Chapter 5: Prince Fengying

In the spring of March, the grass grows and orioles fly. On the fifth day of March, dozens of boys and girls aged 13 or 14 stood at the gate of the newly appointed Prince Rong's Mansion in the capital of Zhao State. These boys were all slaves that the housekeeper Mu of the Prince Rong's Mansion had just bought from the pawnbroker. They were prepared to be trained and serve their master, Prince Rong Mu Yunxiao, who had returned triumphantly not long ago. Speaking of Prince Rong of Zhao, he is the only prince of a different surname in the country. The owner of Prince Rong's Mansion, Mu Yunxiao, has been extremely smart since he was a child, proficient in both civil and military strategies. At the age of thirteen, he followed his father, Prince Mu, to the battlefield. He has a broad mind, can plan and command, and is a master of military tactics. At the age of fifteen, he defeated the invading western neighbor, the powerful Wei State, and forced it to retreat three hundred miles to the border. It has not dared to invade for seven years. After the Western Expedition, the old prince and princess asked to go to their fiefdom in the southwest, leaving Mu Yunxiao alone in Kyoto. Since the beginning of winter the year before last, the eager northern Xiongnu had repeatedly harassed the people on the border due to the lack of supplies in winter, burning, killing, looting, and committing all kinds of evil. They put the people on the border in dire straits, slaughtered two cities in succession, and the people on the border were displaced. The soldiers guarding the border repeatedly reported this. The current emperor was furious and sent Mu Yunxiao as commander-in-chief to march north to attack the Huns. The leader of the Xiongnu, the Great Chanyu Dugu Feng, was a man of courage, wisdom, and deep thoughts. The two sides were deadlocked for nearly a year. At the end of the year, Mu Yunxiao used a strategy to fight a great battle with the Xiongnu. The Xiongnu were defeated in Mobei and suffered a great loss of vitality. Since then, they have surrendered and signed a contract to never offend again. In the early spring, the army returned to the court, and the emperor rewarded hundreds of thousands of soldiers. He gave Mu Yunxiao the title of prince (the official position was so high that there was no more to be given), and gave him a new mansion, which showed that the emperor treated the Mu family well. Mu Yunxiao was so smart and insightful that he put away his bow after the bird was killed. When he returned to Beijing, he handed over his military power to his superiors, as if he were going to be an idle prince. The emperor understood and did not force him. He granted him a new mansion, and all kinds of gold, silver, jewelry, rare treasures, and rare items were brought into the mansion. It is said that the only thousand-year-old blood ganoderma in the world was also granted, which way a favor. The new house needed some new people, so Butler Mu went to the pawnbroker early in the morning and bought 20 smart girls to serve as maids. He also picked some young, agile boys with some basic skills to train as guards. At this time, the boys and girls were receiving the newly distributed clothes from the palace and preparing to receive training and then take up their posts. In the study room of the palace, Mu Yunxiao held a teacup and said to Mo Changli, the personal servant standing at the door, "Have you found out the details of those maids and new guards?" "Your Highness, all of them are legitimate and can be verified." A man sitting on the chair below, wearing a scarlet robe inlaid with dark gold thread, with eyebrows like distant mountains and eyes like peach blossoms, said with red lips: "Please check carefully. If someone with an unknown background comes in, your master will not be able to bear the consequences if something goes wrong, considering his current situation." Chang Li was angry and seemed unwilling to give up: If it weren't for the treacherous Xiongnu Dugu Feng, how could the master be poisoned if he risked his life before his old injury healed? Although the army won, the master paid too much. "Yes, I'll go and confirm it again." After saying that, Chang Li turned around and disappeared. Si Mochen looked at Chang Li, who disappeared like a gust of wind with his peach blossom eye, and said, "This kid has improved his Kung Fu in the past few days. I wonder how your Kung Fu is doing. Let's spar with each other some other day?" Mu Yunxiao's face was normal, with a slight curve at the corner of his mouth. He glanced at Si Mochen, which made Si Mochen's heart beat faster. Thinking of the embarrassing incident three years ago when he was hung on a tree and his pants were torn during the competition, he quickly stood up and said goodbye. Si Mochen was born on the same day of the same month as Mu Yunxiao. He is the legitimate son of the Duke's Mansion and the leader of the four young masters in the capital. He has good handwriting and a good sword dance. When he was sixteen years old, it was the emperor's fortieth birthday. He performed a sword dance for the emperor. During the banquet, there was a poem praising him: "In the past, there was a young master Si Mochen. His sword dance made ghosts and gods cry. The spectators were as depressed as the mountains, and they thought he was a banished immortal who came to the mortal world." Because his sword dance was like the wind playing with shadows, he was given the elegant name "Fengying Young Master". The sword spirit shocked the capital, and his talent overwhelmed the world. It is said that Zhao Xu, a calligrapher of the time, was good at cursive writing. After watching Si Mochen's sword dance, his cursive writing improved and reached a new level. The old Duke Sifu had a son late, at the age of 33, and he looked like his mother, the third eldest princess Zhao Mi. Apart from anything else, his peach blossom eyes were enough to make people intoxicated. The two families had been good friends for generations and were neighbors. He grew up with Mu Yunxiao, like a scale and a weight. The third eldest princess, Zhao M,i was a proud daughter of heaven. For some unknown reason, she had difficulty getting pregnant when she was young. She didn't have Simochen until she was 25 years old. She loved him very much. Two years later, she had another daughter, named Simolan. With both sons and daughters, everyone was very happy. Although the emperor and she were not born of the same mother, they had a good relationship since childhood. In gratitude for the difficulty of her sister's childbirth, the emperor named Simolan the Princess of Anyang when her daughter was born, and she enjoyed food and fiefdom. But Changli left the study and came to the place where he lived in the west courtyard - Tianqinju, which was simply a dormitory. Butler Mu had already gathered the newlyweds and was just waiting for Changli's instructions. Butler Mu has been in the palace for more than 30 years. He is an upright person, cautious and thorough in his work, and his masters usually look up to him. Chang Li bowed to Butler Mu and glanced at the group of young men standing in the courtyard. Many of the timid ones had already lowered their heads nervously, while a few of the braver ones also kept silent, watching their noses with their eyes, their mouths with their noses, and their hearts with their mouths. Chang Li had no doubts about the person chosen by Butler Mu. Butler Mu's vision in judging people was certainly not bad. But he screened them once more to be sure of nothing going wrong. Changli called the girls out, and twenty girls stood up. Some took the opportunity to sneak a glance at Changli, and their faces were already red with embarrassment. Mo Changli is a man of sturdy build, with a handsome face, a pair of sword-like eyebrows, and a piercing gaze. He has followed his master for more than ten years, and his demeanor is no less than that of a young master from an aristocratic family. The prince did not like women to serve him, so these maids were only bought to do other delicate things and were not allowed to get close to the prince on weekdays. Changli ordered them to leave and go about their own business. The rest were some young men. A few smart and upright ones were picked to serve the master personally, and the rest were sent to various places. A young man was standing in the warm sun, neither humble nor arrogant, "Who is this young man? His eyes are like autumn water, he looks up at the blue sky, and he is like a jade tree standing in the wind." Changli took one look and was stunned: Who is this young man, so handsome? "What's your name?" Chang Li waved his hand, motioning the young man to come over. "My lord, I am Ah Si." The young man bowed generously. Although Mo Changli was a guard in the Prince's Palace, he was also a first-rank guard personally appointed by the Emperor, equivalent to a third-rank official. Therefore, he was called "Sir". "Where are you from? Who else is at home?" "My Lord, I live in Taoyuan County. Both my parents have passed away. Last month, I followed my elder sister to Kyoto to look for them, but to no avail. I have no relatives and no money." Butler Mu added, "He signed a three-year contract. Is that a problem?" Chang Li did not answer: "Where is your elder sister now?" "My elder sister is ill, so I rented a yard in the suburbs of Beijing to recover there." "Oh?" Chang Li thought for a moment, "Taoyuan County is not far from Yaowang Valley. Have you ever seen anyone from Yaowang Valley?"