Guo Yan felt a sense of helplessness. She felt that her mother-in-law's attitude was very resolute, and she couldn't understand why she was unwilling to acknowledge them.
“Aunt Chang, we’ve been barely surviving all these years, and we thought we’d never see our old friends again. It must be fate that we’re meeting again. But why won’t you acknowledge us? Is there something you can’t say?” Guo Yan said in a low voice, her brows furrowed, her eyes full of concern.
The mother-in-law dared not look into her eyes; her aged body trembled slightly as she suppressed the surging emotions in her chest.
"You...you look so young, why do you always talk nonsense? You should leave now, I won't call anyone." She said as she pulled her hand away.
"Aunt Chang..." Guo Yan called out helplessly.
Just then, footsteps were heard. The old woman didn't notice, but Guo Yan, who practiced martial arts, heard them very clearly.
The footsteps were light and quick, and they soon arrived at the courtyard gate, about to step inside.
Chang Lili returned home early tonight, naturally preoccupied with the things Jingmei bought for her yesterday.
She was in a good mood all day, and the fatigue from forging weapons had vanished. She went out humming a little tune in the morning and came back humming a little tune in the evening.
As she stepped into the courtyard, she saw her mother-in-law standing in the yard, and she was momentarily stunned.
"What's wrong, Grandma?" she asked curiously as she rushed to her mother-in-law's side.
The mother-in-law came to her senses and shook her head with a smile: "No...it's nothing. You must be tired. Come in and rest. I just made some tea in the house."
Chang Lili frowned suspiciously and said, "Just now, I think I heard you talking to someone."
As she spoke, she turned around and looked around, but didn't see anyone.
The old woman's smile was somewhat forced. She pulled Chang Lili aside and said, "She wasn't talking to anyone. She was just talking to herself. She's getting old and likes to ramble on."
Chang Lili took her mother-in-law's hand affectionately and said, "I love listening to my mother-in-law nag. From now on, stop talking to yourself and save your words for me."
The mother-in-law couldn't help but laugh, her wrinkles deepening, but it was genuine happiness, her eyes glistening with tears.
“You’re all grown up now, and you’ll eventually get married. You can’t always be like a child, revolving around me all the time,” she said, moved.
Chang Lili was stunned for a moment, her face unconsciously turning red. She said reproachfully, "What are you saying, Mother-in-law? When did I say I was going to get married..."
Her voice grew softer and softer as she spoke, and her eyes couldn't help but glance at the stone table in the courtyard. Not long ago, Meng Yuxiu had been sitting there, asking her why she wanted to marry him and become his general's wife.
Her face instantly turned as red as a persimmon, and her heart pounded wildly. She didn't realize it at the time, but now that she thinks about it, Meng Yuxiu's appearance back then was truly captivating.
Compared to Chu Moyu, she possessed a more refined and elegant charm.
The mother-in-law smiled and patted her head affectionately, saying, "My dear child, what girl doesn't get married when she grows up? Now that you've found a good home, I'm so happy."
Chang Lili let go of her mother-in-law's arm as if fleeing, her face flushed as she rushed into the house, shouting, "Mother-in-law, what are you saying! What good home!"
Guo Yan stood outside the wall, listening to Chang Lili and her mother-in-law talking, and let out a breath.
The moment Chang Lili stepped into the courtyard, she let go of her mother-in-law's hand, lightly leaped over the wall, and reached the other side of the courtyard.
Guo Yan was very unwilling to give up after coming here without getting anything out of her, but there was nothing she could do but come back to ask again next time.
Outside the courtyard wall was a quiet and clean alley. She walked a distance forward, but always felt like she was being watched, as if a pair of eyes were staring at her. She suddenly turned her head, but saw no one.
She continued walking forward suspiciously, but always felt that someone was behind her.
This wasn't the first time Guo Yan had walked this alley. As usual, she would continue walking along the alley. She didn't like crowded places, so she would follow the alley all the way back to Feng'e Garden.
But now, she obviously couldn't leave like this. Although she didn't see anyone, her intuition told her clearly that she was being followed.
She immediately turned and walked out of the alley. Beyond the alley was a bustling street. Guo Yan was slender and agile, weaving through the crowd and quickly disappearing from sight.
"Lost them?" In the study of the general's mansion, Meng Yuxiu frowned slightly.
Ke Shou bowed and said with shame, "That woman's martial arts are superb. Although I concealed my aura, she still noticed me. I was detected as soon as I stepped out of the courtyard wall. She was on guard, and it was like looking for a needle in a haystack when I blended into the crowd."
Meng Yuxiu's eyes darkened: "Can we find out anything about this woman?"
"Actually, this woman has infiltrated the General's Mansion before, but after so much time, I still haven't been able to find out where she came from. It's strange..." Ke Shou, who is usually decisive, showed a puzzled and hesitant expression.
"What?" Meng Yuxiu frowned.
Ke Shou said in a deep voice, "This woman, like Miss Chang, can be found out about things that happened more than ten years ago, but things before that are like a broken thread, and no clues can be found."
Meng Yuxiu's hand suddenly tightened, his knuckles turned white, and his face became gloomy, as if he had remembered something terrifying.
“Just like Li Li…” Meng Yuxiu pondered for a moment before asking with difficulty, “Can you find out the exact time the connection was lost?”
Ke Shoudao said, "I can't guarantee that I can find out the exact time, but I can definitely find out the approximate time."
Everything was getting closer and closer to the terrible conjecture in Meng Yuxiu's heart. His usually calm face turned a little pale, and his voice became a little cautious: "Ke Shou, do you still remember that more than ten years ago, my father led troops to fight and helped Yun Kingdom conquer a small neighboring country called Da Shun.
Ke Shou bowed respectfully and said, "General, you have conquered countless cities, I can't even remember them all."
Meng Yuxiu's gaze became distant, as if he was lost in memories, but a look of sorrow appeared on his face. His voice was low and slow: "But I remember it very clearly. It was the first time my father took me, a young child, to the battlefield, and let me see the cruelty of war."
Ke Shou's gaze flickered slightly, but he didn't say anything; he didn't know what to say.
Meng Yuxiu was his master, the great general of Yun Kingdom, but he was only about the same age as him. More than ten years ago, he was just a child, yet he witnessed the bloodshed and cruelty of war. He didn't know what he could say.
“One general’s success is built on the bones of ten thousand,” Meng Yuxiu sighed, but with a hint of mockery in his voice. “But these thousands of corpses are not only those of the soldiers who fought on the battlefield, but also the enemy soldiers, the defeated side, and the corpses of their people and royalty.”
Ke Shou didn't know why Meng Yuxiu would suddenly say these things. He just listened quietly, unsure how to react to this painful topic. At the same time, he felt a vague unease in his heart, which stemmed from Meng Yuxiu's unusual behavior.
Chang Lili's background seems to have a great secret.
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