After they returned from the border, Wei Yangyang immediately reported the information he got today to Wei Bingyue, and he started to do something to the cheek wave snow butterfly. Shen Mingyuan seemed to understand: "What is going on with the two countries? Wei Bingyue first told the grievances between Tuo Bujing and Cheek Wave Snow Butterfly, and then said: "Tuo Bujing is a surprise attack, I'm afraid that we were the first to get the news, and now maybe other countries still don't know the situation, tomorrow I will send my sister back to Haixi to report the news." Shen Mingyuan took the opportunity to say: "Okay, then I'll go with her tomorrow, just right, it's time for me to visit the general guard." ”

When Wei Bingyue heard him say this, he said to Wei Yangyang: "You and Lu Gongzi tomorrow pretend to be ordinary men and women who go to Haixi to pass the customs, don't bring weapons, and set off early in the morning." When he arrived in Haixi, he first went to the street for a casual stroll, and then took him to the Chunlai Teahouse. I'll go find the sixth brother and meet you again. Wei Yangyang nodded. Young men and women wandering the streets, then going to the teahouse to meet Wei Bingjian, and finally going to Wei's house, this is naturally an arrangement that will never arouse suspicion.

Wei Yangyang's hands and feet were very quick, and that night, she prepared horses, water, and dry food. Early the next morning, the two of them and Ling Quan pretended to be going out of the customs and went to Haixi. After walking for an hour, Shen Mingyuan saw that in the vast desert, there was a border city made of sand and soil, showing in front of him. He had seen the design of Haixi Mansion in the Ministry of Industry, but when he actually saw it, he was still quite shocked. This Haixi city is built lonely in the canyon of Taiping Mountain, the east and west sides are tightly wrapped by mountains, and the north and south sides are long with yellow sand. Although its environment is harsh, the terrain is dangerous, and if the enemy forces want to capture it from the north and south, they have to stand in the sand and attack it on their backs, which is very hard. Shen Mingyuan also learned the art of war, but after thinking about it, he felt that if he wanted to break through Haixi City, there was only one way: surround but not fight, and only by cutting off water and food could Haixi Mansion be self-defeating.

Hercy is the first stop for the four northern countries to go to Dayang, and it is also a necessary place, so there is an endless stream of people from all over the world who want to clear customs from the south to the north. When they entered Haixi Province from Wanfu Gate, the scenery they saw was indeed different from other places, except for one main street, which was free to pass, and on other small roads, as long as they encountered a corner, there was a small fortress, which was convenient for the defenders to fight separately and defend until the last moment. Because it is a border city, every door is hung with weapons, and when cooking at home, as long as the enemy army is coming, you can easily handle the guy and rush to the battlefield.

What is even more surprising is that almost all of the people who come and go to carry stretchers to transport the injured and sick are women. Shen Mingyuan asked curiously: "Why are all women and men doing this work?" Wei Yangyang wondered why he asked this, and she replied casually: "Man? The men are all dead. "Yes, in these years of war, there are few men, and even have to recruit troops from the Central Plains, or exile the criminal ministers to Haixi, which is enough for soldiers. Wei Yangyang was used to this scene, and she didn't think it was strange, she replied: "In addition to carrying stretchers, it is also women who bring us food on the battlefield; It is also a woman who cultivates the land; Even, it is a woman who makes weapons; Also, it can be a woman who kills the enemy," she pointed to herself, "like me!" ”

Shen Mingyuan knew that making weapons, carrying stretchers, and killing enemies were all taken with silver, so he asked: "Then, women do this, and also give them the silver allocated by the imperial court?" Wei Yangyang nodded: "Yes, some women, their fathers, husbands, and sons have all died in battle, if they don't let them do some more work and get some money, what will they do?" Did you starve to death? This is what my father stipulated, women can also get military pay for their work, but not as much as men. The court saved money, and they could survive, so they did it very seriously, no worse than men. Shen Mingyuan expressed his understanding: "Well, all the men in this family are dead, and it is indeed not easy to live." Wei Yangyang was a little proud: "Not only that, we are different from the Central Plains here, and it is very common for women to remarry." Of my father's five concubines, two were dead men; My starling's two concubines were also killed by men, and there was no one at home, so they were taken in by him. ”

The law of the Great Yang allows husband and wife to have a bad relationship and can be reconciled. But everyone in the world attaches great importance to women's chastity, so ordinary women can't be spurned by the world, even if they are forced to death by their in-laws, they easily dare not divorce or remarry. Men take concubines, and they are all women from white families, and if they redeem themselves for prostitutes and go home, they will never dare to lead them into the house, so they can only prepare another courtyard for placement, and they cannot give them a name. But in Haixi, everyone is used to seeing life and death. Chastity is not so important in the face of death, and living is the most important thing. Therefore, the chastity of remarried women is not as valued as in the Central Plains. Although Shen Mingyuan expressed his understanding, he grew up in brocade clothes and jade food, the palace maids who waited for him to warm his bed, his concubines and Wang Yan, all of them were girls who were Bingqing and jade. So when he heard Wei Yangyang say that Wei Shuping and Wei Bingyue both had two concubines who remarried women, he was very surprised. Wei Yangyang didn't see the surprise he was exceeding, but just followed Wei Bingyue's instructions, took him for a walk around Haixi City at will, and finally took him to the Chunlai Teahouse.

They walked to the teahouse, found a room to sit down, and after a while, Wei Bingjian and Wei Bingyue also walked in. Wei Yangyang knew that they were going to discuss political affairs, and she was never allowed to participate in this situation, so she hesitated, not knowing whether she should sit here or stand outside the room like Ling Quan and wait. Wei Bingjian hadn't seen her for a long time, and wanted to talk to her, but he had something to discuss, so he said to her softly: "Little pomegranate, brothers and Lu Gongzi have something to discuss, you can go to the street to play by yourself." ”

Wei Yangyang nodded, indicating that he knew, but stood still and didn't leave. Wei Bingyue was with her every day, and she didn't have such a good temper, so she said to her, "Why don't you leave?" Wei Yangyang knew that her sixth brother had a good temper, so she didn't look at Wei Bingyue, but at Wei Bingjian: "Brother, I brought Lu Gongzi here, I, I haven't eaten yet." Wei Bingjian knew what she was thinking, so he took off the purse from her body, opened it, and put all the broken silver on the table, Wei Yangyang's eyes suddenly lit up.

Wei Bingyue stopped him: "Sixth, don't give it to her, she even has to cheat her nephew's money, she is a little money fan."

He is talking about the eldest son of his eldest brother's family, his eldest nephew Wei Bianqi. Wei Bianqi is fourteen years old, only two years younger than Wei Yangyang, every time he sees Wei Yangyang, even he has to take out his silver to honor his aunt. Wei Yangyang retorted: "I didn't lie, it was Bian Qi who was willing to give it to me." Wei Bingjian pointed to the broken silver, and said with a smile: "Are these enough for you to go out for a meal at noon today." Wei Yangyang nodded desperately: "Enough is enough, I'll disappear immediately." So saying, she reached out to the table and took the money. Wei Bingjian grabbed her hand and told her, "Remember," Wei Yangyang hurriedly interrupted him: "I know, I know, you are not allowed to fight with people!" Don't tell anyone who you are! Don't run out of Haixi City! Wei Bingjian nodded with satisfaction, and only said two words: "Let's go!" When Wei Yangyang heard the order, he rushed out of the door without even looking back, and did not forget to fly up and kick the door shut, and really "disappeared immediately".

In the afternoon, after Shen Mingyuan finished talking with the Wei brothers, the two brothers escorted him back to the Wei family to see Wei Shuping.

As soon as they entered the gate of the General Soldier's Mansion, they saw Wei Shuping and the Wei family standing in the courtyard to greet them. Wei Shuping gave a salute first: "Master Lu, I'm frightened." Shen Mingyuan returned the salute: "Fortunately, Ling Ai made a timely move, and the injury was not serious." Wei Shuping did not reveal Shen Mingyuan's identity, but only told his family that he was a minister from the Ministry of Works, and introduced his family members to him one by one. The first person to be introduced was naturally Mrs. Wei Guo, who was standing next to Wei Shuping.

Although Guo Shi is forty-five years old, her appearance still deeply shocked Shen Mingyuan. When he was in the Blue Camp, Shen Mingyuan often heard Wei Bingyue scolding Wei Yangyang as "the ugliest and shortest person in the Wei family", but he didn't care about it at that time. Because although Wei Yangyang's appearance is not as outstanding as Wei Bingyue, he is also a beauty with a face like a silver plate and skin like a bright moon. In addition to her appearance, her heroism is extremely rare among all the official women Shen Mingyuan has seen. She wore a blue cloak, carried an Ide sword, rode a Ugin horse, and bent her bow and shot arrows in the sand, which can be regarded as a scene in this Haixi Mansion.

But now, Shen Mingyuan knows that Wei Bingyue is neither scolding nor exaggerating. In front of Guo's indisputable beauty, Wei Yangyang's sassy and heroic posture will also be slightly back row. Although Guo's appearance is old, the precipitation of the years has made her gentle temperament better than before. Although Shen Mingyuan has never seen her when she was young, you can also imagine how glamorous she was when she married Wei Shu more than thirty years ago. The garrison is tall and burly, full of murderous aura, and it makes people feel at ease when they see it; Mrs. Wei is as tender as water, and in front of her, the hundred steels have to be turned into finger twists. The husband and wife stood together, and they were a match made in heaven. Shen Mingyuan thought, Mrs. Wei's appearance and family background, no wonder General Wei is killing all sides outside, but at home she is considerate of her husband. It's no wonder that Mrs. Wei, a scholarly family in Qianwan County, and the daughter of the Guo family, was willing to marry to the ghost place of Haixi. The couple can really be said to be a fairy couple, and they are envious.

Because Mrs. Wei was a wife, after seeing him, she took her leave and retired. Wei Shuping introduced him to the others, all of whom were brothers and nephews of the Wei family from the fifth rank or above, and then took him to the guest hall. Wei Shuping said as he walked: "Don't worry, Gongzi Lu, our Wei family is a family slave for generations, and his mouth is tight, he is very safe to live here, and he will never leak the news." Shen Mingyuan only nodded slightly: "Okay." The guest is as he pleases, and he is all subject to the arrangement of the guard. ”

As he was walking, a door next to the corridor was suddenly pushed open, and Wei Yangyang crawled out from behind the door. Wei Shuping angrily reprimanded: "Kneel well! It could be seen that Wei Yangping was very afraid of her father, Wei Shuping scolded, she was busy kneeling on the ground again, and saw that Wei Shuping was behind Shen Mingyuan, and said timidly: "Master Lu, okay." It turned out that she was kneeling behind the door, and when she heard someone talking, she was curious for a moment, so she pushed the door to see who it was, and then she fell out. Shen Mingyuan felt strange, pointed at Wei Yangyang, and said, "General Wei, is this your Wei family's welcome gift?" Wei Shuping was a little embarrassed, and hurriedly explained: "The little girl was reckless and collided with Lu Gongzi. A few days ago, she deceived Yuan Shukuo and Admiral Yuan of more than 4,000 taels of silver outside, and she was sued by others to come to her house, which was really hateful, so she was punished to kneel here and reflect. What he said was vicious, but he actually felt sorry for his daughter, which was only a punishment for kneeling on Wei Yangyang, if he changed his sons, he was afraid that he would be beaten with dozens of whips. Shen Mingyuan knew best about Wei Yangyang's deception of Yuan Shukuo, but listening to Wei Shuping's tone, it was obvious that Yuan Shukuo did not explain the reason why he was deceived by her, so Shen Mingyuan did not say anything to explain that he was also at the scene at the time.

Wei Bingyue couldn't help but speak: "Father." Wei Shuping glared at him: "You want to intercede for her?" Every time Wei Shuping scolded Wei Yangyang, Wei Bingyue would inevitably be scolded together, saying that he didn't teach his sister well. So as soon as his father spoke, he immediately didn't dare to speak. Otherwise, Wei Yangyang was just punished for kneeling, and he might be beaten. So he had to say: "Don't dare, don't dare, father, it should be punished." ”

Before Wei Shuping could relieve his anger, he pointed to Wei Yangyang and said, "In two days, you will take 5,000 taels of silver tickets and give them to your starling, so that he can go and make amends to Admiral Yuan." When Wei Yangyang heard this, he not only had to spit out the money, but also put the money upside down, and pounded the ground with his hands angrily. Wei Shuping scolded himself non-stop: "Why, you just lost the money, and your starling brother has to be cheeky to come to the door to ask for guilt." If you are not satisfied, go yourself. Wei Yangyang didn't dare to speak out after hearing this, and lowered her head, afraid that her father would really want her to go to Admiral Yuan's door to make amends. Wei Shuping ignored her and continued to walk with Shen Mingyuan.

In the evening, the garrison held a banquet to entertain him. Although Haixi is poor, the Wei family is the general military mansion after all, although the banquet and drink are not comparable to the Central Plains, but the food, song and dance, but it has a unique exotic style. He found that none of the daughters of the Wei family came, but Wei Shuping's sons and nephews came dozens of guests as escorts. The north has short summers and long winters, and the weather is cold, so everyone is very good at drinking, and people here like to eat jealousy, so almost every dish is sour. Shen Mingyuan was not used to sour dishes, he didn't eat a few bites but was toasted desperately, he was afraid that he would get drunk and make a fool of himself, so he deduced that he was drunk and returned to the guest room prepared for him by the Wei family early.