Night fell over the Marquis’s Estate, specifically the Study.
Feilian, a secret guard, hung from the rafters like a bat.
"...The Second Miss of the Lu family was being insolent. After the Eldest Miss slapped her, her face swelled up like a pig's head. Heh, she certainly has a heavy hand."
"Fool. That was likely because she had a special pollen caught under her fingernails, and the Second Miss happens to be allergic to that very pollen."
The man before him gave a soft reprimand.
In the flickering candlelight, Huo Yanxing’s profile appeared as cold and sharp as if carved by a knife. His thin lips were slightly pursed, yet a trace of undetectable approval surfaced in his eyes.
It seemed his wife possessed a vindictive nature; when they first met, he had only perceived her as stubborn.
That was half a month ago at Baoguo Temple—
"Oh no, the Eldest Miss's carriage has overturned!"
Huo Yanxing had just returned to the city from the military camp. While riding along the main road, he heard someone exclaim in alarm nearby.
When he spurred his horse to pursue, he saw a carriage teetering on the edge of a cliff. The startled horse was still struggling against the shafts, and the carriage curtains flapped in the wind like white funeral banners. Through the gaps, he could vaguely see a segment of blood-stained brocade sleeve.
Leaning over to look, he saw a woman with half her body dangling over the abyss, one hand gripping the carriage axle so tightly her knuckles had turned white.
He plunged his sword into the ground and, using the hilt as a pivot, leapt down to haul the woman back onto the cliff.
Only later did he learn that she was Lu Qingyuan, the Eldest Miss of the Lu family, who had been raised at her grandfather’s estate and had just finished offering incense at Baoguo Temple with her stepsister.
One glance had been enough for him to see that the carriage had been tampered with and that the coachman had been bribed in advance.
Today, however, Lu Qingyuan’s slap could be considered an act of vengeance for that day.
He had heard bits and pieces about the affairs within Prime Minister Lu’s household: the first wife had passed away early, and the woman who replaced her was Lady Lin, a noble lady from a prominent family with ties to the Empress Dowager.
With a biased father, a selfish stepmother, and a scheming stepsister, she had surely lived a difficult life within those walls.
Two days ago, while passing through the wilderness on his way to handle some business, he had hunted a pair of wild geese and sent them to her, hoping it might offer some small comfort.
"Wow! House intrigue is terrifying. Thank goodness I’m not married." Feilian patted his chest, thinking of the Second Miss’s swollen face. It likely wouldn't subside even by her wedding day. Heh, Prince Xian was going to marry a giant pig’s head; just thinking about it made him happy.
Huo Yanxing, however, frowned slightly. He detested the infighting of the inner courts, which turned everything foul and chaotic. He wondered how this Eldest Miss Lu would handle things in the future.
If she stayed in her place, that would be fine, but he feared she might be too calculating, too subtle, and too troublesome.
"My Lord, it is late. Are you returning to the main courtyard to sleep?" The voice of his attendant, Bai Yu, came from outside the door, sounding slightly troubled. "The Old Madam is also asking. If you don’t return on your wedding night, I fear you might have your legs broken by her."
"Pfft—"
Feilian, swinging from the rafters like a child on a swing, let out a snort of laughter.
"Get lost."
"Understood!"
Feilian 'rolled' out along the wall, as light and swift as a passing shadow.
Huo Yanxing rose and stepped outside. Very well, it was time to meet his new wife.
Songtao Courtyard.
Cicada songs mixed with the summer heat, crashing boisterously against the window lattices adorned with "Double Happiness" characters.
"Miss, please, stop eating. Really, stop eating. I’m scared."
Songyan watched as her mistress finished the wedding ceremony, entered the main chamber, and as soon as the Marquis's maids and servants had left, tossed aside the round fan, removed her headpiece, kicked off her shoes, and sat cross-legged on the bed just as she used to do at her grandfather’s house.
She had started by eating the dried fruits on the bed, and once those were gone, she began on the pastries from the table.
"It’s fine. Why should I starve myself just because I got married? You should have some, too." Lu Qingyuan had none of the reserve she’d had in her previous life.
After all, this was essentially her second marriage, and she was quite familiar with the routine.
Judging by Huo Yanxing’s attitude toward Lu Rongyue in her past life, she assumed he would be the same toward her. She wasn't confident enough to believe she could win him over with beauty alone.
Songyan fanned Lu Qingyuan while chattering incessantly.
"Miss, you cannot be so careless! I went out to scout just now. There were originally very few maids or matrons in our Songtao Courtyard; the Marquis usually only keeps young pages and attendants. But with this grand wedding, all the maids granted by the Palace are now serving in our courtyard."
Lu Qingyuan raised an eyebrow. So that was how it was.
Those sent by the Empress Dowager could neither be beaten nor scolded, nor could they be easily sent off to a farmstead, and one had to be on guard against them reporting back to the Palace.
A real handful of hot potatoes.
As she thought about this, she shoved another piece of dried fruit into her mouth.
"Madam, the Marquis is here!"
Suddenly, Mother Yu, the head matron of the courtyard, called out.
Lu Qingyuan was startled, and the piece of fruit in her mouth got stuck in her throat, neither going down nor coming up. Her face flushed a deep red, she began to cough uncontrollably, and tears welled up in her eyes against her will.
Fortunately, the moment Huo Yanxing stepped into the room, she managed to swallow the fruit and grabbed the round fan from the bed to hide her face.
Songyan acted as if facing a great enemy, snatched up the snack box her mistress had been eating from, and scurried out.
Huo Yanxing entered and sat heavily on the edge of the bed. He went straight to the point: "Eldest Miss Lu, I had no intention of taking a wife; I only complied because of the Empress Dowager’s decree. You must have already learned of the situation in the Marquis’s Estate: there are four children here. They are not my own, but they are closer to me than my own kin."
The four children of the Marquis’s Estate included one adopted child of Huo Yanxing’s and three of his nephews and nieces.
Five years ago, during a campaign between Daliang and Beiyan, the Huo family had been led into a trap. Huo Yanxing’s eldest brother, eldest sister-in-law, second brother, and Ling He, a lieutenant general of the Huo Family Army, had all perished.
His second sister-in-law, who had been in Jing’an at the time, was so devastated by the news that she died in labor.
The grand estate was left with only the very old and the very young, with Huo Yanxing being the only adult man left to carry the weight of the family.
"If you treat these four children well, I will be eternally grateful. Otherwise, do not blame me for being heartless."
Huo Yanxing delivered the last few words with a sharp cruelty. With his years in the military, every word sounded like a command.
After he finished, he looked at Lu Qingyuan.
The woman before him kept her head lowered, hidden behind the round fan. Seen from the side, her long eyelashes fluttered like butterfly wings, and her expression was unreadable.
Was she crying?
Huo Yanxing gave a soft cough, his tone softening slightly.
"They have nurses, maids, and pages for their daily needs; you need not care for them personally."
"They have tutors at the academy for their studies; you need not worry about that either."
"If they behave poorly, just tell me."
Lu Qingyuan wasn't listening at all; she only felt an uncomfortable lump in her throat and wanted a sip of tea to soothe it.
Seeing that she still wouldn't speak, Huo Yanxing sighed.
"I know you did not wish to marry me either. How about this: in a year or two, I will provide you with a dowry and allow you to divorce me."
Lu Qingyuan heard that clearly!
Divorce!
And he would provide a dowry!
What a stroke of luck!
She suddenly pulled the fan down and leaned forward, her face unable to conceal her joy: "Does the Marquis truly mean what he says?!"
Her lovely face was revealed in full: clear eyes and white teeth, her complexion like jade, a mix of seven parts beauty and three parts vitality.
The tears moistening her lashes and the natural flush of her skin, mixed with a hint of rouge, made her look like a camellia flower in the mountain air after the rain—beautiful and entirely unaware of it.
This was the second time Huo Yanxing had been so close to her.
The first time, on the edge of the cliff, life had been at stake, and he had only remembered her stubborn eyes—black and white, clear as a mountain stream.
Now, those same eyes held a fox-like shrewdness and the composure of one who had weathered many storms.
In just half a month, she felt like a different person.
Huo Yanxing was momentarily stunned, until the woman’s voice reached his ears again, this time laced with a trace of disappointment.
"The Marquis isn't going to go back on his word, are you?"