Lin Mo's gentleness gradually calmed Huo Churan's heart.
Her physical weakness caused her to close her eyes again.
This time she dreamed of a wonderful place, a cozy cottage nestled on a sunset-lit beach. The walls were crooked and cracked, and the floor was compacted earth, but she felt warm inside.
Because Lin Mo was by her side...
They lay lazily on the bed, doing nothing all day long, listening to the waves of the sea.
When I woke up again, it was morning.
It was just dawn.
Her husband, Lin Mo, was dozing off on the edge of the bed.
He looked up as soon as he heard the noise.
"Don't move!" Lin Mo said, his voice still gentle, but tinged with a hint of weariness.
She instinctively touched her face; the gauze wrapped around it was still there.
"Chu Ran, come here, let me clean your wound!" Lin Mo said as he skillfully took out a small knife, a soft cloth, and a medicine bottle.
The gauze with the plaster was cut open and thrown aside.
His touch was light and gentle, and the water was tender.
"It might sting a little," Lin Mo warned as he moistened a soft cloth with alcohol that smelled of crushed herbs and wiped Huo Churan's face.
It was more than just a stinging pain; the soft cloth felt like it was burning wherever it touched, especially around her eyes, as if she were being poked and twisted by a burning poker. She gripped the sheets tightly, took a deep breath, and barely managed to suppress a scream.
Pity, self-reproach, and even anger flickered in Lin Mo's eyes. But he tried his best not to show it. "The wound is finally clean, that's good, very good," he said. "It will heal completely!"
"A bronze mirror, Your Highness, I need a bronze mirror!" Huo Churan made that request again, feeling that she was strong enough to face her own face.
Lin Mo fell silent upon hearing this.
“Your Highness, I have to face this eventually!” Huo Churan added.
"That's true!" Lin Mo sighed deeply, then found a bronze mirror and handed it to Huo Churan.
Huo Churan adjusted her breathing, then raised the mirror, unsure whether to laugh or cry.
The sword wound was curved and long, running from the foot of the right eye all the way to the right side of the chin, covering the entire right side of the face.
Although the torn flesh had been stitched up, the rough stitches across the half-healed red skin were a shocking sight!
She instinctively closed her eyes, and another tear rolled down her cheek.
“This is a gift from my brother!” she said hoarsely, tossing the mirror aside.
Then, she touched her face and fiddled with the scars with her fingers.
"No, don't move, it might leave a scar there..."
"Possibly?" Huo Churan said, her voice trembling with pain. "A wound like this will definitely leave a scar!"
These words intensified Lin Mo's hatred for Huo Jie.
"I will catch the murderer and get justice for you!" Lin Mo promised her.
But he seemed to have forgotten that the murderer was Huo Churan's "family"!
"Them?" Huo Churan asked, "Where?"
“We’re still in the capital,” Lin Mo said. “I’ve already captured most of the capital, but your troops, Huo Minggao, are still putting up a stubborn resistance. To minimize harm to the civilians, I’ve slowed down the offensive.”
But in two days at most, I will be able to retake the capital.
"Two days..." Huo Churan lowered her voice, "I believe Your Highness can do it."
Suddenly, as if she remembered something, she said, "Your Highness, may I ask you for a favor?"
"We're husband and wife, what's there to ask for!" Lin Mo smiled. "Tell me, what is it? As long as I can do it, I'll definitely agree."
"Husband and wife..." These words warmed Huo Churan's heart, making it difficult for her to say what followed. "Your Highness... if possible, could you please spare my father and brothers?"
"What? Let them go?" Lin Mo exclaimed shrilly. "How could you even think of that?"
But as soon as he said it, he realized what he had said.
“They…they are, after all, my father and brother!” Huo Churan’s voice was so low that she could barely hear it herself. “As children, how can we just stand by and watch our father be killed without doing anything? Wouldn’t that be a grave sin against humanity?”
"Yes!" Lin Mo sighed.
Both the Great Xia Dynasty and ancient Earth promoted the idea of governing the world through filial piety.
Confucianism believes that filial piety originates from human nature, is inherent in everyone, and should be promoted and carried forward.
Children's respect and love for their parents is called filial piety, and respect for elder brothers and elders is called brotherly love. Those who possess filial piety and brotherly love will not rebel. Thus, it is evident that Confucianism believes human relationships are the foundation of governance.
Lin Mo is an Earthling, and can disregard gods and Buddhas, but he has also paid a heavy price for it.
If Wei Maozhen hadn't been killed back then, Huo Minggao wouldn't have had any problems.
Now, he cannot force Huo Churan to give up "filial piety".
In this way, if Huo Minggao is caught, it will become a hot potato.
"What should I do if my father is a wicked and evil man?"
"Bearing the sins of human relations? Sacrificing one's own family for the greater good?"
This problem left Lin Mo frowning.
"I will... spare his life!" This was the only thing Lin Mo could do.
At that moment, he prayed in his heart, "It would be best if I died in the chaos of battle."
Then, Lin Mo stayed by Huo Churan's bedside until she fell asleep again.
He was completely exhausted, so he lay down by the bed and closed his eyes.
That night.
Lin Mo was gently shaken awake.
Looking up, I saw that Jiang Wan'er, Sun Ruoxi, and Su Qing'er had all arrived.
"Shh!" Sun Ruoxi quickly interrupted Lin Mo when she saw him about to speak.
At this moment, Lin Mo heard Huo Churan's soft breathing as she slept soundly.
She's dreaming, he thought. She's murmuring in her dream—it sounds like a name, but he can't make it out!
"Mo'er, you should go back and get some sleep," Jiang Wan'er said. "It's been several days already, even the strongest body can't take it anymore!"
Yes, it's been three days and three nights! Lin Mo thought to himself.
"Brother Lin Mo, leave it to us," Sun Ruoxi said.
"Alright!" Lin Mo got up, put on his coat, and walked to the candlelit corridor, only to find that Sun Yang had been waiting for a long time.
"Your Highness!" Sun Yang greeted him, "Our army has surrounded the rebel Huo Minggao and will soon capture him!"
"So fast?"
Upon hearing the news, Lin Mo was initially delighted, but then frowned.
"What should I do with this guy?!"
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