#482 - Wanderer

Li Qi has surrendered.

Walking back to the old woman's residence, Wei Changtian was pondering this matter.

Actually, he wasn't surprised by this.

Ever since he learned that Li Qi was pretending to be a fool, Wei Changtian and Chu Xianping had guessed that the former would surrender and seek peace sooner or later.

After all, from Li Qi's perspective, the war situation in Fengyuan was unsustainable, and he would inevitably be defeated if he continued to fight.

Instead of waiting for Da Ning to invade Fengyuan City and drag him down from the dragon throne, it would be better to surrender in advance.

At least in this way, Da Feng could retain some troops and maintain some bargaining chips for negotiations.

Of course, all of this was based on the premise that Ning Yongnian was willing to talk to him.

And in order to achieve this goal, Li Qi even resorted to pretending to be a fool to show that he no longer posed any "threat".

After all, if the enemy emperor was already a fool, then it seemed harmless to let him live.

Alas, it was quite humble.

Sighing, Wei Changtian couldn't help but feel a little唏嘘 (pity).

Other emperors had countless wives and concubines, full of vigor and ambition.

But this one was different.

He fell in love with a woman, but she turned out to be a deer demon, and in the end, she committed suicide.

The empress hated him for this, and also brought him countless green hats.

He finally seized an opportunity to show his grand plans in his "career", wanting to take advantage of the Da Ning civil strife to regain Yuanzhou, but instead, he was calculated by Ning Yongnian. Not only did he lose 500,000 elite soldiers, but he was now on the verge of national collapse.

Let's just say, isn't it a bit too much of a failure to be an emperor to this extent?

Wei Changtian didn't know if Ning Yongnian would kill Li Qi, perhaps the former wanted to take over Da Feng faster by using this "foolish emperor".

After all, "occupying a country's land" and "possessing a country's land" were two different things. It involved many issues, and keeping a puppet emperor was obviously easier.

But even if Li Qi could survive, his life would definitely be worse than death, and he would live like a year.

Wei Changtian understood that he wanted to save his life first, and then find an opportunity to "restore the country".

But Ning Yongnian wasn't a fool, how could he give Li Qi this opportunity unless there was strong external intervention?

Hmm?

Thinking about it this way, wasn't this external force himself?

If he could really compete with Ning Yongnian within Da Ning in the future, or even pull the latter down from the throne, wouldn't Li Qi be able to restore his country?

Damn!

Could it be that Li Qi was planning this?

Forget it, after all, he's my future father-in-law. If there really is such a day, I'll help if I can.

...

Lost in thought, Wei Changtian unknowingly walked back to the familiar alley.

The open courtyard door, the old woman silently waiting outside the door, the old locust tree that had been there for who knows how many years...

Although Wei Changtian had only lived here for two days in total, he inexplicably felt a sense of familiarity with this scene.

"Granny!"

Wei Changtian shouted from afar as usual, and the old woman, as usual, turned around and went back to the courtyard after seeing him.

However, when Wei Changtian also stepped into the courtyard and said a few words with a smile, she slowly stopped.

"Granny, I've disturbed you these past two days."

"I've taken care of my affairs in Guanghan City and will be leaving later."

"I'll come back to see you if I have the chance in the future."

"Oh right, here's a few taels of silver..."

"..."

Wei Changtian spoke while taking out the silver, while the old woman silently looked at him, a hint of a different expression appearing on her wrinkled face for the first time.

"Mother, I'll sneak back sometime."

"Come back for what? You just stay in Shuzhou honestly, so as not to be caught. If you really come back, remember to tell us in advance."

"..."

The same expression, the same words, the same mood.

At this moment, Wei Changtian suddenly realized that he had never fulfilled his "promise" in his previous life. Every time he had a vacation, he was either working overtime or taking the time to relax and enjoy himself.

And it was the same in this life.

This year, he had been to Yuanzhou, to Da Feng, and had traveled through at least half of Da Ning's prefectures, but he had never returned to the capital once.

Perhaps in his subconscious, this "promise" before leaving was just a casual remark.

But for the people who heard this sentence, although they never asked him to fulfill his promise, they must have been looking forward to him suddenly appearing in front of them one day...

Just like this old woman who didn't know who she was waiting for to return.

"..."

His hands suddenly clenched tightly, then relaxed again.

Wei Changtian took a deep breath, smiled and stuffed a small handful of silver into the old woman's hand, and then asked casually:

"Granny, where are your children now? What are their names? Do you have any belongings they left behind at home?"

"I know a lot of people, maybe I know them."

"..."

In the midday sun, the old woman's breathing suddenly became a little rapid.

She hesitated for a moment, and then hurriedly returned to the house, and soon came out again holding a small wooden box.

It could be seen that she was very afraid that Wei Changtian would suddenly leave, so she tried to walk faster, and her steps were a little unsteady.

Wei Changtian also quickly stepped forward to steady her, and then took the wooden box.

Obviously, this should be the old woman's children's belongings.

"Pa~"

The spotless box lid was gently opened, and there was only a thin piece of yellow paper inside.

Looking at the words "Da Ning Ministry of War" at the top of the paper, and the words "Shuzhou General Military Prefecture" below, Wei Changtian immediately understood that this was a "tax reduction certificate" left for the family members of soldiers.

As long as someone in the family joined the army, the family would get one, and with this certificate, the whole family could be exempted from half of the taxes.

It seemed that the old woman's son should have joined the Shuzhou army.

And judging from the "Da Ning Ministry of War" on this certificate, the enlistment time must have been before Ning Yuke claimed the title of king.

"Zhang Shi..."

Wei Changtian unconsciously whispered a name, and the old woman hurriedly nodded repeatedly.

"Granny, I know."

Wei Changtian said with a smile: "It just so happens that I know people in the army, and I will definitely ask them to take care of your son more."

"..."

The old woman was immediately a little excited when she heard this, and at the same time, she was a little at a loss.

She seemed to want to thank Wei Changtian but didn't know what to do, and finally bent her knees and prepared to kowtow to the latter.

"Granny, what are you doing?"

"Aren't you killing me!"

Of course, Wei Changtian wouldn't accept this bow, and hurriedly helped the old woman up, and persuaded her for a long time before she gave up this idea.

However, although the latter didn't kneel, she kept looking at the objects in the hut, seemingly trying to find something to thank him.

Wei Changtian looked at her like this with complicated emotions, and suddenly pointed to the patched linen clothes on his body.

"Granny, you sewed this clothes for me."

"That's enough for me."

"I promise you, your son will be back soon."

"..."

The old woman suddenly stopped moving and stared blankly at Wei Changtian.

Wei Changtian didn't say anything more, and soon turned around and walked out of the courtyard gate, disappearing completely from her sight.

In the small courtyard, a big goose paced back and forth.

Wei Changtian brought it back yesterday, originally intending to eat it today, but he didn't expect the situation to change so quickly, and now there was no chance.

Wei Changtian once again ignored a small promise, and the goose, which was lucky enough to escape, didn't understand its own luck, but raised its neck and looked at the sky with high spirits.

It was already late autumn, and early wild geese flew from the north to spend the winter, and would fly back to the north next spring.

The land of the south is like a mother, waiting for them to return to the same place year after year.

Like the person who always looks at you outside the car window.

They will say the same words, show the same expression, and just stay in place quietly.

Watching the travelers leave, waiting for the travelers to return.