Important: My son’s school leaving exam is going on. This is why I am posting so irregularly. I will try to post when I am free. I will be regular from near the end of this month.

Li Shi was strong and plump, so she quickly squeezed through the crowd and said, “Mom, come over here.”

Zhulan squeezed over to Li Shi’s side, and with Li Shi’s arm blocking the way, no one pushed against her anymore. Li Shi was indeed more reliable; at this moment, Zhou Shuren was truly not dependable.

Zhou Shuren had a gloomy face and was stepped on again. Someone was pushing him from behind. When he saw Zhulan looking at Li Shi satisfactorily, he felt very upset.

Boss Zhou coughed, signaling his wife to stop showing off. Didn’t she see that Daddy looked unhappy?

Boss Zhou was also quite big, so he quickly squeezed through the crowd, “Dad, you stand in front of me.”

Zhou Shuren nodded expressionlessly and stood in front of Boss Zhou. Although his eldest was not good at studying or martial arts, he was still useful.

Zhulan and the others could not see the Emperor from where they were standing. They could only see the generals entering the city. The Emperor was waiting in front.

It was said that the Crown Prince was handsome. Not only was he the Empress’s legitimate son, but he was also deeply trusted by the Emperor. The Crown Prince’s position was stable.

The Empress’ position was also very stable. She had two biological children among the five princes, the eldest son, and the youngest son. The eldest son was not only the legitimate son but also the Crown Prince. The other princes kept their thoughts secret.

Zhulan stood there for a while. People were talking around her. They all wanted to see the Emperor. Unfortunately, the Emperor was under martial law and would not let anyone in. Zhulan also wanted to see the Emperor of this dynasty!

After waiting for a while, she heard the sound of horse hooves. The conversations on both sides of the street stopped. No one pushed each other anymore. They all waited quietly. The sound of horse hooves was getting closer and closer.

There was not much joy on the faces of the leaders of the oncoming troops. Everyone had a serious expression, with their head held high and sadness in their eyes.

Zhulan felt heavy-hearted, as the victory of the war was won with blood. Many soldiers died in this war, and the battlefield at the border was their burial place.

Zhulan was shocked and also emotional, especially when she saw the bloodstains on the armor that had not been cleaned yet, her emotions reached a peak.

The capital had been cheering for a long time, but today there was no sound and everyone saluted the team.

When the prisoner escort vehicle arrived, someone shouted, “Kill him!” The people were outraged, and the shouts made the guarding soldiers look around vigilantly, fearing that someone in an emotional state would rush up.

Zhulan also saw Zheng Hong and Wu Chun among the soldiers who were escorting them. She was really lucky because the side that Wu Chun was escorting happened to be the side where Zhulan’s family was standing.

Li Shi hugged her mother-in-law’s arm, “Mother, Wu Chun, Wu Chun.”

Wu Chun was originally looking around alertly. Li Shi’s voice was highly recognizable, so Wu Chun saw Li Shi at a glance. Wu Chun then saw his gūgū and gūfù and felt a little excited.

Zhulan didn’t dare to shout too loudly as the vehicle was passing by too quickly. She only managed to mention a restaurant in the southern part of the city but hadn’t yet given the address of the house. She also didn’t know if Wu Chun had remembered the name of the restaurant.

Yang Wuchun heard it and kept it in mind. It had been almost a year since he saw his relatives, and he had never dared to relax. The more he fought on the battlefield, the more he missed his family. However, Wuchun held the reins tightly in his hands.

Zheng Hong couldn’t chat with Wu Chun, but he felt Wu Chun’s emotions and patted Wu Chun on the shoulder to comfort him.

After the procession returned to the court, the people who had been watching dispersed. Some went home, while a few friends gathered together to drink.

Zhou Shuren walked over to Zhulan and said, “Let’s go back too!”

Zhulan was thinking, “Do you think Wu Chun heard me mention the name of the restaurant?”

Before she finished her sentence, she walked away.

Zhou Shuren, “Let Eryue wait in the restaurant these few days. If he heard it, he would come to find us. Even if he didn’t hear it, he will find a way to find it.”

“True.”

Zhulan then felt heavy in her heart. She and Zhou Shuren were both observant people. Wuchun was indeed excited just now, but his expression was no longer excited. Even though he rode past quickly, Zhulan did not miss the change in Wuchun’s expression. When they got home, Boss Zhou and Li Shi went to buy vegetables, leaving Zhulan and Zhou Shuren alone in the house. Zhulan said quietly, “I think something happened to one of the three brothers of the Yang family.”

Zhou Shuren guessed, “This is the real world.”

Precisely because this was the real world, he did not expect the three brothers to live well.

Zhulan’s eyes turned red. “Yes, because in the real world, it would only be a miracle if the three brothers were all intact. Swords have no eyes, how could they all be intact!”

Zhou Shuren hugged Zhulan. In fact, they had known from the beginning that medical conditions were poor in ancient times, especially on the battlefield. No matter how good the three brothers’ martial arts were, how could they protect themselves when there were thousands of troops fighting on the battlefield?

Li Shi cooked a lot of dishes at noon, but Zhulan and Zhou Shuren had no appetite. They were too smart to pretend to be confused and hold on to their fantasies. Before they had seen Wu Chun, they didn’t want to think too much about it, but now that they had seen him, they couldn’t escape it.

Li Shi and Boss Zhou were the most sensitive ones. Knowing that their parents were in a bad mood, they didn’t dare to laugh anymore.

At night, fireworks were set off in the capital, a banquet was held in the palace, and fireworks lit up the night sky.

Li Shi and the children had never seen fireworks before, and later they went to live in Pingzhou and missed the New Year. They had only heard that fireworks were set off during the New Year in Pingzhou but had never seen them.

This was the first time that Li Shi and the children saw fireworks.

The lanterns in the Zhou family’s yard were also lit. Li Shi and the children stood in a high place and could vaguely see light in the direction of the imperial palace.

Zhulan stood under the corridor and looked up at the sky. Snowflakes were floating in the sky. It was the first snow of the year. The snowflakes were getting bigger and bigger. Zhulan called Li Shi, “Take the children back to the house, don’t let them catch a cold.”

Li Shi was able to play with the children and was having a great time. “Mom, we’ll go into the house in a moment.”

Zhulan chuckled. She envied Li Shi a little. She never thought too much. Her emotions came and went quickly. It seemed that she had no worries at all. She was so happy!

Zhulan and Zhou Shuren returned to the house. There were many candles in the house. With more candles, the house was much brighter. Zhulan and Zhou Shuren had no intention of resting. Zhou Shuren was reading a book while Zhulan was playing with maple leaves.

The specimen she made failed. Most of the leaves she picked up lost moisture and broke into pieces. Only a few bamboo orchids coated with wax were preserved.

Time passed little by little. There was no more laughter from the children outside. Li Shi took the children back home. Zhulan collected the remaining maple leaves and stretched her neck. It was getting late. “It’s time to rest.”

Zhou Shuren put down the book and said, “Okay.”

In the following two days, Wu Chun did not come. Zhulan and Zhou Shuren were not anxious, but Li Shi and Boss Zhou were very anxious. They were afraid that Wu Chun did not hear the name of the restaurant clearly. Boss Zhou even went around the street himself.

Three days later, Ma Eryue finally met the person he was waiting for in the restaurant. Yang Wuchun came alone, not riding a horse, and his armor was changed into a military robe.

Ma Eryue said attentively, “It’s just ahead.”

Ma Eryue really didn’t expect that the master’s nephew would actually be a military general. He heard from the eldest wife that he was an eighth-rank general when there was no war in the northwest. He must have been promoted this time when he returned to the capital, but he didn’t know to what rank he was promoted.

In fact, Yang Wuchun had been wandering outside the restaurant for several days. He had time the next day after he was awarded the title, but he didn’t dare to see his gūgū. Looking at the door in front of him, he clenched his hands into fists in his sleeves and took a few deep breaths before taking steps to keep up.

Ma Eryue knocked on the door, and Lichun opened it. Ma Eryue said, “Please come in.”

Yang Wuchun nodded and walked inside, but each step he took was particularly heavy.

When Zhulan heard Lichun’s news, she and Zhou Shuren looked at each other, stood up, and walked to the door. Yang Wuchun had already arrived in the backyard.

(End of this chapter)

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