Lu Baichuan, dressed in armor, looked at the emperor standing on the city wall, then turned to look at his soldiers, and finally put the dog in his arms down.
"Go find your grandparents."
Old Man Lu and Madam Sun, along with their entire family, were at the very front of the crowd. They were too far away for him to see their expressions clearly, but he had just seen his mother raise her hand to wipe her face; she must have been crying.
He sighed inwardly; as a military general, going to war was a must.
He was going to war, so he would not be able to be by his parents' side to fulfill his filial duties. His second brother went with him, leaving only his eldest brother by their side.
"Try to comfort Grandma and make her feel better."
He patted his son's head, and Gou'er nodded before turning and running off to find his family.
Seeing the dog being held in Lu Laoda's arms, he leaped onto his horse, raised his longsword, and shouted, "Let's go!"
The army marched out of the city in a grand procession until it was no longer visible.
Dog was held in Lu Laoda's arms. He reached out to wipe Sun's tears and said, "Grandma, don't cry. Daddy is a great hero. Daddy and Second Uncle will definitely come back alive."
Qin Shi, You Ya Tou, Lian Hua, and the others beside her were also shedding tears. They all knew how terrifying war was. No matter how powerful Lu Baichuan was, he was still made of flesh and blood and would get hurt eventually.
But with so many children at home, she, as an elder, couldn't set an example. Sun quickly wiped away her tears and said, "Alright, let's go back. No matter what, life still goes on."
Madam Yu stepped forward to help Madam Sun up and said to her, "Mother, my third sister-in-law didn't come. Is she sad? I'll make some food and take it to her later."
The whole family came except for Jiang Jiuniang. Surprisingly, no one in the family said anything bad about her, assuming that she was too heartbroken to bear seeing such a sad scene.
"She just came back from Xingchun County. I heard there was a tough battle there too, and she must be exhausted. Let's make her something good to nourish her body."
Yu replied, "I know."
Qin was going to take care of Xiaodoudou, and her husband had also gone, so she was sad and didn't reply.
At this moment, Madam Sun turned to her and said, "Second son's wife, you must take good care of yourself. Then I can rest assured when I'm away."
Qin was instantly moved. She thought her mother-in-law only cared about her third brother's wife, but she didn't expect her to also take care of her.
"I know, Mother."
Qin smiled, a genuine smile of joy.
Sun nodded and then instructed Yu to spend more time with her two sisters-in-law and not to neglect family ties while focusing on business.
Madam Yu nodded in agreement. With the men of the second and third wives all on the front lines, it was only right for her, as the eldest sister-in-law, to stand up and not let her two younger sisters-in-law be bullied, nor to let others witness it.
When they got home, Madam Yu prepared the meal and brought it over, but Jiang Jiuniang was still not up.
Madam Yu didn't rush her; she just had someone heat up the food in the small kitchen so she could eat whenever she woke up and was hungry.
It wasn't that Jiang Jiuniang was inconsiderate and didn't want to get up; she was just too tired. She woke up once in the middle of the night, said a few words to the maid, and then fell asleep again.
Last night, Lu Baichuan seemed to be on drugs. Jiang Jiuniang only had a chance to fall asleep after he left. She had been traveling the whole time before, and she was really exhausted.
When I woke up again it was already evening. I was so hungry that my stomach was practically sticking to my back. The maid quickly brought up the food that Madam Yu had brought.
She tasted Yu's skill with just one bite and immediately praised, "Sister-in-law, you are so thoughtful."
Having eaten and drunk her fill, she finally had some energy, so she got up, dressed, and went out for a walk.
Sun had just returned from playing with her grandson Dou Dou when she saw Jiang Jiu Niang and handed Dou Dou to her.
"How is my second sister-in-law? Is she alright?"
"That's great, I've already gone out to set up the shop."
Mrs. Sun responded with a smile, explaining that she had taken Xiaodoudou out to play because she was out looking after the shop, so as not to cause them any trouble.
"That's good. I was worried that my second sister-in-law wouldn't be able to bear it and would hide away and grieve alone."
After all, when Lu Lao Er wanted to go to the grasslands, Qin Shi refused no matter what. This time it was much more dangerous than last time, and she was really worried that Qin Shi might do something rash.
"No, not at all. You and the others are all here to keep her company. Just take care of yourself."
Sun glanced at her and saw that she was no different from before, which put her at ease.
Jiang Jiuniang laughed heartlessly: "I'm used to it, what could possibly happen!"
She genuinely didn't care, and her smile came from the heart.
But Sun felt a pang of sadness because of what she said, which she had grown accustomed to. Her son had been gone for four years, and he hadn't been back for long before he had to go out to fight again, with no idea when he would return.
When she was young, Old Man Lu was also away from home all day on镖师 (bodyguards/escorts), so she understood the hardships involved.
That's why she felt even more sorry for Jiang Jiuniang.
Jiang Jiuniang played with Xiaodoudou with her, and after dinner, she took the dog back to the main courtyard.
The dog was in a good mood, but he was worried that his mother would be unhappy, so he tried to cheer up Jiang Jiuniang along the way.
"Son, Mom is really alright."
Jiang Jiuniang felt a little helpless. She squatted down to look him in the eye and said, "On the contrary, aren't you very worried about your father?"
The dog nodded and said, "I'm worried about my mother too."
"Good son!"
Jiang Jiuniang happily kissed him and then said, "Don't be sad, Mother will take you to find Father in a while."
The dog froze, somewhat incredulous: "Take me...with you?"
When his mother went to see his father before, she didn't take him with her. At first, he was sad, but later he just hated that he was still young and that going would only be a burden to his parents, so he stopped mentioning it.
Unexpectedly, his mother offered to take him along this time.
"Yes, do you want to go?"
Jiang Jiuniang looked at him with a smile, but Gou'er did not answer immediately. Instead, he whispered, "But I will become a burden to you and Father."
“Son, remember, you are our precious child, and never a burden. Before, your mother didn’t take you with her because it wasn’t necessary. Your mother could come back to be with you in a few days at most. But this time is different. Military campaigns are tiring and will take a long time. Your mother can’t bear to leave you in the capital.”
"Besides, my dog is so skilled and can be a great help to me. How could he be a burden?"
Jiang Jiuniang patiently explained to him that it might be because she hadn't taken care of him before, making him feel like a burden to his parents, which made him so sensitive.
"Besides, since your mother has decided to take you with her, she has the confidence to protect you. You don't need to think about anything, just follow your mother."
After listening, Gou'er nodded heavily. He was quite skilled, and even if he couldn't help, he wouldn't be a hindrance. Plus, with his mother saying that, he felt even less pressure.
"Then I'll spend more time with my grandparents during this period, otherwise they'll miss me!"
His little face was radiant, and his smile was very bright.
"Smart! Go, go!"
So that night, Gou'er took his little pillow and went to sleep with his grandparents. From that night until he left, he would sleep with his grandparents!
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