Before Xue Yonghuai finished laughing, the sound of neat armor colliding suddenly came from outside the ancestral hall.
More than ten generals in military uniforms filed in, and the bearded man in the lead knelt on one knee with his fists clasped.
"General Zhao Tieshan leads the former members of the Xingyuan Army to pay a visit to the old lady!"
Hong Yingrong stood up in shock. These faces were all too familiar to her; they were all lieutenant generals who had fought alongside Xue Yonghuai through thick and thin. She quickly stepped forward and offered a helping hand: "Generals, please stand up!"
An old general with a gaunt face had tears in his eyes. "Thanks to the old lady's secret care over the years, my family and I in Beijing can live in peace."
He pointed at the young generals behind him and said, "Even the wives and children of these young men rely on the protection of the Marquis' Mansion."
Xue Shanqiu suddenly realized that it was no wonder that his mother had always sent people to various prefectures to deliver rice, grain and medicinal materials over the years.
She secretly glanced at her mother and saw tears in the corners of the old lady's eyes, but she was smiling with relief: "We are all family, why are you saying these things?"
Xue Yonghuai waved his one arm and said, "Don't hold back! Today is a double celebration for our Xue family. First, I am reunited with my wife and daughter, and second, my daughter is finding a good match. We must drink three cups!"
As he was speaking, he suddenly remembered something and turned to Hong Yingrong: "By the way, Madam, I heard that Yuanchu's wife gave birth?"
The old lady immediately smiled and took out a brocade bag from her bosom:.
"I was just about to show you." She unfolded a small portrait of a chubby baby. "Chong'an is already one year old. His features look just like Yuanchu's childhood."
Xue Yonghuai carefully held the portrait in his left hand, tears glistening in his single eye: "Good! Good! My Xue family has an heir!"
Hong Yingrong shook her head: "Except for those present today, even Yuanchu and the others have been kept in the dark."
She sighed softly, "You must have a reason for faking your death and retreating into seclusion. Before we find out the truth, the fewer people who know, the better."
At this time, Zhao Tieshan interrupted, "Your Majesty, you don't know yet, right? The second young master married Princess Shuning and is now the imperial concubine!"
Xue Yonghuai burst into laughter upon hearing this: "This boy has always known how to please girls!" Suddenly remembering something, he turned to his wife and asked, "Is Jiang Lun, the man Huichun married, the top scholar who won three first place in the imperial examination?"
Xue Shanqiu couldn't help but interrupt: "Big sister's husband is now in the Hanlin Academy is very glorious!"
Xue Yonghuai asked again, "This kid Ji Yan... is actually engaged to General Ding's daughter? Twenty years ago, during the bloody battle at Yanmen Pass, General Ding broke three ribs saving me."
He touched his empty right sleeve and said with a wry smile, "Now his daughter is marrying my son. Isn't this heaven's will?"
Nurhadu suddenly stepped forward and said, "Old Marquis, I have a request." Seeing Xue Yonghuai nod, he continued, "Since the Third Young Master is engaged to Miss Ding, why not celebrate both celebrations at once?"
Xue Yonghuai and Hong Yingrong exchanged a glance, and the old lady nodded in understanding: "That's a good idea. But..." She looked at her husband's broken arm worriedly, "Are you really not planning to return to Beijing?"
Xue Yonghuai looked toward the southern sky, his voice suddenly lowered. "In that ambush three years ago, someone in the court must have colluded with the enemy." A sharp glint flashed in his single eye. "I feigned death and lay dormant just to let those people down. Now..."
He suddenly smiled and patted the back of his wife's hand with his left hand. "With a son-in-law like Nurhadu helping us, the truth will soon be revealed."
As the sun set, candles began to light up in the ancestral hall. Xue Shanqiu quietly glanced at Nurhadu, who was talking with his father. The young prince seemed to sense something and turned back to smile at her.
The glazed tiles of Shoukang Palace glow with a warm luster under the late spring sunshine. Two century-old crabapple trees in front of the palace are in full bloom, and their pink and white petals flutter in the wind, covering the ground with a beautiful scene.
Ding Dayong straightened his court robes outside the palace gate, and his bronze-like face showed a rare hint of softness.
The eunuch guarding the gate saw him and bowed quickly, saying, "General, you've arrived just in time. The Empress Dowager has just finished chanting and is resting now."
"Thank you for the announcement." Ding Dayong said in a low voice. He passed through the three vermilion-painted palace gates. The agarwood door of the main hall of Shoukang Palace was half open, and the swaying pearl curtain inside was vaguely visible.
"Brother is here?" A gentle yet majestic female voice came from behind the beaded curtain, "Come in quickly."
Ding Dayong strode into the inner hall and saw Concubine Shoukang reclining on a rosewood couch. She was wearing a lilac-colored palace dress and only a white jade phoenix hairpin in her hair. Although she was over fifty years old, the elegance between her eyebrows and eyes had not diminished at all.
He was about to bow when the concubine raised her hand to stop him: "We are family, so there is no need to be polite. Please sit down."
The maid served tea and then left, leaving only the brother and sister in the palace. Ding Dayong picked up the teacup and put it down again, his lips unconsciously raised: "Eldest sister, are you satisfied with Xinwan's marriage?"
The concubine paused her fan, a flicker of joy in her eyes. "The third son of the Xingyuan Marquisate, who won the third place in the imperial examination last year, is now serving in the Hanlin Academy. I've met him several times, and his character, appearance, and talent are all excellent. I'm truly very satisfied with him."
Gently waving her round fan, a gleam flashed in the concubine's eyes. "Xue's children?" She took a sip of tea thoughtfully. "The eldest son of the Xue family married the granddaughter of Lord Jiang, the second married Shu Ning, and now the third is going to marry a girl from our Ding family... Although Xue Yonghuai is gone, his sons are quite promising."
Ding Dayong's bronze face flickered with a complex expression upon hearing this. He subconsciously touched his left rib, where three hideous scars were visible. Twenty years ago, during the bloody battle at Yanmen Pass, it was Xue Yonghuai who risked his life to carry him out of the chaotic enemy line.
"If Old Xue were still alive, he'd be relieved." He whispered, then suddenly remembered something and looked up at the concubine. "Oh, by the way, elder sister, Old Madam Xue left Beijing a while ago and went to the ancestral home in the north, saying she was going to pay homage to her ancestors and offer comfort. The children's marriages are all arranged, so it's time to go back and burn some incense."
Ding Dayong stood up solemnly upon hearing this, clasped his fists and replied, "Eldest sister is right. When I return, I will also go to the ancestral hall to burn incense to my ancestors and report this auspicious marriage."
Concubine Shoukang nodded slightly, took a gilded incense box from the table and handed it to him: "This is the ambergris tribute from Nanzhao. Take it back and offer it in front of the ancestral tablets."
"Don't worry, elder sister." Ding Dayong took the incense box with both hands. The warm sandalwood was carved with the Ding family's ancestral tiger pattern.
He suddenly recalled the time when he was a child playing with his elder sister in the ancestral hall. His father was still alive at that time and always said that the children of the Ding family should be as strong, loyal and brave as the tiger stripes.
The Concubine Dowager looked at her brother's resolute profile and suddenly whispered, "On the day Xinwan gets married, I will ask the Emperor for permission to leave the palace to watch the ceremony. Our Ding family...hasn't had such a happy event in a long time."
The sound of a night watchman came from outside the hall. Ding Dayong knew that the palace gate was about to close, so he bowed solemnly and left the hall.
As we passed through the vermilion palace walls, dusk had already enveloped the imperial city, and the copper bells on the eaves jingled in the evening breeze.
…
The Ding Mansion Ancestral Hall was brightly lit with candles.
Ding Dayong personally lit three sticks of ambergris, and the green smoke rose up and lingered in front of the ancestral tablet.
He knelt on the futon, looking at the tablet at the top that read "Loyal and Brave Marquis Ding Zhenyue" for his father, and said in a deep voice, "Father, Xinwan is betrothed to the third son of the Xingyuan Marquisate. She's a good child..."
The candlelight on the incense table suddenly flickered, casting his shadow on the wall. In a trance, he seemed to see the heroic figure of his father in armor and holding a sword.
Ding Dayong's eyes were hot and he kowtowed three times.
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