He Lan Tianxia

One side was overjoyed, while the other was furious. The Empress Dowager and the Emperor were as anxious as ants on a hot pan in the palace.

"Outrageous, utterly outrageous! A dignified prince abandoning his duties to fawn over a turtle—what kind of behavior is this? If word gets out, he'll lose all face. My son, what should we do? What should we do?" The Empress Dowager's mind went blank with rage.

"Your Majesty, please calm down. Let me think of a perfect solution." The Emperor paced back and forth in the room several times, and after thinking hard for a while, he finally came up with a good idea.

"Your Majesty, I believe that although Lan'er has tried every means to obstruct my bestowal of a marriage, he has grown up and must take a wife. I have learned about her privately. Xia Muyao, the daughter of the Marquis of Anle, is elegant and dignified, well-read, generous, virtuous, and kind—a perfect match for Lan'er. And Jin Chuchu, the daughter of Prime Minister Jin, though a bit willful, has been Lan'er's childhood sweetheart. Your Majesty, which one do you think would suit your taste?"

After a moment's thought, the Empress Dowager said, "I know Lan'er's temper. Xia Muyao is good, but she can't control Lan'er. Jin Chuchu is petty and willful, but Lan'er can't do anything about her. So I have a bold idea."

"What the Queen Mother means is..."

"Let them be married off together."

"This...won't have much of an impact, will it?" The Empress Dowager's absurd idea truly frightened the Emperor. "What if Lan'er doesn't agree?"

"Then it's not up to him." The Empress Dowager looked confident. Then she sighed helplessly and said, "If we don't do this, Lan'er will probably be completely ruined by that witch."

"Then I will choose an auspicious day for Lan'er to get married."

"I've been checking the almanac these past few days, and tomorrow is an auspicious day, so let's make it tomorrow."

"So soon? What if Lan'er doesn't like us in the future?" The Emperor was indeed unsure about the forced marriage.

"I will bear all the responsibility." The Empress Dowager's mind was made up.

So the Empress Dowager and the Emperor secretly and diligently arranged the marriage for Murong Junlan. The next morning, two wedding carriages stopped in front of Prince Murong Junlan's residence amidst celebratory drums and music.

Jiang He, a guard at the Prince's residence, rushed inside to report, "Your Highness, there are two wedding carriages waiting outside the residence for your wedding."

At this moment, Murong Junlan was investigating the woman's affairs, because he no longer recognized her and she had even moved into his forbidden Yan Garden. If Jiang He hadn't intervened, he would have killed her long ago. Jiang He claimed that she was his princess consort, and if he ever intended to kill her, Jiang He was obliged to stop him. The most outrageous thing was that he had spent an entire afternoon fighting with her, infuriating the Emperor. What kind of nonsense was this?

Murong Junlan suspected that the woman must possess some kind of sorcery to bewitch him. He suddenly remembered the small sachet, so he took it out of his sleeve and began to examine it. He wondered if it was related to the woman: "Though we lack the wings of a phoenix to fly together, our hearts are connected by a single thread of understanding; meeting Junlan at the Cliff of Broken Hearts, why would we fly together like phoenixes?" Did meeting Junlan refer to meeting him, or was it merely a coincidence? Murong Junlan drank three pots of tea without finding a clue. Just then, he heard the guard Jiang He say that two wedding carriages were waiting for him outside the mansion.

"Absurd! Did I ever say I wanted to get married?" Murong Junlan felt that there were so many strange things happening lately. He was still studying those few lines of poetry and said without looking up, "I don't have time. Tell them to go back to where they came from."

Jiang He looked anxious and said, "No, it's not possible. It was a marriage bestowed by the Emperor, and the Empress Dowager personally oversaw the marriage."

"Oh, so you're forcing me into marriage? Go, tell the Empress Dowager that I've gone out." Murong Junlan remained seated.

"The Empress Dowager has arrived." The Empress Dowager had anticipated Murong Junlan's attitude, so she went directly to the Prince's study, Wenyuan Pavilion.

Murong Junlan had no choice but to stand up and bow, saying, "Lan'er greets the Empress Dowager."

"Enough, enough, hurry up and bathe and change..." The Empress Dowager only wanted Murong Junlan to go out and greet the bride.

"Someone, serve the Empress Dowager her breakfast." Before the Empress Dowager could finish speaking, Murong Junlan interrupted, "Jiang He, bring the Empress Dowager a pot of the finest Wuyi Cloud Mist Da Hong Pao tea." Jiang He obeyed and went to serve, and in an instant a pot of the finest Wuyi Cloud Mist Da Hong Pao tea, with its rich aroma, lasting rocky flavor, floral and fruity fragrance, and sweet taste, was brought to the table.

"As expected, Lan'er has my heart." The Empress Dowager picked up her teacup, gently stirring the red and green tea leaves floating in the water. She took a deep sniff and was about to bring it to her lips.

"Grandmother, please wait. This tea should not be drunk on an empty stomach," Murong Junlan reminded her in time. "Grandmother, please try this Green Ruyi Dumpling first." Murong Junlan presented a green dumpling to the Grandmother. "This Green Ruyi Dumpling is made with the essence of three drops of dew from the buds of Da Hong Pao tea from the top of Jade Plate Peak, with the three hairs of the buds as its base, paired with the purest, freshest, most beautiful, and smoothest flesh of the Stone Old Man Fish from Tiger Leaping Gorge. It has an absolutely exquisite taste."

The Empress Dowager took a bite and found it indeed delicious, leaving a lingering fragrance in her mouth. Satisfied, she said, "Lan'er, why didn't you give me such a delicacy to try sooner? Hmm?"

"Your Majesty, I only figured out how to make these auspicious dumplings last night. Are you the first to taste them?" Murong Junlan said in a serious tone.

"In that case, I have come at the right time." The Empress Dowager didn't care whether what she said was true or false, and simply enjoyed the conversation.

"Grandmother, Lan'er has another dish that I would like to invite you to try."

"Oh, come up together."

"Jiang He, present this to the Empress Dowager." Murong Junlan winked at Jiang He. Murong Junlan knew that the Empress Dowager was a gourmet expert; she could forget everything as long as there was delicious food. Therefore, the breakfast should be served one dish at a time, and each dish had to be more outstanding than the last.

"The second delicacy: Beacon Fire Across Ten Thousand Miles. This dish is made with the essence of snow lotus from the Tianshan Mountains, roasted with the finest meat from the hummingbird leg, and paired with the pure and unpretentious gravy of bear paw meat, with a refreshing and delicate aroma."

"Delicious!" The Empress Dowager gave a thumbs-up and praised, "What is true delicacy? Its flavor remains even after three days." The Empress Dowager took a deep sniff. "Oh dear, my grandson understands me so well. Mmm, good, very good." The Empress Dowager ate with great relish.

"The third dish is 'Flying Together as One.' Grandmother, let me not introduce the ingredients yet, but please taste it and see what you think."

"Oh dear, you even passed the exam and got accepted into my harem, didn't you?"

"Lan'er wouldn't dare." Then Murong Junlan presented a plate containing one or two heads of white lettuce and a pair of bird wings. The bird wings looked fried and looked quite tempting, so the Empress Dowager picked them up with her chopsticks, but they crumbled into powder with a snap.

"What a pity," the Empress Dowager said with a regretful expression.

"It's no pity. Grandmother, could you try a couple of lettuce heads and see how they taste?"

The Empress Dowager put the lettuce in her mouth and tasted it. Her face lit up immediately, and she said, "Truly a delicacy among vegetables!"

“Yes, even the finest dishes are not always desirable. Even amidst the flames of war, they cannot fly side by side. Though raw vegetables are not necessarily beautiful, they can still be considered top-quality, simply because of their inherent nature.” Murong Junlan seized the opportunity to explain, regardless of whether his grandmother wanted to listen or not.

Unexpectedly, the Empress Dowager said, "Lan'er, amidst the smoke of war, things are never as you wish. Even if you fall in love, it's hard to fly wing to wing." Upon hearing this, Murong Junlan rubbed his forehead, secretly lamenting that the old fox was still the wisest.

The Empress Dowager then took a sip of Da Hong Pao tea and said with a double meaning, "This tea is very good, but I missed the best time to taste it. I regret it now." She looked at Murong Junlan and said, "Alright, I have already had breakfast and tasted the tea. I can't miss your spring night, Lan'er."

It seemed that the Empress Dowager was determined to marry the women in the two wedding carriages outside into the Prince's mansion. Murong Junlan was at a loss for what to do, so she could only say directly, "Empress Dowager, Lan'er is not mentally prepared for marriage yet."

"Men should marry when they come of age, and women should marry when they come of age. Lan'er is not young anymore, and she will get used to it as time goes on." The Empress Dowager was determined and her attitude was firm. She was clearly forcing the marriage, so she said, "Today, I will wait until you have consummated your marriage before returning to the palace. What if your father blames me if I don't do this?" After saying that, the Empress Dowager instructed Murong Junlan to bring the two beauties in.