What Is a Surprise?

When Su Liang and Ning Jing paid and checked out, they heard many people in the inn talking about the replacement of the Lord of Xuanbei City.

Some people were concerned about Wanshan's physical condition.

Some people were looking forward to Xing Ji's next performance.

No one doubted that it was the royal family that harmed Wanshan, and felt unfair for him. After all, he was alive, and he fell ill before Xing Ji arrived.

It made sense.

The father and son of the Wan family had been busy in the northern border in recent years, but they had made so many "war exploits" in peacetime, and the purpose of winning the hearts of the people was achieved, but the fundamental problem was that they were ministers, and the military power was in the hands of Wanshan, but he was not surnamed Wan. The royal family could give it to him and take it back at any time.

Even if Wanshan did not fall at this moment, he had no legitimate reason to disobey the order, and if he did not accept it, he could only rebel.

Duanmu Yi was worried that Wanshan's rebellion would cause civil unrest.

Wanshan thought that if he was really forced to that point, he could lead his troops to rebel.

And with Wanshan's collapse, all troubles were solved.

"General Wan is really loved by the people." Su Liang said.

The innkeeper sighed, "Yes! General Wan is a very good person. I hope God will bless him to recover from his illness as soon as possible!"

Su Liang smiled. The people's hearts that Wan Shan won over were still useful. Everyone was very concerned about his health and hoped that he would return to Beijing to find the imperial physician as soon as possible.

After leaving the inn, Su Liang and Ning Jing rode their horses out of the south gate.

An hour later, they arrived at the valley where they stayed when they came.

Su Liang went to the cave to change clothes.

Ning Jing took two horses and continued to move forward. After selling the horses to the next city, he changed his clothes and bought a new horse from another family, rode it back.

Su Liang restored his true appearance, changed into women's clothes, rode the horse brought back by Ning Jing, and headed towards Xuanbei City alone.

He made an appointment with Ning Jing that he would go there secretly before midnight tonight. Ning Jing specifically asked Su Liang to make him delicious food.

As luck would have it, when Su Liang arrived at the south gate of Xuanbei City, he ran into a group of people leaving the city. It was the Wan family team led by Wan Cong returning to Beijing.

Many people noticed Su Liang because of her beautiful appearance and heroic demeanor.

Although there are many people coming and going in Xuanbei City, it is rare for a woman from another place to come to the northern border city alone.

Su Liang suddenly smiled at him.

After being dazzled for a moment, Wan Cong suddenly came back to his senses and guessed her identity!

"Who are you?" The city guard asked Su Liang loudly.

Su Liang's voice was cold, "I am Su Liang, a fourth-rank military general who came to Xuanbei City to assist the loyal and faithful marquis in accordance with the emperor's order."

As soon as these words came out, there was an uproar at the gate of the city, and all eyes were focused on Su Liang.

This name is known to everyone in Gan State.

She is the first female martial arts champion in Gan State, and she defeated Mu Ya, a female general of Yan State. Not only is he a martial arts master, but he is also the descendant of a famous doctor with excellent medical skills. He is a military general and also serves as the imperial physician.

"Su Zhuangyuan is so beautiful!" Someone couldn't help but sigh.

A chorus of voices echoed the praise.

Wan Cong listened, and it was not only harsh, but also heartbreaking.

He was sure that Wan Shan's collapse was caused by Su Liang, but there was no evidence at all!

The soldiers guarding the city respectfully made way and invited Su Liang in.

Wan Cong and his party had already left the city gate. He couldn't help but look back at Su Liang's back. Suddenly, he had an idea and turned his horse's head and shouted, "General Su, wait!"

Su Liang was not surprised and stopped by reining in his horse. "Who are you?"

Wan Cong rode over and said loudly, "My father is Wan Shan. I am Wan Shan's eldest son, with a single name of Cong. I heard from Marquis Zhongxin and General Lin that General Su is a skilled doctor and has cured the stroke of the old man in the Duke of Qin's Mansion. I wonder if General Su can treat my father?"

"Did General Wan have a stroke?" Su Liang looked surprised.

Wan Cong saw her innocent face and almost broke his back teeth, but he still had to remain calm, "My father fell down at night and became ill. Please ask General Su to save him!"

"No problem." Su Liang readily agreed, "I will do my best."

Wan Cong was stunned. He didn't expect Su Liang to agree. He had a hunch that there was something fishy.

But now, he could only take Wan Shan and the party back to the city.

The news came quickly, and the people were very happy, thinking that Su Liang was a kind-hearted doctor and Wan Shan was saved.

However, when Wan Cong and his party were about to return to the general's mansion, they were stopped by the newly replaced guards, because Wan Shan was no longer the commander of Xuanbei City and was not qualified to live here, even if Xing Ji did not live there.

"Wait here, I will ask the marquis for permission." Su Liang said very "kindly".

Wan Cong felt that Su Liang had bad intentions, but he had to keep smiling and thank her.

...

"General Xing!" Su Liang walked into the meeting room briskly.

Xing Ji was looking at the map hanging on the wall. He turned around and laughed, "You are here!"

There were several generals in the meeting room, and their eyes fell on Su Liang.

Xing Ji introduced them, and Su Liang greeted them one by one.

"It's true that heroes come out of youth!" General Zhou praised them generously.

Su Liang smiled and said a few humble words, and then mentioned in public that she met Wan Shan and his party on the road, and Wan Cong asked her to treat Wan Shan, and they turned back.

"Now Master Wan wants to take his father back to the general's mansion to stay temporarily, I wonder if you can make an exception?" Su Liang pleaded for Wan Shan.

This surprised the others present. I don't know if Su Liang is really simple and kind, or has other intentions.

The handover of military power has been completed, how can Wan Shan stay? And she still has to cure Wan Shan. If Wan Shan does something he shouldn't do after his body recovers, wouldn't it be troublesome?

Xing Ji frowned, "This... General Wanshan is ill. It's a trivial matter to live in the general's mansion. I have no intention of living there. However, the emperor's imperial decree states that General Wanshan and his son are ordered to return to Beijing as soon as possible to resume his duties. , Don’t delay. I wonder how long it will take for General Su to treat General Wanshan?”

Su Liang replied, "I just looked at General Wanshan's condition. It's more serious than Mr. Qin's stroke. I can only do my best. If everything goes well, it will take at least two or three months for his body to recover."

Xing Ji sighed, "I also hope that General Wanshan can be cured as soon as possible, but the emperor is waiting. I dare not make my own decision and keep General Wanshan in Xuanbei City. That is disobedience."

Immediately some generals agreed, believing that Wan Shan and his son must not stay and must set off back to Beijing today.

Xing Ji looked helpless, "How about General Su give General Wan a prescription and let him take the medicine on the way?"

"It mainly relies on acupuncture." Su Liang frowned, "But the holy will cannot be violated, so this is the only way. I will give General Wan a prescription first and let him go on his way."

The last four words, no matter how you hear them, are not very auspicious.

But the generals present all praised Su Liang for his kindness, and even asked Su Liang to help heal old injuries.

No one dared to ask Wan Shan to stay, even though they had seen how seriously ill he was. If he stayed in Xuanbei City, he could be cured by Su Liang as soon as possible.

Su Liang wrote a recipe in the meeting hall and left the camp to deliver it to Wan Cong.

"Master Wan, the Marquis is very concerned about your father's health, but he has no choice but to violate the holy will and dare not keep you in Xuanbei City." Su Liang looked apologetic.

Wan Cong's face was ashen! Only then did he realize that Su Liang was deliberately torturing them!

Su Liang took out the prescription and handed it to Wan Cong, "This is the prescription I prescribed for your father. Take the medicine on the way first, and wait until the capital to seek treatment from the imperial doctor. According to the decree, I cannot return to the capital for the time being, but I believe that your father-in-law will be able to do it with good luck and good fortune." Get better."

This comfort was like stabbing a knife into Wan Cong's heart.

But what Su Liang said was his will. No matter how angry Wan Cong was, he didn't dare to lose his temper. He could only accept the prescription and thank Su Liang through gritted teeth.

"It's a pity that my grandfather passed away. If he were still alive, my father would definitely get well soon when he returned to the capital." Su Liang sighed with regret.

Wan Cong's face froze, knowing that Su Liang had stopped pretending and showed her cards directly. She was just avenging her relatives, and the Wan family and Duanmu Sheng and Duanmu Ao were one and the same.

In fact, the murderers who went to kill the Su family were all minions carefully trained by the Wan family for brothers Duanmu Sheng and Duanmu Ao.

The Wan family didn't take action, but they gave Duanmu Sheng and Duanmu Ao the confidence to do whatever they wanted. After learning about it, they thought it was no big deal for Duanmu Sheng to commit adultery with his siblings. They believed that the only mistake the brothers made was not eradicating the root cause and leaving Su Liang as a future problem.

They don't regard the innocent Su family as human beings, so don't blame Su Liang for sending them on their way to do ghosts as soon as possible.

"Master Wan, it's getting late. You should hit the road early. Take care on the road." Su Liang's smile did not reach her eyes.

Wan Cong and his entourage did not even enter the general's mansion, and left Xuanbei City in despair.

…

Su Liang had known that she would run into Wan Cong and his entourage, because she was waiting for Ning Jing to change horses and come back in the valley. She had been paying attention to the movement in the valley and did not see the Wan Cong family passing by.

It's not like I specifically humiliated them, I just let nature take its course and did what I could. After all, it was Wan Cong who took the initiative to ask for his return. If he didn't ask, it would be over.

Su Liang returned to the military camp again. When he saw Xing Ji, everyone else had left. He was discussing the next deployment with Lin Bojun.

"Xiao Liang!" Lin Bojun smiled broadly when he saw Su Liang, "Is the Wan family gone?"

"If you don't want to leave, why don't you stay here to celebrate the New Year?" Su Liang chuckled, walked over and sat down, "Where's Wan Lin?"

"Secretly escorted back to Beijing." Lin Bojun said, "Thanks to you, all the troubles have been solved. I thought about a lot of problems I might face on the way here, but I didn't expect it to go so smoothly."

"Mainly because I run fast." Su Liang said with a smile.

Xing Ji asked her, "Why haven't you seen Ajun?"

"Oh, please help him go to his hometown to do something." Su Liang said.

Xing Ji was a little surprised, "He went to Sujia Village on the way and didn't come with you? Did you do everything yourself?"

Su Liang shook his head, "No. I only let him leave after the trouble here was solved. He helped a lot."

Xing Ji nodded, "Ajun, that kid, always does things safely. Just now you came and asked Wan Shan to stay, and I was wondering if you were planning to take the opportunity to return to Beijing."

"I want to go back to Beijing. Second brother Lin is more anxious than me, right? But I'm not going with the Wan family. If I don't cure Wan Shan, wouldn't it be a loss of my reputation? But I don't want to heal him." Su Liang said .

"Well, there are people from the emperor in the team. If something happens to them on the way and they can't reach the capital, it's none of our business." Xing Ji said.

In fact, he had the right to ask Lin Bojun and Su Liang to escort Wan Shan back to Beijing, but he didn't want to do that. If something happens to Wan's family, Lin Bojun and Su Liang will still have to bear the responsibility.

Su Liang mentioned overhearing the conversation between Wan Shan and Wan Cong and his son.

"They said that the Liang Kingdom sent people to sue for peace several times in the past two years, but they were suppressed and did not report it to the court." Su Liang said.

The expressions of Xing Ji and Lin Bojun changed.

Su Liang continued, "Many of the achievements of brothers Wan Cong and Wan Lin are all false. There was no invasion from the Liang people at all. They went out of the city for a while and then came back and claimed that they had repelled the Liang people."

"Shameless!" Lin Bojun couldn't help but cursed, "If we don't get rid of such a worm who is eager for quick success and quick success, the consequences will be disastrous when the Liang Kingdom army actually invades!"

Xing Ji thoughtfully said, "Wan Shan is really capable, and his two sons are not idiots. They are just eager for success and have evil intentions."

Su Liang hummed, "In such a critical position, ability is of course very important, but if you have different intentions, the stronger the ability, the greater the trouble you can create."

Xing Ji agreed very much, "That makes sense."

"Does Uncle Xing think that the Liang Kingdom really wants to seek peace?" Su Liang asked.

After Xing Ji pondered for a moment, he shook his head, "In my opinion, it's half true and half false. The people of Liang will never die in their desire to invade Qian, because everyone wants to live a good life. I'm afraid the pretense of peace is just to recuperate. Rui. Otherwise, as long as they come to seek peace in a big way, how can Wanshan hide it? "

Su Liang nodded, "Indeed. Wan Shan kept it secret and refused to retaliate because he was afraid that if he really made peace with Liang Guo, they and his son would have no chance to make meritorious deeds."

"The Wan brothers lied about their military exploits..." Xing Ji asked.

Su Liang understood, "There is a witness. Wan Cong's general named Chen Yun knows about it and is dissatisfied with it. You can ask him to write down his testimony and submit it to the emperor."

"Xiao Liang, you've only been here three days, how come you know everything?" Lin Bojun was very impressed.

Su Liang said with a smile, "General Chen and I met by chance in a tavern. It was also a coincidence. But I hid my identity at the time, so don't let me out."

"I'm giving the emperor a letter. Do you have a letter to send back to the capital? Have someone send it back." Xing Ji asked.

"Xiao Liang will definitely write a letter to A Jing." Lin Bojun said with a smile.

Su Liang was very calm, "That's necessary."

Xing Ji asked Su Liang and Lin Bojun to live in the general's mansion, but Lin Bojun refused, saying that he lived in the military camp like Xing Ji so that he could familiarize himself with the situation in Xuanbei City as soon as possible. Although he really wanted to return to Beijing to get married as soon as possible, now that he was here, he had to do his part well.

Su Liang did not refuse, mainly because he was concerned about safety and it was inconvenient for him to enter the military camp.

So, Su Liang lived in the mansion of the general of Xuanbei City alone. There was nothing against the rules. When someone asked Xing Ji, he said that Su Liang was his adopted daughter, even though Su Liang did not agree to recognize him as his adopted father.

Su Liangzhen wrote a letter and gave it to Xing Ji to take to his family in Beijing. The letter briefly explained the situation here. He just told Qi Jun, who was pretending to be peaceful, that everything was going well and let him wait with peace of mind.

…

Beijing.

After several pleas, Queen Xiao Wan was finally allowed to visit the eldest prince Duanmu Sheng who was under house arrest in the cold palace.

When she entered the door, she saw Duanmu Sheng sitting by the window with disheveled hair, holding a stuffed doll in his hand, pricking it hard with a silver needle, his eyes were filled with resentment, and he was mumbling, "Su Liang, go to hell, go to hell." …”

Xiao Wanshi retreated and walked over, "Sheng'er!"

Duanmu Sheng raised his head and looked over blankly, "Queen Mother..."

"It's the Queen Mother. The Queen Mother is here to see Sheng'er." Little Wan's eyes were red, she held Duanmu Sheng's hand, took away the doll and needle, and put them on the table, "Don't scare the Queen Mother, if anything happens to you again , how can the queen still live?”

"Mother, I didn't kill my second brother!" Duanmu Sheng's face turned ugly, "It's all because of that bitch Su Liang!"

Xiao Wanshi nodded, "Mother knows, how could you harm Ao'er? You are brothers!"

"Uncle...is there any news from uncle?" Duanmu Sheng looked anxious.

Xiao Wanshi shook his head, "There is no news yet, but it should be soon. Your uncle has been in Northern Xinjiang for so many years, how could it be possible for Xing Ji to seize power easily? He already knows about the things here and will not sit still and wait for death. Sheng'er, you Wait a minute, don’t panic!”

Duanmu Sheng seemed to gain confidence all of a sudden and sneered, "My uncle is so powerful that even my father is afraid of him. Xing Ji and Su Liang go to Xuanbei City and don't expect to come back alive! The queen mother sent a message to my uncle to catch Su Liang and don't let her Die, I will cut her into pieces with my own hands and chop her into pieces!"

Little Wanshi nodded, "Okay, mother and queen have promised you, don't be afraid, just wait here. There will be good news from your uncle soon."

…

Xuanbei City.

Su Liang's dinner was cooked by the chef of the General's Mansion, and the taste was average. She ate some, and was asked to clean up the small kitchen in the courtyard where she lived. She asked for some ingredients and said she wanted to make a late-night snack.

After asking the servants to leave, Su Liang was thinking about the next thing while preparing to cook two of Ningjing's favorite dishes, thanking him for his help this time.

The food was almost out of the pot. Su Liang looked back at the kitchen door and saw a familiar figure walking in.

It is masked peace. He carried a basket and placed it on the ground. He sat down and added two firewood to the stove with very skillful movements.

"Where have you been?" Su Liang asked casually.

Ning Jing took something out of the basket and handed it to Su Liang.

It was an oily paper bag, and I didn’t know what it was that was hard inside.

Su Liang opened it and found it was a piece of bacon.

"The best food in Nanfeng City." Ning Jing said.

Su Liang was stunned for a moment, "You actually went to the border town of Liang Kingdom and bought a piece of meat? But the most delicious thing is very subjective. You can only represent yourself."

"I think this is the most delicious thing in Nanfeng City. Is there any problem?" Ning Jing asked.

Su Liang coughed lightly, "No problem. You are the boss, you have the final say. I will cook it for you how you want to eat this piece of meat."

"Waiting for you to surprise me." Ning Jing looked calm.

Su Liang raised his eyebrows, "Master, do you actually have the emotion of surprise? I've never seen it before. Unless you smile, it's not a surprise."

Ning Jing stood up, washed his hands, picked up a piece of meat pie that Su Liang had carefully baked, took a bite, and said calmly, "It's delicious, I'm very surprised."

Su Liang was speechless, "Is this okay?"

"Surprise is very subjective, but I can represent myself." Ning Jing returned Su Liang's words to her, "I think so, that's it."

Su Liang was speechless.

She sliced ​​the bacon and fried it in a plate, leaving half for tomorrow.

The midnight snack was ready, and the two sat opposite each other in the room. Su Liang tasted a piece of bacon and nodded, "It has a unique flavor."

Ning Jing took out a piece of paper from his arms and handed it to her, "The bacon recipe, go back and make it."

Su Liang: ... She never wanted to describe Ning Jing as a foodie, because he was sometimes very picky about eating, and sometimes very casual. To be more precise, it was only when she made food for Ning Jing that he knew how to enjoy it, and at other times he only ate to fill his stomach.

"Master, I want to discuss something with you." Su Liang said seriously, "How about I don't cook in the future, and you don't have to light the fire and wash the dishes. We can eat in restaurants every day. Anyway, we are not short of money, so it will be much easier. How about it?"

Ning Jing shook his head, "No, wait until you can beat me."

Su Liang frowned, "If I don't do it, will you force me by force?"

Ning Jing said indifferently, "This is what was originally decided. If you want to change it, I don't agree. You said that I am the boss."

Su Liang gave up instantly. Do you have to beat Ning Jing to become the boss? There is little hope.

Ning Jing picked up a piece of bacon and put it in his mouth. He ate it slowly and nodded, "I am very surprised."

"If one day I can really beat you, will you cook?" Su Liang asked again. People should have dreams. What if they see ghosts?

Ning Jing nodded, "I wish you all your dreams come true soon."

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