After Feng Yu'er fell asleep, Lu Qiqi covered her with a blanket and placed three jars of beauty cream on the rosewood table on the soft couch.

Then, he left the room.

She followed the path she remembered to the study near the school.

When I saw her on Monday, she visibly paused, and then a hint of unease flashed across her face.

When Feng Zijun saw Lu Qiqi, he politely bowed to her and obediently called her "Sister Lu".

Lu Qiqi responded, then took out a Luban lock and handed it to Feng Zijun to play with.

She said, "Sister Lu is leaving the border town to go home. This little gift is for you as a farewell present."

Feng Zijun glanced at Zhou Yi, and seeing Zhou Yi nod slightly, he reached out to take it, saying, "Thank you, Sister Lu."

Feng Zijun's brief reaction revealed his trust in Zhou Yi, even to the point of dependence.

Lu Qiqi took in the exchange of glances between the two and explained softly to Feng Zijun, "Sister and Brother Zhou have something to talk about. Zijun, would you like to play in the study for a while?"

Feng Zijun nodded, then looked at Zhou Yi, "Brother Zhou, will you be going home?"

"I..."

Both siblings are intelligent. Feng Zijun's question left Zhou Yi speechless with just one sentence.

However, what makes Feng Zijun endearing is that he doesn't pry into things; he simply took the Luban lock and went back to his study.

Seeing the study door slowly close, Lu Qiqi raised her chin and looked at the pavilion not far away, saying, "Let's go to the pavilion."

The two walked to the pavilion, where the north wind howled.

Lu Qiqi was so cold that she immediately put on her red hat.

On Monday, he looked troubled and didn't know what to say.

It's too cold.

Lu Qiqi didn't want to starve here, so she spoke quickly, "The Tartars have sued for peace, and our army will soon return to the capital in triumph."

Do you want to stay in the border town, or come back to Luzhou Prefecture with me?

After a long time, Monday remained silent.

Lu Qiqi was practically frozen solid when she heard Zhou Yi hesitate, "I don't know."

After waiting for so long, she almost lost her composure when she heard this answer.

I want to swear.

In the freezing cold and snowy weather, after such a long delay, I actually told her I didn't know.

Lu Qiqi sighed deeply. After the long white mist disappeared, she said, "You don't know whether to stay or leave because you can't let go of your grandmother and brothers at home, but you don't want to leave the border town because there are people you like here."

Zhou nodded, as if remembering something, "I want to join the army."

This answer was unexpected by Lu Qiqi.

Turbulent times produce heroes. If Zhou Yi joins the army at this time, he will only be a lowly soldier, and he will have to endure the hardships.

Lu Qiqi briefly analyzed the pros and cons for him, but still received the same answer.

"I want to join the army."

Since that's the case, Lu Qiqi won't stop him, but instead asks him the real reason, "Why did you suddenly think of joining the army?"

The original owner's father, Lu Dashan, died because the government conscripted soldiers and Wu Guangping betrayed the country and defected to the enemy, leading to the fall of the border city.

The desire to join the army must have been triggered by some extremely sensitive point in one's heart.

After thinking for a moment on Monday, his expression became firm and no longer hesitant. "I want to join the army."

"When the plague broke out in Yi'an Village, many villagers were not infected. It was the government that, without distinguishing right from wrong, confined everyone in Yi'an Village, which almost led to the annihilation of the entire village."

The idea came to me a while ago when I was helping out in the wounded soldiers' camp.

When the plague struck Tianxin Village, under Lu Da's command, the villagers were divided into two groups based on the severity of their illness.

They persisted until the government summoned a doctor, and Lu Qiqi and the others came to treat them.

On Monday, I wondered if only by becoming stronger, like Lu Da, could I protect the people I care about.

Lu Qiqi asked, "What about Yu'er?"

She didn't believe that Zhou Yixiang wanted to stay without any romantic feelings whatsoever.

On Monday, he was quite frank: "I admire her, but I also know the vow she made in the Feng family ancestral hall."

At this point, Lu Qiqi also remembered that Feng Yuer had made a vow at the Feng family mansion under the coercion of Feng's second uncle.

She will not get married until Feng Zijun grows up.

However, she later heard that the second master of the Feng family had his arms and legs broken and had become a complete cripple.

Meanwhile, the second master of the Feng family's wife also returned to her parents' home with her daughter.

Lu Qiqi reminded, "Uncle Feng is no longer a threat, so there's no need to waste each other's precious time on such a scoundrel."

How precious are the joys of youth!

On Monday, he realized that she didn't intend to stop him, and said, "I will hesitate, just as you said, because I can't fulfill my filial duties to my parents and can't discipline my younger brothers."

He also wanted to become someone who could stand shoulder to shoulder with her, someone who could be worthy of her.

Lu Qiqi finally understood what he meant. "I taught you to read so that you could make a name for yourself in your ordinary life."

Otherwise, in this era, farming and transplanting rice seedlings only requires knowing how to work and predicting the weather by season; one doesn't need to know many words.

Thinking this, she continued, "Last time, when Gu Shaoqing was escorting goods to the border town, he mentioned Wednesday's recent situation in Tianxin Village."

He's two years younger than you and has already become the bookkeeper at the paper mill.

Grandma Zhou is still in relatively good health, and your second brother is still at home. Why can't you strive for your future?

Whether you're doing it for yourself or want to stand by your loved one, I support you.

It would be impossible not to be moved upon hearing this.

Zhou Yi wasn't a talkative person to begin with, but upon hearing these heartfelt words, he nodded emphatically.

Upon learning of Zhou Yifen's goal, Lu Qiqi did not stay at the Feng residence any longer and asked a servant to inform Feng Yu'er that she had returned.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!