Waking Up Five Years Later on the Wedding Night - Chapter 4

Inside the carriage, there was silence. Yan Zhining gripped the jade pendant tightly, staring straight at the woman across from her.

Huo Mingshu had spent years in the political arena and had encountered countless people. She had been stared at like this before, usually by those with fierce, intimidating gazes, but being watched by such wet, glistening eyes…

She helplessly accepted the jade and played with it lightly, saying casually, “Your parents seem to be financially strapped. If you continue to be this lavish, they won’t be happy.”

“The Prime Minister may not know this, but the Yan family’s business is passed down to daughters, not sons,” Yan Zhining whispered. “The Yan family’s silk trade spans the entire empire, and my grandmother holds the reins.”

Her father had no qualification to inherit the family business.

As Yan Zhining recalled the past, a shadow of sorrow crossed her brow. “Prime Minister, I had an aunt who passed away. She was the heir my grandmother had chosen, but she met with an accident before she came of age.”

The affairs of the Yan family were no secret. Since the rise of a female emperor in our dynasty, women were permitted to enter officialdom, and gradually, precedents for women acting as heads of households appeared in various families.

The Yan family was accustomed to this. Yan women were required to be the masters, bringing husbands into their homes, and the daughters born from these unions would be the next heads of the house.

Fifteen years ago, Yan Zhining’s aunt went out and never returned. Many days later, her remains were discovered at the foot of a mountain, her bones shattered. It remained an unsolved mystery to this day.

Huo Mingshu frowned after hearing this. “I heard that your father was the only child of the Yan family, that there were no other aunts.”

“Since my aunt died, he naturally became the only child,” Yan Zhining sneered. After her aunt died, her grandmother fell into despair, and until she herself was born, her grandmother took her back to the old residence to raise her.

The reasons for this were understood by everyone without needing to be spoken aloud. Her aunt was dead, so the only person left in the Yan family was her father.

As her voice faded, the carriage came to a halt, and both of them snapped back to reality. Yan Zhining stepped out first, and as her feet touched the ground, she came face-to-face with a man.

The man was around forty years old, tall in stature, with handsome features and an air of Confucian elegance.

“Prime Minister,” Ding’an Marquis Yan Zhongnan said with a smile, bowing to the Prime Minister. His gaze swept over Yan Zhining with a hint of surprise, and he asked, “Whose young master is this?”

Huo Mingshu was taken aback. Did Yan Zhongnan not even recognize his own daughter?

After a moment of hesitation, Huo Mingshu gave a slight nod. “Has the Marquis just returned?”

“Yes.” Yan Zhongnan straightened his back, stroked his beard, and said kindly, “Since you are guests, please, come inside.”

Yan Zhining remained silent, her gaze indifferent, her lips curled into a mocking smile. She didn’t speak, simply watching her biological father as they stood face-to-face as strangers.

The three stood at the entrance in a deadlock. Suddenly, Yan Zhining reached out and gripped Huo Mingshu’s hand, saying, “Prime Minister, let’s go together.”

Yan Zhongnan stared fixedly at their tightly clasped hands. Ignoring his glare, Yan Zhining pulled Huo Mingshu up the steps, saying, “As for those things, if you like them, keep them all.”

Perhaps realizing she was acting out a scene, Huo Mingshu gave a faint smile. “Very well, I will listen to you.”

Their behavior was intimate, especially Huo Mingshu’s reaction, which made Yan Zhongnan feel as though he had swallowed a fishbone. He watched them with disgust.

Everyone said that ever since the Prime Minister was widowed, she had been pure and disciplined, unmoved even when subordinates offered her beautiful men. He had assumed she was an upright person, but he never expected that, behind closed doors, her private life was so scandalous.

If this were any other daughter-in-law, a single word from Yan Zhongnan would make her life a living hell, but the person before him was the current Left Prime Minister. He could only watch helplessly, unable to do anything.

However, he would not let this opportunity pass. He followed them inside, speaking with the authority of an elder, “Prime Minister, it will soon be An’er’s death anniversary. How do you intend to arrange it?”

Yan Zhining froze, subconsciously holding her forehead. The sound of bells was giving her a splitting headache.

Her brother’s death anniversary? But why is my father lying? Could it be that my brother isn’t dead?

She stopped walking and fixed her gaze on Huo Mingshu’s face, quietly waiting for her sister-in-law’s reaction.

Her sister-in-law had attained the rank of Left Prime Minister; surely she was a person of immense wisdom, a genius in her own right. Could she not see that something was amiss?

Huo Mingshu stood in the courtyard and slowly withdrew her hand. “Marquis, I heard you have two daughters. Aside from Xiaohui, do you not have an eldest daughter named Yan Zhining?”

“That…” Yan Zhongnan’s expression shifted instantly. “She is at the old residence in Jiangnan. I heard she got married. She has been ill-fated since childhood, cursed to clash with An’er, so the two siblings could not be together. Who would have thought that even after separating them, the eldest son still couldn’t escape the fate of an early death?”

His tone carried a sense of bitterness. For this daughter, he had only hatred, no paternal love.

Hearing this, Yan Zhining’s lips curved upward. She knew that as long as she was alive, Yan Zhongnan could not control the Yan family fortune. Yan Zhihui was his daughter, but she was the one with the bloodline.

As long as she lived, Yan Zhihui would never be able to hold the power of the household.

For some reason, she found her biological father’s behavior ridiculous, like a clown jumping about on stage.

Listening to the grating sound of the bells, Yan Zhining said with a smile, “Marquis, Yan Zhining is not married. Have you perhaps made a mistake?”

Hearing the young man’s words, the disgust on Yan Zhongnan’s face was barely suppressed, but in front of the Prime Minister, he could not afford to slip up.

“Young Master, you do not know. My daughter has been wild and unmanageable since childhood. After her coming-of-age ceremony, she ran off with a wandering swordsman and has had no trace since.”

Huo Mingshu frowned, a hint of displeasure appearing on her face. “For a daughter of the Marquis to be described this way, could there be a misunderstanding?”

“It is no misunderstanding,” Yan Zhongnan sighed. “But let us not dwell on it. Prime Minister, will you be attending the memorial ceremony?”

“I will not,” Huo Mingshu replied, lowering her eyes and turning away, casting a glance at Yan Zhining beside her.

She couldn’t understand why Yan Zhining hadn’t been angry at such slander from her own father, instead wearing a faint smile with eyes as clear as water.

Yan Zhining looked at her father and, showing him no respect at all, said, “Marquis, you are so angry because as long as Yan Zhining is alive, you cannot seize the control of the Yan family, right?”

“…” Yan Zhongnan lost his composure. He raised his hand to strike her, but Huo Mingshu barked, “Marquis!”

“Prime Minister, this young man is spouting nonsense and inciting trouble,” Yan Zhongnan fumed, his face livid. “Allowing such a person into the Prime Minister’s residence is clearly meant to sow discord!”

Listening to the man’s frantic, angry voice, Huo Mingshu stopped and stood tall, her posture upright and dignified. Under her steady gaze, Yan Zhongnan felt as if he were being pricked by needles.

Huo Mingshu did not speak, but simply turned and walked away. Yan Zhining followed eagerly, a bright and cheerful smile on her face.

Watching them leave, Yan Zhongnan gritted his teeth. She wants to remarry? In her dreams!

The courtyard was as it had always been, vibrant with the arrival of spring.

The two returned to the inner garden, Yan Zhining following behind Huo Mingshu with steps as light as a bird newly escaped from its cage. The gloom of the confrontation at the gate seemed to vanish under the warm spring sun.

Seeing Huo Mingshu pause in the corridor, she also stopped, though she could not stand still.

She secretly shifted half a step, tilting her head to peek at Huo Mingshu’s expression. Her eyes were wet and glistening again, clear and deep, reflecting the blooming peony tree outside the corridor, as well as Huo Mingshu’s cold, elegant profile.

Huo Mingshu turned around, and Yan Zhining immediately took a step back, the sharpness she had shown toward Yan Zhongnan completely gone.

She did not know what Huo Mingshu was thinking.

But Huo Mingshu was considering how to manage this little trouble. The Prime Minister’s residence was divided into East and West courtyards; she lived in the East, and the Yan family members lived in the West, with a gate locked between them.

Although the gate was usually open, it could be closed at any time, effectively turning it into two separate estates.

If she sent the girl to the Marquis’s residence, she would be a ‘widow,’ which would be inconvenient for her future plans. It would be better to keep her here; since she was a woman, it would be quite convenient to interact with her.

After a moment of thought, she said, “Since we are ‘married,’ you will live in my room, and you will sleep on the floor.”

The floor? Yan Zhining opened her eyes wide. “Can I not sleep on the bed?”

Huo Mingshu glanced at her lightly, and she hurriedly lowered her head. “The floor is fine, the floor is fine.”

With that settled, Huo Mingshu had someone make arrangements, then reminded her, “The clothes you are wearing are mine. I don’t have a set for you here, so I will have someone make you a few more outfits, just in case.”

She did not expose Yan Zhining’s identity; whether it was male or female, Yan Zhi’an or Yan Zhining, it was all a matter for the Yan family.

Furthermore, if she exposed her, the Yan family would surely try to push their luck, leading to more trouble.

Yan Zhining nodded, twisting her hands together. “That is fine. I will have Hongyi make the arrangements.”

After speaking, Huo Mingshu stepped over the threshold and entered the room.

Yan Zhining blinked, hesitating for a moment before deciding to swallow her pride and follow her inside.

The room was filled with soft light, the furnishings simple and elegant, though it carried an air of quiet solitude that discouraged intrusion.

Huo Mingshu sat on the low couch by the window and picked up a book she had not finished. Her gaze was lowered, her long, slender lashes casting a quiet shadow beneath her eyes.

Yan Zhining still had the nerve to sit down opposite her, her back straight as an arrow, though she couldn’t help but steal glances at Huo Mingshu.

Hesitating for a moment, she stifled her anxiety and asked, “How have you been these past few years?”

Huo Mingshu answered without a second thought, “I have been well.”

Ding, ding. The sound of bells rang out. Yan Zhining shuddered. She hasn’t been well!

In an instant, Yan Zhining felt a wave of hatred toward her parents. Since her brother was missing, they shouldn’t have arranged this marriage, and they certainly shouldn’t have let the Prime Minister live a lonely life.

Yan Zhining sighed again, and Huo Mingshu looked up at her, causing her heart to leap into her throat. “What is wrong?”

Before she could answer, a maid’s voice sounded from outside, “Second Miss, the Prime Minister is in the room talking to a young master.”

“A young master? Which one? Why would you bring him into the bedroom?” Yan Zhihui’s voice was sharp, sounding somewhat displeased.

Their conversation was interrupted. Yan Zhining looked at Huo Mingshu, who ordered, “Let the Second Miss in.”

Yan Zhihui entered gracefully, dressed in a goose-yellow spring gown embroidered with peonies. Her jewelry was dazzling, and she carried the pride and nobility of a well-raised noblewoman.

She was beautiful, her features bearing a resemblance to Yan Zhongnan, only now, her lovely eyes were filled with an undisguised adoration for Huo Mingshu’s cold, elegant face.

“Sister-in-law.” She first curtsied to Huo Mingshu with perfect etiquette, though her voice betrayed her nervousness. “I heard you brought a… guest back to the residence?”

Her eyes swept over Yan Zhining, from the slightly oversized man’s robes to the face that, even without makeup, could not hide its delicate beauty.

Yan Zhining met her gaze, and instead of feeling awkward, she flashed a faint smile.

Yan Zhihui was unsatisfied. “Which family’s young master is this? I have never seen him before.” And why is he in my sister-in-law’s bedroom?

“I am from the Yan family as well,” Yan Zhining said with a smile, standing up and walking to Huo Mingshu’s side, sitting down right next to her.

Huo Mingshu glanced at her, understanding in her eyes, but she did not stop her.

The little thing is a bit too naive, she thought. She dares to walk straight into a wolf’s den.

“From the Yan family?” Yan Zhihui gritted her teeth. “My brother is dead, but my sister-in-law loved my brother and will not remarry. Isn’t that right?”

The sound of the bells rang out again. Yan Zhihui was lying. Yan Zhining’s nerves tightened. Is my brother… not dead?

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