The Virgin Mary in the Book: I Decide My Life with Two Swords

Cangyue Country - Nanlai - Paradise

In the twilight of April, the setting sun dyed the sky golden. At this moment, the courtyard seemed to be covered with a layer of golden gauze, beautiful and solemn.

Qian Qing prepared a large table of delicious food. The family of four raised their glasses to celebrate. Ye Ling said, "Welcome Wan Qi to our family. Cheers."

"Welcome, welcome. From now on there will be four of us," Qian Qing said with a smile.

"Thank you, brother and sister," Wanqi said in a baby voice. After being influenced by Ye Ling over the past few days, she became more and more lively.

"You're welcome, sit down and let's eat."

Ye Ling spoke, and the other three sat down. Qian Qing picked up some food for Wan Qi and said, "Miss, Jiuyou said you are injured and can't eat spicy food, so there is no spicy food in these dishes today."

Dinner was over and it was already dark. Qian Qing cleaned up the mess. Ye Ling called Jiuyou to her room and told her about the beggar and the master.

Jiuyou thought for a long time before speaking: "Back then, the Marshal seemed to have foreseen something and had his subordinates leave the barracks long ago and return to the capital to protect you and your wife."

"How much do you know about that battle?"

"Very little. All I know is that it was an imperial decree, and the one who announced it was Ye Tingxun. Back then, Da'e had amassed tens of thousands of troops, threatening Cang Yue with covetous intent. They had been confronting Cang Yue for ten years, and said that His Majesty was tired of it. A general is supposed to be on the sidelines, and not obey the emperor's orders. But Ye Tingxun told the commander-in-chief that if Da'e couldn't be defeated, His Majesty would have to send the princess as a vassal."

"The princess?"

"Yes, there is no princess in the court. The commander understood it immediately, so he fought desperately."

Ye Ling paused for a moment: "The princess used for marriage is me, right?"

"If the Marshal had won, there would have been no princess. If he had lost, there would have been a princess. Perhaps it was because of you that the Marshal was confused. With Grand Tutor Leng around, how could you have been sent to marry? Grand Tutor Leng would have definitely done his best to protect you. But the Marshal simply believed Ye Tingxun's words because he was his own brother. He probably would never have imagined how cruel his own family could be."

"I still don't understand. Even if you want to fight, you don't have to bring only 30,000 personal soldiers, right? Where are the border troops?"

Jiuyou gazed at the night sky and recalled, "During those days, it rained heavily every day. The Marshal led 30,000 personal soldiers as the vanguard, but when the rear army advanced, they encountered a landslide. The entire mountain collapsed, leaving the army with no way to go. Later, when they arrived at the border, the Marshal and his men had already finished fighting, and Da'e had retreated. The Marshal was carried back, almost dead, with multiple stab wounds. He still insisted that his subordinates go back to protect him, and he also said that the king does not understand his subjects, and the subjects do not understand their king."

"The ruler does not know his subjects, and the subjects do not understand their ruler?"

"Yes, Prince Beichen rushed thousands of miles and arrived at the border, but the Marshal had already passed away. It was the prince who personally brought his body back."

"Where's Ye Tingxun?"

"He was ordered to reorganize the border troops. It was around that time that his son Ye Jingyun took over the troops and became the new commander-in-chief. I don't know when my subordinate's name was removed from the roster of personal soldiers by the commander-in-chief, so no one has bothered him in the past few years. By the way, I remember the military advisor at the time said this after the commander-in-chief received the imperial edict: How could His Majesty issue such an imperial edict?"

"I find it strange too. Your Majesty knows my father's abilities. With him guarding the border, even if Da'e gathers more troops, he won't dare to invade. So there's no need for a marriage alliance." Ye Ling paused for a moment, "Could it be the Crown Prince?"

"The Crown Prince has indeed tried to win over the Marshal many times, but the Marshal said he is only loyal to the court."

"We boldly speculate that the prince wants to hold military power, but my father won't surrender, and my second uncle is even less likely to do so. So he teamed up with Ye Tingxun to kill my father, and then let Ye Jingyun take over the border army. In this way, the prince will have his own power, right?"

“There’s no evidence for this.”

"Based on my observations over the past month or two, my second uncle and grandfather actually favor Prince Beichen and dislike the Crown Prince, right?"

"Yes, your uncle has been close to King Beichen since ancient times, and so has Grand Tutor Leng."

"That's not right." Ye Ling took out her little notebook from the space. In the story in the book, King Beichen died and the prince did not succeed to the throne. Then who else would he be?

"Miss, what's wrong?"

"Jiuyou, does the emperor have any living sons?"

"There are two more, the third prince, Prince Wu Nangongzi, and the fifth prince, Prince Wen Nangong Che."

"Are these two the same age as King Beichen and the others?"

"They are both about the same. They are both older than King Beichen. King Wen, Nangong Che, has been recuperating in the Royal Courtyard, and King Wu, Nangong Zi, has been training troops for His Majesty most of the time."

"Let me see. Prince Beichen is the youngest prince. Currently, there are four alive, and three dead?"

"Yes, it seems that the three who died died as minors."

"The royal family is so scary," Ye Ling pondered. "One is recuperating, the other is training troops. Who will become the emperor in the end? I should have read the last few chapters earlier!"

"Miss, are you planning to investigate the Marshal's affairs?" Jiuyou had hope in his eyes.

"I originally planned not to investigate, but they came looking for me. If we keep giving in, the enemy will only grow more arrogant. Youminglang said that the Crown Prince and Ye Tingxun both sent people to look for me, saying that I took their things. I've been thinking about it these past few days. When did I take them? How could I not know?"

"No...did the lady give you anything before she died? Or did she say anything?"

"Is there?" Ye Ling kept flipping through her notebook, looking for the answer.

Jiuyou watched intently, and after a long moment, he couldn't help but speak: "Miss, why don't you include me in the list as well? What if one day you forget about my existence?"

"Don't worry, I will never forget you no matter what I forget. If I really can't find you, it must be that I forgot and can't remember you." Ye Ling was helpless.

"Then forget about it. Let's plant some vegetables tomorrow. You can rest for a few days. I'll accompany you down the mountain to see if the man who gave you Wanqi is Captain An Kuian. I've seen every famous member of the Ye family's personal guards."

"Okay, but I'm really worried about that expert. If we don't get rid of him, he'll always be a hidden danger."

"We join forces"

"That's about right."

"It's getting late, you should get some rest. Wanqi will be taken care of by Qianqing from now on, so you don't have to worry about her."

"Okay, I can have a good sleep tonight."

At the same time, Xue Jingchuan hurried into the main courtyard of the posthouse in Nanlai City: "The person is really gone. I went to find Leng Yan. She said that Ye Ling left alone. He didn't know where he went. He only said..." Xue Jingchuan hesitated to speak.

"What?" Nangong Chen asked.

"She said that Shishi doesn't like her very much, so she won't come to join in the fun." Xue Jingchuan looked at Meng Shishi helplessly.

Meng Shishi pouted: "She's just pretending. How did I offend her? She slandered me like this outside."

"But the doctor your highness called for came, but the patient passed away," Xuan Lei said.

"Let the doctor stay first. She shouldn't be away for too long," said Nangong Chen.

"I think so too. He must have gone back to see Jiuyou and Qianqing. It won't be too far from Nanlai City," said Xue Jingchuan.

"Is this her home? Where does she usually live? Does she wander around everywhere?" Meng Shishi was curious.

"We don't know either. Let's eat! And then go to bed early." Nangong Chen didn't want to say more.

Xue Jingchuan asked as he ate, "Is the 800-mile express train coming back soon?"

"It should be tomorrow. I don't know what the emperor will decide. You also heard what Leng Yue said today. With General Leng in Xidu, everything is safe, but it's hard to say about Dayu. Ye Jingyun has never experienced a big war, and now Dayu is eyeing him covetously. Leng Yue has heard some scraps from the merchants, and it's basically that a war is about to break out, but there is no sign of Ye Jingyun reporting anything. Once the war starts, it is unknown whether General Ye can defend the border land he has conquered." Nangong Chen said.

"This isn't something you should worry about. Don't say too much, and don't think too much. The prince will accuse you of being restless and overreaching. Your Majesty appointed Ye Jingyun himself. How can you know his ability without fighting a battle?"

"This king knows. For now, I'll use the excuse of recuperating from my injuries to see what will happen in Nanlai."

"That's right! We have to take things one step at a time. Regarding Ye Shuai's matter, we need substantial evidence and a fatal blow. Otherwise, His Majesty will punish you again. Don't forget the punishment."

"I know." Nangong Chen knew that Xue Jingchuan was doing this for his own good.

"Second Brother, it's been five years since General Ye's incident, and you still can't let it go? Even if you find out the truth, so what? The person is gone," said Meng Shishi.

"Even though the person is gone, the truth has to be revealed. Otherwise, those 30,000 people will just die of resentment. And then there's Ye Ling. She was once a carefree young lady, but because of General Ye's death, she became an orphan who can be bullied by everyone. If for no other reason, she must be given an explanation."

Hearing this, Meng Shishi became even more unhappy: "Who dares to bully her? Besides, it was Grand Tutor Leng who took her back to be the eldest daughter because she didn't want to. I heard from people in the capital that she was willing to die in order to marry the prince, and even threatened to cut her wrists. She really has no shame."

Xue Jingchuan was unhappy. "Who told you that? That Ye Ling would fall for the Crown Prince? She was desperate and even slashed her wrists to get her parents' property back. How come you guys think she's shameless?"

Meng Shishi was about to retort, but when she saw Nangong Chen's face wasn't looking good either, she pretended to be innocent: "Big Brother, I only heard what the two young ladies of the Ye family said, and I don't know the real situation. Why are you angry?"

"Some things can be listened to, and some things cannot be listened to. Those people in the capital can say anything. And you still listen to the two young ladies of the Ye family. They both got pregnant before marriage. Do you think that's what a young lady should do?"

"Senior Brother has taught me a lesson. I won't have any contact with them anymore." Meng Shishi admitted her mistake but cursed in her heart: Ye Ling, just wait for me, I will make you disappear, you vixen, you have bewitched my two senior brothers.

"Okay, let's eat and stop talking," Nangong Chen said.

"Yes, the prince has spoken, how dare we disobey? Let's eat," said Xue Jingchuan.

Meng Shishi ate without any taste and felt unhappy when she got home.