“Open the gates!”
Shen Yan gave an order, and the heavy city gates slowly opened again, this time not by a crack, but wide open.
The exhausted Lieutenant Wei and Lieutenant Wu’s bodies jolted at the sound of the voice, and they all looked this way in unison.
Shen Yan had already rushed out with his men, and in the blink of an eye he was in front of them, waving his hand for the two who were still in a daze to be taken down.
The moment they were held up, the two only slowed down, “Will ……”
A word came out before they heard the sound of horse hooves, they were horrified, “General, go back!”
“It’s Song Yin.”
The two men froze, looking incredulously at the melee in the distance.
Song Yin?
He, how did he go behind the enemy?
Shen Yan had already led his men to meet him.
The enemy obviously did not expect to be attacked from the rear, so they were in disarray and lost their fighting spirit, fleeing in all directions.
The soldiers had long held their fire and would not let them go so easily, so they chased after them and fought the most exasperating battle ever.
Lieutenants Wei and Wu did not even bother to dress their wounds, and saw Song Yin sitting on his horse, still wearing the same clothes he had eaten dinner in, and rejoining Shen Yan.
Lieutenant Wei heard his voice drifting, “This, this boy is, is born to lead soldiers, right?”
Lieutenant Wu nodded in agreement, who would have thought that he would sneak up from behind the enemy, relieving them of their siege and saving their lives. Even if someone had thought of it, they would not have done so rashly. Who knew how many men the enemy had hiding in the shadows under the cover of the night.
“The last person who dared to use a strange army like that was King Chin, right?”
Lieutenant Wei looked at Song Yin, who was talking to Shen Yan, and wondered why he thought of King Qin again, “I always feel that this kid is somewhat similar to King Qin.”
Lieutenant Wu froze slightly.
……
Inside the workshop, Qi Ying heard the sound of Song San Xiao’s breathing beside her and reached out and nudged his acupuncture points. She slowly sat up, got dressed, got out of bed, opened the door without a care in the world, walked outside the courtyard and just looked at the large workshop.
The Song family. But it was a lively place, with Master Song and his two sons still eating peanuts and drinking a little wine with Song Si and Song Shen, and Grandma Song sitting around the charcoal pot with the rest of the group, telling Xiao Yao some stories from the countryside.
“There will be people coming over very early tomorrow to pay their respects, you just stay inside and don’t need to come out, I’ll deal with your eldest aunt and your mother-in-law, and Yue’er will keep you company.”
Xiao Yao responded with a smile on her face, before she got married she would also observe the New Year with her family, but it was not as lively and the time was hard to bear, unlike now, when it was after midnight before she knew it.
Seeing Song Wangyue yawn, Grandma Song urged her to go back to bed, “Children don’t need to stay up so long with you, go back to bed.”
Song Wangyue was indeed sleepy, so she got up and went back to the house.
Grandma Song exchanged a glance with Xu and Liu Cui Lan, smiling as she took Xiao Yao’s hand and lowered her voice, “Yao’er, are you completely well?”
Xiao Yao didn’t catch the meaning of her words for a moment and was about to reply when she met the look in Grandma Song’s eyes and instantly understood, her face instantly blushed and she nodded shyly.
Grandma Song was overjoyed, “It’s good that you’re well, it’s good that you’re well, I’ll be able to hold my grandson at the end of the year.”
Xiao Yao was so shy that she had no place to put her hands. She had only rounded up with Song Si two days before she returned, and her cheeks were as thin as they could be.
Xu saw this and smiled, relieving her, “It’s getting late, Yao’er should also go back and rest, although you don’t have to come out tomorrow, you still have to get up early.”
Xiao Yao gratefully got up, bowed to a few people and went back to the house.
Grandma Song watched her back disappear before she withdrew her eyes and looked at Xu, “You know how to read and write, so while you have time, first give my grandson some names.”
Xu, ……
She smiled and advised, “They’ve just had a marriage, so they may not have a child right away. If you’re in such a hurry, Yao’er will know about it and have a burden on her mind.
Hearing her say this, Grandma Song also felt that she had rushed and slapped her forehead, “I’m overjoyed, you’re right, we can’t let Yao’er have a burden.”
The following day, before dawn, people came over one after another to pay their respects.
Most of the people in Song’s village were surnamed Song, and Master Song’s family was not of high seniority. In previous years, people had come over to pay their respects, mostly the younger generation, but this year some of the older ones had come.
Song Si was still the same as before, sitting at the bottom of the table, not putting up an official front because he was the Minister of the Household and answering all questions, which made those who came over to pay their respects very helpful.
There were also some women who wanted to go up and talk to Xiao Yao, but were stopped without a trace by several of Song’s grandmother-in-law and daughter-in-law.
Er Ya, who had gathered Da Ya and her own mother, slipped into Xiao Yao’s house when no one was looking and cheerfully called out, “Sister-in-law.”
All the way back from the capital, Er Ya had been in the carriage with them. Er Ya did not do much, and Xiao Yao liked her very much, so she answered with a smile.
Er Ya led the two to her, “This is my mother and elder sister.”
Song Ming’s daughter-in-law was in charge of the workshop and had become bolder than before, so she didn’t cower at the sight of people, but she still didn’t dare to look at Xiao Yao and stammered, “How are you?”
Daya, however, was stronger than her and curtsied and bowed, “Sister-in-law.”
Xiao Yao answered, grabbed a handful of candy she had brought from the capital and gave it to them, and called out to Song Ming’s daughter-in-law, “Auntie.”
Song Ming’s daughter-in-law was so frightened that she waved her hands, “You, you, you can just call me Song Ming’s daughter-in-law.”
Xiao Yao was the eldest young lady of the Ding Gong Mansion, and she had heard that even the County Magistrate had to be respectful when she met her, so how could she dare ask Xiao Yao to call her aunt?
“It’s alright Mother ……”
Er Ya took the candy Xiao Yao gave her and put it in her own mother’s hand, “Sister-in-law is very nice, you don’t need to be afraid.”
Song Ming’s daughter-in-law didn’t dare to take it and only stood for a little while before rushing out, Daya also wanted to follow, but was called out by Song Wan Yue, “Let’s stay with sister-in-law and talk.”
Daya smiled and stayed behind.
She had been with Master Chu these days and not only had she heard a lot about the outside world, she had also followed him to the mountains to learn a few tricks in her spare time, and she had become bolder and more outgoing, curiously asking Xiao Yao about things in the capital.
It wasn’t until noon that no one came over, and after everyone had eaten lunch, they each went back to their houses and prepared to catch up on their sleep. Song Wan Yue had just walked to the door of her house when she heard the voice of Master Jin ringing out from the front door, “Dongjia, we’ve come to pay our respects to you.”
Song Wangyue stopped in her tracks and turned back.
Both of them were dressed in new clothes and had smiles on their faces as they walked up to Song Wan Yue and saluted her, “We wish you a prosperous new year and all the best.”