Second Marriage

Translator: tarararawr

Editor: Larkspur

Chapter 18 Part 1

The Xiao Family’s Second Branch’s family banquet last night was not very pleasant.

The Main Branch and the Second Branch did not communicate with each other. When the family separated, the Main Branch suffered a loss at the hands of Old Madam Xiao. It was not too much to say that there was a rift between them.

Xiao Youning came with a list of complaints and everyone was very aware of it. They all sat down together, and their awkwardness and friction were fully displayed.

What’s more, the Second Branch’s younger generation had a lot of complaints about Xiao Youning. These complaints were not about her arrogant and domineering attitude today, but the fact that she was spoiled by her father and brother in the past that was enough for them to feel repulsed.

Now that she was in a dire situation, she could not avoid being stabbed in the heart by a few sharp words from them when she sat down. Xiao Youning was not easy to mess with, and quickly retorted. The scene turned cold, and who could eat well after this?

So, the banquet ended early in the evening, and she was happy to go to sleep early. She woke up, washed up, and went out to the carriage.

The carriage passed through the streets slowly. The shop selling breakfast on the street opened early, and the scent of soy milk and steamed buns wafted through the curtain.

They hadn’t had breakfast, so Yuan Guo got out of the carriage and bought some big juicy steamed meat buns. The master and servant sat in the carriage to eat and fill their stomachs.

“Young Miss, will that Commander Huo meet with us?”

Yuan Guo’s cheeks were bulging, so her question was hard to understand.

Xiao Youning ate in a refined manner, chewed slowly, then sipped some water from the water bag before saying, “We’re going to try. He should be willing to meet with us.”

She remembered this person because of Chen Li.

Although Commander Huo was born from a family of soldiers, his father failed to come back after going to the battlefield. In order to make a living, he went to work on the fields with his mother from an early age. He was a peasant until he became acquainted with her brother, who asked his father to select him as a Palace Guard. During a hunting trip, he found a bear breaking into the emperor’s place. It was said that he had used half his life to stop the grizzly bear from clawing him.

Since then, he has been promoted to the Imperial Guards. After all of these years, he still held his post.

As long as her elder brother was at home, Commander Huo would often come to their house to sit down and drink together. She came from a general’s family, and there were not so many rules that restricted her behavior. She had seen Commander Huo several times, and once even caught him stealing a sip of her elder brother’s drink.

He was also a member of the Imperial Court and should more or less have some information.

As commanded, the coachman took them across the eastern part of the city and then headed west.

Most of the respectable families in the capital lived in the east, and because the Huo Family was not very rich, the money they put together could only buy a small courtyard in the west.

The carriage entered an alley and stopped in front of the door where a lantern with the word “Huo” hung.

Xiao Youning lifted the curtain and peered out. The lacquered door was closed, and it was quiet inside. She couldn’t hear any noise.

“Young Miss, I’ll go knock on the door.”

Yuan Guo said she wanted to get out of the carriage.

Xiao Youning followed her down. She held the brass ring clasped by the beast’s mouth on the door.

She’s here to make a request without following the proper rules or having an arrogant attitude.

After knocking several times, there was a sound from behind the door. It was the sound of a middle-aged man raising his voice to shout.

The door creaked and opened. He saw that there were two young girls there and was shocked for a moment. He could not avoid taking a closer look at them.

“P-please, may I ask who these two young girls are…”

The person that came looked at Xiao Youning and was amazed by her exquisite face. He stuttered when he asked the question.

He was an old man in the house. He was surprised by the girl’s stunning appearance when he saw her for the first time.

“My surname is Xiao. I’m a daughter from the Marquis Ningyuan family.”

Xiao Youning smiled gently and did not feel that the other person’s starring was offensive.

The middle-aged man murmured, “Marquis Ningyuan… You are Young Miss Xiao!” When he realized who it was, he quickly stepped aside to let her in and said, “Please come in quickly! Our Daren has commanded us to let you stay here regardless of if he is here.”

He became so enthusiastic that Xiao Youning was stunned. A moment later, she raised her foot to cross the threshold and asked, “Then, is your Daren here today?”

“Daren is on night duty. I think he will be on duty for a while. You go in first and sit down, our Old Madam is home.”

The man smiled and asked her to walk through the corridor.

It was a small house with a corridor connected to the main hall and the courtyard. However, she was invited directly to the main hall instead of being taken to the back house.

The middle-aged man served tea, sent a message to the palace gates, and left in a hurry.

Xiao Youning had not been able to meet anyone without a problem since her father and brother’s accident. And now she had been asked to sit in the main hall. She didn’t know whether she should let out a sigh or feel touched. She held the teacup and traced the red characters on it without looking up for a long time.

Huo Mingwu didn’t keep her waiting for a long time. He came home as soon as he received word. As soon as he walked into the main hall, he saw a little girl dressed in red clothes holding a teacup with her head down like she was lost in thoughts.

She was still bright, but if someone examined her carefully, then this brightness was covered by the impermanence of the world. Then, this gloomy look settled into her eyes and they lost its brightness.

“Younger Sister Xiao.” Huo Mingwu stood under the porch and shouted.

Xiao Youning looked up, the dim eyes lit up and she forced a thin smile. The corner of the eyes curved up, and she hurried to stand up to bow. “Brother Huo.”