Mistakenly Connected to the Jade Flower Branch

Chapter 151 Vigil

An Qile and Luo An came out of the mourning hall to greet them.

Luo An asked, "Why did it take so long?"

Nianyao glanced at Xue Yunting. She thought Xue Yunting would come out on his own, but after waiting and waiting, he didn't come out, so she had to go to his room to invite him.

Xue Yunting replied politely, "Brother-in-law, I'm sorry, it was my fault for causing the delay."

Nianyao coldly said, "If it's delayed, it's delayed. Don't say it was an accident."

Xue Yunting said, "Sister is right to teach me a lesson."

An Qile said, "The young general is of high status; his presence is an honor..."

The mourning hall was quiet that night, and An Qile didn't dare let them kneel for too long. He said to Luo An, "Xiao An, take Nianyao and the young general back. Don't tire yourselves out. Life and death are inevitable; there's no need to be too sad."

Hearing An Qile's hoarse voice and his face full of sorrow, Nianyao said, "Uncle, we didn't take good care of Grandma, nor did we enjoy her company. Now that she's gone, let us do our part to show our filial piety."

An Qile was moved and said, "Nianyao is really... open-minded and considerate. Xiao An made the right choice in marrying you."

Luo An then advised, "I'll stay here with them, Uncle, you should go and rest."

An Qile's child is too young to keep watch at night. Besides An Qile, the only other close relatives of Consort Ning are herself and Xue Yunting.

Nianyao quickly nodded: "Yes, Uncle, you should rest. We'll take care of things here."

Xue Yunting suddenly said, "You call her 'Grandma' and 'Uncle' to the Prince. How can you do that?"

Nianyao's fist almost landed on his back, but she held back, thinking it was inappropriate to fight in the mourning hall: "You didn't fall enough just now, so you're trying to make up for it, huh?"

Xue Yunting was not threatened at all: "Sister, you should call her Grandma."

"Shut up!" Nianyao said to An Qile without thinking, "Uncle, he just talks nonsense like that, don't take it to heart..."

Although An Qile was tired, his mind was clear: "Nianyao's surname is Xue, so she should indeed be called Grandma."

Nianyao was slightly taken aback: It seems...that's indeed the case...

After An Qile left, Xue Yunting asked seriously, "Sister, you call him Uncle when you talk to me, and you also call him Uncle when you talk to your brother-in-law. So what is your relationship with your brother-in-law?"

Nianyao said, "You called him 'little uncle'? What kind of relationship do I have with your brother-in-law? What kind of relationship could we have? Shut up, or I'll throw you out."

Xue Yunting said, "If you throw me out, I'll go back to sleep."

Nianyao brandished her fist in front of him: "Do you really want me to fight in front of Grandma?"

Xue Yunting said, "Sister, just now..."

Luo An inserted a silver needle into Xue Yunting's acupoint for speech, and Xue Yunting immediately lost his voice.

Seeing Xue Yunting's serious question, Nianyao also began to think. She called An Qile her uncle, and Luo An called An Qile her uncle, so she and Luo An were... siblings?

Nianyao was frightened by her own reaction and slowly turned to look at Luo An. Luo An knelt beside her, and seeing the fear in her eyes, reminded her, "Nianyao, your surname isn't Xue."

Nianyao quickly realized what was happening. She wasn't stupid; Xue Yunting had been so serious that she had been unknowingly led astray.

Seeing that Xue Nianyao was about to get angry, Xue Yunting quickly kowtowed three times. His mouth moved but he couldn't make a sound, but he had fully conveyed his feelings to Consort Ning.

Nianyao snorted and stopped arguing. The three of them knelt until dawn. Just as Luo An removed the silver needle from Xue Yunting's speech acupoint, An Qile and Meng Dong arrived.

An Qile and Meng Dong helped them up. Meng Dong said, "Although Mother didn't say it, we all know she always cared about you. Later, she became confused, and sometimes when she looked at Qile, she would mention Pan'er. Qile and I thank you on behalf of Mother for Nianyao and the young general being able to come."

Meng Dong was about to kneel down when Nian Yao stopped her, saying, "Grandma is unwell, and it was my uncle and aunt who took good care of her. We should thank you and my uncle."

As the group was talking, the steward led a group of people to offer their condolences. Xue Yunting and Luo Anfeng were both distinguished by their bearing, so the newcomers glanced at them a few more times.

Meng Dong quickly saw them out of the mourning hall, but Nian Yao stopped him, saying, "Auntie, you've worked hard. We're all family, no need to be so polite. We'll go back on our own."

Seeing Nianyao's insistence and noticing the growing number of mourners, Meng Dong said, "Then you should go back and rest well. You can come back on the day of Mother's burial."

Nianyao said to Xue Yunting, "Let's go out through the side door."

Xue Yunting led the way toward the main gate: "No, I am a dignified young general, representing Nan Yue to offer condolences. How can I enter through the side gate?"

Nianyao followed behind him and saw An Liangchen and Nan Fei coming from around the corner with their men. She kicked them. Xue Yunting rushed forward, about to bump into Nan Fei, but Nan Fei jumped aside, and Xue Yunting crashed directly into the wall.

Old wounds hadn't healed, and new ones had appeared. Xue Yunting covered her nose, feeling the warm liquid sticking to her hand: "Sister... my nose is broken..."

A drop of blood fell to the ground, leaving a circular mark the size of a fingernail.

Nianyao quickly handed him a handkerchief and said incredulously, "How come you can't avoid anything? It's just a nosebleed, it's not a big deal, I often get this."

Seeing that Nianyao seemed a little nervous, Xue Yunting covered his nose and tilted his head slightly, saying, "Sister, don't worry... I'm fine..."

Nanfei gloated: "The young general is strong and healthy, so Madam doesn't need to worry."

Nianyao originally intended for Xue Yunting to collide with Nanfei, but she never expected it to turn out this way. Xue Yunting failing to dodge once could be considered an accident, but failing to dodge repeatedly…

Nianyao sized up Xue Yunting: "Is this all you've got? You're only a young general because your father is holding you up?"

Xue Yunting walked to the water vat in the middle of the courtyard, cleaned his face, and pointed at Luo An, saying, "You ask what my brother-in-law gave me? Tell him to give me the antidote, and I'll take on the whole place single-handedly..."

An Liangchen sneered: "Little An, give him the antidote... let this Crown Prince see how Young General Xue can take on the entire field single-handedly."

Nianyao grabbed Xue Yunting by the ear and dragged him outside, saying, "You ignorant fool, see how I deal with you."

Nanfei touched his ear, as if he could feel the pain, and felt much better: all older sisters in the world are this fierce! Nianyao is even fiercer than Nanhua.

Xue Yunting held Nianyao's wrist, tilting his head as they left the manor. Just outside, they saw several people surrounding the Duke of Liang and the Princess. Their voices, neither loud nor soft, were all flattering:

Congratulations, Your Excellency and Princess! Princess Qingcheng is getting married. I heard it's to the Ninth Prince Jingzhao.

Princess Qingcheng is so lucky; she was able to marry the son of the number one manor in the world, even with her own son.

The ninth son of Jingzhao Manor was granted the title of Marquis of Nanyue; it was truly a perfect match.

I've heard that the Ninth Young Master Jingzhao is a disciple of the Old Man of the Valley in the Nine-Linked Mountains, and is exceptionally handsome and intelligent.

……

Xue Yunting couldn't help but smile. He turned around and saw Nan Fei and Luo An come out, and they got into the carriage without any hesitation.

Nianyao said fiercely, "Stay put and don't come out."

Seeing that the Duke of Liang and the Princess were having a hard time dealing with the situation, Nanfei went over to help.

Luo An walked to Nian Yao's side and whispered, "Take him back to rest first, I'll be back later."