The quiet street was bathed in moonlight, casting the shadows of the two men long across the ground. "Hahaha," General Renyu hiccupped through his drunken laughter, the sound laced with tears, and it felt especially eerie in the still night.
He was getting more and more drunk, his steps growing unstable. If Caelen had not been firmly supporting him, he would have already fallen.
"Brother Renyu, you are drunk." Caelen said this seriously, then turned to the servant on the right among the two who were following them five meters behind. "Why are you not hurrying over to help your young master back to rest?"
The words seemed like a code. General Renyu's laughter abruptly stopped as he clutched Caelen's collar tightly and shouted, "I am not drunk, not drunk, who says I'm drunk, I am really not drunk."
He shook Caelen as he spoke. "I will tell you a secret that only our Chancellor's household knows, and you will know I'm not drunk."
"Young Master," the servant who ran up turned pale when he heard this and hurriedly reached out. Caelen frowned as he looked at the servant, then looked down at General Renyu who was clutching him tightly.
He hadn't expected that General Renyu would be this difficult to deal with when drunk. He had no interest in the secrets of the Chancellor's household and tried to help the servant pry off the hand gripping his clothing.
"Get lost," General Renyu kicked the servant to the ground and squinted at Caelen with a serious expression. If not for the overwhelming smell of alcohol on his breath, he might not have seemed drunk at all.
"Shh," he put his finger to his lips. "Caelen, let me tell you, just to get you a wife, we, we almost brought ruin upon the entire Chancellor's household."
"Young Master," the servant who had climbed up wiped the blood from his nose and shouted even more anxiously, trying to stop him. Caelen's frown deepened, unsure what to do at this point.
But General Renyu no longer cared what anyone else thought. "Do you know that when Xylira heard her father wanted to marry her to you, she jumped into a well that very night?"
"When they pulled her out, she looked just like a corpse. Fortunately, she came back to life, but, haha."
This time his laughter was full of suppressed guilt. "Do you know, for her, Xiyan gave up a business deal he had been negotiating for half a year."
"Can you imagine how he looked, limping in all disheveled when he rushed back?" General Renyu's voice turned heavy.
"At that time, when he looked at our family, his eyes were cold and silent, without any emotion. But I could feel the hatred pouring from him."
"If anything had happened to Xylira, I believe he would have taken the whole Chancellor's household down with him."
Caelen let go of General Renyu, and his eyes turned equally cold. He had never known that his act of saving someone had caused a girl to attempt suicide.
He didn't blame Xylira. The rumors about his disfigured face were still spreading wildly.
People described him in horrifying ways. Sometimes even he was frightened by what he heard.
What he couldn't understand was why Lord Edgar would do such a thing. The joy he had felt earlier upon receiving the imperial edict now turned to coldness that spread through his entire body.
So this was how the Chancellor's household repaid a life-saving debt. Without Caelen holding him up, General Renyu slumped unsteadily to the ground.
No matter how hard his servant tried, he couldn't lift him. "Hehe, I know what you're thinking."
"Yes, we did wrong to Xylira. But what could we do?"
"You were disfigured while saving my life. If you really never find a wife, I, General Renyu, will never be able to lift my head again."
"When the army returned victorious, I had already made up my mind to marry my sister Lady Evelyne to you."
As he spoke, his voice began to tremble with tears. "But I never imagined that when I came back, I'd hear she and the Third Prince were in love."
"Seeing her happy face, tell me, how could I say anything?"
So you forced Xylira, who had no powerful background. The Chancellor's methods were impressive, hiding the incident of a girl jumping into a well without anyone hearing a whisper.
Now the emperor had issued the marriage edict. What use was there in saying any of this now?
"I know our family wronged Xylira," General Renyu said sadly, sitting on the ground. "But what could I do, ugh."
At that moment, he suddenly vomited loudly. "So Caelen, you must treat Xylira well, understand?"
Caelen could tolerate the foul smell, but his eyes grew more complicated as he looked at General Renyu. He could not understand this way of repaying kindness.
He stepped around General Renyu without hesitation and walked away decisively. Half an hour later.
"Young Master, are you alright?" the servant asked worriedly as he saw Caelen sitting alone, staring blankly in the study.
He poured hot tea and placed it beside him. "I'm fine."
Caelen just felt a deep disappointment toward General Renyu. He had thought the man was upright and honest, just like himself.
He hadn't expected this at all. Maybe he had misjudged him.
The servant was also deeply shocked. "Young Master, General Renyu's drunken words should not be taken seriously."
"You think he was really drunk?" Caelen stared at the candlelight, his voice flat.
The servant thought for a moment before saying, "Don't worry, Young Master. You're such a good person."
"That Second Young Miss jumped into a well because she didn't know you. After she marries you, she will come to see how good you are."
Thinking about his face, Caelen didn't find those words comforting. But he could tell the servant had strong opinions about his future wife, whom he had never met.
General Renyu, I wonder whether you did this on purpose or not. Over at the Chancellor's household, two imperial marriage edicts had arrived.
Whether sincere or not, everyone came to congratulate them. Lady Evelyne had delayed her marriage only because of a special decree from the empress.
Now that the imperial edict had been issued, her wedding was set for the third day of the eighth month, a rare auspicious day. As for Xylira, her wedding was scheduled for the end of the year, on her fifteenth birthday.
After that family banquet, even with the imperial edict, the lively outside world had little to do with the Yue siblings. The two of them continued living quietly as if forgotten.
"Brother, what's wrong?" Xylira asked.
Xiyan's mood could always be judged by the air around him. After being spoiled by Xylira's clingy affection, he no longer tried so hard to hide his emotions in front of her.
When he returned, he was filled with a cold anger as he knocked on her door in silence. Once allowed in, he rushed in and sat across from her with a cold expression.
"Hmph," getting the caring response he wanted, Xiyan snorted. Only then did he glance at Xylira.
She put down her book, stood up, and poured him a glass of warm water. Her expression softened.
"Xylira, did you know Caelen was thrown out of his home?"
"Uh," the news shocked Xylira. Then she thought of a practical issue.
"Brother, if I marry Caelen, will we have no place to live?"
Sure enough, Xylira still couldn't grasp the point of his words. "How could that be? The emperor appointed him as a general."
"Even if he doesn't match his father, he still has a residence." Xiyan reassured her.
"That's good. If we had to hold the wedding in an inn, that would be really awkward."
Her muttering made Xiyan's face twitch. At last, she finally caught the main point.
"If he is a general, how could he be thrown out of his home?"
"Everything boils down to profit." Xiyan didn't want to let his sister know too many secrets and answered this way.
"Brother, that's such a standard answer." Xylira looked at him speechlessly.
She just wanted to hear some gossip, not a test question. Seeing her unconcerned expression, Xiyan suddenly felt his earlier anger was really unnecessary.
"The most popular rumor outside is that your fiancé scared two servants to death in the general's residence." He continued seriously.
"He also fainted a bunch of people, including Caelen's own mother. It's said she was so frightened she fell ill and is still bedridden."
Now it was Xylira's turn to be stunned. "Just for that reason, Caelen got kicked out of his house? Do people actually believe that?"
Xiyan nodded. "Most people do, and they even strongly support that decision."
Ever since Xylira jumped into the well, her resilience had constantly surprised him. That was why Xiyan chose to tell her the truth.
Upon hearing that, the little person inside Xylira's heart shouted to the heavens. My goodness, what kind of world is this?
There's a saying that children don't dislike ugly mothers. But in this world, mothers can openly dislike their sons for being ugly, and it is completely accepted.
"Have the Xiyan siblings made any moves at all?" Lord Edgar frowned slightly, gently rubbing a smooth round black jade at his waist. He didn't like the feeling of things being out of his control.
"Yes, Master," Dongyi answered seriously. "Last night, when Second Young Master found out Caelen had been kicked out, he came back angry."
But for some reason, after spending some time in Xylira's room, he just went back to his own courtyard. This morning, he left like usual, face calm and unchanged.
It was strange. Based on the old Xiyan, who always thought his sister had married unfairly, something like this would normally make him furious.
If not storming to their father's room to argue, he'd at least be guarding Xylira with a dark face, afraid she might do something foolish. But today he acted like nothing happened.
"Keep a close eye on Xiyan." Lord Edgar left after saying that.
At that moment, the one being watched, Xiyan, stood in front of the clearly reduced Grand General's Mansion with a cold expression and an aura full of frost. He instinctively pouted.
Thinking back to how Xylira sweetly shook his hand last night, begging him to deliver a letter to Caelen, his face darkened even more. His eyes turned icy, and he clenched his fists, ready to turn and walk away.
But he had already promised the most beautiful and adorable sister in the world. How could he go back on his word?
He remembered how shamelessly Xylira praised herself as the most beautiful, most adorable, most gentle and thoughtful sister. Even if he didn't want to, Xiyan finally took a step forward after standing there for fifteen whole minutes.
"Young Master," Xue Yi, sweating heavily, dismounted and rushed into the military camp like a man on a mission. He dashed up to Caelen and shouted loudly, forcing him to stop his discussion and shoot a sharp, intimidating glare in response.
Xue Yi swallowed hard and thought, his young master's presence was definitely growing stronger. Still, this was important.
He couldn't help recalling Xiyan's calm words, "It's fine. I have time. I can wait." He shivered.
With all that cold energy coming off Xiyan, there was no way that "fine" was really fine. This was about his future wife and possibly the happiness of his young master's entire life.
So even though he had used the wrong title earlier and his legs were trembling, he braved the pressure and whispered carefully into Caelen's ear. "That's all for today." Caelen dropped that sentence and walked off, leaving his subordinates dumbfounded.
What did he mean "that's all"? They hadn't even started.
It wasn't that he cared that much about Xylira right now. But ever since he'd learned the truth, he felt a sense of guilt toward the Xiyan siblings, especially Xylira.
And Xiyan was his future brother-in-law. No matter what, he shouldn't be kept waiting.
"General Caelen, what a grand entrance." Xiyan saw Caelen rush back, calm in breath but his hair damp with sweat.
His own tea was still warm. That at least made him feel a bit better.
But thinking about how his beautiful sister would soon belong to this man, acting spoiled and clingy with him, Xiyan couldn't help the sour tone in his voice. "Brother Xiyan," Caelen looked at Xiyan with a blank face.
He couldn't stop his mind from drifting to what General Renyu had said, that Xylira was even more beautiful than her brother. He found himself picturing her face, his cheeks heating up even more.
"Hmm?" Xiyan's cold eyes scanned him. He barely accepted the title.
They had seen each other before but never spoken. Let alone had a real conversation.
After this short exchange, Xiyan stared coldly at Caelen, who still showed no expression. No one could tell what he was really thinking.
Xue Yi on the side nearly cried. Young Master, can't you at least explain to Young Master Xiyan that you're expressionless because you've been injured?
What if he misunderstands? One sitting, the other standing, they faced each other.
Looking into Caelen's calm eyes, Xiyan, who had started the cold war alone, felt bored and got up. "Here. This is for you."
He pulled a letter from his sleeve, wishing he had X-ray vision to see what was inside. While Caelen was stunned, he shoved the letter into his hand and turned to leave.
Whatever. Better not to see it.
Caelen stared at the letter in confusion. His name was written on it in bold, graceful calligraphy.
With quiet anticipation, he opened it. As he read the brief contents, his hand trembled, and he stood frozen.
"Young Master? Young Master!" Xue Yi watched him with concern. Was he poisoned?
Did Xiyan put something in the envelope to stop his sister from marrying? The thought made him panic.
But Caelen finally snapped out of it. "Get things ready. I'm heading to the palace."
With those words, he was gone. Now it was Xue Yi's turn to be stunned.
Did he imagine his young master treating the letter like a treasure and tucking it carefully into his robe? "Ahem ahem," Emperor Zhaoye of Dakang choked on his tea in the royal study.
His attendant rushed forward in panic but was waved off. Looking at Caelen kneeling perfectly still below, he realized his earlier reaction was unbefitting of an emperor.
"General Caelen, if I'm not mistaken, I just arranged your marriage a few days ago. Are you going against my decree?"
The emperor's voice grew serious. What was Caelen up to?
Were the rumors not enough for him? Did he really want to attend the Qixi Festival matchmaking event?
Was he out of his mind? But if he did go, this year's event would definitely be more interesting than usual.
"Your Majesty, I dare not," Caelen replied formally. "This subject has never attended Qixi before."
"Since I will be married by the end of the year, I would like to experience it once. I don't want any regrets."
"I ask for your permission." Hmm, Zhaoye nodded to himself.
Just like Marshal Han, serious and precise all his life. Even asking to attend a festival was done with such formality.
It was refreshing. Since it promised to be entertaining, why stop it?
Being emperor could get dull. "Permission granted."
"Thank you, Your Majesty. I shall take my leave." Caelen finally relaxed and spoke.
Zhaoye was used to his efficient style. Smiling, he nodded as Caelen exited.
"Remember, I don't want a word of this leaking out." The seventh day of the seventh month.
He was actually looking forward to it.