Chapter 363 – Capital City Turmoil (20)
“It’s up to Liu Xi to reign in Liu Xi, while Lan Ting, as the legitimate second son, is bound to help find a husband for his younger sister,” Feng Jin turned around and sighed, “But right now, she shouldn’t be coming here. It’s just stirring the muddy waters for no reason, and I wonder if she can come back unscathed…”
Wei Jingxian hesitated to respond, her face shrouded in the dim light of the room, so Feng Jin didn’t notice the uncertainty written across her features.
After a long silence without Wei Jingxian’s reply, he reached out and touched her tense abdomen, mumbling, “Is the child causing you trouble again?”
The two had been married for two to three years, and Feng Jin was quite familiar with Wei Jingxian’s stubborn temperament.
In the earlier months, she suffered from cramps during the night but refused to disturb his rest, enduring silently through the pain.
For such a wife, Feng Jin felt both love and respect, and their feelings for each other were steadily growing.
“No, not really… I just suddenly thought of old times and feel a bit sentimental…”
“Old times?” Feng Jin rarely heard his wife talk about her life before marriage and chuckled, “Does it have anything to do with Lan Ting?”
Wei Jingxian bit her lip, her face showing distress.
She didn’t realize that Feng Jin already knew about Liu Xi’s gender. Even though he was friends with Liu Xi, she had been Liu Xi’s “fiancée” in childhood, burdened with a marriage agreement since she was young… Wei Jingxian couldn’t gauge Feng Jin’s attitude toward this matter and always avoided mentioning Liu Xi.
Hesitating, Wei Jingxian tried to keep her tone neutral, “Um, it’s somewhat related. When I was a child, I loved to eat and was quite round, a bit chubby, yet I was also quite mischievous and couldn’t sit still, always thinking of ways to escape the maidservants and play around. One day, while everyone wasn’t paying attention, I climbed up the pear tree outside the courtyard. I made it up but couldn’t get down, crying for quite a long time…”
Feng Jin chuckled, “And then?”
“I’m not sure if it was due to the nature of children being similar. All the servants in the house were about to cry while searching for me, but it was Lan Ting who found me. I was afraid of being scolded by the family elders, so I didn’t let her call for help, but I was too scared to climb down. Stuck in that situation, she actually said she’d be my cushion, so I could jump down, and if I got hurt, she’d take the blame…” As she spoke, a playful smile appeared on Wei Jingxian’s face.
“Your ladyship as a child must have been adorable… But after jumping down, you were all right, weren’t you?”
Since she was round and plump, it was likely that jumping down knocked Liu Xi over. Just imagining that scene filled Feng Jin with inexplicable delight.
Wei Jingxian replied, “I was fine, but Lan Ting ended up being hurt.”
Feng Jin suppressed his laughter and teased, “Then it seems I must prepare a small gift for Lan Ting tomorrow to thank her for her kindness.”
Wei Jingxian was taken aback, thinking Feng Jin was upset. But hearing no anger in his voice, she tentatively probed, “Are you perhaps feeling jealous, my lord?”
Feng Jin raised an eyebrow in suspicion, “Why would I be jealous?”
Was he the kind of person who would get jealous over a woman?
Wait!
At that moment, Feng Jin’s clever mind realized the couple was speaking over each other’s heads, and he couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
Wei Jingxian was also bewildered, not understanding what was so funny about her earlier words.
“Let’s sleep. It’s rare that the child isn’t bothering you. You should get a good night’s rest.”
Feng Jin subdued the remaining laughter, choosing not to explain, and the couple fell into a quiet slumber, drifting slowly into dreams.
At this time, the capital city was rife with tension, while the common people remained unaware of the inner turmoil and continued living their ordinary lives as if in a time of peace. The scheming of the nobles had no impact on them, and only those with sharp senses could detect the undercurrents beneath the calm surface.
It wasn’t until Wu Ma Jun’s grand wedding that a faint crack appeared in the peaceful facade.
Aside from a few years ago when Princess An Yina married the Second Prince, this wedding was one of the rare joyous events in the Dongqing royal family.
The royal wedding was an enticing spectacle for the audience in the livestream.
【HahaMilk】: #Facepalm, it’s clearly the host sister getting married, but I’m as nervous as if I’m the one getting hitched!
【Nutritional Express】: I feel the same! I’m super nervous too! At the Second Prince’s wedding, the host didn’t attend, but this time it’s her younger half-sister. Watching this royal wedding in ancient times through her eyes feels like we’re all watching it too…
In this realm, the audience had long since moved past the feudal empire, and the term “royalty” felt foreign to the common people.
With only their vague imaginations, they couldn’t conceive what an imperial wedding would be like.
In the days leading up to her sister’s wedding, Jiang Pengji was incredibly low-key, mostly staying at home, only occasionally going out to visit Liu Zhi’s acquaintances in the officialdom. The conversations were bland and devoid of any significant value.
It felt like the calm before the storm, and as the wedding day approached, the atmosphere in the capital city grew increasingly peculiar.
On the morning of the big day, Jiang Pengji began her livestream, and instantly, 150,000 viewers flooded in.
With the help of Ta Xue to wash her hands carefully, Jiang Pengji donned her celebratory attire.
She cast a glance at the bullet comments in the livestream, a faint smile pulling at her lips.
【Host V】: Am I looking handsome or what?
As soon as she posted this message, her fans eagerly responded, showering her with gifts in a steady stream.
Thus, the dashing, more handsome than the groom Jiang Pengji was all set to go give the groom a hard time.
In Dongqing, the custom was such that to marry the bride, the groom must go through “eighty-one trials.”
Or as the audience in the livestream would put it, it’s essentially a groom showdown.
However, compared to the passive-aggressive antics they mocked, the way they did it in this era was notably refined and quite challenging.
Jiang Pengji found a great angle, and the audience in the livestream was utterly dumbfounded.
【DoraDream】: I feel like if today’s single men went to the host’s time, they’d be destined to be forever alone!
With so many obstacles, not only did it test poetry, chess, calligraphy, and painting, but the groom was also expected to compose poems and dabble in obscure ancient texts… Since Wu Ma Jun was a prince, leniency was a given; these challenges were preordained, with the guy fully equipped with strategies.
No matter how difficult or perplexing the questions were, he managed to tackle them with ease.
With his charm and exceptional skills on full display, Wu Ma Jun swiftly navigated through the various trials, garnering enthusiastic cheers and praise from the crowd at every turn.
If one wasn’t in the know, they might think this Wu Ma Jun was the reincarnation of the Star of Literature.
The final trial was overseen by Jiang Pengji, and behind her was the lavishly decorated room where Liu Huan was to be wed. Only with Jiang Pengji’s nod could Wu Ma Jun lawfully take the bride away, and that would be when the wedding would reach its peak of festivity.
“Lan Ting, you are invited in.”
Wu Ma Jun had no interest in Liu Huan; after all, she was still young, and her body hadn’t fully developed—what was there to find exciting?
But she had a good father, and he had to play nice.
