kvmb Chapter 275 Coming
Chapter 275 Coming
The three people each occupied one corner, forming a triangle on the boat.
Nianyao propped her chin up and gazed at the sky for a while, feeling unaccustomed to such silence: "Ninth Brother, are you really at ease about the Princess and Buzhi being in Bianjing?"
Qin Jiu said, "It's perfectly normal for a daughter to come home to visit her family."
Nianyao asked, "Don't you miss them?"
Qin Jiu looked at her but didn't answer.
Nianyao tapped her cheek with her finger: "Ninth Brother, do you like Princess Qingcheng?"
Qin Jiu laughed and said, "I'm too old for you young people to be all lovey-dovey. I just want to live a down-to-earth life."
Nianyao said, "I think Princess Qingcheng is also a down-to-earth person. You two share the same goal, don't you plan to have another child?"
Qin Jiu replied without hesitation: "No."
Nianyao persisted: "Then you..."
Qin Jiu looked at Luo An: "Young Master?"
Luo An said impatiently, "Why are you meddling in Ninth Brother's private affairs?"
Nianyao said matter-of-factly, "How can they keep going like this?"
Luo An said, "We used to be able to sleep on the floor and the bed at the same time, so why can't they?"
Nianyao: "That's different, they..."
Luo An changed the subject: "You said yesterday you had something to ask Ninth Brother? What is it?"
Nianyao said "Oh," and then added, "I originally wanted to ask Ninth Brother to help investigate Uncle Xu Lai's cause of death. But since Uncle Song Yuan said he died from drowning, there's no need to investigate."
Neither Luo An nor Qin Jiu spoke.
Nianyao sighed and lowered her head: "I often feel that I'm useless and can't do anything right."
Qin Jiu comforted him, "Chief, the fate of the world is not something you can decide. Even if the old chief were alive, there are some things he couldn't control."
Nianyao said, "So Ninth Brother also thinks that Uncle Xu's death was suspicious, right?"
Qin Jiu simply lay down: "Boss, you know the answer."
Nianyao paused for a moment, then asked, "Ninth Brother, when are you going to pick up the Princess and the others?"
Is Nianyao determined to make things difficult for him? Qin Jiu said, "Let's wait until Dongyang and Nanyue finish their war."
Luo An asked, "What if Dongyang and Nanyue don't fight?"
Qin Jiu jumped up in a flash: "Young Master, what do you plan to do?"
Luo An said, "Go find Xu Sheng's birthday invitation."
Nianyao also came over and sat down next to him: "Do you know where it is?"
Luo An said, "Go find it."
Nianyao thought for a moment: "How could the birthday invitation be in Nan Yue? Could it be in that dilapidated house?"
Luo An didn't speak, but Qin Jiu gave her a wink, and Nian Yao didn't press the matter further. She looked at Luo An, then drifted off into her own thoughts again.
Nianyao kept waiting for Luo An to ask where she had gone after returning from Mount Oulu. But Luo An didn't ask. Why didn't he ask?
Luo An finally couldn't stand her staring blankly like that, so he squeezed her hand: "What's wrong?"
Nianyao lowered her eyes: "Luo An, I have something very important to tell you, but we'll have to wait until we get back to Bianjing."
Luo An seemed very trusting: "Okay."
Places I once vowed never to set foot in, when I actually stood there one day, I found myself at peace, not as difficult as I had imagined, nor as unsettling as I had imagined.
One thought can lead to enlightenment, another to damnation. All those entanglements of love and hate, which we call inner demons, are ultimately just a matter of a single thought.
Although I'd never been before, I didn't feel like a stranger. Qinzhou was no less bustling than Bianjing, with its throngs of people and the constant clamor of vendors. Even the girls of Qinzhou seemed more gentle and refined in both appearance and voice than those of Bianjing…
Is this why Father couldn't forget her? Was it worth it? For a woman, he halted Dongyang's progress in unifying the world.
If Xu Sheng really finds out his true identity and gives up his position as commander, will An Liangchen want to complete Dongyang's unfinished task of unifying the world?
When Dongyang was on the verge of collapse, Luo An naturally sided with Dongyang. But now that Dongyang has the capability to confront Nanyue, Luo An wonders, what if Dongyang wins?
Nianyao led the way and found the dilapidated house. There was no lock on the door; it opened with a push.
Luo An stood at the doorway, gazing at the dilapidated house: this was where his parents had lived. His father had deliberately chosen the most ordinary house so that he and his mother could live the most ordinary life of common people.
All the rumors and gossip in the world could be heard in the Heavenly Palace. Many years later, people still talked about it with great interest: every time the Queen of Nanyue finished her court session, she would disguise herself and leave through a small door to come to this private residence.
This small and simple house, during their brief time together, held the happiness of his parents.
His father fulfilled his mother's dream of restoring her kingdom. That dream shouldn't be destroyed in his hands. There's no need to rush to unify the world in Dongyang. Fortunately, he has no children, so his descendants won't have to bear such pressure.
The hunchbacked old woman squinted at them. To be precise, she was looking at Luo An.
Nianyao called out, "Grandma, where's Xu Sheng?"
The old woman, leaning on her cane, walked unsteadily toward Luo An. She stood before him, looking up at him, her voice hoarse: "You've come."
Nianyao asked curiously, "Grandma, do you know him?"
The mother-in-law disagreed with Li Yao: "You look just like your mother."
His father once looked at him and unconsciously said the exact same thing.
The mother-in-law reached out to touch Luo An's face. Luo An didn't like being touched, so Nian Yao naturally raised her hand to stop her: "Mother-in-law?"
The old woman was slow in her movements, but she touched Luo An's face before Nian Yao could stop her, and Luo An did not dodge.
With tears in her eyes, the mother-in-law said, "You've grown so much. Your mother must be so happy. Come on, I'll take you to see her."
His mother-in-law reached out to take his hand. Luo An moved his arm slightly, and his mother-in-law only managed to grab his sleeve. As if unaware of his evasion, she pulled him out by his sleeve.
Luo An remained motionless, his tone stiff: "Where is Xu Sheng?"
"I'm here." Xu Sheng emerged from the drafty outhouse, grinning. "I didn't go looking for you, but you did come looking for me. It seems I was wrong to be so accommodating to you before."
Nianyao protested, "When have you ever given in to him?"
Xu Sheng closed his folding fan: "You don't understand the tacit understanding between brothers. Let's not waste time, just tell me what you want to do?"
Luo An said, "You sign a thirty-year peace treaty with An Liangchen, and I'll go with you to the Bohai Sea to retrieve the remains."
Nianyao stared wide-eyed in disbelief. Luo An had just been spouting nonsense? Could there really be remains in Bohai?
Xu Sheng shook his head: "It's too late. I no longer want to retrieve the remains. If you find my birth date card, I'll consider this peace treaty."
Luo An raised an eyebrow slightly, seemingly disdainful: "Are you sure you can win?"
Xu Sheng was slightly taken aback, then immediately said, "It's just for fun, we won't lose anything."
Nianyao was filled with righteous indignation: "Isn't it a loss to have the bones of thousands upon thousands of soldiers? Yunting died on Mount Oulu, and his parents didn't even get to see his remains."
Xu Sheng remained unmoved: "That's his own fault. I've done my duty to remind him. 'An army is raised for a thousand days to be used for one. If soldiers don't die on the battlefield, are they going to die for love like Yun Ting?"