I Got Together with the Goddess [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 13

“The Imperial Envoy has arrived. He is currently in the front hall with the Master and Madam. He has requested the Young Mistress and the Son-in-law to go over,” Si Bai said as he approached. Upon hearing this, everyone in the Xiangzhu Courtyard fell into a state of panic. An Imperial Envoy, as the name suggested, was a high official sent by the Emperor himself. Why would he suddenly arrive at the Si Manor? It was one thing to look for the Master and the Young Mistress, but why was the Son-in-law also required to attend?

“No matter what the business is, Son-in-law, you cannot go see the Imperial Envoy looking like this; you’ll give everything away,” Zhi Gui said to Jiang Yiqing. “Don’t you know how to disguise yourself? Change your attire before going to meet the Imperial Envoy.”

Jiang Yiqing had the same thought. She asked Si Xuansu to wait a moment and then entered the room alone.

“Son-in-law, are you ready? We need to head over; we cannot keep the Lord Envoy waiting.”

Jiang Yiqing called out “I’m ready” and pushed open the door to walk out.

What appeared before them was a beauty without a trace of impurity. Si Xuansu looked at Jiang Yiqing, unable to hide her astonishment.

In this world, there were also Northern Dynasty folk songs, and there was a lady just like Mulan, though her name was Hongye. There was a “Song of Hongye” that was identical to the “Ballad of Mulan.”

Seeing Si Xuansu staring at her, Jiang Yiqing couldn’t help but feel a surge of playfulness. She waved the folding fan in her hand, winked her right eye at her, and recited: “The female rabbit’s eyes are blurred, the male rabbit’s feet are erratic; when two rabbits run side by side, how can one tell if I am male or female?”

Everyone froze for a moment before reacting, competing to cheer for her.

“Marvelous! Son-in-law, you are truly amazing. I really couldn’t tell…”

“If we couldn’t tell, the Imperial Envoy certainly wouldn’t be able to either.”

Everyone cheered one after another, the relaxed atmosphere diluting the sense of tension. Si Xuansu was also suppressed with a smile as she walked to Jiang Yiqing’s side: “Have you had enough fun? We must go to the front hall now.”

Jiang Yiqing also felt she had been a bit flippant. The Imperial Envoy was already in the front hall, yet she was still in the backyard joking with everyone? It was like fishing by the river while one’s house was on fire.

She reflected on herself and nodded to Si Xuansu.

“We will ride there. Hold on to me tightly,” Si Xuansu said. A servant led her prize horse before her, and Si Xuansu flipped herself onto its back.

The General’s Manor covered a vast area; it was indeed quite a distance from here to the front hall. To save time, riding a horse was the most appropriate choice.

Jiang Yiqing nodded. This was her first time riding a horse. Whether she was mentally prepared or not was debatable, but Si Xuansu had already reached out a hand to her.

Without hesitation, Jiang Yiqing took her hand and was pulled up onto the horse. Her field of vision suddenly heightened. The horse’s spine beneath her felt steep and jarring. Before Jiang Yiqing could get used to it, the horse galloped off like a bolt of lightning, scaring her into firmly grabbing Si Xuansu’s arm.

The mount beneath them was Si Xuansu’s beloved “Cloud-Scale Horse.” It was fast as a flash and majestic. Riding such a high-class horse for her first time made Jiang Yiqing feel it was more thrilling than a roller coaster.

Due to the positioning, she sat in front of Si Xuansu. The cold wind scraped against her cheeks, making it difficult to keep her eyes open. Seemingly sensing her unease, Si Xuansu covered her face with one hand, controlling the horse with the other.

The two of them galloped swiftly, their skirts fluttering in the wind. To a distant onlooker, it was simply a picturesque scene.

Jiang Yiqing had never seen someone so versatile. Her first experience riding a horse was with a goddess; it was truly divine treatment. She felt the waves of warmth emanating from Si Xuansu’s palm. Along with the jolting of the ride, those fingers, carrying a faint fragrance, brushed inch by inch across her soft cheeks.

Jiang Yiqing didn’t know if it was her imagination, but when she pulled on Si Xuansu’s hand and leaned back, a warm embrace quietly appeared there. The soft body caused Jiang Yiqing’s own body to instantly stiffen; she dared not move forward, nor did she dare retreat.

Si Xuansu looked down at her, seeing her snowy-white neck. With the swaying of the horse, it felt as though she could kiss her just by lowering her head. Her fingers inadvertently brushed against the girl’s lips. On an impulse, she leaned over and lightly touched her jawline.

“Yiqing, if you are cold, turn your head toward me. I will protect you; I won’t let you fall.”

Jiang Yiqing nodded and turned her head sideways, yet she still gripped Si Xuansu’s arm in fear. Seeing her uneasy state, Si Xuansu had no choice but to firmly wrap her arm around the girl’s slender waist.

Jiang Yiqing’s face flushed bright red, and she became as restless as a frightened quail.

She felt her body go soft like a marshmallow. She had been trying to control herself so as not to lean, but finally, unable to hold out any longer, she allowed herself to sink into Si Xuansu’s embrace.

So fragrant, so soft.

Si Xuansu’s body stiffened for a moment, though her movements in guiding the horse did not slow down in the slightest.

The speed of the ride was faster than expected. By the time Jiang Yiqing regained her senses, Si Xuansu had already dismounted and was standing on the ground reaching a handout to her.

Jiang Yiqing cautiously placed her hand in hers, hopped into her embrace, and was then placed onto the ground.

As she landed, it suddenly occurred to her: as the “Son-in-law,” she should have been the one helping the goddess down. Why was the goddess helping her down? What would outsiders think if they saw this?

Ah, forget it, why think about such redundant things? Jiang Yiqing felt this was quite nice. Walk your own path and let others say what they will.

Many soldiers were already standing at the entrance of the front hall, all disciplined, solemn, and grave. However, when they saw a seemingly fragile and delicate Son-in-law being helped off a horse by General Si, their stoic expressions couldn’t help but crack.

Jiang Yiqing felt herself bathed in countless questioning gazes, but she simply acted as if she hadn’t seen them, walking into the front hall with Si Xuansu in a composed manner.

She saw her father-in-law the General, Madam Si, and a stranger all seated in the high positions. The stranger was a smiling fellow. Jiang Yiqing had thought an Imperial Envoy would be terrifying, but he turned out to be a kindly-looking old man.

“Lord Dong has a deep personal friendship with my father. Since it is him, there shouldn’t be too large a problem,” Si Xuansu whispered beside Jiang Yiqing.

Jiang Yiqing felt much more at ease, but as soon as his eyes landed on her, Lord Dong’s expression turned solemn.

Jiang Yiqing was a bit bewildered, thinking she had done something wrong. Lord Dong sized her up while saying, “So this is Xuansu’s husband?”

Before Jiang Yiqing could reply, Si Xuansu spoke for her with a calm expression: “Indeed, he is my husband.”

“He does look like a man of talent, but being the son of a merchant, I fear he may be hard-pressed to achieve great things,” Lord Dong said with a bit of a sigh.

?? Jiang Yiqing thought to herself. You’re looking down on merchants, aren’t you? You certainly don’t know that in future society, the economy plays a decisive role.

Si Xuansu frowned slightly and asked, “Lord Dong, for what reason have you sought out me and my husband?”

“Speaking of which, we can delay no longer,” Lord Dong said, suddenly standing up from his seat. “The Emperor has commanded me to invite the two of you into the palace for an audience.”

This single sentence, delivered so casually, gave everyone in the hall quite a fright. Even the General father-in-law was stunned; it seemed Lord Dong had not mentioned this before they arrived.

“Lord Dong, why has the Emperor suddenly summoned Xuansu and my son-in-law for a palace audience?” the General father-in-law asked anxiously.

“This matter is of great importance; I’m afraid I cannot discuss it in detail here,” Lord Dong said as he walked toward the hall exit. “I ask the General of the Middle Army and Young Master Jiang to follow this official. Do not keep the Emperor waiting.”

Jiang Yiqing thought to herself: this is what they call “the wind sweeping through the tower before a mountain storm.” She originally thought the Imperial Envoy had just come to find her, but she never expected the Emperor himself would have business with her. This was far too explosive.

However, she wasn’t someone who could be easily intimidated. The Emperor was just the Emperor. She wanted to see exactly what he wanted with her.

Jiang Yiqing and Si Xuansu rode their horses toward the Imperial Palace. On the way, she saw Si Xuansu receive a slip of paper from a guard and read it after tucking it into her sleeve.

What exactly is going on?

After finishing the note, Si Xuansu hid it away and said to Jiang Yiqing, “The Marquis of Huaiyi and the Heir Apparent have filed an accusation against my family before the Emperor. They claim that we have used the name of a matrilocal marriage as a pretext to resist the imperial marriage proposal, and they want to pursue charges of ‘Deceiving the Sovereign’ against me and my father. Now, the Emperor wants us to go and confront them face-to-face.”

Thinking of Jiang Yifan being taken away, it wasn’t hard to conclude that the people who seized him were the Marquis of Huaiyi’s subordinates. The Marquis must have found out that Jiang Yifan had not actually wed into the Si family, so he went to complain to the Emperor!

Jiang Yiqing and Si Xuansu looked at each other, both understanding the sequence of events.

“Yiqing, as long as we respond calmly, there will be no problem. There is no need to panic,” Si Xuansu said. “Furthermore, this confirms that my brother-in-law is in the hands of the Marquis of Huaiyi. I will definitely rescue him.”

Jiang Yiqing nodded.

Jiang Yiqing guessed that the slip of paper had likely been given to Si Xuansu by Lord Dong. On the surface, it was inconvenient for him to show favoritism, but he was still lending a hand behind the scenes.

His disdain for her being the daughter of a merchant was probably because he felt sorry for Si Xuansu, but Jiang Yiqing was not the type of person to let others look down on her. Since Lord Dong viewed her this way, she was determined to make his jaw drop and make him look at her in a new light.