Chapter 118

Translator:

NovelMultiverse |

Editor:

NovelMultiverse

General Yu was taken aback. He looked at Concubine Mei, who was writhing in pain on the ground, and he hesitated for a moment.

Was this kid his own?

Before General Yu could do something, the man on the side hugged Concubine Mei and shouted anxiously: “Mei’er, Mei’er, don’t be afraid, I am here!”

General Yu’s hand was immediately clenched into a fist, and he wanted to shake it at the man’s face.

But when he saw Concubine Mei’s painful appearance, General Yu’s fist did not go down after all.

Stomping his foot fiercely, General Yu roared: “Get out of my way! Get away!”

No matter how angry he was, he couldn’t attack a pregnant woman who was about to give birth.

As for the child in Concubine Mei’s belly, it probably belonged to the man in front of him. Otherwise, who would be so concerned about a child who had never been related to him?

Thinking of this, General Yu’s heart was filled with fire and anger. He glared at the two people fiercely before entering the mansion without looking back.

Concubine Mei was in so much pain that there was cold sweat on her forehead. She covered her belly with one hand, and with the other hand she was still desperately grasping for General Yu: “Master…wait for me…”

She really couldn’t believe her eyes. Did this man just leave her so unrelentingly? The child in her belly was his own flesh and blood!

The blood-stained hand was held in the air in vain, but she could not hold anything except the air.

After a long time, she finally couldn’t bear the pain in her abdomen, and her pale hands fell heavily on the ground.

Her heart also fell into a bottomless abyss.

Her man, the man she gave everything for, the man she once thought she could rely on for a lifetime, didn’t even look at her, and just closed the door in front of her.

In the cold snow, Concubine Mei fell into a pool of blood and screamed desperately: “Master—”

But no matter how she called, the door of the Yu Mansion never opened. The people inside seemed to be deaf, indifferent to her crying and pain.

In the crowd, someone found a carriage for her and persuaded her: “Mistress, the situation in front of you is not as important as having the baby. You should give birth to the baby and then talk about the future.”

Concubine Mei didn’t seem to hear the words of others. Her teary eyes fixedly looked at the gate of the Yu house, as if she didn’t believe that she was abandoned by General Yu.

The people around him and everyone else carried Concubine Mei into the carriage. The man then got into the cart and waved his hands to the crowd: “Thank you for your help. Let’s go. Thank you, we can report it later.”

After speaking, the man told the coachman: “Quick, go to the nearest hospital!”

The carriage started at the sound, pulling the man and Concubine Mei away.

In the carriage, Concubine Mei covered her belly with her hands and stared at the man in front of her closely.

Seeing her resentful look, the man’s face showed a nonchalant smile: “What are you looking at me for?”

Concubine Mei longed to tear the man in front of her to pieces and eat his flesh raw. It was this man who ruined her innocence and her life!

With a hoa.r.s.e voice, she endured the pain and asked angrily: “Who are you anyway!?”

There was no one in the carriage, and the man stopped pretending. He patted the dust on the feet of his robe and said with a smile: “I don’t recognize you, and you don’t recognize me. I advise you to hurry up and think about what you want to do. Don’t bother thinking about who I am.”

Concubine Mei was so angry that she burst into tears and said: “Why are you wronging me? When did I provoke you? Why did you have to spend so much effort to frame me!?”

The man seemed to be holding back a smile and said: “I have no grievances with you, and I have no intention of framing you. I just took the money to do things for others. It doesn’t matter who I am. It’s better to think about yourself. Who did you provoke?”

Concubine Mei was so smart. Even if she was about to give birth at this moment, her mind was still a little clear, and she immediately understood who she was framed by, and when she understood the connections here, Concubine Mei can’t help but be hateful and angry: “Yu Linglong! Did Fourth Lady Yu hire you?”

The man laughed, “I don’t know anything, you can figure it out for yourself!”

Concubine Mei clutched her aching belly tightly, thinking that she was about to give birth, but as she was kicked out of the Yu house at this time, her body could not help but gradually tremble, half because of pain, half because of fear.

Looking at the proud man in front of her, Concubine Mei tried her best to calm her voice: “Where are you taking me?”

The man lifted the curtain to look outside and suddenly called the coachman to stop. Then he smiled to Concubine Mei: “Okay, I’m leaving. This mistress can go no further!”

Concubine Mei was shocked: “What? Are you going to leave me here alone?”

Although this man had never known her, she was full of resentment towards this man, but when she heard that he was going to leave her alone, Concubine Mei was still very scared.

She couldn’t do anything. She was used to having others take care of everything. While she was being promptly abandoned, she had to face the immediate pain of labor. Concubine Mei’s heart was full of fear.

The man smiled and leaned forward: “What? You can’t stand me?”

Concubine Mei moved back subconsciously and said angrily: “You don’t know honor, get out!”

The man suddenly changed his face and snapped at her fiercely: “Who do you think you are? You look like this and you still look down on me!?”

After speaking, the man didn’t look at her again. He lifted the curtain and got out of the carriage.

Concubine Mei leaned to the side in the cold and hard carriage, and the pain in her stomach came like a tide. She only felt that her body was getting colder and colder, and her whole body was shaking uncontrollably.

Outside, the coachman’s voice sounded: “Mistress, are you waiting for him to come back?”

Concubine Mei gritted her teeth and said, “No, no!”

That man was just a p.a.w.n of Yu Linglong. How can he care about her life and death? He definitely will not come back.

The coachman agreed suspiciously, and then asked, “Mistress, where are you going?”

Her pale lips moved slightly, but she really didn’t know where she should go.

The capital was so big, where was her shelter?

With cold hands on her stomach, and feeling the uneasy twist of the child who was about to be born, Concubine Mei suddenly recovered.

She still had a child, and she must give birth to it safely!

After gritting her teeth, Concubine Mei wiped the tears from her face and said, “Go to the nearest medical clinic.”

The carriage continued to move forward. In the carriage, Concubine Mei bit her lips tightly, holding back the overwhelming pain, and blood dripping down the corners of her mouth.

Yu Linglong, you are so cruel!

…

The day after Concubine Mei left, Master Li, the head of the Ministry of War, came to the Yu house in person.

General Yu claimed that he was injured, so it was naturally inconvenient to come out to meet guests. The housekeeper was entertaining the guest in the outside living room. He said all the good things, but Master Li was calm and relaxed. Obviously, he refused to leave until he saw General Yu.

The housekeeper said the same remarks over and over again: “Master Li, you know, our lord has a leg injury, and he still can’t get out of bed. There is really no way to come out to see you—”

In the end, Master Li was finally impatient, and his face sank as soon as the teacup was put down.

“How come I heard that Master Yu ran out of the door yesterday and beat a concubine from your house on the street?”

These words stunned the housekeeper. This news spread too quickly. Were General Yu’s actions at his door known by the Ministry of War so soon?

Seeing the blus.h.i.+ng face of the housekeeper, Master Li sneered, and said in a weird manner: “Make Master Yu come out!”

The housekeeper didn’t dare to appease him anymore, so he had to retreat out of his promise.

It seemed that General Yu could not escape this time.

General Yu heard about this and saw that someone had already come to visit him. He must have been unable to escape, so he had to pretend to walk out on crutches.

“Master Li, you’re a rare guest.”

Master Li raised his head and glanced at him. His gaze turned on his leg deliberately, seeing General Yu only felt nervous, and his smile was forced: “Master Li, my leg…cough cough, it will be all right in a few days…”

Some things got darker the more you tried to erase them.

Master Li was also not polite and said straightforwardly: “Don’t hide from me, Master Yu, someone made a report of you this morning. They said that Master Yu was feigning illness at home, he refused to go to southern Xinjiang to perform his duties—”

General Yu’s face changed shamelessly.

He just pretended to have a leg injury, how could it be so serious? He had the emperor’s grace, so it was a bit more serious. Wasn’t it a crime of deceiving the emperor?[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the “Novel Multiverse dot com” website @ novelmultiverse.com]

Seeing General Yu’s pale face, Master Li snorted slightly and said sarcastically, “So Master Feng ordered me to visit Master Yu. If Master Yu’s injury has healed, he can set off on the road!”

General Yu held the crutches in his hand tightly and instantly felt that his actions were so ridiculous.

People have known that he was pretending to be sick, and he was still pretending to hold crutches here, which was really embarra.s.sing.

General Yu was not good at words, and he was ashamed and aggrieved by Master Li’s words. He couldn’t help lowering his head to cover up his embarra.s.sment.

“……Yes, I understand.”

Unexpectedly, Master Li kept pressing on and immediately said: “The fighting in southern Xinjiang is critical, Master Yu. Please pack up and leave tomorrow!”

General Yu suddenly raised his head: “What? Tomorrow?”

Tomorrow was New Year’s Eve. Was Minister Feng not letting him stay at home for the New Year?

Master Li said blankly: “Yes, tomorrow!”

General Yu was so angry that he cracked his fists, and said in a dull voice, “I would like to ask you to give me a few days of grace and wait until I finish arranging the affairs of the house—”

Master Li unceremoniously interrupted his words: “Master Yu has been at home for so long, and the family affairs should have been arranged long ago? Besides, are the affairs of the adults at home more important, or the war in southern Xinjiang? You must know what is the priority.”

This last sentence was very meaningful, and General Yu felt that his heart was. .h.i.t with a heavy hammer, and he could not say anything.

He had already said very clearly what he said just now, because he was pretending to be sick, and someone had already reported him, saying that he had offended the emperor. If he refused to go, then things would not be that simple.

In fact, General Yu knew in his heart that Minister Feng had set up the lies about the report and the critical war. All kinds of high-sounding reasons suppressed him and forced him to leave the capital immediately.

But what could he do? He had resisted, and various excuses had been found, but no matter what, the decision to go to southern Xinjiang was a firm decision, one he could not escape.

General Yu was so pressed here that he was about to suffer internal injuries. Master Li had already stood up: “I have already sent the message. I won’t delay General Yu packing up. Goodbye!”

General Yu subconsciously asked to stay, trying to win the last chance: “Master Li, can you tell Minister Feng—”

Master Li said coldly: “If you have something to say to Minister Feng, you can tell him yourself! But I advise you to save your strength for the road. I heard that the journey to southern Xinjiang is so far!”

A few words quickly sealed General Yu’s last hope. He reluctantly watched Master Li walk away quickly, feeling that the sky was about to fall.

There was no room for maneuver in this matter.

General Yu angrily threw away the crutch in his hand, turned around, and wanted to go back to his room.

Time was running out, and Concubine Mei, who was in charge, was chased away. Now he really had to arrange the house.

Before he could take another step, there was a rush of footsteps behind him. The housekeeper hurried over and shouted as he ran, “Master, master!”

General Yu was in a bad mood and said angrily: “What happened again?”

The housekeeper ran to him before stopping, and said breathlessly, “Master, someone…someone came from outside, saying they were from the palace to declare an order.”

General Yu rubbed his temples in annoyance. He had just been ordered to leave, did someone come to declare the order for him.

With a sigh, he said: “Go to prepare the incense and ask all the family members to come out and prepare to receive the order.”

The housekeeper agreed. After thinking about it, he hesitatingly asked: “Master, the family you mentioned… are all the people coming out?”

General Yu was stunned for a moment before he remembered that there were only three young ladies in the Yu house except himself, not even a son. He couldn’t help but feel a little surprised. After a pause, he waved his hand and said, “Well, call them all out.”

Seeing General Yu’s face, the housekeeper didn’t dare to say more and quickly went down to make arrangements.

Not long after, everyone in the Yu house gathered in the front hall, except for Yu Linglong of course.

General Yu looked up at his two daughters. Yu Qianyun was wearing a short silver mink coat and an azurite cotton skirt tied underneath. It was beautiful and elegant, but Yu Qianfang wore a silver hairpin and wore a green cloth plain cloth with a string of sandalwood beads on her wrist. Her eyes were hanging down, there was no expression on her face, and her look was lifeless. She did not look like a sixteen-year-old lady, which was unsightly.

Ignoring the two daughters, General Yu turned his eyes away and looked at the person who announced the decree, and he was taken aback.

The incense table was surrounded by light and thin smoke, but it could not stop the dazzling official uniform of the visitor. There were more than 20 people standing in two rows behind the visitor, and each of them was holding a tray covered with red silk and satin, so they couldn’t see what it was.

If the emperor made a temporary decree, it was usually the chief of ceremonies who declared the decree but judging from the official uniforms of the two people in front of him, it was clearly an official of the Ministry of Rites.

What was happening?

General Yu was at a loss. He only heard the proclaimer from the Ministry of Rites say: “Master Yu, who is the fourth lady of your house?”

General Yu was even more surprised when he heard this. Was this imperial decree related to Yu Linglong?

With embarra.s.sment on his face, he whispered: “She…she hasn’t come out yet.”

General Yu was really embarra.s.sed. The imperial decree was at the door of his house, but Yu Linglong refused to come out to accept the decree. This was a capital crime of contempt for the royal family. Moreover, the father couldn’t control this daughter, and it was shameful for outsiders to see that.

The proclaimer from the Ministry of Rites didn’t mean to be impatient at all, but the smile on his face became more attentive: “Then we’ll wait.”

General Yu didn’t dare to neglect them. He quickly called the housekeeper to invite Yu Linglong. He was still very worried. Could Yu Linglong come?

Sure enough, after a while, the housekeeper ran back sweating profusely and shook his head helplessly to General Yu.

General Yu had no choice but to make up a reason: “The…the little girl is unwell, and she really can’t come out. Please forgive me.”

The two proclaimers of the Ministry of Rites glanced at each other and said, “Fine. Master Yu, please accept this order.”

General Yu hurriedly led the crowd to kneel down, and only listened to a proclaimer chanting aloud: “The emperor declares: I heard that the daughter of General Yu Peng is exquisite, with all four virtues, beautiful and sincere, and the Empress agrees with me. It is very pleasant to hear that the emperor’s ninth son is now twenty years old, and he is to choose a virtuous daughter and marry. The value of Yu clan is exquisite to be in the boudoir, and the emperor’s ninth son declares it a match made in heaven. She is really beautiful, and he wants Yu Linglong to be his wife. All the formalities will be handled by the Ministry of Rites and the Qintian Supervisor, and the marriage will be selected on an auspicious day. Hereby, we will announce it, and you will hear it. Signed, the Emperor.”

Next was the list of gifts given by the empress dowager, the emperor, and the empress. He read them for a long time. They were all rare and exotic treasures. Every time he read something, the corresponding servant holding the plate showed it to General Yu.

But General Yu had no intention of looking at these gifts in front of him. His mind was buzzing with the sudden news, and his eyes turned black for a while.

What? The emperor arranged Yu Linglong and Lord Xu’s marriage?

The news was so sudden that he couldn’t accept it at all.

After being shocked, General Yu’s heart was filled with uncontrollable joy. Last time it was only Gan Taifu coming to propose the Yu house, and Minister Feng did not dare to let him go to southern Xinjiang. This time his daughter was being married to Lord Xu as a concubine, so wouldn’t his status be improved a lot?

General Yu was so simple. He had never considered the reason behind this imperial decree, nor did he want to think about the deep meaning of this imperial decree. All he could see was the benefit in front of him.

His daughter was going to marry the prince and be an imperial concubine. He was going to be a relative of the emperor, and he was now a real relative of the emperor!

The anger received from Master Li just now had already been thrown to the side. General Yu was blus.h.i.+ng at this moment, and he was cheerfully greeting the two proclaimers and ordered the housekeeper to take these imperial gifts into the warehouse.

Behind him, Yu Qianyun was already stunned. She looked at Yu Qianfang blankly, but she couldn’t get any response from the other party. Yu Qianfang seemed to have heard nothing, still silent and indifferent, quietly kneeling in place.

The members of the Ministry of Rites left the Yu house after a long time, but General Yu changed his clothes and went straight to Pinlan Garden.

His own daughter was now an imperial concubine. Of course, he had to flatter her.

Confounded by the great news, General Yu almost completely forgot about Yu Linglong’s att.i.tude towards him, and only went forward to please the future prince and wife.

He didn’t know that at this moment, Pinlan Garden didn’t have the slightest joy. It was completely shrouded in the darkness before the storm.

When Yu Linglong heard the news from the front yard, she was indeed a little shocked.

During this period of time, Lord Xu did not appear, and she had forgotten about him. Who knew that he unexpectedly gave herself such a big “surprise”.

When Ling’er and Xuan Cao heard that the girl the emperor had arranged Lord Xu’s marriage for was their lady Yu Linglong, they were so happy that they almost set off firecrackers to celebrate, but after seeing Yu Linglong’s angry face, they didn’t dare to celebrate.

The two of them really didn’t understand. What’s wrong with being a princess? The emperor personally arranged the marriage. What a good fortune this was. What else was their lady dissatisfied with?

Indeed, as an ancient woman, she really couldn’t understand Yu Linglong’s feelings.

Yu Linglong had never relied on a man, and it was even more impossible to marry someone she didn’t like. She had been working hard to adapt to ancient life, but when she now knew that a marriage had been arranged for her, she still felt a burst of anger that could not be suppressed.

In ancient times, women followed the words of their parents, but she didn’t want to marry, especially if the other party was Lord Xu.

Without thinking about it, she knew that this must be the plan of Lord Xu.

Thinking that she had been arranged to marry him, Yu Linglong became angrier and angrier. She raised her hand and smashed the teacup to the ground.

She seldom has such a gaffe. This time, she was really angry at Lord Xu.

At this moment, General Yu came.

Xuan Cao picked up the broken pieces of porcelain on the ground and said cautiously, “Miss, the master is here.”