Chang'an, Mafu.

On snowy days, Ma Teng is still busy in his own house.

This year, the newly planted reeds in the vegetable garden in his yard have been harvested before the heavy snow comes, because the harvest is large, in addition to storing and eating, he also plans to use the surplus to dry and then pickle it into a variety of side dishes.

The remaining bunches of winter sunhocks and pine cabbage are more cold-tolerant and frost-tolerant vegetables, but they are not in a hurry to harvest them all, Ma Teng is going to spread a layer of loose straw on them today as a cover to keep them warm to help them survive the cold winter night.

In this way, in the following days, the family can pick and eat fresh and refreshing vegetables every day.

Watching him skillfully use a hoe to remove excess weeds, and spread the straw between the vegetable furrows with his own hands, the servants who helped on the side couldn't help but be surprised.

This old man with a head covered with silver threads, snowflakes on his body, an old face, withered hands and feet, and a gentle and slow movement, is really the legendary Ma General?

"Hey, it's finally good."

Ma Teng spread the last bundle of straw in his hand between the vegetable furrows, and then stood up straight with satisfaction, his body was still tall, but at this time Ma Teng couldn't help but hold on to his old waist, frowning slightly, it seemed that he had been bending over for a long time, which made his head and waist a little uncomfortable.

Slowly opening his eyes, Ma Teng saw the slave who was surprised on the side, but quickly lowered his head, he smiled indifferently, and gently shook off the snowflakes on his body.

For more than a year, people who knew him were very surprised, marveling at how the former General Xiliang had aged so quickly, as if he had completely changed as a person.

But Ma Teng smiled at this, as if he didn't care, but in his heart, he had to know the reason better than anyone else.

Just imagine, the jackals, tigers and leopards in the past were tamed and captive like pigs and dogs, where can the heart not age quickly, and the grief is greater than the death of the heart, and the state of mind is like this, how can it not change its appearance.

And the seemingly magnanimous hussar general's attitude towards these former strong enemies and the surrender of the present dynasty can be seen from the original hunting banquet in Shanglinyuan.

Don't talk about yourself, Ma Teng believes that for Zhang Meng, Wei Duan and others, life is just as difficult, and Yang Ding, who has been in captivity for a long time and has been reduced to the walking dead, has set a good example for them on how to survive.

This makes Ma Teng sometimes wake up alone in the cold night, and he can't help but envy his former rival Han Sui.

I heard that he lost everything after the defeat, so he could only flee to the Great and Small Elm Valleys, relying on the Qiang tribe to survive.

But how much better can he be compared to him now?

The tiger's teeth are loose and its claws fall off, and it is also the king of beasts with the power of the tiger, and now he is just a lost dog who only needs to pretend to shake his head and tail to survive in the world.

"Don't stand still, let's go, go to the backyard and see my little boys."

Shaking off the snowflakes on his body, Ma Teng had already taken a step forward and walked in the direction of the backyard, his attitude towards the slave who was still bowing his head was extraordinarily gentle, as if he was a kind old man who had no quarrel with the world.

The servants looked gratefully at his tall background and hurriedly followed.

In the backyard.

There is a large open space specially opened up for military exercises, and from time to time there is the sound of whistling fights and slashing blades.

Ma Tie, Ma Xiu, Ma Dai and several other young generations of the Ma family, at this time, are not afraid of the cold winter and snow, shirtless, wearing only a pair of calf-nose pants, and the white gas is bubbling on their bodies, training martial arts in winter.

Those who practice martial arts practice Sanjiu in winter and Sanfu in summer. Although the winter snow is not conducive to the training of riding and archery skills, the training of other martial arts cannot be delayed in the slightest.

For the Ma family, who was born in a cool place and is full of soldiers, this accompanying martial arts must not be left behind.

Although the elders of Ma Teng's generation obviously have no chance to show their talents, for the young people of the Ma family, their future is still great.

This can be regarded as the only comfort that Ma Teng still has in his sad heart.

The young men on the field were so focused on their own business that they didn't notice Ma Teng's arrival. And Ma Teng, who was carrying his hands on his back, also stood quietly, looking at these young people who had placed high hopes on himself and the entire Ma family.

Some of them are lifting stone locks to boil their strength, some are training physical fitness in bending chrysalis and pulling distances, and some use unbladed weapons to fight, these young bodies have abundant vitality, which can make them not afraid of the cold and forget fatigue, they are just like themselves when they were young, but they will be far better than themselves in the future.

Ma Teng, who was relieved, looked at these nephews of the Ma family and smiled, but soon, the wrinkles between his brows kink again.

Ma Chao is gone!

Since following Yang Feng to pacify Yongliang and repeatedly make military exploits, Ma Chao once again got the understanding of the Ma family, and Ma Teng also reaccepted this son who disobeyed his father and intended to mutiny after being severely reprimanded.

It's just that Ma Chao, who has returned to the Ma family, has also become a different person, and even Ma Dai, the original little follower, is no longer close, and the time to stay at home this winter is even more limited.

"Go and get me this guy Ma Yi."

Ma Teng was no longer kind to him in this matter, he straightened his face and asked people to find Ma Yi, who supervised the martial arts practice of the Ma family's nephew in the house.

When the chubby-eyed Ma Yi came to Ma Teng with anger, he couldn't help but show fear and bitterness.

"Ayi, where did Meng Qi go?

Listening to Ma Teng's interrogation, Ma Yi was speechless.

Ma Chao is an unruly young man, there are very few people who can subdue him, and now only Ma Teng is left in the mansion who can barely make him bow down, let alone let Ma Chao obey his orders.

"He, he, he—"

Ma Yi wanted to speak and stopped, Ma Teng looked at him and vomited, the anger in his chest rose again, and he urged:

"Where the hell have you gone, tell me quickly!"

"He took two mounts in the stable, and rode out of the house."

"In this winter, it's still snowing, and there is no military affairs in the barracks, where can he go alone?"

Ma Teng frowned and stared at Ma Yi.

Ma Yi lowered his head in fear and said:

"I heard the trilogy who once told him that he went to find a woman these days."

"This, this kind of thing, why didn't you tell me until now!"

Ma Teng's brows furrowed even deeper, he waved his hand to disperse the subordinates on the side, took Ma Yi to a corner where no one was around, and reprimanded angrily.

In order to enrich the population, revive all industries, and strengthen the weak branches, Yan Xing not only moved a large number of people from the land of Sanhe in the eastern part of the country, but also moved the wealthy population of many tombs in Guanzhong to Chang'an City.

The gathering and blending of so many eastern and western populations certainly brought a lot of trouble and challenges to Sima Lang in Chang'an, but objectively, it also promoted the recovery and rapid development of all walks of life in Chang'an City.

Among them, there is a female Lu who is trapped in the gentle countryside and cannot extricate herself.

Ma Teng thought that Ma Chao was strong-blooded, and he had been in the cold and cold land of the West for a long time since he was a child, and after arriving in Guanzhong, he was slowly fascinated by this world of flowers and flowers, and he couldn't open his eyes and legs, so that these days, he has not returned home for a long time, and he has been lost in the illusory and blurred wine.

"Where the hell did he go? Well, do you know what kind of woman it is? ”

Looking at Ma Teng, who was frowning, Ma Yi was stunned for a moment, a little puzzled, but he quickly picked up the conversation and said:

"I heard that it is a family of He ladies who moved from Pingling, after these old surnames in Guanzhong were moved to Chang'an, there are often things to do with the banquet, presumably Meng Qi is also going to the banquet of those old surnames today."

"What, this rebel!"

I heard that it was not a woman among the women, but a lady with the old surname of Guanzhong, Ma Teng was not happy and worried, if it was just a woman among the women, it would be easy to deal with, but it turned out to be a lady with the old surname of Guanzhong, then this matter became more and more complicated and tricky.

Although the Ma family claims to be from the Maoling Ma family, but their branch in Xiliang, no matter how they rely on, they can only be a side branch of the Shu clan, and Ma Teng, as a descendant, has been taken care of by the hussar general's mansion, after moving to Chang'an City, he has been living in a simple place, and never dared to rashly get too close to these old surnames in Guanzhong, so as not to attract the suspicion of the general's mansion and cause trouble for no reason.

In Ma Teng's view, these old surnames in Guanzhong are not something that their Ma family can contact at will, and he deliberately avoids banquets in this regard on weekdays, but he didn't expect that Ma Chao, who is his eldest son, didn't know the depth and was bold, and stepped into the quagmire with one foot.

Thinking of the follow-up effects that these things could bring, Ma Teng couldn't help but shudder in his heart, he couldn't sit still anymore, and hurriedly instructed Ma Yi to say:

"Hurry up, send someone to find Meng Qi back, no matter where he is or what he is doing, he must be brought back, go now!"

Ma Yi looked at Ma Teng with a haze on his face, and seemed to realize the seriousness of the situation, he nodded busily, turned around and swayed his fat body, and trotted all the way out of the yard.

Looking at Ma Yi's figure running away, Ma Teng, who was worried, turned around and returned to the sidelines where Ma Jiazi's nephew was training martial arts, and the young people on the field still didn't notice Ma Teng's face that had become very dignified, but Ma Teng didn't have the heart to look any further.

He took his eyes off Ma Tie, Ma Xiu, Ma Dai and others, and thought of Ma Chao, who far surpassed his peers in all aspects of talent and martial arts, and his heart couldn't help but sink again.

This eldest son of his own is arrogant, if things really come to the point of entanglement, then I am afraid that everything he has done now will be too late!