Tears silently flowed from Xiao Shi’s eyes into her heart. Meixue, her poor child, forgive me. It’s all Mother’s fault for being useless, unable to protect you properly, letting you suffer so much grievance and even having your life taken by others. Forgive me. If there’s a next life, Mother will definitely take good care of you and never let anyone harm you.

After Yunyi finished speaking for a long while, Xiao Shi still didn’t say anything. Looking up, she saw Xiao Shi staring blankly at some unknown distant place, her expression showing a sorrow she had never seen before, with tears falling silently.

She hurriedly said, “Mother? What’s wrong with you? Why are you crying?”

Xiao Shi snapped back to reality and instinctively touched her cheek. Indeed, there were wet traces on her fingertips. She covered up, saying, “It’s nothing. Mother just feels that Meixue was very pitiful, suffering alone since childhood, and when she finally grew up, she was harmed by others.”

“Although Meixue was abandoned by her parents and nearly died at the tiger’s mouth, she was very fortunate to meet a father who loved and cherished her. Your son believes that if Meixue has a spirit in heaven, she wouldn’t think herself pitiful.”

Her words made Xiao Shi show a comforting expression. “You’re right. Being able to meet Wu Laosan was Meixue’s greatest fortune. Moreover, if it weren’t for him, Mother might not have been able to see you either. He truly is a great benefactor to both of you, and also… Mother’s benefactor!”

Yunyi was currently thinking about Wu Laosan who died to save her, and didn’t carefully consider Xiao Shi’s words. She choked up, saying, “It’s all your son’s fault. If it weren’t for saving your son, he wouldn’t have died!”

Xiao Shi comforted her, “Perhaps this was his fate. Don’t blame yourself anymore. Believe that Wu Laosan also wouldn’t want to see you like this. In the future… if there’s an opportunity, Mother will accompany you to Honghua Prefecture to properly rebury Wu Laosan and Meixue, then pay our respects properly.”

Xiao Shi’s words made Yunyi both surprised and delighted. She indeed wanted to return to Honghua Prefecture once more, but she hadn’t expected that Xiao Shi would also…

“Mother, do you truly want to go with your son?”

Xiao Shi straightened the butterfly hairpin on her hair bun and smiled, “When has Mother ever lied to you? He saved you, so both emotionally and according to propriety, Mother should go pay respects. However, this isn’t the right time. We’ll need to wait a while before speaking of it.”

“Mm.” Yunyi nodded repeatedly. This was truly an unexpected joy for her. Honghua Prefecture… she wondered what it would look like when she returned, and whether she would see Jiang Caiping again, and… Li Shimin?

If she did see him, what would they say to each other, or would there be… nothing to talk about?

In the fifth month of the tenth year of the Daye era, Emperor Yang Guang personally led six hundred thousand troops toward Liaodong, beginning the third campaign against Goguryeo, vowing to avenge the previous two defeats.

While Yang Guang mobilized the entire nation’s strength, leading six hundred thousand troops in a mighty procession toward Liaodong, Li Jiancheng, who had been away for nearly half a year, also returned to Honghua Prefecture.

His legs could now move normally, no longer showing the previous lameness, proving that Jirong’s Tendon-Mending Muscle-Growing Powder had completely cured his foot ailment.

The recruitment in Hedong had gone more smoothly than they had anticipated. Yang Guang had consecutively campaigned against Goguryeo for three years, not only depleting the nation’s strength but also causing hundreds of thousands of Great Sui people to perish. Previously, he had also built canals and constructed the Purple Forbidden Palace, even creating the tragic situation of “the world dying from forced labor.”

Countless farmlands were abandoned due to lack of people to cultivate them, and the people were displaced. Everywhere one could see situations where the elderly had no one to depend on and the young had no one to care for them – the people could not make a living. Under these circumstances, the people had long been deeply disgusted with Yang Guang’s rule.

As soon as Li Jiancheng sent people to recruit, people immediately came to enlist – old and young, men and women alike, not even asking about Li Jiancheng’s identity. For them, continuing like this would sooner or later lead to being forced to death. The only way to survive was to rise up in resistance, no matter who was doing the recruiting.

In just a few months, after excluding women, children, and the elderly and weak, Li Jiancheng had already recruited several thousand people, stationed within Xingguo Temple in Taiyuan City, commanded by Zhangsun Shunde. He was the cousin of Zhangsun Sheng, the future father-in-law of Li Shimin, who had previously hidden in Taiyuan to avoid military service in the Goguryeo campaigns.

After Li Jiancheng accidentally learned of this matter, he contacted him several times. After confirming that he also had anti-Sui sentiments, he revealed the truth. The two immediately hit it off, and Li Jiancheng entrusted the recruited army to him to train and command at Xingguo Temple, while continuing to secretly recruit.

After listening to Li Jiancheng’s account, Li Yuan nodded with satisfaction. “Zhangsun Shunde is also a person skilled in warfare. Gaining his assistance is indeed a good thing. What about Liu Hongji? Have you recruited him?”

At the mention of this name, Li Jiancheng immediately frowned, saying somewhat angrily, “This person has an extremely strange temperament. When your son sent people to see him several times, he avoided meeting them. Later, your son thought of Father’s words about treating worthy men with courtesy, so he personally went to request a meeting, but he still avoided seeing me, even having servants come out to drive your son away. It was truly infuriating.”

Li Yuan furrowed his brow, “So you’re saying you didn’t manage to recruit him?”

“Yes.” Li Jiancheng nodded. “Forgive your son’s direct words, but although Liu Hongji has some talent, his temperament is so disrespectful that even if recruited, he would be difficult to assist Father in achieving great enterprise!”

Li Yuan looked puzzled, “Strange. This person has always liked making friends and is known for his loyalty. How could he be so difficult with you?”

“Perhaps the rumors were mistaken. Regardless, now that we have Zhangsun Shunde to help us command the righteous army, it’s sufficient.” Saying this, he lowered his voice, “Father, your son heard on the way here that His Majesty has personally led the campaign, leaving Luoyang empty. This is a great opportunity for us to raise our army. Should your son have them secretly come to Honghua Prefecture?”

“No need!” Li Yuan shook his head. “I received news that before His Majesty left Luoyang, to prevent a repeat of the Yang Xuangan incident, he arranged for a military force to be commanded by his trusted subordinate, Right Tunwei General Yuwen Huaji, with at least nearly two hundred thousand troops. With our current military strength, we would be difficult to resist.”

Li Jiancheng was silent for a moment, then said, “Although Emperor Yang has numerous troops, their hearts are not united. His so-called two hundred thousand would be doing well to have the strength of a regular hundred thousand. If we fight with all our might, we may not be without chance of victory.”

“Even if you defeated Yuwen Huaji, so what? Don’t forget that His Majesty has six hundred thousand troops in his hands. Once he learns of our rebellion, he’ll immediately bring his army back to the capital. Even if we discount that to three hundred thousand troops, it’s still not something we can resist.”

Li Jiancheng knew Li Yuan spoke the truth and said somewhat helplessly, “Then in Father’s opinion, how long must we wait?”

Li Yuan sighed lightly, “We wait for an opportunity – the right time, place, and people. We need at least two of these three to have a chance of victory. Moreover, His Majesty still trusts me for now, so there shouldn’t be any danger temporarily.”

Li Jiancheng nodded, then asked with a cold expression, “Father, who exactly was the one who killed Xuanba?” After sending a message to Li Shimin about Meixue’s matter, something had happened on his end, and he hadn’t had a chance to ask in detail.