Chapter 104: Domineering White Moonlight 23 Wedding

Because his eldest son was taken away by the imperial guards and had not returned since then and there was no news of him, Xu Song, the head of the Xunyang Xu family, finally took several disciples and rushed to the capital overnight. He submitted an imperial petition to the Censorate, accusing the imperial guards of arresting civilians without permission and acting lawlessly.

This incident caused quite a stir in the court.

The Xu family of Xunyang is the leading demon-catching family in the current dynasty. They have existed since the founding of this dynasty and have a profound heritage. They were once ordered by Emperor Taizu to protect the imperial city from the invasion of demons and evil spirits. It can be said that all the people in the capital today have received the kindness of the Xu family.

Later, Xu Jiawan declined the reward from Emperor Taizu, retired and returned to Xunyang, and has maintained a close but not distant relationship with the royal family ever since.

Now the Xu family led their followers to the capital to file a complaint with the emperor. The people in the capital had not heard from the Xu family for a long time. Unexpectedly, after so many years, it was because the eldest son of the Xu family was imprisoned in the palace.

The people were in an uproar, and the Censorate did not dare to be careless. They summoned the commander of the imperial guards to question him. However, the news they received was that this matter was a direct order from His Majesty, and it was His Majesty who took the person away.

The Censorate was in a dilemma, as the matter involved so many people and many eyes were watching the outcome. Censor Zhou had no choice but to put on his official uniform and go to the palace to meet the emperor.

Lord Zhou followed the palace servants all the way to the Qinzheng Hall. From a distance, he saw someone kneeling outside the hall. He glanced at them and whispered, "Who's that over there?"

The palace maid replied, "Your Excellency, that is the second young lady of the Fu family."

Lord Zhou said, "Oh!" It was the woman the late emperor had arranged for His Majesty to marry. "Why is Miss Fu kneeling here?"

The palace servant lowered her voice, "I don't know either. I only know that Miss Fu has been kneeling outside the palace for three or four days. I heard that His Majesty refused to see her..."

The Qinzheng Hall was right in front of them. Seeing this, the two men said no more. The hall door opened, and Lord Zhou straightened his clothes and walked in respectfully.

Fu Youzhi knelt outside the hall with his eyes lowered.

Whenever she had time these days, she came to the Qinzheng Hall, wanting to meet His Majesty and ask him to release Xu Xing.

His Majesty naturally would not agree, and after a few times he even stopped seeing her.

Fu Youzhi had no choice but to kneel outside the palace and make a big deal out of the matter.

When she saw the arrival of the Imperial Censor Zhou today, she knew that the advice Ali gave her had worked.

Fu Youzhi followed what Ali said and first sent a message to the Xu family, asking them to come to the capital. Then he kept running around in the palace for Xu Xing. It was hard for people outside to not notice such a big commotion.

In this way, this matter is not limited to the palace, but is known throughout the capital and even the whole world.

Your Majesty has just ascended the throne and needs stability. Whether he likes it or not, all the ministers in the court will advise him to release Xu Xing to avoid outside talk.

Ali also told her that if she was tired of kneeling, she could just pretend to faint, and the palace maids outside the Qinzheng Palace would not leave her alone. After all, members of the Fu family held important positions in various departments of the court. No matter how heartless His Majesty was, he had to consider the impact on the court.

Fu Youzhi wiped the sweat off his forehead weakly, swayed a few times, and finally fell down.

Lord Zhou was carefully reporting in the palace when he heard a palace attendant rush in behind him: "Your Majesty, Miss Fu has fainted!"

The man on the dragon throne didn't even raise his head, but just waved his hand, and the palace servant retreated again.

Xie Jingchuan read the memorial presented by Lord Zhou and tossed it aside. "In your opinion, my dear minister, how should this matter be handled?"

Lord Zhou wiped the sweat from his forehead, carefully considered his words, and spoke slowly.

Xie Jingchuan propped up his head and listened, but his mind was no longer here.

He knew about Ali's meeting with Fu Youzhi that night.

Lan Xin and Ming Shuang didn't know what they said, they kowtowed and apologized to him, but Xie Jingchuan didn't get angry.

He selfishly imprisoned Ali by his side, and seeing the light in her eyes fade day by day, his heart ached more than anyone else's.

It was obvious that his wish was for her to live a happy and carefree life, but why... did it turn out like this?

He could hardly remember how long it had been since he last saw Ali smile sincerely.

But he also knew clearly that once the ban was lifted, Ali would never stay with him again. She would leave without looking back and leave him alone in this bottomless imperial city without mercy.

Xie Jingchuan could only try his best to make her happier in Yinyue Pavilion.

He could give her everything except freedom.

As for her meeting with Fu Youzhi, Xie Jingchuan didn't take it to heart. He was not worried that Fu Youzhi would say something he shouldn't say to Ali.

First, the life of the demon catcher was in his hands, so Fu Youzhi didn't dare to act rashly.

Secondly, no matter how much Fu Youzhi tried to hide it, she could not avoid the fact that she told her Ali's identity. Ali was so smart that she would definitely not miss this point.

His Ali has always been clear about love and hate. Knowing Fu Youzhi's behavior, it is impossible for him to have no grudges in his heart. Naturally, there will be no changes because of Fu Youzhi's appearance.

Thinking of Ali's appearance, Xie Jingchuan couldn't help but curl his lips and eyes. Anyone could see that he was in a good mood at the moment.

According to the date, the person sent to the East China Sea should be back soon. He had prepared the engagement letter and betrothal gifts according to local customs, and this was the only thing missing to complete the process.

Lord Zhou finished his suggestion tremblingly, but without hearing the emperor's voice, he dragged himself on for a few more minutes, until his mouth was dry and his stomach was empty.

His knees gave way and he fell to the ground: "Your Majesty, please punish me!"

Xie Jingchuan finally came to his senses and coughed to cover up the situation. "My dear Zhou, please stand up. What you just said is indeed reasonable. However, Xu Xing is a man of great talent. I cherish his talent, so I have to keep him in the palace for a while longer."

Lord Zhou was stunned for a moment, and was about to say something else, but Xie Jingchuan raised his hand to stop him, his eyes full of intimidation: "My dear, just do as you are told."

*

Hidden Moon Pavilion.

Inside the palace, Lan Xin and Ming Shuang looked at the gorgeous clothes and head ornaments sent by the Inner Court Office. They couldn't help but feel frightened and hesitated to step forward to take them.

These clothes are even more exquisite and luxurious than those worn by Concubine Xiao back then.

Ah Li didn't even look at him, only looking at the Eunuch Huang from the Inner Court Office: "Eunuch Huang, what do you mean?"

Huang Neijian smiled apologetically, unable to see the princess's expression through the screen. "My princess, these are all hastily made and sent here by His Majesty. Please take a look. If you like any of them, please keep them."

Lan Xin glanced at A Li's expression and stepped forward to say, "Master Eunuch, these are clothes that the Queen can wear. I'm afraid you sent them to the wrong place, right?"

Eunuch Huang raised an eyebrow and tutted, "Young lady, you're joking. I've been working in the inner court for decades, how could I not even know which items should be sent to which palace? These items were definitely sent to Hidden Moon Pavilion."

The hall was silent for a moment. Eunuch Huang couldn't help but sweat profusely. He didn't dare to say anything more unless his master called him.

Fortunately, at this moment, the palace maids outside sang in unison: "Your Majesty has arrived!"

After a few breaths, the palace door was pushed open, and Xie Jingchuan, dressed in a bright yellow dragon robe, walked in. Seeing that the people from the Inner Court were also there, he said, "A-Li, take a look. Do you like any of these things?"

Ali's face was expressionless: "These things are not for Ali to use. I am sorry for your Majesty's kindness."

He apologized with his mouth, but his body did not move, and he did not even stand up to salute.

Xie Jingchuan was not angry. He lifted his robe, sat down, and poured himself a cup of tea.

Eunuch Huang watched from the corner of his eye, feeling that he had once again underestimated the princess's importance in His Majesty's heart, and his heart trembled.

Lan Xin and Ming Shuang retreated with their bodies hunched. Seeing this, Eunuch Huang also led his men to retreat quietly, leaving the hall to His Majesty and the princess.

Xie Jingchuan took a leisurely sip of tea and looked up at the indifferent Ali. "Ten days from now will be an auspicious day calculated by the Imperial Astronomical Observatory. Everything will be suitable. The coronation ceremony and the empress coronation ceremony will both be held on that day."

He had just ascended the throne, and the aura of an emperor was becoming stronger and stronger. Just by looking at you quietly, he was so intimidating that it made you feel suffocated.

"The embroidery workshop is already busy making wedding gowns according to your measurements. You can take a look at them when you have free time. Although there are fixed rules for the queen's daily attire, it still depends on whether you like it or not."

Ah Li finally turned her gaze to his face and said coldly, "When did I ever promise to marry you?"

She was only casually wearing a plain white middle-length dress, her long hair was untied and scattered, her eyes were filled with a cold light, without any vitality.

Seeing her like this, Xie Jingchuan's eyes were filled with a very complicated expression. When he spoke again, his voice was steady: "Wouldn't it be nice to marry me? Be my wife, my queen."

The emperor and empress are husband and wife, sleeping in the same bed in life and studying together in death. This is his most persistent interpretation of love and death.

Ali's eyes were filled with disgust and resistance. She shook her head slowly: "Do you think I'm just a puppet that you arrange everything for me and I just need to obey you?"

"Even if I die now, I will not marry you." She spoke each word clearly, staring at Xie Jingchuan's eyes with resentment.

Xie Jingchuan suddenly grabbed her thin wrist, pulled her in front of him and held her captive, gritting his teeth: "Do you know what you are saying?"

His wrist was in so much pain that it felt like it was about to break. The color on Ali's face disappeared instantly, but he bit his lips tightly and refused to give in in front of him.

The two looked into each other's eyes, their breathing could be heard, but there was no affection in their eyes.

Xie Jingchuan stared into her eyes, which were bright with anger, and said in a low and dangerous voice, "After becoming a country, you can get whatever you want, and no one dares to say anything. Isn't this your childhood wish? Why have you forgotten it now?"

Ali tried hard to break free from him, but Xie Jingchuan tightened his grip on her waist, and their bodies were pressed closely together.

She raised her head and glared at him, her words laced with poison: "Do those ministers outside know who I am? Do they know who their Majesty is going to marry as his queen?"

"Do your loyal ministers and generals know what you have hidden in this dark and gloomy Demon Locking Pavilion?!"

Ali spoke every word with great emphasis, full of helpless self-mockery and sarcasm towards him.

The undercurrent in Xie Jingchuan's eyes suddenly surged, and the knuckles of his hands gripping her wrist turned slightly white due to the force, and he was suppressing his immense anger.

Ali suddenly felt a kind of almost morbid pleasure. She smiled abruptly: "Guess... if the subjects of Jin knew that their Majesty was going to marry a monster..."

"Will they shout long live the wise emperor, or will they feel that this country... is about to be destroyed by a tyrant bewitched by evil?"

Her voice trembled with excitement, and she almost growled hoarsely.

Xie Jingchuan suddenly grabbed her lower back and pressed her even more firmly against him, his breath hot and paranoid: "They don't need to know."

He did not retreat in anger, but instead lowered his head and touched his forehead with hers: "They just need to know that this is my choice."

"My will is their will."

He lowered his voice even lower, and used his hands to force her head up, his hot lips almost touching hers: "You can only be my queen. As for what you were before... that doesn't matter. From now on, you can only be my wife, my mother of the country."

Xie Jingchuan stroked her jaw with a punitive force, his eyes greedily examining her eyebrows, which were particularly vivid due to anger.

"If anyone dares to raise even the slightest objection to this, or dares to delve into your past..." He paused, his tone understated, "then they would be attempting to discern the secrets of Heaven, committing treason and rebellion, and their crime would be punishable by death."

After he finished speaking, without waiting for her to utter another word, he fiercely kissed her lips that kept uttering sharp words, as if in a gesture of punishment and declaration, blocking all her anger, accusations and despair.

It wasn't until she collapsed in his arms from lack of oxygen that Xie Jingchuan slowly let go. His deep gaze shifted from her swollen lips to her eyes filled with hatred, and he finally said, "Do you understand? My queen."

Then, he suddenly let go of her, turned around and walked away, his robe drawing a decisive and cold arc.

Ali fell exhausted on the couch, his lips still lingering with his violent breath and a slight stinging sensation, but his body felt as cold as if he had fallen into a bottomless abyss.

Xie Jingchuan is crazy.

He's just a complete lunatic.

*

As soon as the news of the Emperor and Empress' wedding spread, everyone in Yinyue Pavilion became busy.

Autumn was gradually approaching, and the hall was heating up with warm heating. Ali sat on the bed with his knees hugged, watching them walking around. When he met her indifferent eyes, he would purse his lips and smile, wishing he could say congratulations to her every moment.

Only Ali remained cold and lonely, like an outsider who didn't fit in.

After lounging on the bed for long enough, she finally decided to get down, without even wearing shoes or socks, and stepped barefoot on the soft and warm carpet, searching for something in a box.

Ming Shuang walked in carefully holding the newly delivered wedding dress from the Inner Court. Seeing A Li looking for something, she put the wedding dress away carefully and walked over: "What are you looking for, Princess? I'll help you."

Ali didn't say anything, but buried his head in searching. His sleeves were pulled up, revealing a jade ring on his wrist.

Mingshuang took a look at it and remembered that the princess seemed to like this jade ring very much recently and wore it all the time. However, the color and luster of this jade ring were really beautiful. The princess had a really good taste.

"Found it." Ali suddenly said and took out two gray little clay figurines.

These two clay figurines were bought by Xie Jingchuan when she was ten years old and sneaked out of the palace for the first time. Now the colors have become mottled and faded.

It was the Lantern Festival that day. Ali was happily walking among the crowd. Xie Jingchuan was holding a lantern in his left hand and a sugar-painted man in his right hand, chasing after her, fearing that she would run away.

These two small clay figurines were placed on a roadside stall. Ali first saw the small figurine of the dancer and liked it so much that he asked Xie Jingchuan to buy it.

But the stall owner said that this little dancing girl figurine and the figurine of a man playing the flute next to her were a pair, and if you wanted to buy them you had to buy both together.

Ali pouted, somewhat reluctantly. She thought the male figurine was a bit ugly and didn't want to buy it together.

It was only after Xie Jingchuan persuaded her gently for a long time that she reluctantly took the male figurine with her.

Ali squatted in front of the box and looked at the dancing girl figurine first, but her face felt unfamiliar. It turned out that the things he liked so much at the time would gradually become unclear to him as time passed.

On the contrary, the male figurine seemed somewhat familiar to me when I saw him for the first time because I didn't remember what he looked like.

Xie Jingchuan had entered the hall at some point, silently standing behind her as he took the male figurine from her. "Did you buy this during the Lantern Festival when you were ten? Why did you think of it today?"

Ali's back stiffened imperceptibly for a moment, then returned to normal.

She did not look back or respond, but simply closed the lid of the box gently with a "click" and put the small dancer figurine back.

Ali stood up and prepared to leave.

"I found some elders of the Shen family," Xie Jingchuan took a step forward and spoke more slowly. "They are your mother's sisters. Do you want to meet them?"

Ali stopped.

She turned around slowly, with no expression on her face. Her eyes passed over him and fell on the void behind him: "I don't want to see you."

She had never interacted with these relatives before, and meeting them would only be awkward. What was the point?

Xie Jingchuan looked at her cold profile, and all the words he had prepared to try to ease the relationship were stuck in his throat and could no longer be uttered.

He wanted to apologize for his impulsiveness that day, and tried every possible way, even trying desperate measures and sending people to Shenjia Village to look for her.

But Ali has lived in the palace since she was born. Her relatives outside the palace are all strangers to her, and meeting them will only add to her sadness.

He was confused and lost his mind.

A deep feeling of powerlessness, like the late autumn mist, silently seeped into his every limb. The powerful aura of an emperor around him receded like the tide, revealing the deep, unknown loneliness underneath.

Xie Jingchuan lowered his eyes and gently placed the figurine on the table: "Okay, I understand."

After saying this, he turned and left. When he reached the door of the hall, he seemed to cough softly a few times, but tried his best to restrain himself.

The palace door opened. Mo Wen was waiting outside. Just as he was about to support Xie Jingchuan, he suddenly heard the princess inside say to him, "Mo Wen, it's been cold both morning and night lately. When you serve your master, remember to put on more clothes for him. Don't let him enjoy the coolness. Just let him be."

Before Mo Wen could speak, Xie Jingchuan's eyes, which had been gloomy for days, suddenly brightened up a little. He immediately turned around and took a few quick steps, his movements so fast that they almost brought up a gust of wind, and gently hugged her.

"You still care about me in your heart, right?" His voice was filled with joy and trembling of regaining what had been lost.

Ali opened his lips slightly, not commenting.

Seeing that she didn't push him away this time, Xie Jingchuan's eyes were filled with blurred tears, and he repeated over and over again: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

The only sound in the hall was his low and confused apology. The almighty emperor had shed all his outer shells, revealing his most gentle yet most vulnerable inner self, and all his emotions were moved by her.

Ali just patted him lightly, his eyes were blank, and the jade ring on his wrist was emitting a different light.

There are only a few days left.