Chapter 17: The Birth of the Musketeers

  The moonlight is alluring.

  The racecourse on Huangpu Beach is actually quite simple, with only a circle of green grass surrounding the racing track, and there are hardly any shelters around, except for a simple grandstand on the east side.

  Walking on the dirt road next to the racecourse, it is said that when foreigners held horse racing events and the venue was too narrow, they would often rush onto this dirt road beside the racecourse. Therefore, this road was also called "Ma Lu" (Horse Road), and it is said that the term "Ma Lu" for domestic highways originated from this.

  Not far away, the vast ocean can be seen, with waves rising and falling, and a hazy moonlight, which has the poetic charm of "the moon rises over the sea, sharing this moment at the horizon".

  Ye Zhaoye strode forward with a spirited and energetic gait, while Su Hongniang wore a black swallowtail coat and shiny black leather shoes, dressed up as a classical beauty, looking like a handsome young man, but with a single eyebrow raised and a smile, she was charming and captivating, evoking all sorts of fanciful thoughts.

  The gate didn't go out, the second gate didn't step on it. Su Hongniang had been suffocating in the mansion for a long time. Xiao Huatou suddenly came to invite her out of the mansion "to do things". She naturally agreed with her mouth full, and changed into men's clothes with joy, but Ye Shao's original words were all useless.

  Glancing at Su Hongniang beside him, Ye Zhao smiled and said: "Dressing up as a man is really handsome. I think you should dress up as a man from now on, it's convenient to go in and out, even if you return to Guangxi, tailor a military uniform, after all, you are a female general! Moreover, your subordinates also need to have uniforms that unify them, which can gather people's hearts. The sloppy and slack peasant army has no future."

  "It's all written in your heavenly book!" Su Hongniang retorted, wearing a man's outfit and walking beside this little scamp seemed more natural.

  "Sneering at me? You're done for!" Ye Zhaohad originally planned to glare at her, but the more she spoke, the less confident she sounded, and the softer her voice became.

  Yu Shao's tactless words left Su Hongniang feeling both helpless and numb, but after learning that Xiao Huatou wasn't with the bandits, she found herself no longer feeling the same aversion towards his minor flaws.

  What's more? Su Hongniang suddenly stared at Ye Zhaowei and asked: "Hey, what did you say to my brother?"

  At dinner time, Su Lao Da called her over and seriously told her a long lecture about how an older brother is like a father. Just when Su Hong Niang was confused, Su Lao Da finally said that he had already taken it upon himself to formally betroth her to that little scoundrel, and had even accepted the betrothal gifts. Although she would be a concubine, it could still be considered a proper marriage, and you wouldn't have to worry about being a widow, Ye Gong Zi is a very capable person, so being a concubine wouldn't be beneath you. And the wedding date has already been set, just ten days from now.

  Su Hongniang was so angry that she almost had a falling out with her brother on the spot, and just as she was thinking of settling accounts with Ye Zhao, he brought up this matter instead.

  Ye Zhaoyao had a plan in mind and smiled, "Just like I said, we'll be nominal husband and wife. We don't need a ceremony, but there needs to be some sort of explanation. In other words, ten days from now, you'll have a title. Don't worry, our relationship will remain the same as it is now. But if you didn't go through with this, how would you be considered part of the Ye family and repay my kindness? You were the one who said you'd marry me first, are you going to back out now? I've already found a matchmaker, Old Man Fu Zi."

  Su Hongniang coldly snorted: "I had wanted to kill you back then."

  "Whatever, come and kill me if you dare!"

  Su Hongniang looked at him and didn't say another word.

  The two fell silent and strolled along the muddy road by the sea.

  The night grew darker, and there were no more pedestrians on the road. In the distance, on the sandy beach, there were a few people, but it was unclear what they were doing.

  "Actually, I am the prince of Zheng Wang Fu, but you just need to remember that my name is Ye Zhaohui." After walking a few steps, Ye Zhaohui finally revealed her identity, after all, she would have known one day, and it's better to say it herself.

  Su Hongniang had long suspected that Ye Zhao was a Manchu noble, but hearing him admit it himself, she felt a sudden pang of disappointment in her heart. So, he was indeed a Tartar after all.

  Ye Zhaosuddenly smiled: "Although I'm a traitor, I'm a good traitor, and I've never considered myself a Manchu." It seemed as if he knew what Su Hongniang was thinking in her heart right now.

  What a scoundrel! Su Hongniang is at her wit's end and doesn't know what to say about this guy.

  Ye Zhaoyu sighed and said, "In a person's life, there are always many things that can't be helped..." Just as he was about to continue, Su Hongniang pulled his sleeve and nodded her head. Following the direction of her nod, he saw six or seven figures walking towards them from the sandy beach. As they drew closer, it became clear that they were members of the militia, likely a branch of the troops besieging Shanghai County.

  "Tsk tsk, this rabbit gentleman is really pretty!" The fatty Tuan Yong, who was walking in the front, stared at Su Hongniang with some lust in his eyes.

  While several of the team's brave and greedy eyes were fixed on Ye Zhaos hands, those few emerald jade rings were not ordinary goods at first glance.

  "How dare you! I am an imperial envoy, whose jurisdiction are you under? Make way quickly, otherwise I will definitely send you few to be punished by the commander of the Jirhangga camp!" Ye Zhao knew that the Qing army's discipline was poor, let alone the Hunan Army, which was similar to some of the Taiping Army with poor discipline, and were accustomed to burning, killing, looting, so he reported his identity as soon as he came up.

  "What the hell is going on? I've never heard of any imperial envoy coming! Who are you trying to scare?" Fatso chuckled and walked at the front, while the others fanned out and surrounded them.

  Even if Ye Zhaohadn't experienced this kind of situation before, he knew it wasn't good and couldn't help but regret not bringing the Cossack guards. On the other hand, this was because the concession's security was still good; secondly, many things wouldn't be suitable to discuss with Su Hongniang if he had brought the Cossacks. Who would have thought they'd encounter a few desperate fugitives?

  The last villager suddenly raised his bird gun, "Bang" a sound, Ye Zhaowu felt that he was pushed away by a great force. It was Su Hongniang who pushed him aside. Even so, his arm still went numb. Turning his head to look, the blood-soaked wound seemed to have been grazed by a bullet.

  In the blink of an eye, Ye Zhaowei was caught off guard. Su Hongniang took a step forward and reached the fat village brave's face, her wrist lifted, and she struck his throat. The fat village brave let out a muffled hum and fell to the ground, his steel knife already in Su Hongniang's hand. Then, the knife flashed, and several village braves' throats sprayed blood wildly as they stumbled backward. Two village braves who were far away saw that things were not going well and turned to run.

  "Shut your mouth!" Ye Zhao said without hesitation.

  Su Hongniang was slightly stunned, and then her hand lifted, and a revolver had appeared, the one Ye Zhao gave her, but she didn't think she would bring it with her.

  "Bang bang bang" several gunshots, two rural warriors who rushed out fell to the ground, Su Hongniang chased after them again, apparently to check if they were dead.

  "Quickly, let's go!" Ye Zhaostood up, not even bothering to wipe the blood from his arm, only wanting to leave this place as soon as possible. If foreigners saw that he had killed the militia and village braves, what would they think? Moreover, in a short time, Ye Zhao knew that this matter was full of possibilities.

  Su Hongniang didn't know what Ye Zhaowas thinking, she hesitated for a moment, then used her dagger to cut off a piece of cloth from the militia's corpse, quickly catching up with Ye Zhao and helping him bandage his wound.

  ……

  The sedan chair entered through the side gate, and the gateman beside it hastily bowed to pay his respects, but didn't notice that the imperial envoy had been injured.

  Back to the second floor bedroom, sitting on a five-legged inlaid jade round stool made of purple sandalwood, Su Hongniang quickly brought over some wound medicine to help Ye Zhaowen treat his injury. Seeing Ye Zhaowen's pained expression, Su Hongniang couldn't help but laugh.

  "Don't tell anyone about today's events!" Ye Zhaowu had just finished speaking when he let out a hiss of pain, caused by Su Hongniang accidentally touching his wound while tightening the bandage.

  "Can't you even tell your brother?" Su Hongniang carefully put down Ye Zhao's rolled-up sleeve, afraid that this young master would shout in pain again, and asked inexplicably.

  "It's better not to say it if we don't have to," Ye Zhaohui said, "the more people who know, the greater the risk of leakage." Suddenly, he felt a pang in his heart, at this moment, Su Hongniang seemed to be on the same wavelength as him? On the contrary, she became a stranger to her own brother.

  Su Hongniang nodded, apparently agreeing, and Ye Zhaowu's heart felt even more relieved.

  "Is this a camera?" Su Hongniang had never been to Ye Zhao's bedroom before, but she found a strange three-legged wooden box on the red lacquer gold-painted dressing table.

  Ye Zha was startled, thinking that this young lady had also suddenly crossed over. She then remembered the introduction to modern Western technology in her book and thought that she must have read a lot during this period of time.

  "Right, let's take a photo with the camera, and we'll take a wedding photo together." Ye Zhao smiled, the camera was borrowed from Lawyer Holl, but he wanted to take a few photos in his spare time as a keepsake.

  Su Hongniang didn't hear clearly what he said either, turned around and glanced at Ye Zhao, saying: "You've had a fright today, get some rest early, I'm leaving."

  "Alright, I'm scared, so I'll call you."

  Su Hongniang nodded slightly, although she was dressed in men's clothing and wore leather shoes, but couldn't help swaying her hips, under the swallowtail suit, it seemed as if one could feel her gentle waist movement. This stunning beauty of classical and modern collision almost made Ye Zhaowu unable to take his eyes off her, until the beauty's back disappeared from view, he shook his head in dismay, thinking to himself that he was always so useless.

  Thinking about tonight's affairs, I'm afraid it will be attributed to the foreigners, further intensifying the conflict between the Qing army and the concession foreigners.

  And how can you benefit from it yourself?

  Distracted, I was suddenly aware of a strong fragrance wafting into my nostrils. Turning around, I saw that Su Hongniang had come in unnoticed, carrying a soup dish with a lid adorned with a sea-pine flower pattern and filled with golden clouds. Inside the white jade-like official kiln porcelain bowl was a steaming hot carp soup, its creamy base topped with a few strands of green leaves, making my mouth water at the mere sight of it.

  "Drink up, it's invigorating to see blood, and carp soup is the most nourishing. Are you using your arm with all your might?" Su Hongniang placed the soup plate on the sandalwood table beside Ye Zhao.

  "Ah, it's okay, I'm not left-handed." Ye Zhaos injury was to his left hand, which didn't affect his eating. He picked up the white jade spoon and hastily scooped a mouthful into his mouth, only to let out an "ah" as he was scalded, sucking in cold air.

  Su Hongniang's big, watery eyes stared at him helplessly as she said, "You call yourself a prince, but you don't have any dignity at all. You're like a little monkey."

  Ye Zhao wasn't the first time to lose face in front of Su Hongniang, but he had also cultivated a thick skin, completely unbothered, and sneered: "Huang Dizi, that's definitely not a decent person, with such a group of spoiled young masters, the Qing dynasty will surely succeed!"

  Su Hongniang glared at him, "Can't you speak properly?"

  Ye Zhao helplessly sighed, "Alright, I won't call you 'old lady' from now on."

  Su Hongniang nodded in approval: "This is for the best."

  "Ten days later, shout again!" Ye Zhao's words made Su Hongniang furious, and she stretched out her snowy white and smooth small hand to give him a slap.

  Ye Zhaoyi was stunned, and Su Hongniang also froze, this action really seemed too intimate.

  Ye Zhaoyu immediately let out a soft sigh and said, "I'll have to punish your husband by giving him a beating. It seems like you need to go back to your parents' home to learn the Three Obediences and Four Virtues!"

  Su Hongniang smiled and said: "Can't I discipline my brother?"

  Ye Zhaoming nodded and said: "Alright, I'll spare you for today, but don't let it happen again in the future."

  Between their conversation, it seems like Su Hongniang has acknowledged her as his wife. She said "disciplining younger brother" to justify hitting Fu Jun just now.

  Su Hongniang knew that talking to this garrulous young master for a few more sentences would only lead to her own loss, but she had few friends with whom she could chat so casually. The members of the Tiandihui respected and revered her, and they didn't dare show any disrespect when they saw her, let alone joke around with her.

  This hateful guy who always has a sarcastic remark, never says anything serious, and is extremely frivolous. But being with him makes me feel so relaxed, as if I've become a different person - no longer the intimidating General of the Western Regions, but an ordinary woman who's cared for and pitied by others.

  This guy seems to be really fearless of himself.

  "Wife, shall I feed you a mouthful?" As expected, looking at his current carefree and smiling face, he didn't take his own reputation into consideration at all.

  "No drinking, wife. Today we went to a place called the racecourse, where horse racing is held. I heard that the French consul has a good horse, and when I get the chance, I'll get it for you. The fine horses in this world are only suitable for my wife to ride, giving them to others would be a waste of heaven's treasures."

  Ye Zhaos' incessant chatter, Su Hongniang didn't respond to him, but quietly watched him, wondering what he was thinking.

  ………………………

  Tomorrow is Monday, and the new book rankings will be rearranged. I took a look, and the second and third books this week are all recommended by Sanjiang. Faint, our recommendation isn't bad either, but it's still far behind.

  So after 0:00, everyone must vote for me! I'm under pressure now...

  ;