Today was a day of joyful reunion. Yun Ye permitted Gou Zi, Ren Xiong, Qu Zhuo, and He Tianshang to drink a little wine. Ren Xiong, who had the closest relationship with Moasis, forcibly pulled him along to come beneath that awning in the middle of the camel fortress.

“Moasis, you shouldn’t feel sad. Angie marrying our marquis is truly a perfect match of pearls and jade. In our household, aside from the First Madam being somewhat forceful, the remaining two concubine-madams are people of excellent character. Angie’s background is tragic and bitter. Now that she can become one of the four mistresses of our household, the marquis has truly already given her the highest courtesy.”

Moasis hesitated for a long while before asking in a small voice: “Shouldn’t love possess uniqueness?”

Qu Zhuo took over the conversation and answered Moasis: “Our marquis’s status is noble. According to protocol, he should at least marry five madams. When Xiao Miao arrives at the Yun family, her status becomes entirely different—she leaps up to become nobility. What’s more, Xiao Miao has lived at the Yun home since childhood. After growing up, she also fell in love with the marquis. The marquis is furthermore a person who is not good at refusing, so it became the current situation. Moasis, your temperament is also tranquil. When you return to Chang’an, you’ll also come to like the Yun family estate.”

“Even if you don’t like Chang’an, you can still go to Yuezhou, or Yongzhou, or even go to the grasslands. All these places have family enterprises. Freedom has always had limits. I still haven’t heard of absolute freedom existing in this world. The marquis has already given us the greatest freedom within his authority. Xiao Miao’s choice wasn’t wrong. Moasis, with Xiao Miao’s temperament, marrying into any family would be a disaster. Only the Yun family has the soil for her survival.”

“Angie’s property must be respected. Qu Zhuo, Angie doesn’t care, but as her steward, I will definitely raise this requirement to the honorable Lord Marquis. If necessary, I will use my life to defend Angie’s property. The inheritor of her estate can only be Miss Angie’s child. These possessions we’ve brought are all spoils of war that Miss Angie fought bloodily to obtain. They cannot be absorbed by the clan, nor should they be absorbed by the clan.”

Hearing Moasis earnestly raise this requirement, Liu Jinbao, Ren Xiong, Gou Zi, and Qu Zhuo all laughed so hard they couldn’t catch their breath. Liu Jinbao pointed at Moasis and gasped for a long while before saying: “You don’t need to ask the marquis about this matter—I can answer your question. No problem. All of Xiao Miao’s property will be Xiao Miao’s own. No one will snatch it.”

Only then did Moasis’s expression improve a bit. He said sincerely to Liu Jinbao: “Women don’t have much they can rely on. Old Moasis has seen the fate of countless mistresses—when they grew old and lost their beauty, they were all driven out of wealthy households. The circumstances were so tragic, shocking to behold.”

Gou Zi nodded and patted Moasis on the shoulder, saying: “You’re a loyal person. It’s not wrong for you to think this way. The cases you describe are not few in the Great Tang either. But they don’t apply to the Yun family. Xiao Miao is already a madam with an imperial seal, with her own salary and authority. Therefore, your worries are all superfluous.”

“The Yun family is a wealthy household. Xiao Miao’s bit of property is truly not worth mentioning. After you enter the Yun family, you must never speak this way again—it will be very embarrassing.”

Moasis wasn’t afraid of losing face—he only feared that the kind Angie wouldn’t have good days. He himself had wasted his life, and only upon entering his twilight years did he encounter the fairy-like Angie. After accepting Angie’s countless kindnesses, he vowed to dedicate his life to Angie, vowed to guard Angie’s safety, and prayed to heaven for Angie’s lifelong happiness.

The camel fortress before his eyes was like a great mountain pressing down on him until he couldn’t breathe. Those weapons on the camel fortress that he had seen and hadn’t seen were undoubtedly the most terrifying existence in this world. God be praised—every detail he saw of the camel fortress was prepared for killing. Moasis very much wanted to witness what kind of might this fortress would display when it became active.

In the heavy snow, Yusuf’s great army finally arrived at Huolu City. The scene before his eyes nearly made this famous general of a hundred battles split his eyes with rage. The body of this city’s lord hung from the broken city gate. Right at the city entrance, countless corpses lay fallen on the ground, covered by the heavy snow into small snow mounds one after another. Not a trace of human sound could be heard in Huolu City—only plumes of black smoke rose up. After dispatching scouts to carefully enter the city, they discovered that this city was already full of broken walls and ruins everywhere. No life existed in the city anymore.

The Turkic people weren’t moving fast, so they also hadn’t gone far. Yusuf knew that all this was caused by the Turkic people, but he still stubbornly attributed these evils to the Tang people. Even though the Turkic people were nearby, he didn’t order pursuit. He only quietly established his camp beside Huolu City.

Yusuf was an extremely cautious person. Only a cautious person could thrive under the Caliph’s hand. As the Eastern Governor, Yusuf very clearly knew how powerful the Great Tang was. Facing such an enemy, no amount of caution was excessive. He very much hoped he could clean up Huolu City in a short time. Although this city’s interior had been destroyed, its tall city walls remained intact and undamaged. As his own grain storage location, it was still very good.

Yusuf immediately ordered the auxiliary troops to begin organizing Huolu City—throwing corpses into bonfires to burn them. If there wasn’t enough firewood and grass, then pile them outside the city. In a very short time, Huolu City became an enormous construction site.

Boma rode his horse standing on a mound, watching the Arabs’ actions from afar without saying a word. There was nothing good to say anyway. The Great Elder said Yusuf wouldn’t launch an attack on them immediately—sure enough, the old man was right. Yusuf was defending and planning to manage this defensive line.

Seeing this scene, Boma waved his hand. Countless Turkic cavalrymen slowly withdrew from both sides of the mound. This was Boma’s precautionary strategy.

“Respected Elder, please have mercy on the Turkic people’s final strength. As long as the Tang people don’t force us into a dead end, please don’t order your subordinates to attack Yun Ye’s camel fortress. That is an invincible existence.”

The Third Prince of the Xueyantuo earnestly advised the Great Elder.

“Coward! It’s just a city pieced together—it’s not as if we haven’t conquered such things before. They only have fifty thousand men—they’re not invincible. As long as we have courage, we can thoroughly and completely defeat Yun Ye.”

“Smack!” He Lu looked incredulously at the Great Elder whose beard and hair bristled with rage. From childhood to adulthood, the Great Elder had never moved even a little finger against him. Even when he caused enormous disasters, the Great Elder had never reproached him.

“He Lu, listen to me. I’ve already sensed that my life’s fire is about to be extinguished. I can’t help you for much longer. You need to grow up quickly. But I never imagined I would spoil you into a stubborn donkey who talks nonsense. Tushi died beneath the camel fortress. Do you know how helpless his death was? Tushi was an eagle of the grasslands. He never lacked courage. I won’t allow you to defile the spirit of a hero in heaven. Fu He’s words are correct. Unless absolutely necessary, we avoid the camel fortress.”

The Great Elder spoke sternly and severely. He Lu was shocked for a moment, then resentfully threw back the tent flap and rushed into the snow that filled the sky. He himself clearly knew he shouldn’t say those words just now, but thinking of Angie being inside that camel fortress, He Lu could no longer conceal his fury. He wished he could tear the camel fortress into fragments and swallow it into his belly.

A young person’s feelings arrive intensely but don’t last long. After He Lu cleared his head in the snow for a while, he dejectedly returned to the Great Elder’s tent. Not only did he apologize to the Xueyantuo prince, he also apologized to all the generals who had returned from the eastern campaign battlefield. At his young age, he laughed heroically and said: “This king was rude. I know you all certainly exerted your full strength attacking the camel fortress. Many familiar people never returned—that’s the evidence. But I couldn’t suppress my anger.”

Speaking to this point, He Lu embarrassedly rubbed his nose and said with a red face: “I’ve fallen in love with a woman. Right now she’s inside the camel fortress. I always want to break through the camel fortress and retrieve my beloved woman. I don’t know why, but this thought cannot be abandoned no matter what. It’s truly a strange matter.”

“The little colt has reached mating season. We should find you a beautiful little mare. How about my younger sister? He Lu, Narenhua is a famous beauty of the grasslands. Don’t think about that Han woman anymore. Narenhua is very good. She’s in the tent right now. As long as you have the ability to subdue her, she’s yours. But be careful—Narenhua’s temper is also very fierce.” Fu He, hearing a perfect explanation, went with the flow and wanted to marry his younger sister to He Lu.

The Great Elder finally revealed a satisfied expression. He Lu knowing to use his own embarrassing matter for self-mockery showed he already knew what was important. As a future king, severing emotional attachments and considering interests was originally the most correct approach.

“Go, He Lu. You’re thirteen years old this year. You should have your own mare. Narenhua is truly good. Tonight, lodge in Narenhua’s tent. Of course, it depends on your ability.”

As soon as the Great Elder’s words fell, everyone in the tent burst into laughter. That trace of awkwardness from just now seemed as if it had never appeared. At this time, lack of unity was the most fatal existence for the entire allied army.

When sharing hardships and conquering the world, people could all achieve life-and-death interdependence. But when it came to sharing wealth and ruling the world together, the terrifying struggle for interests would descend. Regarding this understanding, no one was clearer than the Turkic people. Wolves—only when gathered in packs could they face harsh weather and capture more food.

“I’ll go right now to sample the taste of women. The shaman has already taught me. I want to try it right now.” He Lu patted his chest and guaranteed to everyone. After receiving everyone’s blessings, he once again threw back the tent flap and strode out. This time, the people in the tent all laughed very strangely.

Narenhua received notification from her brother—some little brat who didn’t know what was good for him was setting his sights on her. Why should the fifteen-year-old Narenhua marry a thirteen-year-old child? Even if he was the future king of the Turks, it wouldn’t do!