Li Xue nodded and said, "I was in a lot of pain at the time, and I felt like I was going to die. In my daze, I saw my brother. It was Brother Zhao who saved me with a folk remedy."
If I hadn't been saved back then, I would have met my brother in another world. Since I didn't die, it would have been impossible for me to meet my brother.
I know I won't find my brother in southwestern Xinjiang, but I still want to go see him, just to fulfill a wish.
Upon hearing Li Xue's words, Li Guang spoke up:
That's not necessarily true. Li Ruge's sudden disappearance back then was very suspicious. To be honest, we need to see him alive or dead. There must be a reason why such a grown man would suddenly disappear.
I had planned to ask the Taoist priest for guidance after meeting him, and then head to the southwestern border to find Brother Li Ru. But the Taoist priest is a wanderer, and I don't know when I will be able to meet him.
General Wei's trip to the Southern Dian Kingdom presents an opportunity for us to search for him along the way to the southwestern frontier. If Li Ruge is still alive, we are sure we can find him.
Even if we can't find Li Ruge, we must find a way to find out the reason and figure out what exactly happened back then.
In addition, Brother Zhao also accompanied the army this time, intending to go to the southwestern border region to help find out the reason for Brother Li Ru's disappearance.
Li Xue was pleasantly surprised; with Zhao Xian going along, things would be much easier.
"Brother Zhao, do you remember two years ago when we went to the Northwest Frontier, deep into the desert, and wiped out Xiao Taiyuan's forces in Yuanxi?"
"This time, we're going to the southwestern frontier, and Li Guang will be leading 20,000 troops with us. We're sure to accomplish something truly momentous."
Zhao Xian smiled and said, "I hope so. I have no other purpose in going to the southwestern frontier this time, but only to fulfill the princess's wish."
Wei Jin was overjoyed. He hadn't expected Li Guang to lead 20,000 troops to the southwestern frontier, bringing the total force to 50,000. With a war god like Li Guang by his side, Wei Jin had nothing to worry about anymore.
Li Xue and the others had been talking non-stop, and Wei Jin hadn't been able to get a word in edgewise. Seeing that they had finished speaking, he finally spoke up:
"With the assistance of Lord Shaoqing and General Li, I have no worries on this trip to the Southern Dian Kingdom."
"For this expedition, I will bring some soldiers who fought in the Northwest Frontier years ago. They should know some of the details from back then, and their help in searching will be more effective."
"Thank you, General Wei. With so many soldiers helping in the search, we will surely find my brother's whereabouts."
A few days later, Lord Yao finished his business in Narcissus Village and returned to the capital with Wei Jin.
Since Wei Jin will lead his troops on an expedition at the end of next month, there will still be more than a month before the expedition begins. Li Guang calculated that that time will be the hottest time of the year.
Marching during this season would be very arduous for the generals, but there was no other way. It was several thousand miles from Shuixian Village to the southwestern border, and it would take nearly two months for a large army to reach the area. By then, the weather should have become cooler.
With just over a month to go, Zhao Xian and Li Xue prepared to travel to Qing'an Prefecture to handle an important matter.
Two carriages, one after the other, headed towards Qing'an Prefecture. Zhao Cheng drove the other carriage with Zhao Xian, while Li Xue, accompanied by several guards, rode in the other carriage.
When they arrived at Qing'an Prefecture, it was lunchtime. At that time, the servants were sweeping the courtyard. When they saw a carriage stop at the gate, they went out to check.
Upon seeing Zhao Xian alight from the carriage, the servant immediately called out.
"The master has arrived."
Then Li Xue also got off another carriage. The servant, thinking that Yang Ruotong had also arrived, called out again:
"The lady has arrived as well."
Upon hearing this, Li Xue blushed instantly. Seeing this, Zhao Xian quickly spoke up:
"Look carefully before you shout, okay? This is the current princess. If you keep shouting, she might chop off your head."
The servant rubbed his eyes and looked again carefully; it was indeed not the lady.
The servant was terrified, thinking he had made a grave mistake, and quickly knelt down to kowtow to Li Xue.
"This humble subject's eyesight is failing, and I have mistaken you for someone else. Please forgive me, Your Highness."
Seeing how frightened the servant was, Li Xue couldn't help but laugh.
"Get up. Everyone makes mistakes sometimes. I don't blame you." After saying that, Li Xue reached out to help the servant up.
The servant was flattered. He felt that the princess was easy-going and a very nice person, so he stood up and was no longer afraid.
As the group was talking, Zhao Xiaoshan, Liu Xuan, and Zhao Dani came out of the house. They were very happy to see Zhao Xian and Li Xue.
"Greetings, Princess." The three immediately stepped forward to greet her.
"No need to be so polite," Li Xue said with a smile.
This should be the busiest time for the restaurant, so why are the three of them all at home? Zhao Xian then spoke up:
"Why are you all staying at home instead of at the restaurant?"
Seeing Zhao Xian's puzzled expression, Liu Xuan spoke up:
"Cousin, you may not know this, but General Lin of Qing'an Prefecture is celebrating his 70th birthday tomorrow. He will be holding a birthday banquet, and more than 200 people, including relatives, friends, and local officials, will be attending.
To ensure the success of this birthday banquet, Lin Xi invited us to cook. After arranging things at the restaurant, we came back to pack up and prepare to go to Lin's residence in the afternoon. We need to get the preparations done first, as tomorrow will be very busy.
We were just about to cook when the princess and my cousin arrived, and we ended up having lunch together.
So that's what happened. It was really a lucky coincidence. General Lin is a highly respected elder, so we must go and wish him a happy birthday.
"So that's how it is. General Lin's 70th birthday is a big event, so we must make sure the banquet is a success," Zhao Xian said.
"Don't worry, cousin. I've already brought over top chefs from several nearby franchise stores. They'll be in Anqing Prefecture early tomorrow morning to prepare a birthday banquet for General Lin."
"Making this birthday celebration a success will also help promote the Qinghe Restaurant brand."
Zhao Xian nodded. He knew that Liu Xuan was very thoughtful and there was no need to worry about her.
As soon as everyone entered the house, the three of them got busy. With so many people arriving at noon, lunch needed to be prepared again.
Li Xue's guards stepped forward to help, while Zhao Cheng fed the horses some fodder.
Zhao Xian and Li Xue sat down inside, and a servant brought them tea.
After taking a sip of tea, Zhao Xian spoke:
"Tomorrow we will go to the Lin residence to wish General Lin a happy birthday."
"Then what kind of birthday gift should we give? We don't know what the old general likes."
"I don't know what the old general likes. As far as I know, General Lin likes to drink, but it's definitely not appropriate to send him alcohol. General Lin is already seventy years old, and drinking too much alcohol is bad for his health."
The old general has seen many battles; he must like weapons. Let's give him a fine sword. This sword can cut through gold and jade, and slice through iron like mud. General Lin will surely like it.”
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
