She stared at him in disbelief, her hands instinctively grabbing at Feng Linyuan's sleeve. But she was unable to stop him from shouting out at the top of his voice, "Mo Li!"
Hardly had the words left his mouth when Mo Li rushed in, looking panicked. "My lord, something terrible has happened! Something terrible!"
When Bai Zheng saw Mo Li, she suddenly understood what was going on. She loosened her grip on Feng Linyuan's sleeve.
Sure enough, Mo Li knelt on the ground and said, "Liu Feng is missing!"
"What!" Feng Linche and Empress Chu leaped to their feet, their faces ashen. "That beast has escaped?"
As they spoke, they exchanged a knowing look. They both understood what was going on, and their eyes were cold.
Empress Chu pointed at Feng Linyuan accusingly. "In my opinion, it was you, Marquis of Dingyuan, who deliberately let that beast go!"
But Feng Linyuan pretended not to hear her. He stamped his foot impatiently and scolded Mo Li, "I told you to keep an eye on Liu Feng. Is this how you do it? Liu Feng caused a great deal of trouble today and angered His Majesty. That little brute should have died to atone for his sins. How could you let him escape?"
"I deserve to die, my lord. Please punish me!" Mo Li buried his head lower, looking like a man who knew he was wrong.
Feng Linyuan flung his sleeve angrily. "What's the use of punishing you now? Go and catch Liu Feng right away! If you can't catch him, don't come back!"
The conversation between the master and his servant happened so quickly that Feng Linche and Empress Chu didn't have time to recover from their anger at the Marquis of Dingyuan's mansion for letting Liu Feng go. Mo Li had already received his order and disappeared from the hall with a group of the marquis's guards.
Now, Feng Linche and Empress Chu were so angry that they felt like they were about to burst. But they couldn't find anyone to vent their anger on.
After all, it was Feng Linche's own son, the Ninth Prince, who had let Liu Feng out. It had nothing to do with the Marquis of Dingyuan's mansion.
The only thing Feng Linche could do now was to kill Liu Feng to vent his anger. But now Liu Feng had "escaped"?
Since Liu Feng had escaped, he could also kill Mo Li for his dereliction of duty. But now, Mo Li had received his order to "chase" Liu Feng and had disappeared?
Who else could he hold accountable?
Feng Linyuan?
He saw Feng Linyuan and his wife, Bai Zheng, kneeling on the ground, looking innocent and aggrieved. They had won the sympathy of several old ministers in the hall.
The envoys from other countries were all looking on with amusement.
In fact, they were looking forward to seeing what would happen next - whether Feng Linche would turn against the Marquis of Dingyuan and all the old ministers of the Great Zhou Dynasty for the sake of a beast.
Looking at the old ministers, who would plead for Feng Linyuan if Feng Linche dared to hold him accountable, even Feng Linche, as the emperor, had to swallow his anger.
After all, a falling-out between the emperor and his ministers was something that could only be done in private. In front of the envoys from other countries, Feng Linche had to act like a benevolent emperor, no matter how shameless he was.
He was so angry that his face was distorted. But he still managed to force a smile. "Forget it, forget it. In the end, A Yuan was innocent in today's incident. As long as the Marquis of Dingyuan's mansion catches that beast and hands it over soon, this matter will be over."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Feng Linyuan and Bai Zheng were overjoyed. "I will do my best to catch that brute as soon as possible."
"What if you can't catch it?" Empress Chu asked coldly.
Feng Linyuan had already prepared an answer. He replied confidently, "I have raised Liu Feng for many years, and he has never run away before. To be honest, I am also wondering whether he ran away on his own or was taken away by someone with ulterior motives.
But no matter what the situation is, the marquis's mansion will do its best to catch him. Please give me a few more days, Your Majesty."
"A few days?" Empress Chu exchanged a knowing look with Feng Linche and said slowly, "At most three days."
When the old ministers heard this, they were about to plead for mercy.
They heard Feng Linche say with a smile, "Look at you. You only gave him three days. That's too inhumane. A Yuan just got married. You should give him a few days off, right?"
He turned to look at Feng Linyuan kindly. "A Yuan, don't worry. Just send it in within seven days."
Feng Linyuan sneered in his heart.
This couple was playing good cop, bad cop. In the end, they only gave him seven days. They were really good at acting!
Although he was complaining in his heart, Feng Linyuan still looked grateful on the surface. He nodded heavily and said, "I will obey your order. Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness."
Feng Linche stood up satisfied and said with a smile, "Since that's the case, I've watched the ceremony. It's time for me to go back. I'm always a restraint on you here, making you unable to enjoy yourselves. I've shared the joy of the marquis's mansion today. It's time for me to go back early."
"Your Majesty, what are you saying..." Although Feng Linyuan said this, his body had already stepped aside very honestly, making way for Feng Linche and his entourage.
Everyone in the hall respectfully watched the emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty leave.
Empress Chu also stood up and followed Feng Linche all the way to the door of the hall.
When she passed by Feng Linyuan, she suddenly stopped and glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. "What if the Marquis of Dingyuan's mansion still can't catch that beast after seven days?"
"If I still can't catch it, I will let Your Majesty and Your Highness dispose of me as you see fit." Feng Linyuan said in a deep voice.
"Good." Empress Chu lifted the corner of her lips. "You said it yourself."
Feng Linyuan also smiled and watched the emperor and empress leave in a grand manner.
The troublesome people were all gone. Finally, this wedding ended in a harmonious atmosphere of congratulations.
In the wedding chamber decorated in bright red, a pair of exquisite dragon and phoenix candles were burning quietly.
Bai Zheng was covered with the red wedding veil again and sat quietly on the new bed embroidered with the pattern of dragon and phoenix.
She hadn't noticed it during the busy day. It was only now that she relaxed that she felt the heaviness of the headdress on her head. Her neck was also so sore that she could hardly bear it.
Feng Linyuan seemed to know the embarrassment of his new wife. He had driven away those who wanted to watch the fun and make a ruckus in the wedding chamber early. He took a black ebony scale inlaid with silver and wrapped with red silk from Zhu Ling's hand and carefully lifted the bright red wedding veil on Bai Zheng's head.
Bai Zheng only felt a burst of light in front of her eyes. A tall and straight figure loomed over her head. She looked up and met Feng Linyuan's eyes. They were deep and quiet, with extremely thick eyeliner slanting obliquely. When he looked at her, it seemed that there was a deep meaning in his eyes.
Bai Zheng was stunned for a moment. Then her face turned red, and she quickly lowered her head.
She had seen Feng Linyuan without his mask in his bright red clothes in the hall just now. But now that she saw him again, her heart still couldn't help beating wildly.