At the end of April, the Emperor appointed Gu Tingye to be the Guard Commissioner of the Henan and Hebei province and take charge of the local military affairs. He also ordered Gu Tingye to set off at once.

Gu Tingye’s luggage had been packed long ago. Minglan, downspirited as she was, kept putting sedrin pills and Ginseng pills in Gu Tingye’s pouch. Gu Tingye took a glance at the pills, one kind was for decreasing internal heat and the other was for increasing internal heat. Feeling both amused and touched, he held Minglan’s hand and said softly, “If you are bored, you can go back to your parents’ home to stay for a while. Don’t be afraid of other’s gossip.”

He had visited the Sheng family on purpose before. Minglan didn’t know what he had said to the Sheng’s two madams. Anyway, after that, Wang shi told Liu Kun’s wife to pass the message that Minglan could deal with Caihuan, that bitch, as she wanted and that Minglan was welcomed to rehabilitate in the Sheng’s mansion at any time. Old Madam Sheng sent a letter to Minglan, on which there were only a few words—‘Be careful, don’t force yourself too hard.’

Minglan tried to hold his hand but only grabbed three of his large and rough fingers. Then she comforted, “You don’t need to worry about me. With the help of Second Master Tu and his guys, I can even rob a money house, not to mention govern those servants in the family.” As she remembered the dangerous things that the commissioner who had gone south had run into, she couldn’t help but get worried and said in a low voice, “You are the one who should be careful on the road. Bring enough guards and don’t play hero. I’ve told Xie’ang that he can never be three feet away from you.”

Gu Tingye knew what she was thinking and said with a smile, “I’ll lead half of the cavalry this time.” What’s more, there were lots of troops he could dispatch.

“When you are away from home, you have to take good care of yourself and don’t drink unboiled water or eat wild animals. Don’t open your collar to go for a blow when you feel hot. If it gets cold, you should wear the soft deer fur jacket on the inside. I have broken a few fingers to make that. You cannot leave it unused…” Minglan showed her ten tender fingers to him. Actually, she felt frightened now and could only give those instructions ceaselessly. She enjoyed being his wife now and had no intention to become a widow.

Gu Tingye didn’t say anything and only held Minglan in his arms with a meaningful look in his eyes.

Next day in the morning, Gu Tingye dressed in a firm leather armor, a pair of combat boots and his red cloak. Before he left, he touched Minglan’s belly and joked on purpose, “My boy, your father is going out now. You have to listen to your mother’s order.” Minglan was sorrowful right now, his words managed to amuse her. Before she could say something to tease him, the baby in her belly was suddenly very cooperative and moved. Perhaps the baby had wriggled his butt or stamped his feet. Overjoyed, the man kissed Minglan and then kissed her belly. Then he laughed loudly and said, “Wait for me!”

Minglan stood at the door of House of Auspiciousness and held back her tears while waving the handkerchief, “Take care, come home early.”

‘I received a letter from home from thousand miles away. Among the words and between the lines, I see that my families only want me to go back early…’ Minglan had remained mirthless for a few days, having no appetite. Every day when she lay on the bed, she looked at the bed top with colorful carvings while calculating where he was. She kept wondering if he had already passed the ferry, or got all the horses and solders settled. It was gradually getting hot, she was worried that he would catch the plague or run into the ‘caterans’. After several days, her sad feelings faded away and then she started to wonder if her husband had started to fool around with other women at the outside. After another few days, Minglan returned to her lazy state and woke up naturally.—In the times when there were no e-mails, phones, cell phones and even no telegraphs, Minglan experienced the whole set of psychological changes of a wife whose husband had traveled far away.

When Madam Duan had come to apologize, Minglan had already been able to comfort her with a smile.

“Sis, I am so sorry.” Madam Duan said with a pale face and red eyes, “My husband’s eldest brother is at the Miao border now and we never heard from him. And after what happened to his second brother, we don’t even have a person to discuss with. Sorry that we have brought this trouble to Commander Gu.”

Minglan restrained herself from sneering at Madam Duan. Actually, she hadn’t heard from Gu Tingye for a long time too. His assignment this time was very complicated, so he had to do things overtly and covertly and play some tricks. On the large area of Henan and Hebei area, there were nearly ten military camps and one hundred large and small Yamen. Therefore, Gu Tingye could start his business at wherever he wanted and no one would know which way he would take. It would be the best if he could catch his enemies off guard.

It was reasonable for Minglan to get distressed since her husband had been dragged into that thing. However, now she still had to put on a smile and said sweetly, “Sister, what are you talking about? It’s not like Second General Duan has gone sightseeing. He was only framed by those evil guys because he has been on a mission for His Majesty. My Master went on that mission not just because of his brotherhood with Second General Duan, but also for the national affairs.”

Madam Duan wiped the tears on the corner of her eyes and said gratefully, “Sis, you don’t need to comfort me. Even though I am just a woman, I still understand Commander Gu’s good intention. Maybe another man can also fulfil this task, but he wouldn’t care about my second brother-in-law’s career and reputation. Only the old buddies would give a hand to each other for the old times’ sake.

Minglan thought secretly, ‘A lady from a prestigious family like Madam Duan truly sees things clearly.’ Then the smile on her face turning brighter. After she had sent Madam Duan who seemed so miserable and grieved, Danju lifted the curtain and walked inside with a sullen face, “Madam, Aunt Kang is here. She’s with Old Madam Qin now. They want you to be there.” Minglan got dazed.

Given all the secret intentions Old Madam Qin had, it was hard for her to find a congenial friend who could chat with her. If she complained about Gu Tingye, her intention would so obvious. Then she tried to speak evil of Minglan. However, the latter pretended to be a weak and honest girl at the outside for the whole time. Every time someone teased Minglan, she would blush. Also, her tame and gentle gestures made her look like a girl who had just left her home, which helped her win a lot of praises from the middle-aged and old noble madams. If Old Madam Qin called Minglan a foxy girl, very few people would trust her and the people who did believe her were all her best friends or her relatives.

As a result, after Old Madam Qin had got acquainted with Aunt Kang, the two of them found their conversations more and more agreeable and their relationship got closer and closer. In a short period of time, they were already like old friends. Minglan felt that the two women should give more accurate comments about her than the people who didn’t know the truth, without regard to the fact that she was not so happy that she was the one whom they had said mean things about.

“Madam, I’ll tell them that it’s not convenient for you to go.” Danju said in a low voice. She had witnessed Aunt Kang take advantage of her seniority to make things difficult for Minglan in the Sheng’s mansion more than once. Minglan shook her head, “This is the first time Aunt Kang visits me. I have to go.” After she thought for a while, she ordered Danju, “Follow the old rules.” Danju finally showed a smile, “I see. We’ll move once you put the lid of the cup on the table.”

Minglan smiled with satisfaction.

She hadn’t met Aunt Kang for half a year. Today, this woman wore a fresh new blue Beizi with silver tangled branches patterns and a string of red beads with her round hair bun anchored by a pair of jade hairpin with spun gold. Clearly, she had made some efforts in dressing herself, but she still seemed aged a lot. As she saw Minglan’s face, she put on a fake smile at once and turned to Old Madam Qin, “Everyone says that my niece is so lucky to have a mother-in-law like you. Now I know it’s true. Her face looks so hydrated as if I could squeeze out water from it.”

Old Madam Qin felt so pleasant to hear that with the winkles on the corner of her eyes turning deeper. Minglan chuckled and pretended to walk with difficulty. After that, she gave obeisance to them with her swollen belly. Then she sat down straightly. Before Old Madam Qin said anything, Aunt Kang flew to a rage at once and scolded with a sullen face, “The elder is still talking now. How dare you sit down directly?”

Minglan adjusted her sitting position on the armchair and pretended to be surprised, “Aunt Kang, you are not going to let me sit?” As saying this, she touched her belly again.

Choked with words, Aunt Kang said loudly, “You should at least sit after the elders finish talking.” With a disdainful look on her face, she looked to Minglan, “Don’t you know the rules?! Is that how your grandmother has taught you?! You haven’t got married for a long time. How could you forget all the things my sister has taught you?”

Right now, Minglan felt there was no need to tolerate this psychopath anymore. Then she put on a long face and said, “Be careful with your words. I am a young member in our family, so I can tolerate your reproach. My grandmother is Madam Wang’s mother-in-law, so she is also an elder to you. Don’t you know the rules that you shouldn’t gossip about elders in front of your niece and your relative?”