Ties of Love, Ruan Wan

Linglong was taken aback at first, but immediately smiled and said, "This is a good thing. If we can gain the support of Miao territory, Your Highness's great cause will have a new boost."

Xia Changfeng breathed a sigh of relief. "It's rare to find someone as virtuous as you. The Miao Holy Maiden has already arrived in the capital, and it seems she'll be getting married before the new year. Mingyue is still an infant, and Yufen isn't capable of handling things, so I'll have to trouble you."

Linglong smiled and said, "Sharing a husband's burdens is a wife's duty."

Xia Changfeng smiled and said, "Having a virtuous wife like you is truly my blessing."

Sure enough, not long after Xia Changfeng arrived home, the emperor's edict arrived at his residence.

Xia Changfeng's guess was absolutely right. The wedding was on December 25th, leaving less than a month for preparations.

This grand wedding overshadowed the sorrow following the great battle, and all eyes were focused on the wedding of the Seventh Prince and the Holy Maiden of Southern Xinjiang.

Two cities, the lives of 30,000 soldiers, vanished into thin air.

At the entrance of the post station, many curious people peeked inside. This mysterious Miao holy woman was currently living on the second floor of the post station.

Heavy guards stood at the entrance, and soldiers immediately drove away the curious crowd.

In the restaurant next door, two middle-aged men were talking.

"I've heard that the Miao holy maiden is exceptionally beautiful, like a celestial being descended to earth. Your Highness is truly blessed."

"More than a celestial being, it is said that the holy maiden of Miao territory possesses divine powers, controls hundreds of poisonous insects, and is immune to water, fire, and all poisons."

"If that were true, Miao territory would have unified the entire land long ago. Why would they be hiding in that barbarian land? It must be a rumor."

The two chatted back and forth, and people in the capital were all talking about this mysterious Miao holy woman.

Inside the inn, a woman sat cross-legged on the bed, dressed in black with a black veil covering her face. Only her eyebrows and eyes were visible, revealing her to be a beauty. A black mole at the corner of her eye added to her allure. This was the holy maiden of Miao territory.

A woman in blue, dressed in Miao attire, stood beside the Holy Maiden, while another woman in blue, also dressed in Miao attire, knelt on the ground. "Reporting to the Holy Maiden," one of them said, "the King of Xia has set the wedding date for December 25th."

The saintess gave a cold laugh and said, "I know," her eyes showing no trace of the joy one would expect from a newlywed.

Three days later, the coffin of the Duke of Zhenguo was sent back to the capital, where people from all over the city gathered at the East Gate to welcome it.

The cries of anguish shook the heavens. The Duke of Zhenguo vowed to defend the city to the death and blocked the attack of the Eastern Barbarians. The Lou family was thus wiped out.

Within just three days, the news that the heir of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion and his wife jumped into the river to follow their father became known to all.

People are grateful for the loyalty and filial piety of the Crown Prince and his wife.

At the Seventh Prince's residence, Amu escorted a soldier with a severed hand to Xia Changfeng's study.

"Did you personally witness the Young Master Lou and his wife jumping into the river? If you utter even the slightest falsehood, I will exterminate your entire family."

The soldier, neither servile nor arrogant, looked directly at Xia Changfeng and said, "Your entire family has long since perished under the iron cavalry of the Eastern Barbarians."

Xia Changfeng dared not look the soldier in the eye. Amu said from the side, "Brother, our prince is just worried about the young master and is a little anxious."

Two streams of tears flowed from the soldier's eyes. "I should have died on the battlefield too, but the Crown Prince's wife saved my life. I still clearly remember that day, the Crown Prince was hit by several arrows and died in the Crown Prince's wife's arms. The Crown Prince's wife resolutely jumped into the Wudu River with the Crown Prince in her arms."

Xia Changfeng felt a sudden, overwhelming pain. He slid off the chair and collapsed to the ground.

Amu hurriedly stepped forward to help Xia Changfeng, and called out, "Someone, quickly take this brother to a room to rest!"

Xia Changfeng slammed his fist into the ground, leaving a pool of blood. Amu, his eyes also red, clung tightly to Xia Changfeng's arm.

Xia Changfeng broke down in tears; it was the first time Amu had ever seen his prince cry like this.

"Lord Ruan, this is His Highness's study. You cannot force your way in. Please allow me to inform His Highness first."

Ruan Zhengqing rushed in, and Amu gave a wink to the guards behind him, who immediately withdrew.

Ruan Zhengqing stood at the door, looking at Xia Changfeng, who lay on the ground looking utterly lost, his body trembling uncontrollably.

Ruan Zhengqing leaned against the door frame, looked at Amu, and asked in a trembling voice, "Is the rumor true?"

Amu nodded with difficulty, then spat out a mouthful of blood from Ruan Zhengqing's mouth, and Ruan Zhengqing fell straight to the ground.

Xia Changfeng on the ground did not react. Amu hurriedly found someone to carry Ruan Zhengqing to the guest room and sent someone to invite the imperial physician.

While some are sad, others are happy.

Inside Qingfang Courtyard, Yujie smiled and reported to Linglong, "Your Highness, it's absolutely true, Ruan Wan has followed Lou Qianyuan to her death."

Linglong sighed, "I've misunderstood her. Her love for Lou Qianyuan is genuine and unwavering."

"Have all the spies in the south of the city been dealt with?"

"Not a single person was left alive, and the bodies were all disposed of cleanly. The shop was destroyed in a fire, leaving absolutely no trace."

"Your Highness must never find out that I was the one who escorted Ruan Wan out of the city."

Yu Jie smiled and said, "Your Highness, please rest assured, no one will know that we escorted her out of the city."

"What about that maid? The maid who was with Ruan Wan, didn't she leave the city with them and die too?"

"The maid was no longer with Ruan Wan when she found Lou Qianyuan; she must have died in the war."

Linglong slammed her hand on the table. "Maybe!"

Yu Jie immediately knelt down, "This servant will immediately send people to search for her whereabouts."

Linglong's eyes were filled with ruthlessness. "We can't leave any flaws. We have no one to rely on now, only His Highness. We must not let His Highness resent us."

Yu Jie asked cautiously, "Your Highness must be heartbroken right now. Would the Princess Consort like to go and comfort him?"

Linglong shook her head. "Your Highness knows that Ruan Wan and I don't get along, so why pretend to be nice and make Your Highness angry?"

Cui Mo, Cui Lu, A Jin, Hai Ping, and the others were all released and sent back to receive the coffin of the Duke of Zhenguo.

After bandaging his wounds, Xia Changfeng stood at the entrance of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, dressed in mourning clothes, waiting for Lou Yingyuan's coffin.

Countless people escorted the coffin of the Duke of Zhenguo back to his residence. Xia Changfeng knelt to welcome it, while Amu stood by and advised, "Your Highness, this is against etiquette. His Majesty will be displeased if he finds out."

Xia Changfeng ignored the warnings and personally escorted the coffin to welcome his uncle home.

That evening, Xia Changfeng, dressed in mourning clothes, stormed into the palace and went straight to the Empress's bedchamber.

Xia Changfeng kicked open the palace gate. Inside, there was no one but the Empress. The Empress, dressed in plain clothes, sat on the ground, looking at a white candle in front of her.

At this moment, Xia Changfeng could not vent his resentment no matter how much he wanted to do. He walked over and sat down opposite the Empress.

Granny Qiu, who was outside the door, immediately closed the palace gate, causing the candle flame to flicker in the wind and almost go out.

Xia Changfeng looked at the candlelight on the ground, at the flickering flame. "My cousin and Xiaozhu are both dead too."

The Queen's shoulders began to tremble, and large tears dripped onto the cold floor.

Xia Changfeng knelt down and gently embraced the Empress. The Empress could not hold back any longer and burst into tears.

On the fifteenth day, in the Empress's palace, Qin Gongcai knelt on the ground, his face full of worry. "Your Majesty, the Miao holy maiden forbids me from getting close. How can I tailor clothes to fit her body? The wedding is approaching, and if I don't have a wedding dress to wear, I fear I will be ridiculed and it will damage Your Highness's reputation."

The Empress took a sip of tea and smiled, "You've gotten quite used to it; can't you tailor clothes without taking measurements?"

"Although I can roughly estimate the fit, I fear it won't be suitable when the time comes, and the Holy Maiden might cause trouble then."

The Empress sneered, "She's just a concubine, yet she acts so arrogantly. It's because she herself refused to have her measurements taken. You only need to ensure that she has a wedding dress to wear on her wedding day."

With the Empress's words of reassurance, Qin Caiyi replied, "Your Majesty, I obey your decree. I will now take my leave to prepare the wedding attire for Your Highness and the Holy Maiden."

The Empress had a headache. So much trouble had already happened before she even married into the family. In Changfeng's inner quarters, there was a ruthless and sinister Chu princess, a stupid and jealous Rong Yufen, and now a Miao holy maiden had arrived.

It's true, they don't even have a virtuous and obedient daughter-in-law.

No sooner had Qin Gongcai left than Granny Qiu hurried over, bowed, and whispered in the Empress's ear.

The Empress frowned, then chuckled softly, "That's more like her style."

Granny Qiu frowned deeply. "Your Majesty, Consort Ruan is wearing mourning clothes and is privately offering sacrifices to the Crown Prince and his consort in the palace. This is against propriety."

The Empress laughed and said, "When has Ruan Qingdie ever abided by the rules of the harem? She has been behaving this way since she entered the palace, and has anyone ever disciplined her?"

"Setting up an altar privately was one thing, but Consort Nguyen Thu was also dressed in mourning clothes, and the altar was placed right at the entrance of her palace. Consort Nguyen Thu even cried loudly, without any restraint."

The Empress laughed even louder, tears welling in her eyes. "With her doing this, the whole palace will surely know."

"With such a commotion, the whole palace naturally knows about it. Therefore, this old servant is worried that if Her Majesty the Empress does not punish him, His Majesty will blame you."

The Empress wiped away her tears. "Everyone in the palace knows, and the Emperor certainly knows too. I can only cry in private behind closed doors, but she's the only one in the palace who can."

The Empress didn't care at all, and Granny Qiu had no other choice. Granny Qiu was even more puzzled, as Consort Ruan had only met Ruan Wan for a few years, so where did this deep affection come from?

Princess Chang Le died, but she acted as if nothing had happened, which was very strange.

On the 22nd, the Qin palace official delivered the bride's dress, but still did not see the Holy Maiden herself.

Qin Gongcai originally wanted the Holy Maiden to try it on, so that she could have it altered if it didn't fit. However, after the clothes were delivered, she was kicked out.

At the entrance of the post station, Qin Gongcai ran into Su Siyi, who had also been kicked out.

Before Qin Gongcai could speak, Master of Ceremonies Su began to complain, clapping her hands, "What are we going to do? Her Majesty the Empress sent me to teach the Holy Maiden etiquette. If I stay indoors and don't see her, there will be many mistakes at the wedding. Wouldn't that be a laughing stock?"

Qin Gongcai sighed, "This Miao holy maiden has a very strange personality. I was ordered to tailor the dress, but I didn't even get to see her face. I only caught a glimpse of her from afar through a curtain."

"You can barely manage to make the clothes, but what am I supposed to do? The whole world will laugh at me, and I'll be left with no choice but to live."

Qin Gongcai glanced inside the post station and whispered, "You're not going in. Just stand at the entrance, recite the wedding ceremony and protocol, and you're done."

The emcee sighed, "That's not how I did it. They thought I was too noisy and kicked me out."

"Then only one last resort remains; there's no other way."

The emcee looked at the court lady Qin with eager eyes, and grasped her hand. "Court lady Qin, if you have any methods, please tell me. I will definitely reward you handsomely."

Qin Gongcai grasped Su Siyi's hand. "Write down the etiquette rules on paper, send it in, and that's it. If the Empress blames you later, you'll have some grounds to defend yourself."

The emcee glanced at the room on the second floor, sighed, and realized that was all she could do.

At 1:15 AM on the 25th, the wedding procession was already waiting at the entrance of the post station.

Soldiers had been dispatched to clear the area along the road early on, but the people of the capital still gathered on both sides of the street, waiting to catch a glimpse of the Miao holy maiden.

To show the Great Xia Dynasty's respect for the Miao holy maiden, the emperor ordered his personal eunuch Zhang to personally escort her to the wedding, which was further supported by the newly appointed commander of the three armies, General Chu Heng.

Chu Heng was a subordinate of General Rong, the former General Who Guards the North. He made great contributions in the Battle of Xia and Chu and was promoted to Commander of the Three Armies.

This shows how much the emperor valued this marriage alliance.

Eunuch Zhang stood at the door, his face full of anxiety. "Holy Maiden, are you dressed yet? The auspicious time has arrived. Any later and we might miss the appointed time."

There was still no response from inside. The young eunuch beside him urged in a low voice, "My lord, General Chu has been urging us several times. When will the Holy Maiden come out?"

Eunuch Zhang glared at him, and the little eunuch immediately shrank back. After hesitating for a moment, Eunuch Zhang still reached out and knocked on the door.

Just as his hand was raised, before it could fall, the door opened, and Eunuch Zhang immediately withdrew his hand, his face beaming with a smile. "Miss Zi, is the Holy Maiden ready? We must set off."

Azi opened the door and stood respectfully to the side. The Holy Maiden was already standing at the door. When Eunuch Zhang saw the Holy Maiden's attire, he froze on the spot.

The saintess ignored him and walked straight downstairs, with Azi following closely behind.

Eunuch Zhang immediately followed, asking, "Why isn't the Holy Maiden dressed in her wedding gown? How can she get married in such black?"

The saintess ignored him and walked straight to the entrance of the post station. A commotion began to rise outside as people scrambled to see what kind of ethereal beauty the saintess possessed.

Upon seeing the saintess dressed in black with a black veil, there was an immediate silence, followed by whispers from the crowd.

Eunuch Zhang chased after her, approached the Holy Maiden, and whispered, "This is improper. Holy Maiden, you should go back and change into your wedding dress. This old servant will wait for you here."

The saintess ignored him, standing at the door without moving forward, while the carriage was right behind General Chu.

But the saintess stood at the door, unmoved.

Chu Heng dismounted and walked to Eunuch Zhang's side, glancing at the Holy Maiden. "Eunuch, why is the Holy Maiden dressed in all black?"

Little did Zhang Gonggong know, the surrounding crowd had already begun to stir. Having no other choice, he whispered, "Forget about the clothes, get in the carriage quickly and let's set off."

Chu Heng walked up to the Holy Maiden and bowed, saying, "Please, Holy Maiden, get into the carriage."

The saintess remained unmoved. At that moment, at the entrance of the alley next to the post station, another of the saintess's maids, Aqing, drove up in a carriage.

It was an ordinary carriage, without any decorations. The carriage stopped at the entrance of the post station, and Azi helped the saintess into the carriage.

The carriage then headed towards the Seventh Prince's residence. Chu Heng looked bewildered at Eunuch Zhang, asking, "What's going on here?"

Eunuch Zhang was so anxious he was jumping up and down. "How should I know what's going on? Hurry up and follow them!"

The onlookers were completely dumbfounded.

"Why is this holy maiden dressed in all black for her wedding?"

"Perhaps it's a custom from the Miao region."

"Why doesn't this holy maiden get into the carriage prepared by the palace? It's drawn by six horses, with a road paved with red silk. Even marrying a principal wife wouldn't be done with this level of ceremony."

No one understood why the saintess would ride in that dilapidated carriage to get married.

"This holy maiden only brought two attendants with her, and there was no dowry whatsoever. For three people to marry on a horse is far too meager."

"Perhaps the southern borderlands are too remote and impoverished to afford a dowry."

Some people laughed and said, "With the Southern Frontier's national strength so weak, our Great Xia might as well just destroy it like we did with the Chu Kingdom."

Immediately, soldiers approached with spears, shouting, "How dare you speak ill of the prince!"

The crowd scattered and fled, but after tomorrow, the deeds of the Miao Holy Maiden will surely be known throughout the streets and alleys, and everyone will know about them.