Chapter 74:
Who wouldn’t want to capture Lu Ping sooner and return to the capital.
But the tightly shut city gates were so high, how could they be easily breached? It would all require piling up lives.
Lu Ziyan couldn’t be so eager for quick success and instant benefits, disregarding soldiers’ lives for his own merit.
He reached out to rub his brow, impatiently saying, “Everyone out.”
The arguing voices immediately stopped, the several generals exchanging glances before cupping their hands and withdrawing.
The tent fell quiet.
Lu Ziyan slightly closed his eyes, his lips pressed tightly together, his expression far from comfortable.
In recent days, he kept having a dream. Upon waking, he couldn’t recall the scenes, only the lingering pain and despair that refused to fade.
Even if he couldn’t remember the reason, that pain felt etched into his bones, inseparable.
He found it hard to describe that feeling.
His chest felt empty, as if cold winds kept pouring in, howling and carrying away all warmth, leaving only dead silence and emptiness.
Lu Ziyan’s worst injury was a year ago in Youzhou while investigating a case, ambushed by local officials. An enemy slashed his back from left shoulder to lower back, the wound deep enough to expose bone.
Even that injury hadn’t made him feel this bad.
A dream he couldn’t even clearly remember was causing him such pain he couldn’t sleep at night.
…Lu Ziyan vaguely understood it was the pain of loss.
Because he had felt it when he agreed to break off the engagement.
But even breaking off the engagement with that young lady hadn’t brought despair to the point of dead silence.
The him in the dream had lost something to feel such unbearable agony.
His heart inexplicably tightened. Lu Ziyan took a deep breath, spread out xuan paper, and picked up his brush again.
This time, the salutation he wrote was “Your Majesty.”
Even though Ming Jian’s letter said everything was fine in the capital, he still wasn’t reassured.
The dream was perhaps hinting at something…
Unless the person was right under his eyelids, he wouldn’t fully relax.
If not for the warfare here that he couldn’t leave, Lu Ziyan would gallop back to the capital on horseback, abduct that young lady who had him deeply concerned and mad with longing, and bring her along with the army.
But since he couldn’t leave, he could only request His Majesty to watch over her for him.
In the capital city, the His Majesty on Lu Ziyan’s mind was frowning as he looked at his eldest sister.
“Changqing has taken a fancy to the eldest daughter of Xuanping Marquis’s Estate?” The Emperor pondered for a moment before asking, “The Xie family’s eldest young lady who was engaged to Rongzhi?”
“It’s her,” Princess Duanyang nodded. “But her marriage engagement with the Lu Family has been broken off, the marriage certificate and betrothal gifts all returned. Now it’s each to their own for marriage, and neither my consort nor I are pedantic people. Breaking off an engagement is nothing, as long as Changqing is willing to take a wife.”
Not to mention just breaking off an engagement—even a divorced woman, if her son took a fancy to her, she wouldn’t shake her head.
Over these many years, Princess Duanyang was so eager for a daughter-in-law that she had reached the point of not being picky at all.
Seeing his eldest sister so urgent, the Emperor also thought of his own legitimate nephew, who at his age was still a lonely bachelor, finally having a young lady he liked. His slightly hesitant heart instantly settled, and he smiled, “Since that’s the case, I will issue a decree to unite this pair of lovers.”
…Anyway, they had already broken off the engagement, so there probably wasn’t much affection left.
The imperial decree of marriage arrived at Xuanping Marquis’s Estate that very day.
Madam Zheng received the decree, calculated the wedding date in her mind, and instructed Mama Li beside her, “Go to the farmhouse and bring the young lady back.”
With the wedding date so near, how could she still stay at the separate courtyard.
No matter what, she needed to personally stitch a couple of needles on the wedding dress for good luck.
………..
When Xie Wanning heard the wedding date was only ten days away, she was also startled and turned to the man sitting at the qin table, asking, “So soon?”
She had expected marriage within three months, but this was nowhere near three months.
“This is the best date matched by the high monk of Zhenguo Temple using our birth charts,” Pei Yuqing said. “Miss this date, and the next auspicious one is half a year later.”
Hearing this, Xie Wanning had no objections.
Sooner was sooner; she had planned to marry early anyway.
It was just… she couldn’t help but sigh in her heart that Princess Duanyang was truly formidable.
Bustling about for a month, everything properly arranged, and even the wedding date decreed by imperial decree.
She had given her full face and substance.
She set down the jade flute in her hand and said, “I’m returning to the capital.”
Over this past month, except for not sharing a bed at night, they had spent nearly every moment together.
With one already deeply in love and the other greatly fond of him, their affection warmed quickly.
Now suddenly having to part, both felt some reluctance.
Especially Pei Yuqing. His fingers on the strings paused slightly, and after a long moment, he softly hummed, “I’ll go back with you.”
Still that same carriage, still sitting opposite each other.
Xie Wanning thought that in ten days she would marry the man across from her, and her mood was still somewhat complex.
There was joy, anxiety, and threads of panic.
Seeing this, Pei Yuqing set aside his own reluctance and reached out to hold her hand. “Is it because the wedding date is near, making you nervous?”
Xie Wanning didn’t hide it and slowly nodded, then asked him, “Aren’t you nervous?”
“…I am nervous,” Pei Yuqing lowered his gaze to look at her. “Nervous every single day.”
His gaze was tender and infinitely gentle.
Being looked at with such eyes, the panic in Xie Wanning’s heart suddenly settled.
Indeed, what was there to be nervous about? This wasn’t like in the dream when she married Lu Ziyan, with no confidence, only relying on one breath of courage to put on the wedding dress.
This man before her loved her so much; over the past ten-plus years, aside from closest kin, the deepest affection she had felt all came from him.
His love wasn’t scorching or reckless, nor hidden, but a gentleness as fine and silent as moistening things.
In day after day of companionship, it unconsciously revealed itself.
No one would dislike being loved with such gentleness, and Xie Wanning was no exception.
She patted the spot beside her. “Come hug me.”
Her tone was even, yet carried a bit of coquettish air, like she was acting spoiled.
She really was acting spoiled.
After spending these days together, the little young lady’s temper had grown increasingly spoiled, refusing to stop until she had thoroughly teased him.
Pei Yuqing didn’t let go of her hand, sat beside her as told, directly pulled her into his arms, lowered his head to kiss her hair, and asked, “Ten days without seeing each other—will Wanwan miss me?”
Xie Wanning tugged his lapel, buried her face in his chest and sniffed lightly, saying, “I don’t know.”
In the days leading up to the wedding, having experienced it once, she knew it would be very busy—where would there be time to think of him.
Pei Yuqing sighed softly, tightened his arm, and held the heartless young lady in his arms.
He didn’t speak, but Xie Wanning’s heart itched. She lifted her head from his embrace, leaned her lips forward, and planted a heavy kiss on his jaw.
The smacking sound was loud.
Pei Yuqing was stunned by the kiss, then heard the little young lady in his arms giggling, “Who says we won’t see each other for ten days? If you want to see me, you can come find me.”
Respecting the double monthly ticket event, continuing to ask for votes~~~ Dear ones, I need Xiaoxiang tickets the most—this is real money~~~
