Splendid peasant girl busy farming

Chapter 11821

"Chen'er, tell your mother, what is the reason you came back this time?" Yang Ruoqing and Chen'er sat side by side on the soft couch by the window, with a small tea table between them.

On the coffee table were two bowls of tea that had been drunk twice, a plate of sweet osmanthus cakes, and a plate of bright red winter dates.

Chen'er said, "Mother, over the years I have traveled to many places and done many things, on land, at sea, and on water. I have led troops there."

"As for what happened before, I won't go into details; that's my son's business."

"I'll only talk about what's happened in the last year to six months. You've heard of the Yang family of Bozhou, which has been in turmoil for a long time, right?"

Yang Ruoqing nodded. "I've heard it. Your father mentioned it to me when he came back to the village to visit relatives."

Due to its unique geographical location and historical issues, Bozhou has seen several emperors rise and fall since the founding of the Great Qi Dynasty.

The military, political and economic power of Bozhou had always been concentrated in the hands of the Yang family. Over time, with the emperor far away and the imperial power not reaching the countryside, the people of Bozhou only knew of the Yang family, but not of the Qi imperial family of the Great Qi.

Furthermore, the Yang family's power and ambition have swelled, and they have become increasingly arrogant in recent years, repeatedly challenging and testing the bottom line of the Great Qi court, causing other surrounding forces to fluctuate as well.

Last year, in particular, the death of Emperor Qi Xingyun's only son in the lotus pond of the Imperial Garden last year was a major blow to Qi Xingyun, who lost his beloved son.

For the Qi family royal family, this was also a devastating blow. Various factions within the clan were secretly plotting, each trying to secure the throne for their own descendants.

Meanwhile, in Bozhou, the Yang clan, seeing the death of the Great Qi prince and the emperor's lack of sons, became even more ambitious. Since last year, rebellions have come one after another, growing larger and larger, causing serious disturbance to the people of nearby cities.

“Since last year, His Majesty has sent several groups of troops to Bozhou to suppress the rebellion,” Chen’er continued to explain to Yang Ruoqing. “However, due to the unique terrain there, with its poor mountains and harsh waters, fierce local customs, and easy-to-defend but difficult-to-attack terrain, the imperial army has suffered heavy losses in Bozhou in several waves. This has further fueled the arrogance of the Yang clan in Bozhou. Even in the court, there are many conservative and pro-peace forces rising up, which has greatly troubled His Majesty.”

"Later, one night, the Emperor secretly summoned my father and me to the Imperial Study. The three of us plotted all night. The next day, the Emperor issued an edict ordering me to lead an expedition to Bozhou in the west to quell the rebellion."

Even though Yang Ruoqing had experienced many life-and-death situations in her two lifetimes, she couldn't help but turn pale and grit her teeth as she heard about Chen'er's ordeal, saying, "Your father didn't tell me about this!"

Chen'er paused for a moment, then smiled and said to Yang Ruoqing, "My father didn't intentionally try to hide it from you, Mother, but he didn't want you to worry about me. That's what I wanted too, to ask Father not to say anything."

Yang Ruoqing deflated like a punctured balloon. It turned out that this was all planned by the father and son, and they had kept it from her.

But their keeping it from her wasn't out of malice, but out of well-intentioned protection. They didn't want her to live in constant fear at home knowing that Chen'er was leading troops on a westward expedition to tackle a tough challenge that no one else could overcome.

As it turned out, their concerns were justified. If Yang Ruoqing had known in advance that Chen'er was going to fight in Bozhou, she would probably have been living in constant fear at home.

This is only natural. If your son is fighting desperately on the battlefield and could die at any moment, how can a mother be in the mood for singing and dancing at home?

Definitely not!
Yang Ruoqing took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down so as not to affect the rest of the conversation.

"And then? You suffered a lot after you arrived in Bozhou, didn't you, son?"

"Mother, war is war, it's definitely not about sightseeing." Chen'er laughed.

It has to be said, this child is truly handsome; Yang Ruoqing seems to see a young Luo Fengtang in him.

However, although his facial features and eyebrows were 70-80% similar to Luo Fengtang's, his temperament was slightly different from Luo Fengtang's because he had Yang Ruoqing's genes mixed in with his body.

While retaining the vigor and upright spirit of a young man, he also possessed a gentle temperament nurtured by poetry and literature that Luo Fengtang lacked. Although Luo Fengtang was also literate, he only began learning to read in his teens. Ultimately, he was a true military general, or to put it bluntly, a cold-looking king of soldiers, a rough and tough guy with a tender heart.

But Chen'er is different. Chen'er started learning numbers and characters at the age of two and began practicing martial arts to strengthen his body at the age of five.

He was raised by his grandfather, who was a prince of the Great Qi Dynasty and the emperor Qi Xingyun's uncle. Therefore, in the process of raising Chen'er, he was required to meet the highest standards in every aspect, including literary and martial arts. The royal bloodline that Chen'er was born with made him extraordinary in every gesture and word.

He looked exactly like the princes in the romance novels for female readers that Yang Ruoqing had read in her previous life...

"How many injuries have you sustained? Are there any that haven't fully healed yet? You must tell your mother, and I'll use the best medicine to treat you!" Yang Ruoqing said.

The Luo family fenced off land deep in Changping Village, in a secluded spot with favorable climate, specifically to create a medicinal herb garden. All sorts of rare medicinal herbs could be found in the Luo family's medicinal herb garden.

The reason why Luo Fengtang's Shenwu Army was so strong, well-supplied, and far superior to other armies was largely because the Luo family's medicine garden could continuously provide the generals and soldiers of the Shenwu Army with the best medical conditions and abundant medicines of the era.

"Don't worry, Mother, it's just a few minor injuries, and I've already healed."

"Keep those precious herbs. Which ones do the soldiers in Father's Divine Martial Army need most?"

“But son, the Divine Martial Army is important, but you are more important. You are my son, and I cannot let you have any hidden or old ailments.”

"Mother, don't worry, I know what I'm doing. Let me continue with the main purpose of my return this time!"

"Okay, okay, you say."

"After I quelled the rebellion in Bozhou, the Emperor rewarded me, and later he sent my father to take over Bozhou."

"What? So, your dad is in Bozhou right now?"

"Yes, the Governor of Bozhou is currently in charge of military, political, and economic affairs," Chen'er said.

Yang Ruoqing was secretly grinding her teeth again. "You, Luo Fengtang, no wonder you haven't written home for almost two months. So you've gone off to Bozhou to become the top official?"
“Mother, Father didn’t mean to hide it from you. It was just that the situation was urgent and he asked me to bring this letter to you.”

As they spoke, Chen'er took out a sealed letter from his pocket and handed it to Yang Ruoqing with both hands.

The familiar handwriting on the envelope was clearly from Luo Fengtang.

"I was supposed to be home last month after I left Bozhou, but I made a last-minute trip to the capital, so I was delayed," Chen'er explained.

Yang Ruoqing now understood. She couldn't blame Luo Fengtang for losing contact with his family for two months. To be precise, Luo Fengtang must have learned that Chen'er was coming home for a visit, so he sent his son back with a message.

All of this happened more than a month ago, but Chen'er went to the capital with a letter in his arms, which caused the delay.

"Don't rush to read your father's letter. Talk to your mother first and tell her how long you can stay at home this time. Is it okay after the New Year?" Yang Ruoqing asked again.

Chen'er thought for a moment, "It might be a bit uncertain if it's around the New Year, but ten days to half a month should be about right!"

"That's good, that's good! I was worried you'd come back today and leave again tomorrow or the day after. I didn't even get a good look at you. Ten days or half a month would be great! That's good!"