Chapter 153 Finale
Red silk filled the sky, winding from the palace gate to the East Palace, dyeing the entire imperial city a festive red.
When the auspicious time arrived, twelve pairs of palace lanterns led the way, and the eight-man dragon and phoenix wedding sedan chair rolled over the red carpet, with the pearl strings hanging from the eaves of the sedan chair swaying gently with the body of the sedan chair.
The music of sheng and xiao echoed throughout the long street.
In front of the Prince's Eastern Palace, the bridal sedan landed. Yan Fengxiao had already been waiting beside it. He then stepped forward and helped Qin Mingzhu, who was covered with a red and gold embroidered phoenix shawl, out of the sedan.
Beneath her scarlet veil, she held an embroidered handkerchief in her delicate hands. As her skirt swept across the ground, the golden embroidered phoenix, ready to take flight, seemed to come alive...
Qin Mingzhu's fingers were slightly cold, and Yan Fengxiao held them gently. The temperature of his palm seemed to be able to burn her.
He lowered his voice and whispered in her ear: "Be careful and follow me step by step."
"Um."
Under the veil, Qin Mingzhu's eyelashes trembled slightly.
Inside the main hall of the Eastern Palace, the emperor had already been sitting on the high platform.
He was dressed in a serious manner, looking at the officials lined up on both sides. All of them were dressed festively and had smiles on their faces.
The Qin couple had also arrived here in advance. Under the arrangement of the palace servants, they sat very stiffly on the chairs next to the emperor.
Both of them looked a little uncomfortable, after all, the person next to them was the current emperor.
The emperor smiled, looking relaxed.
"General Qin, you have given birth to a good daughter."
General Qin said solemnly, "Your Majesty, thank you for your praise."
"No need to be so reserved. Today is the wedding of the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess. Everyone, relax a little..."
The emperor was obviously very happy, and his words were full of smiles.
At this time, two figures had already arrived at the East Palace Hall under the gaze of all the ministers.
Above, the emperor nodded slightly, and the etiquette officer beside him began to sing.
"The newlyweds are in their seats, please pay your respects..."
"I bow to heaven and earth, and thank God for His protection!"
"Second bow to the Emperor, thank you for your great grace. Second bow to my parents, thank you for raising me..."
Yan Fengxiao and Qin Mingzhu stood up, faced the emperor and the Qin couple, then knelt down and kowtowed.
General Qin hurriedly said: "Hurry up, get up..."
The emperor sat in a chair, looking at the scene in front of him, his heart filled with complicated emotions.
The grace of raising him... How could he have shown any grace to Yan Fengxiao...
"Husband and wife bow to each other, may the two of you live in harmony and stay together till old age!"
The two of them turned around almost at the same time and faced each other.
Yan Fengxiao stared at the person in front of him, and his heart was obviously not as calm as he appeared.
At this moment, he seemed to have waited for two lifetimes...
He suddenly spoke.
"Pearl."
Under the veil, Qin Mingzhu's face was perfectly hidden.
Others couldn't see it, but Qin Mingzhu's cheeks were already hot and her eyes were red.
The light of water had already seeped into her eyes, and she, who had the memories of two lifetimes, was even more restless.
Only by experiencing it, you will know how difficult it is to get to where you are today...
The identities of the two people were originally destined to be separated in this life. If they had not experienced many hardships, they would not have had the good fortune to be together today.
"Um?"
She couldn't speak and could only make a soft nasal sound in response.
His fingers had already been deeply embedded in the palm of his hand, leaving a deep mark, because only in this way could Qin Mingzhu feel that everything that happened today was real.
"Give me your hand..."
Yan Fengxiao raised his hand and held her cold right hand.
Then, he leaned forward deeply, his eyes dim, "In this life, I want to grow old with you..."
Qin Mingzhu was led by him and also bowed to salute. At this moment, the voice of the etiquette officer became particularly clear in the ears of the two.
"The ceremony is over!"
I am destined to be sleepless tonight.
In the bridal chamber that had been prepared long ago, Qin Mingzhu sat upright on the bridal bed. Under the veil, she closed her eyes slightly, listening to the movements in the quiet room.
After the palace maids prepared the layout of the room, they left early. Chunhua stood guard at the door, staring at the surroundings with bright eyes. She was determined not to let anyone in except the groom tonight!
A moment later, Yan Fengxiao returned from the banquet.
There wasn't a trace of alcohol on him. It was obvious that he had hardly any social engagements and had come here as soon as possible.
Chunhua quickly bowed: "Greetings to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"
Yan Fengxiao nodded, pushed the door open and walked into the room.
This time, he came openly, and his wedding dress glowed red under the candlelight in the room.
His dark eyes stared at the figure still sitting upright on the wedding bed in front of him. He picked up the wedding veil beside him, took a deep breath, walked forward and lifted the veil.
Below, a face with exquisite makeup and stunning beauty appeared.
Her originally elegant face, like orchid, was now tinged with color, with an unparalleled charm.
It was as if it could captivate the soul, causing Yan Fengxiao to stop and stare at it for a long while...
Qin Mingzhu raised her beautiful eyes, her gaze moved, and she looked at Yan Fengxiao and smiled with the corners of her lips raised.
Faced with such a scene, she seemed very calm and composed, but God knows how nervous she was.
The red veil fell to the ground, and the hairpin on her head swayed gently. Yan Fengxiao reached out, took off the heavy crown, and lifted the hair hanging in front of her forehead.
"Mingzhu, I have been waiting for this day for a long time."
Qin Mingzhu smiled: "Me too."
As they were already an old couple, Qin Mingzhu had nothing to be shy about. She gently grabbed Yan Fengxiao's hand, and with a smile in her eyes, she pulled the man, who was still a little reluctant, closer to her.
Of course, she still remembered her previous suicidal experience and didn't want to be unable to get out of bed on her first day of marriage, so she was somewhat restrained.
"Your Highness, please don't be impatient. We haven't drunk the wedding wine yet..."
She let go of Yan Fengxiao, then moved her body, stood up from the side, and walked to the table beside her.
There were a lot of food on the table. Although she was a little hungry, she ignored the cold food and filled two wine glasses.
"Give."
Qin Mingzhu handed the wine glass to Yan Fengxiao.
Yan Fengxiao took it, looked at Qin Mingzhu, and then obediently followed her request. The two of them put their arms around each other and drank the wine with their heads tilted back.
Qin Mingzhu blinked secretly, then raised her head and asked, "Your Highness, how does this wine taste?"
Yan Fengxiao nodded: "Not bad."
She whispered, "I went to great lengths to get this. I heard it only takes one cup, and most people can't handle it; the aftereffect is quite strong."
Yan Fengxiao raised his eyebrows and looked at Qin Mingzhu, smiling like a little fox. "Why are you drinking without any problems?"
Qin Mingzhu pointed to the wine pot in her hand and said, "This is also specially made. The wine in the pot is divided into two parts. Just press here to switch the wine out of the different parts. In the past, people often used this method to poison people."
Yan Fengxiao nodded seriously.
He put down his wine glass and looked at Qin Mingzhu with dark eyes, "You want me to get drunk?"
Qin Mingzhu said, "You're drunk, go to bed early. I still have to serve tea and water tomorrow morning. Although the queen is gone, there are still many concubines. Just thinking about it makes me tired."
Yan Fengxiao touched her head and suddenly chuckled.
The laughter was so magnetic that it made Qin Mingzhu feel like her ears were numb.
"You don't have to go to the tea ceremony tomorrow..."
"What?"
Yan Fengxiao poured himself another glass and sipped it carefully.
"It does taste good, but...it won't make me drunk."
After saying this, Yan Fengxiao picked up Qin Mingzhu.
His voice echoed softly in her ears.
"Today is our wedding night, this is the only time in our lives..."
Qin Mingzhu grabbed his sleeve tightly.
"What wedding night? You... I..."
She wanted to say, since the day Yan Fengxiao started having sex, hasn’t every night been a wedding?
Yan Fengxiao directly blocked her mouth with his lips.
Those dark eyes hid a fiery emotion. Perhaps Qin Mingzhu didn't know that this night was the scene he had longed for in his dreams.
The wedding dress slowly slipped off, and the temperature around seemed to be gradually rising.
Yan Fengxiao lowered his head and gently kissed her between the eyebrows and ears: "Mingzhu..."
His hands held the person in front of him like a treasure.
"I lost you once, and I will never...lose you again..."
Qin Mingzhu's eyes trembled slightly. She wanted to say something, but she had no chance to speak.
“Hmm…”
…
In celebration of the Crown Prince’s wedding, the Southern Yan Kingdom issued a general amnesty!
The people are happy together, and this is what the people want.
From then on, the Emperor of Southern Yan decided to retreat behind the scenes, handing over power to Yan Fengxiao, and the Crown Prince officially took over as regent.
Such a huge change naturally put a lot of pressure on the Northern Frontier Kingdom. The previous pretended surrender and actual assassination left no room for maneuver between the two countries.
Taking advantage of the civil unrest in Southern Yan, Northern Xinjiang is also gathering its forces, intending to launch a final counterattack...
However, after Yan Fengxiao completely cleared out the Southern Yan Kingdom, he had time to pay attention to the border. Half a year later, he led his troops to conquer the northern border again!
This war lasted for two full years.
Two years later, the Northern Frontier Kingdom was destroyed, and the Northern Frontier Emperor committed suicide by taking poison and died on the dragon throne in the Golden Palace. All the royal bloodline was killed.
This battle left a significant mark in the history of Southern Yan State, and also officially opened up the future century of prosperity for Southern Yan State!
…
In this bitterly cold place, this winter is particularly cold.
However, because of the great victory of the Southern Yan Kingdom, after the news reached here, those who were serving sentences here also received some rare benefits.
Yan Qingjiao, who had just finished drinking hot soup from a bowl, licked her cracked lips and wrapped her tattered cotton coat tightly around her body.
She has been here for several years and has to do all kinds of odd jobs every day. Although she can still survive, she can only barely fill her stomach. She even has to take care of two children.
As for Yan Qingming, he had died of illness over a year ago. His death was extremely tragic, with large areas of festering all over his body, and he was finally burned to ashes...
As soon as she returned to her simple residence, she saw Yan Yunyue crying. Anger immediately appeared on her face and she slapped her.
"Cry, cry, cry, all you do is cry. What's the point of crying?"
If it were in the past, Yan Yunyue would have dared not to cry anymore.
But this time, she kept sobbing.
Even Yan Yunrui, who was standing aside, lowered his head and drooped his head, looking as if he had lost his parents.
"Hic... woooo, I just heard someone say that the current Crown Prince was once the Governor of Yanjing Prefecture, named Yan Fengxiao, and the Crown Princess is... hiccup... my mother, Qin Mingzhu..."
"What did you say?"
Yan Qingjiao's eyes widened instantly.
This bitter cold land is isolated from the outside world, and these criminals have no access to news from the outside world.
Therefore, she knew almost nothing about the rebellion. After such a long time, she only vaguely heard that the situation in the imperial city had changed and the emperor had appointed a prince.
As for the details, I have no idea.
However, today, because of the fall of the Northern Frontier Kingdom, the news finally reached here. Many people were talking about it, and no one knew where these two children heard this news.
"Impossible, impossible..."
Yan Qingjiao's face was full of disbelief.
In her heart, Qin Mingzhu was just an abandoned woman unwanted by the Yan family, and had nothing to do with the Crown Princess.
Moreover, how could Yan Fengxiao be the prince?
Just a lowly bastard!
However, although she said it was impossible, she already believed it in her heart.
Yan Qingjiao seemed to be stimulated and looked at her calloused hands and the rough skin on her body.
The eldest daughter of the Marquis' Mansion is no longer around. She has become a lowly slave who can only do hard labor and will never be able to leave the bitter and cold land in her lifetime!
Yan Yunyue was still crying.
"Mother, Yue'er was wrong. Yue'er will be obedient. Please come back..."
The sound of a child crying could be heard from afar.
But Yan Yunrui's face was pale and he said nothing.
Over the past year, he and Yunyue would occasionally have dreams.
The scenes in the dream were all about how good Qin Mingzhu was to them.
She would teach them martial arts and calligraphy.
I will take good care of him when he is sick.
I can teach my sister how to embroider and paint.
I will also find him the best bachelor as a teacher...
The dream was so real that it made him feel extremely painful.
He even dreamed that he would grow up, become successful, and then...
What happened next, he had no idea.
In the dream, only the details about Qin Mingzhu were relatively clear, and the rest were extremely disjointed and vague.
However, the more this happened, the more Yan Yunrui regretted it.
His expression became increasingly gloomy.
It seemed as if... something extremely important had passed them by and was no longer there...
…
After the war, the Emperor of Southern Yan officially abdicated and became the Supreme Emperor of Southern Yan, handing over the throne to the current Crown Prince Yan Fengxiao.
The prince ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor, changing the reign title to Shengyuan, meaning the first year of a prosperous era.
The Crown Princess Qin Mingzhu was crowned Queen, and their eldest son Yan Yunyu was named Crown Prince.
The Queen's father, General Qin Heng, was also granted the title of Duke of Qin.
Although his legs could not be restored, the toxins in General Qin's body were eliminated in this life, and with proper subsequent care, he lived to the age of sixty.
The frail and sickly Madam Qin also passed away a month after General Qin's death. Before her death, Madam Qin smiled and had no regrets in her life...
(End of full text)
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