As soon as Yan Qingqing came out of the palace, she heard from her servants that Li Xiangjian had returned. Overjoyed, Yan Qingqing didn't care about anything else and immediately ordered a carriage to be driven back to Mingzhao Prefecture.
When Yan Qingqing arrived home, she found Li Xiang'an and his siblings all there, surrounding Li Xiangjian and asking him a barrage of questions.
Li Xiangyang, with his sharp eyes, noticed that Yan Qingqing had returned, so he interrupted his and his siblings' conversation and called out to Yan Qingqing, "Mother is back."
Everyone quickly turned around, especially Li Xiangjian, who hadn't seen Yan Qingqing for two years and saw that his mother was elegant and graceful in every gesture.
Not only that, his mother seems to be aging in reverse, looking younger and younger.
I'm afraid that if I stood next to my mother, people would mistake us for being the same age.
Yan Qingqing looked at the long scar on Li Xiangjian's face, her eyes reddening, and said, "Sanlang is back."
Li Xiangjian's heart warmed at the sound of "Sanlang" from Yan Qingqing. He immediately knelt down and kowtowed deeply to her, saying in a choked voice, "Yes, Mother, your unfilial son Sanlang has returned."
Yan Qingqing quickly stepped forward and pulled him up, then touched the scar between his eyebrows and said softly, "It's good that you're safe, it's good that you're safe."
Seeing Yan Qingqing's sadness, Yuan Huiniang quickly comforted her, saying, "Mother, it's a good thing that Third Brother is coming home to visit his family. Our family can finally be reunited. You should be happy."
It's a pity my husband is far away in our hometown of Chengyang, otherwise our whole family would be together.
Yan Qingqing smiled and said, "I'm happy, I should be happy. Mother is really getting old. I can't help but get excited when I see the third son. Come on! Let's go inside and talk."
Li Xiangjian and the others then followed Yan Qingqing into the house.
Yan Qingqing asked Li Xiangjian some questions about the battlefield, and Li Xiangjian answered them one by one.
When asked about the scar between Li Xiangjian's eyebrows, Li Xiangjian replied nonchalantly, "This is one of my son's achievements."
When the city was attacked, the most valiant warrior under the command of the Governor came with a few men to provoke his son.
They wanted to capture me and take me to Beiliang to claim credit and rewards, but I traded my injuries for my life and killed that fierce warrior with a single spear thrust. Those people were frightened and dared not provoke me again.
"My head is worth even more now; the Governor of Northern Liang has already offered ten thousand taels of gold."
Li Xiangjian spoke lightly, but everyone could imagine how dangerous the battlefield was.
Yuan Huiniang looked at Li Xiangjian with some worry and said, "Third brother, it doesn't matter that your broken statue makes you look more majestic and imposing, but the young lady may not think so."
Your second brother is already engaged, and he will be getting married no later than next year.
Even the Moon Goddess has been betrothed to someone else. You and your second brother are twins, so you can't be too far apart in age.
Tomorrow, my sister-in-law will go out and look around, to see if there are any eligible young ladies suitable for you.
As the eldest sister-in-law, Yuan Huiniang officially began urging marriage after everyone had finished asking their questions.
Li Xiangjian felt a little uncomfortable looking at Yuan Huiniang. Although he had told plenty of dirty jokes with those roughnecks in the army camp, he was really reserved in front of his own mother and sister-in-law.
Li Xiangjian still has his old habit from home: he scratches his head when he gets nervous.
Yan Qingqing smiled as she watched him scratch his head and said, "Your sister-in-law is doing this for your own good. You're an adult now, and we have our own family rules."
If a suitable person comes along, it would be good to settle down as soon as possible. Of course, I always adhere to the principle of freedom of marriage.
If you really don't have a mother you like, we won't force you.
Li Xiangjian breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.
Since Li Xiangjian was returning, Yan Qingqing instructed Yuan Huiniang to have the kitchen prepare some of Li Xiangjian's favorite dishes so that everyone could have a reunion dinner to welcome him back.
After Yuan Huiniang left, Yan Qingqing asked the Li siblings to go home first. She had some things to discuss with Li Xiangjian alone.
After everyone left, Yan Qingqing asked directly, "How many days have you been back?"
Li Xiangjian was taken aback for a moment upon hearing this, then laughed and said, "It seems nothing can be hidden from Mother. I've been in the capital for seven or eight days. How did you know?"
Yan Qingqing smiled and said, "Although I have never been to the border, I don't know exactly how long the journey will take."
But you just said that you and the An Du King of Bei Liang set off at the same time.
They were a large contingent, carrying tribute gifts, so their journey was relatively slower than yours, but they had already entered the capital.
You traveled alone, yet you were even slower than him. If something hadn't happened on the way, you would have arrived in the capital long ago.
Upon hearing this, Li Xiangjian could only feel admiration for Yan Qingqing. His mother was not only meticulous and thoughtful, but also considered things very comprehensively, which was something he could not compare to.
So Li Xiangjian showered Yan Qingqing with compliments, and Yan Qingqing smiled helplessly, "Alright, stop with the nonsense. Tell me, what have you been up to these past few days?"
Li Xiangjian glanced outside before whispering, "Marshal Huang thinks that the Governor's visit to the capital this time is definitely not just for peace talks. After all, we have only taken three cities from Beiliang, and it is far from the time for them to raise their flags and surrender."
So Marshal Huang secretly ordered me to lead a group of men to garrison outside the city, so that they could provide timely reinforcements if anything happened.
However, this constitutes unauthorized troop deployment, and if reported, the perpetrator would be beheaded.
Therefore, Marshal Huang ordered me to act in secret.
These past few days I've been settling these brothers from the military camp outside the city.
Yan Qingqing nodded upon hearing this, agreeing that it was good that Li Xiangjian and his team acted meticulously.
However, she needed to inform Xiao Mochen about this first, otherwise, once someone set their sights on her, she wouldn't be able to clear her name no matter what.
Li Xiangjian agreed with Yan Qingqing's idea. Marshal Huang had also specifically instructed him before they came that it would be best to send a letter to the emperor first.
Even if it doesn't reach the emperor, it's the same as telling the crown prince.
It's wonderful that his mother is now willing to help.
After the mother and son finished discussing the important matter, Yan Qingqing had someone take Li Xiangjian to rest.
Although he spent most of his time in the military camp and had never been to the capital, there was a courtyard for Li Xiangjian in Mingzhao Prefecture, which Yan Qingqing had prepared long ago.
Although no one lived in Li Xiangjian's courtyard, it was kept neat and tidy by the servants, showing that they had not neglected it at all.
Furthermore, various weapons were displayed in Li Xiangjian's room.
These were all specially selected by Yan Qingqing from the gifts given by the aristocratic families.
Li Xiangjian stroked the weapons with his hands, and for a moment he really couldn't put them down.
The next day, when Yan Qingqing went to the East Palace to give a lesson, she told Xiao Mochen about Li Xiangjian's return.
And when no one was around, he briefly told Xiao Mochen about what Marshal Huang had told Li Xiangjian.
After listening, Xiao Mochen nodded and told Yan Qingqing not to worry, he would take care of things with the emperor.
However, since this King Andu had grand ambitions, Xiao Mochen felt it was indeed time for him to meet him.
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