“Shang Lu.”
The moment Feng Che spoke, a long silver-black iron sword was tossed over. A hand emerged from beneath the embroidered wedding robe and caught it, the scabbard slamming hard into Zhu Wen.
“Ugh!”
Zhu Wen was struck so hard that his head spun. Unable to bear the surrounding laughter, he was furious, but with his mind still ringing, he couldn’t get back on his feet for a moment.
“That’s the Yuepo Sword.”
Someone among the guests recognized it and whispered, “Prince Huai’an is angry.”
“Who told that Zhu fellow to drag the Princess into this?”
“Did I say anything wrong?”
Zhu Wen struggled to his feet and pointed at Feng Che.
“You abandoned the city and fled. That means you became the Liao people’s dog. If it weren’t for my Zhu family, Da Feng would have fallen long ago.”
The guests exchanged glances, none daring to speak.
Everyone in the capital knew that Feng Che had suddenly disappeared in Taiyuan Prefecture a year ago. Whether he had betrayed the country or not was something few people could truly know.
Yet ever since Feng Che returned to the capital, His Majesty had not only refrained from punishing him but had also arranged his marriage to Gao Zhi and bestowed numerous gifts upon him. That hardly seemed like the treatment one would receive if he were truly a traitor.
“Who said he betrayed the country?”
A woman’s stern voice rang out from outside the hall.
Everyone turned around and hurriedly bowed.
“Greetings, Your Highness.”
Princess Huaishu arrived with several palace attendants, carrying a bright yellow imperial decree. Seeing it, the guests all dropped to their knees.
“Today, by His Majesty’s command, I am here to clarify the rumors concerning Prince Huai’an over the past year.”
Princess Huaishu unfurled the decree and spoke each word clearly.
“Prince Huai’an is a loyal minister and valiant general. Despite countless difficulties, he returned to the capital and presented evidence sufficient to prove his innocence.
“The accusation that he abandoned the city in the past was completely unfounded. The case is filled with unanswered questions, and the Ministry of Justice has been ordered to investigate.
“Anyone who spreads such rumors again will be severely punished. There will be no mercy.”
“Unanswered questions?”
Most of the guests present were powerful officials, and they quickly grasped the important point.
His Majesty was publicly declaring that Prince Huai’an was a loyal subject and could never have betrayed the country. There must have been something suspicious about what happened back then.
“That’s impossible!”
Zhu Wen clenched his fists.
“Feng Che is a traitor! I…”
Before he could finish speaking, another crimson-gold sword shot toward him, grazing his face and leaving a clear line of blood.
“Gao Zhi… You—you dare hurt me!”
Zhu Wen stared at the woman holding a sword against his neck in disbelief.
“I’m the Empress’s nephew, a member of the imperial family!”
“My sword only recognizes treachery and evil. It doesn’t recognize imperial relatives.”
Gao Zhi lifted her bridal veil. Her wedding dress swayed like flames, and her stunning beauty left everyone in the hall momentarily captivated. Yet the coldness in her eyes made them shiver.
“The imperial decree just made it perfectly clear. If I hear another word of slander against my husband from that filthy mouth of yours, I’ll purge this evil on His Majesty’s behalf.”
Feng Che froze.
Looking at the woman standing protectively before him, the tips of his ears reddened, while a faint ache stirred in his heart.
【A-Zhi… what did she just call me?】
【What have I done to deserve this?】
【She doesn’t have to go this far for me…】
“You… you…”
Zhu Wen pointed at Gao Zhi, but the next moment, Bian Lin grabbed his wrist.
“If you don’t want to keep that hand, just say so.”
The guests were all shrewd people. Seeing Princess Huaishu personally present and knowing that she carried an imperial decree, they immediately stepped forward to help.
“Even if he is the Empress’s nephew, he cannot cause trouble in Prince Huai’an’s residence.”
“Exactly.”
“Everyone knows Young Master Zhu is a spoiled wastrel. What is he doing causing trouble at someone else’s wedding?”
Lian Xiao already felt protective of his grandson. Seeing Zhu Wen cause trouble made him furious.
“It is Prince Huai’an’s wedding. All irrelevant people, get out!”
“Is this the Zhu family’s upbringing?”
Gao Zheng also pointed at Zhu Wen and shouted,
“I’ll personally visit your residence another day and ask your grandfather to teach you some proper manners!”
Zhu Wen’s face turned livid. Seeing Lian Xiao order the guards to drive him out, and with the Princess still present, he had no choice but to swallow his anger and leave with a flick of his sleeve.
“Gao Zhi.”
Hearing Feng Che call her, Gao Zhi quickly turned around and met his dark, handsome eyes, momentarily stunned.
The next instant, the bright red bridal veil fell over her eyes.
A faint sandalwood fragrance drew near.
She watched those distinct, long fingers quickly release the veil.
“Go back to the room and wait for me.”
Gao Zhi had been furious enough to draw her sword at Zhu Wen just moments ago, but hearing the man speak in his low, hoarse voice made her anger gradually dissolve like water washing away a flame.
Chan Yi took the Sun-Soul Sword, while Lian Xiao and Gao Zheng busied themselves arranging the guests at their seats.
The gongs, drums, and ceremonial music continued, and the earlier incident quickly faded away like smoke.
Feng Che remained behind to toast the guests, while Gao Zhi was helped into the bridal chamber.
Across both her lifetimes, Gao Zhi had visited Prince Huai’an’s residence before, but she had never entered Feng Che’s courtyard. She had assumed that a man’s living quarters would be as austere and restrained as he was.
The reality was quite the opposite.
After lifting her bridal veil, she saw that the courtyard was filled with flowers and plants, most of them varieties she liked, such as jasmine and June snow. The clean white blossoms filled the entire courtyard with fragrance. The waterside pavilion and covered walkways were quiet and elegant, their arrangement somewhat resembling her own courtyard at the Gao residence.
Bright red silk was draped throughout every corner of the main room. Every furnishing and ornament was exquisite. The richly embroidered surroundings hardly looked like a man’s residence at all.
On the round table sat steaming dishes and delicacies, all of them foods she liked.
Gao Zhi had been somewhat nervous, but after entering the room, she found herself relaxing.
“Princess Consort.”
Cang Zhu came over with two maids and smiled.
“Master said you should eat first. He’ll be here shortly.”
Gao Zhi frowned.
“But…”
“Master also said there’s no need to be so formal.”
Cang Zhu added,
“Just make yourself comfortable.”
After they left, Chan Yi helped Gao Zhi sit down.
Bai He began organizing Gao Zhi’s clothing chest. Gao Zhi had a habit of reading before bed, so Bai He placed all the books she had brought beside her pillow.
Gao Zhi had expected Feng Che to return late, which was why she had prepared all these dishes. But before she had even finished eating, the sound of wheelchair wheels rolling along the corridor reached her ears.
“Quick, help the young lady put her veil back on.”
Bai He helped Gao Zhi sit back down on the bed.
The door creaked open.
Gao Zhi heard the sound of Feng Che entering before the wheels stopped. He must have seen the aftermath of her enthusiastic meal on the table, and she awkwardly cleared her throat.
“Why did you only eat these? Did the food get cold?”
Gao Zhi froze.
“No…”
Feng Che guessed immediately.
“Did I come back at the wrong time?”
Gao Zhi’s silence was answer enough.
Chan Yi hurriedly tried to ease the awkwardness.
“Prince, it’s time to lift the bridal veil and drink the wedding wine.”
“…Mm.”
Feng Che moved closer and used a golden ceremonial scale to lift the red veil.
Although he had already seen the woman beneath it in the main hall earlier, when her luminous, captivating eyes lifted and met his, he still couldn’t help holding his breath.
Gao Zhi was as beautiful as her name suggested. Her brows and eyes were as lively as a clear spring cascading down a high mountain, yet she also resembled an unreachable snow lotus—proud and coolly aloof.
From their youth to the battlefield, even when he had been on the brink of death, Feng Che had seen these eyes countless times, both in dreams and in waking moments.
And every time, they still moved his heart.
In his daze, it was as though he had returned to the night she came of age. Drunk, she had clung to him and insisted on dancing for him.
The young girl had danced beneath the moon, her flowing skirt and fluttering ribbons irresistibly alluring.
After the dance, she had drunkenly demanded to know whether the rumors circulating in the capital were true—
That he thought she was not as graceful and obedient as other women, and that he did not want to marry her, which was why he was going to war.
The tearful girl remained etched in his mind, impossible to forget.
And now, that same woman stood before him in a phoenix crown and wedding robes, dressed in all her finery, because she was marrying him.
The unreality of it left Feng Che dizzy and overwhelmed.
Gao Zhi was also silently studying him.
The groom before her looked much younger and less mature than the thirty-five-year-old Feng Che in her memories.
He wore bright red wedding robes embroidered with golden dragons and phoenixes, his black hair crowned with gold. He was tall and elegant, with the graceful bearing of a pine and crane, yet he still retained some of the spirited confidence of youth and a barely perceptible awkwardness.
How wonderful.
【How wonderful.】
“Princess Consort?”
“Prince?”
The two quickly took their wedding cups. Perhaps because they had both lost themselves in thought just moments earlier, the rest of the ceremony proceeded in unusual silence and speed.
“The ceremony is complete.”
“Then we’ll take our leave.”
Only the man and woman remained in the main room.
After a brief exchange of glances, Feng Che spoke first.
“Eat something first.”
“I’m full.”
Even after living through two lifetimes, Gao Zhi couldn’t help feeling nervous.
“Have you eaten?”
“I have.”
Feng Che looked away from her, sensing the subtle awkwardness in the atmosphere.
“How about I have Chan Yi and the others come in and help you remove your crown?”
【The phoenix crown is beautiful, and it really does look good on A-Zhi. But it looks so heavy. She’s worn it all day. It must be uncomfortable.】
“I can do this myself.”
Gao Zhi disliked troubling others. The two maids had worked hard all day as well, so it was better to let them rest first.
Watching the woman stand and go to the dressing table to remove her elaborate hair ornaments, Feng Che’s peripheral vision fell upon the red dates, peanuts, and other wedding sweets scattered across the bed. The tips of his ears reddened slightly.
Seeing that Gao Zhi wasn’t looking, he carefully gathered the scattered snacks and put them back into their box. His peripheral vision accidentally caught sight of something beneath the pillow.
【What is this?】
Hearing his thoughts, Gao Zhi initially assumed he simply couldn’t understand why she had so many complicated hair ornaments.
That was, until she heard the crisp sound of pages being turned.
Her heart sank.
Hadn’t she hidden that book away?
“Don’t look at that…”
Before she could stop him, a muffled “thump” sounded.
The indigo-blue book fell to the floor, landing open on the very first provocative illustration of the little figures she had seen.
The young man tightened his grip on the wheelchair handle. A faint pink flush spread from the tips of his ears until they became crimson, while his eyelids trembled, and he nearly didn’t dare raise his eyes.