Endless Winter: My Camp Infinite Upgrades

Chapter 578 Luo Yuan's Intentions, Unexplained Kidnapping
In the southern part of the Bone-Eroding Path, the snow-covered forest was silent.

Three figures, one large and two small, suddenly walked slowly from the north side. In the middle was a stunningly beautiful adult woman, dressed in a white summer palace dress, with a long sword at her waist, walking ahead expressionlessly.

Following the woman were a boy and a girl, two children who looked to be no more than ten years old. The two children were exceptionally handsome, and upon closer inspection, one could see that they bore a five or six-point resemblance to the stunningly beautiful woman in front of them. It was easy to guess that the three were mother and children.

The mother and her two children were none other than Li Xuanling and her two children, who had just bid farewell to Xia Hong and were heading south from Guangning Mountain to return to Xia City.

Although Li Xuanling possessed the ability to fly, she wasn't in a hurry to return this time, and there was basically no danger. In addition, Xia Yuyao and Xia Yusheng had just broken through to the Cold Resistance level a few days ago, and she wanted to test her children. The two younger ones also wanted to see the outside world. Both sides agreed, and she simply took the two children and chose to walk back to the Southern Foothills.

But at this moment, the atmosphere between the mother and her two children was clearly a little off!

To be precise, it was Li Xuanling, who was at the very front, who was acting very strangely.

"Sister, is Mother angry?"

When their mother, Li Xuanling, first set off from Guangning Mountain, she would take the time to tell them about the terrain along the way and, in conjunction with the surrounding environment, teach them some survival tips for the snow forest.

Ever since she met Luo Sizheng, her mood immediately plummeted. She became silent and her pace quickened, making Xia Yusheng realize that she was struggling.

"Nonsense, if Father wants to marry another woman through a marriage alliance, Mother will definitely be angry! We'll have a stepmother now, are you happy?"

Hearing his sister's words, Xia Yusheng was taken aback at first, then frowned and said, "Isn't this normal? There are many men in Xia City who have married several wives. Second Uncle has married two, and Father is a lord, so it's normal for him to marry several..."

Before Xia Yusheng could finish speaking, a chill ran down his spine. He noticed his sister beside him gesturing to him and realized that a pair of eyes were staring at him. He quickly realized what was happening and hurriedly changed his words, saying, "Even if Father marries many wives, it's no use. I only recognize my mother. No one else has the right to be my stepmother."

"Such a young age and already so glib-tongued, just like your father. Men really are all the same, humph!"

Although Li Xuanling still had a cold expression, there was clearly not much anger in her tone.

Seeing this, Xia Yusheng breathed a sigh of relief, gave his sister a grateful look, and quickly stepped forward to take his mother's arm, whispering, "Mother, don't be angry. Cai Qiu wants a marriage alliance simply because he's afraid that our Great Xia will continue to attack them. He wants to put an insurance clause on the contract. Father's agreement to the marriage alliance is definitely just a temporary measure to appease them. When our strength increases in the future, Father will definitely send troops to destroy Cai Qiu. This marriage alliance is at most two-tenths real, and eight-tenths fake."

Seeing her son's resolute last words followed by a solemn expression, displaying a precocious air despite his young age, Li Xuanling couldn't help but chuckle inwardly. The knot in her chest actually eased quite a bit. She then teased him softly, "What's so great about showing off what your sister just said verbatim?"

After the three of them bid farewell to Luo Yuan, Xia Yuyao and Xia Yusheng kept whispering behind her. How could their conversation escape her ears?

The son's words were clearly the eldest daughter's idea; he hadn't even changed anything, he had simply repeated them verbatim.

Upon hearing this, Xia Yusheng's face flushed red, and he stammered, trying to explain, "Mother, I... I thought the same thing, it just so happens that my sister and I thought the same thing, Mother..."

Ultimately, he was too shy to admit it. After trying to explain himself, he couldn't help but resort to his charm when his mother still had that teasing expression.

Li Xuanling knew her son's capabilities all too well.

It's not that Xia Yusheng is stupid; her youngest son is just too naive and doesn't know any tricks of the trade. This is probably due to the closed-off environment she created. Sometimes she regrets it and worries that her son's personality will cause him to suffer when he grows up.

But then she thought again, with the current strength of the Great Xia Dynasty, her husband Xia Hong's formidable power, and with herself added to the mix, protecting her son's innocence with these three safeguards wouldn't be too difficult.

Besides, with his son's talent, as long as he grows up peacefully, his strength will be enough to crush most conspiracies and schemes.

What's more, he has his own older sister, Xia Yuyao, protecting him...

Li Xuanling turned to look at her eldest daughter, her eyes filled with pride and smugness.

It's probably related to the Jade Dew Stone she refined during her pregnancy. Xia Yusheng, who inherited the fire element, is simple and fiery; while Xia Yuyao, who inherited the water element, is quick-witted and clever.

Li Xuanling considered herself a thoughtful person, and her husband Xia Hong was even more so; otherwise, she wouldn't have lost the Battle of Longyou back then.

However, the eldest daughter, Xia Yuyao, occasionally displays wit and keenness that surpasses even the two of them. The key point is that she is only a little over ten years old this year, which is truly alarming.

When Xia Yuyao was still young, Li Xuanling thought she had just given birth to a copy of herself. But as her daughter grew older, she clearly noticed that her personality was more like her husband's, and sometimes her thoughts were even more profound than her husband's.

Li Xuanling pulled his thoughts back, looked at his eldest daughter, and suddenly became interested. He asked with a smile, "Yao'er, why do you think Luo Yuan intercepted me halfway and revealed the news of your father's marriage proposal to me in advance?"

Xia Yuyao did not answer immediately upon hearing this. She frowned slightly and pondered for a while before slowly saying, "There are probably two meanings. The first is to pledge allegiance to you, Mother. In recent years, the eight tribes have begun to split. Currently, apart from Uncle Yuwen's military tribe, only Uncle Luo's hunting tribe has not yet taken sides. He took the initiative to wait here and revealed to you, Mother, that Uncle Qiu had agreed to the marriage on behalf of Father. It is not hard to guess his intentions."

The eldest daughter rarely even leaves the Summer Palace, yet she has already discerned the beginnings of the differentiation of the Eight Divisions and even uttered these words. It is highly likely that she has a good grasp of the specifics of the differentiation of the Eight Divisions.

Li Xuanling looked at her eldest daughter, her heart filled with admiration, but she did not show it. Instead, she asked calmly, "In your opinion, was Qiu Peng's action at the behest of your second uncle?"

"impossible!"

Xia Yuyao gave a decisive answer, then shook her head and said, "Second Uncle is not that kind of person. He probably has some objections to Mother's efforts to win over the Eight Ministries in recent years, but as long as Father doesn't express his opinion, he won't react. Besides, even if he really wanted to deal with Mother, he could use his position as the Minister of Justice to publicly retaliate. That would be legitimate and in line with Second Uncle's upright and honorable style of doing things."

Li Xuanling nodded; based on her understanding of Xia Chuan, that was indeed the case.

Her brother-in-law was almost entirely loyal to his elder brother, her husband, and had virtually no personal ambitions. This was evident in his affection for his youngest son. It was impossible for him to interfere in the Xia Palace and disrupt the succession of Xia Hong's lineage.

Therefore, this was entirely Qiu Peng's personal whim, and perhaps also due to the coercive demands from Cai Qiu's side.

Li Xuanling took a slight breath, then asked with a hint of probing, "You just said that Luo Yuan has two meanings, what is the other one?"

"I know I know!"

Xia Yusheng then spoke up, and seeing that his mother and sister were looking at him, he immediately continued, "Since Uncle Luo has pledged allegiance to Mother, he certainly doesn't want Father to marry into Caiqiu. He took the initiative to leak the news to Mother, hoping that Mother would step forward to stop the marriage, right?"

Upon hearing this, Li Xuanling frowned slightly, then quickly shook her head.

It's impossible for her to stop the marriage alliance!

This marriage alliance concerns the ceasefire between Great Xia and Caiqiu. For her, as the matriarch, to intervene would be a colossal embarrassment, regardless of the consequences. Not only would she herself become a laughingstock, but Xia Hong and Great Xia would also be ridiculed. Luo Yuan couldn't possibly be thinking that way. "Uncle Luo is one of the eight chief ministers of Great Xia, deeply trusted by Father. He is a composed and experienced man; how could he be so unwise?"

Xia Yuyao immediately interrupted her younger brother, shaking her head repeatedly. Then, a look of certainty flashed in her eyes as she said to her mother, "Mother, I guess Lord Luo is worried about the people under you."

That hits the nail on the head!

Li Xuanling looked at her eldest daughter, her shock truly uncontrollable.

Luo Yuan is calm and composed, and extremely loyal to the Great Xia. His surrender to me was due to the situation of the Eight Tribes in recent years. It is absolutely impossible that he had any intention of sowing discord.

This marriage alliance was proposed by Caiqiu, and their attitude was extremely firm. Considering Caiqiu's current difficult situation, it's not hard to understand. Qiu Peng may have had some ulterior motives, but he basically went with the flow and didn't actively cause trouble.

With the ceasefire agreement between Da Xia and Cai Qiu about to be signed, disrupting the marriage alliance at this time would have a huge impact. Li Xuanling is just possessive, but he's not stupid. How could he do something so foolish?

But if she doesn't do it, her subordinates might not!

With Zhou Yuan, Meng Ying, the other experts from the Summer Palace, the Dragon Guard, and so many others from the Longshan faction, it's hard to guarantee that no one will take the risk.

Luo Yuan must have known this, so he revealed the information to me in advance so that I would be wary of my subordinates. If they really did something stupid, it would definitely affect me.

After Li Xuanling finally understood, she felt much lighter. Then, looking at her daughter, she realized that it was only after her daughter reminded her that she understood Luo Yuan's intentions, and she couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

"I'm really getting old..."

Li Xuanling shook his head and chuckled, then casually took his two children in his hands and took to the air, intending to speed up and fly back.

However, her expression changed immediately as soon as she took off.

call…………

A gust of air swept overhead, and Li Xuanling immediately landed, shielding the two children behind her. Then she looked up at the sky, her pupils filled with horror.

Three unusually young women suddenly appeared a hundred meters above her head.

The woman in white at the head of the group—no, she should be called a young girl—had her beautiful eyes fixed on her; the two women in green behind her kept their gazes on Xia Yuyao and Xia Yusheng behind her.

"They just appeared out of nowhere, without a trace of their presence. I couldn't detect any movement in their skin, flesh, or blood. No, I couldn't even sense their breathing. Even Cai Qianshan couldn't do that..."

Li Xuanling was extremely flustered at this moment. She could vaguely sense that the strength of these three people was even more terrifying than that of Cai Qianshan.

Strange?
Not like ah!
Could such a young female expert at the Tribulation Realm be found in the entire Mo'ao River region, including the four vassal states and the southern foothills?

While Li Xuanling was in a state of frantic inner turmoil, she was completely unaware that the three people in the sky were looking at her with unusual gazes.

Li Longyu, who was in the middle, looked at Li Xuanling with obvious affection and dependence in her eyes, and there was even a mist of tears in her eyes, as if she had a lot of grievances about to overflow.

The two maids in green behind Li Xuanling focused their attention on Xia Yuyao and Xia Yusheng behind him. Their eyes were filled with excitement and they even started to communicate with each other using lip reading.

"The Great Crown Prince, I actually saw the prince when he was a child..."

"That's Princess Yuyao Tianling when she was little. I saw her from afar in Yaochi Palace five years ago, and I almost suffocated. I didn't know Princess Tianling was so beautiful when she was little. So beautiful, so beautiful!"

………………

"Second brother, second sister!"

Li Longyu quickly shifted her gaze from Li Xuanling to the two children behind him, a hint of excitement flickering in her eyes, which she quickly concealed. She then calmed her voice as much as possible and said slowly, "I am Li Longyu, and I have important matters to discuss with the Lord of Great Xia. Madam Li, please come with me!"

"where to?"

Li Xuanling's hand remained on the sword hilt, but she immediately let go after Li Longyu released some of her aura, and then asked where they were going.

"Red Dragon Lake, don't worry, I won't hurt you. I will release you as soon as the Lord of Great Xia arrives."

In this situation, she did not expect to receive an answer, but unexpectedly, the white-clad girl in the sky who called herself Li Longyu actually answered her.

Not only did he answer her, he even gave her a very polite guarantee.

With things having come to this point, Li Xuanling looked at his two children behind him and had no intention of resisting anymore. He sheathed his longsword, took to the air, and followed behind Li Longyu and the other two.

After Li Xuanling took off, he saw that Li Longyu and the other two had not moved, and his brows furrowed, not understanding what they meant.

"Cough cough cough, Mother... Madam Li, please walk ahead. Red Dragon Lake is within the territory of Great Xia, as you should know very well!"

Finally, Li Longyu broke the silence and had Li Xuanling lead the way.

Are you really going to Chilong Lake?

Li Xuanling thought the other party was just being perfunctory, but she didn't expect that they really wanted to go to Chilong Lake.

Despite being full of confusion, she didn't say anything more and flew ahead to lead the way.

What she didn't notice was that the three people following behind her, including Li Longyu, looked at her from behind with obvious respect.

(End of this chapter)