Under the brilliant lights, she wore a pure white cloak, with a little cap surrounded by fox fur on her small head, topped with a fluffy pom-pom.
She carried a rabbit lantern in her hand, the white glow from below reflecting on that increasingly delicate porcelain-white little face.
Her eyes, black as ink, absorbed the vast stars in the sky, warmly and brilliantly illuminating his heart.
"Nuannuan," he sighed from the deepest part of his heart.
How could she be so wonderful?
How could anyone be so wonderful?
Clearly, she didn’t have to do anything; she just needed to stay home peacefully as the General’s wife.
He was there for everything, wasn’t he?
Yet her heart and mind were entirely devoted to Bianliao and the people.
Perhaps she herself didn’t realize how shocking these words were to a soldier defending the nation.
More impactful than a thousand sweet words, more moving to the depths of his soul!
The tall figure drew her into his embrace, gently, as if she were a rare treasure.
A hushed voice echoed from his chest, "Do you not dislike the Monarch of Bianliao? He just now wanted to punish you."
"Dislike!" The small delicate voice replied without hesitation, "No, even loathe him! What was once mere dislike has now turned into genuine hatred after today!
From now on, you must pay more attention to your mother, alright?
Alone in the deep palace, who wouldn’t move into the Cold Palace unless it was absolutely necessary? When you suffered in the barracks, she never had it any easier.
I used to think she was too harsh, but after today, I will treat her as my own mother. You should also show her some care, let go of the past grudges.
She is a great mother."
The man chuckled wryly from his chest, "As the wife advises, I was narrow-minded before, thinking only that the mother found it burdensome. It won’t happen again."
Reflecting on his past indifference to his mother, Yelyu Lie felt deeply troubled within.
"It’s not your fault." The small delicate voice seemed to understand his thoughts, soothingly said, "At such a young age, how could you comprehend your mother’s deepest intentions? Without holding onto that breath, how could you have become the you of today?"
Yelyu Lie paused, his eyes showing a trace of red where she couldn’t see.
The scenes in the barracks flashed quickly before his eyes.
She was right, he was holding onto that breath...
At nine years old, on his first battlefield, the tiny boy couldn’t even lift a knife, was mocked, abused, and beaten.
He still remembered the first whipping he endured, a full twenty lashes, nearly losing his life as a child, thrown into a mass grave when on the brink of death.
But he wasn’t willing to give up, after two days and nights, he climbed out from the pile of corpses, over the bones, and back to the barracks...
At twelve, during his first battle against Chu Qingguo, the opponent was strong too, and that knife struck his back then.
The closest he ever came to death.
He even felt his soul leave his body, drifting elsewhere...
This time he wasn’t tossed into a mass grave, but honored as a hero, given a grand burial.
Yet he made it through...
Time and again, without that breath in his soul, he might never have risen again from the first time he was thrown into a mass grave.
So, his mother knew about him, didn’t she?
His little wife could discern it with just a word, why did he only understand it now?
Yelyu Lie blinked, hiding all signs of weakness from his eyes.
Holding his little wife’s slender arm, he rose from her embrace, "If you detest the Monarch of Bianliao so much, why then..."
"I find you truly foolish." The small delicate voice interrupted without hesitation, pinching his prominent nose, "A ruler’s mistakes have nothing to do with the people.
He ignores the life and death of the people, disregards how the soldiers struggle at the border, while his palace is built in such luxury, such a person is unfit to be a monarch!
Who will care for the people’s hardships? You defend the nation, and I, as the General’s wife, naturally must contribute. Moreover, the treasures gifted by mother in this Storage Ring are plenty!
Just wait, once we secure the usage rights to that grassland, Bianliao will be the richest nation!"
Her eyes sparkled brightly, filled with determination.
Always it was Yelyu Lie who inspired the soldiers’ morale on the battlefield, and for the first time, he felt the blood boiling within, just as inspired.