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“After Shedding My Armor, I Await Marriage” Chapter 57

The princesses were so frightened that they cried till they almost fainted.

Dappled light filtered through the leaves, casting spots of light and shadow on Gu Fu. She turned her head to look at Princess Ruiyang, a smile on her face that could be described as kindly. However, the words she spoke were like poisoned daggers, piercing the naive Ruiyang to the core.

A cold wind swept by, causing Ruiyang to shiver. She almost lost her balance and fell from the tree, but luckily, Gu Fu reached out just in time, pressing down on her shoulder to steady her.

Ruiyang’s face turned pale. The combination of Gu Fu’s words and the near-fall made her heart race. Her hand, resting on the tree branch, trembled uncontrollably, and a slight numbness spread across her cheeks.

“It’s a bit cold here. Shall we take a walk in the sun?” Gu Fu suggested, noticing that Ruiyang was trembling all over.

Ruiyang opened her mouth, but the moment she tried to speak, her eyes welled up with tears. “I—I feel weak, I might… not be able to get down.”

Gu Fu wrapped an arm around Ruiyang’s waist and lifted her off the tree.

The sudden sensation of weightlessness made Ruiyang scream. She clung tightly to Gu Fu, and even after they landed safely on the ground, she didn’t loosen her grip.

Gu Fu let her bury her face in her chest, quietly sobbing.

After a while, Ruiyang lifted her tear-streaked face and, between sobs, asked Gu Fu, “They… Grandmother and the others, why…?”

Gu Fu understood what she wanted to ask. After a moment’s thought, she replied, “Perhaps it’s because they don’t know much about the northern borders.”

Ruiyang nodded in a daze, but in truth, she still wanted to ask. If Gu Fu could know these things, why couldn’t her grandmother ask someone else? Didn’t her cousin Li Yu serve in the northern military?

However, Ruiyang ultimately did not ask the question aloud. Perhaps she was afraid that Gu Fu wouldn’t be able to answer, or perhaps she feared that Gu Fu might actually have an answer.

But much later, Ruiyang learned the truth. The Li family needed to “understand propriety and know when to advance or retreat,” to “be cautious and not flaunt their favor as relatives of the Emperor,” to “always remember their duty as subjects,” and to “help alleviate the Emperor’s burdens.”

So, they couldn’t protect her, the granddaughter, just because the Emperor favored her, for fear that the court officials would blame the ongoing unrest in the northern borders on the Empress’s exclusive favor. They might say that the Li family women were selfish, unwilling to sacrifice their sons and daughters for the country, thus tarnishing the Li family’s reputation for no reason…

After comforting Ruiyang, Gu Fu left the academy and went directly to the palace to inform the Empress about what had happened with Ruiyang, lest the Li family do anything further.

The Empress knew that Ruiyang had taken a rest day yesterday and that her mother and sister-in-law had visited her in the palace. But the Empress never expected that they would come to pressure Ruiyang, just like they had once pressured her into marrying the Crown Prince.

“If Mother is so righteous, then why didn’t you avoid suspicion and have Yu’er decline the Emperor’s favor when he was promoted, to prevent idle talk?” In Fengyi Palace, the Empress summoned her mother and tore off all pretense in front of her.

The old madam of the Li family looked at the Empress in disbelief, shocked. “Your Majesty, but Yu’er is the legitimate grandson of our Li family! The future honor and disgrace of the Li family depend on him alone. How could you be so heartless toward him?”

“Ruiyang is my daughter!” The Empress displayed a ferocity she had never shown before. “Listen! I earned my current status on my own. Out of gratitude for raising me, I have willingly supported the Li family. But if you dare to lay a hand on Ruiyang again, I will make sure you and Father wish you were dead!”

The old madam of the Li family looked at the Empress with a terrified gaze, as if she were seeing a complete stranger.

Madam Jing, who was standing nearby, supported the trembling old lady and tried to persuade the Empress, “Your Majesty, the old madam is still your mother. How can you speak to her like this?”

The Empress turned to look at Nanny Jing.

On the day the old lady entered the palace, the Empress had specifically sent Nanny Jing to deliver some items to Ruiyang. When she returned, the Empress asked Nanny Jing what the old madam had talked about with Ruiyang. Nanny Jing only mentioned casual conversation and concealed the fact that the old lady had pressured Ruiyang to request a marriage alliance.

The Empress knew that Nanny Jing’s heart was with the Li family. But after all these years of mutual support, the Empress believed she had never wronged her. She never imagined that it would be Madam Jing who would stab her in the back.

The Empress turned her face away and, after a pause, said, “Nanny Jing is getting on in years. Since your heart is with the Li family, I grant you permission to leave the palace and return to the Li family.”

Nanny Jing was stunned, and then she suddenly fell to her knees with a thud. She crawled to the Empress, clutching the hem of her robe, and pleaded repeatedly, “Your Majesty! Your Majesty, you can’t, you can’t do this to your loyal servant. I have been loyal to you…”

The Empress waved her hand, and someone immediately stepped forward to cover Nanny Jing’s mouth and drag her away.

The Empress turned to look at her mother, whose face was flushed with anger, and who was so unsteady on her feet that she could barely stand. The Empress suppressed the last bit of reluctance in her heart and said resolutely, “Mother, if you still want the Li family and Yu’er to be well, then stay in line. I am not a woman of the harem who relies on the Emperor’s favor to survive. Even without the support of my natal family, I can still secure my position as Empress. If you don’t believe me, you can try.”

After warning her family, the Empress, the Emperor also summoned his elder sister and younger sister. He didn’t say much but told them, “If you think it’s appropriate to negotiate with the Zuojia tribe, I will grant your wish. I will immediately decree that you are made Princess Ruiyang and send you to the northern borders to marry.”

The princesses were all shocked and uncertain, with the more timid ones nearly fainting on the spot. The bolder ones reminded the Emperor, “Your Majesty must be joking. Have you forgotten that we are all married women? How could we possibly go and marry?”

The Emperor smiled and said, “Don’t worry. The Zuojia tribe practices shared marriage, where it’s common for fathers, sons, and brothers to share a woman. They naturally don’t care about a woman’s chastity as we do. As for your husbands, I will make sure they are well compensated. You just need to go. After all, with your concern for the empire, I’m sure you can’t wait.”

Upon hearing this, the princesses were terrified and cried, begging the Emperor to spare them.

The Emperor’s smile faded, and his eyes grew cold. “I know what you’re thinking. Each of you was spoiled by the late Emperor. When I was Crown Prince, I was nothing more than your plaything. Now you are still ‘princesses,’ while my daughters, what have they done to deserve being ‘Princess Ruiyang’? Of course, you can’t accept that. In that case, I will fulfill your wish. After all, the Zuojia tribe wants ‘Princess Ruiyang.’ It’s no big deal for me to give them your titles as well. Ruiyang has always been filial; I’m sure she wouldn’t mind such a small matter.”

The princesses were so frightened that they almost fainted, and their cries made the elderly Eunuch Zhao’s head ache.

Afterward, the Emperor issued an edict confining the princesses to their respective residences, placing guards to ensure they had no communication with the outside world.

After being confined for two months, with no news from the outside world, the princesses were filled with dread. They feared that the Emperor might actually make them Princess Royal and that one day they would wake up dressed and escorted to the northern borders to marry. This constant anxiety nearly drove them mad.

It seemed as if everyone in the capital wanted to enjoy the pleasant weather before winter set in. Many households held banquets, and even the Empress frequently summoned noblewomen and young ladies of noble families to the palace for conversations and laughter.

One of the noblewomen heard that the Empress had cultivated an extremely rare green chrysanthemum and complimented her, expressing a desire to see the flower and broaden her horizons.

However, the Empress did not order the flower to be brought out. Instead, she spoke irritably about the second Miss Gu, saying, “She came specifically to pay respects to me. I thought she had missed me, but it turned out she was just here to ask for a flower because the academy was holding a flower contest. She even took away that green chrysanthemum that I had painstakingly nurtured.”

Although the Empress’s words sounded like a complaint, everyone there was no fool and could naturally detect the affection and indulgence hidden in her tone.

Looking across the entire capital, besides Princess Ruiyang, who else would dare to be so bold as to enter the palace and take a flower that the Empress had personally nurtured?

The people present could see the closeness between the Empress and Gu Fu, so when they returned home and hosted their own banquets, they made sure to send invitation cards to the Gu family.

Gu Fu had no time to attend banquets and originally planned to decline them all. However, when she learned that Mu Heng would be attending the birthday celebration of the Dowager Consort at Prince An’s residence with his wife and children, she picked out the invitation from Prince An’s residence from the pile.

Meanwhile, after nearly five months of confinement in his mansion, Prince Ying finally had the opportunity to go out.

It turns out that when Prince Ying was born, because his birth mother’s status was not high enough, he was sent to be raised by the Dowager Consort for a few years. Later, when Prince Ying’s birth mother gained favor, she petitioned the late Emperor to bring Prince Ying back to her side. By then, the Dowager Consort had Prince An, and with children on both sides, there was no animosity between them.

Recently, the Dowager Consort had fallen gravely ill and narrowly escaped death. Upon waking, she forgot many things and believed she was living in the past, a time when she was raising both Prince An and Prince Ying. She insisted on seeing Prince Ying.

As a dutiful son, Prince An had no choice but to find a way to fulfill his mother’s wish and petitioned the Emperor for a favor.

Prince Ying was finally able to go out, but Tang Mumu, whose status was too low to attend, didn’t want to watch helplessly as Princess Ying accompanied him. So, she resorted to some tricks to prevent Princess Ying from going as well.

Princess Ying, unwilling to be outdone and furious that she had allowed Tang Mumu to exploit a moment of weakness to gain Prince Ying’s favor, fiercely fought back, and the two sides clashed intensely, neither giving an inch.

Little did they know, the real victor was currently in the study, grinding ink for Prince Ying while disguised as a maid.

Lin Yuezhi had tantalized Prince Ying for a long time. Just when Prince Ying thought Lin Yuezhi was merely a figment of his imagination, Lin Yuezhi finally appeared before him.

On that day, the osmanthus flowers were in full bloom. Lin Yuezhi was playing in the garden with Prince Ying’s youngest son. The mischievous child kicked the osmanthus tree, causing the flowers to fall like rain, adorning her radiant and stunning face.

After that, Prince Ying arranged for Lin Yuezhi to stay in his study and often tested her, trying to discern if she was the one who had quietly and loyally stayed by his side all this time.

Lin Yuezhi vehemently denied the accusation, insisting that Prince Ying had mistaken her for someone else. However, under Prince Ying’s persistent probing, Lin Yuezhi eventually “accidentally” revealed a flaw in her story.

Afterward, Prince Ying conducted an investigation and discovered that Lin Yuezhi was originally a maidservant by Tang Mumu’s side. During the time when Prince Ying was gravely ill, Princess Ying was too busy seeking help from various people and had no time to care for him. Tang Mumu wanted to use this opportunity to gain his favor but found the task of caring for a sick person too troublesome, so she left him in Lin Yuezhi’s care. Later, fearing that he might become attached to Lin Yuezhi, Tang Mumu transferred Lin Yuezhi away from her side.

Prince Ying laid out the truth he had uncovered before Lin Yuezhi, startling her so much that she knelt down and begged Prince Ying not to blame Tang Mumu. She explained that Tang Mumu had been incredibly kind to her and that if Prince Ying were to blame Tang Mumu, it would weigh heavily on her conscience.

Prince Ying was deeply moved by Lin Yuezhi’s kindness and promised her, “For your sake, I won’t blame her.”

However, he had no intention of letting Tang Mumu off easily for trying to deceive him. For now, he would use Tang Mumu as a target, letting her and his wife continue their rivalry, which would also serve to protect the person he truly cared about.

Hearing that Princess Ying and Tang Mumu were, as he expected, locked in a fierce struggle, Prince Ying coldly chuckled and paid no attention to it. Instead, he glanced at the delicate hand grinding ink beside him and asked, “Don’t you want to go?”

Lin Yuezhi, who had taken on the alias “Yinyue,” blinked and smiled, saying, “This servant doesn’t enjoy going out, but…”

Prince Ying grasped Lin Yuezhi’s hand and asked, “But what?”

Lin Yuezhi whispered, “Now that it’s the flower season, could Your Highness bring back a beautiful chrysanthemum for this servant?”

Prince Ying laughed and said, “That’s a simple request.”

Lin Yuezhi blushed and quickly pulled her hand from Prince Ying’s grasp. She shyly turned to pour tea, hiding the uncontrollable disgust in her eyes from Prince Ying.


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After Shedding My Armor, I Await Marriage

After Shedding My Armor, I Await Marriage

卸甲后我待字闺中 Xiè Jiǎ Hòu Wǒ Dài Zì Guī Zhōng
Score 9.2
Status: Completed Type: Author: Released: 2020 Native Language: Chinese

In the ninth year of Yongqing, General Gu Fu died in Qi Huai. The current emperor posthumously honored him as Marquis Zhongshun.

In the twelfth month of the same year, the second Miss Gu, who had accompanied her grandmother to the mountains to perform Buddhist rites for five years, returned home. The first thing she faced upon arrival was punishment—kneeling in the ancestral hall. In the ancestral hall, the elder of the Gu family scolded her, telling her not to act recklessly in the future and to obediently wait for the elders to arrange a marriage for her. However, she responded with a single sentence that made him storm off in anger. An unaware aunt and younger sister came to visit, seemingly out of concern, but they were actually mocking her. She calmly countered their remarks. Finally, her elder brother arrived. The scholarly eldest son of the Gu family paced back and forth in front of her, eventually blurting out, "The military camp is full of men! Do you know that if word of your disgraceful behavior spreads, it will bring shame to the family's daughters?" Gu Fu finally shed her carefree demeanor and replied seriously, "Defending the country is not a disgrace." Upon hearing that the Gu family wanted to marry off the second Miss Gu, the current emperor immediately sought out the empress, earnestly saying, "I regard the second Miss Gu as my own daughter. I can't let her marry just anyone. If empress has time, perhaps you could help me by looking for suitable candidates for her in the capital." The empress: "..." Understood, Matchmaking 101 it is.
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