In the 1960s,
The next day, Tao Yuan walked into the room where the Panther King was imprisoned again. The Panther King was thrown into a corner, and his hands and feet were tied just in case.
Hearing the voice, Panthera King opened his eyes with difficulty. Seeing that it was Tao Yuan, his heart shrank suddenly because he didn't know what he had said yesterday.
Tao Yuan looked at the burly man, who looked so pitiful as he curled up in the corner. It was hard to imagine that he was the famous bandit leader, the Mountain Armor King.
"I'm here to inform you that by now, your mother, your wife, your children, and those bandits in the city should all have been arrested."
"Being a bandit is my business! It has nothing to do with them, they are innocent. There is no collective punishment in the current law, you can't just arrest good people!" Panther King said excitedly.
"You actually understand the law?" Tao Yuan wanted to laugh out loud. "You, a bandit leader, actually broke the law with me? This is the funniest joke I've ever heard. That's human nature, that's how it is. A bandit who disregards the law and regards human life as worthless, actually breaks the law when his own family needs protection."
The smile on Tao Yuan's face suddenly disappeared. He looked at him coldly and said, "Your relatives are human beings. Are those who were brutally killed by you not human beings? Besides, you made it very clear yesterday whether they were innocent or not. Your mother was a bandit when she was young. She killed as many people as you did. How can she enjoy her old age with peace of mind? Your son was able to kill people at the age of twelve or thirteen, and you were quite proud of it. Now he is innocent again?"
Shanjia Wang closed his eyes, feeling an unprecedented despair. He was born a bandit, having started killing people at a young age. He knew this wouldn't end well. But he was willing to endure any outcome, just wanting his mother, wife, and children to live a normal life. If he had known this would happen, he shouldn't have let his wife and children get involved.
Tao Yuan walked closer, looked down at him and said, "Those innocent souls you killed asked me to avenge them. None of you bandits will have a good life. Your mother, your wife and your children will not have a good end. I have prepared some good things for them. I will have someone secretly give them some, making them wish they were dead but unable to live. I will also have someone give it to you, so that you can also experience the pain they will have to endure in the future."
"You... I never thought you could be so cruel!" The Panther King didn't even have the strength to grit his teeth. For the first time in his life, he felt the agony of powerlessness, at the mercy of others. He wasn't afraid of death; even if the sword fell, he wouldn't blink. But for his mother, wife, and children, he would rather die a thousand times, ten thousand times, just to give them a good end.
"I love nothing more than fighting violence with violence and evil with evil. If you don't let you experience it firsthand, how will you understand the pain of others?"
Tao Yuan turned around, strode out, and said to the soldiers guarding outside, "Hang him on a big tree at the foot of the mountain and see how many bandits will come to you. If you can, take him. You won't have to waste your energy searching for him in the mountains."
"Yes!" The soldier walked into the house and dragged the Panther King out.
Tao Yuan walked out of the temple, wanting to find He Liyuan, when Ning Haobo walked in. Tao Yuan, as usual, ignored his presence and prepared to walk straight past him.
"Ruqing." Ning Haobo suddenly called out.
Tao Yuan looked at him with some surprise. He actually called him that. What was wrong with him?
"I..." Ning Haobo didn't know what he wanted to say, but he suddenly called out impulsively. He didn't know if it was because of the dream, but he couldn't help but think of him these past two days. But he felt that he still loved Wen Han. The thought of two people in his heart at the same time made him extremely painful and entangled.
Seeing that he was hesitant and seemed to be hesitant to say something, Tao Yuan lost his patience and left.
Ning Haobo turned around and looked at his back, feeling a mixture of emotions. He couldn't even tell if he was envious of He Liyuan or if he truly wanted to live with him.
He Liyuan was writing a report in the tent. Tao Yuan walked over to sit next to him, resting his head on his shoulder and saying, "After we capture all the bandits and those archaeologists go into the mountains, we can go back, right?"
"Well, do you miss home?" He Liyuan turned his head and touched his forehead with his face.
"One thing is, grandma and mom must miss us, and we're deep in the mountains, and we can't even call them or anything."
"We'll be able to return soon. The military district sent a telegram saying that the archaeologists are on their way. We're told to capture all the bandits as quickly as possible and kill any who put up a strong resistance. There's no need to waste time with them. Other troops will arrive to escort the artifacts. Our combat unit's mission will be complete once they arrive."
Tao Yuan nodded and said, "I still need to go pick some herbs to bring back. I need to hurry up and pick them before they get here."
Tao Yuan not only collected medicinal herbs, but also some poisonous herbs to take back, because some of the ingredients in the herbs could be used to cure diseases if used properly.
Tao Yuan had already discussed his desire to grow herbs with the dean before arriving. Wild herbs are certainly good, but some rare herbs can't meet demand. If more people want to use good medicines, they need more raw materials.
The dean supported his idea and said that he would discuss it in detail with the pharmaceutical bureau to work out a plan for growing herbs.
The traps set by Tao Yuan's soldiers actually caught a few people who were willing to die. They probably thought they were masters of setting traps, and they didn't care about the traps Tao Yuan had set. As a result, all of them never returned, and no one dared to come again.
Following the instructions of the Panther King, they successfully found the cultural relics and eliminated the danger. They only had to wait for the archaeologists to come and transport the cultural relics away.
The two squadrons' missions have been completed. After handing over to the troops escorting the cultural relics, they are ready to return.
The soldiers were already marching to the front, and He Liyuan helped Tao Yuan slowly down the mountain. When they reached the bottom of the mountain, He Liyuan wanted to carry him on his back. This time, Tao Yuan did not refuse and immediately lay on his back, letting him carry him.
Tao Yuan slept almost the entire way back to the Ducheng Military Region. He Liyuan thought he was tired from collecting herbs, so he carefully held him in his arms, trying to make him sleep more comfortably.
After returning to the military region, Tao Yuan went home first, while He Liyuan still had to make a report. Those cultural relics were extremely important. They had successfully wiped out all the bandits and even caught some who had infiltrated the civilian population and disguised themselves as good people. This was a great achievement.
Old Mrs. He and Su Lan were waiting in the yard. When they heard the sound of the car stopping, Su Lan immediately helped Old Mrs. He walk towards the gate.
"Ruqing!" Seeing Tao Yuan get off the car, Su Lan asked the maid to support the old lady, and she walked quickly towards Tao Yuan, holding his hand and said, "You're finally back. You must have suffered a lot in the mountains, right?"
"Mom, grandma, I'm back." Tao Yuan looked at them with a smile.
"I'm glad you're back safely." Old Mrs. He nodded and said, "Go inside and rest quickly. You must be exhausted after such a long car ride."
"I slept all the way back. Brother Liyuan held me the whole time, so I wasn't very tired." Tao Yuan followed them and walked slowly inside.
"How can you sleep well when the car is so rocking? You, kid, only know how to comfort us." Su Lan took Tao Yuan's hand and said, "Knowing you'll be back today, I asked the kitchen to prepare meals for you. Eat something first, then take a rest, and then go back to your room and have a good sleep. There's nothing good to eat or a good place to stay on the mountain. Look at how thin you've become."
"You've lost weight, haven't you?" Old Mrs. He said distressedly. "When you come back, you should take good care of yourself and gain some weight back."
Tao Yuan touched his stomach and said, "It's time to nourish yourself."
Tao Yuan sat down at the dining table. Old Mrs. He and Su Lan sat on both sides, watching him eat.
"It's inconvenient to deliver anything in the deep mountains. Those soldiers eat military rations, and you definitely can't get used to it. Even if you can cook some noodles and rice yourself, there are no good dishes to eat, only bland soup. You must be greedy, right?" Su Lan looked at him and said.
"The food is not bad. At first, the militia gave us a few sheep, but the soldiers didn't know how to cook them. The smell was too strong and I couldn't get used to it. Later, I simply made roasted whole lamb myself. The soldiers loved it, so I bought it with my own money and cooked it for them. Every one or two days, we can have roasted lamb and lamb soup, and occasionally chicken and pork. There is a lot of game in the mountains, such as pheasants and wild boars. Basically, you can catch them if you want. I also made two meals of snake meat. I also brought back a lot of matsutake mushrooms and Ganoderma lucidum. The matsutake mushrooms are roasted over charcoal and sprinkled with a little seasoning. It is so fragrant and delicious. I will make it for you tomorrow."
Su Lan and Old Lady He looked at each other, patted Tao Yuan's hand and said, "We can eat anytime. You should take a good rest for a few days and recover your energy first."
Tao Yuan nodded. "It's time to have a good rest. I was thinking of going to the hospital to work more often after I come back, but that's not possible for now. I might also have to talk to the dean and tell him that I might have to go to the doctor less often in the next few months, so he can be mentally prepared."
"How many months?" Su Lan was puzzled at first, then asked worriedly, "Are you feeling unwell?"
"It's not that I'm uncomfortable." Tao Yuan shook his head and said, "I'm pregnant, and my belly has grown. I definitely need to rest more."
"You, what did you say?!" Su Lan widened her eyes, afraid that she had heard it wrong.
"I said I'm pregnant." Tao Yuan said calmly, "I checked myself, I'm in good health, the baby is fine too, and I just need to rest more."
"Are you pregnant?!" Su Lan looked at Mrs. He and asked her for confirmation, "Mom, did Ruqing say he's pregnant? Am I dreaming?!"
"Okay, that's what I think." Old Mrs. He also wondered if she was dreaming.
"Grandma, Mom, I'm really pregnant, you are not dreaming." Tao Yuan said.
"I'm going to be a grandmother? I'm going to be a grandmother! I'll call Huaimin and tell him the good news!" Su Lan ran to the living room excitedly.
"Thanks to Buddha, I can actually see my great-grandson. Amitabha, thank you Buddha!" Old Mrs. He clasped her hands together and chanted the Buddha's name continuously.
"Old He, your He Liyuan has accomplished another great feat this time!" the brigade commander said to He Huaimin. "Your daughter-in-law also played a huge role in our successful discovery of the cultural relics and the arrest of the bandits who had infiltrated the civilian population."
"This is a perfect example of a husband and wife working together to achieve great things."
"Isn't it? We didn't expect that they could complete the mission of suppressing the bandits so quickly."
"Being fast isn't the most important thing. The key is that no soldiers died! I've always thought that if those soldiers could come back alive after every battle and mission, that would be the greatest blessing!"
"Yes..." The brigade commander nodded, feeling very emotional.
When He Huaimin heard them praising his son and daughter-in-law, although his face was calm, he was still very happy in his heart.
"Report!" A soldier walked to the door and said, "Political Commissar He, your family is calling."
"Did you tell me what happened?" He Huaimin asked.
"No, I just told you to answer the phone quickly. He sounded very anxious," the soldier replied.
"Could something have happened? Go and pick it up quickly," said the brigade commander.
He Huaimin strode out.
"Hello, it's me." He Huaimin picked up the phone and said.
"What, really?!" He Huaimin said with eyes wide open, "Great! Okay, okay, I got it, just inform them. Let's talk about it when I get back, I'm in a meeting here, okay."
"How is it? Nothing happened at home, right?" The brigade commander looked at He Huaimin's face, and he seemed quite happy, not like anything serious had happened.
"My daughter-in-law is pregnant." He Huaimin couldn't hide the smile in his eyes. He sat down and said, "My wife didn't even wait for me to go back to tell me. She even called me. I'm so sorry for wasting everyone's time."
"You old boy! You must be feeling happy, right? But you still pretend to be so serious!" The person next to him hit him.
"Congratulations, Lao He. You're already a grandfather now. We can't catch up with you."
"You, your father got ahead of me, and your grandfather got ahead of me. How come you are so lucky?"
"This is a big happy event, you have to treat us to a drink!"
"Don't worry, you will have plenty of wine. I guarantee you will drink enough." He Huaimin said proudly.
When He Liyuan returned home that evening, it was already quite late. He saw his family, except for Tao Yuan, all chatting excitedly. He was quite confused, wondering what was wrong with them today? Why were they still not sleeping so late? Even if they came back today, there was no need to be so happy, right?
"Are you back?" Su Lan said with a smile, "We are discussing how to hold a wedding for you and Ruqing. When Ruqing came in, you were still unconscious and we didn't have a wedding for you. Now we have to make good preparations and make it up to you."
"Oh, okay." He Liyuan nodded and said, "Just prepare it, Ruqing and I will be in charge of the attendance."
"Aren't we the ones preparing? Can we still count on you to prepare?" Su Lan rolled her eyes at him and said, "You go to sleep. We'll be going to sleep soon too. We still have things to discuss about the wedding. We'll talk about it slowly during the day."
"Then I'll go back to my room and sleep." He Liyuan just sat down and stood up again. He also wanted to go back to his room to rest early.
"Ruqing is pregnant and needs more rest. Be gentle and don't wake him up." Su Lan instructed.
"What?" He Liyuan looked at his mother and stopped moving immediately after taking a step forward.
"I told you to be gentle and not wake Ruqing up." Su Lan said again.
"No, what happened to Ruqing?"
"I said she's pregnant." Su Lan looked at him, and seeing his stunned expression, she asked doubtfully, "Don't you know? Didn't Ruqing tell you?"
He Liyuan didn't answer and strode back to the room.
Su Lan said to him loudly, "Let him sleep well and don't wake him up."
Being in the mountains is naturally not as comfortable as being at home. Although Tao Yuan didn't feel very tired at first, as soon as he lay down on the bed and smelled the fragrance of the quilt that had just been dried in the sun, he was surrounded by a comfortable feeling and fell asleep quickly.
He Liyuan cautiously entered the room, took a quick shower in the bathroom, changed into pajamas, threw back the covers, and got into bed. He gently hugged Tao Yuan from behind, being careful not to wake him, and then placed his large palm on Tao Yuan's lower abdomen.
He Liyuan thought to himself, it's amazing that their child is already here. He wondered if the little thing in his belly had taken shape. It must be very hard for him to wait for his belly to grow bigger day by day.
He Liyuan kissed the top of Tao Yuan's head, thinking that he would only let him give birth this once and never again.
The whole family knew Tao Yuan was pregnant, with He Liyuan being the last to find out. Even his uncles, who were assigned to other places, knew about it before him. Tao Yuan only discovered she was pregnant the day before she returned home. She didn't want to worry him, so she kept it to herself, thinking he'd know after she returned. Su Lan, assuming he already knew, informed everyone she should, except for him, the soon-to-be father.
When Tao Yuan woke up, it was almost noon. He Liyuan went to the army early in the morning. He was going to discuss vacation arrangements with the captain because he and Tao Yuan were going to have a wedding.
Su Lan was making a guest list in the living room so she could send out the wedding invitations first. When she saw Tao Yuan come out, she smiled and said, "Are you awake? Are you hungry?"
"A little." Tao Yuan touched his belly.
"Eat something first, then call your grandfather and father and tell them that your father and I will go there tomorrow to discuss the wedding with them." Su Lan said.
"Okay." Tao Yuan nodded, then asked, "Did Brother Liyuan come back last night?"
"I'm back." Su Lan said, "From the look on his face, does he know you're pregnant?"
"I didn't have time to tell him." Tao Yuan said with a smile.
"No wonder. Seeing that he looked unresponsive, I guessed that you hadn't told him yet." Su Lan shook her head. Thinking of He Liyuan's reaction, it was really a bit funny.
After breakfast, Tao Yuan was about to call his father, but then he thought about it and felt that he hadn't been home for a long time, so he decided to go back.
"Mom, I'm going to go back and stay overnight. When you and Dad come over tomorrow, I'll come back with you." Tao Yuan said.
"That's fine." Su Lan nodded and said, "You haven't been home for a long time. It's time to go back and see your grandfather and your father. I'll have the driver take you there later. Bring some of the things you brought back from the mountains back to your grandfather and your father. After all, you picked them with your own hands, and they are a token of your love."
"Okay, then I'll go prepare it." Tao Yuan stood up and prepared the things to take back to her mother's home.
Old Master Yue and his father-in-law already knew about Tao Yuan's pregnancy. After Su Lan finished calling He Huaimin, she called him and told them about Tao Yuan's pregnancy. However, they didn't know that Tao Yuan and He Liyuan were going to have a wedding. Su Lan and the others talked about it in the evening and decided to hold the wedding ceremony.
Tao Yuan wanted to give them a surprise, so he went back without telling them in advance.
When Grandpa Yue and his father-in-law saw him back, they were naturally very happy and immediately ordered the kitchen to prepare his favorite dishes. Then they took him to sit down and asked about his health and whether he felt any discomfort after the pregnancy.
Tao Yuan answered their questions one by one, and then told them about life in the mountains and what he could say about suppressing bandits.
Old Master Yue and his father-in-law were truly relieved this time. They had originally gone there to celebrate the wedding, a fake marriage in name only. But then Tao Yuan cured He Liyuan, and neither of them wanted to divorce, but they were still a little worried.
Tao Yuan had come back a few times before and told them that He Liyuan treated him very well and asked them to rest assured. But they still couldn't help but worry that He Liyuan would miss his ex-fiancée and not be able to live a good life with Tao Yuan. Now that they knew Tao Yuan was pregnant, and heard him say that He Liyuan had no feelings for his ex-fiancée at all and that they had only met a few times before, they finally felt relieved.
"If you want to eat something or need anything, just call home. No matter how hard it is to find, Dad will find a way to get it for you." said the father-in-law.
"I understand, Dad. If I need anything, I will definitely tell you." Tao Yuan said, "By the way, I'm staying at home tonight. My parents-in-law will come over tomorrow to discuss the wedding with you."
"Wedding?" Father-in-law and Old Man Yue exchanged a glance, then looked at Tao Yuan and said, "Does the He family want to help you and Li Yuan hold a wedding ceremony?"
"Yes." Tao Yuan nodded. "My mother-in-law said that we should just do it together. We can book the largest restaurant in the capital and invite everyone we want from both families."
"That's a good idea." Father-in-law said to Old Man Yue, "We've always regretted not being able to hold a grand banquet, but marrying Ruqing off in such a hurry. There must be people gossiping behind her back. Let's take this opportunity to join forces with the He family and hold a grand banquet. Invite all our relatives and friends to have a good meal and have a lively time."
Old Master Yue naturally agreed very much. "Send a telegram to Rufeng and ask him to come back quickly to attend Ruqing's wedding."
"Okay, I'll go right away."
Both the Yue and He families were wealthy. The Yue family was already a major merchant, so they had plenty of money. With the tonic formulas Tao Yuan had given them, they made even more money. The He family had long been a renowned and wealthy family, with enough ancestral wealth to last several generations. Old Madam He and Su Lan, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, were also daughters of wealthy families. Their dowries alone were enough to support two or three generations.
Both families were well-off, and they could not mistreat their own children, especially since Tao Yuan was pregnant. So they planned a grand wedding, a lavish one, to let all their relatives and friends know that their child would have many good years ahead of her.
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