Meng Xiangbei selected a suitable martial arts manual from his Nightmare Beast memories. Instead of using the original whip, he used a long spear.
He started practicing martial arts before dawn every day, and every time Qiao Qingjun woke up, no one was by his side.
Qiao Qingjun would occasionally go to watch Meng Xiangbei practice martial arts when he had free time. Seeing the hard work and sweat he put in, and his daily perseverance, he felt very sorry for him, but he did not persuade him to give up or slack off. He vaguely knew that his husband was working so hard for their family.
So he also needs to work hard.
Therefore, Qiao Qingjun devoted himself even more to studying medicine.
The adults were all busy and worried that they might not be able to take good care of An ge'er, so they specially hired an honest and simple woman to take care of him.
An ge'er didn't cry or fuss. At just over a year old, he could already run around freely, occasionally tugging at things like a little firecracker.
Sometimes he would go to the pharmacy to see his father and the imperial physician Liu, and sometimes he would squat in the training ground to watch his father practice martial arts, his eyes always shining. When Meng Xiangbei was resting, he would also bring his father water to drink, just as his daddy had told him to.
Sometimes, he would play with the neighbor's kids.
Some of the children were a few years older than him, while others were the same age.
The people of Shuilu City, influenced by their local customs, are mostly simple, honest, and straightforward, and the children interact with each other in a direct and honest manner.
Gradually, An ge'er, who used to be somewhat timid, became lively and cheerful. He especially loved to smile at those close to him. He was already handsome and adorable, and his smile made him even more endearing.
In the evening, Qiao Qingjun returned from the pharmacy with a few doses of medicine in his hand. As he passed the training ground, he saw Meng Xiangbei practicing with a long spear, while An ge'er sat next to him, clapping excitedly.
The orange sky exuded warmth and gentleness, and the afterglow of the setting sun made the two figures, one large and one small, appear infinitely larger.
This scene was heartwarming and beautiful.
Qiao Qingjun smiled.
These past few months have been the very beginning of his life since his parents died.
-
Time flies, and another two months have passed.
These past few days, Qiao Qingjun hasn't been in a very good mood. He clings to Meng Xiangbei every night, but Meng Xiangbei just silently keeps him company without saying much.
Because of his personality and intelligence, Qiao Qingjun never hid his thoughts, and at this moment, he probably thought he was hiding them very well.
Meng Xiangbei held Qiao Qingjun as they lay on the bed. The two had just finished their passionate lovemaking, and Qiao Qingjun was so tired that he lay on Meng Xiangbei's chest with his eyes closed, his fair cheeks flushed.
"Ah Qing, I'm leaving the day after tomorrow," Meng Xiangbei said.
Qiao Qingjun, who was lying on his chest, suddenly opened his eyes, then lowered them again and softly hummed in agreement.
Meng Xiangbei hugged his stiff body tighter, rubbed his chin against his hair, and said half-jokingly, "Don't you have anything to say to me? Or do you actually want me to leave as soon as possible?"
"No, I don't want to." Qiao Qingjun looked up at him and immediately denied it, then remembered something and added, "No, I do want to. It's not that I don't want to, and it's not that I want to."
In his anxiety, he lost control of his emotions, his logic became scrambled, and he was at a loss for what to do.
"No rush. I was just joking with you. Take your time."
Qiao Qingjun breathed a sigh of relief, and after a moment, he reorganized his tone: "My husband is leaving, and I will miss you. But I will not stop you from leaving."
Meng Xiangbei understood what he meant.
Although Qiao Qingjun is intellectually disabled, he is perceptive, able to distinguish between good and evil, and understands the principles of things.
He knew that his husband's temporary departure was for the sake of their family, and he wouldn't stop him.
However, the thought of having fewer and fewer opportunities to see his husband in the future still saddened him. He couldn't bear to part with his husband, and An ge'er couldn't bear to part with his father either.
An ge'er didn't know where he heard the news that Meng Xiangbei would leave, and for the past two days he had been tugging at his clothes and asking: Does father not want them anymore?
He knew, of course, that his husband didn't abamdoned them, so he patiently explained to An ge'er.
As Meng Xiangbei listened to his story, a pang of pain shot through his heart. He kissed his slightly reddened eyes and said, "I'm sorry."
Meng Xiangbei knew he was leaving soon, so he thankfully hadn't practiced martial arts these past few days. Instead, he spent time with him and An Ge'er, enjoying the time the three of them spent together. He hadn't thought about having a proper talk with them again until tonight...
He failed to give Qiao Qingjun and An Ge'er any peace of mind.
Before Meng Xiangbei could say anything more, Qiao Qingjun reached out and covered his mouth with his small hand.
“Aqing knows that husband did this for us.”
“My husband will miss us too.”
Meng Xiangbei's large hand slowly covered his hand, and he nodded heavily: "I will miss you. You are the Aqing I love, and you are also the father of my child."
That night, Meng Xiangbei had a long talk with Qiao Qingjun, trying to soothe his uneasy heart.
The next day, I also had a detailed conversation with An ge'er.
Although An ge'er is young and can't even speak fluently, children have the strongest sense of perception.
After some communication, the family of three grew even closer.
Even though they were reluctant to part, the day had come for them to separate. Meng Xiangbei had already registered for the army, and today was the day he would report to the military camp.
"Imperial Physician Liu, I'm entrusting Aqing and An ge'er to you." Meng Xiangbei sincerely entrusted the father and son to the old imperial physician.
Imperial Physician Liu waved his hand: "Don't worry, Aqing and An gd'er are like my son and grandson, I will naturally take good care of them. As for you, take good care of yourself while you are in the army camp. Don't neglect your martial arts either. In recent years, the relationship between the Great Sui Dynasty and its neighboring countries has been unstable, and war may break out at any time. If you have martial arts skills, you can save your life."
"Alright, that's enough. You're intelligent and decisive; you know what to do." With that, Physician Liu turned around, hands behind his back, and wiped away a tear from the corner of his eye.
That brat, he's really going all out for his future and his family.
Physician Liu was sentimental; over the past six months, he had come to regard them as his own children.
When his child is going to fight a war, he naturally gives him some instructions.
Future prospects are secondary; what matters is life.
Imperial Physician Liu had a servant deliver a bundle to Meng Xiangbei. Inside were medicines that he and Qiao Qingjun had prepared over the past few days, in case Meng needed them while he was in the military camp.
After bidding farewell to Physician Liu, Meng Xiangbei looked at Qiao Qingjun, whose eyes were already red, and An ge'er, whose eyes were brimming with tears, in his arms.
“Father,” An ge’er called softly.
"Yes." Meng Xiangbei responded and hugged An ge'er. "Father will miss our An ge'er. An ge'er, you must eat well and sleep well, okay?"
An ge'er nodded and patted his little chest: "Take care of Daddy."
Meng Xiangbei's eyes welled up with tears: "Thank you, An ge'er, for helping your father take care of your daddy." He couldn't help but kiss An ge'er's tender little face.
An ge'er stared wide-eyed at Meng Xiangbei, and after a moment, he clenched his little fists, puffed out his cheeks, and shyly touched Meng Xiangbei's face with his pink lips.
Meng Xiangbei smiled.
Finally, he looked at Qiao Qingjun, who had remained silent.
Meng Xiangbei touched his face: "Aqing, take good care of yourself. I'll come back when I have time."
Despite saying that, Meng Xiangbei dared not give any further guarantees.
He knew that war between the Sui Dynasty and its neighboring country was about to break out, and that he would leave Shuilu Pass with the army.
Aqing held onto Meng Xiangbei's sleeve, holding back his tears, and said firmly, word by word, "Aqing and An ge'er, will always wait for you, my husband."
"good."
That day, despite his reluctance, Meng Xiangbei finally packed his bags and left, resolutely joining the army.
-
Since severing ties with Meng's mother and leaving the capital, Meng Xiangbei has given up his status as a young marquis and is now just a commoner named Meng Xiangbei.
Upon entering the army, without status or power, Meng Xiangbei had to start from the bottom and became a lowly soldier.
On his first day in the military camp, he felt a sense of solemnity and gravity surrounding him.
Meng Xiangbei could vaguely guess the reason.
He participated in drills with other soldiers every day. At first, Meng Xiangbei was looked down upon by others.
Most of the people who joined the army in the Northwest military camps were from this area, and they were mostly rugged-looking with dark skin.
Meng Xiangbei was fair-skinned and not as strong as the others. At first, everyone thought he was a weak and helpless pretty boy who might cry or run away when it came to actual fighting.
Meng Xiangbei ignored the opinions of others. He would get along with his friends in the military camp if they were compatible, but he didn't try to force them to stay if they weren't.
He trained diligently, and in the competition a month later, he defeated a hundred men in a row and even planned to train their centurions.
In no time, not only the soldiers but even the centurion looked at him with new respect. During several conversations, the two got along very well and became friends.
"Brother Meng, do you know why our Northwest Army has been so strict with training lately, refusing to slacken?" It was a rare moment of relaxation at night.
Two people sat on the ground by the campfire. One was Meng Xiangbei, and the other was the man who had just spoken. He had a rugged appearance and a strong build. He had some stubble on his chin, which did not make him look sloppy, but rather gave him a more unruly and roguish air.
The man's name was Yang Huaizhong, and he was the centurion of Meng Xiangbei's squad.
Yang Huaizhong grew up in the northwest, in Bincheng, another city near Shuilu City.
Eighteen years ago, the Sui Dynasty broke out into war with its neighbor, the Jiang Kingdom.
The people of the Jiang Kingdom, who were established earlier, were said to have come from ruthless bandit backgrounds. When they fought against the Sui Dynasty, their military strength was relatively weak at the time. However, the generals of the Jiang Kingdom were not only cruel but also wise and brave. The Sui Dynasty, which had been at peace for a long time, was caught off guard by the Jiang Kingdom.
General Jiang also cruelly massacred an entire city.
In the end, it was General Qian Zheng who defeated the Jiang people.
Yang Huaizhong looked up at the full moon in the sky and said, "18 years ago, I was only 17 years old. During that massacre, my parents, my wife, and the unborn child in my wife's womb all died."
Meng Xiangbei paused, his fingers poking at the campfire with a branch. He looked up at him and, unsurprisingly, saw a redness welling up in his eyes.
Having lost his family, Yang Huaizhong harbored a deep hatred for the people of Jiang, but he couldn't go to Jiang alone. Instead, he trained in martial arts and joined the army. He believed that given the ambition of the Jiang people, they would surely return.
Yang Huaizhong spent eight years learning martial arts from a master before joining the Northwest Army.
Yang Huaizhong had hoped to be granted a chance to fulfill his ambitions, but unfortunately, he was constantly suppressed by a deputy lieutenant in the army.
The lieutenant transferred him to logistics, where he was responsible for cooking and fire-making. He was not allowed to practice martial arts like the other soldiers, and he was isolated.
During those seven years, Yang Huaizhong struggled in the military camp, and his life was almost in danger several times, but unfortunately he had no way to deal with that person.
Sometimes he even doubted whether joining the army was the right or wrong decision.
Fortunately, the lieutenant was expelled from the army camp for committing a serious crime, and Yang Huaizhong saw hope again. In three years, he rose to become a centurion.
Meng Xiangbei pressed his thin lips together, wanting to comfort him, but he couldn't do it except in front of Qiao Qingjun and his son, which troubled him quite a bit.
Instead, Yang Huaizhong laughed heartily and patted him on the shoulder: "I'm fine. So many years have passed, and the sadness has lessened. However, killing the Jiang people and defeating the Jiang Kingdom by the Sui Dynasty has become my obsession." This is what he wants to do for the rest of his life.
Meng Xiangbei pursed his thin lips, remaining noncommittal.
Some people are carefree and easily forget their sorrows, while others are stubborn and trapped by their obsessions throughout their lives. It's not a matter of who is right or wrong; everyone makes different choices.
After a moment of silence, Meng Xiangbei asked, "Brother Yang, were you referring to the Jiang Kingdom...?"
Yang Huaizhong looked up and narrowed his eyes; it was the direction of Jiang State.
"Recently, the Jiang Kingdom's army has been making moves on the border, engaging in several minor provocations. After 18 years of preparation, their ambitions have grown again. War is imminent."
Yang Huaizhong's feelings were complicated when he said those words.
He had waited 18 years to go to war with the Jiang Kingdom, and finally he could kill his enemy and avenge his country. But in every war, the most innocent are the common people. How many people would be displaced and lose their lives?
"When a dynasty prospers, the people suffer; when a dynasty falls, the people suffer."
Meng Xiangbei looked at the flickering flames in the campfire, lost in thought. Yes, the war between the Sui Dynasty and the Jiang Kingdom was about to begin.
However, in that real life, General Qian Zheng, due to old injuries and his advanced age, had one of his arms severed during a battle with the General of Jiang, leaving him crippled and nearly dead.
General Qian was a god of war among the people and generals of the Sui Dynasty, and Qian Zheng was no exception.
Qian Zheng's defeat shattered the morale of the Sui Dynasty's soldiers.
Under the relentless pursuit of the Jiang Kingdom soldiers, the Sui Dynasty was defeated, ultimately losing fifteen cities, paying a huge sum of money, and forcing two princesses to marry into the Sui court before the war finally ended.
Because of this battle, the small Jiang Kingdom rose to become a superpower, while the Sui Dynasty was reduced to a small country.
As Yang Huaizhong predicted, a month later, the Jiang Kingdom launched a war.
The soldiers of the Northwest Army immediately broke camp and went to the front line to join the battle.
-
"My husband..."
Qiao Qingjun woke up from his dream, his eyes still filled with lingering fear.
He turned his head to look at the side, where An ge'er was still sleeping peacefully.
More than two months have passed since Meng Xiangbei joined the army, and this is the first time Qiao Qingjun has dreamed of him.
He dreamt that someone was stabbing his husband with a knife, and he woke up from the dream in fright.
Qiao Qingjun's chest heaved, his heart pounding wildly.
"My husband will be alright, he will be alright," Qiao Qingjun murmured.
After a long while, his racing heart finally calmed down.
The next day, feeling somewhat uneasy, Qiao Qingjun took An ge'er to a temple in the north of the city to burn incense and pray for blessings.
This temple is very popular and is said to be particularly efficacious.
Before Meng Xiangbei left, Qiao Qingjun came here and asked for a blessing for him.
Qiao Qingjun pulled An ge'er to kneel before the Buddha statue and prayed sincerely.
"...Buddha, please bless my husband Meng Xiangbei so that he may return safely..."
The tiny, wiry An ge'er knelt on the ground, looking at the Buddha statue before him, and repeated in his childish voice, "Father, peace."
After finishing their prayers, Qiao Qingjun left the temple with An ge'er. Before they even got home, they heard news of a battle on the border and that the Northwest Army had rushed to join the fight.
Qiao Qingjun stood there, stunned. Thinking of his dream last night, his legs suddenly went weak.
"Don't worry, that brat Meng will be fine. What you should do now is take care of yourself and An ge'er." Seeing his absent-minded appearance, Physician Liu quickly comforted him.
With the help of Physician Liu, Qiao Qingjun finally calmed down.
Qiao Qingjun became even busier after that.
He was busy taking care of An ge'er, busy running the pharmacy, and busy inquiring about news of the border war. He also went to the temple to burn incense and pray for blessings from time to time.
He believed that as long as he was sincere, Buddha would bless his husband.
-
The imperial court in the capital was in turmoil.
At this moment, the court officials were fiercely debating who should lead the troops into battle.
The first choice was naturally Qian Zheng. Even though everyone knew that Qian Zheng was old and had hidden injuries, there was no other candidate in the court besides him.
Others suggested several more people, but none of them were up to the task.
In the end, Qian Zheng was chosen.
“Father, I am willing to go to the Northwest to fight against the Jiang Kingdom alongside General Qian and our soldiers.” A handsome young man in a python robe stepped forward and bowed.
"Third son, are you going to the border?" the emperor asked in surprise.
The young man was none other than the third prince, Murong Yin, born to Consort Lan.
The court officials were deep in thought, truly unable to understand why the seemingly weak and unassuming Third Prince would want to go to the border.
In their view, Murong Yin was intelligent and talented, and even had extraordinary abilities in governing the country. The emperor had always praised this son. However, when it came to martial arts...
He's nothing special.
Why would someone give up a comfortable life of wealth and privilege to go to the border to suffer hardship and even lose their life? People couldn't understand it.
But Murong Yin's mind was made up.
"Very well." The emperor finally agreed. "Qian Zheng will be the Grand General, and the Third Prince will be the Deputy Grand General, leading 150,000 troops. Starting tomorrow, they will head to the border."
-
General's Mansion.
Upon hearing this news, Aunt Xiao silently shed tears.
"Master, do you know what leading the troops into battle this time means?" Aunt Xiao asked, her eyes brimming with tears and even a hint of anger.
She didn't know anything else, but she did know about Qian Zheng's physical condition and the ferocity of the Jiang people.
This trip may very well be a one-way trip.
Qian Zheng embraced Aunt Xiao and said, "Whether as a member of the Great Sui Dynasty or a member of the Qian family, I have an unshirkable duty to go on this expedition. It's just that I'm sorry to you, and I may not even be able to see Jiaojiao get married."
"Master, I won't allow you to say that. You, you must return safely."
Author's Note: Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 17:55:45 on March 3, 2020 and 17:36:55 on March 4, 2020!
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Langran, Dongfang, and Manmanchengjuxingzigou (1 bottle each);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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