Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The Old Emperor said I was the daughter of Marquess Jingyuan, so even if he split me in half, my mother would still have to come collect my corpse.

I understood at once. He wanted my mother to enter the capital as a hostage too.

On the verge of death, I had barely left the hall before I threw myself around a corridor pillar and wept my heart out. “I knew it! How could there possibly be such a perfect man in this world?

“A man who can swing a sledgehammer and cook in the kitchen!”

I was crying with great enthusiasm when a surge of killing intent shot up behind me. My survival instincts made me keep howling with my eyes squeezed shut. “How could Heaven split one perfect man into two perfect men?

“Whether it’s the palm or the back of my hand, they’re both my husbands!”

While I was wailing at full volume, Eunuch Cen, who served at the Old Emperor’s side, brought me to Zhaixing Pavilion with a speechless expression. He even thoughtfully explained that Crown Prince Yun Song and Second Prince Yun Wei had only been sent to the border city because they lost a bet with His Majesty.

But I wasn’t born yesterday!

My family had guarded the border for three generations, our reputation known far and wide. His Majesty had to be suspicious of us, which was why he sent his two sons there, one to watch me at the front line and the other to watch my mother from the rear!

Now that I was in the capital, Yun Song and Yun Wei were still keeping an eye on me every other day. They were obviously afraid I would die in the imperial city and they would have no way to answer to my mother!

Hmph!

Gold hairpins, daggers, roast duck, candied hawthorns, all of it was just to blind me to the truth!

I put on a lifeless, desireless act so the people guarding me would lower their guard while I prepared to escape in secret. For some reason, Yun Wei flew into a rage. “My imperial brother is only meeting a candidate for Crown Princess, and that alone has you pining away in grief?

“All those dried sweet potatoes he brought you were stolen from the batch I dried!”

I slowly shifted my head, pretending to be sluggish, while inwardly wondering what dried sweet potatoes had to do with anything.

Seeing Yun Wei fling his sleeves and leave, I shuffled blankly around the courtyard, trying to figure out where to climb the wall. Then Yun Song popped out from who knew where.

“My Royal Father wants to bestow a marriage on Yun Wei, and that’s why you’ve turned into a walking corpse?

“That dagger Yun Wei gave you, the one that can cut through iron like mud, was stolen from me!”

Yun Song gripped my wrist, his teeth clenched. “Do you love him that much?”

Oh-ho. Were the two of them about to fight over me?

Fight away. The messier it got, the easier it would be for me to run.

But day after day, the two of them only glared at me like I was a disappointment beyond saving, with no intention of actually coming to blows.

I had no choice but to wait until the guards slackened and climb over the courtyard wall. But just as I was about to slip away, a voice came from inside the courtyard. “Young General, Marquess Jingyuan has arrived at the imperial city.”

At that, I nimbly flipped right back over. “Really? My mother is here?”

I had only just straightened when I met the boundless fury in Yun Song’s and Yun Wei’s eyes.

Awkwardly, I explained, “Well, blood ties really are something. I perked up instantly.”

Half an incense stick later, I was sitting beside my mother. Yun Song sat on our left, and Yun Wei sat on our right.

Mainly because the two of them were far too clever. The moment they saw me climb back over the wall, they understood I had been pretending to be an idiot to trick everyone.

As for me, I sat there with my hands tucked into my sleeves, sulking. Why hadn’t I gotten a welcome banquet when I entered the capital?

The emperor’s eyes lit up the moment he saw my mother, and the corners of his mouth curved so high he couldn’t press them down. “Hearing of someone is no match for meeting them. Marquess Jingyuan truly is heroic and extraordinary!”

“It is all thanks to Your Majesty’s diligent governance that officials like us can fight without worries behind us.”

My mother respectfully raised her cup to His Majesty and drained it in one go. “It is only my daughter who has caused Your Majesty trouble.

“The one who tied the knot must untie it. It is just as well to let them resolve matters themselves.”

The emperor laughed heartily and nodded again and again. “However, Marquess Jingyuan’s husband has been gone for many years now. As for your marriage…”

My mother quickly picked up where the emperor left off. “This subject already has someone in mind, and Qingzhong also has a marriage engagement.”

Yun Song raised his cup toward Yun Wei. “Your father just lost in love! And you’re about to lose in love too!”

Yun Wei rolled his eyes. “Your father is the one who lost in love! Your whole family lost in love!”

Only I stared at my mother in disbelief. “You made up with Uncle Wang next door again?”

My mother shot me a look of exasperated disappointment. “His Majesty is benevolent. Once you receive your reward, return to the border city and complete the marriage.

“Your maternal grandfather arranged a childhood betrothal for you when he was still alive.”

As soon as my mother finished, His Majesty, whose face had gone dark as iron, spoke in a faint voice too. “Our sons have also lost in love!”

The entire hall fell silent. Only Yun Wei, suppressing the corners of his mouth, dropped to his knees in front of my mother with a thud. “My Lady Marquess, Lin Qingzhong is carrying my child.

“She said so herself in the great hall a few days ago.”

Now it was my turn to go numb. Looking at the barely suppressed fury in my mother’s eyes, I felt my end was near. “I lied! I’m not!

“I fight battles during the day and pass out from charcoal smoke at night. When would I have time to get pregnant?!”

Yun Wei looked perfectly calm, but the words he spoke were out to end my life. “Then that was deceiving the sovereign?”