The next day, with the sky just beginning to lighten, the maids outside were already knocking on the door.
A moment later, someone announced, “Madam, the Grand Protector has sent someone to say that you should make yourself ready and go down to pay your respects.”
Suiying had been awake for some time and was standing by the window. She turned back to the bed, picked up her bundle, and said, “Come in.”
The door opened, and five or six maids entered. She looked uneasy. “What are you doing?”
The inn maids instinctively looked up at her, then hurriedly lowered their heads. “You’re going to pay your respects to the Grand Protector. Madam needs to dress up a little.”
“No need.” Suiying immediately put aside her thoughts, slung the bundle over her back, put on her veiled hat, and walked out of the room.
There was a guard stationed every three paces along the corridor outside the upper rooms. Without looking to either side, she lifted her skirts and walked slowly downstairs.
Someone in the inn’s main hall saw her coming down. His face was solemn, and without a word, he raised a hand in invitation and led her toward the tea room.
Suiying stepped inside, lifted the hanging veil, and discreetly swept her gaze around the room.
A plain folding screen stood in the tea room. Behind it was a desk, and a figure stood tall beside the window, exceptionally high in stature.
Suiying lifted the hanging veil and unconsciously took two more steps in that direction. The figure within suddenly moved, and in the next instant, the screen was pushed aside.
She stopped and raised her eyes, meeting his gaze head-on.
Pei Jing'an was dressed differently from the day before. Today, he wore a close-fitting dark-gray round-collared Hu robe of brocade. His black hair was held beneath a high crown, while armguards and a waist guard secured his clothing in place. His eyes were fixed on her.
Her gaze was the same as yesterday’s: unafraid and undaunted, cool and distant, yet carrying an emptiness within.
Suiying was also taking his measure. The man had a resolute, handsome face, thin lips, and a straight nose. A trace of weariness showed in his pitch-black eyes.
After silently meeting his gaze for a moment, Suiying stepped forward and bowed. “Grand Protector.”
Pei Jing'an continued looking at her, scanning her attire from head to toe. He slightly raised one hand. “Yesterday, we were catching a few petty thieves. Did it frighten you?”
His voice was low and measured, filled with deep concern.
Suiying could not help glancing at him. Her expression remained composed, and her tone was indifferent. “I’m not a thief. It wouldn’t frighten me.”
What petty thieves would require the Grand Protector himself to catch them? Clearly, they had caused some trouble.
The Anbei Grand Protectorate covered an enormous territory, governing three military protectorates and twenty-four prefectures. Military and civil authority alike rested in his hands. The foreign tribes had submitted to Great Yuan only a few years earlier and were far from stable.
A smile tugged at the corners of Pei Jing'an’s lips. “Naturally. How could the Grand Protector’s Madam be a petty thief?”
As he spoke, he suddenly moved and crossed the few steps between them.
Suiying unconsciously lifted her head and took in his entire figure.
His Hu robe clung to his body, revealing broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and a tall, powerfully built frame. Simply standing before her, he could completely block her from view.
Pei Jing'an looked at her twice, then gestured toward the window. “It will take another two days to reach Hanhai City. If you’re tired, we can rest for two days before leaving. If you can still endure it, shall we set out?”
Suiying secretly tapped her fingertips against her knuckles, calculating the date.
Two more days of travel would bring them to Hanhai City on the eighteenth of the third month, precisely the day of the grand ceremony. Resting for two days would mean missing the auspicious date.
He was being so gentle and considerate, with a faint smile at the corners of his mouth. For a moment, Suiying could not determine what he meant.
Pei Jing'an lowered his eyes to watch her minute movements, then raised a hand in invitation. “Since you’re not saying anything, I’ll take it to mean you rested enough last night. Let’s go.”
Suiying was momentarily stunned.
Outside the inn, guards had already led the carriage over. It was waiting in front of the main entrance, ready to depart.
The leader of the wedding escort was holding the reins of a glossy black warhorse and speaking with a young man beside him. Every so often, he glanced toward the inn.
The young man lifted a hand to cover his lips and asked in a low voice, “Well? What do you think of my Second Sister-in-Law?”
The escort leader glanced toward the inn, sighed, and shook his head. “It’s hard to say. They call it a marriage alliance, but no matter how you look at it, it offers no benefit to the Grand Protector. I only hope she won’t become a burden.”
Third Master Gu had not even personally sent her off, and Madam was mute to boot. What benefit could she possibly bring?
The young man lowered his voice even further, afraid it might carry. “So, in other words, Sister-in-Law isn’t worthy of Second Brother?”
The escort leader blurted out, “The Grand Protector is heroic and handsome, with a glorious record of military service. He could marry even a member of the imperial clan. Naturally, that Madam isn’t worthy of him in any respect.”
Putting everything else aside, on the day they went to Luoyang to fetch the bride, the steward of Gu Residence had directly ordered them to wait beneath the mountain outside a temple beyond the city walls. Even Third Master Gu had not shown himself. That was plainly a slight against the Anbei Grand Protectorate.
It was also a slap in the face to the Anbei Grand Protector.
The two had only just finished whispering to each other when they saw someone emerge.
They immediately put some distance between themselves, each tugging down his robe hem before hurriedly clasping his fists in greeting.
“Second Brother.”
“Grand Protector.”
Pei Jing'an took the reins, gathered up his robe, and swung onto the horse. His gaze swept back over his shoulder.
The escort leader immediately asked in a low voice, “Grand Protector, were you speaking with Madam just now?”
Their group had been waiting there for some time. They had seen the person in the tea room gesture to them, and they had also heard his voice, so they found it strange.
Pei Jing'an glanced at his two trusted aides, whose expressions were rather peculiar, as though they wanted to ask him something. But then he caught sight of a figure walking unhurriedly out of the tea room.
It was Suiying, with the maid bestowed on her by the capital as part of her dowry following behind.
As she reached the courtyard entrance, a gust of wind suddenly swept through, and every gaze turned toward her.
She was still wearing the same plain clothes. Her stunning face emerged from beneath the hanging veil and appeared before everyone’s eyes.
Even with her expression cool and distant, standing amid the Northern Frontier’s fierce winds and blowing sand, nothing could conceal her beauty.
Pei Jing'an rode up to her, completely blocking her from everyone’s view. He reached out and drew her hanging veil closed, then lowered his eyes to look at her.
Through the veil, he met her complicated gaze and said, as though casually, “Want to ride with me? The wind and sand are too fierce. Take the carriage.”
His tone remained unhurried, and that gentle smile still lingered at the corners of his lips. His meaning was impossible to discern.
Suiying knew at once that he was testing her. She shook her head. “I don’t know how.”
Having only just arrived in the Northern Frontier, she did not want to speak too much with someone she was unfamiliar with.
Of course, she did not want to speak much even with people she knew.
Like that bearded man, for instance. All along the road, aside from using his booming voice to urge them onward, he had done nothing but complain about the weather, complain about the roads, and so on.
Her first reaction had been that he was dissatisfied with her, which was why he acted that way.
It was simple, direct, and perfectly clear. Pei Jing'an smiled again and gestured toward the carriage. “Go get in. If you want to stop and rest, knock on the carriage window.”
Suiying met his eyes once, then lifted her skirts and walked over to board the carriage.
When the escort leader heard her speak and saw her appearance, his eyes widened even further.
The Madam had worn a veiled hat throughout the journey. Only after seeing her face today did he realize that she possessed beauty rarely seen in a thousand miles.
“Second Sister-in-Law’s beauty matches Second Brother perfectly—a perfect match, an unparalleled match, a match made in heaven,” the young man said with a laugh as he mounted his horse to wait.
Once Suiying had boarded and the carriage curtains had fallen, Pei Jing'an glanced at them and remembered seeing her for the first time the previous night.
He truly could not understand how a noble lady of such extraordinary beauty had remained unmarried until the age of nineteen—and could even agree to marry a man like him, whose ancestors had been horse bandits.
After only one glance, he withdrew his gaze and waved to signal those around him.
The escort leader immediately mounted up with the young man, calling out as they set off.