Even the baby’s birth father might not be as careful and attentive as him.
What was even stranger was that the baby girl rarely threw tantrums. She was the most well-behaved baby the hunter and his wife had ever seen.
Time flowed by peacefully in the valley; meanwhile, a lot had happened outside.
The rebellion instigated by the Prince of Xuyang ended in failure when he was killed in battle by Long Xuan, the Emperor’s newly appointed general. At that point, all of the Prince’s confederates had already been eliminated.
As for the Prince of Xiangyang, it was not long before he was also captured by Old General Guo and escorted to the imperial capital to await the Emperor’s verdict.
This marked the eradication of the two rebelling vassal kings’ influence.
Long Xiao was caged in the prisoner wagon and was being transported to the imperial capital, escorted by Old General Guo himself.
The weather that day was blistering hot. Long Xiao lay indolently in the prison wagon, as relaxed as an onlooker, in great contrast to the panicked state he had been in when his rebellion failed.
Old General Guo glanced at the blazing sun above, then rode over to the prisoner wagon and handed over a waterskin. “The weather’s getting hotter and hotter. I don’t want you dying of thirst halfway through the journey.”
Despite his good intentions, his words were biting.
Smiling, Long Xiao accepted it from him and took a swig. “Thank you, General.”
Looking at the youthful face of the man in the prisoner wagon, Old General Guo gave a long sigh. “Do you know why the Emperor sent me to capture you?”
Long Xiao paused.
“Your mother passed away a long time ago, and we’ve barely ever contacted each other, but at the end of the day, I’m still your grandfather. The Emperor sent me because he still thinks of you as his brother. Since you’ve turned back from the wrong path in time, he might give you another chance.”
Long Xiao smiled ruefully. “Grandfather, losers are always in the wrong. Now that I’ve become Royal Brother’s prisoner, I can no longer hope for mercy. As a man, I have to own up to what I’ve done, so please don’t plead for me when we enter the capital. Just because Royal Brother sent you to capture me doesn’t mean that he’ll tolerate you pleading for me. If the whole Guo Family ends up getting involved, it’ll be my sin.”
After a moment of silence, Old General Guo said, “Don’t worry. I won’t sacrifice my entire family for an insurgent like you.”
“That’s good to hear.” Long Xiao exhaled in relief.
He used to be close to his grandfather’s family before his mother died, but ever since he started scheming, he had cut off all contact with them.
His grandfather’s family was devoted to the imperial court and would never allow its descendants to conspire against the throne, hence his grandfather had promptly cut him off too.
He never expected that his grandfather would still end up being involved.
As usual, Royal Brother was one step ahead of him and knew exactly how to capitalize on his vulnerability.
Gazing at the scorching sun in the sky, Long Xiao narrowed his eyes and sighed.
The imperial capital.
The court had already received several reports of victory in a row, and even the situation at the frontier had been brought under control.
The entire court was immediately filled with exultation.
Lu Liangwei had also heard the news, despite being in the harem.
Long Qingzhi sighed mournfully. “Why did Long Xiao…”
Lu Liangwei knew that she was close to Long Xiao, so she refrained from making any comment.
“Thank you for taking care of me all this time, Royal Sister. Since I’ve almost recovered, you don’t have to stay in the palace with me anymore. Zhi’er’s still young; he needs you more than I do,” she said softly, trying to change the subject.
Long Qingzhi noted the healthy color in Lu Liangwei’s cheeks—an indicator of her recovery—and nodded without hesitation. “All right, but I’ll come and see you whenever I have time.”
“Thank you, Royal Sister,” said Lu Liangwei sincerely. She knew how much Long Qingzhi had cared for her all this while, and she appreciated it wholeheartedly.
Just as they were talking, Zhu Yu brought someone in.
Lu Liangwei was startled to see who the visitor was.
“Why have you come to the palace?”