Chapter 12- Ancient Star
The room was dark and the lamp that was previously lit had been extinguished by the cool breeze from the opened window.
The room was cold and dark but Yin Su felt heat rising up in her. Fanglie felt his lips tingle and yearned for more but he sat by her side instead.
"Susu, I love you, your past relation with General Yin upsets me but I am not upset with you, your past is in the past," Fanglie said, his head turned towards her.
Yin Su turned her head away, feeling his gaze on her. Her face heated up when she felt his hand over hers again.
"Now that I have made you my wife, I am never letting go," Fanglie said, his voice as firm as ever.
Yin Su shook her head in disbelief, "How can you love someone after meeting the person once?"
Fanglie let a deep chuckle, "Once is enough to know who I will commit myself to."
His words took her by surprise and Yin Su turned to him, speechless. "You..."
Fanglie smiled brightly which shone even in the dark. His hand cupped her face as he neared.
Yin Su turned her face away immediately, blushing deeply and laid on the bed, "Goodnight."
The following morning, when Yin Su woke up, the air between her and Fanglie was different and more intimate.
They checked out of the inn with cheaper looking clothes and a normal looking carriage.
Jingyu had gone to buy them normal clothes and Fuyi went to pawn their carriage. With the money, they bought another carriage.
Due to all of this, they left the town in mid-noon. The next town was about two days away with their speed so there was no need to stay in the town the night.
Yin Su recalled the map drawings. Out of five towns, they had passed through one. Three cities, five towns and eight villages.
"Yin Su, how is our son like?" Fanglie asked, his voice low enough for only Yin Su to hear.
Yin Su leaned her head against the walls of the carriage and smiled. She sat right beside him in the carriage and Fanglie felt her movement.
"Yibo, he is the cutest and most naughty boy ever, when I first gave birth to him, he was so small and fragile, I thought that he would die," a sad smile shone in her eyes.
"But he didn't die, Godfather Yin was there to prolong Yibo's life but only for seven years."
"Seven years?" Fanglie's tone was surprised.
Yin Su nodded, "Come to think of it, Yibo resembles you a lot."
"He has your eyes, mother in law's smile and father's frown, he looks like you a lot."
Fanglie felt his heart beat faster thinking about how much his son could resemble him. His hand suddenly shook when he realized that he may never see it.
Yin Su didn't realize his change in demeanor and was lost in her nostalgia.
"But giving birth to him was against all odds and it was supposed to be impossible, the poison was cured by Godfather Yin but the damage had been done already."
"Yibo has always been naughty and doesn't take his medicine on time," Yin Su sighed and shook her head.
"One time Yibo suddenly said that he wanted to see his father, I tried to talk him out of it but he refused to eat and ran away from home," her voice became very low.
"By the time Godfather and I found him, Yibo had...had...fainted and was unconscious. Godfather said that the only solution is to find you to save Yibo," Yin Su's voice broke and she couldn't control her emotions.
"Yibo is too much like you and my blood is incompatible with his so Godfather said that the best thing is to find his father, at first I was so discouraged and it was..."
Fanglie grabbed hold of her hand. "Susu, enough."
His arms wrapped itself around her and pulled her to him. "I will save our son at all cost even if it would cost my life."
The horse neighed loudly and the carriage came to a sudden halt with a wobble.
Fanglie held Yin Su tightly and held his chin slightly higher, a bit annoyed.
"What is going on here?!" A firm and domineering voice came from Fanglie.
Yin Su glanced up suddenly. She had never heard him speak with so much authority.
Fuyi sat on a dark haired horse to the left while Jingyu sat on the horse which supported the carriage. Jingyu looked around and glanced at Fuyi who seemed to be looking elsewhere.
"Young Master, a secret weapon in the form of a blade just flew past Jingyu," Fuyi explained.
Bi huo who had been resting suddenly sat up. Why didn't she see anything? Wasn't it a bat that just flew by? Fear began to grow in her heart.
"It was almost evening and everywhere was getting dark. If assassins were really here then..."Bi huo thought to herself and subconsciously moved closer to Wan Li.
If anything happened, she could use Wan Li as her shield.
Wan Li glanced at Bi huo with her side eye and scoffed inwardly. Who knew that miss-spoilt-arrogant-want-to-be-husband-snatcher is a pant?
Yin Su sat up immediately, Fanglie's arm fell behind her back and he repositioned his hand at her lower waist but Yin Su barely noticed it.
"Assassins?" Her voice was loud enough for everyone to hear from outside the carriage.
Just as she thought, the yin and yang brothers could not wait for long. What they are not aware of is that the secret army of the Fu family is secretly guarding them.
Many weeks back when Yin Su discovered that the Yin and Yang Generals were plotting against the Fu family with the enemy, she couldn't keep it to herself and mentioned it discretely to her mother in law.
After spending about two months with Her Royal Highness, Yin Su had become sort of a confidant. One of those days, it was evening and Yin Su accompanied her mother-in-law to the ancestral temple to pray for the upcoming journey.
After offering the prayers, Yin Su and Royal Princess Zhao Min walked back to the carriage, walking closely together.
"Mother, about what I said last time," Yin Su whispered into her ears.
"Amitoufu," Princess Zhao Min replied immediately, with a loud voice but turned her head to Yin Su and replied with a very silent tone.
"Su'er, the new must come and the old must be gone."
Yin Su didn't understand but nodded like she did, "Yes, Mother."
Another day, Yin Su accompanied her mother-in-law to the tea ceremony banquet of Marquis Li's wife.
On their way back in the carriage, Royal Princess Zhao Min had started how a loyal dog would never bite it's master unless it was never loyal in the first place.
Yin Su knew that her mother in law was talking about the Yin and Yang Generals, so she replied, "But if the master knows that the dog is not faithful, why would the master allow the dog to protect their family?"
Royal Princess Zhao glanced at her nail guard and sighed, "Su'er, only the dog knows the scent of its master, how else would we know it's true master."
Yin Su understood what her mother in law was saying and nodded her head. She meant that only reason she kept Xiao Yin and Xiao Yang around for so long was to find out who their master was.
No wonder General Fu and her mother-in-law didn't allow them stay at the Fu manor but sent them out with Fanglie so that they didn't have time to spy.
"But Mother, isn't the master scared of the dog harming the children?"
Royal Princess Zhao glanced at Yin Su and smiled one of her bright and beautiful smiles which is rarely seen, "Ofcourse not, the dog is too busy trying to be a loyal dog."
There had been more occasions whereby her mother subtly revealed some things to her, enough for Yin Su to know that in the imperial courts, the emperor used the Fu family to balance with the Prime Minister Jiao and his family.
Unfortunately, the Emperor was greatly ill and the crown prince who was ruling the state wanted to usurp the throne with the help of the Prime Minister. The Crown Prince and Prime Minister Jiao also want to use the opportunity to get rid of the Fu family.
Yin Su also had a feeling that Prime Minister Jiao had something to do with her husband's situation.
If the Yin and Yang generals had been working for the prime minister, it does explain why when she first met the Xiao Yin and his brother, they were not safeguarding Fanglie like they should.
It had always crossed her mind and Yin Su had always wondered why Fanglie was alone that day that she met him.
What she concluded was that the generals had left Fanglie and Bihuo at that mountain with the lie that of finding a doctor.
Could Xiao Yin and Xiao Yang have something to do with why Fanglie has not been cured all this years?