When Li Chong woke up, he found Li Xuanji by his side taking care of himself, and this was Le Breet's guest room, a place for those drunk guests to rest. Rong Lu was not in the house, he was chatting with Bao Ling and Clifford outside.

After figuring out the situation from Li Xuanji, Li Chong sat up, his chest was still depressed, the people in his family were killed by the Qing army, but he was still an official in the Qing court, what is this? Li Zhong took a deep breath and asked in a deep voice, "Little sister, is what you said true?" ”

Li Xuanji sat beside him, her eyes were still red, and she said in a low voice: "Big brother, it's true, Holly Girl's family is the same as ours, and she is the only one left in the family." ”

Li Zhong closed his eyes in pain, clenched his fists tightly, and asked, "How have you spent all these years?" ”

When Li Xuanji heard Li Chong's question, he couldn't help but think of the man with a rough face in his mind, and sighed faintly: "I was rescued by the Taiping Army, and I have been in the Taiping Army all these years. ”

Li Chong suddenly broke away from his eyes, stared at the jade man in front of him with a sharp gaze, and subconsciously touched his waist with his right hand. Looking at Li Xuanji's delicate face again, Li Chong suddenly woke up, she was her sister-in-law, not a long-haired thief. Li Chong smiled bitterly, he had been working against Changmao for so many years, he subconsciously wanted to control every thief to death, and at this time, when he heard Li Xuanji say that she was a member of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, he actually moved to kill.

Li Chong lowered his head in shame, changed the topic and asked, "How can that foreigner be your fiancé?" ”

Li Xuanji didn't notice Li Chong's murderous intentions at all, and only said that he was sad when he heard the bad news, and heard him ask about Clifford, so he immediately told him how he knew Clifford, but he didn't say Clifford's identity, nor did he say that she was an important person in the West Temple. It's just that she met Clifford in Shanghai, Clifford is obsessed with art, and Li Xuanji was sent by the Taiping Army to do art exchanges with Clifford, and they met and became familiar with each other after coming and going, and later Clifford proposed to him, Li Xuanji agreed, and followed him to Guangzhou, ready to go back to England.

Li Zhong was relieved after hearing this, and he sighed lightly: "Little sister, it's not good to be the eldest brother." didn't take care of you, let you fall into the hands of thieves, but now it's okay, you have come to Guangzhou, just follow the eldest brother. That Clifford rescued you. We are very acknowledged by his affection, but he is always an outsider. Although our Li family is not a big family. But no matter how bad I am, I can't watch my sister commit to the outside world. ”

Li Xuanji smiled slightly bitterly, she also knew that Li Chonghui would oppose her marriage to Clifford, even in the enlightened Taiping Army, many people were still not optimistic about her marrying Clifford, and even Li Xuanji's best friend Yang Dongqing made a special trip to Shanghai to persuade Li Xuanji after hearing about this. There are not a few people who talk about and point fingers behind Li Xuanji's back. Li Xuanji never agreed to Clifford's marriage proposal before, in addition to the other person she liked, the fearful words were also a very important reason.

Later, because of the persecution of the West Wangniang, Li Xuanji knew that she had nothing to do with the West King, so she made up her mind to leave the West King. That's why I agreed to Clifford's marriage proposal and prepared to go back to England with him to get married, hoping to completely avoid the king of the west, and if I don't see him, I won't miss it.

Li Xuanji's eyes flashed with tears, and she smiled faintly: "Big brother, Clifford is a good person, he likes me very much, and I also agreed to marry him......

Li Zhong interrupted her irritably: "Since ancient times, the marriage has been decided by the parents, and there are only two brothers and sisters left in the family, the eldest brother is like a father, you listen to me, this marriage will be withdrawn, in the future, the eldest brother will take care of you, and then find you a good mother-in-law, now the eldest brother is also a powerful person, and he will definitely not teach you to suffer." ”

Li Xuanji's complexion changed greatly, her pretty face turned pale, and she asked in a trembling voice: "Big brother, what do you say is powerful?" Are you still working for the Qing court? ”

Li Chong's face was slightly embarrassed, avoiding Li Xuanji's scorching gaze, and said in a low voice: "Yes, I am now serving as a general under the Ronglu Rongjun Sect......"

Before he finished speaking, Li Xuanji stood up with a sigh, looked at Li Chong coldly and said, "Big brother, our Li family died at the hands of the Qing army, and you still work hard for the Qing court?" ”

Li Zhong said in a low voice: "I just found out about this, sister, you can't blame me." ”

When Li Xuanji heard this, his face softened slightly, and he said: "Okay, I don't blame you for not knowing before, big brother, but now that you know, you should resign immediately, go north to join the Taiping Army, and avenge your mother, if you are worried that you can't go north, I will ask Clifford to arrange for you to go to Shanghai, and he can also recommend you to any important position in the Taiping Army......"

Li Chong interrupted irritably: "I'll talk about it later, let's talk about you ...... marriage first."

Li Xuanji unceremoniously sneered: "Big brother, my marriage is a personal affair between my children and daughters, it is a small section, you are an official in the enemy's family, it is a big festival, I don't want to see you continue to be confused, you will really become an unfaithful and unfilial person!" ”

Li Zhong said angrily: "Is this the tone in which you are talking to your eldest brother?" I think you've been on the side of the long-haired thief for a long time, and you don't even want the three outlines and five constants, otherwise you wouldn't have to marry a foreign devil regardless of etiquette and shame! ”

Li Xuanji's face turned pale, she took a few steps back in a daze, and looked at Li Chong blankly, she didn't expect that the brother who was kind and pleasant in the past would become so unbearable today, tears flowed down, she bit her red lip, and said angrily: "The enmity of my parents is not shared, even if I marry a foreigner, I will not forget, Clifford has always helped us deal with the Qing court, I can't imagine that you still have to help the abuse, I don't have a big brother like you!" After saying that, he hid his face and left the guest room crying.

Li Chong was speechless, stood up and wanted to stop Li Xuanji, but his arm was raised, but his mouth was choked, and he couldn't say a word.

"What are you crying about?" Rong Lu's voice came, and Li Chong raised his head in some astonishment. Rong Lu walked in and said lightly: "Men don't flick when they have tears, are you still a manly husband like this?" ”

Li Chongyan hurriedly wiped his tears with his sleeve, his heart was very confused, but he still couldn't help but say: "Junmen, the younger brother has the grace of your knowledge, the younger brother's family was killed by the official army, and he can no longer serve the military gate, the younger brother only asks to resign and return, the military gate is assured, the younger brother will not go to the peace, just want to find a place to live in seclusion." ”

Rong Lu snorted, did not speak, walked to Li Chong and sat down, and said warmly: "Where there is a cause, there must be an effect, it is true that your family was harmed by the official army and the soldiers, and you should know it for a long time in the army, but whenever the war is together, the local soldiers will be poisoned, and now it is already a troubled time, and those who suffer in the troubled times must be the defenseless people." If there is no war, wouldn't your family be able to live in peace? You only think that it was the officials and soldiers who killed your family, haven't you thought about who rebelled and caused the trouble? ”

Li Chong was stunned when he heard this, and then gritted his teeth and said, "It's a long-haired thief!" ”

Rong Lu nodded, smiled suspiciously, and said softly: "Yes, it is those long-haired thieves who lead the foreign religion to confuse the people, wander around, and cause trouble, so that your hometown Liuyang will suffer a military disaster, this is not the fault of the imperial court, the fault is those rebellious ministers and thieves who have no king and no father." You have forgotten what I told you back then, that our campaign is to pacify the troubled times, kill all the rebellious ministers and thieves, and return the people to a prosperous world, which is where the big festival is. ”

Li Chong's breathing became a little heavy, his face was red and white for a while, Rong Lu knew that he was fighting between heaven and man in his mind, and then said puzzledly: "It was the officers and soldiers of the Taqibu Department who caused trouble in Liuyang back then, and he is now under the command of Zhang Liangji, the governor of Hunan, and recently I heard that he will be transferred to Zeng Shuai's subordinates, you can rest assured that as long as he arrives in Hengyang, I guarantee that you can avenge your family with this person, and you will avenge the people in your family." The matter of Liuyang back then was all the fault of Taqib alone, how could you hate the entire court because of him? Li Chong, the so-called national hatred and family hatred, these are all sins created by long-haired thieves, think about it, I think you can still distinguish between right and wrong. Are you really willing to give up all these years of power? If that's the case, I won't stop you, I'll give you a silver tael, and you can go." ”

Li Chong's face turned pale, and he opened his mouth and said: "Junmen, I, I ......"

Rong Lu smiled coldly: "The eldest husband will do it, if he doesn't do it, he won't do it, what is the mother-in-law's?" How exactly do you choose? ”

After Li Chong hung his head for a long time, he slowly stood up and knelt in front of Rong Lu, raised his head and said: "Junmen, you are right, the younger brother should not look forward to the national enmity for the sake of the family, the younger brother is willing to follow the military gate all the time!" ”

Rong Lu nodded with a satisfied smile and stepped forward to help him up, and after the two sat down again, Rong Lu said in a low voice, "What about your sister?" I heard her say that she was from the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. ”

Even Li Chong's conscience was still clear, and he said in a low voice: "The little sister is not more troublesome, she is bewitched by the long-haired thief, so she will commit confusion, I just ask the military gate to raise her noble hand and let her live, and the little brother will definitely take her home and take care of her strictly." ”

Rong Lu smiled and said: "What you said is not quite right, the long-haired thieves are rampant for thousands of miles, and there are no less than a million people who have been forcibly taken away, how can you resist your little sister and weak female stream?" She was not a rebel, at most she was a thief, and besides, she was an Englishman when she married Clifford, and the laws of her country could not control her. ”

Li Chong woke up a little, frowned slightly, and said, "The military gate means ......"

Rong Lu said lightly: "Your sister is married to a good person, that Clifford is not an ordinary person, you Li Chong can climb the high branches of others, you should be glad." Although your sister is forced by the situation, if someone deliberately grabs this matter in the future, even if I am afraid that I will not be able to protect your sister, it may affect your career. So for the sake of today, it's better for your sister to get married. Speaking of this, Rong Lu paused, and then stared at Li Zhong with burning eyes and said slowly: "Now that Changmao has the momentum of a foreigner, you have a sister who can marry a British nobleman as a wife, and your future achievements will not stop there, for the country, for the Hunan army, for yourself, why not do this family business?" ”

Li Chong only understood this, and said in a low voice: "Little brother understands what to do." Rong Lu laughed, but the smile was so insidious. (To be continued......)