The battle in the ancient land of Qi Lu shook all the states. The defenders of the Tao berated Wei Shao as a rebellious and traitorous son whom the heavens would condemn.

In the South, Gai Zhao of Yuzhou, Song Ling of Lujiang, Liu Quan of Jiangxia, and Wufan of Changsha, many local lords, in just one month, followed the example of the Le Zheng family of Hanzhong and claimed their respective empires.

The South epidemic has not yet passed, and Huangzhou and Pengze encountered another disaster. The price of rice rose, and people were unable to survive. Chen Ying, a Yangtze River pirate, claimed to be the reincarnation of the King of Heaven through Taoist sorcery and gathered stragglers under the banner of the Tao of Heaven. They called him Chen Emperor and crossed the Yangtze River to the affluent Huaiyang, coming with great force.

The South was in chaos, but in Yuyang, everything was normal. The people work at sunrise and rest at sunset, and after tea and dinner, they gossip about the attack on Langya. The influence of the so-called Han family surnamed Liu had fallen ages ago in the north. Ordinary people’s families didn’t care about what family name was, only for food and clothes.

During the years of Wei Shao’s unification of the north, the local authorities selected wise men and women, abolished harsh laws, and reduced taxation. Amid the chaos, people were sheltered, had enough food to eat, and lived a peaceful life. They only recognize Wei’s monarch as the sky. That simple.

……

A famous monk, Jiatan, came to Luoyang from Tianzhu when he was young and stayed there for several decades, engaged in translating scriptures and preaching Buddhism.

After Wei Shao occupied Luoyang last year, Mrs. Xu heard of Jiatan’s name. She sent someone to invite him to come to Yuyang to preach Buddhism, and Jiatan gladly answered the invitation.

On September 15, which coincided with the annual ceremony of the Golden Dragon Temple, the monk Jiatan opened the altar to preach Buddhism. The occasion was even longer than in the past and would last for seven days.Mrs. Xu took Mrs. Zhu to the Golden Dragon Temple to listen to the teachings. Xiao Qiao did not go and stayed home to take care of Fei Fei.

Last month, Xiao Qiao arranged for her to be weaned from breastmilk and to start supplementary food.

At first, Fei Fei was resistant. But after a month, she gradually accepted the new food.

On this night, when it was Fei Fei’s meal time, Chun Niang brought a bowl of minced meat porridge mixed with goat’s milk. After feeding Fei Fei, Xiao Qiao played with her for a while. In the eleventh period, seeing Fei Fei getting sleepy, Xiao Qiao put her to bed.

Xiao Qiao felt tired, so she sent her maid off and went to bed, leaving only Chun Niang in the room with her. She fell asleep and woke up in the middle of the night.

It was quiet all around.

Her daughter was sleeping steadily, and Xiao Qiao heard Chun Niang’s even breathing.

Xiao Qiao closed her eyes and tried to go back to sleep, but she couldn’t.

Wei Shao attacked Langya, and although topped a rebellious reputation, his smooth progress and many vassals establishing themselves as emperors gradually settled the dust.If there is no accident, at the end of this month at the latest, Wei Shao will destroy Langya. At that time, seven or eight of the ten points of the world will be in Wei Shao’s pocket.

What else could stop him from achieving his imperial ambitions?

Before she died in her previous life, Wei Shao was nearly an emperor, and he would become emperor years earlier in this life. The day he will make Fei Fei a princess must not be far away. And he won’t touch the Qiao family anymore. Yanzhou is even more stable now. Even if the city gates are wide open without a single soldier, no one dares to commit a crime.

Although her father is still blind, judging from the correspondence, he is broad-minded. And her brother in Bingzhou is good.

Xiao Qiao felt satisfied with her heart. She had Wei Shao’s love and tolerance, a family, and a lovely daughter. She could not think of anything else she could ask for. But this night, waking up like this, and many nights before, she still felt tired and couldn’t sleep.

Finally, she climbed out of bed, slipped on a pair of soft-soled embroidered shoes, and by the white moonlight coming through the window, came to her daughter’s crib, looked at the quilt, pulled it for her, and then silently came to the window and gently pushed it open.

A bright moon hangs high overhead, shining brightly all over the earth. In the courtyard, the flowers and trees were sparse, the shadows intertwined, and in some corners, there were occasionally one or two sounds of insects, making this autumn night even quieter.

Xiao Qiao was leaning against the window, looking up at the moon, and gradually her arms became cold. Then she realized she had forgotten to put on her clothes, so she crossed her arms with both hands and rubbed them gently. She was about to close the window when her eyes suddenly stopped.

Next to the window planted a mignonette tree. Under the shadow of the mignonette tree, a figure standing there. The corner was dim, and she did not notice.

The family’s guards, Mr. Jia, were thoughtful, arranging for guards to be on duty at night. But at midnight, in such a place as the inner courtyard of the west house, there will be no guards inside. This black shadow must be an outsider.

Xiao Qiao’s skin stood. She was about to scream when she saw the black shadow sway slightly and gallop at her.

Almost in the blink of an eye, the man arrived before her. The moonlight illuminates the man’s face. Although she hadn’t met him for years, she still recognized it at a glance.

It was Wei Yan!