By the time Yu Ruoxu's carriage arrived at the military mansion, it was already past the unitary hour.

The winter nights came unusually early, and the sky was dark and there were intermittent snow particles. Yu Ruoxu was so cold that the tip of his nose was a little red, and before the car stopped, he heard the coachman say, "Say hello to the prince." “

Yu Ruoxu lifted the sedan curtain and saw Liang Jin standing at the door with a lantern, and was a little surprised, "Shiziye? “

Liang Jin walked over and stretched out his hand to help her get out of the car, as if she had done it countless times, "I see that you haven't come back, and I can't rest assured." ”

Yu Ruoxu smiled, but she was a little weak-hearted, "I'm not a child, and I still have Tie Niang and Pei Changchang following, how can I not rest assured." ”

Liang Jin looked at her and said quietly, "Why have you been shopping for so long today?" Did you buy something good? “

"I bought some cotton wool and medicinal herbs, which are all used on the road." Yu Ruoxu took out a small dagger from his waist and handed it to Liang Jin as if offering a treasure, "Look, I also bought a weapon for self-defense." “

Liang Jin took the dagger in her hand and looked at it carefully, "Your vision has always been very good." This dagger is delicate and sharp, suitable for women's self-defense. ”

Yu Ruoxu heard him say, "Your vision has always been very good", and she couldn't help but feel her heart skip a beat, "Thank you for the compliment." ”

"But after all, the dagger is a murder weapon, and when it hurts others, it will also hurt yourself, so you must be careful." Liang Jin was still a little uneasy, and gave another word of advice.

Yu Ruoxu snorted, and then asked, "By the way, have there been any new moves on Xianbei's side recently?" ”

The scene that happened in the restaurant today seemed to be still in front of her, she didn't expect that there was such a deep hatred between the Han and Xianbei people, even to the point of breaking out.

"It's been unexpectedly quiet over there lately in Xianbei." Speaking of Xianbei people, Liang Jin had a headache, "Chen Bing border, but there is no sign of attack, and even the activities of sweeping the border have stopped...... But the more this happens, the more careful we have to be. ”

Yu Ruoxu sighed, "Before the war, there was always a quiet time. ”

Liang Jin nodded and smiled reluctantly, "Tomorrow is Chinese New Year's Eve, do you have anything you like to eat?" I told the kitchen to make it for you. ”

Yu Ruoxuan said with a smile, "Aren't all dumplings eaten on Chinese New Year's Eve?" ”

Liang Jin was a little surprised, "Is it also popular to eat dumplings in Langzhong?" He also pondered that Yu Ruoxu grew up in the southwest, and he was afraid that she didn't have the habit of eating dumplings, so he specially asked her what she wanted to eat.

"Not really." Yu Ruoxu thought for a while, "Langzhong is popular to eat glutinous rice balls...... However, my mother likes to eat dumplings, so our family, like Beijing, makes our own dumplings on Chinese New Year's Eve. ”

"I see." Liang Jin smiled, "That's the best, I'll tell my subordinates to prepare." ”

Yu Ruoxu looked at his back as he left in a hurry, and suddenly called out to stop him, "Liang Jin." ”

Liang Jin turned around and saw that she looked like she wanted to speak and stopped, "What's wrong?" ”

Yu Ruoxu felt a little embarrassed, and finally mustered up her courage and said, "You just ask the kitchen to prepare the ingredients, and I will make dumplings for you to eat tomorrow." ”

Liang Jin was stunned for a moment, and then a big smile appeared on his face, "Okay." ”

That night, for some reason, Yu Ruoxu was a little sleepless. She remembered the blue-eyed boy in the restaurant who covered his mouth and vomited blood, and her heart was a little panicked.

She politely refused his kindness to come to the door to thank her, and refused to reveal her name, and in the end, the boy wanted to give her a jade pendant of his own as a thank you gift, but she also flatly refused.

On the way back, Tie Niang also sighed twice, "That son should be well-intentioned, why did the young lady refuse again and again?" ”

Yu Ruoxu was silent, and she couldn't tell why. It's just that there is a voice in her heart that tells her that person is by no means an idle person, and the best choice is to have nothing to do with it.

The next day, Yu Ruoxu got up early to wash up and found that Liang Jin had left.

"Shizi Ye is really hard, and he can't relax on Chinese New Year's Eve." Tie Niang said while helping her comb her hair. Yu Ruoxu sighed, "If the Xianbei side trouble is not eliminated for a day, they will not be able to relax for a day." ”

Tie Niang nodded, "Yes, back then, our young lady insisted on joining the army, but the master refused at first, saying that it was too hard for his daughter's family." But our young lady insisted on learning martial arts, and the old man really had no choice but to follow the young lady's wishes, but the young lady's marriage was delayed like this. ”

Yu Ruoxu calculated, Yang Yuqing was one year older than herself, "Miss Yang is a person with a temperament, if she is not a person she likes, she will definitely not be wronged." ”

Tie Niang glanced at her quietly, "What Miss Yu said is very true. Our young lady said the same thing to the master. But after all, the master is old, and the young lady is the old daughter of the old man, so he always tries his best to find someone worthy of trust to take care of the young lady. ”

Yu Ruoxu lowered his head and smiled, "Does General Yang have a suitable candidate?" ”

"How could a slave know such a thing?" Tie Niang helped her comb her sideburns neatly, "It depends on what the lord and the young lady mean." ”

Yang Zhen...... Most of them also like Liang Jin.

But after all, he had his own concerns, and he ran to the remote Liaodong in order to avoid the control of the Marquis of Dingyuan. If he marries his daughter to Liang Jin, with this in-law relationship, he will not be able to escape the control of Dingyuan Hou at that time. Therefore, Yang Zhen will not mention this marriage to the Liang family for the time being.

Thinking of this, Yu Ruoxu couldn't help but feel a little happy in her heart. She couldn't help but panic, wondering why she thought that. It turned out that she had such an unbearable mind hidden in her heart, she obviously hoped that Yang Yuqing would accompany Liang Jin well, but now she was a little unwilling.

She looked at the mirror in a daze, what was she unwilling to do?

Unwilling to stand by Liang Jin's side in the end, isn't she, but Yang Yuqing?

She couldn't help but be taken aback by this thought, and in a daze, she only heard Pei Changyuan knock on the door and said, "Miss, someone from the concierge came to report, saying that the prince asked someone to send something, saying that it was a gift for Miss, do you want to go and see?" ”

"For me?" Yu Ruoxu was a little surprised, and hurriedly got up and walked towards the door.

How could Liang Jin be so excited, buy a gift and send someone back?

When she walked to the door, Yu Ruoxu saw Qiao Huanyan, who she hadn't seen for a long time, standing next to a war horse, and saluted her respectfully, "I've seen Miss Yu." ”

"Qiao Huanyan?" Yu Ruoxu was stunned, "Why are you?" ”

She hadn't seen him since he was last driven to the barracks by Liang Jin as a pawn.

"Shizi Ye accidentally got a pot of cold orchid when he was inspecting today, and he felt that it was particularly rare, so he asked the little one to send it back to the young lady, saying that it was a gift for the little Chinese New Year's Eve." Qiao Huanyan didn't say much, took down a plant from the horse, and the roots were tightly tied with strips of cloth, "This is it." ”

Yu Ruoxu has never seen Han Lan, only read in the book, it is said that this is a rare variety, and ordinary orchids are different, Han Lan has always grown in a cold place, the rhizome is long, the flower color is snow white, the aroma is elegant, due to the extremely rare quantity, the price of a Han Lan can be fried up to three or four hundred taels.

The cold orchid in front of me is about to bloom, and the snow-white buds are lined with cold green branches and leaves, which looks like it has a unique charm.

"The prince is bothered." Yu Ruoxu asked Pei Changyuan to take Hanlan carefully, and then instructed Tie Niang, "Help me move it to a flower pot, water it a little first, and put it at the window in the shade." After that, I took care of it myself. ”

"Yes." Pei Changyuan and Tie Niang answered, and went back to the house to work.

Qiao Huanyan saw their figures disappear from sight, and suddenly bowed to Yu Ruoxu and said, "The little one who came this time still feels ashamed, and I want to say sorry to the young lady." ”

Yu Ruoxu raised her eyebrows, "I asked you to go at the time, you don't need to be sorry." ”

At that time, the situation was urgent, she asked Qiao Huanyan to see Liang Jin first, according to reason, Qiao Huanyan should follow Liang Jin's order to stay by Yu Ruoxu's side. He had long had the idea of leaving the military mansion, getting rid of his status as a guard, and going to the front line to fight, so he simply left her house according to Yu Ruoxu's words and went to the east courtyard where Liang Jin lived to help.

The military order is like a mountain, he has always wanted to go to the front line to fight with the Xianbei people, but his identity is a guard, and he cannot change the establishment unless there are special circumstances. That's why he thought of using this trick, deliberately disobeying the order, and then being punished by Liang Jin to go to the front line to be the most humble pawn, so that he could be counted on the battlefield.

It's just that he didn't expect that as early as a few days ago, Liang Jin noticed the strangeness around the military mansion, so he was fully prepared, and every corner was arranged with his own people. The reason why he was asked to stay by Yu Ruoxu's side was also part of the layout of this assassination response.

As soon as he appeared in the Eastern Courtyard, the assassins immediately realized that there was a loophole around Yu Ruoxu, so many of the dead who had fought hard in the Eastern Courtyard flocked to Yu Ruoxu. He instantly felt bad, Liang Jin also suddenly turned red, and after cutting down a dead soldier with a sword, he hurriedly ran towards the guest room.

He didn't expect that the assassin's target was Yu Ruoxu in addition to Liang Jin, so when he rushed to the guest room, he only saw Yu Ruoxu standing barefoot in the snow, holding a dagger in his hand, covered in blood, and his face was as white as snow.

"It's the little one who is too self-righteous, and the young lady who is so seriously injured." Qiao Huanyan said in a low voice.

"Things are over, you finally achieved your wish, you have to cherish it." Yu Ruoxu smiled faintly, "It's a pity that he is a pawn, even if he has made great military achievements, he can't be promoted." “

Although he later came up with a way to curb flying ants by burning white grass and saved many soldiers, he was still the lowest-ranking pawn.

"The little ones don't mind." There was no trace of chagrin in Qiao Huanyan's voice, "This is the price that should be paid for a small one." ”

Yu Ruoxu couldn't speak, only sighed, "The last time the flying ants happened, it was thanks to you." ”

Qiao Huanyan was stunned for a moment and smiled, "Miss has won the award." When the plague struck, everyone used this method to get rid of locusts...... Flying ants, but there are too many flying ants, and they can't be suppressed. ”

Yu Ruoxu couldn't help but ask, "...... your family?"

"They're all dead." Qiao Huanyan's face still had no expression, "Died at the West City Gate." ”

Yu Ruoxu was shocked, the scene of Wei Yuanli shooting the victims at the West City Gate was her unforgettable nightmare, "Then you ......"

"My sister crushed me under me, and I survived, and she was hit by four arrows and bled to death." Qiao Huanyan's expression was as usual, as if he was talking about other people's affairs, "Later, we were taken to Huangzhuang in the western suburbs, and there were endless hard labor every day, I really couldn't stand it, so I took the opportunity of this conscription to take the initiative to sign up and escaped from that hell." ”

Yu Ruoxu finally understood where his favor and humiliation came from. If a person has experienced too much despair, his heart will become iron, and there will be nowhere to be sad and happy, let alone love and hate.

"The ...... of the West City Gate," Yu Ruo said thoughtfully, "It was too sudden, I didn't think about ......"

"Not suddenly." Qiao Huanyan said word by word, "It was planned by someone." ”