Qin Jingzhou rode his horse and positioned himself squarely in the middle of the official road. Several dozen paces ahead, scattered across the road, were pits of various sizes—deeper than they appeared at first glance. If Guo Sida were to ride through, he would inevitably fall right in. There wasn’t much more to say about this.
The only thing worth mentioning was that, as the warhorse fell, Qin Jingzhou shot it a subtle look, signaling it to get back up quickly.
With the strength of a warhorse, crushing a man... It really was an accident.
Looking down from atop his horse at the pale-faced Guo Sida, whose features were twisted in pain, Qin Jingzhou gently shook his head. “How long have you neglected your training?”
Guo Sida had only tipped over with his horse—far from any sort of formal bow or courtesy.
In other words, while Guo Sida certainly made a fool of himself, it could hardly be called an insult. Given that Qin Jingzhou had remained motionless where he was when the incident happened, his restraint was actually very appropriate. Guo Sida’s deputy even sincerely thanked him after rescuing their Duke from the scene.
What was supposed to be a grand and glorious welcome had become a complete farce and ended awkwardly. When word of this reached the palace, Emperor Yongning could only force a bitter smile. "Duke Anguo can even fall off his horse on the official road... To think of relying on him to counterbalance Marquess Jingwen—best not to dream about it."
For once, Noble Consort Guo and Emperor Yongning saw eye to eye.
In the original plot, the female lead’s family was always overreaching but achieved little, only ever dragging her down. To make matters worse, when the rebels reached the city gates, they even threw them open in surrender. After transmigrating, she barely kept in contact with her family.
Now that Marquess Jingwen, Yan Jingzhou, hadn’t died from an assassination like in the story, Noble Consort Guo looked at the clearly disappointed Emperor Yongning and thought to herself: both the Emperor and Duke Anguo’s household are doomed ships. To protect herself, she knew she needed to strengthen her ties with Yan Duan, and do her best to win him over.
Noble Consort Guo kept the Emperor company for a while. Only when the senior eunuch came in to announce, “Marquess Jingwen is waiting outside the palace to see Your Majesty,” did she take her leave at the Emperor’s silent signal.
Just as she stepped out the door, she heard the Emperor ask, “How many men did Yan Jingzhou bring into the city?”
Noble Consort Guo’s expression stiffened, and she hurried away.
Emperor Yongning’s loss of the country would not be undeserved!
This time, Qin Jingzhou had returned with twenty thousand battle-hardened troops. At present, he did not want the reputation of being a wild and unyielding rebel. If he were to raise the flag of rebellion, it would be best done from the moral high ground. Thus, he stationed most of his men in the empty military camp on the outskirts of the Capital, and only followed protocol by leading five hundred Prince’s Personal Guards into the city.
Finding out that he harbored no intentions of rebellion—at least for now—Emperor Yongning, although still wary, was somewhat relieved. When he summoned him, he asked a few perfunctory questions about the situation at the West Gate Pass, then dismissed him with a few more casual remarks.
As dim-witted as Emperor Yongning was, even he knew he couldn’t just strip the great general who’d just decisively defeated Jin of his command. He would have to work against him slowly: on one hand, dividing and winning over his subordinates, and on the other, hoping he would eventually make a mistake or suffer defeat, then uniting the powerful Wang and Guo families and other aristocrats to chip away at his power.
Waiting for Emperor Yongning to move against him.
As Qin Jingzhou left Qianqing Palace, he remembered how the Emperor had not given him permission to visit his daughter by marriage. He chuckled and glanced at the palace walls, which rose to half again his own height. If the Emperor does not permit it, then he will just find another opportunity.
After leaving the palace, Qin Jingzhou rejoined his Prince’s Personal Guards and rode home. From a long way off, he could see his eldest son, Yan Jun, being helped to stand at the gate awaiting his return, while his younger son, Yan Duan, kept his head lowered, face unreadable.
Ling Jing stood behind the two brothers, smiling as she waved at him, sending him a voice transmission: “Yan Jun’s wife is so timid she’s pretending to be ill and doesn’t dare see you. She might dodge you once, but does she really think she can avoid you forever? Really something.”
Qin Jingzhou dismounted and entered the gate, first giving Ling Jing’s hand a light squeeze, then patting his eldest son’s shoulder, and finally nodding to the housekeeper and household troops lined up by the door.
Yan Jun was visibly excited, but managed to restrain himself and simply called out “Father!” in public.
Yan Duan also lifted his head and quietly greeted, “Father, you’re back.” His expression and tone were both awkward.
The housekeeper and the rest were utterly moved, near tears.
Qin Jingzhou nodded again. “It’s awfully cold, let’s go inside and talk.”
The original host had gone to serve at the West Gate Pass and, in the ten years since, only Yan Jun had come home briefly for his wedding, staying just five days. Qin Jingzhou was confident in his own acting ability and didn’t worry about being exposed by his sons or the housekeeper, since even the Prince’s Personal Guards—who spent every day with him—hadn’t noticed their general had changed souls.
When they reached the study, and both sons attempted to pay him formal homage, he reached out and stopped the eldest, allowing only the younger son to kneel fully.
As long as it didn’t involve Noble Consort Guo, his younger son Yan Duan was, by and large, a normal person.
Qin Jingzhou couldn’t be bothered with him, now that he’d already dealt with Duke Anguo. Next up was resolving the matter of his eldest son’s wife, who had tried to harm him.
Once Yan Duan had stood back up, only then did he turn to his eldest, Yan Jun, double-checking that the boy really was not as weak or frail as the rumors suggested. “Jun’er, what are your thoughts about your wife?”
Yan Jun quickly rose and replied, “Father, you have just returned triumphant. Perhaps we should first—”
Qin Jingzhou caught the unspoken meaning and cut him off. “Before, I told you to endure because, if something happened to your wife then, her family might seek revenge or an assassination. With me away from the Capital, I couldn’t protect you. But now that I am back, how could I expect my son to go on suffering humiliations?”
At this, Ling Jing also sent a voice transmission: “You have to consider Jun’s reputation. Why not summon her whole family here and speak with them behind closed doors?”
Qin Jingzhou replied, “Revenge should never wait till morning. Tonight, we settle this.” He turned to the grand steward. “Send someone to the Li family and tell them to send someone with real authority.” Yan Jun’s wife was from the Li family.
The grand steward accepted the order and left.
Yan Jun sat back down, not saying much, but the corners of his mouth tilted up ever so slightly.
Yan Duan likewise stayed silent, his heart anything but calm. He could only hope the Guo family wouldn’t send anyone, or else he truly didn’t know what he’d do. Back when it had concerned Qingqing, he had chosen not to report the truth. Now, facing his elder brother, his conscience was troubled and guilty. Their father’s first order upon returning was to demand justice for his eldest son—how then could he side with outsiders, in his father and brother’s presence?
Thinking of this, he glanced up at Madam Min, who stood quietly smiling by their father’s side, then lowered his head again.
Madam Min probably wanted to get rid of that woman to secure her footing in the household and curry favor with father and elder brother. Besides, elder brother had told him just yesterday that their father’s rush to remarry was only to keep Emperor Yongning from meddling in his marital affairs when he returned to the Capital. Yan Duan had agreed, and for that reason, he couldn’t bring himself to really dislike a stepmother like her.
While Yan Duan was contemplating his stepmother, Ling Jing, his stepmother, was observing him right back.
Ling Jing’s mission was to set right the world’s deviating male and female leads, so she naturally had her own ways of identifying them. At the moment, Yan Duan was every inch the growing male lead, showing no signs at all of the “romantic love above all, family to the sacrificial altar” syndrome.
Qin Jingzhou was similarly interested. He too saw no issues with Yan Duan’s fate.
They exchanged a look of mutual understanding. Tonight, they’d sneak into the harem to get a closer look at the heroine, Noble Consort Guo.
Now, the Li family lived just one street away from Marquess Jingwen’s household. If the grand steward came to call, Master Li might have a bad feeling, but he couldn’t afford to refuse. He agreed to go at once. After seeing the grand steward off, he went backstage to call for his wife, Madam Guo.
His daughter’s heart was far from her husband, and she’d even wanted to kill him—Madam Guo knew this all too well.
She had relied on the fact that her full-blood brother was Minister of War, her half-brother was Duke Anguo, and her niece was a Noble Consort in the palace. She figured, with Marquess Jingwen away from the Capital, even if her son-in-law died, there would be no evidence against her, and even if Marquess Jingwen did somehow survive and return, it would all be too late. Could the Guo family really fall out with the Marquess over this?
But then, news had come of Marquess Jingwen’s stunning victory over the elite troops of Jin—a force that had plagued three reigns as the court’s greatest threat. Now Madam Guo felt far less secure. Then, her half-brother Duke Anguo had made a fool of himself by toppling from horse and saddle right in front of Marquess Jingwen today. He might seem unscathed, just embarrassed, but she had a bad feeling things were turning for the worse, so she forced herself to calm down even more.
Just then, her husband rushed in, announcing Marquess Jingwen’s invitation. Madam Guo immediately leapt up. “Husband, quickly send for my brother!” She could no longer shield their daughter. Clutching her husband’s sleeve, she confessed everything their eldest daughter had done over the years.
Master Li staggered halfway through her account. When she finished, he raised a trembling hand.
Madam Guo did not dodge, knowing full well how much trouble her proud daughter had caused the whole family. “Husband! Punish me if you like, but right now, go bring our daughter home.” Let my brother try to persuade Marquess Jingwen... to go easy on us.
Hearing this, Master Li grew even more despondent. In the end, the hand he’d raised to strike her fell on his own face.
Minister of War, Lord Guo, having always been close to his full-blood sister Madam Guo, let himself be summoned within fifteen minutes.
With some embarrassment but more familiarity, Madam Guo confessed to her brother all her daughter’s deeds. She especially stressed that when Yan Jun realized something was wrong, he’d retreated to a manor outside the city, leaving her daughter free to meet with her lover. Not being able to force him to stay, she had given up.
Minister Guo nearly slapped his sister then and there.
Marquess Jingwen was no longer the man he once was. As Minister of War, he understood better than anyone that Marquess Jingwen and his Northwest Border Army were Great Qi’s only real, fearsome force.
Pressing his brow hard, he chose to be honest with his sister and brother-in-law. “The court hasn’t provided the Northwest Border Army with a full stipend in five or six years.”
You take money from whoever feeds you—everyone understands how that works. The Northwest Border Army does not take the Emperor’s silver anymore... Madam Guo and Master Li exchanged anxious glances.
Madam Guo pressed her lips together and said timidly, “Surely Marquess Jingwen wouldn’t...”
Minister Guo sighed. “He wouldn’t, but even His Majesty has to keep him in good spirits these days!”
Madam Guo’s hand, hidden in her sleeve, was instantly ice-cold.
Just before dinner, Master Li and Madam Guo, accompanied by Minister Guo, arrived at Marquess Jingwen’s residence.
Upon entering the study, they saw Lady Li being forced to kneel by two efficient Imperial Princess' Attendants.
Seeing her "rescuers," Lady Li’s eyes lit up. “Father, Mother, your daughter is being bullied to death by the Yan family!”
She hadn’t even finished before Madam Guo strode over and slapped her hard across the face.
Lady Li’s head rang, the sound buzzing in her ears. Even so, she glared wide-eyed and wailed, “Mother, how could you side with outsiders!”
Master Li also stepped forward and gave her a kick to the shoulder. “One more reckless word and you are no longer my daughter!”
Lady Li, still unafraid, fixed her gaze on her uncle. “Uncle, look what they’re doing to me!”
Minister Guo said calmly, “Your parents discipline you because they still want you alive. If it were up to me, anyone who drags the whole family down should just drop dead right now.”
Lady Li, remembering how rarely her uncle joked, let out a shrill scream and finally fainted.