The Events After Widowhood Chapter 1

We were delayed for several days on the road and it was already winter when we arrived in Beijing.

Gabriel dismounted at the palace and, led by the eunuch who took small steps, walked along the vermilion palace wall into the interior.

While walking silently with his whisk in his hand, the eunuch turned around and told Gabriel about the road ahead. He could not help but raise his eyelids to look at the tall and expressionless man in front of him - the new commander of the Jinwu Guard.

The bright red flying fish suit with gold decoration made him look even more noble and handsome. If he went out on the street in this outfit, I'm afraid half of the perfume bags would be sold out. He would not be satisfied until he won the hearts of all the young ladies in the capital.

As the man took a step forward, Huangmen saw a flash of silver light in front of his eyes - oh, the commander was still wearing a sword on his waist!

The eunuch's scalp tightened, and he quickly finished his words and continued to lead the way. He was ordered to pick up Gabriel, so he must have some position and some information in the palace. At this moment, he couldn't help but mutter in his heart: Amitabha, Amitabha, I haven't done much good in my life, I just hope that the girls can see clearly that this is not a handsome man, this is a killer...

Perhaps thinking of the arrogant sword at his waist, or perhaps thinking of the various rumors he had heard before, Huang Men said nothing along the way and just kept walking. He didn't know what level of kung fu Gabriel behind him had reached. In short, he didn't hear any footsteps coming from behind him. He wanted to look back countless times to see if the person was still there, but the life-saving habit he developed after years of ups and downs in the deep palace forced him to resist the impulse.

It's just like a ghost---The eunuch felt even more frightened when he thought about it.

After much haste, they brought the person to the place and saw that his godfather was already waiting in front of the imperial study. The eunuch bowed, said hello, and then left in a flash.

Standing in front of the door was the chief eunuch Zhang Fuquan. He was not surprised to see his godson like this. He just walked down the jade steps, saluted Gabriel respectfully and properly, and said, "Greetings, Commander. Please come in. His Majesty has been waiting for a long time." After saying this, he turned around and pushed open the red door himself.

"Thank you, Manager Zhang," Gabriel nodded slightly and stepped over the threshold.

It was bright outside, but the mahogany windows were half covered with bright yellow curtains, making the room extremely dark. The ambergris was burning fiercely, and the heavy smell seemed to come from the ground. Gabriel knelt down to salute, and the scabbard fell on the stone floor with a slight clang. The strong incense beside him made him feel uncomfortable. He didn't know why it was so strong...

But the emperor who ascended the throne on a mountain of corpses and a sea of   blood was always so elusive. After hearing the words "stand up", Gabriel stood up swiftly.

Emperor Alexander put down his red brush, leaned on the dragon throne and looked at Gabriel, and asked with a smile: "Adrian, do you know how many people in the Jin Dynasty can bring swords into the palace?"

Gabriel bowed his head, "I am a lowly and stupid person."

"A talented person is about to come to the capital, and he has already learned the tricks of the civil officials?" Emperor Alexander laughed and brought up another topic, "Did you have a smooth journey?"

Gabriel naturally knew that since Emperor Alexander asked this, he was the only one who could bring a sword into the imperial court. However, such a great favor from the emperor might turn into burning oil one day. His answer at least would not lead to the accusation of "being arrogant due to favor".

Seeing that Emperor Alexander no longer entangled in this topic and talked about returning to Beijing, Gabriel knelt down again and said, "Thanks to your majesty's grace, I returned to Beijing without any danger."
 
Gabriel was ambushed on his way back to Beijing, but fortunately he was helped by a master, who had been with him for an unknown period of time.

The people on the opposite side were gangsters. Seeing that the situation was not right, they bit the poison and committed suicide one by one. However, Gabriel had no intention of interrogating who was the mastermind behind the scenes. Whoever's interests were violated by his return to Beijing would be the one who hired the murderer.

He had been in the frontier for five years, and things and people in the capital had changed a lot. After all, it was only his illegitimate elder brother who was so afraid of his return.

It's so ironic that when my mother got married, there were no maids or c0ncubines in the marquis's mansion, but my father had a c0ncubine's eldest son who was two years older than me.

Gabriel believed that he was not a good person to begin with. Five years of experience in the frontier had made him even more aggressive, so he simply used this as an excuse to get rid of his eldest brother.

The revenge has been taken, but the favor cannot be forgotten---the reinforcements that day were from Emperor Alexander's men.

This time you kneel, you should kneel for a long time.

Emperor Alexander stroked the eighteen seeds in his hand, looked at Gabriel from top to bottom with a smile, and after a long while, he smiled and said, "Adrian, you must have been traveling hard, get up."

The two of them are facing each other like this now. If a discerning person were to observe from the side, it would be difficult for him to tell that they were close friends who shared the same quilt when they were young.

At that time, Emperor Alexander was still the most unpopular prince. He was thrown into an academy outside the city where children from aristocratic families studied. He could not even lift his head up. Gabriel's biological mother died early, and his father favored his stepmother and half brother, so his life was naturally not easy.

The young people's friendship collapsed five years ago. Emperor Alexander made careful efforts step by step and finally ascended the throne. The hardships in the process were beyond words. Therefore, the first thing he had to do when he ascended the throne was to slaughter the entire family of the aristocratic family who almost put him to death. However, Gabriel stood up and wanted to exchange the merit of following the emperor all the way for the life of a traitor.

At that time, the two were sitting opposite each other in the imperial study. Upon hearing what was said, Emperor Alexander hit Gabriel's forehead with a covered bowl filled with boiling Mingqian Longjing tea, causing blood to flow.

That rainy night, the furious and stubborn confrontation lasted for half an hour. When the blood on Gabriel's forehead dripped all over his front lapel, Emperor Alexander relented: "I can let him go, but Adrian, you must not have any connection with him in this life, otherwise..."

Emperor Alexander stared at Gabriel and said nothing more.

Otherwise, that person's life would still be lost.

Gabriel understood this logic. He nodded woodenly without saying that he accepted the order. He only said, "If the border is not peaceful, I am willing to go to the garrison."

He was away for five years, and when he came back, Emperor Alexander was looking down at him as he knelt down.

The two of them talked about the arrangements in the capital for quite some time. When Gabriel was about to leave, Emperor Alexander suddenly said with a complicated expression: "Adrian, go back to the Marquis' Mansion and take a look."

Gabriel now holds an important position. Emperor Alexander has granted him a house very close to the palace. Moreover, he has several other residences in Beijing. He really doesn't want to go to the filthy place of the Marquis' Mansion. Moreover, according to the date, Gabriel's mourning hall is still there, so he can't rush to get involved in bad luck. Why go back now? To mourn and burn paper for Gabriel who deserved to die?

But even thinking this, Gabriel still nodded, "I accept your order."

Gabriel left the palace with no less etiquette than when he entered. After all, Emperor Alexander had been on the throne for a long time, his country was becoming more and more stable, but his temper was getting weirder day by day. The Jinwu Guard was a dark blade in his hand that was full of poison and pointed directly at the noble families and officials. It goes without saying how important the position of leader was.

But not long after the Jinwu Guard was established, its leader was replaced by its third one.

The person in front of us was called back from thousands of miles away. He must be very capable, so naturally no one dares to neglect him.

The carriage in the palace took him all the way to the main gate of Taining Marquis' Mansion. Gabriel sat firmly in the carriage, listening to the mocking suona sounds coming from the mansion incessantly, which really made him extremely irritated, as if he had swallowed ten fireballs.

I was delayed in the car for a long time and was very reluctant to do so. It was only when I remembered the imperial edict that I opened the curtains.

The confidants brought with them when they fought on the frontier and the new subordinates they gained when they left the palace also dismounted and followed Gabriel into the house. This scene was rare, as the first time they entered the master's house, they were here to pay their respects to the deceased...

Gabriel couldn't help but think of this, but there was nothing he could do, so he frowned and walked inside.

The father of the current Marquis of Taining, Gabriel, is a hopeless dandy. Even now, the earth has buried him up to his chest, but there is still not a single good thing about him. When he was young, he was obsessed with gold and jade; when he was middle-aged, he loved gambling; when he was old, he was addicted to opium. He spent most of his life squandering most of the property left by the old Marquis of Taining after years of battles.

Although Gabriel was far away in the frontier, he knew the situation of the mansion: it was not just an empty shell, but it was almost the same.

But now, standing at the screen wall of the Marquis' Mansion and looking at the front hall, he couldn't help but sneer - did that old man Theodore Ji move his own coffin to use it now?

Such a luxurious and grand funeral, those who knew the truth would know that a ba5tard who recognized his ancestors halfway died in the Marquis' Mansion, while those who did not know would think that it was the legitimate Marquis Theodore or his own legitimate son who died!

But since he was already here, it was not like Adrian Ji to turn around at the door. He immediately lifted the hem of his robe and walked towards the mourning hall in a menacing manner.

In the mourning hall, candles, incense sticks, and paper money were burning, and the smoke was thick. Mrs. Xu, the second wife of the Marquis, was holding the hand of a lady who came to pay her respects, holding a handkerchief and crying: "My poor Qin'er, how could it be... Oh, as a mother, I don't want to live anymore, it would be better if I just went with him..."

The lady was infected by Xu's crying and started to cry as she spoke, "Penelope, if Qin'er knew about this, he would be very sad to see you like this. You must not mourn for yourself!"

Gabriel stood at the door and watched coldly. His mood was no different from when he saw two herdsmen fighting over a lamb with red faces at the frontier - he was just watching a farce.

Although Xu was busy mourning and had no time to pay attention, her servant was very smart and immediately told his attendants: "Hurry up and inform the Marquis that the prince is back!" After saying that, he knelt down and greeted Gabriel.

Gabriel knew this man. He was a servant of the family and had lived in his courtyard for some time in the early years. He was a stable and reliable person. He raised his hand to let him get up, and his expression softened slightly: "Where is Theodore?"

The eldest son, whom he held dearly as a treasure, kicked his leg. It was really strange that he was not there to preside over the event. Could it be that he was so sad that he fainted from crying?

"My Lord, the Marquis has not been feeling well these days and has not come out to entertain guests."

Feeling unwell? Maybe the funeral cost the whole family money and he had no money to buy nicotine paste, so he got addicted, Gabriel sneered.

Such an urgent matter was solved, if not a great relief, at least it was almost a relief. Gabriel was a little satisfied, thinking that he had been to the mansion, and turned around and prepared to leave.

Xu had heard the noise. She looked up and saw Gabriel in a red robe at her son's funeral. She was so angry that she blurted out, "Gabriel! It must be you! You must have killed my Qin'er!"

She felt the rage burning in her mind and heart, and she had already determined that although Qin'er died of illness, it must have been Gabriel. It must have been Gabriel's strong fate that killed Qin'er!

Gabriel had no expression, staring at Xu, "If it weren't for a capable mother like you, I'm afraid he could have lived a few more hours."

These words were very harsh, and almost added fuel to the fire in Xu's heart. Xu's eyes turned red, and she rushed towards Gabriel with her pointed long armor. She wanted to tear Gabriel's red robe into pieces, and she wanted to tear Gabriel's harsh mouth apart!

But before he could get close, he was pinned to the ground by the people sent by Emperor Alexander. "The commander is wearing the Feiyu suit bestowed by the emperor. Damaging it is a crime of conspiracy and rebellion. Xu, you are so brave!"

Xu was forced to kneel in front of Gabriel. Although she was extremely unwilling, she only dared to bluff and no longer dared to fight Gabriel.

When the other people who were watching the fun in the mourning hall heard the title of "Commander-in-Chief", they immediately knelt on the ground.

Gabriel frowned as he watched this escalating farce, finding it extremely boring. He turned around and was about to leave, but he glanced out of the corner of his eye and was stunned in the hall - the widow in mourning in front of Gabriel's coffin was Vivian, whom he had been thinking about for five years!