On the day of the wedding, as the day was about to dawn, the Yan family sent the prepared return gifts to the Wumen Gate for acceptance, including saddled horses, armor, cattle, sheep, wine and food.

When the auspicious time arrived, Princess Wanyang bid farewell to the emperor, the empress and her biological mother, Concubine Xian, and then boarded the phoenix-carving sedan chair with ceremonial guards leading the way. The female relatives, female officials and ladies of honor followed in the sedan chair, followed by the maids and eunuchs who came with the dowry, and finally, the imperial guards escorted her on horseback.

The emperor was marrying off his daughter, and the wedding procession passed through half of the capital city in a mighty procession. The streets were filled with common people who had come to watch the excitement. Although they could not catch a glimpse of the princess, the majesty of the procession, the extravagance of the carriage, and the grandeur of the scene were something they might not see again in their lifetime, so naturally the streets were deserted.

When the princess's sedan chair arrived at the Yan Mansion, it was dusk. The whole mansion was decorated with lanterns and filled with guests. Yan Sikong had already led the whole mansion to stand in front of the door, waiting for Princess Wanyang to descend on the sedan chair and the eunuch to announce the decree. They all knelt down to welcome this golden branch and jade leaf.

Yan Sikong was wearing a bright red auspicious robe with a snow-white undershirt underneath. The robe was embroidered with a four-clawed python pattern, and around his waist was a gold and jade belt given by Emperor Zhaowu himself. The hem of his robe fluttered like auspicious clouds, which set off his red lips and white teeth, and his golden and jade-like complexion. No matter how many witty words there were in the world, they could not describe such a romantic man.

The light powder on his face concealed his paleness, and although his eyes were as calm as water, he still managed to look triumphant.

He had memorized the wedding etiquette by heart, and even though his mind was full of thoughts about the important events of the evening, he forced himself to cheer up and greet Princess Wanyang under the guidance of the ceremonial officer.

When Princess Wanyang stepped down from the sedan chair in a gorgeous robe and stretched out a soft white hand to hold Yan Sikong's arm, he suddenly started all over, as if waking up from a dream, and realized that the person next to him would be his, Yan Sikong's legal wife.

He couldn't tell whether he had really forgotten or was deliberately not thinking about it. Until this moment, when he truly felt that "Princess Wanyang" was no longer just a word in their mouths, but a living person, he had to think about what he should do with her.

No matter how much he hated Emperor Zhaowu, and no matter how much love and hatred there was between him and Feng Ye, this woman was innocent.

What should he do with her? She is a princess, he cannot neglect her, she is Feng Ye's cousin, he does not want to be frivolous with her, but she is his wife...

He seemed to be in a state of spirit as he watched coldly as he and Princess Wanyang got married. His smile was frozen on his face as he feasted on gold and jade with the guests, and exchanged flattery and trickery. In the vast expanse of red that could drown a person, he could not feel a trace of joy. Amid the tables filled with fine wine and delicious food, and the fragrant incense that filled the room, he could only smell the sticky, thick smell of blood.

Dusk fell, and the Yan Mansion was brightly lit and bustling with activity. Guests came and went, almost breaking down the doorstep. Although many people despised Yan Sikong, there were also many who wanted to curry favor with him. Those who came to give gifts formed a long queue under the wall, surrounding most of the mansion.

After the wedding ceremony, the princess was sent to the bridal chamber. Yan Sikong went back and forth between the tables, toasting everyone with sips of wine. Although most of the wine was replaced with water, he still drank a lot.

The banquet lasted until late at night. Yan Sikong pretended to be drunk and was helped to the bridal chamber. He was also going to have the wedding ceremony with the bride.

Inside the bridal chamber, the light was dim and ambiguous, and everywhere within sight was filled with festive items with special meanings. On the table stood a tray inlaid with gold and jade, on which sat two cups of wedding wine, placed in golden goblets inlaid with pearls and beautiful jade, with a red silk ribbon tied at both ends.

Under the warm tent, on the wedding couch, Princess Wanyang sat upright, her red veil fluttering slightly, which made people imagine a lot.

Yan Sikong took a deep breath, and his drunken state just now disappeared. He took a few steps closer, wondering whether he should call himself "minister" or "madam". These two light words were so hard to say.

Unexpectedly, before he could open his mouth, Princess Wanyang suddenly pulled off the red veil.

Yan Sikong was stunned.

Under the phoenix crown, there was a pretty face with icy white skin, eyes as bright as water, and as lively as a green bird. He had heard that Princess Wanyang was beautiful, and when he saw her today, he couldn't help but sigh that she was born with a good appearance. Her appearance was similar to that of the Feng family, but she avoided the shortcomings of the Chen family. However, it was her eyebrows that looked like Feng Ye that made Yan Si tremble with fear.

Princess Wanyang Chen Bixi widened her eyes and looked at Yan Sikong curiously and unceremoniously. She snorted softly, "You are Yan Sikong. As they said, you look like a decent person."

Yan Sikong stared at her in silence. Her tone was unfriendly, and he wanted to hear what else she wanted to say.

"You see this princess, and you don't kneel down?" Wan Yang raised his chin slightly and looked at him arrogantly.

Yan Sikong bowed and said calmly, "The princess and I have already been married. I am the husband and you are the wife. A husband is the wife's bond. I cannot kneel."

"I am the king, you are the minister, the king is the rule for the minister." Wan Yang threw the red veil to the ground, "Kneel!"

"If the princess insists on asking me to kneel, I will go to the palace tomorrow to meet you and ask Your Majesty to allow me to divorce my wife. Even though I am certain to die, I dare not disobey the princess." Yan Sikong looked deeply at Wan Yang, his eyes cold and stern.

This little princess has just arrived at the mansion. If we can't subdue her, she will be tied up in the future.

Wan Yang was indeed shocked by Yan Sikong's momentum. She gritted her teeth and said in disgust: "You even knelt so smoothly before that old thief, but you refused to kneel before me. In your heart, am I no better than a dog?"

Yan Sikong's expression changed slightly.

Wan Yang stood up, took off the heavy phoenix crown, held it in his hand, and approached Yan Sikong step by step: "Do you think I don't know anything because I am in the harem? No wonder my cousin doesn't want me to marry you. He has long seen that you are a shameless villain who betrays his teachers and ancestors and takes a thief as his father for the sake of glory and wealth!"

Yan Sikong lowered his eyelids, his eyelashes trembling slightly.

Wan Yang's pretty face was filled with anger and unwillingness: "If it weren't for my mother, I, Wan Yang, would never marry a traitor like you even if I die. Don't think that you can rise to the top by becoming my prince consort. I won't give birth to any children for you, and don't even think about touching me!" She raised the phoenix crown and threw it hard at Yan Sikong.

Yan Sikong failed to dodge, and the heavy phoenix crown fell on him and then fell heavily to the ground, with the expensive pearls and gems scattered all over the ground.

Yan Sikong blinked and secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He said calmly, "Don't worry, Your Highness. I dare not overstep my bounds." He walked to the table and raised the wedding wine. "Your Highness, why don't you drink this cup of wine with me? Although you and I are not destined to be husband and wife, we will live under the same roof after all, and we still need to cover up for each other in marriage. This cup of wine was originally meant for reunion, but now it's okay to treat it as cooperation."

Wan Yang narrowed his eyes and looked at the glass of wine warily.

Yan Sikong smiled slightly: "Your Highness is afraid of even a glass of wine?"

Wan Yang came over, picked up the wine cup, stared at Yan Sikong, raised his head and drank it all. Although her face wrinkled instantly, she didn't say a word.

Yan Sikong bowed and drank the wine in his glass.

Wan Yang walked to the couch and said coldly, "Don't get close to the couch. You can sleep wherever you like."

"yes."

As soon as she sat down, her vision began to dizzy, her body gradually became weak, and she slowly fell limply onto the couch.

Yan Sikong walked over, gently took off her phoenix shoes, laid her down, covered her with a quilt, then found the nightgown that had been prepared long ago from under the bed, changed out of her wedding dress, and covered herself with it.

Rich families all have secret passages in case of emergencies, and these secret passages are usually under the owner's bedroom. Yan Sikong opened the closet and moved the wooden box at the bottom of the closet. Suddenly, a secret door appeared. He opened the secret door and crawled in.

The secret passage led directly to a forest outside the mansion. When he came out of the secret passage, it was already late at night. It was so quiet all around that only the chirping of cicadas could be heard. Dressed in black, he quietly disappeared into the moonlight.

——

The jailers guarding the Imperial Prison also belonged to the Imperial Guards, but were not under the jurisdiction of Zhu Lanting. Instead, they were directly commanded by the Dali Temple. As the most heavily guarded prison in the world, most of the inmates there were high-ranking officials with salaries of more than 2,000 stones.

At today's wedding banquet, Yan Sikong invited Meng Duo, the Minister of Dali Temple, and several important officials, including the warden of the Imperial Prison. He took the opportunity to force these people to drink several glasses of wine.

That's not all. Emperor Zhaowu had recently taken back the military power and the power of the prime minister. He was very proud of himself and took the opportunity of marrying off his daughter to reward the court officials. He sent good wine to all the officials and generals. Naturally, they wanted to reward some of it to the people under them so that they could share the grace of heaven.

I don't know how much of this wine went into the jailers' stomachs today, but on the day when the emperor married his daughter, the whole city was celebrating and people were in a state of disarray. It was indeed a good opportunity to rob the jail.

Yan Sikong quietly sneaked to the outer perimeter of the Imperial Prison. The guards patrolling the outer wall were divided into two groups, walking back to back. It took about the length of an incense stick to circle the wall, so it was easy for them to avoid them. However, there were also guards patrolling inside the wall. She Jun monitored for half a month before he figured out the exact moment and found the gap in the patrol of the inner and outer guards, which allowed them to sneak into the wall from the northwest and southeast corners.

The Imperial Prison had not had any problems for nearly a hundred years. The guards had been slack and the patrol rules had not been changed, giving them an opportunity to take advantage.

Seizing the opportunity, Yan Sikong climbed over the wall, holding the dagger tightly in his hand, and smeared a layer of love powder on the palm of his left hand.

He knew that She Jun and his men had already infiltrated. The jailer he had paid a large sum of money to had already drawn a map of the cells and the location of the keys. Although the father and son of the Feng family were in the same prison, their cells were far apart. She Jun was going to look for Feng Ye, while he was going to rescue Feng Jianping. She Jun's men would come to pick them up.

Yan Sikong hesitated for a long time whether he should go find Feng Ye himself, but he finally backed down.

Although Feng Ye was in prison, before he was convicted, the Feng family had not been captured, so Xue Bo could visit him. Feng Ye should have heard about everything he had done, especially today was his big day. He had not had a chance to explain the theft of the military token, and now... he didn't know how Feng Ye would look at him.

He also didn't know whether Feng Ye was more desperate than him.

He didn't want the two of them to meet and act emotionally, which would ruin the whole thing. Right now, the only important thing was to rescue them; he didn't want to think about anything else.