After Huo Yan finished making the arrangements, he returned to the military camp.
Yuan Zhao first went to Yuan Musheng's yard. He was packing his luggage in the house. A few simple clothes and the marching supplies he carried with him were spread out on the table.
Hearing footsteps, Yuan Musheng raised his head and saw Yuan Zhao. He quickly put down the things in his hands and called out with a smile, "Mother."
Yuan Zhao walked into the room, holding a package and handed it to him.
"Take this with you."
Yuan Musheng took it, opened it and saw that it was a piece of soft gold armor.
The soft armor has a soft sheen and is of moderate weight, clearly a carefully crafted piece of armor.
He smiled, shook his head and said, "Mother, I'm going to Yucheng with the army this time, but I'm only helping out in the rear. I won't be going to the battlefield. Bringing this... is a bit too serious."
Yuan Zhao ignored his refusal and said calmly while helping him pack his luggage.
"The battlefield is dangerous, and no one can predict unexpected events. It's better to be prepared than not to have any."
Yuan Musheng looked at her profile, a hint of tenderness appeared in his eyes, and nodded: "Don't worry, mother, I will bring it with me."
He paused for a moment, as if to reassure her, and then added with a smile, "Besides... Dad... won't let anything happen to me."
Yuan Zhao didn't realize what was wrong with this sentence at first. After a while, her hand paused slightly.
She turned her head to look at Yuan Musheng and found that he had his eyes lowered, as if he didn't want her to see his emotions clearly, but there was a relaxed smile on the corner of his mouth.
She also smiled slightly, was silent for a moment, and shook his hand.
The mother and son looked at each other knowingly, and the atmosphere in the room became a little warmer.
After a while, Yuan Zhao seemed to remember something and asked,
"Helian Yu...is he okay?"
Hearing this name, Yuan Musheng's smile faded slightly, and an unconcealable sadness appeared in his eyes.
Ever since Helian Yu came to Liangzhou City, he seemed like a different person. He locked himself in the yard and rarely went out.
"He..." Yuan Musheng paused and whispered, "Except for delivering news from Xiaoyue City, he hardly ever goes out. Sometimes when I go to see him, he doesn't joke with me like he used to. He's very quiet."
Yuan Zhao frowned slightly: "What does he do every day now?"
Yuan Musheng sighed, his tone filled with helplessness.
"He stayed in the yard every day, practicing archery. His archery skills improved with practice, but he became terribly depressed, as if he had buried all his thoughts in it."
After hearing this, Yuan Zhao did not speak immediately, but rubbed his fingers gently on the clothes for a while.
"Mu Sheng," she said, her voice soft but with a hint of admonition, "Helian Yu is your good friend, you know his temper."
"If you have the chance, talk to him more during your trip to the front lines. Only he can untie the knot in his heart, but some things will feel better if you talk them out."
Yuan Musheng nodded: "Don't worry, mother, I will try."
Yuan Zhao sighed slightly.
I will definitely meet Helian Chang on this trip. What will happen between uncle and nephew, father and son, monarch and minister?
She looked out the window. The wind blew in the yard, blowing up a few dead leaves, which fell to the ground and were blown away without a trace.
"It's almost autumn..." she murmured.
…
When Yuan Zhao came out of Yuan Musheng's yard, the night was already as dark as ink, and he walked back to the main courtyard alone.
The corridor was silent, with only her footsteps echoing in the empty night. The moonlight shone on the bluestone floor, emitting a cold light.
She walked slowly, unwilling to go back into the house and face the empty silence.
Huo Yan had gone out earlier. He was busy with military affairs before leaving, and he probably wouldn't be back tonight.
Yuan Zhao looked up at the sky. The night sky was clear and the moon was already high in the sky.
The full moon was as bright as a jade plate, casting soft moonlight, making everything around it seem as if covered with a layer of gauze.
She stood in the corridor, looking at the almost full moon, and suddenly remembered that it would be Mid-Autumn Festival in a few days.
This should have been a day for family reunion, but now, the family has to be scattered all over the place.
Yuan Zhao knew that this departure would take at least a few months, or at most years, and he couldn't even be sure if they would ever be reunited again.
Her eyes fell on the moon, and her thoughts drifted away with the moonlight.
Suddenly, with a creaky sound, the door behind him opened.
Yuan Zhao turned around and saw Huo Yan wearing a loose white undershirt, with water dripping from his hair, as if he had just taken a shower.
His hair was untied, with a few wet strands sticking to the side of his neck. His collar was slightly open, revealing his vague collarbone and well-defined chest.
The belt around his waist hung loosely, and the moonlight shone on his body, outlining a very powerful outline.
Seeing Yuan Zhao standing in the wind, he frowned slightly, "Why don't you come in?"
Yuan Zhao was stunned. He didn't expect that he had come back.
So she turned and went into the house.
She washed up briefly, and when she came back, Huo Yan was already half lying on the head of the bed, without a blanket covering him, reading the military newspaper in his hand.
Yuan Zhao went into the side next to him and said to him, "Didn't you say you were busy with military duties and couldn't come back tonight?..."
Upon hearing this, Huo Yan raised his eyelashes slightly, and his deep gaze fell on her face, as if he was secretly observing her emotions.
After a moment, he put the military newspaper in his hand aside, stretched out his long arm, and pulled Yuan Zhao into his arms.
He was very strong and Yuan Zhao was caught off guard, crashing directly into his chest.
"If you don't come back, are you planning to stay outside in the cold breeze all night?" Huo Yan said in a low voice. He gently covered her shoulders with his hands and covered her with the quilt to dispel the cold.
Yuan Zhao put his arm around his waist, leaned against his chest, and chuckled, "We're not kids anymore, how can you be so naive?"
She thought back to when she and Huo Yan had quarreled and gotten angry when they were little. The worst time they quarreled was when she sat in the yard all night.
The next day, Shui Lingling fell ill, and her mother wondered what had happened.
"Later, my brother found out and asked Gan Tang for the whole story. He scolded me and laughed at me for being so stupid. He said that no one would freeze themselves sick just because of an argument."
Yuan Zhao leaned in Huo Yan's arms and couldn't help laughing. "He even dragged you into the palace, saying that no matter whose fault it was, an apology would be enough."
Huo Yan couldn't help but chuckle when he heard this.
"The princess was so stubborn back then. Just an apology wasn't enough. She insisted I serve you some medicine."
Yuan Zhao glared at him, but couldn't help but raise the corner of his mouth.
"What else? Who told you to always have such a cold face? You're obviously a child, but you act like an adult. It makes me so angry that I don't want to see you for several days."
Huo Yan looked down at her, with a smile in his eyes, and his voice was soft and helpless.
"Yes, my princess, how could we be so reasonable back then?"
Yuan Zhao snorted lightly, but did not refute. He leaned on his chest, feeling his steady heartbeat.
She also told him about what happened when they went to Yuan Musheng's place just now and he changed his way of addressing her to "Dad".
Huo Yan was slightly stunned and a little surprised.
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