Wa land, or rather, the Wa Prefecture.
In Wa Prefecture's Ishimi Mountain, the ten thousand督护军 (Duhu Jun - Protectorate Army) left by Li Xiaogong were diligently guarding the area.
The captured Wa soldiers from before were toiling in the mines under the lash of whips.
Baskets of silver ore were transported down the mountain, handed over to artisans, refined into silver ingots, and then stored in the warehouses.
Hovercraft, with their incredibly imposing presence, charged onto the beach. The 督护军 were already on high alert. Their size was comparable to the Wujia warships, yet they were more agile and faster, forcing the soldiers to maintain the highest level of vigilance.
Upon seeing Li Xiaogong leap from the ships, they finally breathed a sigh of relief.
A burly man emerged from the 督护军, approached Li Xiaogong, cupped his fists in a salute, and said:
"Your Highness, your subordinate welcomes your return!"
"In my absence, have there been any abnormalities?"
"Reporting to Your Highness, everything is normal."
"That's good."
"The Emperor has also arrived. Pass down the order, let the brothers be careful."
Li Xiaogong nodded, then whispered a few instructions before turning and walking back towards the hovercraft.
"Your Majesty, everything is normal."
Li Shimin and Li Ji jumped off the ships one after another. However, when they reached Changle, there was an unexpected hitch.
The little girl looked at the beach with some fear and said to Li Shimin, "Father, it's too high, Changle can't get down."
"Little Fang, carry Changle down. I'll go to the silver mountain with Old Ninth."
Li Shimin, in a rather nonchalant manner, threw a sentence at Fang Er before directly pulling Li Xiaogong towards the silver mountain.
What the hell!
Fang Er was completely stunned. Carry her?
If he actually carried her, it would be impossible to clarify things later!
He turned to look at the 督护军 nearby, just about to speak, when he heard Li Xiaogong shout.
"Everyone, follow me!"
And Li Shimin was even more shameless, calling away Wang Xuance and the Xuanjia Army as well!
Then, only he and Changle were left here.
Damn it! How badly do you want me to call you father-in-law?
Looking at Changle's innocent and pure expression, Fang Er felt very flustered.
After some thought, he said to Changle, "Wait here for a moment, I'll find something for you to step on."
With that, he walked to the other side of the ship, and where Changle couldn't see, he retrieved two chairs, one large and one small, from his spatial dimension.
He returned, stacked the two chairs together, forming a rather makeshift step.
"Come, you can come down now!"
Changle carefully held up her skirt, supported herself on the chairs, and walked down from the ship. Once her feet were firmly planted on the sand, she looked at Fang Er with a blush and said softly.
"Thank you, brother-in-law~"
Hiss~
Fang Er couldn't help but gasp, this address felt so awkward~
After a while, he recovered and asked in confusion, "Didn't you always call me Brother Fang before? Why the change in address?"
Changle smiled sweetly, "Mother said, I should call you brother-in-law."
With that, she picked up the hem of her skirt and began to hop and play on the beach, extremely happy.
It was her first time playing on the beach, and the sand was still wet from the recent receding tide.
Crabs the size of fingernails, beautiful shells, and occasionally stranded small fish, all these things made her feel incredibly novel.
After playing for a while, Changle seemed to feel that playing alone was a bit monotonous, so she called out to Fang Er.
"Brother-in-law, come play~"
"There's a 'bang bang' here that spits water, it's so much fun!"
Upon hearing this, Fang Er almost spurted blood. With a dark line on his forehead, he looked over at her.
He saw the little girl holding a razor clam and fiddling with it. What she called spitting water was precisely what the clam did when stimulated.
Glancing around, seeing no one else, Fang Er finally breathed a long sigh of relief.
Damn it, if someone who didn't know the context heard this, it would easily lead to a misunderstanding!
Alright, it seems like this trip is destined to be a babysitting job for him.
He quickly ran over to Changle and began playing with the little girl on the beach.
Changle, at her age, was in her prime of innocence and cheerfulness. Seeing a small sea turtle, she asked Fang Er to catch it for her, flipped it onto its back, and placed a crab on the turtle's belly.
"Brother-in-law, look, this crab is so fierce, it's pinching the turtle's head so it can't move."
Fang Er: ...
That's called a sea turtle.
Fine, then it's the sea turtle's head.
Changle paid no mind and played with them happily for a while. Then, she begged Fang Er to help her pry open the crab's pincers, and warned him not to hurt the crab.
After Fang Er did as she asked, she took the crab in her left hand and the sea turtle in her right, and ran off to release both little creatures back into the sea.
Fang Er could only secretly swallow his saliva, as he had just planned to roast that big crab.
By lunchtime, Li Shimin and the others finally returned from the silver mountain. A few Wa women were added to the group.
"Your Majesty, today your subject invites you to a uniquely grand feast!"
From afar, Fang Er heard Li Xiaogong's incredibly triumphant voice.
Heh heh heh, even without the crab, there's still another grand meal to eat, which is quite good.
But when he went to ask what they were having for lunch, Li Shimin rebuffed him, "You just focus on watching Changle, don't let her go hungry."
Fang Er felt a bit wronged, "Can't I eat with you?"
Li Xiaogong, with a roguish grin, looked at him, "Indeed, you cannot! Changle cannot eat this meal, so you are excluded from this feast!"
Upon hearing this, Fang Er became extremely curious, "Why?"
Li Shimin, however, impatiently waved him away, "Go, go, go, hurry and get something for Changle to eat. Remember, she doesn't eat spicy food!"
Fang Er: ...
My goodness! These guys are definitely crossing the river and burning the bridge!
With a look of helplessness, he returned to Changle's side. The little girl looked at her wet shoes and skirt hem, pouting her lips.
"Brother-in-law, my feet and clothes are all wet, what should I do?"
Fang Er smiled wryly and shook his head. He rummaged through his system's warehouse and actually found clothes that she could wear.
A sky-blue Hanfu dress and embroidered shoes.
He took her back to the ship, handed her the clothes and shoes, and then quietly retreated from the cabin.
When Changle emerged from the cabin, Fang Er's eyes widened.
Don't misunderstand, there was no other meaning, just pure admiration.
Cough cough cough~~
Wang Xuance and the others had also returned with Li Shimin. Fang Er asked them to catch some fish to roast for Changle's lunch, and then he quietly crept towards Li Shimin's group.
These guys were being so secretive about their meal; it was making him feel restless not knowing what was going on.
But when he disembarked from the ship, he couldn't see anyone around. Instead, a group of soldiers were gathered by the edge of the distant woods.