Chapter 135.

The night before the expedition, the surrounding area was brightly lit, as bright as day.

No one can sleep except for Zhizhi.

Zhao Xiheng sat by the stove, checking the clothes Wei Li had brought, and added two extra clam oils to his luggage.

It's cold and the air is dry, so I'm using it to moisturize his hands.

She lowered her eyes and pursed her lips into a thin line.

Wei Li had just washed his hair. He looked at the bluish stain on the towel he used to dry his hair, grabbed the towel, and rushed over to show it to Zhao Xiheng. "Look at this! I've washed my hair five or six times already, and the stain is still so bad!"

His tone was full of complaints and impatience, without a trace of the sorrow of parting, as if he were no different from usual.

Zhao Xiheng then looked up at him. In the bright candlelight, a few strands of other colors were mixed in with his jet-black hair...

"I told you long ago that the color would fade." Perhaps influenced by the separation, her voice became much gentler.

"Ugh, this is so annoying. I'm not going to dye my hair again next time." He grumbled as he sat down, leaned over, and said with a fawning smile, "Can you dry my hair for me?"

"Oh." Zhao Xiheng pursed her lips, took the cotton towel, her eyes a little moist. She was a little scared, afraid that this was the last time they would meet.

"How about... how about you go later..." She realized halfway through her sentence that it was unrealistic. They were setting off for the expedition tomorrow, how could she possibly not go tonight?

She just couldn't bear to part with it.

Wei Li lay on her lap, opened his eyes and looked at her, then tickled her and said with a smile, "Don't be like that. We're about to avenge our father. Why are you crying? Are you crying because you're excited?"

He was reluctant to part with her, but it would be too pathetic for him to spend the whole night crying with Zhao Xiheng.

She was already feeling down; if she showed weakness, it would only make her more upset.

"Look at my hair! When the sun comes out tomorrow, it'll be so eye-catching. I'll be the most conspicuous one in the whole army!" He changed the subject, showing off his hair.

Although he always complained about the fading color of his hair, he actually quite liked how bright it looked.

Even though he tickled her, Zhao Xiheng couldn't laugh. She looked at his hair through teary eyes.

Wei Li's hair was black, and the blue dye wasn't very noticeable; it only appeared a deep blue when illuminated by candlelight or sunlight.

Tomorrow will be a good day, and his hair color will definitely stand out in the city.

but……

“It’s turned green, Wei Li,” Zhao Xiheng said, tugging at his hair, her eyes still misty.

Wei Li was startled and sprang off her lap. "What?"

Zhao Xiheng wiped away her tears, looked closely, and nodded seriously, "It's green, that peacock green."

When Wei Li dyed his hair, he deliberately avoided green. He didn't want to have green on his head, or people would laugh at him.

But who would have thought that the blue would turn green after fading?

"Impossible, take a closer look." He pulled his hair to his front and held it up to the candlelight, and it seemed that it might have turned green.

The couple stared at each other for a long time, then were both stunned. In the end, they did indeed conclude that he had been cheated on.

A greenish color that falls between blue and green.

"What should we do about Zhao Xiheng? What should we do?" Wei Li paced around the room, clutching a mirror.

"..." How would she know if I asked her?

It's the middle of the night, who can dye it back to normal?

"How about we leave it like this? Anyway, no one will dare to talk about you."

"No, no, no! They'll definitely be talking about my green hair behind my back. I don't want that!" Wei Li was both angry and anxious. How could he have known the color would turn out like this?

He checked it repeatedly against the light, and finally gave up. It was green. He figured if he washed it a few more times, it would probably become even greener.

Zhao Xiheng sat by the fire, hugging her knees and resting her chin on her hand. This was truly terrible; Wei Li was such a proud person.

"Can you sit down and talk? You're making me dizzy."

Wei Li frowned as she complained, "I'm already like this, and you still complain about me wandering around."

"If it doesn't work, just cut it off." Zhao Xiheng really couldn't think of a solution.

Wei Li fell silent, then quickly exclaimed, "You don't really want to cut it, do you?"

"It's better to cut it than to be embarrassed tomorrow..." Wei Li glanced at her and went to find the scissors.

"Hey, you can't just cut your hair like that. You can wear a helmet to cover it up tomorrow." The Goguryeo king and his men had their heads shaved by Wei Li, and now Wei Li wants to cut his hair too. What's going on?

Wei Licai wouldn't listen. "We can cover it up tomorrow so no one can see it, but sooner or later it will get greener the more we wash it, and Chen Ruojiang and the others will still see it." It's better to cut it off and be done with it.

Putting aside the fact that cutting hair casually is too unconventional, his head of blue-green hair, which can only be seen in the light, is really difficult to cut.

Zhao Xiheng held up the lamp and ruffled his hair.

Wei Li kept talking, rambling on and on, "When I get back, I'm going to skin the person who dyed my hair alive."

Zhao Xiheng slapped his head, making a loud thud, and he grimaced and yelled, "What are you doing? That hurts!"

"Shut up and stop moving. He told you beforehand that he's never dyed anyone's hair blue before and doesn't know what the effect would be. You insisted on dyeing it yourself, and now you're blaming him."

Zhizhi woke up halfway through her sleep, rolled over, and looked at the two of them groggily. She rubbed her eyes and asked, "Mother, are you picking lice off Father?"

Wei Li glared at her angrily, "You little brat, what do you mean by picking lice? I don't have any lice." He was very hygienic.

Zhizhi nodded, her voice sleepy and slurred, "Anyway, you're leaving soon, so even if you have lice, you won't infect me."

"Don't you have any conscience? You know your father is about to leave? And you're still making fun of me like this?" Wei Li felt a chill run down her spine.

Zhizhi lay down and pulled her blanket up high. "You'll definitely come back. I'm not worried about you at all." After all, her dad is really amazing.

Wei Li's lips curled up slightly. This little rascal really had an inexplicable confidence in him.

He looked up and hooked Zhao Xiheng's little finger around her finger. "Look, even a child knows this, but you don't."

Zhao Xiheng would never admit that she was inferior to a child, so she pressed his head down and said awkwardly, "Shut up! I know now."

After cutting off all the dyed hair, it was already broad daylight, and there was less than an hour left before leaving the city.

Zhao Xiheng's back ached from cutting hair, and Wei Li's neck was stiff.

What should have been a proper farewell, a night filled with sadness, ended abruptly with a haircut.

During this time, Wei Li and Zhao Xiheng accidentally cut a strand of undyed hair from his hair, and the two of them bickered for a while.

Zhizhi was held in Zhao Xiheng's arms as they looked down from the city tower at the army going to war. Her father was at the very front, looking quite impressive.

She turned to the people around her and said, "That's my father!"

She repeated it over and over again, her voice crisp and clear, her big, watery eyes wide open, gesturing wildly at people, making many around her both laugh and cry.

Zhizhi waved her hand downwards, not caring whether Wei Li could hear her or not, "Father, bring me something fun when you come back!"

Wei Li certainly couldn't hear, but he subconsciously looked up at the city wall and saw Zhi Zhi waving at him.

When the time came, horns sounded in unison, and the procession began to move slowly.

When even the banners were no longer visible, Zhao Xiheng weighed Zhizhi in her hand and said, "Let's go back."

Zhizhi strained her neck to look, but it was indeed difficult to see her shadow again, so she had no choice but to go back with Zhao Xiheng.

I lived in the mountain palace for eight years, and Wei Li's shadow was everywhere.

The swing in the yard was built by him for Zhao Xiheng, the little wooden horse that Zhizhi sat on was also made by him, there are still his clothes in the cabinet, and the calligraphy he had half-finished drawing last time is spread out on the table.

Seeing this, Zhao Xiheng couldn't help but feel sentimental, and for a moment she sighed at how quickly time had passed.

Zhizhi held her hand, and as soon as they got home, her eyes welled up with tears. Her father was really not home anymore.

Oh dear, but she couldn't cry. Her mother was a traitor; she would tell her father that she had cried, and her father would definitely laugh at her. She didn't want to be laughed at.

Wei Li's absence has had a significant impact.

Zhizhi couldn't climb down the tree and kept shouting "Father!" in fear, but Wei Li couldn't appear. He grabbed her by the back of the collar and pulled her down.

Zhao Xiheng climbed the tree and carried her down.

Zhizhi hugged her neck, feeling increasingly sad.

"How about we go to Qingzhou and stay for a while? The villa in Qingzhou is already built. We'll wait for your father to come back there and see the osmanthus flowers together," Zhao Xiheng discussed with Zhizhi.

Wei Li's trip this time must be very long; dwelling on the past will only bring more sorrow. Although Zhi Zhi doesn't say she misses him, some of her subconscious actions don't lie.

Just like when school is over, she would subconsciously ask Zhao Xiheng, "Why didn't Father come today?" Only after asking did she realize that Father wasn't home and couldn't come to pick her up from school.

The villa in Qingzhou has just been renovated, so I'll take Zhizhi there for a while to relax.

Zhizhi thought for a moment, "What if Father can't find us when he comes back?"

"No, I wrote to him. He knows we're in Qingzhou, he'll come to Qingzhou to find us..."

Zhizhi was relieved after hearing Zhao Xiheng's explanation. She patted her chest with her little hand and said, "Okay then. After all, Father is clumsy and loves to cry. I'm afraid he'll cry when he comes back and can't find us."

Zhao Xiheng, “…” Wei Li really should cry less.

Chen Ruojiang followed behind Wei Li, his brows furrowed. Yang Zeli teased him, whispering, "Why are you making such a long face?"

“Look at the lord’s hair.” Chen Ruojiang gestured with his chin.

"What's wrong?" Yang Zeli asked, puzzled.

Chen Ruojiang thought he was careless, so he gestured with his hands, "Before, the lord's hair was this much." He gestured again, "Now, the lord's hair is this much less."

Yang Zeli looked at it and it seemed to be true. It was so thick, but now it seemed to have lost a lot of weight.

"I think this battle against the Xianbei is really risky." Chen Ruojiang shook his head. "Our lord has lost so much hair from worry." He was counting on this victory to go back and get married. Xiao Tao said that if he could make a name for himself this time, she would marry him.

"If you're so worried, why rush off to war?" Yang Zeli wondered. Wasn't it the same whether the Xianbei attacked sooner or later? He had always felt that fighting the Xianbei wouldn't be easy, and that they should continue expanding southward. However, he would attack wherever his lord pointed!

"Tsk, you don't know this. The lord is in a hurry to avenge his father-in-law. The lady's father is the lord's biological father, so the lady's revenge is the lord's revenge."

Back when Pingzhou was besieged by Qingzhou, Youzhou, and Goguryeo all at once, I casually mentioned that we could form an alliance with the Xianbei for help, and my lord scolded me for it..."

Yang Zeli seemed thoughtful. "Was it really just being scolded?"

Chen Ruojiang rolled her eyes. You know it in your heart, why did you have to ask?

With Wei Li's temper, could he just scold him? He beat him until he bled.