Do not lean against the west railing to lock in the clear autumn - Chapter 170
I waved my hands repeatedly: "Although I hate her, I never thought of doing anything to her."
"It has nothing to do with you. It was my arrangement. If it weren't for Zheng Yu and Fei Yan, Ting'er's punishment of her would probably have been even more cruel." Marquis Qi Yun finally spoke his first long sentence of the night.
"You love Brother Ting very much?"
Treat them like your own children.
Clearing his throat, he forced a smile and said, "My lord, I didn't come here to disturb your lives. I just have a few questions to ask, and I'll leave after I've asked them."
"Lord Marquis?" Marquis Qi Yun repeated, a mocking smile playing on his lips. "When you were little, you called him 'Daddy.' The first time you said it, you imitated others calling him 'Lord Marquis,' but you couldn't pronounce the 'Marquis' and it became 'Grandpa.'"
Qi Yunhou spoke softly, a hint of confusion creeping into his memory: "That's all Aru left me."
Regardless of his past, at this moment, he resembled a traveler who had lost his baggage. The pain between his brows, contrasting with the graying temples, stirred a bittersweet feeling in my heart.
"Father, why don't you want me and Mother anymore?" I covered my mouth, my eyes wide open. Mu Huai'en, she's here again.
"I didn't abandon you, it was your mother who abandoned me." Marquis Qiyun smiled bitterly.
"You're not even looking at me anymore."
Qi Yunhou opened the window, and a gust of cold wind rushed in, sending a shiver down my spine. Qi Yunhou pointed to the room opposite: "When you turned one, I came to see you, but your mother got me drunk and sent her pregnant daughter to my bed, making me raise someone else's child. If she had told me clearly then, I would have taken good care of that daughter, but she chose to use such methods," he said, his tone turning slightly desolate, "In the end, she didn't trust me."
After a long silence, Mu Huaien asked again, "Did you really kill Mother?"
Qi Yunhou's face suddenly twisted, his eyes filled with regret and hatred. He gritted his teeth and said, "I didn't mean to. She provoked me."
Sensing Mu Huaien's inner conflict and pain, her father and mother were natural enemies, yet they had given birth to her. Their discord only fueled their hatred. Moreover, Marquis Qiyun still loved Mo Ru. After a long silence, Mu Huaien finally said, "Father, you don't have many happy moments. Try to relax and enjoy life more from now on."
"I'm leaving," only I could hear these words, "take care of Father for me."
Qi Yunhou's eyes regained some light, knowing that Mu Huaien had truly left. I had no choice but to recall Mu Huaien's feelings for him and said softly, "Father, take care."
The next day, Marquis Qiyun stayed in his residence and did not go out. Early in the morning, Shen Haoyu delivered the several cartloads of betrothal gifts that had been sent abroad to Marquis Qiyun's residence. The entire hall of the South Courtyard was filled with gilded and painted boxes.
Marquis Qi Yun frowned: "Isn't the young Prince Qing aware that my daughter has already been betrothed to the Second Prince by imperial decree?"
Shen Haoyu curled his lip: "That's a fake emperor, his decrees don't count. Besides, he publicly betrothed Huai'en to the second prince, but secretly had her poisoned. Where's the sincerity in that?"
"You..." Marquis Qiyun uttered a single word in anger, then stopped. What Shen Haoyu said was true; what Marquis Qiyun could not accept was the title of "false emperor."
"Do you really intend to marry my daughter?" Marquis Qiyun asked slowly, his anger subsiding.
"Young Master Wang has come all the way from the Golden Sparrow Kingdom to the Marquis of Qiyun's mansion. Whether she is the Holy Maiden of the Golden Sparrow Kingdom or the daughter of the Marquis's mansion, he intends to marry her." This time, Shen Haoyu spoke with utmost sincerity.
Marquis Qiyun glanced at me, then looked at Shen Tingxuan, after all, I had once been engaged to him.
Shen Tingxuan smiled wryly and said, "Since Prince Qing is so sincere, let Huai En make the decision himself." After saying that, he lowered his eyes and did not look at anyone.
Since Shen Tingxuan had said so, Marquis Qiyun finally whispered, "It's up to you."
Upon hearing this, Shen Haoyu looked at me with a beaming smile. I blushed and nodded slightly.
Things went surprisingly smoothly. Considering my health condition, they set the wedding date for after the new year. The exact date will depend on the arrival of the antidote for the Immortal and my recovery. In the meantime, I just need to focus on recovering.
With the New Year just a month away, Shen Haoyu originally didn't want to return to the capital and wanted to stay in Pingcheng with me. However, he was driven out of Pingcheng by Marquis Qiyun for violating etiquette, so he hurriedly returned to the capital. He didn't like to stay at Tinglan Residence to take care of me and try to suppress the poison and prevent a relapse before the antidote was made.
Although Pingcheng doesn't snow in winter, it's much colder than Hanyue City due to its terrain. Since all parties signed a peace treaty in Hanyue City, there was no war for a while, and Youjing Dynasty, which had been in chaos for several years, finally calmed down. Marquis Qiyun and Shen Tingxuan spent most of their time at their residence.
After that night's conversation, my relationship with Qi Yunhou was no longer so cold and distant, but we weren't exactly close yet. However, we could exchange a few words occasionally, and the atmosphere at the dinner table became much warmer. I also gradually became familiar with Zheng Yu and Fei Yan. Zheng Yu, like Ru Zinuo, Chu Chen, or any other child, loved to pester me to tell him stories, and I once again played the role of a good preschool teacher.
Seeing Zheng Yu and Fei Yan getting close to me, and Shen Tingxuan's expression of joy and sorrow, I could only hide my own emotions and put on a smiling face for everyone to see.
Sometimes, Marquis Qiyun would ask me how I had been these past years. I would tell him about the happy things, about the friends I had grown up with in the Prince Qing's mansion, and about my kind master. Even on the battlefield in the Northwest, we managed to find joy amidst hardship and never wronged ourselves. Whenever this happened, Marquis Qiyun would chuckle and shake his head, a hint of heartache in his eyes. If this belated fatherly love had been given to Mu Huaien or me earlier, things might be completely different today.
Speaking of the deeds of the Golden Sparrow Kingdom, Marquis Qiyun expressed some admiration and joy, but also deep regret: "If Huai'en had been born a man, what achievements would he have made?"
I shook my head with a smile. If I were a man, with this little bit of cleverness, in this place full of conspiracies and schemes, I would probably be nothing but bones by now. How could I possibly achieve anything? Besides, this gratitude is not the same as that gratitude.
On New Year's Eve, we had our reunion dinner at Huaying Pavilion. Marquis Qiyun had lost both his parents at a young age and was an only child. All the concubines in his mansion had been dismissed, so the dinner was just the few of us, which made it seem rather lonely. Although I had been kicked out of my home at a young age and was not valued in Marquis Qiyun's mansion, every New Year was still a lively occasion, except for the year I had to rush to Pingcheng to pick up Shen Haoyu and Zinuo, and spent the New Year with Ganlin and Yinyan at an inn.
They seemed to be used to such a quiet New Year's Eve dinner. Putting aside my thoughts, I raised my glass and toasted Qi Yunhou with a smile. Qi Yunhou was slightly taken aback, but then drank it down with a smile.
He poured another cup and handed it to Shen Tingxuan: "Brother Ting?"
Shen Tingxuan smiled as he accepted the drink and downed it in one gulp: "I've been longing for this scene for over ten years, and now, my wish has finally come true." There was a hint of bitterness in his voice.
On the night of the Lantern Festival, Shen Tingxuan took Zheng Yu and me to visit the lantern market. Fei Yan was too young, so he stayed at the mansion.
Since moving into the Marquis's mansion, I haven't gone out. Now I'm becoming more and more well-behaved and more and more of a homebody.
Shen Tingxuan and I walked together, holding Zheng Yu's hand. Shen Tingxuan would occasionally point to a shop and say that he bought the pastries I loved to eat when I was a child there, and then ask me if I wanted to buy some more. I smiled and shook my head. Now, I don't really like sweets anymore, but I still clearly remember that every time he went out, he would try to bring back some delicious and fun things for me.
Zheng Yu was a little unhappy that Shen Tingxuan was only talking to me, and started clamoring for candied hawthorns and a ghost mask. Shen Tingxuan found it amusing, picked up Zheng Yu, and walked towards the candied hawthorn vendor.
Zheng Yu took a string of candied hawthorns, but Shen Tingxuan didn't have any change. I quickly rummaged through my purse and pulled out a few copper coins that I had exchanged with the maid before leaving, and handed them to the vendor. The vendor took the coins and said with a smile, "Young master, your family is truly blissful." Zheng Yu stuck out his little tongue and licked the candied hawthorns. I smiled awkwardly and turned to leave.
It was getting late, but the streets were still bustling. Zheng Yu was a little tired and wanted to sleep. Shen Tingxuan carried Zheng Yu back to the manor, where Zheng Yu had fallen asleep against him. The large red lanterns outside the manor gate hung in front of them.
Shen Tingxuan suddenly stopped, turned to look at me, his eyes filled with tenderness: "If this moment could last forever, how wonderful that would be."
I smiled and heard him say, "Huai'en, if I had been able to stop my father and keep you in the manor, would everything have been different? Would all of this be real now?"
A man as pure as jade, with unwavering and sincere affection, he would have been a good husband and a good father. But fate didn't give us that chance, repeatedly letting us miss it. If I hadn't been kicked out of my home, I would have been the one to marry him. I would have been like Mu Hanyan, spared from so many hardships, simply enjoying his tenderness. What a peaceful and blissful life that would have been!
She nodded slightly and said softly, "Yes."
Shen Tingxuan looked at me, his eyes deep and his words firm: "In the next life, I will find you before anyone else, and then I will never let go."