The maid who was speaking looked up and saw Ren Yaoqi coming in. She quickly stopped talking and stepped forward to bow.
“Young Madam.”
Ren Yaoqi smiled and nodded.
One clever maid said, “Young Madam, are you looking for a book? This servant will find it for you.”
Several maids responsible for cleaning the study were literate and more than capable of recognizing books.
Ren Yaoqi didn’t refuse her kindness and casually mentioned a book title. The maid immediately went to search for it on the bookshelf.
Ren Yaoqi was helped to sit down by the maids and asked: “What were you just talking about? Who was severely injured?”
The maids exchanged glances, feeling that even if they didn’t tell the Young Madam, she would hear about it from others anyway. There was nothing that couldn’t be said, so the maid who had been speaking said: “Today, when Second Young Master Yun went out of the city to engage the enemy, he was severely wounded. The Princess Consort sent several physicians skilled in treating external injuries to the Yun residence.”
Ren Yaoqi frowned: “Severely wounded? How severe?”
Hearing this, the maid hesitated for a while before saying, “It’s said that when Second Young Master Yun was brought back, he had no breath left. Old Madam Yun had someone pour a bowl of old ginseng soup down his throat before he barely regained consciousness. He’s barely clinging to life now, but they say his condition is extremely precarious.”
The maids grew bolder, and another maid couldn’t help saying: “I heard that Second Young Master Yun led about a hundred men and not only eliminated the rebel army but also held back the court’s troops. In the end, all the men he brought died in battle, leaving only him with a breath of life when our Young Master sent people to dig him out from the pile of corpses.”
“Second Young Master Yun is truly a hero of our Yanbei.”
“Yes, I hope the physicians can save him.”
Ren Yaoqi listened to the maids chattering away. Although their words inevitably contained some exaggeration, it didn’t prevent Ren Yaoqi from guessing eight or nine parts of what had happened.
Though she had expected that Yun Wenfang must have grown somewhat over these years, it still surprised her a bit. She hadn’t thought he could achieve this much. Although Xiao Jinglin had mentioned Yun Wenfang’s changes in front of her before, Ren Yaoqi hadn’t paid much attention to it.
Thinking that Yun Wenfang’s life now hung in the balance, Ren Yaoqi felt somewhat complicated inside. Setting aside her grievances with Yun Wenfang, he could be considered a qualified Yanbei soldier. That domineering and tyrannical youth had finally grown into a man who could stand on his own.
Afterward, although Ren Yaoqi didn’t deliberately inquire about Yun Wenfang’s news, she still heard about his condition intermittently from different people. Many people were concerned about Yun Wenfang’s injuries, especially unmarried young ladies. They even knew clearly how many times Yun Wenfang opened his eyes each day and how many bowls of medicine he drank.
Yun Wenfang had always had many admirers because of his good looks, and this time he attracted even more young ladies who felt sorry for his injuries.
Speaking of which, it was fortunate that Yun Wenfang had a robust body and relatively firm willpower. Otherwise, if it were an ordinary person who suffered such severe injuries, how could there be any possibility of survival? But Yun Wenfang ultimately persevered. However, because his injuries were truly too severe, Yun Wenfang would need to remain bedridden for a long time to recover.
After Yun Wenfang was saved, people began talking about his gossip again.
The day before Yun Wenfang helped his elder brother escort the bride, his wife, Meng Shi, returned to her natal family. It was said that Meng Shi was clamoring to divorce Yun Wenfang. After hearing their daughter’s tearful complaints, the Meng family originally wanted to agree, but after Yun Wenfang suffered such severe injuries, things changed again.
The Meng family proactively sent their daughter, Meng Shi, back to the Yun family on the second day after Yun Wenfang was brought back to the Yun residence. They even lectured Meng Shi in front of the Yun family members, telling her to serve her husband well and be filial to her elders from now on. If she dared to secretly return to her natal family again without her husband’s family’s permission, the Yun family would sever relations with Meng Shi and no longer recognize her as their daughter.
When Meng Shi returned to the Yun family, she looked haggard with eyes swollen like buns. No one knew whether she had been crying for Yun Wenfang or herself. Regardless of what she was thinking, she obediently began serving medicine and soup at Yun Wenfang’s bedside. However, Meng Shi’s eyes no longer held the spirit they had when she was a young girl.
The Meng family had already made their position clear to Meng Shi. If Yun Wenfang could recover, they would let Meng Shi live a good life with him. If Yun Wenfang couldn’t be saved, Meng Shi would stay in the Yun family to maintain her widowhood for him. In any case, they were determined not to indulge Meng Shi’s temperament by letting her return to her natal family or remarry.
Yun Wenfang’s heroic deeds had already spread throughout Yanbei. Regardless of how his private life was, he had already proven with his own life that he was an outstanding Yanbei soldier. If the Meng family brought their daughter back at this time, whether they were right or wrong, in the end, it would be the Meng family who was in the wrong. People always showed more tolerance toward heroes, and the Meng family still needed to establish itself in Yanbei.
Ren Yaoqi didn’t deliberately avoid hearing about Yun Wenfang’s affairs. Regarding Yun Wenfang, Ren Yaoqi’s only reaction was a sigh. At this point, she no longer hated him and was willing to regard him like an old acquaintance with shallow friendship, hoping his injuries would heal.
Xiao Jinglin returned to Yunyang City the day before the Old Princess Consort’s funeral, and Eldest Young Master Yun Wenting came back with her. Xiao Jinglin arrived during the day, and many people recognized her when she entered the city. Although Yun Wenting entered the city an hour after Xiao Jinglin, many people still connected Yun Wenting’s departure with Xiao Jinglin’s. Neither the parties involved nor the Yun family and Prince of Yanbei’s residence responded to this.
Xiao Jinglin returned to the Prince of Yanbei’s residence, while Yun Wenting hurried back to the Yun family to visit his severely injured younger brother.
Since Yun Wenfang’s injury, many people had been watching the Yun family, but with the return of the Yun family’s eldest young master, people divided their attention to him as well. Mysteriously disappearing, even missing his wedding, yet ultimately returning to Yunyang City one after the other with County Princess Xiao, there was plenty of gossip material surrounding the Yun family’s eldest young master.
However, before people could make sense of Eldest Young Master Yun, the Yun family announced that the engagement between Yun Wenting and Miss Zhao from the court was void. Although the Yun family didn’t openly state the reason for breaking the engagement, rumors quietly spread that Miss Zhao was a spy sent by the court to Yanbei, and that the recent troubles in Yanbei were caused by Miss Zhao colluding with the Liao people and some traitors. When this news came out, the people of Yanbei all despised Miss Zhao, and no one thought there was anything wrong with the Yun family’s eldest young master breaking the engagement.
Strangely, the court said nothing about this matter. The court made no response to the Yun family breaking the engagement, which in outsiders’ eyes showed the court’s guilty conscience, further confirming these rumors.
Most of the court’s troops had withdrawn, leaving only a small contingent to negotiate with the Prince of Yanbei’s residence. The Yun family planned to have Zhao Yingqiu return to the capital with this small contingent.
When the Yun family moved, other families also stirred. Those families who had been arranged marriages by the Empress Dowager all followed closely behind the Yun family to dissolve their engagements with those selected young ladies. These carefully chosen young ladies were ultimately to be sent back to the court.
As for Yan Ningshuang, who had already married into the Prince of Yanbei’s residence, she remained.
With Xiao Heng and his son’s rebellion and Xiao Heng’s execution, the Prince of Yanbei’s residence no longer had Xiao Jingyue and Xiao Heng’s wives and daughters. They were all confined together in a retreat house in the western suburbs. As Xiao Jingyue’s legitimate wife, Yan Ningshuang naturally accompanied them, sharing their hardships.
However, Zhao Yingqiu ultimately failed to leave Yanbei. On the night she was traveling back to the capital with that small contingent, Zhao Yingqiu and several other young ladies were all found hanged in the post station. Whether they committed suicide or fell victim to someone’s foul play, no one knew.
No one cared about the life and death of these young ladies. Their performance at the Thousand Gold Banquet was gradually forgotten by everyone. Although that edition of the Thousand Gold Banquet was the last one hosted by the Yun family, when people later mentioned that edition of the Thousand Gold Banquet, they only remembered the names Ren Yaoqi and Xiao Jinglin. In later storybooks and legends that mentioned other people, they either mixed up the names or simply invented new ones entirely.
After the court’s withdrawal, the Liao kingdom also quietly retracted its claws. Ningxia gradually stabilized under the Di family’s management, and the Great Zhou Dynasty superficially returned to balance.
The Prince of Yanbei’s residence announced to the outside that Liao Princess Yelu Sage had escaped from the Prince of Yanbei’s residence. In fact, given the current security of the Prince of Yanbei’s residence, Yelu Sage’s escape would undoubtedly be a fool’s dream. Therefore, this princess was deliberately allowed to leave.
Ren Yaoqi quietly asked Xiao Jingxi: “During this morning’s meal, was what Father said true?”
Xiao Jingxi raised his eyebrows: “I don’t know which statement my wife is referring to?”
Ren Yaoqi coughed lightly with a strange expression: “What Father said about being moved by the Princess’s devotion to him, unable to bear seeing her become a prisoner, so he deliberately let her go, hoping she could find a good man to marry after returning.”
Xiao Jingxi: “…”
The husband and wife stared at each other for a long moment before both couldn’t help bursting into laughter.
Ren Yaoqi realized that joking about her father-in-law’s words like this was improper and reluctantly suppressed her laughter.
Xiao Jingxi looked at Ren Yaoqi and smiled: “Don’t you know why Yelu Sage was sent back?”
Ren Yaoqi also smiled: “I don’t know.”
Xiao Jingxi said with a half-smile: “‘The Princess is no inferior to her brothers in any way, yet why wasn’t it the Princess who became the Liao King in the end? I wonder if the Princess is willing to accept this?’ Didn’t you say these words?”
Ren Yaoqi blinked and smiled without speaking.
Xiao Jingxi said: “Although this Princess has a female body, her ambition is no less than a man’s. The reason she originally came for the marriage alliance, though she proposed it herself, was also to avoid Yelu Moqi’s schemes and bide her time.”
“You think so highly of her – do you think she can overthrow Yelu Moqi’s power?”
Xiao Jingxi tapped Ren Yaoqi’s forehead: “Do you think if she could easily overthrow the reigning Liao King, I would let her go back? What benefit would changing the Liao King bring us? Letting her return is simply because her power is inferior to Yelu Moqi’s, yet she’s unwilling to accept it.”
Ren Yaoqi tilted her head to dodge Xiao Jingxi’s finger: “Then, when she shows signs of defeat, give her a little assistance to let her see hope of seizing the throne?”