Rebirth: Marry a General instead of a Prince

In a blink of an eye, it was the day of the palace banquet. It had snowed two days ago, so today was a rare day of good weather.

Early in the morning, Bai Zhiyuan rode in the Bai Mansion's carriage, driving slowly towards the palace on the official road paved with bluestone slabs.

Because she was going to the banquet, Ling Xiao put on makeup for her early in the morning. The light makeup made her already fair skin look even more smooth and delicate like pearls and jade. A hollow orchid bead hairpin was inserted in her hair, making her look more elegant and dignified.

Soon, the carriage stopped outside the palace gate. Because it was a banquet, there was a lot of traffic outside the palace gate. Female relatives from various families came in an endless stream, chatting with each other at the palace gate. Those who knew each other followed the palace maids into the palace together, while male relatives were led by eunuchs from the other direction.

Bai Zhiyuan had just got off the carriage when a palace maid saw her coming and hurried up to serve and lead the way.

At this moment, a person dressed differently from the other maids slowly stopped in front of her. Bai Zhiyuan looked up and saw that the maid was obviously a well-known person in the palace. As soon as she appeared, the other maids bowed and made way for her.

The palace maid stood in front of Bai Zhiyuan and bowed to her.

"County Lady, I am the head maidservant of the virtuous concubine. Please move to the Jinxiu Palace."

Bai Zhiyuan's eyes condensed, and he understood. This virtuous concubine was the biological mother of the King of Jin. He was probably meeting her today because of her marriage.

Bai Zhiyuan then nodded and said, "I'll trouble you to lead the way, aunt."

After saying this, he followed the palace maids around Concubine Xian to the Jinxiu Valley, thinking about everything about Concubine Xian in his mind.

In her previous life, she had only met Concubine Xian at a palace banquet and did not know much about her. But Bai Zhiyuan knew that due to the recent fall of Prince Yan, Prince Jin was slowly rising, and Concubine Xian's status in the palace was also rising.

The virtuous concubine is known to the world as being gentle, demure, kind-hearted, and unparalleled in beauty.

The father of Concubine Xian was Gu Ansheng, the Left Censor-in-Chief. Although Concubine Xian had been in the palace for decades, she had never been very popular or favored.

But Bai Zhiyuan didn't think so. Children of the royal family were always difficult to raise, but the virtuous concubine had been able to live in peace in the palace for so many years and successfully raised the Prince of Jin. Moreover, although the Prince of Jin's strength was deliberately hidden, it should not be underestimated. It can be seen that the virtuous concubine was not as simple as she seemed.

Bai Zhiyuan was thinking carefully in his mind, and soon he arrived at Jinxiu Palace.

After entering the Jinxiu Palace and passing through the heavy gauze curtains, one could only vaguely see a slim woman in gorgeous clothes lazily leaning on a soft couch in the warm room.

Hearing the voice coming, he raised his eyes gently and looked over, but there was no trace of laziness in his eyes. Instead, he looked at Bai Zhiyuan from head to toe shrewdly.

The virtuous concubine was gentle and fair-skinned, with a naive look in her eyes and eyebrows. Bai Zhiyuan just glanced at her and then bowed respectfully according to etiquette.

"May the Empress Xianfei live in peace and happiness."

The virtuous concubine said softly, "Good boy, get up quickly. Someone, serve tea to the county lady."

Then, a palace maid took Bai Zhiyuan to a seat and served tea.

The virtuous concubine first gently inquired about some trivial matters of her daughter's family and interesting things outside the palace, and then mentioned Bai Zhiyuan's trip to the northern border intentionally or unintentionally. She seemed to be particularly fond of Bai Zhiyuan and chuckled from time to time.

While chatting and laughing, Concubine Xian took off the mutton-fat jade bracelet on her wrist and put it on Bai Zhiyuan's hand without saying a word. Bai Zhiyuan hurriedly declined.

The virtuous concubine said gently, "This palace and the county lady hit it off right away, so accept it quickly. Moreover, this palace heard that the emperor and the queen mother intend to arrange a marriage for you and Shuo'er, and soon we will be a family. You can pick out a few pieces of jewelry and take them back to the palace later."

Bai Zhiyuan smiled and said, "Your Majesty, you are too polite. I would not accept anything without merit. How dare I accept your gifts? Besides, I was not aware of what your Majesty said about the Emperor's intention to arrange a marriage between me and His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin."

The expression on Concubine Xian's face was still gentle, but her eyes were sharper. She was about to say something. At this time, a palace maid outside Jinxiu Palace reported that the person who came was the head maid beside the queen. She came forward to greet Concubine Xian and Bai Zhiyuan, and asked them to leave early and take their seats.

Concubine Xian said gently, "County Lady, you go first. I will change my clothes and then go with you."

Bai Zhiyuan smiled and nodded, and after he stepped back, a figure flashed out from behind the screen behind Concubine Xian. He had a handsome face and an elegant demeanor. It was the Prince of Jin.

Prince Jin asked, "Mother, does Princess Rong'an please you?"

The virtuous concubine took off her mask-like gentle smile and said, "She is a smart woman, neither humble nor arrogant. But I think she is not easy to get along with. But since you like her, it's fine. If your father can successfully grant the marriage, the military power of the Bai family plus the strength you have accumulated over the years will allow you to make further progress."

Xian Fei gently fiddled with the exquisite armor, looked at the direction where Bai Zhiyuan left, and said, "Shuo'er, you should ask your father to grant you a marriage as soon as possible, so as to avoid more trouble. There are many people eyeing the fat piece of meat of the Bai family now."

King Jin nodded and said, "I understand."

When Bai Zhiyuan arrived at the banquet hall, the women and men of each family had basically arrived. Bai Zhiyuan sat down and looked around carefully. Cheng Beixiao had already taken a seat at the men's table opposite her and was winking at her, but Bai Zhiyuan pretended not to see it.

However, I haven’t seen Xie Yunsong. He is the protagonist today, so I guess he should be here soon.

When Bai Zhiyuan sat down, she felt many people staring at her, but she didn't care much.

Those young men from wealthy and noble families all dream of becoming the son-in-law of General Weiyuan, but girls' youth is fleeting, unlike boys, where it doesn't matter if they delay for a few more years.

This Rong'an County Lady is now seventeen years old. Most women of this age would have been married long ago. Even if they are not married, they must have been engaged. But Rong'an County Lady has gone to the northern border since she broke off the engagement with the King of Yan. She has just returned to the capital and has not yet found a marriage.

However, I heard that the Rong'an County Lady and today's protagonist, General Yunhui, seemed to have some shameful past. It made sense, otherwise, how could a woman travel thousands of miles to a place like the Northern Territory?

Bai Zhiyuan didn't know what others were thinking. She was thinking about what happened in Jinxiu Palace. She was a martial artist and she felt that there was someone else in the room when she entered the room. She knew who it was, but why did the King of Jin let Concubine Xian come to test her? She thought she had reached a consensus with the King of Jin, but now it seemed that it was not as she thought. The King of Jin also had his own plans.

Bai Zhiyuan was just thinking about it when he heard the eunuch's shrill voice: "The Emperor and the Empress have arrived!"

Everyone bowed their heads and saluted, and then they saw Emperor Renxiao, wearing a dragon robe, leading a group of beautiful women towards the main seat in the front.

After sitting down, Bai Zhiyuan glanced at Emperor Renxiao's pale face, obviously a little overwhelmed. I heard that the Queen Mother was unwell recently, so she naturally would not attend today's banquet. This made Bai Zhiyuan a little strange. The Queen Mother always loved Xie Yunsong, but she did not attend his celebration banquet.

Looking at the empress beside the emperor, she looked no different from three years ago. It was true that she had been living a life of luxury for many years, so her aura was naturally outstanding.

When Bai Zhiyuan was looking at the queen, the queen's gaze also looked through the crowd and directly at Bai Zhiyuan.

Bai Zhiyuan sneered in his heart, because he had offended the Queen terribly because of Princess Changle's matter.

After the emperor took his seat, the empress, concubines, princes and princesses also took their seats below him.

The next moment, the eunuch saluted again: "General Yunhui has arrived——"

The crowd was in an uproar for a moment. General Yun Hui was so arrogant that he even arrived later than the emperor.

Bai Zhiyuan's breathing stagnated, and he stared at the figure approaching from afar without blinking.

Xie Yunsong was dressed in black today, his lips were tightly pursed into a line, looking tough and handsome. His face had an indifferent expression, which added a bit of coldness and arrogance to his handsome face, making people feel at a distance.

Bai Zhiyuan quietly looked at the familiar face in front of him, unable to take his eyes away for a moment.

After Xie Yunsong paid his respects to the emperor, he also took a seat at the table for male relatives.

As soon as he sat down, his eyes moved to Bai Zhiyuan. Among so many people at the banquet, he found her accurately.

Bai Zhiyuan's gaze fell on him, and before he could look away, their eyes met in an instant, and Xie Yunsong's dark and slightly cold eyebrows suddenly became a little soft.

Bai Zhiyuan's body froze, and she was stunned for a moment, her clear eyes met his black eyes. Soon, she came back to her senses, with a hint of alienation between her eyebrows, and retracted her gaze, never moving her eyes towards him again.

But the loud heartbeat still revealed some of her panic at the moment.