The Great Han has elegant ladies forty-five

  The wind on the prairie blew down the golden grass, revealing the youthful figure of a man riding a horse in a flying gallop. The quail rushed into the courtyard from the gate, threw the reins to the approaching Xiongnu male slave, and asked, "Where is the Chanyu?"

  "He is drinking alone on the hill over there." The male slave replied respectfully.

  The sunset's warm colors gently kissed the night color of the grassland, the quails stepped onto the high ridge, took out the wine jug hanging from their waist, pulled out the stopper, and poured it down with a whoosh.

  "Winter is approaching, and the prey on the grasslands has decreased. The herders' days are also getting tougher. A few days ago, I led a group to raid the Great Han's Yunzhong City and plundered many good things. Ah, Kui Pu Le, I found many good wines in the governor's mansion, and I'll send a few jars to your tent tomorrow."

  "So many thanks." Mo Dun smiled, stood up with his hands behind his back, and gazed at the magnificent royal court below the mountain ridge. The tents were arranged in a neat and orderly manner, the lights were shining brightly, and the sword-wielding warriors walked out and in, shouting and yelling, with an air of grandeur... His eyes gleamed with pride, "Gu Quan, you said, decades ago, did our grasslands have such prosperity?"

  "There's nothing natural about it." Qiuhe smiled and said, "Even hundreds of years ago, there wasn't. So I, Qiuhe, don't obey heaven or earth, only you, Zhuge Liang." He looked at the young man's back with respect, "Because I and all Xiongnu people believe that you will lead us Xiongnu to create a peak era."

  The night wind is strong, blowing my collar tightly against my skin.

  "This music is really nice to listen to," the quail tilted his head and listened for a while, his eyes shining brightly in the dark night. "But who would be playing the piano in the king's court?"

  "It should be Ajing." Mocheng said nonchalantly, "These past few days, knowing the Xiongnu is attacking Han, she's been sulking with me." He smiled and raised his head, a cold glint in his eyes, "Truly, women are ignorant, does she think that by sulking, I would really be able to get along with the Han people as brothers?"

  He was speechless for a moment, thinking of the Han family's daughter-in-law who had once stunned him. "It turned out to be Jingyan. The other day, I accidentally passed by her tent and saw that she was pregnant." He smiled with gleaming white teeth, "Kupler, congratulations, you're going to have another child."

  Modun's smile didn't reach his eyes, "If it were a girl," he sighed, "if it were a boy——" He stopped talking and a hint of ruthlessness flashed across his face. Chanyu felt a chill run down her spine, and for some reason, she thought of the Xiongnu tribes' custom of "killing the firstborn son".

  ……

  Autumn leaves fluttering yellow fell from the branches, unknowingly, the ninth year of the Han dynasty came to an end, and the tenth year's footsteps slowly approached. The Han calendar inherited the Qin system, with the tenth month of winter as the beginning of the year, the emperor held a grand ceremony in the Changle Palace, where officials paid homage, majestic and grandiose. Afterwards, Crown Prince Liu Ying took advantage of his half-day break to come to the East Market of Nanpingli, accompanied by his attendants Zhang Chang and others.

  Liu Ying stretched out her limbs and smiled, "It's still best to be carefree and light-hearted." Although she didn't mind taking care of her younger brother and juniors, a boy should have some time to himself.

  "The young master is right." Chang Jing said with a smile, "Usually seeing the young master taking care of the little young master and cousin miss, it feels like being a father spoiling his children, only when there's one person around does he seem more lively and relaxed."

  Liu Ying almost fell over, incredulously saying, "Isn't that an exaggeration?"

  "The young master is already fifteen years old." Zhang Ji smiled, his words tinged with sadness. "The other day, I heard the lady say that it's time to arrange a marriage for the young master. Once Miss Bao has entered the family..."

  "It won't be that soon," Liu Yin turned around, her face expressionless.

  Father, mother, uncle, even those brothers and cousins, nephews and nieces, everyone thought he would marry Lv Wei. As for that quiet and proud cousin, it wasn't that he didn't like her, but rather felt suffocated by playing the role of someone else's drama.

  He tilted his head in the direction of a stall selling bamboo handicrafts, on which were displayed vividly carved wooden chickens, sheep horns, flower baskets, and girls with baskets on their backs... all sorts of things, each one no bigger than the palm of your hand, but exquisitely crafted with meticulous attention to detail, showing the artisan's dedication.

  Liu Ying looked thoughtfully and decided to pick one out as a gift for A Yan, who would probably like this little trinket. She focused her attention again and chose the "Monkey Reaching for the Moon", asking the vendor, "How much is this?" As she reached out to take it, she heard a clear and melodious female voice ask simultaneously, "How much is this 'Monkey Reaching for the Moon'?" Her hand touched the soft skin on the back of a girl's hand, which was covered by a yellow sleeve.

  Liu Ying was taken aback, her hand recoiling like a needle being pulled back. She turned to look and saw a 14 or 15-year-old girl staring at her in surprise, with two buns on her head, not yet having reached the age of wearing hairpins. The girl wore a yellow silk jacket with floral patterns and a blue skirt made of fine silk fabric. Her round face was adorned with fashionable long eyebrows, and her bright eyes sparkled.

  They gazed into each other's eyes, and both of their faces turned red.

  "Who is this girl?" Liu Ying asked himself.

  The girl in yellow took a step back and bowed solemnly, "My surname is Chen."

  A name is not enough to introduce oneself to others.

  Liu Ying looked back in the direction of Chang Le Wei Yan's eaves and said lightly, "My surname is Lü."

  "Lord Lü."

  Madam Chen slightly frowned and turned to the vendor, "Can you make another one just like it for us?"

  "Sorry about that." The middle-aged merchant, wearing a short brown robe, chuckled and said, "These bamboo weavings were all made by my father himself. They're not anything valuable, but Father has this weird habit of never weaving the same pattern twice."

  The young lady turned to Liu Ying, "Before I left home, my younger brother asked me to bring him something. My brother is a monkey, and he has taken a liking to this one. I don't know if you can spare it?"

  Liu Ying gazed at the woven bamboo moon decoration in her hand, with a curved tip and a dangling tail, a lively monkey swaying gently back and forth in the pale palm of the young girl. For some reason, she felt a pang of reluctance to part with it, and smiled, saying, "It's not worth much money, but my niece has a mischievous nature like a monkey, and it's hard to find something that suits her taste."

  The two of them fell silent at the same time, facing each other in an awkward atmosphere, with only a small monkey swaying slightly under the moonlight.

  "It's really good-looking." The little girl's voice praised, and then complained, "But uncle, who looks like a monkey?"

  Liu Ying was startled and turned back, under the bright sun, on the east street, a car had stopped at some point, with a seven-year-old girl sitting on the carriage, swinging her legs back and forth, smiling, with a cute and naive expression, wasn't she just like that monkey?

  Zhang Yan jumped off the carriage and walked up to Liu Ying, "I went to Outer City today to play with Jingniang sister, on my way back I heard someone using my name to bully this sister. Uncle, this isn't good."

  Liu Ying's face turned slightly red, and she uncomfortably turned her head away, "Then you go tell Chen's wife yourself whether you want that thing or not, it's up to you."

  "Good." Zhang Yan walked up to Chen Hu, looked up and smiled, "Sister, if you're willing to give me that little monkey, I'll return a heavy gift to you another day."

  Bright and beautiful face in front of her eyes, Chen Hu secretly praised, if not for the young age, the men of Chang'an City would definitely flock to her. She painfully glanced at the bamboo weaving in her palm and handed it to Zhang Yan, "I'll give it to you, I don't care about your return gift."

  "Want to go back, want to go back." Zhang Yan giggled and said, "Sister, what's your name? When I'm free, I'll come find you to play."

  Chen Hu hesitated for a moment, then bowed and smiled, "My single name is Hu, if you want to find me, just go to the Qu Nei Hou Fu in Da Chang Li and ask for Second Miss."

  "Uh-huh." Zhang Yan replied obediently, "I remember, Ah Yan."

  "Uncle," Zhang Yan followed behind Liu Ying, laughing and shouting, "Do you like Chen's wife?"

  "What nonsense are you talking about?" Liu Ying angrily said, "How old are you, what do you know about liking or disliking?"

  "How could I not know?" Zhang Yan teased the monkey bamboo weaving in her hand, "According to Uncle's usual good temper, he should have given this monkey bamboo weaving to her, but it's so abnormal, there must be a reason."

  "That's enough." Liu Ying said with a mixture of laughter and tears, "I'm not doing this for you, why must I play the villain? You don't appreciate kindness."

  I don't know why today, but I just can't get into the mood for anything. Cough, to make up for everyone, I'll post three updates tomorrow instead. =_=