"It's not a possibility, it's a certainty," Grandpa Meng said contemptuously of such unprincipled greed. "They rush forward at the sight of benefits, grab it and claim it as their own. If someone more powerful comes along, they'll try to shift the blame. What kind of people are they?"
Even though he was now a commoner, so what? He wasn't a nobody. His current status was all thanks to the Emperor. He wouldn't dare to snatch anything, even if given ten times the courage.
Grandpa Meng was talking with the two children, railing against Commander Lei, when Qi Yuanshan, sweating profusely, rushed in.
"Father, what's wrong?"
Qi Yuanshan only nodded to his son before turning to Grandpa Meng with a beaming face. "Uncle, good news."
"Yuanshan, what's made you so happy? Sit down, have some hot tea to warm up, and we can talk about it later. No rush."
"Mm," Qi Yuanshan obediently took the teacup, blew on it to cool it, and once it was at a comfortable temperature, he drank it down in one gulp.
Then, he eagerly declared, "Uncle, haha, I have some great news to tell you. Commander Lei is being transferred away soon."
"What?" Sensing a possible explanation, Grandpa Meng immediately voiced his thoughts. "No wonder he swallowed his pride and came here today. He had already made his plans."
"Yes, he told me the truth on the way back. Commander Lei's direct lineage is calling him back to the capital. Heh, if he goes back, he'll most likely lose that saber."
Thinking of the saber, Qi Yuanshan felt a pang of wistfulness.
He truly loved that saber. It was not only his best offensive weapon, but also his inseparable companion.
During the battle to intercept the Tatars, that saber had carried him through charges and breakthroughs. It had helped him eliminate countless enemies and had also saved the lives of his subordinates from the enemy's blades.
Seeing Uncle Qi's eyes redden with reluctance to part with the saber, Fu Xinci couldn't help but feel a stir.
She seemed to have forgotten something. Oh, her stupid brain, why couldn't she remember it now? No, she had to think hard.
As Fu Xinci was trying to recall what the captain had said that day, she heard the rumbling sound of carriage wheels outside.
Yu'er, perched on the windowsill, spotted the figures turning past the screen wall and shouted loudly, "Dad, Mom! Hehe, Dad and Mom are back! Dad and Mom are back!"
The little one was so excited he wanted to get out of bed and run to greet his parents.
Grandpa Meng stopped him, "Yu'er, it's best to wait inside. Your short legs shouldn't be running around like that."
Although Yu'er really wanted to go out, his grandfather's words were reasonable. So he ran back to the windowsill and shouted loudly through the glass, "Dad, Mom, Yu'er misses you so much!"
Fu Xinci, however, had no such reservations. As soon as she saw her parents returning through the glass window, she ran out like a gust of wind to meet them, not saying a word.
Through the glass, watching his sister's flying figure, Yu'er, unwilling to be left behind, banged on the glass window and shouted loudly, "Dad, Mom, hehe!"
As the little one got excited, his two short legs began to bounce with equal vigor.
Qi Yuanshan saw this and quickly intervened, "Yu'er, you can't bounce on the kang. If the kang collapses, you'll fall into the kang hole."
Yu'er: What is a kang hole? It sounds like a very scary place. He decided not to bounce anymore and would never bounce on the kang again.
The people in the room also fell silent, all watching through the glass window into the courtyard. Fu Xinci ran to her parents herself, hugging Fu Shi's arm and snuggling affectionately. The family of three were clearly having a joyous conversation, their faces beaming with visible smiles.
Yu'er watched his sister and parents hugging intimately, his little mouth pouting. He was green with envy.
Qi He: I'm envious. If my mother were still alive, would I be like this too?
Qi Yuanshan, however, had a longer-term perspective. His eyes were fixed on the main gate.
As expected, he didn't have to wait long before Lin Bazong and Shunzi, each driving a carriage and a donkey cart, entered the courtyard. He strode out to meet them.
Fu Xinci also saw them. Following the donkey cart were two girls, about eleven or twelve years old. They were about a head taller than her, with fair complexions. They wore the typical hairstyles of young maids, dressed in green jackets and blue vests.
With matching embroidered shoes, they walked with almost identical steps, clearly well-trained.
Looking at their attire and dress, Fu Xinci didn't need to think much to guess their identities.
However, the maid on the right seemed a bit restless. As she sneaked a glance upwards, Fu Xinci caught her in the act.
She also noticed the contempt in the girl's eyes, which she had tried to conceal so well.
Heh, interesting.
She imagined that her kind parents hadn't seen through her hypocrisy during the journey.
Heh: It seems this villainous role falls to me. Sigh, I'll take my time, it's alright.
After they entered Grandpa's room, Fu Yu and his wife first paid their respects to their old father, then hugged their son who pounced on them.
Fu Yu felt that his son had been doing well these past two days; his small hands felt strong.
Yu'er: I'm living very well, constantly eating and drinking with my sister.
But his sister had been so affectionate with their parents just now, and he had to catch up. Thus, neither of Fu Yu's parents escaped the boy's enthusiastic kisses.
Fu Xinci's gaze flickered to the side profile of the young maid again, thinking: It seems she's still too young and inexperienced. The smugness at the corner of her mouth was too slow to conceal, and I saw it all.
Fu Yu, unaware of his daughter's inner turmoil, was released by his son and sat on the edge of the kang, elaborating on the events of the past two days on the road and in Jincheng to his old father.
"Brother Lin Er rode like the wind, and we reached Jincheng the next morning."
"You must have had a bumpy ride, traveling at night."
"Mm. But for the sake of bringing the Nuanxin sisters home sooner, my wife and I could endure it." Fu Yu didn't mention how hard the two young sisters had endured, their little faces pale from the jolting, yet they hadn't uttered a single complaint. How could they, as two adults, complain of hardship?
"We were among the first to enter the city gates in the morning. There were hardly any pedestrians on the street, so Brother Lin Er took us directly to the garrison headquarters."
The couple thought of the scene when the Nuanxin sisters were reunited with their parents, and their eyes still felt moist thinking about it.
But before they could finish, they saw Qi Yuanshan carrying Lin Bazong and the others with large bags and bundles.
They didn't finish carrying everything in one trip and had to go out again before all the items from the carts were brought in.
Fu Yu looked at the gift list that was thrust into his hand, his face flushing. He hadn't expected the Lin family to give so many return gifts.