Mountain and River Festival 320. Return to Glass City

Mo Xiuyao and Ye Li walked slowly along the way, not only for the sake of the baby in Ye Li's belly, but also to see the people's livelihood in Xiling, which was now occupied by the Mo family army. It would have taken only ten days to travel by galloping, but it was already November when they returned to Xiling. In November, not only Xiling but the entire northern region was already very cold. Xibei Licheng had already had two big rains. Xu Hongyu governed well, and the officials in the northwest also tried their best. Although there was still a great fight outside, the people in the northwest still lived a very peaceful and happy life.

The group returned to Licheng without notifying anyone to greet them in advance. By the time the people in Prince Ding's Mansion received the news, the carriage had already arrived at the gate of Prince Ding's Mansion. After dismissing the guards who were startled by the sudden return of the prince, Mo Xiuyao helped Ye Li walk into the mansion, and naturally left other matters to Feng Zhiyao, Qingfeng, Zhuo Jing and others who followed behind him.

"Mother!" Mo Xiaobao's voice came from the inner courtyard through the rustling flower garden. Ye Li had just stood still when she saw Mo Xiaobao, wearing a black brocade dress with silver dragon patterns, running towards her quickly. After only a few months of not seeing him, Mo Xiaobao seemed to have grown a lot taller.

Mo Xiaobao was about to rush to Ye Li and give his beloved mother a warm hug. Mo Xiuyao beside him raised his hand and easily hooked his collar. Unable to move forward, Mo Xiaobao twisted his body unwillingly but could not get rid of his father's hand. He could only hold his mouth and look at Ye Li eagerly, "Mother..."

Ye Li smiled, and Mo Xiuyao brought Mo Xiaobao to him, looking down at him and said, "Your mother is pregnant."

Mo Xiaobao was stunned for a moment, blinking his round black eyes for a long time before he realized what "pregnant" meant. He looked at Ye Li's already conspicuous belly at a loss for a moment, and said hesitantly: "Mom... Xiaobao... Xiaobao will have a brother or sister?" Ye Li nodded, touched her son's head and asked: "Yes, Xiaobao, do you like a brother or a sister?"

Mo Xiaobao frowned, and nodded seriously after a while: "Both my brother and sister like him." Of course, he likes his sister more, but it would be nice if he had a younger brother. He can teach him well, and his younger brother must be much smarter than Leng Xiaodai. Then they can deal with the father together and get their mother back. Well! Didn't the eldest uncle say that brothers united can achieve great things! It would be even better if the younger brother didn't compete with him for mother. Of course, as an elder brother, he is still very generous, and he will give a little bit of his mother to his younger brother.

Ye Li looked at Mo Xiaobao with amusement, his expression changing constantly, nodding and laughing strangely. No one knew what he was thinking about, but he was standing there in a trance. Mo Xiuyao next to him looked at the undisguised smirk on his son's face, and a faint sneer appeared on his lips. You don't have to guess what this kid is thinking about. He raised his hand and flicked Mo Xiaobao's forehead lightly. Mo Xiaobao cried out, holding his forehead with tears in his eyes and staring at Mo Xiuyao accusingly. Mo Xiuyao raised his eyebrows and looked at him lightly: So what if I flicked you?

Wuwu...Mother, father is bullying Xiaobao.

Mo Xiaobao felt very resentful because he was bullied because he was young.

"Okay, mother, check if it hurts?" Seeing her son's pitiful appearance, Ye Li glared at Mo Xiuyao helplessly. She leaned over and rubbed the invisible pain on Mo Xiaobao's forehead and said, "Little Bao, be good, don't cry." In fact, Mo Xiuyao didn't use much strength at all, and Mo Xiaobao didn't feel much pain. What hurt more was his self-esteem. The sense of frustration of being obviously weaker than the opponent and being bullied without the ability to fight back once again deeply hit Mo Xiaobao's self-esteem.

"Brother Yuchen..." Leng Xiaodai, who had short legs, finally followed. He was stunned when he saw Ye Li and Mo Xiuyao, whom he hadn't seen for a long time. He smiled shyly at Ye Li, "Aunt Princess..." The little child ran behind Mo Xiaobao and grabbed a corner of Mo Xiaobao's clothes and refused to let go. Children are always very sensitive. In Licheng, whether it was Leng Junhan, who was less than four years old, or Xu Zhirui, who was almost five years old, they were all afraid of Mo Xiuyao.

Mo Xiaobao realized that he couldn't act pitiful in front of his younger brother and damage his image, so he could only put away his crying expression and glared at Mo Xiuyao with resentment.

Ye Li helplessly led Mo Xiaobao in one hand and Leng Junhan in the other to the hall. Just as they arrived outside the hall, Xu Hongyu, Xu Hongyan, Xu Qingze and others who had just received the news had already rushed out of the study. The two uncles looked at Ye Li and were relieved to see that she was not thin and looked good. Ye Li smiled and said, "Uncle, uncle, Li'er is back."

Xu Hongyu nodded and said in a deep voice, "It's good to be back."

After entering the hall and sitting down, Xu Hongyu asked, "Did you have any trouble on the way? Li'er is..." Although the news of Ye Li's pregnancy was kept secret from the outside world, the Xu family had received the news in advance. Since giving birth to Mo Xiaobao, Ye Li has been silent. Although Shen Yang and Doctor Lin said that everything was normal and natural, and Ye Li and Mo Xiuyao did not have any obsession with the child, but in the eyes of outsiders, it always seemed a little thin for the Dingwang Mansion to have only one child. Now Ye Li is pregnant again, although it is a little wrong afterwards, it is still good news.

Ye Li nodded and said, "Li'er is fine. I'm sorry to have worried you." She also talked about some things in Xiling and Xu Qingbai's injury to reassure everyone. Xu Hongyu saw that Ye Li looked a little tired. He was about to tell her to go back and rest and talk about the past another day when he heard someone outside bowing, "Meet the old lady." It turned out that Mr. Qingyun had learned that Ye Li and Mo Xiuyao had returned, and hurried over.

Everyone stood up to greet him, and Xu Qingze came forward to help Mr. Qingyun in. Ye Li came forward and bowed, "Grandpa, Li'er is back." Mr. Qingyun held her hand and smiled lovingly, "You are pregnant, why are you still so careless? Those rules and etiquette can be saved, do we still care about those empty formalities as a family?"

Knowing that it was grandfather's kindness, Ye Li also stood up and said with a smile: "Grandpa is too cautious, Li'er is not that fragile." Mr. Qingyun looked at her complexion and nodded: "Well... looks good, but you have to take good care of her. The last time you had Yu Chen, it was very dangerous, this time it should be safe and sound." Ye Li and Xu Qingze each helped Mr. Qingyun to sit down in the first seat. Mr. Qingyun is not only highly respected, but also has a very high seniority. Generally, unless it is a very formal occasion, such as privately in the mansion, Mo Xiuyao also sits at the first seat as the grandson-in-law.

"Li'er was just thinking about going to pay respects to grandpa later, why did grandpa come here in person?" Sitting down, Ye Li asked with a smile.

Mr. Qingyun waved his hand and said, "I'm healthy now, so it won't hurt to walk more. I'll come to see you so you can rest assured. You can go back and rest after a while. The welcoming ceremony and the cleaning can be done in a few days. Anyway, outsiders don't know you're back yet." Mr. Qingyun made such an arrangement because he felt sorry for his granddaughter's hard work. When Prince Ding and Princess returned to the city, they had to deal with countless things. Now Ye Li was almost five months pregnant, so it was really not suitable for her to work so hard.

Xu Hongyu frowned and said, "I'm afraid the cleansing banquet and the like will have to be put on hold for the time being. Your Highness should hurry to Da Chu as soon as possible."

Mo Xiuyao raised his eyebrows slightly and asked, "Isn't Brother Xu here to guard the front? I heard that everything is going well. What happened?"

Xu Hongyu took out a letter from his sleeve and said, "This was sent by Leng Haoyu. Your Highness, please take a look. Qingchen is not good at fighting, and he can't help much from the front. Although Nanhou is still as brave as he was in the past, the Beirong and Xiling armies on both sides have already shown signs of withdrawing. But it is enough to hold Fu Feihong Pass. It is absolutely impossible to lead troops to attack the city of Chujing in more than a month. Moreover...it is still unknown whether the defenders of Chujing can hold out for a month and a half."

Mo Xiuyao looked at Leng Haoyu's letter with interest and said with a smile: "Leng Haoyu is indeed worthy of learning business for so many years." Originally, he did plan to go east after returning to the northwest, and of course he would take the rescue of Chu Jing as a gift. Now with Leng Haoyu's letter, it is even more legitimate. But now Ah Li is pregnant... Looking at Ye Li sitting next to him, Mo Xiuyao frowned slightly.

Ye Li took the letter from Mo Xiuyao's hand and looked at it, then smiled and said, "You are right. Leng Haoyu has seized the opportunity to do a good business this time. If Chu Jing is saved, Mo Jingli will have nothing to say in the future. In this case, you can take a rest for two days and then go to Feihong Pass to bring back my brother."

Mo Xiuyao frowned and said softly, "But Ah Li..." Ye Li smiled and said, "Is it more dangerous to take care of him in Li City than to go to the battlefield? It will only be four or five months."

Mo Xiuyao was unhappy, so he took the letter back and put it on the table, saying, "Well, I'm a little tired, so I'll take a few days to rest. Anyway, Chujing won't be in a hurry for a day or two." Everyone present looked at him at the same time. What do you mean Chujing won't be in a hurry for a day or two? Chujing is clearly in danger now, even a quarter of an hour faster is good. Ye Li understood Mo Xiuyao's thoughts, and didn't show any concern, but just smiled faintly.

After chatting for a while, Mr. Qingyun and others urged Ye Li and Mo Xiuyao to go back and rest. Even Mo Xiaobao and Leng Junhan were taken to the study by Mr. Qingyun to be taught. Ye Li and Mo Xiuyao said goodbye to everyone and went back to their own courtyard without any politeness. The servants and maids had already prepared tea and warm water in the courtyard. The people around Ye Li have always been the same over the years. The few maids who followed Ye Li in the past have all married and found their own homes. Only Qingshuang has not married yet and has been with Ye Li all the time. The other two maids have also been with Ye Li all the time. But Ye Li is not in Licheng most of the time, so she goes to take care of Mo Xiaobao.

As soon as they entered the room, Qingshuang came up with the maid who had been waiting on them. Now that she was in her early twenties, Qingshuang was no longer the playful and ignorant little girl. Seeing Ye Li, she couldn't help but smile, "Qingshuang has met the prince and princess. Congratulations to the princess for having a little prince." Ye Li smiled faintly at Qingshuang. She was always a little closer to this little girl who had been with her since she was a child than to others. She smiled faintly, "I have been away for a year. Thank you for your hard work." Qingshuang smiled and said, "These are what I should do. It's not hard work. I don't know how long it has been for me to be able to follow the princess. I have asked someone to prepare warm water. Please have some hot porridge after you wash up. It may be very hot today."

Qingshuang said this sincerely. She went from being an orphan wandering on the streets to being one of the most trusted maids by the side of the Princess Dingguo. Qingshuang felt that no one could be more fortunate than herself. Moreover, she was different from Qingyu and Qingluan. They still had parents and families, but she was an orphan who had long forgotten who her parents were. The princess had always treated her very well. Although she was a maid by the Princess Ding, she was more respectable than some ordinary rich girls in Licheng. Qingshuang felt that even if she never got married, it was worth it to serve the princess. So in the past few years, after Qingyu, Qingluan and even Qingxia got married one after another, Qingshuang turned down several matchmakers who proposed marriage and served Ye Li wholeheartedly. She was the first person to follow Ye Li, and now she is also the person who has followed Ye Li the longest.

Ye Li and Mo Xiu Yao washed up and changed their clothes. As expected, Qing Shuang had prepared the hot porridge that they liked and was nourishing. Qing Shuang had gradually become more calm and thoughtful as she grew older. She was no longer as jumpy and occasionally out of touch as before. Ye Li dismissed the crowd and ate while thinking. Mo Xiu Yao looked at her, raised his eyebrows and asked, "What are you thinking about, Ah Li?"

Ye Li smiled and said, "Nothing, I just suddenly realized that Qingshuang is already over 20 years old." It was she who delayed Qingshuang's marriage for so many years.

Mo Xiuyao said, "Ali wants to arrange a marriage with her, but let's talk about it later." Generally, a maid who is married can no longer serve by one's side. It's not that Mo Xiuyao is reluctant to part with Qingshuang, but Qingshuang has been very considerate in serving Ali in the past few years, and Ali is comfortable and reliable with her. Now that Ali is pregnant, it is time to be careful, so it is not too late to wait until the child is born.

Ye Li nodded and said, "I have to ask Qingshuang's opinion. At the beginning, Qingyu and Qingluan were still assigned to my uncle's family, which can be regarded as a reunion for them. It was for me that she came to Chujing from Yunzhou, and Qingxia is living a pretty good life now. It's just that Qingshuang grew up with me, so it's inevitable that I have to spend more time on her."

Mo Xiuyao thought for a moment and said, "In that case, let her stay with you after you get married. What do you think, A-Jian?"

"Ajin?" Ye Li was startled. Although Ajin had been with Mo Xiuyao since she was a child, Ye Li had never really gotten along with him. Not long after she married Mo Xiuyao, Ajin was sent out by Mo Xiuyao to work, and she was often out and rarely came back. Moreover, Ajin was different from Feng Zhiyao Leng Haoyu who was eloquent. She was silent and people would mistake her for a dumb boy if they were not careful, so Ye Li was not familiar with her.

Mo Xiuyao nodded and said, "Ajin is Uncle Mo's nephew, but his personality is definitely not enough to take over Uncle Mo's job. Uncle Mo's family and Ajin's parents all died because of Prince Ding's Mansion. I let him go out to gain experience these years in the hope that he can be independent so that Uncle Mo can rest assured. Although he can't be as good as Feng San and Leng Er, it's not unfair to that girl."

Ye Li knew, of course. Although they were not familiar with each other, she knew what kind of person Uncle Mo was. Moreover, Ah Jin was the one Mo Xiu Yao grew up with. And considering Mo Xiu Yao's personality, it was very rare for him to say so much about Qing Shuang. He frowned slightly and said, "I'll ask Qing Shuang later. But Ah Jin is not around all year round. Even if Qing Shuang is interested..."

"After the baby is born, it's time to take over Chujing. Ah Li will go to Chujing to pick me up and bring Ah Zhen back together. I will tell Uncle Mo in advance." Mo Xiuyao looked at Ye Li intently and said in a deep voice.

At this point, Ye Li's hands paused while she was eating. In a few days, Mo Xiuyao would set off for Feihong Pass again. Touching her belly helplessly, Ye Li smiled bitterly and said, "The baby is coming at a really bad time." She hadn't seen the baby come in the five or six years of peace, and now she was pregnant in less than a year.

Mo Xiuyao was also somewhat dissatisfied. He raised his head and placed it on her slightly protruding belly, and said in a deep voice, "You love to make trouble just like Mo Xiaobao!"

Ye Li couldn't help but smile. Isn't that right? Just like Mo Xiaobao, they both came out to tease people when things were getting busy.

"I'm leaving, Ah Li won't be willing to let me go?" Mo Xiuyao said with some resentment. It's a pity that Ah Li is pregnant, otherwise he must take Ah Li to Feihong Pass, although he wants to stay with Ah Li. Ye Li looked at him with a smile and asked, "I can't bear to leave, so I won't leave, Prince?" The lives of hundreds of thousands of Mo family soldiers, the lives of millions of Chujing people and defenders, and Mo Xiuyao's years of painstaking arrangements and management. How can so many things be changed by just saying "I can't bear to leave"? Moreover... Ye Li looked at Mo Xiu Yao with a half-smile and said, "Don't you think, Lord, that we have been together for too long?" Ever since she returned to the northwest with Mo Xiaobao in her arms, the longest time they had been apart in the past few years was the few days in Biancheng when she left the camp alone to plot against Zhu Ling.

"Could it be that A'li has begun to dislike her husband?!" Mo Xiuyao said in shock.

Ye Li smiled and said, "I don't really dislike you, but people say... distance creates beauty, and they say a short absence is better than a new marriage... it's not a bad thing to be apart from time to time." Mo Xiuyao looked at her and said, "People also say that a day without seeing each other feels like a long time. I've already started to miss Ah Li before we even parted."

Ye Li smiled and said, "Then you should come back soon, or I will come to you after I give birth to the baby?"

Mo Xiuyao thought for a moment and said seriously, "I will come back soon, before Ah Li gives birth to the baby."

"Okay, I'll wait for you." Ye Liqian said with a smile.

Mo Xiuyao stretched out his hands and held her in his arms, whispering: "Ah Li, I'm sorry." Ye Li was slightly startled, and smiled softly: "What's wrong?" Mo Xiuyao sighed and said: "You are pregnant, and I can't be with you."

Ye Li rolled her eyes and smiled, "What's the big deal? Isn't this an important matter? You're not just running around for nothing?" Getting up from Mo Xiuyao's arms, Ye Li looked at him and said seriously, "I'm pregnant, so I naturally hope you can stay with me until the baby is born. But you have to govern your country. If you abandon hundreds of thousands of troops for me, and abandon the garrison and civilians who are waiting for you in Chujing, are you still the Mo Xiuyao I love?"

Hearing her words, Mo Xiuyao's eyes lit up, "Ali..."

Ye Li helplessly looked at someone's happy and unsatisfied expression. She was indeed not the kind of person who liked to talk about love all the time, but she shouldn't let him show such a surprised look, right? This made Ye Li secretly reflect on herself, could it be that she really ignored him on weekdays?

"Come back soon, Xiaobao and I will miss you." Ye Li said softly.

Mo Xiuyao was very satisfied. He refilled his porridge and ate it with relish.

After returning, Mo Xiuyao only rested for three days before preparing to leave for Feihong Pass again. Even this time, except for a few people in Prince Ding's mansion, most people in Licheng didn't know that Prince Ding and the Princess had returned. Of course, few people knew that she was pregnant.

Outside of Licheng, Mo Xiuyao only brought Feng Zhiyao and Yun Ting, and the three of them traveled lightly to Feihong Pass. Although Mo Xiuyao did not allow it, Ye Li still followed Xu Qingze to see them off. Looking at Ye Li getting off the car wearing a thick cloak, Mo Xiuyao couldn't help but frowned and stepped forward to hold her cloak tighter, saying softly: "I told you not to send you out of the city, the weather is so cold now. Go back quickly."

Ye Li nodded and smiled, "I know, I'll go back after you leave. Be careful on the battlefield." She knew that she was there to see him off, so Mo Xiuyao was actually happy, but he was just worried that he would catch a cold. Her health was not bad, and she didn't suffer much during the two months of pregnancy.

Mo Xiuyao nodded, looked at Ye Li reluctantly, then turned to Xu Qingze and said, "I'll trouble you guys about Licheng and Ah Li."

Xu Qingze's expression was always indifferent, and he nodded to indicate his agreement. Although Xu Qingze was a man of few words, he always completed the things he promised to do meticulously, and Mo Xiuyao was relieved. Although he knew that Ah Li was much safer than following him to the battlefield under the protection of the Xu family and Prince Ding's mansion, he always felt uneasy when he didn't put her in front of him.

After taking one last look at Ye Li, Mo Xiuyao didn't hesitate any longer and quickly got on his horse, then rode off into the distance.

Watching their figures disappear from sight, Qingshuang said softly: "Princess, it's very cold outside. Let's go back early so as not to worry the prince."

Ye Li nodded, sighed softly and said, "Let's go back."