Even if she had seen the tip of the castle on the horizon, Daqiao could only form a weary smile on her face – not only was it still a little far, she was also really exhausted. After the long and tiresome battle, the sore feeling in her muscles eventually kicked in. She just wanted to go to her room and slump on her bed.

She could barely keep her eyes open as they rode through the plain, but she wouldn't want, or anyone for that matter, to suddenly fall off their saddle and receive a painful face plant on the ground. That and she didn't want to embarrass herself in front of everyone else, especially Sun Ce, who was just in front of her on his own horse.

So she had to keep her eyes open, and what better way than to think active thoughts, like the battle earlier. In the end, they ended up victorious, and Daqiao still remembered some of the officers she encountered.

Well that's weird, how come one of them was holding a pillow like a weapon? Well, some pillows are hard, but why did they use that for battle?

Daqiao shook her head. This was clearly the drowsiness affecting her mind.

"Daqiao? You alright?"

She had to stifle a yawn, but she ended up rubbing her eyes to try to remove some of her sleepiness. She looked to her right and saw her husband now by her side. "S-Sorry Ce, I'm just feeling a little sleepy…"

Sun Ce chuckled. His wife was trying her best to stay awake, but the sleepiness was much faster than her. "Hey, why don't you ride with me? You know, so you can sleep?"

It only took those words to rid some of Daqiao's sleepiness. She pulled her horse closer to his, and with a deep blush on her cheeks, she looked at him nervously and whispered, "M-My lord?! N-not in front of everyone…"

Sune Ce raised a brow, confused. "Huh? What's wrong? You wouldn't want to fall off your horse, now would you?"

It's as if he read her mind. She shook her head lightly, still a little embarrassed. "N-No… but… umm…"

Sun Ce suddenly stopped his horse, which Daqiao also did. He signaled the others to keep going forward, leaving them alone.

Sun Ce smiled. "There, see? Now no one else is around." After being together for a few months now, he had come to an understanding that his wife was simply a timid and soft-spoken lady in nature. It's not that he complained about it though, he actually thought it made her look way cuter. Gaining a little more self-confidence wouldn't hurt though.

Daqiao returned a sheepish smile. "T-Thank you my lord…" She got off her saddle and made her way up to her husband's saddle, now sitting behind him. Her cheeks had a light blush as she wrapped her arms around his waist, and rested her head on his back, the feeling of drowsiness now becoming heavy once again. She soon closed her eyes and quickly fell asleep.

Along with Daqiao's horse, Sun Ce quickly caught up to the rest of the troops, and his best friend came to his side.

"Sister must be really tired… if not all of us…"

Sun Ce gave a chuckle. "Yeah, well that battle went on for too long, but if there's one good thing about it, it's that we won. And what's a better reward for this than a good long sleep huh?"

Zhou Yu smiled and nodded. "Indeed."

Xiaoqiao couldn't hold her excitement any longer. Waiting outside the castle gates along with the others, her eagerness was not so subtle as she kept standing on her toes, hoping it would make it faster to see them in the horizon. She pouted as the time passed by and there was still no sign of them. "…what's taking them so long?"

And why exactly was she left in the town? It was either her or her sister, and being the protective one, her sister had volunteered herself, much to Xiaoqiao's disagreement. She wanted to be the one there, always wanting to go out and join battles. It was too boring just staying in the castle, until she found something to pass the time. Maybe painting wasn't so bad after all, all except for the fact that her painting looked hideous, that and how messy the so-called recreation room looked after. She ended up going almost the whole day, almost using all the natural coloring ingredients that the helpers had worked so hard collecting just to improve her painting skills. In the end, there was little improvement, but at least she enjoyed it.

One of the local townsfolk was also waiting for them to arrive, and he looked rather excited too. He was always fascinated by those warriors, and having seen real ones, it just made him even more tireless. The Wu kingdom had helped their town prosper, giving them support and donations and materials for facilities; the whole town was very thankful to them. Having recently been promoted into the age of adolescence, he was happy that he was finally eligible to join the ranks. And to think that one of the warriors of Wu was right beside him, an unexpectedly beautiful one to boot. This day couldn't get any better! "Don't worry lady Xiaoqiao, they'll be back! I just know it!"

Xiaoqiao looked at him and giggled. It's him again, that kid who was always so happy so see them warriors whenever they stroll around the town. "Yup, I know! I just wished that they'd arrive-" As she heard the cheers of the other people suddenly got louder, she looked back to where she was looking recently and gasped happily when she saw the familiar figures.

The troops finally arrived in front of the castle gates, and Xiaoqiao ran up to her husband, who recently just got off his saddle. She gave him a warm embrace, happy to see him back safe and sound. "Zhou Yu! I'm so glad!"

Zhou Yu chuckled as he returned the embrace. "Don't worry Xiaoqiao, I'm here now." In surprise, he noticed the messy streaks of colors on his wife's sleeves and there was even an odd smell coming from her. As the pieces connected in his mind, he looked at her, confused. "Xiaoqiao? Have you been painting?"

She giggled. "Yup! My paintings didn't look so good, but it was so fun! We should try painting together sometime my lord!"

Zhou Yu gave out a weak chuckle. "Perhaps someday, right now, we're all just really exhausted…"

Xiaoqiao's smile was replaced with a look of concern. "I-Is that why you guys took long? Is everyone okay?"

Zhou Yu felt a little regret uttering those last words, feeling guilty for making his wife concerned. "There's no need to worry, everyone got out safe."

Xiaoqiao took another glance around, and her concern only grew when she still didn't see that certain someone. "Wait… where's sis?" Just when she thought something terrible happened, she looked to her left as she heard a familiar voice.

"Let's just say she's really tired."

"Sun Ce!" Xiaoqiao ran up to the side of his horse, and an instant wave of relief hit her as she saw her sister. But it was quickly changed into one of amusement. She noticed her sister hugging her husband like a pillow, with a small smile on her face. And to add more to the fun, she could even see her drooling a little. She couldn't help but snicker at the sight.

Daqiao stirred as she heard a faint but familiar voice. She stopped the embrace she had done while sleeping and sat up straight. She did a quick stretch and when she looked down to her left, her vision became clear and recognized who it was. She flashed a small smile. "Oh, Xiaoqiao."

Wait…

She looked up in surprise and noticed where they were. "We're here?" She glanced at her sister as she heard her giggling again. She gave her a confused and clueless look. "What's so funny?"

Xiaoqiao pointed at the corner of her own mouth and covered it as she tried to suppress her laughter.

Daqiao mimicked her sister, touching the corner of her lips, and quickly realized what it was she was referring to, making her blush. She swiftly wiped it off her face using her sleeve. Getting conscious that there might be other unnecessary marks on herself, she placed her right leg to the other side of the horse, both legs now on just one side, and got off. Before she could even dust herself off, her sister had already approached her and gave her a welcoming embrace.

Xiaoqiao smiled warmly and held her hands as she said, "It's really good to see you sis."

Daqiao tensed up a little as she felt the pain in her sore body, but still gave her sister a reassuring smile. "You too Xiaoqiao." She quickly noticed how her sister's clothes didn't look so clean. "And what exactly have you been doing? Why are your clothes so dirty?"

Xiaoqiao chuckled nervously, replying, "I'll tell you on the way." She hugged her sister's arm and grinned. "Come on sis, let's go. You must be really tired." Soon did they start walking.

Daqiao chuckled. "Oh, you have no idea…" She stretched her arms, before continuing, "All I can think of right now is a comfy bed, and probably…" her voice jumped to a higher pitch briefly as she reached the best part of her little stretch, saying, "…something good to eat."

Xiaoqiao grinned as she remembered something. "What perfect timing! They're actually preparing beef noodles in the castle right now! Come on sis, let's get you there first!" She pulled her sister's arm as they started running back to the castle.

As they ran, Daqiao instantly felt the sore pain in her body once again, especially in her legs and feet. But she didn't mind; the quicker they got there, the quicker her grumbling stomach would get satisfied.

The two Qiaos made their way up to the castle's rooftop, where the garden was also located. Daqiao had regained enough energy during lunch but that didn't mean she wanted to go up the stairs to their current location. Nevertheless, the weather was good and the breeze was cool, so it was a much welcome invitation from her sister.

The younger sibling admired the view of the surroundings as she held on to the concrete railings. The older sibling however, just sat down on the stone bench as she didn't want to move much. All she did was quietly admire the garden and its beautiful presentation of plants – from the arrangement according to petal colors to how vibrant they looked, Wu certainly had its fair share of plant lovers. She let out a soft chuckle, which her sister heard.

Xiaoqiao sat down beside her sister. "What's up with the smile sis?"

Daqiao chuckled once again, replying, "Oh, I was just looking at the garden, and it made me wonder if master Ding Feng was part of this."

Xiaoqiao looked a little confused. Raising a brow, she asked, "Master Ding Feng? What does he have to do with the garden?"

Daqiao looked at her sister. "I was able to talk with him once. He's actually not scary to talk to, he's really nice." She thought it was no surprise if master Ding Feng was involved with this. He certainly had that intimidating appearance, but she didn't expect him to be so kind and fond of poetry, with nature as his usual subject. It was a wonderful surprise, really. She finished up and said, "And he's a good poet too!"

Xiaoqiao had her mouth agape at this sudden twist. Letting out a happy gasp, she responded, "Wow! I should invite him sometime! Maybe he can write some poems while I paint!" and ended with a giggle.

Daqiao flashed a smile. "Speaking of your paintings, where are they?"

"Oh, they're in my room. I'm not sure if they're dry yet though, I think I mixed too much water in the paint," she chuckled nervously. Her mixing skills were something else she needed to improve on.

"Do you mind if I look at them?"

Xiaoqiao was a little surprised by her sister's question. "Really? But I thought you wanted to go rest after this…"

"Well, I guess I can rest in your room for awhile…"

Before she can even finish, Xiaoqiao grinned and pulled her arm, forcing her to stand. "Okay! Let's go!"

Surely enough, her sister's energetic spirit infected her, her sleepiness now gone. Letting out a chuckle, Daqiao said, "You know what, how about we paint something together? How does that sound?"

A successful-sounding giggle escaped from the younger sibling's mouth. "Even better."