Drunk Lotus was glaring at Poppy from the side as he bent to pick up the things that had fallen out in a scatter all over the floor from Little Lotus' bib and put it all back. The little bib had morphed into his shirt which had fallen to the bed when he appeared and he reached out his hand to pick it up before draping it over his shoulders. He now sat down propping a leg over his other knee, an expression of disdain on his face as his eyes remain fixed upon Poppy.
With their beastial instincts, Lord Meh Meh and the Sacrificial Blood Rabbit knew to keep a respective distance away from Poppy. Compared to Little Lotus whom they felt would be highly delicious, Poppy was in their eyes, worthless. A type that they would not even be willing to go bite on. The fact that the two dumb beasts were so highly protective of Little Lotus, could very well be due to the fact they were just defending their source of food.
The Qi Kingdom was currently already undergoing restoration and it was time for Jun Wu Xie and the army to return to the Fire Country. But when Ye Sha came back, he brought back news of Jun Wu Yao's temporary departure with him. That made Jun Wu Xie feel a little depressed, but she did not have much time to dwell more on it.
In that final period of time left, Jun Wu Xie spent all her time with her grandfather and uncle, three generations of the family gathered together in joy and harmony, none of them once mentioning a word of Jun Wu Xie's departure although all of them knew in their hearts that this reunion was only temporary.
Mu Chen and Mu Qian Fan decided to remain in the Qi Kingdom and they both got Jun Xian's agreement for them to join the Rui Lin Army together with Mu Chen's disciples who all became the Rui Lin Army's medics and military doctors.
After having experienced the war, their hearts and mind became more matured having undergone the forging through the flames of war, and they no longer saw the Qi Kingdom and the Lin Palace as a temporary abode, but seeked to grow roots in this place.
When the Fire Country's great army moved out to return to Imperial Court, the citizens of the Qi Kingdom came out to see them off. It was not convenient for Mo Qian Yuan as the Emperor to appear there and he could only stand outside the Imperial Palace's main hall and look in the direction the army were departing at. He knew that she would be leaving with them and it was not known how long it would be before he would be able to see her again.
A sadness flashed in Mo Qian Yuan's eyes and his chest seemed to feel highly stuffed up, as an unspeakable depression washed over him.
Bai Yun Xian stood at his back, watching the young Emperor's tall and upright back, and a strange emotion fleeted over her heart.
Jun Wu Xie had stuffed quite a number of people into the Qi Kingdom and besides Mu Chen and Mu Qian Fan, there had still been Bai Yun Xian and Yin Yan.
In this past year, Bai Yun Xian had been sincere and guileless because of the poison Jun Wu Xie had fed into her body, and had even used her medical skills to become one of Chief Imperial Physicians in the Qi Kingdom's Imperial Medical Institution. Although she was no longer the person she was like back when she was in the Qing Yun Clan, she was now experiencing another kind of life.
She had initially thought, based on all the insidious deeds she had committed, even if Jun Wu Xie wanted to make use of her medical knowledge, Mo Qian Yuan would surely not treat her kindly.
But she had discovered that her movements had not been restricted in anyway and even the citizens and other Imperial Physicians who had not known the truth of the matter treated her cordially and were very friendly to her. Having lost the position of being a direct disciple of the Qing Yun Clan's Sovereign, she had lost the halo she wore on her head in the past, but she found that she had gained a sort of peace in her heart instead.
In the Qi Kingdom's Imperial City, there were no elaborate plots and schemes for positions, and no suppressions or comparisons against each other. The place was so peaceful and tranquil that it made her feel it was completely different from her life of the past ten over years before this.
"Your Majesty, the wind is beginning to kick up." Bai Yun Xian said as she looked at Mo Qian Yuan's lonely back, lowering her eyes as she gave him a reminder.
Mo Qian Yuan raised his head distractedly and looked into the afternoon sky. It was so brilliantly bright, almost blinding, but for some unknown reason, he did not feel the slightest trace of warmth.
"That's right, the wind is kicking up."
He and she, were growing further apart. Like the biting chill from the wind that blew in the deep winter, no matter how brilliant the sun shone, it would not be able to drive off that chill.