On the wedding day, my wife was abnormal

Lin Zhen stepped forward and gently pushed open the door, which was pieced together from a few broken wooden planks.

With a creak, the door hinges groaned under the strain.

The scene inside the house then came into view.

The house was small and simple. Apart from a wooden table with a missing leg, two benches, and a bed made of adobe bricks, there was no other decent furniture.

An old woman with white hair and beard and a hunched figure was sitting on the edge of the bed, mending old clothes that had been washed until they were faded by the dim light of an oil lamp.

Her face was etched with the lines of time, and her cloudy eyes appeared somewhat blurry from years of hard work.

Hearing the noise at the door, she looked up and gazed at the doorway with some confusion.

"Who...who is it?" Her voice was old and hoarse.

When she saw that the people standing at the door were several strangers dressed in fine clothes and with extraordinary bearing, she was completely stunned.

In particular, when her gaze fell upon Murong Yan, she was so stunned by her unparalleled beauty and the black and gold dress that still exuded a mysterious luster under the dim light that she was speechless.

She had lived her whole life and had never seen such a beautiful and noble woman.

Murong Yan is not wearing a wedding robe today.

The exquisitely black phoenix-emerging dress seemed somewhat out of place in the cramped and dilapidated thatched hut.

A five-zhang-long, jet-gold trail silently cascaded down from the low threshold, like a black galaxy flowing with starlight.

The giant phoenix woven from real gold thread on the skirt, under the dim oil lamp, seemed to be silently scrutinizing this barren land that belonged to its people.

"Old man, we are..." Yue Fei was about to step forward and introduce himself.

Lin Zhen raised his hand to stop him.

He walked up to the old woman, who was still in shock, and gave her a gentle smile.

"Grandma, don't be afraid, we mean no harm." His voice was very soft and gentle, like a spring breeze that instantly soothed the old woman's fear and unease caused by the unfamiliarity.

"We are Wang Xiaoshi's friends."

"Xiao Shi?" Upon hearing this name, the old woman's thick eyes instantly lit up. "You...you know my Xiao Shi?"

“Yes.” Lin Zhen nodded. “We are his comrades.”

"Comrades?" The old woman was taken aback for a moment, then a smile full of joy and pride appeared on her face. "Please, please sit down."

As she spoke, she stood up shakily from the bedside, wanting to get them some water.

"Grandma, please sit still." Lin Zhen quickly stepped forward, helped her up, and helped her sit back down on the edge of the bed.

"How is Xiao Shi?" The old woman looked at Lin Zhen, her cloudy eyes filled with expectation. "He sent someone to bring back a message last time, saying that he went to fight in the northern desert with the army. It's been almost half a year now, and I don't know how he is now."

As she spoke, a deep worry resurfaced in her eyes.

"He...he's not hurt, is he?"

Hearing the old woman's words, everyone present felt a chill in their hearts.

Yue Fei and Zhang Xian, two men of unyielding integrity, both subconsciously recognized the truth too much to bear looking at anymore.

A layer of glistening mist rose in Murong Yan's clear, cold phoenix eyes.

She looked at the pitiful old man before her, who was filled with anticipation for his son's return.

She suddenly felt that she was cruel.

It was she who started this war.

It was she who sent countless young lives like Wang Xiaoshi to the bloody meat grinder.

“He…” Lin Zhen looked at the old woman’s expectant eyes, his throat felt like it was blocked by something, and he couldn’t say a word.

He didn't know how to tell the cruel truth to the poor old man in front of him.

"What's wrong with him?" The old woman looked at Lin Zhen, hesitant to speak, her ominous premonition growing stronger.

Her voice began to tremble. "Tell me quickly, what happened to Xiao Shi?"

Lin Zhen took a deep breath; he knew this couldn't be kept secret any longer.

He took out a blood-stained wooden amulet from his pocket and slowly handed it to the old woman.

"Grandpa, this is what Xiao Shi asked me to bring you."

The old woman stared wide-eyed at the amulet she had carved herself!

She reached out her calloused and wrinkled hand and tremblingly accepted the amulet.

When her fingertips touched the cold wooden carving, which was already soaked in blood.

She seemed to have lost all her strength and slumped down on the edge of the bed.

"Little Shi...my son..."

A piercing wail erupted from her mouth!

She clutched the amulet tightly, and two streams of blood-red tears flowed from her long-dry eyes.

The entire thatched hut was shrouded in sorrow at that moment.

Murong Yan looked at the tragic scene before her, where an elderly person was sending off a young person, and could no longer hold back the tears that welled up in her eyes.

She walked up to the old woman and slowly knelt down.

"Your Majesty!" Yue Fei and the others were terrified when they saw this scene!

They wanted to go forward and help Murong Yan up.

But Lin Zhen stopped him with a single look.

"Grandma." Murong Yan looked at the old woman who was already crying her heart out, her voice filled with guilt and... self-blame.

"sorry."

"He died in battle protecting me."

Upon hearing this, the old woman slowly raised her head.

She looked at the stunningly beautiful woman kneeling before her, weeping bitterly, her eyes, already blurred by tears, filled with confusion.

"You...you are..."

"She is, Her Majesty the Empress of our Great Qian Dynasty." Lin Zhen spoke, his voice like a thunderclap, exploding in the old woman's ears.

Your Majesty the Empress?

The old woman was completely stunned. She stared blankly at the face kneeling before her, a face so beautiful it was unbelievable, yet now streaked with tears, feeling as if she were dreaming.

How could a high and mighty empress kneel before a country bumpkin like herself?

"Your Majesty, please...please get up!" The old woman was so frightened after realizing what had happened that she hurriedly tried to climb down from the bedside to help Murong Yan up.

“Grandpa, please don’t move.” Murong Yan shook her head. She didn’t get up, but just knelt there quietly. “Wang Xiaoshi died for his country. You deserve this kneeling.”

She turned her head and looked at Yue Fei, her voice carrying an undeniable authority.

"Preach my will."

Wang Xiaoshi was posthumously awarded the title of "Loyal and Brave Captain" and enshrined in the Martyrs' Shrine to enjoy eternal worship.

"His mother was granted the title of 'First-Rank Imperial Lady,' and was given a mansion, a thousand taels of gold, and a hundred bolts of brocade. She was supported by the imperial court for the rest of her life."

These words stunned everyone present, including Yue Fei.