Chapter 103: The Army Sets Out
Today, there was a funeral at the Jiang Mansion.
However, for a servant, even one who had been with the Old Madam for many years, someone who was said to be as close as a sister, her status was still that of a servant.
It was not held on a grand scale.
Moreover, they had encountered the Rebels and still had to raise money for them. The Old Madam was frightened, and the master of the house, Jiang Huaisheng, had suffered facial injuries.
Of the entire household, Jiang Wan was the only one left who could hold her own.
At this moment, Jiang Wan appeared exceptionally capable.
She quickly arranged for Aunt Yao’s funeral, took stock of the family assets, and called a doctor for Father. However, the doctors in the county town were of average skill and limited ability. The doctor was not even sure if he could prevent scarring, and stammered, “Actually, for this injury, you should find Mr. Jiang from the Herb Preparation Bureau. His medical skills are better than mine; he is extremely adept at treating external injuries.”
Jiang Wan:…
The injury on Father’s face was caused by that person.
Madam Jiang looked at the injury on her husband’s face and was heartbroken, which aggravated her pregnancy. She nearly started spotting.
Jiang Rong was scared to death. He had said they shouldn’t go, they shouldn’t go.
Aunt Yao had left on her own two feet, but came back horizontal. Father was also covered in blood.
It must have been retaliation from Jiang Feng’s family. They were retaliating because he had let Guard Wu Liu injure Jiang Feng’s face, so they had also slashed Father’s face.
The guards of the Jiang Family could not show off their prowess either. Although they were sent by the Seventh Prince, the Rebels now surrounded the county town, and those few guards could not go out to attack them.
Moreover, the one among them with the best martial arts skills had gone to the banquet; although he returned alive, he was now unable to speak. No one knew who it was, but they had used two chopsticks to seal his throat. Any deeper, and he would have died.
Fortunately, even in such chaotic times, Miss Jiang Wan remembered to call a doctor for him; Miss Jiang Wan was the kindest.
The more difficult the times, the more outstanding Jiang Wan appeared. Her mother only knew how to cry, her grandmother had fainted from grief, her Father was injured, and her brother was as timid as a mouse. In the entire family, she was actually the only one who could hold things together.
She wanted to ask her grandmother, her second uncle—no, who exactly was that person? She had absolutely no clue.
She was also a bit panicked. They should have entered the capital earlier; if they had, they wouldn’t have encountered these things.
In her dreams, there was nothing about Jiang Yu’s family; perhaps they had been killed by the Rebels.
But right now, the whole family could only rely on her to hold them up. She could not panic, she could not collapse; it would be alright.
The capital. The Meng Family.
After Meng Shaoxia returned home, he was dragged by his Father to the capital’s suburban camp for training. He was not allowed to bring a mobile phone—oh, no, there were no mobile phones anyway.
The only heir in the family had gone on a trip with a full retinue and equipment. As soon as there was news of war and chaos, he was immediately called back.
But they hadn’t expected that he would return at such a young age and say he wanted to get married.
The horse had been given away, the sword had been given away, the jade pendant had been given away; the only thing left that hadn’t been given away was himself.
When asked about the other party’s family background, he said she was the granddaughter of The Former Crown Prince’s Grand Tutor, Jiang Bai.
The Meng Family was not snobbish. Although the Jiang Family had been demoted and Grand Tutor Jiang had passed away, Grand Tutor Jiang’s character was obvious to all. If the child was interested, the Meng Family felt this marriage would be quite good.
But after asking in detail, they learned that the girl Meng Shaoxia liked was the daughter of the Jiang Family’s youngest son, but the youngest son of the Jiang Family had been expelled from the family for being unfilial and brotherly-disrespectful.
Any normal parent would not easily agree to marry into such a family. Being unfilial and disrespectful to one’s siblings were serious crimes.
As parents, they very much wanted to trust their child’s judgment; if the child thought the other party was good, she likely truly was.
But this meant there were other hidden circumstances—either her identity was complicated, or it involved shady inner-courtyard matters. In that case, marriage would be even more inappropriate.
The family also felt it might just be the impulsive spirit of youth.
In this world, where could there be love at first sight, where one meets once and commits to life and death? Those were all made up in storybooks to fool young girls.
Sending him to the army for a period of rigorous training should sober him up, make him forget her, and make him less obsessive.
Yet, unexpectedly, the Jingzhou Prefecture City was occupied by the Rebels. The Emperor ordered the Meng Family to suppress the rebellion.
The New Year was approaching, and there were many celebrations during the New Year. The current Emperor was proficient in music and had outstanding literary talent; he loved all kinds of celebrations. When happy, he would even personally participate in composing music and choreography, sometimes even taking the stage himself.
Back then, Princess Huiyun was also proficient in this. Princess Huiyun also had a uniquely gifted voice; when she sang, it could touch the soul. Listening to her singing was a great pleasure.
Princess Huiyun was a legendary person, uniquely gifted, and favored by the heavens. She held a noble status, possessed peerless beauty, and her singing voice was unparalleled.
In those years, all the fashion trends in the capital followed Princess Huiyun’s every move. If she laughed loudly, the noble ladies would learn to laugh loudly; if she covered her mouth, the noble ladies would learn to cover their mouths; if she accidentally tripped while walking, the noble ladies would all learn to accidentally trip.
Those years were prosperous and dazzling. In those years, the Emperor was still a youth. Things had changed, and people were no longer the same.
The Emperor had aged, his power had grown heavier, and Princess Huiyun no longer appeared in public.
But the Emperor liked music even more and loved large-scale song and dance performances. He loved this kind of prosperous, flourishing age. Whoever disturbed his parties, he would have them killed.
The imperial order could not be disobeyed, and the direct line of the Meng Family had too few people. So this time, Father Meng personally led the expedition.
Old Master Meng had not returned in time and was still guarding the border.
On the day the army set out, General Meng Qingshe (when he was born, his mother dreamed of a snake; it is said that snakes have strong reproductive capacity, producing many snakes in one litter, so he was named Qingshe—much like Meng Zhaodi or Meng Zhaomei) led the army to depart, only to see a Little Square Face in the ranks who looked very much like him.
The army had to depart and could not be delayed. Meng Qingshe could only wait to deal with his own brat later.
Meng Shaoxia had gone to great lengths to sneak into the ranks, becoming a soldier in the army.
He was very worried; Jingzhou Prefecture City had been occupied by the Rebels, and he did not know if Brother Jiang’s family was alright.
His heart had sprouted wings, and he wished he could fly right now to that mountain village and that small courtyard. He missed those two trees.
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