"Many of the boys Uncle Jun brought were from noble families in the Goddess Kingdom. Now, those boys are all fathers and grandfathers. Some of the children from those noble families are also in the army of the Flowing Sand Kingdom. One of them, Nangong Er, is particularly amusing. He complained to me and Xue Qianyu that at the beginning, in the soldiers' hearts, Xin Xin was a fairy. Fairies are supposed to be otherworldly. So, when they saw Xin Xin eating meat and drinking wine with gusto, their image of a fairy was instantly shattered."

"These kids are funny. Once the fairy image is destroyed, they'll rebuild it themselves. For example, during training, they imagine Xin Xin to be a celestial maiden, a female war goddess. They create an image of Xin Xin in their minds, Xin Xin destroys it herself, they create it again, and Xin Xin destroys it again. Finally, after A Yuan appeared, the fairy image in their minds was completely destroyed. The fairy isn't aloof anymore; she'll smile at the handsome young man. They saw Xin Xin's girlish side in front of A Yuan, and they were so jealous! I just watched A Yuan get teased along with Xue Qianyu."

Gu Hui burst out laughing: "Hahahaha... A couple of years ago, Niannian and I were thinking that A Yuan would definitely have an endless stream of suitors in the future, and it really came true. He's going to personally pluck out a whole country's worth of suitors! But Xin Xin is still a bit silly. She can't tell whether someone is a friend to her or someone is in love with her."

Peng Ze shook his head: "She's not stupid. How could she not understand? I heard Erlang, Silang, and Wulang say that Xinxin was very decisive when she rejected Sanlang. When Xinxin stabbed Sanlang in the heart with words, she didn't even blink. Our brothers are so envious of Ayuan."

Gu Hui thought of Peng Sanlang's feelings for Gu Xin a couple of years ago. That year, Peng Sanlang went to guard the border of Chuyun in depression, and Lu Zheng, that annoying guy, even went to guard it with him, not caring about the location at all.

Their daughter Xinxin and that kid Ayuan worked together to stab people in the back, showing no mercy whatsoever.

The two chatted and eventually fell asleep in each other's arms. Even though it was already June, nothing could stop the young couple, who had been separated for so long, from sleeping in each other's arms.

...

The next day, Princess Jinghe, He Sanniang, and Xie Zhiyi all learned that Peng Ze had returned.

Huo Yanyu wasn't in Kuncheng; she and Gu Nian had been summoned back to the capital. Gu Nian had come back for some business, while Huo Yanyu stayed in the capital.

When the three girls heard that Gu Hui planned to go to Liusha Kingdom with Peng Ze, they all said that they wanted to go too.

As for Princess Jinghe and He Sanniang, they've done quite a few things for Gu Hui, and everyone discouraged Xie Zhiyi from going.

Xie Zhiyi said that she could help Xinxin with the pharmaceutical work, as she had done so for Xinxin before.

The Gu family dared not agree to her request. Madam Peng only had two children, Xie Nanfeng and Xie Zhiyi. Xie Nanfeng was already in the dangerous country of Langge. If Xie Zhiyi were to be taken away as well, wouldn't that be the death of Madam Peng?

Xie Zhiyi said that she could persuade her mother.

After pestering Gu Hui and Cai Xiaolian for two days, Xie Zhiyi finally convinced her mother, and Gu Hui and Cai Xiaolian agreed to her request.

They, Xin Xin, also need female friends; she can't be surrounded by men! Even the ruler of the Flowing Sand Kingdom doesn't have any children.

However, before agreeing to let Xie Zhiyi go with them, they specifically instructed her that she was only going to help with the medicine making and was not allowed to go to the battlefield. She had to listen to Gu Hui in everything and was not allowed to do anything dangerous on her own.