Chapter 1 The Gathering in the Teahouse

The family reunion at the teahouse didn't last long.

Soon after,

Li Liangting and his princess consort boarded one carriage, while Li Qian and Li Fei, the siblings, boarded another.

Inside the carriage;

"Oh, my meat pie, wife, really, after eating so much rich food in the capital, I really miss your meat pies."

Li Liangting picked up a pie and took a big bite.

There wasn't much meat inside, mostly scallions and some seasonings, baked until crispy. Taking a bite, oh, that was truly satisfying.

Li Liangting chewed on the pie,

And turned to look at his consort,

Then,

He froze.

Tears were streaming down the consort's face.

"This… wife… you… sigh."

Li Liangting silently continued to munch on the pie.

"Li Liangting, you beast! Beast! Beast!"

The consort nearly growled through clenched teeth.

Husband and wife were, after all, husband and wife, different from the broad and scattered love of having multiple concubines. Li Liangting and his consort were a true couple.

So, Li Liangting knew very well that some things couldn't be hidden from her.

Moreover,

She was inherently intelligent.

"Wife, this matter…"

"You old beast, if Qian'er wasn't so strong-willed, any other woman, after such an experience, wouldn't have the courage to live on!

Good,

Good,

You old beast,

After ruining our daughter,

Now you're turning around and starting to ruin our son!"

"Wife, listen to me…"

"What is there to listen to? What is there to listen to? Tian Wujing is here, what is Tian Wujing doing here? Is he coming to our house as a guest?

Tell me, aren't you eloquent, tell me!

He, Tian Wujing, the Jingnan King, coming to my Beifeng County, what does he want!"

The consort knew,

That the Jingnan King coming to Beifeng County,

Had only one reason,

And that was war.

Looking around the Zhenbei Marquis Estate, who else could be worthy of such serious treatment besides the barbarians?

Even,

Who else could it be besides the barbarian royal court!

Considering the widely known Jinzhang Confederacy gathering in the desert,

The goal of the two princes' quiet return to Beifeng County was self-evident.

Sending their son,

Sending the Marquis Estate's heir to offer congratulations?

What kind of congratulations was that? What kind of congratulations was that?

This was clearly taking the heir, their own son, to be a reassurance pill, to be given to the barbarian old fogeys and young ones to stabilize them, to lull them into a false sense of security.

"You old beast, even starving barbarians in the desert wouldn't use their newborn infants as bait to hunt prey;

Your heart,

Is more vicious than the barbarians!

I was truly blind, if I had known you were this kind of person, on our wedding day, I should have stabbed myself to death with scissors first!"

Li Liangting kept his head down, continuing to munch on the pie, chewing with great force.

In public, he was the imposing heir of a century-old marquis estate;

In private, he was actually a little afraid of his wife at home.

Looking at Li Qian's personality, it was clear that strong-willed women often had strong-willed mothers.

"Li Liangting, why are you sending your son? Why don't you send me to that royal court? Wouldn't my status be more suitable than this son whose legitimacy is still uncertain in the eyes of outsiders?

Wouldn't that old barbarian king become even more reckless when he sees me?

That's right,

Send me, send your wife over, send me, why don't you send me!"

"Enough!"

Li Liangting suddenly raised his head, glaring at his consort.

The consort didn't show any weakness. The Zhenbei King's anger and roar were nothing to her!

Li Liangting took a deep breath, then slowly and shakily exhaled.

Finally,

He put down the meat pie in his hand,

Ignoring the grease on his hands, he vigorously rubbed his face.

"Wife, oh wife, tell me, what can I do, tell me, what can I do!

Wujing wiped out his entire family, you know that.

Hao'er, forced his two beloved women and his own son to their deaths.

Do you know,

When I saw Hao'er in the capital this time, Hao'er was as thin as paper, soaking in a bath, Wujing helped him force out the poison, and what came out was all silver and black stuff.

Do you know how he survived this past year? I can even guess that he will be even more ruthless when he establishes the national foundation next, ruthless to himself, ruthless to his son.

His Majesty is an older brother, and he's like this;

Wujing is a younger brother, and he's like this;

What about me?

Besides being injured once for His Majesty, crippling my martial arts, what else have I contributed?"

"They're acting like beasts, so you have to act like a beast too?"

"Bullshit, who told you, you stinky woman, to bring our son back? That nanny, she's your person, you should have let her take our son and live in that village, wouldn't that be good?

What are you coming back for?

What can you do by coming back?

Since he's back, he has to do something!

My son, Li Liangting's son, is a son,

Aren't other people's sons sons too?"

"You'd be happy only if your son is sent to die, right?

Wujing is crazy, His Majesty is crazy,

Now even you,

Are you going to go crazy with them!

What sins has he committed that he has to fulfill your lack of conscience just because he's your son?"

"Conscience? What conscience?"

Li Liangting pounded his chest, looking at his consort,

"Shulan, when I married you back then, I told you personally that my surname is Li, and the sons of the Li family have guarded the desert for Great Yan for a hundred years.

Since my surname is Li, I'm prepared to die in battle with the barbarians in the desert.

If you're afraid of me dying in battle, then don't follow me.

It was you, Shulan, it was you who said back then that good men should defend their country, should show off their skills on the battlefield!

Your son,

My son,

Yes,

He's a cripple!

But this old waste, I don't think that my son having a lame leg is a big deal at all!

All I know is that his surname is Li!

When our ancestor was granted the title of Zhenbei Marquis,

He promised the Yan Emperor of that time,

From this day on, if the barbarians dare to advance east, the descendants of the Ji clan will be the second to die, the first to die will definitely be those with the surname Li, and only after those with the surname Li are all dead will it be the turn of those with the surname Ji!

Shulan,

I know you have grievances, I understand, I know, you can hit me, scold me, do whatever you want to me.

But your son, since he is the heir, he should go, even if he knows that he will die in the chaos of battle, no, even if he is dismembered by the barbarians before me and Wujing's armies arrive, that's what he deserves!

For hundreds of years, countless Yan people and barbarians have died in battle, why, why can't he!"

"Because since he was born, he hasn't enjoyed the blessings of the Zhenbei Marquis Estate."

"Blessings? Blessings? What blessings have I enjoyed? At home, I can't even eat a hearty meal of meat. Since you're born with the surname Li, you're not here to enjoy blessings.

He deserves it, he, deserves it."

"Li Liangting, you want me to die too, don't you?"

"You die? You can, you go first, go down there and make the meat pies for me first, I'll come down in a few days and I can start eating them directly.

It's just that Qian'er will be all alone."

Li Liangting said, while cautiously glancing at his wife's reaction,

Then,

He sighed with emotion:

"The child suffered disasters when he was young, went through hardships, and has a lame leg. He's already suffered all the hardships in the beginning, so in the future, wouldn't he…"

"Li Liangting, what exactly do you want to say?"

"What if, the child doesn't die, comes back alive, but you go down to accompany this old thing first, what then? You're afraid that you haven't even warmed up your son before you have to come and continue serving me?

I think it's fine, very fine, but I'm just afraid that you'll feel like you're losing out."

The consort almost laughed out of anger at these words,

Pointing to the west,

She said:

"How can he come back alive? How can he come back alive?"

"Look at fate, right? We've heard of many near-death experiences, right? Who can be sure that my son, Li Liangting's son, is destined to be short-lived?

This time,

He's gone,

Even if he's not my Li Liangting's son, even if he's not, if he goes and comes back alive, a fake can be more real than the real thing!

Otherwise,

You think he can just live well,

Will these proud and fierce generals at the bottom obey him?

Without the support and recognition of the people below,

Can he, the heir,

Sit firmly in the position of Zhenbei King!"

After Li Liangting finished speaking,

He picked up the meat pie he had dropped on the ground earlier and put it in his mouth, continuing to munch.

After a long silence,

The consort asked:

"Enough?"

"Not enough, your pies, I can never get enough of them."

"If it's not enough, there's more."

………

"Brother."

"Sister."

"Don't go, tell Father later, no, I'll go say it later, let me go."

"Why, Sister?"

"Heh, are you afraid I'll steal your thunder?"

"Whatever Sister wants, I'll give it to her. What does thunder count for? If Sister wants it, take it, but how can I let Sister take the risk of this death mission."

"You know?"

"Of course, I know, the Nan King is here, and Father also quietly came back. I guess he won't be going back to the estate, otherwise, Mother wouldn't have brought us three here specifically to pick up Father.

We're, going to war, Sister, Father and the Nan King, are going to fight the barbarians together."

"You can still laugh?"

"Father told me to go, so I'll go. As long as it's good for fighting the barbarians, I should go."

"Why?"

"I don't know why, if I don't go, then it'll be you, Sister, or Mother, so I'll go. After all, I'm a man."

"Brother, let me go, the only truth I've realized in these years is that it's hard to be a woman, this world can't tolerate a woman supporting everything alone.

This family, has to have a man to hold up the facade."

Li Fei smiled:

"Sister, can a useless piece of trash hold it up?"

"Brother, do you know that when you were little, I once sent someone to poison you."

"Sister…"

"I thought you were dead at the time, because after that night, there was no news of you at home, and Mother made me kneel in front of the house for a whole day.

Later, when I saw you, when I saw the nanny by your side, I realized that Mother had sent you out of the estate.

Tell me,

Who would the Zhenbei Marquis Estate's 300,000 iron cavalry fear back then?

Even the Emperor wouldn't dare to show us any disrespect, right?

But Mother was afraid. Tell me, who was Mother afraid of?

Ever since I saw the Nan King, ever since I saw His Majesty,

I suddenly understood,

Who,

Exactly who Mother was afraid of, who could make my Zhenbei Marquis Estate's 300,000 iron cavalry unable to protect you!"

"Sister, stop talking, it's all in the past, hasn't your brother come back?"

"I used to be jealous of you, why were you the heir, and I was just a princess? Actually, it's precisely because I'm a princess that I can grow up in the Marquis Estate.

Tell me,

What are they,

What are they scheming for?

Scheming for the present is fine,

But they're also thinking about scheming for what, eternity.

They're dreaming themselves,

Why do they have to drag us along, to cooperate with their dream?

What's so good about this nauseating world, this society that makes you want to smash it to pieces, it's just a dirty thing."

"Father is a great hero."

"Do you really think so?"

"Yes, Sister, I knew who my father was when I was very young, so, since I was little, I liked to sit by the stream at the entrance of the village, looking at the reflection in the stream, thinking about what Father looked like.

Zhenbei Marquis, Zhenbei Army, Great Yan's unparalleled iron cavalry;

That's my father, that's my father.

Chen Xianba will be envious of me, Sister."

"That playmate of yours in the village?"

"Yes, Sister, he should be in Fengxin City now, Brother Liang Shen also said that he's a good martial arts material. He's always admired the Marquis of Pingxi…"

"Heh." The princess smiled.

"I also admire him, Sister."

"You're the heir."

"But I feel even more that I'm A Fei who came out of the village, because the Marquis of Pingxi was also just an ordinary person at first, he started out as a laborer, right, Sister?"

"Brother, it's one thing for outsiders to slap your sister's face, but a younger brother, too?"

"Hahaha." Li Fei laughed very happily, "Was the Marquis of Pingxi almost a member of my Li family?"

"Fine, fine, fine, Brother, Sister promises you, if Sister wakes up from this dream and finds herself back five or six years ago, when she sees that surnamed Zheng kneeling in front of me, refusing to be a servant of my Li family,

Sister will have Seventh Uncle strip off his clothes and throw him into Sister's bedroom, Sister will directly take his body;

Let that surnamed Zheng be your brother-in-law, how about that?"

Li Fei really thought about it seriously,

And said:

"I think it's pretty good."

"Thump!"

The princess knocked Li Fei on the head with a chestnut.

"Sister, it hurts!"

"Promising!"

……

The two carriages stopped.

The consort got out of the carriage and got into the carriage in the back where her children were.

Li Fei lifted the curtain, wanting to see his father again.

But the consort said:

"You've already seen him, you've already seen him. If you want to see him again, go to the barbarian royal court and wait for your father to come pick you up."

"Okay, Mother."

The carriage carrying the family of three drove forward.

Li Liangting sat in the carriage, facing Seventh Uncle.

"Seventh, in a few days, I'll have to trouble you to give me acupuncture again."

"Your Highness, look at what you're saying. This old servant also wants to see Your Highness's demeanor back then again."

"Hehe, sigh."

Li Liangting couldn't help but lift the curtain, watching the carriage in front slowly drive away.

"Your Highness…"

"Seventh, back then, it was I who personally led the Zhenbei Army's iron cavalry to destroy the aristocratic families of my Great Yan."

After a pause,

Li Liangting suddenly smiled:

"But,

Actually, the truly strongest aristocratic family of Great Yan is not the Tian family, nor the Liu or Wang families,

But me,

The Zhenbei Marquis Estate."