Shen Lang looked up and asked suspiciously, “Why would I regret it?”
Qing Mei fell silent, merely pressing his lips together tightly.
*
*
「The imperial wedding.」
Yu Ge donned the elegant and stately court robes of an Empress and the phoenix crown.
Amidst everyone’s envious gazes, she entered the Imperial Palace and saw the peerless young man who stood above all others.
Jiang Yu had been waiting in Fengtian Hall since early on.
When he saw the woman approaching gracefully, his heart thrilled with excitement, but he could not let any obvious emotion show.
After all the ceremonies were completed, it was time for the palace banquet.
Qing Mei remained expressionless throughout.
As he led Shen Lang into the hall, he unsurprisingly drew the attention of everyone present.
‘Such a peerlessly beautiful, devastating femme fatale is a rare sight in the world.
Why is she with the Prime Minister?’
‘No one had ever heard that the Prime Minister had taken a wife…’
Prince Chen was among the host of officials.
Seeing his daughter enter with the Prime Minister, he knew she had been doing well these past few days and felt slightly relieved.
“And this is…?” someone beside him asked, stunned by her beauty.
Prince Chen said proudly, “My precious daughter.
They just married a few days ago.”
The official immediately replied, “You are truly blessed!
Of your two precious daughters, one married the current Prime Minister and the other has become the Empress.
Soon enough, we’ll all have to be currying your favor…”
Prince Chen roared with laughter.
When the Emperor arrived, he gave Shen Lang an extra glance, but only for a moment before looking away.
One, because he found her truly stunning.
Two, because she seemed somewhat familiar.
Everyone hurriedly bowed.
Whether it was because he was in a good mood or not, Jiang Yu didn’t deliberately make things difficult for the court officials today and allowed them all to rise.
Shen Lang didn’t look at Jiang Yu.
Instead, she peered behind him.
Seeing that her so-called younger sister hadn’t appeared, she couldn’t help but tilt her head.
‘Doesn’t the Empress need to appear at the palace banquet?’
Unexpectedly, that one glance met Jiang Yu’s clear, devastatingly beautiful peach-blossom eyes—
Jiang Yu: “…”
‘This woman feels more and more familiar,’ he thought.
‘Especially those slightly upturned fox-like eyes.
They’re just like…’
He glanced at the Prime Minister standing beside her, and understanding dawned on him.
‘So this is the Prime Minister’s new wife.
I believe she’s Prince Chen’s illegitimate daughter, making her the Empress’s sister.’
‘No wonder they look alike.’
Jiang Yu raised an eyebrow and smiled.
“My dear Prime Minister, you are a fortunate man.”
Qing Mei’s eyes flickered.
He bowed and said, “Your Majesty jests.”
Jiang Yu then turned to Shen Lang, smiling slightly.
“Madam, you are a beauty of national standing.
No wonder the Prime Minister has kept you so well hidden.”
Shen Lang stared at him intently.
Suddenly, her red lips curved into a bashful smile.
“My husband treats me wonderfully.
To be able to marry him is my fortune of three lifetimes.”
Qing Mei glanced at her, rendered speechless.
Jiang Yu sighed wistfully.
“The Prime Minister is like a thousand-year-old iron tree finally blooming.
The two of you are a talented man and a beautiful woman—a match made in heaven.”
Shen Lang gave a shy, slight smile.
Twilight splashed into the clinking wine cups, and in a daze, minds grew intoxicated.
Shen Lang had finally gotten a chance to taste the palace’s imperial wine, and she enthusiastically drank an entire jug.
Shen Lang had never been good at holding her liquor.
After downing a whole jug, her cheeks were flushed crimson and the corners of her eyes were red.
Her fair, jade-like arm drooped lazily over the table.
Her entire body was slumped forward, and her succulent, rosy lips were fervently sucking on a small lock of her hair.
Jiang Yu’s crystal-clear gaze fell upon her.
For reasons unknown, a soft laugh escaped him.
Qing Mei: “…”
‘It wasn’t that he was overthinking it,’ Qing Mei mused.
‘He just felt that his head had gained a bit of color.’
“Your Majesty, this humble servant proposes a toast.”
Jiang Yu slowly raised his wine cup and nodded.
“My dear Prime Minister, perhaps you should drink less.”
“It’s no matter,” Qing Mei replied with a slight smile.
An undercurrent flowed between the two men.
Suddenly, the bewitching beauty who had been sprawled on the table lazily pushed herself up.
She pointed at Prince Chen across from them and bellowed, “Audacious demon, behold Old Sun’s Jingu Bang!”
Prince Chen’s beard trembled.
“?”
Sitting at the head of the hall, Jiang Yu’s expression grew even stranger.
‘The way she spouted nonsense while drunk…
it reminded him, inexplicably, of the person in his heart.’
‘…Is this really just because of their blood relation?’
Jiang Yu tilted his head back and took a swallow of wine, his Adam’s apple bobbing slightly as he was lost in thought.
Outside, the night grew deeper.
Countless lanterns were lit throughout Chang’an City.
From the city walls, one could see the lights of ten thousand homes and ten li of bustling streets.
「The palace banquet gradually came to an end.」
When Qing Mei left with Shen Lang, many people were still drinking heartily, seemingly determined not to leave until they were completely drunk.
The troublemaker Shen appeared calm and well-behaved, clinging to the corner of the table for dear life.
“Furball,” she sobbed, “it’s all mommy’s fault…
Mommy will take you away right now…!”
In the end, Jiang Yu had to come down, slice off that corner of the table with his sword, and hand it to Shen Lang before the matter was settled.
Shen Lang departed, contentedly hugging the table corner.
Yu Ge sat on the phoenix bed, her body tense.
The heavy ornaments on her head felt like they were about to crush her neck, yet she didn’t dare move an inch, waiting stiffly for the Emperor to return.
Jiang Yu did not return early.
For some reason, he subconsciously didn’t want to come back.
Yu Ge was not wearing a wedding veil, but the phoenix crown did have strings of flowing pearls that hung down, obscuring her face.
Jiang Yu slowly approached.
With long lashes lowered, his slender, jade-white fingers casually lifted the curtain of pearls.
What met his eyes was a strange and nervous face.
But what caught Jiang Yu’s attention were her unfamiliar and gloomy eyes.
Almost subconsciously, he let the pearl curtain fall back into place.
Yu Ge let out a cry of surprise.
“…Your Majesty?”
Her response was the suffocating sensation of a hand brutally gripping her neck, accompanied by a low, cold voice asking, “Who are you?”
*
*
「Prime Minister’s Mansion.」
Qing Mei held a bowl of sobering soup in one hand and a spoon in the other, offering it to Shen Lang’s lips, only to be pushed away with a pout.
He was pushed away once.
He was pushed away twice.
He was pushed away a third time.
Qing Mei said helplessly, “If you don’t drink this, your head will hurt tomorrow.”
Shen Lang’s consciousness was hazy.
Vaguely hearing a mosquito buzzing by her ear, she frowned and swatted at it.
Qing Mei’s hand trembled.
He lost his grip, and the soup spilled everywhere.
Shen Lang was jolted awake by the scalding heat.
She reached up and touched her nose, discovering a blister had formed from the burn.
With a sharp HISS, she burst into a howl.
Her wails could pierce clouds and shatter the sun, and she cried so hard the veins on her forehead bulged.
Qing Mei listened quietly, then suddenly said, “…Yu Yin, you truly are heartless.”
Shen Lang squinted her eyes.
Hearing this, she stopped crying and said angrily, “Why don’t you try getting scalded and see how you like it?!”
Qing Mei held out his hand, which was covered in blisters, and wiggled it in front of her.
“…Worse than you.”
Shen Lang: “…”
After the bit of levity, Qing Mei spoke seriously.
“Tonight, the Emperor looked at you no less than ten times.”
Shen Lang huffed.
“What’s that got to do with me?”
Qing Mei lowered his head, a slight smile playing on his lips.
“He seems to know you.”
Shen Lang paused.
“…Knows me?”
Qing Mei said in a low voice, “As a fellow man, I can naturally see the emotion in his eyes…”
Shen Lang raised an eyebrow and smiled.
“Of course I know.”
Qing Mei was surprised, then lowered his gaze again.
“Do you like him?”
“I don’t,” Shen Lang said, shaking her head.
“Then do you like me?”
“I don’t like you either.” Shen Lang glanced at him.
“Our marriage is a joke to begin with.
No marriage certificate, no betrothal gifts, no guests.
When the time comes, we’ll go our separate ways.
You don’t need to worry about it.”
Qing Mei’s body stiffened.
A soft sigh escaped him.
“Fine.”