Chapter 6. A slow move can lead to a hundred slow moves.
The wind was gentle and the clouds were clear. The bright spring sun shone softly on the vermilion and gold-painted carriages. The vast procession seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see. The Imperial Guards, armed with halberds and blades, stood guard on both sides, exuding an awe-inspiring presence.
The crowds of onlookers packed tightly together along the long street.
Someone stared intently at the dowry procession, counting in a low voice: "One, two, three..." He wasn't good at counting, and seeing that there was still a continuous stream of processions coming from behind, he had to give up and exclaimed in amazement: "Is this princess's wedding so grand? With so much dowry, did they empty the palace?"
One woman sighed, "Marrying so far away, one naturally needs to have more possessions to rely on."
The mother, holding her child's hand, softened and agreed, "It's pitiful that she has to marry far away alone at only sixteen."
The child, held in his mother's hand, stood on tiptoe and peered out, trying to see the people vaguely visible beneath the lifted curtain of the carriage. He asked innocently, "Mother, the princess is so beautiful! Is her husband handsome too?"
The women exchanged glances, recalling the rumors that the young master "looked like Zhong Kui," and sighed in unison, "What a tragedy."
"Tsk, what a mess." In the teahouse, a man fanned himself and leaned close to Gu Chunwen. "Do you think something's happened in the Northern Frontier again, which is why His Majesty hastily married off a delicate princess there?"
Gu Chunwen did not look away and said in a deep voice, "Since the tribal rebellion in the seventeenth year of Yongchang, the northern border has been in constant turmoil. Only the lineage of the Prince of Dingbei can guard the northern border. The Prince of Dingbei and his descendants have made outstanding military achievements over three generations, and naturally they are also unique and eye-catching."
In times of chaos, military generals are the sharp blades that guard the nation's borders and wash away blood feuds. Once the situation stabilizes, they become the three-foot-long swords hanging in the imperial court, and there are always people who are wary of their excessive sharpness.
Even newly appointed scholars who hadn't yet entered the court had heard that the memorials impeaching the Prince of Dingbei, both openly and covertly, could circle the Emperor's Mingxin Hall three times. Even if the Emperor suppressed these memorials, it was hard to guarantee that they wouldn't sow seeds of doubt in his heart.
Therefore, in the eyes of the court officials, this marriage was like a "peace marriage," a reassuring gesture for the Great Yong Dynasty, but it was a pity...
The person asking the question was Cheng Lixu, a newly appointed scholar. Seeing that Gu Chunwen's gaze was still fixed on the princess's wedding ceremony, he suddenly thought of something and asked, "I remember that you declined the banquet a few days ago, saying that you were going home to propose marriage. I wonder when we will be able to drink your wedding wine?"
Gu Chunwen said silently, "It's too late. She's already engaged."
The princess's carriage had reached the end of the long street. The curtains were lowered and swayed gently in the wind, and no one could be seen inside anymore.
Gu Chunwen recalled the day of the Spring Banquet, when he inadvertently left his handkerchief behind. He went to the riverbank and happened to see a splash of apricot red resolutely leaping into the water.
He was startled and was about to call for help when he saw that she had already rescued the person. The moment the person was pulled out of the water, countless pearls and jade splashed out, like a shower of glass.
The nobles of Shengjing were mostly aloof and conceited; he had never seen anyone so reckless as to risk their life to save a servant. The slanting sunlight that day bathed her in a layer of flowing, shimmering gold, her every glance like snow reflected in the morning glow.
Seeing that she was being harassed by the princess, he immediately went to the vicinity to find an excuse to bring Emperor Jiayu over.
Fortunately, she was taken to the hospital in time while unconscious.
That night he tossed and turned, unable to sleep, longing for her day and night.
In the following days, the image of Princess Qingping appeared in his dreams several times. Finally, on the fifth day, he, who always followed the rules, decided to break the rules and enter the palace to ask for her hand in marriage. However, he heard the news that the Emperor had bestowed the marriage upon him.
One wrong move can lead to a hundred mistakes.
Now I can only hope that she can be safe and happy.
As the carriage drove out of the gates of Shengjing, looking at the bare trees on both sides and the travelers carrying large and small packages, the sorrow of leaving home finally welled up in my heart.
Fengmian rested his chin on his hand and gazed at a few weeping willows in the distance, their newly sprouted branches swaying in the wind.
"The scenery in the northern frontier is very different from that in Shengjing. I'm afraid you won't be able to see these trees and flowers anymore."
“Someone from the Chiyuan Sibo has volunteered to go north with the princess, bringing several packets of seeds. He said they could set up a greenhouse so the flowers wouldn’t freeze to death due to unsuitable temperatures,” Wu Liu said with a smile, noticing Feng Mian’s mood.
If it weren't for being assigned, ordinary people would avoid this mission to the northern frontier like the plague. How could someone volunteer to leave the capital and go north? Feng Mian was about to ask curiously when Liu Ying seemed to be reminded by Wu Liu's words and began rummaging through drawers and cabinets: "Yes, yes, that place is freezing cold. Princess, you must keep warm."
She rummaged through the storage compartment in the carriage and pulled out a silver hand warmer with auspicious cloud patterns, startling Feng Mian into widening his eyes: "A hand warmer isn't necessary! I'm afraid I'll get heatstroke before we even reach the Northern Frontier!"
Liu Ying paused for a moment, then realized that Feng Mian's words made sense. She then shoved the hand warmer back into the hand warmer and said, "I'll take it out again when we're almost at the Northern Frontier."
Fang Su, having prepared a hand warmer, then brought out a box: "The journey is long, why not practice with the hidden weapons the Crown Princess gave us? There are many bandits in the Northern Frontier, and also the threat of barbarian tribes..."
Wu Liu was willing to do anything else, but she was most afraid of wielding swords and spears. She reluctantly declined, saying, "After all, with the Prince of Dingbei in charge, although there are many bandits, very few of them have become anything significant. Besides, we have the Imperial Guards escorting us. What bandit would dare to brazenly rob the princess's entourage?"
"I'm not afraid of ten thousand, I'm afraid of..."
The carriage suddenly stopped, nearly throwing the three of them off their seats. Immediately afterward, there were frantic neighings from the horses and screams from the people. Liu Ying covered her mouth in terror, wondering if she had become a jinx and attracted bandits.
"We've only gone a few miles from Shengjing, where did these bandits come from? Don't be afraid, I'll go take a look." Feng Mian reassured Liu Ying and Wu Liu by shielding them behind him and lifting the carriage curtain first.
Chaos erupted ahead. Several imperial guards reined in the neighing horses, while others hurriedly pulled a person out of the mud pit.
It turned out that a huge mud pit had appeared in the middle of the road for some reason. The horse's front hooves got stuck in it, and in its struggle, it threw the young master of ceremonies off its back into the mud pit.
At that moment, the ceremonial officer stood by the mud pit, covered in mud, his face so muddy that his original color was unrecognizable.
Someone couldn't help but burst out laughing, and everyone joined in.
Surrounded by the disheveled young man, who stood tall and straight like a bamboo shoot, awkwardly and embarrassedly tugged at the corners of his mouth.
"Is Lord Lu alright?" Feng Mian got off the carriage and walked over. Seeing that there was no blood, she was relieved. She beckoned two palace maids: "Take Lord Lu to the bathing cart in the back to change his clothes, and then find the imperial physician to check if Lord Lu has any bumps or bruises."
Two palace maids responded with a bow, while the master of ceremonies, Lu Mingzhu, waved his hands hastily, saying, "No, no, I... I... I dare not overstep my bounds..."
His brain was already scrambling to function after falling into a mud pit and feeling utterly humiliated. He had been in the same unfortunate situation countless times since he was a child, but this was the first time someone had come forward to check on him and ask if he was hurt, instead of mocking him.
"In urgent situations, we must act expediently. Besides, Lord Lu is my master of ceremonies, and he has already endured much hardship along the way, so there's no need for him to refuse now."
Feng Mian gestured for Lu Mingzhu to follow her, and Lu Mingzhu followed her blankly.
It wasn't until he reached the bathing cart that he realized, did the princess actually recognize him?
Inside the carriage, Liu Ying asked curiously, "How does the princess recognize that man as Lord Lu?"
“I’ve looked at the information on all the accompanying officials. After all, we’ll be traveling together for so long. Wouldn’t it be terrible if we opened our eyes and didn’t recognize anyone?” Feng Mian leaned back on the cushion. “Speaking of which, there’s something strange about Lord Lu…”
Fireflies stared longingly, and even Wu Liu cast a curious glance. Feng Mian stopped there, only opening his mouth slightly. Wu Liu suppressed a laugh and fed him a candied fruit.
"The consultation fee has been paid, Princess, please speak."
Feng Mian then continued with satisfaction, "His luck wasn't very good. With his looks and talent, his uncle originally wanted to appoint him as the third-ranked scholar, but it seems he had an upset stomach and behaved improperly in front of the emperor, so he only got the rank of a junior scholar. As for the banquets held by various families, he broke his leg one day and got the wrong message the next, so he couldn't attend any of them."
"I knew it! If he had the looks to be a third-place scholar, how come I've never seen a portrait of him?" Liu Ying sighed. "Are there really such unlucky people in this world? Is bad luck contagious? Why did His Majesty decide to appoint him as the master of ceremonies?"
“After all, he is good at writing, so he is suitable to be the master of ceremonies.” Feng Mian raised her hand to half cover her mouth and continued quietly, “Moreover, my uncle cherishes talent and thinks that the birth chart of the Prince of Dingbei is good, so maybe he can also help to ward off his bad luck.”
Fireflies and willows looked at each other in bewilderment.
When Feng Mian first heard this, he found it amusing. Was his uncle treating the Prince of Dingbei's heir like a wishing well? But seeing Lu Mingzhu's unlucky state today, he began to hope that this theory might actually work.
The usually peaceful official road suddenly had a large mud pit, and while everyone else who passed by didn't fall in, Lu Mingzhu was the only one who did. It was truly an extreme case of bad luck...
Liu Ying muttered, "I don't care about the other servants. As long as Lord Lu's misfortune is only for himself and doesn't implicate the princess, that's fine."
Wu Liu tapped her on the head: "Pah, pah, pah, you jinx."
"Keep these words to yourself and don't let others know. Don't treat him any differently. It's bad enough to have bad luck everywhere. If you also have to be gossiped about and ostracized because of this, life will be too difficult." Feng Mian earnestly advised Liu Ying.
As a child, she only experienced a short period of gossip about being "unlucky for her parents and a cursed lone star," which almost made her withdraw into a corner of her bedroom and grow into a little mushroom. Then, thinking about how Lu Mingzhu's bad luck kept piling up, and how many people must have mocked and ostracized him, she couldn't help but empathize with him.
News that the princess's carriage was heading towards the northern frontier had spread throughout the streets and alleys of Yunzhong County. Also reaching the ears of the people was the news that the young master had a major argument with the prince over resisting the arranged marriage and had run away from home, never to return.
The gambling dens throughout Yunzhong County immediately became lively, with people betting on whether the young master's marriage would go through. The people of Yunzhong County had practically watched the young master grow up, and in almost every conflict between him and the prince, the young master, with his stubborn nature, always came to the victory.
But now he's facing a royal princess. Does the Crown Prince still have a chance of winning?
The common people, many of whom had had their lives saved by the young master, naturally stood by him unconditionally. Heaven help them, the young master was being forced to leave his home. As his own subjects, they had to find a way to prevent this princess from entering their household!
A note from the author:
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