The horse cart creaked and groaned as it moved slowly along the yellow sandy road, having traveled for more than half a day, Jiang Liu was already very tired and sleepy, it was too bumpy, wanting to fall asleep was really difficult, so especially exhausted.

  "Gegge, who are you going to see?" she asked with a bit of complaint, looking at Meri who was silently leaning on one side, her face pale from the bumpy ride but not making a sound. Having just returned from the arena, Gegge didn't even rest properly and early in the morning wanted to head to Xiaoling, she thought serving Gegge on an outing would be a good job, but she didn't expect it to be so painful!

  "A brother." Meri's eyes wandered.

  "Oh——" Jiang Liu nodded, relatives? Gigi was locked in the cold palace for so long, no family members could see her, and as soon as she came out, she rushed to visit, which is also a common human feeling.

  Even if they speeded up as much as possible, it still took two days to reach their destination. After a long time of bumping and rushing, Mei Li felt sore and weak all over her body. She leaned against the carriage and gazed at this desolate and quiet scenery. Not far away, there was still construction going on, the sound of quarrying and piling echoed in her ears, making it even more bleak and dismal.

  Several soldiers standing outside the stone wall sized her up and came over to question her. Mei Li hastily gave Jiang Liu a signal, handed them some silver, and they agreed to report for her with satisfaction. Mei Li took a closer look at this courtyard, which was different from the magnificent buildings in the imperial mausoleum. The entire yard was built with bluestone, solid and simple, obviously used as a barracks for soldiers guarding the tomb.

  "Come on in, come on in, the young master is letting you in." A soldier emerged from the second door, gazing at her with a somewhat ambiguous expression, and chuckled.

  Meili didn't have time to pay attention to these things and quickly walked into the inner courtyard.

  Along the way, diligent soldiers kept giving her directions. She was led to a house in the corner of the large courtyard. As she approached the gate of the small courtyard, she saw Cheng Yi sitting under the tree. He heard the footsteps and remained leaning against the trunk without moving, only turning his eyes to glance at her absent-mindedly.

  "Brother Cheng Yi!" she exclaimed before freezing, unsure how she had recognized him as the handsome and spirited Beile Ye from two years ago.

  Cheng Yi looked at her, expressionless, speechless, neither sad nor surprised.

  Meili's eyes stung, that arrow had killed his sister Yaoyue, and yet it also killed him.

  She took a deep breath, not letting her sadness and sorrow show, making sure the tears that had welled up in her eyes had receded, before she quietly walked over to his side and sat down, chatting casually: "Cheng Yi ge, I've been released, came to see you."

  Jiang Liu was afraid of this thin, pale and cold man. Although he was so handsome, the aura of death around him made her hair stand on end. She shivered and retreated to the edge of the door, not daring to get close.

  Cheng Yi nodded slightly, finally showing some expression.

  "Is there water? I'm parched from rushing here." Mei Lin forced a smile.

  "In the house." Cheng Yi glanced over with his eyes.

  Meili got up and walked into his room. The room was simply decorated to the point of being crude, and it was tidied up too neatly, as if no one had ever lived there.

  The tea set was placed on the table near the head of the bed, and when she went to pour water, she inadvertently swept her eyes over the bedding and suddenly found that the quilt was extremely thin. She couldn't help but walk over and touch it, and as expected, although the sheets were neat, they accumulated a lot of moisture, clearly not having been sun-dried for a long time. The ones stationed here were all big men, and Cheng Yi's brother had lost his power, so even if someone was serving and cleaning, they wouldn't be too diligent.

  This kind of situation... she understands it too well.

  Hurry up and call Jiang Liu to come and drink some water, send her to ask the soldiers outside for a long awning, take advantage of the warm sun at noon, hurry up and dry the quilt for Cheng Yi. The feeling of covering herself with a quilt that had been dampened by the tide... Now she thinks about it and still feels cold all over.

  Cheng Yi stared at the two girls going in and out of his room, hanging up the bedding one by one. Although he frowned in disapproval, he didn't say anything.

  Jiang Liu was busy for a while, feeling extremely tired. Mei Li asked Cheng Yi to arrange for her to rest in the small wing room. She found a wooden stick in the courtyard and gently tapped the cotton bedding on the rope, removing dust and making the cotton softer and fluffier.

  Cheng Yi silently gazed at her, a faint glimmer of pity flashing in his eyes. How did she become like this... He knew. Spoiled and willful as she was, how did she survive those long years?

  "Grandpa, be careful on your way out, watch the steps!" A diligent voice sounded from the gate of the courtyard, unusually clear in the quiet afternoon.

  Meili looked up and saw a middle-aged man who seemed to be the leader bowing and leading Jingxuan in. She stopped her hands in a daze, he also glanced at her coldly, Meili lowered her eyes, bowed slightly, and continued to pat the bedding.

  Heaven always plays jokes on her, what else can she do but just listen and obey?

  "The Emperor ordered me to bring you to Fentai Barracks." She heard Jingxuan say to Chengyi.

  "Alright." Cheng Yi fell silent for a moment before responding, slowly standing up. "Is the war starting?" His tone was flat, without any excitement or curiosity, as if the battle with Junger was inevitable, only a matter of time.

  "It shouldn't be soon, but we have to start making formal preparations." Jingxuan seemed a bit annoyed.

  "Water!" he ordered in a cold voice, although Meryl had her back to him, she knew the words were directed at her.

  She nodded to indicate that she had heard, walked back into the room and poured two cups of water, bringing them out. For the whole morning, Cheng Yi Ge just sat there in a daze, under the scorching sun, he must be thirsty by now.

  There was no tray in the room, she carefully walked out with a teacup in one hand, first handed one to Cheng Yi, and then used both hands to present it to Jing Xuan, looking unusually respectful, but actually distinguishing between intimacy and distance.

  Cheng Yi saw it with his own eyes, his eyebrows furrowed extremely quickly, and Meili... had finally given up.

  Jingxuan's face was cold as he took over the teacup and drank it all in one gulp.

  "Would you like another drink?" she asked with a smile, polite but distant.

  Jingxuan didn't respond and tossed the teacup back at her.

  Meili didn't blame him for his rudeness, quietly waiting for Cheng Yi to finish drinking water, together they put away the cup and went to the wellhead, skillfully drew a bucket of water, and carefully washed it clean. They were discussing some government affairs in low voices, she was not interested in listening, after washing the cups, she found something to do and took out the changed clothes that Cheng Yi had thrown behind the door and the soldiers hadn't had time to pick up, and started washing them.

  She carefully smoothed out the clothes and hung them on a long rope, so they would dry flat. Wiping away the fine beads of sweat from her forehead, she inadvertently turned around to find that the two men had stopped talking, both gazing at her with thoughtful eyes.

  She was a bit embarrassed at first, but then smiled calmly. They didn't think she could do such work, did they? Life had taught her more than they imagined! In the cold palace, there were times when she would even be reluctant to finish her chores all at once, and she cherished anything that could help pass the time. In the summer, she would wash her bedding and bed sheets every other day out of boredom, and her quilts were almost worn out from washing.

  It's been two years since she last saw Cheng Yi, and it was quite strange that she would wash his clothes without hesitation, but when she saw the pile of clothes, she habitually picked them up and washed them, feeling very down-to-earth in her heart, she had something to do.

  Jingxuan's two attendants walked into the courtyard, "Master, what would you like to have for dinner? We need to make preparations early. This is a remote village and there's nothing available here."

  Jingxuan was somewhat impatient, "Whatever, eat whatever, leave early tomorrow, no need to make a big fuss."

  The attendants bowed their heads to accept the order and stood outside the courtyard waiting for instructions. It was almost evening, and the camp blew the dinner horn, Jiang Liu also came out after a good sleep, helping the soldiers who brought dinner to set up the meal.

  Jingxuan's personal bodyguard frowned at the coarse food on the stone table, looking very embarrassed, exchanged a glance with each other, and one of them quickly walked out.

  Meili sat down next to Chengyi, three dishes and one soup, although rough, enough to fill her stomach, at least better than the food she had in Anning Temple. He... naturally couldn't swallow it, but she was already used to such plain food. She picked up her bowl and chopsticks and served a bowl of rice to Chengyi, Jingxuan... would have his own food, his servant wasn't already preparing it?

  "What do you do?" Jingxuan suddenly shouted in a cold voice.

  Meili trembled, only to find him staring at Jiang Liu with a gloomy face, "Are you the master, or is she the master?!" The majestic and cold tone of voice even scared Jiang Liu to tears.

  "Ge ge...... I'll do it myself......" Jiang Liu hastily snatched the chopsticks from her hand, muttering in a choked voice.

  Meili apologized with a wry smile. She was used to doing things herself, but in his eyes, it was like a servant deceiving her master. What he saw and what she saw were never the same thing.

  "Also give me a bowl!" He ordered Jiang Liu with one action, and the little girl's courage was already broken by him.

  Cheng Yi placed a piece of scrambled eggs in the beautiful glass bowl, Mei Li smiled at him slightly, and they both ate silently, having been alone for a long time, eating naturally became a silent affair.

  Jing Xuan picked up a piece of green vegetable, which was not even cut open, and it seemed to be stir-fried, but more like boiled. He put it in his mouth, tasteless, and furrowed his brow. Cheng Yi... and she, have been eating such food for two years? He looked at the two people opposite him who didn't think the meal was bad, and couldn't express any feelings in his heart.

  Jingxuan's attendants had two soldiers bring back trays, one with a special meal prepared for him, although the style was simple, it was obviously made with care and had a nice aroma, and there was even a bowl of braised pork belly. The other tray had two jars of wine, Cheng Yi threw down his bowl and chopsticks, picked up a jar and gulped.

  Meili also put down her bowl and politely said: "I'm done eating." Then she got up to collect the quilt that was airing.

  Jiang Liu stole a glance at the new dishes on the stone table, which no one had touched. She wanted to eat, but was intimidated by Jing Xuan's icy expression. He suddenly slammed down his bowl, and Jiang Liu was startled, jumping up from her stool and running to Mei Li's side, as if trying to hide under her skirt. Mei Li smiled and shook her head reassuringly while putting away the bedding, seemingly unaffected by Jing Xuan's inexplicable anger.

  "Take it away! Get out of here!" He suddenly roared at his attendants, "You get out too!"

  Two attendants hastily urged the soldiers, who were already shivering with fear, to quickly remove the food from the table.

  This book is first published on 17K, read the genuine content at the first time!