Chapter 65 Marrying Lingyi: Serving His Wife with Utmost Dedication

She forced a smile and said, "Do you gentlemen have some misunderstanding? It's too stuffy at night, we just wanted to go for a walk."

"What do you mean, 'walk around'? You're trying to fool your old man! The Court of State Ceremonial has already announced the curfew. Are you planning to walk to the military camp or the granary?"

Having been by Yuan Yan's side for a long time, Yu Liu had also learned some of the prince's sharp tongue, and with a few words, he refuted the envoy, leaving him speechless.

"There's no need to say anything more to them," Xue Lang said, stopping Yu Liu from speaking and turning to the envoy.

"The King of Qin anticipated your actions. We have been waiting here for some time on His Highness's orders."

...

Before long, the envoys were brought before Yuan Yan.

"Your Highness, I found some partially drawn blueprints on them, which seem to indicate the locations of the capital's defenses." Xue Lang presented the blueprints with both hands.

Yuan Yan took it and glanced at it, his expression unchanged.

"Send them to the Dali Temple, and keep the rest of them under guard. I will go to the palace to meet the Emperor now."

Yuan Yan entered the palace and reported the whole story to his mother, the Empress.

"Second brother, what do you think of this matter?" Yuan Hao asked.

"In my opinion, the Kingdom of Wule is small in territory and sparsely populated, and its national strength is far inferior to that of the Kingdom of Huang. To send spies into the capital at the risk of offending the superior nation is far too audacious," Yuan Yan said, bowing his head.

Yuan Hao looked at her. "What do you mean?"

"Your Majesty, I suspect that the Kingdom of Wule is backed by another country and has grand ambitions," Yuan Yan said frankly.

Besides Wu Kingdom, which other country is backing them up? Her unspoken meaning was obvious.

"Yan'er, you feel the same way too?" Yuan Hao's expression was not good.

Yuan Yan's guess was exactly the same as hers.

The Wu Kingdom is stirring up trouble and intends to launch an attack. This is undoubtedly bad news for the Huang Kingdom.

The two discussed the matter for a while longer in the hall. After Yuan Yan came out, Yuan Hao issued an order to have the envoy interrogated under torture.

Yuan Yan received a report from Yu Liu that all members of the delegation had been arrested, except for a few male dancers from the Wule Kingdom who were under the control of the Taichang Temple.

"Notify the Ministry of Justice to apprehend him immediately." Yuan Yan frowned slightly, not expecting that the male dancer he had ordered to be kept under guard could still escape, and ordered a pursuit.

Meanwhile, let's talk about Yu'er.

As soon as he sensed something was wrong and learned that the envoy had been captured, he immediately escaped under cover of night. He used the long-hidden informants of the Wu Kingdom to finally be rescued and taken out of the city.

After escaping, Yu'er ordered people to find out what went wrong and what led to the envoy's arrest.

It turned out that Yuan Yan was behind it all, as he had told his subordinates.

"The last mission failed because of you, and this time it's the same... Yuan Yan, are you and I just destined to be enemies?!"

Yu'er's face flushed red with anger, and her usually charming and affectionate eyes were now burning with a fierce flame, shining brightly.

"Your Highness, it's not safe here. The pursuers could arrive at any moment. Let's leave quickly," his subordinate urged.

Yu'er's expression changed repeatedly, her chest heaving, but she finally managed to suppress her anger. "Yuan Yan, you wait, I will definitely come back."

...

This matter lasted for several days.

The Ulaan envoy committed suicide by poison shortly after being imprisoned. The remaining members of the mission were tortured, but the vast majority were uninvolved and unaware of the incident.

Yuan Hao detained all members of the delegation, ordered the drafting of documents listing the envoys' crimes, and questioned the ruler of Ule.

Upon receiving the document, the King of Ule was filled with trepidation and immediately dispatched an envoy to explain that the matter had nothing to do with Ule and was the envoy's unauthorized act. He also sent a large amount of gold and silver as an apology and begged for forgiveness from Huang Kingdom.

Whether Yuan Hao believed her explanation or not is unknown, but after accepting the gold and silver, she ordered the garrison to deploy troops and arrange generals on the border for three days, which frightened the king of Wule so much that he could not sleep.

These actions deterred the neighboring countries that were eager to cause trouble and temporarily stabilized the border situation.

As the ones who discovered the envoy's unusual behavior, Yuan Yan and the officials of the Prince's Palace were all rewarded by the Empress Dowager.

The repeated rewards she received made more court officials see Yuan Yan's talent and the emperor's high regard for her.

Compared to when Yuan Jinggang was appointed Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, the current situation in the court has quietly undergone some changes.

Yuan Yan's control over the government has been strengthened once again.

On the other side.

When Yuan Xiao learned that Yuan Yan had been rewarded, he was very indignant and kept sneering in his mansion.

"What's so great about them? They're just a few envoys from small countries. What big trouble can they cause? It's a bit of an overreaction for Mother Empress to mobilize a large army for such a trivial matter."

Seeing Yuan Yan repeatedly achieve merit, Yuan Xiao spoke disdainfully, but in his heart, he actually had some thoughts.

If the Empress Mother could give her a job, she would definitely do it no worse than Yuan Yan. Yuan Xiao was certain of this and made up her mind.

...

However, these matters of the court are temporarily no longer relevant to Yuan Yan.

The reason was that her wedding day with Yang Lingyi was just around the corner. Yuan Yan, whose heart was filled with Yang Lingyi, had no time to think about anything else these past few days.

The day before the wedding, Yuan Yan once again slipped into his boudoir.

"Yi'er, you're marrying me tomorrow." As soon as she saw Yang Lingyi, she picked him up, her eyes shining with joy.

"How are you? Happy?"

Yang Lingyi, who was initially a little nervous, suddenly felt at ease seeing her genuinely happy expression.

"Um."

Yang Lingyi gently reached out and hugged Yuan Yan back, her beautiful eyes gazing softly at her, a sweet smile blooming on her face.

"Yi'er has been looking forward to this day for a long time. Marrying Sister Yan is something I've always dreamed of."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Yan could no longer resist and immediately kissed Yang Lingyi's dimples.

"Yi'er's words are so sweet... I wish I could hold Yi'er in my arms and take her back to the palace tonight, without waiting until tomorrow," Yuan Yan said with a smile.

Although Yang Lingyi was used to Yuan Yan's closeness, she still couldn't help but blush when Yuan Yan suddenly attacked her.

A faint blush suddenly appeared on his fair face, spreading from his neck all the way to the tips of his ears.

She was like a budding flower touched by the morning dew, fragrant and tempting to be picked.

"Sister is here again. I'm nowhere near as good as Sister Yan says." Yang Lingyi's face flushed, and she lowered her head slightly.

Seeing his state, Yuan Yan could no longer bear it. He immediately lowered his head, found those soft lips, and kissed them deeply.

Yang Lingyi's body went limp when she was touched.

She felt hot and burning in Yuan Yan's arms, held so tightly she could hardly breathe, as if she were drowning in the surging heat, losing all sense of direction.

After a while, the two parted ways.

Yang Lingyi leaned against Yuan Yan's chest, calming her breathing slightly, her heart burning with sweetness. After a long while, she reluctantly pushed Yuan Yan away, "Sister Yan, you should go back now, we have to get up early tomorrow."

"...Then I'll head back. Yi'er, you should rest early too."

Yuan Yan clearly didn't want to leave. But seeing Yang Lingyi's slightly tired expression, he still affectionately stroked his cheek, settled Yang Lingyi down to sleep, and then left.

...

The wedding day was an auspicious day.

To prepare for this day, the Prince's Palace had been making preparations for all matters, big and small, for many days in advance.

"Your Highness is getting married today, so you must be careful and make no mistakes," the eunuch of the Prince's mansion instructed again.

Four male servants were already standing inside the room.

The mansion was brightly lit. Male servants, carrying hair ornaments, robes, and gold and jade belts, respectfully and carefully helped Yuan Yan change his clothes.

An official from the palace, holding a ceremonial book, stood outside the screen and recited the ceremonial chant.

As Yuan Yan stepped out of the courtyard, the officials of the Prince's Mansion offered their congratulations in unison.

"Your Highness is truly as beautiful as a goddess today!" Yu Liu exclaimed.

"You're so glib. Doesn't Your Highness act like a woman in everyday life?"

Xue Lang and the others all had smiles on their faces and were happy. They chatted and laughed, making the whole courtyard lively.

"You people are all so good with words."

Yuan Yan was in an exceptionally good mood today as he was about to marry Yang Lingyi into his household. He smiled and joked with them for a few moments before heading out, surrounded by the crowd.

"Bring me my horse," she called out.

On the long street.

Yuan Yan rode a tall horse, escorted by a group of guards, and headed towards the residence of the eldest prince.

At this time, inside the residence of the eldest prince.

Dressed in a wedding gown and adorned by male attendants, Yang Lingyi's eyes, eyebrows, and features were accentuated, making her appear radiant and captivating.

Looking at Yang Lingyi, the eldest prince felt both gratified that his son had grown up and reluctant to part with him.

He personally placed a gold hairpin on Yang Lingyi's head.

"Yi'er, remember this: now that you've married the King of Qin, you are a member of the royal family. From now on, you must be careful in your words and deeds, uphold the virtues of a husband, and serve your mistress with all your heart."

The eldest prince's voice choked slightly as he gave Yang Lingyi earnest instructions and advice.

"Father, I will." Yang Lingyi felt a lump in her throat when she saw the eldest prince looking like this.

"Don't be sad, Father. His Highness said that if I miss you in the future, I can invite you to the manor to see me at any time."

The eldest prince was slightly taken aback upon hearing this.

"Ah, Yan'er is a good boy. He is truly considerate of you and is a good wife. Yi'er has not misjudged him."

“But how can a married man call his father into the mansion so often? Yan’er is generous, and we cannot be ignorant of etiquette.”

The eldest prince's affection for Yuan Yan grew even stronger. He was glad that he had followed Yang Lingyi's wishes and allowed her to be with Yuan Yan.

Seeing how much Yuan Yan dotes on Yi'er, and how considerate he is even before they are married, I feel gratified and grateful. I now completely regard Yuan Yan as my own daughter.

“Your mother is busy with military affairs and cannot come, so she asked your aunt to come and escort you to your wedding. Although your mother didn’t say it, she must be very happy to see you getting married.” The eldest prince stroked Yang Lingyi’s hair with a gentle expression.

"I understand," Yang Lingyi said sensibly. "Mother also wants to send me off to get married, but she has an important position and cannot leave. Mother and Father share the same heart and naturally hope for my happiness. I can understand."

The eldest prince was pleased to hear this, and he still had many words he wanted to say to the emperor, but his attendant reminded him that the time had come.

"It's almost time." The Crown Prince suppressed his reluctance and personally escorted Yang Lingyi to the front courtyard.

"Yi'er, you should go now, so as not to delay the auspicious time."

...

As Yuan Yan stepped into the Changhuang Prince's residence, the thought of soon receiving Yi'er warmed his heart slightly.

"Your Highness, please." Aunt Yang greeted Yuan Yan at the entrance of the mansion, showing him warmth and courtesy. After exchanging a few words, she led Prince Qin to the main hall.

In the main hall of the mansion, the eldest prince was already seated behind a screen. Aunt Yang, on the other hand, temporarily assumed the role of a matriarch, standing in the center and waiting for the master of ceremonies to announce the rites.