Due to Wang Daxia's urgent insistence, Commander Mu exploited his official position for personal gain, delivering a letter about family matters as an urgent military dispatch to Wang Commander stationed far away in Jiangxi.
Wang Commander was drilling naval forces on Poyang Lake. Since his assignment here two years ago, he had rigorously focused on military affairs, gathering garrison soldiers who only knew farming for training.
This move offended many. Jiangxi was an inland region, unlike the northwestern borders frequently raided by Mongols or the southeastern coast plagued by Japanese Pirates. Peace had reigned here for so long that the last turmoil occurred over forty years ago during Prince Ning's rebellion in Nanchang. Back then, the Zhengde Emperor personally led an expedition from Beijing to the Jiangnan region.
However, a capable official named Wang Shouren emerged unexpectedly and quelled Prince Ning's rebellion with lightning speed—before the emperor even reached the scene. Thus, Jiangxi had grown complacent. For over forty years, the dozen garrisons under the Jiangxi Regional Military Commission had seen no bloodshed, focusing solely on farming like common peasants. They lost all martial spirit, their weapons rusted, and they lacked even basic armor.
The consequence? Two years prior, Japanese Pirates fleeing the Qi Family Army reached Jiangxi. Just nine pirates managed to capture a small county town. Infuriating, wasn't it?
Wang Commander was a pragmatic military officer. Assigned as Assistant Commander in Jiangxi—besides monitoring Yan Song and Yan Shifan—he boldly reformed malpractices, driving soldiers from farmlands to training grounds. He taught martial arts and combat formations to ensure basic combat readiness.
Soldiers groaned incessantly. Previously, they only needed to farm well, surrender a portion to the garrison, and keep the rest—supplemented by military pay—to support their families. Now, they had to farm and train simultaneously, exhausting themselves. Farm yields dropped, garrison incomes dwindled, and complaints spread everywhere.
Yet, Wang Commander had powerful backing: Zhu Xizhong, Duke of Cheng and Grand Commandant of the Five Armies Commandery. No one dared oppose him openly. Grumbles aside, whenever Wang Commander summoned soldiers, garrisons had to make them exchange hoes for swords and train.
It was now August, the busy autumn harvest season. Wang Commander was conducting naval drills on Poyang Lake. Arrows flew feebly, with more landing in the lake than hitting straw dummies on mock enemy ships.
When cannon fire commenced, not a single shot hit its mark. Projectiles plunged into the water—less like warfare, more like fishing with explosives.
This waste of arrows and cannons infuriated Wang Commander, who ordered an early retreat.
Gongs sounded, ending the exercise. Soldiers leaped into the lake to retrieve fish stunned by the explosions, showing no desire for victory—treating everything as a game.
Witnessing this dismal scene, Wang Commander felt helpless. Just then, a courier delivered an urgent letter. Assuming it contained new orders from Grand Commandant Li Xizhong, he hastily opened it...
Alas, worse news! His son was determined to marry the young widow next door.
Wang Commander initially wanted to tear the letter to shreds and feed it to Poyang Lake's fish. But halfway through, he stopped. Gazing at the vast lake, he sighed deeply. He knew his own son—if he opposed this marriage, the stubborn boy would likely run away from home.If that were the case, his son’s future career would be jeopardized. Once labeled as unfilial, he could even face dismissal from his post.
His son had risked his life to earn the position of commander at just seventeen, with a promising future ahead. Marrying a young widow would at most invite some behind-the-back ridicule and gossip—widows remarrying was neither unusual nor unreasonable, and it was perfectly legal.
But disobedience and leaving home would harm his son’s prospects.
In his letter, Commander Mu advised him: "Wang Daxia is a boy with a strong will. If he is deeply devoted to the young widow and you, as his father, refuse to support him, what if he takes extreme measures? You would regret it then. Why sacrifice your son’s future for the idle chatter of outsiders?"
Words belong to others, but the son is your own. The choice is clear.
Commander Mu understood Wang Commander all too well. He rarely had a kind word for Wang Daxia; even when concerned, his words inexplicably turned sharp and critical, as if picking faults where none existed, all to maintain the image of a strict father.
Yet deep down, Wang Commander wished his son well and took pride in his achievements at such a young age. No matter how much he disliked the idea of a young widow as his daughter-in-law, he did not want to ruin his son’s future.
After much deliberation, Wang Commander picked up his brush to reply. After filling a wastebasket with discarded drafts, he finally completed the letter and sent it urgently to the capital.
The letter was addressed to Wang Daxia, in which Wang Commander expressed his consent to the marriage and requested Commander Mu to act as the matchmaker.
However, as the eldest legitimate son of the Wang family and the heir, even if the woman he was to marry was not from a prominent family but a parentless young widow from common origins, the proper rites must not be neglected. A woman follows her husband after marriage, so the Wang family must welcome Wei Caiwei with the grand ceremony befitting the principal wife of the household. They could not be careless or hastily arrange the wedding due to her humble background. As the young mistress of the Wang family, she must not be looked down upon—any disrespect would reflect poorly on the family’s reputation.
Currently stationed far away in Jiangxi, he was unable to personally oversee his eldest son’s wedding preparations. He earnestly requested Commander Mu’s assistance in carrying out the "Three Letters and Six Etiquettes," ensuring not a single step was omitted. He also asked for the Imperial Astronomers to match the couple’s birth characters and set an official wedding date, preferably in the twelfth month of this year. By then, he would request leave to return, attend the wedding of his eldest son and daughter-in-law, and spend the New Year at home before returning to Jiangxi.
Wang Daxia read the letter three times over, confirming his father’s approval, and leaped for joy, ecstatically rushing next door to find Wei Caiwei.
Unexpectedly, Wei Caiwei had just returned home and entered the palace, with no indication of when she would be back.
Calming down, Wang Daxia realized there was still one matter left unsettled... Ah, right!
He hurried off to find Lu Ying, who was buried in reviewing intelligence reports on her desk—information gathered by Ding Wu about the White Lotus Sect, the Khanate Court of Anda Khan, and various Mongol tribes.
Over the past two years, she and Ding Wu had never met, but through their correspondence, they had become each other’s closest confidants.
Two years on, the scar on her right cheek had faded considerably, though a mark resembling a long centipede remained. It could be concealed with makeup, but she didn’t care, often going without any.
Her nickname in the Embroidered Uniform Guard was the "Scarred Handsome Gentleman." So striking was her beauty that even the scar seemed to enhance it.
Wang Daxia sidled up to her. "Boss, I’d like to discuss something with you."
Without looking up, Lu Ying tapped the desk. "If it’s a reimbursement, leave it here. I’ll sign it after I finish reviewing these reports.""It's not about reimbursement." Wang Daxia pulled up a chair and sat opposite Lu Ying. "In a few days, I'll be proposing to Doctor Wei. As for Li Yiren, I'll give her an explanation, saying I've fallen for someone else."
Hearing this, Lu Ying wasn't surprised. She had seen it coming two years ago. Finally looking up from the case files, she said, "You're seventeen, Doctor Wei is twenty—it's about time you married. So that's why you bought the house by Shichahai recently—to settle down with a wife. Have you told Ding Wu about this?"
"Ah?" Wang Daxia was taken aback, then replied, "He probably won't object."
Lu Ying sternly said, "Ding Wu is, after all, Doctor Wei's sworn brother. In such matters, the elder brother stands in for the father. How can you propose before informing him? He's practically your half father-in-law as her brother. Regardless of his stance, you must notify him beforehand—protocol cannot be overlooked. If you offend your brother-in-law before even marrying, how will you manage in the future?"
Everyone has their own standpoint. Wang Commander's concerns were face, tradition, and social ties, while Lu Ying's was simple: Ding Wu.
Wang Daxia quickly stood up. "Time is short. I'll go to the pigeon loft now to send him a message."
Lu Ying said, "What's the rush? Doctor Wei isn't going anywhere in the capital. How can you rush something as important as marriage? I'll speak to my mother myself—it's not that you've changed affections. I'll give her a reason, so don't worry about it. Focus on arranging the wedding properly, without haste."
Wang Daxia urgently explained, "It's not that I'm impatient, but time waits for no one. Three years ago, we made a vow to grow old together, agreeing that on August 23rd, three years later, I would come to propose. That day is the day after tomorrow—there's no time to inform Ding Wu."
Three years ago, Wei Caiwei wrote the marriage certificate, which Wang Daxia had memorized: "Today, we, Wang Daxia and I, make a three-year vow to grow old together. Once this pledge is made, our bond is eternal, may our descendants flourish and our lineage prosper. This certifies. Wei Caiwei, Jiajing 39th Year, August 23rd."
"Three years ago?" Lu Ying scrutinized Wang Daxia. "You two really kept it hidden. Since you had an agreement, follow through with it—propose on time and honor your promise. However, the wedding must be meticulously prepared, allowing Ding Wu time to arrange a dowry for Doctor Wei. She's his only sister—how could he let her be treated poorly? He'd surely want a grand wedding."
After so many twists and turns, fortunately, everything was falling into place—good things take time. Wang Daxia was so overjoyed he did a flip on the spot. "Thank you, Commander Lu, for your support."
Forbidden City, Yu De Palace.
Wei Caiwei returned home from Prince Yu's residence and immediately entered the palace, of course, for the matter of the full-month hair-cutting ceremony for the imperial grandson born to Li Jiubao.
She candidly told Shang Qinglan that Li Jiubao had given birth to a son.
Upon hearing this, Shang Qinglan laughed heartily. "That's wonderful! Finally, one from our batch of Imperial Concubine Selection has borne fruit."
During the selection, Shang Qinglan had shared a room with Li Jiubao in the storage palace and was genuinely happy for her. Two years had passed; innocence had become her "weapon" to conquer the emperor's heart. Shang Qinglan had grown even more youthful and beautiful, but she was no longer the naive, simple-minded girl. She understood that for a selected maiden sent to a princely residence as an attendant, bearing a child was the only path forward.Wei Caiwei explained the difficulty of performing the hair-cutting ceremony for Li Jiubao's son, "...The birth of the imperial grandson is a joyous matter, but the Emperor detests this most. He becomes enraged upon hearing that Prince Yu's household has an heir, so no one dares mention it. I've mustered the courage to beg Consort Shang—regardless of circumstances, we must first perform the hair-cutting ceremony and acknowledge the child's lineage. As for bestowing a name or title, we dare not hope for that yet."
"I see..." Consort Shang pondered for a moment. The old Emperor's health declined year by year, and she naturally understood that Prince Yu, being the eldest, held the greatest chance of becoming the Forbidden City's new master. Moreover, since the Imperial Concubine Selection incident on Qionghua Island three years ago, she had earned Prince Jing's profound hatred. Having formed this enmity, her future could only rely on Prince Yu.
Shang Qinglan thought it over and said, "This matter is extremely delicate. You see, no matter how much I stirred things up these past three years, I never dared touch the dragon's reverse scales. I always followed the current and pleased the Emperor, hence my continuous imperial favor."
"However, it's not without a solution. The Emperor has long practiced Taoism and deeply believes in heavenly will. Whenever uncertain, he uses planchette writing to consult the heavens. Two years ago, the Yan Family's repatriation to their native Jiangxi was actually a revelation obtained through planchette writing—though in truth, Grand Secretariat Chief Xu Jie had bribed the two wretched Taoist priests conducting the ritual. Wait patiently. When the Emperor next ascends the altar to perform planchette writing, we'll convey this matter through the ritual. The Emperor would never blame the heavens. What heaven ordains is supreme."
Author's note: Three years have passed, and everyone has matured. Even the naive have become cunning beneath gentle exteriors. Palace life truly tempers people.
OpenNovel