Early in the morning, Yang Ling rode his horse steadily towards the Courier Station. The speaker was not serious, but the listener was serious. Yesterday, he mentioned that the saddle was too hard, and the young mother made a thick mattress for him overnight. It was light and soft on the saddle, and he was worried that he would lose his self-support.
Kua Guan wandered to the door of the post office like a parade. Suddenly, the sound of hooves came from afar. More than ten fast horses galloped over. Yang Ling looked up and saw a group of guards in bright armor surrounding a general wearing armor. It was Bi Chun, the general.
Bi Dusi's face was full of joy, and it was very different from yesterday's domineering aura. He held the horsewhip upside down and arched his hand. He smiled and said,"Brother Yang, thank you for your concern. I'm here to thank you."
Last night, Guan Shouying had escorted the rations back and repeated Yang Ling's words to him. Guan Shouying had a proud expression on his face when he repeated the same words. This trusted guard captain who knew everything was greatly pleased with Yang Ling's words.
Bi Chun was experienced in politics, so he would not treat Yang Ling as his close friend just because of a few words of affection. However, he still felt very pleased and had a good impression of Yang Ling. Walking his horse in the city early in the morning, he thought of this deputy and decided to go directly to the post office to express his gratitude.
Yang Ling quickly went forward to exchange pleasantries. Bi Chun heard that Yang Ling was going to pay his respects to an elder, so it was inconvenient for him to leave immediately. He went in to pay his respects as well, in case he lost his manners.
The group of people entered the courtyard and saw Magistrate Min's small green palanquin parked in the courtyard. It turned out that all of their colleagues had arrived at the county manor early in the morning and had gone to visit the magistrate first. Magistrate Min's wound from the arrow was not deep, and he had only been unconscious for so long because of the poison in the arrow. Now that he had woken up, his body was fine. Hearing that Deputy Ma had died, he remembered that Yang Ling was the only one accompanying him last night, and he felt a little sad. He ignored the advice and took the palanquin to come over to offer his condolences.
Ma Ang and his sister did not expect Yang Ling to be able to gather so many people of status to offer his condolences. Even though Min Zhixian and Deputy Ma usually addressed each other as brothers, it was because they had money to support them, and Deputy Ma had the Embroidered Uniform Guard badge on him. Otherwise, they would be several ranks apart. It was a great honor for them to be able to come.
As for the general who accompanied Yang Ling in, you can imagine how his family felt when a deputy provincial leader came to attend the funeral of a county post office director who had passed away.
The siblings had never met these people before, so they naturally came for Yang Ling's sake. When he thought of this, Ma Ang was truly grateful to Yang Ling. However, Ma Lian's gaze toward him was filled with gratitude and resentment, which confused Yang Ling.
Bi Chun had originally only come in to go through the motions, but when he saw Ma Lian 'er, he was reluctant to leave. He didn't expect to see such a beautiful woman in this small place. She was about fifteen or sixteen years old, dressed in plain clothes, and looked so weak that she couldn't even stand her clothes.
Her delicate face was like a blooming flower petal, with frost and dew. She was really indescribably delicate. Her three concubines could be considered Jiangnan beauties, but none of them could compare to her beauty.
It was only when the two siblings came to him, the highest-ranking official, to thank him that Bi Dusi withdrew his reluctant gaze and sat upright to accept their bow. Then, he raised his right hand and said," Please rise. Your father sacrificed his life for the country, and this Bi is extremely respectful. It's only right for me to come and pay my respects."
The two siblings bowed but did not get up. Ma Ang said,""Lord general, Ma Ang wishes to join the army to kill the Tartars and protect the Great Ming to avenge his father. Lord, please grant his wish."
"This…" Bi Chun couldn't help but hesitate for a moment. If he was in the military camp, it would be easy for him to take in a few people. However, his army was controlled by the Wei, and the soldiers under him were all military households. They were passed down from father to son, and from generation to generation. Although there were also people who pretended to be soldiers in private, it would be inconvenient to take them in in public.
Ma Lian 'er raised her head and said,"Lord General, my brother has learned martial arts. He is still useful as a pawn. I beg you to give him a chance to be filial to his father and be loyal to the country."
Seeing the beauty begging him in such a soft voice, Bi Chun's body softened and his triangular eyes narrowed. He said in a heated voice,"" Alright, get up quickly. Since you know martial arts and are also proficient in literature, come to my side and be my personal guard. You'll be promoted to a higher position when you've made some contributions in the future."
Ma Ang happily kowtowed and stood up. Although he was young, he was still an officer. Ma Ang had always thought highly of himself, confident that with his martial arts skills, he could not only avenge his father in the army, but also get an official position.
Ma Lian 'er was happy for her brother, but when she thought of her brother joining the army and leaving her alone, she couldn't help but feel sad.
The battle was still unclear, so Bi Chun did not dare to stay for long. He sat for a while before bidding farewell and returning to the camp, instructing Ma Ang to report to the camp after the funeral. Lord Min had not recovered from his arrow injury and could not sit for long. The officials of the county government all had their own matters to attend to, so they took their leave one after another.
Logically speaking, the Ma siblings should have kept the coffin for seven days before burying the old man in peace. However, at that time, they paid attention to the roots of the fallen leaves. If they died in a foreign country, they would usually leave the coffin in a monastery or other places. When there was a chance, they would transport it back to their hometown for burial. Some families were poor and could not afford the cost of long-distance transportation. The coffin would even be left there for more than ten years.
After some discussion, the siblings decided to leave the coffin in Pudu Temple at Jiming Posthouse and transport it back to their hometown in the future. Now that Ma Ang was eager for revenge and eager to join the army, although he did not follow the rules to keep watch, this was considered filial piety. Naturally, no one would blame him.
However, how Ma Lian 'er would arrange this would be a difficult problem. Yang Ling saw Ma Ang looking at him and said,""Brother Ma, don't worry. Miss is still staying here!”
Ma Lian 'er glanced at him indifferently and said with a straight face, We siblings no longer have anything to do with the post station, so wouldn't it be unfair to live here?" Women loved to hold grudges, especially beautiful women who were spoiled by others. Yang Ling thought that she still hated that small official and said,""So what? I'll help you arrange it later."
Ma Lian 'er raised her nose and said,"We're not related by blood, and we don't have any past ties. Who knows what rumors might come up?"
"Who dares?" Ma Ang glared at him. Besides, there are some who are not related to each other, but why not? I can be considered as good friends with Brother Yang, so what's the matter with helping me look after girls?”
Ma Lian 'er stomped her feet and turned her head away to ignore this fool. Yang Ling calculated in his heart and felt that Ma Lian 'er's words made sense. He was only the acting deputy, and he had not even moved his family into the deputy's office. If he allowed a young lady to stay here, it might really attract some gossip.
Before County Magistrate Min left, he said that he had already sent someone to inform his brother-in-law. It would be better to let her stay with the young mother for a few days and move to the post office himself. When the official appointment was issued, he would let her stay in his small house. He thought in his heart and said to Ma Ang, What Young Miss said makes sense. It's inconvenient to stay here, so I think Young Miss can stay at my house first."
When he said this, Ma Ang opened his mouth like a hippo yawning. Ma Lian 'er's eyebrows also rose and she quickly added,"Er, I'll be my companion first. I'll just move to the post station. When the Tartars retreat, it won't be too late for Young Lady to decide."
Ma Ang couldn't contain his joy. What was there to be worried about? Ma Lian 'er glanced at Yang Ling and thought for a moment before saying nothing. The matter was settled.
On that day, the Tartars only sent out a small group of troops to make probing contact with the Ming army. Both sides were testing each other's strength, and no one entered the main battle.
In the evening, Yang Ling brought people to help Ma Ang and his sister move the coffin of Deputy Ma to Pudu Temple. After everything was arranged, Ma Ang went to report to the Bi Du Si army. Yang Ling brought Ma Lian back home. The young lady was a warm-hearted woman, and she sympathized with this young lady who was in trouble. When she heard that she was only here to stay for a few days, she naturally agreed.
Ma Lian 'er was cold to Yang Ling, but she was still warm to Young Lady Han. This made Yang Ling heave a sigh of relief. Ma Lian 'er had been smiling coldly and unsincerely at him the entire day. Yang Ling did not know how he had offended her, and he was afraid that this Young Lady Ma would throw a tantrum at the young lady when she arrived at home. He could take it, but he could not take it if anyone was angry at the young lady.
The young lady was not well-educated, but she was gentle and obedient. She knew what to say and what not to say. Ma Lian 'er had grown up on the frontier and could not stand the way the women of the Central Plains who had read a lot of books and poems talked. She got along well with her, and soon the two of them became very familiar with each other.
At the post office, a figure quietly flashed into the gatehouse and asked,""Is the deputy in?"
This gatekeeper was originally a courier, but because his leg was injured on the city walls, he was unable to move around. Furthermore, the post office was short of manpower, so he was temporarily swapped with the original gatekeeper. He thought that the person who came was asking about the acting courier Yang Ling, so he sat on the kang and asked,""Daren just went out. What's the matter?”
As he spoke, he looked around and saw that the person was dressed in ordinary clothes. The brim of the dog-skin windbreaker was tightly pressed against his eyebrows, and his face was weathered.
When the man heard this, he took out a letter that was sealed tightly with wax and handed it to him."I came from outside the pass and have to rush back overnight. Please pass this bag to the deputy.”
The gatekeeper nodded and took the oilpaper bag. The man pushed open the door and disappeared into the darkness. The gatekeeper looked at the letter and saw that there was a strange fish drawn on the seal. He didn't care. He yawned and piled the letter on the bed.
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]