It Turns out that I am Beautiful, Strong and Miserable [Quick Wear] - 85

 

ITOTIABSAM | Young General | 85

Fifteen years into his journey in this world, Xie Ye, along with Gu Cong, finally succeeded in grooming the chosen offspring of the imperial family and handed over their crowns. With patience, they had nurtured the young saplings for a long time, and now, they could finally let go and step down from their positions.

In ancient times, there were no surveillance cameras, but with diligent oversight from 1101, they quickly shook off their attendants and guards after leaving the palace, blending into the vast sea of humanity, disappearing completely from the sight of the royal court.

In this life, thanks to Gu Cong's medical skills, though they lived in a relatively backward era, Xie Ye's lifespan was longer than in his previous two lives. As death approached, he wanted to tell Gu Cong to live well, but his rationality told him that Gu Cong would never obey.

So, in the end, the words that came out of his mouth were, "We'll meet again."

We'll meet again.

With this thought in mind, Xie Ye opened his eyes once again in the deep and murky darkness.

What he saw was a somewhat clear bronze mirror. He sat in front of a wooden table resembling a dressing table, still dressed in red clothing. At first glance, it seemed as if he was still in his previous life.

But there were differences.

In this life, he appeared to be a young man in his early twenties, and the embroidery on his red clothing was not a dragon pattern but something resembling the feathers of a phoenix.

For the umpteenth time, 1101, always a step behind the host, chimed in, "It's bridal attire."

[Won't you turn around and take a look?]

The red silk, the character for "joy," couldn't hide the dilapidation of the entire room and the stale smell of the old wood... Xie Ye furrowed his brow, as a flood of memories from the plot and his memories from his previous life inundated him.

The son of a criminal.

This was the most prominent label on the protagonist.

Once upon a time, he had been pampered with fine clothes and delicacies. His greatest pain had been the scraped leg from riding a horse, which had caused his mother to cry tears of worry. From then on, not only did he refrain from riding horses, but he also avoided touching swords altogether.

However, fortunes can change in the blink of an eye, just like the waxing and waning of the moon. Ten years ago, his father was executed for corruption, and their mansion was raided. The protagonist was held down in front of the city's west market, where he witnessed his mother's head rolling down, her bones tumbling into the dust.

—- On the day their mansion was raided, among the 137 members of their household, he saw many familiar maids and servants crying and screaming as they tried to flee. But they were stopped by soldiers guarding the mansion gates, their throats slit and blood splattering as swords swiped across their necks.

At that moment, the protagonist felt as if his throat was being weighed down by something heavy. It was extremely difficult for him to utter a few words, and when faced with his mother's head falling from a height, he realized that he had completely lost his voice. His wails and tears, which should have poured out, ultimately turned into two soft and indistinct syllables.

Logically speaking, in ancient times, given his age at the time, barely thirteen, even if he had not yet reached adulthood, there would have been no possibility of survival.

However, he was tied to a famous family in the capital, with the renowned military achievements of the general's family. The old general had just passed away due to illness, leaving only his grandson far away at the border. Even for the emperor, it would not have been appropriate to execute someone without prior notification.

Strictly speaking, this marriage was also a mistake. At that time, the son of the old general had not yet died in battle, and the daughter-in-law and the protagonist's mother were close friends before they got married. Just as his mother became pregnant, this marriage was settled with laughter and jokes.

At that time, his father was considered ordinary in the eyes of the world. Even though he came from a respected background, he was just a low-ranking official of sixth grade. Even if they had truly established a marital relationship, it would have been difficult to attract the suspicion of the emperor, let alone with just a verbal agreement.

Unexpectedly, on the day when the protagonist's mother gave birth, a baby boy was born instead. Ten years later, the once young scholar of the Hanlin Academy soared to great heights and transformed into a high-ranking official.

In the unpredictable world of affairs, although the two families never mentioned it again, in their hearts, they considered the marriage contract null and void. However, on the surface, the engagement still existed. Because of this, Xiaoxiao, who had thought he was destined to die, unexpectedly encountered a miraculous opportunity under fortunate circumstances.

When the young general, who had just left for the battlefield, urgently sent a message back to the capital, it was not the expected letter of relaxation but four simple words:

Spare this Innocent child.

And thus, that was how Xiaoxiao survived.

However, the days that followed were still difficult. Although the imperial decree, in order to demonstrate kindness, did not implicate the Xie family in the examination system, no one had expected that the only son of the general's family would actually be willing to use a marriage to save a criminal's son.

At this point, the simplest way to prevent the protagonist from returning to politics and rising again in a legitimate and straightforward manner was to have him degraded to the lowest status.

Soon, under the various manipulations of his father's political enemies before his father's death, the once prestigious scion of a noble family fell from grace, shattered all his pride, and became a servant in the Mingyue Pavilion.

Protected by the verbal engagement, the general's family remained intact, and no one dared to touch the protagonist. He continued to study music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, but his goals were no longer the same as before.

It was not until ten years later when the intended bride of his nominal engagement was summoned back to the capital for marriage by imperial decree.

With almost no hesitation, Xie Ye made the same decision as the protagonist:

To run away from the wedding.

In the original story, although the protagonist was portrayed as an antagonist who sought revenge, he still retained a sense of conscience. He did not want to implicate the general's family, who had once saved his life and protected him until now. Therefore, on the day of the wedding, he deliberately fled, publicly drawing a clear line between them. When he reappeared, he had transformed into a silent and enigmatic military strategist in the enemy's camp.

And of course, Xie Ye didn't want to easily entrust such an important ceremony as the wedding to others, even if they wanted to save his life.

"I remember you never used to care about these things," 1101 said teasingly, unable to conceal the taunt in its voice, deliberately elongating the tone, "But as far as I know, this general's name seems to be Gu Cong."

"Are you sure you don't want to bet and give it a try?" 

Xie Ye was taken aback: Indeed, in his original memory, it was mentioned that the grandfather of the general's family was surnamed Gu.

But Gu Cong had never taken on the role of a strong and powerful character, so even if he saw the familiar surname, he subconsciously ignored this possibility.

"In fact, his situation isn't that great either," 1101 admitted honestly. "He has great achievements but is overshadowed by others. Otherwise, why would the old emperor force him to marry you?"

"So what? Should we still run?" 

"We should run as soon as possible, as the nanny who was sent away by your alter self is about to come back."

According to the original plot, Xie Ye's father was indeed framed by political enemies, and the old emperor who issued the final order also had ulterior motives. 

That's why ‘he’ harbored thoughts of overturning the entire court. However, treason and betrayal are unforgivable crimes, and failure and death are still the destined fate of the "villain", serving to highlight the glory of the protagonist.

Xie Ye inherited all of his alter self memories and naturally understood his feelings towards his parents: indignation, unwillingness, resentment, and hatred. However, the scenes of handling political affairs together with Gu Cong from the previous life were vividly remembered. Revenge is not wrong, but innocent people should not suffer. 

As the original consciousness who has lived countless lifetimes, he naturally knows that there are many ways to seek justice and satisfaction that are far better than igniting a war.

Moreover, if this is truly the place that Gu Cong wants to protect...

1101 looked pleased.

To be honest, although the protagonist in the previous world, when influenced by Gu Cong, was quite handsome even when mad, it still preferred the host in his normal state after being influenced by Gu Cong.

"Don't get too happy too soon," Xie Ye said, looking back at himself in the mirror. "I need to confirm whether this Gu Cong is real or fake. If he's fake, I still have ten thousand ways to cancel the marriage."

During their conversation, the matchmaker, who had been sent by him to fetch the hairpin, had already returned to the hospital with her two maids without even knocking on the door. She walked in unceremoniously and said, "You're so particular. You insist on wearing such a fancy jade hairpin."

Since his family had fallen on hard times early in life, there was naturally not much dowry to speak of, except for the dowry provided by the general's mansion over the years.

It was rumored that General Gu had killed tens of thousands of enemies, and when he thought about needing to bring back this dowry on the day of the wedding, even though others might covet it, they dared not lay hands on it. This matchmaker was sent from the palace, accompanied by two palace maids, one pure and the other beautiful, both extremely beautiful.

From the behavior of these two maids alone, she knew what attitude was taken from above regarding this marriage. Plus, after making the trip empty-handed, she was already feeling frustrated, and she didn't even consider the son of a fallen criminal.

If it weren't for the auspicious time approaching and the other party insisting on wearing the jade hairpin from the general's mansion, refusing to tie up his hair, she wouldn't bother to make this trip.

A younger maid beside her whispered, "Nanny... the welcoming procession is coming soon. Let's be careful with our words."

"What are you afraid of? A mute person, can he still go to the general and complain?" Disdainfully, the matchmaker glanced at Xie Ye and sneered, "Even if he can write, so what? 

The general is a warrior, and he's been forced to marry such a 'renowned' and 'delightful' person. I'm afraid he doesn't have such good patience."

Earlier, in order to relax the vigilance of the other party for their escape, he had been acting very gentle, like a piece of dough that could be kneaded at will. Looking around, the courtyard had been abandoned for nearly ten years, and it had only been barely cleaned yesterday. There were hardly any guards, and even though there were red cloth and lanterns hanging, it still felt ominous and gloomy.

With all these factors combined, even though she knew that the young man in front of her was about to marry into the general's mansion, the matchmaker from the palace was still arrogant and sarcastic.

But soon, the mocking curve of her mouth froze on her face.

Because a hairpin was pressed against her wrinkled neck.

The hairpin was sharp, gleaming with golden light, and coincidentally, it was the style she had previously chosen for the other party. The young man was mute, naturally unable to utter any harsh words, but those dark as if they could swallow all light phoenix eyes, quietly and gently staring at her, made her uncontrollably break out in a cold sweat.

Warm and sticky blood flowed down the small wound opened by the hairpin, winding its way down. A few more inches deeper, and it would pierce through her throat.

"Ah." In a daze, feeling as if facing hell, the matchmaker made an incomprehensible sound from her throat. Her legs went weak, and she collapsed to the ground with a thud.

A few minutes later, Xie Ye, sitting upright in front of the bronze mirror, with his dark hair tied up high, finally wore the white jade hairpin as he wished.

Being a man, with no brothers or sisters left, he didn't need to shed tears of true or fake emotions, nor did he have the chance to be carried out of the door by someone with their feet not touching the ground.

As the welcoming procession arrived, he left the house without a veil, on his own.

The matchmaker behind him wanted to scold him for "not following etiquette," but she didn't have the courage. She could only, along with the two maids, follow behind him, trembling with fear.

A little further away, a man dressed in red wedding attire dismounted from his horse. He was extremely tall, with broad shoulders. He looked up at the dilapidated gate, which was haphazardly adorned with red lanterns and plaques removed. It was unclear what he was thinking.

As if hearing the increasingly close footsteps, he lowered his gaze and looked inside.

As expected, Xie Ye met a pair of familiar amber eyes that seemed more like those of a wild beast due to their temperament.

The next second, he, who had been walking briskly, suddenly twisted his ankle and fell flat on the ground.

Gu Cong instinctively reached out and caught the young man, who was just two body lengths away.

Then, he looked into a pair of beautiful phoenix eyes.

Seemingly startled, the young man tightly grasped his sleeve, his rosy lips trembling slightly, as if confirming, slowly:

"Hus... band..."

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Author's Note:

1101: Act, just act tough.

Also, Xie Ye has aphasia due to psychological reasons, plus some character restrictions. With a little effort from Teacher Xie, he can still squeeze out a few words. (For example, teasingly calling someone "husband.")

After the wedding, they will quickly leave the capital.