In the eyes of Long Bu’s family, falling from the carriage had greatly stimulated “A’Gula,” and he had become silent and withdrawn again, preferring to push his wheelchair alone, facing the North Sea, either staring blankly or sleeping.

Only at night would Lu Zhuo quietly leave the felt tent to practice martial arts and restore his body to its peak condition.

Two months later, on a morning with brilliant sunshine and strong winds, Lu Zhuo pushed his wheelchair to the North Sea shore as usual.

Baoya was a kind and warm-hearted little girl. Worried that Uncle A’Gula might get cold, she brought a blanket to find him.

Then Baoya was delighted to discover that today, Uncle A’Gula had become gentle again and was smiling.

Baoya sat beside Uncle A’Gula’s wheelchair, accompanying him to watch the azure blue surface of the North Sea.

A pair of eagles flew from the snowy mountains, circling above the North Sea.

Lu Zhuo gazed at those soaring eagles and smiled as he said to Baoya: “When I was little, I especially hoped I could become an eagle, so I could go wherever I wanted to go.”

Baoya propped her chin on her hands and laughed: “I want to become an eagle too. I want to fly over the snowy mountains and see what’s behind them.”

Lu Zhuo didn’t look at Baoya, only spoke to the eagles: “Last night I had a dream. I dreamed an eagle came to take me away. It turned me into an eagle, and we flew away together.”

Baoya was captivated by his dream and asked what happened next.

Lu Zhuo smiled: “We kept flying, flying over the vast grasslands. I returned to the place where I lived as a child…”

Baoya listened very attentively.

Lu Zhuo suddenly stopped, touched his throat, and said gently to Baoya: “I’m thirsty. Could Baoya help me get a bowl of water?”

Baoya was naturally willing.

She ran back cheerfully, running into the felt tent. Her father and brothers had all gone to tend the herds. Her mother and sister-in-law were sewing this year’s winter clothes. As Baoya poured water, she told her mother and sister-in-law that Uncle A’Gula was smiling again. This news brought smiles to their faces, too, as they all hoped A’Gula could become more cheerful.

After pouring the water, Baoya held the large bowl with both hands and walked out of the felt tent, but the North Sea shore in the distance was empty of people, with only a familiar wheelchair bobbing up and down on the sea surface.

Baoya stared blankly at that wheelchair. After a very long time, she seemed to finally understand something. The bowl in her hands crashed to the ground with a clatter and shattered.

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law inside rushed out hurriedly. Seeing the wheelchair on the sea surface, one covered her mouth and cried while the other shouted to find Long Bu and his sons.

The family dove into the sea and called for help, mobilizing the entire tribe’s manpower, but they couldn’t find any trace of A’Gula in the sea.

Long Bu asked his daughter what A’Gula had said during their time together.

Baoya tearfully recalled Uncle A’Gula’s words.

The tribespeople listened silently and all understood—A’Gula was an eagle with broken wings who couldn’t bear the life of being paralyzed in a chair and would rather die.

When Long Bu’s wife was sorting through A’Gula’s belongings, she found a letter written on sheepskin.

The letter wasn’t long. A’Gula thanked their family and specifically told Baoya not to be sad for him, as he had already become an eagle in the sky. If Baoya saw eagles flying overhead, that would be him coming back to see her.

Long Bu’s family buried A’Gula with heavy hearts. The grave was beside the forest on the eastern shore of the North Sea, containing A’Gula’s clothing.

Lu Zhuo hid deep in the forest, silently watching Long Bu’s family.

Seeing Baoya leaning against Long Bu’s embrace, crying inconsolably, guilt appeared in Lu Zhuo’s eyes. But he was destined to leave. If the man in shackles he encountered that day was truly his father, Lu Zhuo would certainly take his father away with him. When that time came, if the Khan investigated and he didn’t die in advance, he would surely implicate Long Bu’s family.

Now, A’Gula had died like a crippled eagle, and no one would suspect anything.

Lu Zhuo remained hidden in the forest. A month later, he followed a passing Wuda merchant caravan and stole two good horses in the dead of night, then returned to the forest.

With horses and dried meat he had prepared, everything was ready. On another deep night, Lu Zhuo quietly came to the shabby felt tent located between two tribes.

Because the punished person wore leg shackles and was exiled to this bitterly cold land, the Wuda only sent a lame, wounded soldier to supervise him. Even if the prisoner killed the wounded soldier, the soldier had no key. A prisoner wearing leg shackles trying to escape would be discovered quickly, so for twenty years, the prisoner and wounded soldier had minded their own business and coexisted peacefully.

In the deep night with strong winds, the wind scattered the deliberately muffled footsteps. The lame old man wrapped in cotton blankets snored thunderously, while the shackled man suddenly opened his eyes, looking toward the tent entrance.

A black shadow walked in.

The shackled man didn’t move.

The shadow seemed to have already identified the people on the two bedrolls inside the tent, walking directly over and knocking out the lame old man with one punch.

After finishing, the shadow lit the oil lamp on the table. The lamplight first revealed his appearance—a tall, sturdy man with disheveled hair and a full beard, his face tanned wheat-brown, revealing a pair of deep, reserved phoenix eyes. The shackled man lying on the bed had almost identical disheveled hair and a full beard as this uninvited guest, except the former was still young, while the latter was already weathered.

The shackled man hadn’t spoken for a long time. He silently watched the newcomer, waiting for him to speak first.

Lu Zhuo’s hands trembled faintly. He looked at the man on the bed, at those phoenix eyes so similar to the Lu family men, and after a long while found his voice: “Shenwu Army regulation number seven: Any Shenwu Army soldier, if captured, would rather die than surrender.”

The north wind howled, almost drowning out his voice.

But the shackled man heard it. The one who had been observing indifferently suddenly began breathing heavily, like a fierce beast that had slept too long and finally awakened. He leaped up, his reddened eyes staring intently at Lu Zhuo: “Who are you?”

The man who hadn’t spoken for so long had a hoarse voice like mixed yellow sand, but what he spoke was authentic Capital City official dialect.

Lu Zhuo met his gaze: “My name is Lu Zhuo.”

The man breathing like a wild beast, who could go mad at any moment, upon hearing the two words “Lu Zhuo,” was as if an invisible hand had taken away all his ferocity. He sat woodenly on the bed, left with only weathered exhaustion and disbelief. He stared fixedly at Lu Zhuo, his gaze moving from Lu Zhuo’s phoenix eyes to his straight nose bridge, then to his tall, slender frame.

“He’s born! He’s born! Congratulations, Young Master, it’s a little young master!”

“Father has already thought of the child’s formal name and courtesy name. You can choose the pet name.”

“You choose it instead. I haven’t read many books, so if I choose poorly, our son will be laughed at.”

“You choose. You’re his mother. Whether it sounds good or bad, he’ll have to accept it.”

“Then let’s call him A’Shou. When he grows up, we can call him Shoucheng directly, making it easy to change.”

The tiny baby boy gradually grew up, his features becoming more and more refined, like a child from a civil official’s family.

“Father, I’m tired. Can I rest for a while before continuing the horse stance?”

“Persist for two more quarters of an hour.”

“Father…”

“A proper man doesn’t act coquettishly like a girl!”

“Yes!”

Later, when he was about to go on campaign, the eight-year-old boy hugged his leg tightly, reluctant to let him go.

“Don’t be afraid, A’Shou. Father will come back after the battle. When father returns, I’ll teach you to ride horses.”

“Does father keep his word?”

“Naturally.”

Scalding tears flowed down his weathered face, roughened by wind and sand. Lu Mu supported himself on the bed with both hands, trembling as he stood up, murmuring the name from his memory: “A’Shou…”

At this point, Lu Zhuo had no more doubts.

He lowered his eyes, walked to the man, and knelt with a thud.

Lu Mu embraced his son, tears streaming down his face.

Twenty-some years, twenty-some years! This North Sea’s sky, North Sea’s water, North Sea’s mountains, North Sea’s grass seemed never to have changed. Spring, summer, autumn, winter cycled, each year identical to the previous one in every way. Everything seemed frozen in time, with only him living numbly, so numb he almost forgot who he was, so numb he forgot he was aging, forgot that time was passing.

Now, his A’Shou had come before him. The eight-year-old child was gone, and A’Shou had become…

Lu Mu lifted his son, using both hands to part his son’s disheveled hair, trying to see his face.

Both father and son were covered in tears, neither could see the other.

Still, Lu Zhuo was the first to regain his composure. He had his father sit down, took the oil lamp to the side, sat cross-legged on the ground, and lifted his father’s leg shackles to study them. Any lock could be opened. Lu Mu had no tools, but Lu Zhuo had found a thin iron wire while at Long Bu’s house, which now came in handy.

The shackles opened, and Lu Mu finally regained his freedom.

Before leaving, Lu Zhuo killed the lame old man to prevent him from reporting. With his father’s escape, the later the Wuda Khan learned of this matter, the more advantageous it would be for the father and son to return to the border city.

“Shoucheng, how is the family?” As the father and son stealthily made their way toward the forest where the horses were hidden, the now-calm Lu Mu asked eagerly.

Lu Zhuo answered concisely: “Grandfather and grandmother are in good health, and mother is well too.”

Lu Mu spoke calmly with his son, but his tears never stopped. Before leaving the capital, he still had black hair, but now he had grown grizzled. He had failed his parents, failed his beloved wife, and failed his son.

“Father, don’t think so much. That you’re still alive is the greatest filial piety to your grandfather and grandmother. When mother sees you, she will surely smile again.”

“Good, good, good. By the way, you’re not young anymore. You must have married long ago, right?”

“Yes, your son married the best woman in the capital and gave you a granddaughter named A’Bao. She’s already four years old this year.”

“Good, good, good. You’re still young. When you return and reunite, have a few more sons.”

Lu Zhuo smiled silently.

Sons weren’t urgent. Once back in the capital, he would make Wei Rao unable to get out of bed.

Capital City.

During the Double Ninth Festival, Wei Rao brought A’Bao to the leisure manor.

Zhou Huizhen and Zhou Huizhu also brought their children.

Zhou Huizhu had been married to Zhang Xian for many years and had two sons—the elder was already five, the younger three.

After Zhou Huizhen divorced Han Liao, she lived at home for two years. Later, through the matchmaking of Consort Xiao Zhou Shi, she married a young imperial guard named Jiang Kuo. Jiang Kuo came from a humble family with no connections, relying entirely on his martial skills to be selected as an imperial guard. He had an upright appearance and a steady character. Though Zhou Huizhen was remarrying, she was beautiful, and having learned from her previous experience, her temperament had become gentle and refined. After their marriage, Jiang Kuo treasured Zhou Huizhen like a jewel. Zhou Huizhen experienced true marital bliss, became increasingly ashamed of her past ignorance, and cherished the present even more.

Zhou Huizhen also had a son, who was only one year old this year.

A’Bao played with her three male cousins. The leisure manor was so large that they could run and play freely, with nannies following them around.

“It’s a festival after all. Did you take A’Bao back to Duke Ying Mansion?” Shou’an Jun asked with concern. For A’Bao, she wasn’t the only elderly relative.

Wei Rao smiled: “Yes, I sent A’Bao there on the first day and only brought her back yesterday.”

Shou’an Jun asked: “A’Bao stayed until yesterday, but what about you?”

Wei Rao replied frankly: “I had a meal with Old Madam and First Madam, then returned to the princess’s mansion the same day.”

Zhou Huizhen was surprised to hear her call He Shi “First Madam”: “Raorao, have you decided to remarry?”

Living in the capital, she had heard rumors that Princess Wu’an no longer wanted to remain a widow for her deceased husband and wanted to remarry.

Wei Rao smiled: “I’m just no longer a Lu family daughter-in-law. Remarriage isn’t certain—if I meet someone suitable, I might marry, but if not, living alone is also carefree.”

Zhou Huizhu asked hesitantly: “Then, when you proposed returning to your family, what did Duke Ying Mansion say?”

Wei Rao explained: “I moved back to the princess’s mansion long ago. Two years ago, people were already discussing whether I might remarry. I hadn’t thought about it then, but this year Old Madam asked about my plans. If I wanted to remarry, she would support me. First Madam expressed the same sentiment. Since they both said this, carrying the empty title of Lu family daughter-in-law was just a burden, so I formally severed the marriage ties with the Lu family.”

Shou’an Jun sighed: “They see you’re young and don’t want to delay you. Moreover, you’re constantly traveling and enjoying yourself. While Duke Ying Mansion doesn’t mind, outsiders gossip endlessly. Rather than repeatedly causing Shoucheng to be discussed, it’s better to sever ties to avoid disturbing his peace in the afterlife.”

Wei Rao scoffed: “Peace? Every year, when I take A’Bao to pay respects to him, I scold him thoroughly. How can he have peace?”

Shou’an Jun shook her head helplessly.

“What about A’Bao?”

Wei Rao said, “A’Bao is still a Lu family young lady. She’ll stay with me while she’s young. When she grows up, whether she wants to live at the princess’s mansion or Duke Ying’s Mansion will be up to her.”

Wei Rao wasn’t worried about her daughter.

She loved her daughter, and everyone at Duke Ying Mansion also cherished A’Bao. Wherever A’Bao was raised, relatives on both sides wouldn’t treat her as an outsider.

While mother and daughter stayed at the leisure manor, news that Wei Rao wanted to remarry had already spread throughout the capital.

This wasn’t particularly surprising. Given Shou’an Jun’s upbringing of the girls in her family, no one ever thought Wei Rao wouldn’t remarry.

Moreover, to this day, no common people would criticize Wei Rao for anything.

Back then, Wei Rao had exposed the Han family’s treason, avenging the Lu family and the wrongfully killed soldiers. Emperor Yuanjia granted her the title Princess Wu’an, and the people were completely convinced. Now Wei Rao was simply living as freely as before. Even Duke Ying Mansion had voluntarily released her to restore her freedom—how could the people criticize Wei Rao?

Not only was there no criticism, but some people applauded. Wei Rao was no longer a Lu family wife, meaning others had a chance to marry her!

A princess who had achieved military merit and earned popular praise, a princess with Consort as her birth mother and a prince as her brother, a princess beautiful as peonies with exceptional martial arts skills who could lead troops into battle—such an extraordinary woman could both support her husband and teach children while bringing honor to her husband’s family. For a time, all the great families in the capital with eligible young men scrambled to send matchmakers to the princess’s mansion to propose marriage!

“Mother, what are those people doing?”

The endless stream of matchmakers caught the attention of little Princess A’Bao.

Wei Rao smiled: “They want to find A’Bao a new father. Does A’Bao want one?”

A’Bao tilted her head and thought. Her male cousins all had fathers, and her male cousins from her mother’s side all had fathers, too, so she wanted a father as well.

“Yes, mother, find me a father like Fifth Uncle.”

A’Bao’s Fifth Uncle was Lu Che from the Lu family’s third branch. This year, Lu Che was already twenty-one and had replaced Lu Zhuo as Duke Ying Mansion’s most handsome young master. With his jade-white face and expressive phoenix eyes, countless young ladies hoped to marry him. Even little A’Bao knew Fifth Uncle was the most handsome.

Wei Rao thought her daughter had excellent taste but still shushed her, reminding her never to say such things outside! Back then, Lu Che had been the one to fetch the bride when she married Lu Zhuo for the ghost wedding. Now, Lu Che was unmarried, and she was single—if rumors spread that she fancied Lu Che, Lu Zhuo’s coffin lid might fly off!

“Besides being handsome, what other requirements does A’Bao have for a new father?” Wei Rao asked with amusement.

A’Bao had many requirements—the new father should play piggyback with her, buy her delicious food, and protect her when others bullied her. Whatever A’Bao had envied in other children, she now listed as demands.

Wei Rao listened and gradually stopped smiling.