This day, General Hua Liting came back from the border and handed over his territorial protection duties to a newly promoted general. After all, Hua Liting had been galloping on the battlefield for many years and suffered from many injuries. Now, he was getting older and his strength as well as energy also declined, so, he could only retire.

Around mid afternoon, General Hua Liting had entered the gate of the capital with his troops. The ma.s.ses in the capital were ecstatic when they saw him, and they enthusiastically sent him food and clothes as presents. Hua Liting had tears in his eyes because for his whole life, he had experienced many difficulties, and he felt that his life hadn't been spent in vain since he gained such respect.

Finally, he came back to the Hua's Mansion. As soon as Hua Liting got down from the horse, he saw that Hua Mengs.h.i.+ rushed to him saying, "Dad!"

There were tears on Hua Mengs.h.i.+'s beautiful face and her voice was filled with all her love to her father, which immediately made Hua Liting's eyes teary. Having been working at the border for so many years, he couldn't have a chance to go back home and reunite with his wife and daughters...

"s.h.i.+'er, how are you and your mother?"

Hua Liting smiled and said. However, Hua Mengs.h.i.+'s face suddenly became extremely serious, saying, "My mother, she..."

After all, Hua Liting lived at the border, so, it wouldn't be easy to send him a letter. Perhaps, he had left the border before the letter arrived. Therefore, it was normal that he had no idea about Second Madame's real situation.

Old Madame Hua sighed deeply, "Liting, it's good to see you back home. Enter and enjoy the welcoming banquet first. I'll tell you the details later."

Seeing her mother's serious face, Hua Liting realized that something important might have happened at home. He patted his daughter's shoulders, and suddenly saw a quiet woman standing at the front of the gate. This woman was dressed in white, her hair in a b.u.t.terfly-shaped braid with only one wintersweet hairpin on it. She looked calm and simple with calmness in her eyes.

This... Was this the legitimate daughter of the Hua's Mansion—Hua Liting's eldest daughter Hua Qiyue?

In Hua Liting's mind, this daughter seldom went out of the Cuihua Court. She never garnered any attention because of her cowardly personality and obstructed Qi Mai.

But today, she came out of the court?

Hua Liting was a little surprised. At this time, Hua Qiyue walked to him slowly, to bow and say, "Dad, you've been working too hard."

Hua Liting looked at the calm Hua Qiyue in shock. Was this his eldest daughter? Where was her fragile personality and the timidity in her eyes?

"Qiyue, I wouldn't have expected for you to change this much after so many years, ha-ha!" Hua Liting had no prejudice toward his eldest daughter; it was just because her mother was Hua Liting's most beloved woman, so, he paid more attentions to her.

Unluckily, he didn't live in the Hua's Mansion and stayed at the border. Being so, he was totally unable to protect Hua Qiyue.

"Dad, come in." Hua Qiyue smiled and her eyes was a little moist. Hua Liting's love for Hua Qiyue was real. Although she owned the soul of Rong Qiyue, she still could feel the inner emotion rippling.

Hua Liting strode into the courtyard. At the same time, he noticed that there was a little boy standing behind Hua Qiyue. The little boy was about six or seven years old. He looked handsome and energetic, and his face was white and chubby, which made him extremely adorable.

"This is..."

"Dad, this is sister's adopted son!" Hua Mengs.h.i.+ answered quickly, and then she added intentionally, "She adopted a son before her marriage. Dad, this is the first case in all the Changjing Kingdom!"

Hua Liting frowned, which obviously showed his disapproval of what Hua Qiyue had done. But he had already experienced a month and a half's journey, coming back home from the border, which truly exhausted him, so, he didn't want to deal with it.

Hua Liting walked to his main courtyard, letting others wait for him. Generally speaking, they would have the meal at the dining room when the whole family had the reunion banquet.

Otherwise, they would usually have meals in their own courts.

Hua Qiyue took Tianci back to the Cuihua Court. As soon as they enter the court, Youshui said worriedly, "Miss, don't do that. The lord just came back; Miss, you can make a soup in the kitchen and send it to the lord..."

Hua Qiyue waved her hands and said with a smile, "Not necessary. Making soup is what Hua Mengs.h.i.+ is most adept in, why bother competing with her?"

Youshui and Lv Xin glanced at each other helplessly, while Qiuyun nodded and said, "First Miss is right. Now, Second Miss must go to the kitchen and make the soup herself for the lord. So, if First Miss wants to ingratiate herself with the lord, she has to find other ways."

Hua Qiyue understood that she was poor at cooking, and undoubtedly, she would lose out to Hua Mengs.h.i.+. So... she had to find alternatives. But why would she need to win Hua Liting's heart?

Now, she almost had everything she wanted except that she had to upgrade herself in the field of Qi Art. What else did she need?

Although Hua Liting was her natural father, it actually was unnecessary to ingratiate herself with him, if he disliked her just because Hua Mengs.h.i.+ sowed discord between them.

"Don't worry, don't worry. Let's wait for dinner," Hua Qiyue smiled slightly and said.

The Three exchanged glances and walked away in silence. After all, Hua Qiyue was so calm and didn't worry about anything they were concerned about. It was useless to say more.

Tianci, together with Caiqing and Caining, was practicing swordsmans.h.i.+p outside. This little guy was very interested in Qi Art and swordsmans.h.i.+p.

Hua Qiyue didn't discourage him from doing this. Anyway, practicing swordsmans.h.i.+p could help him build his body, so, she wouldn't prevent him from learning anything.

As Qiuyun expected, Hua Mengs.h.i.+ was busy in making a white fungus and ginseng chicken soup, intending to send this to Hua Liting who just got out of the bath.

Anyway, Hua Mengs.h.i.+ had to find a way to impress Hua Liting so that it would be possible for Second Madame to survive. After all, Hua Liting had battled on the Changing Kingdom's behalf for many years. Not to mention that Hua Liting was an ever-victorious general.

The white fungus and ginseng chicken soup was quickly done. Hua Mengs.h.i.+ asked Surou to scoop the soup into a bowl, and then she delivered the soup to the main court herself.

When Hua Mengs.h.i.+ delivered the soup to the main court, Hua Liting just finished bathing and was ready to go to the dining room when he saw that his second daughter was bringing a bowl of delicious soup to him. She said, "Dad, you must be tired, have this soup to moisten your throat!"

Hua Mengs.h.i.+ smiled and put the soup on the table. Surou left silently.

Hua Liting happily sat down and held up the bowl, taking a sip of the soup. He said, "Good! s.h.i.+'er has improved in cooking again. I haven't had the ginseng soup made by you for several years. Now that I take it again, it is very enjoyable."

Hua Liting put down the bowl and said eagerly, "s.h.i.+'er, I only saw your third mother just now, where is your mother?"

Hua Mengs.h.i.+'s eyes became moist and several tears falling. She lowered her eyebrows and said in a sad voice, "Dad, you may not know what happened in the past month... Somehow, suddenly, my elder sister is able to learn Qi Arts, but the point is..."

Hua Mengs.h.i.+ knew that if she told Hua Liting that Hua Qiyue was a Qi Artist at the bottom stage of the Dragon Diagram, Hua Liting would be partial to Hua Qiyue. After all, Second Madame intended to frame the legitimate daughter of the Hua's Mansion, which was not a small matter.

Now, she could only conceal this by talking about Hua Qiyue's advantages.

"Over a month ago, the Medicine Saing from the Ji family came to the capital and held a contest aiming at recruiting new apprentices. Unexpectedly, I had my elder sister as opponent. That day, I happened to feel sick, so, I forfeited."

Hua Mengs.h.i.+ said in a quavering voice and wiped away the tears on her face, but intentionally left the shallow tear stains, which made her lovely face appear filled with sadness. Her tearful face made people unable to feel anything but pity for her.

Hua Liting was a little worried when he saw Hua Mengs.h.i.+'s face. 'Second Madame surely met with misfortune, right?'

"I lost my reputation like this. Many people say that I pretended being ill because I was afraid that elder sister would beat me... I felt very sullen for being treated unjustly, and mother cared too much about me, so... out of impulse, she schemed to expel elder sister out of the Hua's Mansion.

Hua Mengs.h.i.+ knelt down, screaming and crying.

Hearing this, Hua Liting suddenly felt faint because according to Hua Mengs.h.i.+, he knew that this wasn't simple. Second Concubine had the intention to expel Hua Qiyue out of the mansion but the Emperor happened to discover it...

The Changlong Emperor also convicted Second Madame as guilty, which showed that this wasn't simple. Otherwise, as a dignified Emperor, why would he deal with such a trivial matter happening in the Hua's Mansion?

"s.h.i.+'er, don't worry and start over..." Hua Liting said in a cold voice. He was h.o.a.ry-haired and looked old. He had intended to go back home and enjoy the rest of his life, but unexpectedly he was faced with such a problem.

"Dad, on surface, elder sister is innocent and simple, but now she's Princess Jinghua which was bestowed by the Emperor himself..."

Hua Mengs.h.i.+ cried and said. And she looked extremely aggrieved, "In appearance, elder sister doesn't harm me, but she often oppresses me in public... She's favored by a mysterious man and became a senior Qi Artist! Dad, there are too many things that we don't get... She suddenly became stronger and she has the magic medicine Long Red..."

Hua Liting was mesmerized and frowned tightly. It was unexpected that this time he went back home, so many changes had occurred.

It was said that the magic medicine Long Red had long disappeared on the Tianyuan Continent. It couldn't be bought with money.

However, Hua Qiyue had such a magic medicine, which meant that she must have been supported by some mysterious expert or had a fortuitous encounter!

"Dad, although mother deserved it, she is my mother after all. I'm begging you, Dad, could you please plead with the Emperor?"

On Hua Mengs.h.i.+'s exquisite face, the tears, like smooth and round beads, rolled down. Hua Liting heaved a deep sigh; after all, he was a general and he shouldn't make a judgement only from one person's standpoint. He needed to make a decision after talking to Old Madame about this matter.

"s.h.i.+'er, get up first. I'll discuss with your grandmother and decide how to deal with it. So, leave it alone first, okay?"

Hua Mengs.h.i.+ nodded. Obviously, Hua Liting's mind now was shaken. Although he didn't love Second Madame so much, she did give birth to his son and daughter. A twenty-year marriage couldn't end like this.

After finis.h.i.+ng the soup made by Hua Mengs.h.i.+, Hua Liting and Hua Mengs.h.i.+ walked to the dining room. Hua Qiyue and Old Madame were already waiting in the dining room.

Seeing Hua Mengs.h.i.+ and Hua Liting coming in, Old Madame Hua seemed to be a little unhappy, but thought it was inconvenient to express it. After all, it was the day that her son came back.

Hua Qiyue was calm and quiet, and remained silent after greeting Hua Liting. However, Old Madame Hua didn't mention a word about Second Madame, being that it was really shameful to mention such a scandal in front of the whole family.

Hua Liting wasn't in a good mood because he also had something in his mind, so, the reunion banquet quickly ended.

Old Madame Hua asked Hua Liting to the inner hall where a calming incense stick was lit, set in an agilawood burner. The whole hall was filled with a peaceful atmosphere.

"Perhaps... Mengs.h.i.+ has already told you about it? What happened to Second Madame really displeased me, so, you should give up begging me," Old Madame Hua didn't beat around the bush and said calmly.

Of course, she knew which way the wind blew, and she also understood that only one Hua Qiyue was better than ten Second Madames. Thus, Old Madame Hua definitely stood up for her own granddaughter.

"But... mother, after all, she is my second wife and gave birth to Mengs.h.i.+ and Qianming..."

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