Jiaojiao, the little gossip girl, hurriedly followed Qiao Diyi and left the table. As a result, she heard Xiao Qianyue's powerful words just as she stepped out of the door.
She paused abruptly, and the next moment her nose felt sore.
She knew Second Sister Xiao's personality. She knew Second Sister Xiao would definitely try every means to go on this trip north. Therefore, when she exchanged the talisman, she had already taken Second Sister Xiao into account.
They originally thought that they would see Sister Xiao Er only when they set out tomorrow, but they did not expect that she would appear in front of them in such a unique manner tonight.
On the other side, Qiao Diyi instinctively raised his hand to take the red silk, but Xiao Qianyue's words turned over in his mind two or three times, and he couldn't recover.
Qiao Zhongguo and Mrs. Qiao looked at each other and hurried out to greet him.
Seeing that Qiao Diyi had not responded yet, Xiao Qianyue could not help but look gloomy and said in a cold voice: "Why, you don't want to?"
Qiao Diyi came back to his senses and shook his head hastily, "Yue'er, of course I am willing, I'm just worried that I've wronged you."
Xiao Qianyue's expression eased a little after hearing this. She shook her head and said, "The ten-mile red dress and the full house of distinguished guests are all empty talk. You are willing to marry me and I am willing to marry you. This is enough."
Qiao Diyi looked at Xiao Qianyue's frank and generous appearance, with thousands of thoughts running through his mind. Suddenly, he asked seriously:
"Yue'er, are you like this tonight so that we can travel north together?"
Qiao Zhongguo was about to step forward, but when Mrs. Qiao heard this, she grabbed her husband's arm.
I guess Qianyue ran here without telling her parents. I think Brother Xiao and Sister-in-law will catch up soon. It’s better to let Qianyue and Erlang talk it out first.
Qiao Zhongguo received his wife's gaze, lowered his eyes and thought for a moment, then stopped.
After hearing what Qiao Diyi said, Xiao Qianyue nodded without any hesitation.
"That's right! A man's ambition should be like a river flowing eastward into the sea. If you want to go north, whether for the country, the people, honor or reputation, I will not stop you. Not only that, I will go with you!"
"But my father said that you and I are not married yet, and it is not proper for a grown woman like me to follow the army, so you should marry me tonight, and I can go with a clear conscience!"
Qiao Diyi understood what he said. He clenched the red silk in his hand, not at all like his usual carefree self. Instead, he said in a serious and solemn voice:
"Yue'er, this incident happened suddenly, especially with the epidemic. The reason why Master didn't let you go is because of your consideration."
Xiao Qianyue frowned when she heard this.
"Of course I know my father's painstaking efforts, but you should understand me."
"I am proposing marriage today and going north with you. This is not an impulse, nor is it a spur of the moment decision."
"Wuding Pass is the national gate. The sudden outbreak of the epidemic is most likely a conspiracy by the northern country. If the northern bandits take advantage of this opportunity to launch a sneak attack, our national gate may be lost!"
"This is a critical moment for the country. It is time for people with lofty ideals like us to step forward. Although I, Xiao Qianyue, am a woman, I have all the skills in martial arts and am full of strategies."
"Even if I never come back from this trip, it can be regarded as a fulfillment of my pride. I have already made up my mind that as a daughter of a general, I will never disgrace my father's reputation as a tiger general in this life!"
The words are sonorous and shocking.
This is what Xiao Qianyue’s heart desires!
Upon hearing this, the serious expression on Qiao Diyi's face slowly faded away. He grinned, and his eyes and eyebrows lit up instantly.
He had said long ago that he would not restrict Yue'er. Now that Yue'er had already realized this, he would not stop her from realizing her ambitions in the name of doing good for Yue'er!
He tightened the red silk in his hand, walked forward with firm steps, and said with a smile full of joy:
"Yue'er, I should be the one to ask this. Are you willing to marry me tonight?"
When Xiao Hongda and Mrs. Xiao hurried over, they just happened to hear Xiao Qianyue's heartfelt words.
Xiao Hongda stood still, looking at his little daughter's back, with tears in his eyes, as if he was pleased and full of emotion.
Mrs. Xiao was already crying. She hesitated, but finally suppressed all her worries and hesitations and stopped abruptly.
As a mother, she knows her daughter best.
She had long expected that she would not be able to detain Yue'er this time, but she did not expect Yue'er to be so bold as to find the Qiao Mansion on her own.
Hearing Qiao Diyi's gentle question at this time, Mrs. Xiao raised her hand and wiped the tears from her cheeks.
She felt both sad and relieved. She felt sad that her daughter was about to go to the northern border, but she was relieved that Erlang of the Qiao family was a sincere man who understood her daughter.
Xiao Qianyue looked at Qiao Diyi, who had a sincere and solemn expression in front of her, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but rise, and only then did she feel a bit of girlish shyness.
She nodded heavily, "It's done!"
Qiao Zhongguo looked past the two young men standing together and towards his old brother not far away.
His eyes were full of emotion and he exchanged a glance with Xiao Hongda, who nodded at him resignedly.
When a girl grows up, her parents have no say over her. Yue'er is a child that cannot be tied down, so just let her be.
This child has great ambitions.
"cough!"
Thinking of this, Xiao Hongda coughed heavily, which startled Qiao Diyi and Xiao Qianyue, who were looking at each other affectionately and were in tune with each other.
Xiao Qianyue's expression suddenly changed, and she immediately hid behind Qiao Diyi with great agility, and shouted: "Dad! Just let Yue'er go!"..
At this time, Qiao Diyi had already knelt down heavily in front of Xiao Hongda and Madam Xiao.
"Master, Master's Wife, Di Yi will protect Yue'er even if he sacrifices his life. Please follow Yue'er's wishes and let her go north with Di Yi!"
These words carried a lot of weight. Among all the people present, only Jiaojiao knew clearly how much determination was contained in them.
Because during the day, she deliberately pulled her second brother aside to talk about the ending of the original book, and she had to remind her second brother.
When he heard that his second sister-in-law rushed back to the city gate holding his body but was shot to death at the city gate, his second brother was silent for a long time.
Jiaojiao had never seen such a heavy expression on her second brother's face before. Guilt, anger, unwillingness, countless emotions mixed together, but in the end, they all calmed down.
The second brother rubbed her head and said with a smile: "Little sister, it won't happen this time. The second brother will definitely come back safely and bring your sister Xiao with him."
Xiao Hongda and Madam Xiao walked up slowly and stood in front of Qiao Diyi.
Qiao Diyi knocked his forehead to the ground and did not get up for a long time.
This bow also implied an unspeakable sense of guilt in his heart for not being able to protect Yue'er within the predetermined trajectory.
Xiao Hongda first glanced at his daughter, then sighed softly, and personally bent over to help Qiao Diyi up.
"That's all. It's up to you."
Xiao Hongda shook his head and spoke, his voice full of helplessness, yet full of pampering and love.
Mrs. Xiao held back her tears and clenched Qiao Diyi's arm.
As a mother, there was naturally no reason for her to stop her daughter from soaring high. She was just worried that her daughter would be too young to grow up and would have no one to protect her.
Madam Xiao moved her lips, and finally all her words turned into one sentence: "Erlang, good boy, you must fight side by side with Yue'er."