Chapter 9. Return to the City
Return To The City
On the matter of Wei Jue’s return, the Emperor personally left the city to receive him. The sky was blue and the sun was shining bright. I accompanied Guo Furen by standing beside her, watching the tens of thousand horses amidst the dust returning from the wilderness.
“Arrived!” Wei Rong, who was standing beside, said suddenly.
“Shh!” Wei An, who rarely spoke, glared at her fiercely.
As the dust storm got nearer, under the sunlight, one was able to see the reflection of the blades of the countless troops but the most striking thing was the black flag in front.
There were almost hundreds of those black flags and they were held by a few rows of people on horses. The flags were fluttering away, as if they were sprinting towards us. The ‘Wei’ word on each one of them was big and could be seen from afar. That grandiose energy was actually superior to the vermilion red flag of the Emperor atop the city walls.
I heard mutual understanding of praises sounding all around. Upon looking at the Emperor, he was sitting on a six-men carriage and his sight was focused far ahead as his face was expressionless.
At this time, my sleeve was pulled gently.
“ZhangSao,” Wei Rong winked at me, “Look at XiongZhang.”
That reminded me. I almost forgot that I was only standing here because I am Wei Tan’s wife.
I was embarrassed in my heart, looking forward and saw that in front of where the banners and flags had converged, there were more than a dozen riders surrounding two army carriages. The one behind was carrying drums and gongs and there seemed to be a figure sitting in the carriage in front. One did not need to think to know that it was Wei Jue.
By Wei Jue’s carriage, there were two riders. My gaze landed on the rider on the right as that armour was bright, and just like a flash of silver light, the figure looked cold and sharp.
It was very strange, even though I had not seen his face clearly, but I could already feel that it was Wei Tan.
On the other side of Wei Jue, the rider was wearing the same armour but the bearing was much more refined. If I did not guess incorrectly, that should be Wei Zhao, the second son of Wei Jue.
As I watched them approaching, Wei Tan’s face became clearer. I was not excited nor afraid and actually did not know how to describe this current feeling.
The HuangMen ShiLang was already standing in front of the array with the Emperor’s edict in his hand.
Wei Jue’s carriage stopped at a distance of more than ten zhang. He was dressed in military uniform and got off the military carriage. Wei Tan and the rest also dismounted, following Wei Jue, they went on their knees to greet and for a brief period, the crisp sound of armour could be heard.
The HuangMen ShiLang opened the edict and read it out aloud. The language was very eloquent and it was all filled with praises for Wei Jue’s meritorious contribution.
“Thanking Your Majesty's prosperous grace!” Wei Jue’s voice was loud and he bore an attitude of loyalty.
The Emperor looked at him from high up and waved his hand after a moment.
The HuangMen ShiLang loudly announced the departure of the Emperor’s procession.
The procession was grand, with the Dragon carriage (the Emperor’s carriage) in front and Wei Jue leading the troops behind as they entered the city mightily. The Wei household and the other officials and nobles remained rooted in position. I watched Wei Tan rode past atop his horse, his gaze unmoving.
In the grand event of the return of a triumphant army, no matter where it was, one would be able to receive the warm treatment. Everyone in Yongdu came out of the city, the nobles did so because of face (reputation), the commoners did so to watch the overall spectacle, the hawkers were calling out for business while the beggars and poor were busy asking and begging for money.
Naturally the people of the Wei Residence would not join the blustering crowds so I followed Guo Furen and the rest of the clan members up the carriages to return to Wei Residence.
“FuQin and XiongZhang are too much!” Wei Rong started complaining with much dissatisfaction as soon as she returned to the residence. “I had stood there for so long but they didn’t even spare me a single glance!”
“Look at you for what?” Wei An said.
Wei Rong rolled her eyes at him before she turned to look at me, “ZhangSao, did XiongZhang happened to look at you?”
I smiled and said, “ChengXiang and GongZi are war generals and their actions are monitored. The Emperor is also in front of them, so how could they care about others?”
“Indeed.” Guo Furen was in a good mood and smiled as she educated Wei Rong, “You should learn more from your ZhangSao and don’t be willful.”
Wei Rong pouted, her face filled with boredom.
“Er Fu only knows some coarse courtesies. GuShi has over-praised.” I said modestly.
On the surface it was as such but there was unspoken criticism in my heart. How would Wei Tan pay attention to me? Empress Xu was just in front atop the imperial carriage.
******
Wei Jue had not returned yet but the carriages that were carrying the valuables he brought from the East had arrived. There were beautiful clothes, shiny and round pearls and all kinds of precious gold and silver objects. They were all said to have come from the defeated Dong Kuang.
It was not until the night was approaching that the Wei Residence welcomed the travel-worn Wei Jue, his sons and nephews.
The first one to enter was Wei Jue and he was still wearing his armour but the candlelight showed the smile in his brows.
“I heard that my family’s Ah Rong is not happy, where is Ah Rong?” He said loudly before getting out of the carriage.
I was somewhat stunned, and before I could recover my senses, Wei Rong had already rushed forward happily, “Over here, over here!”
The crowd laughed.
Wei Jue looked at Wei Rong up and down before nodding his head and laughed, “My daughter has grown taller.” After that, he took an exquisitely carved wooden box from the carriage and handed it over to her.
Wei Rong opened it and saw a beautiful pearl and a string of jade pendant and her expression brightened.
“Still angry?” Wei Jue asked.
“Not angry anymore!” Wei Rong’s eyes curved.
The atmosphere was joyous and Guo Furen led the children and other women up ahead. She greeted Wei Jue warmly as well as the nephews that were behind Wei Jue. Wei Jue started to hug each and every one of his children. Those loving looks had almost made me forget that this person had rumours of being sinister, deceitful and black-heart.
I discovered that the quietest person in the group was Wei An. After he greeted Wei Jue, he stood at the side to look at others. Wei An had always been cold and initially I thought he was like that to me as he was not familiar with me but did not expect that there was no difference when he was in front of Wei Jue.
“Is this Meng Jing’s bride?” At this moment, Wei Jue’s eyes were fixed on me.
I was stunned for a moment, before I realised that Meng Jing was Wei Tan’s styled name. I quickly went up to bow to him, “JiuShi.”
There was a blanket of silence. Although I did not have eye contact with Wei Jue, I could feel his imposing gaze that was sweeping all over me.
“Dignified and beautiful. Truly my Daughter-in-law.” After a moment, I heard Wei Jue’s words and smiled.
“ZhuGong’s words are very true.” Guo Furen said calmly, “Since Shao Furen entered this residence, she has been in charge of many affairs and is very knowledgeable.”
I smiled and lowered my eyes humbly, “GuShi has overpraised.”
Wei Jue’s gaze seemed to have remained on my face and he suddenly said, “Where is Meng Jing?”
“Meng Jing is still checking the city defence’s troops and would only return later.” Someone replied.
“That boy.” Wei Jue shook his head as he spoke with a smile but he had a satisfied expression. He then said to me, “Er Fu, come and meet the nephews of the Wei Family.” After he finished speaking, he waved his hand and a few people came out from the back.
Guo Furen however said, “The winds are cold at night, and ZhuGong and the rest are worn out by the journey. It is better to change one’s clothes first. It is not too late for them to meet their ZhangSao during family banquet.”
Wei Jue smiled, “These words are indeed so.” After speaking, he went into the residence happily with everyone.
I followed Guo Furen and upon entering, I unexpectedly saw a pair of judging eyes. That was a young man who was taller than me by half a head. His eyes were similar to Guo Furen but his physiognomy was seventh tens similar to Wei Jue. there was no need to ask to know that this was Wei Zhao.
Since it was before the official meeting, it was not ideal to pay greetings. I smiled gently and nodded before entering the hall.
******
I did not need to make preparations because Wei Tan had not returned yet.
I stood idly at the hall for a while and was just to instruct the others if they saw Wei Tan returning, to quickly report over, when at this moment, there were suddenly some hoof sounds at the main doors and someone shouted, “Da GongZi has returned!”
I was stunned, and hurriedly walked towards the door.
The skies were already dark and candlelight shone through the lanterns. I saw someone disembarking from the horse, donning a bright armour, at the doors. He took off the helmet and held it in his arms and suddenly saw me, standing in front of the doors, just as he was about to enter the residence.
The night wind blew and coupled with that gaze that landed on my face, my lips slightly moved as I suddenly felt at a loss.
What should I do next? I thought about it and quickly recovered myself before gently stepping forward to bow to him, “Fujun”
When that word was spoken, the other side was quiet.
For a swift moment, some strange thoughts sprang into my mind. Did he remember that he had married? Would he be like me and had forgotten how the other party looked? I was too rash…..
“Furen.” Just as I was lost in my thoughts, I heard a low voice from above and it was as gentle as the night wind.
T/N: When a husband calls Furen, it means Wife instead of Madam.
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Wei Tan and I walked one behind another, through the front hall, towards our living quarter.
He had a steady pace that was neither fast nor slow and the armour he was wearing made crisp sounds.
I looked forward and felt that one’s heart was beating a little vaguely. In the past, although I did not find the house big, I did not feel that it was small either. However at this moment, I inexplicably felt that the corridor of this courtyard was very short. There was a strange feeling in my heart, I was wishing for this route to become longer, the longer it was, the better it is. When our courtyard appeared in front of us, there was a luminous candle light shining from inside and I felt somewhat uncertain with the brightness inside.
When the servants in the courtyard saw Wei Tan, they quickly bowed.
Ah Yuan heard sounds coming from the room and when she saw Wei Tan, her expression became tensed up in an instant.
“Da… Da GongZi,” She quickly hid to the side and kept her head lowered as she bowed.
Wei Tan only nodded his head and did not say anything or stood there. He walked into the chamber.
The rack of the armour was already prepared and both hot soup and clean clothes were arranged neatly at the side. I saw the two maids smiling as they closed the doors.
There was only Wei Tan and me left in the room.
He stood in front of the clothing rack and turned his head to look at me.
It was only then that I remembered that a wife was supposed to attend to her husband to help him change his clothes.