The emperor would rather have a

Chapter 7: Announcement of funeral arrangements
Li Yi carried the cloth bag containing money and the fine cloth and walked out of the camp.

As for the remaining two bags of food, they were his rations. Except for the time when he was on duty, he had to worry about his own meals on weekdays.

This is also one of the reasons why the army distributes daily necessities such as firewood, rice, oil, salt, pickles, etc.

As a typical bachelor, Li Yi lives in a free dormitory and cooks his own meals.

To put it nicely, this can be called freedom, but to put it bluntly, it is a cold pot, cold stove, and cold kang.

Fortunately, the food distributed every month was enough for him to eat, and there was even some surplus food that he could exchange for some meat to improve his diet.

With Li Yi's frugal lifestyle, he was able to save some money while supporting his uncle's family.

It’s a pity that the incident with the Zhao family completely drained his savings.

He even lost all the hard-earned money that Guo had saved...

in the night.

Many soldiers sneaked out of the barracks.

On weekdays, the management of the imperial guards was not too strict. In addition, the camps and living areas of each unit were together, so the soldiers were on duty during the day and went home to sleep at night.

Now that the rewards before the expedition have arrived, the soldiers will definitely take them home.

It's just that the Privy Council has issued a military order for all soldiers to stay on standby in the barracks, so no one dares to run around openly.

Under the cover of night, the city of Tokyo was silent. Most people's homes were in darkness, with only a few houses showing faint lights from their windows.

Li Yi hurried back along the streets and alleys. In order to avoid unnecessary trouble, he had to return to the breakfast shop before curfew.

……

Ever since the news of the Northern Han invasion reached Tokyo.

Business in the Longjin Bridge area has become much quieter, and many shops have temporarily closed.

Stores that are still open will close early.

The widow Guo's breakfast shop is no exception. It has been closed for more than ten days. Guo herself rarely goes out and can only be seen occasionally washing clothes by the river.

At this time, the night was dark.

In the breakfast shop with its doors and windows closed, Mrs. Guo sat at the table, staring blankly at the two pairs of cloth shoes in her hands.

The dim candlelight flickered, shining on her face, sometimes bright and sometimes dim, just like her current uneasy mood.

During this period, there were rumors in Tokyo that the court had suffered a crushing defeat in the first battle with the Han army, and that the Zhaoyi army was beaten so badly that they dared not even leave the city.

The pseudo-Han and Khitan claimed to have an army of 100,000, and had already crossed the two states of Ze and Lu and marched southward. It was feared that they would soon reach Tokyo.

The news that the emperor was preparing to lead the army in person had already spread widely in Daliang City.

A few days ago, a part of the imperial army set out for an expedition. Guo also went to watch, but did not see the emperor's ceremonial procession.

According to onlookers, this was only the vanguard troops, and the main force of the imperial guards led by the emperor had not yet set out.

Although Guo knew nothing about marching and fighting, she knew that her brother-in-law was the emperor's personal guard.

If the emperor didn't make any moves, he shouldn't be sent to the battlefield.

Guo was relieved about this. As a woman, she didn't care who won or lost, as long as her brother-in-law didn't have to fight on the battlefield.

It would be best if the emperor did not lead any army in person. It would be better for him to stay in the palace peacefully so that the people around him would not have to risk their lives to protect him.

"Bang bang bang..."

The sudden knock on the door startled Mrs. Guo.

"Who—" she asked subconsciously, but immediately regretted it. Who knows if someone is still wandering outside in the middle of the night, he might be a bad guy.

She was a widow, weak and alone. Originally, she could have fooled the other party by keeping quiet, but now that the other party knew someone was home, how could she leave so easily?

Fortunately, the response from outside immediately dispelled Guo's worries.

"Sister-in-law, it's me."

Upon hearing this, Guo quickly stood up and pulled the bolt. The breakfast shop's front door was open in one piece. It wasn't two complete doors, but was made up of narrow wooden strips pieced together.

When closing the door, they are pieced together one by one, and then locked directly with a whole wooden bolt.

To open the door, she had to do the reverse. After Guo moved one door panel away, the tall figure outside the door appeared before her.

"Erlang, why are you back at this time?" Guo suppressed her inner surprise and stepped aside to let Li Yi come in first.

"Haven't you eaten yet? I'll make it for you..."

"No, I've already eaten."

As Li Yi spoke, he put the things he was carrying on the table.

"The rewards before the battle have come down. I brought them back and asked my sister-in-law to keep them for me."

Li Yi specifically asked Guo to keep it for him, because he was actually afraid that the other party would refuse it.

All his previous savings were compensated to the Zhao family, and this reward is his only property now.

If he unfortunately dies on the battlefield later, he will probably receive a pension, which together with this reward should be quite generous.

I think it will be enough to last Guo for a long time.

As for her uncle's family, whether or not to give them some depends entirely on Guo's own wishes.

Anyway, if I die then I won’t be in charge of these things.

"Go to war..." Guo was inserting the bolt on the door when she paused. "Is the emperor really going to lead the army in person?"

"Yeah." Li Yi replied casually, "The Privy Council has issued a military order. We will set off the day after tomorrow."

As he spoke, he had already put his things away and sat down at the table.

I looked up and saw Guo inserting the bolt on the door.

Li Yi subconsciously wanted the other party to not worry and that he would leave after a while.

But remembering that it was almost curfew and it would be troublesome if he was caught on the way back to the barracks, he simply didn't say anything to stop him.

Anyway, everyone knows that Zhang Maochang said that we just need to return to the camp before roll call tomorrow. We can spend the night in the breakfast shop and then go back early, so we still have time.

"You're not going back at night, are you?" Although Guo had already bolted the door, she still asked.

"Yes." Li Yi nodded, "But we have to return to the camp before tomorrow morning's roll call."

"Then..." Guo hesitated to speak.

Li Yi felt strange and glanced at Guo, only to see her leaning against the door with her hands tightly twisted together.

There was something wrong with his expression.

"Sister-in-law, what's wrong with you?" Li Yi immediately asked with concern, "Are you feeling unwell?"

"Ah? No, it's okay." Mrs. Guo lowered her head, glanced at the ground, her voice trembling slightly.

Ah... is this your period?
Li Yi thought to himself, but since it was a woman's private matter, he didn't dare to ask too much.

For a moment, silence fell between the two.

Originally, Li Yi came back with the intention of making arrangements for his funeral, and specifically came back to instruct Guo on some things.

But when I really want to speak, I don’t know where to start, so I can only think about what to say in my mind first.

Guo also seemed to be preoccupied with something, as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.

Neither of them spoke first.

that's it.

As time passed, the light in the oil lamp gradually dimmed.

At this moment, Li Yi stood up and lit the lamp a little brighter, then said, "Before we go to the battle, I have something to tell my sister-in-law..."

(End of this chapter)