Chapter 49 Chapter 49 That was a divorce letter
Pei Jinguang died in battle. He was not only the eldest son of the Pingning Marquisate, but also a brave general who guarded the northern border and repelled the Donghu. Even if there were other mysteries surrounding his death, at this time, Emperor Zhou Qing would only give him more respect.
Zhou Changyu, the prince of Rong, stood under the Shili Pavilion. The sun was scorching, and waves of heat appeared on his skin. He was wearing a round-necked robe made of snow-green brocade with a pattern of eight immortals with longevity patterns. His face was handsome and smiling under the purple gold crown. Standing under the desolate Shili Pavilion, he looked even more gentlemanly.
The ministers who came to greet Pei Jinguang at his tomb couldn't help but twirling their beards and nodding in their hearts: Although Prince Rong is a confused guy, Prince Rong's son is a good one and he should inherit the throne in the future.
The current emperor can be called a wise and virtuous emperor, but who can blame the concubines for not being so good as to give birth to only two daughters for the emperor in all these years?
Zhou Changyu stood beneath a pavilion under a blazing sun. From afar, he saw a column of soldiers and horses, holding long banners, galloping towards him. A frown crossed his face, and he stepped out. The other ministers, who had been waiting for the summer heat, exchanged a few glances, feeling relieved. They advised, "Sir, the sun is too strong. The men escorting General Yunhui's tomb still have a long way to go. You should retreat to the pavilion first."
Zhou Changyu shook his head, his handsome face radiating righteousness. "General Yunhui braved the arrows and stones, sacrificing his life for his country with a righteous heart. I merely stood briefly in the sun, and the suffering I endured was barely one-tenth of what the soldiers experienced. Your Excellencies are too kind."
The ministers knew in their hearts that these righteous words were mostly compliments, but since they were in the officialdom and Prince Rong had started this, they could not help but flatter and praise him.
Zhou Changyu was already accustomed to hearing his subjects' praises. He half-turned around and watched the troops approaching. The huge "Pei" character on the dancing flag became more and more conspicuous.
Pei Jingzhi was indeed a capable person, but it was a pity that he couldn't survive.
Zhou Changyu stood with his hands behind his back, putting on a look of mourning for the heroes and deep sorrow, but he didn't notice that a horse galloping on the road had thrown half of his body into the dust.
The attendants and ministers behind him saw that the originally elegant Prince Rong suddenly looked quite dusty and were cursing who was so blind. The next moment, another horse galloped past them, and the dust kicked up by the horse's hooves made them cough.
Amid the unhappy complaints of his ministers, Zhou Changyu looked forward with a frown.
The one riding the majestic white horse was a woman in white clothes with her black hair tied up high.
Who is she, and why is she here at this time and place?
While Zhou Changyu was thinking, he was suddenly covered in a second wave of dust.
This time it was a man.
No matter how well-mannered Zhou Changyu was, he would have gotten angry at this moment. Moreover, he had not yet mastered the art of saving face, and his brows were instantly covered with a layer of gloom.
Just like that, the man in black riding on the red horse turned around and looked at him provocatively, and the black long sword at his waist flashed a dark light.
Who is that?
Wu Jingxun was riding on Bai Zhenzhu. It seemed like just a few breaths passed before she saw a box wrapped in a bloody flag under the military flag fluttering in the wind.
It's funny to say that he was such a tall and strong man when he was alive, and his every move was full of heroism. But after his death, not only could his body not be returned to his hometown and buried, but even his heroic soul could only be huddled in such a small box and follow them back.
While she was embroidering the wedding curtain, Cuiping chuckled and said, "I'd better prepare more silk and satin for you, my lady. Our son-in-law is so tall that not only will we need more material to make shoes, but I'm afraid the wedding bed will have to be as long as a boat. My lady, you have to make the wedding curtain bigger!"
The laughter and joy in the boudoir in the past still linger in her ears, but the person who should have admired the wedding curtain with her will never come back.
The people who were escorting Pei Jinguang back from his tomb saw a woman in white riding a large horse galloping towards them from afar, followed by a young man in black. They had a vague guess in their hearts that this might be the general's wife, the wife of the prince of Pingning Marquis's Mansion.
When they got closer, the woman hurriedly turned over and dismounted. She moved so hastily that she almost fell off the horse. Everyone was anxious, but they saw that she quickly reacted and landed safely. Her plain face was full of tear marks. They sighed and looked at each other, and that was it.
Seeing Wu Jingxun walking straight towards the box wrapped in the blood-stained flag, Zhao Wuya dismounted from his horse, holding the box in his arms. He suppressed his grief and said, "Madam, this is... the general's remains. We will use this to build a cenotaph for the general, as a reminder for you, Madam, and the others."
The bloodstains on the general's flag were like dark plum blossoms in the snow, their color had long since darkened and seeped into the word "Pei" embroidered with black and gold thread. Wu Jingxun gently stroked it and seemed to still be able to feel the warmth of that moment.
Pei Huaiguang dismounted and walked forward in silence.
The white figure in front looked like a morning glory swaying in the bitter wind and rain, making people worry whether her waist would be broken by the wind and rain in the next moment.
Not many people came to escort Pei Jinguang's clothes and belongings. The fighting on the front was tense, and the few people who came were all Pei Jinguang's confidants. They were burly men who dismounted with sad expressions and knelt on both sides of the box wrapped in the blood-stained general's flag.
Pei Huaiguang took a few steps back and looked at her holding the box, standing in the middle. Her face was pale, but she didn't look so slender and fragile as when he looked at her back, which made people worry that she would die in the next moment.
After seeing her so distraught over her brother's death, Pei Huaiguang felt both pain and itch in his heart. Seeing her now so calm and peaceful, he couldn't help but think that he would rather she vent all the grief and sadness in her heart than keep it all blocked in her heart, along with her thoughts and love for him, which would never fade away in the future.
After all, how can a living person compare to a dead person?
I just hope that his good brother will be smarter and have better luck and won't really die.
Otherwise, no matter whether he wins or loses in the future, he will always feel a lump in his heart and feel unhappy.
"Pei Jingzhi... I mean, my husband. Where is his body?"
The box should not be light, but Wu Jingxun felt it was too empty and light when he held it in his arms.
A soldier spoke, his voice raspy and difficult to understand: "That day, the general was seriously injured. He then lured the second prince of Donghu out of the enemy camp, and the two fought alone. The general knew that he was seriously injured and could not return. In order to prevent his body from falling into the hands of the enemy... the general, he fought back and killed the second prince of Donghu. They fell off the cliff together."
The cliff was extremely high. The general was already seriously injured and fell from a great height. There was an unfathomable undercurrent under the cliff. The soldiers all knew that the general would never come back.
They could only silently follow the words he had said to his brothers before his death, set out from the grassland bathed in blood and murderous aura, and bring back his relics.
Wu Jingxun listened in silence, and his hand holding the box tightened unconsciously, and the back of his snow-white hand turned blue.
At this moment, Zhou Changyu and the others who had been waiting at Shili Pavilion rushed over, their faces still tinged with resentment and dissatisfaction - hadn't we agreed to pick them up at Shili Pavilion? Why did we stop here halfway?
Zhou Changyu saw at a glance the girl in white holding the box wrapped in the blood-stained general's flag.
He figured it out. This wasn't white clothing at all; it was mourning clothes.
She is Pei Jinguang's newly married wife, and now the newly widowed wife of the Prince of Pingning.
Zhou Changyu couldn't help but show a bit of pity in his eyes. Such a beautiful woman was even more beautiful than his sister who was conceited about her beauty. But it was really pitiful that such a beauty could only stay alone in an empty room from now on.
His love and affection may not be tainted with excessive desire, but Wu Jingxun and Pei Huaiguang both sensed it.
Pei Huaiguang quietly placed his hand on the scabbard.
At times like this, he would behave himself. If this damn Prince Rong made any unusual moves, he would chop him to pieces with a knife!
Wu Jingxun glanced over indifferently.
Her husband had just died, and she was undoubtedly grieving, but there was an indescribable sad beauty in her white clothes and plain face. Just one glance at her, and Prince Rong could feel the disgust and resistance hidden in her.
The poor little woman felt like the sky was falling when she heard the news, and she had no idea how difficult and miserable her future would be.
Zhou Changyu prided himself on treating others with kindness, so naturally he wouldn't bother with her.
Wu Jingxun was in no mood to listen to those hypocritical and polite words. She held the box tightly, not wanting those hypocritical tears and sighs to disturb her peace.
What he should listen to are the cheers of the people, the clear voices of children reading in school, the laughter of farmers looking forward to the harvest, and the thousands of sounds of fireworks and bustling markets in the world.
"Let's go." Pei Huaiguang took a few steps forward and pulled her across the crowd that had suddenly stopped sighing and was about to get on their horses and leave.
The minister beside Zhou Changyu blew his beard and glared: "Stop! Where are you going?!"
They braved the scorching sun to bring Pei Jinguang's relics to Beijing, expecting to receive the people's weeping and kneeling worship!
If they take the box away, then they can only watch helplessly, right?
If it were in the past, Wu Jingxun would have stood there stiffly, waiting to explain, but she didn't want to talk to anyone now. She was holding the box and it was difficult for her to grab the reins to mount the horse. Pei Huaiguang silently supported her, and she noticed it but didn't say a word. After she sat firmly, she squeezed the horse's belly and left.
Watching Bai Zhenzhu carrying her away in a familiar manner, Pei Huaiguang retracted his gaze and climbed onto his horse himself. He curled his lips coldly at the ministers who were still glaring and the Prince of Rong who was plotting something sinister: "If you don't send my brother home, do you think you should send him to your ancestral temple, waiting for you to kneel three times, kowtow nine times, and burn ten sticks of incense to him every day?"
The group of ministers who used to be the most eloquent were so angry that they wanted to roll their eyes. The soldiers, who had originally had heavy expressions, felt quite relieved when they saw that Pei Huaiguang had made those sour scholars speechless with just one sentence.
The general's younger brother also looks like a brave man!
There will always be someone who can inherit the general's mantle. If the general is in heaven, he can rest assured.
But they didn't expect that Pei Erlang, whom they had placed high hopes on and wanted to inherit the Pei family army and take on the responsibility of guarding the territory for his brother, would turn out to be a dirty and smelly knife in the hands of the current emperor.
Zhou Changyu shook his head at the young woman's offensive behavior. "Never mind. Prince Pei died on the battlefield, and his wife is left widowed at such a young age. It's understandable that she might have acted foolishly out of frustration. Why don't you all be more generous and consider it a favor to me."
When Prince Rong said this, everyone looked a little strange, but before he looked over, they still chuckled in agreement.
The soldiers who were hesitating whether to go over and apologize were suddenly furious, their faces reddening. This damn pretty boy, his general's body still warm and he's already setting his sights on his sister-in-law?!
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Wu Jingxun held the box and it was not easy for her to control the horse by holding the reins, but Bai Zhenzhu seemed to have a spirit and took her back to the Pingning Marquis Mansion smoothly without her command.
Along the way, her hair was blown slightly messy by the wind, and Wu Jingxun's heart was even more confused. A few strands of hair brushed past her eyes. She blinked and saw Pei Huaiguang got off the horse first and stretched out his hand to her.
Should I hold her hand or take the box?
Pei Huaiguang seemed to have read the doubt in her heart and said calmly, "Give me the box and get off the horse yourself. Don't let my brother fall."
Wu Jingxun said "oh" and handed the box to him without any resistance.
Compared to her, the so-called wife who had just married into the family and had no real relationship with Pei Jinguang, let alone any love between them, Wu Jingxun thought that Pei Huaiguang was the one who had real feelings for him.
His blood-related brother is probably closer to him.
He must have wanted Pei Huaiguang to hold him for the rest of his life.
Thinking this, Wu Jingxun turned over and got off the horse.
The two walked in in silence. The wedding characters that had just been posted on the wall and the big red lanterns hanging in the house had been replaced by a desolate white. The sight of them hurt their eyes.
Seeing Wu Jingxun's eyes were red again, Pei Huaiguang felt that his mood was getting upset again.
Do you like me that much? Are you so sad that you can cry your eyes out just thinking about it while walking on the street?
The young man holding the box suddenly quickened his pace. Wu Jingxun looked over and could only see his tightly pursed lips and tense jaw.
"Sister-in-law, what were you hesitating about just now?"
Wu Jingxun raised his head somewhat slowly, and saw a hint of mockery flash across the young man's sharp and beautiful eyes. "Do you think I can still harbor those dirty thoughts and want to tease you at a time like this?"
Wu Jingxun did not answer. She did not have the mood to argue with him at the moment.
The two of them walked in silence, and just as they were about to enter the Marquis's ancestral hall, the young man, who had always been one or two steps ahead of her, stopped.
He looked at the girl, whose face was pale but the corners of her eyes were rosy red, and raised the corners of his mouth maliciously: "Sister-in-law, aren't you curious about my answer? I'm thinking about something more outrageous than you can imagine."
If the roles were reversed and it was him who received the news of his death today, would she shed a tear for the news while she lay in her brother's arms?
If you ask yourself honestly, Pei Huaiguang doesn't like her crying for others.
But he didn't have the habit of carrying a handkerchief, so he could only move forward and wipe her tears in other ways.
The faint scent of sandalwood wafting from the ancestral hall and the blood-stained general's flag wrapped around the box were reminding Wu Jingxun of the taboos of this relationship.
She subconsciously took a step back, avoiding the boy's deep eyes: "Your brother is listening too."
Pei Huaiguang lowered his head to glance at the box. The blood-stained general's flag still faintly exuded the smell of rusty horsehide. He glanced at her, and his face finally regained some color. He no longer looked like someone who was about to commit suicide for love.
He stepped into the ancestral hall.
The old lady was already waiting there.
Seeing Wu Jingxun's tear-red eyes looking around, the old lady sighed. The old lady, who had aged considerably after learning of her eldest grandson's death in battle, patted her hands and said, "Your mother...is so heartbroken that she can't get up. Let's just send Jin'er off together, grandparents and grandchildren."
As she spoke, the old lady couldn't help crying.
Wu Jingxun went forward to comfort her, speaking soothing words, but she felt like a cold, stiff person, her soul had been withdrawn, and she could only watch coldly as her self in the secular world fulfilled her duties as the wife of the Prince of Pingning's Mansion.
Pei Jinguang could only build a cenotaph, but the cumbersome procedures were the same, not to mention that the eunuchs from the palace came with the emperor's decree and some seemingly sentimental words of mourning.
Today is the day when Pei Jinguang is buried. Wu Jingxun is in a daze. She has a premonition that her life will take a big turn, but she has no way to stop it. The feeling of being unable to do anything about this sudden change of course makes her disgusted and irritated.
It had been sunny for a long time recently, but it rained today. The newly widowed wife of the prince was wearing mourning clothes, with no bright colors on her head or body. However, her face, which looked even more graceful and sad in the misty drizzle, made people unable to help but follow her gaze.
The day finally ended. Cuiping helped Wu Jingxun up with heartache and was about to take her back to rest, but she heard the old lady calling her.
"Jingxun, come here."
Wu Jingxun followed the old lady in silence. In just a few days, her hair seemed to have turned completely white.
The old lady came into the room and took out a stack of papers from the dressing table and handed it to her.
"Look at this."
Wu Jingxun thought it was a land deed or a house deed, and was about to shake his head when the three words "divorce letter" suddenly caught his eye on the top piece of paper.
"Grandmother, you want me to...divorce the prince?"
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