It was not Lin Qing's original intention to stay in the capital to get married. If the old lady had not threatened to commit suicide, he would have fled back to the border at night. But he never expected that the bride he married would be even more unhappy than himself. She was unwilling to perform the wedding ceremony, unwilling to drink the wedding wine, and just sat on the edge of the bed crying. Her makeup was smudged and her eyes were swollen from crying, and she would not listen to any persuasion.
Lin Qing was very upset when his sister was shot down a ravine by an assassin and never found alive or dead. How could he have the mind to get married? He didn't touch the bride, but took some bedding and went to the study. They are called husband and wife, but in fact they are like strangers living under the same roof.
Half a month passed like this, and the old lady couldn't stand it anymore, so she made it clear that the two of them had to consummate their marriage. As long as the bride became pregnant, Lin Qing could go to the border to fight, and they would never force him to do anything again. Regardless of whether the child is a boy or a girl, they will help Lin Qing raise it, thus preserving a bloodline for the Lin family.
Lin Qing was indeed moved, and he carried the bedding back to the bridal chamber that night. However, he did not expect that the bride, who had been quiet for a few days, began to cry again. This time she cried even more sadly than the last time, as if she was heartbroken. All her maids surrounded her, seemingly trying to persuade her, but in fact they were blocking Lin Qing from getting close.
No matter how dumb Lin Qing was, he could see something was going on. He said in a deep voice, "Are you unwilling to marry me?"
The bride's crying paused for a moment.
Lin Qing sighed, "Although your family is in decline, you still have the title of Earl. You are also the daughter of the Earl's Mansion. It is really unfair for you to marry into my Lin family. I know the situation of my family. All the sons of the family died in the battlefield. Now I am the only one left alive. Although my sister is a rare talent, her life and death are unknown. I am a weak person and cannot support the Lin family. If you marry me, not only will you not enjoy wealth and glory, but you will also have to suffer. If I make you pregnant again, what will you do when I am gone in the future?"
Lin Qing thought of the hard work her mother put in raising her, and the current situation of the Lin family. She couldn't help but feel sad and tears rolled down her cheeks.
The bride stopped crying unconsciously, but she didn't look at him, but clutched her clothes tightly.
Seeing that she was determined not to obey, Lin Qing waved his hand and said, "Forget it, I won't hurt you. If you really don't want to marry me, I will send you back. Now the border is in danger, Wei is in danger, and all the nobles in the capital have decided to cross the river to the south. No one will care about your marriage and divorce at this time. When you go to the south, you can find another good man."
After experiencing so many ups and downs, Lin Qing has become more open-minded. He took out pen, ink, paper and inkstone and slowly wrote a divorce letter.
Seeing him like this, the bride couldn't help but say a few words from the heart: "I really don't want to marry you. If the old lady hadn't given my father 20,000 taels of gold as a betrothal gift, and my mother was a stepmother who didn't care about my life or death, I would not have entered your Lin Mansion."
Lin Qing shook his head and said, "I know. It's all spread out there now. It's said that if you marry into the Lin Mansion, you'll become a widow. How could a slightly better family harm their daughter like this? The old lady spent more than half a month searching in the capital before she found your family. She saw that you have a greedy father and a cruel mother. You are also a poor person. I will give you some more silver. You can take it secretly to the South. Don't let others know. I will die on the battlefield sooner or later. I can't harm you."
The bride waved her hands and said, "No, no, no, I can't take the money. Just send me home." She still has a younger brother who is left in the care of her stepmother. The journey to the south is long and the mountains are high. She didn't know whether her stepmother would take the opportunity to attack her younger brother. Besides, she already had someone in her heart. If she went to the South, no one would know her background, and she could still convince her father to marry her again.
In the end, Lin Qing stuffed a bag of gold leaves into her hand, thus ending this evil fate. The old lady naturally disagreed with the decision of the two, but there was nothing she could do. If her grandson didn't want to touch anyone, could she really drug him?
On the day the bride was sent home, the Five Barbarians' Allied Forces had already started a fierce battle with the Western Expedition Army on the border. Although the battle report had not yet been received, all the nobles in the capital had already prepared to escape. You know, once the national border was breached, with the speed of the Hun cavalry, it would only take seven days to enter the capital. They dared not even imagine how many people would die in seven days.
The old lady couldn't swallow her anger after all, and insisted that the family return the betrothal gifts.
Twenty thousand taels of gold was no small sum, and it could be used to build up a family business in the south. But the family was not willing to return it, and they started quarreling with the old lady on the spot, scolding them for being an orphan and having no descendants, and for being doomed to die. They said all sorts of unpleasant things.
The old lady was so angry that her eyes were blurry and she almost vomited blood. She swung the dragon head stick to hit people. Lin Qing gritted his teeth secretly, regretting that he should not have given the bride a bag of gold leaves. If he had known that his family could be so shameless, he would never be a good person!
The bride didn't help either side, she just knelt on the ground and kowtowed. For her brother's sake, she would never go back to the Lin family. If the Lin family was still as prosperous as before, it wouldn't matter to her to be a widow. After all, the Lin family was powerful and could protect her brother as he grew up. But now the Lin family has nothing except the good-for-nothing Lin Qing. When the Huns come, Lin Qing will definitely be left behind by the emperor to guard the capital, and he will be dead then.
She knew very well the character of the Lin family. Even if all the people in the capital fled to the south, they would not run away. Rather than staying and waiting to die, it would be better to divorce. The more she thought about it, the more sad she cried. Her heartbroken appearance made many passers-by feel sympathy for her, and they couldn't help but speak up for her: "Forget it, old lady. Don't you know what the situation is in your family? Why do you want to harm a good girl?"
"Yes, you shouldn't have come to propose marriage in the first place. You are determined to make the girl a widow, so isn't it reasonable to give such a large betrothal gift?"
"You have already married her and taken advantage of her, but you suddenly divorce her and even come to her house to ask for a betrothal gift. That's really disrespectful! Do you think the Lin family is still the same as before, with all the beautiful girls in the capital available for you to choose from? It's already good enough that she's willing to marry you, don't push your luck."
Seeing that everyone was on her side, the bride's stepmother became more and more arrogant. She pointed at the old lady's nose and said, "I'm going to give you a definite promise today. We won't return the betrothal gifts, but we will take the person away. You can do whatever you want. We are not afraid of even if you report it to the emperor!" After today, even the old emperor will have to flee south with his tail between his legs. Who would care about these trivial matters?
As the saying goes, when a wall falls, everyone pushes it. The Lin family will be wiped out sooner or later. What benefits can you get by helping them? It would be more satisfying to kick someone when he's down. With such sinister intentions, more and more people came to speak up for the bride, and the old lady was so angry that she almost fainted. Lin Qing was filled with deep regret and wanted to draw his sword to kill these people.
He just didn't want to hurt anyone, but he didn't expect to hurt his own family instead. It turns out that he is incompetent at anything and is just a useless waste. How great would it be if his life could be exchanged for my sister's? With my sister around, the Lin family would never be humiliated to this extent.
Lin Qing became angrier and angrier. He had his hand on the hilt of the knife and was about to commit murder when he saw a fast horse running through the streets like an arrow, shouting all the way: "Make way, make way, urgent battle report from 800 miles away! Great victory at the border, great victory at the border!"
The crowd burst into an uproar, and then made way for the messenger to pass unimpeded.
Lin Qing didn't care about anything else and rushed to the side of the road and asked loudly: "Is the border victory true?"
The messenger didn't want to pay attention to him, but when he saw the old lady, he couldn't help but pull the reins, slow down, and said excitedly: "It's true! At the critical moment, General Lin Dan led a herd of wild horses and suddenly appeared from the rear of the Five Barbarians. They not only broke through the enemy's formation and took the heads of the leaders of the four tribes, but also seriously injured Mo Xiao and defeated the Huns! General Lin Dan is now leading the Western Expedition Army to encircle and suppress the remnants of the Five Barbarians on the grassland to consolidate the results of the battle, and the Wei Kingdom has been saved! Old lady, General Lin Dan ordered me to send you a letter of safety. You should go back quickly. I will visit your house after I see the emperor..." As he spoke, he had already run away, leaving behind only a string of hearty laughter.
After hearing what the messenger said, the old lady immediately calmed down and said anxiously, "Hurry up, hurry home! I want to wait for the news that my beloved grandson is safe!"
Lin Qing's dejected look disappeared as he shouted in the street: "My sister is not dead, my sister won! Did you hear that? My sister won!" After shouting, he laughed out loud, as if he was crazy. The passers-by around no longer dared to say a single mocking word, and looked at the Lin family with awe and gratitude in their eyes.
Lin Qing roared a few more times, feeling very happy. In the end, without even looking at the bride's family, he hurried back supporting the old lady. The women of the Lin family immediately put their hearts back in their stomachs. Although they tried their best to endure it, they still laughed as they walked, laughing so hard that tears fell.
Passersby gave way to them one after another, and when they had walked a long way, they shouted ecstatically: "Wei has won, we don't have to flee! Go home and tell them the news!"
In a twinkling, the crowded streets became empty. The bride was still kneeling on the ground, tears hanging on her cheeks, but her face was no longer sad. Instead, she looked as if she had seen a ghost. Her father and mother, who had been so smug and arrogant just a moment ago, now looked pale and trembling like a sieve.
Lin Dan came back alive and made great contributions. How would the emperor reward her? As soon as they thought of this, they collapsed on the ground. After a long time, they barely got up and quickly ordered someone to send back the 20,000 taels of gold and the bride.
This time the bride stopped crying and was very cooperative. However, she did not expect that the Lin family would close the door and not allow her to enter. For her brother's future, she had no choice but to kneel at the door and apologize. Several maids knelt with her and whispered, "Miss, Lin Dan is a woman after all. Even if she has made military achievements, her future is limited. Do you really want to come back?"
"She cannot receive the title, but Lin Qing can take her place." The bride explained in a low voice. Lin Dan is a woman, and due to the rules, the emperor will certainly not reward her greatly, but he will not treat the Lin family unfairly either. The military achievement will naturally fall on Lin Qing. With Lin Dan charging in the front and Lin Qing enjoying military merit in the back, the bride can be a noble lady without having to be a widow. Why not? If she had known that marrying Lin Qing would bring such a good thing, she would never divorce him!
The bride was just regretting her decision when she saw several eunuchs hurriedly entering the mansion with an imperial edict. After a while, several imperial guards came running over, set up a ladder, took down the plaque with the words "Lin Mansion" inscribed on it, and replaced it with a black and gilded plaque with the words "General Dingguo Mansion" inscribed on it.
The bride's eyes flashed with ecstasy, and she asked quickly, "Sir, has Lin Qing been canonized as the General of Dingguo?"
"Who is Lin Qing?" Several guards said sternly, "General Lin Dan has been canonized as the General of Dingguo by the Emperor, and has been given the title of First-Rank Marquis. Don't kneel here and get in the way. Someone from the palace will come to give you rewards later. Be careful not to get stepped on."
The bride was stunned. After being chased away by the imperial guards, she murmured in a trance: "In the Wei Kingdom, can women become generals and marquises? What kind of world is this?"
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