After this life-or-death battle, Cen's mother and Zhao Kai no longer dwelled on the past. If it weren't for the promise made in the capital, Zhao Tanhua would have liked to join in the fun with these kids and get the wedding done.
"Ah Cen, is it really not going to work?" The hand that often held a pen gripped the woman's slender wrist. It was the owner of these easily broken hands who led the girls in the building to defend the city wall.
"Back then... I promised the Crown Princess that if we got married, she would be my matchmaker."
The woman touched his hair bun twice and continued speaking.
"I'm sorry to trouble you by being with me..."
Zhao Kai sighed and pulled her into his arms, saying...
"I'm not wronged, I'm willing to do it."
"Although the wedding will have to wait until we return to the capital, you... you can still come to my place."
The man, his ears burning red, ran outside and bumped right into Xiao Lanyi, who had come to visit.
"Is the owner of Fengyue Tower here?" The imposing general in armor bowed to Zhao Kai and asked.
To be honest, Xiao Lanyi felt that all the people at Fengyue Tower looked very familiar, even the manager in front of him now looked familiar. Cen Ang and Zhao Kai had already prepared to meet with acquaintances from the capital.
Manager Zhao nodded and went back inside to ask Mother Cen.
"Xiao Lanyi is here. Does A-Cen want to see him?"
Cen Ang thought for a moment, then nodded and said
"Xiao Lanyi probably has a long-standing grudge against the current ruler, so he won't leak our affairs."
“Then I’ll bring him in.”
When the man entered the room and saw the woman sitting in the main seat wearing a blue-black shawl, his expression suddenly became solemn. He recognized her; she was the head maidservant of the former Crown Princess.
That woman, who acted flamboyantly in the palace yet was impossible to fault, kept the harem quiet during her time, and no one dared to offend the Crown Princess.
Xiao Lanyi tightened his grip on the sword hilt and entered the room. Cen Ang waved for him to sit down.
"Years have passed since we last met, but the great general's demeanor remains unchanged."
"Not as good as Aunt Cen, who has hardly changed her appearance even though it has been almost ten years since we last met."
The man thought Cen Ang was really bold, daring to use that face in the Great Yan, and so blatantly. She should be dead by now.
Not only did they use it openly, but they also ran the brothel with great success. From the very beginning, she never intended to gloss over what happened back then; she wouldn't just let it go like that.
"May I ask what brings the General to see me?"
"I won't hide it anymore, Aunt Cen. I want to send all the girls under your command to the military camp. It's a waste of their talents to keep them here."
Cen Ang smiled slightly, his red lips curving upwards, and gently waved his hand through the air as he spoke.
"If you can persuade them to go with you willingly, I will give them a contract of indenture anytime."
General Xiao took a deep breath. This was the feeling—the feeling of being able to dominate someone just by sitting there doing nothing. Back when he visited the former crown prince, it was this woman who made all the high-ranking officials feel suffocated at the door. Whether she was usually domineering or cunning, in her presence, even a dragon had to coil up and a tiger had to lie down.
"mom!"
A familiar voice came from outside the door, and Huo Xiaolong came running over, begging for a hug. The oppressive feeling vanished instantly, replaced by a sweet voice with a slightly strained tone.
"What's wrong? Did our Long'er get into trouble again and get a beating from Mother?"
Xiao Lanyi's facial muscles twitched. Today he finally understood why Huo Xiaolong kept talking about messing with him. Even the Emperor wanted to mess with him; how could a child raised by Cen Ang not cause trouble?
"No, Mom, I accidentally fed the Thousand Red Fruit to Xiongzai and Grandpa Gu saw it... He's holding a pestle and trying to force me to recite my medical book. I don't want to recite it, so Sister Xiaohai is blocking it for me!"
"Your mother and I have told you so many times! Don't mess things up in front of your grandfather, or you'll definitely get punished."
Huo Xiaolong pressed his face against Cen Ang's cheek and said...
"That's what the bear cub wants to eat~"
"Ahem." General Xiao coughed twice, attracting Huo Xiaolong's attention.
"Marshal Xiao, are you well?"
"I hope you are well too."
The two looked at each other in silence, until the little dumpling broke the silence first, she opened her mouth and asked...
"Is that little punk who bullied your sister dead?"
"??????"
Cen Ang was completely baffled. Wasn't his sister a concubine in the palace? Who would dare to bully her?
"No...not dead."
"Did his childhood sweetheart die?"
"Dead..."
"Then..." Huo Xiaolong wanted to ask more questions.
Xiao Lanyi stood up and said to Mother Cen.
"I hope Aunt Cen keeps her word. I'll go ask the girls now." With that, the man turned and left the room.
The little dumpling looked up at her godmother and asked...
"Mom, why does he call you aunt? You two are about the same age."
Cen Ang's eyes darted around slightly as he tried to deceive her.
"Because my mother is of a higher generation, everyone in Beijing used to call me aunt."
"Oh, Mom, do you know what's going on with his sister?"
"I don't know! Tell Mom quickly, what happened to her sister?"
The two, one big and one small, were gossiping inside the house, while Gu Shilin was blocked by Hou Xiangxiang in the backyard and couldn't spare a moment to himself.
"Grandpa Gu, you don't need to force Long'er to memorize medical books. She will never do anything she doesn't want to do."
“I didn’t force her to memorize it! She has to at least be able to recognize the medicinal herbs in this book.”
Doctor Gu's hands trembled slightly with anger as he pointed to the picture of medicinal herbs on the table and said...
"Look what this is!?"
"This is Ganoderma lucidum!" the little girl said in a sweet, coquettish voice.
"Do you know what your sister is talking about? She said it's mushrooms! Mushrooms! The red mushrooms from chicken stew with mushrooms! Those things are all different sizes, I have no idea how she remembers them, she's always messing around with medicinal herbs!"
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