Nine out of ten gamblers lose; I've run into a jerk!

Chapter 117 A Feeling of Fear Upon Returning Home

Before leaving Yucheng, Shen Qing went to the Martyrs' Cemetery to pay his respects, burning incense and paper money. Just two days ago, they were fighting side by side, and now they had become a handful of yellow earth.

To put it bluntly, this was a mass grave, and Shen Qing even participated in the digging work.

Of the soldiers who covered his digging out of the enemy lines, less than one in ten survived. This was a result he had anticipated, and it was also the reason why he did not want the delegation's guards to participate in the battle.

Weighing the options and making sacrifices, deciding the lives of a hundred people by herself, Shen Qing never showed her inner struggles and pressure in front of others, thinking it was too pretentious, but that didn't mean she was truly calm.

He wasn't exactly a good person, but he wasn't truly heartless either.

"Brothers, may you be born in a prosperous era in your next life!"

Shen Qing sprinkled the wine onto the yellow earth, clasped his hands in a salute to bid farewell, and embarked on a new journey.

The delegation had several more carts, carrying wounded soldiers, including Sun Yong, who was still grieving the loss of his close friend, as well as the remains of his fallen guards. They had to be sent back to their homeland.

The group set off, and thanks to the addition of guards brought by Yu Lian, the delegation looked almost the same as when it left Xuandu.

The cart wheels turned, and the delegation set off for Xuandu.

The journey was relatively peaceful, and Yu Lian was very sensible, not causing any more trouble.

However, Shen Che may be suffering from paranoia. The peaceful journey is instead somewhat unsettling. He always feels that some unexpected change might suddenly occur in some hidden corner, and his psychological shadow is too great.

Not only Shen Che, but the rest of the delegation felt the same way. They had experienced too much along the way, and their hearts were filled with anxiety. Only when they saw the gates of Xuandu City did their hearts finally settle down.

The guards' eyes reddened. They had thought it would be a simple task, and they had left in high spirits, but returned with nearly half of their men gone. How were they going to face their families?

Shen Che couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness. He had volunteered to go on this mission mainly to accumulate political capital for a promotion to Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, and to make a fortune abroad.

Thinking that all countries are recuperating and have tacitly stopped large-scale wars, and that the bandits along the way are not a threat, and that it is just a matter of going to friendly countries to discuss the details of the alliance, what danger could there be?

The journey was fraught with danger, with several life-or-death crises. They were almost caught up in the undercurrents of internal strife in the Yu Kingdom, and nearly three hundred guards were lost. Fortunately, the mission was successfully completed, otherwise, they would not know how to explain themselves.

"Life is unpredictable," Shen Che sighed. The border incident made him realize that the country was not safe either, and he made up his mind that he would never leave Xuandu again unless necessary.

Shen Qing also had many feelings. He left at the beginning of the year and returned to Xuandu, and it was almost the New Year. If the experience along the way were made into a novel, it would be enough to fill a hundred chapters.

The delegation members stood outside the city gate for a long time, each with their own thoughts, but hesitated to move forward, showing a sense of trepidation as they approached home.

"Shen Shaoqing, why aren't you leaving yet?"

Seeing that there was still no movement, Yu Lian leaned out of the car window and asked in confusion.

Shen Che snapped out of his thoughts and gave the order to set off, and the group finally began to move slowly.

What must be faced will still be faced. The guards will face the grief of their comrades and their families, and Shen Qing will face a "storm".

As they approached Xuandu, Shen Che kept Shen Qing inside the carriage, forbidding him from showing his face again, as there were too many acquaintances and he was afraid of being recognized.

In most cases, Shen Qing is very pragmatic and will not go against worldly norms and ethics, but will stay obediently by Shen Che's side.

Shen Che felt a strange itch in his palms. It was all an illusion! A complete pretense!

Seeing Shen Che's unfriendly expression and his tendency to commit domestic violence, Shen Qing was puzzled. He was clearly so well-behaved.

After entering the inner city, they traveled together on the main road for a while, and at a fork in the road, Yu Lian bid farewell to Shen Che.

"We'll talk again another day, Attendant Reader."

"Of course, of course, I will await you."

Although Shen Che's official rank was one grade higher than Yu Lian's, he was still quite polite to the future emperor's ministers. Although he was not afraid of him, there was no need to offend him, as officialdom was all about interpersonal relationships and social etiquette.

Shen Che and his group continued walking forward. Yu Lian watched the group disappear into the distance and ordered, "Enter the palace."

"promise."

The coachman immediately turned around and headed towards the palace.

At this hour, Shen Che naturally returned to his residence first, and would go to the Court of State Ceremonial to report on his duties the next day. After sending Shen Che's carriage back to the Shen residence, the guards also returned to the Imperial City Guard camp to report.

Looking at the quiet gate of the mansion, Shen Qing asked in confusion, "Didn't Du Zhong ride back to report? Why is no one here to greet us?"

Shen Che glanced at Shen Qing and said indifferently, "Probably because he was afraid that it wouldn't look good to hit the child at the door if he couldn't control himself."

Shen Qing: ? ? ? ! ! !

Meanwhile, in Chunhui Hall, Li Su was furious and furiously wielded a feather duster.

After swinging it a couple of times and finding the feel unsatisfactory, he shouted, "Sang Ning! Get me a vine! A thick one!"

"Mother, calm down, don't get upset and harm your health!" Qin Zhen hurriedly stopped her.

Shen Shi was busy with official business and had not yet returned home. Although Qin Zhen was eager to see Shen Che, she patiently comforted her mother-in-law first, which resulted in a desolate scene with no one to greet her.

This all started when Du Zhong returned home to report that Shen Che and his party were about to arrive.

Since Shen Qing left home with a letter and ran away, more than half a year has passed. Li Su has been having nightmares frequently and has been eating vegetarian food and chanting Buddhist prayers every day, praying that Shen Qing will be safe and sound.

Although I know that Shen Qing is with Shen Che and shouldn't be in too much danger, they are still far away in a foreign country, and there's no guarantee that something might happen to them.

Furthermore, the delegation was full of men who were not good at taking care of people. Her daughter was frail and unable to take care of herself. She had suffered a lot during the long journey.

Poor Li Su, with a heart full of maternal love, has worried herself sick for Shen Qing, turning countless hairs white. She lives in constant fear, always imagining a thousand different scenarios.

Just half an hour ago, Du returned to report. Li Su was still worried, fearing to hear bad news. She only breathed a sigh of relief after learning that Shen Qing and Shen Che had returned unharmed.

They immediately inquired about how Shen Qing was doing and whether she had been wronged.

At Shen Che's instruction, Du Zhong focused on telling thrilling and exciting stories, saying whatever was scary to get people's attention, just to keep them on the edge of their seats.

As the older brother, Shen Che felt it was inappropriate to hit his younger sister, so he decided to leave it to their mother.

Li Su turned pale with fright upon hearing this, clutching her chest and crying out, "You wicked child! You wicked child!"

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The author plans to start book reviews next Friday. When this book was first written, it was originally titled "The Age of Great Contention," but since the titles of Yangshizi's books are all fancy, I decided to go with the flow.

Using spoilers about the protagonist's future achievements as the book title often leads to accusations of misleading readers due to the long prelude.

So I wanted to change the book title for the book test, but I'm really terrible at coming up with names!

Any ideas, cuties? Leave a comment so I can take a look! (? ? 3?)??