Zhu Rong was very satisfied with her statement, smiled and said, "Zhao'er, how old are you this year?" ”

Zhao'er replied respectfully: "Mrs. Hui, the slave maid is nine years old this year. ”

Zhu Rong continued to ask, "Then where are you from?" ”

Zhao'er replied: "Mrs. Hui, the slave's ancestral home is from Guangzong, Jizhou. ”

Zhu Rong asked in surprise, "Then how did you get to Wuling?" Who else are here? ”

Zhao'er was smart, how could she not understand the meaning of Zhu Rong's question about her, turned her head to look at Zhu Rong, and said, "Madam wants to know the life experience of the slave maid." ”

Liu Xin knows that if it is really compared, I am afraid that Zhu Rong's scheming is not as good as this little girl. Originally, it was most appropriate for Ma Yun to explore Zhao'er's origin, but Zhu Rong had already asked about this, and if she didn't ask all at once, it would cause her to be wary, so she said: "Zhao'er, you eat a pastry first, and then tell me slowly, I really want to hear your story." ”

"Thank you, sir!" Zhao'er was not hypocritical, she generously pinched up a piece of mung bean cake, bowed slightly, but was not in a hurry to stuff it into her mouth, stunned for a while, tears had fallen down with a "snap", and choked up, "Back to the lord, Mrs., the slave's surname is Guo, and my father used to be the Taishou of Nanjun, so the family moved to Jiangling." Later, the family fell into the middle of the road, both parents died, brothers were lost, and they were enslaved, and last year they were given to Lord Jin by their masters. ”

Zhu Rong was kind-hearted, and after listening to Guo Zhao's unfortunate life experience, he couldn't help but hold her in his arms and comforted: "Zhao'er is really a hard-working child, but in the future, follow me, and you won't suffer anymore." ”

"Guo Zhao?" Liu Xin silently recited the name twice, and couldn't remember any female celebrity surnamed Guo in this era, but she believed a little about what she said, if it weren't for the women of the official eunuchs, she wouldn't have such knowledge. According to the time calculation, her father's appointment as the Taishou of Nanjun should be before Bei Yu, and there should be records in the classics, so it is not difficult to find out.

With this carriage, and the cavalry accompanying them, the speed was naturally much faster, and at noon they had already arrived at the naval wharf located upstream of the Wuling Ferry, where a small fleet, including the one they had been riding in the last time.

Zhu Rong knew that after getting on this boat, there would only be more than a day left in Xiangyang, and there would not be much chance to be alone with Liu Xin in the future, and he was slightly sad. And Guo Zhao had never seen such a big ship, and the novelty and excitement had completely freed her from the sadness caused by recalling the past just now.

Liu Xin attaches great importance to the navy, and the training is extremely strict, not only requiring them to be able to participate in night battles, but also to ensure that there are no problems in long-distance voyages at night. The sailors of the fleet were carefully selected, and they caught up with a tailwind, and arrived outside the north gate of Xiangyang City at noon the next day, half a day earlier than originally expected.

Outside Xiangyang City, Zhu Rong no longer stopped Liu Xin, let him step on the war horse, but he relied on the carriage and refused to get down. In fact, Liu Xin knows in her heart that she is the kind of woman who is afraid of gossip, she obviously fell in love with the snacks in the car, enjoying the scenery and eating delicious food at the same time, is there anything more comfortable for her?

Liu Xin had just taken a few steps forward from the horse, and he saw Zhu Yu staring at the carriage with blank eyes, and couldn't help laughing: "The car is empty now, you go and accompany your sister." ”

Zhu Yu got this order, jumped off the horse in a hurry, took three steps and made two steps, and got into the carriage. She wanted to get close to Liu Xin, but she didn't get her wish, and a photo came out, which made Zhu Rong and her a little estranged, she didn't want to do this, otherwise, as long as Zhu Rong said a word, she would be sent back to the village like Zhu Yan and them, and the top priority was to get a good relationship with Zhu Rong first.

Liu Xin shook his head and continued to move forward, as soon as he arrived outside the city gate, he saw Fu Zhu, Tian Feng, and Chen Gong coming out together, and couldn't help but restrain their horses, and asked in surprise: "Three gentlemen, how do you know that Liu will come back early?" ”

Frustrated arched his hand and said with a smile: "Back to the lord, although the subordinates and others don't know the exact time of the lord's return, they know that the lord's heart is like an arrow, and it will only be advanced, and it will never be delayed, so the subordinates and others are waiting here early in the morning." As for the others, because they had their own functions, their subordinates did not let them come with them. ”

Liu Xin knew that he had been fighting abroad for most of the past half a year, and the grain and grass transportation, army scheduling, taxation, and production in the entire rear had all relied on the assistance of Fu Zhi and Tian Feng to Ma Yun, so that he could run in an orderly manner, and now that he learned that he had come back, he had waited from early morning to the present, and he couldn't help but be moved in his heart, jumped off the horse, took the hands of the two, and said: "Gonghe, Yuan Hao, you have worked hard during this time!" ”

Frustrated and Tian Feng said in unison: "The lord has the grace of knowing his subordinates, and this is what his subordinates should do!" ”

Chen Gong waited for them to finish their greetings, stepped forward, and arched his hand and said, "My subordinates have seen the lord, dare to ask if the lord's body is better?" ”

Liu Xin knew that Chen Gong had never been smiling, and the time he had served himself was not long, and now he was able to take the initiative to care about his body, but he was quite surprised, so he couldn't help but nod and said with a smile: "Gongtai, do you think I'm so strong that I kill a cow now, like something?" ”

Since Jia Xu went to Xiaoguan, Chen Gong handed over the affairs in his hands to him and returned to Xiangyang by himself. He is the imperial history of the Supervision Yuan, and he has the responsibility of supervising civil and military officials, and Xiangyang is Liu Xin's base camp, and Chen Gong is indeed not suitable to leave for a long time. Chen Gong is an upright person, and he belongs to the kind of person who can't rub sand in his eyes, so it is very suitable for him to serve as the imperial history of the Supervision Yuan.

Chen Gong listened to Liu Xin's words, looked at his face again and again, and sure enough, his face was full of energy, not like something was wrong, so he bowed and said, "Lord Qi, my subordinates have something to report!" ”

He was in charge of the Phantom and inevitably had to keep a better watch over the officials, but he was only concerned with whether anyone had colluded with the princes with the intention of rebelling, and he had little interest in other lawlessness. But he also knew Chen Gong's duties, since Chen Gong said that he had something to report to Liu Xinyu, it must involve the issue of official discipline. The ordinary official Chen Gong has the right to deal with it directly, and those who need to report to Liu Xin before making a decision must be Liu Xin's cronies or high-ranking officials.

It was only at this time that Fu Zhu understood why Chen Gong insisted on coming to the city gate with them to greet Liu Xin, and hurriedly said: "Gongtai, the lord has just come back, and he hasn't seen his wife yet, it's not too late for you to talk about it tomorrow, why be in such a hurry." ”

Although most of Liu Xin's civil and military characters are not problematic, it is inevitable that some people will become more and more arrogant with the change of status, power, and wealth, and it is inevitable that there will be a few people who break the law, but it is not intended to help those officials who break the law to cover up, but it is not easy to know that Ma Yun is at home. The husband and wife have been separated for a long time and are newlywed, and it is not easy to meet once, if you deal with one or two cronies and officials first, can Liu Xin's mood be good? In fact, he also had many things that he needed to report to Liu Xin separately, but after he sorted them out in detail, he found that he was not in a hurry in the next day or two, so he planned to talk about it tomorrow.

However, Liu Xin is not a person who does not distinguish between public and private, and when he heard that Chen Gong had something to report, he waved his hand and said, "It's okay." Gongtai, let's talk as we walk. ”

Chen Gong walked up to Liu Xin's side, and said with a straight face: "Lord Qi, my subordinates reported that Guo Jia, a scholar of the cabinet, had a debauched behavior, an unscrupulous style, and a contempt for etiquette!" ”

Liu Xin was stunned when he heard this, and then said with a smile: "Gongtai, Fengxiao is just a Langzi, he is used to being casual, and extraordinary people often have extraordinary things, and it is reasonable, if it is not a very important fault, let him go." ”

Although Liu Xin's words were obviously helping Guo Jia exonerate, Chen Gong did not back down and continued: "Back to the lord, Guo Fengxiao's wit and strategy are also very admired by his subordinates, but the matter reported by his subordinates today is not trivial, and please listen to his subordinates in detail!" ”

Liu Xin didn't want to save his face, so he had to mutter: "Fengxiao has always been unruly, if it is just an unintentional mistake. Gongtai, tell me, what illegal things did he do? ”

Chen Gong glanced at Fu Zhu and Tian Feng, who were parallel to them, and stopped talking.

Frustrated Zhu said with a smile: "Gongtai, Feng Xiao has made great contributions to the battle to recover Ke's lost land and quell the rebellion in Nanzhong this time, if it is just a small mistake, you might as well forget it, so as not to affect the mood of the lord." ”

What he said was already very obvious, but Chen Gong was indifferent, and said seriously: "If it's just a small mistake, Chen will deal with it himself, how dare you work as a master?" ”

Tian Feng said on the side: "Gongtai, Tian, as the secretary of the ministry, is in charge of the appointment of officials at all levels, and the public is a cabinet scholar who participates in the decision-making of large and small affairs. What you are reporting now is another cabinet scholar, and Mr. Tian and Mr. Fu should be heard. What did Fengxiao do, just say it, why hide it from the two of us? Don't delay the lord's time! ”

Chen Gong glanced at Liu Xin, saw him nodded slightly, and then said: "Lord Qi, Guo Jia seduced other people's women, and his subordinates have verified the truth. ”

Liu Xin laughed out loud, turned his head and asked, "Gonghe, Fengxiao is in his early twenties this year, right?" ”

Fu Zhu couldn't help laughing, and arched his hand and said: "Back to the lord, Feng Xiao is twenty and three this year, and he should have started a family a long time ago." ”

Tian Feng couldn't help it, and said with a smile: "Fengxiao is true, he didn't get married, whose woman did he fancie, and he directly invited a matchmaker to come to the door, is there anyone who doesn't want to?" Why bother to be so sneaky, it makes the public station unhappy. ”

Chen Gong waited for them to finish laughing, and arched his hand and said: "My lord, two gentlemen, Chen is not an inflexible person, if Feng Xiao seduces a woman from an ordinary family, as long as he doesn't make any ugly things, Chen will naturally turn a blind eye." ”

Liu Xin didn't expect Chen Gong to be able to say the words "open one eye and close one eye", and couldn't help but be quite surprised, it seemed that Guo Jia was in big trouble this time, so he couldn't help but put away his joke thoughts, and asked in a deep voice: "Gongtai, tell me, whose woman did he seduce this time?" ”