A bonfire was burning outside the camp tent. The air was filled with the aroma of meat and faint sounds of soldiers talking and moving about. Inside the tent, Mu Yungui set up a small table in front of the camp bed and placed a few simple, light dishes on it.

The two sat down to eat quietly. Though not lively, it was still extraordinarily warm.

The army camp's food was naturally not as good as Jiang Du's. Yu Yan had been so worried about Mu Yungui's safety that he had not eaten much since the morning. But at this point he was so hungry that his stomach clenched, he could not be picky about his food.

Mu Yungui passed him a few small dishes and asked, "So Master was worried that this subordinate might have encountered an accident and hence hurried here?"

"...En." Yu Yan held a bowl of porridge and took a sip.

"Thank you, Master, "Mu Yungui whispered

Yu Yan placed the bowl down, feeling a little unhappy. "Yungui, why are you still so polite to me?"

Mu Yungui paused.

Yu Yan felt like Mu Yungui still treated him with restraint and politeness. It was tough to change him even after so much time had passed.

Yu Yan asked again, "The last time we met, what did we talk about?"

Mu Yungui: "Master asked me...to be more proactive, to be frank. To tell Master whatever is in my heart."

"Then tell me, what are you thinking?"

"I..." Mu Yungui hesitated for a moment. In a low voice, he said, "This subordinate missed Master very much."

"It was hard not to see Master every day. It was hard worrying about whether Master is living well in Jiang Du, whether the food suits his taste and whether he will encounter any danger. I wanted to end the war as soon as possible and return to Jiang Du to see Master..."

Mu Yungui's pair of handsome eyes stared at Yu Yan, every word and sentence he heard was intense. "This subordinate is very happy to see Master today. Even more so because he came especially to see me."

They stared at each other for a moment. Yu Yan turned his gaze away, the tips of his ears blushing red. "Don't...don't say anymore..."

Mu Yungui had changed a lot this year. Compared to before, he was thinner but his appearance had become more mature.

If one could say he purposely curbed his edge before, now, it was like a sharp sword out of its sheath, intense and penetrating.

Being faced with such a gaze, one really....couldn't hold back.

Who said blockheads couldn't talk about love?

Yu Yan blushed, vaguely saying "I missed you too", then bowed his head and ate with utmost focus.

Seeing him act like this, Mu Yungui felt a little itchy, but he held back.

The two finished their dinner quietly.

Maybe it was because he was too hungry and ate too quickly but Yu Yan felt a little nauseous. He put his chopsticks down without eating any more.

Mu Yungui was observing his actions keenly. Worried, he asked, "Is Master not feeling well? This subordinate will immediately find a military doctor."

"Don't–" Yu Yan stopped him. "No need. I'm only..."

Yu Yan pursed his lips and stopped speaking.

He hadn't planned on telling Mu Yungui yet.

The situation was uncertain and talking about it now may affect him. This was one reason. The other reason was that... he wanted to surprise Mu Yungui.

And this surprise could only be revealed after all the dust had settled.

"I'm just exhausted." Yu Yan pulled Mu Yungui back and whispered, "Just lie down next to me for a while."

Though Mu Yungui had his doubts, he had always listened to whatever Yu Yan said. He nodded and helped Yu Yan take off his shoes and socks and then laid down with his arms around him.

"I have been very worried these days." Yu Yan whispered, "I thought the sealed letter may not reach you in time so I dared not stop for a moment. I was really scared..."

He couldn't ride a horse, so he could only come in a carriage which only delayed his arrival.

Yu Yan buried his head in Mu Yungui's arms and rubbed against him lightly.

Mu Yungui stroked his back. "Master should believe in me."

"This subordinate has promised that he will never leave you. Even if His Majesty really ordered to kill this subordinate, this subordinate will definitely survive," Mu Yungui coaxed. "Has Master forgotten?"

Yu Yan: "I haven't."

But it was too risky. He dared not bet.

Mu Yungui lowered his eyes to look at the young man in his arms. He brought his face closer to the youth's side, stroked a loose strand of hair behind his ear and lowered his head slightly.

He wanted to kiss him.

The camp tent was very quiet; so quiet that Yu Yan could only hear his heart thumping.

His eyelashes trembled slightly and he waited.

Out of nowhere, somebody announced from outside, "Deputy General Mu, there are two people outside the barracks asking for a meeting, saying that they are your wife's relatives."

Yu Yan: "..."

What the hell? ? ?

The originally ambiguous atmosphere disappeared in an instant. Before Yu Yan could be angry that their moment was interrupted, he almost jumped when he realized what was said.

Whose wife? ? ?

Whose relatives ? ?

He stared at Mu Yungui in disbelief.

The latter was so frightened that he sat down quickly. "I... This subordinate knows nothing!"

The two looked at each other and Yu Yan suddenly figured out what this was about.

Mu Yungui: "This subordinate will send those people away immediately."

"Wait." Yu Yan sat down slowly and adjusted his clothes. "Let them come in, I know who it is."

Mu Yungui replied to his subordinates, unsure yet somewhat certain. After a while, the camp tent was opened by another.

Two young men walked in. One of them was gentle and elegant. In his arms was a little boy under one-year-old.

The baby laid quietly in the arms of the youth, fast asleep.

When the visitor saw the atmosphere inside the tent, he said apologetically, "It seems that Jin Wang and I came at the wrong time."

These two were naturally the monarch of Chang Lu and the prime minister.

"..." Yu Yan's ears were slightly red. "What are you talking about? Why did you come here, also bringing Xiao Yezi?"

Hearing his question, Ye Shu took a step inside.

Jin Wang glanced at the person beside him and said coldly, "Isn't that because a certain someone secretly followed me to the frontline, even bringing the child with him?"

"How can you blame me!" Ye Shu protested, "Little Yezi can't bear to be left alone, so I can't throw him into the capital right?"

Jin Wang: "You shouldn't have followed me in the first place."

Ye Shu: "...Hmph."

Yu Yan: "..."

Mu Yungui: "..."

Yu Yan pressed his eyebrows. "Are you here to show off on purpose?"

Ye Shu stuck his tongue out towards Jin Wang and took the opportunity to break free from his embrace to run to Yu Yan's side.

"I'm here to see you and..." Ye Shu trailed off, looking straight at Mu Yungui. "I just knew there was something between you and this little bodyguard. And you didn't even want to admit it before."

"At that time we were... there was nothing at all." The more Yu Yan explained, the quieter it became.

Ye Shu was suspicious. "Really? But I obviously feel—"

"Ah Shu," Jin Wang interrupted. "We still have a business to settle."

Ye Shu met the other's gaze and shut his mouth. "Right."

Jin Wang took out an enclosed letter from his pocket and handed it to Yu Yan. "This was intercepted by us on the road."

Yu Yan took it to read. It was actually the Yan Emperor's secret imperial edict.

He opened the imperial edict. This edict was to be given to the commander-in-chief of the three armies, asking him to secretly execute Mu Yungui.

Yu Yan's eyes darkened and he said in a low voice, "Thank you."

He handed the imperial edict to Mu Yungui to read, and then threw it into the brazier. The flames of the fire engulfed the letter and turned it into ashes in no time.

"You owe me another one," Ye Shu stated.

"Yes." Yu Yan said. "And I have to thank you for the past few months too, for handing over the five cities that were sacrificed during the border war."

Jin Wang replied dispassionately, "These cities were originally your Great Yan territory. They have only been returned to you."

Ye Shu whispered, "Don't thank him. Most of the border soldiers were grabbed from Western Xia. This dog emperor used you to train them."

"..." Jin Wang asked, "What did you call me?"

Ye Shu cowered immediately. "Dearest husband!"

Jin Wang tried to control himself, but couldn't. The corners of his mouth twitched.

He turned his head and coughed slightly before continuing, "The two princes previously planned to seize the military power and pressure the Crown Prince Yan, but now that Emperor Yan has been killed, I am afraid that you can no longer afford to be as slow as before."

"I too, don't want to delay any longer," Yu Yan agreed.

Not to mention that the Yan Emperor had clearly shown his intention to kill Mu Yungui whereas he himself was...

Yu Yan's hands that were hidden under his sleeves, gently covered his lower abdomen.

He had reasons to speed up his plan.

Yu Yan calmed himself. "Emperor father had ordered Mu Yungui's execution. Once he realizes that he failed this time, he will try again. I can't wait any longer."

Ye Shu gave Jin Wang a meaningful glance. "In any case, no matter what you want to do, Jin Wang and I will help you."

"Thank you. But this time, there's no need." Yu Yan said, "You have helped me a lot. The rest is my Great Yan's royal family's grievances. I will deal with it myself."

Ye Shu nodded. The boy in his arms suddenly moved.

This little boy had grown bigger since the first time Yu Yan saw him. The boy rubbed his eyes and opened them, looking left and right curiously.

Yu Yan lost his train of thoughts, struck by his cuteness. He leaned forward. "Little Yezi, do you remember me?"

The little boy looked at him in confusion, tilting his head: "Dad...Daddy..."

Yu Yan: "..."

Ye Shu: "..."

"It's not Daddy. It's Uncle." Ye Shu poked the little boy's face. "After learning for so long, he has only learned how to say 'Daddy'. Doesn't even care who the person in front of him is."

The little boy didn't know what he was talking about and reached out to Yu Yan, shouting more and more vigorously, "Daddy! Daddy!"

Ye Shu thought for a while and said with a straight face, "Since this child likes to call him 'Dad', why not have your son or daughter become his wife in the future? Then this child can rightfully call you 'Dad'."

Yu Yan: "?"

Yu Yan rejected, "It's not confirmed yet who's going to be the wife. Who knows, maybe it's your little Yezi who'll be the wife."

Ye Shu thought for a while and shook his head. "No. I won't take it. My son will definitely be an alpha.

"Then I won't take it either. What should we do..."

The two discussed seriously as they sat on the camp bed. Their alphas stood on one side and looked at each other.

Jin Wang grounded his teeth. "Isn't it a bit too early for you two to think about this?!"

The sky was darkening. Jin Wang and Ye Shu had stayed for too long, so they said goodbye to Yu Yan.

The two left the army barracks and got into the carriage.

The little boy was no longer sleepy. Sitting on Jin Wang's lap, he grabbed the jade pendant around his waist to play with.

Ye Shu leaned on his shoulder and said lightly, "I didn't expect you to be willing to trust Yu Yan so much."

"Since you trust him, I trust him too." Jin Wang paused for a moment, then continued, "What's more, it's better to reach a good relationship without any bloodshed, rather than sending troops to suppress the border war, causing many casualties."

"That's true."

Ye Shu played with the little boy's fingers but had his hands clasped into Jin Wang's.

"Didn't a certain someone promise that as long as I take him to see Yu Yan, he will let me do anything?" Jin Wang questioned softly.

Ye Shu's ears flushed. He silently moved to the side.

Jin Wang followed and leaned over. "Say, was that true?"

Ye Shu had his escape blocked. His earlobe was bitten. He pressed his lips and nodded.

小葉子, a nickname for the child. Likely because Ye Shu also had the same Ye.