When returning to Chang’an, Xinyue squeezed together with Yun Ye, constantly turning her head to look at the carriage behind them. In a short time, she had already looked back three or four times. Yun Ye lay in the carriage, sleeping one nap after another out of boredom.

Xinyue fixed her gaze on Yun Shou riding his horse at the very front and said proudly, “Husband, just look—Shou’er’s constitution is excellent. It’s snowing outside, yet he’s still wearing his cloak, leading the way at the front, running back and forth so energetically. This has put his Uncle Cheng to shame. Chumo claimed to most detest riding in carriages, but now that the weather is too cold, his constitution ultimately can’t take it. He’s hiding in the carriage and won’t come out.”

Yun Ye laboriously poked his head out from under the quilt. With a mischievous smile, he grabbed a handful of Xinyue’s ample buttocks and chuckled, “Chumo still hates riding in carriages just like before, but this time he has no choice. I ride in a carriage because it’s convenient for groping you. Chumo rides in a carriage purely because he has no face to see anyone!”

Xinyue viciously pinched Yun Ye’s hand. She believed she was already old and shouldn’t have any more desires. She currently wouldn’t let Yun Ye touch her at all, dutifully observing wifely propriety. However, she was quickly attracted by the four words her husband said: “no face to see anyone.”

She asked Yun Ye with confusion, “How does he have no face to see anyone? Could it be that you and Chumo went to steal Buddha heads from Maiji Shan again? If that’s the case, you truly would have no face to see anyone. That would be a sin worthy of a thousand cuts.”

“Stealing Buddha heads is my dream—sooner or later I’ll fulfill this wish. But what’s troubling Chumo is something else.” Yun Ye discovered he seemed to have spoken out of turn—he had promised Cheng Chumo not to tell Xinyue.

Sure enough, this statement stirred up trouble. Xinyue’s intense curiosity led her to finally learn the cause and effect.

Upon learning that Cheng Yaojin wanted to marry a second wife, Xinyue’s complexion turned iron blue. Her face contorted severely, and her hands unconsciously tore at the quilt—no matter how you looked at it, she resembled a malevolent ghost. Her previously pearl-like and jade-round alluring appearance was completely gone. For a voluptuous beautiful woman to transform like this in the blink of an eye was quite a skill. However, Yun Ye had no interest in grabbing another handful of this version of Xinyue.

“This won’t do!” Xinyue ground her teeth, forcing out two words through the gaps.

“It’s too late. The wood has become a boat, the raw rice has already been cooked into cooked rice. When you return to Chang’an, you’ll know just how terrible things are.”

“Kill her, quickly!” Xinyue’s phoenix eyes actually shot out brilliant light—years of wealth and nobility had finally shown results.

However, Yun Ye very much disliked this. Straightening up, he scolded, “I never realized you’ve now become someone who regards human life as worthless as grass. Speaking of losing face, I was once Chang’an City’s greatest wastrel, greatest spendthrift, even once the greatest scoundrel. Why didn’t you cut off my head while I slept?”

“From beginning to end, this matter doesn’t blame that woman called Yan Huichun at all. Uncle Cheng wanted to marry her—would she dare refuse? A sixteen-year-old woman marrying an eighty-something-year-old man—no matter what, it’s not a pleasant affair.”

Yun Ye’s words clearly contained unhappy elements. In the past when he spoke like this, Xinyue would immediately soften, saying nice things and apologizing, using many methods to make Yun Ye happy.

But this time, she seemed to have no intention of backing down. Looking at her husband, she said, “That’s different. Whether you were one of the Three Plagues of Chang’an or an invincible commander doesn’t matter. Now the common people in Chang’an City still use you to educate their descendants, saying that when men are young and act wildly, what does it matter? As long as they know to strive for success, they’re good. In the future, they’ll always establish merit and achieve success. But if they’re still acting wild when old, that’s being senseless—that’s truly senile.”

“You acted wild during your youth. By now, all of Chang’an has discovered that you’re actually the most self-disciplined noble. Our household—aside from you, there are always rumors floating around, but that’s because you hold a high position. As for everyone else, whenever they go out, people give them thumbs up in praise.”

“Whether it’s this concubine or Na Rimu and the others, Empress Zhangsun has praised our household’s women more than once. When Na Rimu visits other noble households as a guest, she always sits in the seat of honor. No one has ever dared to lead Na Rimu through the concubines’ passage—she always steps on the flower-patterned bricks to enter the rear hall and gather with the madams.”

“If Uncle Cheng does this, it will thoroughly make the people of Chang’an think he’s senile. No wonder Chumo is hiding in the carriage and won’t come out. Not only does Chumo have no face to see people, this concubine has no face to see people either. How can I visit the Cheng household? We go stay at the Cheng household for several days every year. That small courtyard was personally decorated by this concubine. At the bedside, there’s still a pair of hollow nine-turn jade exquisite ornaments. Your favorite pillow is still left there and hasn’t been brought back. How can this work…”

“Wait—that woman is of lowly status. How could she possibly become a Duke’s wife?”

Xinyue thought of something and pulled Yun Ye, who had just lain down, back up again, insisting on clarifying this matter.

“Eighty years old—the age of advanced old age. Go check—the laws of the Great Tang don’t apply to Uncle Cheng, especially ritual law. So the old gentleman can do things as he pleases. Living to eighty is capital in itself. Even rape isn’t a crime! (This is true)”

Xinyue cried out miserably and fell backward onto Yun Ye. She was no longer as light as when she was young—now she was quite robust. Yun Ye almost heard his own bones creaking. He hurriedly pushed her away—soft and slippery to touch, but potentially fatal when pressed upon.

“Uncle Cheng won’t live many more years? As long as Uncle Cheng is alive, we’ll inevitably have to visit the Cheng household. How many more years must we endure this suffering?” At this point, Xinyue no longer cared about filial piety or lack thereof.

“Uncle Cheng still eats a dou of rice and ten jin of meat per meal. His body is robust indeed. He’s just like this—the more people curse him, the longer he lives. The reasoning behind this can’t be explained.”

“However, I’m telling you, Uncle Cheng has reasons for doing this. When a minister becomes too powerful and doesn’t want to rebel, sooner or later he must cripple his own martial arts. Uncle Cheng is taking a knife to the Cheng family’s reputation—it’s much better than other families desperately pruning branches and cutting leaves.”

“You know how the Zhangsun family prunes branches and cuts leaves—people simply disappear. Several very powerful brothers have all vanished without a trace. You manage several trade routes and should clearly know that the people who used to frequently deal with the Yun family have all been replaced with unfamiliar faces.”

“Let me tell you, those people were actually quietly disposed of. Some were sent to distant islands, while others were directly buried in pits. So compared to the Zhangsun family, I much prefer Uncle Cheng’s handling method.”

“No face, no face—are there few shameless people living in this world? In his early years, he was a bandit. Now becoming a lecher can be said to complement each other perfectly.”

Xinyue couldn’t listen at all. She stuffed her head under Yun Ye’s armpit and called out softly in pain, “How can we return to Chang’an? This concubine wants to go to Yuezhou. Let’s not return to Chang’an…”

No matter how much Xinyue and Cheng Chumo didn’t want to return to Chang’an, that towering city still stood there. The carriage carried them step by step closer to Chang’an City.

Leading young Wang Cai and standing on the Ba Bridge, Yun Ye recalled the heavy snow during his first entry to the capital. Back then, he had ridden Wang Cai, holding a long spear and standing on the Ba Bridge, savoring in detail the joy of returning home.

Now standing on the Ba Bridge with young Wang Cai, the sourness in his chest was beyond words. He even felt like an old dog abandoned by people—aside from barking madly twice at the heavens, he couldn’t change anything.

The still-immature young Wang Cai always wanted to burrow into Yun Ye’s cloak. Whether it was the heavy snow, the cold wind, or the giant city on the horizon, everything made him feel fear. This was the first winter of his life.

The nightmare came faster than expected. Cheng Yaojin appeared in the heavy snow with booming laughter. The longevity-patterned casual robe was gone, replaced by a set of tight warrior’s clothing. A headband was tied around his forehead, a palm-wide tiger-skin hero’s belt was fastened at his waist, and on his feet he wore a pair of pointed, most fashionable, barbarian-made deerskin boots crafted by hand.

If not for the full head of white hair remaining unchanged, Yun Ye would have thought he had accidentally returned to several decades ago. Now he somewhat regretted lingering on the Ba Bridge for so long. If he hadn’t delayed, he wouldn’t have encountered Cheng Yaojin and his newlywed wife enjoying the snow… Yun Ye now extremely wanted to run…

Yun Ye stepped forward and struggled to produce a smile, taking the initiative to pay respects to Cheng Yaojin and exchange greetings. As for that woman beside him wearing a conical hat, he could only ignore her. He didn’t come out voluntarily—it was because Li Tai had kicked him in the back of the knee…

“Ha ha ha! Why haven’t you paid respects to your new aunt, Yan Shi? When this old man got married, none of you were present—not one filial person. All the old friends and juniors in the capital made appointments to be sick, making the wedding scene look terrible…”

Not a trace of unease could be seen on Cheng Yaojin’s face, nor any sign of fatigue. His spirits were very full, his presence very powerful—completely different from when Yun Ye left the capital. Could it be that this Yan Huichun truly had some rejuvenating miraculous technique?

Since he had already been kicked out, he might as well bear it alone. Cupping his hands, he bowed to Yan Shi, “This junior, Yun Ye, pays respects to Aunt!” Having said this, Yun Ye felt it wasn’t such a big deal. Regardless of her age, as long as she was Cheng Yaojin’s wife, from any perspective, calling her “Aunt” wasn’t inappropriate.

Yun Ye wasn’t nervous, but Yan Shi was so nervous she trembled. Having a legendary peerless famous general bow to her and address her as “Aunt” gave her tremendous pressure. She repeatedly said she didn’t deserve it!

Cheng Yaojin at the side said very dissatisfied, “What do you mean you don’t deserve it? You’re the wife Old Cheng properly married through matchmakers. Don’t say your background is poor—even if I, Old Cheng, married a sow, they’d still have to obediently call that sow ‘Aunt’!”

Before Cheng Yaojin could explode at Cheng Chumo, Yun Ye pulled Cheng Yaojin aside and asked in a low voice, “Uncle, this junior can understand why you’re doing this, but why so hastily? Moreover, this matter didn’t need to become real—just spreading the word would have been enough!”

Cheng Yaojin glanced at Yun Ye and said, “Because this old man sensed fear—extremely great fear. The last time I had this feeling was at Tiger Prison Pass!”