Chapter 43 Widow

Chapter 43 Widow

Chapter 43 Widow

Outside of Gyeongju City, dark clouds hang low, as if they are within reach, and the depressing atmosphere is heavy.
More than a thousand cavalrymen slowly surged towards Gyeongju like a black torrent.

As the cavalry marched, the ground shook more and more violently, as if even the air around them was trembling.

As the cavalry gradually approached the city, the defenders on the city wall finally saw who was coming and waved and shouted a challenge.

The city gate slowly opened, and more than a hundred soldiers immediately ran out, with a middle-aged man who looked like a general defending the city running in the front.

But when he saw the figure standing in front of him, his expression became strange.

Lu Yunyi also saw the person coming. It was the city guard general he met on his way back a while ago.
He didn't know him at that time and was questioned.

The man came running forward and shouted:
"Which unit is the general in?"

His voice was calm, but the weirdness on his face could not be stopped.

The name Lu Yunyi is too famous in Qingzhou.

So much so that everyone, young and old, men and women knew about it. Now that he had become the commander of the front-line scouts, he had become even more famous.

Lu Yunyi smiled and dismounted:

"General, we are the scouts of the front army and have just returned from the grassland."

"No, no, I am just a small centurion, Lord Lu, please don't embarrass me."

Seeing a smile on his face, Lu Yunyi also smiled, feeling that time had passed.

"Then can my troops enter the city?"

"Of course we can. This is a warrior returning from the south. How can we stop him?"

"Thank you very much." Lu Yunyi nodded at him, then stood there and waved his hand vigorously:

"Enter the city and return to camp!"

The sound of horse hooves rang out again, rushing towards the city.

Lu Yunyi stood on one side, looking at the smiling faces of the soldiers, and finally returned home.

The general guarding the city saw some grassland people mixed in the team, and his eyes were filled with envy.

"It seems that Lord Lu has gained a lot on this trip. This humble official is very envious."

Lu Yunyi's voice was hollow: "I actually hope to fight fewer battles."

Qingyun Rouge Shop.

As the only rouge shop in Gyeongju, it used to be a place where people could buy rouge no matter it was raining or fighting.

Some soldiers and women came here to buy some rouge.

But now, there are more and more soldiers in the city.
But the business of Qingyun Rouge Shop was getting worse and worse, and there were few customers.

Because there were a few burly men sitting in front of his shop,

Even though his face turned red from the cold and he kept shivering, he refused to leave.

The same was true inside the house, which was packed to the brim, making the already narrow shop even more crowded.

Some people passed by the door, pointing at it and whispering about something.

"This Ning Xin is such a miserable person. I don't know who she has offended."

"Alas, there are many troubles around a widow, maybe some military commander took a fancy to her.

Look at them, they are so big and strong, only in the military camp can there be such cowards. "

The people at the door heard the women whispering and immediately glared over.

The two of them were not to be outdone, they also glared at him, their voices even more bluntly:
"You are so arrogant that you only know how to bully widows. I haven't seen you kill a few barbarians. You are a coward."

Gyeongju is a border area, and most of the people who can settle down here are military dependents or have relatives in the military.

They had some courage to bully Ning Xin because she was alone, but they would never dare to provoke the locals in Qingzhou.

Inside the house, Ning Xin put down her work when she heard the noise outside.
She leaned slightly to the side, stretched her neck to look outside, and smiled.
He treated the big man in the room as nothing.

One of them snorted coldly and said in a muffled voice:

"Madam Ning, your husband has received a lot of compensation, why do you want to show up in public?"

Ning Xin was busy with the rouge box in her hand and said lightly:
"It's not good for a woman to be in the spotlight, but the pension will eventually run out, and as a weak woman like me, I have no choice but to find another way to make a living."

Ning Xin smiled softly: "My husband is short-lived, and he can't earn much money in a year in the army. It's not as good as my rouge shop.

But to be honest, my rouge shop can survive.
Or maybe the city lords and the villagers saw my husband's loyalty to the Ming Dynasty,

After all, this money was earned by my husband's life, and I don't have any special ability."

The big man's mouth twitched slightly, and his face looked a little embarrassed.

These days, they are subjected to such sarcasm almost every day, and it is different every day.

As expected, Ning Xin sighed:
"But now the villains are in power and they don't even allow people to live a peaceful life.
I don't know what my husband would think in his grave.
If it happened again, I wonder if I would still be loyal to the Ming Dynasty."

Ning Xin's voice was mournful, and coupled with her plain clothes and slightly pale skin, she looked quite sad and beautiful.

The people in the room suddenly felt uneasy and filled with anxiety. If this news got out, they would definitely not be able to live in peace.

The leading man took a deep breath:

"Madam Ning, it is not good for a woman to be in the spotlight. I think Madam Ning is old.
It is better to find a place to settle down as soon as possible, give birth to children, and enjoy your old age in peace."

Ning Xin pushed away the rouge box in front of her, curled her fingers tightly together to form a hard fist, and said lightly:
"Empress Gao gave birth to Princess Ningguo when she was over 30 years old. She was still in her prime,

I am only twenty-six now, how can I be considered old? Could it be that you have said something disrespectful to Empress Gao?
I think the army doesn't need to go to the grassland to kill the rebels, they should come to my rouge shop and catch you red-handed. "

"You!!" The big man knew he was in the wrong, and was furious. He slammed the table and shouted:
"Ning Xin, don't refuse a toast and drink a forfeit.

A body of a withered flower and a withered willow, yet she is favored by the Lord.
It is a great blessing from heaven, don’t be ungrateful! "

Ning Xin just glanced at him calmly, then pulled the rouge box over and said calmly:
"A withered flower is better than having who knows how many concubines. The war is about to start. Do you want to go to the battlefield?"

"Of course we have to go to the front line."

"Then you should die soon so that your wife can enjoy her life and don't delay her."

"You!!!" The big man was furious. He stood up suddenly and walked to the front of the stage!

Ning Xin glared back without showing any weakness, but she held the pendant tightly in her sleeve, making the skin on her hand look even whiter.

At this moment, the ground began to shake slowly, and the sound of violent horse hooves rang out on the bluestone slabs outside the door, accompanied by loud shouts:

"Soldiers, return to the camp, make way!!"

The people of Gyeongju are no longer surprised by such scenes.

In the past two months, since the arrival of the army, soldiers have returned to the city almost every day.

But as time passed, the war horses seemed endless, swarming in from outside the city!

This caused many people to stop and take a look, and when they saw some familiar figures in the military camp, joy suddenly appeared on their faces.

"Look at that fat guy, isn't he Black Hawk from Shopkeeper Liu's family?"

"Oh, it seems to be true. I haven't lost any weight in these few days."

Liu Heiying, who was walking, widened his eyes when he heard this and shouted:
"Aunt Fang, I will take your husband to the brothel tomorrow!"

"Fuck you Liu Black Eagle, I'm going to beat your father right now!!"

The two men's curses spread far away, causing the people to burst into laughter.

Gyeongju is very small, and these children grew up in their eyes, so they look particularly close to them now.

Ning Xin's eyes lit up when she heard Liu Heiying's name, and she couldn't help but clench her fists even tighter.
He quickly stood up, walked sideways to the door, and looked at the soldiers coming and going.

When he saw the young figure who was at the end of the group, parallel to several carts, a hint of joy flashed across his brows, and he waved his hand quickly: "Yier."

Lu Yunyi was sitting on his warhorse at this moment, responding to greetings from the elders and fellow villagers, his face was tired of smiling.

Hearing this voice suddenly, I shuddered.
He glanced around, searching for his mother.

But after searching for a long time, no one was in sight. Just as Lu Yunyi was wondering, another voice rang out:
"Yier!"

Only then did Lu Yunyi find the source of the voice. His eyes suddenly focused and a familiar figure entered his sight.

It was his neighbor, Mrs. Ning.

what?
As he was shocked,
He saw the dozen or so strong men surrounding the rouge shop, and also saw a hint of urgency between Madam Ning's brows, and frowned slightly.

He then instructed the soldier holding the cart:

"I have asked Liu Heiying to find a doctor and make sure they are sent to the military camp safely."

"I obey my orders."

"Thank you, sir. I don't know what to say."

A pale head popped out from the simple horse-drawn carriage with arrows on it, eyes full of tears.
He had thought for countless days and nights that he would die on the grassland.

Until today when I returned to Gyeongju, I could no longer suppress my emotions and burst into tears.

Lu Yunyi smiled gently:
"Take good care of your wounds. The pension will be issued when I return to the camp. When you are well,
I'll find you a job to make a living, but just live well and don't let others look down on you!"

"Yes, yes!! If you have any instructions in the future, I, Hu Kui, will never blink an eye!"

Lu Yunyi shook his hands and said, "Go ahead and take good care of your injuries."

After bidding farewell to the soldiers, he turned around and rode his horse to the Qingyun Rouge Shop, jumped off his horse,
"Aunt Ning, what is this?"

Lu Yunyi held the long knife in one hand and pointed at the big men at the door with a hint of doubt.

The big men suddenly became silent and tensed up.

But Ning Xin smiled and said slowly:

"They are all my late husband's colleagues. The city has been feeling uneasy lately, so they came to see me."

"Yes, yes. Let's take a look. Since Lord Lu is back, we will leave first."

After saying this, they hurried away.
Lu Yunyi frowned and shouted coldly:

"stop!"

The dozen or so people quickly stood still, not daring to look back.

Ning Xin came over at this time and shook her head gently.

Lu Yunyi frowned even deeper, ignored Ning Xin, and asked:
"Which unit are you from? Why did you leave the barracks in broad daylight?"

"We...we are under the command of Lord Yan, and we have been ordered to visit Madam Ning."

"Yan San? Why haven't I seen you before?" A hint of doubt flashed in Lu Yunyi's eyes and he continued to ask questions.

"We are from the Central Thousand Households Office in Qingzhou, and have just been transferred to Lord Yan's command."

The man leaned sideways and explained quickly, a trace of cold sweat already appearing on his forehead.

Lu Yunyi slowly turned his head and looked at Ning Xin:
"Aunt Ning, they..."

"Oh, it's really my late husband's colleague."

There was a hint of pleading in Ning Xin's voice, and her snow-white skin still emitted a cold light under the cover of the dark clouds.

Lu Yunyi then waved his hand and said, "Let's go."

Those people fled in a hurry. Ning Xin breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Lu Yunyi:
"Thank you Sir Lu for helping me out. I was rude just now, please forgive me Sir Lu."

"Aunt Ning, why are you so polite today?"

Ning Xin was not in the mood to joke with Lu Yunyi and sighed:
"It's Ding Xianzhi's people who want me to be his concubine. They sent people to block my door these days to prevent me from doing business."

"No wonder, then why let them go?" Lu Yunyi nodded.
Ding Xianzhi was the commander of Gyeongju and a notorious lecher. He never paid any money when he went to brothels and his reputation was terrible in Gyeongju.

"They were still well behaved, just blocking the door.
If you capture them, you can solve today's trouble.
But what about tomorrow and the day after tomorrow? I can’t always rely on you.”

Ning Xin glanced at him and said calmly, but the hatred in the corner of her eyes was not as relaxed as she showed.

Lu Yunyi nodded slightly and looked at her rouge shop:

"You can't just stop doing business, it's better to solve the trouble as soon as possible."

"I won't bother you with this matter, Mr. Lu. Please wait for me."

After saying that, Ning Xin quickly walked back to the Rouge Shop.

After a while, she took out a delicate box and handed it to Lu Yunyi:
"Here, I asked Manager Liu to bring back this fine rouge from Peking. Please give it to your mother."

Lu Yunyi was confused for a moment:

"Why doesn't Madam Ning go by herself? Mother should be at home."

"I am a widower. I cannot walk around the streets all the time. People will gossip about me.
This is my reward for helping me out today."

Ning Xin smiled with a somewhat reserved expression.

Lu Yunyi thought about it, took the rouge box, and said with a smile:

"Mrs. Ning, thank you very much. I have military duties to attend to, so I will leave first."

"Mr. Lu, walk slowly and be careful."

Lu Yunyi waved his hand, jumped onto the horse, and rode away.

Ning Xin watched his heroic appearance gradually fade away.

She pursed her lips slightly and looked in the direction where the soldiers were leaving.
With a sigh, he returned to the rouge shop silently.

In the Qingzhou camp, Lu Yunyi caught up with the soldiers who were trying to enter the camp.
I also saw soldiers gathering here from nowhere.

Their eyes moved back and forth over the front scouts, examining them.

After seeing the scouts and soldiers in the front army looking disheveled, with murderous expressions on their faces, staring back at him without showing any weakness, he nodded with satisfaction.

When they saw the grassland people hiding and dodging in the team, their eyes suddenly lit up.

A thought flashed through his mind that this new army scout was not bad, at least he could capture the Yuan people alive.

For the soldiers in the main camp, the bravery of the scouts in the front army determines the difficulty of subsequent battles to a certain extent.

They were all experienced soldiers who knew how important it was to have an elite scout to assist them in local fighting.

So when they saw the scouts in the front army acting like this, they couldn't help but nod their heads in satisfaction, thinking that their daily shouting in the camp was not in vain.

Lu Yunyi brought all the soldiers back to the camp.
After arranging for military doctors and doctors from Gyeongju to treat the soldiers with minor or serious injuries, they headed straight for the central military tent.

A quarter of an hour later, he saw Shi Zhengyu, whom he had not seen for a long time, in the central army tent. Before he could get close,

Shi Zhengyu smiled and came over:

"Brother Lu's return to the city is a grand one."

Lu Yunyi chuckled and said, "Brother Shi, I went to the northern border to investigate and got important information, so I rushed back without stopping."

When Shi Zhengyu heard this, his face suddenly became serious. He quickly made way and stretched out his hand:

"Brother Lu, please come in quickly. The general has already ordered that you don't need to announce your arrival."

A strange look flashed in Lu Yunyi's eyes, and he smiled and nodded:

"Thank you, Brother Shi."

(End of this chapter)