126 You originally Swan

  "You'll be the first to be eaten, you sharp-tongued little vixen!" Zhen Ming couldn't help but want to give this ill-tempered and cold-hearted girl a good thrashing, and in his anger, he threatened.

  Xing Er put her hands on her hips, her eyes wide with anger: "You dare!"

  "It's really not dare." Zhen Ming's bitter reply was indeed concise and neat, and the crowd of women burst into laughter at once.

  ……

  After resting at General Dark Guard's mansion for nearly half a month, Zhen Ming finally saw Zhangshi's uncle, Dugu.

  This solitary and majestic General Wei was approaching sixty years old, his hair and beard were all gray, his voice was like a bell, his face was stern.

  After beating Pei Qiantong, Pei Qiantong came to the court with injuries and cried in front of Emperor Yang of Sui, recounting his evil deeds. Emperor Yang of Sui saw that Pei Qiantong was pitiful and thought he had been diligent for the Eastern Tour, so he personally mediated and let Dugu Sheng stop there.

  The Emperor himself stepped in to mediate, and Du Gu Sheng did not continue to investigate further.

  Duanmu Sheng was very appreciative of Zhen Mingsu's daring move to seek help before his death, and after Zhen Mingsu woke up, he often went to his room to visit him and chat with him.

  Zhen Ming bitterly learned from his mouth that Zhang E's father, Zhang Heng, was the Grand Imperial Censor of Emperor Yang of Sui more than a decade ago, holding the third rank, and they were close friends. When Zhang E was six years old, she was already a famous child prodigy in the capital, deeply loved by Emperor Yang of Sui, who gave her the name "E".

  Dugu Xuan had a son under his knee, and when he first met Zhang E at the age of several years, he was delighted to see him. After discussing with Zhang Heng, the two families decided to arrange an engagement for the two children. Dugu Xuan gave Zhang E a token of betrothal, which was a jade pendant in the shape of a lively and interesting little swan, suspended from his neck since childhood.

  It's hard to predict what will happen in life.

  After Yang Guang ascended to the throne, he soon became obsessed with building projects in Chang'an. Zhang E's father, Zhang Heng, tried to dissuade Yang Guang from building the Fengyang Palace every time they were in court, saying that it would exhaust the people and waste money. As a result, he angered Yang Guang, who threw him into the Heavenly Prison.

  In prison, Zhang Heng still did not give up his heart, wrote poetry and fu, borrowing ancient times to satirize the present. His poems were exaggerated by people with ulterior motives and entered Yang Guang's ears. Yang Guang was furious and ordered that Zhang Heng's family be executed and their property confiscated.

  Duguang was leading the army to attack Goguryeo at that time and was not in the capital. When he returned to Luoyang, Zhang Heng had already been beheaded, and Zhang Heng's wife and daughter were missing.

  He mobilized all the trusted officials of the General's Mansion to search for the mother and daughter, searched all over Luoyang, but still had no news about them. Later, he heard that someone had picked up two female corpses from the Luo River, one large and one small, similar in age to the two women. He rushed to take a look, but the bodies were already rotten and unrecognizable. Thinking that even if the mother and daughter were still alive, they would hardly be able to survive on their own, he was overcome with grief and wept bitterly. After that, he resigned from his official position and stayed at home, no longer inquiring about state affairs.

  Little did I expect that nearly ten years later, someone would be shouting at the gate for Zhang Heng's daughter to come out, a shock no less than when I heard that Zhang Heng had been beheaded.

  He took the white jade pendant carved with a small swan from Zhen's hands, confirming it was the betrothal gift he had given to Zhang E, and immediately rode his horse at full speed, rushing to the Azure Temple outside Luoyang City. There, he found Zhang, who was both hungry and cold, curled up under the broken temple's incense table, shivering with fear, holding a sharp knife, ready to end her own life at any moment.

  After bringing her back to the mansion, I learned from her that she had already married and become a widow. Her mother also fell ill in bed due to missing her daughter and soon passed away. Thinking of my old friend's integrity and honesty as an official, yet ending up with his life lost, and even his family suffering and wandering, I couldn't help but shed tears, feeling more remorseful than ever.

  Then there was the incident of breaking into the Li Mansion of the Salt Gang and beating Pei Qiantong severely.

  ……

  Zhen Ming had been bedridden for half a month, and the wounds on his body finally scabbed over, allowing him to get out of bed and move around.

  Du Gu Sheng originally wanted to keep them for a few more days, but Zhang Shi was afraid of exposing her own identity and implicating the Du Gu family, so she didn't want to stay any longer. Du Gu Sheng couldn't force her either, so he agreed to let them leave after they recovered from their injuries.

  Before leaving, Dugu Sheng set up a grand banquet and invited him, Sun Langzhong, Xing'er, Huan'er and others. Even his son, who was guarding the grain depot in Mengjin, rushed back on horseback. The whole family gathered around a big table to have a reunion dinner.

  At the dinner table, Dugu Sheng introduced his already married son, Dugu Wuxin, a handsome young man with a refined demeanor and elegant eyebrows.

  At that time, Dugu Sheng had been searching for the mother and daughter for a long time but couldn't find them. He was disappointed and disheartened. He remembered his friendship with Zhang Heng and the promise to marry their children. His son had already reached marriageable age, so he reluctantly broke his original promise and married another woman for him. He changed his name to "Wuxin" (meaning "unfaithful") to commemorate his agreement with Zhang Heng.

  Dugu Wusini is still young, but he already has a wife and two concubines at home, with many children, and is also a prominent military general, serving as the Right Guard Commander of the Imperial Guards, holding the sixth rank.

  "So you're the goose sister that Dad often mentions to me."

  Dugu Wusin learned that the beautiful and charming woman in front of him was the daughter of his father's sworn brother, to whom he had been betrothed as a child. His eyes lit up, and he stood up with his cup: "I'm not worthy of this good fortune, come, let me toast my sister-in-law!"

  Zhang's eyes sparkled as she stood up and accompanied him in a drink.

  As soon as the wine was swallowed, her face turned red like rouge and powder, her beautiful eyes fluttered, charming to the extreme, not only Du Gu Wu Xin, but also Du Gu Sheng, a man over sixty years old, couldn't help but look at her with shining eyes.

  "Sister Ge, I'll also have a cup in respect for your husband."

  A beautiful woman also stood up beside Dugu, raised her cup to toast Zhang Shi, although it was a toast, others could see that this was a declaration of territory.

  Zhang had never drunk white wine before, and after downing one cup, he already felt dizzy, his stomach burning like fire, his head spinning, and he was on the verge of falling asleep; if he drank another cup, he would definitely collapse.

  Alas, she was the wife of Dugu Wusini, and refusing would be impolite, so he could only reluctantly raise his cup.

  Xing'er, who was beside her, snatched the cup from her hand with a smile and said: "I've never had wine before, I don't know what it tastes like, so I'll drink this cup for Sister Zhang."

  Having said that, he raised his cup and drained it in one gulp.

  After finishing the drink, he poured another cup without turning red or panting, and scanned the beautiful women present, asking: "Is Zhang's injury not healed yet? Who else wants to have a drink with Zhang? I'll take her place!"

  For a moment, no one dared to respond.

  Du Guo burst out laughing: "What a bold and saucy little girl! Come on, let's have a drink together!"

  Xing'er's delicate eyebrows shot up: "I'd never drink with you! You're a great general, bullying me, a little girl - how dare you? If we must drink, I'll have one cup, and you'll have ten!"

  Everyone burst out laughing, but Dugu Xuan didn't mind at all. He turned his head and asked Sun Langzhong beside him: "Has this wild girl promised to marry our family?"

  Sun Langzhong shook his head and smiled bitterly: "Not yet."

  "Why don't I find a good marriage for her instead?"