Liu Xiyin still had to accompany Yan Changye to offer tea.
She had achieved a total victory at the Marshal’s residence last night, but ended up being suspected as a spy by Yan Changye. She didn’t know if the Marshal also suspected her.
Liu Xiyin shuddered.
Just after neutralizing a few bundles of explosives, she was landed with another burden; why were there so many dead ends for the Liu girl?
Fortunately, the police department had gone to investigate the explosives on Heping South Street, so she didn’t have to remind him anymore.
Liu Xiyin sat in the new car, muttering exhaustedly to herself.
[Die, just die. Death is death, regardless of how it happens. If I avoid death now only to be turned into fish feed in the end, the effort will be in vain.]
[The sooner I die, the sooner I can reincarnate.]
After giving up on everything, Liu Xiyin began to complain aimlessly.
[The cars of this era are so old and rickety; they are really uncomfortable to ride in.]
[The roads aren’t smooth either; it’s so shaky. Any further, and I’ll be rattled into vomiting.]
[If I can’t travel back, I won’t have the good life I had before even if I live to be an old woman. It would be better to just reincarnate.]
[In the next life, I surely won’t be cannon fodder again, right?]
Liu Xiyin’s mind wandered. As the car made a turn, she suddenly became unsteady and was almost thrown out.
[What’s wrong, what’s wrong? Is Heping South Street blowing up?]
Liu Xiyin scrambled to sit firmly. As she shifted her gaze, she saw Yan Changye sitting stiffly beside her.
The car didn’t explode; another vehicle had just swerved in front of them, forcing their driver to dodge.
Driver: “I’m sorry, Young Marshal, Young Mistress.”
Yan Changye: “Record their license plate number and find out who they belong to.”
“Yes.”
The car continued forward.
Liu Xiyin remained vigilant for a long while, confirming that the explosives on the road had likely been cleared, before she relaxed back into the seat.
[The great villain is handsome, sure, but he swings both ways, and in the future, there’s a Ninth Concubine.]
[I don’t know if he can be more loyal after successfully cheating with the Ninth Concubine.]
Yan Changye’s ears were once again filled with her incessant chatter, but he did not comment on what he heard.
He only wanted to know what exactly was written in the book she was thinking about? Who told her he swung both ways? And what on earth was a Ninth Concubine?
Seeing Liu Xiyin steal a glance at him, he didn’t blink or look away, meeting her eyes directly. His long phoenix eyes were naturally cold.
Liu Xiyin was startled and quickly turned her head away. The thoughts in her head shifted:
[No, if I can’t die early, I must make the great villain divorce me as soon as possible. Only by divorcing me can I be free as a bird, to fly wherever I want.]
Yan Changye’s eyes narrowed.
The young bride could even recite poetry.
If the future emperor were to restore the monarchy, given that she knew royal secrets, could recite poetry, and knew how to refine salt, she must at least have been someone from the palace.
Was she an imperial consort?
Yan Changye’s aura grew cold and condensed.
Liu Xiyin rambled on in the car for the entire journey, all about how to get Yan Changye to divorce her without angering him.
Hmph. She doesn’t even know that in a democratic government, there is only divorce; there is no “divorce by writing a letter of repudiation” (xiu qi).
Still dreaming of being free as a bird.
By the time the car stopped at the Marshal’s mansion gate, Liu Xiyin had finally reached a conclusion:
[I must stick to my previous concept: pretend to be cowardly, ignorant, and afraid of death. With a wife like me, the great villain will be laughed to death by high society.]
[Once the Ninth Concubine appears, I will be the weak, incompetent, and ignorant country bumpkin wife, and the Young Marshal will be able to divorce me legitimately. I really am a genius.]
Liu Xiyin felt that, except for refusing to let Yan Changye touch her last night, her performance had been just as she expected.
Submissive, hesitant, and completely lacking the elegance of a prominent family’s daughter.
If she kept up this image, she would definitely win!
[I also have to be careful about the great villain messing around outside. If he comes back and plays the hooligan like last night, and I actually catch syphilis, I’m done for.]
Yan Changye: She’s just wondering if she’ll get infected along with him.
The car came to a stop, and the driver opened the door.
Yan Changye got out.
Liu Xiyin finished her summary and reined in her runaway thoughts. Just as she was about to open the door herself, it was opened from the outside.
Yan Changye stood at the door. “Get down.”
“…”
Liu Xiyin took a long breath.
The grand plan for divorce continues today; I must not panic.
The light-gold horse-face skirt looked like the sun peeking out on a snowy day.
Liu Xiyin carefully held up her skirt and watched her step, not wanting to get her shoes stained by the melting snow.
Marshal Yan was the overlord of the region, and the Marshal’s mansion was built like a military base. The front was the military government’s office, and the back was the residential quarters, each with its own gate.
Liu Xiyin and Yan Changye got out directly in front of the inner residential gate. After passing through a massive landscape garden, they finally reached the main hall of the residence.
The same group of people from last night was gathered in the main hall, with the addition of the Second Young Master.
Marshal Yan sat in the middle of the German-style sofa. To his left was the Marshal’s wife, holding tourmaline prayer beads—Yan Changye’s birth mother.
To his right was the enchanting Second Concubine in a rose-red cheongsam, Song Shiyun’s aunt. She was completely unaffected by the exposure of Song Shiyun the night before.
Other concubines stood or sat on the periphery, each with their own air.
The concubines’ children, the youngest only three, were playing with wooden horses at the edge of the hall.
The Second Young Master, Yan Changzhuo, wore a white suit and stood by the window smoking. He turned his head upon hearing them, looking quite rakish and stylish.
Liu Xiyin walked in holding Yan Changye’s arm, as if stepping into a vintage oil painting and becoming a part of it.
Sigh.
I’m really not reconciled.
Liu Xiyin let go of Yan Changye’s arm, followed him forward, and greeted the others as he did: “Father, Mother.”
Marshal Yan’s gaze landed first on Liu Xiyin’s face, then turned to Yan Changye. “Are you satisfied with the bride Father chose for you?”
Yan Changye tugged at his military uniform collar. “Father has seen countless beauties; the one you chose is naturally no common item.”
[That’s true, that’s true, otherwise how could you have taken a fancy to his Ninth Concubine?]
Liu Xiyin’s “gossip DNA” immediately activated.
Yan Changye glanced at her sideways.
She remembered the Ninth Concubine matter quite clearly.
Madam Qin Wan said: “Since you are satisfied, then live your lives well and stop provoking your father’s anger.”
A servant brought over two cups of tea and placed floor cushions in front of Marshal Yan and Qin Wan.
Liu Xiyin sighed in her heart.
[It’s already a democratic government, and we still have to kneel. When will the people here be able to stand up?]
The hand holding Marshal Yan’s cigar trembled, though the motion was so slight that no one noticed.
Yan Changye’s hand holding the teacup also paused.
Does the young bride not have to kneel to people in the imperial palace?
Or does no one have to kneel at all?
Liu Xiyin picked up her tea, ready to kneel, but her arm was supported by someone.
She turned her head and saw Yan Changye blocking her with one hand. He said coolly: “It’s already a democratic government; who still kneels to offer tea?”
He passed the cup in his hand to Marshal Yan. “Father, do you require me to kneel?”
Marshal Yan slammed his walking stick down hard. “You unfilial child, do you still have any respect for me as your father?”
Song Mei’er quickly stroked his chest to soothe him. “Marshal, don’t be angry. The Young Marshal has been away for years and doesn’t know the house rules; why bother getting angry with him?”
Yan Changye cast a sidelong glance at her. “The Second Concubine knows the rules well enough to raise a niece who openly seduces men and then bites back at her own sister-in-law.”
Song Mei’er’s hand stopped. She grabbed the Marshal’s arm. “Marshal, look at the Young Marshal. Yun’er has already been punished, yet he still won’t let it go—he wants to force us aunt and niece to our deaths.”