Second Marriage

Translator: tarararawr

Chapter 9 Part 1

The capital.

Following Xiao Youning’s departure from the capital, the discussion about her and the Li Family not only did not drop, but became more intense because the Xiao Family’s Second Branch went to ask for the dowry.

Assistant Minister Li was listening to a lot of gossip when he was going down the street in the sedan chair. The same was true for Second Master Xiao, who was being splashed with dirty water.

Moreover, Second Master Xiao was a baihu1 with no real power in the military department. This was all given to him by the emperor for the sake of the Old Marquis. He had not moved from his position for many years. Others were afraid of Assistant Minister Li, but they were not that afraid of him.

These days, as soon as he went to the Yamen2, those who gossiped about him did not even try to avoid him.

All of this gossip was due to his stupid woman at home. She dared to be clever without telling him that she wanted to have Xiao Youning killed on the road!

Second Master Xiao never expected this matter to develop the way it did. It was clear that he was going to send Xiao Youning to Datong, but it was all ruined in the end.

He had to swallow his anger and send someone to get Xiao Youning back.

If he didn’t find her, then he was afraid his reputation for killing his niece would hang on top of his head and he would be criticized for the rest of his life like the Li Family!

Second Master Xiao finally received some news about her after waiting in agony, but it was bad news. This was because Guard Xie thought he had been successful. He had traveled for two days straight to report back that Xiao Youning would definitely not be able to get out of the village.

They had investigated the village before they passed through it. They knew that it had been occupied by nearby mountain bandits, so that’s why they left Xiao Youning there to be killed after four days of their journey.

Mountain bandits were all criminals. Xiao Youning was a little girl, so how could she escape?

When Guard Xie was fully confident that he would be praised, Second Master Xiao kicked him in the chest. It left him confused on the spot, and was ordered to take another group of people to the village to find her.

While the Xiao Family’s Second Branch and the Li Family waited for Xiao Youning to return to the capital to clean up their bad reputations, Xiao Youning had finally made it to the province capital after rushing through the roads all night.

The high fever didn’t go down for the entire day. She didn’t even talk in her sleep anymore and she was on her last breath.

Jian Yin found the best local medical shop and parked the carriage in front of the shop’s door. Ye Shen got off the carriage with her on his back and asked the doctor to attend to her on the spot with a sullen face.

The doctor was frightened by their sudden appearance. After taking her pulse, he put a needle into her hand while trembling.

She was burned into a coma and seemed like a stove when he got closer to her. He did not dare say whether he could cure her or not. When he asked, they said trying to cool her down with wine did not work, so he called for someone to go retrieve some ice.

Fortunately, it was the middle of summer. The medical shop had ice and the doctor had someone put wrapped up ice on Xiao Youning’s forehead. After pulling out the needle, he ordered Yuan Guo to wrap up more ice in cloth to put around her neck and the critical points between her limbs.

He boiled a powerful prescription after asking Ye Shen about it. Xiao Youning vomited several times after being given the medicine, and she finally opened her eyes.

When the doctor heard that she was awake, he let out a long sigh. “She is lucky. That medicine has a vomit inducing ingredient in it, and there is an evil heat all over her body. If she does not vomit some of it out, then it will be a disaster. It’s good that she’s awake, very good…”

Xiao Youning was really conscious and awake in the second half of the night. The high fever finally receded a little. Yuan Guo fed her congee while crying.

“Young Miss, you scared me to death. If it wasn’t for Daoist Priest Wu Ye’s decision to bring you here to find a doctor, then this hurdle would have been difficult for Young Miss.”

Yuan Guo sobbed and Xiao Youning didn’t even have the strength to speak. She could only pull the corners of her mouth into a smile. She thought that she must properly thank Daoist Priest Wu Ye when she saw him.

The next day, Xiao Youning was in better spirits, but she began to cough and coughed until she was tearing up.

It was at this time that Ye Shen came over with a cold face. He saw that her eyes had turned red like a rabbit. He said nothing and left.

When Xiao Youning finally stopped coughing, she held Yuan Guo’s shoulder and said, “I still want to express my thanks to the Daoist Priest. Why did he leave?”

Yuan Guo helped her to lie down and revealed a look of relief that was rare these past few days. “Jian Yin, who is always by the Daoist Priest’s side, said he would send us back to the capital. Young Miss, it is not too late for you to find the Daoist Priest to say thank you when you are better.”

“Yes.” Xiao Youning nodded, but in her mind she always felt that the Daoist Priest seemed to be more difficult to be close to than before, and he did not even have one bit of that compassion in him that Yuan Guo spoke of.

It’s so strange.

But as soon as that thought rose, Xiao Youning put it in the back of her mind. How could she randomly speculate about her savior?

Then, she finally thought of her father and brother. After lying down, she ordered Yuan Guo, “Go and make some inquiries to see if there is any new information.”

Meanwhile, Ye Shen received news from the capital sent to him by an Embroidered Uniform Guard in disguise.

He unfolded the letter and it was the Emperor’s handwriting. The things he had sent back to the capital earlier had been checked by the Emperor and it was genuine. There was further development in what the emperor was looking for, and he could feel the emperor’s happiness between the lines. At the end of the letter, he was urged to return to the capital as soon as possible, and the other things were not an issue.

Ye Shen read the letter and burned it in front of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard, built with the back of a tiger and the waist of a bear3, was about to ask to leave. The lights in his eyes flashed and he called the guard to stop. “What happened to the matter about Marquis Ningyuan from before? Who will take over the duties in Datong?”

The Embroidered Uniform Guard heard him and with their usual expression, he said, “Datong is being commanded by the Marquis Ningyuan’s former deputy general. It’s good news to have the soldiers join together under his command to guard against the enemy’s next attack. About Marquis Ningyuan… His Majesty still has not made a conviction. The Government Cabinet and Imperial Censor had people present a memorial to the Emperor. They ask His Majesty to give an explanation to the soldiers who died in the war and to the people of Datong as soon as possible.”

No conviction yet. 

Ye Shen muttered to himself for a moment and said, “I will hurry back to the capital in three days.”

When the Embroidered Uniform Guard left, he sat on a chair and took off the string around his wrist. He lightly twirled one bead after another with his fingertips.

The Emperor had not made a conviction yet even with so many soldiers killed in the war report.

The memory from that day when the Emperor asked him to attend the wedding at the Li Family’s suddenly popped into his mind. His eyebrows furrowed tightly. He soon returned to his usual indifferent look, but his eyes were extremely bright.

Footnotes

百户 (bǎi hù) – the official title of a hereditary military post where they are in charge of 100 households衙门 (yámén) – government office虎背熊腰 (hǔ​bèi​xióng​yāo) – tough and stocky build