Chapter 7: For Security

"You bastard!" Xie Anfeng's thunderous roar caused dust to fall from the beams of the house.

Veins popped out on the old general's forehead, and the red tassel on his sword trembled with his shaking hands. "Mutual love? Do you think I'm blind? This is clearly adultery!"

Liu Yueli's knees went weak and she almost fell down.

Xie Wuqi hurriedly embraced the staggering person, and when his palm touched her thin back, he was shocked to find that her inner clothes were soaked with cold sweat.

"Father!" He stiffened his neck and pulled her closer to his chest. "Yue Li is a girl from an honest family."

"Innocent?" Xie Anfeng kicked over the huanghuali armchair, startling the eavesdropping maid outside and knocking over her teacup. "On the day General Luo's arm was broken, her father was hugging the courtesan and listening to music in Zuixian Tower! If it weren't for this evil creature's greed for merit and recklessness, how could so many innocent soldiers have been sacrificed?"

The blood drained completely from Liu Yueli's face.

She bit the tip of her tongue until she tasted blood.

"Father!" Xie Wuqi suddenly raised his voice, "Yue Li was only seven years old at that time! She knew nothing!"

Xie Anfeng suddenly grabbed the teacup on the table and smashed it over. The celadon brushed past Xie Wuqi's temples, exploding into a flowery speck on the pink wall.

The old general's beard trembled with anger. "Why do you think the Luo family kept the daughter of a criminal general? It's because General Luo is kind-hearted! Now you want to marry this troublemaker, are you trying to stab him in the heart?"

There was a rustling sound in the corridor. Xie Wuqi caught a glimpse of the corner of his half-brother Xie Wuchen's clothes flashing by, and a fishy and sweet taste rose in his throat.

Ever since his aunt gave birth to this younger brother, his father no longer cared about him as the eldest son.

"Apologize?" He sneered, "The maid sent by Luo Zhaohan just threw the betrothal gifts in public. If I go there again, I will only be asking for trouble..."

“Bang!”

Xie Anfeng slapped Xie Wuqi with a palm-leaf fan, causing him to turn his head away.

Liu Yueli screamed and tried to wipe the blood from his mouth, but Madam Xie stopped him, shouting, "Bitch! Let go!" Xie Anfeng closed his eyes. He could still hear what Brother Luo had said when they were drinking and chatting happily: "My Zhaohan has a strong temper, making him a perfect match for your boy." Now, everything was ruined.

"Go to Luo's residence now." He suddenly calmed down, a calmness more terrifying than his rage. "Kneel in the martial arts arena. When General Luo forgives you, you can get up."

Liu Yueli shuddered. The spring air was chilly, and the ice on the bluestone tiles could penetrate deep into the bones. She hurriedly tugged at Xie Wuqi's sleeve, tears streaming down her face.

"Wuqi..." The voice was filled with tears, making people's hearts tremble.

Mrs. Xie looked at the infatuated couple coldly, and pinched Dan Kou in her palm.

"Son." She suddenly softened her tone, "If you really like her, when Zhaohan gets married, I will let you marry her."

Liu Yueli looked up suddenly. Tears were still on Furong's face, but two flames were burning in her eyes.

Taking a concubine? Her daughter from the Liu family would rather shave her head and become a nun!

"Yue Li will not be my concubine." Xie Wuqi clenched the hand of the person in his arms, "My son swore a solemn oath in the Guanyin Temple to be with you forever."

Xie Wuqi knelt straight on the blue brick floor, looking up at his parents with bloodshot eyes: "Mom and Dad, I have decided on Yueli for my whole life! Now that it's done, can't you fulfill my wish?" His voice trembled, and his clenched fists wrinkled the hem of his clothes.

The teacup in General Xie's hand banged heavily on the table, and Mrs. Xie twisted her handkerchief and sighed.

Just as the situation was at a stalemate, the sound of jingling pendants came from the corridor, and Concubine Zhang walked in gracefully, waving a gilded round fan. "Oh, what a pretty young lady! She has coaxed our eldest son into forgetting his filial piety."

Xie Wuqi's back teeth ached. In his previous life, this woman, relying on her father's favor, had often caused trouble for his mother. Later, when his father died on the battlefield, his mother, through some unknown means, had quickly gotten rid of this concubine.

As for those two half-brothers and sisters-in-law... he was in a hurry to see Yue Li and didn't even bother to ask.

"Look, Master," Aunt Zhang pointed her slender finger at Liu Yueli, who was huddled in the corner, "Ms. Luo just broke off the engagement, and right after that, her adopted sister is already marrying off. If you ask me—"

"It's not your turn to interrupt here!" Xie Wuqi snapped. He caught a glimpse of his father's brows twitching slightly, and he suppressed his anger.

Aunt Zhang, however, was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, and she scurried away to hide behind General Xie. "Don't be upset, my dear Master. I'm just worried you'll be fooled by this vixen. Think about it, would a decent girl hook up with my sister's fiancé?"

Liu Yueli suddenly trembled violently, and tears fell on the hem of her apricot skirt.

She grabbed Xie Wuqi's sleeve tightly, her nails almost digging into his flesh: "Take me away... please..." Her face with tears on it looked like cracked porcelain.

This tactic of retreating to advance really worked.

Xie Wuqi's heart ached, and the image of her in her past life, lying in a pool of blood, resurfaced before his eyes. He suddenly stood up and protected her in his arms: "If Aunt Zhang dares to slander Yue Li again, don't blame me for disregarding your dignity!"

"Young Master, what you said is so unreasonable," Aunt Zhang pinched her throat and sobbed like Liu Yueli, "I just said a few words of truth, and you are shouting for my death. In terms of status, this girl of unknown origin can't even reach the threshold of the Xie Mansion!"

Mrs. Xie paused as she held the Buddhist beads.

In the past, she hated seeing Concubine Zhang's mischief, but now she wished someone would rip that girl's mask off. General Xie coughed loudly, and Concubine Zhang immediately fell silent, covering her mouth with a piece of silk and laughing.

Liu Yueli's ears burned red. The plots she had hidden beneath her embroidered pillow were exposed in public, and shame snaked into her heart like a venomous snake.

But she quickly straightened her back again—why could Luo Zhaohan marry into a high-class family, but she had to marry a worthless bastard from a baron's mansion? Her nails dug deep into her palms, and she shrank back into Xie Wuqi's arms.

"Enough!" General Xie slammed the table and stood up. "Marriage is such a serious matter, how can it be a joke? Tomorrow I will go to the palace and ask for your permission to go to Mohe with the Zhenbei Army for training!"

"Father!" Xie Wuqi knelt down, "I will accept any punishment you want, but Yueli..."

"Take your sweetheart and go to the ancestral hall and kneel down!" General Xie kicked over the rosewood stool. "Come out when you figure it out!"

As Liu Yueli heard Aunt Zhang's words becoming more and more harsh, she made up her mind and fell down.

When the back of her head hit the bluestone floor hard, she bit her tongue and forced out two tears, and her whole body collapsed in Xie Wuqi's arms as if her bones had been pulled out.

"Yue Li!" Xie Wuqi's voice cracked, and he frantically sniffed her breath with his fingers. The girl in his arms was pale, and her clothes were stained with tears from crying just now. She looked like a magnolia flower caught in a rainstorm.

Aunt Zhang covered half her face with a handkerchief, but a sneer curved her eyes. "She fainted at the perfect time, like a female lead on the stage. Master, try pinching her tiger's mouth, maybe she'll wake up."

"Get out of here!" Xie Wuqi staggered to his feet while holding the person in his arms. Liu Yueli's scattered skirt swept across the uppers of Aunt Zhang's shoes embroidered with gold thread.

His chest felt like a piece of red-hot iron was pressing down on it. He turned to his parents and said in a low voice, "The entire Luo family will be executed within two years! My son is breaking off the engagement to protect the Xie family!"

The main hall suddenly became so quiet that the sound of dripping water from the copper leak could be heard.