New Song Dynasty: My Wife is an Imperial Princess

“Brother Pengju, there’s no need to be surprised. The world is in chaos right now. I was thinking that Brother Yue’s hometown was not a place to stay for long, so I took the liberty of having my cousin send someone to bring your mother and two nephews to Guangling. After all, even if we are not harassed by the Jin army, the local officials can still take lives if they exploit the villagers.”

Tang Qian did this so that he could focus on preparing for battle without distractions. Yue Fei understood the other party's intention in a flash.

Yue Fei cupped his hands in a respectful gesture towards Tang Qian, a sense of shame rising within him. Since ancient times, loyalty and filial piety have been mutually exclusive. In recent years, he had been fighting on the battlefield and had indeed neglected his wife, children, and elderly parents at home. Tang Qian had relieved him of this worry, so what could he say? He had to repay Tang Qian in kind.

"I thank you, Brother Tang, but why is my wife, Liu, nowhere to be seen?"

"This..." Tang Qian smiled awkwardly. As a transmigrator with memories of the future, he naturally knew why Prince Yue's first wife, Liu, was not present. However, it was a family matter, and not a very honorable one, so it was inappropriate for him to speak about it.

"According to the report from the people they sent, they did not find your wife in your hometown; only your mother and these two children were there."

Seeing the confusion on Yue Fei's face, his mother-in-law, Yao, who was standing to the side, sighed: "It's nothing shameful. There's no shame in saying it to outsiders."

“You joined the army three years after your marriage, and for two years you were gone. You only sent a few letters home. In the seventh year of Xuanhe, the Jin army invaded the south, and you disappeared without a trace. Your daughter-in-law heard from somewhere that you had died in battle. After crying her heart out, she remarried. It is only natural that she did not want to suffer with her old mother. After all, Liu was only in her twenties. According to her nature, she would not be able to bear the loneliness and remain a widow for the rest of her life. Now that she has remarried, it is a good thing.”

Tang Qian had expected Yue Fei to slam his fist on the table and berate Liu for being unfilial and unfit to be a mother, abandoning her elderly mother-in-law and two underage sons to remarry. Tang Qian was about to offer some words of comfort when Yue Fei merely gave a bitter smile, seemingly unconcerned: "Liu married me through an introduction, unwillingly in the first place. Since she was destined not to be a member of my Yue family, why force it? Besides, she left me with two sons; I should be thanking her."

First, he lifted his eldest son, Yue Yun, onto his horse, then bent down to pick up his second son, Yue Lei. Yue Fei smiled calmly at Tang Qian and said, "In any case, I still want to thank Brother Tang for his foresight. With my family in Guangling, I am even more determined to defend the city to the death. Please watch how I kill the enemy."

Seeing that he was about to lead his family into the military camp, Tang Qian immediately called out to him from behind: "The military camp outside the city is full of rough men, and it is too inconvenient for family members to live there. It would be better for Grandma Yue to come and live with me in the inner city. As for these two nephews, if Brother Yue trusts me, let them live with my family. My two sisters-in-law are the same age as Yue Yun, so they can have two more playmates. What do you think, Brother Yue?"

Tang Qian's suggestion was quite good. At least the city was much safer than the outside. Living with his family would ensure the safety of the three of them. Yue Fei and his mother exchanged glances, seemingly seeking his mother-in-law's opinion.

"It's not a big deal for the older students, but Yun'er and Lei'er are too young, so it's definitely better for them not to live in the military camp."

When educating her son, the mother-in-law always admonished him to be loyal to the country. However, people tend to have a special bond with their grandchildren. The son could go to the battlefield, but seeing her grandson also having to grow up with war, the mother-in-law still felt a pang of reluctance.

"What the old lady said is absolutely right. Going to war is the adults' business. What the children need to do now is to be carefree, peaceful and happy. Once we have defended Guangling, we will send our two nephews to the academy to study. In the future, they can also pass the imperial examinations and not have to risk their lives on horseback. Isn't that better?"

Yue Fei laughed heartily: "Then I'll take your kind words, Your Highness."

Upon hearing that his father was going to send him to the city, Yue Lei, who was in his arms, was clueless, but Yue Yun, who was on horseback, was anxious: "Yun'er is willing to follow Father to fight in all directions, and does not want to take any exams for official rank."

What did the older brother who picked him up say? He wanted him to be his sister-in-law's playmate? Doesn't that mean he has to spend all his time surrounded by women? He's supposed to be a strong and upright man, how can he be tainted by the smell of women?

"Oh, I didn't realize you had such lofty ambitions." Tang Qian reached out and patted Yue Yun on the head, only to be met with a fierce glare from the other. "Don't worry, with your father and me around, there's no chance you'll ever have to go to the battlefield."

Although Tang Qian spoke lightly, Yue Fei knew how difficult it would be. The Jin people were powerful and had occupied a large part of the northern territory of the Song Dynasty. It would be an extremely long road for the Song Dynasty to make the Jin people return the land. Perhaps not only would Yue Yun have to follow him, but even his grandson would have to follow in his footsteps. It was not as easy as Tang Qian made it out to be.

Knowing that Yue Fei didn't believe him at all, Tang Qian wasn't angry: "After the battle of Guangling is over, Brother Yue will know that I was not just talking nonsense."

Although Yue Yun was unwilling, he couldn't go against his father's wishes and sent the old lady and the two children onto the carriage back to the city. Tang Qian was about to take his leave when the sound of horses' hooves came from afar, causing the two of them to look in the same direction.

The visitor was a spy that Yue Fei had placed outside. His return at this time must have brought extremely important news. Yue Fei dared not delay and immediately went to greet him. Tang Qian also did not choose to leave immediately. The spy dismounted, and seeing that there were outsiders present, he swallowed back the words that were about to be spoken, which he wanted to report the military situation immediately.

Yue Fei waved to the secret agent: "This is Tang Qian, the Lord of Guangling City and the Prince Consort. If you have any important news, just say it without hesitation."

Upon learning Tang Qian's identity, the spy immediately bowed to him and then revealed the information he had gathered: "The Jin army's eastern and western armies have merged into one, numbering 200,000, and are commanded by Wanyan Xieye. They recently captured Xuzhou and have now crossed the Yellow River, heading towards Chuzhou."

Tang Qian and Yue Fei exchanged a glance; neither of them looked too good. The Jin army had come with 200,000 troops, showing their overwhelming strength. It seemed that Wanyan Xie was still determined to destroy the Song Dynasty.

"Given this situation, Chuzhou City won't hold out for long either, so the Jin army's next target will probably be Guangling."