qiyan, the military affairs in the western frontier are very busy now..."

You are abandoning me like this. Are you planning to put all these important responsibilities on my shoulders alone?
Lu Qiyan said, "Don't worry, Commander-in-Chief. I have already informed Commander Song and Commander Wang in advance and explained the matters at hand to them clearly. They will assist you in handling the miscellaneous matters during this period of time. I will return to my hometown to visit my relatives after my wife and I return from the capital."

Fan Honghui, "..."

So this had been planned from the beginning, and he was just waiting to talk to him now?
What's more, both Commander Song and Commander Wang had already intended to retire, and the emperor had already agreed, allowing the two to serve as Sima in the local area, in charge of local criminal laws, garrison troops, and other matters.

I'm afraid that these two people are eager to go home now, and I'm afraid that when it comes to doing many things, they are not as dedicated as Lu Qiyan.

What's more, nowadays, there is no standard for measuring many things. What matters is adapting to local conditions, adapting to the times, and adapting to people. Song and Wang are both rough people. I am afraid that after this matter is done, it would be faster and safer for him to do it himself.

"I don't agree with this!" Fan Honghui was displeased.

"Please give me a chance to live, Commander." Lu Qiyan simply bowed to Fan Honghui and even kowtowed to him.

Fan Honghui, "..."

"You are not allowed to take leave, so why are you not allowed to live?"

"Commander-in-Chief, you will understand." Lu Qiyan said, "Now that the war has ended, Yunji and I have achieved success. In the eyes of outsiders, we have made great achievements and are trusted by the emperor, but the commander-in-chief should also be able to see that the border issue has been settled for a long time, and the emperor has not yet clearly rewarded Yunji and I for our contributions in the Kingdom of Jinwei."

"I guess in the eyes of the emperor, Yun Ji and I are also too powerful to be ignored, which makes the emperor a little uneasy. Therefore, for a moment, I don't know how much to give and how much to guard against."

"If I were to continue to work diligently and conscientiously, with my heart full of border affairs, and act as if I were to take a step forward, I'm afraid the emperor would be even more uneasy. It would be better to put all military affairs on the head of the wing commander. The beautiful reorganization of the Western Frontier Army this time is all due to the credit of the wing commander, and has nothing to do with me and Yunji."

"Secondly, in the eyes of others, I am a person who only cares about the lady at home and has no ambition. I am not too greedy for power and money. The emperor is naturally quite relieved. He also thinks that I have a weakness that can be exploited, so he is naturally not worried at all."

"And when I return to the capital this time, those who have done many good deeds will definitely report me for being lazy and careless in my work. The emperor can also take this opportunity to reduce the reward he has given me, and only reward me with some silver, land, cloth and treasures."

"In this way, everyone is satisfied. Commander, do you think this is the case?"

Lu Qiyan's words made Fan Honghui's expression suddenly serious.

After thinking for a long time, he couldn't help but nodded slightly.

indeed so.

As a king, there is no one who is not afraid of being too successful and endangering the ruler.

Their Fan family is closely related to the royal family, and the emperor trusts them completely, but he may not be able to do the same for others.

Especially since Lu Qiyan and Xia Mingyue have a very high prestige among the people in the border areas, if they really act like raising troops to exercise their power, even if the emperor punishes them, he will be accused of not treating meritorious officials well.

On the contrary, Lu Qiyan had to leave some minor problems to the emperor from time to time in order to ensure the safety of his entire family.

As a member of the Fan family, he had long been accustomed to serving the emperor loyally without hesitation without having to consider anything else, but others were different.

They have a lot to consider.

Just like what Lu Qiyan had just said about the reward for merit, it was indeed a matter of hesitation for the emperor.

In terms of the size of their contributions, Lu Qiyan and Xia Yunji could be said to have made enormous contributions, enough to allow him to be promoted from a marquis to a duke.

But once he is promoted to Duke, he will have an extraordinary status, and Lu Qiyan will have to be stationed at the border for a long time, which makes him difficult to control. What the emperor wants to see most is to get him to step down, not consider the title, and just give him some gold and silver.

Lu Qiyan's decision to take leave was made after careful consideration, and it was not just for the sake of a moment's leisure.

Fan Honghui sighed, "Since you have said this, how can I not agree?"

"Pack up your belongings and return home immediately. We will take care of the rest of the military affairs."

"Thank you, Commander." Lu Qiyan still bowed deeply.

Fan Honghui reached out and helped Lu Qiyan up, "There's no need to be so polite between you and me." He regarded Lu Qiyan as a brother, and it was just a small favor, only for the sake of brotherhood, nothing else.

"Yes." Lu Qiyan raised the corner of his mouth, "Qiyan goodbye."

After that, he turned to leave.

"Wait a moment." Fan Honghui called out.

"What else does the commander have to say?"

"I also have good news and bad news. Which one do you want to hear?" Fan Honghui raised his eyebrows and smiled cunningly.

Lu Qiyan, "..."

"Hear the good news first?" Lu Qiyan thought for a moment and answered.

"The pickled apricots in your tent that you were reluctant to eat have gone bad. Don't eat them anymore," said Fan Honghui.

Sugar-pickled apricots are made when the wheat yellow apricots are ripe. Xia Mingyue goes to the orchard to pick them, washes them, and pickles them with sugar. The apricots taste sweet and sour, crisp and very delicious, especially when the weather is hot. You can scoop some out and cool them with ice. They are cool and delicious, and can be called a magic weapon for cooling off.

Lu Qiyan liked these pickled apricots very much, so Xia Mingyue specially brought him two small jars of them when he set off for the military camp, so that he could eat them in the camp.

As Lu Qiyan would be staying in the army for a long time, he became more and more reluctant to eat the pickled apricots and just left them there.

It's hot this time, so improper storage is possible.

Thinking that the remaining small jar of pickled apricots had all gone bad, Lu Qiyan felt extremely distressed, but he also frowned slightly, "How did the commander know?"

Not to mention that this was not good news, the jar of pickled apricots had always been with him, so how did Fan Honghui know about it?

"That day I went to the tent to look for you, but you were not there. I saw the jar, so I opened it and took a bite, but I found that it was already rotten."

Fan Honghui touched his nose and said, "I wanted to tell you, but unfortunately I was always busy and couldn't spare any time, so I never got around to it."

It's reasonable.

Lu Qiyan frowned, "What about the bad news?"

"The bad news is that I was afraid that you would be greedy and eat the pickled apricots even though they were spoiled, so I simply poured out all the apricots in the jar."

"So..." Lu Qiyan narrowed his eyes, "All these apricots went into the commander's stomach?"

Fan Honghui chuckled, "In fact, it wasn't all of them originally. I just tasted it and felt that the apricots were a little sour and had a hint of alcohol. I thought they must have gone bad, but I couldn't tell for sure whether they were bad or not, so I tasted it again..."

Try it again.

Try it again and again.

Again, again, again…

So he ate up all the pickled apricots in the jar?

Lu Qiyan's brows twisted into the shape of a "川" character. After a long time, they slowly relaxed and looked at Fan Honghui with a smile, "Commander-in-chief, I have good news and bad news..."

"Oh my, I've had enough food, it's time to get to work!"

Fan Honghui stood up hurriedly and walked out, "I still have a lot of things to do, so I won't see you off, hahahaha..."

Lu Qiyan’s face almost fell to the ground.

Those are the candied apricots that his wife made specially for him!
Just like this, Fan Honghui secretly ate it...

Not only did I eat it secretly, but I also never told him about it. I only told him about it today because I felt it was difficult for him to get angry at this critical moment!
hateful!

I have never seen a commander like you!

Lu Qiyan left the military camp almost angrily.

Before leaving, he did not forget to tie up the several live chickens and ducks prepared for Fan Honghui in the kitchen with hemp ropes and hang them on the horse's back.

After all, he asked for leave to go home, and he asked for leave because of a wedding. The commander should at least give him something as a token of appreciation, right?

Besides, the sound of "cluck, cluck, cluck" and "quack" along the way was very lively, which prevented him from feeling lonely and bored!
When I get home, I will personally cook chicken soup and stew old duck for my wife to nourish her!
Isn't it beautiful?

At noon, Fan Honghui stared wide-eyed as he looked at the large bowl of rice, a dish of braised tofu and a dish of stir-fried loofah on the table.

"How did you make these two dishes? Didn't I say earlier that I wanted to eat roast chicken and marinated duck?"

"The kitchen said that Commander Lu went to the kitchen early in the morning and said that the commander asked him to take away all the live chickens and ducks in the kitchen. He said that you have to eat vegetarian food for the next two days and must eat less oil or it will be very greasy. The kitchen specially prepared two light and low-oil dishes."

Fan Honghui, "..."

It's really speechless. His mother opened the door for him.

I am speechless!
Xia Yunji and Lu Qiyan returned home one after the other.

Then the two men rushed into the kitchen, busying themselves with slaughtering chickens and geese, preparing to make a table of delicious food for their wives.

Seeing that Xia Yunji was in high spirits, Lu Qiyan deliberately stayed out of the spotlight and handed over the important task of cooking to Xia Yunji, while he did some chores such as washing.

While Lu Qiyan was fetching water in the courtyard, Xia Mingyue came up to him and asked her own question, "It is reasonable for Yunji to take leave and go home early, but you also took leave so early to go to the capital with us? What's even more strange is that Commander Fan can agree to your request?"

Xia Mingyue had heard about the busy military affairs, so she had made plans from the beginning that while Lu Qiyan would be busy in the army, she, Xia Yunji and Fan Jinglan would return to Beijing first.

"Commander Fan remembered the merits I and Yunji had made in the past, and also took into consideration that my wife and I were often separated, and that we had not had a child after being married for several years, so he asked me to rest together and spend some time with my wife."

Lu Qiyan held Xia Mingyue's hand and said with a playful smile, "Since the commander has said so, I must try my best to accompany my wife."

There was clearly some hidden meaning in these words, which made Xia Mingyue's cheeks blush.

"You're so talkative." Xia Mingyue smiled and said angrily.

It was obvious that Lu Qiyan did not tell the truth, but as to why, Xia Mingyue felt that Lu Qiyan had his own plans, so she didn't care.

As Lu Qiyan said, since getting married, Lu Qiyan has been in the army for a long time, and the time he spent with her can be counted on one's fingers. Now that he has such a long period of free time to accompany her day and night, she is naturally happy to see it.

"Whether I am a good talker or not, I don't know, but I am definitely a sweet talker. If you don't believe me, why not give it a try?" (End of this chapter)