The imperial expeditionary army returned to the capital, and Zheng Guoxun returned to the capital a few days in advance.
The generals who led the troops this time recounted the details when they met the emperor. Even the generals guarding the border attributed the credit to Zheng Guoxun in their memorials.
No matter what the emperor's reasons are, he cannot turn a blind eye.
Therefore, he issued an edict to restore the title of Zheng Guoxun Yiyong Hou and return everything that belonged to the Zheng family.
The Zheng family has returned to its heyday and people come to congratulate them one after another.
"Ning'er, why haven't you changed your clothes yet?" Mrs. Shangguan came to her daughter's room and was a little unhappy when she saw that she hadn't changed her clothes or combed her hair.
"Today is your grandfather and third uncle's wedding day. We can't lose our manners and must go and congratulate them."
In Shangguan Wanning's heart, the images of her grandfather and third uncle have collapsed.
The tragic scene of corpses strewn all over the battlefield appeared before her eyes.
Today, the glory of the Yiyong Marquis’ Mansion is built on the corpses of Mu Jingrui and a hundred thousand soldiers.
"Mom, I just took some medicine and I'm not feeling well. I want to rest for a while. You and Dad go first. I'll come back later."
Mrs. Shangguan saw that her daughter's face looked bad, so she stopped forcing her.
"If you really feel unwell, just stay home. Your grandfather and third uncle won't blame you."
"Yeah." Shangguan Wanning nodded sadly.
After her mother left, Shangguan Wanning dismissed all the maids around her and took out a set of clothes from the closet.
She ran her fingers lightly across it and took a deep breath.
In the residence of Marquis Yiyong, Zheng Guoxun sat at the upper position, accepting congratulations from the guests coming and going. His smile made every wrinkle on his face filled with joy.
"Master, our cousin is here..." The housekeeper came in to report, with a strange expression on his face.
Zheng Binghong paused, somewhat puzzled.
"If Ning'er comes, let her in. Do you have to report when you go home?"
"No..." The butler hesitated to speak.
At this time, Shangguan Wanning walked in with the support of Lutong.
Everyone's eyes were focused on Shangguan Wanning.
She was dressed in white, with no jewelry in her hair, only a white headband.
Dressed like this, she doesn't look like she's celebrating something, but more like... attending a funeral, except for wearing a white flower on her temples.
Zheng Guoxun's smile froze and Zheng Bingrong's expression suddenly changed.
"Ning'er, why did you come here dressed like this?" Shangguan Yue also felt that something was wrong, and hurried forward and whispered, "Go to the room and change your clothes quickly."
Shangguan Wanning lowered her head and bit her lips. She ignored her father's words, walked to Zheng Guoxun, poured a glass of wine and handed it to him.
"Grandpa, Ning'er toasts you with this glass of wine. Thank you for avenging the 100,000 soldiers who died on the battlefield."
After saying that, he raised the glass and drank it all.
Zheng Binghong noticed something unusual, walked over and took the wine glass from Shangguan Wanning's hand, with a hint of doting in his reprimand.
"How can a girl like you drink alcohol? Besides, you are not in good health."
"That's right. Ning'er, come, go back to your room with your aunt." The eldest princess also came over, holding Shangguan Wanning's hand and walked towards the inner hall.
Shangguan Wanning struggled for a few times, and the princess increased the strength of her palm and whispered: "Silly girl, no matter what you want to say, don't say it in such an occasion. Otherwise, if it gets to the emperor..."
The eldest princess knew better than anyone that her brother was not actually willing to let the Zheng family make a comeback.
However, the Zheng family is now in its heyday, and with Mu Jingrui gone, he had to compromise temporarily.
Shangguan Wanning really wanted to expose her grandfather's hypocritical mask, but... the matter was of great importance, and she knew she could not bear the consequences.
The conflicting emotions tormented her all the time.
She followed the princess back to the inner hall, and Madam Shangguan followed in. It was the first time she saw anger on her mother's face.
"mother……"
"Ning'er, what are you doing?"
"I..." Shangguan Wanning didn't know how to explain.
At this time, the housekeeper came over and bent over to report: "Miss, the master wants you to go to his study."
"Go and apologize to Grandpa. Don't be so willful in the future."
Shangguan Wanning suddenly felt despair.
She came to Zheng Guoxun's study in a daze, and as soon as she walked in, Zheng Guoxun slapped her hard in the face.
The severe pain woke her up immediately.
She staggered a few steps until her body was against the wall and she was able to stand firmly.
There were five clear finger marks on the face.
Shangguan Wanning raised her eyes and saw Zheng Guoxun's angry eyes.
"What are you going to do? What on earth are you going to do?" Zheng Guoxun suppressed his anger and shouted, "Did you come here today just to ruin my show?"
Shangguan Wanning put down her hands that were covering her face and met Zheng Guoxun's gaze.
"Do I have the ability to ruin your show? I am only asking you on behalf of the 100,000 soldiers who died in vain, do you feel any regret or guilt when you wake up in your dreams at midnight?"
"What do I regret? What do I feel guilty about?" Zheng Guoxun waved his sleeves, still righteous and awe-inspiring. "A general's success is the result of the sacrifice of thousands of soldiers. On the battlefield, it's either you die or I die. If you want to do great things, you can't be soft-hearted. What's wrong with me avenging my grandson?"
Shangguan Wanning never expected that her respected grandfather would not feel the slightest bit of guilt after taking someone's life.
"Grandpa, you love Zhixing, have you ever thought that those soldiers you betrayed and killed also have families."
Zheng Guoxun remained indifferent.
"When you go to the battlefield, you expect to die."
"If they really died fighting for the country, of course there is nothing to say. But they didn't have to die. It was you who arbitrarily modified Jingrui's deployment map, which led to the annihilation of the entire army. Aren't you afraid that a hundred thousand wronged souls will come after you?"
Before Shangguan Wanning could finish her words, Zheng Guoxun raised his hand and hit Shangguan Wanning again.
But this time, his hand was stopped in mid-air by someone.
"Dad, what Ning'er said... is it true?" Zheng Binghong just walked in. He couldn't believe that his father would do such a thing.
"Don't worry about this matter, get out." Zheng Guoxun didn't want to implicate his eldest son.
"I'm asking you if it's true?" Zheng Binghong asked harshly.
"So what if it's true?"
Zheng Guoxun was furious and his expression was distorted.
"You and this girl should join forces to capture me and send me to the emperor to be punished. Humph, the annihilation of a hundred thousand troops is enough to punish all nine clans. Not only will I die, but you...you...and your parents and wife will all die."
Shangguan Wanning and Zheng Binghong looked at each other and felt depressed and powerless at the same time.
If this matter gets out, the whole family will be executed.
"Whether to go or not, think it over carefully." Zheng Guoxun turned away.
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