Happy reading~

Chapter 91: Imperial Edict

When Madame Duan found out that they already had a physical marriage, she covered her head, wis.h.i.+ng that she could just faint. She found Er Ya even more displeasing now. This woman didn't even know to respect herself and had illicit s.e.xual relations.h.i.+ps with a man without even a matchmaker to set the match. She couldn't even compare to the prost.i.tutes in the pleasure quarters.

Madame Duan was a very decisive woman. Even though she inwardly hated Er Ya, she still properly settled Er Ya in and even arranged for two maids to serve her.

Both of the maids had better looks than Er Ya. Er Ya felt very awkward and unused to this situation, so she looked towards Duan Xinghui with pleading in her eyes.

However, Duan Xinghui was very happy with his mother's arrangement. He saw this as proof that his mother had already accepted Er Ya, so he happy to the point he couldn't keep the smile from showing on his stern face.

When Madame Duan saw Duan Xinghui's face light up with joy, the veins on her forehead pulsed but she managed to suppress her anger. The rest of her life was going to depend on Duan Xinghui. A woman, after getting married, obeyed her husband, and after being widowed, obeyed the son. Madame Duan had to maintain a warm and benevolent image in front of her son, there was she could allow a girl from some rural village to cause a rift in their relations.h.i.+p.

Madame Duan basically felt that there was no need to get into an argument and ruin their mother and son relations.h.i.+p just because of a woman like this.

However, in just a short while, an imperial edict came from the palace: Duan Xinghui has been dismissed from his position as the general. Madame Duan was both angered and alarmed by this news. Indignance, fear, and all sorts of emotions mixed together, causing her to faint.

That lowly women was a evil comet! This was the last thought that pa.s.sed through Madame Duan's head before she fainted. She had completely forgotten that Er Ya had saved her son's life.

The son that she had carefully guided for so many years was ruined from a single incident.

Duan Xinghui accepted the imperial edict with a slightly pale face as he pressed his lips together. The eunuch that had delivered the edict was waiting at the side for a tip, yet of the two masters of Duan Residence, one had fainted and one had an ugly look on his face, so it didn't seem like he was going to be able to get a tip.

The eunuch gave a cold humph. Who did Duan Xinghui think he was? Did he still think of himself as the future prince consort? He was nothing but a common citizen now, so how dare he act c.o.c.ky? Moreover, he was someone the Emperor disliked. He was nothing but a pretty-faced general who lost the first time he went on a campaign, a complete good-for nothing.

Er Ya was still quaking with fear at the side. She was completely at a loss in regards to everything that had happened and felt as if she had jusst stepped into the world of giants.

She couldn't even understand what the imperial edict said. All she saw was that Madame Duan fainted and Duan Xinghui's face paled.

"Did something happen?" asked Er Ya. She felt very out of the loop since she couldn't understand anything.

Duan Xinghui was a little mentally and physically exhausted right now. Since the Emperor had sent people to find him and bring him back, he thought the Emperor regarded him highly due to his capabilities. Yet now he had been dismissed from his official position.

Could it be due to Princess Jiahui? When he had encountered Princess Jiahui at the city gates, she hadn't said anything and her expression was very cold and indifferent. She hadn't expressed anything in regards to his return, yet she had retaliated after the event.

The thought that Princess Jiahui was involved in this matter made it even harder for him to accept. He believed that he had true ability, yet it turned out that His Majesty had only shown appreciation for him due to Princess Jiahui. Now that he no longer had Princess Jiahui, he was being sent straight to h.e.l.l.

Duan Xinghui pressed his lips together tightly as his facial color alternated between dark and pale. He didn't hear what Er Ya said at all.

This environment was completely unfamiliar to Er Ya and the only thing she could rely on was Duan Xinghui. However, Duan Xinghui wasn't paying any attention to her at all, so Er Ya felt even more stressed. In her heart, she was starting to question her choices, and she started feeling uncomfortably irritable.

"Dear…" Er Ya's voice was trembling a little.

Only then did Duan Xinghui come back to his senses. When he saw the fear and unease on Er Ya's face, his heart softened and he said, "It's nothing."

However, Er Ya didn't feel relieved and her heart continued to be filled with unease. This place was completely different from the place where she used to live. Here, the only thing she had was Duan Xinghui, so she could only hold on tightly to him.

This was how Er Ya settled down in Duan Residence. Her status wasn't that of a master, nor that of a servant. It was a very awkward relations.h.i.+p.

#comment: Er Ya calls Duan Xinghui, Duan lang. Lang (郎) is a suffix often used in ancient times for women to call their husband or lover. I could not for the life of me think of any combo that sounded good with Duan (Dear Duan, Dearest Duan, Duan dear, Darling Duan…) so I just threw out Duan and went with dear.

Happy reading~

Chapter 92: Madame Duan

When Madame Duan woke up, she had to drink two bowls of cold lotus seed gruel to suppress her anger. Immediately afterwards, she said, "Head to the Princess Residence, to the Princess Residence!"

Ning Shu had no idea what happened at Duan Residence. At this current moment, she was practicing how to use a whip. Ever since she finished learning the Unsurpa.s.sable Martial Arts, she had been searching for a compatible weapon. If she didn't have a weapon, all her strength was useless.

In the end, Ning Shu chose the whip because it was very agile and also inflicted damage pretty well.

She was currently wielding a black whip that gave off a cold sheen. The whip would glit and make a sharp hiss when she swung it. Ning Shu swung the whip and it struck a rock in the rock garden, leaving a deep gorge in it.

She retrieved the whip, feeling quite satisfied with this result. This whip was a gift from Li Wen an she heard that it was made from cold iron and covered with barbs. Using this on a person would immediately take off a chunk of mangled flesh; it was quite a cruel weapon. As expected of a product produced by the imperial family, it was truly impressive.

"Princess, Madame Duan has come to visit you," said Yuan Dong as she curtsied towards Ning Shu.

Ning Shu lifted her eyebrows, then suddenly smiled as she tied the whip to her waist and asked mildly, "How long has she been here?"

Yuan Dong answered respectfully, "Replying Princess, she has been waiting for almost two hours."

It seemed she was here for something important then, seeing as she had actually waited for two hours. Ning Shu wiped off her sweat and headed over to see Madame Duan in order to find out why she was here.

Ning Shu walked into the lounge and looked towards Madame Duan who was sitting on a chair. Madame Duan was wearing a brocade garment with embroidered peac.o.c.ks and red clouds ornamented with pearls. Her hair was also full of pearls and jade ornaments. She had taken good care of her skin, so she gave off the luxurious and natural grace of an upper-cla.s.s woman.

Madame Duan's expression contained impatience and blame. When she saw Ning Shu, she hastily stood up and curtsied towards Ning Shu. "This subject pays her respects to Princess."

Ning Shu didn't immediately tell Madame Duan to get up and instead walked around her to the chair and sat down. She took a sip of tea before saying mildly, "You may rise. Speak, why have you come to seek out this princess?"

Madame Duan's words were stifled by Ning Shu's att.i.tude. She was. .h.i.t by all sorts of emotions but couldn't voice them. Madame Duan sized Ning Shu up and saw that she was wearing casual clothing with her hair tied up in a high ponytail and that a whip that glited with cold light hung from her waist. Her exquisite features were made more aloof with her indifferent expression and her eyes were as cold and as clear as stars. If it was said that, before, Princess Jiahui was the magnificent phoenix that soared through the Ninth Heaven, the current princess was like the Mysterious Lady of the Ninth Heaven, incomparably cold and poised.

Madame Duan started feeling exasperated again. Why did her son fall for that village girl instead of a woman that had such high status and was also inherently outstanding like this? She seriously could not understand her son.

"This subject has come specially to visit Princess. These are walnut pastries that this subject personally made." Madame Duan gestured towards the maid behind her and the maid immediately brought the food box over.

Yuan Dong looked towards Ning Shu. When she saw that Ning Shu didn't react in any way, she stepped up to take the box.

Ning Shu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. In the original storyline, Madame Duan had never once made any pastries for Princess Jiahui, and Princess Jiahui had respected Madame Duan like she was her own grandmother. Yet Madame Duan had made use of Princess Jiahui to defeat Er Ya.