"Brother-in-law! Sister! Cousin!"
At the Bianjing docks, Sheng Changbai waved happily.
Supporting the heavily pregnant Hualan, Shulan stepped steadily off the ship. Wang Yan's family of three stood there, watching Changbai grin foolishly.
Hualan patted her younger brother on the shoulder. "You've grown taller, and thinner too."
Shulan smiled. "I saw Changbai when he was little. I even held you back then. Who would have thought you'd be so grown when we met again?"
"I'm sixteen this year, cousin. I'm no longer the little child I was back then."
Changbai looked very steady and mature now, though not rigid. Still, his old manner of acting like a tiny adult had been more amusing.
Wang Yan reached out and squeezed Changbai's bicep, then thumped his chest with a fist. Nodding with a smile, he said, "Not bad. You haven't slacked off."
"I wouldn't dare neglect strengthening my body. It keeps me spirited even when I study."
Wang Yan asked with a smile, "Why didn't you go to Hangzhou Academy for study? Hangzhou Academy is excellent, with flourishing scholarship. It would have been a shame to miss it."
Changbai returned a polite smile but did not answer.
Hualan chided, "Stop teasing Changbai, Husband. Wasn't it because of the great trouble you caused in Hangzhou? What if something had happened? Didn't Afa stay behind as well? Thank heaven you were protected. Otherwise, who knows what might have happened?"
Wang Yan merely smiled without speaking. His troublemaking outside had burdened his family with worry, so he had to let them vent a few complaints. After all, they could never believe that he could face an army alone, or that killing people was easier for him than slaughtering chickens.
Changbai was perceptive. Seeing that Wang Yan said nothing, he called out, "The rooms have all