TGFH Chapter 17: In the General's Mansion...

　　Xiao Yiran was indeed as he said. He was very busy in the following days. He went out early and came back late every day. Sometimes he didn't even go back to the general's mansion to spend the night.

　　Although he felt a little regretful that he couldn't see him every day after coming to Shengjing, Bai Yi also understood that Xiao Yiran must have a lot of affairs to deal with after the Zhenbei Army returned to Beijing. Moreover... thinking about the situation when they met, Bai Yi vaguely guessed that someone in Shengjing wanted to deal with Xiao Yiran, which made Xiao Yiran so busy these days.

　　Bai Yi didn't know much about the affairs of the court, and he couldn't help Xiao Yiran with these matters. He could only try his best not to cause more trouble for Xiao Yiran. Therefore, from the second day, Bai Yi basically stayed in the general's mansion to read medical books and recuperate. Except for cooking some food for Xiao Yiran who came home late every day, his life was basically the same as in Yunxia.

        Xiao Min carried out Xiao Yiran's instructions very thoroughly and took great care of Bai Yi. Although Bai Yi had not yet officially married into the family, everything was arranged according to the standards of a general's wife. And as Xiao Yiran had said, Aunt Xiao and her daughter would basically not take the initiative to enter the main courtyard. Therefore, Bai Yi had lived a peaceful and stable life in the general's mansion these days.

　　"Ayi, you've been in Shengjing for quite a while now. Aren't you bored staying in the General's Mansion? Shall I take you out for a walk?" Feng Jing asked Bai Yi, propping his head on the table. Feng Jing often came to see Bai Yi because he was worried that Bai Yi would not be used to Shengjing and that he would be bullied in the General's Mansion.

　　Bai Yi was sitting in front of the window. Hearing this, he put down the medical book in his hand, smiled faintly and shook his head, "No need, it's fine in the mansion. It would be troublesome to go out. But you, you come to my place every day, is it okay?"

　　"It's okay. Ah Mo and Mo Yan will help the general with those things. I can't do it. Anyway, the army has nothing to do in Shengjing. I came to you to chat." Feng Jing stretched and replied lazily, "Besides, the general will be happy if I come to protect you!"

　　"Heh." Bai Yi chuckled, then asked with some concern, "Are they... okay?"

　　"Humph, it's that guy Luo Wang who's doing this secretly..." After a pause, Feng Jing stood up and looked outside the door. After making sure that no one was around, he leaned close to Bai Yi and said, "A minister reported that the Zhenbei Army's attack on the city was disrespectful. I request that the emperor arrange for the general to lead the army out of the city as soon as possible."

　　Bai Yi frowned and asked in confusion, "Are you going to have the army leave Shengjing?"

　　"Yes." Feng Jing thought for a moment and said slowly, "The Zhenbei Army was originally led by the general's father, General Xiao Jing... When the Yan Kingdom invaded, Da Zhao was weak, and the city guards in various places had no good soldiers. The city guards of Yecheng also used all their strength to hold back the Yan Kingdom army. And the old general took over half of the imperial guards from the previous emperor at that time, and formed the current Zhenbei Army with the combat power of the entire Xiao family and the remaining soldiers in Muzhou City and Yecheng at that time, and repelled the Yan Kingdom in Yecheng. But the old general fought this battle for five years, and he didn't even have time to come back because the general was born and the old lady died..."

　　With a sigh, Feng Jing continued, "Later, in order to prevent Yan Guo from having any rebellious intentions, the Zhenbei Army was stationed in Yecheng, and the old general would only return to Shengjing once every few years. Later, the general took over the post of Zhenbei General and also went to Yecheng to take office first."

        "You have been in Yecheng all these years? Then why are you sending your army back to Shengjing this time?"

　　"In the first two years, we and the general were stationed in Yecheng. However, after the emperor ascended the throne, the Kingdom of Yan sent envoys and the prince to seek peace. The two sides had an agreement not to fight, so only half of the troops were left in Yecheng, and the rest of the army followed the general to fight outside." Feng Jing explained in detail, "Now, Shengjing is too weak except for the imperial guards under Marquis An. Therefore, after repelling the Di Kingdom and reporting back to Shengjing, the Zhenbei Army will be re-incorporated into the Shengjing army. The general and Mo Yan have been busy with these things before. But now someone has reported that the general is besieging the city with troops, which clearly shows that he does not want the Zhenbei Army to be incorporated into Shengjing to strengthen Shengjing's military strength! It must be arranged by King Luo!"

　　Feng Jing got a little excited when he spoke the latter part. When he realized that his voice was a little high, he immediately lowered it and stuck out his tongue.

　　Bai Yi was confused by what he heard, but he roughly understood that it was the so-called Prince Luo who was holding the rumor that Xiao Yiran had a large army at the gates of the city, and he couldn't help but feel worried.

　　Feng Jing saw Bai Yi getting nervous, and hurriedly smiled and comforted him, "Don't worry, Ah Mo and Mo Yan have been arranging the army as quickly as possible these days. When everything is done, the general will return the military power to the emperor, and Prince Luo will have no reason to cause trouble for the general. By then, even if he colludes with other parties, he won't be able to cause any trouble!"

　　Bai Yi smiled, thinking of the first time he met Xiao Yiran, and asked, "Then were those who chased Yiran and hurt you, Prince Luo's men?"

　　"Well... Ah Mo said that those people don't look like people from the court, but more like assassins from the underworld... We don't have any evidence whether they were sent by King Luo. Anyway, if it's not him, there's no one else." Feng Jing shook his head and said, "Alas~ Let Mo Yan and the others handle these things. Ah Yi, don't worry. It would be a miracle if those people in Shengjing could still hurt the general."

　　Nodding, Bai Yi did not ask any further questions. As long as Xiao Yiran was safe and sound, other things didn't matter to him. He should let Xiao Yiran resolve the disputes in the court himself.

        Bai Yi rubbed his forehead. Listening to Feng Jing talking all this made him feel a little tired. It was getting late and he thought Feng Jing would go back to the barracks soon, so he wanted to make some snacks for him to take over.

　　He stood up and told Feng Jing his idea. Seeing Feng Jing's shining eyes and the look as if he was about to drool, Bai Yi smiled and gently poked Feng Jing's head, "Okay, I'll make more for you, stop drooling." After that, he led Feng Jing out of the house and walked towards the small kitchen.

　　"Ah! Ayi, you are so nice! The general is so lucky... By the way, please teach me how to make it, and I will make some for Ah Mo when I go back, so that he wont look down on me again!" Feng Jing said excitedly behind Bai Yi, and his voice became farther and farther away as the two walked away.

　　…

　　While Bai Yi and Feng Jing were busy in the kitchen, in the courtyard of the general's mansion, Aunt Xiao was thinking with a sullen face. Opposite her, Xiao's cousin Hua Lan was still sitting timidly on the chair, with her head down and not saying a word.

　　With a "bang", Aunt Xiao slammed the teacup in her hand onto the table, shocking Hualan so much that she trembled all over. She lowered her head even lower, and glanced secretly in the direction of her mother.

　　"Hmph, a bitch who came out of nowhere is actually worthy of being the general's wife! He's not even worthy of being a concubine!" Aunt Xiao cursed while gritting her teeth.

　　Hua Lan lowered her head and said nothing, twisting the handkerchief in her hand with her fingers. She was obviously nervous and afraid of her angry mother.

　　"Lan'er, don't be afraid. Mother will definitely find a way to get rid of this bitch. The position of the general's wife is still yours." Aunt Xiao turned to look at Hualan and spoke softly in a slow voice.

　　"Mother..." Hua Lan lowered her head and called softly in a voice so low that it was almost inaudible, but before she could continue, she was interrupted by Aunt Xiao again.

　　"Don't worry, Lan'er. Even if this bitch is pregnant now, what does it matter? A shameless bitch seduced Yiran and got pregnant before he even got married. The emperor will not agree to let him marry... Besides, we don't know if the child is Yiran's." Aunt Xiao said this and thought of Xiao Yiran's worried eyes when Bai Yi leaned on his arms that day. She became even more furious.

　　Since her husband passed away, Aunt Xiao took her daughter to live with her parents. At that time, General Xiao was still stationed in Yecheng, and the general's wife was the only one who made the decision in the general's mansion. At that time, Aunt Xiao had already taken a fancy to the young Xiao Yiran, and was ready to let her daughter marry her nephew to make the relationship closer. Although the old lady did not agree directly, she was happy to see it happen. Unexpectedly, after Xiao Yiran became an adult, he lost his parents first, and then took over his father's position and was away from home, so the matter was delayed.

        Seeing that her daughter was about to turn twenty, Aunt Xiao felt that she couldn't delay any longer. She had thought that when Xiao Yiran came back this time, she would bring up this matter anyway, but unexpectedly someone interrupted her halfway. For this reason, Aunt Xiao disliked Bai Yi very much and wished to drive him out of Shengjing right away.

　　"That bitch thought she would be alright hiding in the main courtyard. I want to see how long she can hide..." Aunt Xiao calmed down from her rage. She narrowed her eyes and held a small paper bag in her hand. She gathered her thoughts and turned to Hua Lan in a gentle voice. "Lan'er, after I deal with that bitch and the bastard, I will let Yi Ran marry you."

　　"Mother..." Hua Lan finally raised her head after hearing this. Her delicate eyebrows slightly wrinkled, and she looked pitiful. She seemed to be trying to muster up the courage before she spoke softly, "Mother... Lan'er... doesn't want to marry me."

　　"What?!" Aunt Xiao screamed, "Lan'er, what nonsense are you talking about? After you marry Yiran, you will be the general's wife. Even Min will have to respectfully call you sister-in-law when she sees you! Yiran is also your cousin, so he will naturally treat you well. How can you not want to marry him?!"

　　A series of loud questions made Hua Lan, who had just mustered up her courage, suddenly return to her timid appearance, and her eyes were even a little wet. Seeing her daughter was frightened, Aunt Xiao took a deep breath and finally calmed herself down before continuing to ask, "Lan'er, tell me the truth, did someone say something in front of you to teach you to say that? Or... do you have someone you like?"

        Hua Lan shook her head slightly.

　　"You and your cousin grew up together as childhood sweethearts . Your cousin is a handsome man and comes from a good family. Why are you so confused?" Aunt Xiao sighed. Although she did not let Hualan know her plan since she was a child, she told Hualan about this when she was fifteen years old. Hualan did not object at that time. She did not expect that she would say she didn't want to now.

　　Hua Lan lowered her head and said nothing. Actually, she had never thought of objecting since she knew her mother wanted her to marry her cousin. Firstly, as her mother said, she grew up with her cousin and was already very familiar with him. Secondly, if she married her cousin, she could continue to live with her mother in the general's mansion, and her life would not change much, which made her very happy.

　　But later she found that every time her cousin came back from outside, he seemed to become colder and colder, making it impossible for her to get close to him; and after hearing about her cousin's battles outside, every time she saw her cousin she seemed to be able to smell the blood coming from him, making her feel breathless.

        Moreover, this time her cousin brought Mr. Bai back with him. She had never seen his cousin show such tenderness to Mr. Bai before. She believed that her cousin would not show it to her. She really did not want to marry such a cousin. But she did not know how to tell her mother about her thoughts, so she could only lower her head and stop talking.

　　"Okay! No need to say more. It doesn't matter if you are confused for a while, just don't be confused all the time. From today on, you stay in your room and think carefully! Don't worry about these things, mother will take care of them." Aunt Xiao looked at Hualan who lowered her head and remained silent. She swallowed the breath that was in her chest, but her eyes became even darker.

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