Chapter 291 : Vomiting Blood (2)

きつね：A special end-of-the-year extra chapter. Thank you for your support these years. 😊

Qiu Shi hugged Yuxi and cried, “My child, I am sorry for you. I thought you didn’t care, but I didn’t expect you to swallow your suffering all by yourself.” She was so incompetent as a mother.

Yuxi said softly, “Mother, I’m fine, aren’t I?” It would be a lie to say that she didn’t hate anyone. But she didn’t hate the Chen family. She was just an outsider to them, so it was natural for them to throw her out first when things went wrong. The one she hated was the person who, by using her power, had no regard for her life or death, and that person was the high and mighty Song Guifei, an existence that everyone had to look up to. To Song Guifei, killing her would be as easy as crushing an ant. Even if this ant had escaped twice, it would still be easy to kill as long as she moved her hand.

Qiu Shi was in tears.

Yuxi could only change the subject and said, “Mother, don’t cry. Crying won’t solve the problem.” If crying could solve her problem, then she would cry too. Unfortunately, tears were the most useless thing at this time.

Qiu Shi wiped her tears and said, “You’re right. Crying won’t solve this problem. The most important thing now is for your Dage to find out who this General Pingbei is.” She didn’t know who he was, as she had never heard of him.

Yuxi said quietly, “General Pingbei is Yun Qing.” She had never dreamed that she would be involved with Yun Qing one day. It was a good thing that she had a stronger tolerance now. If it were her in her previous life, she would have been scared to death knowing that she would marry Yun Qing.

Thinking about what Chen Ran had asked her that day if she were Chen Xue, Yuxi felt that fate was truly magical. Chen Ran’s what-ifs had come true for her. She just didn’t know if Yun Qing was really as murderous as he was rumoured to be? She honestly didn’t know if she had to run for her life when that time came.

Qiu Shi was startled. “What? Yun Qing? That Yun Qing who likes to kill people?” The current rumour in the capital only said that Yun Qing liked to kill. The title ‘murderous devil’ was given after Yun Qing had slaughtered a whole city.

Yuxi nodded, conforming to Qiu Shi’s inquiry. “It’s the rumoured Yun Qing who likes to kill people.”

This time, Qiu Shi finally exploded with curse words, “The people of the Song family are all black-hearted things, for even thinking of such vicious methods. These people, after death, all will go down to the eighteenth level of hell.”

きつね: Wow, there’s even a theme park about the 18 levels of hell.

Hearing these words from her mother, Yuxi shook her head and said, “Mother, there is no point in talking about this. The Imperial Decree said that I should leave for the northwest to complete my marriage immediately, so I think I should start within these few days.” Yun Qing could resist the decree because he had something to fall back on. He had used the excuse that he could not enter the capital because of his old injury. If the Emperor had issued an Imperial Decree to punish him severely for this, it would have chilled the soldiers’ hearts in the northwest. The Emperor might have been foolish, but not Grand Chancellor Yu and the important officials of the Imperial Court. Therefore, Yun Qing could be fearless because he had something he could rely on. But she was different. Even if Song Guifei gave her a cup of poisoned wine today, at most, her death would be talked about privately.

Only then did Qiu Shi respond, “Yes, I have to pack your things for you.” After saying that, she called Momo Quan and Zisu, asking them to pick and choose things in Taoran House. The lighter items were packed and taken away, while the heavier things were put aside for the time being.

After Qiu Shi gave out this instruction, she hurried back to her courtyard.

Momo Quan looked at Yuxi and said softly, “Miss, actually going to the northwest may not necessarily be a bad thing. General Yun is young and talented, and by marrying him, Miss won’t have to suffer in the future.” When the others didn’t know, how could Momo Quan not know? Yuxi had been holding back, even to this day. Momo Quan felt distressed whenever she looked at Yuxi.

Hearing this, Yuxi raised her head and asked, “Momo, isn’t it rumoured outside that Yun Qing is murderous? Aren’t you afraid that he will kill me in a fit of rage?” The rumours of Yun Qing now only said that he was murderous, and later, the stories became even more horrifying and mysterious. As to whether it was true or not, Yuxi was unsure.

Hearing this, Momo Quan said, “Didn’t Monk Liao Tong even say that Miss’ fate was bad? But does Miss believe that Miss has a bad fortune?”

Yuxi answered after a moment of silence, “No, I don’t.” Although she had been unlucky in both of her lives and had always experienced sudden changes whenever she was close to happiness, she did not believe that she was a person with bad fortune. If she also thought that she had a bad fate, she would undoubtedly be unhappy for the rest of her life.

Momo Quan said, “That’s right. Is Yun Qing really murderous? Miss will only know when Miss gets to the northwest.” After a pause, she said, “Miss, the people of the border town are more open-minded. So if you go there, you may be more at ease than when you’re in the capital.”

Yuxi glanced at Momo Quan and argued, “Momo, there is often war there.” The environment in Shaanxi and the Western Sea was not bad, but the weather in the border town was harsh, lacking in necessary materials, and there were wars all year round. Not to mention that she would have to eat sand if she lived there. The most worrying thing was the high probability that the northern captives would come and kill her. By going there, she would be risking her life all the time.

Momo Quan wanted to comfort Yuxi, but after hearing her argument, she did not continue. She felt that the northwest was not as scary as rumoured, but she forgot that Yuxi was going to a border town instead of Shaanxi.

Ye Shi and Lu Xiu had gone out to attend a dinner banquet today and returned in a hurry when they got the news. As soon as they entered the house, they heard that Yuxi vomited blood and were so startled that they hurried to Taoran House. When they saw her, her face looked pale.

The two of them already knew about the bestowed marriage. If someone else’s family had come to their door proposing a union, they could have refused. But this marriage was sanctioned through the Imperial Decree, and there was nothing they could do about it.

Yuxi smiled and comforted them, “Dasao, Er Sao, I’m fine. You don’t have to worry.” There was no point in worrying and being afraid when things had happened.

When Ye Shi looked at Yuxi, her nose was sore. “Then you should rest well. Dasao will see you again later.” The decree for the marriage had already been issued, and Yuxi had to leave the capital immediately, so she had to hurry up and pack things for Yuxi right now.

Lu Xiu stayed behind to talk to Yuxi. “Yuxi, if it’s too difficult to bear, you can just cry.” It was now the eleventh lunar month, and Yuxi had to leave for the northwest immediately. Song Guifei was clearly trying to kill Yuxi.

Yuxi shook her head and said, “No, it’s useless to cry. If I think about it, it’s better to marry in the northwest. At least, Er Ge can take care of me there.” Speaking of which, she felt that fate was quite miraculous. She had let Han Jianye go to the northwest because of the shadow of her past life. Now that her Er Ge was in the northwest, even if he couldn’t help her much, it made her feel grounded and not like she had no one to turn to.

Lu Xiu patted Yuxi’s hand and said in a soft voice, “It’s good that you can think like that.” Only Yuxi could be this tenacious and strong-willed. If it were anyone else, she would have cried her eyes out if she knew she had to marry in the northwest. Alas, Lu Xiu honestly felt that Yuxi’s luck was so terrible that she could come across anything as bad as this.

Yuxi urged, “Er Sao, you’d better go check on Ping and the others! Maybe they are currently looking for their mother!” She didn’t like seeing people pitying her because it would only be useless.

Han Jianming soon got the news of the sanctioned marriage, but he couldn’t get away from the magistrate’s office, and it was only when he had a break at noon that he went back to the State Residence.

When he arrived at the Taoran House, Han Jianming saw people inside rummaging through boxes and packing up things. When they finally noticed Han Jianming, they hurriedly came forward to greet him.

Han Jianming waved his hand to disperse them and strode into the house. When he was inside, he saw Yuxi sitting on a stool reading a book.

Yuxi looked up and said, “Dage, you’re back? I thought you wouldn’t be back until the evening!” After saying this, she turned around and ordered Zisu to serve tea.

Han Jianming did not expect Yuxi to be so calm and asked, “You already knew about the marriage?” If she didn’t know, she wouldn’t have packed up her things.

Yuxi nodded and said, “I received the Imperial Decree myself. How could I not know?”

Han Jianming looked ugly as he spoke, “I also got the news when I was on an errand, that Yun Qing was preparing to join the Zhao family in marriage.” Obviously, the Song family was much faster on the news than he was. Otherwise, there would be no such thing as this sanctioned marriage.

Yuxi actually had this suspicion beforehand. “What’s the big deal with the Zhao family?” Those who could make Yun Qing look at them were certainly not ordinary families.

Han Jianming’s expression was gloomy and uncertain. “There are two families with distinguished ancestry in Ganzhou. One is the Zhao family, and the other is the Xu family. The one Yun Qing was originally planning to marry was Zhao Jing, the youngest daughter of General Zhao, the younger brother from the same parents of Master Zhao, the head of their family.” After saying this, he added, “Qin Zhao’s wife is from the Xu family. As far as I know, the Xu family and the Zhao family have always been at odds.”

Yuxi understood. “The Song family and Qin Zhao did not want Yun Qing to marry a girl from the Zhao family to get the Zhao family’s support, so they wanted to bestow a marriage for Yun Qing? And I was chosen purely because Song Guifei has a grudge against me?” After a pause, she added, “Or perhaps, Song Guifei believed the words of Monk Liao Tong and felt that I was carrying a bad fate. So she gave me to Yun Qing, hoping that I would also bring Yun Qing down?”

Song Guifei was such a vengeful person. She could not kill Yuxi twice in a row, but Yuxi had killed three of her people. Although one could say that these three people were just mere dogs to Song Guifei, when one beat a dog, one must answer to its master. For Yuxi to have gotten her people killed was not putting her in her eyes. This time it just so happened that Eldest Master Song brought up to her about Yun Qing’s marriage alliance. Thus, Song Guifei felt that Yuxi was the best candidate to disrupt it.

Han Jianming nodded and said, “That’s pretty much it. Yuxi, you don’t need to have anyone pack right now. It’s already the eleventh lunar month. I’ll let you start your journey to the northwest next spring.”

Yuxi was a little surprised and asked, “Dage is not joking? The Imperial Decree said that I should leave for the northwest immediately!”

Han Jianming said, “Didn’t you just vomit blood? Let’s just say you are seriously ill and need to be cured first. Otherwise, you will die halfway through your journey with this broken body of yours. The Song family is unwilling to let Yun Qing get the support of the Zhao family, and if you die, Yun Qing can marry a Zhao girl just the same. So, they won’t disagree if you stay in the capital for a while to recover from your illness.” The marriage had already been decided, and as long as Yuxi was not dead, Yun Qing could not marry the Zhao family girl.

Yuxi asked, “Dage, since I have ruined Yun Qing’s plans, do you think he will kill me with his sword when I get to the northwest?”

Han Jianming shook his head and said, “No. We might not be able to protect you from the capital, but you still have your Er Ge, right?” Others said that Yuxi was unlucky, but he felt that Yuxi could not have been luckier. Otherwise, how could his Er Di have gone to the northwest instead of Liaodong because of Yuxi’s premonition? Now, his Er Di had become her biggest assistant.

To be honest, Yuxi was still a little scared of Yun Qing. After hearing Han Jianming’s words, she muttered softly, “I hope he doesn’t take it out on me!” Although she was innocent, if Yun Qing felt that she was in the way and had to move her out of the way, she guessed she would have to run for her life then. Of course, this was the worst possible outcome.