Chapter 145: Resignation Letter and a Few Pieces of Silver
A quarter of an hour later, Xiao Qinggu said goodbye to them and returned to her princess residence. Baili Pu and Yuan Ji also said goodbye to Xiao Qingxu and the others and returned to their own homes. After Xiao Qingxu sent Yue Zhu back to the Yue family, he also successfully led Shang Yuwan and the others to the gate of Prince Qi's residence.
"Give me your hand."
Xiao Qingxu got off the carriage first, raised his forearm, and let Shang Yuwan help him down.
A few pale hands lifted the curtain of the carriage, and Shang Yuwan, wearing a cloak, crawled out of the carriage.
Although the weather in Kyoto had warmed up a long time ago, she and Xiao Qingxu were both wearing thicker clothes than others.
The two smiled at each other, and Xiao Qingxu suddenly felt a chill on his back.
When he turned around, he saw Twelve staring at him, and his eyes were not kind.
"......" Xiao Qingxu silently moved away, and Twelve immediately raised his hands, pretending to help Shang Yuwan.
Shang Yuwan smiled and let Twelve help her.
Liu Mengyao, who was watching all this from behind: "..." Why is there such a strange sense of harmony between these three people?
Zhu Hao's arm was tightly grasped by Xiao Tao, and Zhu Hao also put his arm around her shoulders, following Liu Mengyao closely timidly.
The three children weren't from Dayu and were completely unfamiliar with the area. Liu Mengyao was a bit more courageous and didn't show any fear, but the other two girls barely frowned the entire way.
They are the hostages of the Youkou Kingdom...and now they have come to the capital of Dayu!
Xiao Qingxu noticed the condition of the three children and couldn't help but look over there. He then signaled Lu Heying with his eyes to go over and take care of one or two of them.
Emperor Chengming and Youkouguo never openly said that Liu Mengyao and the others were hostages. It seemed that Youkouguo had given up on the three of them and treated them as if they did not exist.
However, according to Emperor Chengming's temperament and Yue Zhu's previous words that he would bring everyone back to the capital, Liu Mengyao and the other two were considered useful pawns to him, otherwise Yue Zhu would have kicked them out and left them to fend for themselves.
Shang Yuwan looked up and saw the three words "Qi Wang Mansion" and couldn't help but let out a breath.
In her previous life, she had snatched a horse from here and rushed to the palace, foolishly saying that there must be some hidden secret. She knelt and kowtowed repeatedly, begging Emperor Chengming not to exterminate the entire Shang family...
Shang Yuwan sneered in his heart.
That day, the palace gates showed no sign of opening.
Feeling someone holding his forearm tightly, Shang Yuwan turned his head away, his eyebrows slightly curved.
"I'm fine." But in her heart, she still felt disgusted with her own incompetence and the emperor's ruthlessness.
Twelve frowned slightly, but still nodded.
Xiao Qingxu said softly, "Go in first and have a good rest. We still have a lot to do tonight."
Shang Yuwan was not a pretentious person. He nodded and walked into the mansion shoulder to shoulder with Xiao Qingxu, followed by a series of people.
Since they arrived in Beijing, many people had been secretly following them, and Shang Yuwan and her group knew about it. Emperor Chengming deliberately concealed Shang Yuwan's identity. With him in charge, even if some people believed she was Princess Qi, they couldn't open their mouths.
If you open your mouth when you shouldn't and say something you shouldn't say, you could lose your life.
Now that the news of Shang Mingqi's life hadn't surfaced in Kyoto, and Twelve hadn't died on the day the Shang family was exterminated, he could still show up openly. If he covered his face, it would only make things more obvious, giving others an excuse to use it against him.
After entering the mansion, some people took a rest while others packed up their things.
The Yue family's residence was so quiet that not even the chirping of birds could be heard, a stark contrast to the temporary tranquility of Prince Qi's residence. The Yue family's old lady, her rough hands clutching the resignation letter, already stamped by Emperor Chengming, was so furious at Yue Zhu that she felt like smoke was coming out of her head.
After Yue Zhu was seriously injured, although he was not treated well, he was still treated very well. Now his body is fine except that he is a little weak.
He was kneeling in the front hall at this time, bending down and bowing his head.
Yue Zhu's words broke the silence of the Yue family: "Please grant me your blessing, mother."
"Help me?! Look at what you have done!" Just by looking at Mrs. Yue's eyebrows, one can sense her strict temperament and the competitive spirit that has run through her whole life.
She opened her mouth and uttered a sharp rebuke, the fire in her heart looking like it was about to burn the entire Yue family. "You are the only legitimate son of the Yue family! The most promising son in our family! How can I help you?!"
"After your father passed away, you became the head of the Yue family. You are the master of the Yue family! Even if I don't hold the reins, I am still your biological mother! How could you submit your resignation to the emperor without my knowledge?!"
"You still want to erase yourself from the Yue family tree?!!! You've really grown up, are you going to start your own family?"
All the servants in the front hall were called out by Nanny Zheng, and the anger in Madam Yue's eyes continued to grow.
Nanny Zheng gently stroked her slightly hunched back, hoping to calm her anger. "Don't be angry. Perhaps the master has found another way to bring honor to the family."
"You've made this decision without authorization. Have you ever considered how your children will live in the future?!" Upon hearing this, Madam Yue was so angry that she threw her resignation letter on Yue Zhu's head. "Tell me! Is there any way in this world that can bring greater honor to our family than becoming the commander of the Dragon Warrior Army?!"
Ever since Yue Zhu joined the army, he had followed Xiao Ling through all the trials and tribulations, finally climbing to the position of commander of the Longwu Army. Apart from this position, what could be more glorious?!
The hard corner of the resignation letter hit Yue Zhu's head hard, and he shrank subconsciously. The tall and strong man was like a timid child at this moment.
Madam Yue came from a humble background, her family so poor they could barely make ends meet. Yet, she had always been a resolute person, unwilling to resign herself to her fate. As a child, she was busy with farm work, never resting even in her spare time, often sneaking into the corners of the school to learn. Over time, she learned a few more words than the average girl from a commoner's family.
When she grew up, she obeyed her parents' matchmaker and married a very honest and simple farmer. Her husband's honesty often led to him being looked down upon and bullied, and at times he was even more daring than her. But how could Old Lady Yue be content to be a farmer all her life? After giving birth to Yue Zhu, Old Lady Yue's competitive spirit grew stronger day by day.
In order for Yuezhu to become a different person from them, she did all kinds of work, and her back became more and more bent day by day, just thinking about earning a few taels of silver for Yuezhu.
She worked before sunrise and continued after sunset, often sewing and mending in the dim light of a dim oil lamp.
She often told Yuezhu: "Son, study hard. As long as you can make the list, all the hard work and fatigue will be worth it!"
Yue Zhu could see her hard work, but no matter how hard he tried, in the end he couldn't even pass the exam to become a scholar.
As time went on, Madam Yue's temper became increasingly uncontrollable, and she nearly lost her temper several times. However, Yue Zhu was the only child in the family, so she couldn't bear to scold or beat him, and could only start talking about joining the army again.
My son may not be good at studying, but he should be good at marching and fighting, right?
Old Madam Yue was blinded by Yue Zhu's competitive spirit and immediately asked him to join the army.
When she was about to leave, she seemed to have just remembered everything and hugged Yuezhu and cried her heart out.
"Son, you must protect yourself well!" At that time, she kept repeating this sentence without any other instructions.
In the eyes of Old Madam Yue, Yue Zhu has always been an extremely obedient child who would never go west if told to go east. But now he has done something that has made her so furious. He really shouldn't have done that!
Yuezhu rested his forehead on the ground, silent.
He was indeed very obedient, so obedient that he did not complain at all when his own mother asked him to go to the battlefield to win glory for the Yue family.
But he is a human being, a living person.
He also has things he wants to do and people he wants to make amends with.
Now, he won't listen anymore.
Yue Zhu said gloomily, "Please help me, mother."
Madam Yue waited for a long time, but ended up hearing this sentence. She was so angry that she closed her eyes immediately.
"Old lady!"
Nanny Zheng was horrified and reached out to help, but Madam Yue secretly tugged at her sleeve.
Nanny Zheng immediately understood and started crying.
"Old lady! How could you have such a miserable life?"
Yuezhu stood up straight, his eyelids half drooping, watching them perform.
Madam Yue has used this trick countless times.
He was a little fed up.
"Stop pretending."
A clear voice came from behind Yue Zhu.
Yue Zhu didn't even turn his head because he knew who was coming.
Yue You, wearing a light grey robe, stood behind Yue Zhu, looking at his father being so humble in front of his grandmother with heartache.
"Grandma, let Dad go."
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