Xue Yuan had no way to return to the capital, and to make things even harder, the stagecoach was now not delivering mail.
How's this!
Wouldn't this mean that after a year, Gu Yuanbai would completely forget about him?
When Xue Yuan thought of this, he immediately walked out of the tent with great strides and drove his horse after the stagecoach people with a black face.
Luckily, the wind and snow in the northern border were so heavy that the postmen didn't dare to walk fast, Xue Yuan didn't take a while to catch up with the postmen, he drove his horse forward and said in a good-tempered and polite manner, "Is it true that you postmen don't send letters to the capital anymore?"
The official in the post, with layers of snow on his eyebrows and eyelids, shouted, "My lord, it is true that we are not going to deliver the letter, it is too cold."
Xue Yuan muttered, "I didn't hear that."
He suddenly reined in his horse and rolled down, reached up quickly and tugged at the stage officer's horse, then hooked his finger downward to make the man bend over.
The postal official, who was cowed in his heart at the sight of his tall figure, obediently bent down and curtly said, "O my lord, what is your business here?"
"I am trying to discuss something with you, my lord," Xue Yuan, because of his urgency, was not wearing a cotton coat, and his clothes made others look cold in the middle of the icy sky and snow, but his hands were strong, and his long, slender, slightly reddened by the cold, five fingers grasped the neck-collar of the post official, lest the man run away straight away, and in a good voice. "This lord, what if I have an urgent letter that must be sent to the capital?"
"As long as it has to do with the war at the border, it will be sent toward the capital," the post official answered honestly, "If you have an urgent letter, it depends on which side it is from."
It's that now you can only send war-related letters, nothing else.
Xue Yuan wiped his face, "Alright, I'll send war-related letters."
He had to ask what was going on.
The postal official wondered, "Only the general-in-chief has the power to write a petition at the end of the year."
Xue Yuan: "......"
He smiled and tightened his hand, and courteously said amidst the post official's horrified expression, "I'm not delivering any more letters, I'm only sending a message to the capital. There are countless people coming and going in the post, someone will always return to the capital to report their duties, if you don't go, someone else will."
"I have only one thing," his brows sank instantly, "go tell the saint about Xue Yuan, and don't believe anything that comes out of that group's mouth."
"Including others with the surname Xue, including Chang Yuyan."
*
It finally snowed in the capital in January.
The snow fell for three consecutive days, and in the midst of the heavy snowfall, a man braved the snowy weather to enter the capital.
Wrapped in his cloak and heavy hat, he occasionally lifted a glance to look at the homes lining the roads of the capital. Rusty and familiar, he searched among them for the mansions of his friends.
The goose feather snow was flying, but there were no traces of snow on the roads of the capital. The thick snow had been swept to the sides of the road, and on the bare, level ground, carriages and children dressed like balls passed by from time to time.
The man slowed down and took his time looking around the capital for half an hour, and by the time he found his friend's mansion, a layer of snow had accumulated on him.
The friend laughed and cursed when he exited the gate of the mansion, "Good you Lin Zhicheng, how long have we been waiting for you? Why are you only arriving now!"
Lin Zhicheng dismounted and asked with a smile, "You guys?"
"Come on in," the friend himself ran over to lead him toward the mansion, "it's us, everyone who knew you were coming back has come except me."
A few moments later, all the people sat on the kang and ate and drank around the center table, laughing and joking, looking at Lin Zhicheng, whose temperament was now calm and steady but still not losing his righteousness, all of them had some moistness in their eyes: ''Didn't the saint ask you to come back to report on your duties after the first of the year? How come you are back now?"
"I am in a hurry," Lin Zhicheng had already entered middle age, a smile appeared on his resolute face, "how can I not be in a hurry when it's not easy to see the light of day? Besides, I don't have a family to worry about, so I can naturally get up and go on my way at any time."
With that, he asked what he'd been wanting to ask for a long time, "What's up with this bed of yours? Why is it still permeated with heat?"
The friends who had just been touched burst into laughter, "This is exactly what the saint has come up with, it's called a kang of fire, do you know what a kang of fire is?"
Lin Zhicheng said, "I know, naturally, I saw your article."
He ran his hand over the warm kang, and after pondering for a while, he said, "I just turned around in the middle of the capital for half an hour, and found that many of the remote and narrow paths are now paved with green stone slabs as well."
"Yes," the friend nodded gently, then sighed, "You don't know how much has changed in the capital."
"Indeed," Lin Zhicheng said, "I've traveled all this way, and I've seldom seen a beggar huddled in a corner."
The friend said, "Then let me take you to the capital to have another look after we finish our meal."
Lin Zhicheng raised his cup and said, "Good."
Soon, Gu Yuanbai also learned of Lin Zhicheng's return to the capital to report on his duties. Three days later, he recruited Lin Zhicheng to the palace to face the saint.
As Lin Zhicheng saluted, Gu Yuanbai deliberately sized him up. Lin Zhicheng has thirty plus, is about to reach the age of forty. It is the age of the tiger, although he has done pirates, or pirate leader, but there is no banditry on the body, between the eyebrows of the righteous, very serious a person.
Gu Yuanbai and him caught up on old times, which naturally started from the time of the late emperor. Gu Yuanbai had read Lin Zhicheng's previous books to the late emperor, and his tone was direct and unpleasant. Gu Yuanbai had been prepared for him not being able to speak, but he hadn't expected that after these five years of refinement, Lin Zhicheng's words had eased up a lot, and he would occasionally say some witty phrases that would make people laugh.
He spoke the official language well, but would still bring his Fujian accent with him. After chatting with Gu Yuanbai, Lin Zhicheng himself said, "Your Majesty, my accent is a bit thick, I still don't know if you can understand it."
"It can," Gu Yuanbai smiled, "Lord Lin's official language is very good."
When Gu Yuanbai went to college, one of his roommates was from Fujian, and even more coincidentally there was another buddy from Hunan, and under each other's influence, the entire dormitory was on the verge of not being able to speak, and a group of high achievers occasionally popped out a few words with their own accents.
After chatting, Lin Zhicheng talked about the matter of the marine division, Gu Yuanbai nodded and knocked on the armrest, "I am the same as Lord Lin, the weight of the marine division is not inferior to the land division. I have not been able to find any suitable generals to train the navy."
The meaning of the saint was obvious, and after these words, Lin Zhicheng's heart stirred a bit, and he cupped his fists in a deep voice: "If the saint doesn't mind, I would like to do my best for the saint."
Gu Yuanbai spoke loudly, he smiled and personally walked over to help Lin Zhicheng up, "I am like a precious treasure when I get Lord Lin. Ta-Jen Lin, Daheng's navy is in your hands!"
"Yes!" Lin Zhicheng bent down deeply.
When he had finished his business, Lin Zhicheng should have retired, but he suddenly remembered something and said, "Your Holiness, when I passed by the post, I was once entrusted by a post official with a slight word to bring to Your Holiness."
Gu Yuanbai had some interest, "What kind of words?"
"It seems to be the words of a general, but who this general was, the postman forgot to say with the minister," Lin Zhicheng murmured, and said, "He said: please, Your Majesty, do not believe the words that come out of the mouths of that forced man, whether it be any other person surnamed Xue, or Chang Yuyan."
That forced.
Gu Yuanbai was silent for a moment, nodded with a strange expression, and motioned for Lin Zhicheng to step back.
He wanted to laugh a little, and pondered over this general in Lin Zhicheng's words.
It must be Xue Yuan, it won't be anyone else.
Gu Yuanbai turned the jade wrench on his hand and asked Tian Fusheng, "It's the end of the year, are the post stations all closed?"
Tian Fusheng said, "That's right."
"Tian Fusheng, what do you think Xue Yuan means by this," Gu Yuanbai closed his eyes, his expression unable to tell if he was happy or angry, "He told me not to believe what others say, and that makes sense. Regarding border warfare, regarding Daheng politics, I never listen to partiality. The other people surnamed Xue that he spoke of were Chang Yuyan, one from his residence and one of his close friends. These people don't believe in him, and he's asking me to believe in him?"
Tian Fusheng was careful, "Then do you believe it?"
Gu Yuanbai glanced at him and asked rhetorically, "Which way?"
Once this is said, Tian Fusheng knows that the saint still trusts Xue adult, the least is also a few aspects of trust. He heart also for Xue adults feel wronged, after all, can give himself with the jade power of the man, can do for the saint of the man, Tian Fusheng this really can not doubt Xue adults on the saint of a heart.
But that matter of jade potential cannot be said, lest it dirty the ears of the saint. Tian Fusheng had no choice but to say, "Your Majesty, perhaps Lord Xue also has bitter feelings."
Have bitter feelings? Gu Yuanbai thought to himself, don't believe the words that come out of the mouths of bystanders, whether it's the person surnamed Xue or Chang Yuyan. It's hard to believe that those people are not sent by him to protect Chu Wei? Chu Wei these days also three times twice unlucky, again was caught in the alley to teach a lesson, again was the seventh prince of Western Xia to see, was Xue Yuan sent people to protect should also.
The Xue family s son has a Xue Er, but the second son of Xue and Chu Wei have never crossed paths, and Chu Wei and Xue Yuan are a pair of children in the original text, and the expressions of those Xue House servants ...... He rubbed his forehead and didn t know what he was thinking about this for.
It is not going to whore Xue Yuan again, and it is none of his business whether it is clean or unclean between him and Chu Wei.
No, when did he ever actively whore out Xue Yuan?
The anger he felt after being tricked by Xue Yuan was still sinking in at the thought.
If Xue Yuan is really wrongly accused, if he really doesn't know anything ......
He opened his eyes and said in a cold voice, "Go and call all the Xue mansion servants and guards from that day."
If it was Gu Yuanbai who misunderstood and was wrong, then Gu Yuanbai would simply admit his mistake and apologize to Xue Yuan for compensation. If Xue Yuan had done it but still refused to admit it, he would be deeply in love with Gu Yuanbai while going to secretly tangle with Chu Wei. If he really played Gu Yuanbai like a fool, then Xue Yuan had better be prepared for Gu Yuanbai to return the favor.
Gu Yuanbai will find out what happened, go and follow what Xue Yuan said, one by one.
Xue Yuan, Gu Yuanbai s eyes sank, you better not fool me a second time.