As soon as Er Mao entered, his eyes immediately fell on the wooden table. Sure enough, there was a piece of pork on the table, which made his eyes light up.

He swallowed hard before finally managing to shift his gaze to Zhao Zhennan, who was sitting at the table.

Uncle Zhao, with his graying temples, crossed his arms, his wrinkled face beaming with an undisguised smile.

Er Mao has been seeing this smile on his face a lot these past few months.

That was a smile of pride and self-satisfaction.

Whenever this smile appeared at home, Er Mao knew that there would definitely be a good meal today, which made him very happy.

And he knew what Uncle Zhao should say next.

Er Mao, unlike his usual carefree self, obediently said "okay," and then obediently leaned against the table, waiting for Uncle Zhao to speak.

Sure enough, a deep, cheerful voice rang out from inside the room shortly afterward.

"Hehe, when Your Highness left the capital, I accompanied you all the way. I watched Your Highness enter Beiliang."

"Along the way, sigh, yellow sand filled the sky, the wind was strong, and there was a lot of dust. We hurriedly ran forward, walking in a great hurry."

Er Mao watched quietly as Uncle Zhao waved his arms, excitedly reminiscing about the past.

He had heard these words many times, but he didn't find them annoying.

He enjoyed seeing Uncle Zhao's excitement and his seemingly contagious smile. Every time Uncle Zhao recounted his past under General Huwei, he felt inexplicably excited.

Uncle Zhao could vividly recount the stories of those battles, whether it was driving out the Hu horses or resisting the Japanese, as if a painting were unfolding before him.

When the bugle sounded, the soldiers, weapons in hand, charged forward amidst the sounds of horses neighing, fires burning, and the fierce fighting, with crimson banners fluttering in the smoke.

These were scenes he had never seen before, yet Er Mao remembered the words vividly in his mind, and even dreamed of a blurry scene.

However, there is one problem: every time Uncle Zhao talks about the final outcome, about his former comrades dying on the battlefield to defend their country, he always wipes away tears.

At this point, I always end up shedding tears myself.

But regardless, after the segment of reminiscing about the past, filled with smiles and tears, it was time to roast the pork.

This is truly the most wonderful thing.

"Hehe." Er Mao leaned against the corner of the table, licked his dry lips, and chuckled softly.

Hearing the laughter, Zhao Zhennan became even more excited, his face turning red with excitement.

"When the prince left the capital, he only had eight hundred personal guards!"

He held out his hand, gesturing with his thumb and forefinger to emphasize again, "Really! Just eight hundred people!"

"Old Zheng, look at what's happened now! The prince has accomplished so many great things on his journey south!"

"Back then, the emperor persecuted us so much, leaving the mess of Northern Liang to the prince. To be honest, I really thought there was no way out."

The burly man nodded, resting his chin on his hand, and said, "Indeed, Your Highness has been invincible on your southward journey."

"It seems that after the battle of Yanluo Mountain, the balance of power has shifted from offense to defense."

Zhao Zhennan chuckled lightly, then continued:

"After this battle, everyone in the world knows that the prince now has many soldiers and brave generals. No one can even say for sure how many people he has."

"Now that one of the emperor's top generals has been killed, he must be extremely worried."

"With the year-end approaching, the prince is coming on an unstoppable march. I'm afraid the dog emperor won't be able to have a good New Year."

"Back then, the prince was banished from Jinling and fled to Beiliang. Now he's leading his men towards Jinling. This is truly... excellent!"

Upon hearing this, the burly man also laughed.

Er Mao naturally laughed along, and amidst the laughter, Zhao Zhennan said:

"Come on, it's time to cook, Lao Zheng. Let's have a couple of drinks tonight!"

"Here it comes! Here it comes!" Er Mao's eyes widened, and he immediately grabbed the pork and ran towards the kitchen shouting.

"Mother! Chop the meat, I'll start the fire!"

"Don't cut the meat into big pieces! Slice it!"

Inside the kitchen, a woman dressed in coarse cloth was washing rice. Upon hearing this, she spat out:

"You little brat, if you're so good at it, then you do it."

"Like a gluttonous cat, all he thinks about is food!"

——

"Cough cough, I can't eat anymore, take it away."

At the bedside, Jin Jiande, his pale face flushed with a sickly redness, leaned against the bed, coughing while covering his mouth.

"Your Highness, if you're not going to eat..."

"roll!"

With a loud bang, Jin Jiande suddenly flew into a rage and shoved the food box out of the maid's hands.

The maidservant quickly steadied the food box to prevent it from tipping over. She looked at Jin Jiande with a fearful expression. Jin Jiande grew even angrier, slapping the quilt and yelling:

"Do you want to die? Get out of here right now!"

The maid trembled and hurriedly took her leave.

"hiss--"

As soon as the maid left, Jin Jiande gasped, his face contorting in shock.

He gently lifted the blanket, and his eyes immediately reddened after taking a look.

"Waaaaah, my legs!"

Under the blanket, the once intact right leg now only has the front half of the thigh remaining; the back half is long gone. The leg is wrapped in white cloth, with traces of blood visible on it.

Clearly, that slap had accidentally touched the wound.

After escaping from the mountains that day, Jin Jiande was taken by Xiao Yiming to Yuyuan City, which was the closest city to Yanluo Mountain.

The journey was fraught with hardship and misery. If it weren't for Xiao Yiming being a know-it-all who understood and could do everything, it would have been difficult to reach Yu Yuan City.

Fortunately, it was winter, so the broken leg hadn't gotten worse. After Xiao Yiming bandaged it up, all that remained for Jin Jiande was pain.

They dared not linger in Yuyuan City, for who knew when Qin Ze would emerge from Yanluo Mountain and continue his southward journey.

Therefore, after treating their wounds briefly, the two took some soldiers from Yuyuan City and continued their escape without stopping.

The journey was arduous, and Jin Jiande, with his broken leg, suffered greatly, almost losing half his life, before finally escaping back to his home in the capital a few days later.

Although the journey was very painful, Jin Jiande knew that compared to the pain, if Qin Ze caught up with him, he would lose his life.

A strong will to survive sustained him until today, but after returning, the deep-seated fear still lingers, almost driving him mad.

Before leaving, he solemnly promised Jin Fengluan that he would definitely be able to deal with Qin Ze and bring back his head.

But now, everyone who went there is dead, and he himself has broken a leg, making him extremely miserable.

Not only did they fail to quell the rebellion, but they also fled back to the capital in disgrace. The greater their expectations, the more painful their defeat.

Besides his broken leg, Jin Jiande also caught a cold from the journey, and coughing was a constant companion to him.

Jin Jiande still felt apprehensive when he recalled the doctor's expression after the doctor came to see him that day.

"Cough cough cough." Jin Jiande covered his mouth and coughed again.

"Jiande, you still need to eat."

Just then, a person walked in from outside.