Chapter 821

"Don't worry, you are blessed and have a great life; you will definitely live to a hundred!" Saying this, he suddenly noticed two white hairs on Lady Ying's jet-black temples.

Although she was well-maintained and had no wrinkles on her face, she was, after all, in her late thirties.

Lady Ying took out a small jade ruyi and stuffed it into his hand: "Hold onto this, it keeps you safe."

He Yue smiled from the side: "Oh, Mother has taken out the treasures from her dowry."

Lady Ying gave him a side-eye to experience for himself: "Are you my son? Why are you more long-winded than a teenage girl?"

Afterward, she solemnly instructed He Lingchuan: "When you enter the Panlong Desert, you must be careful; that is not a good place! And—"

She paused: "I know you have great ability, but you must take care of your father; both of you must return safely!"

The worry in her eyes could not be concealed.

She always felt that something ominous was going to happen later, sigh! But she couldn't stop him.

"Don't worry, Mother." He Lingchuan looked at her carefully and said slowly, "I will definitely do my best."

At this moment, his heart was filled with mixed feelings.

He Chunhua was, after all, the pillar of this family. Everyone in the family was concerned about his safety, including the original body of He Lingchuan.

A native family always had thousands of threads of ties that could not be cut, and it simply did not shift according to human will.

Wielding the sword of wisdom to cut off the threads of emotion was not easy.

This "emotion" was not just romantic love.

In the end, how many people in the mortal world could truly see through it and cut it off?

He sighed secretly and turned to his second brother: "Second brother, you are also a man of the house now; take good care of Mother!"

He Yue nodded seriously: "Brother, have a safe journey."

The brothers looked at each other in silence, as if they had thousands of words to say.

Finally, He Lingchuan patted his second brother's shoulder, laughed, mounted his rock sheep, and the team set off.

Before turning into the street corner, he looked back and saw Lady Ying and He Yue still standing in the same place, staring at him fixedly.

He waved at his family, smiling brightly.

This time, it was not goodbye.

And the main event of his return to the country had finally begun.

￥￥￥￥￥

Eastern suburbs of Tu County, Yuan Army camp.

The southern rebellion had basically been quelled, and the remaining few bandits who had escaped were no longer a cause for concern.

The Yuan Army would regularly enter Longchuan to mop up the remaining rebels.

But the post-war work was not easy at all, and Tu County was also He Chunhua's territory; he began to take over local government affairs, so he was busy from morning till night.

This was also the norm for Steward He; when reporting in the camp, one often couldn't find him.

But only tonight, He Chunhua pushed aside all affairs and returned to his tent, ordering people to set up an offering table, cook pigs, cattle, and sheep, and prepare forty-eight bowls of meat and vegetarian fruit offerings, filling two tables.

He himself wore white mourning clothes, respectfully placed the spirit tablets on the offering table, and offered incense.

Today was again the day of the He family's ancestral sacrifice.

In the past, this memorial day was spent by the whole family of four; this time, he was leading troops in battle, so he had to make the offerings himself.

According to his current rank, he shouldn't offer the three major livestock, but He Chunhua didn't care about these things at all. After the offerings were on the table, he drove everyone away, leaving only Zhao Qinghe to serve at his side.

The He family's ancestral sacrifice was always a painful day; He Chunhua knelt down, kowtowing loudly while whispering.

Zhao Qinghe heard him telling the ancestors about the recent battle reports one by one.

"Finally returned to the Yuan capital, finally the Yuan court cannot do without me." He Chunhua pressed his forehead to the ground, "Ancestors, parents, brothers, and sisters, from now on we will not only revitalize our momentum, we will not only bring glory to our family!"

The prayer was very long; by the time he stood up, the blood from his kowtowing had flowed to his neck.

Zhao Qinghe hurriedly took a soft towel to wipe away the fresh blood for him.

He Chunhua didn't care and laughed: "Bring the wine. On the day of great victory, I want to drink with my family."

This was breaking the rule, because the He family never drank on the day of ancestral sacrifice. But Zhao Qinghe didn't know this and immediately ordered people to bring two jars of fine wine.

The bayberry wine produced locally in Longchuan was clear, sweet, and refreshing, but it had quite a kick.

He Chunhua sat down facing the spirit tablets, drinking as he offered, downing a bowl in one gulp.

In the blink of an eye, both jars were empty, and he asked Zhao Qinghe to get more wine.

"My Lord, you've had quite a lot." Zhao Qinghe had already sensed that He Chunhua's state tonight was somewhat abnormal.

He Chunhua waved his hand: "Go, get the wine!"

Zhao Qinghe had no choice but to comply.

Tonight the moon shone on Longchuan, and outside the tent were the sounds of frogs and insects. He Chunhua kept eating until he was dead drunk, then suddenly threw down his wine bowl and burst into loud sobs! The crying was heart-wrenching and wailing, filled with unspeakable pain and sorrow, which stunned Zhao Qinghe.

What, what happened to Steward He? He finally came to his senses and hurriedly set up a sound-insulation barrier. However, He Chunhua's previous crying had already spread out, and many soldiers nearby had heard it.

Zhao Qinghe tried to persuade him twice, but He Chunhua ignored him, hugging the table leg and crying with snot and tears.

He had never seen his master lose his composure like this; was this sadness to the extreme?

It would be awkward to stay any longer, so Zhao Qinghe had to withdraw from the tent, leaving He Chunhua alone with the ancestors.

The soldiers passing outside the tent all stretched their necks to peek inside, and Zhao Qinghe shouted: "What are you all standing there for, nothing to do?"

Whoosh, the crowd scattered like birds and beasts.

Zhao Qinghe lingered outside for half an hour before lifting the curtain and walking in again.

But he saw one of the offering tables had been smashed, the food overturned on the ground, and He Chunhua himself was lying on the ground asleep, his head leaning against the table leg, his face scratched in several places by broken porcelain shards, and his eyes swollen like walnuts.

It wouldn't be good for others to see this appearance, so Zhao Qinghe fetched water to wash his face and then helped him to the army cot.

He Chunhua opened his eyes in a daze and asked him: "Chuan'er... I've let you down! Do you blame me?"

Zhao Qinghe was speechless.

How should he answer his master's family affairs?

But Master He had always been extremely good to his eldest son, and he didn't know what there was to "let him down" about.

"But I had no choice!" He Chunhua said again, "At that time, I was at the end of my rope, but I still had to live, I had to avenge all the old and young in our family... You definitely don't blame me, do you!"

He tugged hard on Zhao Qinghe's arm, the last few words almost gritted through his teeth. The latter knew he couldn't reason with a drunkard, so he had to nod: "Yes, yes!"

He agreed several times, and He Chunhua breathed out a heavy breath of wine, finally closing his eyes and falling into a deep sleep.

The next morning, when Zhao Qinghe went to see He Chunhua, the latter was being dressed and having his hair tied by his personal guards.

High-spirited and handsome, he was a different person from the disheveled drunkard of the night before.

He smiled at Zhao Qinghe: "You're here. I drank too much last night; did I say any nonsense?"

Zhao Qinghe saw his burning gaze, his heart skipped a beat, and he immediately said: "No."

He Chunhua turned around: "Truly none?"

"You kept shouting for Steward Wu to bring more wine."

He Chunhua sighed: "Ugly behavior after drunkenness, and I still have a headache this morning. This wine is truly not a good thing."

(End of chapter)