Volume 1: Gathering Winds of Splendor Chapter 38: Can You Let Go of Your Husband?

  An Xin returned to the General's Manor in no more than the time it took to drink a cup of tea, and directly rushed into the inner room of Qingxin Pavilion. After entering, she found that there was no one inside, and not even a slight sound could be heard. An Xin slightly put down her guard and slowly walked behind the screen, taking off her men's clothes. She looked at the three layers of Luo skirt placed on top of the screen, and rubbed her temples in frustration. In the past, although it was difficult to wear simple clothes, there were not too many decorations and buttons. Looking at the dresses prepared by the General's Manor, each one was more complicated than the last, with more buttons than the previous one.

  She shook off her clothes a few times, reluctantly giving up the idea of dressing herself. She opened her mouth and shouted, "Xiao Yan, Jin Xiao, if you're there, make some noise!"

  Siyan was busy making the jasmine bloom in the garden when she heard a noise coming from inside. She pricked up her ears and listened for a moment, then quickly put down the wooden bucket and hurried into the inner room. As soon as she lifted the beaded curtain, she saw a blurry shadow projected onto the screen made of silk threads. Si Jin's face lit up with surprise and delight, "Miss is back so soon?"

  "Come and help me put on my clothes." An Xin had been holding in her temper all day and couldn't find a way to vent, so her tone was somewhat gloomy.

  Siyan ran to the back of the screen and saw Anxin wearing a messy long skirt, her eyes glaring at her. Siyan couldn't help but smile and raise her hand to adjust the skirt, which became neat and tidy under her hands. "Miss, it's done."

  With a reassuring nod, she glanced down and threw a flirtatious glance at Siyan, who widened her eyes in surprise, shivered with delight, and then burst out laughing as she walked towards the soft couch.

  "Has brother or mother been looking for me?" An Xin asked, half-reclining on the soft couch, her feet exerting force to fling off the embroidered shoes at the corner.

  "No, it was General who came looking for Miss, I said Miss was resting, and General didn't say anything and left." Siyan said softly.

  An Xin let out a soft "oh" and didn't bother to guess what her father's intentions were when he came looking for her. Suddenly remembering something, An Xin asked, "Besides me and my brother, are there any other siblings in the manor?"

  "Princess Mingyue has been married to the general for many years, but they have no children. However, one of the general's concubines gave birth to a son five years ago." Ziyuan replied truthfully.

  "What?" An Xin's eyes widened in shock, her face pale as she exclaimed, "An Liancheng still has concubines? My god, is he a stud horse or something? He's not satisfied with marrying two princesses and now he's looking for concubines to warm his bed? If I had known the situation at General's Manor was like this, I wouldn't have let Mother come back."

  Siyan heard Anxin mention the name of An Liancheng, and was so frightened that her face changed color. She looked around the room in all directions, and only after making sure no one was there did she let out a sigh of relief. She scolded, "Miss, General is your father."

  "What a broken general, strip away his noble identity, what's left of him? A golden exterior with a rotten interior." An Xin scolded in a loud voice, her face still looking unpleasant. Originally, she thought that An Liancheng married Mingyue Princess because he was forced by the pressure of national righteousness, and he reluctantly accepted it. Although she despised An Liancheng for not putting up a good fight and accepting it so readily, the marriage between the two countries was a major affair, with twists and turns that an outsider like her couldn't understand. So when Yun Mingyue appeared, she didn't have much of a reaction, only feeling sorry for her mother and thinking it was unfair.

  But she didn't expect that An Liancheng actually took a concubine and had children, An Xin coldly laughed, Mother was the eldest princess of the country, with stunning beauty and a gentle temperament, it's only when the ancestral grave of the An family emits auspicious smoke that one can obtain such an honor, but he didn't cherish it, and wasted Mother's true heart.

  "Can Dong Ling take a break?" Siyan noticed that An Xin's body was emitting a cold aura, and her heart was nervous. Just then, she heard An Xin's icy words without any warmth.

  "Hubby? Miss, you... what do you want to do?" Siyan felt her teeth chattering, making a crisp "ge ge ge" sound, her pretty face turned pale, staring at Anxin as if she didn't dare to believe.

  "I let mother get rid of that heartless and ungrateful man. There are many good men in the world, why hang yourself on a single tree? Or even a crooked neck tree eaten by insects! An Xin's anger was stuck in her chest, unable to come up or go down, swelling with pain. In this world, if there is anyone else who can make her think of them day and night, besides mother, no one else is worthy! So, she absolutely will not allow mother to live an unhappy life!"

  At first, she relied on her own abilities to take her mother away from An Liancheng's pursuit. Although it was a bit difficult, it wasn't completely hopeless. However, she sensitively felt that her mother still had feelings for An Liancheng and liked him deep down. So, she went along with her mother's wishes and came to the capital, even creating opportunities along the way in hopes of helping the two put aside their past grievances.

  If she had anticipated that the situation in the capital would be like this, she would have used all her skills to take her mother far away and never set foot on the land of the capital again.

  "Miss, where is there a woman who would divorce her husband? It's too embarrassing to spread the word around. Moreover, as a princess representing the royal family, your reputation will also be ruined." Siyan saw that she was serious from Anxin's calm expression and immediately became anxious, trying her best to persuade her.

  "The husband is not clear, how can the wife be virtuous and serve her husband?" An Xin's cold voice fell, she got up and walked to where the shoe was thrown down just now, picked it up and put it on, and as soon as she raised her head to get up, she saw the bead curtain being lifted, Yu Hua wearing a white jade-colored brocade robe with a slender figure like bamboo, walking slowly into the room. The somewhat oppressive atmosphere in the house was suddenly filled with a burst of splendor, as if a thin layer of white cloud had been laid down from the ninth heaven, making it seem like a dream.

  With a calm and clear gaze, she furrowed her brow as she looked at Yuhua, remaining silent.

  "Does the Princess of Chang'an seem to disapprove of how husbands and wives get along?" Yuhua walked closer to Anxin's side, carefully looked at her small face with a dark aura, and said in a warm voice.

  "What's it to you?" An Xin glared at him, plopped down on the soft couch, and slumped forward onto the small table with a thud, saying in a bad mood.

  Siyan appeared from Yuhua, held her breath, and focused her gaze on him. She didn't come back to herself until she heard the young lady's voice, then hastily paid her respects before retreating from the inner chamber.

  "Hey, hey, what are you running for? A man and a woman alone in the same room, won't rumors spread?" An Xin saw Siyan scatter her skirt and run off, hastily calling out loudly. In ancient times, wasn't there a strict separation between men and women? Even private conversations would be exaggerated into clandestine meetings and secret trysts. Logically speaking, she should be keeping a distance from Yu Hua now."

  "Yu Shizi's character is noble and pure, let alone servants, all the people in the world are convinced." Siyan's voice echoed far into Anxin's ears.

  With a calm and lazy tone, he glanced at Yu Hua who was already seated on the other side of the soft couch, and said, "Yu Shizi has arrived, what an honored guest, what brings you here?"