Chapter 117 -
Su Yueqing felt her heart leap straight into her throat. She stared at the Duchess, completely forgetting to maintain her usual cool, unbothered posture.
"Mother, please reconsider!" Yueqing blurted out, taking a frantic step back as she pulled her hands out of Lin Meiyun’s grip. "I cannot go! I am just a weak, delicate woman! What help could I possibly be on a dangerous military road? I will only be a burden to the guards, slow down the horses, and get in everyone’s way!"
[Are you actually insane?!] Yueqing’s mind screeched in pure, high-pitched terror, the volume echoing through Lin Meiyun’s head so hard the Duchess had to press her lips together to keep from wincing. [I am a villainess! A noble, lazy, high-maintenance villainess! I get tired from walking across the courtyard! How am I supposed to survive a multi-day carriage ride over rocky dirt roads?! There are bugs out there! Mud! Cold rain! Barbaric arrows! I am not built for the military life!]
Outwardly, Yueqing pressed a delicate hand against her chest, putting on her most dramatic, sorrowful expression.
"Besides, Mother," Yueqing argued, her voice trembling with genuine hesitation, "Wenzhe will be furious if I show up! You know how things were between us before he left. I... I was terribly out of line."
Yueqing lowered her eyes, her face twitching with real, awkward regret as she remembered their final interaction before his departure.
[I literally told him to go die on the battlefield!] Yueqing’s brain wailed in absolute mortification, her mental persona slapping its own forehead repeatedly. [Right before he left the estate, I looked him in the eyes and basically wished he wouldn’t come back alive! Who in their right mind shows up at a military camp after saying something like that to their husband?! He is going to think I came all the way to the border just to check if he’s dead yet! He will probably lock me in a supply tent or throw me straight into the enemy camp out of spite!]
Lin Meiyun watched her daughter-in-law’s frantic protests, secretly feeling a mixture of deep relief and slight amusement. She remembered hearing about Yueqing’s harsh words to Wenzhe before he left.
Some maids heard their arguments and the gossip reached her ears.
Words meant to play the role of a heartless wife, even as her mind was now spinning out of control trying to save him.
"Wenzhe will not be angry," Lin Meiyun said smoothly, her voice calm, firm, and entirely unyielding. "He knows your temper. And besides, I am the matriarch of this household. This is my official order, so he cannot blame you for obeying your mother-in-law."
"But Mother—!" Yueqing tried again, her eyes wide with desperation. "What about my health? My delicate constitution? The air in the north is harsh and bitter! I might fall deathly ill on the way!"
[I will fake a fever right now!] Yueqing plotted frantically inside her head, her mind spinning out emergency scams at lightning speed. [I will eat five bowls of spicy peppers, rub warm tea on my forehead, and cough until the physician diagnoses me with sudden, incurable carriage-sickness! You cannot send a dying woman to the border!]
Lin Meiyun didn’t flinch. She simply offered a faint, graceful smile that sent a cold shiver down Yueqing’s spine.
"Do not worry about your health, Yueqing. I am sending two senior physicians, a full medical chest, and eight of our family’s elite shadow guards to protect your carriage," the Duchess stated calmly, effectively crushing every single escape route in Yueqing’s mind. "Even if you catch a slight chill, they will treat you immediately on the road."
Yueqing’s jaw snapped shut.
[Checkmated by my own mother-in-law!] Yueqing’s inner voice roared in utter defeat, throwing its hands up in the air. [She brought physicians! She brought elite guards! She covered every single excuse! Is this entire family secretly trained in counter-villainess strategy?!]
Lin Meiyun smoothed down her silk sleeves and took a step toward the chamber door.
"Rest well tonight, my dear," Meiyun said softly, turning back to give her one last, commanding look. "The carriage leaves at the first light of dawn. Do not keep the guards waiting."
With that, the Duchess glided out of the room, leaving the heavy wooden doors to snap shut behind her.
Su Yueqing stood frozen in the middle of her quiet bedchamber for three full seconds. Then, she slowly dropped her head into both hands and let out a long, muffled groan.
[Nine,] Yueqing whimpered into the silence of her mind. [Pack my luxury blankets. We are going to war.]
Su Yueqing flopped face-down onto her bed, burying her face into her silk pillows before dragging herself back up to sit cross-legged. She rubbed her throbbing temples, her face a picture of total misery.
[Nine,] Yueqing grumbled in her head, her tone turning deeply suspicious and pragmatic. [Think about it. The original plot said his survival rate dropped sharply because of Red Cliff Pass, right? What if he’s already ambushed by the time my slow, luxury carriage even crosses the city gates?!]
DING!
[System 009: Calculating travel distance versus tactical timelines... Host, the Male Lead’s force is currently navigating the lower valley. The main ambush at the pass has not yet occurred, though the window of opportunity is closing fast.]
[Whatever! Logically speaking, he could already be dead!] Yueqing argued, crossing her arms tightly over her chest as her inner voice threw a dramatic fit. [Instead of dragging my delicate body across hundreds of miles of bumpy dirt roads, bug-infested woods, and freezing rain, shouldn’t I be doing something useful here at home?! Like... planning his funeral?!]
She slapped her palms against her knees, thoroughly convincing herself of her own ridiculous logic.
[Yes! That makes so much more sense! I should be buying high-quality mourning clothes, selecting a nice coffin made of expensive sandalwood, and booking the best monks in the capital to chant for his soul! It shows foresight! It shows household responsibility! If he’s already dead, showing up at the border with a carriage full of soup is completely useless! I’m staying right here to draft the funeral guest list!]
DING!
[System 009: Host, if the Male Lead dies, the world narrative collapses, resulting in immediate System reset and permanent Host entrapment. Preparing a funeral will not stop the collapse. Also, your mother-in-law’s shadow guards are currently packing your trunks outside your door.]
Yueqing froze, her ears catching the muffled sound of heavy footsteps and wooden chests being strapped together in the outer hallway.
[Are you kidding me?! They are already packing my stuff?!] Yueqing’s mind wailed, her head dropping back onto the mattress with a loud thud. [This family moves too fast! They don’t even care if their son is alive or dead, they just want me out of the house! Fine! If I die on the muddy road to the north, I am haunting Wenzhe first and then this entire estate!]
She kicked off her silk slippers and pulled her plush quilt all the way over her head, letting out one last muffled groan into the dark.