The house was robbed
City View
Xie Family Ancestral House
Traces of time have climbed up this small blue brick courtyard. Stubborn moss and ivy have grown in the shady corners of the wall, and the lush greenery covers most of the wall. The ancient trees in the courtyard seem to have grown a lot higher, and the lush branches block the dazzling sunlight, leaving bursts of shade. It is a good place to escape the summer heat.
Today, this house is not as lively as it once was. The owner has long passed away, leaving only a few old servants to clean the house.
"General, as you ordered, the things have been found and are placed in the old lady's former house." The leading servant bowed respectfully to the young general and then stepped aside.
Xie Ci was so exhausted from the journey that he didn't even notice that his forehead and back were soaked with sweat. He just subconsciously raised his hand to wipe it off and hurried into the house:
"Okay, thank you Uncle Chen."
Uncle Chen naturally noticed Xie Ci's tiredness. He had spent most of his life in the house, and his hair had turned gray. He had watched Xie Ci and Xie Yuan grow up, just like his own children and grandchildren. The siblings' parents died young, and Xie Ci had to fight for his father when he was young. One could imagine the hardship he had to endure. He hesitated for a while, and finally spoke:
"General, please forgive me for being so nosy. You should take care of your health and not work too hard. Just let me do these little things like fetching things. You don't have to go there in person."
Xie Ci paused, and heard the concern in the old man's words. He curved his eyebrows and smiled heartily:
"Uncle Chen taught me a lesson. I will definitely take care of my rest in the future. However, thanks to some lazy priests, I am now much more relaxed than before."
Although Uncle Chen did not follow Xie Ci to the battlefield, he also knew the abilities of those priests. Xie Ci would be even more powerful with their help, so he nodded with confidence. However, he saw the young man evasive and whispered:
"Besides, this is no small matter. I still have to... go there in person."
He scratched his ears uncomfortably, then found an excuse to escape and ran back into the house.
Uncle Chen was an experienced man after all, how could he not see his little thoughts? He smiled and shook his head. When the old lady gave him this item, he was still a young boy who only knew how to fight every day. Unexpectedly, the ignorant child back then has grown up so quickly into a young man with his own immature thoughts...
Xie Ci stood in front of the door, took a deep breath, finally pushed the door open, and walked into his mother's old home.
The familiar pearwood bookshelf is filled with poetry collections and famous paintings collected from all over the world. The bronze mirror on the dressing table is as shiny as it used to be. The hairpins, rouge brushes, and rouge on the table are neatly arranged one by one, as if their owners will pick up the brush and put on makeup again the next moment.
Xie Ci withdrew his nostalgic gaze and his eyes fell on the ancient brocade box carved with a spiral pattern on the dressing table.
He carefully picked up the brocade box, raised his hand to open it, and the contents of the box revealed their true appearance - the surface of the turquoise jade bracelet was delicate and moist, with soft waves of light flowing through it. The craftsman who made it was very careful in selecting the materials and forging it. The shape was round and elegant, and it matched the skin tone very well.
Xie Ci's fingertips moved slightly and gently touched the bracelet. The cool and smooth touch of the jade reminded him of the first time he received it.
"Why did mother give me this? It's for girls, I don't want it! I want father's Silver Dragon Spear to fight on the battlefield!"
Little Xie Ci held the jade bracelet in his hand with an unhappy look on his face. When he mentioned his father's Silver Dragon Spear, he couldn't stop jumping for joy, dancing with joy, and almost dropped the jade bracelet he had just received on the ground.
Mother Xie caught the jade bracelet that he had thrown away in time, breathed a sigh of relief, and then pulled his ear with a stern face:
"You're so clumsy! You've been hanging out with your barbarian father all day, what have you learned?!"
"——Hey, hey, mother, be gentle, be gentle! My ears are going to fall off!" Little Xie Ci begged for mercy loudly, and Xie's mother let go and continued to instruct him:
"This isn't for you, you're just dreaming! This is what your mother prepared for you, and you're going to give it to your future loved one!"
"Why give it to me if it's not mine..." Little Xie Ci muttered in dissatisfaction, "Beloved ones? Like father and mother?"
"Ahem! Think of it, think of it!" Mother Xie's pretty face flushed slightly, and she thought of her father's silly and happy look, and turned her face away in annoyance.
"Oh - is that so? Then I don't want any beloved one. I feel like my dad has such a low profile in front of mom..." Xie Ci thought about the past and shuddered with fear.
Xie's mother pretended to twist his ears again:
"Hey, you little brat! Why are you still slandering your parents?! That's between us husband and wife - cough cough cough, kid, don't ask so many questions! Anyway, just remember that this bracelet is for your future lover, and I'll let Uncle Chen keep it for you until you grow up!"
Little Xie Ci finally accepted the jade bracelet under his mother's coercion and inducement, and quietly listened to her nagging:
"I have to prepare Xiao Yuan's dowry in advance, and I have to tell her to be careful in choosing a husband. She can't let him be a big, stupid guy like your father! Oh, I get angry just thinking about it!"
"Xie Ci, you must not learn from your father, who is so tongue-tied! If you find a girl you like in the future, you must treat her well, don't make her angry every day, and don't bully her, do you hear me?"
Seeing that she was getting angrier and angrier, Xiao Xie Ci was afraid that his father would implicate him and he would be scolded by his mother again, so he kept responding:
"I know, I know. I'm afraid I'll say something wrong and make her even angrier. So I'll practice my boxing skills and beat away anyone who bullies her in the future! Mother can also supervise me in the future to see if I've done it!"
Such childish words made Xie's mother laugh. She reached out and touched Xie Ci's head, and said gently:
"You are a good child. Mother believes that even if I am not by your side to supervise you, you can still protect the people you love."
"Mother?"
Little Xie Ci didn't understand what this meant and looked up in confusion, but his mother didn't say anything else and quickly changed the subject.
It was not until several years later that he learned that his mother had been suffering from a chronic illness and she knew that she might not be able to see the day when her children got married.
After her father died in the war, her condition became more serious. Xie Ci was away from Yuandu all year round because he was guarding the city for his father. It was not until she was dying that he was able to return to the capital to see her for the last time.
The mother who was lying on the sickbed looked haggard and withered, far from the energetic appearance in his memory. The young general's eyes turned red. He threw aside the silver spear that he had longed for in his childhood and knelt in front of his mother:
"Mother, I am unfilial!"
"What are you talking about, you silly boy! Your country is in trouble, how can you, as a general,... cough cough!" She tried hard to get up from the couch and help her son up, but she was tortured by the pain and bent over and coughed violently. Xie Yuan, who was serving her, hurriedly made her lie down and tucked in the quilt for her.
"When mother is gone, you have to take good care of yourself and your sister," she raised her hand to touch Xie Ci's cheek, and then looked at Xie Yuan with concern, "Xiao Yuan, mother knows that you are brave and careful. If you want to accompany your brother to the battlefield, then go ahead and do it. The girls in our Xie family are no worse than any boys!"
"Yeah!" Xie Yuan nodded vigorously and held her mother's hand tightly while crying.
Xie Ci's face was already covered with tears, but he tried hard not to cry:
"I promise, mother, if Xiao Yuan wants to join the Linyuan Army, I don't think any of those old men would dare to refuse! I will live up to your trust and fight for Linyuan and the people all my life!"
Mother Xie smiled with relief. Through the tall and straight young man in front of her, she seemed to see the shadow of an old friend again:
"You are really... a fool just like your father. Never mind. I'll have to fall on you in this life, Xie Ming, you bastard! How come you... left before me?"
Her eyes dimmed, and she cursed in a somewhat confused manner:
"How many times have I told you to cherish your life? Treasure your life. Don't be so reckless. Do you want me to be a widow for you? Don't even think about it! There were so many people who asked to marry me back then. If you hadn't been so shameless, I wouldn't have married you!"
"Xie Ming... Ah Ming... You old man, I'm here to see you, bastard."
Clang
The sound coming from outside the house brought Xie Ci back to his senses. He closed the brocade box and put it away carefully. Now, he had found the girl he loved, and even though she might refuse, he still wanted to hand the bracelet to her personally.
He has decided on her for his whole life.
Xie Ci walked towards the courtyard and was about to ask Uncle Chen what happened, but the scene in front of him suddenly froze him:
Xie Yuan's body was covered with bloody wounds of varying depths, the most serious of which was on her left arm. Although a scab had formed, the blood that had previously seeped out was still shocking. She gritted her teeth and covered the wound, raised her hand to refuse Uncle Chen's support, and staggered towards Xie Ci.
"What happened?" Xie Ci quickly ran to his sister, raised his hand to support her shaky body, and wanted to take her into the house, but was interrupted by Xie Yuan:
"Brother, Miss Tong and the others are in trouble."
Xie Ci was shocked, and he closed his eyes slightly and then opened them again. Xie Yuan went with Tong Zhenzhen, and he guessed a little bit:
"Let's go in first. Uncle Chen, bring me some medicine."
Uncle Chen acted immediately. Xie Ci helped Xie Yuan sit down in the house. Xie Yuan pursed her dry lips, not even bothering to drink water, and briefly told Xie Ci the whole story. On the day of the accident at Chengping Bridge, she did not return to Yuandu directly, but informed the soldiers guarding the city of the news, asked them to report to the court, and then rode a fast horse to Guancheng to find Xie Ci.
"For some reason, their system seems to have failed, and even the internet is unavailable," Xie Yuan said with a heavy face, clenching his hands in self-blame. "I'm sorry, brother, it's my fault. I was there with them..."
Xie Ci raised his hand to stop her from thinking:
"This is not anyone's fault. How can you save people from the Gulou army alone? What's more, Shao Hui is there. Even if I go, how can the two of us resist an army of a hundred people?"
Uncle Chen had followed Xie Ming before, so he was naturally familiar with treating wounds. He cleaned and bandaged Xie Yuan with a skilled technique. She secretly went to see Xie Ci with some worry. Up to now, Xie Ci's performance was too calm, so calm that it was abnormal.
Xie Ci lowered his eyes to hide his thoughts. Only the nails that were almost digging into his palms revealed his anxiety. He had underestimated the enemy. With Tong Zhenzhen's extraordinary system ability, he had forgotten how cruel the fight between mortals was. In front of the almost mythical system, all the problems that had troubled them before: food, injuries, and death no longer existed. Even he had not thought about it. If this miracle disappeared, what would they do?
I should have gone with you. It was me who hurt you...
He unconsciously clenched the teacup in his hand, and broke it into pieces in just a moment. Amid the screams of Xie Yuan and Uncle Chen, the fragments scratched his palms with bloody marks. He stared blankly at the blood flowing. After Tong Zhenzhen came, he had not been injured for a very long time, which meant that she had no protection now and she could die at any time.
Xie Ci forced himself not to think about the bad situation, snatched the cloth from Uncle Chen's hand, bandaged it casually, and then stood up and left:
"I'm going back to Yuandu to mobilize troops to rescue people. Xiao Yuan, you stay in the ancestral home to recover from your injuries."
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