Chapter 468 Bedside Talk

Although it was snowing heavily, the sky was gradually getting brighter.

In the heavy snow, Feng walked into Li Hu’s yard alone with an umbrella. It was quiet all around.

Feng walked lightly to the door of the main room, put down her umbrella, and listened quietly with her ear tilted.

The voices of her daughter and Xueyan talking could be faintly heard from inside, and Feng then lifted the thick cotton curtain and walked in.

In the small dining room next to the main living room, Xiangling, Xueyan and two little maids sat around a large brazier, whispering something.

Hot water was boiling on a small stove nearby.

Seeing Feng coming in, Xiangling greeted her cheerfully, “Mother.”

Feng took Xiangling’s hand, looked her up and down carefully, and said with a smile, “Did the madam give it to you?”

Xiangling: “Yes. This one inside is also a gift from the young lady.” As she spoke, she took off her coat. She was also wearing a brand new ermine short coat inside.

Feng smiled and nodded. As she helped Xiangling put on her coat, she said, “From now on, you can no longer call me Miss. You have to call me Madam.”

Xiangling was puzzled: “Why? Sister Zijuan and Sister Xueyan all call her that, and so does Sister Qingwen.”

Feng smiled bitterly. This silly girl, people are different. Zijuan, Xueyan and Qingwen were the maids who came with the wife’s dowry, so it was natural for them to do so. But she was Li Hu’s roommate, and after the wife returned home, she told Nanny Wang that starting from the twelfth month, which was tomorrow, her and Hubo’s monthly allowance would be increased to two taels of silver, which was the treatment of a concubine.

Amber changed her tone on the day of her wedding, and even calls Bao “Madam” now. But she is still silly all day long, calling her “Madam”. What should she do in the future?

Feng sighed softly and asked, “Are the master and his wife awake?”

Xueyan at the side replied, “Awake.”

Feng took out an official document from her sleeve and handed it to Xueyan: “This is a copy just sent by the cabinet.”

Xueyan took the document and walked towards the bedroom.

Feng thought for a moment and pulled Xiangling into the green gauze cabinet.

Li Hu had woken up a long time ago and was now holding Lin Daiyu and talking to her.

Lin Daiyu lazily lay on Li Hu’s body and snorted, “I don’t care, you have to avenge me anyway!”

Li Hu smiled bitterly. When they talked about the wedding night, Lin Daiyu thought of how Jia Tanchun, Shi Xiangyun and others teased her. Now, she wanted him to avenge her. But how could he, a grown man, avenge her? He couldn’t just beat them up, right?

Seeing that Li Hu didn’t dare to respond, Lin Daiyu curled her lips.

Li Hu laughed and pinched her face: “Okay, I’ll do as you say. When they come in a few days, I’ll give them chin beans and make them squat on the toilet and unable to get out.”

Lin Daiyu burst out laughing and punched Li Hu with a sneer: “You are so bad!”

Li Hu smiled proudly: “How about it, isn’t my idea good?”

Lin Daiyu spat, seemed to imagine the scene, and couldn’t help laughing.

Li Hu changed the subject: “Did our father say anything to you when he left?”

Lin Daiyu shook her head.

Li Hu was silent. Lin Ruhai left the day after Lin Daiyu returned home. Lin Ruhai guessed right that the emperor had given him the task of rebuilding the Yellow River embankment, and he would not be back for two or three years.

“What’s wrong?” Lin Daiyu raised her head.

Li Hu came back to his senses, held her hands tightly, and said with a smile: “After dinner, I will accompany you to the back garden to ski?”

Skiing is not something that has only been invented in later times. It was popular during the Sui and Tang dynasties, but at that time it was called riding a wooden pole. Nowadays, there is not only skiing, but also riding on an ice bed, skating, etc. The ancients had a rich imagination.

Lin Daiyu’s eyes lit up, she seemed to remember something, and shook her head again.

Li Hu: “What’s wrong?”

Lin Daiyu buried her head in Li Hu’s chest and said in a muffled voice: “My grandmother told me not to be like before, and it would be best if I didn’t even climb the mountains.”

Li Hu was curious: “Why?”

Lin Daiyu didn’t say anything, but reached out and twisted his waist.

“Why are you pinching me?” Li Hu took a breath.

With a snort, Lin Daiyu said: “It’s all your fault!”

Li Hu was confused and he lifted her hair, only to see that her pretty face was red. He was stunned for a moment, and suddenly a flash of inspiration came to his mind. He subconsciously asked, “Child?” Lin Daiyu’s face became even redder, not only her face, but also her ears and neck.

Li Hu couldn’t help laughing.

Lin Daiyu was annoyed and started twisting Li Hu’s waist with her hands.

“It hurts! It hurts, it hurts!” Li Hu hurriedly held her hand and said, “Okay, okay, I shouldn’t laugh.”

Lin Daiyu snorted, got off Li Hu, sat up straight, picked up her underwear from the bed and put it on.

Li Hu tied the straps for her and held her in his arms again: “It’s still early, let’s lie down for a while.”

Lin Daiyu pouted and twisted her body: “Let me go!”

Li Hu hugged Lin Daiyu with both hands and lifted her up, letting her lie on him and covering her with a quilt. Then he smiled and said, “There’s no rush for the child. Wait two years. I know more about this than the old lady.” As he spoke, he whispered a few words in her ear.

When Lin Daiyu heard this, her beautiful eyes widened instantly.

Li Hu said seriously: “It’s not good to have a baby too early. It’s dangerous.”

Lin Daiyu hesitated for a moment and whispered, “After a long time, there will be rumors outside.”

Li Hu: “The war is about to start. If I’m not at home, there’s no point in giving birth! Besides, the situation in the capital will soon be reshuffled. Everyone is busy with their own affairs, so there’s no time for gossip.”

Lin Daiyu was shocked: “You want to lead the troops to fight? Where? Command the Brave Guard Battalion? Can they do it?”

Li Hu smiled: “Don’t underestimate those old soldiers. They have a good foundation, and after nearly two months of high-intensity training, they have been reborn. How does the saying go? Yes, there is no strong or weak soldier, but there are clever or clumsy generals. Well, there are no weak soldiers under a strong general!” At this point, he thought of the 500 defenders of Daqing Mountain, and secretly vowed in his heart that he would avenge them!
Lin Daiyu seemed to see through Li Hu’s thoughts and asked softly, “Who could be the murderer?”

Li Hu sighed in his heart. There would be no one else except Shui Rong! At the same time, he felt a little regretful. It would have been better if he had agreed to Zhang Cheng’s going outside the Great Wall. However, the Central Plains was more important. Zhang Cheng’s intelligence network covered almost the entire Central Plains. Even the General Military Offices and local patrol camps in Henan, Anhui, and Hubei provinces were planted with a large number of spies by him while Chen Qiang was training troops for the court.

Suddenly, his ears moved and he reached out to open the curtain.

The curtain outside the bed was drawn aside, and Xueyan was looking around curiously.

Li Hu: “What are you doing!”

“Ah!” Xueyan was so scared that she quickly retracted her head.

“Come in.” Li Hu saw the document in her hand at a glance.

“Oh.” Xueyan walked in with the document.

Walking to the bedside, Xueyan handed the official document to Li Hu: “This was just sent by Aunt Feng. She said it was a copy sent from the cabinet.” As she spoke, she looked at her own girl pitifully.

Lin Daiyu still lay in Li Hu’s arms, smiling with her hand covering her mouth.

Li Hu said unhappily: “I’m not a tiger, why are you so scared?” He took the document, tore open the seal and started to read it. After reading a few lines, his face turned gloomy.

Lin Daiyu: “What’s wrong?”

Li Hu: “A copy of the military report from Marquis Zhongjing Shi Ding. The general of Shanhaiguan was defeated in Guangning. If Marquis Zhongjing had not led the 10,000 cavalrymen he had gathered from all over the place to arrive in time, he would have been surrounded and killed.”

Lin Daiyu was shocked: “Didn’t they say that the difference in military strength between the two sides was not too big? How could they be surrounded by someone?”

“It was a coalition army composed of Han Chinese and Koreans from Liaodong. They went around from the Daling River pasture to the flank of the government army. At the critical moment when the two armies were fighting, this group of people attacked the government army from the flank.”

Li Hu threw the document to the ground. “What a bunch of rubbish! They were defeated by a bunch of shrimp soldiers and crab generals! What a bunch of rubbish!”

“Okay, okay, don’t be angry! It’s not worth it to get yourself hurt.” Lin Daiyu patted his chest and said to Xueyan, “Let Xiangling and the others come in.”

“Yes.” Xueyan walked out in a hurry, patting her chest, thinking: The Second Master is quite scary when he gets angry.

Li Hu held Lin Daiyu in his arms and thought for a while, then said, “After breakfast, I’ll go to the palace.”

Lin Daiyu asked anxiously, “Are you going to Liaodong?”

Li Hu nodded and then shook his head.

Lin Daiyu: “A pretext? What if the emperor agrees?”

“Don’t worry, even if the emperor agrees, the old man in the cabinet will strongly oppose it. He has finally separated me from the Ruishi Battalion, so how could he agree? Besides, something unexpected may happen in Mobei at any time.”

Li Hu was silent for a moment, then said: “I have long wanted to expand the Hetao Cavalry. At least I have to recruit another 3,000 Hetao Cavalry!”

(End of this chapter)