Chapter 16: It wouldn't even last one episode in a palace drama
Outside the general's mansion, the gatekeeper looked at Lin Tingfeng who had dismounted from his horse, his eyes filled with tears of excitement.
He turned and shouted towards the courtyard, "Quick, go tell the old lady that our general is back!"
Lin Tingfeng straightened his back, and there was a look of arrogance on his handsome face.
As a young talent, at an age when his peers were still busy studying for the imperial examinations, he had already taken the position of commander-in-chief of an army and made great military achievements. Naturally, he had the right to be proud.
The young general turned around and extended his hand to the woman in green on horseback, his eyes gentle, "Madam, please dismount."
Zhuang Shihan's cheeks flushed, she glared at him angrily, and then placed her hand in his palm without hesitation.
Lin Tingfeng curled his lips, swung his long arm, put his big hand around her waist, and lifted her off the horse.
"Ah!" Zhuang Shihan exclaimed and quickly stretched out her hands to grab his shoulders, afraid that she would fall.
The two looked into each other's eyes, and the deep affection in their eyes was almost visible.
From a distance, they really look like a pair of wall-climbing people.
"The general calls her Madam, but what about Madam Lin?"
An inopportune voice rang out, instantly destroying the charming atmosphere between the two.
Lin Tingfeng couldn't help but frown, with obvious disgust in his eyes.
Why mention that unlucky dead person on such a nice day?
Zhuang Shihan's expression was also not good. She bit her lower lip and said, "Brother Feng, please put me down first. This... this is not in accordance with etiquette."
Her eyes were slightly red, and tears were already welling up in her eyes, but she was stubborn and refused to let them fall.
Unable to bear seeing his beloved being wronged, Lin Tingfeng suddenly became filled with murderous intent and said in a cold voice, "You and I are husband and wife who have sworn ties with heaven and earth. What's wrong with that?"
"If anyone has any objections, please first ask the sword in my hand whether it agrees or not."
The people around were all stunned by these murderous words. When they came to their senses, they all looked in the same direction with sympathy on their faces.
Lin Tingfeng looked in the direction, and the moment he saw Song Yanxi, the expression on his face suddenly became extraordinary.
Zhuang Shihan was held in his arms, looking at him with admiration in her eyes.
He is worthy of being the man she has carefully chosen. Whether in terms of family background, appearance or demeanor, he is incomparable to those weak scholars who talk about benevolence, righteousness and morality.
If Zhuang Shihan wants something, she either doesn’t want it or she chooses the best.
Realizing that Lin Tingfeng's expression was not right, Zhuang Shihan was about to show concern when she heard a cold female voice.
"General, you just said that this girl and you have worshipped heaven and earth together?"
Song Yanxi got off the carriage in plain clothes. Her face was pale and her slender figure seemed as if it would be blown away by the wind. The corners of her eyes were slightly red as if she had just cried.
She just stood there quietly, but it was enough to move the hearts of the onlookers.
Someone said indignantly: "Mrs. Lin was the general's wife who was married to him in a grand sedan chair carried by eight people."
This short sentence explained Song Yanxi's identity as the principal wife, and the fact that Lin Tingfeng divorced his wife and remarried, thus betraying her.
"General Lin is truly heartless. He abandoned his wife on their wedding night to go to war. It's only been a short time now, and he's actually brought another wife back. Isn't this clearly bullying?"
"You don't know, when the news of General Lin's death came back, the general's wife cried so hard that she fainted several times. She wanted to commit suicide several times, but was stopped by the maid."
"I heard that the General's Mansion has actually been empty for a long time. In the past two years, it has relied entirely on Madam Lin's dowry to maintain it. There are more than a hundred mouths to feed!"
Several people were talking to each other, wishing to pin the label of unfaithful man and gigolo on Lin Tingfeng.
He stared at Song Yanxi coldly, his dark eyes filled with shock, scrutiny, and undisguised hatred.
Song Yanxi knew what he was thinking.
Lin Tingfeng was very disappointed to see that she was still alive.
After all, according to his idea, at this moment, she should have been buried with "him" in the Lin family's ancestral tomb.
A gust of wind blew, and Song Yanxi coughed twice into her handkerchief, her fair face full of uncontrollable sadness. "It's a happy occasion that the general has returned safely."
Her gaze shifted downwards, landing on Zhuang Shihan, whose expression was complicated, and she continued, "It's windy outside, and your mother-in-law is still waiting for you. General, please take this girl in first."
One of them was standing and the other was being held. Anyone with a discerning eye could tell who was more important to Lin Tingfeng.
Zhuang Shihan secretly thought that something was wrong, and struggled to get out of Lin Tingfeng's arms, looking at Song Yanxi helplessly.
Those bright almond eyes were full of regret and innocence.
It was as if she was saying, "I didn't know about this beforehand, and I didn't mean to steal your man."
Different from Song Yanxi's bright and generous appearance, Zhuang Shihan looks heroic, with her hair simply tied on top of her head, standing there with a dashing posture.
She is different from Song Yanxi, and even from the other rich girls in the capital.
She was neat and capable, with pride in her eyes, as if everything in the world was nothing more than this in front of her.
Her free and easy personality and bold and decisive actions are unique in the whole Da'an.
If Zhuang Shihan truly practices what she preaches, even Song Yanxi would be impressed by the character of such a unique woman.
But she is not.
In her previous life, she had been shouting about gender equality, while openly and covertly looking down on the young ladies from aristocratic families who had been bound by various rules since childhood.
At the flower-viewing banquet hosted by Princess Huayang, he publicly commented on a woman he had just engaged to be married as "pedantic and boring."
At that time, Zhuang Shihan was already the general's wife and was appreciated by the emperor. She and her husband were the new upstarts sought after by everyone in the capital.
When the woman's husband's family heard the news, they immediately sent someone to cancel the engagement and sever ties.
That night, the woman committed suicide and her body was not found until the next morning.
When the news reached the General's Mansion, Zhuang Shihan showed no remorse and instead expressed anger, saying, "You're already thinking of committing suicide over such a trivial matter. You have such poor stress tolerance that you wouldn't survive a single episode in a palace drama."
Song Yanxi didn't understand what it meant to withstand pressure, nor did she know what palace fighting was, but she clearly remembered the disdainful look on her face when she spoke.
It was as if the person who died was not a person, but a random stray cat or dog on the roadside.
Feeling uncomfortable under her cold gaze, Zhuang Shihan stepped forward and said apologetically, "Mrs. Lin, Brother Feng and I were the first to let you down, but when it comes to love, there's no first come, first served basis.
The one who is not loved in a relationship is the third party."
As soon as these words were spoken, there was an uproar.
No one understood what the third party meant, but they could tell that Zhuang Shihan was implicitly criticizing Song Yanxi for not being able to get her husband's love and not being tactful enough to give up her position, and instead making a scene that embarrassed everyone.
Amidst the crowd's discussions, a male voice of disdain stood out.
"There are all kinds of birds in the forest. Being a concubine to this extent is simply against the will of heaven!"
Zhuzhi, who was standing next to Song Yanxi, silently memorized the man's face and secretly sighed that the money his young master spent was worth it, and the people he arranged for him to work harder than each other.
Lin Tingfeng's face suddenly turned as dark as the bottom of a pot. He took two steps forward, protecting Zhuang Shihan behind him, and said coldly, "Song, you and I have no love for each other. If it weren't for your honesty and obedience over the past two years, I would have sent a divorce letter back to the capital to set us both free."
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