“You trampled the flowers!”
Xu Lingyin pointed at the fox cub and spoke loudly.
Baiji tilted her head and looked at her. In a childish little girl’s voice, she replied:
“I didn’t trample them.
“I always play like this.”
“You did trample them.” Xu Lingyin raised her faint brows. Her expression and tone were both stern and serious, as if this were very important.
“I didn’t.” Baiji refuted crisply.
The human child and the fox cub argued for a while. Then Xu Lingyin ran over on her short legs. She was incredibly fast, so fast an ordinary person couldn’t catch her with the naked eye. It all relied on the explosive power of her muscles.
But Baiji was even faster. She turned into a streak of white shadow, slipped past her pounce, and appeared on the right, watching her warily.
“What are you doing!” Baiji demanded loudly.
Little Pea ignored her and pounced again.
Person and Fox chased each other around the courtyard. Xu Lingyin thundered along with heavy thuds, cracking the azure flagstones laid in the courtyard beneath her feet, while Baiji turned into a swift white blur, now on the left, now darting to the right.
After a while, Little Pea realised there was no way she could catch Baiji, and panic rose in her heart.
When she had hunted with the Strength Gu tribespeople in the Southern Marches, it wasn’t as though she had never encountered agile animals before, but the Strength Gu tribespeople had always shot them dead with bows and arrows, so there had been no need to chase them.
Now there were no bows or arrows at her side, and she didn’t know how to use them anyway.
“Not playing any more!” Xu Lingyin stopped and said with a fawning smile,
“Come here, I’ll take you to eat meat.”
Sure enough, Baiji stopped. She licked her lips with her pink little tongue and said in a sweet voice:
“What meat?”
Xu Lingyin spread her arms and gestured wildly.
“Very tasty, very tasty meat. Come over and you’ll know.”
As she spoke, she put on a flattering smile again.
Baiji was greedy too. The moment she heard there was meat to eat, she believed Little Pea and ran over happily, saying in a sweet voice:
“Meat, meat…”
The clever and brave Xu Lingyin pounced and pinned her down.
“Got you!”
…
In the room, Mu Nanzhi, who had been sprawled over the desk, raised her head and looked towards the door, frowning.
“I think I heard Baiji crying!”
The thumping sound stopped. Xu Qi’an had both hands gripping Mu Nanzhi’s slim waist. He also looked out of the window and said:
“I heard it too.”
“Get off, get off!” Mu Nanzhi reached back and shoved Xu Qi’an.
She really did care about Baiji, just as if she were raising her own child.
Xu Qi’an backed away.
Mu Nanzhi hurriedly lowered her skirt, bent over to pull up her silk trousers, carefully straightened her clothes, and rushed out of the room.
Xu Qi’an followed behind her. The two of them left the room and followed the sound. After only a few steps, they saw Xu Lingyin and the master and disciple pair, Lina and her student.
Xu Lingyin had a wooden stick resting across her little shoulders. Tied to the other end of the stick was Baiji, who struggled while crying:
“Let me go, let me go, waah…”
Master and disciple were walking towards the kitchen.
“What are you doing!”
Mu Nanzhi went pale with fright. Lifting her skirts, she ran over and rescued Baiji.
“We’re going to eat meat.”
Xu Lingyin looked rather regretfully at Auntie Mu undoing Baiji’s bonds.
…Xu Qi’an backhanded her with a sharp rap on the head and scolded:
“What did I tell you in the Southern Marches?”
After being smacked, Xu Lingyin clasped her head with both hands, but she wasn’t at all guilty. With righteous confidence, she said:
“Big Brother said if you trample flowers, you have to be roasted and eaten.
“It broke the flowers Mum planted.”
At the side, Lina wore an expression of so that’s how it is. Her silly disciple had finally wised up. Just now she’d kept trying to pin accusations on Baiji. Before eating the fox, she knew she had to settle the charges first, so no one could find fault.
Xu Qi’an turned to ask Baiji what had happened. Baiji sobbed as she described the whole thing, then accused them:
“I was playing perfectly happily, and as soon as they saw me they tried to catch me, and they even tricked me, waah…”
Should I say Lingyin’s intelligence shoots up whenever food is involved, or should I marvel that there’s finally someone in the house with the lowest intelligence of all… Xu Qi’an muttered inwardly. He poked Xu Lingyin in the forehead with a finger and said angrily:
“I’ll deal with you later.”
Then he turned and glared at Lina.
“Lingyin doesn’t know better. Don’t you either?”
Lina stuck out her tongue.
“We were only playing, just scaring the little fox. Once we got into the kitchen, I’d have saved her.”
Xu Lingyin was greatly alarmed. Only then did she realise her master’s sinister intentions, and she looked at Lina with the gaze of someone betrayed by her own class.
Lingyin clearly doesn’t treat Baiji as a playmate or a friend. She’s wholeheartedly set on eating her, and that way of thinking has to be corrected… Although with so many “children” in the house, there are bound to be frictions, casually roasting and eating each other simply won’t do… Xu Qi’an let out a breath and dragged Xu Lingyin outside.
“Come with me!”
He pulled Xu Lingyin into the courtyard and beckoned. In the distance, the window of the eastern wing room flew open, and Auntie’s favourite pot of flowers flew out.
Xu Qi’an set the flowerpot on top of Xu Lingyin’s head and said:
“Stand there for an hour. If the flowers on your head fall and smash, no meat for three days.”
“Oh!”
Xu Lingyin stood at attention after being punished.
After warning Little Pea that she must never again entertain thoughts of eating the fox, Xu Qi’an saw a eunuch in python robes enter the residence with a line of Imperial Guards.
The eunuch in python robes had come to deliver imperial rewards. By convention, a princess’s husband was to be granted the title “Consort Commander”. Originally, Consort Commander had been an official post, but later it gradually became the standard office given to an imperial son-in-law. Because of that, a princess’s husband also came to be called simply “consort”.
Apart from the title, the Emperor also bestowed upon the consort a jade belt, splendid robes, a silver saddle, a hundred bolts of multicoloured gauze, as well as gold, silver, houses and so on.
These things should originally have been bestowed long ago, but the female Emperor had been burdened with countless affairs of state and simply had no time, so it had been delayed until now.
After the rewards were delivered, the eunuch said with a smile:
“This old servant first offers congratulations to Silver Gong Xu on your happy marriage. May you have a hundred years of harmony.”
Following custom, Xu Qi’an rewarded the eunuch and each of the Imperial Guards with ten taels of silver.
…
As the wedding date drew near, the Xu residence sank into busyness. Auntie, who managed the household affairs, was so swamped her head spun. In private, she grumbled more than once that the mother was taking it easy, while she, the auntie, was the one exhausted.
To ease Auntie’s burden, Xu Qi’an summoned Miao Youfang back to work like ox and horse, while he himself took the time to finish studying the wedding procedures.
Since ancient times, marriage had been one of life’s great events, and so the process was complicated and extremely troublesome.
From discussing the marriage to completing it, there were six rites to go through: first, the proposal gifts, second, asking the name, third, confirming auspiciousness, fourth, presenting the betrothal gifts, fifth, setting the wedding date, sixth, fetching the bride.
The first five procedures had already been completed, leaving only “fetching the bride”.
That night, at the dinner table, after clinking cups with his nephew, Second Uncle Xu probed:
“When it comes to the bowing ceremony, how about having your auntie give up her place to your mother?”
Auntie’s eyes reddened at once, and she glared furiously at her husband.
“What do you mean by that!”
Second Uncle Xu said:
“Since ancient times, in a marriage, if the parents are alive, they must sit in the place of honour. Sister-in-law is Ningyan’s birth mother after all. If she’s standing off to the side while you’re sitting there, with so many guests watching, it’ll harm Ningyan’s reputation if word gets out.
“Today, an official from the Ministry of Rites brought this matter up to me.”
Auntie’s voice rose sharply as she cried:
“Ningyan was raised by me.”
Xu Erlang chewed his food slowly and said casually:
“It isn’t according to propriety.”
Auntie felt so aggrieved she nearly cried. These past few days, she’d been rushing about making arrangements for the wedding, so busy that she’d even lost quite a bit of hair. But thinking that among the four siblings in the family, at last one was about to marry and make something of himself, she had still felt deeply satisfied.
She had only been waiting to receive the bows of the newlyweds before the high seat, yet before she’d even seen the bride and groom, her husband and son had stabbed her in the back.
Auntie glanced at Xu Ningyan. Seeing that he said nothing, her nose stung, and she turned her head away, saying in a huff:
“If I don’t sit, then I don’t sit.”
Xu Erlang swallowed his food and said unhurriedly:
“But in terms of feeling, Mum ought to sit there. As the old saying goes, the grace of giving birth is not equal to the grace of raising. Big Brother lost his parents when he was little, and was raised by Father and Mother. Everyone knows that. So even if outsiders know that Aunt is still alive, no one will criticise Big Brother.”
Xu Lingyue seized the moment and said:
“What does Big Brother think?”
Auntie immediately looked at her unlucky nephew.
Xu Qi’an smiled and said:
“Erlang’s right. If I disagreed, Auntie would probably chuck me out to live alone in the little courtyard next door again.”
Only then did Auntie set her mind at ease. She lifted her chin and gave a snort.
Xu Lingyin and Lina kept their heads down as they ate, immersed in their own world.
Baiji crouched by the table, nibbling at chicken in small bites.
Mu Nanzhi looked completely unconcerned and ate seriously, but under the table, her little foot would occasionally kick Xu Qi’an, as if venting her anger.
“Every grain on the plate came from bitter toil.”
Xu Qi’an repaid malice with kindness, picking up the few grains of rice by her bowl and putting them back into it.
Dinner ended amid this peaceful, joyful atmosphere.
…
On that same night, Ji Baiqing sat in the candlelight in a daze, her face gentle, dignified, and beautiful.
Xu Yuanhuai kept a schedule as regular as the rising sun and setting moon. After supper and an hour of breathing exercises, he had gone to sleep early.
Xu Yuanshuang pushed open her mother’s door. Seeing that she was indeed still awake, she smiled and said:
“Mum, are you thinking about Big Brother fetching the bride tomorrow?”
Ji Baiqing nodded slightly and said softly:
“Even now, no one’s informed me. It seems there won’t be a place for me when they bow before the high seat.”
Xu Yuanshuang asked quietly:
“Do you feel regret, mum?”
Ji Baiqing sighed and said:
“When I gave birth to him, he was only that tiny. In the blink of an eye, twenty-one years have passed, and he’s already reached the time to marry and make his career. To be able to witness his wedding, Mum has no regrets.”
Xu Yuanshuang pressed her lips together and said nothing.
Although Mother said she had no regrets, as a mother, how could she truly not long at all to take part in her eldest son’s wedding day in the name and identity of his mother—
Rather than as an unknown onlooker.
…
Sitianjian.
Li Miaozhen woke from the chaos and opened her eyes, only to see Susu sitting by the table, engrossed in an illustrated storybook.
The gorgeous ghost wore white robes and a white skirt. Her features were exquisitely beautiful, and her bearing was alluring and radiant.
In terms of looks alone, Susu was outstanding among the outstanding.
“Ah, Master, you’re awake!”
Susu happily shut the book and casually poured a cup of warm tea. “You’ve been unconscious for five days without a drop of water. Have some tea to moisten your throat.”
Li Miaozhen really was parched, and her lungs felt as though they were on fire.
No matter how frail a Daoist’s body might be, once one reached fourth rank, one had long since stopped needing food, and going months without eating or drinking was no issue.
But her body was injured and currently in a weakened state.
After finishing a cup of warm water, Li Miaozhen let out a long breath of relief and asked:
“Where is this, Xu Manor?”
“This is the Sitianjian. Junior Sister Caiwei came every day to take your pulse, and the Holy Son dispersed your excess primordial spirit power for you every day as well, to stop your sea of consciousness from bursting.” Susu sat back down by the table and continued reading her storybook.
Li Miaozhen closed her eyes and looked inward. Her primordial spirit was tenacious and powerful, like steel tempered countless times.
Though her body was weak, there was nothing seriously wrong with it.
“By rights, I can try to break into the beyond-mortal realm now, but unfortunately I can’t comprehend the Supreme Detachment from Emotion.” Li Miaozhen sighed.
For a yin spirit to advance to a yang spirit, the most basic requirement was sufficient toughness.
The pill her master had fed her back then had now been completely absorbed, laying a solid foundation for her.
“The Holy Son said Daoist Jinlian intends to take you into the Earth Sect and have you cultivate merit.” Susu turned a page and continued:
“With your merit, Master, advancing to third rank would be effortless. It only depends on whether you’re willing.”
Li Miaozhen pondered for a moment, then smiled and said:
“Of course I’m willing.”
Susu let out a sigh of relief and said with a charming smile:
“I thought you’d say: I’m not interested in the Earth Sect, I only want to go to the Human Sect.”
Li Miaozhen asked in surprise:
“Why?”
Susu waggled her brows:
“Because if that happened, once karmic fire wrapped around you in future, you’d have a perfectly good reason to go and dual cultivate with Xu Ningyan. Although I’m Xu Ningyan’s concubine, since Master likes him too, I wouldn’t mind being part of your dowry as a maid.”
“Get lost, get lost, get lost!”
Li Miaozhen spat at her a few times, then let her gaze fall on the storybook and asked casually:
“What are you reading?”
At that, Susu’s willow brows shot up and she said:
“The book tells the story of a scholar named Xu Ningyan. After taking top honours in the imperial examination, he abandoned the wife who’d shared his hardships, coveted glory and riches, and married a princess instead.”
Li Miaozhen could naturally hear the hidden meaning in her words. She frowned and said:
“What happened?”
Susu gave a couple of humphs and said:
“Xu Ningyan’s getting married to Princess Lin’an tomorrow.”
Li Miaozhen froze.
…
First year of Huaiqing, the twenty-seventh day of the second month.
Auspicious for moving house, praying for offspring, and marriage.
At first light, while there was still some time before the wedding procession would leave the Xu residence, both sides of the main road from Xu Manor to the imperial city were already packed with commoners who had come to watch the ceremony.
The whole capital knew that Silver Gong Xu was marrying Princess Lin’an.
As the stabilising pillar of the nation of the Great Feng, the pillar of the state in the eyes of the people, Silver Gong Xu’s wedding naturally drew immense attention and was celebrated by all under Heaven.
On this day, from the outer city to the inner city, porridge stalls were set up at all eight city gates, and porridge would be distributed for three days.
The imperial palace, Shaoyin Palace.
The Empress Dowager ordered people to carefully check the dowry items once more. There was one phoenix crown decorated with pearls, nine multicoloured brocade pheasants, and four phoenixes, one magnificent robe embroidered with pheasants, one pair of pearl jade pendants, one gold leather belt, and also a jade dragon crown, a jade ring with ribbons, a comb ring set with northern pearls, a comb ring set with seven treasures…
The dowry was lavish, everything prepared to the highest standard.
Besides Lin’an’s noble status, Consort Xu Qi’an’s identity also meant the imperial family dared not slight him or be shabby.
These matters ought to have been handled by the Empress, but after Huaiqing ascended the throne, Emperor Yongxing’s Empress had been deposed. As things stood, the master of the harem was still the Empress Dowager.
The Empress Dowager did not find it troublesome either. Ever since Wei Yuan’s return to life, her smiles had gradually increased, and she was no longer as cold and indifferent about everything as before.
Added to that, Dowager Consort Chen was under house arrest in the rear palace, and Yongxing was confined in the Sitianjian. Neither could come out, so the Empress Dowager had no choice but to take charge of the matter. Even if she did not pity Lin’an, she still had to consider Xu Qi’an’s attitude.
After all the items had been checked, the Empress Dowager led a group of palace maids into Lin’an’s bedchamber.
She wanted to see whether the bride was ready.
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