"Yes, it seems that the rumors are not always reliable," said a clear male voice.
Shuang'er looked over and gave the man a fierce glare. Anyone who spoke up for the Lan family couldn't be a good person, she reckoned.
The yellow - dressed woman standing beside them let out a cold snort, her face full of jealousy. "Mo Qinghuan is so lucky! She was born as the legitimate daughter of the General's Mansion. And before..." At this point, she suddenly seemed to remember something. "Hey, wait a minute. Wasn't Mo Qinghuan previously betrothed to Minister Zhang? I heard that this marriage was arranged by her kind stepmother."
The man suddenly realized. "Oh! Right! Now that you mention it, I remember. I heard that Mo Qinghuan killed someone, but instead of blaming her, the emperor even conferred the title of 'Princess Saiyue' on her."
The woman crossed her arms in front of her chest. "If it weren't for her general father and her current title of Princess Saiyue, I bet the Regent would never have taken a fancy to her."
Hearing this, the man sneered. "Even if the Regent doesn't take a fancy to Mo Qinghuan, he probably won't take a fancy to you either!"
"You!!!"
The voices of the discussion faded away. Shuang'er rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Miss, look at those people."
"Alright, Shuang'er. Don't you know that once the bride gets into the sedan chair, she's not supposed to talk? Can't you wait until we get off the sedan chair and finish the wedding ceremony to say something..."
Along the way, gongs and drums roared, firecrackers popped, and the cheers of the crowd all added up to a lively scene.
When they arrived at the gate of the Regent's Mansion, the main gate was wide open.
The wedding maid walked up to the sedan chair with a beaming face. "The groom should kick open the sedan - chair door."
As soon as the wedding maid finished speaking, she was pulled aside by Bai Ke.
"What do you mean by kicking the sedan - chair door? Didn't I tell you before that there's no such custom?"
The wedding maid bent down. "It was this old servant's oversight. This old servant deserves to die."
Mu Yanming looked coldly at the wedding maid. He dismounted from his horse and walked up to the sedan chair.
He gently lifted the curtain and helped Mo Qinghuan out.
This action stunned everyone present.
The so - called "kicking the sedan - chair door" was a way for the groom to assert his authority when about to marry the bride. But now, the Regent had given Princess Saiyue enough face.
"The auspicious time has arrived. Enter the wedding hall. The bride and groom shall pay homage!" the wedding maid shouted.
Mu Yanming took Mo Qinghuan's hand and walked in.
They stood facing each other. Just as they were about to start the wedding ceremony, a shout came from outside.
"His Majesty the Emperor and Her Majesty the Empress have arrived!"
Everyone gasped, and then knelt on the ground.
"Greetings to Your Majesty the Emperor and Her Majesty the Empress."
Mu Yanming twitched the corner of his eye and looked at the two people who walked in and sat in the seats of honor with a gloomy face.
People below started whispering again.
"Even the emperor has come..."
"Could he not come? How much has the Regent contributed to the Li State? His achievements are probably the highest among all the regents in history. How could the emperor not give him this face?"
Hearing the words below, although the emperor was smiling on the surface, his hand in his sleeve had already tightened. "These people really deserve to die. Do they mean that the Li State's territory was all conquered by Mu Yanming?!!!"
The empress noticed the emperor's mood and said to the wedding maid standing beside her with a smile, "Continue."
Mu Linyi's eyes fell on Mo Qinghuan's slender waist. It was hard to tell what he was thinking.
When they bowed to heaven and earth, they both bowed towards the sky and the earth.
The wedding maid called out for them to bow to the elders. Everyone held their breath and watched the scene intently. The old ministers present all knew very well about Mu Linyi's act of killing his elder brother and forcing his father back then.
Now, although the emperor was the Regent's uncle and was qualified to sit in the seats of honor, but...
Would Mu Yanming bow?
Time passed by second by second...
The wedding maid was sweating profusely with anxiety, but she didn't dare to remind them.
Under the veil, Mo Qinghuan glanced at Mu Yanming from the side. She could vaguely see the veins on Mu Yanming's forehead.
She knew that Mu Yanming was affected by the matter of his father. After thinking for a while, she came up with an idea.
At this moment, the situation was getting tense. Everyone, including the emperor himself, was waiting to see how Mu Yanming would resolve this. Would he kneel and bow, or would he refuse to do so at all costs?
At this time, the person beside Mu Yanming swayed.
"What's going on?"
Before everyone could react...
Mo Qinghuan tilted and fell into Mu Yanming's arms.
"Hey? Why did the bride faint?" someone asked. Then someone beside said, "Fainting at this time. I have to say, it's really timely." The speaker was the left prime minister, Lan Yiming.
Bai Ke looked at the left prime minister, his eyes flickering slightly.
Mu Yanming frowned slightly, then helped Mo Qinghuan up.
He made a gesture of bowing to each other as husband and wife.
Then he picked her up horizontally and carried her back to the bridal chamber.
People behind started discussing. "Is this the end of the wedding ceremony?!!!"
After turning a corridor, Mo Qinghuan nestled in Mu Yanming's arms and couldn't help boasting. "How about it? Isn't my idea good?"
Mu Yanming didn't say a word, but he was actually overjoyed in his heart. She was very smart, and he was very pleased.
He placed Mo Qinghuan on the bed and gently pressed her down. "Have a good rest. I'll come back soon. I won't let you wait for too long."
For some reason, she immediately understood what Mu Yanming meant. Her face flushed red, and she pulled the quilt over half of her face.
The red candles burned silently. The dancing candlelight made her look even more delicate and charming.
Mu Yanming took a deep breath, swallowed hard, straightened up, opened the door, and walked towards the front hall.
After Mu Yanming left, Mo Qinghuan got up and sat on the edge of the bed.
Dan'er and Shuang'er came over at this time, carrying some food.
"Miss, you must be starving. Come and have something to eat," Dan'er said as she put the things in her hand on the table while calling Mo Qinghuan.
Mo Qinghuan walked over and saw that the food was very light, her favorite taste.
She sat down at the table. Just as she was about to pick up her chopsticks, the kiss with Mu Yanming suddenly flashed through her mind.
...She quickly covered her mouth.
Dan'er and Shuang'er glanced at each other, confused. "What's wrong, miss?"
"It's okay. I'm not hungry yet." She sat back on the edge of the bed.
Shuang'er poured out some mouth - wash and put it on the table. Instead of talking about eating, she said, "Miss, rinse your mouth then."
Mo Qinghuan blushed with shame. She put on the veil and didn't look at the two girls who were secretly laughing.
After a long time, Shuang'er said, "Miss, I'll go out and take a look. If you're hungry, just have something to eat..."
Then she opened the door and went out.
After about an incense - stick's time, she came back.
"Miss, the prince is still entertaining the guests. I asked Captain Bai. Captain Bai said that the prince might not be back until evening."
Mo Qinghuan was pretending to sleep under the veil. Hearing this, she quickly lifted the veil, her face full of shyness. "Shuang'er, how could you ask Bai Ke such a question? People will think I can't wait!" She covered her face. "Oh, I'm so embarrassed!"
Dan'er brought over a box of pastries. "Miss, have some. These are all very light things. They won't have a strong smell!"
Mo Qinghuan thought to herself that even this innocent little maid had guessed what was on her mind. If she really didn't eat, wouldn't Mu Yanming be able to guess too...
But that wasn't really the reason!
She was really just afraid that if she ate too much, she would burp in the middle of the night when she was sleeping...