Chapter 34 A Bad Omen
Originally, she would have disdained to use such a dishonorable method against a woman, after all, this was ancient times, and it concerned the face of the royal family, which could easily lead to trouble.
But the Princess Consort of Jin's hostility was too obvious; she didn't even bother to hide it.
The original owner had been misled by Prince Jin and had done things that were detrimental to Prince Yan. The reputation of Prince Yan's mansion had been ruined. So how could Prince Jin's mansion maintain a good reputation?
Moreover, Wen Jingsheng does indeed harbor fantasies about Yan Cang and even tries to sow discord between them, which is clearly malicious.
"What do you mean by damaging the royal family's reputation?" Yan Jinyue said dismissively. "The royal family's reputation isn't that fragile."
Chu Yunjin was taken aback: "What do you mean?"
Could it be that she came from a feudal dynasty with centralized imperial power?
Was the hierarchy between the ruler and his subjects in Yong Kingdom not so strictly enforced?
Could it be that the local customs are relatively open, and the emperor's thinking is also more enlightened?
But no matter how enlightened you are, it still...
"Tell me quickly," Yan Jinyue urged impatiently, "Does Wen Jingsheng really like the Fourth Prince?"
Chu Yunjin composed herself and lowered her voice, saying, "If these words get out, will the Emperor punish me?"
"Your reputation wasn't very good before either. Did Father punish you for it?" Yan Jinyue frowned. "At most, he just gave you a few words of reprimand."
Chu Yunjin was truly stunned.
In her mind, royalty was always sacred and inviolable. Even noble ladies from aristocratic families would be forced to commit suicide to preserve their family's reputation if they damaged their chastity. Was the Yong Dynasty royal family so enlightened?
"I have another question for you." Chu Yunjin's voice was even lower. "If an unmarried woman from a noble family has her chastity ruined—for example, if her fiancé breaks off the engagement, or she is forced to share a room with a man, or she is framed—should she prove her innocence by dying?"
Yan Jinyue looked at her as if she were a heinous murderer: "Of course not. Being jilted isn't necessarily the woman's fault. Why would she choose to die to prove her innocence? Don't you think that's too harsh?"
Chu Yunjin was speechless: "I..."
"Furthermore, if being alone in a room with a man meant you had to die to prove your innocence, you would have died countless times by now." Yan Jinyue sneered. "However, there's been a lot of gossip about you among the noble families in the capital. Fortunately, my brother suppressed these rumors and they didn't reach our father and mother's ears, otherwise you would still be in deep trouble."
Chu Yunjin gave an awkward smile. She really didn't want to attribute the things the original owner had done to herself, but at this moment, she could only suffer in silence.
However, she finally understood that the original owner had always dared to act so recklessly without worrying about implicating her family—putting aside her foolish and ignorant mind, which she probably never even considered the possibility of her own family, the relative open-mindedness of the royal family was probably also a factor.
The supreme authority of the emperor is beyond question.
However, the strictness of the Yong Dynasty regarding reputation was not as terrible as it seemed.
Chu Yunjin breathed a sigh of relief and finally nodded slowly with peace of mind: "Wen Jingsheng does like Yan Cang. Yesterday, when she went to the Prince of Yan's mansion, she provoked me to my face, saying that I was not good enough for Yan Cang and that Yan Cang only saw me as a substitute."
At this point, Chu Yunjin lowered her voice: "Jinyue, did your imperial brother have feelings for other women before?"
Yan Jinyue raised her eyebrows: "That's utter nonsense!"
Seeing how excited she was, Chu Yunjin quickly shushed her, saying, "Keep your voice down."
Footsteps sounded outside.
Immediately following was a respectful voice from a middle-aged man: "This humble official greets Your Highness, the Prince of Yan."
"Lord Duan." Yan Cang mounted his horse. "Prince Jin has awakened. Lord Duan, please feel free to ask whatever you wish."
"Yes, Your Highness, I will go immediately. Please take care."
The carriage then turned around and slowly started moving.
A deep, steady voice came from outside the car: "You two can keep your voices down, don't get so excited."
Yan Jinyue pulled back the carriage curtain: "Brother, this carriage should be quite soundproof, right? Can you hear us talking?"
Yan Cang frowned: "I'm not deaf."
Yan Jinyue choked for a moment, then silently lowered the curtain and looked at Chu Yunjin in bewilderment.
After a moment, Yan Jinyue snorted coldly: "Don't think I'll believe you so easily. Your great achievements are too numerous to count."
"It's okay, time will tell," Chu Yunjin said, then tentatively asked, "Are you feeling better?"
Yan Jinyue said calmly, "It won't get better anytime soon."
If you really can't let go of Pei Yi'an—
"Who can't let go of that bitch?" Yan Jinyue frowned, looking at Chu Yunjin as if she thought she had lost her mind. "Even if no one wants me, I would rather become a nun than let go of that fickle bitch Pei Yi'an."
Chu Yunjin: "..."
The imperial edict was delivered to the Pei family yesterday.
One imperial edict canceled Pei Yi'an's marriage to the Sixth Princess, while another imperial edict bestowed a marriage upon Pei Yi'an and Tang Beixuan.
Tang Beixuan was overjoyed and thrilled, but Pei Yi'an felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over him, leaving him feeling icy cold all over.
If he hadn't been injured, he would have gone to the palace to see the emperor immediately.
He politely asked the eunuch to inform the Emperor that he had no intention of canceling the engagement with the Sixth Princess. However, the eunuch only said sarcastically, "General Pei, the Sixth Princess is of noble status. Whether the marriage is canceled or not is not up to you. His Majesty has decreed that General Pei has rendered meritorious service in guarding the border and is hereby granted a three-month leave to handle the marriage. Please return the military tally first."
Pei Yi'an felt as if her heart had fallen into an ice cellar.
The Emperor not only canceled his marriage to Yan Jinyue, but also wanted to take back his military seal.
The Prince of Yan ordered him to hand over the military tally to the Ministry of War within three days, but now the Emperor has directly sent the imperial eunuch to retrieve it. Does he not want to wait even a day longer?
Pei Yi'an told him to wait there, and then, with the help of a servant, went back to his study to retrieve the military tally and handed it to the imperial eunuch. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but the imperial eunuch had already taken the tally, mounted his horse, and left without looking back.
Pei Yi'an's face was deathly pale, and the pain from his injuries intensified.
"Yi'an," Madam Pei looked at him fearfully, "What does Your Majesty mean by this? Why did you cancel your engagement with the Sixth Princess, and... and take back your military seal? Does this mean you don't want to go to the border to fight?"
Pei Yi'an didn't speak, but just stared in the direction of the palace, a shadow falling over his eyes.
That night, news of the assassination attempt on Prince Jin spread throughout the capital. Pei Yi'an inevitably heard the guards' report as well, and for a moment he couldn't believe it: "Prince Jin assassinated?"
"I heard that two of Prince Jin's personal guards were killed, and he was beaten up." The guard frowned, somewhat puzzled. "Since the assassin could kill the guards, why didn't he just assassinate Prince Jin directly, but instead beat him up? Was this revenge by someone he knew?"
Pei Yi'an didn't know.
But a sudden sense of foreboding arose in his heart.
He felt that the plan had deviated significantly from his and Prince Jin's expectations, and many things had slipped out of their control, leaving them completely passive.
"Husband." Tang Beixuan sat beside him, carefully wiping the cold sweat from his forehead. "You should focus on healing your injuries first. Don't worry about anything else for now."
Pei Yi'an gently closed his eyes: "This is not a good sign."
Everything has deviated from the original plan.
He can't go on like this.
Otherwise, all their efforts will be in vain.
Pei Yi'an turned to look at Tang Beixuan: "Perhaps bringing you back was indeed a mistake."
Tang Beixuan's expression changed slightly: "But I'm pregnant with your child."
“I know,” Pei Yi’an said grimly. “If I lose my military power, even if you become the general’s wife—”
"I'm not greedy." Tang Beixuan held his hand. "Husband, it's good enough if we just live a good life and don't go to the battlefield. War is too dangerous. Don't you want a peaceful life?"
Pei Yi'an gritted his teeth: "What do you know?"
How can he achieve merit in supporting the emperor if he cannot control the military?
Although he had made several merits in the southern border region, the generals there only obeyed the orders of the military tally and were not loyal to him at all.
They were listening to military tallies and orders.
Once he loses the power to mobilize troops, he will soon be replaced as general, and the once-powerful Pei family will fall into obscurity in an instant.
That night, Pei Yi'an was in pain and her mind was in turmoil, and she couldn't fall asleep.
He kept thinking that the only way to resolve the current predicament was to restore his relationship with the Sixth Princess.
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