Vol 9 Chapter 77 (2/2)

“Ah, my lord huh.” Zhou Cang said when she saw me and came over to where I was, her arms swinging up and down and her body swaying from left to right as she did so.

“What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”

“No, no. I’m just unused to these clothes. I don’t like how wavy the lower half is.” Zhou Cang said loudly and guffawed as she tucked her hands behind her head, her sleeves sliding down her arms as she did so, revealing 2 slim, white arms.

“I think they look good on you. But what did you say? It’s uncomfortable?”

“I went for a bath just now, remember? When I came out, I found that Gan Qing had taken away my clothes to wash them. I don’t have another set so I could only borrow clothing from someone else.” She chuckled and yawned when she finished.

“Oh~” I nodded.

I looked down at the floral pattern on her clothing and a.s.sessed the figure before concluding that this must be from Zi Zhong.

Just then, I caught a whiff of her sweet scent. It smelt like flowers in the beginning of spring that were just beginning to bloom, the sort of thin, sweet scent that resulted after it wafted through the air. This should be a result of her bath. Under the moonlight, her skin seems to be whiter than usual too.

“Ah, big brother is awake. Zhou Cang is here too.” Just then, a familiar voice came from the other side, giving me a shock. When I turned back, I saw Yun Chang waving at us while yawning. Yun Chang’s clothing was neat and tidy unlike her lethargic demeanor. Looks like she had difficulty sleeping just now.

“Yun Chang is awake too huh.”

“Un,” Yun Chang nodded, “But I’ve been thinking about various things so I didn’t get much sleep.”

Given how thoughtful Yun Chang is, she’s probably still troubled about what happened before. As I thought so, I looked at Yi De’s room and saw that the lights were still out. Guan Ping probably did not wake her up and she is probably still fast asleep.

“Well then, Yun Chang, Zhou Cang, let’s make our way to the banquet. Everyone should be seated and waiting for us by now.”

“Okay~” Zhou Cang replied and began walking off with wide strides. Yun Chang seemed to be rather tired and followed behind me wordlessly.

“Yun Chang, Guan Ping came to look for me just now.” I said to her, deciding to take the opportunity to raise this issue with her.

“Guan Ping… Was it about partic.i.p.ating in battle?”

Ah~ As expected of her mother huh?

“Yes.”

“No way at all.” Yun Chang immediately rejected this and left me no leeway to say anything at all, “Guan Ping’s martial prowess is not good enough. It’ll be too dangerous for her to join the battlefield.” Yun Chang shook her head and closed her eyes as she said so.

“But Yun Chang, aren’t you being a little too overprotective?”

“W-what do you…” Yun Chang wavered and opened her eyes, “Life was tough for her back when she was a member of the local militia. War is also cruel, anyone can die anytime. She is far too innocent and naive and is unsuited for the atrocities of war.”

“Then why did you teach her martial arts then?”

This might have sparked Guan Ping’s desire to fight.

“That’s… Just for self-defense purposes.” Yun Chang said after a long pause.

You are clearly acting out of a maternal desire to protect her, or so I would like to say but it felt like I had forced Yun Chang into a corner so I refrained from saying that. I said everything I had to already. In the end, it’s up to Yun Chang to decide whether to let Guan Ping join future battles.

By this time, we were already approaching the main hall where we had our banquet yesterday night. As we ascended the stairs, I found that everyone else was already seated and had begun to eat and drink.

Unlike yesterday, today’s celebratory banquet seems to be more formal. On either side of the hall were 5-6 musicians with various instruments playing music. I thought that I could only enjoy such luxuries in Xuchang but it seems like even a small place like Xinye has these.

As I entered the main hall, everyone saluted me to which I saluted back. Overall, everyone looks very happy.

“Oi, oi! How could you start eating before everyone is here?!” Zhou Cang yelled when she saw everyone eating.

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