On the eighth day of the lunar month, the Laba Festival. The custom of Daqian is to drink laba porridge on this day. Early in the morning, not long after the smoke of every household rises, the aroma of Laba porridge begins to drift away, and the flavor of the New Year seems to begin to brew at this moment.

Yesterday there was a snowfall, but today the sky is clear. Yong'an Street in the capital is full of lights today, and the crowd is standing on both sides of the street, all with joy on their faces.

Today, the soldiers who have returned to the Rouli Kingdom are triumphant, and everyone wants to see the style. Especially Xiao Huai, the Marquis of Yongning, who came back from the dead.

Today, the emperor took the courtiers and hundreds of officials and waited early in front of the gate of the capital to welcome the triumphant heroes.

Tang Shuyi set a place in a teahouse on Yongan Street yesterday, so that Xiao Yuzhu could see her father for the first time.

At the end of the hour, the emperor, who was standing at the gate of the city, saw a fluttering flag from a distance, with a big Xiao character printed on it. Then there is the sound of horses' hooves, from far to near. The emperor's heart was a little excited, but also a little nervous.

Income from the country of Rouli was the greatest achievement of his reign, and now the soldiers who had made such a great achievement for him were coming back, and his heart was surging. At the same time, he didn't know if Xiao Huai four years later was the same as before, whether he was stronger, which made his heart a little nervous.

The figure of the soldier in armor and riding a tall horse was getting closer and closer, and the emperor squinted and saw the man in the front and center, he was dressed in silver armor, holding the reins in one hand, and holding the glaive sword in the other, his body was tall and looking ahead, majestic like a divine soldier in the sky.

Even though the two were dozens of meters apart, the emperor seemed to have sensed the opposing party's compelling momentum and the sharpness of his gaze. Who is this person if he is not Xiao Huai?

The emperor clenched his fist slightly, adjusted his expression, and let himself show a smile. At this time, Xiao Huai had already led his troops to the front, and he saw his hand holding the Glaive Long Knife raised high, and the soldiers behind him stopped advancing.

He dismounted sideways, handed the long knife in his hand to the soldiers beside him, and then walked step by step along the red carpet towards the emperor.

His figure was tall and his steps were steady, snapping, snapping, snapping, and the sound of footsteps seemed to hit the emperor's heart, and as Xiao Huai got closer and closer, his heartbeat became faster and faster.

I saw Xiao Huai stop, then raised his hand, pointed ahead and shouted, "Take it!" ”

His shout was like thunder, so that the emperor, courtiers, and the imperial forest army didn't know how to react for a while, and at this moment, the two generals behind Xiao Huai rushed forward quickly towards the emperor and courtiers.

The speed of the two of them was too fast, and the fast Imperial Guards did not react, and when the fast two rushed to the emperor's side, he fell to the ground in fright.

But the two soldiers crossed the emperor and pounced on the Taifu standing behind the emperor, the two clamped the Taifu on the left and the right, and then pressed hard, and the Taifu knelt on the ground.

At this time, everyone reacted. Jiao Kangsheng hurriedly helped the emperor up, and the emperor didn't care about anything else, raised his hand and pointed at Xiao Huai and said, "Big..."

"Chen Xiao Huai led the soldiers who attacked the Rouli Kingdom to return to the court, long live my emperor, long live, long live." Xiao Huai knelt on the ground and kowtowed, and the soldiers behind him also dismounted and knelt on the ground, shouting: "Long live my emperor, long live, long live." ”

The emperor couldn't get stuck in one breath, and he didn't know how to vent his anger if he wanted to. At this time, I saw Xiao Huai straighten up and said: "The minister saw the thief who collaborated with the enemy and treason, just behind you, the emperor, worried about your safety, and disturbed the holy car in a hurry, hoping that the emperor will forgive the sin." ”

"You.... You say..."

The emperor turned his head to look at the Taifu who was kneeling on the ground, with a look of disbelief, he looked back at Xiao Huai and said, "Xiao Aiqing, you said that Taifu collaborated with the enemy and treason?" ”

"Yes." Xiao Huai said and took out a stack of letters from his arms and presented them with both hands.

Jiao Kangsheng hurriedly went over and took the letter and handed it to the emperor. The emperor took the letters in his hand and counted them as many as a dozen.

He took out one at random, took out the letter from it and opened it, read it at a glance, then turned his head angrily, looked at the Taifu who was kneeling on the ground, and said, "I treat you well, treat your Jiang family well, this is how you repay me?" ”

"Wronged, wronged!" In the weather of more than ten degrees below zero, Taifu was covered in cold sweat, and he struggled to shout wrong.

The emperor squinted at Taifu, he naturally didn't believe Taifu's words. The handwriting of this letter is obviously Taifu's.

"Your Majesty, let's go back to the palace first." Jiao Kangsheng whispered to the emperor.

The emperor glanced at Taifu deeply, then turned to look at Xiao Huai and said, "Xiao Huai, Marquis of Yongning, led the army to capture the Rouli Kingdom, and the merit is in the future, you are all good sons of my great cadres." I will definitely reward meritorious deeds. ”

"Long live my emperor, long live, long live." Xiao Huai kowtowed again.

The soldiers behind him also chanted together: "Long live my emperor, long live, long live." ”

"Xiao Aiqing, follow me into the palace." The emperor said to Xiao Huai.

"Yes."

Xiao Huai got up, and the soldiers behind him also got up, and then entered the city with the emperor and courtiers. It's just that in the ranks of soldiers, a prisoner car is very conspicuous.

It is normal for the soldiers to triumph and take the captured enemy with them. And the reason why this prisoner cart is conspicuous is that the prisoner inside is a woman in red, and although this woman is embarrassed, judging from her facial features, she should be a beauty.

All of a sudden, the people around who were watching the excitement were talking about it.

In front, Xiao Huai rode a horse next to the emperor's sedan chair, and behind him was Xiao Yuming, who was also riding a horse. The emperor glanced at him and said to Xiao Huai with a smile: "Yuming, this kid is like you, brave and strategic. ”

"When he was young, he was not as stubborn as him." Xiao Huai said.

The emperor waved his hand, "Young people are like that." Last time, he had some misunderstanding with Jing Ming and moved his hand, alas..."

The emperor sighed heavily, "Jing Ming was shot and killed. At that time, I was so sad that I reprimanded the child. ”

"He told the minister about it," Xiao Huai said: "The minister also reprimanded him after hearing this, as a courtier, he shouldn't do anything with the second prince." ”

The emperor waved his hand, "Young man, it's understandable to be more arrogant. ”

"The minister will discipline him well in the future." Xiao Huai said again.

The emperor didn't speak again, leaning back in his chair and looking at the crowd of people on both sides of the street, all of whom had come to greet Xiao Huai.

"Daddy!"

A crisp voice suddenly floated from above, Xiao Huai followed the sound and saw a little girl in red, lying on the windowsill on the second floor, waving to him with a smile. The smile was as bright as the sun, and it shook his eyes.

Xiao Huai only felt that his heart softened into water, and he involuntarily waved his hand at her. The girl was even more happy to see him waving, and turned back to talk to the man. At the moment when she turned to her side, he saw a beautiful woman like a rich flower.