Chapter 13: Queen Mother Temple

In the northwest borderlands in December, white snow drifted through the air and the cold wind howled.

At this time, it had been more than five months since Li Changsen's last visit home.

On the day of Laba, the four children of the Li family's eldest branch went to sleep filled with excitement and anticipation.

Jin Yue'e, worried about her husband who had not returned for so long, had already requested leave from the courier station. She planned to take the four children to Xining City, where the garrison was stationed, to visit Li Changsen tomorrow.

In these times, traveling was far too difficult.

That night, Li Wuya was so excited she could hardly sleep.

There was no helping it; in all her life, the furthest place she had ever been was the courier station. She had never been on a long journey before.

Early the next morning, just as the sky began to dawn, Li Wuya—who usually loved to sleep in—uncharacteristically rose even earlier than Li Erya.

"Sister, it's time to get up. It's a long walk to the city. If we wake up late, I'm afraid we won't reach Xining City until the afternoon."

Looking at her sister's irrepressible excitement, Li Erya helplessly left her warm quilt. As she sat up, she couldn't help but shiver. "It's so cold."

Li Wuya eagerly helped Li Erya with her cotton jacket and trousers. "We got new cotton for our clothes this year, so it won't be as cold as last year."

Thanks to the silver obtained from the Northern Yan people, they didn't have to endure the same freezing hunger as last year. Over the past few months, because they had been well-fed, the thin bodies of the four Li siblings had visibly grown sturdier.

Soon, the two sisters were dressed. When they stepped out of the room, they found that Li Sanlang and Li Qilang had also risen and were watching Jin Yue'e pack their belongings.

"Mother, Father hasn't been back for so long; the fighting must be intense. Let's bring the Blood Ginseng to him."

Hearing Li Wuya say this, Jin Yue'e paused. After a moment's thought, she unlocked the container and took out the Blood Ginseng, then sliced it into thin pieces so that Li Changsen could take it whenever needed.

By the time the five of them were packed, the sky was bright.

At this point, the rest of the Li family had also woken up.

Just as Jin Yue'e and the four children stepped out of the room, Old Lady Li called them back. "Eldest daughter-in-law, wait a moment. I'm going to the Queen Mother Temple to burn incense and make a prayer, and I'll pick up some New Year's goods while I'm at it. I'll go with you in a bit."

Stretching across the vast and desolate northwest of the Great Chu stood a towering and precipitous mountain range called the Tianshan Mountains.

There were many folk legends regarding the Tianshan Mountains, the most widely known being that it was the training ground of the Queen Mother, the head of the female immortals.

In the settlements adjacent to the Tianshan area, the common people had spontaneously built many Queen Mother Temples.

Life at the border was hard. To seek divine protection, countless believers traveled to the Queen Mother Temple every year to burn incense and pray, asking the Queen Mother to protect their families, ensuring peace, prosperity, and freedom from illness.

Among these, the Queen Mother Temple in the twelfth lunar month was the liveliest time of the year. During this period, besides burning incense and fulfilling vows, people could also wander through the temple fairs and purchase New Year's supplies.

Seeing that Old Lady Li intended to join them, Li Wuya and Li Qilang's faces immediately fell. The expressions of Jin Yue'e, Li Sanlang, and Li Erya also lost their previous joy.

Watching Old Lady Li leisurely wait for her third aunt to boil water for washing her face, and then leisurely wait to eat breakfast, a fire of irritation burned uncontrollably in Li Wuya's heart.

Their grandmother was truly the synonym for "trouble."

She truly impressed her; wherever she went, she always managed to make people extremely uncomfortable.

The thought that she would have to live under the same roof with her for the next ten or twenty years made Li Wuya feel stifled.

*Splitting the family.*

The thought of splitting the family surfaced in Li Wuya's mind again, but she quickly shook her head and dismissed it.

Setting aside whether Old Man Li and Old Lady Li would agree, the Li family was a military household. Even if they split, they would still be a military household. If her father met with an accident, her brother would have to take his place; if they didn't split, her elder second and third uncles would step up. At the very least, there were Li Dalang and Li Erlang, who were older than her brother.

This was likely the reason why her father and mother had endured the second and third branches for all these years without a falling out.

After all, the battlefield was perilous, and no one could guarantee they would return alive.

Thinking of the last time Li Changsen returned, covered in both new and old wounds, Li Wuya felt even more frustrated.

She had to find a way to become strong quickly; the people in the Li family were a minor issue.

Ye Mo, Ye Mo... how could she get him to agree to teach them internal martial arts?

Once she mastered lightness skills, she could enter the Tianshan Mountains. Once inside, would she have to worry about finding medicinal herbs?

With medicinal herbs, she could not only enhance her healing abilities but also concoct better potions to strengthen the physique.

If their physiques improved, her father would be able to protect himself on the battlefield, and their family wouldn't have to live in constant fear like they did now.

As Li Wuya was lost in thought, breakfast was ready.

Seeing the food laid out on the table, Jin Yue'e unceremoniously led the four children to sit down.

Old Lady Li glanced at them but said nothing.

During the meal, Li Wulang from the second branch and Li Liulang from the third branch, upon hearing that Old Lady Li was going to Xining City, immediately clamored to go along. The others also looked on with longing.

"I am going on official business; I cannot take you."

"Grandma, we'll be very good. We won't cause any trouble."

"That's right, Grandma! If we go, we can help you carry things."

"As for you carrying things, I can't count on you. I'll just have Dalang go with me."

Li Wulang and Li Liulang immediately protested, rushing forward to act spoiled toward Old Lady Li.

Aside from Li Qilang, these two were the youngest boys in the family, and Old Lady Li usually doted on them the most.

Looking at her expectant grandsons, Old Lady Li hesitated. Xining City in the twelfth month was at its liveliest. Last year, a child from the village had been kidnapped by human traffickers after going into the city once.

Wulang and Liulang were only seven or eight this year, exactly the age where they loved to run around and cause mischief. Her old arms and legs wouldn't be able to keep an eye on them, and Dalang was an honest, simple boy; she truly wouldn't feel at ease bringing both grandsons.

After thinking it over, Old Lady Li looked at Jin Yue'e. "Eldest daughter-in-law, Wuya and Qilang are still too small, and the weather is so cold. Don't take them. Take Wulang and Liulang instead."

With the eldest daughter-in-law watching, it should be enough.

Hearing this, Li Wuya, who was already full of rage, laughed out of sheer anger. "Grandma, I've seen biased elders, but someone as biased as you is truly a rarity in this world."

Upon hearing this, Old Lady Li was enraged. Even Old Man Li frowned, looking at Li Wuya with displeasure.

But before either could speak, Li Wuya said quite seriously, "Grandma, you really don't act like my father's biological mother at all."

"Father hasn't been back for nearly half a year. We are going to see him today; we aren't going out to play. To suggest that Mother leave me and Qilang behind to take Wulang and Liulang—how can you even say such a thing?"

"You—"

Old Lady Li, who was about to erupt in a tirade, ended up only pointing a finger at Li Wuya and sputtering a single "You."

Old Man Li's reaction was also strange. A moment ago, he looked as if he were about to lecture Li Wuya, but when he spoke, he scolded Old Lady Li instead

"You are getting more muddled as you get older. The eldest hasn't been back for so long, and Wuya and the others miss their father. What are you taking Wulang and Liulang for?"

Noticing Jin Yue'e's face was extremely grim, he quickly comforted her, "Eldest daughter-in-law, don't argue with your mother. She's just an old fool."

As he spoke, he looked at Li Wuya.

"Wuya, don't say things like your grandmother isn't your father's biological mother in the future. It's so hurtful to family feelings."

Li Wuya let out a cold laugh. Before she could speak, Li Qilang chimed in, "Grandma has no feelings for us. She often secretly gives eggs to Brother Dalang and the others, but she never gives any to us."

*Uh...*

Old Man Li was left speechless and uncomfortable.

Li Wuya smiled thinly and added, "Grandpa, I don't want to think this way, but Grandma's behavior makes me feel like she isn't our real grandmother."

Li Qilang immediately followed up, "She's just like Goudan's stepmother. Goudan told me that his stepmother also often secretly gives things to Niudan and the others to eat."

Old Man Li's face froze completely. He felt awkward and unable to save face. Seeing that Jin Yue'e showed no intention of smoothing things over, he finally said dryly

"It's getting late. Once you've finished eating, head out early."

The distance from Tianling Village to the garrisoned Xining City was about twenty to thirty *li*. The journey was too long; they had to take an ox cart to ensure they reached the city before noon.

After the commotion at home, once they were on the ox cart, Old Lady Li pulled a long face. She spoke only to Li Dalang and completely ignored Jin Yue'e and her children.

Since she was acting this way, Jin Yue'e and the four siblings simply ignored her.

When one experiences certain things enough, one becomes numb.

Just as they were used to Old Lady Li's constant favoritism toward the second and third branches, they were no longer even bothered enough to get angry.

Two and a half hours later, they arrived at Xining City.

Compared to the impoverished military settlements, Xining City was relatively much livelier.

However, it was far from being prosperous.

After entering the city, there were many pedestrians on the streets, but there weren't many shops. Even where there were, they were small in scale, and few people entered them.

Instead, there were many street vendors shouting their wares along the sidewalks. Because their goods were cheap, many people crowded around them to buy things.

Jin Yue'e held the hands of Li Wuya and Li Qilang tightly—both of whom found everything in the city novel and strange for their first visit—and she occasionally reminded Li Sanlang to hold onto Li Erya and keep close to her so they wouldn't be separated by the crowd.

She had been worried before leaving, fearing that with so many pedestrians, she wouldn't be able to watch all four children alone.

Fortunately, the four children were very sensible and obedient, which saved her much worry.

"The Queen Mother Temple is here!"

Originally, Jin Yue'e had planned to go straight to the garrison to see Li Changsen, but seeing the bustling Queen Mother Temple, she thought that since they were already here, they might as well take the children to pay their respects. It wouldn't take much time anyway.

Just as the Li family entered the main gate of the Queen Mother Temple, the street suddenly erupted in an uproar.

"Move aside! Move aside!"

"Clear the way!"

Two squads of guards clad in armor and wielding sabers appeared on the street. They marched toward the Queen Mother Temple and stopped in front of it, standing in formation with about a meter of space between them, stretching back dozens of meters along the street from the temple gate.

The previously noisy street instantly fell silent, and the thoroughfare became unobstructed.

Immediately following them, a luxurious carriage, surrounded by more than ten robust men on horseback, appeared before everyone's eyes.