Bend Over [ 折腰 ] - Chapter 5

[Chapter 5: Riding the Tiger]

Mrs. Ding took Shuang Qiao to the Changsheng Temple to burn incense, not wanting to take a nap and wake up, but Big Qiao disappeared without a trace. Hurriedly asked little Joe. Little Joe said that he and Big Joe were originally in the same room, because they had eaten a few more bites at noon, their stomachs were bulging, and they wanted to take a walk in the back temple to consume food, originally invited Big Joe to accompany them, but Big Joe said that he was tired, and left alone, she took the maid with her, and when she came back, she didn’t see her anymore, and thought that Big Joe and Mrs. Ding were together.

Madame Ding was even more panicked, and searched around with slaves and monks in the temple, but to no avail. At first, he thought that Big Joe had been abducted by the evil man who had infiltrated the temple, and he was in tears, and his legs were so weak that he could not even walk, so he hurried back to the city to warn his husband to arrest the evil thief, when the steward of the house reported that Manuby was also gone.

Madame Ding was distraught, and at first did not associate the two people together, and on the way back to the city, she was still overwhelmed in the carriage, and only clutched the veil to cover her face and cry. Xiao Qiao accompanied her, seeing that her aunt was sad like this, her heart was a little unbearable, and she was afraid that if her uncle really searched for her in the jurisdiction, the two of them had not gone far, in case they were bumped into bad luck, and when the road was halfway through, they wept and blamed themselves: “It’s all the niece’s fault.” If it weren’t for the niece’s greedy play, and sister A would have been together, sister A would probably not have an accident.

Xiao Qiao lost her mother early, Mrs. Ding was kind and kind, pitied her young, regarded her as a relative, saw her blame herself, held back her sadness, but advised: “My son, it is not your business, you are sad yourself.”

Xiao Qiao said, “Auntie, I just thought about it, how could it be so coincidental, Sister A and that Manu just happened to be together and disappeared?” I wondered if Sister Ah should have been abducted by the evil people…”

Madame Ding looked at her sheepishly.

Little Joe leaned over to her ear and whispered.

Madame Ding was stunned and exclaimed, “You say they are private…”

She stopped sharply and covered her mouth with a veil.

Little Joe nodded.

“I thought, that’s probably the only possibility. Auntie you think, how could the Immortal Temple’s Buddhist Gate Pure Land sneak into the evil thief who was abducting people for no reason, and this evil thief was so bold as to dare to attack the princess of the Imperial Palace? It just so happened that Sister Ah was gone, and that Manu was also gone, if it wasn’t the two of them walking together, what else would it be? And speaking of this, I think of one thing…”

Little Joe hesitated.

“Tell me something!” Mrs. Ding hurriedly urged.

“The other day I was traveling with Sister A, and I was also the Manu retinue, and I accidentally saw Sister Ah talking to him in hiding from people, and when I saw me coming, I hurriedly separated, and Sister Ah seemed to be a little panicked. I didn’t pay much attention at the time, but now that I think about it…”

She stopped.

What she said, of course, was a lie. Mrs. Ding could never have imagined that she would lie to herself, and after listening, her face turned red and white, and she couldn’t say a word.

“Auntie, I knew there would be today, and I should have told you… Blame me for being too careless…”

Little Joe’s voice lowered, and he looked down at him with tears in his eyes.

Madame Ding carefully recalled the manu, and in addition to the strange green eyes, the raw was indeed eye-catching.

Two years earlier, Xiao Qiao had just married Liu Yan, and Liu Yan’s stepmother’s sister, Lady Yangdu of Langya Guoyangdu, came to Dong County, and the Manu of the Qiao family entered her eyes and beged for it. Mrs. Yangdu is known for her flattery, temperament, and love to raise faces, and Mrs. Ding has also been rumored. She opened her mouth, but a manu, of course, naturally gave. After a few days, the manu was whipped and scaled all over his body, and he was left outside the city dying. It is said that it was untamed and annoyed Lady Yangdu, which led to the living sin. Even if this Manu had a big life, he actually survived, and after some time, he found qiao’s family again. At that time, Lady Yangdu had already left, and the Qiao family did not drive him away and continued to stay.

When Mrs. Ding remembered this old incident, her heart became more and more empty, and she regretted and hated it. Suddenly, he grabbed Xiao Qiao’s hand and commanded, “My son, this matter concerns your sister’s reputation, and you are not allowed to let the second person know about it again!” Xiao Qiao waited

for her words, felt relieved, and nodded: “Auntie rest assured, she will never say it.”
At first, Mrs.
Ding thought that her daughter had been abducted by the evil thief, and her heart was flustered, and her brain was also a mess, but at this time, after listening to Xiao Qiao’s analysis, the more she thought about it, the more she felt right. The daughter’s life should be safe, and her heart finally gradually settled down, and on the way back, while sighing and weeping, when she arrived at home, she hurriedly went to her husband for consultation. Qiao Yue listened to Madame wipe her tears and finished, she was shocked, and angrily overturned the table, drew her sword and pulled out her feet, and was dragged by Madame Ding, and said with tears: “Husband Jun! Absolutely! If you go around hunting for you, your daughter’s reputation will be ruined! The

more Qiao calmed down, he knew that what Madame said was reasonable, not to mention that now it was another juncture with the Wei family, if it was known that Big Qiao and a manu had eloped and fled, and their side showed kindness again, the Wei family would not be able to nod. After a little deep groaning, he immediately called his confidant Zhang Pu to come over.

The marriage strategy originally came from Zhang Pu, hearing this news, Zhang Pu was horrified, who dared to be sloppy, hurriedly ordered to go on, while the death ordered the entourage not to let the news of Zhang Daqiao’s disappearance, while sending people to look for it. Naturally, he did not dare to make a big search, and only secretly sent people to search in the direction where the two might flee.

That night, Little Joe found a begging letter in the room that Big Joe had left behind to entrust her to her parents, and did not dare to delay, and immediately took it. After reading the letter, Qiao Yue and his wife were convinced that their daughter was indeed gone with the green-eyed Manu, angry jumping foot cursing non-stop, a tearful whimpering, plus the people who went out to look for it never echoed, outsiders were completely unaware, so that the king’s mansion was actually chickens flying and dogs jumping, and people turned over on their horses.

The big house over there was a mess, but Qiao Ping’s side was a different scene. Little Qiao looked worried and accompanied Mrs. Ding all day to relieve her troubles. Qiao Ci knew that her cousin had eloped at this juncture, and instead of being angry, she immediately urged her father to advise her uncle. Qiao was equal for two days, seeing big Qiao go, like a mud cow into the sea, he couldn’t get any news, he knew that he couldn’t delay any longer, he found the study where the eldest brother was deliberating, people went to the door, heard a sigh of sighing inside, went in, saw the eldest brother Qiao Ping and his staff Zhang Pu sitting opposite each other, both of them were sad.

Qiao Yue said, “I just got the news that although the emissary sent did not see Wei Shao, he did see Wei Shao’s grandmother, Lady Xu, who had already promised her relatives, saying that she would choose a good day, and when the time came, she would send someone to Yanzhou to greet her.” Now the envoys are also on the road, and they will arrive in the near future. At this juncture, Big Joe has gone away, how can this be good? He was

furious, and when he finished, he didn’t stop whirling around.

Qiao Ping looked at Zhang Pu with a shyness, saw that he was also frowning deeply, thought about it, and asked Zhang Pu to go down first.

……

Yanzhou is located in the hinterland of the Central Plains, near Henan, Wenshui and Surabaya meet here, Zhong Lingyuxiu, not only rich in materials, popular, but also a shortcut to Xuzhou and Yuzhou. It is precisely because of this that since ancient times, it has become a heavy place for the warrior family to compete, the ancestors of the Qiao family are the pastoral land of Han Tianzi, which has been guarded here for generations, and when his grandfather Qiao Gui is still alive, he is still strong and strong, and others easily dare not fight the idea of Yanzhou, and until it reaches the hands of Qiao Yue, the qiao family’s momentum has not been as strong as it was then, plus Qiao Yue’s nature is weak, and in the face of prior consideration of self-preservation, Yanzhou has become more and more weakened, which has the dilemma of today’s tiger and wolf encirclement.

Lady Xu, the grandmother of Wei Shao in the mouth of Fang Cai Qiao Yue, was originally the daughter of Princess Gaoyang of the Imperial Zhongshan Kingdom, and the lord of the title, because of Wei Shao’s grandfather’s merits in resisting the Xiongnu, he married into the Wei family, shrewd and capable. Ten years ago, when li su was recruited, he suddenly lost his eldest son and eldest grandson, Wei Shao was only twelve years old at the time, surrounded by strong enemies, Yan Youji was in danger, and it was only under the auspices of Lady Xu that he survived the crisis, it is said that Wei Shao had great respect for his grandmother, so although this marriage had not been agreed by Wei Shao’s personal consent, but since Lady Xu had agreed, things must have become a reality, and it was no wonder that the eldest brother was so anxious.

Qiao Ping said, “Elder brother, I still say that, even if my niece marries over, I am afraid it will not be a long-term solution.” At present, the Wei family’s forces are still in the north, but they plan to use Yanzhou as a springboard, and at no cost to a single soldier, they will go south into the hinterland of the Central Plains. Wait for the Wei family to gain a firm foothold, and then turn face with my Qiao family, how will I deal with it then? How does the niece live with herself? The Wei family must still be worried about the events of that year. Today’s marriage is tantamount to feeding a tiger with one’s body, and the Li Su clan before that is a lesson from the past!

Qiao Yue frowned, “Second brother, you are thinking too much.” Having become a pro-family, how can the Wei family say that they turn their faces and turn their faces? moreoverNow that the situation is urgent, it is important to get through this difficult situation first! As for Ah Fan, as the daughter of Qiao’s family, Yanzhou is full of eggs, and she can solve the problems of the Qiao family, which is also her duty. Originally, the matter had been solved, but I didn’t expect her to be filial to this point! I raised this daughter in vain!

Qiao Ping advised bitterly: “Elder brother, if the niece can’t find it, then retreat to the second place.” For today’s plan, please go to Chen Liu immediately to lobby Zhang Fu and give it a go, there may not be no way out.

Qiao Yue sighed, “You said it was light! Let’s not talk about whether the joint Zhang Fu can overcome the difficulties, let’s say that at present, on the Wei family’s side, the marriage envoys are going to arrive, but the Afan people are missing, how to explain? “It is

only said that Ah Fan was suddenly infected with a vicious disease and could no longer do the marriage thing, and then sent someone to the Wei family to send more atonement gifts, and the Wei family would not be able to do anything.” Qiao Ping had already responded, said.

Qiao Yue frowned, pondered for a moment, sighed a long time, and said, “Allow me to think again.”

Qiao Ping knew that he would not come, and he had no choice but to retreat. Going back to qiao ci who had gone through a brief talk with the head of the war, Qiao Ci relayed it to little Joe. Little Joe suddenly felt hope, and told his brother to come and tell himself as soon as he had new news. Qiao Ci agreed.

Two days later, Big Qiao still had no news, and while Qiao Ping was anxiously waiting for his brother’s reply, the news spread in Puyang City, Dong County, saying that Zhou Qun had heard that Qiao Wei and the two families had been married, and had quietly retreated, Yanzhou was in trouble, and Wei Hou’s envoys would not be able to arrive in a day. The people of Puyang were overjoyed when they heard of the dismissal, and from morning to night, men, women, and children kept helping each other to kneel in front of the gate of the king’s mansion to pay their respects. Qiao Ping knew that it was not right, hurriedly found the eldest brother, saw him and Zhang Pu sitting opposite each other in front of the case to talk, Zhang Pu saw Qiao Ping coming, he stopped talking, got up and performed a salute to him, and withdrew.

“Big brother! Zhou Qunbing retreated, and the city was full of people talking about the Wei family’s affairs, how did it spread? Compared

to Qiao Ping’s confusion, Yanzhou Assassin Shi Qiao changed his previous panic and appeared very calm, “Isn’t this a good thing?” It can teach me that the yanzhou military and people will avoid the scourge of military disasters. “Zhou Qun’s

retreat is naturally a good thing. Could it be that the niece there, the eldest brother has news?

Qiao Yue shook his head and said with a deep face, “What news!” Hugh will mention this shameless! I don’t have such a daughter in Joe’s family!
Although
Qiao Yue also had several concubines, in addition to Big Joe, he also had another son and a daughter in his early years, but all of them died prematurely, so Big Joe was Qiao Yue’s only daughter.

Big Qiao had no news, and the city was so popular about marriage, looking at Qiao Yue but not at all anxious, Qiao Ping was also confused, looking at his eldest brother, seeing his eyes glaring at himself, suddenly remembering the seemingly implicit glance that Fang Cai Zhang Pu had thrown at himself before he went down, and his face suddenly changed.

“Could it be that the eldest brother wants to marry Xiao Qiao instead?” He hesitated and asked.

Qiao Yue said, “I am making this plan.” Fang Cai wanted to call the second brother to discuss, and the second brother himself came. What does the second brother think?

Qiao Ping was taken aback, didn’t even think about it, and immediately shook his head: “This is absolutely inappropriate!” The eldest brother could not have forgotten that Brute and Langya Shizi already had a marriage contract, and next year is the wedding date! How can I remarry Wei Yu?

Qiao Yue said, “Langya Shizi’s side, according to what I see, there is no big trouble, I will send a messenger who can speak, and Haosheng will retire the marriage and present a generous gift, I expect that Langya’s side will not be too deeply responsible.” He spoke

slowly and logically, repeating what Qiao Ping had said earlier.

Qiao Ping couldn’t help but wave his hand: “Elder brother, this must not be done!” Barbarian and Shizi already had a marriage contract, and the two were in love, how to say that they would retire? Forgive the foolish brother for not agreeing…”

“Lu an!”

Qiao Yue shouted his brother’s words louder and slammed up from the bed in front of the case.

“The county people learned that Zhou Qun had retired from the army, how rejoicing, this scene, the second brother you should see!” My Qiao family has been here for generations, and the second brother really can’t bear to put my Yanzhou 200,000 soldiers and civilians in the waters? Now that the news of the marriage with the Wei family had come out, Zhou Qun had already retired! Niece and Yanzhou’s 200,000 soldiers and civilians, which is more important, there is no need to say more for the brother, right?

Qiao Ping froze for a moment. My heart finally understood.

The eldest brother was bent on peace, Xu was listening to Zhang Pu’s other suggestions, thinking of marrying his daughter in his place, and fearing that he should not, he deliberately released the news early, causing today’s situation, making it difficult for him to ride the tiger.

He loves a pair of children, especially little Joe, like a treasure, and everywhere he fears that he has wronged her. Marrying her to the Wei family in this way, he really didn’t want to do it in his heart, it was just a “no” word, but at the moment it seemed to be as heavy as a thousand jun.

Even in the november weather, Qiao Ping’s forehead also oozed sweat, and he held his breath for half a moment, and finally wondered, “Elder brother, it is not that I don’t know how serious it is to be a younger brother, but this matter is too much…”

Qiao Yue suddenly walked in front of him, did not say a word, knelt down towards him, and saw that he was going to touch the ground with his forehead, Qiao Ping was shocked, and hurriedly stepped forward with an arrow. Stopped him.

“Brother, what do you mean by that…”

“Second brother!” Qiao Yue’s eyes were filled with tears, and his voice was full of emotion, “I know that you are not willing to marry Youzhou.” I only have one daughter, Big Joe, how could I bear to let her stay away from my grandmother? Just for now, you listen to the eldest brother’s words, there is no other way but to ask Wei Shao! If it weren’t for Ah Fan’s desperate absence, how could I have taken you brute force? Brother, these 200,000 soldiers and civilians of Yanzhou, please! “Say goodbye to Qiao Ping’s obstruction.”

Qiao Ping was like a thousand arrows, his hands and feet were even more cold, he supported his brother hard, and gritted his teeth: “Elder brother please rise, everything is at the command of the eldest brother.” Qiao Yue

saw that he finally let go and secretly sighed, so he got up, grabbed Qiao Ping’s hand tightly, and said with tears: “Everyone who is here and now is like a brother!” Second brother, you can understand the difficulties of being a brother, and you are really grateful for your brother.

Qiao Ping knew that the matter was decided, only yu smiled bitterly, after coming out, thinking that he did not know how to tell her about this matter with his defenseless daughter, his heart was sad and confused, everyone had come to her door, and he actually wandered up, and some did not dare to see his delicate daughter’s face.

[End of This Chapter]