An ugly girl starts off, then becomes a beauty

The young general was speechless for a moment, "Really?"

After all, he is a man of this era, influenced by the general environment, and he is not completely unbelieving because of subtle influences.

Sang Ling smiled and didn't want to tease him anymore. "Can you tell me if this is the case?"

As they were talking, a cool breeze blew in from the window. In a moment, a sudden rain came without warning. Wei Chu stood up from the small couch in the front hall and called a few maids in to close the window together. Even the candlelight on the branch lamp in the corner of the back room was blown out by half. The voice of the head maid came from outside the door, "Madam, can I come in and close the window?"

Sang Ling responded while blowing out the bean-shaped lamp in the tent. It was going to rain, so the mosquitoes in the house disappeared. She lifted half of the gauze curtain and prepared to take the low table and lamp out, but was stopped by Nie Ce, "Why don't you ask me for help?"

The furniture at that time was all made of solid wood. Although this low table is not big, it weighs at least ten kilograms, so it is still quite heavy.

Sang Ling still didn't quite understand why his tone suddenly became serious, "When you weren't here, I also carried everything up and down by myself."

Even though she had maids and servants serving her, she was still used to doing many small things herself.

Nie Ce sighed helplessly, wanting to say something, but he didn't know what to say, so he just moved the things by himself. After the maids pushed out the windows, the couple finally lay down obediently.

"You haven't told me yet." Sang Ling's mind was still on the previous conversation. Nie Ce rested his hands on the pillow and listened to the sound of rain outside the house. He felt mixed emotions, angry and amused, but as soon as he heard her speak, he felt helpless. All along, his mother said that he hadn't figured it out yet. Now he felt that Sang Ling hadn't figured it out yet, even though she was a wife and a mother, she still hadn't figured it out. He could only sigh and say, "As you imagined, he has the person who can rule the world that he wants, and he is in the hands of King Cheng."

If I were to say more, it would be really hard to mention it. And that person was not just a specific person, but the entire government office, and the operator behind this guerrilla army was not the emperor... Nie Ce sighed meaningfully, and the smile on the prince's face suddenly appeared in his mind.

The Sang family's daughter smiled unconsciously, her eyes fixed on the dustpan above her head. She wanted to ask more questions, but she asked the person beside her to grab her hand and said, "Go to sleep. You have to get up early tomorrow."

This meant that the topic was coming to an end. Although Sang Ling was still a little unsatisfied, he was still able to understand the situation, so he turned over and prepared to fall asleep. Then he heard his voice again, "Starting tomorrow, I will have to stay in the camp. There may be some chaos in the city. You can just stay in the mansion as usual."

"Is it about to begin?" She slowly opened her eyes. In fact, the chat that Dai Chengjun brought back was not entirely gossip. Even Li Tong from the South China Sea was here. Didn't that also mean that a war was imminent?

Nie Ce nodded silently, as a response to her. Sang Ling then lay down facing him again, and took the initiative to shrink into his arms, "No matter what the tactics are, you can't take it lightly, you must return safely--" She stretched out her hands and held his cheeks, "I'll wait for you here."

"Okay." Nie Jialang said in a low and hoarse voice.

*

In fact, staying in the Chen family mansion was like being isolated from the world. Before this, the soldiers from the counties and states had not only been fighting guerrilla warfare everywhere with King Cheng's forces, but countless spies had also infiltrated King Cheng's power. The escape routes from the palace were all blocked at this moment, and they were just waiting for the final move to catch the turtle in the urn. Therefore, the city was actually quite peaceful. It was just that the shops and mansions had received the news and closed early, and the doors and windows of each household were also tightly closed. When the army fought against the army, there was no need to affect the ordinary people in the city.

Sang Ling could sense something different from usual. Even the main courtyard was deserted. Occasionally, two or three strangers came in and out, but they were all in a hurry, taking a few scrolls of bamboo slips and leaving without staying for long. ——But there were always people coming in and out in the previous area. The conversations in the meeting room never stopped until midnight, and the surrounding houses were also brightly lit.

The difference between the two is so huge that it's hard not to feel a little nervous.

On the night of the 23rd, a loud "bang" was heard outside. Ying Bushi, who stayed in the palace, came back and said that the palace of King Cheng was hit by stones thrown by the county army. The sound continued intermittently for half an hour. Looking from the sky above the patio, one could vaguely see the fire in the eastern sky, and even the faint sound of a charge that sounded like a dream.

She couldn't help but feel warm in her eyes, and she just prayed in her heart that the guy would be safe. After he calmed down, she immediately asked someone to bring the six girls in the backyard and several people from Dai Chengjun's side in. Ying Bushi went with Wei Chu, so she paced back and forth for a while with several maids in the room, forcing herself to be as calm as possible.

It was almost midnight, so everyone gathered in Kua's house. Wei Chu and A Zeng went to put the six girls from Zhong Village to bed, while the rest of the servants who were sleepy went to rest on the small couch in the ear room, and those who had to keep watch waited in the front hall. Sang Ling and Dai Chengjun were not sleepy, and had no intention of doing anything else to pass the time, so they could only sit there and chat to drive away their anxiety and tension.

A stick of sage incense was lit on the lacquered wooden table between them. Sang Ling found this thing when he was turning the soil in the medicinal field. He picked it immediately, dried it and preserved it. He originally planned to take it back to Chang'an and tinker with it slowly. Later, he couldn't get used to the smell of the scent here, so he asked Wei Chu for help. The master and servant crushed and ground it to make incense. It was about to be dried in the shade today, and it was the first time to use it.

Dai Chengjun even leaned on his chin and said, "This incense you made yourself is quite good. Send some to my house later."

"It's still a lot of work. It's mainly sage, and it seems to be mostly used to make soap."

"Don't the Qiu family also sell these herbs? I'll ask him later." The daughter of the Dai family stretched out her fingers and circled the light smoke. "I miss home a little."

The two of them have been out for almost half a year. Nie Ce actually said earlier: The family letter from the Marquis' Mansion mentioned this matter, saying that the documents of the Dai family looking for their daughter have spread all over Jingzhao. Neither of them dared to reply to say that Dai Chengjun followed Sang Ling to Jiaozhou. Otherwise, the two sides might have a feud. She shook her head helplessly, "It's been so long since I came out, and there is no news at all. What will you do when you go back?"

"I'll just stay with my great mother." Dai Chengjun sighed in annoyance. "At worst I'll get beaten up, but I won't die."

She admired the Dai family's daughter's mentality. She smiled at Xianxiang and heard the other person change the topic. "That Gongsun Zhang is a good guy. Since we followed the troops on the march, we have been eating wild vegetables and scorpion cakes, and have not seen any meat for several days. During the few days he came, I seldom saw meat. I ate a whole plate of meat that day. I didn't think meat was delicious at home before. My grandmother always asked me to eat more, saying that it would help me grow taller, but I would vomit as soon as I tasted it. No matter what kind of meat or how it is cooked, it doesn't suit my appetite. I didn't expect that now I can eat a large plate of meat by myself without anyone's advice."

"Everything cooked in plain water tastes better, right?" Sang Ling smiled and shook his head.

"Yes, it's just that after scooping it up and sprinkling some salt on it, it becomes very fragrant. Or do you mean that the meat in the south is more fragrant than that in Chang'an?"

"I don't know. I can't taste it." Sang Ling was fiddling with the incense ash, and heard a sudden noise outside. The figures of several servants in the front hall standing up were reflected in the window. The two little daughters looked out together, but it was Ying Bu who came back. "Madam, don't worry." The other person had already reached the corridor. After replying a word, he ran to the outer courtyard like the wind. Just by looking from the edge of the patio, one could vaguely see a large number of soldiers gathered in the outer courtyard.

The light of the torches instantly lit up the sky above the entire mansion. The general in the lead, Sang Ling, had met him once before. He was the "Li Tong" mentioned by Dai Chengjun before. Several people hurried into the main hall, as if they were looking for something, and soon retreated. Only separated by a wall, they could hear the sound of horse hooves in the alley and the shadowy shouts of fighting in the distance -

In the 14th year of Jiansi, before the end of October, the Jiaozhou battle was won in just one night after the soldiers from the prefectures and states attacked the palace of King Cheng. Those who did not know the story may have many doubts, but they can only come to one conclusion: this battle was easy, and the soldiers from the prefectures and states were too afraid of the enemy after being ambushed for nearly two years. But only those who were in the situation could understand the hardships behind it.

Nie Ce never revealed too many details to Sang Ling, but from the few words he mentioned and his non-stop running around, Sang Ling could guess a little.

When the palace was occupied that day, the General of Chariots and Cavalry did not return for three whole days. The news that came and went said: The general is in the county magistrate's office.

This was consistent with what he had said to Sang Ling before, that the talent they needed might be in the County Magistrate's Mansion.

Sang Ling waited quietly in the Chen family mansion for a few days until Nie Ce came back.

Although the battle was won, the army had to wait for half a month before returning to the capital, until the new county governor from Chang'an arrived and all the officials in the county governor's office were convinced. The young general did not look relaxed, and he said, "Some of them committed suicide, and I couldn't stop them."

There was no preface or postscript. He came back, washed up, and lay down on the couch. He opened his eyes and looked at Chengchen, and suddenly said this. Sang Ling knew that he was just talking aimlessly and didn't care whether the other party could understand him or not.

He knelt on the mat in front of the couch and said softly, "Sacrificing one's life to help others is the ambition of a loyal minister. If I were not such a person, I would not have attracted your attention."

The person on the couch did not reply. The dusk outside the window deepened, accompanied by the sound of raindrops, like the murmur of this water town. Sang Ling looked back at the bean-sized raindrops falling from the eaves, and a cool breeze blew in. Only at this moment could she clearly feel the arrival of autumn. She thought that people in the Guanzhong area might have already put on thick robes, so she stared for a while, and when she looked back, Nie Ce had fallen asleep.