A smile appeared on Lin Mengya's face as she nodded profusely.
It was so wonderful that he was alive!
As if encouraged by Lin Mengya's actions, some young wives and girls started dashing towards their beloved.
There were joyful laughs of reunion as well as sad partings.
All the more, there was a feeling that their lives had been renewed.
"Enough, Third Elder Sister-in-law. You two would become the subject of gossip in the entire Dajin if you continue in your embrace. How about giving me a hug too, didn't I fight the enemies at the frontline too?"
Long Qinghan, who was standing beside them, teased playfully.
Lin Mengya would not have noticed if Long Qinghan did not mention it. She looked up from Long Tianhao's bosom and realized that all three men's heads and faces were soot black.
"Stop spouting nonsense, lest I break your leg."
Lin Mengya threatened Long Qinghan with a gentle voice. She had acted rashly in a way considered untrammeled in the ancient times out of anxiety.
Oh no, this was bad.
She was worried that she, already a well-known person in Dajin, would have people fabricating absurd stories about her yet again.
Being a rather shy person, Lin Mengya began to blush at Long Qinghan's teasing.
She was thankful that the sky was dark, and all the people were immersed in the joy of reunion, so much so that no one really noticed her.
"General Zhu, everyone is exhausted from the day's fighting. What they need most at this moment is a good rest. Please bring our soldiers some food and water to reward them. If there's anyone who is injured, please gather at the courtyard, where the physicians are waiting to tend to you."
Before all of them went in, Lin Mengya first looked for Zhu Aizhi and gave him the above instructions.
The three men exchanged looks as they each conceived some thoughts in their mind.
"I didn't expect Princess Yu to be so attentive to details. Prince Yu, you are sure to accomplish much having such a virtuous wife supporting you."
Hu Tianbei said enviously with a quiet voice.
The ladies in the royal family of the western vassal state only knew how to enjoy life. None of them were as fastidious as Lin Mengya.
This reminded him of his grandmother, who passed away a few years back. If not for the strong support from her, they would have been able to witness the increasingly prosperous western vassal state of today.
"Most certainly! This Third Elder Sister-in-law of mine is not any ordinary person. Oh yes, Third Elder Brother, does Third Elder Sister-in-law have any sisters？Or even cousins will do!"
Long Qinghan asked in an exaggerated manner and Long Tianhao gave him a look and said, "Yes, Lin Mengwu."
The sides of Long Qinghan's mouth immediately tensed up.
"She? Forget it! Keep her for Bei. I think the two of them are a good fit."
Hu Tianbei gave his good friend a punch and an expression of disgust flashed across his face at that instant.
"How good could that woman be if even you don't want her!"
The two young men began to argue. They were totally different from a moment ago when they were staggering and supporting each other.
"What are you talking about that sounds so interesting. Come on, tell it to me."
Lin Mengya, who was back to her usual self, giggled as she walked up to Long Tianhao.
She had just heard from the soldiers that these three commanders were all injured in one way or another. They had simply dressed their wound haphazardly then, but just look at how they had started fooling around.
"Nothing really, Third Elder Sister-in-law. What is there to eat? I'm famished!"
The three men had been fighting valiantly in the face of enemies. Now that they had emerged from the battleground, the hunger pang came to them with vengeance.
Immediately, Lin Mengya instructed some men to help the three of them into the temporary imperial residence, otherwise, they would collapse there and then.
When the three of them were helped into the residence, they actually looked like dead dogs. It was then that Lin Mengya realized that their energy had been totally drained by the battle.
They were able to stand outside all this time because they were forcing themselves not to collapse.
"Ouch! Ouch, it's painful! Can you be gentler? My beautiful leg is going to fall off!"
Long Qinghan had just regained some of his strength when he was back to his usual sloppy self.
Lin Mengya could not be bothered about his nonsense. The food was ready, but there was one thing which was making the three men embarrassed.
They had used so much strength holding on to their weapon over such a long time that they had even lost the strength to hold the chopsticks.
"Erm... Princess Yu, can we eat with our bare hands?"
Hu Tianbei failed numerous times in his attempts at eating with chopsticks.
Because of a man's pride, Hu Tianbei found it extremely difficult to open his mouth to ask for a spoon.
Looking at the dark-skinned Hu Tianbei, Lin Mengya did not immediately understand his real intention.
"No, don't you know that illness enters a person through the mouth? Look at your hands! Aren't they filthy?"
Even Long Tianhao's facial expression was becoming awkward at this moment.
Lin Mengya, who had been keeping an eye on the situation in the courtyard did not think much of their behavior. On the contrary, Baizhi noticed and began tugging at Lin Mengya's sleeve.
"What's wrong?"
Baizhi secretly pointed at Hu Tianbei's trembling hands as Lin Mengya noticed that he had just flung a piece of cucumber into the egg drop soup with his shaky hands.
"Men, fetch some spoons here. My bad for being negligent. How could one drink soup without a spoon?"
Lin Mengya let out a dry laugh. She said those words in a way that made the three men feel less embarrassed.
She even pretended not to see their awkward and embarrassed state by turning away to hide her smile from them.
The three men who had been through strict instructions on social etiquettes since young were at this moment making a big mess on the dinner table, spilling soup and vegetables all over the place.
If not for Baizhi's timely reminder, these three men might have starved to death at the dining table.
The dishes were simple and plain homecooked food.
They could not be deemed delicacies, but to these three men, who had not tasted anything for the entire day, the food was extremely delicious.
"Master, General Zhu had given us a pheasant and a wild rabbit, which we already washed and prepared."
Baishao carried that meat and walked up to Lin Mengya with excitement.
Lin Mengya stole a glance at the three men who were engrossed in eating behind her and pondering for a while, she quietly gave Baishao the following instruction.
"Go to the kitchen and boil a big pot of soup with this meat, then distribute it among the injured soldiers."
It was not because she did not want Long Tianhao to have the meat, rather, she believed that the injured soldiers outside needed it more than Long Tianhao did.
Lin Mengya gave Long Tianhao a good long look from an angle beyond his field of vision.
She secretly hoped that all the price she had paid would be repaid on Long Tianhao.
"Your Highness, the physicians were bandaging up the wounded soldiers but they seemed to be shorthanded. I will go out to help. Someone would come over in a while to wait on you while you take a bath."
Long Tianhao put down his bowl and utensils temporarily and nodded towards Lin Mengya.
Lin Mengya smiled as she realized that there was not even a grain of rice on Long Tianhao's mouth even though he had downed three bowls of rice. He was indeed the most well-mannered among them.
Finally, after eating five bowls of rice each, the three strong men finally slowed down to a stop.
All the maidservants had followed Lin Mengya out to help. Only a few unrefined men were left behind to serve the three noblemen.
Having eaten some food, the three men had more or less regained their strength.
What happened today was a surprise attack, and if it were a usual battle that happened at a battleground, they would have stood guard for a day and a night in armors.
What they went through was something normal in a war.
"Elder Brother Tianhao, you're truly blessed to have a wife like her."
Hu Tianbei, who was standing by the window, watching Lin Mengya, who was organizing the people in the courtyard in an orderly manner, could not stop singing praises about her once again.
Why was such an outstanding lady born in Dajin?
"Needless to say, my Third Elder Brother is the luckiest guy."
He would be lying if he said he was not envious. Being born into the royal family, all the more he was aware that such a woman was hard to come by.
Despite Long Tianhao keeping a straight face, he was secretly pleased in his heart.
At this moment, the expression in his eyes when he looked at Lin Mengya was all the gentler.
"She's the best gift the Heavens had given me."
He had never expected the Heavens to treat him with special favor.
It was only after Lin Mengya married into his family that he realized how precious this surprise to him.
"Although Princess Yu is already your rightful wife, wouldn't you redouble your power if you were to secure the help from the family of a vice Princess?"
Hu Tianbei was actually referring to the matter as Ming Yue had pestered him with the entire night. Nevertheless, this was not the main reason he raised this matter.
After weighing the pros and cons, Hu Tianbei concluded that his sister's marriage to Long Tianhao would add another layer of security to the western vassal state.
Moreover, having been through this last battle together, Hu Tianbei was on one hand full of admiration for Long Tianhao, but also full of fear towards him.
Be it his personal capability or the ability to organize his army and battle array, Long Tianhao was by no means inferior to him.
He was determined to proselytize such a talent.
"I don't think that is necessary. The family of my Third Elder Sister-in-law is a valorous one. Don't you know Lin Muzhi, the Marquis Zhennan? That's her father; and Lin Nansheng, the valiant general? That's her elder brother. If your sister marries into the family, she might be brutally beaten up by my Third Elder Sister-in-law one of these days."
Long Qinghan said casually, while he shot a glance at Long Tianhao, indicating that he should thank him for speaking up for him.
Hu Tianbei opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out of it.
Now he realized that the two most formidable men of Dajin were close kins to Lin Mengya.
Lin Muzhi was a master in warfare. While he continued to lead his army to guard the borders for decades, they were most rarely defeated in any clashes. Lin Nansheng was the valiant general with exceptional martial arts skill, who was an expert in taking down many enemy soldiers with ease.
It came as no surprise that a family like this had nurtured a lady like Princess Yu.
Ming Yue may be very intelligent, but she only used it for playing girly tricks.
He supposed he would give up on this thought.
With Lin Mengya' splendid family background in mind, Hu Tianbei decided to put the matter of Ming Yue's marriage to Long Tianhao to rest.
Ling Mengya, who was helping out in the courtyard was completely unaware that she was almost taken advantage of.
"Everyone, please be reminded that the wounds should not come into contact with any water. In addition, the cotton used to clean one person's wound should never be used on another person. Is that clear to everyone?"
Lin Mengya came to a realization that the reason for the high mortality rate among soldiers in this ancient times was directly related to their medical knowledge and conditions.
All the people were unaware of possible infection to the wounds. They actually shared the same piece of cotton gauze to clean their wounds.
If not for her timely warning to stop what they did, she supposed many of these injured soldiers would die of infections to their wounds.
"General Zhu, I'd like to ask you for a favor."
All the physicians from various families had been gathered here by her.
However, there were simply too many injured soldiers. In fact, there were more who continued to flock into the courtyard at this moment.
Although they were not short of physicians, they were running out of wound dressings.
The little that was left was actually provided by Zhu Aizhi, who had sneaked some from his personal supply.
"Please tell me, I will try my best to accommodate."
Zhu Aizhi had started off as a soldier in the army, however, for some reason which he could not help, he was transferred to be an imperial guard.