The Meng family had been in high spiritstely.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
They would stop and chat with anyone they met, whether familiar or not.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Meng Qingshe, who usually disliked attending court, was now lurking around to do so.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Hisrge, square ck face was always smiling at people.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Madam Meng made sure to attend every banquet.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
No matter what the topic of conversation, she would always steer it towards her children.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
When an official said, "It''s gotten cold these past couple days."<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Meng Qingshe replied, "Yes, it has gotten cold. When my two grandsons return, we must make sure they wear plenty of warm clothes."<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
When an official mentioned, "The Emperor wants to build another Buddhist temple."<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Meng Qingshe said, "A Buddhist temple, ah! I should go pray there too. It''s truly Buddha''s blessing that our family suddenly has two grandsons..."<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Everyone in the Capital City, including the dogs, probably knew by now that the Meng family had broken their single-child curse, with two grandsons in this generation.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Most people were fine with this.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Immortal Liu felt a bit awkward.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
With Meng Qingshe constantly chattering about it, even the Emperor, who only attended court once every ten days, knew that the Meng family now had two grandsons.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
He felt a strange sense of envy.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
He should have many grandchildren, but none of them seemed particrly close to him.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
The Emperor had no real reason to me anyone.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
He felt that his children weren''t as close to him as his nephew, young Han.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
But whenever any of his sons tried to get close to him, he would suspect them of having ulterior motives. "Your elder brother, the Crown Prince, isn''t even dead yet, and you''re already trying to take his ce," or "Your elder brother, the Crown Prince, has just died, and you''re already trying to take his ce. Rebellious son!"<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
The imperial heart was difficult to fathom.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
The Meng family didn''t bother to try and figure it out.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
They were happily waiting to hold their grandsons.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
The nursery and the rooms for their son and daughter-inw were all prepared.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Many sets of clothes for all four seasons had been ordered for their daughter-inw.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
The Meng family was wealthy, after all. The old master had fought in many battles, and even if the Emperor''s rewards were just for show, they were still substantial.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Additionally, sometimes during battles, they would kill one or two noble princes from other countries, and confiscating some money was reasonable.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Old Meng himself didn''t have the time or ce to spend it, so naturally, he could only send it back home.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Their whole family wasn''t particrly fond of luxury, appearing quite low-key.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
But now there was a new generation.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
If not now, when would they spend it?<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
The old Meng family was ostentatiously spending money, ordering clothes and jewelry for their daughter-inw, filling up the schedules of all the shops in the Capital City.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
It even provoked some officials to submit memorials criticizing the Meng family for their extravagance.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
"You''ve made things for all of them, but my mother and daughter-inw weren''t included. If I don''t criticize you at home, who else should I criticize?"<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Faced with such memorials, the Emperor was extremely tolerant, even thinking it was quite good.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
If they were truly loyal to the throne and frugal, he would have suspected the Meng family of having other intentions.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Spending some money, what''s the big deal?<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
The people of the Capital City were truly looking forward to seeing the Meng family''s daughter-inw, that legendary beauty said to be able to shame even Daji into death.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z css-x61atf"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">4
A bewitchingly beautiful woman who had captivated the second generation Meng at first sight, making him willing to be a live-in son-inw, inseparable for even a day - what level was this? Even more impressive was her ability to single-handedly change the Meng family''s single-child fate, giving birth to two sons in one pregnancy. This was a woman with both beauty and capability.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Many mothers in the Capital City with unmarried daughters privately wished their daughters could pay respects to the young Madam Meng. That level of skill was truly impressive.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
It was said that when she was in confinement after childbirth, she made the entire town keep herpany. The rumors were getting more and more exaggerated.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z css-x61atf"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">3
However, the Capital Citycked variety in its entertainment, so this kind of story about keepingpany during confinement was a first, further deepening people''s impressions.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Anyway,pared to Immortal Liu, who was asionally ineffective despite her reputation for efficacy, the matriarchs of various noble families were actually more eager to meet the legendary young Madam Meng.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
After all, this was true social climbing, marrying properly and giving birth openly.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
As for Immortal Liu, only some young men would discuss her as being as beautiful as a celestial being. The real matriarchs actually looked down on her, just like how people might consult a fortune teller for information but wouldn''t want to marry one into the family.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Haven''t you seen that the Liu family agreed to take her as an adopted daughter, but didn''t want to marry her in?<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Those who wanted to hear gossip, see Immortal Liu embarrassed, or marry off their daughters were even more eager than the Meng family for young Madam Meng to return with her twin babies.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Of course, there were also some with darker thoughts, wondering if young General Meng would end up like Heir Apparent Han, bing a father painlessly.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Finally.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
On this day, the evening glow filled the sky. Although it was winter, there was no wind, and it wasn''t actually cold.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
The Meng family''s carriages had been waiting at the city gate for a long time.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
To wee them.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
They had just arrived in the Capital City and had agreed to go to her brother-inw''s house first.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Jiang Mianmian had no say in the decision-making anyway, she just followed along.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Many of the Meng family''s servants were old soldiers who had retired from the battlefield, looking somewhat different from other families'' servants.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
They had a more fierce and valiant air about them.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Their movements were orderly, and they didn''t look around aimlessly.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
When this group saw the fur-d team approaching, their eyes met, and there was a sense of familiarity.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
The old servant''s heart trembled, almost thinking the Liao People had disguised themselves as civilians to enter the city.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
This group of people had cold eyes, clearly having undergone some kind of training. They also looked orderly and uniform, all seeming like they had more than one life on their hands.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
It wasn''t until they noticed the slightly chubby, square-faced man leading the group that the servants recognized him.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Oh, it was their young master.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Meng Qingshe hade to wee them personally, to show respect to his inws.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Oh my, he hadn''t recognized his own son.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
This... the Jiang family''s food must be too good.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
His son seemed to have gained quite a bit of weight.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z css-x61atf"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">3
Meng Shaoxia recognized his father at a nce, instantly feeling that his father had aged.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
After more than three years apart, his father had aged, with more wrinkles and looking much more weathered.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Meng Shaoxia felt both excited and sad.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
He silently reflected, feeling that he was truly an unfilial son who forgot his parents after getting a wife. His parents must have missed him terribly, missing him to the point of bing haggard.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
"Father!" Meng Shaoxia shouted.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Meng Qingshe''s horse even took a step back. He almost didn''t want to acknowledge his son, who looked stupidly fat.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
After a round of recognition, the family headed towards the Meng Mansion in a grand procession.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
There was a row of taverns and inns near the city gate.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Many people were sitting in the private rooms.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
The imperial grandson Chu Xi had rented one of these private rooms.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Back then, he had sent people to ambush the Jiang family, but he never expected that they would bepletely wiped out, failing in a way that defied reason.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Originally, he thought that even a lion uses its full strength when catching a rabbit.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
But the lion ended up being killed by the rabbit?<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
This caused the Seventh Prince''s movements in the capital to slow down a bit.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Of course, the Seventh Prince still had the most advantages. He was like a venomous snake that had been lurking for many years, havingid out his ns in the court long ago.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
At the same time, he had also set his sights on Zi Lu''s forces.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
After Zi Lu''s death, more than half of his people had joined him.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
The Capital City was now like a great whirlpool, precarious and ready to explode at any moment.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Watching the slowly disappearing procession, Chu Xi sighed. In fact, deep down, he sometimes even felt grateful to Jiang Er, because his father was very fond of his second brother. The second brother was sincere and brave, and his father often praised him.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
The third brother had a pampered personality, and his father also doted on him a lot.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
As the eldest son, he could only be well-behaved. Perhaps because he was too much like his father, his father looked at him as if looking in a mirror. In daily life, his father didn''t seem to like him very much.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Even when praising him, it was a kind of distant praise, never intimate, more like a rtionship between superior and subordinate.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Chu Xi was secretly observing his enemies.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
How was Jiang Er able to kill their people?<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
He noticed that Jiang Er''s horses were very good, each one a fine steed, difficult to obtain even for a thousand gold pieces.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
This person was very ruthless.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
He hadn''t received any news because Jiang Er had truly killed everyone, leaving no survivors. ording to the reports from his spies, Jiang Er had set fire to the mountain.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
He might have burned everyone to death, but fire alone couldn''t have prevented even a single person from escaping. Chu Xi suspected that Jiang Er had also used poison.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
This was a madman who didn''t care about consequences, killing, setting fires, and using poison - stopping at nothing, with no bottom line.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z css-x61atf"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">4
Damn it, the enemy was much worse than he had imagined.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
This person would be a formidable opponent, but fortunately, Chu Xi had confidence in his subordinates. Jiang Er definitely didn''t know that he was the one who sent those people.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
The enemy was in the light, while he was in the shadows.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
As the sun set, the long procession disappeared at the end of the long street.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Jiang Mianmian, whose bottom had be sore from sitting in the carriage all day, leaned out to catch some fresh air for a while.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
As the carriage started moving again, she sat back down.<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0
Jiang Mianmian said to her mother, "Mother, just now someone was watching us from the tavern upstairs. It looked like Jiang Wan''s cousin, the eldest son of the Seventh Prince."<span ss="css-1gz1n0z"><span ss="bg css-i073lf"><span ss="num css-0">0