Amidst the unease and anticipation of the crowd, a group of horsemen arrived at the village entrance.
One of them asked the leader, "Brother You! Are we home yet?"
Zhenfu's usual smiling face was now somewhat solemn. He replied, "We've arrived! Brothers, come home with me!"
With that, Zhen Fu led the way, galloping towards the Zhen family compound, their home now within easy reach.
Zhenfu suddenly felt a pang of homesickness, and he choked out, "Father! Mother! Gou Dan! Er Niu! Er Ni! Eldest brother and sister-in-law! Little sister! Are you home?"
Ling Zhenfu did not expect that he would come up empty-handed.
After waiting for a long time, the scene of family reunion that she had imagined did not happen, and Zhenfu felt a sudden tightness in her heart.
He hurriedly pushed open the courtyard gate, only to find that all the houses were locked.
Something has clearly gone wrong!
After training outside for so long, Zhen Fuyou quickly calmed down, remounted his horse, and led his men towards Zhen Wanwan's house.
In just five or six minutes, they arrived outside the house.
Following the men behind Zhenfu, they saw the mansion before them and felt as if they had returned to the capital.
Before they could think too much about it, Zhenfu jumped off his horse, took two steps to the door, and knocked.
"Little sister! Little sister! I'm home! Open the door!"
Almost as soon as Zhen Fuyou finished speaking, Ma Xiaosi opened the door and excitedly slapped his thigh when he saw Zhen Fuyou.
"Madam Zhen! Madam! Master! Second Master is back! Second Master is back!"
As the servants spread the word, everyone in the Zhen family, who were playing with their children inside, heard it.
The doll in Grandma Li's hand fell to the ground with a thud, and Grandpa Zhen also put down the ruler he had been using to supervise Gou Dan's calligraphy practice.
Wang Cuihua also stopped embroidering, and the children all put down their work.
"Second brother! Second brother is back! Father, Mother! Second brother is back!"
Zhen Wanwan was the first to react. She opened the door with a smile and saw that Zhen Fuyou had already arrived under the eaves.
Her eyes welled up with tears, and she couldn't help but run forward and hug Zhenfu.
"Second Brother! You finally came back! I thought you had forgotten the way home!"
Zhen Fuyou chuckled and ruffled Zhen Wanwan's hair: "Little crybaby! Stop crying, your brother brought you a lot of gifts! Let me tell you a secret, these are the most you've ever received! More than our sweet little darling!"
Zhen Wanwan laughed at his joke and then left his embrace.
Unexpectedly, no sooner had Zhen Wanwan left than Old Lady Li's ruler struck Zhen Fuyou.
He ran while wailing in anguish, "Mother! Mother! Why is your son back! And you're hitting me?"
Old Mrs. Li continued her verbal sparring: "I hit you! You little brat! You've been gone so long, do you even remember the way home? Do you know..."
Amidst the shouts and curses, everyone's emotions calmed down.
Zhen Wanwan noticed that Old Lady Li was being gentle, so she didn't stop her.
Once Old Mrs. Li calmed down, Zhen Fuyou finally had a moment to sit down and have a cup of tea.
Seeing his relaxed and nonchalant demeanor, Old Lady Li felt that she hadn't hit him hard enough.
Zhen Wanwan happily presented Zhen Fuyou with the new milk tea product that Rou'er and Xiaomei had developed.
"Second brother! Where have you been all this time? Why haven't you sent a letter home?"
Although the others didn't say anything, they all looked at Zhen Fu with great anticipation.
Zhenfu smacked her lips, feeling that the pearls were still as chewy as ever!
"I went to sea this time! I also met people of a different skin color than us! Their skin was white, their hair was yellow, and there were also people with black skin, but those were all slaves..."
Then Zhenfu talked about many interesting things he had encountered, but of course he didn't mention anything dangerous.
After all, this wouldn't be his only voyage. If he dared to expose the dangers involved, he was certain that Old Lady Li would rather break his legs than let him go out again.
After hearing this, Zhen Wanwan was secretly astonished. She hadn't expected that her second brother had gone abroad!
I even encountered white and black people!
"Oh, right, little sister! I brought a few brothers home. Could you please entertain them properly for me?"
"And my brother is hungry! Quickly bring him some food!"
Grandma Li chuckled and scolded Zhenfu a couple of times before personally going down to make the arrangements.
Zhen Wanwan watched with a smile; she had already sent Zhang Mama to make the arrangements.
It should be a while before we can eat.
Because Zhenfu brought a large number of people, the banquet was arranged in the main hall, with a total of five tables set up.
Zhen Wanwan was hired by the host family to entertain them, but since she was a female member of the family and Zhu Yuan was not at home, Old Master Zhen had to take her place.
Fortunately, everyone was easygoing and didn't care about these formalities.
Zhenfu looked around and asked in confusion, "Sister-in-law, where did my eldest brother go?"
Wang Cuihua had intended to remain invisible, but when she was suddenly questioned, she became quite nervous.
Looking at Zhen Fuyu, whose face was still the same but whose entire person had changed drastically, she was somewhat afraid to look directly at her.
"Second brother, I... my husband..." Wang Cuihua looked at Old Lady Li for help.
Old Mrs. Li glanced at her, but ultimately said nothing more: "Your eldest brother has gone to the prefectural city! There's a war going on outside right now, and he's gone to help Xiao Yuan!"
"What!" Zhen Fu stood up in shock.
"Mother! Why didn't you say so sooner! No! We have to go help! Brothers, stop eating and drinking! Let's go with our brother to take care of things!"
When Zhen Wanwan saw that they were about to leave without hesitation, carrying their swords, she hurriedly pulled Zhen Fuyou aside.
"Second brother! Don't worry, everything will be fine with my husband. They might have already defeated the enemy before you even arrive!"
"Why don't you take the young generals and let them rest before you go? Hmm?"
Zhen Fuyou couldn't bear to refuse Zhen Wanwan, but the battlefield was not a game, and he guessed that these were just tricks his brother-in-law used to coax his sister.
Seeing that Zhen Fuyou remained unmoved, Old Master Zhen coughed and said, "Finish your meal first before you go over! You may not be hungry, but the other young men are!"
Finally, Gou Dan, Er Niu, and Er Ni clung to Zhen Fu You's leg and begged for his affection before he finally reluctantly agreed.
But watching how fast they ate their rice, Zhen Wanwan felt uneasy for them.
Fearing that they might swallow too quickly and choke, she had the maids prepare tea for each of them.
The meal was finished quickly and heartily by Zhen Fu.
Without further ado, he finished his meal and left with his men.
Zhen Wanwan didn't even have time to give him a few things to defend himself, and one of his hands awkwardly froze in the air.
"Second brother is too impatient."
Outside Anqing city, the stench of blood mingled with the rain, a nauseating odor.
But Zhu Yuan walked naturally through it, heading straight for the innermost part.
When the Northern Hu people realized they couldn't win the fight, they betrayed Yang Wang's men. These living prisoners are now Yang Wang's men.
They all hung their heads, looking half-dead, as if they had already become indifferent to life and death.
Zhu Yuan's lips curled into a mocking smile as he pointed at one of the men and said, "You! Come out!"
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