In the evening, Dongming Ziyu and Shangguan Ruoli returned to He's shop. Before they entered, they heard the sound of children laughing.

The two of them accurately captured Ling Yu's laughter, and both smiled. The depression caused by Gu Yunlan dissipated a lot.

When I entered the yard, I saw several children playing around two little black dogs.

He Dashao and Dalima each held a piece of dried meat and competed in dog training.

Dalima raised the dried meat high and let the puppy roll. As a result, the fat puppy actually rolled on the ground.

The children clapped and cheered, and wanted to give it a try.

Young Master He looked at Dalima who was playing with the children, the corners of his lips raised high.

When he saw Dongming Ziyu and Shangguan Ruoli coming back, he stood up to greet them and reached out to take the things in their hands, "You're back?"

Shangguan Ruoli looked at Ling Yu who ignored her and said with some disgust: "Little thing, you can't even see that I'm back!"

In the past, Ling Yu was the most attached to her and Dongming Ziyu. Now that she has playmates and pets, she has turned a blind eye to her parents.

Dongming Ziyu found it funny and asked Mr. He, "Who found the puppy?"

Mr. He smiled and said: "I asked people to find them. Those little kittens were too young to play with. So I found two weaned puppies. It's a fun time."

Shangguan Ruoli looked at the fluffy, chubby puppy. It looked so cute and cute. It was indeed very cute.

Ling Yu had a playmate, and Shangguan Ruoli had more time, so he cooked delicious meals for everyone.

Everyone also decorated the small yard, pasted Spring Festival couplets, window grilles, and hung red lanterns, and the New Year atmosphere was immediately heightened.

There are only two days left for the New Year. Shangguan Ruoli asked everyone to take turns going to the streets to buy some personal belongings for the New Year.

The next day, Mo Xiang disguised himself and went out for a walk and brought back the news about Plum Blossom Pavilion.

"The Beiling secret envoy has been found. It was someone close to Wen Xiaonian who revealed the whereabouts."

Shangguan Ruoli frowned, "He is the prince of Xirong, could it be a trap?"

After all, even Gu Yunlan was worried that Xirong would be Da Ming's next target, and supported the alliance between Xirong and Beiling.

The greater the number of people, the greater the strength. If there is a two-sided attack, part of Da Ming's troops will definitely be used, and the chance of victory will be much greater.

Dongming Ziyu said calmly: "There are also many peace advocates in Beiling. It is no secret that Jingyu increased troops on the border of Xirong a few years ago. If they move, they will start a war and tear up the peace agreement.

If they abide by the peace agreement and don't give Da Ming a reason to attack them, they will coexist peacefully for decades. And in these decades, they can accumulate more national power.

In addition, a large area of ​​northern Xirong has been hit by snowstorms this year. As the saying goes, long periods of rain will lead to long periods of clear weather, and long periods of waterlogging will lead to long droughts. If there is a drought in the coming year, Xirong will be too busy to take care of itself and may not have the energy to mobilize troops."

Shangguan Ruoli felt that his analysis was reasonable, "Yes, if they abide by the peace agreement, they will receive food and medicine support from Da Ming. If a war breaks out, they may fall into internal and external troubles."

The key point is that neither Rakshasa nor the other countries in the Western Regions are rich in food, and Xirong will not get food from them even if they are rich.

"However, you still have to be on guard when you need to be on guard. Didn't you say that guarding against others is indispensable?"

Dongming Ziyu chuckled, "I know, let An Yi, An San and Mo go do this."

These three people are all old men around Dongming Ziyu, and their skills and capabilities go without saying.

Shangguan Ruoli nodded, "Let them go. Today is New Year's Eve. I will personally cook and prepare a table of food and wine to reward everyone."

An Yi, An San and Mo Xiang all smiled when they heard this. The princess's cooking skills are very good, but these young people can't easily cook.

Several people got ready, disguised themselves, and left happily.

They separated as soon as they went out, wandering on the street like ordinary people in Xirong, and slowly walked towards Huajie and Liuxiang.

The secret envoy is hiding in a not-so-famous flower house. There is a mixture of fish and dragons there, making it a good place to hide.

On the contrary, it is also the best place for assassination.

Soon, a woman's frightened screams sounded in the guest room of Hualou.

"Ah! Someone is dead!"

"Here comes someone!"

"Help! Call the doctor!"

The guests all ran out in panic, fearing that they would be caught as murderers.

A few of them also ran out among the crowd and disappeared in a flash.

…

On New Year's Eve, a palace banquet was also held in Xirong Palace.

Singing and dancing bring peace and joy.

Xirong Jingxiu sat on the dragon chair, looking at his children and ministers with a smile in his deep eyes.

A young eunuch came in quietly and whispered a few words into the ear of the eunuch who was waiting in the corner.

The eunuch's face darkened when he heard this, and he motioned with his eyes to the young eunuch to step back. Then he walked to Xirong Jingxiu, bent over, and said softly: "To report to the emperor, the secret envoy of Beiling has been killed."

Xirong Jingxiu's face darkened and he ordered: "Strengthen the guards of the palace!"

The murder of the Beiling secret envoy was most likely done by people from Da Ming. It would be troublesome if they came into the palace to kill him.

He did not immediately agree to Beiling's request for cooperation, and was still considering the trade-off. Unexpectedly, Beiling's secret envoy was killed.

Is this a warning and a deterrent from Da Ming?

Anyway, he didn't promise anything to Beiling's secret envoy, and for the time being he planned to attack Da Ming together with Beiling. The war had just started, who knew what the outcome would be?

He wanted to wait and see how the situation would develop. Even if he wanted to get a share of the pie, now was not a good time to take action. He had to wait until Da Ming's troops were almost exhausted by Beiling.

As for the Beiling secret envoy, he will die if he dies. Beiling is now at war with Da Ming, and he does not have the energy or courage to embarrass Xirong for the sake of a secret envoy.

Because Xirong can not only cooperate with Beiling, but also join forces with Da Ming.

In the main hall, people were drinking and drinking. Many people noticed the situation on the emperor's side, but they didn't know what happened.

After the song and dance ended, the dancer retreated gracefully.

Then, a melodious and soothing piano sound sounded.

A lady dressed richly raised her wine glass and said to Gu Yunlan: "Princess, I would like to propose a toast to you. May you have a happy new year!"

Gu Yunlan didn't like to drink Xirong wine, it was too strong, but Xirong people liked to drink strong wine and eat beef and mutton, so she had no choice but to follow the local customs. She picked up the wine glass and said, "Thank you, Fourth Sister-in-law."

Then, he touched his lips and thought for a moment.

The fourth princess was an authentic Xirong grassland person, and drank all the wine in one gulp. However, she was disdainful of Gu Yunlan, feeling that she was coy and looking down on her.

"Crown Princess, I'd like to propose a toast to you, sister-in-law." It was the Seventh Prince's Concubine who spoke.

The crown prince Xing Liu was not a direct descendant. Although he became the crown prince, it always seemed unorthodox, and even the woman who brought the crown prince was secretly ostracized.

In addition, Gu Yunlan was from Da Ming and had no support from her natal family in Xirong. The other princes and concubines did not respect her very much.

"Please!" Gu Yunlan held up the wine glass and touched her lips for a moment.
Chapter completed!