An ugly girl starts off, then becomes a beauty

They returned to the capital at the end of the 14th year of Jiansi. Among the military generals of the counties and states, only Wu Zishi and the old generals from Nanhai were left behind. The rest of them followed the General of Chariots and Cavalry back to Chang'an after the new county magistrate took office.

The day before leaving, the various troops came to see him off, but they also ran into Gaoyao Gorge Commander Gongsun Zhang. Dai Chengjun was still teasing Sang Ling in his ear, "I think this team is the most fun, running back and forth, and not participating in the battle."

Sang Ling frowned and said helplessly, "This is a tactic. Although they didn't lead their troops to attack Panyu, running back and forth is also an essential part of the plan."

These things are not easy for outsiders to judge. Dai Chengjun raised his eyebrows and did not respond. After a while, he pointed ahead and saw several captains from the military camps coming forward to greet the General of Chariots and Cavalry. Wu Zishi was right beside them, looking around and said leisurely, "Actually, there is no need to meet them. The general specially arranged it."

The two little girls were stunned. They were all smart people. How could they not understand what was said? Sang Ling lowered his eyes and said nothing. Dai Chengjun had already laughed. "I thought so. You called everyone here..." He paused and continued, "Nie Ce is not very ostentatious. If it were me, I would put A Ling next to him and ask him, 'Do you look at my wife? Does she look familiar to you?'"

Sang Ling knocked her and said, "Come on."

Regardless of whether Nie Ce did it on purpose or not, she was only grateful that the guy didn't do as he told Dai Chengjun - to call her over.

Otherwise, it would be very awkward and weird. Gongsun Zhang was not a bad person after all. He behaved in a proper manner and had really helped them, so he would not force them to such an embarrassing situation.

As for the other grudges between the two of them, let Nie Ce deal with them on his own.

……

The team returning to the capital was huge. The main general and his men, together with the soldiers from the capital, still took the water route. A group of soldiers from the counties and states stayed behind near Jiaozhou. This return trip was only faster than when Sang Ling and her team came. With the military pass, they were not only the highest priority to pass through the checkpoints, but in many cases, the messengers at the checkpoints would receive the letters a few days in advance, and they had to let the travelers in front give way.

Therefore, the army arrived in Chang'an before the New Year.

On the first day of entering the city, snowflakes began to fall in the capital area. When they entered the city, the Praetorian Guards were already clearing the snow on the main road. The carriages of the women of the army stopped halfway. Dai Chengjun led her servants back to the Dai family. At the end, she forced Chen Feng to accompany her, meaning that she wanted the general to go home and explain the reasons clearly, so as to reduce the punishment. In fact, Sang Ling didn't even know that Chen Feng had gone there - how could he help her reduce the punishment. But since she said so, and seeing that Chen Feng seemed to be unable to resist, Sang Ling didn't say much.

She returned to Marquis Mu Wu's mansion alone in a carriage. Nie Ce didn't have time to talk to her before leaving. The messenger from the palace came to pick her up personally and went straight into the palace.

After Sang Ling returned home, she naturally had to go to the Hall of Right and Wrong to apologize first. Their return made quite a fuss, and the elders in the mansion had already received the news. Grandpa Nie and Madam Zhao Yu were also inside. As soon as she entered and knelt down, her uncle and aunt from the third room also came.

The old man didn't say anything. Madam Zhaoyu spoke first to ease the situation. "My wife's actions were a bit rash, but they are understandable. But you must never act so rashly in the future."

She just responded, "I know, it's my wife--" Before she finished her words, Cai said, "Xuanwen is a military commander, it's common for him to go out to fight. It doesn't mean you have to follow him every time he goes. It's not nice."

As soon as Cai said this, she was stopped by the eyes of Madam Zhaoyu and Master Sanlang, and she shut up in anger. Sang Ling lowered his eyes and couldn't help but sigh. He had just returned and hadn't even sat down yet, and they were already starting to attack him openly and secretly again.

"What should we do with the children we brought back?" Nie Taigong was different from the others. Perhaps his subordinates had already told him about it. ——A total of three carriages returned, and among them were six girls, all brought back from Jiaozhou.

Madam Zhaoyu also knew about this matter. Before they came back, Nie Ce had mentioned it in the letter he sent back home. As a mother, she would not hesitate to say anything about the fact that her son had met her. Moreover, this son had returned with military merit.

"Leave it to mother to decide. The money for food and accommodation can be paid from my granddaughter-in-law's account." She understood Grandpa Nie's attitude towards her now. She wanted to talk about everything after making everything clear, and not show off her intention to be in charge, so as to avoid gossip.

"We are one family, and they are just six little girls. We can afford to raise them." Madam Zhaoyu smiled at the old man with a gentle smile, "Xuanwen has mentioned this to me a long time ago. They are all poor children. It would be a good idea to raise them at home and let them serve us."

The first lady was always considerate and was very good at making polite remarks. She never gave the old man any room to interrupt. Cai, who was standing by, always wanted to grumble, but was stopped by Uncle Nie's eyes. The third house was not like the second house. They still had some deep hatred and grudges against the first house. They had to rely on the first house. Moreover, Nie Ce was a great contributor and was favored by the emperor. Why should they make the first house unhappy?

The atmosphere in the room was stagnant for a moment. Although Uncle Nie did not often speak at home, he acted as a peacemaker when he saw that the two were silent. "Our Xuanwen is quite capable. Although those bad things have been spread outside, how can ordinary people know the ins and outs of the matter? The other day, I was fortunate enough to meet the prince inspecting the river. His Highness asked me about my family. When he mentioned Xuanwen, he also said that he had met my nephew's wife."

"Don't pay attention to what people say outside." Nie Taigong finally spoke up at the right time to avoid being too embarrassed. "If you believe everything you hear, then there's no point in living like this."

"My son knows."

"When has the prince met you?" Madam Zhaoyu asked Sang Ling. She replied with a gentle smile, "The Marquis took me to greet His Highness at the horse racing event held by the Xun family earlier."

With a nod from the other side, Madam Zhaoyu turned to Grandpa Nie and said, "Dad, it will be warmer after the New Year, and the palace will hold a Cuju competition. The queen has also invited our family. I would like to ask if you would like to go. If you go, please reserve a seat on the quetai, where the view will be good."

Although it was the Queen's invitation, Nie Da knew that asking him was just a courtesy. In fact, it didn't matter whether he went or not. If he went, he would be polite. If he didn't go, no one would blame him. After all, he was old. So he cleared his throat and said, "Thank you for your concern, but it depends on the time. I want to join in the fun, but I'm afraid the weather will be bad."

Madam Zhaoyu knew that when the snow melted in spring, it would be a good time for fishing, and the old man would go to the other courtyard. Asking this question was just to liven up the atmosphere and prevent him from finding ways to target Sang. So she smiled and continued the conversation.

There was a few casual conversations in the main hall of the hall. At 9 o'clock, everyone left and the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law went back together.

She just asked about what she had seen and heard in the past six months. When her mother-in-law asked, Sang Ling answered.

"Although it is hard, it is worth it. However, as mother said, we should make plans before taking action. This time, my wife was indeed impulsive, and Xuanwen also said something bad about me."

"It's enough for you to know. There's no need to admit your mistakes all the time. I see you've suffered a lot along the way." Madam Zhaoyu also looked at Sang Ling's current appearance, and her anger was mostly gone. Although tiredness did not hide her gracefulness, she was after all not like before. When she was at home, she was like a lotus emerging from the water. Even her face after giving birth was as delicate as water. Everyone who saw her, from top to bottom, inside and outside, took a second look at her. But now, there were some light spots on her cheeks, and her originally thick black hair was now forked.

"You have such deep feelings for him, which is actually a good thing."

Madam Zhaoyu's open-mindedness in some aspects really made Sang Ling admire her. She lowered her eyes and nodded, and listened to her mother-in-law talking about her granddaughter. "I still have to say something about you. As a mother, you are too cold-hearted. You abandoned the child when she was so young. I really don't know whether you are heartless or you trust me as a grandmother too much. In any case, it is better for the mother to be around. The child is young and ignorant, but the mother still recognizes her. Xuanwen and I said that she was obedient, but in fact, she cried all night long in the first half month after you left. It seems that she is really attached to you, and several nurses can't comfort her."

Sang Ling had pretended to respond to the gossips he had said before, but when he heard this, his heart was in turmoil, "It's my fault."

But other than that, there's nothing else to say.

She only took some time to think about it, and she felt that she should also talk about Nie Ce. A biological mother is a biological mother, but a biological father may not be a biological father? He has never even seen his daughter. She felt that if they were to be trained, they should be trained together.