Chapter 130

The girl who came to welcome the bride held a silver bowl filled with flowers and scattered them along the way. Yueming sat in the elephant sedan and watched the people on the street cheering. She was in a trance. She was really going to get married this time.

Ai Ye helped her down from the sedan chair, kneeling at her feet to straighten her dress. The chief steward led her and the bridal procession to the wedding hall. Yue Ming had already entered the hall, while half of the procession carrying the dowry was still waiting outside the Tusi Mansion. The maids and servants in the mansion were stunned. They whispered that with so much dowry, the Tusi Mansion would be completely filled.

Yunkai, dressed in a golden wedding gown, sat smiling on the couch as he watched Ai Ye, supporting Yue Ming, slowly walk towards him. Excitement and joy washed over him, making him restless. He almost wanted to get up and greet her.

The families of local leaders and officials came to watch the ceremony. Several women covered their mouths with handkerchiefs and sneered softly, "When a man likes someone, he'll do anything to deceive his wife. Back then, they said she wasn't worthy of him, but now she's married anyway."

Mrs. Tao, sitting in the middle, chuckled softly upon hearing this, then hummed softly, "You don't even bother to mourn at your own ancestral grave, yet you find the leisure to weep at the mass graves. Take care of your own man first! Our young lady from Li Shengmeng shouldn't be a concern for outsiders. Looking at the entire Yun Xiang, no one is more powerful than the master. Instead of gossiping, why not think about how your man got to that position?"

Who wouldn't know that the son of the Tao family's concubine is now the head of the Lishengmeng family? The eldest son born to the legitimate wife is still imprisoned by the master!

Whose influence did the Second Master of the Tao Family rely on? Wasn't it the one above? Most of these noble ladies were the beneficiaries of the Master's rebellion. Afraid that Second Madam Tao would complain to the newly appointed Yin Tai, these ladies kept their mouths shut and dared not speak again.

A wife is honored by her husband, and Yunkai is the king of Yunxiang, so Yueming has to kneel down and pay homage to him.

As soon as she bent her knees, a white, slender hand reached out in front of her, stopping her from kneeling any further. What kind of rules were these? Didn't the ceremonial officer sent by the Tusi Mansion tell her about them? Yueming looked up at Yunkai, puzzled.

Yun Kai smiled and said nothing, but just held her hand and led her to sit next to him.

The old lady's brow twitched but she said nothing. However, the crowd watching the ceremony below was in an uproar.

Not only did he not follow the ancestral rules and marry a commoner as his wife, but he even let a woman be on equal footing with him. The master must be crazy.

Mrs. Tao straightened her back and glanced proudly at the lady who had just spoken too much. "This honor is the first of its kind in the history of Prime Minister Yun."

After the ceremony, Yunkai went to entertain the chieftains and headmen from other prefectures who had come to congratulate him. Yueming sat at the dressing table in the bridal chamber to rest, while Aiye removed her makeup and shared some gossip she had gathered.

"Miss Semanli wasn't here today because she was reportedly ill. But I did see my cousin from Xincheng. She was very polite and seemed easy to get along with."

Yueming instructed, "Prepare a gift for your cousin in Xincheng tomorrow, too. Don't be stingy with it."

Ai Ye replied yes and asked, "What about Miss Semanli?"

"Same as the Third Wife."

When Yunkai returned to the room, Ai Ye was helping Yueming wash up. When she saw Yunkai come in, she took the basin and left.

Yunkai looked at Yueming, who was only wearing a suspender pajamas, and asked with a smile, "Did you enjoy your dinner?"

Yueming nodded and asked him, "What about you?"

Yunkai waited for a long time but Yueming didn't come to help him change his clothes, so he had to unbutton his clothes himself.

"I'm full from drinking, why should I eat? Luckily, Qiangba and the others helped me with a lot of the drinking, otherwise I'm afraid I would be so drunk that I couldn't even find the door to the room tonight."

The emptiness and alienation of more than two years could not be easily erased. Seeing him taking off his clothes and walking towards her, Yueming asked nervously, "Aren't you going to take a shower?"

Yun Kai walked up to her, put his arm around her waist and said, "I took a shower before returning to the room. Smell it, there's not a trace of alcohol."

Under his palm, Yueming was as stiff as a piece of iron. Yunkai whispered in her ear, "Go to sleep!" As soon as the words fell, Yueming froze.

Yunkai opened her eyes and took a half step back: "Aren't you sleepy yet?"

Yueming woke up and climbed onto the bed while humming and agreeing: "I'm sleepy, sleepy, let's sleep!"

Seeing her not only hide in the farthest corner but also lie with her back to him, Yunkai was stunned for a moment, but said nothing. He took off his shoes, climbed onto the bed, and moved closer to Yueming. He swore that the moment he put his hand on Yueming's waist, he saw the hairs on her neck stand up. He felt both amused and uncomfortable.

He went all out and pulled Yueming into his arms. He stroked her thin shoulders with his fingers and whispered, "You really hold a grudge. Don't worry, I won't do anything unless you agree! I just want to hug you."

Yueming said uncomfortably, "Just hold me like this? It's not comfortable to sleep like this."

Yun Kai coaxed her softly, "Just hold me like this and talk for now. I'll let you go when you want to sleep."

Yueming asked helplessly, "What do you want to talk about?"

His hand slid to her earlobe and rubbed it slowly. "I want to talk about how you decided to go to Tengchong? I want to talk about why your father suddenly remarried? I also want to talk about how you lived in Tengchong."

Those are all painful memories!

Yueming was silent for a moment before slowly speaking, "Dad and I had just returned to Kunming when we discovered our home was gone. Half the city was in ruins, and Aunt Liu and Uncle Liu were gone. Knowing they were going back to get the deed to their new house, I felt such deep regret. If I hadn't bought a new house by the lake, they wouldn't have died. Actually, I left Yunxiang a little spitefully. It wasn't until Aunt Liu was gone that I truly understood you. When loved ones are gone, the living want to do something for them. But I was so sad and lost, not knowing what to do except cry! Dad handed me a newspaper and showed me the news. Patriotic overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia had subscribed to national salvation bonds and pledged regular monthly donations until the Japanese were driven out of China. Dad told me that it wasn't just merchants; peddlers and even prostitutes had donated. When the country is in trouble, even those who are little better than ants know to do their bit to help. Yet, I've become so depressed over such a petty personal sentiment. It's truly wrong."

Why was his relationship with Yueming just a passing romance? Yun Kai pinched Yueming's earlobe and said sourly, "My father-in-law managed to start a family and fight the Japanese without delay."

"Although my wife came from a poor family, she was an admirable person. Her ex-husband was a pilot who graduated from the flight school next to the Military Academy. He went to Burma on a supplies delivery mission and never returned. My wife went to Burma alone to collect his body. When she arrived in Tengchong, she ran out of money and had to sing on the street. Unexpectedly, she was picked up by some soldiers. They not only stole her luggage, but also wanted to take her away. My father and I happened to pass by and saved her."

Yun Kai interrupted and said, "So she was grateful to your family and married your father?" It sounded like Yueming's stepmother had taken advantage.

"I don't know how they got together. Maybe it's because people's minds become different after they've experienced a lot. On the way to Tengchong, I finally saw what human suffering is. Those refugees dragged their families with them, starving and frightened all the way, having to guard against bandits on the road and soldiers robbing them. Looking at those people who collapsed to the ground due to exhaustion and could never get up, I was shocked to realize how small my power was and how useless the things I learned were. I couldn't save those people, nor could I save the country that was ravaged to pieces. You and Dad protected me so well before, and I was completely insulated from the cruelty of war. When I arrived at the military hospital and faced those soldiers with broken limbs and those bloody corpses, I almost collapsed."

She could have fainted from fear even when Second Buddha was still wrapped in white cloth, yet she had to personally disinfect and sew up those bloody wounds. Yun Kai couldn't stand it any longer and changed the subject: "You're not sleepy after talking so much. Is it because you didn't drink milk? I'll make you some." After saying that, he made a gesture to get up.

Yueming held him close and smiled, saying, "I gave up milk a long time ago! A woman was fleeing with a baby of just a few months old. How could she possibly have milk to feed the child when the adults had nothing to eat? When I met them, the child was so hungry that it was barely breathing. I gave them all the milk powder, and I haven't drunk milk since that day."

Seeing Yunkai's face full of self-blame and regret, Yueming smiled and said, "Don't be like this. I don't find life like this hard. I didn't go to Tengchong to give up on myself because of you. On the contrary, although I don't have much in Tengchong, I am very satisfied with the company of my family and friends. I am not afraid of the wounded. They are all heroes. I feel honored to be able to do my part for them. I feel that I am finally useful."

Hearing her mention her friend, Yun Kai started to get jealous again: "I know, if I don't go find you, you will marry someone named Du sooner or later."

"Probably!" Yueming sighed and laughed, "So, why did you come looking for me? Isn't it good for us to live our own lives?"

Yunkai held Yueming tightly in his arms, leaving no gap.

"No, I can't miss you, nor can I give you to someone else!"