There’s something strange in this novel… Usually the husband’s surname will be used with the Furen title and the female’s maiden surname will be used with Madam.

Wei Jue’s wife
Wei Furen or Madam Guo

But in this novel, the author indicated the female’s maiden surname instead. So in the raws, it became Guo Furen (Wei Jue’s wife) and Fu Furen (Wei Tan’s wife aka FL). It is strange so I have changed all of it to the correct terms in the translation instead of what was usually indicated in the raws.

Edited by Halley

Chapter 9: Returning Back to the City

With Wei Jue’s return, the Heavenly Son personally left the city to receive him. Under the beautiful blue skies, I accompanied Guo Furen as I watched the tens of thousands of horses amidst the dust, returning from the wilderness.

“Arrived!” Wei Rong, who was behind, said suddenly.

“Hush!” 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 Heavenly Son atop the city walls.

I heard mutual understanding of praises sounding all around. Upon looking at the Heavenly Son, he was sitting on a six-men carriage and his sight was focused far ahead, and his face expressionless.

At this time, my sleeve was tugged gently.

“Oldest Sao,” Wei Rong winked at me, “Look at Eldest Brother.”

That reminded me. I almost forgot the reason I was standing here. It was because I am Wei Tan’s wife.

I was embarrassed in my heart and looked over. One could only see 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 on the carriage in front. One did not need to think to know that that person 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 felt cold and sharp.

It was very strange, though I have not seen his face, I could already feel that it was Wei Tan.

On Wei Jue’s other side, 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.

I watched as they approached and Wei Tan’s features became clearer. I was neither excited nor dreadful and actually did not know how to describe one’s current mood at this moment. He was my husband but if I did not see him with my eyes, I could hardly remember what he looked like.

The assistant minister* was already standing in front of the formation with the Heavenly Son’s edict.

*黄门侍郎 Trusted official of the Emperor. Job is to pass and read out the Emperor’s decree.

Wei Jue’s carriage stopped at ten Zhang (1 Zhang = 10 Feet) away and he alighted from the army carriage wearing a martial attire. Wei Tan and the rest all 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 assistant minister opened up the Imperial edict and read it aloud. That assistant minister was very eloquent and it was all filled with praises of Wei Jue’s meritorious contributions.

“Thanking Your Majesty’s grace!” Wei Jue’s voice was resonant and he bore an attitude of loyalty.

The Heavenly Son looked at him from high up and waved his hand after a moment.

The assistant minister loudly announced the departure of the Emperor’s procession.

The procession was grand, with the Dragon 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 as 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 Yong Capital turned up, the nobles did so because of face and the commoners were watching the overall spectacle, the hawkers were calling out for business while the beggars and poor were busy asking for loose change.

Naturally the people of Wei residence would not join the blustering crowds so I followed Wei Furen and the rest of the clan members up the carriages to return to the Wei residences.

“Father and Eldest Brother are too much!” Wei Rong started complaining with great dissatisfaction upon returning to the residence. “I had stood for so long but they did not even spare me a single glance!”

“Look at you for what?” Wei An asked.

Wei Rong rolled her eyes at him and turned towards me, “Eldest Sao, did Eldest Brother look at you?”

I smiled and replied, “The Prime Minister and Young Masters are Generals and their actions are monitored. The Emperor is also in front of them so how could they care about others?”

“That is exactly so.” Wei Furen was in a good mood and smiled as she educated Wei Rong, “You should learn more from your Eldest Sao and don’t be willful.”

Wei Rong pouted and put on a bored expression.

“This Daughter-in-law only knows some coarse proprieties. Mother-in-law 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 but the carriages that were carrying the valuables he brought from the East had arrived. There were beautiful cloth, 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.

Only when night was approaching did the Wei residence welcome the travel-worn Wei Jue, his sons and nephews.

The first one that entered was Wei Jue and he was still wearing his armour but the candlelight showed the smiles in his brows.

“One heard that my family’s Ah Rong is not happy. Where is Ah Rong?” He said loudly when he got off the carriage.

I was somewhat startled. Before I recovered to my senses, Wei Rong had already ran ahead, “Over here, over here!”

Everyone laughed.

Wei Jue examined Wei Rong all around before nodding his head and laughed, “One’s daughter has grown taller.” After that, he took an exquisitely carved wooden box from the carriage and handed it to her.

Wei Rong opened it up and saw a beautiful pearl and jade pendant and her expression brightened.

“Still angry?” Wei Jue asked.

“No longer angry!” Wei Rong’s eyes curved.

The atmosphere was joyous and Madam Guo led the children and other women up ahead. She greeted Wei Jue warmly as well as the nephews that were behind Wei Jue. Wei Jie started to hug each and every one of his children. Those loving looks had almost taught me to forget that this person had rumours of being sinister, deceitful and black-hearted.

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 gaze landed on me.

I was startled and after a moment, realised that Meng Jing was Wei Tan’s styled name. I quickly went up to bow to him, “Father-in-law.”

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, one heard Wei Jue’s words and smile.

“Lord’s words are indeed so.” Guo Furen amiably said from the side, “Ever since Young Furen entered the residence, she has handled many affairs and is very knowledgeable.”

I smiled and humbly lowered my eyes, “Mother-in-law 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, “Daughter-in-law, come and meet my nephews of the Wei family.” After he finished speaking, he waved his hand and a few people came out from the back.

Wei Furen however said, “The winds are cold at night and Lord 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 the Eldest Sao during the family banquet.”

Wei Jue smiled, “These words are indeed so.” After speaking, he went into the residence happily with everyone.

I followed Wei Furen and upon entering, one 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 Wei 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.

The family banquet had not started so everyone went back to their rooms to prepare.

I did not need to make preparations because Wei Tan had not returned.

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, “Eldest Young Master has returned!”

I was startled and quickly headed to the doors.

The skies were already dark and candlelight shone through the lanterns. I saw someone disembarking from the horse, donning a bright armor, 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 I suddenly felt at a loss.

What should one do next? I thought about it and quickly recovered myself before gently stepping up to bow to him, “Husband.”

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 to…

“Furen.” Just as I was lost in my thoughts, I heard a low voice from above and it was as warm as the night wind.

T/N: The words Furen is the same as what others call our FL ‘Furen’, meaning a married lady, but when our ML calls her that, it is calling her his ‘Wife’.

Wei Tan and I walked towards our living quarters, one behind another, through the front hall.

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 indistinctively. In the past, although I did not find this 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 was. When Wei Tan’s and my 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 suddenly saw Wei Tan, her expression became tensed up in an instant.

“Eldest, Eldest Young Master.” 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 chambers.

The rack for 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.