Chapter 293 : Preparation (2)

Han Jianming hurried to Taoran House, where Yuxi was already fully dressed and waiting for him in the small parlour. She had just remembered something she had overlooked. It was of vital importance, and if she delayed it, it would be a big deal.

Seeing Yuxi’s anxious face, Han Jianming asked, “Yuxi, what’s wrong?” This was the first time he had seen Yuxi so nervous.

As Yuxi tugged at Han Jianming’s sleeve, she asked, “Dage, have you sent someone to deliver a letter to Er Ge, informing him that I’ve been given in marriage to Yun Qing?”

Han Jianming nodded and said, “Yes, I already did.”

Yuxi hurriedly asked again, “When will the letter arrive? Can it be delivered within half a month?” It would take more than half a month to go through the marriage process, from finding a matchmaker, submitting a formal proposal, wenming, and naji. After all these, the date of the union could be set, and the marriage would be considered finalised.

Yuxi was not worried about Yun Qing and the girl of the Zhao family already tying the knot. This was because armies stationed at the border town would not stop fighting until it started to snow heavily. It was only during this cease-fire period that Yun Qing would have time to spend on his personal matters.

Han Jianming shook his head and said, “How can it be delivered within half a month. It will take a month to get to the border town at the earliest!” In fact, the Emperor’s decree had already been delivered, but it was just that it was not a military report. The eunuchs transporting it from the capital to the border town wouldn’t arrive before the end of the year because of this winter. Therefore, Han Jianming automatically ignored this.

Yuxi shook her head. “No, it has to be within half a month. Dage, if the news gets through too late, Yun Qing and the Zhao family will already be engaged, and it will be a problem then.”

Han Jianming was not stupid and immediately understood what Yuxi had said, “You are worried that even if the Imperial Decree grants marriage for Yun Qing, he will still marry the Zhao family girl by then.” After saying this, Han Jianming felt that it was not impossible. When Yun Qing married the girl from the Zhao family, it was not because he liked her but for the sake of an alliance. Therefore, once the two families were betrothed, even if there was an Imperial Decree sanctioning marriage for Yun Qing, he could still marry the Zhao family girl just the same. As long as he said he had to abide by morality and could not be a man who went against his own word.

Yun Qing was not stupid either, so naturally, he would not explicitly disobey the decree and still marry Yuxi. Only then it would be Yuxi who would be on an equal footing with the Zhao girl.

Yuxi nodded and said, “Yes, as long as Yun Qing negotiates with the Zhao family, the phenomenon that Dage said will occur.” Let alone the fact that Yuxi was not willing to sit on an equal footing with another woman. Once Yun Qing married the Zhao girl, she would be in danger of her life at any moment. The Zhao family was a prestigious clan in Ganzhou. As the saying went, a strong dragon could not repress a snake, and the Zhao girl had all the means to harm her if she wanted to.

If it came to that, she would have no choice but to run away. Only, running away was the next best thing. For one thing, Yun Qing would send someone after her; for another, running away would tarnish the Han family’s reputation, and although Dage was good to her, it was based on her being useful. If she failed to bring benefits but brought harm to the family, then Dage would definitely be the first to step forward to clean up the family reputation.

Han Jianming had been busy all day yesterday and hadn’t had time to think about this matter. Thus, he overlooked this. “I’ll write now and tell your Er Ge about this so that he can spread it.” As long as this matter was publicised, Yun Qing’s marriage with the Zhao family would be impossible.

Yuxi nodded and said, “Yes, the sooner, the better.” Sometimes, Yuxi wondered if she was really unlucky. If not, how else could she come across all kinds of bad luck!

Han Jianming also felt that this was a big problem. “Yes, don’t worry, I will have the letter delivered to your Er Ge as soon as possible.”

After sending Han Jianming away, Yuxi said to Zijin, “If the letter is delivered late, I will have to be on an equal footing with someone by then.”

Zijin knew Yuxi well enough. “What are your plans, Miss?” She knew Yuxi’s nature. Although she appeared easy-going on the surface, Yuxi was also arrogant to the core. It would be impossible to put her on an equal footing with another woman.

Yuxi looked at Zijin and said, “If I escape the bestowed marriage stated in the Imperial Decree, it will implicate Mother and Dage. So there is only one way to do it: to fake my death. And if I were to go forward with it, then I would no longer be the Fourth Miss Han.” If she wanted to fake her death and escape, she could only do it while still on the road. Once she arrived at the border town, she could not do it. Once she succeeded in faking her death and disappeared, she would have to live in this world as a different person. Since she had become accustomed to being the Fourth Miss Han, not to mention having to throw it away, just thinking about it made Yuxi’s heart ache.

The present situation was different from that of her previous life. Her mother and Er Ge loved her so much. If she faked her death, she might not be able to return to the capital to see them again in this lifetime.

Zijin said, “Miss, if we plan well, we can still escape without any problems. But things haven’t come to that yet.”

Yuxi explained, “I am also planning for the worst.”

Zijin uttered, “Miss, wherever you go, I will follow you.” Her life belonged to Miss. Naturally, wherever Miss was, she would also be there.

Yuxi nodded her head gently, then looked down and thought carefully back to the rumours she had heard about Yun Qing in her previous life. Unfortunately, no matter how much she thought about it, there was no information. Alas, she was too ignorant and inexperienced in her previous life. If she had been living the same as she did now, she wouldn’t have been so passive.

Zijin said, “Miss, our journey makes us go through an unsafe road. I want to go to the mountains and ask Master Yang and Yu Zhi Ge for help.” Whether Yuxi wanted to escape or not, it was always right to ask Master Yang and Yu Zhi Ge to help protect Miss. The road was not peaceful, and having two more martial artists with good martial arts skills would provide an additional guarantee.

Naturally, Yuxi thought this was a good idea, but she thought it was already complicated enough. “Will Master Yang and Fourth Brother Yu agree?”

Zijin answered, “I think they ought to agree, but it’s always a good idea to give a shot in asking them.” There was nothing to lose if they disagreed. It would only be a wasted trip.

Yuxi looked outside. The sky was starting to show the sign of light. “You have to be more careful when you’re going out.” Song Guifei hated her. She might also be angry with Zijin for killing Momo Tian and her two subordinates! Although this was unlikely, one could sail for thousands of years if cautious.

Han Jianming sent his most trusted subordinate, Han Hao, to deliver the letter.

Thirteen days later, Han Jianye looked at the unrecognisable Han Hao and asked, “Why do you look like this? What happened?”

Han Hao’s throat had dried up, and he could not speak at all. He handed the letter in his hand to Han Jianye. His eyes were eager, indicating that it was very important.

Han Jianye hurriedly opened the letter and shouted after reading it, “That old man Emperor has actually given Yuxi’s hand in marriage to Yun Qing?”

Han Yi was beside him when he heard this and quickly asked, “Second Master, isn’t General Yun about to be betrothed to Miss Zhao? Second Master, if the Emperor has bestowed a marriage between the Fourth Miss and General Yun, then a betrothal between General Yun and Miss Zhao should not happen!” While the two families were not yet betrothed, they should hurriedly deliver this matter. Otherwise, even though this marriage was not their own wish, the Emperor had bestowed it. It would not be a pleasant thing to hear about someone snatching someone else’s fiancé.

Han Jianye was also shocked by the bestowed marriage that he suddenly forgot the other big event. He patted his head and said, “I have to tell Yun Qing quickly.” Because of their childhood friendship and they were of the same age, Han Jianye still called him by his first name, even though Yun Qing’s official position was higher than him.

Hearing this, Han Hao fell to the ground. Since he had been rushing for the past ten days, he was exhausted to the point of exhaustion, and now he could finally sleep in peace.

Yun Qing was now a third-ranking general and had his own residence. When Han Jianye entered the general’s residence, he saw a woman of about forty walking out of it. Looking at how the woman dressed, Han Jianye guessed that she was a matchmaker.

Han Jianye called the other party to a halt and asked, “Are you a matchmaker?” Seeing that the other woman was indeed the matchmaker for Yun Qing and Miss Zhao, Han Jianye asked Han Yi to give the matchmaker two taels of silver. He then said, “General Yun’s marriage to Miss Zhao is not going to work out, so this is money for your hard work.”

The matchmaker’s face changed, and she asked in a loud voice, “Where did this person come from? How can you say such things casually? What do you mean the marriage is not going to work out? Don’t you know that it’s better to tear down a temple than to destroy a marriage? Furthermore, do you have the right to decide the marriage between General Yun and Miss Zhao? If you don’t explain everything clearly today, this betrothal is not going to end.” She didn’t even pause while giving her long speech. As expected of a matchmaker.

Han Jianye’s face was stiff as he responded, “The Emperor has issued an Imperial Decree bestowing a marriage between my Meimei and General Yun. Say, don’t you think it’s my right to decide about this matter?” He was now Yun Qing’s second older brother-in-law.

The matchmaker was dumbfounded for a moment. When she came to her senses, she looked at Han Jianye suspiciously and asked, “The Emperor has sanctioned a marriage? Nevertheless, a marriage between your Meimei and General Yun? Who are you?”

Han Jianye said, “I am the Second Master of the Duke Han of the State Residence, and my Meimei is the young miss of the Duke Han of State Residence.”

As soon as the matchmaker heard about the State Residence, she knew that the matter was nine times out of ten true. She didn’t know how high the status of the State Residence was, but it was certainly higher than the Zhao family.

Thinking that the other party did not believe him, Han Jianye added, “False transmission of the Imperial Decree is a great crime that can cause the extermination of the entire clan, so I would not joke about such a thing.”

The matchmaker said, “Thank you, Your Excellency, for informing the old woman of this matter.” After saying this, she hurriedly left the general’s residence. This marriage between General Yun and the Zhao family would truly be impossible if this was indeed true. She had to hurry and tell Madam Zhao.

What had happened in the courtyard soon reached Yun Qing’s ears. When he saw Han Jianye, Yun Qing asked with an expressionless face, “You said that the Emperor gave your Meimei to me as my wife? When did that happen?” Yun Qing did not think Han Jianye would lie, nor could he lie about such things.

Han Jianye looked at Yun Qing’s cold expression and knew that the other party was unhappy. However, this was understandable, as Yun Qing was now discussing marriage with the Zhao family, and suddenly an Imperial Decree for a sanctioned marriage appeared. No one would be happy about this. “The marriage was granted half a month ago, and I just got the news.”

The look in Yun Qing’s eyes was even colder. The Emperor had suddenly issued an Imperial Decree to bestow him a marriage, and it was to break off his marriage alliance with the Zhao family. The Song family had really gone to such a great length.

Han Jianye looked at Yun Qing’s cold expression, and all of a sudden, he became worried for Yuxi. If this matter was between brothers, it was fine for Yun Qing to be cold. But as a husband and wife, could Yuxi stand to be confronted with such an indifferent husband? Han Jianye said to Yun Qing, “Yun Qing, my family did not know about the marriage. I hope you won’t blame my Meimei.”

Yun Qing asked calmly, “Has your Meimei ever offended anyone from the Song family?” No girl from the capital would be willing to marry away to a bitter cold land of the border town. If the Han family girl was bestowed with such marriage, nine times out of ten, she had offended someone from the Song family.

Han Jianye smiled bitterly and said, “I’m not going to hide it from you, but my Meimei was originally betrothed to Chen Ran, the second di son of Marquis Taining. However, it was unexpected that Qinxin Gongzhu, Song Guifei’s daughter, had fancied Chen Ran and wanted to recruit him as her fuma. The Chen family was unwilling and used my Meimei as a shield, so Song Guifei wanted to get rid of her.” This was something that Yun Qing could find out even if he didn’t talk about it now.

Yun Qing asked, “How did your Meimei escape?” If she didn’t manage to escape, this bestowed marriage wouldn’t have happened.

Han Jianye let out a bitter laugh, “It was also luck.” He didn’t explain how she escaped, and Yun Qing did not ask any more questions.

Yun Qing said, “Please go back first, Brother Han. I have matters to deal with here.” This Imperial Decree for the sanctioned marriage had disrupted all of his plans, and he had to sort it out properly.