Who would raise a villain as a wife?

He Yunjing woke up in the carriage, and the shaking made his wound hurt.

After a moment's pause, He Yunjing lifted the window curtain and looked out. Judging from the scenery outside, he seemed to have walked for a while.

Xie Lin rode over and said, "You have been unconscious for three days. I dare not delay and I will leave for Beijing without authorization."

He Yunjing nodded, thinking that they would not send any more troops over, so it was time to go back.

Xie Lin rummaged in his pocket and took out a small cloth bag and handed it over, "This is what I found."

He Yunjing took it and opened it. There were two fingers in the cloth bag, and the slanted cuts looked quite hideous.

He Yunjing wanted to deal with it, but he didn't have the energy at the moment so he just put it in his pocket and continued to sleep.

After stumbling along the way, He Yunjing had almost recovered, although there were still many scars on his body. However, the result was good. Whenever he passed through a city, he was welcomed by the people.

On the way, he received the first letter from Cen Li, which stated that he would meet him outside the city and reveal his identity to the public.

He Yunjing could only say that he changed into a military uniform before arriving and rode a maroon horse to the capital at a leisurely pace.

Just as Cen Li said, Cen Li and all the officials came to greet him at the city gate. The person pretending to be him also arrived and stood beside Cen Li.

When He Yunjing approached, Cen Li spoke first, "I will lead all the officials to welcome your majesty back to the capital in triumph!"

All the officials who were about to salute suddenly stopped and looked up. This time they saw the face under the military uniform clearly and it was actually He Yunjing.

The fake emperor knelt down and kowtowed, "Your slave respectfully welcomes Your Majesty back to the capital in triumph."

No matter what the truth is, he was guilty of impersonating the emperor and was sentenced to death. He said that being a slave was inevitable and he had no complaints even if he was beheaded.

The officials who realized the situation belatedly immediately knelt down and kowtowed to He Yunjing. Their emotions were like a roller coaster. The powerful general who had appeared out of nowhere turned out to be the tyrant they thought he was. The contrast was too great for them to accept.

Some people wanted to doubt it, but the soldiers who followed them in triumph were also shocked. They were so scared that they immediately knelt on the ground and said, "Long live the emperor. Long live the emperor."

They really didn't know that He Yunjing was the emperor. They even had a quarrel when he was arranging the troops. They didn't protect him at all on the battlefield. Now they are scared when they think about it.

He Yunjing smiled as he rode on his horse and said loudly, "Today the army has returned victoriously. Pass on my order to reward the soldiers! Reduce the agricultural tax by 20% for one year, and celebrate with the people!"

"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"

Everyone stood up, and then one after another, following closely behind He Yunjing. Cen Li also rode on his horse and followed, but because He Yunjing deliberately slowed down his pace, he was parallel to him.

He Yunjing glanced at him sideways and said, "If you retreat again, I'll take over."

Cen Li did not refute, but followed quietly. With a glance, he gave an order, and immediately a eunuch in front of him sang loudly, "Your Majesty has returned victoriously, reward the soldiers, reduce agricultural taxes by 20% for a year, and celebrate with the people!"

The people who were originally waiting to welcome the soldiers at the border knelt on the ground one after another after hearing the singing. It took them a long time to react to the content of the words. Putting aside the fact that His Majesty had returned triumphantly, the reduction of agricultural taxes was enough to make them happy. Congratulations were heard one after another, and there was unstoppable joy in their voices.

The eunuch kept singing and repeating what he had just said all the way. When his voice became hoarse, he would be replaced by someone else. He didn't stop until he reached the palace gate.

He Yunjing turned his horse and said, "All the soldiers have worked hard on the journey. Please go home and be with your families for a while. You must come to the celebration banquet tonight and don't leave until you are drunk!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

They really needed to rest after the long journey, and they really missed their families. Everyone was happy, and after watching He Yunjing enter the palace gate, they left one after another and went to their respective places of return.

He Yunjing also returned to the palace. He glanced at Ruan Qingrou who was kneeling to greet him, frowned, and said to Cen Li, "Master Cen, please help me. The others can leave for now."

Cen Li agreed, waved his hand to dismiss the palace servants and followed him into the bedroom. The bathtub in the inner hall was already prepared and filled with hot steam.

He Yunjing couldn't wait to take off his clothes and stepped in. He let out a satisfied sigh while soaking in the water, "You don't know what it's like at the border. It's cold, but there's nowhere to take a shower. Look at my face, it's blown into a mess."

Cen Li picked up the clothes that had fallen on the ground, sorted them out and hung them up. He turned around and glanced at He Yunjing who was soaking in the water. The scar on the back of his shoulder was obvious, and this was just the exposed part.

He frowned subconsciously, took two steps forward and pulled up He Yunjing's left hand. Sure enough, he saw the broken end of his finger. Xie? had mentioned it in the letter, that it was a slanted cut, but now it was smooth.

Cen Li asked him, "Why don't you use that pill?"

He Yunjing looked into his eyes and said helplessly, "So many people saw it. What do you want me to do? Should I tell them what kind of monster I am? Can I grow broken fingers?"

The questioning in Cen Li's eyes disappeared instantly, "But you are like this..."

"It's not a big deal. I'm used to it." He Yunjing took off the necklace from his neck and handed it to him, "For you."

Cen Li lowered his eyes and looked at the items in his palm: a black feather, a transparent petal, and two polished bone whistles.

He frowned and looked at the broken end of He Yunjing's finger. He had a bad feeling.

He Yunjing laughed heartily, "It's broken anyway, it would be a shame to throw it away, so I'll give it to you. This is the medal I earned, you won't dislike it, will you?"

Cen Li thought he was being weird, so he picked up the string and rubbed it for a while, "Who would be so bored as to want jewelry made of human bones?"

He Yunjing looked at him with deep eyes and complicated feelings in his heart. Didn't he have to cut it off as a gift? Didn't it just happen to break this time?

Cen Li felt uncomfortable with his gaze and frowned, "Did you really send it?"

"I have." He Yunjing showed him his left hand and explained, "I have given four in total, including these two, which makes six."

Cen Li was speechless again. He wanted to return the things in his hand, but was rejected by He Yunjing.

He took his hands back and sank them all into the water, "Give me a hand, I'm so tired and don't want to move, my hair is all tangled."

Cen Li had no choice but to put it down for the time being, walked around behind He Yunjing, let down his hair for him, and started to wash it with the water in the bathtub.

He Yunjing was not idle either, "Let me tell you the story that happened later."

"I'm not interested in hearing that."

"I'm interested in talking, and it won't take long. Both you and they have the right to know and the right to choose."

He Yunjing lowered his eyes and told his own story first, followed by Hua Li, Wen Li, Jiang Li, Shen Li, Wu Li, An Xi, A Li, Ye Li, Qian Xiu, and Xie Xi.

He Yunjing didn't explain it in detail, just roughly, wanting Cen Li to understand it.

Cen Li was very quiet, just listening, without interrupting or asking any questions.

When the temperature of the hot water dissipated, He Yunjing put on his robe and sat on the bedside, looking up at Cen Li, "Do you still think I recognized the wrong person, or that I am just looking for a substitute?"