"Bang..."
The door was pushed open, and Chuntao rushed in like a whirlwind, breathlessly smiling, "Miss, the General is back and is now at the Fulai Courtyard with the Old Madam."
Shen Ruoxi, who was concentrating on her embroidery, was startled upon hearing this. Her hand holding the needle trembled, and the needle pricked her finger. A bead of blood oozed out, making her softly hiss in pain.
She casually put down the embroidery, placed her injured finger into her mouth, a hint of a smile appeared on her lips, but her eyes were slightly red, murmuring, "Two years..."
Chuntao was also happy for her young lady. The husband was back; the young lady's hardships have finally ended!
Changing her clothes, she unusually inserted two bright hairpins. She softly said, "Let's go!"
Knowing full well she should maintain decorum and poise, her steps became a little hurried.
On the wedding night, when the border town was in urgent battle, he donned his armor and hastily met her in the bridal chamber, telling her to wait for his return, and then rushed to the battlefield. In a flash, it had been two years.
Back then, his father and brother died in battle, and his mother, overwhelmed with grief, wanted her to marry Xiao Chengyi. She fulfilled her mother's wish, and soon after, her mother followed her father and brother.
During these two years, she rarely went out, faintly remembering his handsome and spirited appearance. In the bridal chamber, he gently called her "wife."
Her steps unconsciously quickened again, naturally not noticing the sympathetic and reluctant glances from the passing servants in the courtyard.
Standing outside the house, her heart was pounding so fast. She steadied herself, just about to push the door.
"Mother, she must not refuse! Zhen'er must enter the door; after all, it's common for men to have multiple wives and concubines."
"We should discuss with Ruoxi properly, shouldn't we?" Mother-in-law Zhou's voice carried a touch of helplessness.
Though it was March, standing outside felt like falling into an ice cellar, chilling her to the bone.
"Miss? This..."
Chuntao's shocked voice also made the people inside the room fall silent instantly.
The curtain lifted, and Nanny Yu, who was beside the Old Madam, came out with a full awkward smile, "Young Madam, you're here. Congratulations, the Young General is back. The Old Madam was just asking about you!"
Shen Ruoxi's lips involuntarily curled into a mocking cold smile. Her husband had brought another woman back, and she turned out to be the last to know.
"Thank you, Nanny," she said lightly.
"Please, Young Madam," Nanny Yu stepped aside to let her pass.
Shen Ruoxi lifted her foot, walked into the room, and took in everyone present.
The Old Madam sat in the central position, with her mother-in-law Zhou beside her.
Xiao Chengyi was in his armor, sitting alongside a charming young woman.
The young woman was extremely pretty, with bright and mischievous eyes, wearing a light yellow floor-length dress that highlighted her fair and translucent face—a true beauty.
Surrounding them were his two younger brothers and younger sister.
The family seemed to be immersed in a harmonious atmosphere, like she was the only one who seemed out of place.
She bowed slightly, "Grandmother, Mother."
As she entered and greeted, the atmosphere in the room turned cold and brewed an indescribable strange silence.
The Old Madam seemed slightly awkward and urged, "Ruoxi, quickly see Chengyi."
"General."
She bowed again, the person in front of her made her feel slightly dazed.
Two years of war were enough to transform a spirited youth into a sharp, reserved mature man.
"No need for formalities, wife." Xiao Chengyi spoke lightly, his eyes unconsciously fixated on her.
They hadn't seen each other for two years, and she had become more radiant and captivating, her skin delicate as water, especially her eyes, dark and bright like countless stars flowing, one could almost get lost in them accidentally.
Complex, indescribable emotions surged in Xiao Chengyi's heart.
"Brother Yi."
The girl's sweet, soft voice snapped Xiao Chengyi's thoughts back.
He turned his gaze; Ning Zhen'er was holding onto his sleeve, boldly asking, "Is she Shen Ruoxi?"
After asking this, her eyes blatantly scrutinized Shen Ruoxi, and upon seeing her extraordinary beauty, her hand slightly clenched.
Zhou was obviously displeased to hear her call Shen Ruoxi by her full name! What an unruly servant girl!
"General, who is this lady?" Shen Ruoxi deliberately asked Xiao Chengyi.
Her eyes glanced over the other woman's slightly bulging belly, her nails embedded in her palms, a wave of nausea rising in her heart.
"She is called Zhen'er, a wife I married at the border. This victory at Chengyang Pass is thanks to Zhen'er."
Unsatisfied with such a simple introduction, Ning Zhen'er smiled, "My name is Ning Zhen'er; I am skilled in various arts. The great victory at Chengyang Pass was due to my self-made crossbows and using the tactic of 'feint east, attack west' to reclaim Chengyang Pass for our country. Not something you ladies of the inner courtyard could compare with."
Saying so, she deliberately cast a challenging glance at Shen Ruoxi.
Being pretty, so what? Such women in seclusion, who cannot carry a burden or pick up a thing, bickering for favor in the back courtyard every day, truly contemptible.
Her eyes shone with self-satisfaction and she wore a haughty expression.
She, Ning Zhen'er, was destined to be different from all the other women.
She awaited admiration and praise, unlike the cold and indifferent attitude towards her earlier, but the room was silent, and no one responded! This made her feel a burst of awkwardness.
"Wife?"
Shen Ruoxi slowly chewed on the word, then what does that make Shen Ruoxi?!
Her eyes coldly swept over Xiao Chengyi, her lips involuntarily curling into a few mocking cold smiles, indifferently saying, "General's intention, is it to demote his wife to a concubine?"
Xiao Chengyi stared at her unusually calm face, emotions indistinct, bearing a polite yet distant courtesy like addressing an unfamiliar guest.
An inexplicable anger arose in his eyes, fixating on her fiercely.
"What nonsense is this child speaking? How could there be a reason for a wife to become a concubine?" The Old Madam sensed something amiss and quickly tried to mediate.
Shen Ruoxi turned to the Old Madam, her eyes clear and innocent, "Then may I dare ask Grandmother, how to place Miss Ning Zhen'er?"
A rare look of discomfort appeared on the Old Madam's face, "It's normal for men to have multiple wives and concubines; Zhen'er is, after all, pregnant, and should be considered a concubine..."
The word "concubine" hadn't been spoken when Xiao Chengyi interrupted in a deep voice, "Grandmother, I've said it, legal wives are equal; Ruoxi has no children, Zhen'er is pregnant, naturally to avoid gossip."
The atmosphere in the room once again dropped to freezing point.
No children?
Marrying on the first day, he went to the border city. It would be a miracle if she had children!
A husband with two wives? She may not care about gossip, but such humiliation, how could she face the spirits of her parents, uncles, and brothers in heaven?
Shen Ruoxi's dark eyes quietly watched Xiao Chengyi, as if trying to see through him.
Xiao Chengyi, who fought life and death battles, severed enemy heads as easily as cutting vegetables, carried a murderous air that left no one daring to breathe heavily, yet at this moment, was left exposed and embarrassed by a gaze from a backyard woman, unable to meet her eyes.
A nameless fire in his heart burned even higher.
"This General holds a fourth-rank position, does whatever he likes; the matter is settled like this," he said, ashamed and angry.