Second Marriage

Madam Li did not expect her mother to show up after her invitation. She had the servants clean up the courtyard and delegated duties all through the night. Then, she welcomed Old Madam Ye into the Li Residence early the next morning.

After Huijing’s title was taken away when the Emperor was enraged, the Eldest Princess Residence and the Li Family did their best to save their reputation. When all the madams learned that Old Madam Ye was actually in the Li Residence to help with the marriage of her grandson, they naturally thought of Ye Shen.

He was a man without an official title who held the powers to punish prisoners, and it was for those in the infamous imperial prison. The reason for his powers was unclear and it made people more afraid of him. Thus, the active gossip in the capital about the two families slowly disappeared.

“This servant just knows that the Old Madam could subdue the gossip. Madam’s trick is really clever.” The pozi around Madam Li had been paying attention to the news outside and was grinning as she told Madam Li the good news.

“Second Eldest Son’s marriage is going smoothly at last.” Madam Li let out a long sigh of relief. “It’s good that there are no other elders here now, otherwise I wouldn’t have invited my mother to help and it wouldn’t make the others feel trivial.”

“Madam is just overthinking. Oh, this is a double blessing for the families. The Eldest Young Master’s wife was finally confirmed pregnant yesterday. You can tell the Old Madam the good news later and it will be one more thing that will make her happy. The Old Madam’s displeasure will soon disappear.”

What the pozi said was right and Madam Li had the same thoughts. However, when the pozi mentioned the conflicting views between her and her mother, she began to feel uneasy again.

Marquis Ningyuan’s Residence was suddenly unsealed, so what was going on?

However, Madam Li’s thoughts were still too simple. She felt that she was doing something dignified by asking her mother to come, and had no idea that there was a rift between the Eldest Princess and her mother.

When the Eldest Princess received this news, her face turned white with anger.

“Is Ye-shi trying to disgust me by making my daughter kowtow to that despicable woman during the marriage ceremony?! Is she trying to suppress my daughter before the marriage so that her fortunes cannot change because her County Princess title was taken away?!”

The Eldest Princess’s eyes were filled with maliciousness. She regretted agreeing to this marriage. She blamed everything on the sinister intentions of the Li Family, completely forgetting that the marriage was a result of her daughter’s suicide attempt.

The servants all shirked their necks and did not dare say a word. The Eldest Princess continued cursing for a moment, then stood up and sharply ordered, “Prepare the carriage!” She wanted to go to the Li Residence to clarify things!

While the wedding between the Li Family and the Eldest Princess Residence was imminent in the capital, there was another major conflict happening.

Far away in Datong, Ye Shen did not know that his mother had returned to the capital. In order to gain the support he needed for his marriage, he first planned to stir up trouble in the capital and make it even muddier. At this moment, he was thinking about how he should tell Xiao Youning about his temporary parting.

Xiao Youning slept well in the stockade and went to the kitchen to personally cook breakfast for her father, brother, and Ye Shen.

She couldn’t cook complicated food but could still make a bowl of noodles.

Ye Shen silently ate the noodles she made for him and continued to hesitate. In the end, he didn’t tell her until after breakfast and near noon.

“Ning’er, I’m going to leave you to go somewhere for a while.”

They were sitting under the shade of the tree. Xiao Youning immediately stopped smiling and looked at him with her head tilted. “Why is it so sudden?”

The green leaves were so thick that the sun could not penetrate through it. His face was hidden in the shadows and was a little colder.

He said, “I was going to leave when I was done sending you here. I told you earlier that I came to Datong on a mission.”

As she listened, the light in her eyes slightly faded. She thought back to what he said before their journey started. But at this moment, she was still a little reluctant to let him go. She had no reason to stop him from attending to his mission. It would be too selfish.

Xiao Youning swiftly put on a smile again, and then stood up and said, “Then I’ll help you pack up your things.”

But he reached out and pulled her into his arms. “Don’t worry, I will take care of myself. Just wait for me… and when I get back, we will…”

She leaned into his chest as she listened to him. Then, she covered his mouth with her hands. “Tell me those words when you come back.”

She knew what he was going to say, and she had been wondering when he would say it to her. But at this moment, she didn’t want to hear him say it.

“I have heard before that a man must have something he misses in his heart…” She lightly giggled and her eyes couldn’t be more determined.

Ye Shen understood what she meant.

In fact, he had once heard similar words. It was said that when a soldier went into battle, he should first give an account of what happened, but his family would rather have unfulfilled thoughts in his heart to remind him to be careful and to not turn the unfulfilled thoughts into regret.

He smiled back at her. He lowered his head and touched the middle of her forehead with his lips. “Okay.”

Xiao Youning had never been a person who was unclear about her affections. She followed Ye Shen back to where he was staying and helped him pack his bags while she gave Jian Yin detailed instructions.

Ye Shen was watching from one side. She looked dignified in everything she did. She seemed like a little wife who was seeing her husband off..

He had to suppress himself from saying the words “little wife”. He carefully sounded it out and was simply delighted.

Marquis Ningyuan and his son also saw him off the mountain. Marquis Ningyuan intentionally said to him, “I know the Embroidered Uniform Guards are skilled but don’t be careless.”

With that, he stared at him in the eye.

“Don’t worry, Marquis, I won’t scare Ning’er.” Ye Shen rarely spoke back with a smooth tongue, it made Marquis Ningyuan so angry that he wanted to kick him until he landed far away.

After saying goodbye to Ye Shen, the smile on Xiao Youning’s face completely disappeared. Xiao Qiye could not bear to see it and looked at his father.

The plan they had arranged was being implemented during the past two days. Thus, Ye Shen’s arrival was not accidental but inevitable. The emperor was making preparations, but it was Ye Shen who spoke up first about leaving. The father and son could not bear to tell Xiao Youning the truth.

The father and son continued to look at each other. When they were finally halfway up the mountain, Marquis Ningyuan informed his daughter that he and her brother needed to leave the stockade.

In one night, Xiao Youning returned to being alone again. When she saw her father and brother off, she was still smiling and told them to be careful.

Just like the last time she saw them off in the capital, Marquis NIngyuan’s eyes were stinging.

That night, Xiao Youning was suddenly awakened by a burst of thunder.

She touched her forehead and realized that she was sweating. When she looked around, Yuan Guo was snoring next to her. She mumbled a few words seemingly dreaming about something.

She took a deep breath and turned over to sleep again, but the thunder she was just thinking about was slowly coming closer.

That’s not right!

It’s not thunder! 

Thunder wouldn’t have a rhythm! 

“Yuan Guo! Get up!” She shook Yuan Guo who opened her eyes in a daze. Xiao Youning had already stepped over her, and had put her shoes on before running out.

When she reached the open space to survey the area, she saw that the camp in the distance was as bright as day, and the whole area was lit with torches.

That’s the sound of war drums. Why did the battle start as soon as my father left?!