Hardships?

Zhong Changrong was momentarily startled, thought for a bit, then nodded. Indeed, the young miss had suffered in the capital.

The conflict with Miss Liang—she must have been bullied before she fought back.

The young miss had insisted on returning to the border province, which showed how difficult her days in the capital had been.

And after he arrived in the capital, he heard that the young miss had risen to prominence, but he had also learned that this rise came after she had been humiliated and had fought back.

“The Third Prince bullied the young miss,” Zhong Changrong counted on his fingers. “Those scholars bullied her, and even the eldest master’s family bullied her.”

He slammed his fist heavily on the table.

The young miss had truly suffered greatly.

“I shouldn’t have stopped the young miss last time. I should have brought her back. Then she wouldn’t have had to endure so much suffering.”

After saying this, Zhong Changrong anxiously looked at Chu Li. Not allowing the young miss to return had been the General’s order. He wasn’t criticizing the General—he certainly knew that the General’s decision had been made out of necessity.

The General shouldn’t blame himself.

Chu Li showed no remorse, his expression thoughtful as he shook his head: “For A-Zhao, these hardships aren’t truly hardships.”

He nodded again and looked at Zhong Changrong.

“I understand now. This is why she insisted on returning last time.”

What? Zhong Changrong was confused by what he heard. Did the General understand or not?

“What else did she say?” Chu Li looked up and asked.

Zhong Changrong tried hard to remember but shook his head. Time had been tight, and he had only wanted to return quickly, then hurry back with men to protect the young miss. The young miss hadn’t said much to him.

“Is this situation not good for the young miss?” he asked. “Is His Majesty harming the young miss and you?”

Zhong Changrong looked ahead: “Those days weren’t particularly good. As for His Majesty—” He withdrew his gaze and looked at Zhong Changrong, “His Majesty—”

Zhong Changrong hurriedly said: “His Majesty must still be thinking of you, General.” At this point, he stepped back and knelt on one knee. “Before His Majesty passed, he wanted to see the Flame Decree fireworks. This subordinate lit two of them, violating military orders. I request the General’s punishment.”

Chu Li’s expression was complex, his gaze distant as he smiled slightly: “If I punish you now, when I meet His Majesty in the future, His Majesty will certainly be waiting to punish me. I won’t fall for that.”

These words sounded both amusing and inexplicably sad. Zhong Changrong raised his head, grinning: “Yes, His Majesty said that if you punished me, he would punish you later.”

Chu Li raised his hand in a gesture: “Rise. The Flame Decree belongs to His Majesty. He decides how it should be used.”

Zhong Changrong stood up and said softly: “His Majesty was quite pitiful—”

“What’s pitiful about him? He’s not pitiful,” Chu Li said flatly. “The current situation is the result of his indulgence. He thinks himself pitiful because he doesn’t know true suffering, doesn’t know what real misery in this world is. If we’re talking about pitiful, others are pitiful, everyone is pitiful, and A-Zhao is even more pitiful.”

His hand clenched, causing the medicinal liquid in the teacup to ripple.

He had wanted his A-Zhao to avoid the troubles of the world and live a peaceful life. Instead, she had been dragged into this mire and abyss.

“Changrong, I may have truly been wrong. I shouldn’t have let her return to the capital.”

Zhong Changrong felt at a loss, not knowing how to comfort him, and could only say: “A-Zhao was worried you would think this way, which is why she urgently sent me back. She doesn’t trust anyone else, so she wanted me to come see you.”

Chu Li raised his head to look at him: “She’s alone in the capital, at a time like this, surrounded by wolves. All alone—”

As he finished asking this, he noticed Zhong Changrong’s expression suddenly becoming somewhat awkward.

“She’s not alone,” Zhong Changrong said. “Well, there are… her people.”

Chu Li looked at him, seemingly not understanding.

“Mu Mian Hong,” Zhong Changrong said, lowering his head as if afraid to look at Chu Li’s face.

A silence fell over the room.

Chu Li didn’t speak, and Zhong Changrong dared not remain silent. He said quietly: “She said she was concerned and had several people accompany her to the capital. However, they proved valuable this time. When A-Zhao and the Imperial Grandson escaped from outside the Chu residence, where the Prince of Zhongshan had set an ambush, it was they who killed the enemies and provided protection. Otherwise, I would have been too late when I arrived.”

Chu Li set down his teacup and said: “You’ve returned to tell me the news. Don’t you also need to report back to her side?”

Zhong Changrong hung his head even lower. This rough, burly man spoke in an embarrassed voice: “There aren’t many people left in the capital. Regardless, her people will certainly do their utmost to protect A-Zhao. I said they should stay in the capital, and I would relay the news on their behalf—”

Chu Li grunted: “Go ahead.”

Huh? Zhong Changrong raised his head, somewhat incredulous.

Chu Li’s expression was calm, but his eyes held a trace of coldness.

“Tell her that although A-Zhao has no mother, A-Zhao knows she is a child bought with her mother’s life. She still has parental love, so she is a fortunate child.”

“Since she is determined to protect A-Zhao, let her remember what should be said and what should not.”

“If she harms my A-Zhao in the slightest, I, Chu Li, will ensure that not a blade of grass remains in Qingmu Village before I die.”

Zhong Changrong solemnly responded: “General, rest assured, I will go personally!”

Chu Li nodded, unwilling to discuss it further.

Zhong Changrong was tactful enough not to continue on this topic. Instead, he spoke about A-Zhao to cheer the General up: “Brother, can your health hold up? A-Zhao is very worried about you. She desperately wants to come back to see you.”

At the mention of his daughter’s name, the coldness in Chu Li’s eyes dissipated, and a smile appeared at the corners of his mouth: “Return quickly and tell her that I will be waiting for her to visit me.”

Zhong Changrong happily acknowledged. Regardless of whether it was true, the General having such a mindset meant he could hold on longer.

“Brother, you should rest well. I’ll go tell them about the situation in the capital,” he said.

Chu Li nodded. He didn’t force himself to remain upright. Just as Zhong Changrong was about to help him, a report came from outside the door.

“General, official gazettes from the capital have arrived.”

Recently, official gazettes from the capital had naturally been numerous. However, although Chu Li was stationed in Yunzhong Prefecture, not all needed to be reported directly to him. Zhong Changrong frowned: “Just send them to the managing officials.”

The person outside acknowledged but didn’t leave: “The messenger who delivered the gazettes wishes to see the General.”

Zhong Changrong grew more irritated: “See what? Can just anyone see the General?”

The person outside acknowledged again, but still didn’t leave. Instead, he coughed once: “The visitor claims to be an old acquaintance of Deputy General Zhong—”

That sounded familiar. Zhong Changrong paused.

Chu Li smiled slightly: “Then let’s meet him.”

“I’ll go meet him,” Zhong Changrong said, somewhat annoyed. “I wasn’t in the capital long, yet somehow so many people claim to know me. They’ve been pestering me all along the journey, and now they’ve followed me here!”

He strode angrily to the door and opened it, immediately seeing someone standing at the bottom of the steps.

It was a postal courier who looked very nervous and jumped at the sound of the door, raising his head.

Zhong Changrong paused. This person seemed familiar, yet he couldn’t quite place him; however, a postal courier… this attire led him to an unpleasant guess.

“Who are you?” he asked.

“Deputy General Zhong, I am—” Zhang Gu said happily, stepping forward to say his name, but realizing no one would recognize it, he changed his approach. “I was sent by A-Jiu.”

A-Jiu! So it was him again!

The scar on Zhong Changrong’s face twitched: “You—what’s he up to now? Why isn’t he guarding the capital properly? What’s he planning this time?”

The Deputy General seemed even fiercer than before. Zhang Gu was startled. He had followed A-Jiu’s instructions to directly mention A-Jiu and ask for Deputy General Zhong, but it appeared that A-Jiu’s relationship with this Deputy General hadn’t improved—it had worsened.

Just as he was about to explain, a voice came from inside.

“Is it about A-Jiu?” The male voice was rich and seemed to carry a hint of amusement. “Come in quickly.”