“My ambitions lie elsewhere, Your Excellency. High office and generous salary are not what I desire.”

"and you?"

Wang Zheng couldn't understand why Zhao Kai and Cen Ang, who had been in Pingyang County for so long, had kept a low profile. They wouldn't even go to a place where someone asked them to be a teacher, let alone write an article. Why then did they suddenly write an article about the war that caught the emperor's attention?

“Everyone has their own ambitions. When I came here with Ah Cen, my original intention was to stay with her for life, but alas…”

The man looked at Huo Xiaolong, who was under the tree poking insects with a stick and his girlfriends, but the boy just suddenly appeared and said some discouraging things.

Zhao Kai had already prepared A-Cen's coffin. A-Cen's face grew paler and paler, and his body grew weaker and weaker. He thought that if A-Cen passed away, he would go with him.

And then what happened?

"But then a child came along. The other day, Long'er asked me if a woman could be a gentleman, and I said yes."

The prefect smiled, revealing his two small tiger teeth, and said...

"Just for that sentence?"

"Just for that sentence."

"Alright, but I need to give the Emperor an explanation first. I'll have my name registered in the government office."

Zhao Kai nodded and bowed to him.

"Thank you, Prefect."

The man got up and walked out of the brothel, waving his hand with his back to Zhao Kai.

Pingyang County's main street regained its former liveliness, thanks to the increased number of people after the displaced people were scattered upon arriving in the border town. The sounds of vendors hawking their wares and haggling mingled together with the aroma of snacks and the unique fragrance of spring flowers. The prefect, with the spring breeze, felt the warmth and hospitality of the people under his jurisdiction.

Perhaps, that's just how people are.

Wanting to change the rules of the world for a single sentence, wanting more and more.

"My husband."

Wang Zheng raised his head and replied.

"Luan'er".

Hand in hand, back to the warm midday sun, returning home together.

"I just don't understand, why do you insist on attributing all the girls from my brothel to your general Gongpu? Have you finished writing about the entire Xiao family army?"

Xiao Lanyi looked at the three subordinates in front of him who were drinking tea and grooming the bear cub, and gestured for them to say something, but none of them responded.

He thought that Cen Ang's temper must be better than it was back then, now that he had so many beautiful daughters around him. But it seems that he was overthinking it.

"Merit is merit, and fault is fault; they deserve it."

—Click

The woman continued, "Cen Ang smashed one of the cup lids."

“My daughters are certainly worth it, but they can’t go to the garrison with you. Didn’t you already ask them? Why are you still not giving up?”

Today, General Xiao was dressed casually, a dark-colored short jacket and long skirt that made him look several years younger. He had shaved his beard clean and spoke in a somewhat humble tone.

“Aunt Cen, you know that we people who risk our lives for our future could be gone at any time. There’s no other reason for putting the names of the girls from your building on this memorial tablet. Even if I die, you can continue to guard the city with them. They don’t need to go to the garrison, and their monthly allowances will continue. If something really happens to them, I want them to leave with a respectable honor. I want the people of Great Yan to remember them.”

They were a group of prostitutes in the border town, their lives as tragic as duckweed, and also the female general Xiao Lanyi, who, with her frail body, guarded the city walls.

"Are you sure you don't need to go?" Cen Ang asked.

"Need not."

Seeing that the woman's attitude softened, the man pressed his advantage.

"These few pages are up to Aunt Cen. You can fill in the positions and official titles of the girls as you like. I can make all the decisions when the letters come from the capital."

Mother Cen took a deep breath, slightly raised her chin, and looked at Xiao Lanyi as she spoke.

"Can."

She then raised her hand to signal the man could leave. Xiao Lanyi pulled the Huo father and son out of the brothel's backyard and asked...

"I gave you such a clear signal, Xiao Cheng, why didn't you help me?"

"Oh, well, I didn't see it. I was grooming the bear cub with Erhei."

Help me with what? What if Long'er gets upset and throws a tantrum at home? Are you going to comfort her? Her crying, tantrums, and threats of suicide are more like your little sister's.

"Um, I have another question for you."

"Marshal, please speak."

Xiao Lanyi pulled Huo Xiaocheng aside and asked...

"How did you start the conversation with your crush back then?"

The boy's mind has been completely focused on the cherry blossoms lately, leaving him no time for anything else. Is this the old iron tree finally blooming?

"Me and Chunying... a hero saving a damsel in distress?"

"ah?"

"This is useless," Xiao Lanyi muttered to himself.

"This won't be of much use to you. My Long'er is her sister, and she can easily find excuses to talk to you. So, you should go ask my father."

His father must have some tricks up his sleeve, otherwise how could he have managed to snatch away a beauty like his mother? Huo Xiaocheng didn't believe in the idea of ​​a marriage between equals; with his father's personality, he certainly wasn't raised in a wealthy or prestigious family.

"OK!"

Xiong Ying was sitting on a small stool washing clothes for his daughter and wife when Xiao Lanyi suddenly leaned over and asked this question. He glanced at him sideways and said...

"You have such a thick skin."

"???"

"If you get married early, your child will be the same age as hers..."

"How do you know who it is?!" Xiao Lanyi asked anxiously.

The eagle covered his clothes with soap and said...

"Didn't you go looking for someone that day? Besides, you're dressed like a black peacock today, you don't look like you have good intentions."

"Tsk."

The general clicked his tongue, somewhat annoyed, and then continued...

"Stop talking nonsense. How did you even start a conversation with your wife in the first place?"

Huo Shuwen looked up at the sky, his thoughts drifting back to the past.

The moment he saw He Yi, he felt only one word: beautiful. Her beauty touched his very heart. But at that time, he was just a guard, while she was a young lady from a wealthy family in the capital. Even if he had feelings for her, he had to suppress them.

Until that day.

He Yi hurriedly returned home and got off the carriage. A wisp of green silk, carrying the fragrance of her hair, wafted past her nose.

"Hey!"

The second young lady called out to him and then said...

"Don't move, your shoulder armor is caught on my hair."

When He Yi came to him, Huo Shuwen didn't even dare to look at her. He just lowered his body slightly to let her take off his hair. Even the eagle could smell the faint fragrance on her body.

The man's body tensed; he dared not move an inch. It wasn't until He Yi finished untangling her hair and smiled at him that he felt a chill.

"Thank you very much, Guard Huo!"

That year, she was still a young girl.

"And then?" Xiao Lanyi asked as Huo Xiaolong and Xiao Lanyi ate fruit together.

"Then your mother said that she had never been outside and had been locked up at home. She said that she had sneaked out that day."

Inside the He family mansion in the capital, a girl's clear voice rang out.

"Guard Huo, what's it like outside? I snuck out that day. They said it's very lively outside during the Qixi Festival. Can you tell me what it's like in other places?"

Huo Shuwen looked at the beautiful woman who was pushing open the window and resting her face on her hands. He, who was usually not talkative, began to recount his stories of the martial arts world.

The little dumpling swallowed the last bite of peach. His father had been tricked without even realizing it, still basking in his own glory. Watching his father, lost in his memories, Huo Xiaolong felt a pang of sadness.

Then he glanced at Xiao Lanyi, who was focused on obtaining the scriptures, and thought he looked a little silly.

My mother took the initiative first; how could you possibly learn that stuff by haphazardly?