The only one who has not changed much is Xia Houxuan. Before the expedition, he was the Central Guards Army. During the expedition, he was temporarily changed to General Zhengnan. After returning to Luoyang, he handed over the errand of General Zhengnan and still returned to the Central Guards Army.

It seems that I have come around in a big circle, but I am still stuck in the same place.

However, the position of the Central Guard Army in the Central Army is quite high, second only to the Central Leading Army. If it were not for his special relationship with Cao Shuang, such an important position would never have been his turn.

Xia Houxuan naturally knew the reason for this, so he was not unhappy at all. On the contrary, Xia Houxuan was in a good mood, which showed that Cao Shuang's reliance on him had not diminished.

In fact, Xia Houxuan was in terrible shape during this expedition. He was seriously injured in the first battle and almost lost his life on the battlefield of Anfengdu. He did not participate in the subsequent battles of the Southern Army until he recovered from his injuries and returned to the army.

By that time, the war was over and it was time for the troops to return to the court.

Therefore, during this expedition, Xiahou Xuan, who had high hopes for Cao Shuang, ended up doing nothing but spending most of his time on the hospital bed. Even Xiahou Xuan himself was a little ashamed. As a general in the southern expedition, he

But it doesn't live up to its name at all.

Fortunately, Cao Shuang didn't care about this. Instead, he was worried about his injury. Now that he returned to Luoyang safely, Cao Shuang secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Otherwise, Cao Shuang really didn't know how to face his aunt Deyang Township.

host.

Xia Houxuan's father, Xia Houshang, died early, and the head of Deyang village had only one son and one daughter to accompany him. Xia Houhui also died seven years ago, and now Xia Houxuan is the only relative left on his knees. If Xia Houxuan is defeated in this battle to the south,

Something unexpected happened to Xuan, and Cao Shuang was really worried about her aunt's ability to resist.

After all, this expedition was assigned by Cao Shuang. If something happened to Xia Houxuan, Cao Shuang would really be unable to explain it to his aunt.

Therefore, after Xia Houxuan returned safely, Cao Shuang secretly breathed a sigh of relief and reassigned Xia Houxuan to serve as the Central Guards. Originally, Cao Shuang did not arrange for anyone to replace this important position. It was natural for Xiahou Xuan to return to the Central Guards after his return.

.

Cao Liang and Xia Houxuan chatted until it was getting late, then they said goodbye and left.

When leaving, Cao Liang didn't see Sima Ru again, thinking that she might have gone back to Sima Ru's house. After all, she ran out secretly and obviously couldn't stay long.

However, just after leaving Xiahou Mansion and turning a street, Cao Liang was about to speed up his horse. Suddenly, a slender figure stopped in front of his horse. Cao Liang quickly tightened the reins, otherwise he would hit him.

Cao Liang took a closer look and saw that this was Sima Ru. It turned out that she left Xiahou Mansion and did not go home, but was waiting for him on the way. Cao Liang couldn't help but wonder, as he had never met Sima Ru before.

When we met today, some minor unpleasantness happened. Xia Houxuan explained it clearly when he came back. Sima Ru blocked him halfway. What did she want? Could it be that because of the matter in the study, she still refused to let go?

The eldest daughter of the Sima family has such a cunning and weird temper that Cao Liang really can't guess what she is thinking.

"Miss Sima, what do you want?"

Sima Ru changed his stubborn attitude and said solemnly: "Captain Cao, my little girl has something important to do. I want to ask Commander Cao for confirmation. I wonder if Commander Cao can tell me directly."

Cao Liang looked at the sky. The winter night was approaching very quickly. The sun was setting just now, but soon it was already getting darker.

"It's so late and Miss Sima is alone. I'm afraid it's inconvenient, right?"

Sima Ru smiled and said: "Who said I am a person?" As she spoke, she glanced to the left inadvertently.

Only then did Cao Liang notice that there was a carriage parked not far behind her on the left. Surrounding the carriage were several men wearing servant clothes, all armed with knives. Needless to say, they were also Sima Ru's bodyguards.

Already.

Cao Liang suddenly realized that Sima Ru had said she had sneaked out before, and she had obviously lied. Could she have brought bodyguards with her if she sneaked out? Sima Ru must have planned to go elsewhere when she left the house, and she did it without permission on the way.

After changing the route and letting a few bodyguards, carriages and horses wait outside, she went to Xiahou Mansion alone, but paid a visit to Xiahou Xuan.

The eldest daughter of the Sima family has such a distinguished status. If there were no bodyguards, how could she still be on the streets of Luoyang when it was almost dark.

Although the security in Luoyang is better than other places, after all, Luoyang is a mixed city with all kinds of people. There are imperial guards patrolling during the day, so maybe the situation will be better. At night, when the defense force is relaxed, who can guarantee that there will be no fish in troubled waters?

Lawless criminals are out and about.

A cute little girl like Sima Ru may be the target of those street gangsters.

But with a few capable bodyguards, Sima Ru was confident.

Cao Liang said: "Okay, for your uncle's sake, I can answer you a question, but only what I know."

It is true that Cao Liang gave Xiahou Xuan face. If it was Sima Ru's father, Sima Shi, Cao Liang was really not prepared to give him any face.

However, he still took a precaution in advance. Sima Ru was an eccentric person, and Cao Liang was really afraid that she might ask some tricky questions, so he declared in advance that he would only answer what he knew, and he would not answer anything he didn't know.

Sima Ru raised his head, looked at Cao Liang who was riding high on the horse, tilted his head and said, "Isn't it convenient for us to talk like this?"

Cao Liang originally thought that she was asking a question and he would just deal with it casually, so they parted ways. Unexpectedly, Sima Ru was quite serious, so he had to dismount and said, "Is that all right? You can ask directly, and I will tell you everything I know."

Sima Ru looked a little more solemn and said: "Captain Cao, what I want to ask you is, was my mother really poisoned to death by my father?"

Cao Liang was taken aback, obviously he really didn't expect Sima Ru to ask this question directly. He did not answer immediately, but asked: "Why didn't you ask your uncle about this?"

Sima Ru looked a little sad and said: "I have asked before, but my uncle is always vague. Obviously there are some things he doesn't want me to know."

Cao Liang was silent. He knew very well what Xia Houxuan was thinking. After all, the truth was too cruel for this young girl who was only sixteen years old. In any case, Master Sima was her father after all. If Sima Ru knew the truth,

, how will you deal with yourself?

Could she kill Master Sima to avenge her mother?
Chapter completed!