Forgotten Legend of the Bloodied Flower

"And congratulation for Your Majesty's son," Long Qian Xing added after some contemplation. Emperor Yang Zhou had a son some time ago, but Long Qian Xing hadn't seen Emperor Yang Zhou for a while. In fact, he was actually hoping that this time, His Majesty would stop picking the Imperial Concubines who were only 15 years old.

Giving birth to a child when they were only 15 to 16 years old was not easy and the children might not be able to grow properly because their mother's body was still too young. But he really couldn't bring himself to say that because in this era, it was normal for women to be pregnant at such early age.

For some reason, he began to feel glad that Nan Hua disappeared for several years. She will be 17 years old in a few weeks and next year, she would be 18 years old. At that age, her body should have developed more.

*cough*

Long Qian Xing felt that he was thinking about something inappropriate and pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind.

He was only talking about His Majesty, so he should stop thinking about his own situation.

"Thank you." Emperor Yang Zhou smiled. It was clear that he himself was actually happy to be able to become a father.

Long Qian Xing saw Emperor Yang Zhou's smile and really wanted to step forward and said to him to wipe that smile. It was somewhat annoying to look at.

"Come with me. There are a few things I would like you to settle in this area during your time here."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

…

<Inside the Imperial Palace's Hall>

Meanwhile, Old Master Nan looked towards the new Great General Long, Long Ao Ming, and nodded his head. The two of them had been talking about some military matters before they finally switched to other talks.

"Now that we're of the same rank, I hope you can restrain your impulse better." Old Master Nan raised the wine cup in his hand towards Long Ao Ming.

Long Ao Ming glanced at Old Master Nan and nodded while raising his own wine cup. Even in this place, he was still wearing a helmet. After all, he felt that it was better for him to wear one rather than not wearing any at all.

He knew that Old Master Nan was talking about the time when he charged without regards of anything the moment he heard of his son's death. At that time, all he could think was to take revenge for his son.

Even though it was not a very professional thing to do… he's a father.

He might be a good soldier at other time and awkward as a father to his children. However, he definitely couldn't stay silent when he heard that something happened to his son.

Old Master Nan saw the flicker in Long Ao Ming's eyes and said nothing. As a grandfather himself, he knew very well that if the one who experienced that was either Nan Hua or Nan Luo, he might do worse.

The two of them were the two people whom he cared the most in his life.

If anything happened to them, he might not be able to forgive himself.

While he could understand that he would not be a qualified general that way, that was the only thing that he could do as a grandfather to his grandchildren.

Still…

He hoped that it would never happen.

"Next time, let's invite someone from Shangguan Family." Old Master Nan thought about the people in Shangguan Family but there were only the two brats left and shook his head. "Forget it, those brats better just be with the younger generations."

"Mhm." Long Ao Ming nodded and said nothing else.

The two of them continued to drink wine as they talked about other things. Even with the generation gap, Old Master Nan could still talk with Long Ao Ming comfortably because the latter had participated in many wars during the time when Old Master Nan was still active.

At that time, Old Master Nan also helped Long Ao Ming a lot. It was even more so after the death of Old Master Long.

Because of that, the two of them were more like master and disciple in terms of their relationship with each other.

…

<Nan Hu and Nan Luo's side>

After Nan Luo mourned for Long Qian Xing a bit, he completely forgot about that matter. Instead, he wanted to know about Nan Hua's plan.

"Have you received military order?"

"I'm going to head to San City to see Feng Ao Kuai. After that, I should be able to take a few days' off to take a look at Brother Si's future br… I mean, to see Young Commander Sheng's sister." Nan Luo felt that he was being affected by Nan Hua to call that woman they had never met as his cousin's future bride.

"I'll meet you in San City."

"You're not going with me?"

"I have some business in Da Yi City and will stay there for a while." Nan Hua glanced at Nan Luo. "Don't worry, it wouldn't take that long."

Nan Luo pursed his lips. "Fine. You better take care of yourself."

"You too."

The twins looked at each other and nodded. At the same time, Nan Luo felt a somewhat invisible pressure when he saw how good Nan Hua was. When she could relax, she was even talking about war, yet he was fooling around most of the time.

He felt somewhat ashamed.

Now, he thought that he should use this period of time when there were a lot of skirmish to improve himself.

As they walked out with the drunk Feng Ao Si staggering with the help of Dai, Nan Hua noticed Nan Luo's serious expression.

She raised her hand and poked Nan Luo's forehead.

"Hu.. Nan?" Nan Luo was stunned.

"Go with your own pace and there's no need to compare with me. Everyone have their own advantage and disadvantage. Forcefully stuffing yourself and charge forward regardless whether you can take it or not will only burn you out in the end."