Chapter 497 Entering Weihui
The group walked and stopped frequently, being quite considerate of Lin Changning and Qi Rong's injuries, especially Li Mingxiu, who wished he could protect the two like porcelain dolls.
Riding on horseback until nightfall, we finally caught a glimpse of the flickering lights at the ferry crossing.
Li Mingde naturally received the news as well, but after capturing the ferry crossing two days ago, the King of Chu sent a large army to Weihui. Both commanders went with him, and there were many matters to attend to after capturing the ferry crossing. They were held up by these matters and could not go to greet the enemy with Li Mingxiu.
So, not long after Li Mingxiu left, Li Mingde finished his work and waited at the ferry crossing early.
I can't say whether I felt more joy or relief, but I was happy nonetheless.
Li Mingde led his horse, pacing back and forth at the ferry crossing, occasionally looking up into the distance, his face showing a hint of urgency.
"It's been almost a day, why haven't they come back yet?"
The guard beside him glanced at his young master somewhat hesitantly, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Commander Qi and Vice Commissioner Lin are probably both injured, so their return speed will definitely not be as fast as their speed in getting there."
Li Mingde felt a little anxious and glared at his personal guard beside him, saying irritably, "Of course I know, do you need to tell me!"
Li Mingde waited at the ferry until it was getting dark. He was getting anxious, wondering if something had happened on the way. He rode his horse and instructed the guards behind him, "Wait another incense stick's time. If they still don't come, you will come with me to go ahead and meet them."
The guards quickly obeyed the order, mounted their horses, and stood beside Li Mingde. Suddenly, the sound of galloping hooves came from the city at the ferry crossing.
Li Mingde subconsciously looked back, and when he saw Li Mingxiao's handsome face, he frowned: "Mingxiao? Why are you out here?"
Li Mingxiao stopped the horse beside Li Mingde, raised the whip at him and said, "Uncle Jiu waited all day but no one came back, and you didn't send anyone back either, so he sent me out to check."
Li Mingde and Li Mingxiao were fairly acquainted, and upon hearing this, they nodded: "Let's wait a little longer. If they still haven't arrived, I'll take some men to look for them. Shall we go together?"
Li Mingxiao nodded: "Alright, I haven't seen Qi Lao Er and that kid surnamed Lin in a long time."
Li Mingxiao had just arrived at the ferry crossing two days ago. The situation on the border was relatively stable at the moment. The Tartar king Ting was currently embroiled in internal strife. He had been soundly beaten several times while harvesting hay this year and had slunk back to the grasslands.
Since Li Mingxiao had nothing to do there, he sent a letter to the King of Chu and led three thousand cavalrymen over.
Of course, this was also the intention of his father, the King of Qin. Helping to guard the border was naturally not as meritorious as fighting together to conquer the world. Not many troops could be moved from the border, but it would be fine to spare some cavalry from the left and right.
On the day he arrived, he heard that Qi Lao Er and that kid surnamed Lin had both fallen into the Yellow River and were now nowhere to be found, their fate unknown, which made him very sad.
They got completely drunk as soon as they arrived, but who knew that they would be alive again just two days later.
Li Mingxiao clicked his tongue a few times in his heart, knowing that these two troublemakers wouldn't die. The flood season had just ended, and the Yellow River was at its most turbulent. Falling into it was almost certain to result in death. The fact that these two had survived was truly a stroke of luck.
However, the battlefield is inherently extremely dangerous, so he was happy that these two people survived this time.
I recently heard that a young man surnamed Lin has become Uncle Jiu's new son-in-law. Tsk tsk tsk, back then he thought that young man was young and handsome. How long has he been with the King of Chu? And he's already his son-in-law.
This kid is something else, really something else.
As Li Mingxiao and Li Mingde talked, they gazed into the distance. When it got completely dark, Li Mingde couldn't wait any longer and prepared to lead his men forward.
But in the distance, they could see a row of flickering flames, like a long golden dragon, slowly hurtling towards them.
A hint of surprise flashed in Li Mingde's eyes: "It must be the second brother and the sixth brother who have returned."
With that, he spurred his horse and galloped straight ahead. A smile appeared on Li Mingxiao's lips as he hurried forward.
Lin Changning and Qi Rong sat on their horses and slowly made their way towards the ferry. They wanted to go faster, but Li Mingxiu asked Shilang and the army doctor to avoid any jolting that might affect their injuries.
If the wound reopens, it will be more troublesome to apply medicine when you get back.
Therefore, when returning today, Li Mingxiu deliberately slowed down the marching speed to an extremely low level.
Seeing a group of people rushing towards them from the ferry, Li Mingxiu smiled and turned to Qi Rong and the others, saying, "My brother wanted to come with me today, but Father ordered an advance on Weihui these past two days. Commander Qian and Commander Zhao went to fight Weihui, so not many people were left at the ferry. Plus, there's a lot to do after the battle, so my brother was left behind. He's probably finished his work and is here to welcome us now."
After finishing his sentence, Li Mingxiu continued, "Mingxiao is here too. When he first arrived, he heard that you two had fallen into the water. He dragged me out for drinks that night and we got completely drunk. By the way, Second Brother, when did you and Mingxiao become so close?"
A hint of confusion flashed in Qi Rong's eyes: "He's alright, I guess. He always likes to provoke me, he always likes to find something to do, no matter what."
Lin Changning nodded: "He owes me a lot, but he's not exactly a bad person."
When the three of them were on the frontier, they weren't exactly inseparable, but they had a pretty good relationship. Li Mingxiao was a bit of a simpleton, but he became obedient after being beaten.
He wasn't a bad person by nature, and he was quite capable, but he always seemed nonchalant in his speech and actions. However, I later realized that he was pretending to be a playboy in order to disguise himself.
As the three were talking, Li Mingde rode up to them on horseback.
"Second son! Sixth son!"
Li Mingde walked up to the two men and immediately reined in his horse. He used the golden firelight to examine their faces and was relieved to see that they seemed to be unharmed.
He patted Lin Changning on the shoulder with one hand, just as he was about to check if there were any injuries on the person, when he heard Lin Changning gasp.
"Ouch! Be gentle, be gentle, myna bird, you have a wound on your shoulder."
Li Mingde quickly withdrew his hand, looking apologetically at Lin Changning, somewhat at a loss: "It's my fault, it's my fault. How's the injury? Is it serious?"
As she spoke, she looked at Qi Rong again: "Second brother, how are you? How badly are you injured?"
Qi Rong said calmly, "It's nothing, the injury is in my lower back and abdomen, and I've already applied medicine."
Lin Changning replied, "I'm fine. The wound on my shoulder feels like it's about to scab over."
Li Mingxiao was eager to interject, but couldn't get a word in edgewise. He anxiously scratched his head and cheeks as he circled around the two of them. He had already asked all the questions he wanted to ask. When Lin Changning saw him, she raised an eyebrow at him.
"Your Highness? Do you have any nails here?"
Li Mingxiao couldn't help but roll his eyes.
"You'll have nails soon enough. I knew you two wouldn't die. Truly, a scourge that lives on for a thousand years!"
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