Chapter 245 - 243. I Am Home I

Third-person POV   Di Shang was leisurely walking around Xi An while looking

around the hustle bustle night market in the middle of the city. After the

victory in claiming Xi An as a part of Da Qi, the citizens finally crawled out

of their house and decided to celebrate the victorious moment.   (A/N: Xi An is where Xu residence was located at.)   Although Di Shang was a new face in Xi An, the citizens

welcomed him with open arms and gave him a few gifts to express their

gratitude. When Di Shang first arrived at the border between Da Qi and Xi An,

he was extremely perplexed by the citizens' actions.   Thousands of soldiers marched towards the border with Da

Qi's banner in their hands, the citizens happily opened their gate to let the

soldiers enter the city. At that time, Di Shang was going to halt the soldiers

from entering the city in fear that it was one of the traps from Da Chu.   Fortunately, there was Ah Gu and Ah Ren who combined forces

with Di Shang in the meeting point. They explained to Di Shang that Xi An had

long been taken care of by Xu family, therefore, the Xi An citizens leaned more on

Xu family rather than the Long royal family.   (A/N: if you guys remember, Ah Gu is the one who uses war

drum in the previous battle against Dong Fang and Ah Ren is the noisy one, also

Ah Ren is Meiyun's junior.)   There was once when the citizens demanded the Xu family to

separate themselves from Da Chu and declared as a dependent country. Even

though the Xu family's military strength at that time wasn't as strong as the

current generation's, nevertheless, they couldn't be looked down upon.   However, at the time the demand was requested, the

relationship between the Long royal family and the Xu family wasn't as strained as

now. Therefore, the Xu family dismissed the citizens' demand and kept being

loyal to the Long royal family.   Di Shang indeed heard the rumors about Xu family being

extremely loved by the citizens that the citizens dared to go against the

Imperial Army when they came to bother the Xu family. Then he looked at the

pure happiness on the citizens' face and truly impressed by Xu family's power

in grabbing people's hearts.   "Impressive," Di Shang complimented with a genuine smile on

his face.   Which lead to the current circ.u.mstances, the citizens knew

Di Shang's name because he originally famous among the commoners as Dong Fang

and Xi An was only separated by a wall border. And they heard a piece of news

about Di Shang and Meiyun's marriage which made the citizens closer to Di

Shang.   (A/N: Sorry, so many author notes. Xi An is very expansive

and the border wall is very long. In the past, the Xu family had to protect Xi An

against Dong Fang and Da Qi at once which leads to the Xu family grow in military

strength.)   "Ah! General Di!" An owner of a candy shop called out to Di

Shang who coincidentally passed his shop.   Di Shang and Ah Gu turned around to see the owner fiercely waving

his hand at them. Di Shang stood unmoving as he didn't know how he supposed to

respond to the owner. Seeing Di Shang was in a difficult position, Ah Gu decided

to step up and help Di Shang get out of the awkward situation.   Ah Gu raised his hand to greet the owner, "Uncle, long time

no see."   "Aiyo! Ah Gu is here too. Sorry~ Sorry~ Didn't see you

there. How is it going?" The owner smacked Ah Gu's wide shoulder and laughed

loudly.   "Everything is fine now, uncle. General Di, this is the

owner of the most famous candy shop in Xi An and he is a very friendly person."

Ah Gu introduced the owner to Di Shang.   "Aiyaya~ I forgot that General Di and I didn't know each

other. I apologize." The owner bowed his head to Di Shang.   Di Shang cupped his fist to give his respect to the owner and

the owner also did the same. The corner of Di Shang's lips curved into a small

smile as he spoke, "Ah no, I heard quite a lot about you from Meiyun."   "Meiyun?! How is she?!" The owner's excitedly asked but his

voice contained a tint of worry.   Di Shang stared at the owner with a stupefied expression. Realizing

his rude behavior, the owner laughed sheepishly as he scratched his head. For

an a.d.u.l.t man like him to ask a man about his wife would probably cause a misunderstanding.   "A-ah, that is not what I mean, General Di. This Meiyun, aiya!

I have to call her Young Madam Di now. Ahahaha~" The owner laughed.   "It is fine, I think Meiyun prefer you to call her like how

you used to. I don't mind it either." Di Shang said with a calm voice.   The owner was taken aback because he heard that Di Shang was

very protective of his wife,   "If General Di really doesn't mind then I will keep calling

her by her name. This Meiyun was very naughty! Whenever she has a day off, she

would come here and steal my candies. Later, her twin little sister, Huayun,

would come to pay her big sister's debt. It is the same as all the shop in Xi

An." The owner rambled as he pointed at the other shops with his finger.   Di Shang was amused by Meiyun's past that the owner told him

when she was still living in Xi An. Without even mentioning Meiyun's name, Di

Shang could tell that it was Meiyun's doings. But then, a weak smile appeared on

the owner's lips.   "But the few candies that she stole from me couldn't be

compared to what she had done to me." The owner said while staring at his store

with dejected eyes.   Di Shang was intrigued by the owner's sudden change in

talking, "What do you mean?"   The owner turned his eyes to Di Shang and smiled softly, "That

girl always came to my store with a bright smile but who knows what is hidden

behind that smile? No matter how close we are, she will never tell me. So I hope

she can rely on you fully."   The owner's eyes were filled with proud as if his daughter had

found a perfect life partner. Di Shang's heart grew heavier as the more he learns

something about Meiyun. It felt like he only saw the tip of Meiyun's true

personality. Meiyun had always dodged the topics that related to her and seeing how

reluctant Meiyun was when he asked her about her past, he decided to not ask

her anymore as to not burden her.   The owner didn't see the disheartened expression on Di Shang's

face and continued to tell his reminiscence, "Without realizing, Meiyun and Young

Miss became so precious to me as if they are my own daughter. Because of the

war, we can't keep up to date with whatever is happening out there. I can't

stop worrying because we could feel a wave of powerful aura coming from the

west side about a month ago."   (A/N: the Young Miss that the owner refers to is Hong er.

And the event that he was talking about was when Weisheng went on rampage.)   Di Shang nodded his head in agreement. He did send a letter

asking what was happening but he didn't get any answer.   "Soon we will know." Di Shang reassured the owner.   "En," the owner nodded his head.   The owner noticed how the atmosphere had gotten heavy and

depressing, he smiled brightly and guided Di Shang into his store.    "General Di, let me

recommend you Meiyun's favorite sweet. Since you are going back to Chang An,

you may also bring some souvenirs for your beloved wife. She would be very happy

if you buy her food!" The owner chirped as he showed various sweets that

were freshly made by him.   Di Shang looked around the sweets that the owner displayed

for him. His eyes landed on a squirrel shaped caramel candy, the image of

Meiyun stuffing buns into her tiny mouth and made her cheeks puffed out popped

up into his mind. He couldn't help but let out a small chuckle at how similar the

squirrel and his wife were.   "This, wrap it up prettily." Di Shang requested with his

eyes filled with love.   "Aye, sir!"