After Becoming the Hero's Ex-fiancée

Homecoming (1)

[Lisi Springs, the marble boat.]

“Crown Prince, what brings you here?”

Jiang Weihu, the leader of the Capital Guard, pressed his fist in his palm and saluted the crown prince.

“Is there anything unusual today?”

“Reporting to the Crown Prince: everything is normal. There are no traces of the State Preceptor and Lady Zheng in the marble boat’s vicinity.”

Since the disappearance of the State Preceptor and Lady Zheng from the marble boat, the Capital Guard had taken over the responsibility of guarding the Plum Garden.

The Defender-General of State, General Jiang Weihu, personally took on the task of patrolling the marble boat. He kept watch day and night, reporting often to the superior who was supervising this matter.

“Keep a close watch, if there is anything unusual, report it immediately.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

As soon as the crown prince’s carriage left, several unruly fellows in the Capital Guard glanced at each other and exchanged smiles that could only be understood by each other.

“What are you smiling for? Be serious!”

“Chief, look, we are standing guard here even though it’s the New Year, are we not even allowed to laugh?”

“Yeah, that’s right. Chief, we have been here for ten days, forget about the State Preceptor, we’ve not even seen a single bird feather, can’t we find some amusement for ourselves?”

Jiang Weihu was well aware that the Capital Guards was mostly made up of the gilded sons of the nobility; they were not easy to manage at all. Since there was no one else around right now, he would just turn a blind eye and let them say as they like.

“Aye, do you think the State Preceptor can still come back whole? It’s just such a shame about that delicate and pretty Lady Zheng.”

“Tch! How can you talk like this! Is the young lady someone you can discuss?” There was a group of Zheng Wan’s fans among the noblemen’s sons; they were furious at those words.

“Forget about Lady Zheng, even the Senior Grand Secretary has been sent to prison by the Judicial Commissioner, and Madame Zheng has fallen ill and hasn’t been able to get out of bed since then. A catastrophe is imminent for the Zheng family, they won’t be able to return to their lofty positions anymore…”

“You guys didn’t see them on the day of their disappearance—the little lady of the Zheng family threw herself shamelessly into the State Preceptor’s arms; if she hadn’t done that, how would the State Preceptor have disappeared? His Majesty wouldn’t have been so furious either. As for the Crown Prince… his face,” the man lowered his voice, “even turned green.”

“The State Preceptor actually paid attention to her?”

“How’s that possible, our State Preceptor looks like an immortal himself, what kind of beauty has he not seen? If you ask me, Lady Zheng was asking to be humiliated. Back then, she ordered him to be beaten up and broke off their engagement, and now she’s throwing herself in his arms again. Even if the State Preceptor is not picky, there’s no way he’d be interested in her. What’s the use of beautiful looks? Can it fill your stomach? The most important thing for a man is ‘face’1. Eh——State, State Preceptor——”

The man who was blabbering away froze in place.

“Go on, why have you stopped?” pressed the person beside him; he then noticed that the speaker’s eyes were wide and bulging, as if he had seen a ghost. “What happ—eh——State Preceptor, you’ve returned?”

But the protagonist of their conversation was in snow-white robes that were dyed with blood. His face was extraordinarily white, which made that pair of pupils seem all the more pitch-black and frosty-cold; the sight sent the hearts of those present thudding hard.

There was a lady in the State Preceptor’s arms; the little lady was entirely bloodied, and her body was limp. They couldn’t tell if she was dead or alive, nor could they make out her face.

Jiang Weihu hurriedly arched his hands in salute, “State Preceptor, His Majesty has instructed us to stay guard here to await Your Excellency!”

Unlike his subordinates, he had more clearly observed and understood the State Preceptor’s abnormal state.

That was an immortal-like being who never let others come within ten zhang of him, but now, he was holding a person so carefully in his arms. Thinking back to the situation before his disappearance, Jiang Weihu thought inwardly: I’m afraid that His Majesty’s orders to send that person off to prison was a mistake this time!

The Zheng family… might be able to make a comeback!

“Mm.”

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Cui Wang nodded as if he couldn’t see him; in the next moment, the man had already disappeared from the spot, taking Zheng Wan with him.

As soon as he left, the few blabbermouths were about to heave a sigh of relief, when a burst of harsh cold wind arose from nowhere and lashed at them—their faces swelled from the impact, and a stony voice came with the wind:

“Noisy.”

Footnotes:

1 face: The Chinese concept of “face” (面子mianzi, or 脸 lian) refers to a cultural understanding of respect, honour and social standing. Actions or words that are disrespectful may cause somebody to “lose face” while gifts, awards and other respect-giving actions may “give face”. https://www.china-mike.com/chinese-culture/cult-of-face/ This is a good article that explains this sociological concept and how it compares to Western ideas of pride/ prestige/ dignity.