These words drew the agreement of many people around.
"Yeah, yeah. The Third Prince is really blessed!"
"Princess Yunxi is extremely beautiful. Even compared to our Great Zhou's princesses, she is no less attractive!"
"The Third Prince has always been lucky in love. Just look at Miss Bai the Second back then... cough cough!"
Hearing the whispers below, Feng Jingxuan didn't know what to say for a moment. His eyes were as cold as ice. He gave Bai Zheng a cold look, but a smile slowly spread across his face.
"Madam Hou is joking. Please come in quickly."
Feng Linyuan nodded and led Bai Zheng through the door.
At banquets in the Great Zhou, the seats for male and female guests were always separated.
Therefore, even though Feng Linyuan and Bai Zheng were already married, they still had to sit separately at today's banquet.
Feng Linyuan was a bit annoyed, but there was nothing he could do.
Seeing two maidservants, one pointing to the left and the other to the right, waiting for them with their heads bowed submissively, Feng Linyuan tightly squeezed Bai Zheng's hand and whispered, "We'll leave as soon as they finish the rituals. There's no need to join in the fun."
Bai Zheng nodded.
She knew in her heart that something always happened on such occasions in the past, and today would surely be no better.
Moreover, because of the presence of the Western Liang princess at today's banquet, it was said that in order to accommodate the customs of Western Liang, guests attending the ceremony were not allowed to bring their personal servants. All matters would be taken care of by the servants of the Third Prince's Mansion throughout.
Besides, Zhu Qin and Qing Shao were a bit injured to some extent while protecting Bai Zheng because of the incident where the dessert shop was smashed before. Bai Zheng felt so much pain for them that no matter how they begged, she didn't let them come.
For some reason, Feng Linyuan felt restless today. Without Qing Shao by Bai Zheng's side to protect her, he was deeply afraid that Bai Zheng would get hurt and he wouldn't be able to come to her rescue in time.
If he could, he wished he could turn Bai Zheng into a little kitten and stuff her into his arms and take her to the male guests' area, never leaving his side for a moment.
Looking at the deep frown on Feng Linyuan's forehead, Bai Zheng couldn't help but smile.
She raised her hand and gently smoothed the man's wrinkled brow in front of her, saying gently, "Okay, we'll leave as soon as it's over. We won't stay a moment longer."
With that, she tightly squeezed Feng Linyuan's hand with her other hand. "With you here, I'm not afraid."
Only then did Feng Linyuan nod. He watched Bai Zheng sit down in her seat in the female guests' area before turning around and walking towards his own seat.
At the male guests' area, everyone was looking at Feng Linyuan with some suspicion.
The fact that the Marquis of Dingyuan, who had been ill for six years and had one foot in the grave, had recovered was undoubtedly the most shocking thing in Yongding City this year.
They hesitated for a while about whether they should go up and try to get closer to him when they saw someone stand up first and walk towards Feng Linyuan.
Once someone took the lead, everyone rushed to get up, wanting to greet Feng Linyuan and get to know him.
But before that person could reach Feng Linyuan, Feng Linyuan, who had been expressionless all along, stopped in front of his seat. His gaze swept slightly and then stopped in one direction.
He walked over there with a smile on his face.
"Daddy."
He called out with a smile.
It turned out that he had come to pay respects to Bai Yinan.
Only then did everyone remember that the girl Feng Linyuan had married a few days ago was the daughter of this Minister of Revenue.
A mere Minister of Revenue had become the father - in - law of the prestigious Marquis of Dingyuan. It was simply as if his ancestors' graves were emitting green smoke.
Countless envious looks were focused on Bai Yinan.
But Bai Yinan only cared about Feng Linyuan. Seeing him come over, Bai Yinan also nodded with a smile. "Did you get too hot on the way here?"
"No. Don't worry, Daddy." Feng Linyuan replied obediently.
Then he exchanged a few words with Bai Yinan. Most of the time, it was Bai Yinan asking and Feng Linyuan answering.
The incident where the dessert shop was smashed a few days ago had caused a great stir in Yongding City. Bai Yinan had been extremely worried.
Although the Marquis's Mansion had sent a message early on to tell them that Bai Zheng was unharmed, Bai Yinan was still not at ease.
Seeing Feng Linyuan today, Bai Yinan grabbed him and asked him to tell him every detail of the whole incident.
On the other side, because of her change in status, Bai Zheng's seat had moved from the corner to the front row.
The young ladies of Yongding who had once avoided her were now vying to greet her. She responded to them all with a smile.
Fortunately, the Great Zhou attached great importance to auspicious days, and the banquet and rituals could not be delayed. Bai Zheng didn't have to keep up the pretense for too long. As soon as the auspicious time arrived, the betrothal banquet started on time.
Feng Linche, along with the Empress Chu and Concubine Yi, sat at the head of the banquet. Next to them were Zhuo Yi, the Prince of Xuanning of Western Liang, and his heir Zhuo Lingxiao.
The front gate of the Third Prince's Mansion was now completely cleared. Outside the main gate, the line of red carriages slowly passed by until the largest and most magnificent carriage stopped at the door.
Feng Jingxuan stepped forward in person. The carriage door opened, and a fair and jade - like arm stretched out.
Feng Jingxuan quickly took that hand and helped the person out of the carriage.
Princess Yunxi was wearing a snow - white dress. The gentle sunlight shone on her, making her look as if she was wearing a colorful feathered robe. She was extremely beautiful.
Her eyebrows were gently curved, and her skin was fairer than snow. She had completely lost her usual noisy look. Every gesture exuded a noble aura.
Feng Jingxuan led her towards the main hall. The white - and - red couple was a pleasing sight, a perfect match.
Feng Linche and the Empress Chu couldn't stop smiling.
Only Concubine Yi, the birth mother of Feng Jingxuan who should have been the happiest, only had a faint, distant smile on her face.
After the two paid their respects to those at the head one by one, just like at the previous betrothal ceremony, Feng Linche, the Empress Chu, and Concubine Yi all bestowed a lot of gifts on Princess Yunxi.
Princess Yunxi returned with a full load and happily sat down in the female guests' area.
After the ceremony was over, the center of the main hall was cleared, and the Western Liang dancers brought by Princess Yunxi stepped forward to perform.
Western Liang songs and dances were extremely rare in the Great Zhou. The extremely exotic dances caught the guests' eyes.
But Feng Linche had no interest in this. He sat on the high main seat. His slender eyes casually glanced at the dancers, then he turned to Zhuo Yi and praised Princess Yunxi.
Feng Jingye, who was sitting closest to the head, naturally heard most clearly.
His face had been unfriendly at first, but suddenly he smiled slightly, picked up his wine cup, and said to Feng Jingxuan sitting next to him.
"Congratulations, Third Brother, on winning the beauty's heart!"
Everyone at the scene had been immersed in the song and dance, and few people were talking. So although Feng Jingye's voice was not loud, it still immediately caught everyone's attention.
Everyone's eyes were focused on them.
Feng Jingxuan quickly picked up the wine cup in front of him and replied, "Thank you, Second Brother."
With that, he drained the wine in the cup in one gulp.
Feng Jingye laughed heartily. His voice carried a bit of frankness and cheer. "Third Brother is still as heroic as ever. But you have to be more careful in the future. Once a man gets married, he can't be as reckless as before."