After transmigrating into the book, I helped my mother reconcile with her divorced husband.

Xie Chaoyun stood in front of the General's Mansion, tears streaming down her face.

Memories flooded her mind. She thought of her toddler days, her parents standing on the steps watching her wobbly climb. She thought of being five or six, clutching a candied hawthorn, riding on her father's shoulders, chased by her mother with a broom. Because of her cavities, her mother wouldn't let her eat sweets. She thought of seeing her father off to war when she was eleven or twelve, and of bidding farewell to her father and brothers and leaving this place when she was seventeen.

On the day of her marriage, her father, who was not afraid of death, cried his heart out, fearing that she had married the wrong person and that she would not be happy in the Marquis's mansion.

Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably. She longed to sit in front of the General's Mansion like she did when she was a child and cry her heart out without restraint. But she couldn't. She was still the mistress of the Pingnan Marquis's Mansion and the legitimate daughter of the General's Mansion. She represented the face of both the Marquis's Mansion and the General's Mansion.

Lu Zhiyuan stood obediently behind her mother. She knew her mother must be overwhelmed with emotions at that moment, so she neither spoke nor went forward to comfort her, but simply followed quietly.

The general's mansion gate wasn't as imposing as I'd imagined, nor as grand as a marquis's residence, yet it possessed an inexplicable sense of solemnity. From the hitching posts and scarred steps to the two long-unpainted gates, everything seemed imbued with the chilling aura of the battlefield.

The maids in the mansion all bowed deeply when they saw her.

"Good morning, young lady."

"Young Miss" is a very cute title, and only her maternal grandparents would call her that. Most people in the Marquis's household call her Miss Yuan'er to distinguish her from Lu Jinyao, making her seem more like an outsider in the Marquis's household.

Crackling!

Just after passing through the hanging flower gate, we heard firecrackers being set off outside.

“Miss has been married for ten years and hasn’t returned. We’ve been preparing firecrackers every day. Master said that we can set them off whenever Miss returns.” The nanny rushed over and burst into tears when she saw Xie Chaoyun. “Master said that Miss’s return home is a joyous occasion, a great joyous occasion. It’s a pity that Master is still in the border town and doesn’t know that Miss has returned.”

Xie Chaoyun felt a pang of sadness and curtsied to the nanny, saying, "Grandma, Chaoyun is back!"

The old woman was my maternal grandmother's dowry maid. She had watched my mother grow up since she was a child. When my mother got married, she did not go with her, but stayed in the mansion to help take care of everything.

She hugged Xie Chaoyun tightly, and after a long while, she said, "You've lost weight, you're not as strong as you were when you were a young lady. That Marquis's mansion must not have treated you well. It's alright, Grandma will cook you delicious food and make sure you're as healthy as you used to be."

Xie Chaoyun said "okay" and called Lu Zhiyuan to her side: "This is my daughter Zhiyuan! Zhiyuan, this is your mother's grandmother. You can call her 'grandmother.' In your mother's heart, she is the same as your maternal grandmother."

Grandma looked at Lu Zhiyuan and said several times that she looked just like her, with a smile on her face and tears in her eyes.

After exchanging pleasantries, Grandma led the group to prepare food, while Xie Yu'an and Xie Yu'bai took them to the Xie family ancestral hall. The moment the heavy doors were pushed open, Lu Zhiyuan felt a sense of being watched, a feeling she had never experienced before.

The Xie family ancestral hall is filled with memorial tablets. Not only are there those with the surname Xie, but also many others. They are all heroes who followed the Xie family into battle but received no one to honor them. Looking at those tablets is like seeing them on the battlefield, majestic and fearless, undaunted by powerful enemies, ready to die for their cause.

Xie Chaoyun, holding incense, knelt before the hall: "Xie Chaoyun, the unfilial daughter of the Xie family, has returned!"

Lu Zhiyuan, imitating her mother, held incense and knelt in front of the hall: "Lu Zhiyuan, the unfilial granddaughter of the Xie family, has returned!"

"It's good that you're back. They won't blame you."

"But I blame myself." Xie Chaoyun said with tears in her eyes, "I blame myself for not recognizing people, for being stubborn, for being bewitched, for being so persistent. Brother, Chaoyun was wrong, utterly wrong."

“Everyone makes a mistake in choosing someone.” Lu Zhiyuan helped her mother up. “Marriage is like a war. There are winners and losers. Even my grandfather, such a great general, made mistakes.”

After speaking, he solemnly bowed to the ancestors of the Xie family and his uncles and elders.

"I'm just telling the truth, please don't take offense!"

“They won’t blame you, because what our Yuan’er said was the truth.” Xie Yubai patted her head and looked at Xie Chaoyun: “Even Yuan’er understands, how could you not understand? The fault is not yours, but the one who lied to you. Chaoyun, my brother and I support your divorce. As for Father, he has always prioritized your happiness.”

Xie Yu'an added, "The gates of the General's Mansion, the Vice Minister's Mansion, and the Xie Mansion will always be open for you. You can go wherever you want and do whatever you want. To be frustrating, our Xie family is not an ordinary family. We won't make a scene just because our daughter got divorced. We have everything we want. Even if you want to remarry, you'll have to choose. Our Xie family has the power to do that."

"Brother, this is the ancestral hall, watch your words." Xie Chaoyun wiped away her tears and glared at her brother. "Ancestors, please forgive me, brother, he's talking nonsense. Chaoyun does have the intention to divorce, but has no intention of remarrying. What Chaoyun said to His Majesty was true. Compared to marrying, Chaoyun would rather ride a warhorse again and gallop across the battlefield. Compared to the country and the world, personal feelings are really nothing."

"As expected of a daughter of the Xie family." The slap that landed on her was extremely light: "Don't cry, it would break the hearts of our ancestors, uncles and elders if they saw this. Come on, let's go eat."

Xie Yu'an turned his back so that Xie Chaoyun wouldn't see his reddened eyes.

When she left the ancestral hall, her eldest and second aunts were there. Lu Zhiyuan tiptoed around and didn't see anyone her age. She asked Liuying and learned that her cousins ​​were studying away from home and wouldn't be back until the New Year.

My aunt held my mother's hand and scolded her in various ways: "You, it's not like you married far away, why don't you know to come back to your parents' home? Your eldest brother is busy and travels all over the country, it's his own fault if you don't see him, but why don't you see your sister-in-law either? Have you forgotten that before you got married, you loved to stick to me the most?"

Your second aunt stood quietly behind you and said, "You don't know, every time your second brother comes back from his business trip, he has to stand in front of the Marquis's mansion. He wants to see you, but he's afraid of causing you trouble or putting you in a difficult position at the Marquis's mansion. There are some things that your second brother can't do if you don't speak up. From the time I've known him until now, I've never seen him put in such a difficult position for anyone. You and I are both married women, and we know that our husbands' families are more important, but our maternal homes are also our homes. You can't do this anymore. You have to come back when you need to."

What seemed like a reproach was actually a sign of heartache, making Xie Chaoyun feel even worse. She solemnly kowtowed to her brother and sister-in-law to admit her mistake, startling her sisters-in-law who quickly reflected on their words, thinking they had spoken too harshly.

The Xie family did not have a rule of separate seating, and servants could also sit at the table. Apart from those who were still busy in the kitchen, the whole family sat around two tables and had a lively meal.

After a hearty meal, Xie Chaoyun's two sisters-in-law chatted with her, while Lu Zhiyuan sat with her uncles in the west hall. Xie Chaoyun was laughing and chatting happily, while Lu Zhiyuan was making a lot of noise, especially her eldest uncle, who seemed like he had never seen anything like it before.

"No, no, this menstrual belt is a woman's private item, how can it be sold on the street?"