Su Muqing was unaware of her thoughts. She thought she genuinely wanted to walk around, perhaps for a stroll. Thus, she didn't try to persuade her any further.
After coaxing the little milk bun to sleep, she placed him in the carriage, in a small cleared space she had specially prepared for him before they set off in the afternoon. It was shielded on both sides to prevent him from falling out. Then, leaning against the sacks of grain on the ox cart, lulled by its swaying rhythm, she began to doze off.
…
Meanwhile, on the other side, while the people of Houxi Village were busy moving their belongings, Xu Fu and his group continued on their journey.
Initially, they had intended to wait for their young master to wake up. However, after waiting for a long time, they hadn't noticed his eyelids twitch again. It seemed he wouldn't wake for a while. To avoid affecting their travel speed, Xu Fu decided they wouldn't wait any longer and would proceed. It wouldn't be too late to rest when the young master woke up!
They had departed half an hour earlier than the people of Houxi Village. They had now entered the territory of Si'an Prefecture. According to the map, if they continued along the official road for about two more hours, they would reach the territory of Shiqiao County.
They had left in such a hurry that, apart from essential food and supplies, they hadn't had time to find a detailed map. This map was from many years ago and wasn't very clearly marked. They didn't know if there were any decent resting places ahead.
Several people sat on the ox cart. Xu Fu asked the old man with a beard beside him, "Doctor Yang? How is the young master today? Why hasn't he woken up yet?"
Yang Hongchang stroked his beard and shook his head with a heavy expression. In truth, he was already powerless. All he could do now was to use his unique acupuncture techniques when the young master consumed the Blazing Flame Fruit, allowing the fruit's heat to quickly infiltrate his body.
A few days ago, the young master's condition hadn't worsened to this extent. He could still rely on the Blazing Flame Fruit to wake him up a few times a day. Although each waking period was brief, at least his body was still responsive.
However, gradually, he woke up fewer and fewer times. In the last two days, he only woke up once a day. Today, he hadn't even woken up by nighttime!
The poison of the Ice Reed Grass was truly insidious! The effect of consuming the Blazing Flame Fruit was becoming weaker and weaker. They had increased the dosage to three times a day, yet it still failed to provide a strong stimulating effect. He wondered how often the young master would be able to wake up in the future?
After hearing Doctor Yang's words, Xu Fu fell silent for a long time. With a long sigh, he looked at the heavily covered figure on the ox cart and sank into contemplation.
In its time, the Prince of Equal Standing's Mansion had been a place of immense prestige in the capital! It remained so until the Prince was framed.
He recalled how Huo Sizhun was still a young man of sixteen or seventeen when the former Emperor was being pursued during the struggle for the throne. Huo Sizhun had risked his life to protect him. Afterward, he stayed by the former Emperor's side.
When the former Emperor ascended the throne, Huo Sizhun accompanied him on various campaigns, resisting foreign invaders or expanding territories. He had spilled his blood and sweat in almost every major battle, which ultimately led to the vast empire of the Great Yu Dynasty.
Huo Sizhun had achieved countless military merits and, due to his contributions during the former Emperor's rise to power, the former Emperor, grateful for his loyalty and unwavering devotion, enfeoffed him as a Prince with a different surname, and later as the Prince of Equal Standing. He treated Huo Sizhun even more favorably than his own blood-related princes.
Having spent his life in military service, often stationed far from home, Huo Sizhun had used his achievements to ensure his parents and brothers lived lives of luxury. However, he himself was nearing forty and had neither married nor had any children!
The former Emperor felt he owed him and repeatedly offered to arrange a marriage for him, but Huo Sizhun refused. Yet, in his forty-second year, he suddenly announced his intention to marry. This caused quite a stir in the capital for a period.
This was because the bride was not a daughter from an official family but a commoner he had met by chance, and furthermore, a martial artist.
At the time, rumors circulated that the bride's family was displeased with her excessive involvement with the imperial court and had severed ties with her. People assumed it was some minor martial arts family that was fortunate enough to be noticed by a Prince with a different surname.
Outsiders had no way of knowing the woman's true identity, but the former Emperor, who was as close to Huo Sizhun as a brother, did.
The woman was Leng Muran, the family head cultivated by the Leng family, the foremost clan in the martial arts world. Her influence in the martial arts world was comparable to that of a Crown Prince of a nation.
It was worth noting that in a patriarchal society, for a woman to have the opportunity to become a family head, aside from the family's training, her personal abilities were not to be underestimated.
However, their relationship was met with opposition from both sides' parents. Firstly, marrying a woman from the martial arts world would subject Huo Sizhun to considerable criticism.
He was already a prince with significant power. If he were to marry the head of a prominent martial arts family capable of stirring up unrest in the martial world, his influence would be too formidable! Once his power grew, it would inevitably pose a considerable threat to the imperial court.
As for those in the martial arts world, they generally disliked having too much involvement with officials.
After all, from very early on, the imperial court had been trying in various ways to recruit them, the martial artists, and utilize them.
As the saying goes, it's better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix. Those who were accustomed to a life of freedom and accustomed to having decision-making power in their own domains could not integrate into the rigid structure of officialdom. Furthermore, they were unwilling to be overly restrained by others.
The imperial court's objective was clear: first to recruit, then to dismantle. Once they could no longer contend with the court, they would be gradually absorbed and consumed. Ultimately, everything would naturally be controlled by the officials!
Therefore, neither the martial arts world nor the imperial court wished to see their union. In the end, to marry Huo Sizhun, she revealed her true identity to the former Emperor, stating she could relinquish her position as family head.
Although the former Emperor had absolute trust in Huo Sizhun, he was initially hesitant about their union.
Finally, Huo Sizhun repeatedly pleaded with the former Emperor, declaring he would marry no one but her. He even offered to hand over the military tally that commanded the 300,000 troops in the southwest.
Seeing that he was willing to abandon the Southwest Army, which he had painstakingly cultivated, for a woman, the former Emperor was furious. He punished Huo Sizhun by making him stand outside the imperial study for three days.
Finally, seeing that his temples had already turned white and remembering their years of friendship, the former Emperor had no choice but to agree. He even proactively found an inconspicuous identity for Leng Muran, allowing her to smoothly marry into the Huo family!
Three years after marrying Huo Sizhun, Leng Muran gave birth to a son. This was Huo Sizhun's late son, and later, the most distinguished young master in the Great Yu Dynasty, Huo Qiyuan.
Huo Sizhun doted on this only son. If a Crown Prince was raised by the entire empire, then Huo Qiyuan was, from birth, raised by the entire Huo family.
With meticulous cultivation, coupled with Huo Qiyuan's innate intelligence and agility, he excelled in both literary and martial arts. He also inherited Leng Muran's beauty, possessing a peerless countenance and extraordinary handsomeness. Such a son, proficient in both literature and martial arts, blessed with talent and good looks, was truly rare in the world. It was no wonder people called him heaven's favorite.