AMLFS Chapter 97
by VolareGeneral Sikou Lanfeng dared not delay, holding Song Huaixi securely in front of her. She spurred her horse into a gallop, its hooves kicking up waves of yellow sand.
The desolate desert scenery gradually fell behind, and the sounds of fighting at the front lines faded away with the howling desert winds.
Everything happened so fast that Song Huaixi didn’t even have time to use his not-so-bright mind to figure out the whole story. He was already being brought by Sikou Lanfeng to the camp where Prince Zhao Fangye of the Ning district’s personal troops were stationed.
Inside the tent, Lin Rugui sat on a chair, looking anxious, her red eyes constantly glancing outside the tent. Zhao Qiongwan stayed by her side, comforting her.
Song Zigen and Song Lianyu were also pacing anxiously in the room.
As soon as they received the news of Song Huaixi’s kidnapping, they rushed over from the city without stopping. For the past two days of waiting, their hearts had been in their throats.
Hearing the sound of a horse’s whinny outside the tent, the entire family’s hearts skipped a beat, and they all looked towards the entrance.
Song Lianyu had sharp eyes and saw the two riding towards them through the tent, quickly shouting, “It’s Huaixi! General Lanfeng has brought Huaixi back!”
“Huaixi is back!”
As soon as the words were spoken, everyone rushed forward to greet them. Seeing Song Huaixi sitting safely on the horse, everyone’s hearts finally settled.
Seeing this, Sikou Lanfeng nimbly dismounted, helped Song Huaixi down, and said to the crowd, “Everyone, don’t worry, the Prince Consort is fine. He’s just a little shaken.”
As soon as Song Huaixi was on the ground, everyone immediately surrounded him.
“Huaixi, you’re finally back.” Zhao Qiongwan circled him, “We were all so worried. Did they make things difficult for you? Let your sister-in-law see if you’re hurt.”
Lin Rugui was tearful, grabbing Song Huaixi’s hand and looking at his slightly disheveled hair, her voice full of heartache and relief, “My son, your mother was so worried! Thank goodness you’re alright, truly blessed by the heavens.”
“Despicable villain, for a dignified general of a country to commit such a disgraceful act!” Seeing that Song Huaixi was not injured, Song Lianyu turned to scold Grand Commandant Xiao.
“Thank you, General Lanfeng.” Seeing that Song Huaixi was fine, Song Zigen also breathed a sigh of relief and thanked Sikou Lanfeng.
“Lord Song, you’re too polite,” Sikou Lanfeng replied.
Although there were no obvious wounds on Song Huaixi’s body, he was disheveled, and his expression was somewhat dull. When Lin Rugui’s gaze landed on his reddened wrists, she couldn’t help but feel her eyes welling up.
Her heart in her chest seemed to be trembling continuously, and she really didn’t dare to imagine what she would have done if the situation had been more dangerous.
“Good child, it’s alright. It’s alright.” Lin Rugui reached out and touched Song Huaixi’s face, gently comforting him.
Seeing the worried expressions on everyone’s faces, Song Huaixi seemed to realize it belatedly. Slowly, he forced a smile from his dull face and said, “Huaixi is fine, don’t worry.”
As if to prove something, he even turned around in front of everyone, his tone carrying a childish innocence: “Look, Huaixi is really not hurt.”
Seeing his actions, everyone’s hearts ached. At this moment, the first thing this child thought of was not to express his grievances and fears, but to reassure the people who were worried about him.
This scene almost made Lin Rugui’s tears, which she had managed to control, burst out. Fortunately, she forcibly restrained herself to avoid losing her composure.
Taking Song Huaixi’s hand, Lin Rugui said with a slightly choked voice, “Huaixi, are you hungry? Mom will cook something delicious for you to eat.”
He hadn’t eaten anything and his stomach was already rumbling with hunger. Hearing this, he happily nodded, “Okay! I’m so hungry!”
“Okay, Huaixi, go change your clothes first, and Mom will come when it’s ready.” With that, Lin Rugui called Chun Hua and Zhao Lu to take Song Huaixi to wash up and tidy up.
Seeing that Song Huaixi’s task was completed, Sikou Lanfeng mounted her horse, pulled the reins, and said to the crowd, “Now that the Prince Consort has been delivered, I will take my leave.”
Song Zigen bowed to her and asked, “Thank you for your trouble, General Lanfeng. I wonder how the battle is going on the front lines?”
“Lord Song, rest assured, His Highness has his own plans.” After saying that, she raised her whip, her figure disappearing decisively into the yellow sand.
At the same time, the battle on the front lines was extremely fierce. Zhao Fangye’s army was unstoppable, as if in an unpopulated land.
Compared to Zhao Fangye’s elite troops who had been fighting on the border for many years and crawling out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, these troops sent by the imperial court, who took military pay but did nothing, had not experienced war for a long time and only knew how to indulge in pleasure, were nothing more than wine bags and rice sacks.
Faced with a well-trained army, they had no power to resist. The only thing they could do was to become victims under the knives of Zhao Fangye’s army.
In addition, with the death of Grand Commandant Xiao, the leader of the army, the entire army was leaderless, like headless flies in chaos.
Before setting out with the army, they all had the idea that they would not fight the rebels for long. Moreover, compared to Zhao Fangye’s army, their army had the advantage in numbers. They never expected that this battle would be their death battle.
For a time, blood flowed like a river, and the chilling wind was mixed with painful wails. The yellow sand of the desert was gradually stained red with blood.
On this day, Grand Commandant Xiao and his tens of thousands of troops were buried in the yellow sands of the desert. From then on, a batch of wandering souls unable to reincarnate was added to the vast borderlands.
Zhao Fangye rode his horse to the top of a sand dune, the tragic battlefield reflecting a touch of crimson in his light-colored eyes. The howling and mournful wind blew his hair in the air, and the gradually lengthening afterglow of the desert sprinkled a golden color on his hair.
The subordinate, looking at the back of his Prince standing on the horse, felt an unspeakable sense of loneliness. After hesitating for a moment, he still stepped forward and said, “Your Highness, we have buried all the corpses on the spot according to your instructions. Should we order the army back to camp now?”
“Return to camp.” Zhao Fangye looked towards the afterglow in the sky, his eyes filled with indifference.
The change of dynasties is inevitable with the accumulation of mountains of corpses and seas of blood. Let it be the final pain of the decaying dynasty.
In the camp, Song Huaixi changed into clean clothes. He opened his mouth and took the vegetables that Chun Hua had picked for him, chewing with his cheeks bulging.
Smiling, he looked at Lin Rugui on the side and said, “It’s so delicious!”
Hearing his answer, Lin Rugui held Song Huaixi’s wrist and applied medicine to it while lovingly saying, “Silly child! If it’s delicious, eat more! Mom will make more for you.”
Her fingers gently rubbed his reddened wrist, and a sourness filled her heart. She looked up at Song Huaixi, who was eating contentedly.
She sighed in her heart: Truly, a fool has a fool’s luck.
If it were someone else who had experienced such a thrilling ordeal, how could they still eat? It would be reasonable to be seriously ill for three days and three nights.
Noticing that Lin Rugui was thoughtfully looking at his wrist, and thinking that she was feeling sorry for him, Song Huaixi stopped eating and moved his wrist, comforting her, “Mom, it doesn’t hurt.”
“I know, you just know how to coax me.” Seeing that the medicine was almost applied, Lin Rugui touched his head and said, “It’s getting late, finish eating and rest early.”
“Understood, Mom.” Song Huaixi looked up at her and obediently replied.
Lin Rugui touched his head again, her face full of love, and then left the tent.
After the servants had all left, Song Huaixi looked at the red marks on his wrist. The well-behaved expression on his face disappeared, and fear surged into his heart like a boomerang.