Chapter 44 She never wanted to think of anyone else in her life…

It took Xue Mingyao a moment to realize what he was asking.

The young woman laughed heartily, resting her chin on her hand and saying matter-of-factly, "Because I am a princess, and you are just a poor scholar. Marrying a wife requires matching social status. I am not a person who is blinded by lust."

Xie Qinglang's voice was cold, "Don't look down on people."

He brushed her hand away from his body.

"Oh, are you angry?" Xue Mingyao laughed again. "Alright, alright, don't underestimate a young man's potential. I think highly of you. You'll definitely become a high-ranking official in the future, marry three wives and eight concubines. Are you satisfied now?"

"Do you think I'm like you?" Xie Qinglang retorted. "Regardless of wealth or poverty, I will only marry one wife."

Xue Mingyao was surprised. "Then what kind of wife do you plan to marry? Don't mention Feng Wan."

Xie Qinglang looked at her, her eyes flickering slightly.

Then Xue Mingyao heard him utter a sentence, "You're definitely not like that."

She hadn't expected to be so angry. She jumped up, shoved his book away, and shouted, "What's wrong with someone like me? You can't marry me even if you wanted to! You'll never marry me in this life or the next! You're not lucky enough!"

Xie Qinglang bent down to pick up the book, and when he looked up again, his handsome appearance had matured by three points; he actually looked like Xie Zhuo.

Xie Zhuo looked at her with disdain, "But I still managed to marry her, didn't I?" His voice grew increasingly sinister, "And I've changed my mind. I'm going to take your advice and marry two more wives and eight concubines!"

What?

Xue Mingyao woke up with a start.

What a damn shattered dream!

Xue Mingyao subconsciously looked towards the pillow, but it was empty. The bed was so big, and lying on it alone made her look so desolate.

The sky was still a pale blue, and it was quite early. Xue Mingyao had already lost her sleepiness, so she got up and asked someone to help her wash and dress.

Today is the day for the bride to return to her parents' home. Since the marriage was bestowed by the emperor, in addition to returning to her parents' home, the Xue family, she also has to go to the palace to express her gratitude to the emperor.

Despite her playful banter with Xie Zhuo, the important matter of entering the palace couldn't be delayed. After breakfast and dressing up in her finest attire, Xue Mingyao met up with Xie Zhuo in the carriage at the Xie residence.

The two occupied one end of the carriage. As soon as the carriage drove out, Xie Zhuo's cold voice came over, "You'd better put away your temper and put on a good show today since you're going to see the Emperor."

A marriage arranged by the imperial family must not be seen as disharmonious.

"Do you even need to tell me? I'm not stupid." As Xue Mingyao said this, she tilted her head to look at Xie Zhuo's neck, confirming that the teeth marks she had made were no longer visible.

Xie Zhuo noticed her gaze and tugged at his collar. "Look what you've done."

"Who told you to treat me like that?" Xue Mingyao said irritably.

Xie Zhuo himself didn't realize that he had breathed a sigh of relief.

Xue Mingyao finally agreed to argue with him.

The carriage left the neighborhood and traveled along the street for a while before slowing down to almost a halt. Xue Mingyao lifted the curtain and saw a procession of carriages and horses passing through the main street, with guards clearing the way. The procession was impressive, and other carriages along the way had to make way for it.

"What a grand procession this is!" Xue Mingyao muttered to herself.

"It's the envoy His Majesty sent to Wuxi, and they're heading west from the capital today," Xie Zhuo said calmly.

Uxi borders Xichuan and, along with the Southern Xinjiang barbarians, is a formidable enemy on the southwestern border of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Unlike the loosely organized barbarian tribes of Southern Xinjiang, the Uxi people are fierce and cohesive, with men, women, and children all capable of fighting on horseback, causing the Great Zhou Dynasty a great headache. For a century, they have been fighting and making peace, but have never found a solution.

Xue Mingyao's late husband, Cen Zongjing, died in a battle of moderate scale with Wuxi.

In the past two years, the imperial court has been waging war in the northwest and southern border regions, resulting in significant troop losses. It is not advisable to continue the war, so the attitude towards Wuxi has shifted towards appeasement.

However, it seems that there were more than just an envoy among the visitors.

Among the officials on horseback, a figure in a simple blue robe caught Xue Mingyao's eye. With a graceful figure and a gentlemanly face, he was the person she hadn't seen in a long time.

Xue Mingyao peered out the car window at him. The white horse and green shadow, so out of place amidst the surrounding noise, walked closer and closer to her, their outlines becoming clearer and clearer.

The man on horseback seemed to notice as well, and turned to look at her.

Just as Xue Mingyao was about to meet his gaze, the carriage curtain was suddenly pulled down forcefully, and Xie Zhuo leaned close to her side. "What are you looking at?"

Xue Mingyao ignored him and lifted the curtain again, but unfortunately, that graceful figure had already ridden past and merged into the crowd.

The southern border region is remote and treacherous, so the Pacification Commissioner's Office and the envoys sent to Urumqi traveled together to their posts, under the Commissioner's protection. As the long procession came to an end, it left behind only a wisp of dust.

From then on, Zhong Jing no longer knew Chen Liangqing. He never sent her portrait; his previous promise to her turned out to be just a perfunctory gesture.

The carriage slowly began to move. Xue Mingyao lowered the curtain and turned to meet Xie Zhuo's icy gaze.

"The person is gone, are you satisfied now?" she said.

"If I hadn't appeared, would you have gotten together with Chen Liangqing?" Xie Zhuo asked, turning his head away and no longer looking at her.

"You know you've interfered and broken up our relationship," Xue Mingyao said sarcastically.

Xie Zhuo felt a sharp pain in his heart from those two words. "You and he don't deserve to be called a pair of lovebirds. What I did was not even a fraction of what you did back then."

Xue Mingyao, of course, understood what he meant.

“I’m not good enough for him, but you and Feng Wan are? Don’t forget that she’s the one who dumped you.”

"I really admire you for being able to blame others for your own bad deeds without any guilt."

"You're the one who's pinned all these messy grudges on me. You're so narrow-minded, you're not worthy of being a man."

Xue Mingyao recalled Xie Zhuo and Feng Wan's secret meeting on Zhao Ying's birthday. In front of Feng Wan, he was all smiles and respect, while she, Feng Wan, was like a pure and innocent Bodhisattva.

These two really should get together.

Feng Wan, just like him, condescendingly criticized her.

Xue Mingyao twitched her nose. Xue Mingyao, oh Xue Mingyao, where in the world is there such a wicked person as you, always suffering such humiliation!

As if in response to her mood, her lower abdomen suddenly cramped at an inopportune moment.

Xue Mingyao frowned and nudged Xie Zhuo next to her with her elbow, "Don't sit so close to me, go sit over there."

Xie Zhuo closed his eyes to rest, remaining motionless, but after being pushed by Xue Mingyao, he was forced to open his eyes and saw her covering her lower abdomen with a not-so-pleasant expression.

"Are you experiencing menstrual cramps?" He remembered that her period hadn't ended yet.

"I shouldn't have argued with you," Xue Mingyao said angrily. Her menstrual blood was also spiritual; she felt no pain or discomfort when Xie Zhuo wasn't around, but after arguing with him for a few minutes, she started to feel uncomfortable.

She took a delicate little porcelain bottle from her sleeve, inside which were painkillers that Green Branch had prepared in advance, just in case. She poured out one pill and swallowed it.

Xie Zhuo asked how long it would take for the medicine to take effect.

"Shut your mouth and the medicine will take effect," Xue Mingyao said irritably. "Hurry up and sit down, I want to lie down for a while."

Xie Zhuo moved over in silence.

Xue Mingyao lay down on her side where he had just been sitting, her legs slightly curled up and resting on the edge of the seat. The carriage jolted, and her head swayed a few times before her upper body was lifted up by a force, landing on a warm, solid surface. She looked up in confusion, only to see Xie Zhuo's cold, hard jaw above her—he had lifted her onto his lap.

She was about to speak when he pressed her head down, saying, "Lie still, what are you doing?"

His warm hand slid down the back of her head and up her back. Xue Mingyao said in a muffled voice, "Don't try to take advantage of me."

"I've married you, so what advantage can't I take?"

Xue Mingyao was unconvinced and struggled to get up, but he warned her coldly, "Stop making a fuss. Are you only satisfied if you delay your entry into the palace?"

Xue Mingyao then reluctantly behaved herself.

Xie Zhuo's hands gradually moved from her back to her lower abdomen, gently massaging it. His technique was excellent, even more comfortable than when Lv Zhi usually massaged her.

Xue Mingyao was shocked and confused, and her body stiffened for a moment before she relaxed.

The carriage turned into the palace gate and quietly stopped in a corner. Xie Zhuo massaged her for a while, then placed his hand on her abdomen. The carriage was quiet.

Xue Mingyao felt better, pushed his hand away, slowly sat up, and looked at him with a complicated expression.

"Get off the bus quickly, or it will be bad if we wait any longer," Xie Zhuo said, and got off the bus first.

Xue Mingyao followed him slowly to the corridor of Qifeng Palace. After waiting for a while, a eunuch came over and said that the Emperor was with the Empress and that they should go directly there.

On the way, Xue Mingyao felt it necessary to remind Xie Zhuo, "The Empress doesn't like me very much."

"Because of His Highness the Crown Prince?"

Xue Mingyao was somewhat surprised that he mentioned Zhao Jingyun. This was indeed one of the reasons why she was not favored by the Empress. The Empress could not stand seeing her son being ordered around by a pretty young girl, although this had happened ten years ago.

She pretended not to hear, "The late Empress was my aunt, so there's no reason for her to like me. Besides, since the Fifth Princess didn't manage to marry you, she probably dislikes me even more."

"It's my fault."

"However, the Empress is very cultured and only mocks me subtly. I pretend not to understand, so you should respond in the same way."

"knew."

After Xie Zhuo finished speaking, he suddenly took her hand, held it tightly, and walked into the Empress's palace.

Xue Mingyao was so surprised that she almost tripped when she stepped over the threshold, but Xie Zhuo caught her in time.

He released her hand, and the two bowed to the Emperor and Empress.

Emperor Deyuan took in the two's behavior and smiled, "It seems that Minister Xie and Yaoyao have a very good relationship."

The Empress sat beside Emperor Deyuan and echoed in a melodious voice, "Yes, it's been a long time since I've seen Yongning. When I see her this time, she has become even more charming than before. Naturally, General Xie is completely captivated and infatuated with her."

"Charming" is not a good word; it means that Xue Mingyao is beautiful but not dignified, and Xie Zhuo is merely infatuated with her beauty.

This is also the general opinion of the outside world regarding this marriage.

Xue Mingyao smiled and said, "Thank you for your praise, Your Majesty. Yongning also feels that she is even more beautiful now."

The Empress smiled faintly in response.

"Your Highness is a beauty of unparalleled grace, and I admire her greatly. However, there are many other qualities about you that I find admirable," Xie Zhuo suddenly said.

"Is that so? Tell me, Xie Qing." Emperor Deyuan was quite interested. Xie Zhuo's previous proposal to marry Xue Mingyao was just empty talk, so he naturally assumed that Xie Zhuo was interested in Xue Mingyao because of her appearance.

"Although the princess is a woman, she is bold and unrestrained, skilled in riding and archery, unconventional, and has a remarkable heroic spirit, which is different from other ladies."

"Well said, Yaoyao is indeed like that," Emperor Deyuan chuckled.

The Empress thought to herself, "Yongning is not the only woman who knows how to ride and shoot and has a heroic appearance. Why hasn't Xie Zhuo asked to marry her? Isn't it because he is attracted to her beauty?"

Xue Mingyao glanced at Xie Zhuo; his expression was serious, and she couldn't find any sign of pretense.

Emperor Deyuan looked at Xue Mingyao, "Yaoyao, you were unwilling to marry General Xie before, but now it's completely the other way around!"

Xue Mingyao forced a smile, "Your Majesty, please stop teasing me. Before, I had some concerns, but now I have found my life's purpose in marrying a valiant general like General Xie. I'm overjoyed."

Emperor Deyuan laughed heartily, "Is that something you're worried about? Or are you just being childish? Xie Qing, you've got a taste of Yaoyao's little temper!"

Xie Zhuo smiled and said, "Your subject is willing to learn from you."

Both were dressed in their finest attire, their faces beaming with joy, exuding an air of deep affection. Emperor Deyuan, observing this, felt gratified; though the marriage was somewhat absurd, it seemed like a match made in heaven.

After expressing their gratitude and walking along the palace path, the previous harmony vanished completely.

Xue Mingyao remained expressionless. "You just said I was heroic—"

"For the sake of my reputation, I can't admit that you're good for nothing but your looks."

No sooner had she finished speaking than Xue Mingyao felt a slight, sharp pain in her stomach, which had been soothed for a while.

She gritted her teeth and said, "My bad reputation has dragged you down with it. Your reputation is good, but it's all talk and no action. What a valiant general, you're more like a shameless general."

Xie Zhuo thought indifferently, whether it's shameless or not, he's her husband anyway.

She should never think about having another man in her life.