Chapter 484: Parting ways

Manluo lowered her head and touched the jade bracelet on her wrist. The cold jade gradually became stained with her body temperature, and the warm touch felt as if he had gently stroked it thousands of times.

She stared at his handsome face, feeling an indescribable bitterness in her heart, and her voice choked with sobs:

"A Zhan, the bracelet is very beautiful, but I... don't deserve it."

"Manluo, you deserve the best things in this world."

Xie Zhan interrupted her, his tone firm:

"Don't refuse. I knew you would make this choice in the end. It wasn't a surprise at all. I admit that I was disappointed, but more than that, I was happy for you. Chu Jin truly loves you, and you and Xiao Yue'er are an inseparable whole. It's me who shouldn't have barged in."

Manluo's tears instantly blurred her eyes, slid down her cheeks, and dripped onto her bridal veil, leaving a small wet mark.

Xie Zhan raised his hand and gently wiped away the tears on her face with his fingertips. His movements were incredibly gentle.

"It won't be pretty if you cry any more. You're about to be married to heaven and earth, and you're someone else's bride. If your eyes get swollen from crying, Chu Jin will think I'm bullying you, and he'll definitely want to kill me."

These words made Manluo burst into laughter. Through her tearful eyes, she looked at the tenderness and reluctance in his eyes, and her heart was filled with mixed feelings.

Xie Zhan suddenly became serious and walked forward to hug her gently.

Manluo's whole body suddenly tensed up, but she heard him whisper softly in her ear:

"Manluo, I wish you happiness."

Then, he cruelly let go and turned away.

The door closed quietly in front of Manluo, making a slight sound, but it was like an invisible boundary, completely isolating the two people in two worlds.

At this moment, she burst into tears.

…

Xie Zhan left the room feeling dejected. He looked up and saw Xi Yan wandering in front of the corridor. He stopped and said softly:

"Xiyan, thank you for letting me see her at her most beautiful as a bride. I think I will remember this for the rest of my life and never regret it."

Xiyan's slender hands trembled slightly:

"Brother Emperor, are you really going back to Nanzhao?"

Xie Zhan smiled bitterly, looking at the overwhelming red in the mansion, with a hint of fatigue in his tone:

"Are you going to let me stay here and watch the woman I love get married to another man? I'm not that magnanimous. I can't do it yet."

Xiyan's eyes trembled, and she blinked hard to push back the tears in her eyes.

Xie Zhan reached out and pinched her cheek, his tone filled with his usual doting:

"Second brother has been away from Nanzhao for too long and misses our father and mother. It's time for him to return. I've already said goodbye to Nanyan. As for Manluo... wait until she's finished her ceremony and settled down in a few days, then you can talk to her slowly. I hope she can forgive me for... leaving without saying goodbye."

Xiyan felt melancholy as she watched him turn and leave. His sky-blue brocade robe fluttered slightly in the wind, as if it was about to blend into the light and shadow of spring and never be seen again.

She knew that some people and some things would eventually part ways with this grand wedding.

At this moment, the bridesmaid's high-pitched voice was heard from outside the mansion gate: "The auspicious time has arrived - please ask the bride to get into the sedan chair!"

Xiyan sighed lightly, walked into the house, helped Manluo up, and covered her with a red veil.

Beneath the red silk, Manluo's voice was choked with sobs:

"A Zhan, is he gone..."

Xiyan was slightly startled, then gently patted her hand without saying anything else.

The wedding procession had already been waiting outside. Chu Jin, dressed in a bright red wedding gown, rode on a tall horse. He looked at the sedan chair that was slowly being carried out, and his usually cold and hard eyes softened a little.

Helian Feng, dressed in casual clothes, stood on the street corner, watching the bridal sedan being steadily lifted by eight men and heading towards the Imperial Master's Mansion accompanied by deafening joyful sounds.

"This wedding finally did not disappoint them." Helian Feng seemed to be talking to Mingying, but also seemed to be talking to himself.

There was both envy and blessing in his eyes.

Suddenly, he looked at Xiyan's figure in the crowd. She was waving at the direction of the sedan chair going away. The sunlight fell on her hair, so gentle.

Helian Feng only felt a sense of loss in his chest.

His good brother finally got married to the love of his life, but Helian Feng got the throne but lost his beloved forever.

…

On the Moon-Watching Pavilion of the palace, Xiao Nanyue and Fu Yunqing leaned side by side on the vermilion railings, their eyes fixed on the long street outside the palace that was decorated with red silk and looked cheerful.

The sounds of wedding drums and music and the noise of guests drifted in with the wind, making the pavilion even quieter. Both of them were silent.

After a while, Fu Yunqing watched the big red sedan disappear at the end of the alley and sneered:

"I never thought that Manluo, that crazy girl who was like a wild horse, could actually marry Chu Jin. Back then, they would fight and kill each other every time they met. Who could have expected that they would become husband and wife today? With her personality, I'm afraid she can't sit still for a single day. Chu Jin will have a hard time in the future."

A faint smile appeared on Xiao Nanyan's lips, but his tone was filled with disdain:

"A bad girl will always be punished. I'm afraid Manluo's future will not be peaceful."

He paused, glanced at Xi Yan who was busy greeting guests not far away, and a trace of annoyance flashed in his eyes:

"That's good too. Hurry up and marry that annoying girl off so she won't be pestering my woman all the time."

It turned out that a few days ago, Manluo was about to get married, and she was almost inseparable from Xiyan. She would whisper to her during the day, and even pull Xiyan to sleep with her at night, leaving him, the legal husband, in Liuyunxuan. He tossed and turned, missing his beloved wife, and couldn't fall asleep.

Several times, Xiao Nanyan wanted to reach out and grab Manluo by the back of her neck and throw her out, but when he met Xiyan's displeased look, he had to give up and hold back his anger.

This time, no one will monopolize his woman anymore.

At this moment, his eyes were fixed on Xiyan standing in front of the palace gate.

She was wearing an apricot-red dress today and was smilingly greeting the bridesmaids who were escorting the bride. As they were welcoming and seeing off guests, her eyes and eyebrows were curved, and she was as bright as moonlight immersed in water.

The corners of Xiao Nanyue's lips curled up slightly, and there was a bit of warmth in his eyes: on other people's wedding night, he also wanted to "feel the best of a new marriage after a short absence".

He retracted his gaze and glanced at Fu Yunqing calmly:

"Let's go, don't miss the auspicious time, go to the Chu Mansion and ask for a glass of wedding wine."

At that time, the sound of joy passed through the long street, startling the pigeons under the eaves, and flew into the clear autumn sky with blessings from all over the capital.