He had finally found her after much difficulty, so no matter what, he wouldn’t let go.
Qiao Mu’s heart quivered, but she still raised her head and barked with a stern look, “Cultivate!”
Mo Lian nodded. “Okay, okay, we will go back right now to cultivate.”
After saying this, he didn’t give her the chance to object.
While flitting toward the bank of the lake with her in his arms, Mo Lian agonized: His darling has turned into a cultivating madman!
What to do? He was distressed!
What should he do if she just wanted to cultivate every day!
What if on the day of their marriage, this darling suddenly shouted “Cultivate, cultivate, cultivate” at him halfway through the marriage proceedings? How could he tolerate that…
Mo Lian straddled the horse despondently while carrying his little lady. After leaving the vicinity of Zhuzi Lake, he headed straight for the palace.
As there were many pedestrians on the main street after leaving the Great Sea Monastery, Mo Lian slackened the horse’s pace.
However, at this time, a contingent of soldiers turned the corner to the main street, eliciting cheers from the populace.
Pulling the reins, Mo Lian knitted his brows as he hugged Qiao Mu, simultaneously urging the horse to the side of the path.
He didn’t plan to meet that contingent directly to avoid the hassle.
“Cultivate!” The little fellow pouted as she tugged his hair in displeasure.
This fellow was wasting time. She was in a hurry right now to cultivate!
“Okay, okay, okay. Cultivate, we’ll go home to cultivate straight away.” Mo Lian helplessly stroked her head with a smile, and he looked toward where the crowd was.
On the street, a contingent of soldiers filing in strict order jogged along the sides of the street with their long spears and sectioned off a wide path.
With cold and impassive faces, the young soldiers linked their long spears horizontally in a line to block off the common people that were here to see the flurry.
The clatter of a horse’s hooves could soon be heard.
Meanwhile, the common people peered over excitedly with hope in their eyes.
They saw a steed with a black and bright mane trotting over with a handsome, 25-year-old young man on its back.
The man was exceptionally tall and boldly fierce. He held a spear behind his back with his left hand and grasped the reins with his right.
He wore a coronet that was traced in gold, as well as pitch-black cloud-patterned boots. His pair of austere eyes were bright and piercing on his chiseled face, and his compressed lips did not reveal a smile.
Immediately, there was a small clamor in the crowd.
“Heavens, it’s the Vassal Prince of An’nan. The Vassal Prince of An’nan has returned to the capital.”
“It’s our Vassal Prince of An’nan who wins every battle he fights!”
“I heard that the vassal prince utterly defeated the Northern Qi Kingdom this time, capturing one princess and two princes. Hahaha, he truly is aggrandizing our Great Mo Kingdom’s national prestige.”
“Look quickly, those in the back must be Northern Qi’s slaves!”
The common people revealed smiles as they knelt to the ground in a stream. “Congratulations to Lord Vassal Prince for your victory!”
The Vassal Prince of An’nan, Chou Fu[1], galloped in the lead with several valiant generals accompanying him, each prancing forward while sitting high on their horses.
Behind them were several hundred shabbily dressed Northern Qi slaves covered in dust, bound together with two to three ropes.
Those slaves, no matter their age or gender, were all bound at the right hand, forming a long line in succession. The soldiers drove them from behind with whips, yelling at them to quicken their pace.
The young crown prince consort leaned against Mo Lian’s chest with enlarged eyes.
She saw a soldier whip an old grandpa who was hobbling along but ended up tripping to the ground. It only took a moment for the elderly man, whose wails echoed through the street, to turn into a bloody mess.
Nevertheless, the civilians on the two sides watched on with relish.
[1] Inverting the characters in his name makes Fu Chou, which means revenge.
