Noble Lady

It was very cold in Shengjing City in the twelfth lunar month.

It happened to snow today. It was snowing heavily, cold and beautiful.

The carriage rolled over the bluestone-paved streets, leaving traces of ruts wherever it passed, carrying a little moisture from the melted snow.

Looking out from the small window of the carriage, the pedestrians on the street were very happy, because the auspicious snow indicated a good harvest, and also because it was the end of the year and every household was preparing for the New Year.

We can only welcome the arrival of the new year with joy.

"If it snows at this time, next year should be a good year, right?"

"That's not a good idea. But it's snowing here, so will it snow in the south too? If it snows, the drought should be alleviated."

"Maybe they'll make it rain? Droughts in the south usually bring a lot of refugees to the capital, but this year I don't see a single one."

Passersby were discussing in groups of three or four, and the topic never left the drought in the south.

A cold wind blew in her face. Du Jingyuan patted her cheeks, which were chilled by the wind, and muttered, "It's been a long time."

Xue Chenyu glanced at her and closed the window.

I've only been away for two months, but seeing the street scene outside feels like a lifetime ago. It's amazing.

What she didn't know was that the "heroic deeds" of her and Situ Zhen and others had already spread throughout the capital.

It was precisely because of the continuous news coming from the south that the disaster relief left an indelible impression on the people of the capital.

"By the way, I have to go to the Marquis' Mansion first later." Du Jingyuan reminded Xue Chenyu.

The latter hummed, and looked her up and down. "Why, are you afraid that if you go back like this, it will affect your reputation as the eldest daughter of General Du's mansion?"

Du Jingyuan then rolled her eyes rudely: "You know clearly that's not what I meant."

Her current identity is just a like-minded sister of Xue Chenyu, but she is not the legitimate daughter of the general's mansion, nor is she Chen Mingxuan's fiancée.

If Xue Chenyu sent her directly back to the general's mansion, would the truth be revealed?

Xue Chenyu had long seen through her bad taste, "You've been performing this play for two months and you're not tired of it yet?"

When they were in Haicheng County, Miss Du wanted to be inseparable from Teacher Chen, and they were born and died together every day, which attracted the innocent boy's heart.

As soon as she set out on her journey home, she immediately turned into a reserved lady. She stopped riding the horse, stayed in the carriage every day, and avoided Chen Mingxuan.

Of course, Xue Chenyu knew the real purpose of her being in the carriage: her skin had become rough after being exposed to the wind and sun for so long.

If she went back and rode the whole way, wouldn't her face be blasted into a mess by the sharp north wind? This was absolutely unacceptable.

She was about to return to Beijing to see her parents, brothers and sisters who were always worrying about her, so she had to take advantage of the trip to get herself in good shape. Otherwise, wouldn't she be laughed at?

Therefore, avoiding Chen Mingxuan is one thing, but the real thing is to make herself recover to her beautiful state as soon as possible.

Even though she had sneaked out for so long, she would definitely be punished when she returned, but she couldn't let others laugh at her for being tanned into a rough piece of charcoal - this was Miss Du's most stubborn thought at the moment.

"Xue Xiaoyu, do you know that you are really annoying?"

"I know, but even though I'm so annoying, don't you still want to squeeze in with me every day? Do you think there's something wrong with you?"

Du Jingyuan opened her mouth, but found she couldn't argue with her, so she puffed up her cheeks in anger, "You really are the most annoying."

Xue Chenyu said in her heart: Ah, yes, yes, you are right.

But he was even more ruthless: "You've been drifting outside for two months, how come you haven't even learned how to curse? With your fighting ability, how can you win over Madam Du when you return to the General's Mansion?"

Mrs. Du, of course, refers to Du Jingyuan's mother who is selling her for a good price.

Mentioning her mother who was always thinking about selling her for a good price, Du Jingyuan immediately frowned and steeled herself, "I'm not as kind to her as I am to you."

With this expressionless look, he doesn't look like he is going home, but rather like he is going to the battlefield to die heroically.

Xue Luoyan, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly blurted out, "Sister Yuan, I don't think you can do this. The look on your face shows that you want to go against others. Who can give you a good face? If it's me..."

"What if it was you?" Du Jingyuan asked half-jokingly.

She didn't think that this little girl Luoluo could provide her with any good ideas. Although she was very strong and didn't look like a ten-year-old child, she was only ten years old after all.

"Sister Yuan, why don't you try Ji Minrou's approach?" Xue Luoyan said shockingly.

Xue Chenyu subconsciously glanced at Yuzhu, the only maid in the car.

Yuzhu quickly covered her face.

It was so boring along the way that sometimes when the second girl sat with them in the carriage at the back, they would tell her stories of Ji Minrou showing weakness as a joke.

"Ji Minrou? Isn't that the mistress of that bastard He Minzhi?" Du Jingyuan naturally knew that shameless cousin of the He family.

"A Yuan."

Du Jingyuan immediately restrained her gossipy expression.

Xue Luoyan nodded frantically, "I heard it from Sister Yuzhu and the others. She's always pretending to be weak, crying at the slightest provocation, and others will think she's pitiful and weak..."

"Xue Luoyan!"

"Here, here." The little girl moved closer to Du Jingyuan with an innocent look on her face.

Du Jingyuan had long known about Ji Minrou's despicable behavior and her unmediated affair with He Minzhi, but she had never had any direct contact with this person.

I only knew she had some tricks, but I didn't know how she used them. This time I've learned a lot.

As the saying goes, take the essence and discard the dross.

It's not completely impossible.

No matter how Xue Chenyu viewed the two of them, they were destined to get together and "work together".

For a moment, she didn't know whether to say that Du Jingyuan was corrupting the children or that Xue Luoyan was corrupting the adults.

Sin ah.

While the girls were whispering in the carriage, Xue Hou, Chen Mingxuan and others couldn't help but feel emotional when they saw the prosperity of the capital.

"Lord Xue, I feel like I'm in a different world for some unknown reason." Chen Mingxuan sighed.

After seeing the desolation of Haicheng County and the misery after the famine, looking at the prosperous streets of Shengjing, I felt an indescribable sense of disconnection.

It's like crossing different time, space and countries.

But they all exist in reality.

Marquis Xue nodded. "I feel the same way every time I return to court after a battle. Fortunately, my family is safe, so I have no regrets."

This was not the first time he had experienced this feeling, so his emotions were not as deep and heavy as Chen Mingxuan's.

Chen Mingxuan suddenly realized that the man next to him was a general who had experienced hundreds of battles. He had fought on the battlefield for twenty years and had faced life and death several times.

He had seen the desolation of the border, and when he returned to the capital, he must have felt the same way as he did now.

Perhaps, after witnessing his comrades die in battle, he would be even more deeply moved when he saw such a thriving scene.

As Chen Mingxuan thought about this, his admiration for Xue Hou and other military generals deepened.

"No wonder there's a poem from the ancients that goes: 'Don't laugh at me sleeping drunk on the battlefield, for how many have ever returned from battle?' Marquis Xue has made a truly remarkable contribution on this mission, and I admire him deeply."

"Thank you for the compliment, Master Chen, but as martial artists, isn't it our duty to defend our country?"

"That's why I admire you even more."

They were so busy talking to each other that they couldn't hear what the girls in the carriage were saying because they all controlled their voices very well.

The carriage rolled over the bluestone slabs and unknowingly arrived at the gate of the marquis' mansion.