Xiao Hua is thin and bald, looking like an old horse with a very short life.
However, such a horse, with its own power, ate nearly half of the horse feed in the manger.
During that time, the other horses also tried to squeeze in to eat but were all blown away or bitten by it.
The person in charge of mixing the horse feed is Su Xingyinâs personal guard, his name is Jiu Jiu. He was in his early twenties and very good at taking care of horses. Seeing this scene, he couldnât help but say: âThis horse is not an ordinary horse, right? Itâs so smart!â
âMaybe. It was a wild horse. After being caught by the Rong people, it kept trying to escape but it couldnât, so it ended up like thisâŚI see it was pitiful so I just buy it.â Said Yan Jingze. He didnât take his eyes off the pot of porridge that was cooking for everyone to eat.
Heâs really hungryâŚ
As for Xiao Hua, Xiao Hua is no ordinary wild horse. It was the leader of the wild horse herd.
Not only did it have dozens of mares, it also boldly ran to the vicinity of the Rong peopleâs settlement to seduce the mares raised by the Rong.
It also successfully seduced it. In one breath, it took away seven or eight mares from that tribe.
After that Rong tribe found out, they immediately organized people to catch Xiao Hua.
They want to get the mares back, and they also want to catch Xiao Hua for breeding.
However, they resorted to many means and worked for a long time but they could only catch Xiao Huaâs group of âwivesâ, they couldnât catch Xiao Hua.
Itâs a pity, although Xiao Hua escaped, it loves its mares so it was always wandering outside the tribe, wanting to take its mares away.
Wandering and wandering, in the end, it fell into the Rong tribe trap. It was caught by the Rong with its mares as bait.
The Rong are bent on subduing wild horses like Xiao Hua. Itâs a pity that they ran out of options. Xiao Hua just wouldnât listen to them and literally starved itself to death.
They shut it with its mares, it wonât breed but went crazy and bit the mares instead.
The Rong who caught it really couldnât do anything about it. They are not willing to let it go too so it became a stand still.
Yan Jingze passed by the tribe pretending to be a veterinarian. After learning about Xiao Hua, he spent some money to buy Xiao Hua and treated it with all his heart.
The original owner had a good horse that had gone through life and death with him. Unfortunately, it died from Zhou Zhenrongâs pursuit of the original owner.
Although Xiao Hua is a little ugly now, if it was taken good care of, it should also be majestic.
That saidâŚâŚafter buying Xiao Hua and treating it, all his money was spent. He heads south but hasnât encountered other Rong tribes that he cannot make moneyâŚ
âIt turned out to be a wild horse! The horseâs bones are very good. Take good care of it, it must be well cared for.â Jiu Jiuâs eyes shine, âI have a lot of mares over there, if you agree, it can be bredâŚâ
Although Xiao Hua is ugly and very fierceâŚno one can deny that itâs a good horse!
Yan Jingze: ââŚâ he hasnât established a relationship with his lover yet and on Xiao Hua side, someone already wants to arrange a group of mares for it?
Isnât this too unfair?
âNeigh!â The full-fed Xiao Hua leaned beside a mare, rubbing their dwelling.
That was the mare that was bitten by Xiao Hua before, it answered Xiao Hua with its hoof.
Yan Jingzeâs mood finally improved.
His AXiu would never treat him like that!
âThe porridge is ready!â Zhang Erqueâs voice exploded in the room. Everyone quickly gathered around. Jiu Jiu didnât even care about breeding, he was eagerly waiting to drink the porridge.
The bandits in this cottage are gone, but there were some pots and pans left behind. The person in charge of cooking the porridge took the bowl and divided the bark porridge in the pot evenly.
Although Su Moxiu is the second young master of the Su family, when he was with them, he never did anything special. He eats from the same pot as the others. When food is not enough, he would also have the same as the other.
So at this moment, every bowl of porridge is exactly the same.
Itâs just that everyone is waiting for Su Moxiu to take it first.
Su Moxiu took a bowl of porridge but did not eat, instead, he handed it to Yan Jingze outside of the crowd: âEat while itâs hot.â
âThank you.â Yan Jingze took the porridge, not afraid of the heat, he gulped it down.
This porridge has some bark grass roots added so it has a bitter taste but after all, it was a nice and warm food, not to mention the porridge also has salt in it.
Yan Jingze took one sip after another. He first drink the porridge soup, then used two sticks to quickly push the bark and the rice grains at the bottom of the bowl into his mouth.
He was the first to finish it.
He is really hungry!
Unfortunately, although he finished such a bowl of porridge, feeling warm and comfortable, he was still hungry.
If only there were a few steamed meat bunsâŚâŚ
At that moment, another bowl of porridge was brought to Yan Jingze: âGive it to you.â
Yan Jingze looked up at Su Moxiu who was holding the porridge.
Itâs too cold so after they came in, they closed the door.
The lighting in the house now depends on the fire kindling. Under the flickering fire lights, Su Moxiu looked very gentle.
âYou donât drink?â Yan Jingze asked. Thereâs only one bowl of porridge per person, and it wasnât much either. If Su Moxiu gave him his bowl, he would have no porridge to drink.
âI donât like to drink it. You can drink it.â Su Moxiu said.
âSecond young master, we have been drinking this kind of porridge for several days, you never say you didnât like to drink it before!â Zhang Erque shouted.
Su Moxiuâs expression froze: âI had been drinking it for a few days, Iâm tired of drinking it.â
âThen give it to me?â Zhang Erque stared at the porridge in Su Moxiuâs hand.
Yan Jingze didnât wait for Zhang Erque to continue speaking, he quickly took a sip of the porridge and looked up at Su Moxiu with a smile: âThank you.â
Su Moxiu stared at Yan Jingze, his adam apple move: âYouâre welcome.â
âItâs great to meet you. Without you, I might starve to death.â Yan Jingze slowly drank the porridge, his eyes never leaving Su Moxiu, the emotion in his eyes was clear.
Su Moxiuâs breathing became rapid. He stopped looking at Yan Jingze, looking away uncomfortably, exposing his red earlobes.
Turning around, Su Moxiu saw Zhang Erque, he immediately said: âErque, get ready, weâre going hunting!â
Su Moxiu and the others plan to stay in Mount Qiong for a few more days. Though their food is exhausted, there are still some fodder beans that were used to feed the horse.
These are also edible. With these, they can hold on for a few more days.
They had come to Mount Qiong for more than a month now. They spent a few days in Mount Qiong first, then went to the Rong grassland. It wasnât until a few days ago that they returned to Mount Qiong.
Why did they do that, it was because Su Moxiu discovered through various signs that general Zhou may have fled to the Rong tribes.
Unfortunately, they came too late.
Along the way, they had found the bones of general Zhouâs personal guards that had been devoured by wolves and the helmet general Zhou dropped but general Zhou was not found.
It was still autumn when general Zhou disappeared. It wasnât so cold or snowy then, but now snow has covered the mountains.
Itâs been over two months with no news about General Zhou. Heâs afraid that general ZhouâŚis long gone.
In fact, the reason Su Moxiu is still in Mount Qiong was not to find him but to find out how General Zhou died.
Before general Zhou disappeared, he was with Zhou Zhenrong.
According to Zhou Zhenrong, they met the Rong people in Mount Qiong. They couldnât beat them so they ran away, then he disappearedâŚafter that, general Zhou was nowhere to be found.
But Su Moxiu saw some traces on Mount Qiong a month ago that made him start to suspect Zhou Zhenrong.
Su Moxiu is good at studying. He had passed the county level exam when he was 14 or 15.
There are few scholars in the north. He is a genius, so in the eyes of many, he is already a culture person1. Adding his high status to it, when most people encounter a strife, they would find him to get justice.
With a lot more like this, Su Moxiu gradually fell in love with judging cases. He also began to learn and judge cases with the help of an old law teacher and so on.
He is thoughtful and very clever, he has learned very well so far.
Su Xingyin specially asked his younger son to come over, in fact, he actually wanted his younger son to secretly investigate what happened to Zhou Jingshan.
Su Moxiu already found out about this matter a month ago but Su Moxiu also found that Zhou Jingshan seemed to escape from Mount Qiong.
It is also possible that Zhou Jingshan is still alive!
He felt that finding the person was more important so they followed some traces left by Zhou Jingshan and went to the Rongâs territory.
Their clothes were obtained from a Rong tribe.
Itâs a pity, they searched for a long time but couldnât find him. They can only go back to Mount Qiong.
After a long time, it will be much harder for them to find the evidence that Zhou Zhenrong has something to do with Zhou Jingshan death so they decided to stay for a few more days.
âOkay!â Hearing that they were going to hunt, Zhang Erque responded and got up to take his weapon.
Su Moxiu also grabbed the bow and arrow from his back and checked the arrow sack.
Yan Jingze came to Su Moxiuâs side with a smile: âXiao Langjun, can I call you second young master like them?â
Su Moxiu answered: âOkay.â
âSecond young master, itâs freezing outside and the wind is also strongâŚI have a jar of sheep oil here, do you want to rub a little on your face?â Yan Jingze took out a small wooden jar for Su Moxiu.
âNo need.â Su Moxiu said, then felt a little annoyed.
He refused, will this person be unhappy?
And his faceâŚ
When he was at home, he also used some sheep oil on his face, but more than a month with the wind as meals and sleeping outdoorsâŚ
He doesnât know what his face looks like!
He hasnât taken a bath for over a month!
Su Moxiu spent a moment resisting the urge to touch his face and sniff his armpits.
âThis sheep oil works very well, you can try it.â Yan Jingze smiled again.
Facing this smile, Su Moxiu seems to forget to breathe with a blank mind, he subconsciously reaches out to pick it up.
Yan Jingze put the jar into Su Moxiuâs hand. When he let go, he also scratched Su Moxiuâs palm with his pinky, whispering: âDo you want me to put it on you?â
Su Moxiu: â!!!â Is he seducing him?
NowâŚWhat is he going to do?
Su Moxiu froze. At this moment, a large hand suddenly stretched out from the side and grabbed the jar: âSecond young master, what did he give you?â
Saying that, Zhang Erque then unscrewed the jar: âSheep oil? Little white face, didnât you say you have nothing to eat? Why do you still have sheep oil?â
Saying that, he also dipped his finger to get some sheep oil and licked it.
Yan Jingze: ââŚâ
Su Moxiu: ââŚâ
Zhang Erque added: âThis oil is really good. When making porridge before, we should put it in the porridgeâŚJiu Jiu, take this sheep oil to make tea!â
Jiu Jiu soon came over to get the sheep oil. Zhang Erque looked at Yan Jingze again: âDo you have anything else that could be eaten?â
Yan Jingze patted his clothes: âI have nothing on me.â
âSighâŚâŚBut you have a conscience, knowing to give the sheep fat for second young master to eat.â Said Zhang Erque.
Yan Jingze showed an embarrassed but polite smile.
Su Moxiu suddenly wanted to beat Zhang Erque.
1
Someone like a teacher, or other scholarly/artistic thing