章節 25: Meeting Eldest Brother-in-Law

"Stop fooling around, you two!", Lou Yi chided them but she obviously had a smile on her face. Despite there being a huge threat looming behind them, having this kind of peaceful banter can help take some load off their mind.

"Why are you so cute!", Qian Yu didn't listen to Lou Yi and just continued to play with Rou Xi's face.

"Shecand Shista! Helf me!", Rou Xi pleaded with glistening eyes while holding on to Qian Yu's wrist. Of course, since Qian Yu has significantly more strength than Rou Xi, the latter was unable to make the former let go.

The two continued to fool around while Lou Yi just let the two of them be. She sipped her tea while having fun watching Qian Yu 'bully' their little sister.

It was then that Xiao Cui's voice resounded from the outside, "Greetings, Great General!"

The three princesses looked at each other as they heard the other maidservants follow in salutation.

"Eldest Sister, your husband's here.", Rou Xi teased her eldest sister who had unconsciously let go of her cheeks and was now wearing a lady's expression.

The three then saw the Great General walk inside the room. With his gallant air unique to generals who have gone to war and returned victorious, he swept a sharp glance at the two princesses who have come to visit his wife.

'Is this general hostile to us?', a thought flitted past Lou Yi's head. She silently shook her head to ignore those thoughts.

"Husband, you are here.", Qian Yu saluted with a subtly cocky smile. If anyone else sees her face right now, they'd probably think that she is teasing her husband.

"Greetings to the Great General.", Lou Yi and Rou xi simultaneously greeted as well.

"It is an honor to meet the two Zhao princesses, my furen's sisters.", Chu Han Yun said stiffly while coming closer. "Greetings to you two Highnesses."

Although the general didn't do anything amiss and impolite, the air has turned quite tensed with his arrival. Fearing that the atmosphere would turn irrevocably awkward, Qian Yu decided to intervene. "What's with all these stiff greetings! Let's dispense the formalities now. We have already become family, isn't that right, husband?"

The great general nodded at her words, though he still wore a serious expression on his face.

"By the way, I thought you'd only come home a little bit before lunch.", Qian Yu turned to her husband. "How come you are here? Did the morning court finish early?"

"No, the morning court wasn't over yet." The general shook his head. "However, His Majesty had let me go home first as this is the second day of our marriage. He doesn't want me attending the court sessions until three days after our marriage."

"Oh, so you have today and tomorrow off then?"

"Mm.", he sounded an affirmative reply. Chu Han Yu then turned towards their two visitors. "What brings the the Second Princess and Third Princess here to our manor?"

"We apologize for the sudden visit, General, however we have come to deliver my sister's dowry maids.", Lou Yi answered. "Although we have servants who can do this job on our behalf, we decided to do it ourselves as we also want to see our Eldest Sister. Being in a new land caused us to be concerned of each other's well-being more than before. I hope Great General won't find any offense."

"No offense at all.", the General replied. "It is my Furen's fortune to have caring sisters."

"My eldest sister has been very independent since she was young, and thus, no maidservant had been able to cope with her. We are hoping that these new maids can take care of our eldest sister, especially now that we are in a new land. Otherwise, I'd be fraught with worry over her."

"I understand. It is also my carelessness that I have not noticed your sister not having any maids with her when she entered through the door yesterday. I thank you for your kindness.", the General, still with a stiff expression, replied. "To show my gratitude, how about the two Highnesses have lunch with us?"

"No need.", Lou Yi rejected with a shake of her head. "This is what we should do as her sisters. We won't be intruding for too long though. After we exchange a few words regarding the dowry maids, we will be going on our way."

"Mm.", the Great General nodded in understanding. "Then I will leave you three here. Please be at ease."

Without paying more attention to them, the general only threw a glance at Qian Yu before turning to leave. Qian Yu only smiled at him delicately and sent him off with her eyes.

"Eldest brother-in-law is too stiff!", Rou Xi, who had been holding her breath since the man entered earlier in an attempt to diminish her presence, exclaimed loudly upon making sure that the man is out of ear shot. "He is scary!"

"Well, that is only natural as he had nurtured the bearing of a Great General since young. Besides, you find any military man scary anyway.", Qian Yu smilingly teased her.

Before the two could continue with their shenanigans, Lou Yi hummed just loud enough for the two to look back at her.

"I wonder...", Lou Yi asked as she sat back on her chair. Noticing that her cup of tea is already empty, she poured another cup for herself. "Your husband is truly suspicious of us, huh?"

"Yeah, that's right.", Qian Yu sighed before dragging Rou Xi to sit back down. "But I believe he won't do anything to me if he can't find any evidence that I'll bring harm. Moreover, I'm no spy or traitor."

"That's good.", Lou Yi nodded in approval. "Then you should make sure to carry out your plans without him knowing. Be extra careful. Otherwise, the two of you might have a huge misunderstanding."

"I know that." Qian Yu snorted at her second sister's words. "You don't have to tell me."

"Wouldn't it be easier for us if we just tell him that we need something from him instead of skirting around the topic like this?", Rou Xi interrupted them. "Eldest Sister and Eldest Brother-in-Law looks quite well matched, if I may say so. Wouldn't it be detrimental to your relationship as husband and wife if you have secrets with each other?"

"Naive! Too naive!", Qian Yu clicked her tongue at her little sisters words. "From the start, the two of us are bound to have secrets we cannot divulge to each other. Remember how this marriage started. With my and his identity, each one will definitely have affairs that are off-limits, be it political or military in nature. Who's to say that he will trust the words of a foreign kingdom's princess, much less hand over his Tiger Seal that easily? Moreover, this is a marriage we forcibly had the emperor decree. We are two strangers who got married just yesterday. Who's to say that in the future there won't be a concubine who's more favored than the wife? We can only skirt around this matter until we can prove that he is someone who is worth telling our secrets to."