Chapter 498: Chapter 245: He’s Just Feeling Guilty Like a Thief

"Yes, mom, what happened?"

Yun Wanye also chimed in, while Yun Wanqing kept her thoughts to herself, silently watching Lady Yun.

"Ah..."

Looking at them, Lady Yun suddenly sighed, her eyes reddened as she choked up, displaying a worried expression.

"Your father sent word saying there’s something at Dingbei Pass that needs his attention. He didn’t even return home after leaving the court; he hurriedly went to Dingbei..."

"So urgent, what exactly is happening? Could it be another war?"

"What? Dad went to Dingbei?"

Three voices exclaimed in unison, the three siblings were all shocked.

Regardless of everyone’s reactions, Yun Wanqing’s inner voice arose.

[Let me think, the enemy outside Dingbei Pass is Beidi.]

[In the story, during this period, the weather is frigid and the living conditions are extremely harsh. The Beidi, who rely primarily on nomadism and don’t farm, are caught in a predicament of lacking clothing and food, struggling with hunger and cold.]

[Thus, they target the border people, frequently harassing the Da Wu Country border for survival.]

[Their strategy is to distract the guarding soldiers, then wave after wave of Beidi cavalry rides in lightly armed, pillaging resources like food and cloth, slaughtering border residents.]

[These bandits rob and murder and then flee; by the time border soldiers realize something is wrong and return, they’ve long disappeared.]

[Chasing is futile, guarding is impossible, border civilians and soldiers are in utter agony.]

[Court officials, upon receiving these reports, requested Mo Yuanhao to dispatch an army to suppress the border and eradicate the invading Beidi cavalry, attempting to reclaim the dignity of Da Wu Country, and provide an explanation to the border civilians.]

[Initially, the court officials all recommended dad; he is invincible in battle, undefeated, the best choice from any perspective.]

[But dad, immersed in the sorrow of losing mom, has long withdrawn from worldly affairs. Seventh Uncle, unwilling to disturb dad with this matter, volunteered at court to replace dad in leading the troops.]

[To everyone’s surprise, Mo Yuanhao rejected him.]

[This guy is naturally suspicious and petty, not trusting Seventh Uncle in the slightest, fearing he holds a grudge over the matter with his sister and might cause bigger trouble with the army...]

[Though Seventh Uncle is displeased, he wouldn’t disregard the border civilians’ lives. This is merely a guilty conscience judging others by its own standards...]

[...]

As the story went on, the topic obviously started to deviate, and Yun Wanqing couldn’t help but criticize Mo Yuanhao repeatedly in her heart, filled with deep dissatisfaction each time.

Hearing this, Lady Yun and the brothers roughly understood what was happening, and she couldn’t help but worry more, frowning and murmuring softly.

"Even if Beidi is invading, there shouldn’t be such urgency. At least come home and say goodbye to us..."

"How nice of him, he left without even taking a change of clothes or any food, only sending someone back with a message, showing no concern whether we’d be worried sick."

Yun Zheng is a military officer, having fought more battles than most have heard of, but so what?

Even an invincible war god is still flesh and blood, right?

The battlefield is perilous, changing in an instant, obvious threats are easy to dodge, but hidden ones are hard to guard against. Over the years, he’s been wounded countless times, with each injury barely healed when new ones add on, several times nearly hitting vital spots.

Several times, she nearly lost him forever.

No one knows how worried she is while he fights bravely on the battlefield, killing enemies miles away.

Her fear almost drives her crazy. After more than a year of relative peace, he returned from the ever-dangerous border and mostly resides at home, occasionally visiting Cangyun Ridge for inspections.

No matter how busy he is, she sees him daily, making her feel very secure and comfortable during this time.

But who would’ve thought he’d just leave like that again, and she’s back to worrying herself sick with longing, Lady Yun’s heart is indeed troubled.

"Mom, you know dad. Although the court officials see dad as indifferent, in reality, he cares about the people more than anyone..."

"Hearing about the border residents being heavily robbed and murdered, living in constant fear, with even their lives threatened, this is worse for him than being cut a few times. How could he possibly sit still?"

Upon hearing Lady Yun’s grief-filled words, Yun Wanye couldn’t help but offer comfort.

His words were greatly agreed upon by Yun Wanchen.

"Ye’er is right, dad is concerned about the people and surely unwilling to delay even momentarily. As for clothes and food, they must be well prepared at the postal station."

"The unexpected event forced dad not to return home and say goodbye; it’s an unavoidable situation, mom, please don’t blame dad."

Lady Yun: "..."

She indeed harbors resentment for his hurried departure.

Who knows how long this time it will be, yet he wouldn’t even say goodbye. As a woman, she can’t help but resent and complain about him, why shouldn’t she?

But these two brothers, both defending him one after the other, well, her resentment only deepened.

Lady Yun pursed her lips, refusing to talk to these two brothers. Noticing her mood, Yun Wanqing quickly discarded the chaotic thoughts in her mind, offering soft comfort.

[Mom, the border situation is extremely urgent, dad indeed left in a hurry, but he was wrong not to say goodbye...]

[Remember this grievance with dad, once he returns, you must definitely hold him accountable and not let him off easily.]

[But now while dad’s away, even if you’re sad, he can’t come back and apologize, so mom, don’t be upset.]

Maybe it was one particular phrase that touched Lady Yun; she smiled a bit, her bitterness dissipating, her mood improving.

"As expected, daughters are thoughtful..."

She sighed, reached out to take the little child from Yun Wanchen’s arms, kissed her forehead, then looked at her two sons.

"Unlike the two of you, saying so much, all defending your dad. While he indeed cares about the people and leaves hurriedly for a reason, not saying goodbye to me is undeniably wrong."

The brothers: "..."

If it were right, how could it also be wrong?

Dad left quickly, there’s simply no way he could come back to say goodbye, right?

Tsk, the way women think is truly puzzling, poor dad.

Seeing their frowning and pondering expressions, Yun Wanqing covered her mouth, stealthily laughing, confused, right? That’s just how tangled women are.

For women, rationality is one thing, feelings are another, rationality and emotions are always conflicting.

Just like mom, rationally, the invasion at the border and dad’s concern for the people and hurried departure are right, but emotionally she can’t accept it.

If you only keep defending dad at this moment, she’ll only feel worse.

"Yes, mom’s right, I know my fault now."

Though confused, the two brothers are perceptive; seeing Yun Wanqing saying so, they obediently apologized.

Lady Yun ignored them, huffed, then turned her gaze to the little child in her arms.

"That’s right, Ningning, earlier you mentioned in the story, Seventh actively volunteered to go to war but was rejected, who ended up going? Did anything significant happen?"

These matters are crucial.

Although the storyline is completely messed up now, if it’s a minor character, it might still follow the original plot.

Such as this Beidi invasion, and earlier when Pei Yu invited Su Qianxue, they both align with the plot.

So, if anything major indeed happens, it might provide some reference.

[This person, speaking of which, mom even knows...]