Across Time And Space

"Second Brother," Mingyue greeted cheerily. "Why are you here?"

Jiang Xiao Tian patted her sister on her head before he answered, "Someone needs to be here to lead you in. Not anyone can come into this place." He turned to the soldiers who were guarding the gate and gestured them to let his guests in.

"The people weren"t alarmed when they saw this army camp here?" Mingyue asked.

As they walked into the camp, many soldiers looked at them with an inquiring gaze. It was rare to see a large number of civilians walked into the camp. However, once they saw that Jiang Xiao Tian was leading the group, they immediately looked away.

"It was Her Majesty"s idea to station the soldiers here. The villagers around here think that we forbid them from coming closer to this place to stop another person from going missing," Jiang Xiao Tian said. "However, Her Majesty did this to protect the sacrificial tree. Just in case there was an emergency."

Jiang Mingyue turned around as she felt Yang Yun"s hand entwined with hers.

"Get in the carriage. We are still farther away from the sacrificial tree," Yang Yun said.

Mingyue obediently sat in the carriage. They moved again, and after a few minutes, they finally arrived. Mingyue stepped out of the carriage with her husband"s help and stood in awe as she watched the ma.s.sive weeping willow tree in front of her. She had only heard Ying Yi mentioned the tree a few years ago. This was the first time that she had the chance to look at it with her own eyes.

"Is this the sacrificial tree?" Mingyue asked. When Yang Yun nodded, she asked again. "You come to find me through this place?"

Yang Yun"s grip on his wife"s hand tightened. As his gaze laid on the sacrificial tree again, the pain from losing his wife six years ago surrounded him. This tree was a place that can open up a portal to another place.

Initially, when Mingyue said she wanted to come along to send off Li Hua, Yang Yun was worried. He was worried that his wife might be sucked in again, and he will have to experience the pain all over again.

A gentle touch on his cheek snapped Yang Yun out of his trance. He tilted his head down to meet his wife"s warm gaze.

"I"m here."

Yang Yun was stunned as he heard her voice. His gaze gradually softened, and a small smile spread on his face.  

She saw his expression and knew what her husband was worried about. At this time, Mingyue wondered how much he had suffered when she disappeared.

"I won"t leave you again," Mingyue said. She tightened her grip on their entwined hands to a.s.sure him. If only they were not in the army camp, she would lean in and kiss him.

Yang Yun can only let out a sigh. He watched Jiang Xiao Tian walked forward and took Mingyue to follow him. Soon, the two of them arrived in a big tent. When they walked in, Chief Ye and her tribe members, Li Hua and his parents, and the Emperor were seated around a table.

Before they could bow to kneel to the Emperor, Lu Wei held up his hand to stop them.

"Let"s forget formalities while we"re here," Lu Wei said. "Right now, I am only Lu Wei, the grandson of Chief Ye of the Nanlin Tribe."

At his side, Chief Ye sneered as she looked at her grandson. "You"re really getting good with your words, huh, Wei Wei? I can see that you will be a good politician."

Lu Wei rubbed the s.p.a.ce between his brow. He was already crowned as the Emperor, but his grandmother would still call him as Wei Wei. If the others heard about this, Lu Wei thought that he would not dare to come out of the palace or attend the court for a few months.

He ignored his grandmother and walked towards Yang Yun. "You"re late."

Yang Yun frowned at his comment. Instead of telling his friend that they have to travel slowly because of his wife"s condition, Yang Yun asked, "Why are you here as well, Your Majesty? You are not skipping from attending the court and your duty, are you?"

The soldiers around them watched Yang Yun with horror. It was their first time to see someone brazenly speaking like that to the Emperor. In their minds, they were worried that the new Emperor will be furious and punished everyone to death.

However, the new Emperor simply chuckled at Yang Yun. "What are you thinking? What about skipping my duty? I"m here to hand my help with the ceremony, alright?"

Hearing her grandson"s words, Chief Ye snorted. "The elders of the tribe members are here. We don"t really need your help."

Lu Wei looked at his grandmother, speechlessly. Although he wished to say something to refute his grandmother"s words, he was afraid of what his grandmother would do to him later on.

"Her Majesty did not come along with you?" Jiang Mingyue asked Lu Wei. She looked around but did not see her cousin.

"She can"t leave the palace," Lu Wei said. "With the matter in the north, one of us has to stay and deal with the work pile."

"He"s finally admitting that he"s here to skip his job," Chief Ye whispered to Mingyue, but of course, her words were heard by Lu Wei and the others who were close to them.

Lu Wei narrowed his eyes at his grandmother and walked away. Anyway, it wasn"t as if he could do anything to her.

Yang Yun shook his head. He exchanged a glance with his wife and walked over to Li Hua and his parents. As they approached, Li Hua and his parents stood up to greet Yang Yun and Mingyue.

"Are you sure you"re not going to stay?" Yang Yun asked Li Hua.

Li Hua nodded decisively. "I have my life there. I talked to my parents, and we all agreed that we don"t have anything here. Moreover," he paused and glanced at his mother. "My mother can get the best treatment there."

Mingyue nodded. In this world, they did not have much knowledge to treat psychological illness as compared to the other world. Perhaps it would be best if Li Hua"s mother went to receive treatment there. Besides, his parents will not have to work hard, as Li Hua will support them.

"I need to ask you a favor," Mingyue said. She took out a small pouch and handed it to Li Hua. "I hope you can give this letter to my parents. Tell them that I have found my family and that I am living well."