Hu Fenglian took the dark gray handkerchief, her eyes blurry with tears, and turned to look at the person in front of her.
He was none other than Xu Yi, the steward of the Su family.
Xu Yi entered the Su family as a shop assistant when he was a teenager, and now he's thirty-six. In nearly twenty years, he rose from a lowly shop assistant to the Su family's steward. He's honest and hardworking, and probably no one in the Su family could have imagined that Xu Yi would do such a thing.
If we really want to find a reason, we can only blame Su Lin for being stationed on the frontier year-round and rarely home, while Hu Fenglian is in the prime of her life...
While she was suffering from lovesickness, there was someone by her side who silently cared for her and thought of her needs in everything.
How many women could resist such tenderness?
In this world, the word 'love' is difficult to understand, and emotions are difficult to control.
She wiped away her tears, her voice trembling with sobs, "Xu Yi, what should we do? What should I do?"
"Right now, I wish the general wouldn't treat me so well, so I wouldn't feel so bad..."
Xu Yi lowered his head and asked softly, "Madam... are you regretting it?"
She shook her head, denying it, saying, "I have no regrets. I just feel guilty, guilty towards the general, and guilty towards my daughter..."
“Madam, please don’t be sad anymore, lest you harm your health. It’s my fault…” He frowned, unable to bear seeing Hu Fenglian so distressed, and continued, “My feelings for you should be kept in my heart and never spoken in this lifetime, so as not to cause you any trouble.”
...
"Stop talking... It's come to this, Xu Yi, there's no turning back for either of us."
She sighed, "Why don't we confess to the general? I can't keep lying anymore. I can't bear to see the general treat me this well. I'd rather he beat me, scold me, or divorce me... I was wrong. I'll accept whatever punishment the general deems appropriate..."
Xu Yi nodded and said only one sentence: "I will listen to my wife. No matter what the outcome, I will face it with my wife and never abandon her."
*
In recent days, apart from the fact that the King of Huainan and the Rouran envoy returned to Yong'an together, which caused quite a stir,
There's one more thing, a minor matter that's barely worth mentioning.
Minister of War Jiang Zhun is taking another concubine. Including this one, Jiang Zhun will have one principal wife and eleven concubines in his household.
He had a large harem of wives and concubines.
Of course, it's not unusual for a minister to take a concubine; what's unusual is that Jiang Min is about to become the future empress.
The wedding was set for three days later, and almost all the powerful and wealthy families and officials of all ranks in Yong'an City received wedding invitations from the Jiang family, including the Su family.
It will definitely be a lively and exciting event.
...
King Zhou Lin of Huainan led the Rouran envoy to the palace to meet the emperor. After signing a six-month ceasefire agreement, Northern Liang and Rouran reached a tacit understanding to live in peace for the time being.
However, if they wanted lasting peace, Zhou Lin proposed a marriage alliance between the two countries.
Zhou Tingyue has just ascended the throne, and he doesn't even have an empress yet, let alone a princess.
So Zhou Lin turned his attention to the only two princesses in the harem, one of whom was of a decent age but whose appearance was not satisfactory.
The other one is pretty, but still very young, only eleven years old.
After meeting the two princesses, the Rouran envoy showed dissatisfaction and proposed that the two princesses, who were of noble status, be married off to the Rouran at the same time.
I've heard that the Rouran king is an extremely volatile and fierce man, a lone wolf born of the grasslands and deserts. Not only is he savage and crude, but he also enjoys eating human flesh and drinking human blood...
Although these were just rumors, in the eyes of the Northern Liang people, the Rouran were no different from beasts.
No matter what, those two princesses are Zhou Tingyue's younger sisters. If a marriage alliance is necessary, it would be fine to marry one of them.
Now that the Rouran are so casually asking for two noble women to marry far away to them, Zhou Tingyue certainly won't agree.
Not to mention that one of the two princesses was a young girl who had not yet reached marriageable age.
Emperor Zhou Tingyue resolutely refused to agree, and even the Empress Dowager and the Prince of Huainan's repeated persuasion was to no avail, so the matter was temporarily shelved.
As a result, a rift developed between the King of Huainan and the Emperor.
Three days later, at the Su residence.
"Yue'er, change your clothes and go to the west courtyard to see your elder brother and sister-in-law. Why haven't they arrived yet?" Mother Yang Wanzhi held Xiao Jue's hand and stood in the front yard. The family was preparing to take a car to attend the Jiang family's wedding banquet.
"I know, Mother. You take Xiao Jue over first. Anyway, there are many of us in the family, and one carriage can't fit all of us. I'll go call my elder brother and sister-in-law." She finished dressing, casually put the hairpin that Xiao Heye had given her into her hair, and then hurriedly walked towards the west courtyard.
"Master, slow down, watch your step..."
Liu Wan jogged behind her, carrying a sky-blue cotton cloak in her hand, just in case she got cold when she came back at night.
When they arrived at the west courtyard, they found it lifeless and deserted, with not a soul in sight.
Su Tiyue turned her head and looked at Liu Wan beside her with a puzzled expression. Liu Wan shook her head silently upon seeing this.
"Big brother!" Su Tiyue called out, then walked into the main room.
Upon entering, one sees Hu Fenglian, the eldest sister-in-law, lying on the bed with a haggard expression, while her eldest brother sits on the edge of the bed, feeding her medicine spoonful by spoonful.
"What's wrong, sister-in-law? Are you sick?" Su Tiyue walked over and asked with concern, her eyes fixed on Hu Fenglian's pale face, which was devoid of any color.
Hu Fenglian didn't speak, but just lowered her eyes and stared blankly at the mandarin duck pattern embroidered on the quilt.
Su Lin turned to Su Tiyue and said, "Your sister-in-law is suddenly feeling unwell, so she won't be going to the Jiang family today. I'll stay here to take care of her. Xiaoyue, it's more lively there, there will definitely be a lot of people coming and going, and it's a mixed bunch of people. Take good care of your parents and come back as soon as possible."
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