Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 367 Old Man

Liu Taozi's family does not live in the General's Mansion.

The General's Mansion was still used for office work, and Gao Yun found a separate house in the south of the city to house the General's family.

Liu Taozi led Heifeng and came here on foot.

The house was not too luxurious, but the walls were tall enough. At the alley outside the walls, one could see fully armed soldiers patrolling back and forth.

At the main gate facing the street, there were also several majestic soldiers standing.

When they noticed the person coming, they hurried forward to salute.

Liu Taozi nodded, and the soldier stepped forward and took the reins from Liu Taozi. Heifeng was a little irritable and shook his head. Liu Taozi patted his neck, and Heifeng stopped resisting.

Liu Taozi led everyone and strode into the courtyard.

A long road extends from the gate all the way to the backyard.

There are many houses on both sides, but most of them are empty.

There were also some warriors in the courtyard. When they saw Liu Taozi coming, they all bowed and saluted.

Liu Taozi continued walking forward, and just as she passed the front yard, she heard shouting coming from inside.

After pushing open the door, I saw a large open space with many wooden targets standing around it. Xiao Wu was riding a horse and holding a large bow. He was circling around the open space, shooting arrows in his hand continuously and hitting the wooden targets in the middle.

Xiao Wu suddenly discovered that his brother appeared, so he hurriedly reined in his horse, hung the bow on the saddle, and rushed towards Liu Taozi.

"Brother!!"

Liu Taozi looked at him for a moment.

Xiao Wu grew very fast and his height increased rapidly. Among his peers, he was considered quite strong.

Liu Taozi looked at the wooden targets and asked, "Are you starting to practice horseback archery?"

"Yes, brother, why did you come back suddenly?"

"Mother said you won't be back until at least the evening, saying you have a lot of things to do."

"Nothing to do. Where's mother?"

“In the backyard!!”

Xiao Wu quickly stood on tiptoe and looked towards the backyard, "Mom! Big brother is back! Big brother is back!"

Liu Taozi stood beside him, reached out and rubbed his head, then quickly walked towards the backyard.

Xiao Wu followed him with a smile, his eyes sparkling, "Brother, is the Mandrill Camp still short of people?"

"Can I go?"

"I can now ride and shoot, wear armor, and read!"

"The Mandrill Camp does not accept anyone under the age of seventeen."

"Ah? Does the Lingzhou Military Headquarters need anyone? I heard they are fighting with the Zhou people every day."

"You are still too young. Grow up a few years."

"Oh"

Xiao Wu felt a little lost.

The door to the backyard was opened, and Liu Zhang, with a noble look on her face, walked out quickly. Her eyes were fixed directly on Liu Taozi. She could not see anything else except him, and she just walked towards him so quickly.

"peach!"

"mom."

As soon as Liu Taozi lowered her head, Liu Zhang began to feel around as usual. She wanted to make sure that her peach was not hurt.

Seeing that her peaches were intact and without any signs of damage, Liu Zhang finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"I dreamt a few days ago that you were bitten by a big fish. I was so panicked that I couldn't sleep for a few days."

As Liu Zhang spoke, her eyes couldn't help but become red.

"From now on, I can spend more time with you and not go anywhere else."

As Liu Taozi was speaking, someone suddenly stood out from among the palace maids behind Liu Zhang.

She was a young girl, but she was dressed very maturely and imitated the makeup of a woman.

She had snow-white skin, pure eyes, and dark brown hair. Standing next to Liu Zhang, she looked like a frightened rabbit, extremely uneasy, and did not dare to look directly into Liu Taozi's eyes.

Her voice was very soft and could not be heard clearly at all.

"Huolüxian greets her husband"

For the first time, a look of confusion and bewilderment appeared on Liu Taozi's face.

He slowly looked at Liu Zhang who was standing beside him.

Liu Zhang laughed and said, "This is the daughter of General Hulu. We had planned the marriage a long time ago, and now the deadline has come, so I will help you with this matter. General Hulu is not a pedantic person. He knows that this is a chaotic world, so many etiquettes can be saved if possible."

Liu Zhang stretched out her hand and gently placed it on Huluqian's shoulder. Huluqian was startled and slowly lowered her head.

Liu Taozi was silent for a long time.

"I see."

Liu Zhang smiled and whispered a few words to the woman. Huluqian nodded, turned and left.

Liu Taozi waited until the other party left before asking: "Why?"

"You issued a manifesto in the south. How can I feel at ease when Hulugu and Huluxian are both leading troops outside? I sent someone to contact Hulugu and talk about the marriage. Hulugu was also uneasy, but he immediately agreed to my proposal. You are too hasty. If you want to issue the manifesto, why don't you wait until you return to Pingcheng? Many people are not aware of the situation at all. When they suddenly see your manifesto, they are so scared that they don't know what to do."

"Let's talk inside."

They walked into the backyard.

As soon as I walked in, I saw a man sitting under the shade of a tree on the left. He was sitting on the ground with many wine bags around him, and he smelled of alcohol.

Liu Taozi looked at him and walked up to him in a few steps.

Liu Taozhi slowly raised her head and looked at him.

“Alcohol is prohibited in the country.”

Liu Taozi spoke.

"Oh, with this law, why didn't Lord Liu arrest me and send me to the authorities?"

Liu Taozi looked at Xiao Wu who was standing beside her and said, "Go and collect all the wine bags."

Xiao Wu looked at his brother timidly, then at Liu Taozhi.

Liu Taozhi stood up shakily and looked at Liu Taozi angrily, "Why, it's not enough that you have no father and no king, you also want to lead your brother astray?

"Alcohol is banned in the country? Which country?!"

"Han."

Liu Taozhi's face changed drastically, the effects of his alcohol disappeared in an instant, and he looked at Liu Taozi in disbelief.

"You have usurped the country?"

"Correct."

"you you."

Liu Taozhi panted, clenching his fists. "If it weren't for Emperor Shenwu, I would have died on the road. If it weren't for Empress Dowager Lou, you wouldn't exist. You are ungrateful and a thief who stole the country."

Liu Zhang stepped forward and said, "The sacrifices to Emperor Shenwu are still there. We didn't destroy their temples. How can destroying their sacrifices be considered ungrateful?"

"Go inside first, and then we'll talk."

She coaxed him for a while, then pulled Liu Taozhi to walk in front, then turned back and signaled to Liu Taozi to talk less.

The family finally entered the house.

While Liu Zhang was persuading Liu Taozhi, Liu Taozi had already quietly sat in the upper seat.

Liu Taozhi was not surprised at all, and he sat directly opposite Liu Taozi.

The two tigers just stared at each other, neither giving in.

Liu Zhang then asked, "What is this Han Kingdom you just mentioned?"

"Oh, it was the ministers who persuaded me to ascend the throne, and I agreed. I just did that. You will see the relevant notice tomorrow. I am now the King of Han. Hebei belongs to Han, and Qi is destroyed."

Liu Taozhi's face was dark and quite ugly.

Liu Zhang was not surprised. She said with a smile, "When Zu Ting asked me about the family tree, I had expected it. It turned out to be true."

"So it was his mother who told him about the family tree?"

Liu Taozhi looked confused, "What family tree?"

Liu Zhang did not answer this question. She looked at Liu Taozhi seriously and persuaded her: "My dear, the prosperity and decline of the country are not something we can decide. The Mandate of Heaven of Qi has been cut off. This is a sign from heaven. So many members of the royal family have already accepted their fate. Why do you bother?"

"Over the years, I have done what I can to repay the Emperor Shenwu. Besides, to be honest, the Emperor Shenwu might not be happy to see the continuation of Qi. Just look at what happened to Qi after his death. His concubines were raped and killed, and his descendants killed each other. Over the years, except for Emperor Xiaozhao, who has offered sacrifices to the Emperor Shenwu? It is better for Taozi to take over than for the Zhou people to massacre all of his clan members."

Liu Taozhi said nothing, her eyes full of nostalgia.

He said slowly: "Well, your power is already established, and I can no longer oppose you. However, as a minister of Qi, I will never serve Han, let alone be your King of Han."

Liu Taozi said calmly, "I don't want you to be the boss either."

"Okay, eat! Eat!"

Liu Zhang interrupted the two of them. The family was not very happy, and Liu Zhang had many problems.

Faced with her mother's questions, Liu Taozi was much more patient and answered whatever was asked without hiding anything.

Liu Taozhi was just eating, but she pricked up her ears and listened to what her son said.

"I didn't hurt Huang Fachuo. It's nonsense for them to say that I shot and injured Huang Fachuo. Huang Fachuo is a capable general. He withdrew from the central army in time. I didn't dare to continue chasing him."

"I didn't massacre the people of Jinyang. Jinyang was massacred by the rebels. When I arrived, there were corpses everywhere."

Folk rumors are often bizarre, and many blames are put on Liu Taozi.

Liu Taozi still had the same good appetite as always and ate a lot.

In contrast, Liu Taozhi, who was sighing, didn't have such a good appetite and didn't eat much.

The food was soon eaten up. Liu Zhang gave Xiao Wu a wink, and the two of them picked up their bowls and left quietly.

The father and son sat facing each other.

There was a blood-red sunset glow in the sky and a cold wind was raging throughout the courtyard, but neither of them felt cold.

Liu Taozhi said slowly: "When I was in Huaishuo, it was hard to have a full meal. I was hungry all day long, looking for food from the dead, and was beaten and chased every day. There was always endless work to do every day, and I was lucky to survive every day."

"The Emperor Shenwu is different from others. Others only want the tallest, strongest, and most capable soldiers, but he can take out food and distribute it to those who are about to die, give them weapons, and let them follow him."

"He doesn't look down on others because of their origin or ethnicity, and he remembers all of our names."

"Arrange a family for us and clearly distinguish rewards and punishments."

"From time to time, he would come to the parade grounds and lead everyone in singing, drinking, and dancing. When he got tired, he would sleep among the soldiers. No one wanted to murder him."

"When I was lying on the ground, hungry and waiting to die, he jumped from his horse and threw me a Hu pancake. I looked at his face and thought I had seen a god. He was extremely handsome, strong and heroic, and shining."

"What a pity that his great cause was ended by my son."

Liu Taozi listened to his words quietly, "If it is really as you said, and I was born many years earlier, I would also follow him to pacify the world."

Liu Taozhi was stunned.

Liu Taozi continued, "However, you said that I ended his great cause, but I don't agree with that."

"His great cause was ended by his sons. They occupied the richest place and the largest population, but they were able to turn the country into such a horrible state."

"I don't need to tell you too much. How did you feel when you followed Gao Yang?"

"You followed him to create a great cause, and I am here to clean up the mess left by his children. There is nothing wrong with that."

Liu Taozhi slowly raised her head and said, "You destroyed my country."

“I saved a lot of people.”

Liu Taozhi was a little dazed, "This world is really hard to understand."

The two fell silent again.

It's getting darker.

Liu Taozi suddenly asked, "Is there any way to distinguish Wei Xiaokuan's bandit army?"

Liu Taozhi was stunned. "The bandit army is causing trouble again?"

"Everywhere else is fine, except for Bingzhou. Wei Xiaokuan sent people all the way to Pingyang without us even noticing. He should have left a lot of people in Bingzhou."

"It's impossible to tell the difference. Many people are originally from Qi, but they were bribed by Wei Xiaokuan. No matter how you check, they are still from Qi."

"To catch them, we have to start by delivering information. The first thing is homing pigeons. These pigeons cannot be used immediately. They need to be trained for a long time, and there are not many places suitable for training."

Liu Taozhi spoke of her own experience in a very serious tone, and her previous decadence and confusion had largely disappeared.

After a long while, he stood up and said, "If your subordinates still don't understand something, let them come and ask me. The bandit army has many ways to pass on information. They even dare to use your post house to pass on information!"

Liu Taozhi just returned to the house.

But Liu Taozi was not in a hurry to go back.

He reached the stable.

The blue lion in the stable suddenly became impatient. It seemed to smell something and neighed loudly.

Liu Taozi smiled, opened the door, held a large bowl in her hand, and walked to Qingshi's side.

The blue lion shook its head happily, its limbs constantly tapping the ground, and it hummed happily.

It placed its head on Liu Taozi's chest and rubbed affectionately against its owner whom it hadn't seen for a long time.

Liu Taozi gently touched its head.

"I brought you some delicious food, old friend."

"Long time no see, how are you?"

The blue lion snorted, buried its head in the bowl and ate with big mouthfuls.

Liu Taozi gently stroked its mane and said, "It's too late today. Don't worry. Wait until tomorrow and I'll take you out for a walk."

Liu Taozi stayed with Qingshi for a long time, then turned and walked towards her own bedroom.

When Liu Taozi pushed open the door and went in.

There was fire in the house.

Huluqian sat on the bed, head lowered, hands tightly grasping the corners of her clothes, and her whole body was trembling.

Hulugu's personality is reserved, and she doesn't have the free and easy personality that is common among ladies from wealthy families. Hulugu's two daughters, the eldest is lively and enthusiastic, while the youngest is reserved and shy.
Huluqian was extremely confused at the moment. Thinking of what the woman had just taught her, her face turned red and she didn't know what to do.

She waited for a long time but didn't hear her husband's voice.

She slowly raised her head and saw the husband in the rumors standing in front of her, looking at her with his head down, his face cold and his eyes fierce.

Huluqian was startled and stepped back a little.

Liu Taozi was silent for a moment.

"hungry?"

Huluqian was stunned and nodded dully.

Liu Taozi took out a cake from her sleeve and said, "I like to put cakes in my sleeves so I can eat them anytime without wasting time."

He tore the cake in half and handed half to Huluqian.

What a pity! !
Huluqian had never seen such a big cake. She had eaten it at home, but those cakes were torn into pieces first, and then eaten with various sauces. They were all hot and soft.

The half cake that her husband tore off for her was bigger than Huluqian's face, and was dry and hard. Huluqian held the cake in a daze, looking left and right.

Liu Taozi sat aside, holding the cake in her hand and eating it in big mouthfuls.

Huluqian glanced at him secretly, and then imitated him and started to chew it carefully.

The taste is terrible, no, almost no taste at all.

Huluxia took a bite, then began to cover her teeth, almost biting them off.

Liu Taozi on the side was eating with gusto, taking big bites at a time, and Huluqian was stunned.

She just watched Liu Taozi eat half of the pancake in a daze.

"That's amazing, doesn't your tooth hurt?"

"It doesn't hurt. If you can't eat it, just get some water and soak it for a while, then you can eat it."

"Oh"

Liu Taozi sat on the bed and watched her carefully bring a bowl of water, and then tried hard to break the cake open, but failed even with all her strength.

Liu Taozi helped her break the cake.

"how long have you been here?"

"About half a month."

"miss home?"

"I don't really want to. After my sister got married, I was the only one at home. My grandfather and brother were not around."

"What about your mother?"

"She has passed away. Now my mother is very cold to me and doesn't talk to me much."

"Oh, are you used to it here?"

"It's a habit. My mother-in-law is very nice to me. She asks me to accompany her every day and tells me many stories."

"That is not bad."

Liu Taozi nodded and said nothing more.

Only then did Huluqian dare to secretly look at Liu Taozi beside her. She had to tilt her head back a lot to see Liu Taozi's face.

So high.
Liu Taozi took off her shoes, lay on her side on the bed, closed her eyes, and went to sleep.

Huluqian carefully ate the pancake in her hand.

Don't dare to make a sound.

Afraid of waking up my husband.

But she still couldn't finish eating so much. She put down the bowl, blew out the light, and lay down on the bed. Her whole body was tense and her heart was beating very fast. After an unknown amount of time, she gradually relaxed and fell asleep.

(End of this chapter)