On the wedding day, my wife was abnormal

June 15th, the second year of Shenghui.

The city of Pyongyang had been cut off for more than two months. The food and grass in the city were gradually drying up, people's hearts were unsettled, and even small-scale riots and food looting incidents began to occur.

The once prosperous capital is now shrouded in the shadow of hunger and despair.

Inside Gyeongbokgung Hall, the court that used to be filled with endless quarrels was now plunged into a dead silence, a silence that was even more suffocating than any quarrel.

King Go Zang of Goguryeo was so thin that he was unrecognizable, with sunken eye sockets. He curled up in the throne like a skeleton wearing a royal robe, and had no reaction to anything in the palace.

Regent Gao Yun's former sinister spirit had been completely drained away. He slumped in his chair, staring blankly at the caisson ceiling on the hall's ceiling, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the armrests in a chaotic rhythm that revealed his extreme anxiety and despair.

The civil and military officials standing before His Highness all had sallow complexions. Although their clothes were neat, they could not conceal the decadent aura that emanated from within.

The air was filled with a sense of oppression as if waiting for the final judgment.

The charcoal brazier in the corner of the hall had been extinguished for a long time, and no one was willing to add more charcoal. The slight heat of early summer could not dispel the bone-chilling cold.

Everyone's eyes were either openly or secretly directed towards the palace gate. They were waiting, waiting for a vague piece of news that might bring a glimmer of hope.

Time passed by little by little in the dead silence, and every moment was like torture.

Finally, a burst of hurried and frivolous footsteps came from outside the hall, breaking the suffocating silence.

A man dressed in tattered and dusty clothes of a Goguryeo envoy crawled into the hall. His face was pale and his lips were chapped. He fell to his knees with a thud. Before he could open his mouth, he was already crying like rain and choking with sobs.

"How?! What is the reply of the Mobei Royal Court?!" Gao Yun jumped up from his chair as if pricked by a needle, rushed to the envoy, grabbed his collar, and roared hoarsely, with the last ray of crazy hope burning in his eyes.

The envoy was so frightened by Gao Yun's crazy appearance that he trembled all over, burst into tears, and just shook his head desperately.

"Speak up! You useless piece of shit!" Gao Yun was so angry that he slapped the envoy in the face.

The envoy was beaten to the ground, finally crying out: "Regent! Your Majesty! It's all over! The Mobei barbarians refuse to send troops!"

"What?!" Gao Yun was struck by lightning. He staggered back a few steps and almost couldn't stand.

The ministers in the hall were also in an uproar. Although they had expected this, they still felt dizzy when they heard with their own ears that their last hope was shattered.

The envoy prostrated himself on the ground, beating his chest and stamping his feet, crying, "I, your humble servant, have endured countless hardships to meet the Great Khan of Mobei and present him with a letter of credence and generous gifts, begging you to send troops to aid the Great Khan of Kokonar."

The envoy's voice was filled with fear and humiliation.

"He said that the Daqian army was at its peak, and that Murong Yan was a ruthless woman who had slaughtered two cities in a row. They didn't dare to provoke her. He also said that we, Goguryeo, were seeking our own doom and should not be dragged into this. He then beat me out of the royal court with clubs and threw out the gifts."

The envoy's cries, like the final death knell, rang in everyone's heart.

Even the barbarians in the cold and bitter land of Mobei are so afraid of Murong Yan and Daqian. What hope do they have for Goguryeo?

After hearing this, Gao Yun felt as if his last bit of strength had been drained away. He slumped to the ground, his eyes hollow as he muttered to himself, "I dare not provoke her. Haha, I dare not provoke her. Even the wolf cubs from Mobei are scared of her, scared of that female devil in that weird nightgown. Heaven is destroying Goguryeo! Heaven is destroying Goguryeo!"

His laughter was shrill and desperate, echoing in the empty hall.

The hall was suddenly filled with wailing. Some people were beating their chests and stamping their feet, some were collapsing on the ground, and some were looking up to the sky and sighing.

The last straw of life is broken.

Pyongyang City had truly become an isolated and hopeless place. It seemed that the only options waiting for them were the three dead ends Murong Yan had outlined, or even more tragically, the destruction of the city and the deaths of its inhabitants.

At the same time, thousands of miles away in Anzhou Villa, it was a completely different world.

The night is like water, and the moonlight is bright, shining in the quiet garden.

Inside the waterside pavilion, the candlelight is bright, but not glaring, instead creating a warm and gentle atmosphere.

Murong Yan was playing chess with Lin Zhen in the pavilion.

She was wearing the black and gold Su brocade cotton nightgown with the pattern of "Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix" - the dress in which the divine phoenix descended to the earth.

The summer night was a little chilly, and the black and gold mink shawl was just casually draped on the lounge chair beside her.

The softness and comfort of the nightgown are fully displayed in such a private and relaxing environment.

The Phoenix Dress glows with a dreamlike beauty under the blend of candlelight and moonlight.

The extremely dark black Su Jin base material absorbs the soft light, and its color is as deep as the quiet night sky. The golden cotton wool and real gold thread woven into it exude a warm and lustrous glow, like molten gold flowing under the moon.

On the nightgown, the pattern of the giant phoenix holding up the sky has lost all its majesty in the peaceful night, like a docile phoenix resting beside its lover, gorgeous and peaceful.

One of her wide, trumpet-shaped sleeves drooped softly over the side of the chessboard, while Murong Yan used the other to prop up her chin as she concentrated on the game. The black jade ring on her left thumb shone softly in the candlelight.

The five-meter-long Su Jin tail stretched out on the bamboo mat-covered floor of the waterside pavilion.

Because of the casual sitting posture and frequent movement during the game, the tail of the chess piece appeared in a lazy and charming mess in an extremely relaxed state. Part of it piled at the feet, part of it meandered under the chessboard, and even a corner of it slid to the edge of the steps facing the water, stained with the moisture of the night dew.

This kind of mess is full of life and intimacy.

The skin-friendly cotton and loose nightgown allow her to completely immerse herself in the fun of the chess game and the company of her lover.

"Husband, this move of yours is so tricky." Murong Yan picked up a black piece and hung it in the air. She frowned slightly and glared at Lin Zhen coquettishly. In the candlelight, her cheeks were faintly flushed and her eyes moved, which was very moving.

Lin Zhen, holding the white piece, had a gentle smile on his face. He looked at his wife, who was in a rare state of innocent demeanor, and said softly, "Warfare is the art of deception. Playing chess is like employing troops; you naturally have to take the enemy by surprise."

As he spoke, he reached out and gently grasped her dangling wrist, guiding the chess piece to land at a certain position. "However, if Yan'er breaks off from here, there may be another world."

Murong Yan followed his instructions, her eyes lit up, and she immediately smiled: "Ah! As expected! Husband, you are so mean. There is obviously a simpler way, but you insist on taking a detour."

As she spoke, she happily put down the chess piece, then like a little girl, she reached out and grabbed Lin Zhen's arm and shook it.

"No matter what, I win this round!"

Lin Zhen was amused by her and shook his head dotingly: "Okay, Yan'er wins. Your husband is willing to admit defeat."

He took her into his arms and let her lean against his chest.

Murong Yan leaned against him contentedly, listening to his steady heartbeat, smelling the fresh and pleasant scent on his body, feeling extremely safe and happy.

She raised her hand, playing with the buttons on his collar, and asked casually, "My husband, have you heard any news from Pyongyang? Are those guys almost starving?"

Lin Zhen held her in one hand, gently stroking her long hair with the other, and whispered, "Ye Xiao just sent back news that the envoys sent by Goguryeo to Mobei for assistance have been driven back in disgrace, and the Mobei royal court has explicitly refused to send troops."

Murong Yan wasn't too surprised when she heard this. She just snorted lazily, "Guess they're sensible. If those barbarians from Mobei dare to come, we can just deal with them all at once to save them trouble later."

Her tone was relaxed, as if she was talking about a trivial matter.

"It seems that the road to Pyongyang is over," Lin Zhen concluded.

"Well," Murong Yan nuzzled into his arms, finding a more comfortable position. "Then let's wait a little longer until they can't stand it anymore and come out to surrender, or starve to death in there. That way, we won't have to do anything."

As she spoke, she yawned slightly, with some physiological tears seeping from the corners of her eyes, "Husband, I'm sleepy."

"Then don't go down, go back and rest." Lin Zhen said softly, pretending to get up.

"No," Murong Yan hugged him tightly and said coquettishly, "Hold me for a while longer, just here and look at how beautiful the moon is."

She pointed at the bright moon outside the window.