After the army entered Yingzhou, they quickly occupied the entire city. The Northern Yue army suffered a crushing defeat and retreated in panic for several miles.
The emperor of Northern Yue sent a new truce agreement, willing to cede two more cities, besides Yingzhou, to Eastern Lin, in exchange for another fifty years of truce.
This time, however, Donglin Kingdom did not immediately agree to the conditions. After some negotiation, it was only willing to sign a 30-year truce agreement and demand that Beiyue pay tribute to Donglin Kingdom every year and send a princess to Donglin Kingdom for marriage every ten years.
The emperor of Northern Vietnam initially refused to accept these harsh conditions, so the army from the east continued its northward advance, and Northern Vietnam was once again pushed back several miles. In the end, he had no choice but to compromise.
The war ultimately ended in victory for the Eastern Kingdom.
"Miss, it's good news! The General has won another victory!" Tong Xia ran in excitedly.
"And what about him..." Qingying asked quickly.
"Whom are you asking about, young lady?" Tong Xia feigned ignorance.
Yu Yue and Granny Zhang couldn't help but cover their mouths and laugh when they saw this.
Qingying blushed deeply after being teased, and glared at her reproachfully, "You little brat, now you've learned to tease me too."
Tong Xia smiled and said, "His Highness the Crown Prince is blessed with good fortune, so naturally he will be fine."
That's good...that's good...
Qingying could finally breathe a sigh of relief, thinking that by the time he returned, the new purse would be finished, and she would give it to him. Also... their wedding should be on the agenda.
"If you miss His Highness the Crown Prince, why don't you write him a letter?" Yu Yue chuckled and ran off to grind ink.
...
The time for returning to the capital was drawing near.
At night, the campfire crackled, wine cups clinked, splashing amber light, and the soldiers rejoiced, beating drums and singing.
Liu Yu tilted his head back and drank a mouthful of strong liquor, casually wiping his mouth with his sleeve, and asked, "After the war is over and we return to the capital, what do you plan to do?"
"Go home and get married." Chu Lingyu said calmly.
"Same as above." Wei Huaixu also took a swig of wine, so strong that his throat ached a little, but his eyes still shone with a gentle light.
"Lin Ji, what about you?" Chu Lingyu was really curious. She had known him for many years, but she had never heard him mention his plans for the future.
“I’m not going back to Pandu.” Lin Ji smiled faintly and said, “I’ll stay in the Northern Territory. When there’s no war, I can open a charity to take in the orphans who were displaced by the war.”
In fact, Lin Ji was originally from Pandu, but he never returned home after joining the army in his early years. He was an illegitimate son of the Lin family, and his aunt died when he was young. He had always lived on thin ice in the mansion. Now that he had finally left that place, he had no desire to have anything to do with those people again.
Chu Lingyu also tilted her head back and took a swig of wine, chuckled, and said, "Sometimes I'm quite envious of you, being able to do whatever you want."
“Actually, you can do it too.” Lin Ji looked at her.
Chu Lingyu shook her head. "I can't."
In the end, she couldn't let go of her family in the capital, the honor of the Chu family, and that person...
Of the three of them, only Wei Huaixu truly wanted to go back; his beloved girl was still waiting for him to return to the capital to marry her.
As they were talking, Ashu, dressed in military uniform and wearing a veil, came over. "Your Highness, this is a letter from Miss Liu, and there is another one for the General."
Wei Huaixu took the letter, looked at it, and then handed one of the letters to Liu Yu.
"I never thought my daughter would think of me." Liu Yu laughed heartily and immediately opened the letter.
In the letter, Qingying inquired about his well-being and reported on the recent situation at home, telling him that everything was fine and that her mother and grandmother were looking forward to his early return.
Liu Yu was moved to tears, and a deep longing for his hometown welled up within him.
"As you get older, you start to miss home." He folded the letter and put it away.
Chu Lingyu said, "It's only natural for the General to miss home occasionally when he's away from home for so long."
Lin Ji glanced at the person opposite him who had carefully put away the letter as soon as he received it, and raised an eyebrow. "A letter from your fiancée, aren't you going to read it first?"
"No rush, let's read it when we get back to the account book." Wei Huaixu smiled. "She writes to me often, and I keep them all carefully."
His tone sounded like he was showing off.
Lin Ji rolled her eyes without any attempt to hide it.
Recently, the relationship between the two of them has eased a lot. Wei Huaixu has fought very well in these battles. His wisdom and strategy are comparable to those of a military strategist. Lin Ji's evaluation of him is no longer "useless vase" but has become "a vase with brains".
The campfire had burned out and it was past midnight when Wei Huaixu returned to his tent, lit a candle, took out a hidden letter, and carefully unfolded it.
Looking at the familiar, delicate handwriting, his expression grew increasingly gentle, as if it could melt away.
This is the scene that Lin Ji saw when he walked in.
The flickering candlelight revealed his high-bridged nose and thin, sharp lips. He was shirtless, his clothes hanging loosely at his waist, his long hair cascading down his back. His muscular upper body was covered with crisscrossing old and new wounds, yet they could not conceal his explosive power. He was much more robust and darker-skinned than when he first arrived in the North, but he looked even more masculine.
After reading the letter, he carefully folded it and put it back in the envelope. He then took out a wooden box from the side of his pillow and put the letter inside.
At first glance, the box contained many neatly stacked letters and a half-embroidered purse.
Noticing someone watching him, Wei Huaixu looked up and blinked. "What's wrong?"
"N-nothing..." Lin Ji awkwardly looked away and walked towards her bed.
After Wei Huaixu lay down, he couldn't fall asleep with his hands behind his head, and Lin Ji wasn't much better off. He tossed and turned, and the already unstable bed creaked with his movements.
"Lin Ji, will you come to my wedding?"
His sudden voice startled Lin Ji, who paused in his turning over. After a moment, he said, "Aren't you afraid I'll ruin your wedding banquet?"
"You don't have that kind of guts."
Lin Ji scoffed and said, "You underestimate me. I knew you were the Crown Prince from the start, but I still dared to give you attitude."
"Stop talking nonsense and just tell me if you're going or not."
“I’ve said it before, I’m not going back to the capital.”
Wei Huaixu was somewhat disappointed.
Suddenly he said, "But His Highness the Crown Prince's wedding banquet should be different from that of ordinary people. I can reluctantly go and watch the excitement."
Wei Huaixu smiled and said, "You're welcome anytime."
...
Before they knew it, the day to return to the capital arrived, and the army set off in a grand procession.
Starting from Yingzhou, it takes more than a thousand miles to reach Pandu City.
Qingying eagerly awaited news, but just as she learned of our army's great victory, another message arrived: the Crown Prince was in danger and his whereabouts were unknown.
They encountered an accident on their journey; Wei Huaixu accidentally fell into a swift river and disappeared.
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