Chapter 2047: Chapter 29: Bittersweet Feelings

Thud, thud, thud.

The sound of copper gongs and cymbals startled Wufu awake from her sleep. She hugged her quilt and sat up in bed, frowned slightly, then put on her clothes and went outside.

Old Lady Zhou was holding her granddaughter at the door. Seeing Wufu come out, she disapprovingly said, "It’s windy today, go back inside, don’t catch a chill and end up with postpartum illness."

Wufu tightened her collar and asked, "What’s happening?"

Old Lady Zhou said, "It’s the village assembling its residents, probably to announce something. Your Aunt has already gone over."

Wufu responded with a "Oh," and then asked, "Has Uncle not returned yet?"

Old Lady Zhou shook her head.

Upon hearing this, Wufu frowned again, wondering what was going on that made him take so long.

She quietly returned to her room and sat down, Little Bun whimpered a few times. Wufu picked him up and probed, realizing the child wanted to eat, she unbuttoned her clothing.

To her delight, the past couple of days had some effect; she now had some milk.

An hour later, Lady Liang returned with a pale face, shivering as she poured and drank some water.

"What happened?" Wufu asked.

"They’re drafting soldiers and grain." Lady Liang repeated the village chief’s words, "What will our Zhou family do?"

Old Lady Zhou was also frightened; nobody wants to be conscripted, and it was the same for the Old Zhou family, especially as the main family had no men left, and the second family only had Zhou Xueli. The rest were old people, women, and children. If Zhou Xueli were drafted, what would they do?

Wufu carefully inquired about how the conscription would proceed and then said, "Don’t worry, the Old Zhou family doesn’t meet the conscription criteria, Yongyong is not yet twelve. Uncle is the only adult male in the second family, and even if he were conscripted, we could make up for it with money and grain."

Old Lady Zhou and Lady Liang listened and realized this reasoning was indeed solid, their expressions relaxed somewhat.

"It’s a sin, conscripting soldiers at a time like this, this war..." Old Lady Zhou started muttering complaints.

Wufu simply pressed her lips together, realizing that needing to draft soldiers and grain suggested that Nanyue couldn’t hold out anymore, at least they didn’t have forces to send to the Shu region.

But if these drafted soldiers were used in this battle, rookies who hadn’t been trained or practiced would just be targets on the battlefield, sent to their deaths for nothing.

Wufu felt disheartened, hanging her head silently.

Lady Liang saw this, gently tugged her mother-in-law’s sleeve, and shook her head.

Old Lady Zhou stopped talking, awkwardly pursed her lips, and walked out holding her granddaughter.

"Wufu, don’t take it to heart. Grandma doesn’t mean to blame you, she’s just troubled, getting old, and can’t bear to see such life and death." Lady Liang said.

Wufu managed a faint smile and said, "It’s nothing, I don’t blame her. It is indeed because of Beiyan’s invasion that Nanyue is conscripting."

Lady Liang sat down with a sigh, saying, "Wufu, in a family, even brothers fight to see who wins and loses based on whose skills are greater or who has the harder fist. How much more so with national conflicts? The Emperor’s path is paved with bones; throughout the ages, which war hasn’t claimed lives?"

"Aunt." Wufu was somewhat moved.

"People haven’t lived well these past years. I believe if your Beiyan wins, it won’t be like the current Emperor, disregarding the people’s lives, right?" Lady Liang looked at her, full of hope, and said, "You will let us common people lead a good life, and there will be an era of peace, right?"

Wufu nodded vigorously, "We will, certainly."

They wouldn’t forget the original intention behind starting this war, which was to unify the world and usher in an era of peace and prosperity.

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