Raising a wife? The mistress of the Hou family divorced and remarried her younger uncle

Chapter 232 Love Letter
In the study, Lu Jing sat down leisurely and gently opened the painting that he had treasured for a long time.

In the past, his eyesight was blurred and it was difficult for him to see Xiaowu's true face. He only vaguely remembered the gorgeous clothes embroidered with peonies all over the garden, so he painted the figure of a girl wearing a peony skirt. However, the girl's facial features were always blank in his painting.

Now, Xiaowu's appearance was clear enough, and he was surprised to find that it was no wonder that his eldest sister-in-law and Xiaowu were so fond of Mudan.

Then he carefully opened the letter from Huainan.

In the letter, Su Qingwan only left a short sentence: "Princess Huainan, never go to Beijing!" Inside the letter, there was also a Yaohuang peony. The flower had long withered and was pressed into a dried flower, but the moment the letter was unfolded, the rich fragrance still filled his nose. In an instant, that sentence seemed to be redundant. This peony was the affectionate secret that Su Qingwan wanted to bring to him across thousands of miles. For a moment, the wind and the moon in the house became gentle and affectionate because of this peony.

Lu Jing's mouth corners slightly raised, his smile became more gentle, he picked up the brush, and carefully outlined Su Qingwan's eyebrows and eyes on the old painting. He had been painting this lady's portrait on and off for several years, and now, it was finally finished.

The lights flickered, and under the heavy shadows, the night was as quiet as water.

After Lu Jing finished the painting of the lady, he was still not satisfied, so he bent over his desk to write a letter. This time, it was no longer just a few words, but a thick letter written in a fluent manner.

He carefully put away the letter and the painting of the lady that was full of affection, and solemnly ordered his men to send them to Huainan at full speed.

At the same time, in the Huainan Palace, Su Qingwan tossed and turned in bed late at night.

She simply got up, brewed a pot of fragrant tea, sat alone facing the moon, and enjoyed this rare leisure time. In recent days, rumors have been flying all over Huainan City, but she looked calm and didn't care at all. As the rumors intensified, the prefect made a prompt decision and personally led people to suppress them. The prefect was quite prestigious in Huainan City, and his methods were relatively gentle, so the people in the city always believed in him.

As Su Qingwan never gave a positive response, the people gradually dispersed and no longer gathered outside the palace to sit in protest.

Half a month had passed since the one-month deadline, but Su Qingwan remained calm. Even though the city was in turmoil, she remained as steady as a rock, unmoved. At this time, the escort team sent from the southwest arrived in Huainan.

This team has 3,000 people, all of whom are elite vanguards under the command of the Prince of the Southwest. They are led by the young General Xiaoning, and they only take orders from Su Qingwan.

After the three thousand troops entered the city, they went straight to the Huainan Palace. Su Qingwan heard the news and hurried out to greet them. General Xiao Ning dismounted his horse with a swift gesture, knelt on one knee, and greeted loudly: "I am Ning Huai, on the order of the prince, and come to report to the princess!"

Seeing this, Su Qingwan quickly stepped forward and helped him up. General Xiao Ning had followed her to Xilin and was the general she relied on most when she was in the southwest.

He was only twenty-one, about the same age as Su Qingwan, but he was already a veteran who had been on many battlefields. His decisiveness, calmness and competence were all on display.

"General, please get up quickly!" Su Qingwan said with a smile, "You have been marching all the way, and you and the soldiers have been exhausted. Chenfeng, you should take the soldiers to settle down immediately!"

"Yes!" Chen Feng took the order and went to settle them with the guards. Su Qingwan welcomed General Xiao Ning into the mansion and first asked about the situation in the Southwest Palace with concern. General Xiao Ning reported that everything was fine in the mansion. Everyone was very concerned about the princess, especially the princess and the little princess, and hoped that the situation in Huainan would stabilize soon so that they could come to visit.

Su Qingwan was deeply moved, but she also felt sorry for her family's hardship from the long journey.

She thought that when the situation here was completely stabilized, she would go back to the southwest to visit her family. General Xiao Ning also brought a letter from the King and Princess of the Southwest. Su Qingwan took the letter and her eyes were slightly red.

She arranged for General Xiaoning to rest in the outer courtyard, and asked Qingyun to lead the accompanying soldiers to settle down. She also ordered the kitchen in the mansion to prepare a sumptuous banquet, intending to reward the soldiers who came from afar tonight.

The news spread quickly beyond the palace like wings, and before daybreak, it reached the ears of Zhang San, the bandit leader in the mountains.

Zhang San was hiding in the city at the moment. In the past, they had robbed Huainan City many times when the moon was dark and the wind was strong, and they always covered their faces. In addition, Zhang San looked gentle, so he didn't look like a robber.

In recent days, he has been spreading rumors all over the city in an attempt to put pressure on Su Qingwan and force her to compromise.

But unexpectedly, what arrived were three thousand elite soldiers from the southwest.

The counselor beside him was full of worry and hurriedly said, "Boss, these 3,000 soldiers from the southwest are all elite vanguards on the battlefield, and they are all brave and good at fighting. Although their number is not large, they have fought many beautiful battles on the battlefield where the few defeated the many. The prince of the southwest specially sent this team to the princess, obviously to support her!"

"How did she get to know Southwest?" Zhang San frowned, his heart full of doubts, "Could it be that Huainan and Southwest are planning to form an alliance? If so, the regent in the capital will be restless and may even start another genocide."

The counselor lowered his voice and continued, "The people I sent out heard a piece of news. It is said that the King of Southwest has raised the princess for more than ten years. In recent years, the Grand Princess of Southwest has become famous. She has opened many schools in the southwest, opened up trade fortresses, and prepared military supplies. She can be said to be the most capable counselor around the King of Southwest. She can develop domestic demand and manage business. She has also been ordered to guard the fortress in times of crisis. I heard that this Grand Princess of Southwest is actually the Princess of Huainan. The real Princess of Southwest is weak and sickly, and it is impossible for her to run around and make her way in the world."

"So that's how it is..." Zhang San suddenly realized, and couldn't help but feel a little scared. No wonder this princess was so bold and strong when she appeared. It turned out that she had the support of the King of Southwest. "So, it was this princess who followed the King of Southwest to the capital a few years ago. She must have made an indelible contribution to the rehabilitation of Huainan. No wonder she had the confidence to threaten to flatten the Eighteen Mountains of Huainan, and was so calm in the face of these rumors. I thought she was a little white rabbit that could be manipulated by others, relying only on the protection of her ancestors, but I didn't expect her to be a wolf in rabbit's skin. The Huainan lineage has always been the most ferocious wolf on the border!"

"Boss, what should we do now?" the counselor asked worriedly, "If we really want to attack Huainan City, we have no chance of winning. The princess doesn't care about those rumors at all. Given her personality, once the one-month period is up, whether it's war or surrender, it has to end!"

Zhang San took a deep breath, thought for a moment, and said in a deep voice: "Send a message to the princess, saying that we want to see her again and talk again."

"Yes!"

Soon, the messenger brought back Su Qingwan's response. This time, Su Qingwan was not so easy to talk to. She said firmly, "Since you want to talk, please invite him to the Huainan Palace. I will personally host a banquet and ask if he dares to come!"