latelenovela Chapter 530 The storm rises again
Chapter 530 The storm rises again
Behind the screen, Lin Shiyue listened to the conversation between the two with a flushed face. Duan Mengrou next to her laughed: "Look at how eager you are to get married. You had to hear it with your own ears before you would be satisfied... Now you've finally got your wish, haven't you? How long have you been waiting for this day?"
Lin Shiyue was both shy and happy, and reached out to grab Duan Mengrou: "Are you still making fun of me? The first thing I'll do after I marry into the Liu family is bring you into the family. Let's be in this together!"
Duan Mengrou blushed as well: "How did this involve me again?"
Lin Shiyue snorted: "You are someone's concubine, how dare you disobey? That person is now the Marquis of Pingnan, who can make Guangdong tremble with a stomp of his foot, not one of those spoiled brats who just hang out with their birds and do nothing but eat and wait to die."
Duan Mengrou recalled the inexplicable scene from that day and replied with distress, "Actually, I don't know why it happened either. After a hangover, we were lying in bed together, and when I got up, they said they wanted me to become a concubine in the Liu family..."
Fearing the gossip would disturb her uncle, Lin Shiyue pulled her out through the back door to a corridor. Looking around to make sure no one was watching, she said earnestly, “My dear sister, I know you have high aspirations, and being a concubine is beneath you. But circumstances are beyond your control. You rely on his power to run the money exchange, and you're already branded with the Liu family. Everyone thinks you belong to him, and no one in Guangzhou dares to propose to you anymore. Rather than living such an ambiguous life, it's better to join the Liu family and keep me company. The Liu family already has several concubines; I don't know if I can keep them in check. With you by my side, I feel much more at ease.”
Duan Mengrou sighed: "Actually, I know that without his protection, I will be devoured without even a hair left."
“I’ll take that as a yes. After the wedding, I’ll tell him that we’re bringing you into the family. Even if it’s a concubine, it has to be done openly and honestly. We can’t just sneak away in a sedan chair.”
Duan Mengrou said helplessly, "I haven't even married into the family yet, and you're already arranging for him to take a concubine. It seems I can't escape your grasp."
Lin Shiyue advised, "I'm doing this for your own good. First, we can be sisters and stand together through thick and thin; second, I heard he agreed to let you bring Aunt Jiang into the family. Tell me, who else has such magnanimity as to allow you to bring your mother along as part of your dowry?"
Mentioning Aunt Jiang, Duan Mengrou fell silent. Her mother was her only family, and she was weak-willed; if she were to marry, her mother would be her biggest worry. But what family could accept a new bride bringing a widowed mother? It would be both a burden and bad luck. Just for Liu Ye's promise, she wouldn't be wronged to become his concubine.
Huifu Street, Duan Mansion.
"What? You really want to marry into the Liu family as a concubine, and take me with you?" Aunt Jiang was shocked by her daughter's words and shook her head repeatedly. "I'd better stay here. Anyway, I don't have to worry about food or clothing. If I go to your husband's family with you, people will laugh at me."
Duan Mengrou patiently advised, "Mother, if I get married, the money shop may not still be handed over to me to manage. Without the monthly salary from being the money shop manager to supplement the family income, how long can you live off the savings? Besides, as a widow guarding this mansion, won't those people from the Gao family come to cause trouble every few days? Can you handle them?"
Aunt Jiang blushed. "You're right, but..." She wanted to tell her daughter about the absurd things that had happened back then, but she swallowed the words back down, ultimately too ashamed to speak.
“Mother, it’s settled then. Don’t try to fob me off with excuses. If you really don’t want to come with me, then I’ll stay here with you and never marry. I don’t want to leave you alone in Guangzhou to be bullied.”
"Why are you doing this?" Aunt Jiang panicked immediately. "I've had a hard life. Both of my husbands died. I don't know if I'm just unlucky and bring bad luck to my husbands. I don't expect to remarry in this life, and I don't have the nerve to do it. But you're a young virgin. How can you keep saying you'll never marry? Are you trying to drive your mother crazy?"
Seeing her nervousness, Duan Mengrou quickly pressed her advantage: "Since you're worried about me, why don't you come with me? Shiyue is right, apart from the Earl of Pingnan, no one else would agree to such an absurd condition."
Aunt Jiang sighed and pleaded, "Let me think about it, okay?"
Duan Mengrou breathed a sigh of relief; her mother had finally given in and wasn't as adamant as before.
The auspicious wedding day was drawing ever closer, and the South Garden on General Street in Lingao was already decorated with lanterns and colorful streamers, and the bridal chamber was being prepared. Guests and envoys from all over the country were also on their way to Lingao. At the same time, dark clouds began to obscure the sun in the north, and a storm was brewing.
Hebei, Chang'anling, Dushikou.
Thick smoke billowed from a section of the Great Wall, and corpses lay strewn haphazardly along the crenellations. The city gates were wide open, and a dense throng of soldiers with long, thin braids passed through the gates, entering the pass from outside. At the foot of the mountain, a general in his thirties, his face full of arrogance, rode on horseback, looking at the ravaged Great Wall behind him, and said disdainfully, "The Ming dogs are still the same as before, utterly vulnerable. The Great Wall is nothing but a facade; how can it possibly withstand the warriors of my Great Jin?"
An elderly man in his sixties next to him flattered, "Our Jin warriors are naturally brave, but the Ming army is not all useless. There are some who can fight. But the reason why we were able to break through Dushikou so quickly and advance directly to Yanqing is because of the wise and powerful Prince Wuying and his skillful command."
The general, known as Prince Wuying, laughed heartily, cracked his whip triumphantly, and said, "You flatter me, Prince Yingcheng. I dare not take credit for myself, otherwise, the prince in front will be unhappy."
The old man followed his gaze and looked ahead. A few hundred paces ahead, a sturdy middle-aged general was directing his troops to advance in an orderly fashion. Just then, he turned back and his eyes met the old man's. The old man saw the frustration and resentment in his eyes, but replied calmly, "Prince Raoyu should not be such a narrow-minded person. Prince Wuying can rest assured."
"Hehe, we all entered the pass on the orders of the Great Khan. Whether you are broad-minded or narrow-minded, you must put aside any dissatisfaction in your heart. If you miss the opportunity to carry out military plans, no one will be able to bear the consequences."
The old man replied, "What Prince Wuying says is true."
This Prince Wuying was Aisin Gioro Ajige, the twelfth son of Nurhaci and the elder brother of Dorgon, who was granted the title of Prince Wuying. He was in charge of commanding the army that entered the pass this time. Accompanying him were his seventh brother, Prince Raoyu Aisin Gioro Abatai, and Shumulu Yangguli, who was granted the title of First-Class General and the hereditary title of Duke, whose status was second only to Prince.
Although Abatai was older, his mother, Lady Irgen Gioro, was a concubine of low birth, which resulted in his status being lower than that of his younger brothers, and even lower than that of his nephews and nieces, Hauge and Yuetuo. Therefore, during this entry into the Central Plains, he was merely Ajige's deputy, and inevitably harbored resentment. This mentality destined the process of entering the Central Plains this time to be anything but smooth sailing, unlike the previous times.