Life and death are intertwined.
Lin Yueyao glanced at him lightly, her voice as cold as jade, "The wedding will proceed as planned."
The woman was still crying, and the group exchanged bewildered glances. Lin Yueyao didn't want to look at the Crown Prince any longer, and before leaving, she said, "The Crown Prince has made a mess of this; he'll have to clean it up himself."
Don't expect her to clean up your mess.
After Lin Yueyao left, Rong Yan frowned slightly, his gaze shifting, showing a hint of resentment.
The wedding proceeded as scheduled, but the fate of the woman who had been defiled by the Crown Prince remains unknown.
The crown prince's wedding and the princess's marriage were two lively events, and the palace began to hold grand celebrations.
Under Shangguan Zhi's meticulous care, Li Zhuo barely regained his spirits and sat in a wooden wheelchair, which Shangguan Zhi pushed him into the main hall to await the Crown Prince and Crown Princess's audience.
During my illness, I haven't seen my daughter-in-law, who comes from a family of immortals, nor her husband, who is said to be quite handsome.
"As long as the children are happy, that's all that matters." As a father, he couldn't interfere too much; ultimately, he had to make the decision about his children's marriages.
Lin Yueyao did not undergo the formal investiture ceremony; she married directly from the palace.
The crown prince, dressed in his imperial robes, rode in a golden carriage to the palace to receive the guests. Upon arriving at Xuanwu Gate and passing through Meridian Gate, he was flanked by a ceremonial guard of hundreds of people.
The palace maids on both sides scattered gold beans and grains, symbolizing a happy and prosperous life.
Then the Crown Prince led the Crown Princess to drink the nuptial wine together and perform the ritual of three kneelings and nine kowtows to the Emperor.
After the ceremony, palace attendants escorted the newlyweds to the Crown Prince's Palace, where they drank from the same cup, cut off a lock of each other's hair, and put it into a brocade pouch, symbolizing their marriage.
In contrast, the princess's wedding ceremony was much simpler.
After the Crown Prince's ceremony was completed, Li Zhuo personally went to visit the princess who was getting ready.
The princess's eyes were blurred with tears as she sobbed softly.
The palace maid continued applying makeup, saying, "Princess, please don't cry, or your makeup will be ruined."
The princess sat before her dressing table, feeling inexplicably unhappy. She was about to marry that man, but she just couldn't feel at ease.
The princess felt a deep sorrow, especially when she thought of Fairy Qinglian marrying her brother.
Beneath the heavy rosy robes lay a pale, lifeless body.
Li Zhuo quietly entered the room, pushing the wheelchair. The creaking of the wooden wheels made the princess suddenly turn around.
Seeing his daughter crying so sadly, Li Zhuo felt pity for her and hurriedly went to her side.
“My daughter is getting married today. She should be happy. If she cries and hurts her eyes, her husband will laugh at her.”
"Let it be a joke, I can't bear to leave my father. I'll stay by his side and never marry anyone else," the princess said defiantly, burying herself in his arms.
Li Zhuo affectionately put his arm around her waist and whispered comforting words for a while, which calmed the princess down a little.
The princess rode in a phoenix palanquin, accompanied by a royal procession and eunuchs.
Rong Yan did not have a residence; he married his wife at the princess's residence.
The honor guard paraded around the capital city, and at dusk, they entered the mansion.
After the steward saw off the guests, the princess returned to her room with the help of her maid.
The sun is setting, the stars are few, and the bright moon shines.
He helped her to sit down on the edge of the couch. The heavy phoenix crown pressed down on her head, forcing her to maintain only one position. The red veil covered her head, limiting her field of vision to a small area.
The princess stared at her exquisitely beautiful embroidered shoes, waiting for her husband to lift her veil.
On their wedding night, the bride should have been shyly waiting for the groom to arrive, but the princess showed no joy on her face. She was wondering how she should refuse if the prince consort wanted to be intimate with her.
A creaking sound came from the door; someone had come in.
The princess sat upright, her neck aching so much that she sighed softly.
Under the veil, a pair of boots could be glimpsed, and for a long time, the man did not remove the veil from her head.
The princess couldn't wait any longer and peeled it off herself, revealing a delicate and beautiful face.
Rong Yan was dressed in a bright red outfit, the fitted style highlighting his slender waist. He looked at the princess with an icy expression.
“I promised to marry the princess, and the princess should also fulfill her promise to me,” Rong Yan said, naming her directly.
The princess, controlled by spiritual power, is mentally unstable. She forgets many things, to the point that she is like a puppet being manipulated.
She just wanted to get through the night, but she didn't know what the prince consort was talking about.
Seeing the princess's bewildered expression, Rong Yan narrowed his eyes slightly, "Does the princess not remember?"
"Of course I remember," the princess replied, forcing herself to admit that she had indeed forgotten something.
"It's only natural for a princess to forget things," he said, trying to justify himself. He deliberately tried to elicit information, "Your Highness promised to return to the sect with me after our marriage. Does Your Highness remember?"
"So that's what it is." The princess smiled with relief, thinking she had fooled him, but she didn't expect that no detail could escape Rong Yan's eyes.
"Since I have agreed to the prince consort's request, but the journey to the immortal realm is long and arduous, I will report back to my father and the empress tomorrow and then make further plans." The princess's smile was forced; the weight on her head was so heavy that she could hardly lift it. She only hoped that the prince consort would leave as soon as possible.
"Let's talk about it tomorrow."
"It's getting late, and I'm feeling a bit unwell. Your Highness, please find somewhere else to stay for the time being."
“Okay.” Rong Yan agreed, but stood there without leaving, staring at the phoenix crown on her head, and thoughtfully took it off for her.
Just as the princess was about to express her gratitude, Rong Yan took the opportunity to cover her mouth with his hand.
To prevent her from screaming, Rong Yan kept her silent and gripped her wrist with his other hand.
"You're not a princess? Who are you?" The two stood very close, their grief unwavering, unaware of the demonic aura emanating from them.
The princess glared at him, flustered by his sudden action. She was the princess, who else could she be?
She shook her head, indicating that she didn't understand.
A surge of spiritual energy gathered in the palm lines, flowed into the princess's heart, and infused her with a talisman called Soul Capture.
It can be observed from the memories of those who are alive.
Through the princess's eyes, he saw the day the princess and the prince went hunting in the hunting grounds.
The prince was skilled in riding and archery, and the princess was unwilling to be outdone, so she had to be led by a horse deep into the hunting grounds.
The horse, seemingly sensing something, suddenly became agitated, broke free of its reins, and carried the princess into the inner perimeter of the hunting grounds.
The princess could only cling desperately to the horse's neck, its hooves clattering on the ground.
During the bumpy ride, I felt like my internal organs were about to shift, and I couldn't hold on any longer; the princess was thrown off.
He fell into the grass, but luckily the grass was soft and he didn't break any skin. His knee pads protected his joints.
The princess got up, but no one answered her cries. She picked up a branch from the ground to use as a walking stick and slowly searched for a way out.
After walking for a while, they found corpses scattered all over the ground.
They were small animals like squirrels and rabbits, whose life force had been drained, leaving only a layer of withered fur.
It didn't look like the marks left by a wolf; it looked more like something sinister.
The princess was suddenly frightened and hurriedly ran away, only to fall into a flower bush.
"Ouch—" she cried out as her fingers touched something soft. Looking down, she saw what appeared to be a large lump of white flesh.
"You're pressing down on me," the fleshy mass underneath made a sound.
The princess was so frightened that she threw down her cane, lifted her skirt, and tried to run away.
"Don't be afraid, I won't kill you," the lump of flesh cried out in panic, even wriggling slightly.
The princess felt nauseous and fled in terror.
Not long after, the princess returned, this time holding a gold hairpin, and tentatively poked the soft object.
"You're hurting me."
The princess's hand trembled, and the gold hairpin fell to the ground. She quickly picked it up and held it in front of her as a weapon for self-defense.
"Are you a human or a ghost?" The princess asked warily, stepping back.
"I am neither human nor ghost, I am a demon." After saying this, the large white flesh made a slurping sound, raised its head proudly, and revealed horrifying hands and feet on its belly, with two round eyes on the top of its head.
"Sorry, I look a bit ugly like this. Did you scare me?" Big White Meat said apologetically, then shrank back into himself.
The princess didn't recognize the giant silkworm at first glance. "What kind of monster are you?" she asked.
"I am a silkworm demon."
The princess lowered her guard and reached out to touch it, but there was no reaction, so it should be no threat.
"If you are a demon, why did you appear and frighten me?" The princess asked with a composed expression.
“I didn’t mean to scare you. I was injured by a female demon and fled all the way here. I’ve been on the run for many days,” the giant silkworm explained.
It seems that the corpse lying at her feet was the work of this silkworm demon. She is lost and cannot get out for the time being, so she might as well find out the details of this demon first.
"Why is that female demon chasing after you?" the princess asked.
"I don't know, I did something wrong, she must have been sent by the master to kill me," the silkworm said pitifully.
So that's how it is. If you do something wrong, you should indeed be punished.
"Can you help me?" the silkworm asked her for help.
"Why should I help you?" the princess retorted.
"I am a demon, and I can help you with many things."
"As a princess, there is nothing I cannot do." I consider myself noble and am not moved by her.
"No, birth, aging, sickness, and death are things you cannot escape," the silkworm said, hitting the nail on the head.
The princess fell silent. In the past, the Qin Emperor was obsessed with the elixir of immortality, all for the sake of securing his empire forever.
Aging is the fate of mortals, something even emperors cannot change.
"What can you do for me?" In the end, the princess was still curious about the value it could bring her. If it could last forever, then the throne would be hers for the taking.
“I can share my cultivation level.”
Upon hearing this, the princess readily replied, "How can I help you?"
“I’m injured and I just need food. Besides, you’re a princess and your father is the Son of Heaven. He can help me conceal my identity.”
"Alright, I'll take you out."
The silkworm shrank at a visible speed, shrinking into a palm-sized worm.
This kind of silkworm demon isn't so scary.
The princess hid it in her sleeve. It was dark then, and the guards were still searching the hunting grounds for the princess.
Because it was believed to be possessed by evil spirits, most of the wild beasts in the hunting grounds dared not approach it.
The princess arrived safely at the outskirts and saw a fire in the woods.
"I'm here--"
"Princess--"
"Princess!!"
"The princess is here!!!"
"The princess has been found!"
People suddenly appeared from all directions, and the maids rushed forward and surrounded the princess, crying.
The crown prince dismounted, about to reprimand her, but the princess lowered her head, not daring to look at him, and said, "I've made my brother worry."
The princess was in a sorry state, and since wild beasts roam at night, it was not advisable to linger too long. The crown prince sighed and ordered her to return to the palace immediately.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com