Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by He Changdi. He stared at Mo Chenggui unhappily with a threatening aura that demanded obedience. “Uncle Mo, you had better remember this. Nothing happened to Lian’er at all. If I happen to hear anything that says otherwise, I won’t let you off easy even if you’ve served our family for so long!”
Mo Chenggui was shocked by the sudden forceful air his Third Young Master had taken. That aura had been exactly like that of the old count when he had still been alive. Like a bucket of cold water, it had completely woken him up.
In the end, Mo Chenggui glanced at He Sanlang and chose to seal his lips on this matter. “Please rest assured, Third Young Master. This old Mo knows how to behave.”
“It’s good that Uncle Mo knows how to behave. I hope that Uncle Mo will pass down this order to the rest of the old soldiers. I don’t want to hear any other misunderstandings about Lian’er in the future either.”
After throwing down those words, He Changdi twitched the reins in his hands and pushed his horse ahead to the warm pen where Chu Lian was.
Mo Chenggui stopped his mount and stared at He Changdi’s leaving back as he moved to meet his wife. Uncertainty wavered in his heart. Ever since he had come to the northern border and seen everything that He Changdi had done in the military for himself, his turbid old eyes had a new shine to them.
The current Count Jing’an, also known as the North Defender General of the border at Mingzhou, was a large, tan and burly man who simply didn’t look at all like the tall and slim Old Count Jing’an.
If not for how loving the old count and countess had been and how he had watched Matriarch He swelling up for ten months and eventually giving birth to Count Jing’an, he would even have suspected that the current Count Jing’an wasn’t the old count’s biological son.
Everyone said that He Sanlang took after his mother, Countess Jing’an, but that was because they had never seen Old Count Jing’an in person. Out of the three sons that Madam Liu had given birth to, He Sanlang was the most similar to the old count when he had been young. This was most evident in his slender build and his steady and introverted nature.
It was most likely because of the similarity to her husband that the matriarch liked this grandson of hers the most.
The second son of House Jing’an was already twenty four this year. Even though he still refused to take a wife, the matriarch had left him to his own devices. However, when He Sanlang came of age, the matriarch had gone to plead the empress dowager for the sake of getting him one of House Ying’s fertile young misses.
This wasn’t purely because Matriarch He wanted the He bloodline to go on, but also because she wanted the grandson who looked the most like her husband to leave behind some children of his blood for the future.
A resolute glint lit up in Mo Chenggui’s old eyes. He seemed to have returned to the days when he had followed the old count to the battlefields and lost themselves in the heat of battle. Since the old count had already gone ahead without him, he would have to take the place of the old count to take care of the grandson who looked the most like him.
When they returned to the He Estate, He Sanlang actually personally helped Chu Lian out of the warm pen.
Wenqing and Wenlan were waiting on Chu Lian nearby. When they saw this, they couldn’t contain the elation on their faces. It seemed like this incident hadn’t created a gap between Third Young Master and Third Young Madam, but had actually pulled the young couple closer instead.
Chu Lian shot a look at the huge palm that He Sanlang had offered to her and placed her tiny hand in. The corners of her lips curled up.
Just as the couple had entered the He Estate and settled down at the table, before they even had the time to breathe, Mo Chenggui had already strode in with someone behind him. It was a familiar face to all of them: Laiyue.
This was when Chu Lian recalled that He Changdi had entrusted the matter of searching for the Snow Mountain Mists flower to Laiyue. Did this mean that there was good news?
As the thought crossed her mind, she became even more alert.
When Laiyue entered the hall after Mo Chenggui, his face was practically radiating joy. Even before He Changdi or Chu Lian could ask, he had already spoken up, unable to contain himself. “Third Young Master, Third Young Madam, we found it! We found the Snow Mountain Mists!”
As expected. Chu Lian’s almond-shaped eyes lit up, “Did you find it at Mount Ah-ming? Have you heard when it will bloom?”
Laiyue nodded so furiously that he looked like a chicken pecking at grain. “We’ve investigated all the details. It seems like the Snow Mountain Mists will bloom in about seven or eight days. We heard from an old barbarian living at the foot of Mount Ah-ming that the flower blooms for about five days. We just have to climb up to the mountain peak during this period and pluck the flower.”
Although there wasn’t any change in He Changdi’s expression, his eyes were also overflowing with the light of expectation. “Since that’s so, send out the orders. Prepare to leave immediately, we’ll depart for the mountain tomorrow!”
Mo Chenggui had received the good news along with them, so he followed Laiyue and went off to prepare for the journey.
Soon, only the young couple were left in the hall, along with Wenqing and Wenlan.
Chu Lian abruptly turned to He Changdi with her eyes sparkling. She was about to speak when He Changdi cut in first.
“You’re not allowed to go!”
Chu Lian was stunned speechless, but she had enough wit left to roll her eyes. What was this? When had He Sanlang learned how to read her mind? She hadn’t even said anything yet, but he had already anticipated what she was going to say.
He Changdi’s gaze fell onto her ankle.
“The wound on my ankle healed a long time ago. I can walk the same as any other person now.”
He Sanlang remained resolute, “Even so, you’re not allowed to go. Be good and stay in the He Estate. I’ll lead my men to Mount Ah-ming.”
In the end, no matter how Chu Lian tried to persuade him, He Sanlang was stubborn and refused to let her go. Even though Chu Lian was on the verge of getting angry at him, He Sanlang still remained steadfast.
Chu Lian had no choice but to give up on following along.
Actually, she knew that He Sanlang was worried for her health. However, when she saw him being so stubborn, she just wanted to knock heads with him anyway.
