Originally, they thought that Chongming had stood by while Yaohua sacrificed herself for the world. Inevitably, they harbored grievances in their hearts, which was why he had severed ties with the Celestial Realm.
Over the years, Chongming had been disheartened and never explained, causing the rift between the two sides to deepen.
Now that the misunderstanding had been cleared up, everyone felt deeply emotional.
Yanling picked up his wine cup. "As long as you treat my sister well, you'll always be my brother - in - law!"
With that, he drained the wine in his cup in one gulp.
Feng Yi and the others also stood up one after another. "If you ever treat my sister badly in the future, our Phoenix Clan won't be lenient."
Chongming looked at Yaohua, his eyes filled with tenderness. "Rest assured, elder brothers. I'll never let her down in this lifetime."
Zhu Yuan, who had been silent all this time, now spoke up. "According to the customs of our Phoenix Clan, you two should hold a wedding in the clan, announce it to the world, and invite guests."
Yaohua was stunned. "A wedding in the clan? Isn't that only for men who marry into the wife's family..."
Yanling interrupted her. "Yes, yes, yes. If it weren't for the fifth brother's reminder, I would have forgotten."
The other elder brothers exchanged glances and spoke in unison. "Our beloved younger sister can't be married off casually. Chongming, when do you plan to return to the Phoenix Clan with us?"
Looking at the elder brothers who clearly had their own agendas, a hint of confusion flashed in Chongming's eyes. Yaohua secretly thought it was bad. Her elder brothers were trying to take advantage of Chongming's ignorance of the Phoenix Clan's customs and make him marry into their family. This was too hurtful to his pride.
She stood up and was about to stop them, but Feng Yi gently pushed her back into her seat. "Sister, men are drinking and chatting. You don't need to interfere."
"But..."
Just as Yaohua was about to speak, she heard the man beside her say firmly, "Okay!"
She looked at him in surprise and saw Chongming looking calm. "Rest assured, elder brothers. I'll treat Yaohua well. I'll never let her down in this lifetime and all the lifetimes to come."
The elder brothers all showed satisfied smiles. "With your words, we're relieved. Come, let's keep drinking."
"No way!" In her eagerness, Yaohua directly revealed the truth. "Only men who marry into the Phoenix Clan should hold such a wedding ceremony. Chongming, don't let them trick you."
The elder brothers' expressions froze. They didn't expect her to expose their little scheme in public.
Zhu Yuan shook his head helplessly. "It seems that in our sister's heart, only her husband matters most now. Our opinions as elder brothers have to take a back seat."
Chongming ruffled Yaohua's hair and looked at her with a gentle smile. "I know."
Yaohua was stunned, as if her heart had been hit hard.
He... knew, but still agreed?
"I already owe you a wedding. Now that my godly essence has declined and my divine power is much weaker, being able to marry into the Phoenix Clan is not a humiliation but a blessing for me."
Under the moonlight, the man's gentle voice was as mellow as fine wine, and his words were intoxicating. "I just wonder if Princess Yaohua would give me a chance to be your consort?"
Hearing this, Yaohua's smile gradually brightened, and her eyes sparkled like stars.
Her delicate voice echoed in the night sky, with a hint of sweetness. "Listen carefully. My husband is the one who will spend the rest of my life with me. I can't choose him casually!"
"If you want to be my consort, there are four rules. First, you must love and cherish me and listen to me. Second, you must tolerate my bad temper and coax and spoil me. Third, you must have a lot of money for me to spend. Fourth, you must have peerless beauty. Do you think you can do it?"
Chongming bent down, his hands behind his back, and stared directly at her. "What do you think, Princess?"
Yaohua replied playfully, "I'm not sure. I need to think about it~"
Seeing the cute and sweet interaction between the young couple, the others couldn't help but show indulgent smiles.
Feng Yi coughed lightly and deliberately joked, "It doesn't matter. If you don't like this one, sister, I can find other brothers - in - law for you. You have many childhood friends, and many of them are still unmarried. I'm sure they won't mind that you have a child."
Yaohua pretended to be eager. "Really? Who are they? Let me think about it."
Before her words fell, a hint of jealousy flashed in Chongming's deep eyes. He directly and domineeringly pulled her into his arms. "Don't even think about it. You can only be with me!"
Yaohua burst out laughing, and the others also laughed heartily.
Since she was pregnant and couldn't cross the ocean, the wedding had to be postponed until after the baby was born.
The elder brothers all held important positions. After staying on the island for a few days, they gradually returned to the Divine Land.
During her pregnancy, Yaohua was prone to cravings. So the elder brothers searched for all kinds of delicious food from everywhere and sent them over from afar.
"This is the marinated duck sent by elder brother. Try it quickly." Chongming brought over the fragrant and plump duck, cut it into small pieces, and fed her personally.
Yaohua took a few bites and frowned slightly. "It seems a bit greasy."
Chongming took out a jar of plums like a magician. "Plums are refreshing and can relieve greasiness. Try them."
She ate several in a row and was finally satisfied.
He looked at her tenderly. "What else do you want to eat? I just learned how to make seafood congee in the kitchen. Should I go and bring you a bowl?"
"Sure!" Yaohua's eyes lit up immediately. Since she got pregnant, Chongming had developed a new hobby. He insisted on cooking her favorite dishes himself. He doted on her so much that he seemed to be afraid that she would melt if he held her in his mouth and afraid that she would fall if he held her in his hands.
At first, she was a bit embarrassed. After all, in ordinary families, the man was supposed to take care of things outside and the woman inside. Why hadn't she mastered cooking skills yet, but he was already taking care of her?
But later, Chongming prepared all kinds of nutritious and delicious seafood feasts for her every day, and his cooking skills became more and more exquisite.
Moreover, the baby in her belly was growing bigger and bigger. If she didn't eat something to replenish her strength and nutrition, it would be bad for the baby's development.
So she didn't care about anything else and just enjoyed her husband's care.
"Drink some soup first!"
Soon, Chongming returned under the tree. He filled half a bowl of soup, blew on it to cool it down, scooped up a spoonful, and fed it to Yaohua's lips.
Yaohua opened her mouth slightly and swallowed the small mouthful of soup. She smiled brightly. "Thank you, husband!"
Just as they were in a loving mood, there came a sound of someone secretly swallowing saliva beside them.
Yaohua looked in the direction of the sound and saw a pair of deer - like, lively eyes staring at her. The eyes were full of envy.
A young girl with antlers was standing under the purple flower tree, looking at them intently.
"Who are you?" Chongming asked warily.
"I, I'm the fiancée of God of War Chenyu." The girl said timidly, with a shy look on her face.
Hearing this, both the husband and wife showed surprised expressions. "Chenyu has a fiancée?"
They had never heard of such a thing before.
"He, he doesn't seem to want to admit this marriage. So I've been here for several days, but he hasn't summoned me."