After the marriage, the cousin was spoiled by the whole family of the Marquis's Mansion

Chapter 114 The golden cicada escapes from its shell
Early in the morning, as soon as the door opened, they saw Eunuch Gao from the palace coming in with a group of people carrying gift boxes.

Menzi immediately ran to report in a panic.

Unlike last time, this time, Eunuch Gao came with a smile on his face.

Those who don’t know would think that the Xinling Marquis’ Mansion is going to get married again.

Eunuch Gao smiled so much that his face was wrinkled twice more. He handed the imperial edict to Zhong, "Your Majesty has shown mercy and granted the title of Princess. This is the first time in the new dynasty and new calendar."

"The Queen also gave a lot of gifts. Princess Shou'an is still young. In addition, the Western Jin Dynasty came to pay tribute recently, and there are many people in the palace. The Queen specially made it clear that she doesn't need to thank her."

As he spoke, he handed the princess's clan book and the jade pendant that symbolized her identity to Zhong.

Zhong touched the gold-plated characters on the clan register with her fingertips. Since the founding of the country, except for the daughters of the royal family, no baby who was just one month old had been canonized as a princess.

Your Majesty can now confer the title of Princess on Xiao Sui'an. Does this mean that Zhang'er can come back soon?

The baby is one month old, and she hasn't seen her son for a month.

Zhong took out a purse and stuffed it into Eunuch Gao's hand. Just as she was about to ask about Ji Yunzhang's situation, Rong Peilan grabbed her hand.

Rong Peilan smiled slightly, "Thank you, eunuch. There are so many things to do in the palace, and you have to come to our little Sui'an in person. This is a little money for tea. Thank you for your hard work, eunuch."

Eunuch Gao put the purse into his arms and said with a smile, "It's not hard. I am honored to make this special trip for Princess Shou'an."

"We have successfully completed this matter. I will return to the palace to report to His Majesty."

Seeing that Eunuch Gao had left, Mrs. Zhong said, "Your Majesty has already conferred a title on Sui'er, so why can't he ask about Zhang'er's recent situation?"

Rong Peilan led Zhong back to the mansion and then whispered, "Sui'er's princess did it for her father-in-law's sake, and your husband was imprisoned by His Majesty because he was against peace. Now is the time for the Princess of the Western Jin Dynasty and the envoy to enter the palace. How can you ask now?"

She was afraid that Mrs. Zhong would be anxious, so she continued, "Your Majesty doesn't want my husband's life yet, otherwise he wouldn't just be locked up."

When Mrs. Zhong thought about the two jade-like children, her heart ached. As a father, Zhang'er had been looking forward to the birth of the children for so long, but he didn't get to see them.

Peace talks will not be a matter of one day or one night. When will Zhang'er be able to come out?

-

Ji Yunzhang had a face full of stubble and looked dusty and dirty.

The wind and sand at the border are very strong, and he has long lost the appearance of the elegant young man he was in Yanjing.

He was wearing a coarse linen shirt and the sword in his hand was wrapped tightly with tattered cloth.

No one could have imagined that Ji Yunzhang, who was in prison, escaped and reached the border.

Wei Chi looked at the familiar scene from his childhood and felt a sense of joy in his heart.

He pointed to a tree not far away and said, "Prince, that tree is where my father often went when he taught me to ride a horse. He even built a swing for me there."

"There wasn't so much sandstorm here before. The ground was covered with green grass, and there were herds of cattle and sheep. There was no war at the border. In Yangxie Town in Yanhui, you could still meet many people from the Western Jin Dynasty, all of whom came here to sell sheep."

"The Western Jin Dynasty worshipped the sacred cow, so it was forbidden to kill cows. However, when herders were short of money, they would secretly kill cows and bring them to the town to sell."

Wei Chi, who usually speaks little, started to talk more here.

Ji Yunzhang had never been to the border before. This was his first time here, and his name was not even on the pass.

After all, "Ji Yunzhang" is still in prison in Beijing.

Ji Yunzhang took a bite of the steamed bun that had begun to harden, "How long does it take to get to Gele from here?"

Gele, the capital of the Western Jin Dynasty. Wei Chi shook his head, "There is no direction on the grassland, it is easy to get lost, and few people know where Gele is."

Ji Yunzhang stood up and took a deep breath. "The grassland is degenerating, and the things that the people of Western Jin rely on for survival are almost gone, so they don't really want to surrender. They may be eyeing the entire Daqi."

“They were ambitious 15 years ago, and they are still ambitious now.”

There was an unclear emotion in Wei Chi's eyes. Both his father and the Marquis were lieutenants of General Ji. Fifteen years later, they died in battle. He then followed the Marquis to Yanjing, and since then he and the Crown Prince have been learning martial arts under Master Tang.

The two were still chewing steamed buns when suddenly the sound of horse hooves was heard in the distance.

When I turned around, I saw a young man in casual clothes riding a horse towards me.

Just as Ji Yunzhang was about to draw his sword, the young man, who had not yet stopped his horse, called out from a distance, "Ji Yunzhang."

The man tightened the reins, and the horse neighed and raised its front hooves high.

This man looked about the same age as Ji Yunzhang. He looked Ji Yunzhang up and down twice before saying, "Let's go. The general is waiting for you."

Then he added, "I am Qin Anjiang."

The houses in Yanhui Prefecture are very different from those in the capital. They are all flat-roofed, and the people mostly wear cotton and linen clothes.

There are also many people here who look like those from the Western Jin Dynasty. They are all descendants of people who got married between the two countries in the old days. They look like both the Western Jin Dynasty and the Da Qi Dynasty.

This type of people are fine in peacetime, as they can support themselves as long as they have the strength to earn a living.

But in wartime, they are neither accepted by the public nor by the public, and are regarded as traitors on either side!
A spacious and imposing house with a plaque that reads "Liu Mansion".

The three men dismounted from their horses, and someone immediately came forward to lead the horses.

Qin Anjiang led the two people inside and said, "The general is reluctant to live in such a good house. He can buy a lot of rice and grain for the orphans with this money. This house was originally bought by Liu Qirui."

"When the two brothers Liu Qirui and Liu Qihui were taken away, the land deeds were also confiscated. Without the land deeds, they cannot be sold. Now the general has let some of the orphans of the soldiers live here."

As you walk through the door to the front yard, you can faintly hear children laughing.

After passing through the corridor, there was a large open space with a dozen children. The oldest ones were probably in their teens, and the younger ones were still in their arms.

Qin Anjiang saw them looking at the group of children, and sighed, "The general has been stationed here for more than ten years, and many soldiers have also settled here. How many lives have been taken by a war?"

"That Liu Qirui deliberately let the Western Jin army in, and they lost two cities in a row, and the Western Jin massacred the two cities."

"Now, nine out of ten houses in Yanhui and Songyang are empty, and there are hardly any people on the streets."

As he said this, he turned around to look at Ji Yunzhang, who had been frowning all the time, and laughed sarcastically, "This is the power game of you Yanjing nobles. You fight for power and profit by any means possible, and the people at the border and the soldiers who fight with their bodies are the ones who suffer."

Ji Yunzhang looked at the children, and there were even two children being held in the arms of the two older children.

Judging from the time, his child is about to be born. Tang Yue said that twins are prone to premature birth and usually do not live to full term, so it is possible that the child has already been born.

How much suffering she must have suffered when two children were born from her small body.

So many children, so many civilians, so many families, they lost their parents because of the war when they were so young.

For the first time, Ji Yunzhang began to waver in his views.

Is it really wrong for him to oppose peace?

(End of this chapter)