Ye Guixue closed his mouth, secretly thinking. When the battle began, if things went badly, he would have his guards knock his elder brother unconscious and take him away. Therefore, he stopped arguing with his brother.
Ye Guiyan seemed to know what Ye Guixue was thinking and seriously said, "My younger brother, I will never live alone. Abandon your idea."
Ye Guixue massaged his temples, sighed helplessly. His older brother, whom he had grown up with, knew him too well. And that was a problem.
The day was drawing to a close. He Zhong and Han Yin allowed Ye Guixue’s remaining soldiers little rest before they resumed the pursuit.
Ye Guixue stood up, grasped the sword in his hand, and whispered to Yin Yue, "When the time is right, knock my elder brother unconscious and take him away."
As the youngest brother, whether his elder brother agreed or not, for the sake of his niece Qiuying who couldn’t be without a father, he had to save his brother’s life.
Ye Xiang, standing to one side, heard everything but did not object. He did not like the idea of extermination either. Although Qiuying was present, Ye Guixue could not leave; he was the commander of the troops. However, Ye Guiyan could be taken away.
Thus, once Ye Guixue led men into the battle, Ye Xiang also ordered his guards, "Cooperate with Guixue to ensure the Young Master’s safety in his departure."
"Yes, Master Xiang."
Ye Xiang held his wife’s hand. They stood in the innermost part of the mountain valley. He sighed to his wife, "My lady, it’s been twenty-five years since you married me and came to Nanchu all the way from Daliang."
"Indeed. Time flies. Even our little granddaughter is already five." The gentle smile on Madam Ye’s face reflected her contentment. As long as her husband was by her side, she was not afraid of death. Despite her fear about the future at the time of marriage, she felt no regret. She was proud of the courage that had allowed her to marry him; he had always treated her well.
"Will you be resentful? Your most beloved one is Guixue. He has ordered the guards to knock Guiyan unconscious and take him away when the time is right," Ye Xiang asked.
Madam Ye shook her head. "Guixue can’t leave, he is the commander. I understand this."
She glanced at Ye Xiang." They are both my sons. There’s no favorite or least favorite. I love them equally. It is good if at least one of them can survive."
Ye Xiang laughed, "I’m glad you bear no grudges against me. Though you claim not to have favorites, it is obvious that you love our youngest child the most."
Madam Ye chuckled, "I love my granddaughter the most."
"Indeed. It was your idea to send little Qiuying to Daliang. But your mother’s family is too chaotic; Guixue disapproves of it. If any accident happens to Qiuying, it will all be for nothing. It’s better to keep her at our side. Luckily, due to the princess’s reputation, Qiuying has been accommodated in the Crown Prince’s Eastern Palace in Daliang, which is indeed the most reassuring place." Ye Xiang felt this move was the wisest one. He couldn’t bear the thought of his granddaughter dying with them.
Ye Madam nodded, "As the saying goes, ’A twisted tree has straight shoots.’ It is said that my sister’s son who is still innocent is a good one. Guixue has pointed out to him to rectify the family shrine. Hopefully, in the future, he could change the impression of my mother’s family. "
"Let’s stop talking about your mother’s family. At the end of our life, we should be speaking words from our heart." Ye Xiang held her hand. "I always thought I could stay with you till our hair turned gray."
Ye Madam smiled, "So did I."
At this point, snowflakes began falling from the sky.
Ye Madam looked up at the sky. The snowflakes fell on her face, hair, eyelashes, shoulder, covering her in a thin layer of white. After a while, she turned her gaze back to Ye Xiang, seeing that a good amount of snow had fallen on him too.
She sighed softly, "Snow has made our hair white today, and for this life, we have indeed shared golden years together."
Ye Xiang laughed heartily, "Indeed, you have a point."
In his life, Ye Xiang was a man of great willpower. He took up the mantle of the Ye Family at a young age and made a name for himself as the talented young master of the Ye Family. His reputation was not inferior to that of his sons. Throughout his life, he held firm to the family instructions and proceeded with caution. He tried to minimize the gap between the Ye Family and the Nangong Family, although it was not something that could be closed in a short time.
Even though Ye Xiang devoted his heart and soul to the effort, he could only maintain the status quo. Could he blame the king for being trapped by emotional entanglements and losing focus on state affairs? If not, the Nangong Family might not be today’s Nangong Family.
In his life, he only deviated from the norms once when he rejected the noble lady chosen by his parents in Nanchu. During a diplomatic mission to Daliang, he fell in love with a young lady from the Duke residence and married her against all odds.
Since he brought her home, he naturally treated her well. He was cautious not to let her shed tears and tried to preserve the interesting nature and spirit that had attracted him to her.
So, over so many years, his lady hadn’t changed much, unlike him who had aged dealing with state affairs and had turned grey-haired. She, however, still had black hair.
Both of their sons were outstanding. The younger one even outperformed the elder, and even in the entirety of Nanchu, the elder was eminent. Their granddaughter, despite her young age, was very smart.
Ye Madam wiped away the melted snowflake from Ye Xiang’s face and the small wet mark left behind. She gently said to him, "My Lord, I have never regretted marrying you."
Ye Xiang nodded smiling, "I know."
He also wiped the snowflake traces from Ye Madam’s face. "Marrying you was the best decision I’ve ever made."
Ye Madam’s face flushed.
In the old age, words of love were seldom spoken like in the early years of marriage. However, today, if they didn’t express their emotions, there might be no other opportunity. Even if they were to die together, things that should be said in life should still be said.
The foreseen inevitable death didn’t seem to make anyone nervous. No one was worried about whether their sons were injured or how many soldiers had fallen. After all, if they were to die, why not die together? It would be livelier that way.
The soldiers were already exhausted and unable to fight effectively. Now, they were being killed left and right and kept falling.
Ye Guixue also had numerous wounds on his body, but he was still holding on.
Yin Yue was ready to knock Ye Guiyan unconscious, but Ye Guiyan, being an incredibly smart person, had his guards protect him. He wielded his sword and fought, making it difficult for Yin Yue to find an opportunity after all this while.
Ye Guixue saw this and braced himself. "Yin Yue, go! My elder brother won’t hurt you."
Without anyone guarding him, Ye Guixue was quickly injured by a sword again. He gritted his teeth and thought he was probably going to break his promise to Su Rong and Zhou Gu. He could no longer serve as the Auxiliary Minister to the princess. He would no longer be able to witness how the princess aligned with Daliang to step on Dawei and divide the world between them.
They were always forgiving people. They would forgive him, wouldn’t they?
If not, he could do nothing anyway.
Seeing Yin Yue disregard everything and rush towards him following Ye Guixue’s order, Ye Guiyan was furious. "Yin Yue, how dare you!"
Yin Yue only followed Ye Guixue’s orders, so did his guards. Therefore, they dared. Hence, Yin Yue went ahead with his plan without saying a word to Ye Guiyan.
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