After a few light rains, the flowers and trees in the courtyard began to grow vigorously, and in a blink of an eye it was the day for the Spring Festival Banquet to be held in the Prime Minister's Mansion.

As Li Zhongqian was about to go to war, Li Yaoying was busy packing his luggage and did not attend the banquet.

In the prime minister's residence, incense was burned and curtains were hung, and the house was filled with guests and friends.

The young ladies from various families attended the ceremony in their gorgeous attire and jewels. When they heard that the Seventh Princess was not coming, they all showed regret on their faces, but secretly they were relieved: if the Seventh Princess came, who would have the heart to pay attention to them?

Li Zhongqian remembered that he had promised Yaoying to go to Qujiang with her to race horses years ago. After taking care of the military affairs, the brother and sister only brought a few followers, dressed in white dragon fish costumes, and rode horses to Qujiang for a few laps.

The day before leaving for the expedition, Li Zhongqian went to the palace to visit Concubine Xie.

Concubine Xie sat in front of the railing and watched the palace maids playing on the swings.

The steps were surrounded by fragrant grass, the sun was warm, she was not wearing any makeup, she was dressed in plain clothes, she was smiling and talking to the palace maids around her, her face was peaceful.

Li Zhongqian walked closer.

Just then, I heard Concubine Xie beckoning a young eunuch, "Erlang, your hair is messy. Come here, let me comb your hair for you."

The young eunuch responded with a smile, and when he walked down the corridor, he ran into Li Zhongqian, who had a gloomy face. His face turned pale, and he took a few steps back and knelt on the ground.

"Your Majesty, please forgive me!"

The young eunuch did not dare to raise his head and trembled.

Concubine Xie often mistook the palace maid Awei for the Seventh Princess and the young eunuch for the Second Prince when he was a teenager. If they did not respond, Concubine Xie would panic and be afraid.

Later, Feng Yu asked the young eunuch and Awei to obey Concubine Xie and pretend to be young princes and princesses. The Seventh Princess also reassured them and said that she would not blame them. Only then did he dare to respond to Concubine Xie's call of "Erlang" in his humble capacity.

Li Zhongqian said nothing.

Concubine Xie waited for a while, but didn't see the young eunuch, so she looked over with a puzzled look on her face.

Li Zhongqian and his mother looked at each other for a moment.

Concubine Xie looked bewildered.

Li Zhongqian retracted his gaze and said calmly: "Nothing, the noble concubine is calling you, go ahead."

The young eunuch let out a long breath, stood up, and ran away.

Concubine Xie smiled and called to him, "Erlang, walk slowly, don't fall."

Li Zhongqian stood in the corner for a while, then turned and left.

Ah Wei escorted him out of the palace. Seeing his cold expression, she couldn't help but explain: "Your Majesty, please don't blame the Concubine..."

Li Zhongqian calmly interrupted her: "I don't blame my mother."

He understood that this was because his mother was sick.

The guards were waiting outside the palace gate with their mounts. Li Zhongqian took the reins and suddenly stopped.

"I'm going to ask you a question. Please answer it honestly without hiding anything."

His tone was cold and stern.

Ah Wei hurriedly said respectfully: "Your Majesty, just ask. I dare not hide the truth."

Li Zhongqian asked, "Has Qi Niang vomited blood again in the past few months like she did last year?"

Avi was stunned, thought for a while, and shook her head.

"Your Majesty, the princess has been taking the Condensation Pills and has not vomited blood."

Li Yaoying had been weak and sickly since childhood. Even though she had gotten much better in the past two years, she had never stopped taking medicine. The medicine was a pill prepared by Feng Yu using dozens of rare medicinal materials, and it was called Ninglu Pills.

Li Zhongqian said nothing and looked a little more relaxed.

Last year, Li Yaoying suddenly suffered a seizure and vomited blood, her life was hanging by a thread, and Feng Yu was helpless.

Li Zhongqian thought his sister's illness was strange and stayed with her for several days.

Yao Ying didn't care at all, saying that she just ate raw fish and had stomach discomfort.

Li Zhongqian had seen the pain she looked in when she vomited blood, so of course he didn't believe it.

When asked about this, Feng Yu could not explain the reason.

Later, Yaoying recovered quickly and looked full of energy, not looking like she had just been seriously ill at all.

Li Zhongqian had no choice but to suppress his doubts in his heart.

He mounted his horse, faced the setting dusk, and breathed a sigh of relief.

No matter what Yaoying hid from him, as long as she was okay, it was fine.

Half an hour later, Li Zhongqian returned to the palace.

The front yard was crowded with people, laughing and talking loudly. The front hall was crowded inside and outside.

The chief secretary led Li Zhongqian around the front yard and said with a smile, "Your Majesty, there are rewards being distributed in the front yard."

Li Zhongqian raised his lips and said, "Qiniang ordered you to do that?"

The Chief Secretary nodded in agreement. Whenever the Second Prince went to war or returned victoriously, the Seventh Princess would order the steward to give rewards to the servants inside and outside the palace.

The front yard was bustling with people, and the inner yard was also busy. The corridors were filled with open boxes and cages, and maids were going in and out with boxes and trays in their arms, their footsteps making a chaotic sound.

Yao Ying stood at the door and directed the maidservants.

The brilliant sunset was filtered through the branches of the trees in full bloom, and gently shone on her.

The shadows of flowers shimmered as she stood on the steps, with a slender figure, red lips and bright red teeth. When she looked back, she saw Li Zhongqian approaching, and her eyebrows curved slightly.

She was born with a pair of charming eyes that were half full of autumn water, her thick eyelashes flickered, and the spring scenery in her eyes was rippling.

"Brother."

She called him softly with a bright smile.

As if captured by her radiant and enchanting beauty, the branches of flowers in the garden trembled slightly in the evening breeze.

Li Zhongqian grinned and raised his hand to brush away a petal of apricot blossom that had fallen on Yaoying's green hair.

He grew up protecting and doting on his sister.

Yao Ying pushed Li Zhongqian into the house and said, "We are going to the battle tomorrow, so you should go to bed early tonight. No matter who sends you the invitation, you are not allowed to go out for a drink!"

Drinking caused mistakes. Once when he went to war, he was drunk and all the officials who saw him off looked at him sideways.

Li Zhongqian raised his eyebrows slightly and said in a long voice: "I know, housekeeper!"

Yao Ying glared at him coquettishly.

She packed everything, checked luggage, and was busy until nightfall.

Maybe it was because she was worrying too much these past two days, but Yaoying slept very uneasily.

She had a dream.

In her dream, it was raining heavily and she was buried under corpses. She couldn't breathe and couldn't turn over.

There were dead bodies everywhere, and she was soaked in the blood-stained rain, feeling cold all over.

"Xiao Qi! Xiao Qi!"

A voice called her name anxiously.

The 11-year-old boy had a clear and crisp voice, trembling as he called out over and over again: "Xiao Qi!"

In the pouring rain, he shouted until his voice became hoarse, and knelt upright in front of the pile of corpses, his hands torn with skin and flesh, as he turned over the rotting corpses one by one to identify them.

"Don't be afraid..."

"Brother is here..."

"Xiao Qi, don't be afraid..."

Yaoying wanted to call him, but her throat was choked and no sound came out.

The long rainy night passed, the rain still did not stop, and the boy was still searching persistently.

After an unknown amount of time, the body of the guard that was pressing on Yao Ying was removed, and bright light poured down.

Eleven-year-old Li Zhongqian knelt in front of her with red eyes.

Yao Ying looked at his face and could no longer suppress her fear. Tears fell from her eyes: "Brother... I'm afraid..."

Li Zhongqian's lips trembled a few times, his whole body trembled, and he hugged her tightly.

"Xiao Qi, don't be afraid, my brother is here to pick you up."

Yaoying clutched his clothes tightly and cried out.

The next moment, the eleven-year-old boy disappeared, and Yao Ying found herself standing in a barren sandy land.

The strong wind roared past my ears, the sky was vast and filled with yellow sand.

A light black horse leaped down the hillside like an arrow from a bow. The young man on the horse was strong and tall, with sword-like eyebrows and phoenix eyes. He was wearing dazzling golden armor and his helmet sparkled under the scorching sun.

The sound of war drums rumbled, and a team of cavalrymen in black armor suddenly rushed out from the darkness and rushed towards him like a big net.

The young man laughed heartily, his eyes flashing with a bloodthirsty cold light, brandishing a pair of golden hammers and drums, and charged forward fearlessly, his snow-white cloak fluttering predatorily.

Yao Ying stumbled towards him.

"Brother!"

She shouted at him in despair, her throat hurting like a knife, "Brother! Turn back! It's a trap!"

Li Zhongqian heard nothing and continued to move forward with the hammer in his hand.

An eerie whizzing sound cut through the air, and feather arrows came whizzing in like a rain of locusts, and half of the sky was filled with dense black spots.

Arrows flashing with cold light pierced through his breastplate, one after another, stinging his entire body.

He was knocked off his horse by a dozen long spears, rolled over, and stood up again. Standing in front of the slope, his bloody hands raised his hammers again.

Yao Ying pushed him, hit him, and scolded him while crying.

Li Zhongqian stood there motionless, his body covered in blood, his clothes torn to pieces, and the light in his eyes slowly dimmed.

The circling vulture swooped down and bit his body with its sharp black and brown beak.

Yaoying rushed over and drove away the vultures like crazy.

"Let my brother go! Let him go!"

The vulture flapped its wings and pecked Yaoying fiercely, leaving her covered with wounds. She hugged Li Zhongqian tightly, also covered with wounds.

…

"Brother!"

Yaoying woke up from her dream, wiped the corners of her eyes, her fingertips were wet.

She had another nightmare.

The maid held a candle in one hand, opened the curtain, and shone a light on her face.

"My Lord, are you in a nightmare?"

Yaoying broke out in a cold sweat, her clothes sticking to her skin. She hummed absentmindedly, her hands still shaking.

She had this dream often, but never was it more real and clear than this one, as if it had really happened.

The moonlight fills the windows, and outside the window is as quiet as still water.

Yaoying fumbled to find the jade box beside her pillow, opened the lid, and the moon-shaped pearl as big as a dove egg emitted a soft and clear glow.

She held the Moon Pearl in her hand, thinking of what she had seen in her dream. Her heart was in turmoil. She simply put on her clothes, stood up, walked out of the yard, and headed towards the north room where Li Zhongqian lived.

Li Zhongqian was proud of his martial arts skills, so he sent his personal guards to the outer courtyard to stand guard, leaving only two servants in the north room to run errands.

Yaoying walked in and the guards didn't dare to stop her.

The two servants were sitting back to back and dozing off. When they saw her coming, they were stunned for a moment, thinking that a fairy had entered their dream. After a moment, they suddenly woke up.

Yao Ying made a shushing gesture to them, tiptoed inside, stood outside the screen, and lifted the curtain to look inside.

She didn't want to wake Li Zhongqian up, so she just looked at him a few times to make sure he was still alive.

The bed was empty.

Yao Ying was stunned.

Suddenly, a deep laugh echoed in my ears: "It's dark, what is Xiaoqi looking at?"

Yao Ying screamed in fright and subconsciously threw the thing in her hand over.

As soon as she let go of his hand, she reacted and leaped forward. Suddenly, her feet slipped, and she lost her balance and fell headfirst towards the screen.

“Be careful!”

Li Zhongqian was also startled. He grabbed Yaoying's waist and helped her stand steadily.

With a clang, the bright moon beads fell to the ground.

Yaoying felt a pang of heartache and bent down to pick it up. As soon as she took a step forward, her ankle felt a sharp pain.

I think I sprained my ankle when I climbed up just now.

She hissed in pain.

Li Zhongqian frowned slightly, raised his voice and called the servant to come into the room to light the lamp, then picked up Yaoying and carried her to the couch in the east room.

He heard the noise as soon as Yao Ying entered the yard. He was not sleepy at the time, so he got up and waited for her to come over.

There was no light in the room, so she didn't see him standing in the dark and simply lifted the curtains to look inside.

He got excited and made a noise on purpose to scare her.

Who would have thought that she would be scared like this?

Yao Ying stared at the tiny light in the corner and said, "Wait, pick up the Moon Pearl first, don't drop it and break it."

Li Zhongqian frowned and said in a low voice: "First check if you sprained your ankle."

Yao Ying sat back on the couch, tried to twist her right foot, breathed a sigh of relief, and said, "It's okay, it just twisted a little, it will be fine in a while."

Li Zhongqian said nothing, took off her stockings, took the lamp handed to him by the servant, and examined it carefully.

After making sure that her right foot was only twisted and there were no internal injuries, he helped her put on her socks, stood up, walked to the screen, picked up the Moon Pearl and handed it to her.

"It's not a rare treasure. If it's broken, it's broken. I'll find you a better one."

Li Zhongqian spoke in a stern tone.

The screen in his room was a large floor-to-ceiling screen inlaid with mica. If she had really fallen down just now, she would definitely have a bloody head. That was no joke!

Yao Ying held the Moon Pearl in her hand, blew away the floating beads, and said with a smile, "Brother, I like this one."

She never mentioned the fact that he had done something weird and scared her, and was gentle and well-behaved.

Li Zhongqian sighed helplessly, and seeing cold sweat on Yao Ying's forehead, he asked softly, "Did you have a nightmare again?"

Thinking of those dreams, Yao Ying's heart tightened. She nodded, raised her face, and looked at Li Zhongqian without blinking.

She looked nervous, as if she was afraid that he would disappear in the blink of an eye.

Li Zhongqian didn't ask any more questions and said gently, "It's okay, those were just dreams."

Yaoying lowered her eyes and hummed.

She has already said the instructions too many times, there is no need to repeat them.

Li Zhongqian sighed and raised his lips: "Xiao Qi, I promised you that I would come back alive. If I lose the battle, I will surrender to the enemy. No matter how they humiliate me, even if they ask me to kneel and kowtow in front of the battle, it doesn't matter. I will definitely come back alive."

Yao Ying raised her head, her eyes wide open, and looked at Li Zhongqian in disbelief.

As a son of the Li family, and with his maternal grandfather's family being the world-famous prestigious family Xie, Li Zhongqian was so proud that he could actually say such cowardly words?

In the book, he was surrounded by cavalry, but he fought until the very last moment without showing any fear, and only breathed his last after killing several cavalrymen.

My brother must be afraid that she would worry, so he said these words to coax her.

Yao Ying felt a pang of sadness in her heart and her eyes turned slightly red.

Li Zhongqian raised his hand and scratched the tip of her nose, smiling and saying, "Brother, you keep your word."

Yao Ying always thought that he still had some of the Xie family's character, that he was upright, fought for his country, and would rather die than surrender.

He didn't dare let Yaoying know that he had actually changed a long time ago.

What does the Li family have to do with him?

What does the Great Wei have to do with him?

What does the life and death of the people have to do with him?

He doesn't give a damn about the world's chaos, the long-term plan, internal and external troubles... He doesn't give a damn about any of them!

He just wants Xiaoqi to be safe and sound.

The moonlight is like water, shining brightly in front of the screen.

Li Zhongqian carried Yaoying on his back and sent her back to her room.

Yaoying talked to him for a while, and then she felt more at ease. She lay on his back obediently, hugged his neck, and said, "Brother, I'll wait for you to come back."

Li Zhongqian responded with a smile.

"It will be the end of summer when you come back." Yao Ying calculated the time, "I want to go hunting in Xiyuan."

Li Zhongqian smiled and said, "Okay."

"There is a dragon boat race in Dongdu every year. We took my mother to stay in Dongdu for a few days."

"good."

No matter what Yao Ying asked, Li Zhongqian agreed to it.

Her voice became increasingly unclear.

Li Zhongqian turned around and found Yaoying asleep on his back, her moist face resting on his shoulder. Her right hand was clenched into a fist, and she did not forget to hold the Moon Pearl tightly in her dream.

He smiled.

She has been so busy these days that she must be exhausted.

…

The next morning, Yao Ying sent Li Zhongqian off to battle.

She stood on the city wall, without a veil on her head, with her hands on the arrow slits, watching the army march south.

Li Zhongqian was riding a fine horse. He turned around and waved a pair of golden hammers in her direction. He was wearing golden armor and a white robe, looking very heroic.

The author has something to say: Thanks to the little angels who cast mines: Amei, Baixiao Mengzhou, Jiutiannu

Thanks to the little angels who irrigated the nutrient solution: Jian Mu Xin An, An Ya A Mei, Yi He Shui Chu Chi Chi, Qing Yao