Chapter Twelve: The Return of the Army

  Half a month's time is like a white horse passing by, and in the days when Ziyue Ye was teasing Yun Cong every day, the country of Zixuan also welcomed their great general.

  The news of the Purple Army's great victory over the neighboring country spread like wildfire, and the people had been eagerly awaiting the return of this glorious army for half a month. The Empress Ziyuan also attached great importance to General Ziyuan's triumphant return this time, and the palace banquet was even more grand than before.

  The common people lined the streets to welcome, and even men were allowed to go out and see the general's demeanor. Of course, what's even more noteworthy is that this time, Li General's beloved daughter, Li Yu, has also returned. It is said that in this battle, Li Yu's merits are second to none!

  The man with a veil on his face stood on tiptoe, stretching his neck to look at the approaching team, and the woman also stood by waiting for their idol in mind.

  Closer, even closer!

  General Li wore a silver-white armor, her age couldn't affect her elegance, sitting astride a warhorse, constantly waving to the enthusiastic crowd like a passionate audience, behind her followed a woman riding a black horse, with neatly tied hair and wearing a helmet, also in silver-white armor, holding a wooden box in her hand. Behind them was a vast army.

  "That woman following General Li must be General Li Yu, right?" The man whispered to himself, what a handsome heroine, with an air of elegance between her eyebrows, the baptism of the battlefield made her whole body carry a faint heroic aura, but it didn't damage her beauty at all. It's said that this time the enemy general's head was cut off by her under the horse!

  The man watched as Li Yu rode past him on horseback; if she could just glance at him, he would be willing to die.

  Zi Ruoye did not know what was happening outside at this moment, she was now accompanying Zi Yanran to say some nonsense, and Zi Yanran was annoyed by her almost to death.

  "Yu Ye, the generals will be entering the palace soon, and I must also prepare myself." She couldn't understand why Liu Qingyou looked down on him, except for his age being a bit older, everything else was top-notch. It's not like Liu Qingyou didn't have many suitors even now, they were all just rejected by him.

  Today, Japan should be well-prepared to welcome General Li. Although she is the Emperor, this battle would have been difficult to win without General Li, and she should at least express some gratitude. However, early in the morning, she saw Zi Ruoye coming to find her, of course, through extremely secret means.

  "Your Majesty..." Zi Ruoye called out softly, bowing deeply at a standard 90 degrees. But it made Zi Yanran's hairs stand on end, may the Nine Heavens Goddess protect her! Every time the princess called her "Your Majesty", she had a bad premonition!

  But saw Zi Ruoye slowly sitting on the chair, sighing and letting out a breath, making Zi Yanran even more anxious, always unable to help but ask, "Ruoye, why are you sighing?"

  "I heard that Li Yu beheaded the enemy general, is this true?" asked a half-asleep tone in a careless manner. "Ziyan, as an emperor, what else do you need to prepare for? Just sit and wait."

  Ziyan nodded slightly, she had already learned of this news when the express report arrived and had mentioned it during the morning court, what was wrong with that?

  "I also heard that Li Yu brought back that bloody head for you." It's really too bloody, if you're going to kill someone, just kill them, if you're going to chop someone up, just chop them up, why bring it back?

  "This... is just to prove to me that what she said is not in vain." It's just a head, after all. Emperors have always risen to power by treading on corpses, but why did she have to describe it in such detail? She had an urge to vomit.

  "Yes. I think so too. Then, Your Majesty, you can go and receive them. I will withdraw now." She jumped down from the chair with a nimble movement and walked out of the imperial study in a swaying manner.

  Looking at the figure of Zi Ruoye, Zi Yanran's mouth twitched slightly. Is she not going to greet her again? Rubbing her temples, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't understand why Zi Ruoye had come to find her so early in the morning. Sighing, "Wang Shiren, change your clothes."

  It's not easy to infiltrate the enemy army... and it's even harder to get a glimpse of the enemy general's head... Zi Ruoye swayed, her legs seemingly unable to stand straight forever, and she walked out of the palace in the early morning like a drunkard.

  Oh no! There's still a banquet later... Let's head back to the palace first.

  Zi Ruoye refused the carriage to take her back to the palace, and let the servants drive the carriage back first. She was going to walk slowly by herself, maybe she could even see the triumphant army returning!

  Although that's what she said, Zǐ Ruò Yè deliberately took the small path that no one usually walked on, and it was as if she and General Li were going in opposite directions on a main road. She didn't go to greet them...she would just wait until the banquet later. Originally intending to return to the Wang Manor, she suddenly changed her mind, casually jumping onto the rooftop of a nearby house, propping up her legs, and staring blankly at the white clouds.

  If she could be a white cloud too... If she gets bored in the sky, then turn into rain and go play in the sea.

  Ziyan and all the ministers were in the great hall when a servant announced, "General Li, the General of Pacifying the Nation, and Deputy General Li Yu have arrived!"

  General Li wore his sword and strode into the grand hall, followed by Li Yu. The two knelt down simultaneously, "Long live Your Majesty, forever and ever!"

  Ziyan suddenly stood up from the phoenix chair, "Quickly get up, General Li's battle this time was truly exhilarating and made me very delighted!"

  "The old minister has never failed the Emperor's trust, defeated 3,000 enemies, killed 7,000 enemies, and returned triumphantly with a great victory!" General Li said loudly, his voice booming as if it could pierce people's eardrums. Li Yu held the wooden box, listening to all directions, with a hint of pride in her eyes, looking at General Li's back, one day she would surpass her mother and become a general!

  Zi Ruoye stood aside, rubbing her ears. "Do you have to be so loud?" General Li's booming voice hadn't changed after all. As she rubbed her ears, she carefully sized up Li Yu.

  Li Yu is eighteen years old this year. She has been learning martial arts with her mother since she was six years old, and made some achievements at the age of eleven. At sixteen, she followed General Li to rush onto the battlefield.

  Yes... this battle has been going on for a full three years now.

  "This must be Deputy General Li Yu, right?" Zi Yanran looked at Li Yu who was still kneeling and asked with a smile. Although she had made great contributions this time, as a small deputy general, she still needed to be put under some pressure, after all, to let her know who the real master is.

  "Deputy General Li Yu pays his respects to Your Majesty!"

  "Get up. What is in the hands of the deputy general?" The wooden box probably contains the head of that enemy general, but after being stirred by Ziyue Ye this morning, even a little interest was lost.

  "Presenting to Your Majesty, this is the head of the enemy general. A special offering to our Emperor!" Li Yu said steadily, holding the wooden box above his head with both hands.

  "Good! Good! You've all worked hard for three years, enjoy the reward!" Zi Yanran let the servant take down the wooden box, but didn't even bother to look at it. This can't be blamed on her, if anyone is to blame, it's only Zi Ruoye.

  Li Yu saw the servant take away the wooden box but didn't open it, a hint of displeasure flashed in her eyes... and then her expression immediately calmed down.

  Gold and silver, jewels and white jade, silk and emerald, precious antiques, rewards kept coming one after another. Ziyu Ye's heart itched upon hearing this; if converted to silver, he might be able to buy wine to build a pool of liquor.

  "The young lady is not talented, this time it was just a fluke, thank you for the Emperor's favor." General Li smiled with satisfaction towards his daughter, but still modestly bowed.

  "General Li is too modest, a true hero emerges in his youth!" Ziyuan smiled and replied, "I have prepared a welcoming banquet for the general, let's head to the Imperial Garden together."

  What a great honor it is to walk side by side with the Emperor! The officials looked at General Li with envy, while General Li just smiled and followed Zi Yanran to the Imperial Garden.

  Cups and chopsticks intertwined, songs and dances rose to the heavens. On the viewing platform in the garden, handsome men danced with their elegant movements. Some high-ranking officials had already been drawn away by the scenery on the platform. General Li sat in a lower position under the purple awning, next to him was Liu Qingyue. Wearing a pale moon-colored robe embroidered with golden thread and beautiful patterns, he exuded elegance and nobility with an air of refined tranquility.

  Zi Ruoye stared blankly at Liu Qingyue sitting in the upper seat, thinking to herself that she was indeed as pure and bright as the moon, no wonder the previous master had been infatuated with her for so many years. The wine cup in her hand was forgotten, and when Liu Qingyue seemed to sense her gaze, she smiled slightly at her, causing Zi Ruoye's face to flush slightly red.

  Hurriedly covering up the awkwardness, he started drinking, ah... having to face his former secret crush and all, it's really a bit embarrassing, although the true master isn't her...

  Just as she was thinking, Zi Yanran said, "Today is so happy, why not let others perform too?" Zi Ruoye raised an eyebrow and took a look around, suddenly understanding that this banquet was actually another form of blind date!