The banquet hall was extremely lively.

Prince Gongxi was the first to stand up, raising his wine cup: “On behalf of the Imperial Family, on behalf of all the civil and military officials of the court, on behalf of all the common people, I toast the Grand General!”

Everyone present stood up following his lead, raising their cups one after another.

Since family members were seated together at the same table, many couldn’t help but whisper quietly.

“The Yun family has served in the military for generations, but unfortunately there’s no one in the next generation who can take over the Grand General’s position.”

“I wonder who the next person to command three hundred thousand troops will be.”

“Prince Pingxi once followed General Yun onto the battlefield and fought bravely. If General Yun can no longer fight, then the military command seal should fall into Prince Pingxi’s hands.”

“Do you think the Empress would agree to Prince Pingxi holding military power? Wouldn’t that make him the Crown Prince’s greatest threat…”

Everyone’s discussions only went so far and no further.

Yun Chu sat in her seat quietly eating her food. From the corner of her eye, she saw Eighth Brother suddenly leave his seat and stealthily run over to Brother Jiang’s side.

She was somewhat surprised. Eighth Brother and Brother Jiang only occasionally met at palace banquets—when had their relationship become so close?

Just as she was wondering, she saw Eighth Brother suddenly take out an exquisite sword from his sleeve. It was only as long as a child’s arm—small in appearance, but very refined.

Brother Jiang drew the sword out. The blade’s gleam was striking. Afraid of being discovered, he hastily hid the precious sword back in his sleeve.

Yun Chu sighed.

So Brother Jiang had already begun to love martial weapons from such a young age.

In her previous life, this child had left the Yun family at fifteen years old and secretly joined the military camp. But before he could make any real name for himself, the Yun family met with disaster and he was captured and brought back…

The children of the Yun family had the blood of a military household flowing in their bones, but the things they loved couldn’t be loved openly and honorably.

“Madam,” Xie Jingyu suddenly spoke up beside her. “Let Brother An and Sister Ping go pay their respects to their maternal grandfather.”

Yun Chu’s expression was indifferent: “There’s no need to rush at this particular moment.”

Xie Jingyu was secretly annoyed.

How could it not be urgent at this particular moment?

Precisely because the vast majority of important court officials were here, having the children pay respects to their never-before-met maternal grandfather at this time would mean that as their maternal grandfather, Yun Silin would certainly give the children meeting gifts. It would be publicly acknowledging the children’s status. Who would dare look down on Brother An and Sister Ping then?

But Yun Chu was actually unwilling.

Without Yun Chu leading them, if the two children rashly went forward, they would likely only invite ridicule from everyone.

Xie Jingyu picked up his wine cup and took a sip of wine, finally suppressing that urgent feeling.

Yun Chu was impatient with sitting together with him, and even less willing to exchange pleasantries and maneuver among those present as Lady Xie.

After she was seventy percent full, she rose and left her seat. She had some delicious dishes placed in a food box by a maid, then carried it to Old General Yun’s residence.

Old General Yun’s legs were inconvenient, and he spent most of each day lying on his couch. Naturally, he hadn’t gone to the front courtyard to attend the banquet, so the courtyard seemed cold and deserted.

“Grandfather!”

Yun Chu called out cheerfully and strode inside.

“I brought you braised lion’s head meatballs, and also roast duck…”

She had just set the food box on the table when she felt a strong wind strike from above her head. She raised her hand to catch it—a teacup was caught in her hand.

“At least you have some martial skills now.” Old General Yun laughed heartily. “To be able to train you to this level, it seems Qiutong has some real ability.”

Yun Chu’s face wore a bright smile: “Why doesn’t Grandfather praise me for being studious myself?”

Old General Yun snorted coldly: “You, girl, you love being lazy the most. When you were five or six years old, every time I told you to practice martial arts, you’d run and hide in your grandmother’s room…”

Mentioning his wife, Old General Yun’s expression became somewhat dimmed.

The men of the Yun family were basically all on the battlefield. It had always been the men dying first and the women becoming widows. Only he was the exception, becoming an old widower.

Yun Chu also thought of her grandmother. The only fortunate thing was that when grandmother passed away, grandfather had been by her side, so there were no real regrets…

Just as she was feeling sorrowful, she heard movement behind her.

She was about to turn around when a pair of hands pressed down on her shoulders. Her entire body was pushed against the wall following the momentum.

She thought bandits had infiltrated the Yun family to assassinate someone, but then she heard her father’s hearty laughter.

“Hearing the old master praise you, I really thought you’d learned well.” Yun Silin released her. “Your martial skills are still too poor. Going onto the battlefield like this would just be sending yourself to your death.”

“Our Yun family doesn’t need women to go to the battlefield!” Old General Yun scoffed. “There are so many guests in the front courtyard—what are you doing here?”

“Aren’t I here to see you, old man?” Yun Silin sat down at the table and stuffed a lion’s head meatball into his mouth. “A bunch of people toasting in the front courtyard—my belly is full of wine. Finally I get to eat a lion’s head meatball.”

The old general said dissatisfied: “This is what Chu’er brought for me. You go sit somewhere else.”

Yun Silin deliberately wouldn’t, taking the opportunity to snatch away the plate, purposely making the old general blow his beard and glare in anger.

Yun Chu couldn’t help but laugh.

This was family—even after five years apart, there wasn’t the slightest barrier between them.

After Yun Silin teased his old father, he finally placed the lion’s head meatballs back on the table, his gaze falling on Yun Chu.

Five years ago when he returned to the capital, Chu’er was getting married. He, as her father, had personally sent her off in the grand bridal sedan. Five years later upon returning, she was no longer that young maiden from before.

Earlier at the banquet, he had seen the son and daughter beside her—the daughter thirteen years old, the son twelve.

Although the Yun family had long since written to inform him of these matters, his heart still felt stifled… That Xie family fellow had dared to conceal such a major matter when seeking to marry Chu’er…

But Chu’er could no longer have her own children. The matter of Xie Jingyu having children before marriage seemed impossible to pursue further…

“Father, why are you staring at me like that?” Yun Chu showed a relaxed smile. She sat down, and after the two elders had eaten their fill, she finally spoke: “Father, have you ever thought about giving up military authority?”

Yun Silin thought he had heard wrong and dug at his ears: “What?”

“An ancient saying goes: when the cunning rabbits are exhausted, the good hunting dogs are cooked; when enemy states are destroyed, the plotting ministers perish.” Yun Chu said softly. “There will come a day when Father leads troops to occupy the Western Frontier. At that time, will our Yun family be like those good hunting dogs, slaughtered at will?”

“Impossible!” Old General Yun spoke up. “I understand Chu’er’s meaning. Aren’t you just afraid that the Yun family’s achievements will overshadow the sovereign and cause the Emperor to be wary? Your father and I both understand this principle, so the Yun family learned long ago to restrain our edge. For example, branch members of the Yun family hold positions no higher than fifth rank. For another example, the main branch of the Yun family can only marry below our station. Our Yun family has fully demonstrated our loyalty, and the Emperor also knows the Yun family has been loyal for generations. He absolutely wouldn’t do such a thing.”

“But the Emperor is getting old.” Yun Chu continued. “When people get old, they’re easily influenced by the voices around them and make judgments that go against their original intentions. Now that the princes from each palace are growing up, the succession struggle is about to erupt. With our Yun family holding heavy military forces, we’ll certainly become the target that each palace competes to win over. Even if the Yun family has no such intentions, we’ll still be branded with various baseless crimes. If the Emperor believes slander, then at that time, where should the Yun family go from there?”