In the warm spring of March, all things are reviving, the snow in the courtyard is melting, and tender green leaves are sprouting from the branches.

Spring outings in the countryside are the most popular activity at this time of year, but there are always a lot of people, so we went to the tea shop owned by Li Shiyue.

"How is your idea going so far?"

In the past two months, they have only been able to meet a handful of times. Before him, the tea plantation was a sea of ​​green. Xu Yunci gazed at the misty sky above, squinting at the person beside him.

With spring here, there's no need to wear heavy cloaks anymore. Li Shiyue thought for a moment: "Manager Wang's letter said that he will be back next month. There are two families that are very suitable. It's hard to explain in just a few words in a letter. I still need to come back and talk to my aunt before making a decision."

Xu Yunci nodded without speaking. Seeing Xu Lingzi and Guo Xun together, Xu Yunbo and Xu Yunxu also went over, but their gazes turned to Xie Yizhi with a more complicated expression.

"Go, go and kill the sheep that I brought."

Xu Yunbo rolled up his sleeves and looked around smugly: "I'm going back to the military camp in the western suburbs tomorrow. Today, I'll let you try the roasted lamb I learned in the camp."

The servant, having received the order, soon brought over the prepared mutton. He wanted to help himself, but Xu Yunbo stopped him and quickly built a fire with tree branches.

The sheep was put up, and around nightfall, the aroma of the mutton blended perfectly with the smell of charcoal firewood, whetting the appetite.

Xu Yunbo looked at the sheep in his hand, deftly shaved off the meat, put it on a plate, and gave it to Xu Yunci first.

It was a piece of leg meat, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, still dripping with oil, and topped with a layer of seasoning. Just the smell alone was incredibly tempting.

"promise."

Xu Yunci took it, and with a flick of his wrist, Li Shiyue saw the plate of meat placed right in front of her.

Before she could react, Xu Yunci had already placed the plate in her hand and taken another one. He didn't even look up, as if he were doing something insignificant.

Li Shiyue's cheeks flushed slightly. Even without looking up, she could feel the gazes of others, especially Xie Yizhi sitting opposite her, whose eyes never left her.

It seemed that since New Year's Eve, Xie Yizhi was different from before. He would always find something to say to her, but every word he said was about Xu Yunci.

As for Xu Yunci, they haven't seen each other for days. With so many people around, he's so unreserved. Does he want everyone to know his feelings?

"Return to the military camp tomorrow. After another six months, we won't need to go to the western suburbs anymore." Xu Yunci's voice was cold as he looked at Xu Yunbo.

The original intention was to temper Xu Yunbo's character. Now that he has changed his spoiled ways, there is no need for him to actually join the army. If he were to go to the battlefield, his family would probably not let him off the hook, especially his third aunt with her temperament.

"Second brother, I want to stay in the military camp in the western suburbs."

Xu Yunbo pursed his lips, and as soon as he finished speaking, he saw Xu Yunci's face darken instantly. He put down the plate in his hand: "Second brother, I want to go back."

"It seems like a peaceful and prosperous era now, but the border is unstable. Those tribes have long been restless. General Cheng trains them every day, just in case we need to mobilize troops one day."

Xu Yunci looked at him, her tone icy: "Since you know that, why do you still want to go back?"

"I will definitely go back."

Xu Yunbo's eyes were resolute: "Although I am not as capable as my second brother, my younger brother is different now. There are no deserters in the army."

"I also want to join the army."

It was Xu Yunyao, who had been silent all along, who spoke up. He exchanged a glance with Xu Yunbo and said, "You're right. Since you've decided to learn martial arts, why not join the army and make your own way in the world?"

“I don’t want to follow the arrangements and become some idle military officer in the court. Third brother is right, why don’t I go back to the military camp in the western suburbs with you?”

Xu Yunci's face grew increasingly grim. The others remained silent, but Xu Yunbo and Xu Yunyao exchanged a glance and looked at Xu Yunci together. Surprisingly, they did not back down in the slightest; they were remarkably in agreement.

"We'll talk about it when we get back."

Well, he just can't bring himself to be cruel to his younger brothers.

Xu Yunci lowered his eyes, carefully considering his two younger brothers' words. Feeling troubled, he simply put down the plate in his hand, got up, walked a distance, and stared blankly at the tea plantation fields in the night.

His thumbs, rubbing incessantly behind his back, and his furrowed brows betrayed his inner turmoil.

Li Shiyue withdrew her gaze and watched as Xu Yunbo and Xu Yunyao got up and walked over one after another.

In fact, Xu Yunci's refusal was not surprising at all. After all, Xu Yunbo and Xu Yunyao were the only sons of the Wei and Zhou families. If something really happened to them on the battlefield, Xu Yunci would probably feel guilty for the rest of his life.

Moreover, given the nature of Third Aunt Wei, one can only imagine how much she might resent the eldest son's family.

"Yan Yan, are you worried about the Crown Prince?"

Xie Yizhi's voice came from beside her ear. He walked over and sat down next to her. He glanced in the direction of Xu Yunci and the other two, then looked back at Li Shiyue.

He didn't urge her, but tilted his head to look at Li Shiyue's face, the tenderness in his eyes seeming to deceive even himself.

The woman in front of me was wearing a scarlet jacket, which made her skin look delicate and smooth, and I really wanted to touch it.

Xie Yizhi sneered inwardly, despising himself for having such lewd thoughts about a woman.

Seeing that Li Shiyue ignored him, Xie Yizhi was not annoyed. Since no one was paying attention to them, he smiled more: "Or let me put it another way, is Yan Yan worried about the young master, or is she worried about Sanlang and the others going to the battlefield?"

What's the difference?

Li Shiyue looked puzzled, and moved back a little, increasing the distance between herself and Xie Yizhi. She held the lamb chop in her hand, tearing off pieces of meat along the thin bone and chewing slowly.

Her cheeks were round and plump. She wasn't in a hurry to speak. She glanced at Xie Yizhi, who neither urged her nor got annoyed. He just tilted his head and looked at her.

Finally, he swallowed a mouthful of meat.

"What do you want to hear me say?"

Xie Yizhi's expression remained unchanged: "I thought Yan Yan would say that you are worried about the Crown Prince."

Li Shiyue put down the meat in her hand, wiped her fingers with a handkerchief, and looked at Xie Yizhi, her wariness and aloofness undisguised.

"Don't be afraid, I was just asking. After all, Yan Yan and her cousin seem to be particularly close, don't they?" Xie Yizhi kept tilting his head, but his gaze was directed forward.

It's unclear what he saw, but Xie Yizhi's smile was particularly striking. He stood up and walked back to his seat without glancing back, as if nothing had happened.

Before Li Shiyue could react, a section of a long robe blocked her view. She looked up and gazed at Xu Yunci.

He remained calm, with Xu Yunyao and another person following behind him. They spoke to each other, and all three of them looked calm, without any of the unpleasantness he had feared.