Chapter 323 Valley
She glanced at the twelve incredibly sharp gold hairpins on her hair, besides the phoenix crown.
Is it permissible for a bride to wear so many "weapons" on her head? Did Aunt Meng put them on on purpose?
In short, it's not a bad thing for her.
At that moment, Bi Sui handed forward a red round fan embroidered with phoenixes in gold thread, which Qi Yuxuan personally held with both hands to cover her face.
This fan had to be carried all the way to the border between the two countries, and only after completely stepping out of the Qi Kingdom's territory could it be put down.
Led by Aunt Meng, Lady Quanfu, and four personal maids, Qi Yuxuan slowly walked out, her magnificent wedding dress trailing behind her.
In front of the post station, there was a great commotion of gongs, drums, and firecrackers. The crowds of onlookers blocked every long street leading out of the city from the post station.
A few days ago, almost all the people of Kuncheng learned that the Princess of Changle was to be married off from Kuncheng to the Yue Kingdom.
Among them, some well-informed individuals even knew that Princess Chang Le and the ruthless Prince Xiaoyao of Yue Kingdom, whom they had only found last year, were actually childhood sweethearts.
Seeing that the men, women, and children nearby didn't seem to approve of the marriage, and were even sighing, and lamenting that Princess Chang Le was going to a foreign land at such a young age to make a huge sacrifice, those who knew the situation kindly explained the reasons to them—
"You don't know, that's why you think Princess Chang Le's journey is difficult. In fact, the princess has known and been acquainted with the carefree prince of Yue since childhood."
...
"In my opinion, this war between the two countries was a complete misunderstanding. Look, as soon as the court agreed to the princess's marriage, the Yue army kept its promise and retreated thirty miles... Who knows if the princess will give birth to a child for the Prince of Xiaoyao and be able to persuade the Prince of Xiaoyao to bring the Yue Kingdom to submit to our Great Qi?"
"Moreover, with two fierce generals, General Duan and General Xiahou, it's no problem to keep the borders of Qi safe for a hundred years. Even if we don't agree to the marriage alliance, with these two generals around, Yue will never be able to set foot in Qi!"
These people who were speaking were so ordinary that even someone with a good memory would not be able to remember their faces.
But these words are really strange. What does it mean to say that the border of Qi will be safe for a hundred years? Can such big words be said so casually? Such incitement makes the people overconfident in the military capabilities of Qi. If they are defeated again, wouldn't they be shooting themselves in the foot?
The captain who was escorting the princess out of the inner city heard this and looked up to search for the source of the voice among the people, but unfortunately, he could not find out who it was after looking for a few times.
There was nothing they could do. The time for departure had arrived, and the princess had already emerged amidst the expectant gazes of the people. The processions immediately prepared to set off, waiting for the princess to board the carriage before leaving the city to join General Duan and General Xiahou.
Xiao Jue rode his horse at the very front of the procession, watching the figure in a red wedding dress emerge from the post station, and wiped his eyes hard with the back of his hand.
Zheng Yanling, who was standing to the side, was initially a little sad. When she saw Xiao Jue's appearance, she looked him up and down with a strange look in her eyes, and then silently tightened the reins and moved away from him.
The child died and he remembered the milk; he fell off a cliff and knew to rein in his horse; the princess wanted to marry a foreign ruler and now he's crying.
The Xiao family was completely baffled.
The common people had already caught a glimpse of the breathtakingly beautiful face of Princess Chang Le behind the fan. "Is that Princess Chang Le? She is so beautiful!"
"No wonder the carefree king wanted her to marry him to end the war; it seems the story of their childhood sweethearts is true."
"It's still a pity. The princess of Qi went to Yue. Do you really expect them to cherish her? What's that saying again? 'Those who are not of our kind will surely have different hearts.' Our beautiful Qi girl is about to be ruined!"
The sounds of praise, sighs, and lamentations reached Qi Yuxuan's ears. She walked steadily without pausing, as if she couldn't hear a word, and calmly walked to the wedding procession decorated with red silk.
Quanfu's wife arranged the stool for her to get into the carriage and helped her in.
Unlike ordinary wedding sedan chairs, this one was for a marriage alliance, so instead of being manned, it was powered by horses. Eight tall horses led the way, and the sedan chair was luxurious and spacious, more like a small but fully functional room.
Upon entering, even Qi Yuxuan, who was well-traveled and knowledgeable, was somewhat taken aback.
This carriage is even more perfect than the one specially made for the trip to the Lin family in Lancheng last year. Everywhere you look, all the utensils are neat, abundant, and full of auspicious meanings.
At that moment, Bi Sui spoke softly to explain:
"Princess, the Crown Prince personally drew the plans and commissioned over a dozen top carpenters to build the carriage, all so that you can have a comfortable wedding..."
Hearing her say that, Lanxin did not stop her anymore.
Since things have come to this, the princess and the crown prince are ultimately destined to be apart. What's done is done, but it's good that the princess can appreciate the crown prince and the court's good intentions and set off with peace of mind.
Qi Yuxuan felt nothing.
Regardless of whether agreeing to the marriage was Qi Jun's true intention, whether he was forced into it or weighing the pros and cons, her fate was not something that others could easily decide.
It takes two or three hours for a carriage to travel from the inner city of Kuncheng to the border, just in time to complete the handover before dark.
Qi Yuxuan ate something in the carriage to fill her stomach, and then kept feeling the vibrations of the carriage beneath her, counting the time.
She had only met familiar faces yesterday, and hadn't told anyone about today's plans, fearing they would worry and that their panic might give them away, which would hinder the plan's progress.
It took an hour to travel from the inner city to the Qi army's encampment. The procession did not stop. Three thousand elite soldiers, personally led by Duan Wei and Xiahou Zhong, merged directly into both sides of the procession, firmly protecting Qi Yuxuan's carriage in the very center.
To outsiders, the Qi army's escort of the princess for the marriage alliance was a grand and impressive affair, suggesting that the matter was taken very seriously.
For this reason, almost no one would think that the State of Qi did not want to facilitate the marriage alliance.
The smooth road gradually became rugged. The bridal sedan chair, which had been made with shock-resistant materials, still made Qi Yuxuan's whole body ache from the jolting. She knew that they were about to enter the valley.
On the other side of the valley, 100,000 Yue troops stood ready in silence. Xuan Yuanze, the leader, rode a tall horse and was clad in flawless armor, with a fine iron helmet protecting most of his head.
Beside him, on horseback, a young man also clad in fine iron armor coldly said:
“Your Highness, the Qi people are cunning and treacherous. The valley ahead is the easiest place to set an ambush. Based on my understanding of them, they will definitely not let this good opportunity pass them by.”
Xuanyuan Ze hummed in agreement.
He gazed at the deep, tranquil valley, personally took three arrows from his quiver, nocked them, and released them fully drawn—
"call out--"
The sound of something cutting through the air echoed through the valley, but apart from the echo, no other sound could be heard.
Did they guess wrong? Did the State of Qi really give up the struggle and obediently send someone to marry into the State of Qi?
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