Chapter 130 Returning to Shouchun, with a Virtuous Wife Cao Cao left as lightly as he came. After meeting Qin Zhen, Lao Cao no longer had any intention of staying. If we talk about the reason, it can be summarized in one point: the battle that should be fought has been fought, and continuing to fight will not do him any good. Because by now, anyone with a discerning eye can see that Huainan has become a quagmire, and the drought has caused most of the Huaihe River basin to have no harvest! The arrival of autumn is just the beginning. As the weather turns colder, a terrifying wave of refugees will break out. This is the kind of place that any warlord would avoid. Only a man like Liu Bei, who started from scratch, would regard this place as a treasure. Therefore, for Lao Cao, now is the best time to leave. If Liu Bei had the ability to govern Huainan well, he could have taken over a complete Huainan in the future.

If Liu Bei fails to govern Huainan well, then he can make a comeback next spring, after the spring grain comes in, using the excuse of poor governance! The key lies in whether Liu Bei can gain a foothold in Huainan within this half year. Therefore, Cao deliberately left Cao Ren and 30,000 troops to garrison in Pingyu. While preventing Yuan Shu from making a comeback, he also kept an eye on Liu Bei. As for Cao Cao's behavior, Old Liu had only one reaction, which was to leave Guan Yu to guard Xincai and Ruyin. With the arrival of Liu Pi and Gong Du, Liu Bei's military strength became more sufficient. Because Liu Pi and Gong Du were the remnants of the Yellow Turbans, the number of soldiers and their families under their command was as many as 40,000 to 50,000, of which more than half were young and strong. It has been more than ten years since the Yellow Turban Rebellion. The Yellow Turban troops that have survived to this day are at least elite bandits. Therefore, at Qin Zhen's suggestion, Liu Bei placed him in Ancheng, forming a pincer attack with Guan Yu and placing him under the command of Guan Yu. As for Guan Yu's own troops, 4,000 of them were left behind to mix with the captives of Yuan Shu's army, training them and defending at the same time. At this point, Liu Bei's defense line was formed. On the western front, Guan Yu, Liu Pi, Gong Du and others defended against Cao Cao and Yuan Shu. On the northern front, Xu Shu led Fu Shiren, Xiahou Bo and other generals to defend Pei State. On the southern front, Qin Yi, Chen Dao, Xiahou Lan and other generals defended Lu'an, Liyang, Hefei and other places respectively. Only the Eastern Front did not require much defense. Because at this point in time Lu Bu will not attack for the time being, and there is also a "friendly army" Chen Deng. Therefore, Qin Zhen on the eastern front suggested to Liu Bei that Xu Sheng should lead 3,000 troops to garrison Zhongli. After the troops were dispersed, Liu Bei took more than 5,000 people who were snatched from Guan Yu, and his own troops, escorting a large amount of money and food, and returned to Shouchun. By late September, after several months of twists and turns, Liu Bei finally officially took control of Shouchun.

For Qin Zhen, the greatest joy was not returning to Shouchun, but reuniting with his wife and daughter whom he had not seen for several months. Of course, there is also a young sister-in-law among them. Generally speaking, Qin Zhen is a home-loving person. After coming to this strange era alone, Qin Zhen was in a state of extreme confusion for quite a long time. It was not until he became Cai Yong’s disciple that he saw the first ray of light in his life. It has to be said that Cai Yong was an old stubborn man. Even though Qin Zhen had urged Cai Yong not to accept the order to go to the court, Cai Yong still went resolutely. But in a sense, Cai Yong was very open-minded. After knowing about his relationship with Cai Yan, she rejected Wei Zhongdao's proposal and betrothed Cai Yan to this poor boy. Even though he had already joined Cao Cao's army at that time, he was still an unknown young man from a poor family. To be able to get to this point today is inseparable from Cai Yan’s silent support. So after returning to the city, when Qin Zhen heard that Cai Yan had taken the children south, the first thing he did was to ride his horse back home. Qin Zhen's "home" is located in the west of Shouchun City, at the foot of Yuan Shu's original imperial city, not far from Liu Bei's mansion. It is a rather exquisite courtyard. It is said that it was originally the residence of Liu Xun, a general under Yuan Shu. After Liu Xun left, the courtyard became empty. As soon as Liu Bei entered the city, he thought that he would most likely settle down in Shouchun, so he simply selected a residence for Qin Zhen in advance. However, Qin Zhen had never lived in this mansion before. He usually slept in the county government, so he still felt a little unfamiliar with the place. But now when he returned to the mansion, he saw that the plaque above the gate had been changed from the word "Liu" to the word "Qin". Seeing this, Qin Zhen smiled slightly and walked forward and knocked on the door. "Who is it?" As soon as the question was asked, a servant poked his head out, looking quite unfamiliar. He glanced outside the door and saw Qin Chen standing there, with a group of ferocious guards standing behind him. These guards were originally the most elite Danyang soldiers under Liu Bei. Since Qin Zhen joined, they were assigned to Qin Zhen as his personal followers. Each of them is a warrior who has experienced many battles and looks terrifying. The servant was surprised when he saw this: "Who are you, and why are you knocking at my door?" Qin Zhen saw that he didn't recognize him and couldn't help but laugh: "Is your master at home?" When the young servant saw this, he was immediately surprised: "Who are you? If you are visiting a friend, my Lord Qin is out and has not returned yet. Only my wife is in the mansion to take care of things, so it is inconvenient to see you!" Seeing the servant like this, Qin Zhen couldn't help but nodded secretly.

Although he was away, Cai Yan still managed the new home well. The doorman was replaced by a man who was quite polite. However, he wanted to give his wife a surprise, so he had to sneak into the house quietly! Therefore, he simply said to the servant: "In that case, call your housekeeper here. I have a letter to send to him!" Upon hearing this, the servant said in surprise: "You have the letter yourself, so you can hand it over to me. Why do you need to look for the steward?" Seeing this, Qin Zhen smiled even more and said: "Because I know your steward, I will feel more at ease if I let him come!" The servant listened and thought that this man was a strange one, but seeing that he was dressed luxuriously and had guards, he did not dare to neglect him. He asked Qin Zhen to wait outside and went back to the mansion to call Uncle Zhong again. At this time, Zhong Bo was leading a group of servants to clean the courtyard. He was surprised when he heard this. I thought that my Lord Qin has a wide circle of friends, but no one knows me. Now he wants to meet me, could it be that Xu Yuanzhi comes? He immediately asked someone to report the matter to Cai Yan in the inner court, and he himself went out to meet the emperor. When he arrived outside the mansion, he was surprised and delighted to see Qin Zhen, and hurriedly went out to greet him and said: "My lord is coming, why don't you send someone to inform us first? No wonder I said I have no relatives here. Who is coming?" "I didn't expect that the Lord would come in person. If I had known, I would have informed my wife to go out and greet her!" As he said this, he blamed the servant for having no vision and not even recognizing his own master! Seeing this, the servant scratched his head in grievance, while Qin Zhen stepped forward, patted him on the shoulder, and said to Zhong Bo with a smile: "Don't blame him. I think he is quite smart. I didn't say anything, so how can you blame him?" As he said this, he ordered the guards to wait outside and walked towards the mansion, asking as he walked: "Uncle Zhong, when did you get here? Why are there so many strangers in the house?" Zhong Bo followed, and upon hearing this, he laughed and said, "My Lord, you don't know that we went south on the third day of September, and we only arrived here on the seventeenth day!" "As for these strangers, they are helpless because when we went south, there were many refugees from all over the place." "The mistress is kind-hearted. She couldn't bear to see them suffer. When she saw those who were selling their children, she took in a few more families and headed south!" "He looks like the one just now. He is called Ku Shu. Both his parents died, leaving only his brother and sister. So the old servant asked him to guard the door here." "I didn't expect this kid to not recognize his master and almost offend him!" Listening to Zhong Bo's words, Qin Zhen sighed slightly. It was just after the Mid-Autumn Festival and refugees had already appeared in Huainan. It was easy to imagine how severe the situation would be in winter! Fortunately, they still have time, and if they operate properly, it should not cause large-scale deaths of refugees. While thinking about it, he heard that the servant had a younger sister, and he couldn't help but wonder: "He calls himself the bitter mouse and is guarding the gate here. What are his sisters' names and what are they doing?" When Zhong Bo heard this, he stroked his beard and smiled: "My Lord, you don't know. This boy is quite stupid. His sister is quite clever. She calls him Kucai, and she is quite liked by my Lord." "Now he is working in the inner courtyard, acting as a playmate for the young lady!" This was a bitter rat and a bitter vegetable, Qin Zhen shook his head secretly after hearing this. It has to be said that ancient people were very casual in naming, and "rat" and "vegetable" could also be names!

With such a name, it would be strange if his life wasn't miserable. While thinking, he gave another instruction: "People like them come here alone and helpless. Treat them well and don't let them resent you!" When Zhongbo heard this, he agreed repeatedly and then brought Qin Zhen to the inner courtyard. As soon as I reached the courtyard, I heard a clear voice: "Daddy, Daddy!" After a few sounds, a little porcelain doll was seen running out from the inner courtyard. When Qin Zhen saw her, his heart melted. He hurried forward and picked her up, pinching her face several times and saying: "Little guy, how did you know daddy is here?" This little girl was none other than his biological daughter, Xiaosui'er. After not seeing her for a few months, she seemed to have grown half a head taller. Being amused by him, the daughter giggled and laughed: "Mother heard someone report that Daddy has arrived, so she asked me to come and pick him up!" As she was speaking, she saw Cai Yan and Cai Yao coming in from the backyard together. The two girls still looked dignified and lovely, but with smiles on their faces. Obviously he was very happy about Qin Zhen's return. Seeing Cai Yan coming, Qin Zhen couldn't help but hug his daughter and said with a smile: "I said I had a surprise for Madam, but I didn't expect that I could not hide it from Madam!" When Cai Yan heard this, she rolled her eyes at him and said: "My husband is always like this. When someone comes back, he always informs us early and asks us to prepare!" "Only my husband came to the door like this and didn't say a word!" "If I didn't know that my husband had no friends here, I would have been deceived by him again!" Although she said something a little bit angry, she still walked forward slowly, tidied Qin Zhen's clothes and said: "As long as my husband is here safely, I have no other wishes. This is already a joy, why add to the shock?" Then she turned around and said to a maid: "Go prepare some hot water and bathe with your husband!" As soon as she finished speaking, the maid turned and left. Seeing this, Qin Zhen smiled without saying anything. He listened to his wife's whispered complaints and looked at her gentle face, feeling warm in his heart. This is the role of home. After working hard outside, when you go home and there are people asking about your well-being and caring about you along the way, you will have a sense of belonging. But as he listened, he felt something strange, as if something was missing. Subconsciously, he looked back and saw Cai Yao, then he smiled and said: "Jeong-ji is like this, don't you want me to return?" Normally, every time he came back, Cai Yao would inevitably confront him, but this time Cai Yao didn't move at all, and he was a little uncomfortable with it.

As soon as he finished speaking, Cai Yao curled her lips and said: "I didn't say that, you said it!" As he spoke, he took small steps forward, sniffed around Qin Zhen, and then muttered: "You stink of sweat, I don't want to bother with you!" "Go take a bath quickly. I will cook for you personally to welcome you!" Having said this, he turned his head and looked away. Looking at this awkward little girl, Qin Zhen just smiled and said: "It's so rare that Zhenji cooks. I must eat two more bowls later!" He knew that he was dirty, so he teased his daughter for a few more words and let Cai Yao take his daughter to play by herself. I finally came back, and I want to spend some time alone with my wife first. It’s not good to be with two little light bulbs. Seeing this, Cai Yan smiled and took Qin Zhen into the inner courtyard. Along the way, Qin Zhen was also looking around his new home, and saw that the inner courtyard here was much larger than the small courtyards in Xiang County and Pei County. There are many rooms and villas in the inner courtyard alone. Seeing the clean floors and neatly trimmed grass and trees along the way, Qin Zhen couldn't help but smile: "I have never been to this house before. I think it has been vacant for a long time, so it must be messy." "Thanks to my wife's care, we now have a decent home!" Unconsciously, they were the only ones left. Hearing this, Cai Yan smiled and said, "My husband knows this. Actually, when I came here, this house was already in decline. It was only thanks to the help of Uncle Zhong that he hired someone to repair it!" "I don't have the ability of my husband, and I can only take care of some household chores for him!" As they were talking, the two of them had already arrived at the main house. After pushing the door open and entering, Cai Yan pointed inside the house and said: "There are some clothes here, please take them first. I will go and see if the water can be heated up, and then I will help you take a bath!" But before she could finish her words, she felt a pair of hands hugging her slender waist. The next second, I heard a whisper: "I haven't seen you for a long time. Do you miss me, madam?" When this voice was heard, Cai Yan's body softened and her face turned red. The two of them were an old couple, so they naturally knew what Qin Zhen wanted to do, and couldn't help but whispered: "It's all right to think about it, but it's still too early." But as she said this, she felt her neck getting hot again, and instantly lost her strength to resist. After a while, the atmosphere became tense. (End of this chapter)