Baili Changkong's courtyard was bustling with activity. Although there were only two tables of diners, the atmosphere was harmonious.
Baili Huang's family of five and Baili Lian's family of four had all arrived.
The remaining two, Baili Tianxing and Baili Hong, were somewhat special.
Baili Tianxing was already thirty-six, yet still unmarried, while Baili Hong had been widowed young.
Looking at the lively scene before him, Baili Hong, seated beside Baili Qingfeng, couldn't help feeling a little lonely. "What a lively scene. It's just a shame your mother can't see it anymore."
Baili Qingfeng had little memory of Ge Li, the mother of this body.
Even Baili Hong and Baili Die had only gradually come to accept him over the course of a year together.
All he knew was that Ge Li had died fifteen years ago during the chaos of Xia's independence. At the time, the Aurora Empire had taken advantage of turmoil within the Xia Empire, bypassed the northern defenses, and landed at the mouth of the Wu River to invade Xia, hoping to force Xia to fight on two fronts. At the critical moment, General Melbourne had led his troops there and repelled the Aurora Empire's invaders, but more than forty thousand people in Wu River and Xia City had died in that turmoil. His mother, Ge Li, had been one of them.
It was said that General Melbourne's return to Xia City to repel the Aurora Empire had violated military orders. That incident established General Melbourne's unparalleled prestige in the Xia City region, but it had also planted the seeds for the persecution and reckoning he would face after the nation's founding.
The family ate lunch together, then chatted idly for a while as they digested their meal and looked ahead to the future before dispersing