Zhou Shaoyu's sharp eyes darkened slightly.
He naturally loved Jiutian and his princess.
But he loved his wife even more.
Xie Zhaozhao shed tears; he couldn't bear it.
"Jiutian, your father doesn't expect you to stay by his side all the time. Even if you spend the New Year this year, you can set off for Qi on the second or third day of the new year!"
Zhou Shaoyu said, "Your second uncle is our best friend, but he is only a friend. You can't abandon your parents."
Jiutian knelt down and kowtowed: "I beg Father and Mother to grant my request. My second uncle needs me more."
What else could Xie Zhaozhao say?
It's impossible not to let her go.
But letting her go is also very difficult for them!
In the end, unable to persuade the child otherwise, they had no choice but to let her go.
Parents are always the losers when it comes to their children.
Xie Zhaozhao prepared a gift for Jiutian, and Zhou Shaoyu's face turned ugly. He even gave Yin Jin'an a gift? He even lured away his daughter, and he still gives him a gift?
However, before Jiutian left the palace, he still loaded a cart with fine wine for Yin Jin.
Such pure and fine wine is only available in the Jade Dragon Kingdom's Imperial Palace throughout the entire Tian Sheng Continent. If Yin Jin'an wanted to drink it, only they could deliver it to her.
Bei Chen accompanied Jiu Tian to the State of Qi. Although Bei Chen is no longer young, all of Xie Zhaozhao's generation, except for Xiu Ning (the eunuch), have started families, have many children, and even have grandchildren running around.
Only Bei Chen is addicted to being a bodyguard, and at fifty years old, he has never started a family.
He's old, but his skills have remained excellent. It has to be said that the "Boyhood Skill" is indeed a very magical technique.
Jiutian didn't bring too much stuff.
A truckload of wine, delivered by Zhou Shaoyu.
A cartload of top-grade silk and porcelain vases, a gift from Xie Zhaozhao.
Various top-grade seeds and rare items, some given by Xie Zhaozhao, and others by Li Yunmu and his group.
The several cartloads of miscellaneous items were prepared by Jiutian himself.
We set off early on December 2nd and traveled non-stop, arriving at the border of the State of Qi on the 18th day of the twelfth lunar month.
Jiutian showed his waist badge to the border – a gold badge with the inscription "Princess Longxiang" personally carved by Yin Jin'an.
The border general stared at the gold medal, utterly bewildered: "Really? Wasn't it said that Princess Longxiang ascended to heaven as an immortal?"
Where did this Princess Longxiang come from?
Jiutian said solemnly, "I have been away for seven years and have come here specifically to spend the New Year with His Majesty. You must not delay."
While the border general hesitated, Bei Chen showed him the official letter written by Xie Zhaozhao and Zhou Shaoyu. Upon seeing that it was an official letter from the Emperor of Yulong Kingdom, the border general immediately allowed them to pass.
Jiutian laughed and said, "Thank you, Father and Mother."
She insisted on coming to Qi, which displeased her father, who was even somewhat dissatisfied with her second uncle. However, her father still brought her second uncle fine wine and prepared a letter from the state for her.
The two hurried as fast as they could and arrived at Xingqing Prefecture, the capital of Qi, early in the morning of the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month.
The Qi Kingdom has changed dramatically, completely different from when Jiutian left. Although it is still much worse than the Yulong Kingdom, it is far better than it was seven years ago.
The city grew larger and more bustling, and the people no longer wore tattered clothes.
Although tomorrow is the New Year, the streets are still bustling with vendors selling vegetables, meat, and clothes, but there are no vendors selling their children.
Firecrackers were also going off here, exploding every now and then, and the smell of gunpowder made the New Year atmosphere even stronger.
In stark contrast to the bustling activity outside, the palace was a different story.
Wearing a fur cloak, Yin Jin'an huddled in the palace, unsure of what to do.
Or rather, what can be done?
On the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, the Little New Year, the imperial court ceased operations and officials returned home to prepare for the New Year.
Although Wang Can and Gu Bahuang still come to the palace every day to handle some urgent memorials from other places, he has more free time now, and the pace of life has slowed down.
Yin Jin'an paced back and forth in the palace.
On the day Jiutian left, the Spirit Clan came to the capital with puppets, plotting something. In a fit of rage, he threw over a hundred lightning bolts, wiping out the entire Spirit Clan and blowing up half of the imperial palace.
Over the years, the palace has been expanded considerably under Wang Can's leadership. It must be so lonely for him to live in such a large place all by himself.
Three heavy snowfalls in December, each one heavier than the last, still made him unaccustomed to the cold in Qi, even after more than eight years in the country.
Back when the winters were cold, it wasn't this cold, and the snow wasn't this heavy. Here, the snow falls like crazy, piling up to waist-deep.
The palace had already shoveled all the snow away, so he couldn't even experience the crunching sound of walking on snow.
"Bang! Smash!"
The noise outside jolted him awake. Oh, it's almost New Year's.
Jiutian departed on the fifteenth day of the second month of the first year of the Qi calendar, and his journey lasted six years and three hundred and eighteen days.
She said she was leaving and wouldn't be coming back.
It's so hard to get through these days, they feel so long.
It's so tough, enduring every moment without any hope.
He squatted by the flower bed, poking around on the ground with a small stick, but found nothing. Jiutian had poked around here before, saying there were ants here, many ants lining up to work, and even having a division of labor.
Jiutian said that ants are also a kingdom, with ant fathers, ant mothers, and many ant children. Ants also celebrate festivals and share food.
But it was too cold in the palace, and even the ants couldn't endure it...
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty"
Xiahou Yan, even after all these years, still can't shake his old habit of making a big fuss at the drop of a hat.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty..."
Xiahou Yan's tone of voice has changed.
Yin Jin'an slowly straightened up and called out, "I am here."
Xiahou Yan then noticed that he was squatting alone by the flower bed.
"Your Majesty, what are you doing here? Quick, quick, let's go!" Xiahou Yan stammered, "Princess Longxiang has returned."
Yin Jin'an's expression remained unchanged as she said sternly and coldly, "Why are you always so impulsive and unable to speak coherently?"
"Your Majesty, it really is Princess Longxiang! Princess Longxiang has returned!"
Yin Jin'an grabbed him as if she wanted to devour him, and asked, "What did you say?"
"Princess Longxiang is back! This servant says Princess Longxiang is back, she's at the palace gate..."
His Majesty has disappeared!!
Yin Jin'an used the Xuan Tian Zhen Jing movement technique to shrink the distance between the ground and the inch, arriving at the palace gate in three steps.
Ten carriages were parked at the gate, and Jiutian stood beside one of them. The Imperial Guards knelt down excitedly.
Yin Jin'an suddenly appeared at the palace gate, and Jiu Tian blinked a few times.
The man before me was wearing a thick fur coat, but it couldn't hide his somewhat hunched and sickly figure. He was still wearing a mask, but it couldn't hide the white hair at his temples.
My second uncle is only twenty-four years old. Even though he was tormented by the full moon seven years ago, he wasn't this... silent.
When Yin Jin'an saw Jiu Tian, she noticed a significant change in her appearance; she had grown from a little child into a young woman. She had become much prettier and seemed a bit more reserved.
The two remained silent for a long time, staring at each other as if they were strangers.
But her eyes were red.
Jiutian slowly put the little tiger mask on his face, and choked out, "Excuse me, are you my second uncle?"
"How familiar those words are!" Yin Jin'an asked blankly. "Excuse me, do you have any steamed buns?"
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