The First Encounter

"General, please don't be so formal. Zebei is the dowry of my mother, and many generations of the Cheng family have lived here. That's why I am known as Cheng Mo, with the courtesy name Renzai, while here. You can call me Cheng Mo or Renzai." Cheng Mo thought of the gentle smile and soft call from Xiaobei when she called him Ah Mo, feeling as if he had tasted honey, secretly delighted to hear the word 'Mo' from others, hoping for that subtle connection, which made him happy again.

"In that case, I'll address you as Brother Mo," Huo Changfeng bowed again. In any case, his little sister lived in the territory of the Eastern Shore DongBin King, and having such an affable tribal king was always a good thing.

"Brother Changfeng, my apologies for being late," came a clear voice, and Qiao Er's figure appeared from outside the door. "Greetings, King Mo."

"Brother Ziqiu, how can you call the General your brother?" Cheng Mo bristled when he heard Qiao Er speak, his temper flaring.

Qiao Er was his elder cousin from the Xiaobei, if he called him brother, wouldn't that make him the elder? "No, you, you, you're my sworn brother, so you're my brother, how can you still call the General your brother?"

"Oh, I've looked up to the General since I was little, and I've always called him brother," Qiao Er realized that the little prince was getting upset, so he teased him a bit. "Since we're brothers, you can also call the General your brother, right?"

"General, I dare not presume, Ziqiu should be more careful with his words."

"No! Xiaobei still calls you Brother Ziqiu, so where does that place you? The General is Xiaobei's uncle."

Huo Changfeng suddenly realized that his little sister had promised her daughter to Qiao Er, so the current form of address was indeed inappropriate. He spoke up, "King Mo is right. Ziqiu, from now on, we're considered family. You should call Xiaobei's uncle."

What do you mean by following Xiaobei's lead? Why should this detestable Qiao Er follow Xiaobei's lead? But that's not important now; what matters is establishing these familial relationships.

Cheng Mo decided not to argue with Qiao Er for the time being and smiled like a sly old fox, "Right, right, right. Brother Ziqiu and Xiaobei are indeed iron-clad siblings. You should call the General Xiaobei's uncle, and as her brother, I should also address him as uncle."

At this moment, Cheng Mo looked just like a little puppy trying to please its master in front of Xiaibei's Uncle Huo.

"Uncle, Brother Ziqiu and Cheng Mo are sworn brothers. Cheng Mo's courtesy name is Renzai, so you should call me Renzai too,"

Qiao Ziqiu felt that this obsequious flatterer serving tea and food was unbearable to watch, but fortunately, he saw Tong Chen outside the door, greeting Uncle Zhong.

"I see Tong Chen outside the door; it must be the people from the mountain." Qiao Er stood up to greet Tong Chen and then accompanied him over.

"Allow me to introduce, this is Mr. Tong DinShan, my Uncle Tong, and this is the Eastern Shore DongBin King, and this is General Huo."

"I pay my respects to Your Highness," Tong DinShan quickly knelt down upon realizing that the young and handsome figure in front of him was the lord of the Eastern Shore, whom he had only heard about but never seen.

"Uncle Tong, please rise quickly. Qiao Ziqiu, Tong Chen, and I are sworn brothers, and I am also a contractual partner with your daughter Miss Xiangbei. Just call me Amo is Okay." Cheng Mo quickly reached out to help him up, humbly addressing himself as a junior with a gentle attitude.

Tong Dinshan was a straightforward man from the mountains. He suddenly felt fortunate to have found a foothold in the Eastern Bin Mountains. Seeing how friendly the lord was, he felt that he was truly blessed. Such a handsome and promising young man! He didn't even bother to thank him when helped up; he just grinned happily.

Qiao Er knew what Cheng Mo was thinking and teasingly raised his eyebrows at him, while Huo Changfeng was greatly surprised. Wasn't this Tong Dinshan the man his little sister had married? He was indeed tall and handsome, though seemingly gentle, he lacked the demeanor one would expect from a mountain man. But what was this little lord playing at? He had just been called Uncle by Qiao Er, and now his brother-in-law was calling him Amo. Wasn't that the name only used by the current emperor?

"Uncle Tong, this is Mrs. Tong's elder brother, General Huo Changfeng, the General of the Yunmeng Dynasty. He's our distinguished guest today. You just need to exchange greetings and converse with Uncle; Amo and Brother Ziqiu will arrange everything else with Uncle's attendants and Tong Chen. We'll accompany everyone up the mountain later."

"Alright, thank you, Amo and Brother Ziqiu. Dinshan pays his respects to General, and to Uncle." Tong Dinshan was completely out of sorts. Ever since he learned that his big brother-in-law was coming, he had been nervous and anxious, counting the days like meeting in-laws with his wife, and now that they were face to face, he was so nervous that he didn't know what to do with himself. Forget about the lord and Amo; all he could think about was whether the current head of the Huo family, rumored to be very fond of his wife, would dislike him or take his wife away and not marry her to him.