Chapter 284 Jealousy
If Lu Sen's reputation before was known to the world, but was mostly in the aspect of "mystery", then his reputation now has a sense of "intimidation".
It is very impressive that he could take down Dingzhou City directly with a large army.
Anyone with a little knowledge knows the significance of Dingzhou and Helan Mountain to Western Xia, and the news of Lu Sen's "killing spree" in Dingzhou has gradually spread.
Different from his previous image of being mysterious and powerful, yet gentle and kind, Lu Sen now has a layer of "blood color" in everyone's impression.
This is where the sense of threat comes from.
A simple killing god would not make people very scared, for example Di Qing... he killed more people, but many civil servants were not afraid of him.
But someone like Lu Sen, who has a civil service job, possesses magical skills, and is willing to kill people with a knife, makes people feel terrified at the thought of becoming his enemy.
Xiao Rongrong didn't know much about Lu Sen's recent affairs, but after hearing what her "good sister" said, she asked her visiting friend about Lu Sen's recent actions.
When he heard that he had actually captured Dingzhou and was pacifying Helan Mountain, his eyes lit up.
Although the Khitans admired the system and culture of the Northern Song Dynasty and were very close to the local customs and habits, they were not able to completely abandon their own customs so quickly. Worshiping the strong and the tough men who could kill and chop people was their instinct.
"The emperor has been worried about the Xiao family's affairs recently." Xiao Rongrong sat in the system home, sitting at the square table, with her chin in her hand, looking through the garden, staring at the gate of the Xiao Mansion, thinking non-stop: "If the emperor had one tenth of Lu Zhenren's ability, he would not be so worried about the rebels. Alas!"
She originally thought that Yelu Hongji was a rare man in the world, but compared with Lu Sen, he seemed to be suppressed in all aspects.
Whether it is appearance, knowledge, ability... and so on.
Even in terms of wealth...the two cannot be compared. It's not that Lu Sen is as rich as a country, but as a half-immortal, he doesn't need to care about the wealth of the world, and there is no way to measure in this aspect.
She sighed worriedly and didn't want to gossip or play with other friends anymore.
Almost a whole day passed in a daze like this. In the evening, the other ladies left before it got dark. Finally, there was only one woman left. She was the one who had said in the morning that she wanted Xiao Rongrong to help introduce her to Lu Sen.
"Empress." The woman looked around and saw that no one was around. She subconsciously lowered her voice and said, "My younger brother is going to Dingzhou, Xixia. They happen to be buying war horses and stallions there. I want to make some money. If you want to deliver a letter to Master Lu, I might be able to ask my younger brother to help."
Xiao Rongrong's eyes were shining slightly, and she was moved.
She was very grateful to Lu Sen. If Lu Sen had not given her this place to live, she would have been given a three-foot white silk by the emperor and reincarnated in the underworld.
After hesitating for a while, thinking about Lu Sen's help to her, she nodded and said, "Please wait a moment."
Then she took out pen and ink from the hut and wrote a letter carefully in small, beautiful handwriting. There was no ambiguous words in the letter, only gratitude.
She thought that everything between her and Lu Sen was honest and open, so even if the letter fell into the hands of the emperor, there would be nothing wrong with it.
After she finished writing and sealing it, she handed it to the woman and said, "Thank you for your help, sister."
"Okay, okay." The woman smiled happily.
Then the woman hurried back to her parents' home, handed the letter to her brother, and said happily: "My little brother, aren't you going to Dingzhou? With this letter, you will have a smooth journey, and you may even be able to meet Master Lu and make a good relationship with him."
Looking at the gold-lacquered envelope, the young man was stunned for a moment and asked, "What is this?"
"This is what the Queen wrote to Master Lu." The woman blinked, her eyes full of joy at seeing the ambiguous gossip.
The man took a deep breath and said, "Third sister, you are amazing."
"Of course." The woman was very proud, then she waved her hand and said, "Well, I should go home, or the master will ask me questions again."
After saying this, the woman left by herself.
The young man immediately took the envelope and went to see his father.
In the study, a man was reading a book at night. When he saw his son pushing the door open, he said unhappily, "You are so rash and have no sense of etiquette. Go out and close the door. Knock before coming in."
The young man laughed dryly, then went out and knocked on the door. After coming back in, he said, "Sir, there is a happy event."
"Why are you so happy?"
The young man handed over the envelope and told the story.
The middle-aged man immediately stood up, looked over the believer several times, and said, "It is indeed the seal from the palace. Empress Xiao is quite bold."
The young man laughed and said , "Of course she is brave. She was about to die. If Master Lu hadn't appeared out of nowhere, she would have been... And after such a long time, Master Lu didn't come to find her. It's normal for her to be a little anxious."
The middle-aged man put his hands behind his back, paced lightly, and said, "There are two ways to go about this matter. One is to hand this letter to the emperor, which is my responsibility. The other way is to take the envelope to Master Lu as your third sister said. Qi Han, let me test you now. What are you going to do?"
Zhang Qihan thought for a moment and said, "I'll take it to Master Lu."
"Why?"
"Your Majesty is already extremely tired just fighting the Xiao traitors, which doesn't seem like the Lord of Longxing." Zhang Qihan said without hesitation: "But Master Lu is like the bright sun in the sky, shining so brightly that people can't look directly at him."
Zhang Xiaojie nodded with satisfaction: "It seems that you have not forgotten your father's teachings. Tomorrow you will pack your luggage and take the old servant to Xijing quietly. I have already asked people to prepare the war horses and stallions there. After you go there, you can go west directly with the goods and go to Dingzhou. There are a few old servants who are familiar with the route and will take care of everything for you on the way."
Zhang Qihan said happily, "Thank you for your hard work, sir."
"Also, after you go to Dingzhou, you can no longer use the name 'Abandon Han'. Change back to your original name 'Zong Zhen'. From the rumors, Master Lu can't tolerate any sand in his eyes. If you use the name 'Abandon Han' again, it will probably offend him." Zhang Xiaojie said in a calm tone.
Zhang Qihan was immediately frightened and broke out in a cold sweat. He seemed to be able to imagine that he would be tied up and chopped with a knife by Master Lu just because of this name.
"The child understands."
…
…
In Dingzhou City, Lu Sen was already feeling a little bored.
To be honest, Dingzhou is a shabby place with few people, a shabby economy, and not much popularity.
In Hangzhou, Lu Sen can go shopping from time to time to change his mood, or go boating in West Lake to enjoy the natural scenery.
But here in Dingzhou...there are no "shows" whether during the day or at night, and the natural scenery is far inferior to that of Hangzhou in the south of the Yangtze River.
Even Yang Jinhua and the twins, after visiting Dingzhou City a few times, didn't have much interest in going out again.
After finishing their "work" every day, the three of them would get together to play chess, or study and research embroidery together.
Lu Sen could only practice calligraphy to pass the time.
And just like that, more than two months passed.
It was early autumn now and it was already getting a little chilly in Dingzhou.
Lu Sen was chatting with Lu Huiqing about domestic affairs.
"How much money and grain is left in the Dingzhou warehouse?"
Lu Huiqing replied: "There is not much grain left, but there is still a lot of money left, about 10,000 taels. Counting the money seized from the house, there are nearly 500,000 taels of silver."
"Four hundred and ninety thousand taels of silver were seized from the house, and this is not even the prosperous Dingzhou." Lu Sen looked enlightened: "These damn vampires should all be hanged on street lamps."
Um?
Lu Huiqing was a little stunned. What did Master Lu mean by this?
However, Lu Huiqing also found it funny. They had no idea how many people's homes they had raided during this period of time, so it was normal to have such a gain.
"According to the regulations, we have to send 350,000 taels of silver back to Beijing, and we have to ensure safety on the road." Lu Sen thought for a moment and said, "We will use another 100,000 taels of silver to go to Xi'an Prefecture and Beijing to buy a large amount of coarse grains and coal. It is estimated that it will snow here in two months. The people in Dingzhou are very poor. If the government does nothing, many people will freeze to death this year."
Lu Huiqing smiled and said, "I obey your order. It is a blessing for all the people in Dingzhou to have Master Lu here."
"Don't bother flattering me, just get to work."
Lu Huiqing left with a smile.
Lu Sen was just about to go back to the backyard to rest when Mu Guiying walked in.
She was dressed in red and her face was full of energy. "Sen'er, I have almost wiped out the bandits near Dingzhou and Helan Mountain. The remaining ones are not strong enough and are fleeing everywhere. They will be wiped out soon. Now, I can go to the north to support General Di."
"Mother-in-law, why don't you take a few days off?" Since there were no outsiders here, Lu Sen used a respectful title: "You have been running around outside for a while, so I think you must be very tired."
Mu Guiying shook her head: "Don't worry, with Algae and the spirit beast here, I don't feel tired."
Lu Sen thought about it and agreed. He wrote a military order, stamped it with the tiger talisman, and said, "Mother-in-law, take 10,000 elite soldiers to the north, take Tiger Wing Palace, and take Jinhua to conduct aerial reconnaissance with aircraft, try to harass the enemy from the flank, and create opportunities for General Di to fight."
"sure no problem."
Xixia is the obsession of the Yang family and also Mu Guiying’s obsession.
As long as she can kill the Xixia people, she doesn't mind who is the commander.
Watching Mu Guiying leave happily, when Lu Sen wanted to go to rest again, another soldier came in to report.
"Master Lu, there's a businessman outside. He said he has a letter from someone you know and wants to give it to you."
Um?
Lu Sen felt strange. Who would write a letter to him specially?
But thinking that he knew quite a few people, he said, "Please ask him to come in."
Not long after, a young man came in. He had the appearance and temperament of a Song Dynasty man.
In fact, the Khitans were already very Song-speaking, and the Zhang family were surrendered to the Liao, so if they themselves did not say it, outsiders would not be able to distinguish them from the Song people.
The young man came in and was excited when he saw Lu Sen. He walked up to him, clasped his fists, bowed, and said, "I am Zhang Zongzhen, registered in Datong Prefecture, and I am honored to meet Master Lu."
Datong Prefecture is now considered the territory of Khitan, but because of the tension on the war front, it is sometimes the territory of the Northern Song Dynasty, so it is difficult to say.
However, the Khitans generally called Datong Prefecture Xijing, so superficially speaking, the first impression Zhang Zongzhen gave people should be that he considered himself a Song citizen.
Of course, it’s just my first impression.
Lu Sen smiled and said, "No need to be polite. What can I do for you, Mr. Zhang? Just now you said that you had a letter from an acquaintance? I don't have any relatives or friends in Datong Prefecture."
Although Zhang Zongzhen stood very straight and had the bearing of a scholar, his smile always seemed to have a taste of flattery: "I am not from Datong Prefecture. My family has some business in Linhuang, and I happened to meet a noble lady. She heard from my sister that I was going to Dingzhou to do business, so she asked me to bring a letter, specifically to be delivered to Master Lu."
Lu Sen thought for a moment, clasped his fists and said, "Sorry to bother you, Zhang Xiaolang. Where is the letter?"
"it's here."
Zhang Zongzhen took out a nanmu box from his wide sleeves. It had very delicate patterns on it and looked very valuable. "Is the letter here?"
Lu Sen took the box and didn't rush to open it. Instead, he asked, "What business did Zhang Xiaolang come here for?"
"I heard that Dingzhou was buying war horses and stallions, so I brought these goods here, hoping to make a fortune."
Lu Sen twitched his eyebrows. He understood what the other party meant. He hoped that the other party would not take advantage of his goods for the sake of helping him deliver the letter.
Lu Sen would not have done this originally, but he thought about it, picked up the military order, wrote something on it, stamped it with his seal, and said, "Take this military order to the government office and give it to Doctor Lu, he will take care of it."
"Thank you Master Lu, thank you Master Lu."
Zhang Zongzhen left with many thanks.
Then Lu Sen opened the box, and a faint fragrance wafted out. He opened the envelope inside and looked at the delicate small words on it. Before he finished reading, someone stood behind him.
Lu Lin turned around and found that it was Yang Jinhua. He asked, "Are you not playing chess in the backyard anymore?"
"No more playing." Yang Jinhua looked at the letter in Lu Sen's hand and smiled until her eyes narrowed. "Sir, the handwriting on this envelope is so beautiful. I think the writer must be a beautiful woman."
If it were an ordinary man, he might be scared at this time, but Lu Sen said calmly: "It was written by Empress Xiao of Khitan."
"The Queen." Yang Jinhua's expression became even more strange, and her tone was full of sourness: "It seems that your Excellency has a wide range of friends. Even the Queen of another country sent you a letter."
Lu Sen smiled softly and said, "You are jealous. If you want to see it, just take it and have a look."
Yang Jinhua was relieved and said, "Sir, it's not that I'm jealous, but if you really want to take a concubine, you must tell me so that I can personally check it for you. Those... women of questionable character won't be able to enter our house so easily. Besides, if you really want to take a concubine, it shouldn't be a married woman. At least you should consider the women at home first."
