Wei Si proposes marriage

This group arrived in Lanbing City silently. After surviving a life-or-death experience, they received an imperial decree—a mere casual remark—that they would return to the capital in a grand procession. Everyone knew all too well how tense the journey there had been; they hoped to make the return trip as easy as possible.

The group found amusement in their predicament and set up a table to play dominoes. Not many people knew how to play dominoes, so they couldn't gather enough players. They called Wu Qi to join, but Wu Qi waved his hand and said he was going to sleep. So they insisted on dragging Ning Xunxu along to make up the numbers.

Lin Kuo kindly reminded him from the side, "Remember to have your money ready."

"You're short of that little bit of money?"

"Exactly, does that mean Han Su can keep winning?"

Lin Kuo said, "Naive, so incredibly naive!"

The crowd dismissed Lin Kuo's words, but to their surprise, Ning Xunxu played for two hours straight without losing a single game, winning a fortune.

Lin Kuo had already anticipated this situation, and shrugged, saying, "He can count cards and deal them."

Everyone said, "I can count cards too, and I can deal cards too."

Nowadays, who at the card table doesn't know how to count cards?

Lin Kuo patted the man on the shoulder and said, "It's different. Han Su is particularly good at counting cards and dealing cards. If you want to beat him, you have to not play a single card and not let him know which cards in your hand are useless."

"How can you not play a single card?!"

"Well, there's nothing I can do about it. Like I said, get your money ready," Lin Kuo said.

The others didn't believe him and dragged Ning Xunxu to play mahjong again. Ning Xunxu honestly replied, "I don't know how."

Seeing that Ning Xunxu didn't know how to play mahjong, everyone became interested and said, "It's okay, it's okay, you'll learn after playing a couple of rounds." "That's right, if you don't know how, you don't know how, just prepare the money."

They enthusiastically pulled Ning Xunxu onto the table. Ning Xunxu was the dealer and lost quite a bit. He sat there quietly, occasionally tapping the table with his jade mahjong tiles, glancing at the discarded tiles, and said, "I lost."

"Han Su, no one has won yet, and you've already lost?"

Ning Xunxu took out a four of bamboo and looked at the man opposite him, saying, "Is this the hand you want to win with?" The man nodded and said, "Yes, that's your hand. You still have three more cards left. Keep playing."

Ning Xunxu shook his head: "Two fours on your left, that's a pair. One four on your right, that's four, five, and six."

The group flipped over the cards and saw that it really was...

Ning Xunxu continued, "None of us can win this round, except for his three of circles..." He glanced at the cards, hesitated for a moment on the two or three cards in front of him, then flipped them over and said, "The last three of circles is here. If you keep playing like this, he will win."

"Wow, I'm good at counting cards. I've never lost a game of mahjong with my parents during the New Year. Who knew Han Su was playing mahjong with his third eye open!"

Ning Xunxu laughed and said, "I lost this round, but I learned something. Shall we play again?"

"I'm going to play!! I'm going to count cards this round too!"

The place was bustling with activity, and Jingzhu watched longingly. He was well-fed and warmly dressed, and he even held a cup of hot tea in his hand. Actually, he was too young to drink hot tea, but the older brothers and sisters in his group were drinking hot tea, and he didn't want to look too young, so he pretended to drink a cup of hot tea, frowned, took a sip or two, and then used it to warm his hands.

Seeing that Xiao Jing was interested, the others let him stand at the front to watch the group play mahjong.

Wu Qi knows how to play mahjong and dominoes, but she doesn't play often. She learned how to play and played a couple of rounds, winning quite a bit of money, but then she lost interest in them. If she had to say what she wants to do most right now, it would be to sleep.

She clung to Yi Shen's arm, leaning against his shoulder, and drifted off to sleep.

Lin Kuo asked, "Little Seven, why are you so sleepy?"

Wu Qi replied, "I'll sleep as long as I can. Who knows how many pitfalls await me when we get to the capital!"

"Really? You mean the leak of the cannon blueprints?" Lin Kuo asked.

Wu Qi said, "It's not just this one thing. As for the leak of the cannon blueprints, I know what I'm doing and I know who did it."

Lin Kuo said, "Then do you want to know why she did this?"

Wu Qi suddenly opened his eyes, looked at Lin Kuo, and asked, "Brother Lian Shi, you found out!?"

Lin Kuo nodded smugly, snuggling against Song Yinxing's shoulder, practically smugly praising her. Song Yinxing patted him lightly and said, "Get to the point."

"Oh." Lin Kuo remained as unrefined as ever, sitting sloppily. "Zhao Xiwei has an older brother named Zhao Lang, everyone knows that, but what I'm about to say has nothing to do with him, well, it's somewhat related. Zhao Lang has a beautiful woman by his side named 'Pianpian,' do you remember her?"

Wu Qi sat up straight and nodded.

“Pianpian is pregnant with Zhao Lang’s child. When Zhao Xiwei found out, she naturally wanted to protect her brother’s child, but she was coerced.” Lin Kuo said, “As for who used her, we don’t know, it’s hard to find out.”

Pianpian didn't die?

She's pregnant?

Before his death, Zhao Lang sacrificed himself to ensure Zhao Xiwei's safety and well-being. If Zhao Xiwei had any conscience left, she would have protected her brother's bloodline after learning that Pianpian was pregnant with her brother's child.

As for being coerced into stealing the cannon blueprints, whether it was intentional or out of desperation, Wu Qi would never forgive her.

Wu Qi knew exactly how many people had died or been wounded due to the presence of the enemy's artillery.

Everyone has their own difficulties, but Zhao Xiwei imposed her own difficulties on the fate of others.

Wu Qi chuckled and leaned against Yi Shen again. "Forget it, I'll take a nap. I definitely won't be able to get a good night's sleep for many days after we get to the capital."

Their group hardly lingered, heading straight for the capital. The closer they got to the capital, the more oppressed Wu Qi felt; her mind grew heavier, making it hard to breathe. Not only Wu Qi, but also the other students of the Pavilion Academy, had all lost their smiles, their expressions grave.

The New Year atmosphere in the capital had not completely dissipated; red lanterns hung from the trees, and couplets were pasted up in every household. The New Year was not yet over, and the Lantern Festival was just around the corner. Everyone was happily busy preparing for the festival, their faces beaming with joy.

The people of the capital seemed to know they were returning to the city today, and stood on the main street to welcome them.

As Wu Qi's carriage passed by, the people threw the flowers they held into the air. Winter flowers are rare and require careful tending, yet they threw the flowers they had nurtured for so long to Wu Qi, cheering with joy.

Wu Qi sat in the carriage without lifting the curtain.

Lin Kuo secretly lifted a corner of the carriage curtain, just as a flower was thrown in. He lowered the curtain, picked up the flower, and suddenly remembered that in Pingwu City, Wu Qi had happily peeked out and caught the flowers and handkerchief thrown to her.

Wu Qi only glanced at the flower in Lin Kuo's hand and said nothing more.

The journey here and there has been a change of scenery and people.

Right now, Wu Qi has something more important in his heart than flowers—to meet the Emperor.

Wu Qi sent someone to escort Jing Zhu to the Wu residence before going with the others to meet the Emperor. She had met the Emperor several times before, so she wasn't particularly nervous today; perhaps she had experienced more and was more composed. She performed the proper courtesies, reported on her duties, the battle situation and casualties, and accepted the commendation.

The Emperor was overjoyed and bestowed upon Wu Qi a lifetime's worth of gold and silver treasures.

Wu Qi knelt down to express his gratitude, thinking to himself: He has no title or official position.

The Emperor did not intend to appoint her as a general or give her any other official position, nor did he mention the Moonfall Camp matter again.

As for the others, the Emperor also bestowed gold and silver jewels, but did not grant them any official positions. The crowd thanked him, and since the Emperor didn't mention official titles, they naturally didn't either, only recounting the battle of Lanbing City. The Emperor must have already known about the enemy's cannon clappers, and Wu Qi pondered how to explain this to the Emperor, but he waited and waited, and the Emperor never brought it up.

However, an uninvited guest arrived.

After entering the hall, Wei Si seemed not to see anyone. He circled around Wu Yin and, seeing that she was unharmed, he hugged her and patted her head, saying, "Ying Chang is really amazing."

Wu Yin pushed him away and said coldly, "Your Highness, please have some self-respect."

"Self-respect?" Wei Si said, "You are my future wife. How can my hugging you be considered 'self-respect'?"

Wu Yin asked in confusion, "When did I become your wife?"

Wei Si: "Hmm? Look at my memory, I forgot to tell you. A few days ago, the Wei residence was smashed up, and I had nowhere to go, so I stayed at the Wu residence for a while. I had a very pleasant conversation with Lord Wu, who is also my father-in-law. My father-in-law is very satisfied with me and is willing to entrust you to me."

"What!?" Wu Yin was stunned.

“I know you have returned to the capital today. Your audience with the Emperor is to ask for His Majesty to grant us a marriage!” Wei Si turned and bowed to the Emperor, saying, “I have long admired Ying Chang and I will marry no one but her in this life. I hope Your Majesty will grant us our wish.”

The Emperor asked, "Yingchang, what do you think?"

Wu Yin stood frozen in place, as if in a daze. It took her a moment to find her voice to answer the Emperor's question. She even had a feeling that the Emperor was not asking for her opinion.

"Your Majesty, I feel this is inappropriate."

Wei Si stood up and took Wu Yin's hand, but she shook him off. Instead of being angry, he said softly, "What's wrong with it? Ying Chang is very clever and probably thinks that I am still in mourning and it is inconvenient for me to get married. It's alright. We can ask the Emperor to grant us a marriage today. As for the rest, we can discuss it later."

Wei Si had defused the only reason that could convince the Emperor. Wu Yin stood there, waiting for the Emperor to say, "If you suffer any injustice at Luan Hua's hands in the future, just come to me, and I will stand up for you."

This means a marriage is about to be arranged.

Wu Qi really didn't know why Wei Si insisted on marrying Wu Yin, and he didn't know why Lord Wu wanted to marry his daughter to Wei Si. Could it be because he was the heir apparent, because he was the Minister of War, or because the current emperor was his maternal uncle?

It's true that Brother Ju Zhen smashed up the Wei residence, but why did Wei Si have nowhere to go and had to stay at the Wu residence?

Putting all that aside for now, let's just talk about Wei Si. He was clearly still in mourning, yet he managed to get himself a royal decree for marriage. How bizarre and eccentric!

His Majesty actually gave it to him!

Wu Yin held the imperial edict as if it were a hot potato. After leaving the hall, she tossed the edict into Wei Si's arms. Wei Si caught it steadily, holding it protectively in his arms like a treasure, and said gently, "Yingchang, don't be angry. I promise I won't let you suffer any injustice."

"I'm asking you, is it true or false that my father agrees to this marriage?!"

Wei Si sighed, "Ying Chang, deceiving the emperor is a capital offense."

"Okay, I'll go find my father."