Yuan Xi hurriedly chased after him, and just as he turned to the back of the house, he saw Xiao Du leaning against a locust tree and vomiting continuously. His face was as pale as paper, and he almost vomited out all the bile.

He heard footsteps behind him. He turned around and saw Yuan Xi standing behind him with eyes wide open. He felt that he looked quite ferocious. He quickly turned around, took out a handkerchief and wiped his mouth, then turned away again and smiled apologetically.

Seeing him like this, Yuan Xi felt distressed and blamed herself. As soon as she opened her mouth, tears fell out. She said, "Since you can't eat, why do you force yourself?"

Xiao Du hated to see her cry, so he walked quickly to her side and said softly, "Since you made it especially for me, how can I not eat it?" Seeing that Yuan Xi's face was full of self-blame, he pulled her into his arms again, gently wiped the tears from her face with the corner of his sleeve, and said, "It's not your fault, it's me..." He suddenly couldn't continue, and didn't know how to explain this to her.

Yuan Xi buried her face in his arms, tears streaming down her face. She couldn't tell what kind of emotion this was. She just felt that he was being so affectionate but she didn't know how to respond. She felt depressed and said, "I'm sorry. I said I would cook for you when I didn't know anything, and I made you suffer like this."

Xiao Du sighed softly, held her hand, and said, "Don't cry. If you really feel guilty, just accompany me to a place as compensation, okay?"

Yuan Xi looked up blankly, not knowing what he meant. Xiao Du smiled mysteriously, took her back to the courtyard, and told the maids to rest in the manor, saying that he and his wife would be back later. This made several people's imaginations run wild, and they secretly exchanged meaningful glances with each other.

Xiao Du, however, did not take it seriously. He just led Yuan Xi along the path beside the farm and walked slowly until they came to the foot of a small hill.

The forest was dense and the mountain was winding. The two of them walked slowly up the stone steps. The air smelled very comfortable after the rain, and the sun shone on the green leaves with water droplets hanging on them. Insects chirped and birds chirped in their ears. Yuan Xi didn't know where they were going, but she thought it would be good to just follow him and keep going.

The two of them walked for a long time before they reached the top of the mountain. Yuan Xi had never climbed a mountain for such a long time in her life. She was already panting with sweat on her forehead. Xiao Du glanced at her and smiled, "You're tired after just climbing for a while. You won't ask me to carry you down the mountain later, will you?"

Yuan Xi glared at him with a red face. Xiao Du thought she looked cute and adorable, so he held her in his arms, rested his chin on the top of her head, and said softly, "I'm willing to carry you on my back for the rest of my life."

Yuan Xi felt a tingling sensation in her heart, and her face turned even redder, so she buried her head in his arms and dared not raise it. However, Xiao Du lifted her face, pointed forward, and said, "Look!"

Yuan Xi turned around and realized that from the top of the mountain, he could see brilliant evening clouds piling up in the sky, green mountain ridges faintly standing out, golden reeds waving in the wind below, and green fields lined up in neat rows, it was a vast world.

The wind on the top of the mountain was very refreshing, and it quickly blew away the slippery sweat stains on her body, leaving her with a sense of ease and comfort she had never experienced before. Yuan Xi stared blankly at everything in front of her, and suddenly found it so beautiful that she even had the urge to cry.

Xiao Du led her to sit on a big rock and stared at the scenery in front of him in a trance. After a while, he slowly said, "Only when you look at the capital from this angle does it look most like the scenery of the border."

Yuan Xi was stunned for a moment, but saw that his eyes were a little dazed, as if he had been immersed in distant memories. He said, "My father took me to the northwest border when I was sixteen. At first, I couldn't adapt to the hardships there, and I always wanted to sneak away to the capital. Later, my father tied me to the city wall, pointed to the soldiers of the Xiao family army who were training, and told me: This is my responsibility. If I want to escape, he would rather kill me here now, at least I died on the battlefield."

The corners of his lips curled up slightly, as if he was laughing at his own naivety, and he continued, "Later, I trained with the Xiao family army. Two years later, I led the army myself and killed 100,000 people and forced them to retreat a hundred miles outside the border. At that moment, I realized the honor and pride of being a man who can fight on the battlefield, kill the enemy and defend the country. Later, I fell in love with the battlefield, fell in love with listening to the horns and drums, and also loved standing on the city wall overlooking the town inside the pass. I said to myself: That is the territory I want to protect all my life."

Yuan Xi heard his tone gradually become more excited, and there was a hint of pride on his face. Suddenly, she realized that he was the most real him at this moment. But why... She gently leaned her head on his shoulder, her heart full of doubts.

Xiao Du saw the doubts in her heart, and his face gradually turned cold. A trace of pain suddenly penetrated into him, and he had to use a lot of strength to control himself and maintain a normal tone. "Until two years ago, I led 50,000 troops to defend Pingdu Pass. Everything was going very smoothly. I was confident that I could counterattack in just a few days, defeat Mu Rong's cavalry, and drive them back to the grassland. However, the supplies that should have been transported from the capital never arrived. We held on for five days. The soldiers were so hungry that they didn’t even have the strength to stand for a while. Outside the city, there were the Mu Rong Iron Cavalry who were always watching us. As long as we were trapped to death, they could easily break through Pingdu Pass and pass through Funing Road. By then, half of the Central Plains would be in danger, not to mention the unarmed civilians in several cities behind Pingdu Pass. We persisted until the sixth day. There was no more food to be found in the city. Even I was so hungry that I almost fainted. At this time, someone handed me a plate of meat..."

Yuan Xi was about to ask why there was still flesh, when she suddenly found that his body began to tremble. He held her hand tightly, as if trying to draw some warmth from her body, before he had the courage to continue, "That is the flesh of dead soldiers, the flesh of brothers who once fought with us. It was with this flesh that we were able to hold the city gate and hold out until the reinforcements arrived..." He could no longer speak, and only closed his eyes in pain, and two lines of tears flowed from his usually resolute face.

Yuan Xi looked at him in shock, and then she realized that she was also in tears. Suddenly she remembered what he once said: Only those who have seen irreparable cruelty have the right to cry. Until this moment, she understood what he had been through and why he was so resistant to eating red meat. She didn't know what to say, and felt that all words were pale and powerless, so she hugged him with all her strength, wanting to rescue him from the abyss of pain. But she still didn't understand why such a tragedy happened.

Xiao Du took a long time to calm down, and continued: "Later I learned that the reputation of the Xiao Family Army in the northwest and the military power in my hands had made many people in the court jealous. Some people wanted to use that battle to deplete the strength of the Xiao Family Army, and even if I was not exhausted to death in Pingdu Pass, I would be punished if the city gate was lost. Later, I asked the current emperor to resign, willing to give up all military posts, only keep the title, and never set foot on the border again. The Xiao Family Army was leaderless and became a piece of fat meat that everyone wanted to eat but couldn't. But as long as there are foreign enemies coveting it, no one dared to touch the Xiao Family Army."

Yuan Xi was furious and helpless after hearing this. This was cruelty and ugliness that she would never understand. Xiao Du let out a breath and after saying all this, he seemed to have unloaded a heavy burden.

At this moment, the red sun in front of them was gradually setting in the west. The rosy glow in the sky made their faces red. Xiao Du held her hand tightly and said, "If I have the chance, I really want to take you to see the sunset at the border. Outside the border is the desert. When the sun sets, it will make every grain of sand flash with golden light. It is a beautiful scenery that you will never see in the capital. The wind at the border is stronger than here, and the water is colder than here, but..." But I miss there very much.

He slowly closed his eyes, and thought back to the day when he left the city, when he was riding at the end of the team. He turned around to take a last look at the setting sun shining on the towering city walls, the eagles flying across the vast sky, and the wind of guarding the border hanging on his face like a knife. He turned around and fiercely wiped away the hot tears from the corners of his eyes, knowing that he would never be able to come back.

From now on, the wars, the battles in the desert and the long rivers only remain in my dreams.

A breeze blew by, and he felt a pair of hands gently caressing his face, as if trying to heal all the pain in his heart. He opened his eyes and found Yuan Xi looking up at him with bright and warm eyes. She said, "My husband is a great hero. No matter where we are, I will be proud of you."

A warm current surged in Xiao Du's heart, warmly driving away the hidden pain in his heart. He had never said these words to anyone before, but he couldn't wait to tell her, just because he didn't want there to be any pretense or secrets between them. Because of love, he would rather peel off all the past and wounds and stand in front of her without reservation.

The two did not speak for a long time, just snuggling together, in this empty and silent mountain top, their hearts were closer than ever before. At this moment, suddenly a few drops of rain fell, and in the blink of an eye, a rainstorm began.

Xiao Du frowned and hurriedly took Yuan Xi down the mountain. However, the rain came so fast and suddenly that the hillside became wet and slippery in a blink of an eye. After only a few steps, they encountered many dangers and could hardly find a place to stay.

Seeing Yuan Xi's frail body shivering in the rain, Xiao Du quickly took off his outer robe and wrapped her from head to toe, then took her to a cave to shelter from the rain. However, the rain showed no sign of stopping, but instead became heavier.

Xiao Du frowned as he watched the heavy rain pouring down from the cave entrance, creating a curtain of water. He sighed and said, "It looks like we'll have to spend the night on the mountain."